Category Archives: Forecasts

Weekly Forecast December 3: Lunar Aspects, A Brief Respite

Just how big is the Big Guy? A thousand times bigger than Earth. Image courtesy NASA.

The first thing I do when I sit down to write the weekly forecast is to mark up all the week’s planetary aspects in my Llewellyn’s Daily Planetary Guide. Well, I could barely believe my eyes when I saw that there are no major planetary aspects this week!

That certainly makes up for last week, when I pretty much had to write a book, on top of a video explaining the lunar eclipse. The manifestations of the eclipse and the significant aspects surrounding it are still unfolding this week and will continue to do so for another week, possibly even a month, until the next Full Moon, which falls on December 28.

In the meantime, all we have this week are lunar aspects, unless you count events like the Sun quindecile Admetos or Venus inconjunct Eris – which I don’t. The Moon is in Leo on Monday and moves through four signs, as it does in the course of a week, making aspects with the Sun and eight planets along the way. Astrologers who write daily horoscopes often use these aspects, but I tend to ignore them, because they are fleeting, and there’s simply no way to write anything meaningful about them that you can use. You’re more likely to feel the effects of the Moon aligning with a personal planet or chart angle – and even then, only briefly – and that’s not anything I can address in a weekly column. The best I can do is to reiterate the importance of being familiar with your own chart and knowing how to get information about your transits on any given day.

Mercury is picking up speed following his return direct last Monday. I’ve had several stops and starts over the past week, but in general, the frustration is easing up. One of the predictions I made about Mercury’s return direct in Scorpio was that we’d get a flood of details about things hidden, at least since Election Day and possibly longer. Yesterday while browsing the headlines of HuffPo, I came across a long and very detailed article by Julian Assange highlighting stories that have emerged in the two years since WikiLeaks published a vast archive of U.S. diplomatic cables. Although these details aren’t new, the retroactive look at government secrets is very much in keeping with Mercury’s return direct in secretive Scorpio.

On Thursday, Mercury conjoins the lunar North Node, the third pass in his retrograde cycle. If we regard the North Node as a symbol of purpose, destiny, or some other special significance, then Mercury’s back-and-forth crossing of this point should be interpreted as a message containing necessary information about these themes. The biggest event that happened in this period, of course, was the re-election of President Obama. My whole approach to the election wasn’t to support the candidate with the “right” ideology (i.e., the one you agree with) but to accept the right candidate for the extraordinary times we’re in. Although, as an astrologer, I have my view of what the next four years are going to be like, I also know that unexpected events can happen that radically alter the world as we know it, and there’s no way I can predict these events.

In looking at some charts for this week, the only other thing that stands out is a Yod that reflects the lunar eclipse chart and that will continue into next year, with Saturn and Pluto at the base and Jupiter at the apex. This is as good a time as any to discuss Yods. I’ve been changing my mind about them, based on research. When I first heard about them several years ago, I’d had no experience with them and so took it on faith from other astrologers who did have experience that there was something very important about them. I recently came across an old article by Chris Brennan that reminded me of what happens when information circulates the Internet and becomes “fact” by virtue of appearing in so many different places. When and where did this view of Yods come from? It’s not in any of the ancient texts and in fact is a modern invention. In my mind, that makes it untested. In researching how other astrologers come up with their interpretations, I’ve read many good arguments, but there is a lot of disagreement about what Yods mean, if anything. That’s to be expected with a new idea. The same thing is happening regarding the asteroids, which is why I also approach them with caution. Right now, all we have are a lot of theories. Before you can prove anything, you need a theory, so theories are great – provided you keep in mind that they are just that and don’t take them as goddess-honest truth.

Yods are said to be rare, and according to some interpretations, they represent unusually difficult challenges. Who doesn’t have difficult challenges? According to others, they indicate a special purpose or destiny. I haven’t seen any kind of systematic study showing that Yods are any rarer than, say, a T-square or a grand cross. And certainly, those configurations carry much greater weight, as they involve major aspects. A quincunx (sometimes called an inconjunct) is a minor aspect – not to be entirely ignored, but also not to be elevated above major aspects. It’s tempting, as one advances one’s astrological knowledge, to find lesser-known aspects, planets, asteroids, fictitious points in space – whatever – and to hone in on them, simply because it’s something new and carries the aura of advanced knowledge. These new ideas are all very interesting and can add richness and complexity to chart interpretation, but they shouldn’t be regarded as substitutes for the basic building blocks of astrology. The conjunction is still the most powerful aspect, and aspects to personal planets are more significant than outer planetary aspects. Pluto conjunct your Moon? You bet you’re going to feel it. Pluto in a Yod with Neptune and Vesta? Not so much.

I know that a lot of people will disagree with me and might say they have personal experience to prove their point. My response is that it’s extremely difficult to “prove” which astrological aspect correlates to an event or personality trait. It is all too easy to see connections that either aren’t there or that are weak and to miss others that are more compelling. This is one of the biggest dilemmas facing astrologers, and the more planets, asteroids, and chart patterns such as the Yod we throw into the toolbox, the more difficult it is to find the right tool to hit the nail. Sometimes you really just need the hammer, and that’s that.

One thing that’s certain is that we have an exact Sun-Jupiter opposition this evening (December 2, 8:45 p.m. EST), with the Earth in between and Jupiter the closest he’ll be to us until 2021. There’s a terrific article on the astronomy of this event at EarthSky. Financial astrologer Ray Merriman considers this aspect one the key signatures in market reversals. Keeping in mind that Jupiter is in the sign of his detriment and retrograde, it’s nevertheless an annual event worth noting. You’ll notice this aspect most if you have personal planets or chart angles at 9-13 degrees of the mutable signs (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces).

Before I go, I want to announce that the StarGuide Winter 2013 Forecast is now available. Turnaround time is three-to-five days, so keep that in mind as you plan your holiday shopping.

Wishing you all much love and courage,
Pat

Weekly Forecast November 26: Mercury Direct, Lunar Eclipse in Gemini

Astrologically, this is a huge week, with three important conjunctions, Mercury turning direct just before a lunar eclipse in Mercury-ruled Gemini, and everything connected.

