THE
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 Friday 11/16/2012 & the Weekend: Mars in Capricorn
/in The ForecastWhile you were sleeping (for readers in the US), Moon charged into the enterprising sign of Capricorn, armed with a hammer and plenty of nails. You may have woken up inspired by a sublime or surreal vision, as Moon formed an easy connection with nebulous Neptune. Welcome to the next two days of making that vision happen, and let’s hope it’s more sublime than surreal.
Building your empire may require considerable flexibility, courtesy of challenges from the Usual Suspects, rebel Uranus (1:32PM ET) and ruthless Pluto (6:18P ET). Acts of aggression may generate more attention than anyone anticipated, courtesy of Mars hitting a highly-charged point in the zodiac as it moves into Capricorn at 9:36PM ET. And here I would be thinking of the unfortunate headlines about escalating battles in the Middle East. On the plus side, the action-oriented energy of Mars is very comfortable in earthy Capricorn. So long as you keep your temper in check (and are not held hostage by the outbursts of others), you may move a mountain or two in your own personal world. Mars will be in Capricorn through December 25th.
These next several days can be quite productive for artists, healers and other creative types who work with intangibles (including music). There’s a lovely communicative energy on Saturday that supports rose-colored ideals with practicality. Sunday, after a six hour Moon void between 1 and 7 AM ET, Moon moves into humanitarian Aquarius, facilitating group project of all kinds, the more socially significant, the better.
In yesterday’s news recap, we noted strikes across Europe in protest of continued austerity measures being proposed and/or enacted as a way to resolve economic crises that are marching inexorably to a head in January. Mercury retrograde tends to increase the likelihood of strikes, as if somehow workers intuitively know they should be taking some time off ; ) Did you know that here in the US, some WalMart workers are also on strike? Planetary patterns are building to a potentially volatile release between the 20th and the 29th. Just giving you a heads up if you plan to spend your Thanksgiving weekend anywhere near a minefield, whether it’s real or metaphorical. This would include shopping malls on Black Friday. Once again, the blokes at The Guardian have more on the WalMart story…
Astro-logical Forecast for Thursday 11/15/2012: A Penny For Your Thoughts
/in The ForecastIt’s a day that light on exact planetary patterns, driven by Moon in Sagittarius and its need for passionate opinions, which may become more intense into the late evening hours. Said opinions may be accompanied by dynamic action, as Mars (action!) is also in Sagittarius and fast approaching the Aries Point (exact on Friday at 9:36PM ET). Watch those slings and arrows (duck!), especially if you are in any kind of strike zone, whether the strike be military or by the common man. If you are not in any line of fire, then do what you can to broaden your horizons and/or expand your mind.
On Tuesday, you may recall that nebulous Neptune squared mental Mercury, suggesting themes of illusion and delusion. This was the second time we’ve had this square in recent weeks; the first one was exact on October 29th. We’ll have another on December 11th, when Mercury has turned direct. Why am I mentioning this Mercury-Neptune square? Because of the timing of the events in this headline, “Dying Boy Who United Town, Ends Up Being a Hoax”. Isn’t that interesting?
In other news, China “unveiled” its new leadership, exactly when we anticipated a big change of perspective and empowerment. Why? Because ruthless Pluto, now at 7 degrees of Capricorn, is exactly squaring China’s Sun at 7 Libra. If you’re new to the forecast and don’t know much about the Mother of All Squares that will be in effect from 2011-2015, check out my piece on Uranus and Pluto — you’ll find it in the Articles section of the website.
Astro-logical Forecast for Wednesday 11/14/2012: Secrets & Lies
/in The ForecastMore murky, muddled depths perhaps…at least through the wee hours of Wednesday morning. After a very brief Moon-void at 5:39AM ET, Moon escapes the clutches of heavy Scorpio and blasts off into Sagittarius at 5:52AM ET, where it quickly crashes into nebulous Neptune. Note your dreams upon waking…clear the cobwebs from your head with a little caffeine and embrace the expansive, optimistic potential a Sag Moon holds. And if you don’t know what that looks like, here is a picture of someone I am sure has a Sagittarius Ascendant.**
Caveats: be advised that while you were sleeping, Mercury backed into Scorpio at 2:43AM ET. This adds more of the usual “wobble” we can experience when planets move from one sign into the next. We already have Mercury retrograde challenging our patience and our mental focus. We’ve got bottlenecked energy from yesterday’s solar eclipse that hasn’t found its release (look for a hit of it when Mercury reaches 22 Scorpio on the 20th). I can’t say this enough: double check your facts before you hit “send”. Make sure the restaurant you’re going to is actually open. And if you’re free to wander a bit over the next few days, then by all means indulge. But whatever you do, don’t wander into this restaurant, if you happen to be in New York. You can, however, enjoy the scathing review (see the preceding link) as a fine example of “Sagittarian blunt opinionation meets scathing Scorpionic thermonuclear destruction.”
