Category Archives: Forecasts

Weekly Forecast February 4: Mercury Enters Pisces, New Moon in Aquarius

May your happiness be without limit. © Pat Paquette, 2013.

The most significant astrological event this week is the New Moon in Aquarius, which also happens to be the Chinese New Year. But the flavor of the week is definitely fish.

Starting this week, we’re approaching a stellium of planets in Pisces that will culminate in an emotionally volatile New Moon in March. In the meantime, Mercury will turn retrograde in Pisces and conjoin Mars twice. My read on this is that we’re about to go through a collective release of accumulated anger, frustration, grief, and past-life trauma. Not that this hasn’t been happening in a big way already, but I think it’s about to get even bigger.

Over the past week, I’ve been following comments on a few news stories, and I’ve been struck by how stupid, mean, and argumentative people can be. And I don’t know if it’s just my imagination or if reading comprehension is at an all-time low. Don’t they teach that in school anymore? Or could it be that Jupiter stationed in Gemini is translating to a fixation on details without understanding the overall point of the article? Regardless, I see this as the collective venting of a high level of frustration and anger. The real source of public frustration – the corporate thieves who plundered the economy, drove up the unemployment rate, and got off scot-free, along with their political accomplices – are protected behind gated communities and armed guards. And they are no doubt pleased that, instead of plotting to storm the Bastille, the “little people” are either fighting among themselves or dousing their pain through addictive and escapist behaviors.

Ah, but the plotting thickens, in however small a way. It’s heartening to see people rallying in support of a waitress in St. Louis who was fired from Applebee’s last week for posting a customer’s rude note online. Many of the comments on news stories display an appalling lack of comprehension of the facts, but the response was visceral, and in this case, channeled in the right direction. Although there were some unbelievably rude and bigoted comments about the customer, the majority response was to call for a boycott of Applebee’s and its parent company, IHOP. For its part, Applebee’s showed its true colors by totally failing to grasp the extent of the public outrage. In its official “explanation,” you can almost hear the collapse of a decaying corporate structure.

This is all just a long way of saying that a revolution is indeed in the works – not that we haven’t known for years that it was coming, given the Uranus-Pluto square with reinforcement from Saturn in Scorpio. I always maintained that the rebellion would be a class war. With Mars in Pisces, the collective anger is going to make itself felt – all the more so when retrograde Mercury conjoins Mars later this month. It’s critical in the next six to eight weeks that you look for ways to channel any anger and frustration into appropriate action.

Now, there’s another way that all this Pisces energy could manifest, and that’s the thinning of the “veil” between worlds, sometimes called the “Veil of Isis.” More and more people are beginning to have memories, dreams, and visions of incarnations in other dimensions of time and space. This is very definitely the realm of Neptune, and confusion and disorientation are key attributes of the ninth planet. These memories can be distressing. Depending on what happened and how vividly you recall the event, the force of the emotional release could be explosive. This is especially true of karmic relationships. It’s my observation that merely knowing what happened in another lifetime usually isn’t enough to overcome a negative pattern or obsession with someone. The emotional charge has to be released, and then something changes internally that allows you to move on. Anyone who has gone through this process knows that it can be upsetting.

Mars conjoins Neptune on Monday, but we’re already feeling it. On Tuesday, Mercury enters Pisces, where he’ll turn retrograde on February 23. In all, Mercury will remain in Pisces for more than two months, when he normally breezes through a sign in three weeks. I mention this now, because Mercury enters pre-retrograde shadow on Friday, making it all the more important that you take action in the next two weeks to establish your course for the rest of the year. Even though we’ll be sailing through patchy fog, all of the planets are now direct and giving us a huge green light until February 18, when Saturn turns retrograde. This is the only period in 2013 with all ten planets direct – actually, all the asteroids, too – and we won’t have one in 2014 at all.

Of course, the biggest news this week is the New Moon in Aquarius on February 10, which is also the Chinese New Year and the beginning of the Year of the Water Snake (more water!). Since the rest of this week’s aspects are contained in the New Moon chart, I’ll discuss them in that context.

Click on image to enlarge

This is a bowl chart with an odd sort of symmetry. The Sun and Moon are at the bottom at 21 degrees Aquarius, not in aspect with any other planets but in a square with the lunar nodes by exact degree. And, of course, all of the planets are direct, making this a remarkable New Moon chart filled with the promise of a head-spinning fast-forward.

Mercury and Mars are conjunct (the alignment is exact on Friday), providing a glimpse of what will come later this month, after Mercury turns retrograde and the two planets are conjunct for a second time. Communication is key here, because otherwise the combined energy of this pair is passive aggressive. That’s what the Applebee’s customer did, and it came back to bite her in the behind. Her beef was with management, and the whole incident could have been avoided had she communicated directly.

Mercury and Mars are both square Jupiter in Gemini at the New Moon, and Mars is still in conjunction with Neptune, so it will take some effort to communicate clearly and effectively, and failure to do so could have exaggerated consequences. Chiron is in on this alignment, too, so there is an increased risk that someone is going to end up with hurt feelings. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Jupiter and Uranus are sextile by exact degree and Mars and Mercury are approaching a trine with Saturn – all indicating positive ways to redirect anger and irritation. If you can summon up the courage to be candid and direct, you can shift the level of the discussion to higher ground and build new ties in your personal and professional relationships.

Venus sextiles Uranus on Wednesday and trines Jupiter on Thursday. These combined energies suggest unexpected opportunities and a stroke of brilliant luck, most likely in the areas of career and financial deals. Thursday is a great day for signing contracts. However, at the New Moon, Venus is in a close square with Saturn, suggesting cold water thrown on plans that looked so good only a few days earlier. At the very least, you may have some version of buyer’s remorse, that “What could I possibly have been thinking?” feeling. Well that’s what Mercury retrograde is for. You’ll have a couple of weeks to do some additional research, and if you want to change your mind, you’ll probably get an opportunity to do so.

