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I am a reporter with a unique beat. I use my understanding of planetary cycles to provide advance notice and analysis on the Zeitgeist of the day. If you have ever wondered “why is this happening now,” my insights will transform your experience of the headlines, adding new meaning and understanding. Call it Astrology for News Junkies. If you’re curious to know why the Impossible Burger is trending…or why the outcome of the 2019 Israeli elections was likely to be a shocker …or why “Woodrow Wilson, Stud Muffin” was a New York Times headline in December 2013, you will find it here, in over a decade’s worth of historical research and reporting.
Note that I do use astrological jargon in The Forecast in my effort to show how the planetary patterns are reflected in mundane events. I explain what the jargon symbolizes, so that all who want to understand the connections between astrology and the news may do so. However, I do not use astrological jargon in personal consultations, just plain English.
Friday 2/3/2023: News, News, News — Sweet, Sizzling & Surprising
/in The ForecastTGIF!
It’s such an interesting Friday night, and with such a buzz in the air — literally! I just had to post a few headlines in sync with planetary patterns.
First, here’s a reminder of what’s driving the action:
Monday dawns with a face-off between the regal Leo Moon and authoritarian Saturn. That could feel like a wet blanket or a harsh cut, and it happens at 9:15 AM ET. Chill during the ensuing seven-hour Moon void. The void may be reflected in a slow start, flake or twist to your usual routine, and your mission is not to freak out about it. So if you sleep through your alarm, no worries!! At 1:28 PM ET, a sextile between Mercury (how we need to think) and Neptune (visions, dreams, bubbles) will be exact. Whatever fueled your imagination over the weekend gets real by the end of this week.
And now, the news.
Cue the 5th Dimension’s “Up, Up & Away (in my beautiful balloon),” now, please….and LOOK UP!
Wow! What a buzz! Can you say “Sun (leaders) in airy Aquarius square Uranus (surprise! technology!)?” Oh, and what a Venus square Mars diplomatic conflict is brewing…under Sunday’s illuminating Full Moon in Leo, with its Mercury sextile Neptune dreamy, mysterious bubble in the background. China says it’s a civilian airship that drifted off course…hahahahahahahaha.
Right-o. I’ve earned my pension. Except I’m self-employed, and don’t qualify for a pension plan.
Please visit the Cosmic Tip Jar, and support your local astrologer!
It’s worth reviewing the horoscope of Xi Jinping, which was last looked at during his power grab in October:
Avid Readers should glean from the above that Xi’s Jupiter (expansion and reward) is in airy Gemini (which needs to be the smartest kid in the room). Mars — the energy of action and assertion — hit Xi’s Jupiter twice, on January 3rd and 21st. And here we are now, with an assertive reach for intelligence. Astrology. Is. Amazing.
Also reflecting themes of the Sun-Uranus square and/or/with the Venus-Mars square are stories of burning desires, unconventional attractions and provocative attacks — in matters of women and men.
New proposal sets limits on sugar in US school meals for first time — Venus rules sugar in the language of astrology
Are you seeing a theme here? Why are they popping up in the headlines, NOW? The answer is obvious — and astr0-logical!
..and OMG…here’s one reflecting the Sabian Symbols for the weekend’s Full Moon, i.e., “the non-vested choir” vs. “a watchdog”
Bye, bye, bye Delilah: Wales rugby choirs banned from singing Tom Jones hit
Can’t make this stuff up.
Finally, here’s a story that’s unusual because of how it got written — which you can read at the bottom of this gifted article:
“An alleged $500 million Ponzi scheme preyed on Mormons. It ended with FBI gunfire.”
And last but not least, Whitney & I recorded a fresh episode of Off The Charts: A Stellar Newscast on Groundhog Day. It’ll be up sometime on Saturday…but if you missed last week’s episode, you can find that here.
Here’s the 411 on personal consultations.
Thank you for reading this forecast.
Keep warm, if you in the freezing Northeast!
Monday 1/30/2023: Sneak Peek at the Week; Mars in the News; Sun Square Uranus: Venus Square Mars; Full Moon in Leo
/in The ForecastIt’s Monday. Do you know where your planets are? I’ll tell you.
We are still processing the waves of assertive/aggressive energy flowing over the wires in recent days. This flow reflects Mars (action, aggression) as it moves forward and picks up speed. As it moves forward, it is activating a span in the sign of Gemini (8-25 degrees) for the third time since Mars entered Gemini in August. Thus we are receiving new information on past acts of aggression, with some of it perpetrated by people who are arguably seriously debilitated. I say this because of yesterday’s trine (harmony) between Mars and the Aquarius Sun. In the language of traditional astrology, Sun in Aquarius is debilitated, and thus likely not functioning at its highest sunny potential.
