Monday 1/23/2023: Sneak Peek at the Week; Forward March — and a Clown Car Full of News
Allllllllrighty then!
All the planets are now direct. We have New Moon energy to help us get things started. Between now and April 20th (when Mercury next turns retrograde), it’s forward march!
Highlights this week are:
- Sun sextiles Jupiter on Tuesday
- Venus enters Pisces on Thursday
- Sun trines Mars on Sunday
- Mercury trines Uranus on Sunday
It goes like this:
- MONDAY: A mixed start to the morning, as the Aquarius Moon meets up with Saturn and Venus, at 4:24 AM and 5:19 AM ET, respectively. Kinda heavy in matters of money, worth, arts and women. Moving forward on your morning agenda may be delayed or twisted or flaked upon, reflecting a seven-hour Moon void. Stick to routine concerns; avoid impulse purchases, and don’t make a mountain out of a molehill. Crises that crop up during voids are often much ado about nothing, so remember to CHILL. At 12:35 PM ET, the Moon engages in Pisces, facilitating empathy and a desire to work with impressions and ideals. Go with the intuitive flow…and note the potential for tension, a push forward or conflict around 2:55 AM ET on…
- TUESDAY: …as Moon squares Mars. A more cooperative flow in thought, communication and innovation is facilitated this morning, as the Moon makes easy connections to Mercury and Uranus, exact at 4:58 AM ET and 12:42 PM ET. Pitch those bright ideas, as leaders are inclined to be supportive. I say this because at 8:30 PM ET, the Sun will sextile Jupiter, echoing the morning’s potential.
- WEDNESDAY: Note your dreams upon waking, as the Moon meets up with Neptune at 2:42 AM ET. Emotional depth and a bit of dirt-digging may color your morning, as Moon sextiles Pluto at 11:11 AM ET. Moon will be void until 1:47 PM ET — you may hardly notice the lull. You may, however, notice the pace pick up at 1:47 PM ET, when the Moon charges into Aries, looking to Get Something Started…and maybe it’s Something Big, reflecting the Moon’s conjunction with Jupiter (big!) at 10:18 PM ET. The day ends with a harmony between the Sun and the Moon at 11:58 PM ET. Nice.
- THURSDAY: Aries Moon sextiles Mars at 5:39 AM ET, facilitating action. Adjustments in messaging may be required around 10:07 AM ET, as the me-me-me Aries Moon is challenged by Mercury in practical, Establishment-focused Capricorn. Meanwhile, at 9:32 PM ET, Venus exits “I love you, but don’t take it personally” Aquarius and enters Pisces, most happily so. Now is the time to get that new haircut — and do it before February 20th, when Venus enters Aries. Between now and then, values, social expression and money matters are likely to be kinder and gentler.
- FRIDAY: Aries Moon sextiles Saturn at 10:12 AM ET; use this easy flow of ambition and inspiration to structure and/or gain support for your initiatives. A power play or catharsis may crop up around 4:01 PM ET, as Moon makes its weekly clash with depth-seeking Pluto. Chill during the nearly three-hour Moon void. Moon enters Taurus at 6:42 PM ET, seeking to build something materially comfortable and secure out of the Aries Moon’s bright ideas. More sweetness can be yours in the evening, as the Moon sextiles (harmonizes) with Venus, exact at 8:55 PM ET.
- SATURDAY: A weekend driven by a Taurus Moon facilitates simple joys. Comfort food, a glass of vino and a snuggle with your favorite significant other — Moon in Taurus is all for it. This morning may require a bit of workarounds, as the Taurus Moon’s need for material security is challenged by the groupthink energy of the Sun in Aquarius, exact at 10:18 AM ET. Word gets out around 8:43 PM ET, as the Moon trines Mercury. A surprise or other upset may be in store around 10:36 PM ET, as Moon meets up with rebel Uranus.
- SUNDAY: Lots of energetic flow, with an innovative intellectual spin. Humming in the background this week, and exact tonight are two harmonious patterns. At 8:45 PM ET, Sun trines Mars. At 9:16 PM ET, Mercury trines Uranus. Let those two bigger patterns be your coping strategy for whatever reach for control crops up around 7:03 PM ET, when the Taurus Moon is squared by taskmaster Saturn.
Beth Owl’s Daughter’s Tarot Card of the Week may seem like a curious warning, given the relatively easy forward flow this week offers. Ah, but it depends on who’s taking advantage of the easy flow. That’s my take on Beth’s always-in-sync message. We do have volatility and illumination on the calendar for the first weekend in February. The Sun will square Uranus — surprise! And the Full Moon in Leo will activate the potent lunar eclipse of last November 8th, making it apt for a release of what no longer serves.
And now, the news — lots and lots and lots to talk about!
Ready?
First, updates on people making news now, as anticipated years ago. Woot!