The square from the Sun and Moon to the lunar nodes suggests that whatever takes place at this New Moon could have a feeling of fate or destiny about it, at least collectively. It may apply in individual cases, too, depending on where the Sun, Moon, and nodes currently are transiting your chart. It’s also intriguing to note that the Uranus-Pluto midpoint and the Venus-Mars midpoint are both 23 degrees Aquarius, with the Sun and Moon just two degrees away. This further suggests events that are fated and part of the overall evolution/revolution of Uranus and Pluto. Gender relations are part of this scenario as the struggle continues for women’s rights and an end to violence against women and girls.

Frankly, I’d like to see an end to violence against women, girls, boys, men, cats, and dogs. The collective release of accumulated anger, pain, and trauma – whether from this lifetime or other incarnations – will go a long way toward that end. Just be prepared for a really big mess.

Wishing you all much love and courage,
Pat

Weekly Forecast January 28: Jupiter Turns Direct, Mars Enters Pisces

Seeing Through the Mists. © Pat Paquette, 2013.

Jupiter is waking up, and he’s pretty grumpy. I know how he feels.

As ruler of Sagittarius, Jupiter is said to be in “detriment” in his opposite sign, Gemini. Sagittarius is the seeker who asks the Big Questions in order to find truth with a capital “T.” Gemini is about a lot of information – the more and the more-detailed, the better. For the grand champion of Trivial Pursuit, there’s joy simply in knowing stuff. Better still if it’s trending on Twitter.

Being retrograde in Gemini has been the Big Guy’s worst nightmare. The neurons are firing left and right on information overload, but the left and right sides of the brain aren’t talking to each other. How the hell can you get the big picture if one half can’t or won’t talk to the other?

Apparently, though, Jupiter has been talking to us, and you can listen to him here. This remarkable recording was made by Thomas Ashcraft, an amateur astronomer in New Mexico. In a post on Space Weather (scroll down about halfway on the page), Aschraft is quoted as saying it felt nice to be bathed in Jupiter’s beams. At the time of his recording, Jupiter was in close conjunction with the Moon – one of the astrological aspects most often associated with good feelings. So, let’s see if I have this right: Planet Jupiter sends radio laser beams to earth that penetrate the bodies of human beings and make them feel good, but there can’t possibly be anything to such a ridiculously superstitious pseudoscience as astrology.

Whatever. Where’s my coffee?

In other science news this week (science and technology being a very Aquarius thing), there’s evidence that human DNA is growing. According to some researchers, we’ll eventually have twelve strands of DNA instead of just two. Hmmmm, twelve. Does that ring any bells? We’re mutating! I’ve long believed it likely was happening, probably due to the enormous stress we’re under as a species. Mutations in human genes aren’t anything new. I’ve got mutant blood and toes, and there are plenty of other examples. But to actually change our DNA might suggest a new species of superhumans. I can just hear the theme to 2001.

Kidding aside, we’re experiencing growing pains and have been for quite some time as our consciousness expands. I’ve heard plenty of stories from clients and readers, but last week was off the charts with reports of past-life experiences, meetings with karmic connections, people and animals passing over, and waking dreams. Maybe it was the Full Moon in Leo, which rules the heart. Some astrologers and alternative healers believe we’re going through a collective opening of the heart chakra. The heart is the true seat of the mind; the brain is just a tool. Aquarius, the sign opposite Leo, synthesizes both. Uranus, ruler of Aquarius, is the Awakener, and he is in favorable aspect with Jupiter. What’s more, both planets were favorably aspected to the Full Moon. So, it makes sense that we’d be having these mind-blowing experiences. I know that for some of you they are disorienting and uncomfortable. All I can say is, do your best to stay grounded.

Jupiter returns direct on Thursday after a long nap that began on October 4. Planetary energies are particularly powerful at stations, so this week could be quite extraordinary. Have a look at where Jupiter is transiting your natal chart (or, alternatively, order one of my StarGuide forecasts), and ask yourself whether the activities associated with that house have been stalled since early fall. They sure have for me, and I’m counting on being able to get back on track within the next couple of weeks. It may take that long, too, as it takes the outer planets a bit of time to get moving again following a shift in motion.

There’s other big news this week, too. Also on Thursday, the Sun forms an exact square with Saturn. I mentioned this aspect in last week’s forecast, as it featured prominently in the Full Moon chart. My take remains the same – i.e., that big plans may indeed be able to get off the ground, but that blast-off is going to require an awful lot of fuel. That means more effort on your part and a strong commitment to see your projects through.

Saturn himself is beginning to slow down to turn retrograde on February 18, so if you’re willing to make a commitment now, you can accomplish a lot. And here’s an extra bit of good news: once Jupiter returns direct, all ten planets will be direct until Saturn’s station. Ceres returns direct on February 4, and then all of the asteroids will be direct, too. This is a short window, and it’s the only one we’ll have in 2013, so now is the time to act!

On Friday, both Mars and Venus enter news signs. The erratic energy of Mars in Aquarius gives way to the hypersensitive and sometimes escapist tendency of Mars in Pisces, while the reserved demeanor of Venus in Capricorn turns to a more social but emotionally detached Venus in Aquarius. Sounds like a lot of drinking ending in one-night stands. Or drinking to drown the sorrows of being stood up. Or maybe just a lot of drinking.

Saturn: Whatever you do, do it responsibly.