We’re already seeing the effects of the planetary configuration in the eclipse chart, which is complex and exceedingly rare. The Mars-Uranus square peaked on Friday, and right on cue, there was a huge explosion in Springfield, Mass., followed by a tragic fire on Saturday at a garment factory in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

A small gate. © Pat Paquette, 2012.

I predicted in last week’s forecast that the Mars-Uranus square might be mitigated by the conjunction of Venus and Saturn, favorably angled to Mars and Pluto. In the case of the Springfield explosion, this seemed to be the case. How likely is it that a blast that size in a major city like Springfield would result in no fatalities? According to a story by The Associated Press, officials marveled how the “blast occurred when a day care center next door was closed. The center’s building was heavily damaged.” In the chart timed for the explosion, Venus and Saturn were in the fifth house, which rules children. Vesta, an asteroid named for the Roman goddess who protected the community, was on the Ascendant.

And yet, the chart for the Dhaka fire has almost the same Ascendant, with Venus and Saturn in the fifth house as well, and as we know from news reports, at least 124 people died, most of them women. The only apparent difference in the charts is the position of the Moon, which in the Dhaka chart is at a near-exact inconjunct with chart-ruler Mercury, stationed (stopped) in preparation for returning direct tomorrow. According to news reports, emergency exits were blocked, and the workers were trapped.

This is a good reminder that astrology can’t tell you “what’s going to happen to you.” Our actions do count, and we can affect the outcome of situations. According to news reports, the Dhaka factory was tagged more than a year ago for unsafe conditions – by, of all ironies, Wal-Mart, one of the factory’s leading buyers and a corporation not known for great working conditions. We can choose not to heed warnings, and sometimes we even get away with it. Then, when astrological conditions change, we pay.

What’s so tragic here is that the people who paid with their lives had no voice. That, in a nutshell, is what the Uranus-Pluto square is all about. The more people rise up and protest, the more forceful the backlash from the authorities becomes.

The closer we get to Wednesday’s Full Moon eclipse, the closer the planets will align, with the Sun right at the midpoint between Mars and Pluto on one side and Saturn and Venus on the other. I can’t get over how extraordinary this alignment is, and I expect that the manifestations of it will be equally as remarkable. I see the possibility that it is a small window, a narrow gateway, to accomplishing the impossible and finding resolution to the greatest conflicts facing humanity. I was thinking “war and peace,” when a link popped onto my screen for indie films about war and peace. I just love synchronicities.

In that context, my “big news” is relatively minor. Nevertheless, it was a major accomplishment for me to complete my first video for RealAstrologers. It’s a week later than I planned, with several problems I wasn’t able to resolve, despite several all-nighters. I definitely was tempting fate trying to do work requiring exacting detail during Mercury retrograde, but there was no way around it. With better planning, I’d have had the video done by the first of November, but I’ve also had a backlog of reports. Some of the things that went wrong in the video-making process would have been laughable for an astrologer, if not for the time and frustration – we know that this is exactly what happens with Mercury in “reverse.” I was seriously not amused that my program kept crashing when I was nearly done. Right up until the 11th hour, problems made mountains out of small, routine tasks. But I did have some fun, too, and I learned a ton – a major function of Mercury.

For sure, I’m not the only one who’s been tearing my hair out. On Wednesday, I got the following e-mail from a client:

Normally I heed well your warnings on Mercury retrograde. A week and a half ago I decided to purchase a new fridge, to replace the 30-year-old one in the house … After many problems it was delivered last Saturday and has yet to freeze an ice cube. I have had to toss much food, lose a day’s pay to a repairman, who said he can get a part in December, and lose my mind to the point of getting sick. As it stands right now I will be getting the useless one hauled out and new one in tonight. I will never blatantly disregard your warnings again!

The good news is that we have only one more day of this, and then we’ve got the green light … and how!

Click on image to enlarge

Most of this week’s aspects appear in the chart for the eclipse, starting with Monday’s Sun-Uranus trine. This is where I see the biggest potential for good surprises. We’ve had enough bad ones lately – then, nothing really surprises us much anymore … OK, maybe I shouldn’t have written that. As we found out with Hurricane Katrina, trines can be “good” for something other than humans. Nature is neutral and couldn’t care less how weather affects us. Likewise, the Universe is neutral. Our limited notion of “benefit” is just that – limited.

Also on Monday, Mercury returns direct. This is critically important, given that Mercury is the ruler of Wednesday’s eclipse. Mercury went retrograde in Sagittarius but returns direct in Scorpio, the sign of backroom deals, spies, and corporate secrets. It’s hard to imagine what kind of shocking information will come out in the next two weeks. Will any election results be overturned? The United Nations has declared Washington and Colorado in violation of international treaties for voting to legalize pot. This is just too bizarre for words. And what about Petraeus and Benghazi? I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop – namely, confirmation that the U.S. “consulate” in Benghazi was a CIA outpost, that this was not a secret in upper echelons, and that the Republicans’ faux outrage is a diversionary tactic. As for the impending “fiscal cliff” – well, who knows what surprises lie in store?

Later on Monday, Venus conjoins Saturn, immediately followed on Tuesday by the conjunction of Mars and Pluto. There is some deep symbolic significance here in that Venus and Mars are the quintessential male and female, that each is aligned with a “superpower,” and that those superpowers are virtually indistinguishable, due to their mutual reception. How much difference, really, is there between the one political party and another, one country or another? The polarities anymore are not between political parties or countries, but between social classes – those with political and economic power, and those without it. Protest movements around the world seem to identify more with one another than they do with their own national identities, with fast global communications as a means of connecting. This is the wave of the future.

Venus formally aligns with Pluto on Wednesday and with Mars on Thursday. The one factor that may make an immediate difference in U.S. national affairs is the number of women in Congress. In general (note emphasis), our values are different, with relationships being more important than dominance. I know that there are countries ahead of us in this regard – Iceland, for example. The vanguard is followed by the mainstream.

The one planet I didn’t discuss in my video was Jupiter, who is not far from the Moon in the eclipse chart. The conjunction is a bit wide to have much impact, and Jupiter is retrograde and in the sign of his fall. But there’s a little extra “luck” here nonetheless, plus some amplification of the power of the energies of the eclipse in general. So, even though it’s only a penumbral eclipse and you may not even see it, there’s a better chance that you’ll feel it in some area of your life.

