Category Archives: Forecasts

Weekly Forecast May 4: Mercury Retrograde, Full Moon in Scorpio

Mercury goes retrograde this week, but you knew that. Many of you have reported incidents that sound suspiciously like the trickster up to his typical mischief already.

Other than the slowdown in communications, I’m seeing positive effects, too. As I predicted, relationship issues are being revisited, although I didn’t expect it to happen this soon. I didn’t think we’d see this trend until after May 13, when Mercury returns to Venus-ruled Taurus. I certainly didn’t expect any developments before Mercury even went retrograde, but then he’s hovering exactly trine my Ascendant and sextile my Descendant, so that might explain the aberration.

Even though Mercury doesn’t turn retrograde until Thursday (late Wednesday on the West Coast of the United States), do be prepared for some frustration getting to work on Monday morning. Public transportation schedules may be messed up, and traffic jams could be worse than usual. People you need to contact may not be in, or they may not return calls when you need them. It’s par for the course.

Another factor that could affect this Mercury retrograde is Saturn’s station. Retrograde since December 31, the taskmaster and lord of time returns direct at 15 degrees Virgo on May 16. Although I argue for Ceres as ruler of Virgo, the change hasn’t been made — my petition is on hold on the desk of some faceless bureaucrat god on Mount Olympus — which means that Saturn currently is stopped in a sign ruled by Mercury, who’s also stopped. So it looks like we’ll be even more frustrated than usual, especially in matters related to our daily grind, until the end of this month. Those of you with sensitive digestion need to go easy, too.

The other big astrological event this week is the Full Moon in Scorpio on Saturday. This Full Moon marks the halfway point between the lunar eclipse in Leo on February 9 and the lunar eclipse in Aquarius on August 6. The eclipse in August is the last in the Aquarius-Leo series and represents a culmination of whatever issues this eclipse series brought to your door. With Mercury retrograde, it’s a good time for a review, and indeed you may have to revisit a situation whether you want to or not. Hopefully, the examination will be productive, even if there’s some discomfort attached. Saturn will play a role, too, as this Full Moon will be in favorable aspect.

I’ll leave the rest of the Full Moon analysis to Neith. Check back in a day or two for her report.

Meanwhile, the Sun trines Saturn on Tuesday, so we may well get a preview of how the Full Moon will play out. It would be nice, for once, to have some predictability. Saturn may not be the guy you want to snuggle up to at night, but you usually can count on him to be steady and reliable.

Much love and courage to all,
Pat

Image: A sculpture outside a Paris train station made of clocks. Imagine the confusion for anyone hoping to be able to figure out what time it is. Happy Mercury retrograde! Photo by Charles Platiau for REUTERS. p>

Weekly Forecast April 27: Mercury Enters Gemini

On first glance, it doesn’t look like there’s much happening this week astrologically. But the energy is decidedly different than it has been, and most of you likely are feeling more energetic.

I forgot to mention in last week’s forecast that Mercury entered the pre-retrograde shadow period on Wednesday, April 22. Over the past few years, many of you have written to say that you begin to experience Mercury retrograde in the shadow period, well before he goes into reverse. (A planet is said to be retrograde when, due to its relative orbit with the earth, it appears to move backwards in the sky from one day to the next.)

Sigh. Just when we were getting over retrograde Venus.

Still, I think this will be a good thing, as we’ll have a chance to reflect on recent events and to process all the new information. Mercury enters his own sign of Gemini on Thursday, but he won’t get even 2 degrees into it before backing up into Venus-ruled Taurus, where he’ll spend most of his retrograde phase. A good bit of what we process may have to do with issues we confronted while Venus was retrograde and, more importantly, when she was stationed at 29 Pisces. Relationship issues continue to take center stage in our hearts and minds.

Speaking of which, it was my turn to do the Saturday Extra! this past weekend, and since I’d been contemplating the meaning of the Susan Boyle phenomenon, I wrote a long post with my observations. I mentioned that Venus and Mars will remain in proximity until the end of June. At the same time, Jupiter, Neptune, and Chiron will form a conjunction at 26 degrees Aquarius, just as all three are about to turn retrograde.

Mercury’s retrograde phase will be an important part of the deep healing process that will continue to work its magic on us for the next two months. Susan’s burst into the collective conscious was just the beginning.

Even though the activity level has shot up and you’re probably going to be too busy to stare out the window with a cup of coffee, do take time for quiet contemplation this week. The Moon in Cancer on Tuesday forms a cardinal T-square with Pluto in Capricorn and Venus and Mars in Aries. Events Tuesday and Wednesday may be the kick in the pants you’ve needed to tend to projects you’ve been putting off. There’s no point in sulking; just do it.

