The Forecast

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 10/14/2022 & the Weekend: Bonkers vs. Reality in the News, As Anticipated (It’s Not Just You)

October 15, 2022/in The Forecast

TGIF!

There’s just too much going on in the news that is astonishingly in sync with planetary patterns. Gotta spend a few hours pulling it together for your enjoyment.

First, here’s the weekend forecast:

FRIDAY: Venus trines Saturn at 2:20 AM ET. Moon in Gemini trines Saturn, Venus and the Sun at 1:32 PM ET, 2:51 PM ET and 7:23 PM ET, respectively. Have a nice day — but note the possibly wiggy outburst in the evening, as Moon squares Neptune at 10:45 AM ET and then meets up with warrior Mars at 12:10 AM ET on…
SATURDAY. Chill during the 12-hour Moon void. CHILL! At 12:10 PM ET, Moon enters Cancer, driving the weekend with a focus on emotional, family and homeland security – whatever you need to feel nourished and enjoy the comforts of home. Do so with wild abandon around 2:43 PM ET, as Moon squares Jupiter.
SUNDAY: The focus on home continues. Enjoy. Just note that the tension between Saturn and Uranus is still in effect all week and next. Saturn refers to the old guard; Uranus refers to the avant garde – and as I have said: ultimately, Uranus – which represents the future – is going to win. But while these planets are in this stubborn holding pattern (as in two tectonic plates jammed together, with neither budging an inch), we will continue to see it reflected in logjams – including supply chains – and pundits whingeing that they can’t understand why certain contests are just too close to call. If only they knew something about mundane astrology…

No sleeping in on Monday. The Cancer Moon will not be void during most of normal business hours.

And now, the news.

Ermigawd, did the subject line for this week’s forecast say it all or what? A potentially wiggy week, with Mars square Neptune delusional bubbles demolished by the sobering, all-business trine between Sun-Venus and Saturn. Ohhhhh and the news was big big big in the judicial matters, as Mercury (thinking) opposed Jupiter (expansion; courts) at the Aries Point.

Here’s what happened:

Angela Lansbury passed away, I’m sorry to say. I’d argue her life represented the upside potential of this week’s planetary patterns. Her breakthrough role was as a maid in the movie Gaslight, in which a creepy husband tries to convince his wife that she’s losing her mind. Other notable film and TV credits include Beauty and the Beast, the Manchurian Candidate and Blithe Spirit — all with heavy Neptune themes. e.g., ghosts, conspiracies and fairy tales. Are we surprised to discover that double-Libra Miss Lansbury was born with Neptune conjunct her regal Leo Ascendant? No, we are not — and we see in her t-square among Mars, Pluto and Jupiter why she was perfectly cast the unflappable mystery novelist-turned-detective in Murder, She Wrote. Here is a lovely tribute to Miss Lansbury, penned by WaPo’s resident wit, Alexandra Petri. I have gifted this article to you.
Rainbow fentanyl. Sure, that sounds apt for Mars square Neptune, but the DEA isn’t convinced it’s a Halloween threat to your children. Reality check duly noted.
Planetary patterns are reflected in all forms of expression, not just the news. Greg Olear’s column — Prevail –– was a spot on reflection of last Sunday’s Full Moon in Aries. Remember how we were advised to watch for people spinning yarns and reinventing the past? On Tuesday, Olear ripped Putin’s latest utterly delusional speech to shreds, aptly in sync with this week’s astrology, e.g. “He {Putin} then spun a ridiculous revisionist history…”
Conspiracy theorist and arguably sadistic provocateur Alex Jones was ordered to pay close to a billion dollars for falsely claiming that the Sandy Hook school shooting was a hoax and the genuinely grieving families of actual victims were crisis actors. as Heather Cox Richardson reports. Remember that Mars is in Gemini, where we expect that words and information may be weaponized — and haven’t we been seeing a ton of news about this and other defamation trials?
E. Jean Carroll persists, nevertheless, in her defamation suit against the former guy. A judge has ordered TFG to sit for a deposition on October 19th,
Heather Cox Richardson ended Wednesday’s Letter from an American with, “Tomorrow, in yet another example of the power of reality, the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol will hold another public hearing at 1:00 Eastern time.” Remember what the chart for 1PM ET suggested:

It’s bound to attract attention if it starts precisely on time, as the 29 Sagittarius Ascendant is Rep. Liz Cheney’s attention-getting Sagittarius Moon. The challenge for the likely near-flawless presentation of evidence is that four planets: Saturn, Venus, Sun and Mars are aligning in a Grand Air Trine, suggesting (nothing surprising here, really) that the committee is preaching to the choir.

It was a near-flawless presentation, and it did preach to the choir. Heather Cox Richardson lays out the highlights, as does Stephen Colbert (in a two-part monologue!) But it was also another slam-dunk for reality as it laid out facts, more facts, and a few facts we hadn’t seen, such as 1) the Secret Service was aware — days in advance of January 6th — of the mob’s violent intentions; 2) TFG ordered U.S. troops out of Somalia and Afghanistan by January 15, 2021 for the express purpose of creating a mess for President Biden (military heavyweights were able to delay that order); 3) footage of Speaker Pelosi leading a bipartisan effort among her Congressional colleagues and VP Mike Pence to get national, state and local law enforcement to clear the Capitol so that 2020 election could be certified according to the protocols of our Constitution. Here is that footage of Pelosi, ICYMI — and aren’t we lucky we had a woman with a high-functioning Aries Sun and Moon in Scorpio in charge that day, supported by 18 planets in stability-preserving Taurus. Here’s another clip from January 6th, in which the Speaker keeps her cool, cares for Mike Pence and tears open a beef jerky with her teeth — all at the same time.
Here is a write-up of Pelosi’s horoscope — before we discovered a reported birth time. We now believe she has a Leo Ascendant, squared by Mars on the Midheaven — which squares TFG’s Mars, btw, so it’s no surprise that their relationship would have a pugilistic flair. This reported birth time has an 18 Scorpio Moon — currently opposed by Uranus and squared by Saturn — so she’s making news along with other well-known people with planets and angles around 18 degrees of Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius (Barack Obama and Mike Pompeo, off the top of my head). I wish I’d looked at Pelosi’s horoscope before January 6th, because I would have immediately noticed transiting Mars activating her tough-as-nails Saturn-Pluto square on that fateful day.
At the end of yesterday’s hearing, the January 6th Committee voted to subpoena the former guy, who’s been having no end of no-good horrible days in court. Patterns in his horoscope are beginning to repeat a pattern they were in back in 2020, when an anguished battle was suggested. He fought like hell in 2020 — and lost. It’s reasonable to anticipate a similar result on this second round. I’m keeping an eye on mid-summer 2023 for a significant shoe to drop.