Meanwhile, the dirt digging continues. The General Petraeus kerfuffle gets weirder by the hour, prompting some to wonder if we’ve dug up too much. There are 2260 comments (so far) posted on that linked New York Times article — which seems like a record. And I wonder how many comments would be posted on an article like this. More dirt: comedienne Janeane Garofalo is stunned to discover that she was married for 20 years — seriously! And finally — a big NEVER MIND on those allegations about Elmo’s puppeteer that broke on Monday. Absolutely, positively not true — the accuser has recanted. Good thing Monday’s forecast warned you not to believe those bedazzling rumors…
**P.S. — for those who checked out the personification of a Sagittarius Ascendant at the end of the first paragraph: Astrid Lindgren, the Swedish author who created Pippi Longstocking, was born on this date in 1907. She was 94 when she passed away. RIP and thank you, Ms. Lindgren, for everything!
Astro-logical Forecast for Tuesday 11/13/2012: New Moon in Scorpio
/in The ForecastThat restless, listless feeling of anticipation is the last several hours of a “dead” Moon in Scorpio, waiting to be reborn at 5:08PM ET, along with a total solar eclipse. Those (choose one or more) spacy, visionary, dreamy, delusional, surreal thoughts and communications you may be having are courtesy of mental Mercury being challenged by nebulous Neptune. And underscoring it all is the potential for deep research into some subjects that may be unsavory, like the continued outpouring of detail on the Petraeus affair or this fascinating piece on new technology that is shedding light on homicide cases that have been cold for decades. Some may find this depth intriguing; others may find it unsettling.
The New Moon and a potent total solar eclipse is very exciting if you live in Australia, where there hasn’t been a total eclipse seen in over a decade. Conventional wisdom holds that wherever the eclipse is visible is where the greatest effects can be expected, lasting the number of years that the eclipse is long in hours. This particular eclipse will last just over three hours, so we can expect its effects to last just over three years. Just keep an eye on 22 degrees of Scorpio….and note where that degree falls in your horoscope. And keep an eye on Australia, “ground zero” of this month’s eclipse.
Eclipses act as “bottlenecks” of energy. Light flowing from the Sun or Moon is temporarily interrupted, focusing attention on the interrupted point and allowing something new and possibly fragile to enter the picture and grow. And here I would be thinking of Michael, the kindhearted policeman in the storybook Make Way for Ducklings, who stopped the flow of traffic on Beacon Street so Mr. and Mrs. Mallard and their brood of eight could safely make their way to the Boston Public Garden.
Of course while traffic is stopped, it’s also backing up…which causes frustration. And when it flows again, it’s possible that some drivers may hit the gas a little too hard — and wham! — there’s a sudden release of the bottlenecked energy. If you have a planet or point at the degree of an exceptionally potent eclipse, you are more susceptible. And here I would be thinking of Rupert Murdoch, Rebekah Brooks and (former) Congressman Anthony Weiner, who all have a major point or planet at 11 degrees of Virgo, Pisces, Gemini and/or Sagittarius, which was impacted by the June 2011 eclipse at 11 Gemini. Or Mitt Romney, whose 1 Gemini Ascendant was conjoined by the solar eclipse in May 2012. Might they have been feeling a bit “eclipsed” in the past year or so?
The Sabian Symbol for this New Moon at 22 Scorpio is “hunters starting out for ducks”…and as always, we turn to Sabian Symbol guru Blain Bovee for inspiration and interpretation. Hunters, Bovee notes, are on a mission…tracking down their quarry…usually camouflaged, but ready to kill. While the goal is focused, the execution may be a little broad, for unlike other rifle-slinging predators, duck hunters are not known for their precision. Much better to throw a bunch of stuff up at the wall and see what sticks. Whatever works!
For better or for worse, we may see some extremely crafty schemes planted and/or brought to light in this lunar cycle…and when 22 degrees of Scorpio is triggered over the course of the next few years. In your own personal world, this is a challenge to to develop your own crafty scheme by taking the high road, not the low road. It is also a challenge to hunt down something that is real, not a delusion. Remember Scorpio’s potential for honor and integrity, act accordingly and aim high. Additionally, Bovee advises us to watch out for “troubleshooters; a willingness to get in the line of fire and help the helpless; hunting for new ways to deal with situations.”
Speaking of new approaches, I noted two in recent days, and both of which involve Occupy Wall Street. They’ve been rather camouflaged in the last year, but perhaps no less focused on their goals. Hmmm. Anyway, here in New York, OWS has morphed into Occupy Sandy, providing effective relief to those struggling to recover from this month’s devastating hurricane. Turns out that the weeks spent camping in an urban plaza in a loosely organized community provided OWS with excellent training for thinking outside the box and getting things done.