Mars squared Pluto last week, and Venus has her go on Saturday. Venus-Pluto squares can be very sexy, and Venus in Aries certainly can be fiery. But I think Pluto in Saturn-ruled Cap is going to make her cool her heels, and this could lead to the darker side of Venus-Pluto squares, where power plays and manipulation take over. Remember that sex is sacred and not to be used as a weapon.

Love and blessings,
Pat

Image: Morning, by Maxfield Parrish, 1922.

Weekly Forecast April 20: New Moon in Taurus; Mars and Venus enter Aries

Major shifts take place this week, and I’m sure all you sensitive folks with highly attuned antennae are going to feel it.

This is going to be the week we resolve an issue that has been hanging over our heads and holding us back. With that resolution, we can move forward into new territory and, if we look back at all, at least it will be with no regrets.

We begin the week with the Moon in sensitive Pisces, with Venus and Mars moving close to conjunction. That aspect is exact on Tuesday. For romantic relationships, especially, this is a moment of truth. What do we want from our partners? We have to start by being honest with ourselves about what we want and need. Do we long for the impossible, or are we not aiming high enough?

For me and for others who have experienced a soul union with another, only this deep level of connection will do. While that may be hard to find, settling for less out of necessity or for practical reasons would be equally impossible and could have disastrous results. This moment of clarity has come to me only in the past few days, and it has been accompanied by many tears, not unlike going away on a long journey to a new and exciting place, knowing that you are leaving loved ones and a way of life behind, perhaps forever.

Right after the Venus-Mars conjunction, the Moon conjoins Uranus and carries the energy of radical change forward to Venus, just as Mars is entering Aries and the new territory. The Moon meets Mars right after this shift on Wednesday, so be prepared for your world to be rocked.

Venus enters Aries on Friday, but due to her recent retrograde phase, she is moving far more slowly than Mars and won’t catch up to him for nearly two months. This in itself is a rare phenomenon, as Venus and Mars typically meet only once every couple of years. When they meet again in Taurus on the Summer Solstice, it will be their third meeting in less than a year. I do believe this is significant for love relationships and for correcting an energy imbalance on the planet.

Later on Friday, we have the New Moon in Taurus in a lovely earth trine with Pluto. This New Moon will be ruled by Venus, and since she will have just moved into Aries, we can look forward to new beginnings on many fronts. Of course, Neith will have more shortly, so come back and look for her post.

On Sunday, Mars squares Pluto, and unfortunately this raises the specter of raw power plays. Again, I think these will come out mostly in relationships. However, just remember that all conflict isn’t bad. If you can maintain your awareness, you not only can get through the storm, but you can learn important information about yourself and the other person or situation.

Wishing you strong hearts, with much courage and love.
Pat

Image: The Pain of Love, by William Adolphe Bouguereau, 1899.

Weekly Forecast April 13: Mars Conjunct Uranus, Venus Direct

Cosmic explosion I’ve started typing this forecast four times, and each time my computer shut itself off without warning. There no doubt is a logical explanation, such as overheating or a virus, but with Mars just having entered my second house and about to conjoin Uranus, you bet I’m dreading the worst.

Speaking of overheating, there are several hotspots in the world, and they just keep getting hotter. Our brave freighter captain was rescued, but the Somali pirates who took him hostage are dead and their crewmates are mad as hell and threatening to take no prisoners next time. There are riots in the street in Thailand.

Mars-Uranus conjunctions typically herald some sort of explosion or explosive situation, but this one is particularly potent, because it is also amplifying the energy of the Saturn-Uranus opposition. The high seas drama between lawless pirates and one of the world’s strongest military forces is a perfect manifestation of this astrological imprint, but we’ve still got two days to go until the conjunction peaks on Wednesday, so we can expect even more disruption.

Venus, meanwhile, is stationed at 29 degrees Pisces as she prepares to return direct on Friday. I have this image of her with a screaming hangover. Despite being back in the sign of her exaltation, it’s been a tough six weeks in Aries, and now she’s waiting for Mars to show up next week for The Talk. I sure hope they get some things worked out and that it translates to smoother relationships here on Earth. But I think some hearts are going to be broken, too.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, the Sun in Aries sextiles Chiron and Neptune in Aquarius. Hopefully this will inject a little healing energy into the mix. Often breakdowns and explosions occur because there is an imbalance that needs correcting. If this is what’s happening, globally or personally, we should get some insight into the situation on Friday, when Mercury trines Saturn.

The Sun leaves fiery Aries on Sunday and enters placid Taurus. That should help calm things down, too. However, we’ll remain in the Uranus-Neptune loop all week, as all planets in the chart, including the Moon, deposit to these two. This has kept us in an edgy trip that appears to be helping us heal and evolve but that is extremely disruptive. This pattern will change once Mars enters Aries on April 22. With Venus and the Moon accompanying him into his home sign, we should feel a major shift. It may be bumpy, or it may be the breath of fresh air we’ve all needed. Maybe both.

