Monday 4/18/2022: Sneak Peek at the Week; Sun enters Taurus; Jupiter-Neptune & More in the News

Alllll-righty then!

The hottest days in terms of planetary action this week are Monday and Sunday, bracketing a workweek that offers an excellent potential for productivity. Highlights are:

• Mercury conjunct Uranus in the wee hours on Monday
• Venus sextile Uranus soon thereafter
• Sun square Pluto before lunchtime ET
• Sun enters Taurus on Tuesday
• Mercury squares Saturn and sextiles Neptune on Sunday

Here’s how it goes:

• MONDAY: is driven by the Moon in Scorpio, which needs to prove that it has depth and substance, often by accumulating knowledge for the sake of power and control. A heavy square between the Moon and Saturn at 11:30 AM ET may reflect a block in your quest for world domination, perhaps by a local authority. It might be related to the strong potential for power plays involving heads of state and business,  reflecting the supercharged square between the Sun and Pluto on Monday morning. Pluto refers to power and resources – including oil, coal and nuclear — as well as news from underground.  Check the headlines in the past 24 hours, and you’ll find a story in the Wall Street Journal about how utilities want to convert coal plants to nuclear.  WaPo offers an account of what it’s like to live near a buried nuke in Montana;   Fox “News” features the opinion of a former Russian foreign minister on “precisely when Putin may pull the trigger on the use of nuclear weapons,” but since the”precisely when” that is expressed has nothing to do with actual timing, there is no point linking the interview here. Astrology, however, is amazing.
• MONDAY: the afternoon is more like the softer side of Sears, as Moon trines Neptune and Jupiter in the mid-afternoon, and then sextiles Pluto at 7:54 PM ET. The challenge for you during these — and any other — planetary contacts with Jupiter and Neptune (especially in the wake of the powerful manifestation potential of last week’s Jupiter-Neptune conjunct in Pisces) is summed up by Ram Dass in this quote from Be Here Now:

• Just because you are seeing divine light, experiencing waves of bliss, or conversing with Gods and Goddesses is no reason to not know your zip code.

• MONDAY: Information and communication may be innovative or shocking, especially in the tech industry, as Mercury – how we need to think  — meets up with Uranus at 12:51 AM ET. This is followed by a cooperative alignment between Venus and Uranus at 3:14 AM ET, reflecting an uptick in cooperation among assorted factions, united for the common good.
• MONDAY: After a Moon void of two and a half hours, Moon leaves Scorpio and soars into Sagittarius at 10:16 PM ET. Note the potential for conflict around 3:29 AM ET on…
• TUESDAY: …as Moon squares Mars, where it is steaming in Pisces. The rest of the day is free and clear. Avid Readers know that Moon in Sagittarius needs to push boundaries and express its righteous opinion. if you won’t do it, somebody else surely will. Now is the time to take a gamble or a gambol…get out in nature…take in a foreign film…whatever broadens your horizons. Meanwhile, at 10:24 PM ET, Sun leaves Aries and enters Taurus, slowing down the pace and turning down the heat. Aries is a fire sign; Taurus is an earth sign, and what Taurus is here to do is build something beautiful, comfortable and stable out of the sparks that fly during Aries season. The keyword for Taurus is: I HAVE. That being said, if you’re a Taurus born in the first two weeks of May, stability may be challenging in 2022. On the one hand, there is a likely increase in responsibility and on the other hand, pressure to make a break. Talk to your Taurus friends born at the end of April and ask them about their experience in 2021 – or consult your local astrologer for helpful coping strategies.
• WEDNESDAY: the Sag Moon squares Jupiter and Neptune at 2:19 PM ET and 4:55 PM ET. See above for helpful advice from Ram Dass. Dream and expand to your heart’s content…and be here now. Moon goes void at 4:55 PM ET for seven hours — take care of routine concerns and chill if you are able. At 11:52 PM ET, the Moon enters Capricorn, driving…
• THURSDAY: with a need to take care of business.  Capricorn is an Earth sign, and works harmoniously with the Taurus Sun. Not only that, but the Capricorn Moon is beautifully aligned with all the other kids in the cosmic sandbox that are in Pisces:  Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Neptune. Don’t waste this opportunity to move your agenda forward!After writing these words earlier today, it was wonderfully affirming to receive Beth Owl’s Daughter’s Tarot Card of the Week.
• FRIDAY: Thursday’s agenda is also Friday’s agenda. Make something happen, supported by Venus, Mercury, Neptune and Jupiter. At 11:52 PM ET, Moon meets up with Pluto — ok — that may be intense, especially for the Establishment/Powers That Be that may use this Moon-Pluto conjunction Capricorn to plant seeds for a continued hold on power. Speaking of Pluto, everything symbolized by Pluto is in special extended focus now. Why? Because Pluto is slowing down and preparing to turn retrograde on April 29th, right before the April 30th solar eclipse. Imagine a car horn blaring a message of fossil fuels, composting, breakdowns, power plays, etc. — and that’s what we’ll see in news for the next few weeks. You are more personally affected by Pluto’s change of station if you have planets around 28 degrees of Capricorn, Aries, Libra or Cancer. Off the top of my head, that includes Mick Mulvaney, Nikki Haley, Kellyanne Conway, Anna Delvey, Pete Buttigieg aaaand…Michelle Obama (so of course she’s the subject of one of three parts of the docudrama “The First Lady,” now streaming on Showtime!
  