Highlights this week are:
It’s likely to be an exciting, provocative and illuminating week, and it goes like this:
Here is the Full Moon in Leo, set in Washington DC:
Observations:
And now, the news.
If you like listening to the astonishing synchronicity of astrology and the news (in addition to reading about it), I’m pleased to report that Episode 22 of Off The Charts: A Stellar Newscast is out — and we’re going to do a podcast every week, not just every other week. Woot! Take a listen here— and sign up to receive alerts when new episodes are released.
Much of last week’s news — as I said — reflected the rush of assertive/aggressive energy of Mars turning direct and trining the Sun. In the U.S., this was made more intense by Mars still sitting on the U.S. Uranus, suggesting disruptive action. Innovation and technology networks are added to the mix by the trine between Mercury and Uranus.
UPDATE: “Boeing pleads not guilty to fraud in criminal case over deadly 737 Max crashes” Longtime Avid Readers know that I’ve been writing about Boeing’s horoscope since 2018, though it’s been a while since I’ve checked its horoscope. The timing of these charges aren’t the least bit surprising, as Boeing is experiencing the third hit of a Saturn return, for one. A reality check would be in order.
Meanwhile…
In light of the weekend’s planetary patterns, going to see “Everything Everywhere All at Once“ seemed to be an apt choice. Lots of martial arts and fight scenes (Sun trine Mars), and multiple realities (Mars in Gemini) facilitated by futuristic technology (Mercury trine Uranus). The movie earned 11 Oscar nominations, including actor nods for stars Michelle Yeoh and Jamie Lee Curtis (whose horoscope we’ve written about before). But as I wrote to a friend earlier today, on the surface it’s a sci-fi/fantasy film, but a good sizable part is really about relationships — arguably “karmic” ones, i.e., the ones your psychic will say you’ve been in lifetime after lifetime…and how they can drive you crazy. Go see it with someone who enjoys talking about the meaning of life and other such things. It ends happily.
Ooh! Beth Owl’s Daughter’s Tarot Card of the Week has just been posted. Looks like her Card is reflecting the illuminating liberation potential of the weekend’s planetary patterns.
Oh — and before I forget! Last week I had the great pleasure to give a talk to a small social gathering of women, hosted by two Avid Readers of this forecast. Armed with a killer PowerPoint, I explained how astrology works, with insights on major planetary patterns of the past two years, and what we can expect in 2023. I love explaining astrology to people who haven’t studied it. At the end of the 90 minute talk, we looked briefly at everyone’s horoscopes, with a focus on understanding their Moon signs…because the Moon drives the bus!
If that sounds like a fun activity for your company, social club or gathering of friends, please contact me for details.
Here’s the 411 on personal consultations.
Thank you for reading this forecast — and sharing it with friends.
Truly, it is remarkable what can be found in a stock photo library.
The imagination knows no bounds.
Monday 1/23/2023: Sneak Peek at the Week; Forward March — and a Clown Car Full of News
/in The ForecastAllllllllrighty 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:
It goes like this:
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:
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):
In other news…
There were more than a few surprising endings, including:
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!
Monday 1/16/2023: Sneak Peek at the Week; Mercury & Uranus Direct; Sun Conjunct Pluto; New Moon in Aquarius
/in The ForecastAnd…we’re back. In New York, anyway.
Mercury is still retrograde, affording us all a chance to review, reorganize, reconnect and/or retreat. Mars is slowly moving forward after being retrograde since the end of October, and we’re seeing the anticipated focus on all things Mars (assertion, aggression, courage) in recent headlines. This week is the last week of retrograde motion among the planets. Next week, it’s forward march — and hopefully you planned ahead.
Highlights this week:
It goes like this:
Here is the chart for the New Moon in Aquarius, set in Washington, D.C. — and exact at 3:53 PM ET:
Observations:
Back to the forecast for the week.
Here is Beth Owl’s Daughter’s always-in-sync Tarot Card of the Week. It’s big one, like current planetary patterns.
Will catch up on the news in the next forecast. There’s so much to talk about!
Here’s the 411 on personal consultations. I have yet to find a more useful tool for understanding why people are the way they are and why things happen when they do. Let’s talk, see where you’re at — and where you’re likely to be going — from an astro-logical perspective.
Thank you for reading this forecast.
Monday 1/9/2023: Sneak Peek at the Week; Mars Turns Direct; the Trouble with Harry; Mercury Rx Escape
/in The ForecastGreetings from a tropical island in the Caribbean!
This trip would not have happened without this forecast, as I traveled here with one Avid Reader, and we are both visiting another Avid Reader who lives here. It’s the perfect Mercury-Mars retrograde REtreat, and it sparks my imagination. Is there a demand for an astrology retreat in a gorgeous nature setting with access to a beach, yoga studio, and healthy cuisine? That is the question. And if there is a demand, it could be planned. Please let me know your thoughts.
