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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 Thursday 5/14/2015: Maxwell’s Silver Hammer & More on Mars vs. Saturn
/in The ForecastPace picks up as of 1:13AM ET, as the Moon enters me-me-me Aries. Arise, go forth and conquer. If inspiration and courage are on your agenda today, this Moon can help you move it along. A clash between your selfish desire and the emotional security needs of others may be dealt with around 1:30PM ET, as the Moon is challenged by Venus in Cancer – but this should quickly pass. At 9:59PM ET, Moon and Mercury are in cooperative alignment, suggesting a chatty buzz to the evening.
And now, the news.
The militant Mars-Saturn face-off we’ve been talking about all week will be exact Friday at 2:03AM, but it’s already being reflected in the headlines. How cool that the U.S. Defense Secretary nominated new chiefs for the army and the navy.
The opposition is happening in Gemini and Sagittarius, signs referring to mindset, communication, media, travel, law, foreigners, religion and other big picture collective belief systems. Thank our friends across the Pond for one of the poster children for this planetary pattern: Prime Minister David Cameron apparently wants to combat extremism by taking action (Mars) to control (Saturn) what is thought (Gemini) and communicated (Gemini) in all media (Sagittarius):
Such efforts to righteously control what is published were anticipated months ago, just before Saturn entered Sagittarius.
Meanwhile, Facebook launched a revenue-generating initiative in which it will publish “instant articles” created by media outlets including the NYT, The Guardian, the BBC, The Atlantic and NBC. We all know how militant Facebook can be about controlling what shows up in newsfeeds. Be afraid, media outlets. Be very afraid. Elsewhere, information controls were on the House agenda, as it voted to end NSA’s massive phone data collecting operation. Now we’ll see what the Senate does.
If you’re on the receiving end of someone operating under the influence of a heavy Mars-Saturn transit, it may feel as if you’re being hammered. And by that I mean “attacked or criticized forcefully and relentlessly”. Add Neptune to the mix, and “hammered” can also mean “drunk”. How weird to read in the NYT about a man who randomly attacked four people in Manhattan on Monday — with a hammer. The chart for the first attack on Monday at 1:45pm has Saturn, Mars and Neptune on three out of four angles. Freaky.
This man was arrested Wednesday morning in a violent confrontation with police. He reportedly suffered from mental illness (no surprise) and in more lucid moments, “dreamed of completing a college degree in biology”. Which made me wonder if his actions were influenced by this Beatles’ song. Which then led me to wonder why Paul McCartney would want to write such a disturbing (yet catchy) melody. That’s a subject for another day. But oddly enough, when the song was recorded in July of 1969, Mars was in early Gemini, opposing Saturn in Sagittarius — and in touch with Neptune. Coincidence or conspiracy?
And that’s where a train of thought can take you when you’re reading and writing about the news during a Moon void.
Maxwell Edison, majoring in medicine…
Now I can’t get that song out of my head.
Speaking of trains (of thought), a bill to increase funding for Amtrak was smacked down in Congress, despite Tuesday’s train wreck in which at least seven people were killed. It was reported that had certain safeguards been installed on the tracks, the accident could have been prevented.
The train derailed around 9:30PM in Philadelphia. What stands out in the chart is Neptune exactly square the high-flying Sagittarius Ascendant, suggesting a bewildering fog around the event. Even now, some passengers on that train are still missing. With Neptune in the 3rd house, in touch with the Pisces Moon and Mercury, one wonders about a bewildered mindset and sense of direction. Will we learn about an influence of drugs, alcohol or some other distracted state as investigators seek to understand why the train was going 106mph in a 50mph zone?
If you’re someone who likes to investigate why things are and why they happen, odds are strong that you would find it fascinating to discuss your life in a personal astr0-logical consultation. You’d be amazed to see how accurately patterns in your horoscope reflect patterns in your life development. Astrology is an awesome tool for putting seemingly random and bewildering events into a meaningful and empowering perspective. Here’s the 411 on consultations.
Thank you for reading this forecast.
Astro-logical Forecast for Wednesday 5/13/2015: Short & Sweet
/in The ForecastTake care of important things before 12:55PM ET, when the Moon goes void in ethereal Pisces. Moon enters RAMbunctious Aries THURSDAY at 8:03AM ET, picking up the pace. During the void, stick to routine matters or chill and enjoy the wandering drift of this long cosmic rest period. No impulse shopping. No making mountains out of molehills. Stop and smell the roses.
The news will be back tomorrow….