• SATURDAY: Moon enters Aquarius at 2:17 AM ET, seeking  to be appreciated for its unique social significance. Now is a good time for networking and connecting with friends and groups of like-minded souls. However, the Third Quarter Moon exact at 7:56 AM ET suggests a conflict between the Aquarius Moon’s need for social significance and the Taurus Sun’s need for stability. Make the adjustments and move on. The Moon will not be void today — you’re free to impulsively grab those yard sale bargains. If your thoughts are notably heavier than usual, you’re picking up on the tension between Mercury (how we need to think) and Saturn, exact at 9:49 AM ET on…
• SUNDAY. Perhaps the gravitas is related to an upset that happened around 2:35 AM ET, when the Aquarius Moon squares Uranus. The rest of the day may be a quest for escape, artistry, vision and healing, as Mercury sextiles Neptune at 6:37 PM ET. More gravitas is scheduled immediately thereafter, as the Moon meets up with Saturn at 7:33 PM ET and square Mercury at 8:33 PM ET. Chill during the nearly 10-hour long Moon void. That means rolling with the twists and flakes that may disrupt efforts to move forward in a straight line. It means not making a mountain out of a molehill, as crises that crop up during Moon voids are often much ado about nothing.

And now, the news.

Lots of stories reflecting last week’s Mercury-Pluto square, which suggested a bonanza for investigative reporters. Add in the Jupiter-Neptune conjunction in Pisces, suggesting BIG (Jupiter) in all things Neptune (e.g., drugs, conspiracies, espionage, deception, fantasy, victims, refugees, spirits of all kinds, intangibles, oceans, oils, plastic, toxins, chemicals, etc.) and FOGGINESS  in all things Jupiter (the media, courts, collective belief systems, horses, the liver, etc., etc.) in a way that evokes all things PISCES (endings, empathy, feet, surrender, intuition, unity).

• “Before giving billions to Jared Kushner, Saudi investment firm had big doubts” — major scoop by the NYT — or read Heather Cox Richardson’s reportage.  Remember that Kushner did not qualify for a security clearance when he became an advisor to the former guy. What did he do to deserve $2 billion dollars from Crown Prince MBS, who ordered WaPo columnist and U.S. resident Jamal Khashoggi murdered? And why isn’t this a top story on all the news networks? Even without a birth time, we can see that Neptune is hot in his horoscope (1/10/1981 in Livingston, NJ) in the near-term future. Last week’s Jupiter-Neptune conjunction squared his natal Neptune.
• This one was buried below the fold on page A15 of the Sunday NYT (perhaps because CNN broke the story first?): the former guy’s eldest son sent a number of texts to WH Chief of Staff Mark Meadows just two days after the November 2020 in which he outlined strategies for how his dad could remain in office.
• Still more conspiracy revelations include leaked texts to Mark Meadows from members of Congress, including Utah’s Senator Mike Lee, documenting efforts soon after the November election to overturn it, as Heather Cox Richardson explains.  This story vanished from the news over the holiday weekend.
• Liz Cheney says the Jan. 6 Committee now has enough evidence to make a criminal referral of the former guy to the DOJ — but the Committee is not sure yet if they will do so.
• Meanwhile, if you’re watching Fox, you may have heard nothing about the above three stories, but you’ve heard plenty about Hunter Biden’s laptop. Now — according to WaPo — the guy who leaked the alleged contents has issued a warning that what has been reported may not be for real. Shades of Neptune!
• “Lt. Governor Brian Benjamin (D-NY) resigns following campaign finance indictment.” The alleged crimes occurred within the past few years, so it’s remarkable how quickly the charges were filed. We don’t have a birth time, but we can see that Benjamin’s exact Mars-Neptune conjunction in Sagittarius was eclipsed in December.