I’m really excited about this week, and I’m especially looking forward to getting my work back on track. One of my first tasks (after taking care of client e-mail and some backlogged reports) will be to create the template for the StarGuide Winter 2013 Forecast. I just love it that some of you have pre-ordered before I even announced it. I’ll have an update in next week’s forecast.

In the meantime, much love and courage to all,
Pat

Lunar Eclipse in Gemini, November 28, 2012

I finally finished my video on the upcoming lunar eclipse. Yay!

Trying to do this kind of detailed work during Mercury retrograde has been a challenge, to say the least. Anything that could go wrong, did – everything from compatibility issues between my editing program and my new camera to a bad bathroom bang trim. The setbacks and delays were so numerous that I almost gave up a couple of times. All I could do was laugh, knowing that everything that happened was a supreme validation of astrology. And it was great fun to create the motion graphics, complete with exploding Gemini and imploding Pluto.

I’ll post my regular weekly forecast later today, so check back this evening. There’s so much going on this week! In the meantime, I hope you enjoy my first video for RealAstrologers.

Weekly Forecast November 12: Solar Eclipse in Scorpio, Mars Enters Capricorn

Total eclipse of the sun on July 11, 1991. Image credit: Steve Albers, Boulder, CO; Dennis DiCicco, Sky and Telescope; Gary Emerson, E. E. Barnard Observatory.

It really does feel like something has shifted, even before Tuesday’s eclipse. Eclipses can be like that. We can feel the really powerful ones up to six months before and after.

The elections are over in the United States, with surprisingly few complications, given Mercury’s station retrograde just as the polls were closing on the East Coast (then, delayed effects are always possible). President Obama’s re-election wasn’t a surprise, but other results were: more women than ever in the Senate, the defeat of candidates with outdated views about women, initiatives to legalize gay marriage, and the legalization of pot in Colorado and Washington. This isn’t small change.

We’re in a period of intense change, with the Uranus-Pluto square, recently amplified by Saturn in Scorpio, the mutual reception between Saturn and Pluto, and now the new series of eclipses in Scorpio and Taurus. The keywords for Scorpio are death, transformation, and rebirth. I have to think that the grand trine between Saturn, Neptune, and Ceres also has been a major influence in the 2012 elections. Neptune rules mind-altering substances, Ceres seems to have an association with plant life, and Saturn is the planet of rules and regulations. There you have it.

While it’s possible that our “big eclipse event” is already behind us, it’s hard to imagine that there won’t be more to come, especially as the Scorpio-Taurus series unfolds over the next two years. A lot can be accomplished in this time, if we put our minds to it, and given the intense nature of Saturn and Pluto, all of our courage and ingenuity will be needed to meet the tests still to come. This applies individually and collectively.

As I wrote in last week’s forecast, “For years, astrologers have spoken of this time period as a critical point in human development, during which we go through a collective transformation. The time of testing is here, with Saturn, lord of time and karma, and the lunar North Node, symbol of destiny, both in Scorpio. We’re in the thick of it now. Lessons we learned over the past two years – since the cardinal T-square of 2010 – will be invaluable as we go through this dark and confusing rebirthing process.”

Looking at the details of this New Moon Eclipse, both Sun and Moon are at 21°57′ Scorpio, not far from the lunar North Node at 26 degrees Scorpio, which gives us a total eclipse. The Sun and Moon make no close aspects with other planets. Of course, the ongoing Uranus-Pluto features prominently in the eclipse chart. Other aspects are a near-exact square from Mercury to Neptune and inconjunct between Saturn and Uranus. We’re still in a period with a high risk of lies, confusion, and distortion. Certainly, the losing party is in serious confusion. According to some press reports, Republicans were so sure of a big victory that they couldn’t believe the results. It’s not unreasonable, given these aspects, that we eventually could learn of some election fraud. The Saturn-Uranus aspect highlights the vast gulf between those who want to preserve the status quo and forces for change.

Click on image to enlarge

Astrologers disagree on the meaning of eclipses. It gets a bit tricky when you’re dealing with unseen forces we don’t yet understand – or with symbolism. Some astrologers say eclipses are a sort of collective reboot. According to others, they are like supercharged New Moons and Full Moons, representing endings and radical new beginnings. Some say an eclipse has no effect at all if you can’t see it from your location. This eclipse will be at its maximum over the Pacific Ocean and will be most visible in northern Australia.

In my observation, eclipses have a great deal of meaning in your personal life, whether or not you can see them. The house position of the eclipses indicates which areas of your life are most subject to fast change. When doing consultations, one of the first things I look for is where the eclipses are falling in a client’s chart. Nine times out of then, the issues causing them the most stress are associated with the houses where the eclipses fall. Incidentally, we have two eclipses left in the Sagittarius-Gemini sign pair. One will be a lunar eclipse on November 28, and the last will be a dramatic lunar eclipse on May 25, 2013 – not a total eclipse, but with a powerful planetary alignment.

Looking at the rest of the week, Mercury re-enters Scorpio on Wednesday. I have a feeling that things will calm down a bit afterwards, as Mercury no longer will be in mutual reception with retrograde Jupiter in Gemini. The Sun and Mercury conjoin on Saturday, which could manifest as light being shed on deep secrets.

On a personal note, since retrograde Mercury didn’t wreak the predicted havoc on the U.S. elections, I guess that means I can take personally all the havoc he wreaked in my life over the past week. It started before he even officially went retrograde, which is often the case, according to the feedback I’ve received over the years from readers and clients. There’s a pre-retrograde “shadow” period in which Mercury passes through the degrees that will be activated during his retrograde phase, and often this can feel like the retrograde itself. For me, it has been classic, with frustrating delays, miscommunications, and no communications at all. The producer who was considering taking on my documentary project has fallen off the face of the earth. To top it all off, the county elections board rejected the signature on my ballot, a snafu that took three days to correct. As a result, I’m way behind on reports.

