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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.
Astro-logical Forecast for Monday & Tuesday 6/22-23/2015: Sneak Peek at the Week
/in The ForecastGood Morning!
Another day to note your dreams upon waking, as the rose-colored fog of a Moon-Neptune opposition crests at 8:40AM ET. Put your grounding cord down if you’re out and about in the material world in the early part of the day. Deep healing and a potent emotional flow are favored around 6:23PM ET, as the Virgo Moon makes an easy connection to Pluto.
Did I mention that the Moon has been in perfection-seeking Virgo since 12:59PM ET on Sunday? How will you make things right in your world today and tomorrow? Organize, analyze, prioritize!
Perfection may reach new heights — or at least strive for them, given two exact aspects we talked about last week. Jupiter makes the third of three easy connections to cosmic/technogeek/rebel Uranus at 9;43AM today; nebulous Neptune challenges mental Mercury on Tuesday at 2:09PM ET. Got a vision you’d like to sell? Feel free to walk your talk.
This is a week for action. Moon voids (natural rest periods) are few and far between. Wednesday AM there’s a 30 minute void starting at 1:12AM ET. Thursday evening the Moon goes void at 7:22PM ET and wanders around aimlessly until Friday at 1:57PM ET. That’s it.
Meanwhile, Mars — planet of action — pulls focus midweek when it leaves Gemini for Cancer at 9:33AM ET on Wednesday. As you know from last week’s discussion about the Summer Solstice, planets at the first degree of Cancer are at the Aries Point — and thus attract prominence. Prominent action in communication and home(land) security matters is to be expected.
And now, the news.
Who remembers the sneak preview of next month’s Venus retrograde I posted some days ago? Well, guess what? Over the weekend Venus was at 14 degrees of Leo, marking the beginning of what we call “the shadow period” of the retrograde. Why is this the beginning of the shadow period? I’ll tell you.
Venus turns retrograde at 0 Virgo on July 25th. It will appear to move backward into Leo, until it turns direct on September 6th at….14 Leo! Venus will reach 0 degrees Virgo again on October 10th. So between now and October look for reviews and re-evaluations in all matters related to Venus: money, relationships, values, aesthetics. What does this have to do with the news, you may wonder? Just check out this article from the NYT, “No Time to Be Nice at Work”.
So there’s your sneak preview of Venus retrograde in Leo potential. Don’t let this happen to you. Do your part to focus on courtesy and kindness between now and October 10th, mmmkay?
In the technogeek awesomeness of Jupiter’s alignment with Uranus, check out this story about Taylor Wilson. He’s 21 and he’s from the South (Arkansas). He has not done anything horrifying with a firearm. However, at age 14 he did build a working nuclear fusion reactor. In his garage. And he’s just getting started. With transiting Uranus and Pluto supercharging his natal Mars (and probably his Moon) in pioneering Aries now and through 2016, my money says we can expect more innovative breakthroughs from his brilliant mind. Other measurements in his horoscope — even without an exact birth time — suggest as much.
A stroke of luck in a daring enterprise also evokes the potential of Jupiter aligned with Uranus. In England, a parachutist was very lucky when he was rescued in mid-air by a fellow skydiver when his chute failed to open. Meanwhile, another man appears to have survived the 8000 mile flight to London from Johannesburg, which he made as a stowaway on British Airways. Whether there was another stowaway on that flight — who wasn’t so lucky — is under investigation.
In the last forecast about the Aries Point, it was noted that William Shatner was born with his Aries Sun at that point of prominence. And there he was making news — in at least two separate stories — over the weekend. First, at 84, he’s traveling by motorcycle along Route 66 — from Chicago to Los Angeles. Second, George Takei had plenty to say about Mr. Shatner’s need for prominence in the NYT. See how planets at the Aries Point function? Even in an interview with Mr. Takei about the upcoming opening of his Broadway show, in the end it was all about Bill. Coincidence or conspiracy?
What’s going on in your horoscope? Do you have a planet that needs to attract attention? If so, what are you doing with all that potential? Your local astrologer would be delighted to provide you with valuable insight on why you are the way you are…and when things are likely to happen for you. Here’s the 411 on consultations.
Thank you for reading this forecast and sharing it with the rest of the Free World.
