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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 4/15/2013: Sneak Peek at the Week
/in The ForecastWhile many of you were sleeping, Venus, which refers to social expression, aesthetics and finance, left fiery Aries. Where is it now? In earthy Taurus, one of the signs Venus rules. And there was much rejoicing in the land! For the next few weeks, note how a need for tangible value, comfort and security manifests in relationships. Expect a slower pace and an indulgence in simple sensual pleasures. Take time to smell the roses.
What’s the down side? Well, Taurus can be stubborn. It also hates change, even when change is necessary in order to move forward…
Meanwhile, the work week begins with the last of Moon in Gemini, suggesting you’ll have plenty of communicating to do — and with efficiency and balance, too. Get it done the morning, as the Moon goes void of course at 3:41PM ET…not to enter Cancer until 10:49PM ET. During the void, you are advised to chill, focus on routine tasks or get into a creative/meditative flow. Roll with the twists that will likely arise and wait to ship until Tuesday, which is a spectacular day for doing just about anything. In fact, the whole week looks pretty darn good, with few challenging aspects among the planets, other than the usual lunar ones — and those move fast.
There are very few Moon voids to distract us this week. Other than today, we’ve got a brief void on Thursday 8:31AM ET – 11:13am ET and an early start to the weekend on Friday at 5:06PM ET. I expect we’ll see quite a bit of action as the Sun and Mars hook up exactly in Aries on Wednesday at 8:20PM ET. Watch for acts of courage to make news (here’s a story with “courage” in the headline), as well as more stories of guns and gun control (an Aries/Mars thing).
Last week, as you know, Pluto turned retrograde, and not only that, but it is getting closer and closer to the third of seven squares with Uranus (that happens on May 20th). So here are a few intriguing stories reflecting the “news from underground” we expect to see whenever Pluto is active in the cosmos. From the BBC, “Story of Jewish Families Who Lived Underground for 511 Days”; in Missouri, “Intricate Underground Homeless City Uncovered”; new leaks are discovered underground at the Fukushima nuclear plant; a secret audio tape of Senator Mitch McConnell & his staff trashing potential opponent Ashley Judd is leaked to the press; the underground hacktivist group known as Anonymous solves a rape case in two hours, despite Canadian law enforcement personnel having closed the case “for lack of evidence” almost two years ago.
Get to work — and remember — Tuesday’s planetary patterns are especially productive. Onward!
Astro-logical Forecast for Friday 4/12/2013 & the Weekend: Pluto Turns Retrograde & What It Means to You
/in The ForecastContinue planting the seeds for your New Moon agenda, in which you declare yourself a warrior-champion for a noble cause. We’ve got another full day of Moon in Taurus, which is happy to help you organize and build the structures require to give form to your ideas. Keep chugging along, checking off tasks from your to-do list, and enjoy the rewards a Friday night with Moon in Taurus can bring. Let the material comforts abound, be they wine, good food, song, a massage or snuggle with a special sweetie.
The biggest news on Friday is Pluto, Lord of the Underworld, beginning its annual five-month retrograde trek at 3:32PM ET. This turns Pluto’s purgative, transformational and empowering potential inward. In other words, work on cleaning up your own act instead of striving for power over something — or someone — else. This applies to collective efforts as well.
Pluto turns retrograde at 11 Capricorn, and the Sabian Symbol is “A student of nature lecturing”. Blain Bovee suggests we apply this symbol by noting a “wonderful, if surprising, source of newly-perceived information; information gathered through fresh eyes.” With two exact Uranus-Pluto squares due to hit during this Pluto retrograde, we will have plenty of opportunities to change our perspective based on startling new information. You will feel Pluto’s urge to purge more personally if you have a planet or point around 11 degrees of Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn….or if you were born around the 1st of April, July, October and January. Not only that, but you should seriously consider booking an appointment with your local astrologer, as you are in the cosmic hot seat for the rest of the year. I’d be very surprised if you are not experiencing major life challenges and opportunities for empowerment right about now.