Meanwhile…

• One of the high points last week was the sinking of the Russian warship Moskva…by two Ukranian Neptune missiles.
• “Astronomers baffled by dramatic temperature changes on…Neptune“
• 72 people tested positive for Covid – including prominent lawmakers — after attending the Gridiron Dinner in D.C. Mask protocols are being abandoned faster than you can say “Jupiter-Neptune in Pisces knows no bounds,” but according to my take on astrology, we’re not out of the woods yet, so I’m keeping my mask on in public spaces for the foreseeable future.
• Still, after today’s (4/15) disruptive Mercury-Uranus conjunction (with Uranus symbolizing aviation), the uptick in Covid cases and the anguished lockdowns in Shanghai didn’t stop a TFG-appointed judge from striking down the TSA’s mask mandate for airline travel. This is madness.
• Hours before the Jupiter-Neptune conjunction was exact on April 12th, “Mississippi man catches 131-pound catfish; sets state record”
• Neptune refers to forgiveness and healing. Thanks to the Biden Administration and a report from the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (the agency that newly-hired CBS commentator Mick Mulvaney tried to destroy), the major credit bureaus are removing most medical debt from its credit reports.
• Speaking of Mick Mulvaney (the guy who called Covid “a media hoax” created to attack the former guy), Robert Reich has some thoughts on CBS News’ decision to put Mulvaney on its payroll.

In other news, on the morning of the Jupiter-Neptune conjunction...

• “Why no one died when a gunman opened fire on a subway,” reports the NYT. It was “luck and poor marksmanship,” they said. But what does the chart for the time of the incident — 8:30 AM ET on 4/12/2022 in Brooklyn — suggest). Welp. First it’s notable that the last aspect to the Moon was an opposition to Mars (guns, violence, aggression)…and that the drama king Leo Moon was void of course (which can take the wind out of someone’s sails). The planet symbolizing the perpetrator is Mercury — blinded by the light of the Aries Sun and in the 12th house, which suggests weakness. The other parties are represented by high-functioning Jupiter in Pisces, right on that “smoke and mirrors” Neptune — but essentially blessed. It was “tremendous luck,” reports the NYT, “…or a miracle.” Indeed.

Add the power plays and news from underground potential of the Sun-Pluto square to the Jupiter-Neptune conjunction and we see:

• “‘It’s super-spectacular.’ See how the Tonga volcano unleashed a once-in-a-century shockwave”
• Archeologists plan to open a sarcophagus discovered underneath Notre Dame in Paris
• Record-breaking megamaser detected in space”
• Elon Musk is denied seat on the Twitter board and launches a hostile takeover. Avid Readers will recall that the 2020  Jupiter-Saturn conjunction in Aquarius set the stage for a 200-year cycle in which whomever controls the information networks may likely control the world, and that’s the playbook Musk is using. How interesting that Twitter responded with a Neptune-themed “poison pill” to thwart Musk’s ambition.
• These patterns are expressed in the worst possible way in the twisted delusional words of the Russian foreign minister who defended Russia’s atrocious invasion of Ukraine by calling it “a holy war,” with Russia on the side of good vs. alleged evil, as Heather Cox Richardson reports.  As I type, Russia is launching a full-scale military operation to conquer part of eastern Ukraine.

Finally, Episode 5 of “Off the Charts: A Stellar Newscast.” is now available! This time, journalist and fellow astrologer Whitney Fishburn and I are talking about the Jupiter-Neptune conjunction, and much more. Thanks for listening!

To find how all these planetary patterns are likely to affect your own unique horoscope, here’s the 411 on personal consultations.

Thank you for reading this forecast…with extra-special gratitude to Avid Readers Roberta and Leah for gifting my Cosmic Tip Jar today. Your support gives me the motivation to keep on writing….

Happy birthday, Taurus!