Reflecting the big money news potential of the week’s planetary patterns (not to mention Beth Owl’s Daughter’s luscious Tarot Card of the Week),

“The Social Security Cost of Living Increase Will Ease the Sting of Inflation.” — but oh-no —
Kroger — the nation’s second-largest grocer — is buying Albertson’s.
Then again, the stock market rallied today…and let’s see if it keeps going up next week when Sun-Venus square Pluto.
Across the pond, British PM Liz Truss continued her reckless backtracking of her reckless initiatives launched during Mercury retrograde. She sacked her chancellor and is apparently tearing up her bonkers budget plan. Or, as the NYT reports, “For Truss and the Tories, a fairy tale unravels.” Let’s see where she’s at by the end of January, when reality may once again rear its head in what we know of her horoscope.

In other news…

Los Angeles is feeling the gridlocked potential of the partile Saturn-Uranus square. “…the city council’s work is at a standstill, leaving the citizens of Los Angeles without a fully functioning city government…” writes Vox, in an effort to explain the racist recording scandal that has led to the resignation of L.A. City Council President Nury Martinez and other council members. Utterly surreal — and a Pluto-turning-direct power grab that backfired.

Finally…

There are still spots open for the Empowered Astrology Conference — Oct 22 – 23 on Zoom!

Here’s the 411 on personal consultations.

Thank you for reading this forecast — and sharing it with your friends.

Monday 10/10/2022: Sneak Peek at a Potentially Wiggy Week; Sun-Venus Trine Saturn Strives to Keep It Real

October 11, 2022/in The Forecast

Alllllrighty then!

I started writing this on Sunday, hours after the Full Moon in Aries opposed the Libra Sun at 4:54 PM ET. Translation: energy of diplomacy, fairness and balance, especially in relationships was challenged by the need of the Aries Moon to take action. On this particular Full Moon, the action plan could involve an initiative to heal wounded feelings (given the Full Moon’s connection to Chiron — a.k.a. the wounded healer), and if that’s the case for you…

…then Monday morning may have an emotionally-charged start. And guess what? That is in fact how my day started — with a text from someone I hadn’t been in touch with for a few months, wanted to reconnect. Astrology is amazing.

Moon squared Pluto at 10:01 AM ET — and then went void until 5:03 PM ET. Hopefully you rolled with the twists and flakes — and didn’t make a mountain out of a molehill of crisis (’cause it would have likely been much ado about nothing). By the time you read this, Moon will be in Taurus, seeking to build material security and preserve the status quo. Meanwhile, at 7:50 PM ET, Mercury — how we need to think and communicate — exits Virgo and enters Libra, now focused on weighing opposing sides in a quest for fairness and balance.

Oh — but I’ve gotten way ahead of myself.

Here are the highlights of this week:

Full Moon in Aries this past Sunday
Mercury enters Libra on Monday
Sun trines Saturn on Tuesday
Mars square Neptune on Wednesday
Mercury opposing Jupiter on Wednesday
Venus trines Saturn on Friday

And here is what the Full Moon in Aries looked like, set in Washington D.C.:

Observations (briefly):

As with the New Moon in Libra chart, we see Mars in Gemini in the 4th house — courage/aggression/action — at the root of the horoscope. This time, however, Mars is almost exactly square wiggy Neptune.
There are just so many patterns echoing the theme of duality, including Mars in Gemini; Mercury (mindset; information) opposing Jupiter (collective belief system; expansion), both prominent because they are near the Aries Point.
Not only that, but check out the Sabian Symbols, which are “two prim spinsters” (for the Moon at 17 Aries) and “a retired sea captain” (for the Sun at 17 Libra). Two spinsters — again with the duality, right? And both Sabian Symbols are spinners — of yarns and possibly tall tales, which fits the Mars-Neptune square, does it not? Sabian Symbol sage Blain Bovee observes that the sea captain’s tales may come from a wealth of personal experience. He’s retired, after all. Perhaps the spinsters are, too — but they opted not to get into the game — or at least the relationship game, so what do they know, hmm? Bovee advises us to apply these Symbols with a mind to “stories that reinvent the past; that maintain a precision about a shared experience; that spin around a central point” — starters. But gosh, what else would we expect in these United States (and perhaps elsewhere as we approach the midterm elections on November 8th)? Here are more thoughts on the spinsters...and here are thoughts on the sea captain.
You are more personally affected by this Full Moon if you have planets or angles around 17 Aries, Cancer, Libra or Capricorn. Consult your astrologer for details.

