Friday 6/9/23 & the Weekend: Catching Up on a Week of Big News

TGIF!

My partner-in-podcasting Whitney McKnight is still on the road, so we didn’t record a new episode of Off the Charts: A Stellar Newscast this week, Last week’s episode — 39 — is still available, should you wish to get all the dirt on how a comedian and a journalist became full-time astrologers. That episode is jam-packed with plenty of life hacks we’ve learned in our combined decades of existence on Spaceship Earth. We hope you will listen — and find it fun and informative, too. This week, we re-released a podcast where we talked about planetary patterns that will be driving the action through 2025 — that special encore episode is here.

That being said, as a compulsive chronicler of the astonishing synchronicity of planetary patterns and the headlines (for 15 years!), I just had to knock out SOMETHING about all the wild action we’ve seen this week, with an astro-logical perspective.

First, a re-cap of the patterns driving the weekend:

• FRIDAY: Moon enters Pisces at 6:14 AM ET, driving the weekend with a need to identify ideals and work with impressions. Visionary thoughts and communication are supported by a sextile between Mercury and Neptune, exact at 5:14 PM ET. You get to sort out which visionary thoughts are genuinely inspired, and which are just plain bonkers. A sextile to Jupiter at 3:01 PM ET boosts confidence; a conjunction between the Moon and Saturn at 6:15 PM ET may be the reality check that is needed in order to pierce the veil of illusion. It may also be someone’s need to impose authoritarian controls just because they can. It suggests a potentially heavy item in the Friday night news dump.
• SATURDAY: The Third Quarter Moon at 3:31 PM ET may be energizing and/or provocative. The Gemini Sun is happy to split the difference, if only the Pisces Moon wasn’t so focused on how it affects the greater whole. A workable compromise is supported by a sextile between Moon and Uranus, exact at 5:20 PM ET.
• SUNDAY: Note your dreams upon waking. Moon meets up with Neptune at 5:09 AM ET. The big news today happens at 5:45 AM ET, when Pluto re-enters Capricorn. Here’s a reminder of Pluto’s progress in 2023 and 2024:

We’ve gone just over two months with Pluto in Aquarius, the pattern that brought us the French Revolution and the Bill of Rights.”Power to the People” is what astrologers have been anticipating for years, though not likely without a fight. Pluto turns retrograde on May 1st, and re-enters Capricorn on June 11th. In Capricorn we will likely see extremes among the Powers That Be as they battle to remain In Control. Pluto turns direct on October 11th — on Pluto in the horoscope of the United States, and square the Sun and Moon in the horoscope of Kamala Harris. Pluto reenters Aquarius on January 22, 2024, where we will see an advancement of initiatives that are happening right this minute. Pluto will go retrograde again on May 2, 2024…and re-enter Capricorn for its last hurrah on September 3, 2024 — with candidates up for election in November already selected. Pluto turns direct on October 12th and reenters Aquarius on November 20th — President Biden’s birthday — where it will remain until 2044.

• SUNDAY: More big news is facilitated by a trine between Mercury — now at the verrrrrry end of material comfort-seeking Taurus) and Pluto. Mercury-Pluto connections usually reflect an uptick in “news from underground,” which is great if you’re an investigative reporter. Today’s big story may relate to the status quo. At 6:26 AM ET, Mercury finally leaves Taurus and enters Gemini, one of its home signs. Mercury leaves Gemini on June 26th, so make the most of this opportunity for thought and communication that’s informative and entertaining. The pace picks up as we discover we can walk and chew gum at the same time. Moon zooms into Aries at 9:20 AM ET, driving the day with a need to get things started –not now, but RIGHT NOW. And whatever it is may be so grand and every so indulgent and/or generous, reflecting the “I can’t believe I ate the whole thing” sentiment of a square between Venus and Jupiter, exact at 11:39 AM ET. If you have planets around 5 degrees of just about any sign, you could have indulged in a few lottery tickets in recent days, just to try your luck. Supportive patterns among Moon and Mercury (at 9:43 AM ET) and Venus (at 7:40 PM ET) can help your crusade, especially if you’re fighting for the underdog. The good vibes carry over into early next week.

No sleeping in on MONDAY. The Aries Moon will be energized by a trine to Mars, exact at 8:35 AM ET. Aries, go forth and conquer.

And now, the news.

A friend of mine likes to say, “the conscious mind is the last to know.” I thought about that this week the day after I chose to illustrate the last forecast with a photo of a statue of a lion that was taken in Ukraine. For weeks after the beginning of Russia’s invasion, I regularly used images from Ukraine as a show of support, then stopped — for no reason in particular. But I guess I had a feeling last Monday, and this prompted me to search for a Ukrainian lion to support the start of Venus’s lengthy sojourn in Leo.

0 degrees Leo happens to be the degree of Volodomyr Zelenskyy’s Mars, which was affected by eclipses in April and October. Those eclipses are being activated by the current Fixed Grand Cross configuration among Pluto, Mars, Venus, Jupiter and the North/South Nodes. Themes involving stubborn conflicts, ruthless action, emotional overkill and toxic release would not be surprising. Point is, that Zelenskyy — and anyone else with planets and/or angles around 0 degrees of Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius could expect a surge of action this week, as if a genie jumped out of a bottle or a curtain fell. Life is forever changed.

Another pattern that sparked a sudden surge of action — not unlike that of a genetic mutation — was the long-delayed meet-up of Mercury (how we need to think) and Uranus (lightning bolt; shock to the system), exact last Sunday. It was delayed because Mercury turned retrograde before it could complete the connection — this happened around April 21st.