Astro-logical Forecast for Tuesday 5/12/2015: Mars-Saturn Forward Marches On…
/in The ForecastToday’s Pisces Moon could push boundaries…because with Pisces, there are no boundaries. Pisces intuitively understands that boundaries are an illusion; we are all one; we are all in this together. Pisces can flow as sweetly as a gentle stream or pull as powerfully as the ocean’s undertow…float or drown. Neptune is also in dreamy Pisces — and still challenging mental Mercury in clever Gemini. That’s my excuse for today’s inspired, soggy prose.
Correction: yesterday when writing about Mercury retrograde, I said it would start on June 18th. I meant to type MAY 18th…with thanks to the avid readers who pointed out the error. We are in the shadow phase of the retrograde period — and have been as of May 4th. What that suggests is that whatever ideas and communications are put forth between now and June 27th, we’re likely to revisit, rethink and review. Stay flexible. Why May 4th to June 27th? Because Mercury was at 4 Gemini on May 4th. It turns retrograde at 13 Gemini on May 18th. It moves back to 4 Gemini and turns direct on June 11th. It gets back to 13 Gemini on June 27th. After the 27th, Mercury will be in new territory. Got that?
You may be feeling the sweeter side of Pisces this morning, courtesy of an easy connection to Venus in nurturing Cancer. Breakfast in bed? Around 3PM ET, Moon meets up with Neptune, encouraging a fit of inspiration, lingering coffee break or space-out. Around 6:30PM ET, double check the details in your communications and thinking, as Moon is challenged by Mercury (which is still under that dreamy Neptune influence). Ship it today or by 12:55PM ET tomorrow, when the Moon goes void.
And now, the news.
Last night Mars (energy of action) entered Gemini and edged closer to this Friday’s face off with Saturn (structure) in Sagittarius. At 10:54PM ET, the so-called gentle Pisces Moon squared Mars, and then squared Saturn at 3:01AM ET. Four minutes later, there was a 7.3 quake in Nepal. Fascinating.
With Mars in Gemini and Saturn in Sagittarius, we note the potential for action and advance in communication, travel and corporations. What an apt pattern for this morning’s announcement that Verizon (telecommunications) is buying AOL. Or about this update on an advanced mode of transportation: a solar road that opened six months ago in the Netherlands? Maps are within the provenance of Mercury, Gemini and Sagittarius. This item is surreal, but it fits current planetary patterns: Google’s Map Maker tool has been under attack, so they’ve shut it down. Here’s the headline: “Google Shuts Down Map Maker After Urinating Robot Ruins It For Everybody”. Oh, and by the way, China’s ballistic missiles can now reach just about any target in the United States.
No boundaries here. None. Happy Pisces Moon. Here’s a picture of a recent sunset…on Mars.
No boundaries at Christie’s, either, as this morning’s headlines report the highest price ever paid for a work of art sold at auction — $179.4 million for a painting by Picasso. Surreal. And no boundaries at Chris Christie’s, especially if you joined him for a football game. Governor Christie apparently racked up an $82,000 bill on stadium snacks…paid for by New Jersey taxpayers. Score!
Update on the “Deflategate” story that surfaced just before the Super Bowl under a bewildering Mars-Neptune conjunction. Planetary patterns suggested little consequence would come of it. Now, as Mars is about to square Neptune (exact on May 25th), allegations that New England Patriots used deflated footballs to gain a competitive advantage — and that the quarterback, Tom Brady, knew about it — have proven to be valid. So were the Patriots stripped of their last Super Bowl win? No. They were fined and Brady will sit out four games next season. Which in my playbook, adds up to little consequence.
Update on Barack Obama, whose horoscope I wrote about yesterday. Before Mars hits President Obama’s 3 degree Gemini Moon, it opposed his 28 degree Scorpio Midheaven over the weekend. Mars suggests action — and also provocation, attack and/or an outburst. How interesting to stumble across a provocative story by Seymour Hersh, alleging that a lot of what you may have seen in Zero Dark Thirty is fiction, and that President Obama lied about what really happened in Abottabad the night Osama bin Laden was killed. On the other hand, the story was published on a square between Neptune and Mercury, which can be pretty surreal (or untrue). We will see this Mercury-Neptune pattern again on May 29 and June 23. It will be interesting to see if there are further developments on this story then. Here’s a bit more from NBC News.
What’s going on in your horoscope? Here’s the 411 on personal consultations.
Astro-logical Forecast for Monday 5/11/2015: Mars in Gemini; Frida Kahlo & the Rest of the Week
/in The ForecastGood Morning!
Mixed messages from the cosmos at 6:36AM ET, as the humanitarian Aquarius Moon squares the Taurus Sun. Squares are energetic aspects — pushing an agenda forward. What are you all fired up to do?