Aside from the eclipse and Mercury retrograde, the other big news this week is Friday’s ingress of Mars in Capricorn, sign of his exaltation. As long as Uranus is in Mars-ruled Aries – another six years or so – the position of Mars takes on additional significance. In Capricorn, Mars deposits to Saturn, “feeding” the mutual reception between Saturn and Pluto. It will be interesting to watch this relationship unfold. The square between Uranus and Pluto represents conflict between forces for revolutionary change and resistance by authoritarian control. With Mars in Capricorn, rebel forces could be co-opted rather than confronted by military might. Likewise, rebel leaders might seek backroom deals with those in power. There might even be a discreet back door into the halls of power for those seeking major change. Mars in Capricorn represents the military, so watch the headlines for unusual developments in war and military spending. The proverbial dirt hits the fan when Mars and Pluto conjoin at the lunar eclipse on November 28.

On Saturday, Mars sextiles Neptune. Among other things, this seems to be a perfect planetary configuration for severe winter storms. I write that with the caveat that I’m not schooled in astrological weather forecasting, so you can take that with a grain of salt … or a truckload for icy roads.

Much love and courage to all,
Pat

Weekly Forecast November 5: Mercury Retrograde, Neptune Direct

The Burney Relief, Mesopotamia c. 1800-1750 BCE.

What can you say about a week when New York got knocked to its knees and 20 million people experienced a breakdown in civilization, even if for some of them it was only a few hours?

Astrologically, last week’s Full Moon was difficult in many ways, and for the past few days I’ve been pondering what the next two weeks will look like as we head into a double station of Mercury retrograde and Neptune direct, less than a week before a total eclipse of the Sun in Scorpio. I was reminded that eclipses don’t always manifest within the normal period of the New Moon – usually plus or minus three days – but that events linked to powerful eclipses can occur as long as six months in advance. Certainly two weeks before, at a Full Moon in the opposite sign of the eclipse, counts as an eclipse event.

My tentative conclusion is that for many of us, the big news related to the eclipse may already have happened. Of course it’s hard to know, but for a hint, have a look at your natal chart and ask yourself whether you’ve recently experienced an upset or radical change in one or more of the areas of life ruled by the house where next week’s eclipse will fall. If so, then your transformation-rebirth process has already started. I was going to save these thoughts until next week, but in fact, we’re already in the eclipse period.

If you haven’t read Ruth’s Scorpio article, which I posted yesterday, check it out. She has presented some profound insight into the transformation process, including the observation that some people sink into a depression while the transformation is happening. It’s as though part of you is hibernating in order to shut down and let the process happen. Now, I’m not talking about clinical depression, bipolar disorder, or serious medical conditions, but rather a process that humans have experienced since before history began. We know, because some of the first stories ever recorded in cuneiform writing deal with this theme.

For years, astrologers have spoken of this time period as a critical point in human development, during which we go through a collective transformation. The time of testing is here, with Saturn, lord of time and karma, and the lunar North Node, symbol of destiny, both in Scorpio. We’re in the thick of it now. Lessons we learned over the past two years – since the cardinal T-square of 2010 – will be invaluable as we go through this dark and confusing rebirthing process.

A telling image from last week’s storm coverage was the photo of President Barak Obama and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who temporarily dropped their political differences to find solutions for the millions of people affected by Hurricane Sandy. Sure, there’s political calculation and self-serving motives, but it was still an important symbol of what transformation is all about – the unification of polarized forces within ourselves. Jung saw it as a union of the conscious and unconscious.

Given last week’s dramatic events, this week may be anticlimactic, despite the significant astrological signatures. Mercury turns retrograde at 6:03 p.m. EST on Tuesday, with the polls still open in many states. Add to that logistical problems in some areas affected by Sandy, and it’s virtually guaranteed that this election is going to be fraught with difficulties – if not on the presidential level, then in congressional and local races. My computer already is acting up, and I’ve been backing up files while I write – three hours so far. Also make sure you set your clocks back last night. If you haven’t started your holiday shopping yet, put it off until after Thanksgiving. Although you can save hassles by shopping now and avoiding the crowds, you may end up paying more in money and frustration with products that don’t work right, aren’t what you ordered, or are missing key accessories. I’ve had to buy electronics while Mercury was in reverse, but everything that could go wrong did go wrong. With Jupiter retrograde in Mercury ruled Gemini, things that go wrong will do so in a big way.

Speaking of the Big Guy, Jupiter and Venus are in a harmonious trine on Friday, which could signify a bit of a break. Both planets are in air signs, which govern intellect, rational thought, and ideas, and both are signs of unified duality, each in its own way. Since Jupiter and Mercury are both retrograde, an old idea may turn out to be the one that works for you.

On Sunday, Neptune turns direct. I always get really sleepy when Neptune is slowing down, but this also is a great time to explore dreams and do past-life regression therapy. It’s also not a bad time to sleep, especially since we just went off daylight saving time and it gets dark early. With so much stress and anxiety, many of us aren’t sleeping well, which leads to more stress and anxiety.

The not-so-positive side of Neptune “stopped” is that we’re in a period when deceit and dishonesty flourish. Part of the cycle here is that we’re easily led to believe what we want to believe and to ignore facts, rational arguments, and our own alarm bells. Neptune also rules drugs, alcohol, and escapist behavior – although anyone would be forgiven for diving into the complete collection of X-Files on Blu-ray and tuning out the insanity.

UPDATE 11/04/12: In the original post, I had it backwards and had Neptune turning retrograde instead of direct. So, first of all, apologies for that, and thanks to those of you who wrote alerting me to the error. Mercury’s not even retrograde yet, but we’re well into the shadow, and this is exactly the kind of embarrassing errors that happen. I suppose this serves as a caution to everyone. Mercury is stationed almost exactly on my Ascendant – this is classic. Not only did I make an error in my post, but when I opened the Word document to fix it, the text was entirely in red with lines through it and all the changes of previous rewrites underlined! I never use that feature of Word. Is this weird or what? As it happens, though, the effect of Neptune stationing are pretty much the same whether he’s going retrograde or direct, so the essence of what I wrote is still valid.

Wishing you all much love and courage,
Pat

Weekly Forecast October 29: Full Moon in Taurus, Venus Square Pluto

At this time of year, the veil between the worlds is at its thinnest. It’s not hard to imagine how this phenomenon gave rise to All Hollow’s Eve, the Day of the Dead, All-Saints Day, and other traditions involving ghosts and goblins.

