Thursday 4/26/2018 & Into the Weekend: When Mars Meets Pluto…

The  perfectionist Virgo Moon has been void since 5:49 AM ET, suggesting a time to chill, take care of routine and roll with whatever twists and flakes disrupt your efforts to move forward in a straight line. Upsets favoring underdogs are also possibilities.  Reverberating through this day is the aftermath of  a meet-up between Mars (action, courage, aggression, men) and Pluto (power, breakdown, transformation) — exact at 6:54 AM ET. This accounts for nearly all of the headlines I’m seeing.

The Virgo Moon won’t get into gear until 9:13 PM ET, when it enters people-pleasing Libra. On FRIDAY, note the potential for a wet blanket or authoritarian advance around 1:21 PM ET, when the Moon is squared by Saturn. A clash of mindset sparks a revelation, as the Moon faces off against Mercury at 8:42 PM ET. We’ve already talked about the potential volatility suggested on SATURDAY, with the Moon is squared by Pluto and Mars at 11:18 AM ET and 1:17 PM ET. Bite your tongue and head to the nearest gym. Emotions will be on the rise, courtesy of  the Full Moon, exact at 8:58 PM ET.  On the plus side, there are no Moon voids to turn your weekend shopping urges into a bust.

And now, the news.

It’s Mars conjunct Pluto all over the place, i.e.,  assertive energy delivered with potentially explosive force  — including news from underground:

• “Search for the ‘Golden State Killer’ Leads to Arrest of Suspect — an Ex-Cop”
• Big scoop from the NYT: “Inside the Confidential N.F.L. Meeting to Discuss National Anthem Protests”
• A midwife forced to deliver babies for the Islamic State is interviewed by WaPo
• Avengers: Infinity War – the death, the destruction and Thanos – discuss with spoilers — yeah, that’s Mars conjunct Pluto — and a top-viewed headline at The Guardian
• ‘Breathtaking homicidal violence’: Latin America in grip of murder crisis
• The sadism of white men — why America must atone for its lynchings

• ‘Raw hatred’: why the ‘incel’ movement targets and terrorises women

• Why It Seems As If Everyone is Always Angry With You

• A Massacre Frozen in Time: Skeletons in Sweden Reveal Massive Attack
• Gertrude Jeanette, the first woman to drive a cab in New York (Mars rules cars) — has died
• Otto Warmbier’s parents are suing North Korea for the brutal torture and murder of their son
• Mike Pompeo — a hawk — confirmed by Senate to be next Secretary of State
• North Korea’s Nuclear Test Site Has Collapsed

Contrast that last one with  live feed I’m currently watching of a historic meeting between the leaders of North Korea and South Korea.  Lots and lots of cars with sirens racing down a highway. Perhaps this apparent harmony between leaders reflects a harmony between the Taurus Sun and Saturn in Capricorn, exact  at 6:03 AM ET on Sunday.

UPDATE: Bill Cosby, whose horoscope we’ve been writing about since forever.  Here’s the last installment, posted two weeks ago:

He’s back in court for a  Mercury REtrograde REtrial — on charges of sexual assault. A lot has changed since the first trial, which ended in a deadlocked jury. #MeToo, anyone? And there are big changes in Cosby’s horoscope, too. Transiting Pluto is squaring his Ascendant and opposing his Cancer Sun — and karma cop Saturn is squaring his natal Saturn. It seems quite possible that the jury will see him in a different light. A major Pluto phase has a way of changing one’s perspective. Resistance is futile.   Here is his horoscope, using an Aries Ascendant. It’s been tracking quite well since  2014.

In recent days, Mars made provocative hits to three planets in his horoscope and his Ascendant. Today a jury found him guilty of sexual assault. Mr. Cosby reacted by hurling an expletive in the court’s general direction.  Go Mars! Go Pluto!

In other news…

I’m a huge fan of the NYT’s latest series, “Overlooked No More.” In a world dominated by men, the obituary section has been no exception. Thus the NYT is paying its respects to women who should have been respected years ago.  Here’s an excerpt from today’s installment — still very Mars conjunct Pluto:

Maria Bochkareva, a pugnacious, formidable and semiliterate peasant who, in World War I, became one of Russia’s first female army officers and commanded an all-women unit into battle on the Eastern Front, died on May 16, 1920. She was 30.

Meanwhile, long-delayed respects were paid in Montgomery, Alabama: “Lynching Memorial Draws Crowds and Tears.”   The museum is a project of the Equal Justice Initiative, first written about in this forecast back in 2015 and again in 2016.  That’s when the Uranus-Pluto square was intensely active in the horoscope of the United States.

UPDATE: Emmanuel Macron, president of France,  is right on schedule. Here’s a blurb from a forecast last year:

At 28 degrees of Capricorn, his Ascendant will be hit by transiting Uranus starting in April 2018, suggesting a shake-up and/or a fresh direction in his personal presentation. The fresh start is likely to be coupled with an expanded professional status, as transiting Jupiter makes its way to the top of his chart. This year he’ll be dealing with the streamlining influence of transiting Saturn to his Venus, Mercury and Sun. Streamlining is not necessarily a downer. It suggests an opportunity to focus and plan for an ambitious advance.

Yesterday with the first hit of Uranus to his Capricorn Ascendant,  Macron gave a disruptive address to Congress.   Pundits were calling him the new leader of the Free World.  Just the night before the internets went ape over the perceived Mars conjunct Pluto “bromance” between Macron and P45. Or so it was observed by Mrs. Betty Bowers, America’s Best Christian, citing Jane Goodall:

 “When the aging gorilla is confronted with the much more virile, new alpha-male, he shows submissiveness by grooming the alpha-male, but the gesture is actually a vain attempt by the old gorilla to humiliate his much younger rival.”

I believe we’ve given the potential of a Mars-Pluto conjunction plenty of coverage today. Stay tuned for May 16th, when Mars will square Uranus, which will just have entered Taurus.

Now let’s talk about you. What’s going on in your horoscope? Here’s the 411 on personal consultations.

Thank you for reading this forecast.

This handout picture released from the Higashiyama Zoo and Botanical Gardens on June 26, 2015 shows giant male gorilla Shabani, weighing around 180kg at the Higashiyama Zoo in Nagoya in Aichi prefecture, central Japan. The 18-year-old silverback with brooding good looks and rippling muscles is causing a stir at the Japanese zoo, with women flocking to check out the hunky pin-up. AFP PHOTO / HIGASHIYAMA ZOO AND BOTANICAL GARDENS