Astro-logical Forecast for Friday 6/19/2015 & The Weekend: Bright Leo Moon; Happy Summer Solstice; Ranting on the News
/in The ForecastMoon entered Leo this AM at 2:23 ET, after a thirty-minute void so brief you would have barely noticed it. Put aside for one minute the latest dreadful headline reminding us that the U.S. is still in the throes of 1) an anguished and brutal “get real” transit demanding it face the wretchedly twisted parts of its psyche; and 2) a bewildering identity crisis, thanks to nebulous Neptune. In your own personal world, you can reap the potential sunny festivity the Leo Moon inspires, aided and abetted by beautiful Venus and expansive Jupiter also in Leo. Big party; big drama; big hearts may rule.
There are no Moon voids to deter your shopping expeditions, save for a 50 minute break on Sunday between 12:09PM and 12:59 PM ET. Then Moon leaves Leo for perfection-seeking Virgo, so if you want to make Dad feel like a king, do it before 1PM. The rest of the afternoon and evening are driven by a need for detail, service and making things right.
On Sunday at 12:38PM ET the Sun leaves Gemini for Cancer. Happy Summer Solstice!
Here’s what you need to know about the first day of any season — i.e., equinoxes and solstices — from an astrological point of view. The first days of Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter correspond with the first day (or first degree) of Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn, respectively (there are thirty degrees in each sign of the zodiac). Got that? Good.
These four signs are called cardinal signs. Cardinal signs initiate. They come up with the idea and put it into action, which leads to necessary change. “Cardinal” suggests (from the Latin root of the word), “that on which something turns or depends.” So the first day/degree of a Cardinal sign is a turning point. In astrology, the technical term for the first degree of any Cardinal sign is the “Aries Point”, just to confuse people who are not professional astrologers. In other words, the first day of Cancer, Libra, Capricorn and Aries is the Aries Point. The first day of Taurus (and the rest of the signs) is NOT at the Aries Point).
Equinoxes and solstices are also prominent. We make a fuss over them, right? In Japan, the first day of each season is actually a national holiday. How cool is that? Thus, in a horoscope, a planet or angle at the Aries Point needs to be prominent. Off the top of my head, Meryl Streep & Elizabeth Warren (both Cancers — happy birthday!) and William Shatner (an Aries) were born with the Sun at the Aries Point. They’re pretty prominent in everything they do, don’t you think?
And now, the news.
Here’s what I wrote for Wednesday:
How unsettling to wake up Thursday morning with an upsetting story dominating the headlines (once again). On Wednesday night around 8PM, as I am sure you have heard, a disturbed young man entered a church in Charleston, SC. Shortly after 9PM, nine people had been fatally shot with a pistol he had been given for his 21st birthday (April 3rd). So here we are with our hearts breaking all over again because of this hardcore fact: if you combine a firearm with an angry person who may or may not be living in a distorted, hate-filled and possibly drug-induced reality, bad things are likely to happen.
Unless someone wants to send me a big, fat check for my time and focus, I’ll refrain from writing about planetary patterns on Dylann Storm Roof’s birthday, other than to say Neptune Saturn Pluto Uranus are all doing what you’d expect on this loner/misfit’s Sun, Moon and Saturn. I’d much rather focus on this tribute to the nine beautiful lights Charleston, SC just lost.
Speaking of distorted reality, South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley delivered an emotional speech yesterday, telling her constituents:
…which is in no means diluted or besmirched by the Confederate flag flying lovingly at full staff on top of the building where Governor Haley works, alongside its other Official State Flag — the one emblazoned with a rainbow, a peace sign and a smiley face.
Dear Governor Haley, I knew I’d see this in your horoscope, but could you please remove the rose-colored glasses reflected by your Neptune square Venus in (empathic) Pisces? At least until the end of your term? Your idealism is getting in the way of your relationships. And you might be forgetting that Charleston made headlines on April 4th when Walter Scott was killed by a police officer at a traffic stop (I thought the website of the Post and Courier looked familiar).
Odd that the Confederate flag also made headlines in Texas. The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that by refusing to issue an official state license plate imprinted with said flag (like the one on Mr. Roof’s black Hyundai), it was not infringing upon the free speech rights of its citizens. Justice Clarence Thomas joined the four liberal justices in that decision.
