Alllllrighty then!

It’s a long holiday weekend here in the United States. Happy 4th of July!

Mercury — how we need to think and communicate — is the star player this week. Highlights are:

• Full Moon in Capricorn on Monday.
• Mercury sextiles Uranus on Friday.
• Mercury trines Neptune on Sunday

Let’s start with the Full Moon, exact Monday at 7:38 AM ET. Here is it, set in Washington, D.C.

Observations:

• Capricorn Moon’s need to take care of business, strategize and utilize resources (including people) opposes the energy of the Cancer Sun, which is centered on building home and homeland security, with feeling. Sometimes it doesn’t matter how it feels; it just needs to get done! And therein lies the conflict — and potential illumination/release.
• Sun and Moon in the 12th and 6th houses shine a spotlight on workers, themes of enslavement, systems of process, health, large institutions (possibly of confinement), for starters.
• After recent shocks to the system (e.g., Venus and Mars square Uranus), Mercury is on its way to a sextile with Uranus, likely in an effort to imagine an innovative fix. Keep an eye on leadership initiatives this weekend, continuing into midweek next week.
• The Sabian Symbols for this Full Moon are — for the Moon: “a student of nature learning”; and for the Sun: “a Chinese woman nursing a baby with a message.” If you’re curious to know where the Sabian Symbols came from, here’s the story. “Learning” and “messaging” reinforce Mercury’s “star player” status this week. Astrologer Blain Bovee suggests we apply these Symbols with an openness to knowledge from unexpected sources, even if the knowledge is presented in a rudimentary or alien form. We could also take the Symbol for the Sun literally, and keep an eye on China.
• You are more personally affected by this Full Moon if you have planets or angles around 12 degrees of Capricorn, Cancer, Aries or Libra. Off the top of my head that includes the United States, George W. Bush, Tom Cruise, Greta Thunberg, Kyle Rittenhouse, J.R.R. Tolkien and Mel Gibson.

And now, the daily Forecast:

