Good Morning!

Moon entered Cancer on Sunday at 7:09 PM ET, shifting our focus to needs of emotional, home and family security. At 2:48 AM ET on Monday, Mars — planet of action — made a cooperative connection (a sextile) to Uranus — planet of newfangled technology, seismic activity and unconventional types. This pattern is the only exact pattern we’ll have for the next eight days — other than aspects to the Moon.

Avid Readers will recall that these stretches of little-to-no planetary action should not be thought of as times when nothing is going on. We had one in April 2019 and another one in October. What I’ve noticed after observing them for the past several years is that they coincide with events like this:  looking at a giant ice shelf on the most sparkling sunny day ever…and then, for no apparent reason, half the shelf crumbles into the ocean. So if an “other shoe” drops in the headlines — including an ice shelf — I will not be surprised, and neither should you.

The week goes like this:

• TUESDAY — Moon in Cancer trines Neptune at 9:43 AM ET; note your dreams upon waking. A dreamy morning and early afternoon builds to an emotional catharsis or power play around 5:03 PM ET, as Moon opposes Pluto. An exuberant or wretchedly excessive release follows around 9:06 PM ET, when Moon opposes Jupiter, planet of expansion. Moon goes void for the rest of the evening, so chill, chill, chill!
• WEDNESDAY — Moon enters Leo at 2:33 AM ET, looking for ways to shine and help others shine, too. Such efforts may be thwarted around 5:42 AM ET, as the Moon is opposed by Saturn, seeking to impose impersonal group-think technological controls upon someone’s sense of regal entitlement.  A sense of balance returns by 3:02 PM ET, as the Moon sextiles (harmonizes with) the Gemini Sun, perhaps to announce a Very Important Message. At 5:34 PM ET we see the potential for an upset, as Moon is squared by rebel Uranus.
• THURSDAY — begins sweetly enough, as Moon sextiles Venus in entertaining Gemini at 9:30 AM ET and goes void for the rest of the day. Now is the time to stick to routine concerns and roll with the twists and flakes that thwart your efforts to move forward in a straight line. See if you notice a sense of time slowing down during this long void — and if you’re not familiar with the term “moon void” here is a primer. Crises that crop up during voids are usually much ado about nothing — though with this Moon void in regal Leo, drama queens and kings may raise a royal ruckus. Coping strategy: schedule time for wandering and creative play.
• THURSDAY — Mercury leaves Gemini at 2:09 PM ET. Watch for communication that demands our attention. Why? Because as it leaves Gemini and enters Cancer, Mercury will be at the Aries Point. And planets at the Aries Point (0 degrees of Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn) get noticed. Watch for news involving these politicians born with Aries Point planets in their horoscopes (off the top of my head): Elizabeth Warren, Barack Obama, Adam Schiff, Lamar Alexander and Ted Cruz.  Mercury in Cancer suggests a need to think that is more emotional and instinctual, less analytical.
• FRIDAY — Moon enters Virgo at 7:40 AM ET, determined to sort out the details and put things back in perfect order. Plan accordingly, with an innovative spin. At 11:30 PM ET, Moon squares the Sun. This First Quarter Moon may bring up challenges to the agenda you set on last week’s New Moon. The next few hours may be provocative, as Moon is opposed by Mars (action; aggression) at 3:34 AM ET on…
• SATURDAY. A clash between someone’s need for perfection and someone else’s need for frivolous entertainment may crop up around 11:14 AM ET, as Moon squares Venus. Moon opposes Neptune at 7:14 PM ET, perfect for music, art and other dreamy escapes. Just double check the instructions or directions, as Moon-Neptune patterns can also be foggy.
• SUNDAY — Night owls and other creative types can make great use of the depth of perception suggested by the Moon-Pluto trine at 1:46 AM ET, followed by a Moon-Jupiter trine at 5:17 AM ET. Moon then goes void until 10:38 AM ET — a perfect morning for sleeping in. After 10:38 AM ET, Moon will be in Libra, seeking balance and fairness in relationship. A trine between the Moon and Saturn keeps it real around 1:20 PM ET. A square between the Moon and Mercury at 5:16 PM ET may find someone sulking about something they feel just isn’t fair.

And now, the news.