Wishing you all much love and courage,
Pat

Weekly Forecast January 21: Full Moon in Leo

Obama’s first inauguration, 2009. Image credit: Senior Master Sgt. Thomas Meneguin, USAF

As we begin this week, all eyes are on Washington, with three quarters of a million people expected to attend the inauguration of President Barack Obama. It’s a fitting start to a week that will end in the Full Moon in Leo, the sign of rulers.

Now, I’m sensitive to the fact that many of you aren’t in the United States – at last count, RealAstrologers had readers in 180 countries – and while I don’t believe the world turns on everything we do here, it’s hard not to be influenced by one’s culture. Still, I think it’s fair to say that this is one time when activities in Washington really are of global importance.

Over the past week, I’ve been looking at charts for another potential leader, one not even born yet. That would be the first child of Prince William and the former Kate Middleton, whose due date has been revised to July. Palace officials were forced to announce her pregnancy prematurely in early December, because she had to be hospitalized for a rare form of “morning sickness” (technically, it’s not, but that’s how it has been reported). At the time, they said she was 12 weeks pregnant. Of course, I did a quick look at the charts to see if that would put her due date around the time of the grand water trine in July. It didn’t, and so I forgot about it. But then it was announced last week that her due date in fact is in July. I just had to do a video, and fortunately, I was able to knock it out in a few days – I’m getting faster with experience.

Beyond that, I’m a big fan of Kate’s, not because I care about what she wears or how she cuts her hair, but because of the way she has stepped up to the plate to accept her destiny, with more grace and class than most of us would be able to muster. Sure, she gets the best of anything money can buy. But can you imagine being on a international diplomatic tour, with every twitch of your little finger under a microscope, while tabloids were splashing photos of your naked breasts all over the front page? Well, OK, I suppose there are people who get off on that sort of thing. I’d be mortified. On top of that, she’s been on baby watch since the wedding (if not before), as though she were a brood mare.

Anyway, those of you who like to analyze birth charts will have a lot of fun with this video, which shows some fascinating family patterns. Incidentally, these patterns often show up in families. My own is no exception. I’m an Aquarius with Moon in Pisces. My father was an Aquarius, and my mother was a Pisces with Moon and Venus in Aquarius. Both older siblings were Aquarius and Pisces.

Back to this week …

Mercury makes positive aspects to Uranus and Jupiter on Tuesday, stimulating creative thought and big, bold ideas. If you get a legitimate opportunity to turn them into reality, jump on it. The key word here is “legitimate,” and it may be hard for you to determine whether or not you’re onto something big. There’s a lot of impulsiveness in this combination. If you can buy time to sleep on any offers, do it. If you can’t, talk to a friend or someone you trust to give you a reality check.

These same two aspects are repeated by the Sun on Thursday and Friday, so it’s quite possible that if you decide to sleep on the deal of the century and lose out, you’ll get another chance. In fact, any opportunities should stay open right up to the Full Moon on Saturday.

Click on image to enlarge

The chart for this Full Moon looks a little scary, with the Sun and Moon forming a fixed T-square with Saturn (Mercury squares Saturn on Friday). Obstacles can seem insurmountable, and that can be depressing. However, I’m going to go with a more optimistic read on this Full Moon, thanks to the aforementioned positive aspects. Indeed, the square with Saturn could be just the sobering influence we need to bring pie-in-the-sky plans down to earth, where they actually could be turned into a profitable venture with some careful thought and hard work. Jupiter is stationed, about to turn direct on January 30, making it even more likely that we can get our big projects off the ground.

As you know, I take a cautious approach to asteroids in the chart, since I believe we’re still in an experimental stage regarding how these energies work. But I can’t help think that the close conjunction between Uranus and Pallas is significant. The most intriguing interpretation I’ve seen of Pallas to date comes from Christina of the Oxford Astrologer, who assigns to her an ability to recognize patterns. As she notes, this is particularly important in astrology. Astrology is all about recognizing patterns in order to use planetary energies to further our goals and fulfill our highest potential.

Be receptive to new ideas this week, but also start preparing for Jupiter’s return direct. Look at where he’s transiting your natal chart for an idea of where you’ll get the most help in advancing a cause. I started putting out feelers about a week ago, with some interesting results starting to come in.

Wishing you much love and courage,
Pat

Weekly Forecast January 14: Venus Conjunct Pluto, Sun Enters Aquarius

Frosty Fingers of Saturn. © Pat Paquette, 2013.

There was a noticeable shift at the New Moon on Friday. A lot of ickiness dissipated, leaving emptiness in its wake. But nature abhors a vacuum.

I’ve been working purposefully to draw what I want into that space, and I hope you are, too. If you’re following RealAstrologers on Facebook, you saw that I posted a reminder to write your New Moon abundance checks – which I unfortunately neglected to mention in last week’s post. Things are piling up here, too, and sometimes I feel like I need two of me to keep track of everything. On second thought, make that three – two to get it all done while “one of me” takes a vacation on a sunny beach sipping drinks with little umbrellas in them.

I did mention last week that I was about to put the StarGuide Winter 2013 forecast on sale, which I did mid-week. One of the features of this report is my interpretation of each New Moon and Full Moon of the season – where it falls in your chart and what types of activities are favored for you. So, for example, if this recent New Moon fell in your second, tenth, or sixth house, you’ve got the wind at your back to ask for a raise, find a new job, or improve your working conditions. Because we’re in an astrological period suggesting overall belt-tightening, improvements could come through cutting out things you really don’t need or finding cheaper alternatives. Working with the cycles of the Moon is an age-old technique, once considered “magic.” Now, we view it as simply a way to work with available energies, much as you’d work with weather conditions to plant, nurture, and harvest crops.