Well, at least plenty of people are now talking about this issue. And anger can be channeled for productive purposes, too…with the “burning intensity” suggested by the Sabian Symbol of Tuesday’s New Moon.
Meanwhile, what did we miss while focusing on the latest karmic consequences of our die-hard right to bear arms? First, the House reversed itself and approved a bill granting President Obama authority to move forward on the TPP. Well, with Saturn returning to the top of the president’s horoscope, we do expect him to be at the top of his game. Have to see what the Senate does next week…
Second, Brian Williams’ need to be Number One (suggested by his Moon in me-me-me Aries) has been permanently disrupted by transiting Uranus and Pluto to his Mercury and Mars (and probably that Moon, too). He won’t be returning to the anchor chair at NBC; he’s been reassigned to MSNBC.
Third, Amnesty International released a report alleging that “every state in the US fails to comply with international standards on the lethal use of force by law enforcement officers”. Holy transiting Pluto square U.S. natal Saturn, Batman! The U.S. is living out its horoscope, as noted in the first paragraph of this forecast.
Finally, a positive spin on the encyclical on climate change issued Thursday by Pope Francis. And by positive, I mean a story in The Guardian about how U.S. Catholic leaders are preparing to implement this directive. If you read about the encyclical in The Washington Times, you’d think from the headline that it was mostly a personal attack on President Obama. Fascinating.
Where do you get your news? And more important, what’s going on in your horoscope? Are you poised to be on top of your game or are you poised to make a fresh start? Why not contact me for a personal consultation?
No sleeping in on Monday. Have a fun and festive weekend!
Astro-logical Forecast for Wednesday & Thursday 6/17-18/2015: Planting Seeds; Rachel Dolezal, Pope Francis & More…
/in The ForecastUp and at ’em. The drive of today’s Cancer Moon is mostly free and clear. It’s also fresh and new. Launch away! Cancer is a nurturing energy which needs to focus on home(land) and family concerns. It is emotional and intuitive, and it will carry us through the end of Thursday.
Between now and then we may see a power play or other catharsis around 9:42PM ET tonight, as the Moon makes its weekly challenge with Pluto. Thursday morning may present a wake-up call or upset to the status quo, as the Moon is challenged by Uranus at 7:24AM ET. Keep planting seeds related to your New Moon projects.
And now, the news.
As noted earlier, the nurturing Cancer Moon is a perfect time for Pope Francis to release his status quo-disrupting statements on climate change. And of course he would publish a major work with transiting Uranus opposing his natal Mars, which rule his 8th and 9th houses, respectively. This is a time for daring initiative, and I said as much back in December.
Did you know he has a degree in chemistry? A pope who is also a scientist — what a concept — and you’d think that all of the howling climate change deniers who are also politicians and avowed Catholics would know that about the leader of their church. Don’t they know how dumb they look when they say stuff like this? Here’s an interesting article about how the archbishop of Miami is planning to incorporate the pope’s encyclical into his sermons. What do you think? Will things change?
Here is another past post about the pope and his horoscope. This one is pretty darn good, too. Read it and you’ll appreciate my thoughts on journalism, two paragraphs down.
Themes of nurturing and security are also evident in the headlines buzzing about the Supreme Court’s upcoming ruling on the Affordable Care Act. Will residents in states that did not create their own health care exchanges lose their federal tax credits and thus be unable to afford their health insurance premiums? If the ruling comes during the Cancer Moon, one would think that security would be preserved. But it does not solve the insurmountable challenge of delivering health care sustainably in a system that is driven by profit, as noted in this article about why some hospitals mark up costs by 1000%.
Meanwhile, an update on a story that broke in the aftermath of the last Full Moon — the one about laid-off workers at Disneyworld whose jobs were handed over to temporary workers imported from India (but not before the laid-off workers were forced to train their replacements). After the story was published, a senator got involved. And yesterday, 35 Disney employees in New York and Burbank who were facing similar fates were told that their layoffs had been canceled. That’s good news!