Until then, much love and courage to all,
Pat

Image: Explosion in the binary star system RS Ophiuchi, which occurs every 20 years or so. Image by David A. Hardy.

Weekly Forecast April 6: Full Moon in Libra, Venus in Pisces

Venus is at the forefront of this week’s astrological news, and already I’m seeing subtle signs of transitioning into a “higher vibration,” in New Age speak.

Venus, of course, is the planet of love. There are many kinds of love, some of which aren’t really love at all. True love is inextricably linked with higher consciousness, and with Venus heading back into Pisces this week, I see a huge opening for any of us who are ready to jump up a level. I’ll write more about this below, but first let’s have a look at the week’s aspects.

The Mars-Saturn opposition, which was exact on April 4, continues to reverberate in the first part of this week as the Moon conjoins Saturn in Virgo on Monday and then opposes Mars and Uranus on Tuesday. The headlines over the weekend were rife with fatal shootings. My bus never showed up on Friday afternoon because the driver allegedly was assaulted. Mount Redoubt, which had been quiet all week, erupted on Saturday. On Sunday, North Korea launched a rocket it says was for peaceful purposes but that the international community charges was for testing long-range nuclear capability. This event most certainly is going to have consequences, especially as Mars approaches conjunction with Uranus on April 15.

But perhaps diplomacy will prevail, with Mercury entering Taurus on Thursday, half an hour before the Full Moon in Libra. Both Taurus and Libra are ruled by Venus. Whereas Taurus represents the sensual side of Venus, Libra symbolizes peace and reconciliation. Fortunately, there has been a lot of that in the news lately, too. As usual, Neith will enlighten us further about the Full Moon, so watch this space for her update in a day or two.

On Friday, the Sun in Aries forms a dynamic sextile with Jupiter in Aquarius, with the Big Guy making his final approach to conjunction with Chiron and Neptune. Here we see more healing energy being channeled into the collective, with the potential for huge breakthroughs. Pay attention on Friday when Mercury trines Pluto, and you will see precisely how this background energy is affecting you personally. If you’re a fairly evolved soul, you’ll feel it internally more than externally, but often there is an immediate reaction in our outer world when we change on a personal level.

Also on Saturday, Venus re-enters Pisces, where she’ll remain at 29 degrees for nearly two weeks. During that time, she’ll conjoin Mars, who has another two and half weeks to go in Pisces.

I’m watching this conjunction closely, as 29 Pisces is the omega, the final degree of the zodiac, sometimes called the “weeping degree” (some astrologers refer to the last degree of any sign as the weeping degree). Despite the potential for suffering, I also see this conjunction as holding much potential for resolution, especially since it feeds into the greater energy pattern that has dominated the sky for weeks. As I’ve mentioned before, that’s the mutual reception between Uranus in Pisces and Neptune in Aquarius.

It’s generally accepted that Uranus represents individual freedom and remaining true to oneself at all costs, while Neptune is about dissolution of the ego and merging into the collective. However, Uranus also represents synthesis, and this is, I believe, the key to reconciling what would appear to be mutually exclusive goals. Not only can we fit seamlessly into the collective as fully realized individuals, but the whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts. There is real magic and healing here, and I’m excited to see where it’s leading.

Although she’ll be in the final degree of Pisces, Venus is exalted in Pisces, and she’ll be feeding into higher love of Neptune. Some see this love as spiritual and therefore unsullied by bodily desires, but this is unfortunate. It’s well-established that sex can be a vehicle to higher consciousness, and that is what makes it sacred. As I see it, the conjunction of Mars and Venus under current astrological conditions creates a huge window for a jump in consciousness through intimate love relationships.

Not to be neglected, Ceres turns direct on Sunday. For me, the jury is still out about the meaning of Ceres in individual and mundane charts, so I continue to observe and record. As always, if anyone has thoughts about this, please leave a comment.

Love and blessings to all,
Pat

Image: Sleeping Beauty, by Maxfield Parrish, 1912. In some ways, Venus will be “sleeping” as she stations for two weeks at 29 degrees Pisces. We might imagine a kiss from Mars waking her up as they both move forward into fiery Aries.

Weekly Forecast March 30: Mars-Saturn Opposition

Photo by Lothar Slabon for Agence France-Presse We’re coming up on April 1, and I strongly encourage you to play as many good-natured practical jokes as you can, because dead-serious planetary transits at the end of the week aren’t going to make us feel much like fooling around.

The week starts out on a bright enough note, with the Sun and Mercury in a snappy conjunction in Aries. Last week I wrote about the dominant underlying energy of Neptune and Uranus in mutual reception. That pattern remains active for most of this week, but at least we’re not lost in a fog. It’s so frustrating when you just know you’re onto something, but you can’t explain it to anyone else without sounding like a total nutcase! With the Sun and Mercury in Aries, we can clarify the ideas that come to us, and we know what to do to begin to act on them.