Saturday is another day of light aspects. Moon goes briefly void at 8:30AM ET and enters chatty Gemini at 10:13AM. A communicative connection with mental Mercury suggests news and conversations may pull focus. At 7:26PM ET there’s a dreamy/spacey challenge between the verbally-oriented Gemini Moon and nebulous Neptune, which may result in a few crossed lines of wires, or a need for an intangible escape. Saturday’s biggest news is mental Mercury finally — and I do mean FINALLY — leaving watery Pisces, where it’s been lingering since February 6th. At 10:37PM ET, Mercury zooms into Aries, suggesting mindset and communications become more impulsive, sharp, impassioned and impatient than the dreamy, empathetic flow we’ve experienced for the past two months.
Sunday starts off with a buzz, with optimism ballooning to a climax at 2:57PM ET, courtesy of a jolly hook-up between Moon and Jupiter. Sounds entertaining and informative to me, and in fact, that is what I plan to do that day — be entertained by a clever one-man show.
Back to you in the studio….
Astro-logical Forecast for Thursday 4/11/2013: New Moon in Aries — The Long Form
/in The ForecastYesterday’s rush of New Moon in Aries excitement is now tempered by the Moon’s ingress into peaceful (albeit stubborn) Taurus as of 11:22PM ET. Use this fertile energy to plant seeds and build foundations and structures for your brilliant ideas. Note your dreams for inspiration, courtesy of an early morning connection between Moon and ethereal Neptune at 8:02AM. Then, get up and go! It’s clear sailing until 5:36PM ET, when karma cop Saturn opposes the Moon. A limitation or disappointment on the one hand…or a reach for serious ambition on the other. The evening hours may be especially deep, courtesy of potent Pluto’s trine to the earthy Moon at 9:48PM ET. That’s good for investigations of all kinds. Pluto is especially prominent this week, not only because the third of seven exact squares to rebel Uranus is inching closer (the hit happens on May 20th), but because it is at a standstill in the cosmos, about to turn retrograde tomorrow afternoon. There have been so many headlines about status quo disruptions as a result of power plays, corruption exposed and other “news from underground” in recent days; I can barely keep up.
But first, more on yesterday’s New Moon, which was especially notable for a tight hook-up (stellium) of Sun, Moon, Venus and Mars in Aries, and Uranus also in Aries (though not part of the stellium). Five planets in Aries is a HUGE statement of the need — as mentioned yesterday — for courage, passion, a pioneering spirit and a fresh start. And this need absolutely applies to relationships, as suggested by Venus (feminine) and Mars (masculine) united with the Sun and Moon. Is it a coincidence or conspiracy that the cover story of the NYT Sunday Magazine is about the relationship between Anthony Weiner and his wife, Huma Abedin.
You may remember the former New York congressman who resigned two years ago in an awkward scandal after pics of his nether regions texted to women who were not his wife were published around the world. His wife was pregnant with the couple’s first child. His horoscope was discussed in this forecast here and here. It’s fascinating to note that the texting scandal broke in the aftermath of a powerful eclipse that squared Weiner’s stellium of Sun, Pluto, Uranus and Mercury in Virgo. Now we see Jupiter, the cosmic sugar daddy, turned direct and has been making contact with that Virgo stellium for the past several months. Jupiter was at the same degree as the 2011 eclipse at the end of March, when I bet this article was being written! We’d expect to see windfalls, resourcefulness, a desire for expansion and big ideas. And there he is in the New York Times, talking about running for mayor of New York. Never giving up — starting anew — championing impossible causes (and making them possible) — this is all so very in tune with the Aries energy of this New Moon — and also of transits in Weiner’s own horoscope (wish we had a birth time for him). One more note: Weiner has a Venus-Mars conjunction in a Cancer, which is being squared by the Aries New Moon/Venus/Mars stellium, suggesting relationship issues are hot! Let this story be an inspiration to you during this lunar cycle as you work to make your impossible dreams come true, too.
The Sabian Symbol of the New Moon at 20 Aries is simple: “a pugilist entering the ring”. Sabian Symbol guru Blain Bovee suggests we apply this symbol to “the focused contest between social organization and individuality; the natural inclination to define own’s space; finding the range of one’s power, the impact of one’s punch”. As noted in yesterday’s forecast, it seems to be no coincidence that Kim Jong-un, who is also likely going through a heavy Saturn return (an urgent need to establish authority and/or a serious presence in the world), would be making headlines about launching missiles — here’s the latest on that. If you have a planet or angle at 20 degrees of Aries, Cancer, Libra or Capricorn…or if you were born around the 10th of April, July, October or January, you are likely feeling the power of this New Moon more than most. What are you fighting for? Are you championing a noble cause or are you just in it only for your own ego recognition, born of insecurity? Will you inspire the world with your battle cry or will you just throw a temper tantrum and never mind the damaging consequences of your actions? Aries can go either way — big baby or warrior-hero — the choice is up to you.