Here are the highlights of the week:
And it goes like this:
And now, the news.
Mars slowing to a standstill right on the U.S. Uranus, suggested shocking and/or reckless acts of assertion/aggression. Two of Friday’s headlines — in the aftermath of the Full Moon — pushed the envelope, as the reckless acts of aggression were committed by children — one in Tulsa and another in Virginia. I would like to believe that at some future date, the world will get to the point where it’s simply had enough, and these incidents will cease. Astro-logically, we do see strong potential for powerful new beginnings in the not-too distant future — within our lifetimes.
As another example of the potential shock and recklessness we might witness in the life of someone in a Mars-Uranus (daring/reckless action) period, consider that Harry, the Duke of Sussex, has an opposition in his horoscope between rebel Uranus and Chiron, the Wounded Healer. Those with such patterns in their natal charts are often on a powerful healing journey — and they can heal others, too. Guess where Mars is this month, with respect to Harry’s Uranus-Chiron opposition? Mars is sitting on his Chiron, opposing his Uranus! Not only that, but transiting Uranus is at the bottom of his horoscope, sparking upsets (with potential for liberation) in matters of home, family and heritage! We could easily talk for an hour about many other patterns that make Harry’s horoscope hot this year.
Meanwhile, the Mars retrograde, combined with the potential suggested by the Sabian Symbols for the Full Moon, played out all week in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Also reflecting the application of Mars (action) on the U.S. Uranus (potential chaos): there were no rules! Because until a Speaker is elected, the rules for the new Congress can’t be agreed to. So there was Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) casting her vote — with her dog. And there was Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA) reading a book with an especially provocative, assertive title. And a fist fight almost broke out on the House floor (see the link re: Porter’s book). Meanwhile, there are still no official rules in the House because they have yet to be voted on. It is being reported that the rules package may include controls placed on the House Ethics Committee, further enabling inmates to run the asylum.
Astrology. Is. Amazing.
We now have a birth time for Kevin McCarthy. Here is his horoscope, which was a hot topic in this forecast back in 2015, here and here. Back then, we did not know that this Aquarius with Moon in Sagittarius had Gemini rising. Now we know his Moon is right on President Biden’s Ascendant — now there’s a personal connection. But — like Liz Cheney — McCarthy’s need-to-be-influential Sagittarius Moon is exactly square to Saturn. Which means that McCarthy’s Saturn is square to Biden’s Ascendant, and we can thus appreciate how McCarthy is likely to get in Biden’s way. McCarthy’s Saturn also sits on VP Kamala Harris’s Midheaven. We see how he could obstruct her, too.
Like VP Harris, McCarthy will have his second Saturn return in 2023. I wrote in the last forecast how I can see Harris becoming more empowered in during her Saturn return, which would also reflect transiting Pluto squaring her Sun and Moon. For McCarthy, transiting Saturn will (obviously) square his Moon and his Ascendant. If you are rooting for him to fail, this pattern may reflect cuts and losses. Keep an eye on April, when he’ll have the first of three hits of this pattern. A second Saturn return is an opportunity to review what has been established in the material world since the first Saturn return at roughly age 29. That was around 1995, when McCarthy became chair of the Young Republicans in his local community.
Meanwhile, we can appreciate why McCarthy wouldn’t throw in the towel after the first of 14 losing elections. His need to “get it right” perfectly reflects the energy of an unaspected Mars in Virgo running away with the whole horoscope! In other news, the fact that his idealistic exact conjunction between Mercury and Venus in Capricorn (the man needs to seek STATUS) is under the influence of nebulous Neptune in 2023 is concerning. Things are not what they seem. What he thinks, values and expresses may not be for real.
This just in…
Supporters of the defeated ex-Brazilian president — Jair Bolsanaro — are storming government offices in Brasilia as I type. And last week Bolsanaro left Brazil for…Florida, where he dined with one of his buddies, the defeated former U.S. guy. Coincidence or conspiracy?
In other news…
Regardless of the chaos in the House of Representatives, there were plenty of instances reflecting a more upbeat manifestation of innovation, revolutionary and reaching across the aisle.
For fascinating insights on 2023 from a Tarot diva’s perspective, here is Beth Owl’s Daughter to explain what it means that 2023 is the Year of the Chariot.
For more uplifting stories, the GoodNewsNetwork never fails to deliver.
Here’s the 411 on personal consultations. Now is the perfect time to plan a strategy for the year. And did I mention that I’m available to speak to your company, club or other social group about how astrology works, and what we can expect in 2023? I have a PowerPoint ready to go — contact me for details.
Postcard from paradise.