Perhaps it has something to do with the third stage of the New Moon agenda you set three weeks ago. Whatever it is, be advised that right after the Sun-Moon square, the Moon will be void until 10:53PM ET. This suggests twists or delays in your efforts to move forward in a straight line. Knowing about voids is an awesome way to prevent panic attacks and other imagined crises if things aren’t going as planned. There’s a higher flake factor during Moon voids, e.g., appointments cancelling or meetings wandering off into another dimension. Chill and roll with it — and you’ll be just fine.
Mars is the Planet of Week. Mars refers to action! It leaves slow and stubborn Taurus for Gemini at 10:40PM ET. Mars in Gemini is great for multitasking and getting the word out. Game plans may become more flexible. And they darn well better be clever and entertaining.
If you have a planet at around 2 degrees of Virgo, Pisces and especially Gemini or Sagittarius, you will be more personally affected by Mars this week. That planet (or your Ascendant or your Midheaven) is likely to be energized — for better or for worse. You may find yourself compelled to take action. Or, if you’re suppressing your inner action hero, you may attract someone or something who takes action on you.
By Friday, Mars will have moved into a challenging face-off with Saturn, currently at 2 Sagittarius. Mars-Saturn patterns suggest disciplined, militant action and ambition — for better or for worse. So look for those themes in the headlines. And if your own horoscope is personally affected, may you use that disciplined push for a cause with higher consciousness.
If you don’t know what degrees your planets are at, consider ordering the Astro-Basics Report. In addition to the computer-generated report of where everything is and what it means, I will include a personal note identifying the planet in your horoscope that is the key to fulfilling your potential in this lifetime.
This is the week to BACK UP YOUR COMPUTERS and other gizmos, as Mercury turns retrograde at 9:50PM ET next Monday, May 18th. No whinging will be permitted! Mercury retrograde periods provide absolutely fantastic opportunities for certain things. There is no reason to sweat the snafus and miscommunications that may arise. Here’s the survival guide I posted for the last Mercury retrograde — in January. I will re-post and update it on Monday.
Moon voids for the week, other than today’s long wandering drift: Wednesday 12:55PM – 1:13AM ET on THURSDAY; Friday 8:03AM ET until 3:02AM ET on SATURDAY.
And now, the news.
Speaking of Mars and Saturn, you know who has a planet around 2 degrees of Gemini or Sagittarius — and is thus personally affected by the “disciplined, militant action and ambition potential” of Friday Mars-Saturn opposition? Barack Obama. And there he is in the headlines, “aggressively courting skeptical legislators” so they will pass a bill this week giving him accelerated powers on the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement. He even dissed Senator Elizabeth Warren and made a speech at Nike, a company notorious for outsourcing jobs. He is serious about this TPP. I wonder why.
I would now like to take this opportunity to rave about my New Balance cross-trainers, which I bought at the company store in Skowhegan, Maine. New Balance is apparently the only athletic shoe company that makes a portion of its inventory in the United States. New Balance has five manufacturing operations in the U.S. Two are in Massachusetts and three are in Maine, where my family is from. I’ve seen first-hand what happens when textile mills and shoe companies outsource production overseas. So as long as I have a choice, I’ll buy sneakers with labels that say “Made in the USA”.
This concludes the soapbox portion of this forecast.
Meanwhile, with Venus (women) at the Aries Point on Friday, some of our fearless leaders in Congress re-introduced the Equal Rights Amendment. If you are younger than a certain age, you may not know what that is. So I’ll tell you. It’s this:
This amendment was passed by Congress in 1972, in the wake of the Uranus-Pluto conjunction of 1965-66. Thirty-eight states needed to ratify the amendment by 1982 for it to become the law of the land. That didn’t happen. Now, in the wake of the Uranus-Pluto square, we find ourselves revisiting agendas that were hot in the mid-60s. Will we finish what was started? This is our chance.
In other news, Frida Kahlo is “having a moment”. That’s what the NYT headline says, as a clueless reporter reports:
Dear Clueless Reporter, there is nothing “unexpected” about it. If only you had looked at Ms. Kahlo’s horoscope (or asked an astrologer for an analysis). Such “unexpected” and “sudden” prominence strongly suggest planetary patterns at work, no doubt involving Uranus and Pluto. And in fact, in a two-second glance at the chart we’re immediately drawn to this: Neptune, Sun, and Jupiter at 12, 13 and 20 Cancer respectively…all opposing Mars and Uranus at 12 and 10 Capricorn. That intense configuration has been supercharged by Uranus and Pluto for two years. Uranus (now at 18 Aries) is just about to square her Jupiter (suggesting, usually, expanded fortune — and in Kahlo’s case, corresponds to another exhibition opening). Her 23 Leo Ascendant and 23 Taurus Midheaven have just been hit by transiting Sun and Mars; Jupiter will hit her angles in July (more expansion); transiting Scorpio opposed her Midheaven last fall…..all adding up to prominence, expansion, revelation, empowerment, with a focus on personal/domestic concerns, even for a woman as “overexposed” as Ms. Kahlo (and even though she is no longer among the living). Horoscopes live forever!
