Astro-logical Forecast for Monday 5/9/2016: New Moon in Taurus; Transit of Mercury; Jupiter Direct; Sneak Peek at the Week
An information junkie Moon-in-Gemini has been driving whatever buzz you may be feeling since 12:34PM ET on Saturday. At 12:15Am ET on Monday, that Moon will go void with a sigh, not to enter Cancer until 1:24PM ET. There’s your explanation for any foggy morning false start, or if the barista at your local coffee emporium cheerfully greets you with “Good Afternoon!” instead of “Good Morning!” She would be cheerful — and perhaps a bit dreamily-spaced out. At 8:41Am ET, Venus and Neptune form an easy alliance, suggesting an artsy or musical spin — or something healing, charitable or spiritual. Whatever it is, it’s likely to reflect a need for a beautiful ideal, along with a bit of indulgent idealism, as Venus is also in harmony with expansive Jupiter — exact Tuesday at 3PM ET.
Even earlier on Monday — at 8:16AM ET, Jupiter turns direct at 13 Virgo, where it’s been hanging since April 17th. If you know what area of your horoscope is ruled by Jupiter (hint: it’s the house with Sagittarius on the cusp), it may feel like you’ve been in a holding pattern in the areas related to that house since January 7th, when Jupiter turned retrograde. A horoscope with Jupiter ruling the second house of finances and self worth, for example, may have experienced a delay regarding those issues over the past five months. With Jupiter turning direct, forward motion can now be expected.
But wait — there’s more! Mercury — which refers to information, mindset and communication makes a rare conjunction with the Sun at 11:12AM ET. Why is it rare? Because the Messenger Planet will pass in front of the Sun and this Transit of Mercury will thus be visible in various parts of the world. These transits only happen a dozen or so times in a century. The last Transit of Mercury happened back in 2006; the next one will happen in 2019. What can we expect?
First, see where 20 degrees of Taurus falls in your horoscope. This is the degree of Monday’s Sun-Mercury conjunction. Look back to 19 April, when Mercury was last at 20 degrees of Taurus. Note June 3rd on your calendar, which is when Mercury will hit 20 degrees Taurus again, once it turns direct on May 22nd. Consider that Mercury in Taurus refers to thoughts and communication about material comfort and security; values, banking, money, sensual pleasures — just to name a few. So wherever 20 Taurus falls in your horoscope, this is the area of your life which may be receiving information about these material concerns you simply can’t miss. I find it fascinating that May 9th is when we can expect the next information dump from the Panama Papers, in the form of “the largest ever release of data on secret offshore companies and the people behind them.” Coincidence or conspiracy?
I also find it fascinating that the Sabian Symbol for 20 Taurus is “wind, clouds and haste,” suggesting, as Blain Bovee points out in his wonderful book, “an image of accelerated ideas that create a stir, excitement or massive confusion…extremes of revelation and being heavily covered; shedding light on something previously hidden.” Extremes? We’ll see how that plays out over the next few weeks.
Once the Moon enter Cancer at 1:24PM ET, we can expect the next few days (and the headlines) to reflect a focus on building and maintaining emotional/family and home/homeland security. The Moon will be void again on Wednesday between 3:34AM ET and 5:32PM ET, after which it enters Leo, looking for a party or a ginormous stage. A cluster of alignments among Mercury, Venus and Pluto on Thursday and Friday suggest depth in communication and social expression, with more potential for revelation. Moon goes void on Friday at 1:02PM ET — sounds like a fine time to skip out of town early.
Speaking of which, I skipped out of town last Friday — heading to Philadelphia in the dark of the Moon with two artsy friends. Our mission: to see a special exhibit at the Museum of Art. Thus I did not post a forecast for the New Moon in Taurus, which occurred at 3:29PM ET on Friday, at 17 degrees of Taurus. Let’s talk about it now.
A New Moon in Taurus suggests a focus on values, finance and other material concerns. It needs to build material comfort and security — preferably meant to last. One major pattern in the New Moon chart is an Earth Grand Trine among love/money/beauty Venus, the Sun and Moon, Jupiter and Pluto. This suggests a projection of material self-sufficiency — big time. And there I was in a big ginormous museum, stuffed to the gills with treasure. I was so happy to be spending the day in (five planets retrograde) contemplation, wandering the galleries and taking in the art on display. It was a relief to gaze upon images that weren’t moving. I was grateful for the chance to pause and focus on these static moments in time. It was humbling to think of how many hours had been invested in creating them — and how many hundreds of years had passed since then.