Let’s pause for a moment and consider the power of investigative journalism. Now let’s consider that on the home page of the Washington Times, which is one of the two papers Justice Antonin Scalia says he reads (the other is the Wall Street Journal), there is absolutely no mention of this Disney story or the Affordable Care Act or Pope Francis. The top story at the moment is this: Green Berets’ Efforts to Take Down ISIS Undermined by Shoddy US Intelligence. Well, at least they are concerned with homeland security, as we would expect with a Moon in Cancer. Nothing about Pope Francis or those other two stories on the WSJ home page, either. The top story: “Greek Central Bank Sees ‘Uncontrollable Crisis’ If Talks Fail.” Another version of homeland security. “I just LOVE uncontrollable crises in banking!” said no one with Moon in Cancer ever.
Where do you get your news?
Meanwhile, I’ve been thinking a lot about one of the Sabian Symbols for that last Full Moon — “a topsy saucily asserting itself”. There was Caitlyn Jenner looking saucy on the cover of Vanity Fair. And yesterday, there was Rachel Dolezal on Today, asserting her identity as a black woman. Coincidence or conspiracy?
Ms. Dolezal (November 12, 1977 in Montana), is a Scorpio with Moon in righteously opinionated Sagittarius. We don’t have a birth time, but my money says she was born with that Moon in close contact with visionary/illusionist Neptune, and it may well be under the bewildering spell of a Neptune transit now. She has Mars in regal Leo, of which astrologer Grant Lewi notes, “gets away with murder”. Do you really want to argue with her? Uh-uh. And would you be surprised to see that rebel and eccentric Uranus is running wild in her chart? Nope. Nor would you be surprised by a contact between Pluto and the Nodal Axis, suggesting a mother-daughter relationship that is quite the power struggle.
That Pluto-Node pattern is under stress from transiting Pluto through the rest of the year. Ms. Dolezal’s Saturn at 29 Leo just got hit by transiting Saturn at 29 Scorpio. That’s no surprise, either. We’d expect to see challenges to the ambitious reach she would have made about seven years ago, when she had her first Saturn return. A Saturn return can be experienced as a new lease on life. It appears to be about seven years ago that Ms. Dolezal began to alter her appearance, so much that others perceived her as African-American.
That pressure from transiting Saturn won’t subside until this fall, when Saturn makes it back to Sagittarius. In August, Ms. Dolezal’s older brother faces charges of child sexual abuse.
Kinda makes you stop and compare all of the trials and tribulations you have in your life right now. Would you really trade them with someone else?
Meanwhile….
I’m expecting plenty of cosmic breakthroughs between now and next week’s easy alignment between Jupiter and Uranus. Here’s one about
Cosmic indeed. Always good to end on a high note…
Astro-logical Forecast for Tuesday 6/16/2015: Awesome New Moon in Gemini; Jeb & The Donald on Mars
/in The ForecastAlllll-righty then!
A New Moon at 10:05 AM ET in chatterbox Gemini, and into the void it went immediately thereafter. If you’re planting seeds, plant when the Moon enters Cancer at 6:51PM ET tonight (and for the next couple of days). Otherwise enjoy the information buzz and discern which stories are solid and which ones are much ado about nothing. Go with the flow of whatever twists or flakes may detour efforts to move forward in a straight line. Revel in the fresh energy of the New Moon and re-set your intentions for what may well be a dynamic and wish-fulfilling month of action.
Mars is prominent in this New Moon, as it is closely conjunct both the Sun and Moon. Mars is the action hero planet, and you may recall last week’s brief discussion of the driving force it can bring to your life when it transits your horoscope, especially the angles.
We see this drive loud and clear in Jeb Bush’s horoscope, as transiting Mars (and the Sun) hit his Gemini Midheaven and squared his 23 Virgo Ascendant. He formally declared himself a candidate. How nice for him that transiting Jupiter will enter Virgo later this year and hit those angles in January and August of 2016. Certainly this July should be pleasant, as Venus and Jupiter will make contact with his natal 23 Aquarius Sun-22 Leo Pluto opposition, giving him another opportunity to shine.