Here is a rundown of headlines — involving horoscopes of those affected by current patterns, starting with Zelenskyy:

• “Zelensky says Russian dam attack a ‘bomb of environmental mass destruction.”  It’s astro-logical that the devastating bottlenecked energy released can be traced back to seeds planted in plain sight right before the October 25th solar eclipse, recently triggered — like Mars in Zelenskyy’s horoscope — by all four planets, plus the Nodes, in this week’s Fixed Grand Cross. Here’s a headline from October 21 — “Zelensky accuses Russia of plot to blow up dam.”  The plot was brewing in plain sight, in the dark of the October eclipse. Suddenly, it’s out. Clear?
• “CNN CEO Chris Licht ousted after TFG Town Hall fallout; brutal Atlantic article.”   Licht’s toxic release “coincided” with the day Mars met-up with his South Node, with the rest of the planets in this week’s Fixed Grand Cross activating his ruthlessly idealistic conjunction of Mercury and Venus in early Scorpio. Another suggestion of streamlining is transiting Saturn (cuts & losses) square his Jupiter (reward), and probably his righteously opinionated Sagittarius Moon. Licht’s Sun has been under great pressure by a square from Pluto, and we can expect him to rise from the ashes of CNN and reinvent himself before too many months have passed.
• Not a person making headlines — but the heavy smoke that stubbornly settled over New York this week could be seen as a reflection of the logjam potential of that Fixed Grand Cross. Reminds me of my former life in Los Angeles, only the smoke in NYC smells like burning pine, not eucalyptus.
• Meanwhile, in the House of Representatives, “Gaetz and the Freedom Caucus grind House to a halt” — there’s another logjam for you.
• No one is saying for certain that Mark Meadows, former White House Chief of Staff (and former boss of J6 Committee star witness Cassidy Hutchinson), cut a deal to rat on TFG in exchange for immunity, but gosh, in what we know of Meadows’s horoscope, we can see why he was in the news. I wrote about Meadows just over three years ago, when he suddenly replaced Mick Mulvaney as TFG’s COS. Transiting Uranus had just engaged Meadows’s precise square between his Leo Sun and Neptune. A sudden breakout would not be unexpected. Now, that square is activated. Saturn opposed his Sun in early 2021, when — according to a lawsuit filed by Noelle Dunphy against her former employer, Rudy Giuliani — brainstorming began on how to keep TFG in the White House if he lost the 2022 election. Saturn-Sun transits are helpful for planning strategy. Now we have this confluence of four planets (plus the Nodes) engaged with Meadows’ “true believer” Sun-Neptune square. Faith is under attack — and what shall he reap for a reward?
• “Boris Johnson resigns as MP with immediate effect over Partygate report”.  Johnson’s Moon is at 0 Scorpio, and he’s in the middle of his second Saturn return. A chapter ends; another begins. Here’s what was written about Johnson (and his horoscope) almost a year ago, when he resigned as leader of the Conservative Party. See any similarities?
• “Book Review: Elliot Page’s timely memoir is powerful; humanizing”
• “Golf’s PGA tour and LIV merger is latest Saudi Arabia power play.”  Yes, and you should see what we know about Saudi ruler Mohammed bin Salman —  MBS’s — horoscope.   He has a t-square among Venus, Jupiter and Pluto in Leo, Aquarius and Pluto — recently eclipsed and triggered by the current Fixed Grand Cross. He has a square between Mercury-Mars in (getting away with murder Leo) and Saturn in (ruthless) Scorpio — with Mercury exactly squared by Sunday’s Mercury-Uranus conjunction.
• “Scientists record first ‘virgin birth’ in female crocodile in Costa Rica.” We don’t have a birth date for the crocodile in question, but her latest achievement aptly reflects current planetary patterns.
• Pat Robertson, televangelist who blamed gay people for 9/11 and hurricanes, dies”
• James Watt — the “sharp-tongued and combative” Interior Secretary under Ronald Reagan, is also dead.

Meanwhile…

• “Supreme Court rules in favor of Black Alabama voters in unexpected defense of the Voting Rights Act”.  The ruling was announced hours away from a square between yesterday’s Aquarius Moon and Uranus. We can see the astro-logic  of the Aquarius Moon’s need to be appreciated for its unique social significance within the construct of a larger group being intensified in a “surprise ruling.” We’d also file this story under the bigger umbrella of Pluto in Aquarius, suggesting Power to the People. Word!
  

Finally…

…the moment we’ve been waiting (yet again)…and hinted at as a possibility in Monday’s forecast:

• “Nuclear secrets in the bathroom: five revelations from Trump’s unsealed indictment“ on 38 counts. He’s scheduled to surrender to federal authorities in Miami and appear in court at 3 PM ET on Tuesday. A quick glance for the chart for that event suggests that the prosecuting attorneys have a strong case. However, I couldn’t help but notice that the planet representing the judge in that chart was likely to favor the defendant….BUT…it was too soon to tell. Guess who’s been initially assigned to the case? Judge Aileen Cannon, the TFG appointee whose effort to appoint a special master to review the documents stolen from the American people by TFG was ultimately tossed out. Astrology. Is. Amazing. Word on the street is that Cannon will not have the case for the duration of the trial.

And there you have it. A big Friday news dump filled with astro-logic — and more jargon than usual, frankly — with apologies if it’s too dense. Just had to share all this exciting synchronicity among astrology and the news!

Meanwhile…

...here’s the 411 on personal consultations. What do all these patterns mean for YOU?

Thank you for reading this forecast — and sharing it with your friends. Have a great weekend!