• MONDAY: …is driven by the Moon in Capricorn, which needs to Make Things Happen. If you bounced out of bed, you may have been reflecting the buoyancy of Moon’s trine to Jupiter at 5:02 AM ET. If emotions were running high, note the Full Moon was exact at 7:38 AM ET. Getting your point across may have been challenged around 12:49 PM ET, reflecting Moon’s opposition to Mercury.
• TUESDAY:  Innovation is supported overnight, as Moon trines Uranus at 12:29 AM ET. Note your dreams, given that Moon sextiles Neptune at 9:48 AM ET. At 12:45 PM ET, note the potential for an especially focused power play or emotional catharsis, as Moon meets up with Pluto (which continues to be at the verrrrry last degree of Capricorn, inspiring the Powers That Be to hang on to their cherished earthly toys). Moon goes void for all of 44 minutes — blink and you’ll miss. it. Moon enters Aquarius at 1:29 PM ET, inspiring all who celebrate the birth of the United States, with its very own Moon in Aquarius striving for everyone to be appreciated for their unique social significance within the construct of  a larger whole. Celebrations may feel oh-so-grand, reflecting the expansive energy of Moon’s square to Jupiter at 5:28 AM ET on…
• WEDNESDAY. There are no exact aspects among the planets today. Arise, go forth and innovate.  A buzz that leads to a shock or illumination builds this evening, reflecting the tension of the Moon’s square to rebel Uranus at 12;29 AM ET on…
• THURSDAY. This may be a challenging morning for relationships, as the impersonal “I love you, but don’t take it personally” Aquarius Moon opposes Venus and Mars in regal, super-duper personal Leo, at 3:37 AM ET and 9:41 AM ET. Let the chips fall where they may during the approximately 4-hour Moon void. That means rolling with the twists and flakes that may disrupt efforts to move forward in a straight line, and not making a mountain out of a molehill. Chill! At 1:32 PM ET, Moon enters softer, gentler, empathic Pisces. Go with the intuitive flow for the rest of the day, and note the potential for serious innovation. The “serious” part reflects the heavy authoritative focus of the Moon’s conjunction with Saturn at 12:47 AM ET. The “innovation” reflects the sextile (cooperative alignment) between Mercury and Uranus. Authority figures getting creative in their exercise of controls? Will Elon Musk come up with yet another way to make Twitter users miserable? We shall see!
• FRIDAY: Moon in Pisces receives support for its idealistic endeavors today and all day tomorrow. Moon trines Jupiter at 6:27 AM ET, and trines the Cancer Sun at 2:47 PM ET. A good day to arrive at a resolution. The flow continues into the evening, as a Moon’s sextile to Uranus encourages us to reach across the aisle. That pattern happens at 1:47 AM ET on…
• SATURDAY. Inspired communication is favored this morning, as Moon trines Mercury at 5:55 AM ET, followed by a meet-up with Neptune at 11:21 AM ET. Beach day! Depth is added to the mix around 2:21 PM ET, as Moon sextiles Pluto. At 3:19 PM ET, see if you notice the change in pace as the Moon enters me-me-me Aries, ready to get something started before the rest of the competition. Get out your rose-colored glasses and your vision board; the sky is the limit.
• SUNDAY: Moon in Aries continues to cruise through to cosmos without interference or input from the rest of the kids in the sandbox. It’s still oh-so-rosy, reflecting Mercury’s trine to Neptune (in effect all weekend), exact at 7:57 PM ET. Music, dreams, spirits, poetry, water, healing — these are all upsides of Mercury with Neptune. A reckoning may arise around 9:47 PM ET, as the me-me-me Aries Moon squares the family and emotional security agenda of the Cancer Sun. Meanwhile, this is the last full day of Mars in regal Leo, suggesting an urgent day of expression for those inclined to howl about entitlement. Keep an eye on the former guy, as Mars in the last degrees of Leo impacts him personally, in case we haven’t already heard.

And now, the news…

…from the sublime to the ridiculously surreal, reflecting Neptune as it slowed to a virtual standstill last week, turning retrograde on Friday. We expected stories of healing, oceans, drugs, lies, scandal, wipe-out, viruses, idealism, dreams, spirits of all kind, victims, refugees, etc.

Some of these reflect the weekend’s square between Venus and Uranus, suggesting “unconventional” attractions; volatility in the markets, social expression, and the arts.

• “FTC seeks to ban fake reviews with new proposed rule”

• Saved by seaweed: nuns and Native women heal polluted New York waters using kelp — with thanks to Avid Reader Dianne for making sure I didn’t miss this!

• “Suddenly, it looks like we’re in for a golden age of medicine“ sure sounds dreamy and healing.
• “‘Watermelon snow’ piques curiosity in Utah after unusually wet winter”
• “Barbie’s Malibu dream house is available to rent on AirBnB” — and obviously it is pink. You can take a tour of Barbie’s actual dream house if you subscribe to the NYT.  For more on the big Barbie buzz — including a movie later this month — the 411 is in the prior link.  And – oh, look — the new Britney Spears’ jukebox musical — starring a plethora of princesses — how ideal — opened on Broadway. Once Upon a One More Time is a “dream come true” for me, says Spears. Here’s a write-up of her horoscope.
• “An unlikely provocateur, Miss Texas takes on the state’s GOP leaders”
• “Rampant groundwater pumping has changed the tilt of Earth’s axis” — add a little Saturn (controls; depletion) in Pisces (water, trauma) to that one.
• “Bitter rivals. Beloved friends. Survivors.” In-depth Wapo profile about tennis mavericks/icons Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova
• “My coach failed me.’ A former swimmer copes with the lasting trauma of abuse” — toss Saturn in Pisces in that one, too.