We see Mars active in Donald Trump’s horoscope, too. Last week it made contact with his natal 22 Gemini Sun-“here’s my opinion even though you did not ask me for it” 22 Sagittarius Moon. Saturn just squared his regal 29 Leo Ascendant, inspiring an ambitious reach; Jupiter will conjoin his Ascendant in August. Also in Trump’s chart: authoritative Saturn progressing by solar arc to the Aries Point, suggesting a need for executive authority becoming prominent. Today, during the Moon void in Gemini, Mr. Trump is allegedly announcing his run for office, too. Much ado about nothing? Perhaps, but he’s not going away anytime soon.
In addition to Mars, we see two other patterns in this New Moon that offer the potential for inspiration and reward. One is the third in a series of three trines (easy connections) between cosmic sugar daddy Jupiter and lightning bolt Uranus that began last fall. The other is the third in a series of three squares between mental Mercury and visionary Neptune. The first two bewildering/pixie-dusted challenges happened in May, before and during Mercury’s retrograde. The third happens on June 29th.
What does it all mean for you? I haven’t the foggiest idea….unless I’m looking at your horoscope. Schedule a personal consultation and let’s find out!
The Sabian Symbol for this New Moon is “winter frost in the woods,” and much of what Sabian Symbol guru Blain Bovee has to say about this image evokes warmth and magic.
Transforming the world? How wonderful for Pope Francis, who aims to do that later this week…
(Support Blain Bovee’s work. Buy his wonderful book.
Gemini does need to talk. Mars in Gemini energizes a Gemini Sun and Moon. How fun to see this article about why we talk too much and how we should probably shut up.
You are more personally affected by this potent New Moon if you have a planet or angle at….
Thank you for reading this forecast and sharing it with the rest of the Free World : )
Astro-logical Forecast for Monday 6/15/2015: Sneak Peek at the Week
/in The ForecastGood Morning!
Moon is in Gemini — buzzing around, chatting it up, seeking to be informed. It makes contact with Neptune at 6:59AM ET, so note your dreams. The rest of the day is free and clear of planetary patterns, so there’s little static or other charge to impede your progress, with one caveat. As we are in the dark of the Moon, we may feel listless or restless, sensing that there is a new cycle about to begin. If so, use the energy of the day to wrap up projects started four weeks ago. The New Moon happens Tuesday at 10:05AM ET. Make your wish list a good one. More on that tomorrow.
Moon voids for the week: Tuesday from 10:05AM ET until 6:51PM ET; Friday from 1:52AM – 2:23AM ET. That’s it. Much can be accomplished this week, because the one pattern that is building in strength (exact next Monday morning) is a “sky’s the limit” connection between Jupiter and Uranus — huzzah!
This is the third in a series of Jupiter-Uranus connections that began in September 2014. The second was in early March. Did you start a expansive project in late September? You might be poised to reap a reward if you have a planet or angle around 19 degrees of just about any sign, but especially Aries, Leo and Sagittarius…or if you were born around the 9th of April, August or December. Watch the headlines for fiery and/or cosmic breakthroughs as we get closer to Monday…say, for instance, the miraculous resurrection of the Rosetta spacecraft that’s been hibernating ever since it was launched on a comet’s surface seven months ago.
And now, more news.
Mars pulled focus over the weekend, meeting up with the Sun in Gemini at 11:56AM ET. Mars is firepower, and when connected with the fiery Sun, words like “explosive” and “fighter” can be expected in the headlines. Exhibit A: “Explosive Intervention by Pope Francis Set to Transform Climate Change Debate”. Indeed, and Pope Francis is publishing his papal letter on the subject on Thursday, on a day with a nurturing Cancer Moon. Most excellent timing.
Exhibit B: in her first big rally on Saturday, Hillary Clinton portrayed herself as “a fighter”. Of course she did. And let the record show that at the scheduled start of the event (at 11:45AM ET on Roosevelt Island in NYC), we see Mercury, ruler of the chart, beautifully placed on the Midheaven, with that fightin’ Sun-Mars meet-up in the 10th house. Mercury is opposed by Saturn (an ambitious reach) and squared by nebulous Neptune (idealism). Fascinating to note Neptune exactly on the cusp of the 7th (the public), a similar dose of pixie-dust presented in the event chart for her formal campaign announcement in April. Fascinating to note a lot of patterns in this chart, frankly….
What’s going on in your horoscope?