These days, though, when we talk about the thinning of the veil, it’s not just about Halloween but often is in the context of what some people refer to as past lives. I call them “other lives,” in acknowledgement that “past” depends on the illusion of linear time. As more people have these memories, we begin to understand how everything is connected and how relationships can survive across many lifetimes. However, it’s one thing to say we’re all connected, but quite another to feel it deeply in our bones.

If you’re having these memories or thinking along these lines, this week’s Full Moon in Taurus may bring up new and important information. The popular notion of “karma” is that we did something terrible in a past life and have to pay for it this one. Given the violent history of humankind, it’s possible and even likely that many of us did do something horrendous, and as we begin accessing these other lifetimes, we may recall situations that are hard to face.

However, it’s also possible that what bubbles up into our consciousness, while distressing, isn’t our fault. I recently had a client who was freaking out because he thought he murdered his girlfriend in a previous lifetime. With some digging, I uncovered an alternative explanation in which both of them contributed to her demise by having an illicit romance in an era when adulterous wives of nobility were put to death. Did he kill her? We can imagine that, at the time, a man in those circumstances would have thought so and felt crushing guilt in addition to the grief of losing his beloved.

These kinds of memories are so powerful that they can survive physical death. Another theory is that trauma registers in our DNA, and the memories are from ancestors. We don’t know exactly how this recall works, but it’s my theory that when we have a traumatic experience, it registers in our energy field and ripples across dimensions of time and space to other incarnations – and not necessarily in a one-way direction. The psychic underworld, where these events are registered, falls within the realm of Pluto and Scorpio. There are many ways of looking at Saturn and Pluto in mutual reception, not the least of which is collective financial reckoning. However, it’s also a perfect setup for karmic reckoning, and there’s no more fitting time for full disclosure than the Full Moon.

Click on image to enlarge

The chart for this Full Moon isn’t an easy one, with Saturn closely conjunct the Sun in Scorpio and opposite the Moon in Taurus. Painful endings and being forced to let go will be themes for many. The good news is that both Sun and Moon are in favorable aspect with Pluto, Scorpio’s ruler and planet of transformation and rebirth. The old cliché “an ending is but a new beginning” definitely applies. With Pluto in favorable aspect, there’s also a good possibility that accessing other dimensions will help access and release negative karma. The close trine from the Sun and Saturn to Neptune and Ceres provides additional support for recognizing the cyclical nature of life and for approaching difficult memories with compassion and acceptance.

There are several oppositions and squares in the Full Moon chart, including the Uranus-Pluto square, the defining aspect of our time. Ceres opposes Pluto and forms a cardinal T-square (you can’t see it in the chart, because I’m not able to isolate aspects to Ceres in Kepler software). Once again, we may revisit issues that dominated our lives in the summer of 2010. From Wednesday to Friday, Venus in early Libra forms a fourth leg, turning the T-square into a grand cross. At the peak of the cardinal T-square in August 2010, Mars and Saturn were conjunct in early Libra. Venus rules Libra and is a much gentler energy, so it’s possible that we can make further progress in the new directions that many of us began taking back then, especially within our closest relationships. With Uranus in the mix, there’s still an element of volatility and unpredictability, but that also means the door is wide open to revolutionary change.

The fourth opposition in the Full Moon chart involves Mars in Sagittarius and Jupiter retrograde in Gemini. This is not an inherently “bad” opposition and can represent a burning quest for knowledge. The downside is that it’s a classic setup for war and aggression, with a tendency to overreach.

We also have a square between Neptune and Mercury, who enters Sagittarius earlier on Monday. Blurting out the truth and confused thinking – not a good combination, especially if you happen to be running for political office. Then, who knows? Maybe one of the candidates in their sleep-deprived end-of-campaign state will accidentally tell the truth. This is the first of three squares between Mercury and Neptune between now and the middle of December, due to the Messenger’s retrograde phase. Mercury is moving in slow motion this week as he approaches retrograde on November 6. We’re well into the pre-retrograde shadow period, so be sure to wrap up projects, sign important contracts, and back up computer data early this week. Don’t wait!

So, here we are, heading into the darkest days of winter, with a stressful Full Moon and, on top of that, a potentially catastrophic storm heading for the East Coast of the United States. Meteorologists have commented that the gravitational force of the Full Moon threatens to make the storm worse. With the addition of a difficult astrological chart, it does look like a perfect storm. To all of my dear friends and clients in harm’s way, please take measures to stay safe.

Wishing you all much love and courage,
Pat

Weekly Forecast October 22: Sun Enters Scorpio, Venus Enters Libra

Holotropic States. © Pat Paquette, 2012.

What is transformation? We talk about it a lot, but what does it mean to transform? How does it happen?

Many of us will have transformational experiences in the next few weeks as we move deeper into the realm of Scorpio, the sign of death, transformation, and rebirth. Saturn entered Scorpio on October 5 for the first time in nearly 30 years, and for the first time in more than 230 years is in mutual reception with Pluto, the ruler of Scorpio in modern Western astrology. When the Sun enters Scorpio on Monday, the individual and collective transformation process intensifies (after all, what is the collective but a “collection” of individuals?).

As part of the research for my documentary, I’ve been familiarizing myself with the work of Stan Grof, a psychiatrist best known for his experiments with LSD in the 1970s, when medical use was legal. A friend lent me Grof’s latest book, When the Impossible Happens: Adventures in Non-Ordinary Realities. It’s the first time I’ve read accounts of Grof’s own sessions with LSD. In some of these sessions, he had past-life memories, and in some cases, these memories triggered deep healing in his personal relationships. His accounts validated my own experiences, which I had without the use of psychedelics.

In fact, in my astrology work, I’ve observed that an increasing number of people are having such memories, which I prefer to call “other lives,” because I believe they aren’t happening in chronological succession according to human perception of time. Grof came to the same conclusion – and he’s a Ph.D. psychiatrist who never believed in past lives. Incidentally, as he ventured further into non-ordinary states of consciousness, he also came to accept the validity of astrology.