Of course, we also work with larger planetary cycles, both individually and collectively. If you watched my 2013 video, you know about two very big cycles coming up this year: the grand water trine with Jupiter, Saturn, and Neptune, and the Uranus-Pluto square. I just love what Ray Merriman had to say about them in his forecast for this week:

…[I]t won’t hurt for our leaders to choose a path that believes in miracles as opposed to grievances. It will hurt if leaders give up the role of being kind and compassionate. It’s a choice astrologically between the Jupiter-Neptune-Saturn grand trine, and the Uranus-Jupiter-Pluto T-square, with Mars making it a grand square [in 2014]. One is compassion and working together, while the other is war and divisiveness. The leaders have a choice to make.

Everything he writes about our leaders is true for us individually as well. You’ll have a choice between working to release blocks, however painful and disorienting that process might be, or blaming everyone else for the world’s problems, thus allowing yourself to stay stuck. One common situation where we see this dynamic is within relationships. It’s always the other person who needs to grow, get enlightened, or whatever. Taking responsibility for ourselves is an important underlying theme in the mutual reception between Pluto in Capricorn and Saturn in Scorpio. Those who tend to take more responsibility than they own – and there are more than a few of you – will need to work in the reverse, releasing whatever it is in your energy field that keeps you bogged down with problems that aren’t yours.

We’ll get several opportunities in the coming week to visit these issues, with Venus aspecting Chiron, Jupiter, Pluto, and Saturn from Monday through Thursday (Jupiter squares Chiron on Tuesday). Are you clear about what you want? When what you want involves an exchange with another person, are you clear up front, or do you find clever ways to manipulate the other person to give it to you? Sometimes you need to say “no” to requests from others, and sometimes they need to say “no” to you. Underhanded manipulation robs others of their choice. This may be appropriate in certain professional circumstances, but it can kill trust in an intimate relationship, and when trust is gone, the foundation crumbles. Even in casual friendships or in a work environment, withholding information that would allow others the right to choose how they want to interact with you is a subtle but serious form of disrespect. I understand that it takes a lot of courage to open up and speak your heart, and it does leave you open to the pain of rejection. The reward is that you when you make a connection based on truth and honesty, it’s stronger and far more gratifying.

I’m sure you can think of a gazillion variations on this theme, and it’s likely you’ll find yourself in one or more of them this week that will require you to make a choice. If you act with courage and conviction, then a payoff late in the week could be very sweet.

On Friday, the Sun conjoins Mercury at 28 degrees Capricorn, and then they both enter Aquarius on Saturday, marking a radical shift. Mars has been Aquarius since Christmas Day, in mutual reception with Uranus in Aries. If you don’t feel the buzz over the weekend, I’ll eat my bootleg yoga pants (too cold for shorts). Whereas Capricorn represents hyper-responsibility, Aquarius is the ultimate commitment-phobe who hates anything that even remotely smells like obligation. That’s why it’s known as the sign of the future, of thinking out of the box, walking to the beat of a different drummer. It can all be a bit much for those who need stability and familiarity, but with that kind of thinking, we’d have never put a man on the Moon – space travel being one of the activities associated with Uranus, the modern ruler of Aquarius.

Spend this week tending to practical concerns, especially anything to do with your financial bottom line or your closest relationships, because the following week is going to be wide open, with “anything goes” and “goddess only knows what.”

Sunday, incidentally, also is officially Inauguration Day in the United States, although the formal celebration will take place on Monday, January 21. The stage is set for change, and we can help it along by making sure our actions – and interactions – are consistent with the type of world we want to create.

Wishing you much love and courage,
Pat

Weekly Forecast January 7: Mars Square Saturn, New Moon in Capricorn

This sure has been the strangest week, and the weirdness likely will continue right up to the New Moon on Friday.

I’ve had several clients with some sort of crisis this week, which has meant time away from writing reports. If I still owe you a written report, please be assured that I’m working as diligently as possible. On top of everything else, I’ve had my own crises.

The pattern I’m seeing is conflict in relationships, many of them regarding family, whether in this lifetime or another. Since we just had a fully loaded Full Moon in Cancer, the sign of family, I’d say that is the astrological signature behind most of the turmoil. There may be complicating factors, depending on where the Moon fell in your chart and aspects to your personal planets.

Fortunately, I’m also seeing some evidence that conflict presents an opportunity for healing and reconciliation – or, at the very least, an agreement to disagree. Emotional outbursts can be part of the healing, too. We who value peace often mistake repressing anger for being virtuous, when sometimes, the opposite is true. If you truly can let a slight go and be done with it, that’s fine. But more often, we tell ourselves that these little offenses are “no big deal,” and we fear that if we speak up, we’ll look childish for making a mountain out of a molehill. And often that is the response we get, even when we use the correct “I” statements that avoid blame or accusation. You don’t need to get that response too many times before you just clam up and stuff down your feelings.

This past week, it seems like the lid has been blown off, and it’s all coming up. That would be the conjunction of Sun and Pluto, with an easy outflow to Saturn in Scorpio. The waning Moon is a good time to get rid of anything we don’t want, so I encourage you to open up and accept the release.

The pressure mounts as we approach Monday’s Mars-Saturn square, which occurs early in the morning in the United States. However, Mars remains in favorable contact with Jupiter, and while that aspect is separating, it suggests that some good can still come out of conflict. Saturn also is in favorable contact with Pluto and Mercury, indicating that it’s possible to get to the bottom of the source of tension and talk it out. I’m not saying it will be easy, but it’s possible.

On Tuesday, Venus enters Capricorn, bringing a more somber air to discussions but favoring long-term commitment. When the going gets tough, the tough can’t jet off to Europe but have to stay and do the hard work. This past week, I stumbled on a couple of old articles from Oprah about the positive role of conflict in relationships and ways to avoid fighting like a jerk. I just love the phrase “virtue of discipline.” A friend of mine who does couples counseling says relationships are one of the fastest paths to personal growth, for the very reason that calling out someone else on their shit requires that you take responsibility for yourself – which is very different from taking all the blame. It’s a fine line, and in fact it does require a lot of self-discipline. A fitting message for Venus in Capricorn.