UPDATE: on Brett Kavanaugh, whose horoscope we’ve been tracking since his scandalous confirmation hearings in the fall of 2018. When would karma finally catch up with Justice Brewski, I wondered, as he was sworn in to a lifetime SCOTUS seat with transiting Jupiter (reward, expansion), squaring his Aquarius Sun. A reasonable possibility would be transiting Saturn (controls; reality checks; karma) conjunct his Sun — and he just had the third hit of that pattern last week. Cue the Sundance premiere of Justice, a documentary filmed in secret, whose producers aimed to follow up on a few of the 4500 tips the FBI received — but never investigated — during its background check of the aggressive and allegedly abusive nominee.
We don’t have a birth time for Kavanaugh, but if he has a Virgo Ascendant with Mars (action, aggression, assertion) hovering near it, I would not be surprised. This Mars (his mojo, as it were) is about to be dissolved by transiting Neptune over the next two years, which could then move on to his Ascendant and Midheaven, if this theory about a Virgo Ascendant is correct. Meanwhile, there’s more karma in store as he experiences his second Saturn return, starting this spring. Whatever sobering realizations crop up this year could spark an intensified ego expression, outbreak or other disruption of the status quo, as transiting Uranus squares his Sun in 2024.
UPDATE: on Kellyanne Conway, Nikki Haley, Dolly Parton and Pete Buttigieg — who all made news in the past ten days as they celebrated birthdays — with transiting Pluto on — or very near their respective Capricorn Suns. They are likely to continue to command empowered attention over the next two years, as anticipated. Haley is teasing a presidential run. Conway was published in the New York Times. Note that the “paper of record” continues to experience the bewildering fog of multiple transits of Neptune, as noted here last year.
UPDATE: Sometimes, the astonishing synchronicity of planetary patterns and the news brings tears to my eyes. Alec Baldwin was been charged with involuntary manslaughter last week. When I wrote about the tragic shooting accident on the set of Rust back in October 2021, I could see the strong likelihood of grave consequences for Baldwin. His horoscope suggested he was in a period of potentially reckless action, with bewilderment to follow. The charges were announced in sync with stunningly apt patterns in the chart of the tragic shooting, too. This is what we know of Baldwin’s horoscope.
Meanwhile…
Mars, Mercury and Uranus all turned direct. These items cropped up around the dates of their respective stations:
- Mars, the maker of M & M candies, gets Tucker Carlson’s knickers in a twist when they announce a new M & M. She’s purple, and she’s going to be distributed in a package with the two other M & M’s who identify as women.
- Factor in Venus (women) square Uranus (independence) for the timing of this “controversial” video popping up on Twitter, in which a woman in NYC states she schedules as many as three dates a night, and she pays her own way
- As you know, Mars is in Gemini, where we expected seven months of weaponizing (Mars refers to weapons) words in all forms — including documents. As Mars was turning direct, were we surprised that several more documents were discovered in President Biden’s home, after he invited law enforcement officials to do a thorough search? Of course not — and Heather Cox Richardson has the details.
- Mars refers to cars; Uranus refers to technology. Elon Musk is on trial on charges of making false statements about his ability to take Tesla private in 2018. Other lawsuits charge that “Tesla’s self-driving technology is over-hyped.“
- Of course gas stoves would rear their ugly burners again as Mars (heat) slowed to its station. That story was hot a few years ago, too.
- “Microsoft pouring billions in new deal with company behind ChatGPT,” and if you don’t know what ChatGPT, you simply must check it out. The future is here — and it’s going to change everything.
- Here’s a fun Mercury-Mars in Gemini direct one: “A font feud brews as State Dept. picks Calibri over Times Roman” WaPo’s resident comic Alexandra Petri makes fun of it all right here, and I have a satisfied smile on my face because I’ve been using Calibri for my Year Ahead and AstroBasics reports since forever!
UPDATE: on President Biden. His horoscope was supported in October and November by Jupiter, the Cosmic Sugar Daddy, hanging out in a long trine (harmony) to his Scorpio Sun and Venus. This month, Jupiter was trine his 3 Sagittarius Ascendant, but that pattern is now behind him. Jupiter is at 4 Aries today. What’s up next is Saturn,which will square his Venus and Sun between February 15 and 23. Saturn can feel like a heavy weight or blast of cold air. When in touch with the Sun, it suggests necessary streamlining, structures and control in matters of vitality/ego expression. This particular square activates a series of eclipses, so may pack a more noticeably potent punch. Saturn moves on to the first of three squares to his Ascendant, starting in April. Transiting Pluto will be close to an exact square to his material security-seeking Taurus Moon. The summer months look less stressed. We shall see.