In his work, Grof observed time and again the transformation that occurred in patients as a result of entering what he calls the “holotropic state of consciousness” – a state of mind in which we can heal past wounds, whether from early childhood, the birth process itself, or events prior to birth in this incarnation. While in this state, some patients had other-life experiences that explained fears and anxieties that previously had no name and no known source. Some of them also discovered karmic relationships that helped explain their current relationship difficulties. Once LSD was outlawed, he worked with breathing techniques to achieve an altered state of consciousness. Of course there are other ways to do it, too, which he readily acknowledges.

Once Grof began working with LSD, it didn’t take long for him to realize that conventional “modern” psychiatry and psychology was inadequate. It couldn’t address spiritual experiences, and it completely ignored human consciousness. In the mid-60s – right around the time of the Uranus-Pluto conjunction – Grof got together with some colleagues and laid the foundation for transpersonal psychology. It’s still not entirely in the mainstream, but with Uranus and Pluto now in a square, it’s making inroads in one form or another and is the way of the future for psychology. The profession is being transformed, and that means people who seek therapy for mental health issues also have an increased chance of being transformed.

In the meantime, though, many people are going through spontaneous transformation, and from what I’m seeing, a lot of it is related to a growing awareness of other lives – in particular, of relationships that exist beyond this incarnation. Often, meeting another person with whom one has karmic ties is the trigger for those memories. I don’t believe it’s any coincidence that the increase in the number of people having these experiences is happening now. This is quite possibly the Apocalypse – not doom and destruction, but a lifting of the veil to higher consciousness and the resulting transformation of society that by definition must happen when enough people understand that the energy patterns underlying the material world are inextricably linked to physical reality.

Anyone who has had Pluto transit their Ascendant has a good idea of what transformation is and how it works. It’s usually a slow process, even if a sudden event triggers it, and that’s good. For transformation to take place, a part of us must die, and that part usually is the ego – the structures that your mind has developed to survive in your environment and circumstances. Breaking down isn’t pretty. For some people, it might even mean a literal mental breakdown that has to occur before their body/mind can be reassembled in wholeness. Sometimes, other-life memories or sudden realizations can be so foreign to what they “know” that the breakdown happens all by itself. That said, with Saturn in Scorpio and Pluto in Capricorn, it’s time to take responsibility for our healing and transformation.

The human race as a whole is going through a major change, and we’re seeing it as breakdowns in whole societies. These changes are well under way, so whether we’ll see more of them during this intensive Scorpio period or whether more people will just become aware of what’s happening, I can’t say – maybe some of both.

Part of what makes transformation so hard is that it usually requires going back to the source of a wound. That in itself has been hard, because until we recognize that some wounds are in our energy field and may have been imprinted before our birth in this incarnation, we can’t address the source, even if we want to. Past-life regression therapy has been around for a while, and although there weren’t a lot of controls in the early days, the field is attempting to police itself and weed out unqualified and unethical practitioners.

Looking at this week, the Sun enters Scorpio at 8:14 p.m. EDT on Monday, and immediately trines Neptune on Tuesday and conjoins Saturn on Thursday. Sun-Saturn aspects can be intimidating, but I see this three-way aspect between the Sun and Saturn in Scorpio and Neptune in Pisces as a huge opening for taking responsibility for your own transformation. With Neptune in Pisces, we don’t even need the LSD but can go into altered states through meditation and occult practices such as working with the Tarot. Of course, sex is always an avenue, too, as long as you’re aware of what you’re doing. As with all things Scorpio, the portal is your own fear. What are you most afraid of? And how is that fear self-limiting? Do you even know? I’d suggest that if you’re in therapy already, you might want to do some extra work with your therapist. If you’re not in therapy but think you could benefit, this is a great time to do the heavy lifting. As an added bonus (um, right) there’s a trine from the Sun to Chiron on Saturday. I know, opening an old wound may be incredibly uncomfortable, but the pain is temporary, and with Saturn in Scorpio, we can bite the bullet.

Also on Thursday, Mercury in Scorpio sextiles Venus in Virgo – a great time to get to the bottom of issues in your love life. Do take some care in how you approach the subject. Finding fault or being overly critical isn’t the way to get heard. Better still, wait a couple of days, until Venus enters her own sign of Libra. This is much better energy for give-and-take, compromise, and accommodation. Just don’t be so willing to avoid conflict at any cost that you don’t say what you’ve got to say.

Ten minutes before Venus enters Libra on Sunday, Mars in Sagittarius opposes Jupiter in Gemini. This is about big ideas and adventurous thinking, to hell with the details for now. It’s time for back-of-the-envelope calculations and taking phone numbers to get together for further discussion.

Speaking of big ideas, if you’d like to know more about Stan Grof’s work, he has a substantial article archive on his website.

Wishing you all much love and the courage to heal,
Pat

Weekly Forecast October 15: New Moon in Libra

Generally speaking, this week should be more serene, with plenty of opportunities to get new and existing projects off the ground.

Monday starts right out with the New Moon at 22 degrees Libra, the sign of balance and harmony. For many of us, finding balance has been a struggle for the better part of the past two years as our lives took unexpected new directions. For me and for many clients, it has felt like being carried along on a current that’s way too fast and too turbulent for comfort. All we’ve been able to do is to hang on and do our best to remain open to new possibilities. It has been exhausting.

This New Moon is a reminder to try to restore some semblance of balance, even if it’s brief. If you allow yourself a little time for rest, relaxation, or fun activities, your body/mind will suck it right up and nourish the parts of you most in need of care. With Saturn and the lunar North Node in Scorpio, we’re heavy into the transformation process, where breakdowns are accelerating to provide energy for new growth. I’ve been through this process several times in my life, including the breakdown that had to occur to transform me from a reporter into an astrologer. If you’ve never been through this before, it can be a terrifying process. But I’m here to tell you that the cycle is just that – a cycle. And it has been written about ever since writing was first invented. The difference now is that we’re going through it together as a collective.

In the chart for the New Moon, Saturn is still in a close trine with Neptune, which I see as a positive sign that we can turn dreams to reality. The key here is to find the balance between these very different energies. Neptunian dreams can be empty fantasy, but they also can be so creative and imaginative that they only seem impossible to people with no vision. Saturn’s influence helps supply the discipline to turn the vision into a solid plan to make it happen. Filmmaking is an excellent example, and there couldn’t be a better sign of the times than Cloud Atlas, the new Wachowski blockbuster about to hit theaters. This was a film the industry said could never be made. Not only did they make it happen, but the film got a ten-minute standing ovation last month at the Toronto Film Festival … and Larry Wachowski is now Lana.