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If that doesn’t sound like very much fun, we get some sweetness on Thursday, when Venus sextiles dreamy Neptune in Pisces. Mergers and acquisitions don’t have to be hostile.

Friday is the New Moon, with Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Pluto, and Juno all in Capricorn. That’s a load of Cap! Ambitious, goal-oriented, disciplined, and all business … yet not without a heart. The Uranus-Pluto square is fairly wide, but Venus is in close contact with the planet of upsets and surprises, so there are opportunities for startling breakthroughs. Just be prepared to endure some discomfort to get to new heights.

I’ll be putting the StarGuide Winter 2013 forecast on sale shortly, so if you’ve been thinking about it, check back in a day or so. Please just keep in mind that I’m behind on existing orders, so I won’t be able to complete your report right away.

Wishing you much love and courage,
Pat

Weekly Forecast December 31: Mercury Enters Capricorn, Mars Trine Jupiter

Solstice Treat. © Pat Paquette, 2012.

For some reason, it feels as though we’ve had our New Year’s celebration and 2013 is already here … maybe because we survived the end of the world. Then, the Solstice is my winter holiday, and my annual celebration of this special day typically doesn’t involve champagne and noise-makers.

Of course, this also is my busiest time of year for astrological forecasts, so I’ve worked on New Year’s Day pretty steadily for the past 10 years. More about that later. First, I want to talk about an interesting item in the news this week, even though it’s kind of old news at this point (I guess it takes a while for things like this to make it into the mainstream).

According to astronomers, a new comet is heading our way that could be as bright as the Moon in 2013. We don’t know yet exactly how Comet ISON will behave; like the much-heralded Comet Elenin, it could break up, or it could get so close to the Sun that it has a meltdown. But if it lives up to early expectations, we could see a celestial phenomenon unparalleled in our lifetimes.

To make the event even more exciting, ISON will be conjunct Mars and Regulus in mid-October, right before the first eclipse in the new Libra-Aries series. In November, the comet will be at its closest point to the Sun, right around the time of a powerful Solar Eclipse in Scorpio and the second Uranus-Pluto square of 2013. Right now, ISON is moving very slowly through Cancer and isn’t visible to the naked eye. That won’t happen until September. Still, we have a visitor in our solar system, apparently a messenger from the Oort Cloud. I’ve been poring over charts all morning and afternoon but need more time to connect the dots. When I do, you’ll be the first to know.

Looking at this week, Mercury, our messenger-in-residence, finally leaves Sagittarius and moves on to Capricorn. Although he’s somewhat subdued in the somber sign of the Sea Goat, he’s more stable. More importantly, he’ll no longer be in mutual reception with retrograde Jupiter in Gemini. I thought the mutual reception might help us work through some details while keeping the big picture in mind – and perhaps it has – but I suspect it has been behind the lingering feeling that Mercury is still retrograde, even though he went direct more than a month ago. We’ll see what happens on Monday morning. Heck, maybe Congress will even come to its senses and pass measures to avoid going over the fiscal cliff.

Also on Monday, Mars sextiles Uranus. Occasionally, these two do play nice together, and they’re also in mutual reception, which is even better. As I wrote last week, this is a superb opportunity to manifest thoughts into reality through action. I normally don’t advise acting on impulse, but this is one time when spontaneity could turn out to be beneficial. That said, it couldn’t hurt to think for a split second before you act.

Mercury sextiles Neptune on Tuesday – good for translating dreams and imagination into practical ideas. On Thursday, Mercury squares Uranus, and it’s back to impulsiveness, this time the dread “foot-in-mouth” syndrome. My advice is to avoid wearing stilettos.

Moving right along, the Little Guy sextiles Chiron on Friday, quincunxes Jupiter on Saturday, and conjoins Pluto on Sunday. Neptune and Chiron were conjunct in 2009 and 2010, and while the conjunction has separated, we’re still feeling some of the healing effects of that influence, especially when the fast-moving inner planets aspect Neptune and Chiron within a day or two. We’ve all gone through an enormous of amount of healing in the past two years. Many of you have told me how you look at things differently, how things that used to bother you don’t faze you anymore, you’re much steadier and calmer, and overall feel wiser and more mature. But we still have our moments, don’t we? Some of the core wounds we dealt with were so deep that we know they will always be with us, even though we are more adept at working around them. The thing is, Pisces feels so deeply and intensely that it may prefer to hide emotions, and Capricorn is the long-suffering, work-through-every-crisis sign. If you feel like you have to cry on Friday, then find a quiet, private place and cry. It’s OK.

Mercury’s quincunx with Jupiter isn’t likely to be more than a blip, although sometimes all it takes is a blip to crash your computer. The biggest Mercury aspect of the week is the conjunction with Pluto. This is when we find out where the bodies are buried and who’s got skeletons in their closet. Within yourself, you may have to do an assessment of your self-discipline. Yeah, I know, I hate it, too. We’d all like to banish the negative voices in our heads, but sometimes they’re telling us something we need to know, and it’s a good idea to listen to them. If, after serious consideration, you think they’re a replay of the Mommy Dearest tapes, you can tell them to go back to hell.

Friday is our happiest day of the week, when Mars trines Jupiter. Gee, he’s behaving so nicely this week, but it’s not going to last long. Next Monday, he goes right back to being a bad boy when he squares Saturn. But that’s then and this is now. Mars and Jupiter in air signs put some additional punch behind our ability to manifest big, bold plans into reality. True, Jupiter is still in detriment in Gemini, and he’s retrograde. Scratch “big.” But you can still be bold, and if your ideas are quirky and offbeat, so much the better. Do write down any flashes of brilliance, because they could come and go so fast that they get lost in your information-overloaded brain.