Back to the day-by-day forecast:

TUESDAY: Moon in Taurus travels without interference all day. Humming in the background for the past few days — and exact at 9:06 PM ET is a trine (harmony) between Sun and Saturn. This supports heads of state and business pulling it all together (watch the news), against a backdrop of attention-grabbing inspiration – or pixie-dusted weirdness — that hits the wires by the wee hours on…
WEDNESDAY: as Mars squares Neptune at 1:46 AM ET (for the first of three passes), as Moon meets up with Uranus (surprise!) at 2:19 AM ET...followed by the last of three oppositions between Mercury and Jupiter at 3:23 AM ET…and then Moon squares Saturn (and someone scrambles for control) at 3:36 AM ET. That’s a lot to process, but let’s deal with the Mars-Neptune square. The United States has one in its horoscope — and guess what? The one that’s happening today activates the one in the U.S. horoscope. Explains a lot of the cray-cray, yes? Wednesday morning. Mars refers to action, aggression and courage and it’s Gemini – which refers to words, a war of words and a war on words. It also refers to clever doubletalk. Neptune refers to inspiration – and delusion. Watch for news involving men, cars, courage, and aggression — that also involves sexy scandal, deceit, fanatics, drugs, healing, victims, oceans, martyrs, refugees, and wipeouts — ranging from the sublime to the surreal. Whatever fits this pattern on Wednesday is likely to be revisited on November 19^th when Mars — which will be retrograde — squares Neptune for the second time. Here’s a truckload of headlines from April 2021, when Mars squared Neptune close to where it is now. You’ll also find a write-up of Prince Phillip’s horoscope, along with thoughts on Queen Elizabeth II. And if you’re now thinking, “Gosh, this 12-year archive of daily headlines is a treasure trove, worth its weight in gold,” here’s a link to my Cosmic Tip Jar, where you can become a Joyful Random Giver of Appreciation, or do so on Faithful Monthly basis, with much gratitude for keeping me motivated to keep on writing.
WEDNESDAY: Whatever jolts greeted us upon waking in the Americas, the Taurus Moon is determined to make everything OK. Moon sextiles Neptune at 12:26 PM ET, offering compassion and vision; Moon trines Pluto at 5:41 PM ET, offering depth of perspective. Chill during the long Moon void.
THURSDAY: Moon buzzes into Gemini at 1:07 AM ET, driving the next two days with a need to chatter about whatever sublime or surreal news happened the day before, and separate fact from fiction. Moon sextiles Jupiter at 4:07 AM ET, lifting spirits, and then trines Mercury at 7:29 AM ET, getting the word out. There are no other exact aspects for the rest of the day, but note that the January 6th Committee has scheduled a hearing at 1 PM ET. It’s bound to attract attention if it starts precisely on time, as the 29 Sagittarius Ascendant is Rep. Liz Cheney’s attention-getting Sagittarius Moon. The challenge for the likely near-flawless presentation of evidence is that four planets: Saturn, Venus, Sun and Mars are aligning in a Grand Air Trine, suggesting (nothing surprising here, really) that the committee is preaching to the choir. Meanwhile, the reality check that is working overtime to cut through any Mars-Neptune fog this today is that trine between Venus – women, money, values, social expression — and Saturn – structure, authority. Venus is in Libra; Saturn is in Aquarius – and both function effectively in these signs. And this trine, combined with the “two spinsters” in the Full Moon chart that starts off the week is so ridiculously in sync with Beth Owl’s Daughter’s Tarot Card for the Week that you absolutely, positively must read it to believe it.
FRIDAY: Venus trines Saturn at 2:20 AM ET. Moon in Gemini trines Saturn, Venus and the Sun at 1:32 PM ET, 2:51 PM ET and 7:23 PM ET, respectively. Have a nice day — but note the possibly wiggy outburst in the evening, as Moon squares Neptune at 10:45 AM ET and then meets up with warrior Mars at 12:10 AM ET on…
SATURDAY. Chill during the 12-hour Moon void. CHILL! At 12:10 PM ET, Moon enters Cancer, driving the weekend with a focus on emotional, family and homeland security – whatever you need to feel nourished and enjoy the comforts of home. Do so with wild abandon around 2:43 PM ET, as Moon squares Jupiter.
SUNDAY: The focus on home continues. Enjoy. Just note that the tension between Saturn and Uranus is still in effect all week and next. Saturn refers to the old guard; Uranus refers to the avant garde – and as I have said: ultimately, Uranus – which represents the future – is going to win. But while these planets are in this stubborn holding pattern (as in two tectonic plates jammed together, with neither budging an inch), we will continue to see it reflected in logjams – including supply chains – and pundits whingeing that they can’t understand why certain contests are just too close to call. If only they knew something about mundane astrology…

Meanwhile…

Real-live journalist and fellow astrologer Whitney Fishburn and I released Episode 17 of our podcast, “Off the Charts: A Stellar Newscast.” In this episode we dish about many things Neptune, and we’d love to hear what you think.
If you would like to see the headlines that are in sync with planetary patterns, check out the weekly Whether Forecast (or sign up to receive it, so you’ll never forget to search for it). In last week’s edition, I share how I happened to come down with a case of Covid — so you don’t make the same mistake I did. To your health! This week’s edition is hot off the press — or simply a hot mess, ’cause I thought I brushed my hair before recording it, but maybe I didn’t.

And now, the news.

Oh — wait — I have to tell you about the Empowered Astrology Seminar on October 22-23 — on Zoom! Some of you know that I studied with astrologer Noel Tyl, and seven of his masters course graduates are giving talks over the course of two days. Here’s the 411 on this empowering learning opportunity. Holler if you have questions.

OK. And NOW, the news.

Pluto turning direct suggested matters of power and resources blaring like a car horn in Midtown traffic. Neptune all over the place (especially in an approaching square to Mars) suggested it might be visionary or surreal. Mercury trining Pluto suggested serious dirt from underground, with a few gaffes as Mercury got back up to speed.