As with filmmaking, millions of people have great ideas, but making them happen takes planning, hard work, skill, and collaboration (a nice Libra word). Saturn and Neptune are great for combining vision with discipline, and the New Moon in Libra is a good time to start.

Yet another reason I feel so optimistic about this week is the trine on Monday from Uranus to Mars in Sagittarius, which provides an outlet from the stress of the Uranus-Pluto square. This is an action-oriented aspect, an energetic combination favoring taking risks and doing something unconventional. This can apply (and likely will) to revolutionary movements and to individuals, as well, and the definition of “revolutionary” is broad. One bold move can produce a radical change in your life. Thursday is a particularly good day for action, when the Moon conjoins Mars.

Click on image to enlarge

Libra’s ruler is Venus, who is in aspect with Mercury and Jupiter in the New Moon chart, with Mercury and Jupiter in an edgy quincunx. Venus is in Virgo so not quite “herself,” and Jupiter is in his detriment as well. This combination is sort of like going into a big housecleaning job and suddenly becoming obsessed with polishing the silver. There’s no harm in it, and details do matter. But if a job needs to be done, you might have to keep kicking yourself in the behind to stay focused on the big picture and take care of the details in order of priority.

Mercury, meanwhile, is in deeply intuitive Scorpio, where he turns up small details like where the bodies are buried. Mercury and Venus in soft aspect suggest that criticism can be useful and should be encouraged. Put another way, identifying flaws and weaknesses in a project or relationship can save you headaches and heartaches further down the road. If you need a competent critique to help strengthen your work, ask for it this week from someone you can trust. You might need a double-rum punch or a brownie sundae afterwards, but go ahead. Then get to work.

If you’d like to know where all the action is happening in your chart, check out the StarGuide Fall 2012 forecast, now 20 percent off.

Next week, life gets even more intense with the Sun’s entry into Scorpio – all the more reason to enjoy this week, count your blessings, and take advantage of new opportunities, however great or small, that come your way.

Wishing you all much love and courage,
Pat

Weekly Forecast October 8: Saturn Trine Neptune

This week, we’re in the last-quarter Moon, coming off a difficult Full Moon on September 29. What’s no longer serving us continues to break down, fall apart, or fade away, with circumstances that may relate in some way to major life events during the summer of 2010.

That’s not necessarily bad news, although letting go is hard, and some people – especially those with a lot of fixed energy in their charts – have a tough time making wholesale changes. The good news is that this week’s aspects are for the most part favorable as we head into a promising New Moon in Libra on October 15.

Last week, Saturn entered Scorpio, one of the biggest astrological events of 2012. His first aspect in Scorpio (other than fleeting lunar transits) is a trine with Neptune, which occurs on Wednesday. This heavyweight pair came within a hair of forming a trine in February, but then Saturn turned retrograde and Neptune moved into Pisces. They’ll meet again next June and July, so we’ve got more than six months of a constructive outer planetary cycle occurring simultaneously with the destructive Uranus-Pluto square.

This week’s trine is part of a cycle that began when Saturn and Neptune conjoined in Capricorn in 1989. The Berlin Wall fell four days before the conjunction was exact, with Uranus also in a wide conjunction in Capricorn. The first trine of this cycle occurred in 2001. However, rather than dissecting that aspect, I went back to the previous cycle, which began in 1952 with Saturn and Neptune in Libra. The first trine in that cycle occurred in 1965, which also coincided with the Uranus-Pluto conjunction – the beginning of the cycle of our current Uranus-Pluto square. So, that is the trine I want to explore for clues about what this one might bring.

In 1965, the United States was embroiled in the Vietnam War, and society was going through a complete cultural breakdown, with protests against the war, civil rights marches, and the counterculture movement. But in the middle of all this chaos, space exploration expanded, and President Lyndon B. Johnson declared the “War on Poverty.” New legislation established the Medicare and Medicaid programs. Dreams for a better future were alive and well, but so was escape through turning on and tuning out – all the hallmarks of Neptune, which was the astrological “out” of the harder aspects via the trine from Saturn. I can just hear the 5th Dimension singing “Up, Up and Away” …

The 2012-2013 Saturn-Neptune trine doesn’t connect to the Uranus-Pluto square by angle, but it does connect via mutual reception between Saturn and Pluto. So I think we’re going to see many similarities between this era and 1965-66, not only in terms of popular culture – a trend astrologers have been talking about for some time – but also in repeating world events. For example, in 1965, there was Medicare. Now there’s Obamacare. And if these astrological similarities are any indication, it won’t be repealed. That said, I think there will be a parallel social and political backlash at the next Saturn-Neptune conjunction in 2025, when more conservative, monolithic forces take over.

Saturn and Neptune are very different energies. Saturn is about structure, while Neptune is about a total lack of structure and boundaries. Combined, they can represent efforts that fail to get off the ground, in part due to unrealistic ambition. But when the best of both worlds are put together, you get the discipline and sacrifice necessary to turn big dreams into a reality. Neptune offers the imagination and creativity that Saturn lacks, while Saturn supplies the structure and practical application that evades Neptune. Have a look at where these two fall in your chart to get some idea of how these energies might apply to you. (How do I know where Saturn and Neptune fall in my chart?)

Taking the week chronologically, the Sun trines Jupiter on Tuesday. Even though Jupiter is now retrograde, these are positive, optimistic energies that combine well for advancing your personal goals. Less than an hour later, Mercury trines Chiron. With Mercury in penetrating Scorpio, it’s possible to see through to the source of hurt feelings and old wounds, whether in this lifetime or on another plane of existence. You can’t begin to release old karma until you know what you’re dealing with. Take some time late Monday or early Tuesday to write in your journal or just stare out the window and see what bubbles to the surface of your consciousness. Mercury also forms a quincunx with Uranus, so some of what comes up could surprise or shock you. This process continues into Wednesday, when Mercury sextiles Pluto. At the collective level, secrets may be revealed that allow healing to take place on a broader scale.