Before I go, I’d just like to remind you again that if you’re thinking of ordering your StarGuide 2013 Forecast, do it as soon as possible. I’m running a backlog of several days, so order now if you want it near the beginning of the year. Also, if you haven’t joined RealAstrologers on Facebook, please take a moment to “like” my new page. For those who have, don’t be shy about posting. Lastly, I’d like to ask that you also please take a minute to “like” my 2013 video on YouTube. It’s my advertising, and, admittedly, it’s a hard sell when I don’t do psychic love readings, messages from angels, or Sun sign horoscopes – what the majority of people seem to be looking for at this time of year. I hope to have some influence on that state of affairs in 2013, but that’s another story for another time. In the meantime, I need to stay afloat, and I sure could use your help getting the word out. Please feel free to share the video on your own pages.

Thank you all for making 2012 a rewarding year. See you next year.

Wishing you a New Year filled with love, joy, and prosperity,
Pat

Weekly Forecast December 24: Mars Enters Aquarius, Full Moon in Cancer

Well, we’re still here – as most of us knew we would be. I’m so glad all the silliness is over.

Aside from the doomsday stuff, there was a lot of woo-woo floating around about how a big shift in consciousness would take place, with calls for focused meditation at the precise moment the earth aligned with the Galactic Center – which somehow magically happened to be midnight. I got mildly flamed when I pointed out in someone’s fervent Facebook post that the alignment took place years ago, in 1998. Couldn’t I just go along with a fantasy that brought joy to many people? Er … no. I believe in finding joy in truth and reality. It’s a lot more powerful.

I’m also happy to have posted my new video for 2013. I was seriously reminded that there’s a reason filmmaking is a collaborative process. At the very least, you need someone to monitor lighting and sound. Doing it alone takes a lot of extra time and energy. But right now, that’s what I’ve got to work with. On the positive side, I’ve been flying up a steep learning curve, which is a real thrill.

Also this week, I figured out how to create a Facebook page for RealAstrologers – about time! To get updates, just hit the “like” button. You also can leave comments and post your own photos and links. I know that this is a more comfortable way for many of you to participate. The best thing for me is that I get to see you! I have viewed the personal page of every one of you who have “liked” RealAstrologers so far. It is heartwarming to see your shining faces and to realize what a special group of people you are! It also has been amazingly gratifying to see where you’re all from. My site stats show that RealAstrologers has a presence in nearly 140 countries on six continents, but it’s quite a different thing to see your photos.

Turning to this week, we have a loaded Full Moon on Friday, with the Sun closely conjunct Pluto and the Full Moon forming a cardinal T-square with Uranus. I discussed the Uranus-Pluto square in my forecast last week, with comments about how it was connected to the Newtown shooting – from which we’re all still reeling this week. In my 2013 video, I show you some charts. I also want to alert you to a couple of excellent articles by Barbara Hand Clow. I went to her site on Friday to see what she had to say about 2012, since she has written a lot on the topic. It seems like she was done with that quite some time ago – rightfully so – and has turned her focus to the seven Uranus-Pluto squares between 2012 and 2015 and how this powerful configuration for change is affecting the planet. There’s a lot of wisdom and insight in these articles, but one thing that especially strikes me is her comment that the energy field of the Uranus-Pluto square is intensely creative, which causes our thoughts to manifest around us, so we are challenged to clearly and wisely intend what we want to create.

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This concept is especially relevant at the Full Moon, because there is a powerful connection from the Sun, Moon, and Pluto to Saturn, the Lord of Time and planet of manifestation on the physical plane. Saturn and Pluto form an exact sextile on Wednesday, and they’re in mutual reception for the first time since the Revolutionary War. The cardinal T-square is volatile, very powerful energy – kind of like an untrained Rottweiler. At this Full Moon, we have an opportunity to tame it. So often, negative thoughts circle around and around in our heads. In general, it’s a good idea to interrupt that cycle, but at this Full Moon, it’s critical that you concentrate your thinking on what you want to create – for yourself and for the world at large. As I’ve mentioned many times before, the key is to manifest with enlightened self-interest. Focus on specifics of what will help bring you closer to fulfilling your purpose and destiny in this lifetime rather than on vague, fuzzy thoughts of “whirled peas.” Although that would be good, too.

The ruler of this Full Moon is the Moon herself. In esoteric astrology, Cancer is the sign of manifesting spirit into physical form (see Ruth’s excellent article from the archives.) Spirit is energy, and your particular energy pattern is reflected in your natal chart. However, this isn’t a static picture. Through thoughts and actions, you change your energy field. It’s not unlike investing money. If you make wise investments, you end up with more than you started with. The alternative is to squander it and end up with less. At this Full Moon, you have an opportunity to decide how you want to “invest” your energy.

In the Full Moon chart, there’s also a harmonious sextile from Mars to Uranus, giving us yet another avenue to channel our thoughts into physical manifestation. The vehicle by which to so is very clearly spelled out: ACT! On Monday, the action planet enters Aquarius. The Water Bearer often is mistaken as a water sign, but it’s actually an air sign. Those two wavy lines in the Aquarius symbol represent the “waters beneath the earth,” which is esoteric language for the energy patterns from which physical reality is manifested. The air signs symbolize the intellect and thoughts, which are energy beings. So, Mars in Aquarius is very much about acting in accordance with your thoughts in order to create physical reality.

Right on cue, Ann Curry of NBC News launched a “26 Acts of Kindness” page on Facebook to honor the victims of Newtown. NCGR, an organization of professional astrologers, endorsed it, and so do I.