OPEC+ nations (including TFG buddies Russia and Saudi Arabia) decide to cut oil production by two million barrels a day, one month before the midterms, as Heather Cox Richardson explains. Coincidence or conspiracy, asks Mars square Neptune.
Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines are leaking methane — and appear to have been sabotaged.
A bridge connecting Crimea and Russia was blown up on the day Pluto turned direct, cutting off a key supply chain. HCR has the latest, including the massive missile attack Russia launched on civilian targets in Ukraine this morning, in the aftermath of the Full Moon in Aries as it squared Pluto.
Herschel Walker — the Heisman trophy winner (Mars) with a self-proclaimed multiple personality disorder (Neptune) who’s trying to win the Rev. Raphael Warnock’s (D-GA) seat in the U.S. Senate — was outed by a woman who told The Daily Beast that he’d paid for her to have an abortion in 2009. This would be no one’s business but her own, except that Walker wants all abortions to be outlawed — no exceptions. Walker said he’d never heard of this woman, which became almost comical when it turned out that this woman is also the mother of one of his four known out-of-wedlock children. Walker continued to double down…and the reason that this story reflects Pluto Pluto Pluto –as in U.S. Pluto Return power plays and corruption exposed — is that Republicans are still supporting Walker, with some flat-out saying that they don’t care about the hypocrisy of his stance on abortion; they simply want to control the Senate. That’s pretty darned bald-faced — and it’s apt for Pluto turning direct on the U.S. Pluto. Here’s HCR with the gory details.
As it turns out, there wasn’t a single U.S. senator who believed that TFG had not broken the law when he was impeached the first time, according to yet another tell-all book coming to light as Mercury and Pluto turn direct — once again reported by HCR.
Need more wiggy headlines? SNL’s latest cold open, “So You Think You Won’t Snap?” has them all for you.
With Pluto turning direct on the Midheaven of the Biden-Harris inauguration chart, news of this Administration’s accomplishments is pretty darned empowering, and the list is in the HCR link above.
“Transformative Politics” — doesn’t that sound like a subject apt for Pluto-turning-direct-in-Capricorn? It was the working title of a “lost manuscript” co-authored by Barack Obama when he was at Harvard Law School — and I’ve gifted this NYT article so you can read it. Obviously there’s a lot going on in Obama’s horoscope, including the Saturn-Uranus square activating his 18 Aquarius Ascendant, so we see the potential for a fresh start. Plus, with his Venus at the Aries Point, currently activated by the three Mercury-Jupiter oppositions, we see how his values, mindset and publishing would grab our attention. Next year, when Pluto activates his natal Mercury-Jupiter opposition, we see how his access to resources and power of persuasion are likely to become more expansive. I believe he’ll have plenty of reasons to be happy in November onward. Here’s a write-up of his horoscope from 2020.
“President Biden pardons 1000s of people convicted of marijuana possession; orders review of federal pot laws”
Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson asked powerful questions in her SCOTUS debut last week — which we’d expect with transiting Mercury on her Pluto and Mars-Neptune activating her Virgo Sun. Do read HCR’s report if you missed it.

Meanwhile, in Uruguay...

“Uruguay boasts one of the world’s greenest grids, powered by 98 percent renewable energy,” says the NYT Magazine. I was fascinated by this story because back in 2013, I wrote about the horoscope of Uruguay’s unconventional president, Jose Mujica. He’s no longer president, but the innovative policies he spearheaded seem to be serving his country just fine.

In other news…

I wrote about Kanye West’s horoscope in 2018, when it was heavily under the influence of Neptune. Had I updated it this year, I would have noted that his mindset was likely to jump in our faces like a mad genie around mid-August, never to be put back into a bottle again. In recent days he’s made headlines for trashing Lizzo (told ya she’d be under attack while transiting Mars is in contact with her Venus), sporting a “White Lives Matter” shirt and spouting death threats that got him suspended from social media. Stephen Colbert explains it all for you, along with that big bridge bombing and Dr. Oz giving a speech in front of Adolf Hitler’s car — because current planetary patterns facilitate these crazy weird stories.
Also under a heavy Neptune influence (all angles): Jeb Bush, who caught my eye in a charmingly surreal article in The New Yorker. Seems writer Adam Dalva decided to start sending fairly intimate emails to Bush, asking him for advice. Persistence paid off, and eventually Bush responded. With transiting Mars also activating Bush’s horoscope, we see the potential for him to be feeling attacked and/or take a courageous stand. This week, he “fired back” at TFG’s deranged (Neptune) claim that George H.W. Bush “took millions and millions of documents to a former bowling alley pieced together with what was then an old and broken Chinese restaurant.”

Isn’t it helpful to know something about astrology so we can appreciate the logic of all these weird headlines? Think Jeb Bush has an astrologer to help him understand why this weirdness is happening to him now?

Here’s the 411 on personal consultations.

Have fun listening to the podcasts and videos!

Here’s that link to the Empowered Astrology Conference — October 22 – 23.

Thank you for reading this forecast.

The owl on the left is named Athene, and she lives on Marco Island, Florida.

Monday 10/3/2022: Sneak Peek at the Week; Pluto Turns Direct; Lizzo in the News

October 4, 2022/in The Forecast

Alllll righty then!

It is Monday, and Mercury is no longer retrograde! The planet that symbolizes how we need to think and communicate turned direct early Sunday morning in Virgo, where it is very much at home. It will take until October 17^th for Mercury to return to the place it was when it turned retrograde on September 9^th, and between now and then, we have strong potential for seemingly-great ideas that came to us when Mercury was retrograde to be judged – on second thought – to be not so great after all. Just ask Britain’s new prime minister – Liz Truss – who announced this very morning a sudden reversal of a plan announced just 10 days ago that would have eliminated the country’s highest tax bracket. According to NYT columnist Paul Krugman, Truss’s great idea was wreaking havoc, and in Krugman’s opinion, Britain’s new leader “seems to live in a fantasy world and is oblivious to concerns about social solidarity.” This reflects Truss’s precise Venus (values) in Virgo square to (fantasy) Neptune (which might also involve Truss’ Pisces Moon), combined with Mercury (how she needs to think) in Cancer, conjunct hard-hearted Saturn (family is a business) and square to Jupiter in me-me-me Aries. It was noted in an earlier post that Truss’s natal Mars (action) in Taurus is being hit by the conflicting drives of Saturn (streamlining) and Uranus (daring). No wonder she’s running hot and cold. Here is what we know of Truss’s horoscope.