Most stories reflected the boundary-pushing idealism and/or delusion of Mercury (how we need to think and communicate) and Venus (our values and social expression) being literally out-of-bounds in Gemini, both square to weird, wild, duplicitous Neptune. The fact that Venus is still retrograde until June 25th suggests we will continue to see stories of social encounters sorely lacking in social graces. Remember the image I gave you a few weeks ago of Venus retrograde being like an opened can of sardines, exposing the stinky fish for all to see?

Exhibit A was all over Twitter yesterday — and described in a WaPo story this morning:

• “A black birdwatcher asked a white woman to leash her dog in Central Park. She called the police instead” — and everything she said and did was caught on tape. Public outrage at Amy Cooper‘s decision to use false, manipulative and potentially destructive language actually crashed the website of her employer, Franklin Templeton. She’s since lost her dog, her reputation — and possibly her job. We don’t yet have a birth date for Amy Cooper, but her horoscope has to be hot right now — perhaps with some regally entitled Leo planets activated by Uranus and Saturn, as well as late-degree planets in Aries or Capricorn, too.

Also trending now on Twitter is Exhibit B:

• “Husband of deceased Scarborough staffer asks Twitter to delete baseless Trump claims.” The “baseless claims” falsely accused the former Florida congressman and host of Morning Joe of murdering the “staffer,” Lori Klausutis, who died of natural causes. I wonder what would happen if everyone justifiably outraged by Ms. Cooper decided to forward her widower husband’s letter to Twitter honcho, Jack Dorsey.

Meanwhile…

• Pushing boundaries thousands of miles away (while most Americans were focused on a three-day holiday weekend):  “Mike Pompeo and the Australian TV interview that caused a diplomatic storm.”
• Uproar in the UK as Dominic Cummings, an adviser to Boris Johnson, refuses to resign over outrageous breach of lockdown rules
• China’s military is prepared to step up in response to Hong Kong protests;
• Israel’s Netanyahu vows to push ahead with plans to annex the West Bank
• “An international example of bad judgment: local officials stunned by raucous Memorial Day festivities”

Meanwhile…

Mercury-Venus square Neptune (drugs and fantastic escapes) was reflected in this NYT Sunday Magazine cover story: “A Hidden Origin Story of the CBD Craze”.  This week’s magazine offers plenty of other creative coping strategies for the current quarantine.

In other news…

A sextile between Mars and Uranus is an apt pattern reflecting the buzz over the first planned launch of a (hu)manned space craft from U.S. soil since 2011. Doug and Bob are the astronauts in question; here’s the lengthy WaPo profile — and no, they are not the Doug and Bob McKenzie who had a hit single called “Take Off.” Those guys were going to the Great White North, not the Wild Blue Yonder.

Glancing at the chart for the planned launch — 4:33 PM ET on May 27 in Cape Canaveral, Florida — we immediately see that the ruler of the chart is retrograde, suggesting a higher than average probability that the launch will not happen on time. It was thus delightful to read in the lengthy WaPo profile that there is a 60% chance the launch won’t happen because of the weather. (Mission scrubbed at 4:17 PM ET — the retrograde ruler of the planned launch is one of several patterns suggesting a no-go).

Hard aspects between Mars and Uranus often reflect disruptions in aviation and seismic events. The recent sextile is a soft aspect, and thus not as destructive. New Zealand’s prime minister Jacinda Ardern didn’t bat an eye when her live interview was disrupted by a magnitude 5.8 earthquake. A plane crash in Pakistan actually had a number of survivors.

Reflecting the weekend’s sobering Sun-Saturn trine, the front page of Sunday’s NYT presented this reality check:

The 1000 names listed on the front page represent just 1% of the nearly 100,000 lives claimed in the United States by the coronavirus. On the day this went to press, P45 went golfing.

To schedule a delightful consultation about your own unique and fabulous horoscope, here’s the 411.  Here’s how to follow in Avid Reader Diane’s fabulous footsteps and support my efforts to keep you cosmically informed and help you make sense of these interesting times. 

Thank you for reading this forecast — and sharing it with your friends.

This photo of Lady Liberty keeping New York safe by wearing a surgical mask aptly expresses the nurturing needs of today’s Moon in Cancer.