The period of influence of the Full Moon is plus or minus three days, so get to work on Tuesday – which also happens to be Christmas Day. What better time to think about what you want for yourself and your family of humanity in 2013? Speaking of which, I’m now offering StarGuide 2013, a new yearly forecast. Please check it out. (StarGuide Seasons for Winter 2013 also is available. If you prefer, you can go straight to the order page.)

Wishing you much Yuletide love, joy, and prosperity,
Pat

2013 Yearly Forecast and New Video

I can’t believe I finally managed to upload this video. I’ve been working for the past three days with little sleep to get it posted today. I finished it just after 11 this morning, only to find out that the compressor needed 11 hours to process a 6-minute video! I was resigned to it and spent the time putting the final touches on my 2013 page. Then, with a little over an hour to go, my iMac shut itself off! It went to sleep and wouldn’t wake up. I thought I’d have to start over, only to find out that somehow, miraculously, the file got saved. So, here it is! I hope you enjoy it.

If you’d like more information about my new StarGuide 2013 forecast, I created a special page for it. There’s a sample there, too (or just click on this link to view a sample for Hillary Clinton), so you can see how it’s different than the StarGuide Winter 2013 forecast. These reports work well together, if you want to get them both. Or, if there’s a particular month in the year for which you’d like additional details, you can wait until about ten days before the first of that month and order a StarGuide Monthly. I’ve tried to give you lots of options. Don’t hesitate to contact me if you have questions about which one is right for you.

In other news, RealAstrologers is now on Facebook! If you like it, “like” it!

I’ll be back on Sunday with my regular weekly forecast. In the meantime, wishing you a Happy Solstice and happy start of the new Mayan time cycle! Wonder how they’re doing up on Bugarach (I climbed that mountain in 2000 and can tell you it has some weird, powerful energy, but that’s another story).

Weekly Forecast December 17: Sun Enters Capricorn, End of the World

Where to now? © Lastdays1 for Dreamstime.com

We got a wakeup call last week, and in typical Uranian fashion, it wasn’t anything we could have predicted.

What we know about Uranus is that the worst shakeups happen when we’re most in need of drastic change but resist, for whatever reason. Sometimes it’s because we’re so out of touch with what we really need that it never occurred to us to change anything. More often, though, there’s a voice just beneath the surface telling us that something has to give, but listening to that voice would require so much destabilization in our lives that we ignore it. Sometimes we even deliberately silence it.

The knee-jerk reactions to the Sandy Hook school shooting were predictable. The religious right says we need prayer in schools and the right for citizens to defend themselves with guns. The liberal left says tragedies like this could be prevented with stricter gun-control laws. If there’s any light in the darkness of this horror, it’s that deeper discussions seem to be emerging into the mainstream that transcend the finger-pointing and politicization. What does it say about the level of dysfunction of our society that it took the execution of 6-year-olds to start waking up to a meaningful dialogue?

As astrologers, we try to make broader sense of events. The usual method is to look at the chart for the event and the person responsible. Through newspaper reports, we learned that Adam Lanza, the shooter, was born on April 22, 1992, in Kingston, New Hampshire. We don’t have a birth time, but we can cast a chart for noon.

First of all, neither chart conveys the horror of this event, nor is it an appropriate use of astrology to judge someone’s character based on their chart. Second, without a birth time, there’s too much missing to draw any real conclusions. A noon chart for Adam gives him a Moon of 8 degrees Capricorn, making the first look at the chart startling, because transiting Pluto is at 8 degrees Capricorn. We need to stop right there and remember that the Moon travels through 12 degrees in a day. But then what if we had an accurate birth time of, say, 1 a.m.? That would put Pluto right on his Ascendant. Suddenly there would be pronouncements that he was having a bad Pluto transit.

My point is that we need to take great care in not making charts fit events or people. Sometimes there is no immediate explanation in the chart – just as there is no immediate explanation for how something like this could have happened in the first place. Now, I suspect that if we had an exact birth time, we might be able to dig a little deeper and find some clues. But even then, we have to remember that we are not slaves to our natal chart.

We also have to keep in mind that when we are in the midst of radical, outer-planetary cycles such as the Uranus-Pluto square, events correlating to this signature can happen at any time. Uranus came out of retrograde the day before the shooting. In my mind, this is significant, and it’s why I see this tragedy as a harsh wake-up call.

Those using the event to promote a political ideology are still sleeping. We’re so far beyond that point, it’s frightening. I think not only of the 20 children murdered at Sandy Hook, but all of the children in the world killed, maimed, and emotionally traumatized daily by war and violence. The recent bombing of Gaza – an act publicly supported by President Obama – resulted in the reported deaths of 167 people, including 35 children. The AP photo of Jihad Misharawi holding the body of his dead baby, killed in an Israeli airstrike, is indelibly burned in my memory.

But I am heartened – as much as one can be in the light of such demonic events – that it’s finally dawning on more people that deeper issues must be confronted, including the disturbing truth about psychiatric drugs – particularly the widespread use in children. According to a neighbor, Adam was on medication for an unspecified personality disorder. A related issue being discussed is our society’s approach to mental health. Eventually, though, we’re going to have to address a societal structure that requires so many people to take drugs to be “functional.”

With Neptune in Pisces, the drug issue will come to the fore. Neptune rules drugs and all mind-altering substances, and he’s in his element in the Fishes. The twelfth house, ruled by Neptune (in modern astrology), rules mental hospitals and prisons, so these issues also are going to be more prominent. In the meantime, society is going through an extreme breakdown under the Uranus-Pluto square. I was just reading about a rash of mass murders of school children in China over the past two years. A Chinese newspaper quoted an expert – ironically, an American college professor – who attributed the attacks to stress caused by rapid social change, increasing disparities in wealth, and lack of treatment for the mentally ill.