In the language of astrology, when a planet changes direction – from retrograde to direct and vice versa – it appears to slow to a virtual standstill from our perspective on Earth. The standstill offers an opportunity for us to focus on whatever the planet represents. So – with Mercury changing direction this week, we have an opportunity to sharpen our powers of observation and discernment. I say discernment because Mercury is in Virgo, one of the signs it rules. If anyone knows how to separate the wheat from the chaff, it’s Virgo.

Other highlights this week:

Mercury trines Pluto for the third time in recent weeks on Thursday
Pluto turns direct on Saturday

Here’s how it goes:

MONDAY: Moon in Capricorn drives the day with a need to Make Things Happen, bouncing initiatives off Uranus, Neptune and Mercury throughout business hours. At 11:48 PM ET, Moon meets up with Pluto, facilitating a power play or a catharsis. Chill during the six-hour Moon void.
TUESDAY: Moon enters Aquarius at 6:20 AM ET. Its need to network is supported by easy connections with Jupiter at 10:48 PM ET and Venus at 6:04 PM ET. Nice.
WEDNESDAY: The easy flow continues into the wee hours as Moon trines the Libra Sun. Shake-ups may land around lunchtime ET, as Moon squares Uranus at 12:57 PM ET, with a sobering effort at control around 1:59 PM ET, as Moon meets up with Saturn. An action plan is supported up until 6:45 PM ET, when Moon trines Mars, but may fizzle out in the 14-hour Moon void. Take the night off to chill, and roll with any twists and flakes that may arise. Crises that crop up are often much ado about nothing. Chill!
THURSDAY: At 8:46 AM ET Moon shifts gears and enters Pisces, turning the Aquarius Moon’s need for objective detachment into depth of feeling — such as Beth Owl’s Daughter’s always-in-sync Tarot Card of the Week might express. The depth is courtesy of the only exact aspect of the day: the third trine between Mercury and Pluto, suggesting a banner day for investigative reporters — to the possible chagrin of the nearest head of state and/or CEO.
FRIDAY: If this day has a wandering flow, it’s likely reflecting the lack of exact aspects to the Moon or any other planet…until 3:34 PM ET, when Moon sextiles Uranus. How nice for unconventional alliances. Things may get provocatively wiggy — or sensationally seductive — overnight, as the Moon squares Mars at 10:40 PM ET and then meets up with Neptune at 12:39 AM ET on…
SATURDAY. Feel free to sleep in late, as the Pisces Moon will be void between 7:10 AM and 11:56 AM ET. Moon then enters Aries, driving the day with a need to lead — powerfully and expansively — especially around 3:36 PM ET, when Moon meets up with Jupiter. That’s the “expansive” part. The “powerful” part reflects Pluto, which turns direct at 5:56 PM ET.Pluto also refers to resources, breakdown and transformation – especially in matters of government and corporate structures and energy resources such as gas, oil and plutonium. These issues may be blaring like a car horn all week — and we are certainly seeing some blaring about nuclear power, e.g. WaPo’s latest editorial urging the West to deter Putin’s threat of nuclear war or the apparent determination of Governor Glenn Youngkin (R-VA) to replace Virginia’s clean energy efforts with nuclear power plants. Note that the “blaring” about these issues doesn’t mean these threats will become reality, but the fact that these topics are being discussed in the news now is a reflection of planetary patterns. Anyhoo, as Pluto gets back up to speed, events that may have been put on hold around April 29^th – which is when Pluto turned retrograde – may now move forward. And we’ll want to keep an eye on events around October 19, when Pluto will square the Libra Sun. You are more personally affected by Pluto’s change of direction if you are Clarence Thomas, Chuck Schumer or anyone else with significant planets or angles around 26 Capricorn, Cancer, Libra or Aries.
SUNDAY: Emotions are on the rise, as the Moon waxes to its fullness at 4:54 PM ET. You’re more personally affected by this Full Moon if you have planets around 16 degrees of Aries, Libra, Cancer or Capricorn. Stay tuned for further details.

Meanwhile…

Humming in the background all month is a closerthanthis square between Saturn and Uranus. Saturn refers to the old guard and necessary controls. Uranus refers to the avant garde and rebellion – and ultimately, Uranus – which represents the future – is going to win. However, all through 2021 — and rightthisminute, the two planets are in a stubborn holding pattern. If you took geology in college, you can envision two tectonic plates pressing against each other – but neither one budging an inch. We see this tension reflected in logjams – including supply chains – and in contests that seem too close to call. Exhibit A: “Brazil’s Lula and Bolsanaro to face runoff after surprisingly tight result”. Given this tension between Saturn and Uranus, it’s not so surprising. Here is a post from 2021 with more on what we can expect from the Saturn-Uranus square. So far, we haven’t had a financial bubble burst as we did during past hard aspects between Saturn and Uranus. Let’s see where we’re at by the time Saturn leaves Aquarius and enters Pisces on March 8th.

You are more personally affected by this square if you have planets around 18 degrees of just about any sign, but especially 18 Aquarius, Taurus, Leo and Scorpio. Exhibit A: Daily Show host Trevor Noah, who announced his intention leave the show after a solid seven-year (one quarter of a Saturn cycle) run.

And now, the news.

Neptune refers to idealism (upside) and deception (downside). Whatever Neptune touches, it tends to dissolve — and this may be uncomfortable for people who find security in things like material comfort, clear boundaries and solid structures (like roofs and floors). Oh — and reality. Neptune dissolves that, too. And it could be a rose-colored dreamy trip — or a downright disappointment. Things may not be what they seem with Neptune.