To find out when your horoscope is scheduled for a period of expansion and empowerment, here’s the 411 on personal consultations. I look forward to an excellent discussion with you soon.
Thank you for reading this forecast.
Update: Before Mars hits President Obama’s 3 degree Gemini Moon, it opposed his 28 degree Scorpio Midheaven over the weekend. Mars suggests action — and also provocation, attack and/or an outburst. How interesting to stumble across a provocative story by Seymour Hersh, alleging that a lot of what you may have seen in Zero Dark Thirty is fiction, and that President Obama lied about what really happened in Abottabad the night Osama bin Laden was killed. On the other hand, the story was published on a square between Neptune and Mercury, which can be pretty surreal (or untrue). We will see this Merucry-Neptune pattern again on May 29 and June 23. It will be interesting to see if there are further developments on this story then.
Astro-logical Forecast for Friday 5/8/2015 & the Weekend: Practical Poetry
/in The ForecastKeep making it happen. Moon continues through enterprising Capricorn, finding value in what is earthy and practical. You might have gotten a hit of inspiration this AM, as the Moon made contact with Neptune. Added vision can be yours, courtesy of a challenge between mental Mercury and Neptune, exact tomorrow at 12:09p. That’s good for healers, artists and people selling snake oil.
Tonight around 6PM and 11PM ET, Moon makes its weekly clash with Pluto and Uranus, respectively. Typical are power plays, upsets and revelations.
Saturday the Moon continues its forward march vibe until 4:35PM ET. Get all those chores and shopping done then. Between 4:35p and 7:22P, ET, chill during the Moon void….then hang out with your funky friends, including ones you haven’t met yet. Thank you, Moon in networking Aquarius.
Sunday is Mothers’ Day. Communication channels are smooth around 1:10PM ET, when the Moon and Mercury align. An over-the-top indulgence may be yours around 7:51PM ET, when the Moon is opposed by regal Leo. Or the good of the many may be challenged by the will of one.
Moon is void all day Monday between 6:36am and 10:53PM ET. Slow start to the work week — or twist in your routine.
And now, the news.
Venus was at the Aries Point yesterday, bringing prominence to issues around women, aesthetics, money, social expression. Front page article on the NYT was a scathing expose of the wretched working conditions at nail salons (aesthetics) in New York. Here’s part 2 — about toxins in the workplace — I haven’t read it yet. If it’s never occurred to you — while you’re paying $9 dollars for manicure — that the reason it’s so cheap is because your manicurist is barely being paid, I don’t know what to say, other than this is one of those issues that’s had a SEP field around it for years. I learned that from reading Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. 42.
Also making headlines in NY: enclosed lactation stations for breastfeeding moms have just opened at local airports. Huzzah! Making headlines everywhere is a parody of a typical contraceptive ad with comedian Amy Schumer. No thanks at all to the mainstream media for failing to post it on any outlet without either 1) giving away the jokes or 2) presenting it with an editorial slant. Skip the headline; enjoy the video; think “Venus at the Aries Point, putting women’s issues in focus” — what more slant do you need?
In other news — any planet at 29 Gemini — where Venus was yesterday before it entered Cancer — is going to trigger Edward Snowden’s 29 Gemini Sun. Venus-Sun transits are usually good ones. Yesterday a federal appeals court ruled that the NSA spy program — the one which collects massive amounts of data on the phone calls of everyone and their dog — is unconstitutional. This is one of the programs made public by Mr. Snowden. Somewhere in Moscow, perhaps he’s raising a glass of vodka — with bitters.
Speaking of dogs and homeland security — did you hear about Lilly, the shih-tzu? She has been reunited with her Denver family after being missing for four years. She was found in Illinois. How she got there is a mystery.
Update on the UK election: it was a stunning upset — in that there was no upset! David Cameron gets to keep his job. Pollsters are confounded. I haven’t looked at Mr. Cameron’s horoscope, so can’t comment.
Finally — to close on this British theme: a tip of the hat to the poetic potential of the weekend’s Mercury-Neptune square. This quiz wants to know: “How Well Do You Know Your Romantic Poets?”
Perhaps there’s a Romantic poet in your future. You may have a latent talent…or might be primed to attract a new love who’ll serenade you. Did you know that these potentials can be seen in your horoscope? Here’s how to schedule a personal consultation.
Thank you for reading this forecast — and for sharing it with the rest of the Free World.
See you Monday!