Meanwhile…
The annual conjunction of the Sun with Powers-That-Be Pluto was an apt backdrop for the annual Davos conference, where the cost of admission was tripled this year to $250,000. That didn’t stop Senators Chris Coons, Kyrsten Sinema, Joe Manchin and a few other elected representatives from participating. There’s just no hiding the completion of Sinema’s transit of Pluto (power, breakdown, transformation) square her Venus (values, aesthetics, including fashion choices). Here is her horoscope.
File these under the weekend’s conjunction of Venus (women, money, food, values, art) and Saturn (elders, controls, cuts):
- “Iowa GOP introduces bill to ban people on food stamps from buying fresh meat“…and more
- Speaking of beef, prices are down (factor in disruptive Uranus in Taurus (all bull, all the time)
- Massive layoffs at tech companies, with Google’s tactics arguably being the most inhumane
- “Endangered foods: why our diet is narrower than ever” (this is UK-centric)
- “The life-changing magic of decluttering in a post-apolcalyptic world,” with a dash of snarky Uranus tossed in, no doubt — hope you can access this New Yorker cartoon
- Astronaut Buzz Aldrin ties the knot on his 93rd birthday!
- “Aging planet: the new demographic time bomb” (it’s not that new, but whatever)
- “China’s population falls for first time since the ’60s”
- “World’s oldest known person — French nun Lucile Randon — dies at 118″
In other news…
There were more than a few surprising endings, including:
- Exhibit A: Jacinda Ardern abruptly resigned as New Zealand’s prime minister last week. Here’s a write-up of what we know of her horoscope. I wouldn’t be surprised if her Ascendant was Sagittarius, given her facial structure and the boundless optimism she projects. We know that Neptune is in a challenging pattern with her Saturn (her authority and ambition). Neptune dissolves whatever it touches, and thus can put ambition to sleep. Feeling drained would be another “coincidence” of a heavy Neptune period, and that’s pretty much what Ardern said she was feeling. But she’s not going off to Neptune-themed Disneyland. Instead, she’s finally getting married!
- Exhibit B: Lisa Marie Presley passed away on January 12, with Mars at its station. Neptune has been heavily active in her horoscope for a few years, and was itself eclipsed last year. Here is her horoscope.
- Exhibit C: David Crosby, music icon also passed away. Was Neptune heavily active in his horoscope in recent years? Yes, and so was transiting Saturn, making challenging contacts with four other planets: Leo Sun and Mercury; Taurus Moon and natal Saturn. Here’s what was happening in his horoscope in 2016, noted in this forecast.
Finally, in the 118th Congress…
…the U.S. hit the debt ceiling during a Moon void last week — so…nothing of consequence…yet. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellin can futz with numbers and payments for a bit, taking “extraordinary measures” so we don’t default on our debt in the near-term, as Heather Cox Richardson explains. We don’t have a birth time for Yellin, but it’s likely that transiting Saturn will be meeting up with her Moon — either in late-degree Aquarius (once) or early Pisces (three times in 2023). Though we’re missing a lot without a birth time, it seems that she will have tougher times in 2024 than in 2023.
The fact that the U.S. hit the debt ceiling is a dereliction of duty on the part of the 118th Congress — i.e., the shitshow part that is currently running amok in the House. “OMG,” I thought to myself several days ago while on my Mercury retrograde retreat in the tropics, “how are my dear Avid Readers and I going to keep our sanity in the all of this crapola?” Astrologer Bill Herbst proposes a sensible coping strategy in this essay…and it’s a great one, if part of your work doesn’t involve reporting on the news! Gahhhh! But seriously, his message is well-taken. Do your best to make your own personal world a haven of goodness and kindness. It may look like the Monsters have won a battle, but they sure as heck haven’t won the war. I’m an optimist. I have to be. I’m an Aries! There’s always a new beginning…just around the corner. Always!
UPDATE: as anticipated last week, there was a flood of new information on fake congressman George Santos (R-NY), whose fakery was hiding in plain sight around the solar eclipse of October 25th, remember? On last week’s New Moon, that eclipse was triggered and the genie drag queen jumped out of the bottle, and ended up all over Saturday Night Live…in the cold open and on Weekend Update.
And this is the other sensible coping strategy we have for living through these all-too interesting times. Comedy is a most excellent coping strategy for pain! Cue Randy Rainbow with a brand-new musical take-down — this one on the House That Kevin Built. You can really appreciate Kevin McCarthy’s newly-discovered Gemini Ascendant through all the filters in the video, with its need to project the aura of an eternal Peter Pan. Those filters should be no match for his second Saturn Return, scheduled to arrive in April.
And last, but not least…
Whitney and I are recording a new podcast on Wednesday! Yes! A fresh episode of Off the Charts: A Stellar Newscast arrives on Friday — look for it — or have us send you an email when it’s uploaded.
Here’s the 411 on consultations. We will have a fine discussion together.
Thank you for reading this forecast — and sharing it with your friends. Referrals are the BEST!