One painting’s monochromatic glow stood out from the others in the gallery. I was intrigued by the artist’s combined use of ink and oil. It’s called Sine Cerere et Libero freget Venus (Without Ceres and Bacchus, Venus Would Freeze). There is no love without food and drink. How apt for a Taurus New Moon, with patterns suggesting contemplaytion — the typo is intentional — on simple core values.
Another major pattern in the New Moon chart is this ongoing loose T-square among Jupiter — opposed by Neptune and squared by Saturn. Here’s what I wrote about it back in September of last year:
I can see how that theme could tie into escalating delusional fears about foreigners and borders, as Saturn (control) progresses through Sagittarius (foreigners) and squares Neptune in Pisces and Jupiter in Virgo now and into 2016. No, I am not suggesting we will have a repeat of the 1930s & 1940s. I am suggesting that I can appreciate why similar issues might be up for consideration over the next few years, given the repeat of planetary patterns.
After a lovely grey, rainy day gazing at art, we headed to the Greyhound bus terminal to catch our pumpkin coach back to New York. There were just over 50 of us waiting to board the bus, and in front of me stood a serene, small-sized dumpling of a woman wearing a bright pink and green hijab. She was number 50 in line, and she was asked by the ticket taker for identification. As she fumbled in her big, black purse for her papers, her little suitcase on wheels tipped over. I picked it up and held it upright while she searched her purse. The ticket-taker — not a security officer, mind you — almost pulled her out of line — for what? Questioning? I have no memory of the ticket-taker asking anyone else in line for ID. The woman managed to produce her “papers” just in time. She had a U.S. passport.
This episode of “security theater” — in the words of Artsy Friend #1 — has been bothering me all weekend.
The Sabian Symbol for the New Moon at 17 Taurus is “a battle between the swords and the torches.” It was one of the two Symbols in the Full Moon in Scorpio back in May of 2012 — how time flies. Blaine Bovee is the go-to guy for further explanation: “strife between powers of the mind and powers of spirit and passion…of that which cuts apart and that which twines together. ” Possible manifestations include “matters of spirit over ideas…Gothic romances where passions collide with social and political realities; campaigns to supplant cold technology with agrarian simplicity…choosing between cutting away from or twisting together.”
And now, the news.
Was there any news over the past several days? Surely I jest. Ted Cruz and John Kasich abruptly dropped out of the Republican race for president, perhaps in a fit of Mars retrograde frustration. If you are tempted to impulsively toss in the towel between now and June 30th, the conventional wisdom suggests you carefully reconsider. On the part of Cruz, it’s a textbook case of the likely fizzle/backfire of impulsive alliances formed under Mars Rx conditions. Carly Fiorina lasted nine days as Cruz’s would-be VP.
Which leaves only Donald Trump standing — ready to claim his official nomination at the Republican convention in July. You, dear Avid Reader, are not at all surprised. Nor are you surprised that House Speaker Paul Ryan did is reserving his endorsement at the moment. Trump is not pleased — not pleased at all –– but you read here several weeks ago that Speaker Ryan’s horoscope is building to a release in mid-July. You expected a bit of drama.
You’re also not surprised that Bernie Sanders won Indiana last week, even if the rest of the media was “shocked.” With his second Saturn-Sun square behind him, Sanders can now look forward to an expansive period into June. After that, we’ll see. Meanwhile, with transiting Uranus moving into closer contact with his Venus and Mars, you won’t be surprised to see the words “erratic” and “Sanders” in the same sentence.
The United States isn’t the only country whose political process and voter preferences are bewildering. The Philippines seems set to elect a president who is definitely not of the Establishment. Austria’s Chancellor has suddenly resigned after a nearly eight-year run. There’s a ton of other news to discuss — stay tuned for the next forecast. And if you’d like to find out what all of these patterns suggest for you personally, consider scheduling a consultation. We will have an excellent discussion together!
Thank you for reading this forecast.