Also on Tuesday, Venus trines Pluto in earthy Virgo and Capricorn. The conventional interpretation of this pair is usually about sex. With the trine, wild desires can lead to passion that transforms and cleanses, rather than the more obsessive side of this combination. Still, obsession and compulsion may be lurking in the shadows and barely under control, so don’t discount their influence. You’ll feel this aspect more acutely than others if you have either of these planets in the first, fifth, seventh, or eighth houses.

On Sunday, Mars squares Chiron. This is where wounds get cut out by the knife. With Mars in Sagittarius and Chiron in Pisces, the wounds we’re talking about are most likely in the collective psyche, and they have to do with religious and philosophical beliefs and the organizations founded upon them.

Next week is the New Moon in Libra, which will bring in a breath of fresh air. So hang in there this week and count the blessings that do come your way.

Wishing much love and courage to all,
Pat

Weekly Forecast October 1: Saturn Enters Scorpio

Washington Crossing the Delaware, by Emanuel Leutze, 1851.

Several shifts take place this week, with four planets changing signs and one stationing retrograde.

By far the biggest shift is Saturn’s entry into Scorpio, where he’ll remain until September 2015. He got within half a degree in February but then turned retrograde and spent another eight months in Libra. Now, after revisiting difficult relationship issues and feeling like we’ve gotten as far as we can, the floodgates of transformation are about to open. Life is going to look a lot different around this time next week.

Just before Saturn enters Scorpio on Friday, Mercury and Saturn conjoin in the final degree of Libra. I have a feeling something will click for a lot of us at that point – like, “Oh, OK, now I get it.” What was all the waiting, returning, and soul-searching for? Since Libra is the sign of diplomacy, this may also apply to international relations, although we likely won’t be privy to whatever “enlightenment” our governments may gain. With both Mercury and Saturn in Scorpio, the likelihood increases that wheeling and dealing will go on behind closed doors. For now. I expect the cover will be blown eventually. I also think that whatever comes to light is going to spark public outrage, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

Saturn and Pluto will be in mutual reception for the duration of Saturn in Scorpio. Mutual reception occurs when each of two planets is in the sign ruled by the other. The last time Saturn and Pluto were in mutual reception was at the end of 1776. The colonies already had declared their independence from the British Empire and were at war. Within a few weeks of Saturn’s entry into Scorpio, Washington crossed the Delaware, and Thomas Paine wrote the famous words, “These are the times that try men’s souls … Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered.”

Like the painting of Washington crossing the Delaware (stupidly standing in an overloaded boat), history is romanticized, and anyone today who takes up arms against tyranny is a “terrorist.” Well, then, I guess we’re going to see a lot more terrorism in the next three years, perhaps with renewed support for the Second Amendment. Combined with the Uranus-Pluto square, we can count on there being more bloodshed. Further, the combination of Scorpio and Capricorn strongly suggests economic conflict and scarcity of resources. Regardless of who’s elected in November, the 99 percent is going to see more belt-tightening.

It’s interesting to note the current fascination with the 1960s, which is when this Uranus-Pluto cycle began. The energy definitely is seeping into the collective. An article in the The Guardian today contemplates when the 1960s “officially” began and cites the revolution in music started by the Beatles. And whether or not they’re aware of the astrological correlations, writers in the media are making the connection between the turbulent 60s and the new wave of turmoil. You don’t need to be an astrologer to see that more upheaval is imminent.

Ray Merriman has an interesting prediction in his column this week about how these volatile astrological energies could affect the presidential elections in the United States. He mentions the possibility of a war in the Middle East, too.

As this week begins, we’re still in the wake of the Full Moon in Aries. I’ve been watching the news headlines, and so far the only story that really jumps out at me as a possible correlation to the Full Moon involves the austerity riots in Spain. Riots in bankrupt European countries have been going on for some time, but what’s particularly disturbing about this situation is the violent manner in which the police responded. We’re not out of the woods yet with this Full Moon. I normally don’t get too freaked out by astrological predictions, but I will admit that I’m on edge this week. I’m hoping it’s just a false alarm.

On Wednesday, Venus enters Virgo, the sign of her fall, and immediately opposes Neptune. Please let’s try to keep in mind the service-oriented side of Virgo, the friend who listens and offers help, not criticism about what you could have/should have done and how you brought it all on yourself. Fantasies can run both ways: putting someone on a pedestal is as deluded as believing they’re Satan. Be especially kind on Sunday, when Venus opposes Chiron. If you truly want to help someone, try to put yourself in his or her shoes before you open your mouth.

Jupiter turns retrograde on Thursday at 16 degrees Gemini. He’ll return to 6 degrees Gemini before returning direct in late January. Retrogrades of Jupiter on the whole aren’t too troublesome; it’s just that we don’t get the benefit of his expansiveness. The exception may be while Mercury is retrograde next month. Even retrograde, Jupiter in Gemini could amplify glitches related to retrograde Mercury. Also, if you’ve got Jupiter transiting a personal planet or chart angle, you may experience a reversal of luck or, at least, a delay in the payoff. If you don’t know where Jupiter is transiting your chart, there’s still time to order your StarGuide Fall forecast.

On Friday, Mercury and Saturn conjoin, then both enter Scorpio and form a grand trine with Neptune in Pisces and Ceres in Cancer. Dreams can come true, but it won’t happen by sitting in a lotus position and visualizing world peace. You have to get out there, roll up your sleeves, and get dirt under your fingernails. You might have to do other things you consider beneath you, too. Just keep your eye on the prize.

Mars leaves Scorpio on Saturday and enters adventurous Sagittarius, where his first order of business is to square Neptune. For an idea of how this might manifest, we may need to think all the way back to the first week of November 2011, when Mars opposed Neptune. Because of his retrograde cycle earlier this year, it took Mars all this time to arrive at the final square. This is not an optimistic transit, and we may feel a certain sense of hopelessness. Goddess knows, we’d be justified, but Sagittarius is the can-do pioneer that carries on in the face of adversity. Seek a reality check, and if you know you’re headed in the right direction, then push through the doubt. The bigger danger with Mars-Neptune is some form of deceit – in this case, likely due to a huge exaggeration. The presidential debates will be over by then, but there’s no time limit on the whoppers. My advice is to take care what you believe and in whom you put your trust.

Wishing you all much love and courage,
Pat