Over the past few weeks, Neptune has been in significant contact with other planets in the cosmic sandbox: opposed by Sun, Venus and Mercury, which were in turn all opposed by Jupiter (expansion) and trine Pluto (extreme; empowerment). Translation: we expect headlines involving leaders, women, aesthetics, money — big time — and with an element of music, idealism, drugs, fish, floods, refugees, etc. — with an element of the surreal. The timing of these stories make much more sense when you consider the astro-logic:

Inside Lizzo’s historically important flute performance at the Library of Congress (there’s a video here)

…which was also reported as:

“Republicans Won’t Stop Complaining About Lizzo Playing James Madison’s 200-Year-Old Flute: ‘A Humiliation Ritual’”

Lizzo is a classically trained flutist, as you’ll learn in this write-up of her horoscope. Her natal Moon-Venus square will be provoked by transiting Mars three times during this Mars retrograde cycle, and the first one is happening right now. No wonder she’s being attacked for her social expression. Not only that, but as Sun, Venus and Mercury have all activated the Aries Point as they traveled from late Virgo to 0 Libra, all three have squared Lizzo’s Uranus, which is also at the Aries Point. She can’t help but attract attention for being innovative and unconventional.

Speaking of music and madness:

“TFG embraces QAnon at rally by playing music similar to its anthem” Seriously — why would this story be making news now? Astrology!

The next planet Neptune will engage with is Mars, with the first of three squares happening on October 12th. Mars-Neptune patterns can be oh-so seductive — and also scandalous. Mars refers to warriors and athletes, so watch for those types to be associated with Neptunian themes, such as:

Neptune also refers to fish. If it looks fishy, it probably is, as in…

“Fishermen nearly won a tournament. Then weights were found in the fish.”

Speaking of Venus at the Aries Point…

“White House restores arts commission dissolved under TFG”
“Around the world, protesters take to the streets in solidarity with Iranian women” (lots more going on here, but I wanted to mention the important recent developments in Iran)

Speaking of other people with planets and/or angles around the Aries Point, and thus made recent news:

Edward Snowden granted Russian citizenship
WaPo publishes op-ed by imprisoned Russian dissident Alexei Navalny: “How to build a peaceful post-Putin Russia”
isn’t it interesting that in contact with J. So if you think the news has been weirder than “usual,” you’re right – and it’s no surprise.
“Will Gavin Newsom run for president — and could he win over the Democratic base?“

Finally…

I encourage you to follow historian Heather Cox Richardson‘s Letter from an American. Here’s her latest recap of daily events in these all-too-interesting times, including news about Ukraine, Russia and U.S. politicians.

A bonus podcast for patron subscribers of Off the Charts: A Stellar Newscast was posted yesterday. Whitney tells a surreal story from her days as a reporter during the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign, and I dish about Sarah Kendzior’s new book, They Knew.

I would love to hear from Avid Readers who were in Hurricane Ian’s path. Thinking of you and hoping you are safe and sound.

Here’s the 411 on personal consultations.

Pluto says hi.

Resistance is futile.

Wednesday 9/28/2022: Brief Sneak Peek at the Week; Moon Void Adventures; Mercury Turns Direct

September 28, 2022/in The Forecast

As you may have read in Beth Owl’s Daughter’s always-in-sync Tarot Card of the Week, I’m under the weather and don’t have the bandwidth to record a video Whether Forecast or write a full Sneak Peek at the Week just yet. As astrologer Rockie Gardiner (whose Rockie Horoscope inspired me to start writing this forecast 13 years ago) used to say, “We are freewheeling.”

As a consolation, may I direct your attention to Episode 16 of Off the Charts: A Stellar Newscast, which dropped on Friday. To Avid Reader Peggy — who took the time to tell us she thought it was our best effort yet — thank you so much for the encouragement and support — and stay tuned for the bonus anecdotes we promised patron subscribers. They’re recorded — I was floored by what Whitney had to share — and will be uploaded soon.

Meanwhile…

…because my sense of responsibility (Capricorn Ascendant) and genuine delight in keeping you informed (Moon in Gemini) just can’t not tell you something about this week’s patterns, know that:

Sunday’s New Moon was in Libra — here is astrologer Blaine Bovee’s take on the Sabian Symbol for this lunation.
There’s been confluence of planetary patterns suggesting a rush of disciplined action, some of it grand and other parts grandly delusional. Did you hear that NASA crashed a spacecraft into an asteroid, in an effort to knock it off course? And that because Mars is in Gemini, fer gawdsake, that of COURSE the asteroid is called Dimorphos, meaning of TWO — count ’em — TWO forms? And that the name of the NASA effort is DART — for Double (!!) Asteroid Redirection Test because “redirection” is the thing to do when Mercury is retrograde?
Venus trined Pluto, met up with Mercury on Monday, the same day Sun opposed Jupiter. See above.
Mercury trined Pluto on Tuesday, digging up investigative dirt.
Mars trined Saturn at 1;48 AM ET on Wednesday morning, suggesting an easy flow of airy energy — the kind you’d expect from a hurricane.
Venus ditches Virgo for Libra on Thursday at 3:49 AM ET. This is an improvement, much better for making decisions about aesthetic choices, and diplomacy. Make the most of it until October 23, when Venus enters Scorpio.
Venus opposes Jupiter on Saturday at 2:11 PM ET, perhaps infusing the weekend with a generous — potentially indulgent — spirit.
Mercury turns direct on Sunday at 5:07 AM ET — at 24 Virgo. Maintain focus — and roll with the schedule snafus and travel delays.

Finally…

Here’s an example of how an understanding of astrology can help you live life better. I was scheduled to fly back to New York on Thursday evening. To get to the airport in Portland, I planned to take a bus from Bangor that afternoon. Once on that bus, I posted this on Facebook:

I knew when I booked my flight (weeks ago) that planetary patterns suggested a higher than average potential for delays, but since my plans were flexible, I booked it anyway. It’s pouring rain in NY, which means the flight departure has been pushed back three times — and might even be canceled. Upside: I’m well-prepared to roll with whatever twists that arise, thanks to my knowledge of astrology.

Later, I added:

Travel update: given my understanding of planetary patterns, I concluded that the potential for my flight being canceled was exceptionally high. So instead of staying on the bus to Portland (and the airport), I got off in Augusta, where my cousin lives. Changed my flight without penalty — will fly back to NYC in a couple of days. An hour after I made those arrangements, tonight’s flight was, in fact, canceled — And I’m hanging with my cousin over wine and pizza instead of scrambling for a hotel in Portland.