OWS also has a new, creative approach to managing debt. With Saturn in Scorpio, debt is one of the Big Things that Must Be Addressed in the next two and half years. No more kicking the can down the road — just take a look at what’s going on in Europe, not to mention this talk of “going off a fiscal cliff” here in the United States. So what is this creative OWS approach? It’s called Rolling Jubilee. As an experiment, it bought $14,000 worth of debt for a measly $500. Then, instead of going after the debtors to collect more than $500 (and get a return on its investment), OWS forgave the debt. Poof!
Debt problem solved? I don’t know, but the project is running full speed ahead. It made me think of that $5 million in pocket change Donald Trump “offered” to give to charity…or the $6 billion that was allegedly spent on elections last year. What if that money were used to forgive 28 times as much debt? I wrote an email to economist Paul Krugman, asking for his opinion. I haven’t heard back, but as usual, someone at The Guardian has weighed in…and he thinks it’s a brilliant idea.
Your New Moon mission, should you choose to accept, is to have a mission that is focused, inspired and creatively executed. Don’t be afraid to think outside the box.
Astro-logical Forecast for Monday 11/12/2012: Scorpio Ups and Downs
/in The ForecastToday’s Moon in Scorpio seeks knowledge for the sake of power and control. Add Mercury retrograde in opinionated Sagittarius…challenged by nebulous Neptune (now moving direct as of Sunday), and the quest for “who knew what and when did they know it” could produce bewildering or visionary results. If you’re reviewing old projects and trying to get the bugs out, it could be visionary. If it’s gossip or a rumor you’re chasing, it’s probably bedazzling. If it’s a really big new idea you want to ship this very minute — well, double check those facts first — and fergawdssake wait until after the New Moon, which is exact Tuesday at 5:08PM ET (unless your big idea is a brainstorm to clear up something unfinished). If you’re an artist, healer or some other creative type, you’ll thrive in this rose-colored world this week into next.
Scorpio energy is emotionally deep and intense. At its highest form, it is honor and integrity personified. A serious meet-up between the Scorpio Moon and stern Saturn at 1:28PM ET is an appropriate aspect for those who are remembering and honoring the service of military veterans, on this Veterans Day in the United States. I’ll light a rose-colored candle for my ancestor who fought in the Civil War. Then I’ll pray that by the year 2100, the only veterans we will need to remember are dead ones, because wars will have been made obsolete years before, and thus no one alive will have fought in one…and that somehow we will still be free. (bonus for history buffs: a significant Civil War discovery was dug up last week — 150 years after a “ferocious battle” Fredricksburg, Virginia.
Two veterans who might prefer you not remember them right now are David Petraeus and Paula Broadwell. The disclosure of their extramarital affair resulted in General Petraeus resigning as director of the CIA last week. Bedazzling details are still pouring in, but one detail you may not see in the mainstream media is that Petraeus and Broadwell were born on November 7 (1952) and November 9 (1972), respectively. Yes, that’s right — last week! Two Scorpios…who, as astrologer Linda Goodman once wrote, “build all the way up to Heaven or all the way down to Hell.” Which is what makes Scorpio so…”interesting.”
Even without exact birth times, it is easy to see this strong attraction — arguably of a fated kind — suggested by numerous connections from his horoscope to hers, and vice versa. But having a mutual attraction does not “mean” it has to be acted upon, right? Of course…but when we look at the horoscope of General Petraeus to see where he was at in his life development from 2011 to 2012, we note a measurement between Venus and Mars that often coincides with a new passion. A strong measurement between Neptune and Pluto suggests an “out of this world” experience. There are other measurements, but you get the idea. Petraeus was also going through his second Saturn return, a critical time in life development when priorities are reassessed and a life strategy for the next 28-30 should be put in place. (Note: the first Saturn return happens around age 29, and usually coincides with a serious, urgent focus on establishing oneself in the material world: getting married, buying a house, changing careers).
Measurements in Ms. Broadwell’s horoscope in late 2010-2012 also suggest the potential for upheaval (rebel Uranus meets resistance-is-futile Pluto); a serious focus and/or separation in love matters (Venus in a challenging aspect with stern Saturn); and a burst of personal magnetism (passionate Mars meets bedazzling Neptune). Again, these are just a few alerts to the potential for the situation that would later develop. Bottom line: even though they met in 2006, it makes sense that their affair did not begin until a few years later. I wonder how things might have turned out if General Petraeus had consulted with an astrologer beforehand…
This week, there are no Moon voids to toss a wrench in your plans to move forward in a straight line. There is only Mercury retrograde…for another two weeks. How many people from your past have you encountered since last Tuesday, hmmm?