We have another three years of Uranus and Pluto, so it might be a good idea to start paying attention to real issues and not throwing up smoke screens of gun control and school prayer. We also need to take a hard look at our own lives and make an honest assessment of what we need to change.

The subject of sweeping change is all the more poignant this week as we approach the supposed end of the world on Friday. Now, frankly, I’d be happy to end the world “as we know it.” There’s way too much suffering, and our problems seem so insurmountable as to be impossible. But the world will continue, and we’re going to have to change.

This week’s aspects pale in comparison to current events, but here’s a quick rundown:

On Monday, Mercury opposes Jupiter, in mutual reception. I’m hopeful this will have some relation to negotiations between Congress and the White House to avoid going over the so-called “fiscal cliff.” I am pretty sure, though, given what I see in the charts, that we are going to have some cutbacks. How much and for whom remains to be seen.

On Wednesday, Venus in Sagittarius trines Uranus. Parties will be more subdued this year – I wrote that in last week’s forecast, and it’s even more true this week – but parties will happen nonetheless. We need an outlet from all the grief and sorrow, even if it’s only temporary. Still, the grief won’t be far from our minds, with Venus squaring Chiron on Thursday.

The Sun enters Capricorn on Friday, the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere. He immediately forms a happy sextile with Neptune in Pisces. This suggests to me that there might be a brief sign of hope for peace on earth – especially next summer, when Jupiter, Saturn, and Neptune form a grand trine.

Speaking of the Big Guy, Jupiter forms a quincunx with Pluto on Thursday and with Saturn on Saturday – the Yod that I don’t put a whole lot of stock in. More importantly, Saturn and Pluto are in sextile and mutual reception, suggesting that breakdowns will happen faster in order for new, more sustainable structures to emerge. Yes, that may mean we don’t get everything we want for Christmas. But, as the old Rolling Stones song goes, we may get what we need.

Wishing you all much love, courage, and peace in your hearts,
Pat

Weekly Forecast December 10: Uranus Direct, New Moon in Sagittarius

We’re well into the holiday party season, but we’re not partying like it’s 1999. I guess that’s because it’s 2012, and people are anxious about more than a Y2K bug.

I’ve been getting nearly 100 hits a day on an old Q&A post I wrote in response to a kid in Saskatchewan who asked, “Is 2012 really going to happen?” It’s so funny to see this search phrase turning up repeatedly in Google. What exactly does that mean, “Is 2012 really going to happen?” Not only is 2012 happening, it’s almost done. Then 2013 is going to “happen.”

So, OK, I know what he really meant, and I addressed those concerns in my response, which probably was way over his head and way over the heads of anyone with little or no knowledge of astrology. Fact is, there’s nothing simple about 2012. Something important is happening. There’s a major planetary shift occurring, and while it’s not limited to 2012, this has been an exceptional year in an exceptional astrological cycle. The Uranus-Pluto square continues for another three years, with the last square occurring in March 2015 and the period of waning influence lasting another year after that. You don’t need to be an astrologer to understand that we are in extraordinary times, and even those who aren’t spiritually inclined can sense it.

I’m working on a 2013 forecast and accompanying video that I hope will provide some relief from all the anxiety.

In the meantime, the holiday spirit should pick up this week with amplification of the Sagittarius vibe. Jupiter-ruled Sagittarius loves to have a good time, and parties are definitely their thing. On Monday, Mercury returns to Sagittarius after dipping back into secretive Scorpio on his retrograde path. Then we have a spritely New Moon in Sagittarius on Thursday, and Venus joins the party on Saturday. The only bummer in all of this is that Jupiter is retrograde, and in Gemini, the sign of his detriment. It’s sort of like having the Big Guy at your party, but he’s getting over a bad case of strep throat, popping antibiotics, and worrying about all the paperwork piling up on his desk. It does put a bit of a damper on the festivities.

There’s an additional reason to exercise some discretion this week. Right after entering Sagittarius, both Mercury and Venus form a square with Neptune – Mercury on Tuesday and Venus on Sunday. Neptune rules dreams, delusions, and altered states, whether through meditation or mind-altering substances. Although these two squares are quick and relatively harmless, they do increase the likelihood of miscalculating your limit and misinterpreting what you see and hear. Maybe that guy you meet at your fourth trip to the punchbowl really is the soul mate of your dreams, but it won’t hurt to check him out for a week or two before running off to Vegas.

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The biggest news this week is Uranus returning direct within a few hours of the New Moon. The Awakener is waking up, and we won’t know until he does whether he’s going to ask for nice cup of coffee or bolt out of bed swinging a hammer. He’s in a close fire trine with Mercury at wake-up time, so I suspect he’ll come out swinging and ready to ratchet up his Awakener role a few notches. Our beliefs are being shaken up, and yet integrating the new information into our thought matrix is hard to do. There’s a reason we have mental defense mechanisms. Without them, we’d have breakdowns – and that’s exactly what’s happening for many people right now, in one form or another. We live in exciting times, but they are incredibly stressful.

Part of waking up is being reminded of what we’ve repressed. Mercury squares Chiron on Friday, triggering dormant memories and old wounds we’d rather not think about, especially during the party season. It’s hard to go to a festive event where everyone is making merry and to feel like you’re the only one who can’t get into the holiday spirit. It’s OK. You have my permission to feel grumpy and out of sorts. Rather than trying to stuff it down so you won’t make others feel bad, talk about it with someone you trust or write about it in your journal. You may be surprised by what comes up in the process. There’s a reason for the phrase “rude awakening,” but it beats staying in state of delusion.

Then, there’s always the blue pill.

Wishing you all much love and courage,
Pat