• ‘Every Body’ Review: A Frank Discussion of Intersex Identity Holds Keys to the Culture Wars”

• “Supreme Court turns equal protection upside down“ by gutting affirmative action, as Heather Cox Richardson explains.
• Next on deck: a petition to the federal government to force universities to cease favoring the children of alumni in the admissions process.
• SCOTUS moves to wipe out President Biden’s student debt relief program — also explained by HCR, noting that SCOTUS is trying to push the US back to the way it was before FDR’s New Deal (and, not coincidentally, transiting Pluto opposing the US natal Pluto).  Avid Readers will recall that Pluto in hard aspect to the US Pluto “coincide” with a shift in the balance of power, as I explained in this Forecast about the US Pluto Return (which we are still in, btw). We would expect a fight to the death between those who would like to drown the government in a bathtub vs. those who would not. For an example of “those who would not,” please see HCR’s recap of the “historic speech” President Biden gave in Chicago last week, in which he outlined the launch of a “new economic vision.”
• But wait — there’s more! US Supreme Court finds in favor of the web designer lady in Colorado who said she didn’t want to be forced to create a website for a gay wedding...and referenced an inquiry she received in 2016 from a man named Stewart…who, it turns out, is straight, happily married to a woman, never contacted the web designer lady for anything — and didn’t even know he was referenced in the lawsuit…which has been making its way through the courts for seven years?! Where were the fact checkers? How can a SCOTUS opinion be deemed valid when the case was based on a total lie? Will this opinion stand? Will Sen. Josh Hawley’s lawyer wife be sanctioned?   And will anyone buy Manhood, Hawley’s book with the blood-red cover and “weird fixations,” (which no doubt reflect transiting Neptune messing with his hard-nosed Mercury-Saturn square?

It was a bewildering week.

Meanwhile…

…for Neptunian themes of music, wipe-out, infection, and healing :

• “Madonna intubated for serious bacterial infection; halts tour; full recovery expected”.  Fun fact: most every article about Madonna quotes someone noting her “perfectionism.” Yes, well — and what else would we expect? Madonna may be a Leo queen, but she is driven by a Moon in Virgo, which needs needs needs to always be perfecting. And with Pluto and Mercury conjunct her Virgo Ascendant, she projects a powerful image of discernment. She needs to do this! Here is her horoscope — note the disruptive potential of transiting Uranus about to oppose her Sun over the next 12 months. Transiting Saturn is hovering on her Descendant, opposing her Virgo placements. Upside: ambition and discipline. Downside: a need to conserve and streamline, especially with respect to vitality.

In other news…

As promised, Whitney McKnight and I talked about last weekend’s sudden rebellion in Russia, which fizzled out as quickly as it erupted. Specifically, we looked at Vladimir Putin’s horoscope for suggestions of what might happen in that region over the next year. Our discoveries can be heard in Episode 42 of Off the Charts: A Stellar Newscast.

Elsewhere…

I wrote about Emmanuel Macron’s horoscope right after he was elected president in 2017. As noted many times thereafter, we would expect Macron to be dealing with issues of empowerment for as long as transiting Pluto sits on his recently eclipsed 28 Capricorn Ascendant — at least until Spring 2024.

Finally…

• “Astronomers observe time dilation in early universe”
• “We just learned the whole universe is humming around us” (because scientists have found ripples in space and time).

That last article reminds me of nada — the sound of All That Is (as it was explained to me when I had the patience to meditate many years ago). I heard it once — in what I believe was a lucid dream. It sounded like a loud chorus of bees, and I’ll never forget it. Have you ever heard anything like that in a lucid dream or other meditative state? In the language of astrology, Neptune refers to things that may not be as they seem. Neptune refers to intangibles, including sound.

Back on Earth, I am wondering what’s going on in your horoscope. Here’s the 411 on personal consultations. We will have a fine discussion together.

Thank you for sharing this forecast with your friends. The more, the merrier!

All it needs is a sparkler or two. Happy 4th!