For some reason, yesterday was a day when a number of you noticed — perhaps for the very first time — that there is a big yellow DONATE button on the left side of this forecast (if you are reading it on the website). There is also a link at the bottom of this email which will enable you to express appreciation in a material form that today’s Moon in Taurus simply adores. Your contributions warm my heart and inspire me to keep writing this forecast, as I have been doing now for — I can’t believe this — FOUR YEARS THIS WEEK! Thank you for reading this forecast, for all the wonderful emails I’ve received and for sharing my words with your friends. My Saturn in Aquarius is thrilled to be of service, and if you have Saturn in Aquarius, so are you.
Have a fabulous day!
Astro-logical Forecast for Wednesday 4/10/2013: New Moon in Aries — The Short Form
/in The ForecastThe New Moon in Aries officially begins at 5:35 AM ET, offering us an opportunity to re-set intentions and goals for the next lunar cycle. This next few days will be about planting seeds to turn your intentions into reality. Around the 18th, on the First Quarter Moon, we can expect a challenge to those goals, with appropriate adjustments made. At the time of the Full Moon on the 25th (which is a lunar eclipse & thus more potent than the usual Full Moon), we can expect illumination on the success or failure of our goals for the cycle. If we succeeded, we can consciously release our success into our reality; if we failed, we let go of whatever did not work. After the Third Quarter Moon on May 2nd, we can review our achievements, tie up loose ends and get ready to begin another New Moon — also an eclipse — on May 9th.
A New Moon in Aries suggests a need — or an opportunity — to be a courageous, inspiring pioneer and/or a warrior, preferably on the side of the angels. At its best, Aries is a champion for the weak, the vulnerable, the underdog. It is fiercely protective of all that is new and needing a little extra care in order to survive. Think about a newborn baby. This is Aries — the baby of the zodiac, ruled by the warrior planet, Mars. Will someone please explain what “on the side of the angels” in its highest form means to saber-rattling Kim Jong Un?
Make the most of this morning. Moon goes void at 12:25PM, not to enter the next sign, Taurus – until 11:22PM ET. Keep this in mind if a project lands on your desk today that seems to be on fire, especially those of you who work in an environment with constant short-term deadlines. I’ve had my TV writer hat on for the past two weeks and have been keeping track. Every single project that “had” to be started during a void was either scrapped or revised! But don’t just take it from me — do your own due diligence — and let me know the results.
Astro-logical Forecast for Tuesday 4/9/2013: A Busy Wrap
/in The ForecastShould be a busy morning, with the Moon driving the day in me-me-me Aries. This is a sign that needs to be first in everything, which accounts for the potential pushiness or other rush to get ahead you may experience today. Not only is the Moon in Aries, but so is the Sun, Venus, Mars and Uranus. Contrast this majority of planets in proactive Aries with the majority of planets in floaty, go-with-the-flow Pisces we experienced in early March, and one wonders if the languid energy of Pisces (plus Mercury and Saturn both retrograde) was reflected in last Friday’s weak jobs report.
Here is a musical illustration of Pisces vs. Aries energy: the Aquarium from Carnival of the Animals vs. any loud marching band, or perhaps this stirring theme, complete with gunfire. Mars, which rules Aries, also rules firearms and war — and we do seem to be seeing an abundance of headlines reflecting those themes. Here’s the latest on rising tensions in North Korea and here’s a startling story of a shooting spree that didn’t happen in the United States. Thank goodness there’s another front-page story reflecting a more positive application of Martian energy: a pioneering woman whose work may provide earlier (first!) detection of disease.
Back to the energy of today. A surprise or jolt may get you out of bed as rebel Uranus electrifies the Moon at 7:56AM ET. Ruthless Pluto may reflect a power play or other emotional intensity as it squares the Moon at 12:29PM ET. Jolly Jupiter works to put a cooperative and optimistic spin on all this drive around 3:50PM ET. If you sense a certain restlessness or other lack of direction, credit the last day of the lunar cycle, when the Moon is dark in the sky. The drive for a fresh start greets you tomorrow, with the New Moon in Aries at 5:35AM ET.