Astrology is amazing.

Here’s the 411 on consultations. The next set of eclipses is almost upon us, not to mention a slew of planets changing direction: Pluto (direct), Saturn (direct), and Mars (retrograde). There’s lots to discuss in terms of what it all suggests for you.

May Avid Readers in Hurricane Ian’s path — or in the path of any storm — be safe and sound. Please stay in touch.

Monday 9/19/2022: Sneak Peek at the Week; Autumnal Equinox; A Royal Farewell

September 20, 2022/in The Forecast

eAlllrighty then!

For those who receive alerts when the latest video Whether Gal forecast for the week is posted, you know that today’s planetary patterns aptly supported the event much of the world watched this morning, i.e., the funeral of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

Here are the planetary highlights for this week:

Venus trines Uranus on Monday
Sun enters Libra on Thursday
Mercury conjunct Sun on Friday
Mercury retrogrades back into Virgo on Friday
Venus opposes Neptune on Saturday
New Moon in Libra on Sunday

It goes like this:

MONDAY: Moon is in Cancer, driving the start of the week with a need to focus on matters of emotional, home/homeland and family security. Note that at 11:57 PM ET on Sunday, the Sun – which refers to heads of state — was trine to Pluto. This is a helpful alignment for all of the heads of state that gathered in London to pay their respects to Queen Elizabeth. It also facilitates an easy transfer of power. Also helpful: the Cancer Moon sextiles Venus and Uranus at 4:52 PM ET and 5:43 PM ET, which in turn will be trine at 12:44 AM ET on….
TUESDAY. The Moon-Venus-Uranus harmony reflects the diversity of those attending the funeral – including millions who will be watching the broadcast — with a good chance that everyone will get along. When I tuned into the Washington Post’s coverage on Monday morning, that’s exactly what commentator James Hohmann was talking about. If there’s a power play in store, it might happen around 8:58 AM ET, when Moon makes its weekly clash with Pluto. However, a harmony between the Virgo Sun and Cancer Moon at 11:56 AM ET may restore a bit of balance. Chill during the ensuing Moon void. Moon enters Leo at 4:40 PM ET, now offering an opportunity for us to shine – and help others shine, too. You simply can’t go wrong by paying someone a compliment when the Moon is in Leo — and even with Mercury still retrograde, an easy flow among Mercury, Jupiter and the Moon at 9:51 PM ET and 1:31 AM ET on…
WEDNESDAY: help get the words out.
THURSDAY: may begin with an upset, followed by an effort to maintain control. These patterns reflect the potentially stubborn regal Leo Moon jolted by Uranus at 5:36 AM ET, followed by an opposition to taskmaster Saturn at 7:05 AM ET. Note that the Moon will then be void for almost an entire day! Your coping strategy is to roll with any twists and flakes that disrupt efforts to move forward in a straight line. A crisis that crops up may be much ado about nothing. Stick with routine projects if you’re at the office — or make time to wander if you can. Chill! Meanwhile, at 9:03 PM ET, Sun leaves Virgo and enters Libra. This is the autumnal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere, and the first day of fall.

A pause, while we discuss the beginning of this new season…a perfect balance between day and night.

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, Prince William and William Shatner were born with the Sun at the Aries Point. They’re pretty prominent in everything they do, don’t you think?

Libra is a airy, mental sign, generally concerned with relationships, social graces and with promoting fairness, justice and balance. Its ruling planet is Venus, which can be oh-so-sweet and socially gracious. Libra’s mantra is : I BALANCE. This does not mean Libras are balanced; it means they generally are seeking balance and are quite capable of swinging back and forth wildly as they search for it.

Did you know that Fox News (motto: “fair and balanced”) launched under a Libra Sun? If you’re now thinking “wow, there must be a lot more to a horoscope than just a Sun Sign,” I commend you. And that’s another compelling reason why you should get to know your horoscope. Or have a professional explain it to you.

As sweet as Libra can be, they are not marshmallows. The term “iron fist in a velvet glove” often applies. Jimmy Carter is a Libra and he won a Nobel Peace Prize. So was Margaret Thatcher, who was known as Britain’s “Iron Lady.”

Here is the chart for the Autumnal Equinox, set in Washingon, D.C.:

Observations:

Uranus — planet of change is right on the Ascendant — and squared by Saturn. The tension between the old guard (Saturn) and the avant garde (future) is in the face of the United States for the next three months. Eh…no surprise there.
Pluto is on the Midheaven, just as it is in the horoscope for President Biden’s inauguration chart. Continued transformation and empowerment in the U.S. presidency?
As it was in the chart for the Vernal Equinox, the Moon is in the 5th house — putting yet another focus on creative self-expression and children. This time the Moon is in Leo, possibly roaring without teeth, given that the Moon is void.
Ascendant ruler Venus also rules the 6th house of workers and health — is not at her best. She’s looking for perfection in Virgo — inspired or delusional, depending on who’s talking.
Sun and Mercury at the Aries Point and on the cusp of the 6th draw attention to those 6th house issues: systems of cooperation and process, workers and health concerns. And there is a lot of talking and weighing both sides, given Venus’ relationship with that prominent Mercury. What else do you see?

Back to the forecast:

FRIDAY: Mercury meets up with the Sun at the Aries Point. News from and/or about leaders commands our attention. Moon fiiiiiinally gets focused in Virgo after the long void at 3:53 AM ET, ready to clean up the mess from Moon in Leo’s party. Mercury retrogrades back into Virgo at 8:04 AM ET, and we can all make good use of the increased powers of discernment…but if you can wait until after Mercury turns direct (on October 2) to seal the deal, that would be preferable. Meanwhile, look for an outlet for discerning taste in the world of music, art and other lovely aesthetics. They could serve as a dreamy escape, reflecting the rose-colored opposition between Venus and Neptune at 4:51 AM ET on…
SATURDAY. A square between the Virgo Moon and Mars in Gemini at 1:50 PM ET could be provocative. Innovation and/or unconventional alliance may help to work it all out, reflecting the Moon’s trine to Uranus at 3:16 PM ET. More potentially dreamy escapes may unfold overnight, as the Moon opposes Neptune and meets up with Venus, then trines Pluto…and then won’t stop talking about it on…
SUNDAY: as it meets up with Mercury at 8:49 AM ET. Chill during the four-hour Moon void. By now we are totally in the dark, at the end of the lunar cycle. Thus we may feel listless or restless, sensing something new will be brought to light, but we don’t know what. Moon enters Libra at 12:42 PM ET, but it won’t be officially new until 5:54 PM ET…and I’ll tell you what we can expect in the next forecast.

