This week is likely to be tense, with issues coming to a head later in the week in both our personal lives and in world affairs.

As I mentioned in last week’s forecast, Mars is moving toward a conjunction with Saturn on August 25. That’s not until next week, but Mars transits tend to be felt a week on either side, so we’re in the zone. Moreover, the planet of war makes a jarring inconjunct with Uranus on Saturday, adding fuel to the conflicts that have intensified since the middle of June, when the inconjunct (technically called a quincunx) between Saturn and Uranus was within three degrees of exact.

In my past remarks about the Saturn-Uranus inconjunct, I haven’t written much about the “hidden” involvement of Pluto. Saturn in Scorpio and Pluto in Capricorn are in a special relationship called “mutual reception” – each in the sign ruled by the other – that reinforces their strength. Uranus, meanwhile, is in a square with Pluto – the major underlying aspect in worldwide rebellions, crackdowns by an increasingly militarized police force, powerful enemies secretly behind the rebellions, government propaganda, pervasive electronic surveillance, attacks on civil rights, and more.

This past week’s events in Ferguson, Missouri, are a prime example. It wasn’t the first time in recent history that a white police officer shot an unarmed black man, nor was it the first time that police used military style tactics to “keep the peace.” But images of a police department that looked more like an occupation army were a wake-up call for many people in the United States. There even have been comparisons to the Israeli occupation of Gaza. I’d also like to point out that this is yet another situation with a clear connection to similar events that occurred in the 1960s, when the current Uranus-Pluto cycle began.

With Uranus in Aries, global revolutions have been genuine but impulsive and in some cases naïve. There’s more to ending corrupt regimes than gathering outside the government headquarters and demanding removal of the president. Pluto in Capricorn, aided and abetted by Saturn in Scorpio, were quickly able to co-opt legitimate protests and use them as ammunition in their proxy wars, most of which have been about natural resources, particularly oil and gas. Pluto in Capricorn and Saturn in Scorpio are perfect symbols for the plutocrats, oligarchs, and investment banks that use their wealth to direct governments, which have the military and police powers to subjugate troublesome populations. Once Saturn leaves Scorpio at the end of this year, we should see a big shift in these dynamics. I’ll write more about this in future posts.

Personally, many of us have been experiencing setbacks and irritating distractions that have stalled progress toward a goal. With Saturn and Uranus separating from their discordant exchange, the obstacles will start to clear, but circumstances could get temporarily worse in the next two weeks, with Mars and Saturn aligned. That said, Mars could represent the force that brings an issue to a head, making it possible to heal long-standing wounds and, if necessary, to find solutions that, while possibly causing some short-term discomfort, will be to your long-term benefit.

Incidentally, as I’ve mentioned in past forecasts, the world has been under enormous stress since the summer of 2010, when the Uranus-Pluto square was closing in and there was an intense cardinal T-square in the early degrees of Aries, Libra, and Capricorn, with Mars and Saturn conjunct on one side. Many of us (myself included) can trace our current circumstances back to that time, when we felt close to successfully reaching a goal and then suddenly started bumping into one obstacle after another. For many, this was the beginning of a major change in life direction. However, as I’ve also mentioned, depression and suicide rates are up, and while they had been on that trend already for several years, I believe that the crushing pressure associated with these planetary alignments has been simply too much for some folks to bear. That was my first thought when I read about the sad death of Robin Williams, who had battled for decades with depression and addiction. Behind the zany exterior was a sensitive triple water sign.

Looking at the week in chronological order, Monday is the magic day when Venus and Jupiter conjoin in Leo (late Sunday in western time zones). I wrote quite a bit about that in last week’s forecast. Gratitude and opening your heart are the keys to abundance.

Later on Monday, Mercury opposes Neptune. This is the classic “fuzzy logic” aspect, associated with confused thinking. However, it is possible to access deep intuition. Just don’t mistake a hunch for the truth or act on it until a few days have passed. You may well be right, but it’s difficult to know.

Clarity returns in spades on Thursday, when Mercury trines Pluto. Insight is sharp and possibly disturbing. We often think we want to get to the bottom of things, but sometimes the truth is so far outside our beliefs and values that we either can’t or don’t want to accept it. The propaganda peddlers count on this. In any case, watch the headlines for exposed secrets – real secrets, not calculated “leaks” intended to sway public opinion and distract people from the real news. Earlier in the day, Venus forms yet another pesky inconjunct to Pluto, forcing an “inconvenient truth” to come to light that could be incendiary. She will be conjunct U.S. President Barack Obama’s Sun by less than one degree, so it’s possible that he will be involved in this revelation. If so, I think it will be in his favor.

On Saturday, the Sun enters Virgo (late Friday in western time zones). Here in the Pacific Northwest, fall is already in the air. I don’t know where along the line we began marking the change of seasons at the Sun’s entry into the cardinal signs. Older cultures considered the solstices as midsummer and midwinter, with the cross-quarter days as the beginning of the seasons. By this calendar, fall began on August 1, which is the feast of Lammas or Lughnasadh. In any case, we’re heading into my favorite time of year, when nature erupts in one last burst of life before descending, spent, into winter. With so much turmoil in our world, it’s more important than ever that we take time to acknowledge the eternal cycle of the seasons and to the interconnectedness of all things.

Also on Saturday (late Friday in western time zones), Mars forms an exact inconjunct with Uranus, which I mentioned above. However, less than an hour later, he forms a supportive trine with Chiron. All along, Chiron in Pisces has been “behind the scenes,” creating a space for healing the collective mind. Those who are doing intensive healing work – and I know there are many of you out there – are putting healing energy back into the collective, even if you think you are just “working on yourself.” The more healing energy we “upload,” the more humanity has to draw on as we travel through this period of upheaval in global civilization. Put another way, in every breakdown, there’s an opportunity to rebuild more solid, sustainable structures. Mercury opposes Chiron and forms and inconjunct with Uranus on Sunday, drawing our conscious awareness to these hidden cycles.

As the weekend approaches, we’ll be in the wake of the New Moon in Virgo, which falls on August 25. There’s no doubt that the New Moon chart is challenging, but it suggests the possibility of unexpected positive developments. I’ll have more in next week’s forecast.

Until then, much love and courage to all,

Pat

© Pat Paquette, RealAstrologers.com, 2014.