Here is Beth Owl’s Daughter’s Tarot Card of the Week — always in sync!

And now, the news.

Much of it reflects the Sun-Neptune opposition that was exact on Friday, coupled with the Sun-Pluto trine on Sunday. Sun refers to leaders. Neptune refers to music, spirits of all kinds, healing, refugees, immigration, scandal, magical thinking, viruses, empathy, charity, victims, floods, oceans, water, surrender, fog, lies, oil, the surreal and the totally bonkers. Pluto adds depth, power and potential breakdown.

“Billionaire no more: Patagonia founder gives away the company” –– in an effort to save the planet. The founder is Yvon Chouinard, and he was born in Maine. Bless his heart.
“Are soul mates real, according to science?”
“The Merge is upon us. Wait, what’s the Merge?” Good question, and it has something to do with imaginary money — a.k.a. cryptocurrency; specifically one called Ethereum. How wonderfully Neptunian.

“Lured, exploited and hoodwinked” is what the sheriff of Bexar County, Texas had to say about opening a criminal investigation into the said luring of 50 migrants from Venezuela who were apparently flown to Martha’s Vineyard a few days ago — via a military base (!!!) in Texas…at the initiative of Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL), who apparently used $12 million Florida taxpayer dollars to finance this stunt, which included promising them jobs in Boston…somehow getting federal employees at the Department of Homeland Security to give the migrants fake mailing addresses at homeless shelters around the country…and then putting the migrants at risk of deportation by somehow requiring them to appear in court TODAY…and…OMG what a tangled Neptunian web…it’s making my head spin…and y’know, it’s pretty awesome that this idea got cooked up during Mercury retrograde, so it could backfire spectacularly. Here is historian Heather Cox Richardson with what was known about this atrocity a few days ago. And here is Stephen Colbert with the video.
Ken Burns has a new documentary — “The U.S. and the Holocaust” — that should be watched and never forgotten, lest history repeat itself in the same way that planetary patterns between 2011-2016 were a repeat of planetary patterns in the early ’30s
Meanwhile, the former guy got everyone at his latest rally to give him their own special version of something all-too-similar to the Nazi “Sieg Heil” salute. This should not be taken lightly…and Heather Cox Richardson has more.
Hurricane Fiona wreaks havoc in the Caribbean; knocks out all power in Puerto Rico
Supertyphoon hits Japan
President Biden says on 60 Minutes that the Covid pandemic is over.
Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) introduces a bill to nationalize a ban on abortion, doing a 180 on past declarations that it should be up to individual states to decide. Anything to turn attention away from his efforts to weasel out of complying with a subpoena in Georgia, perhaps.

In other news…

Mercury retrograde is a fine time for REview of the past — and perhaps a REvision, too. Is that why so many Republican candidates are “walking back” extreme pro-life stances? Because they are. Other extreme stances being walked back include this stunning reversal by Don Bolduc, who won his race to become the Republican challenger for Democrat Maggie Hassan’s U.S. Senate seat. Here is Bolduc on the Fox “News,” (at 3:03 into this interview), blithely confessing that he’s um…er…umm…come to the conclusion…ermmm…. that the 2020 election “wasn’t stolen” (after insisting up until a few weeks ago that it was), and that Joe Biden is the “legitimate president” of the United States. I say Fox “News,” because the headline for this video on the Fox “News” site is “Bolduc shares ‘bottom-up’ campaign approach, slams Dems’ failures: ‘Enough is enough’” — instead of something like “OMG Pigs Have Flown: Election Denier Bolduc Reverses Course; Now Says 2020 Election Wasn’t Stolen.” Right? THAT would be actual news!

And we all have our work cut out for us over the next couple of months, discerning fact from fiction.

As for a Mercury retrograde REview of the past, once again, Stephen Colbert delivers, in a segment called (aptly in the spirit of one potential of the Sun-Neptune opposition), “We Predicted Every Insane, Criminal Step Down Nutball Treason Highway To January 6th”

Oy! These times are so polarizing. On the one hand…and on the other hand…big time. Just like the second opposition of Mercury in Libra and Jupiter in me-me-me Aries might reflect. That happened on Sunday, along with the Sun-Pluto trine. Here’s Dr. Leanna Wen agreeing with President Biden that the pandemic is over...and here’s the entire WaPo editorial board saying it’s not. Whom to believe?

Finally…

The trine between Venus (who, what and how we need to love) and Uranus (quirky) was exact just minutes ago, and in that spirit I’ll close with this:

“Spider cameo and Tindall’s medals: social media reacts to the quirky side of (the Queen’s) funeral coverage.” The spider was truly extraordinary, as anyone who knows their animal totems can tell you:

The spider is a remarkable figure of feminine energy and creativity in the spirit animal kingdom. Spiders are characterized by the skilled weaving of intricate webs and patience in awaiting their prey. By affinity with the spider spirit animal, you may have qualities of high receptivity and creativity. Having the spider as a power animal or totem helps you tune into life’s ebbs and flows and ingeniously weave every step of your destiny.

Here’s the 411 on personal consultations.…and here’s the 411 on the October 22-23 Empowered Astrology Conference — on Zoom — I’m presenting a talk — don’t miss it.

Whitney Fishburn & I will be back with a fresh episode of this Friday.

Thank you for reading this forecast.

THE FORECAST

THE
FORECAST