We ought to come up with some pretty good April Fool’s jokes, too.

Of course, Venus is still retrograde in Aries as well, and she’s now in the second half of her reverse course. Friends are reporting an increase in events that we’d typically experience with Mercury retrograde. I’m attributing these to Venus. Personally, I’ve renewed ties with a couple of friends I lost touch with. This also can happen when Mercury is retrograde, but love and friendship are clearly within the realm of Venus. These have been happy occurrences. I hope you all are experiencing some of this, too.

I’m feeling antsy, though, as Venus is going to square Pluto on Friday, the day before Pluto turns retrograde. The dance between these two is not unlike the tango, in which one person is entirely under the control of the other. If you’ve got a romantic date set up for this weekend, you may want to do some serious soul-searching ahead of time. What do you want the outcome to be? Be honest with yourself. It’s OK to want something purely for your own selfish interests. But how you go about getting it is another matter. I know that I don’t need to lecture you on what not to do. Likewise, if you’re sure of what you want, you will be less likely to allow the other person to manipulate or control you (unless you’re into that sort of thing).

On Saturday, Pluto turns retrograde at 3°18′ Capricorn and will return to 0°40′ Capricorn before stationing direct on September 11. You will feel this the most if you have personal planets or chart angles at 0 to 3 degrees of the cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn). Otherwise, this transit probably won’t even register on your radar screen.

However, most of us are going to feel the Mars-Saturn opposition in one way or another. The opposition is exact on Saturday, but Mars transits are felt a week before and after, and this one is going to be all the more powerful, because Mars also is in a waxing conjunction with Uranus, which will be exact on April 15.

I have to tell you that I will sleep a lot better after this opposition-conjunction is behind us. Mars typically doesn’t create trouble where there isn’t any, but if there’s a bomb waiting to go off anywhere, he’ll happily light the fuse. With so many hotspots in the world right now, there’s no telling what could blow up — literally or figuratively — in the next two weeks.

I’ve got my eye on the G-20 summit in London this week, as well as a couple of literal hotspots, Mount Redoubt in Alaska and the undersea volcano off the coast of Tonga. I chose the latter as this week’s image, as it nicely illustrates the combination of Mars in Pisces opposite Saturn in Virgo — fire, water, and double earth.

Just remember that when times are difficult, we have opportunities to rise to the occasion and show what we’re made of. Most of us are stronger than we give ourselves credit for. Tough times are much less fearsome if we have confidence in our ability to weather the storm.

Wishing you all much love and courage …
Pat

Image: An undersea volcano erupted off the coast of Tonga on March 18, producing a magnitude 7.6 earthquake but posing no immediate threat to the island. This volcano and Mount Redoubt in Alaska are part of the Pacific Ring of Fire. Photo by Lothar Slabon for Agence France-Presse.

Weekly Forecast March 23: New Moon in Aries

It would seem that with so much focus on Aries this week, we should feel an energy shift. However, I’m not banking on it.

Despite appearances, we’re still solidly in the Aquarius-Pisces field, and those of you who have been reporting jitters probably won’t feel a whole lot different this week. Some circumstances may change, and there likely will be some interesting new developments at the New Moon. But overall, I believe we’re heading in the same direction we’ve been going for quite some time, and we’ll continue on this route for the foreseeable future.

Why do I say this, when we’ve got a New Moon, plus Mercury and Venus all in Aries this week? Aries is ruled by Mars, and Mars is still in Pisces, where he’ll remain until April 22. Venus is heading back into Pisces, too, where she’ll spend nearly two weeks at the fateful 29th degree as she ends her retrograde phase and returns direct.

For all of this week, the dominant energy is the mutual reception of Uranus in Pisces and Neptune in Aquarius. These two normally have very different agendas, but when they’re in each other’s signs, they’re forced to get to know each other and work together. This influence is at work in world affairs all the way down to our private lives. It’s perhaps easiest to detect in the news headlines, but if you look, you’ll find its imprint in your personal affairs as well.

Generally speaking, we’re struggling to maintain our individual presence and need to express what’s in our hearts while merging into a collective that may need something different from us than what we’d like to contribute. Think of it as a giant potluck. If everyone is asked to bring their best dish and they all are terrific bakers, we’d get nothing but dessert. That might sound fun, but a steady diet of sweets would make us all fat and sick. Some among the bakers are going to have to stretch and expand their repertoire.

Typically this is what happens in tough economic times. To stay employed, you may need to get a job doing something you don’t particularly like but that’s in demand. If you have a creative talent that you absolutely have to express, you may have to do it on the side until times are better. Although this might sound depressing, fitting into the collective in a different way could have lots of benefits for us personally that are hard to imagine right now.

Short-term aspects this week include a Sun-Pluto square on Monday. We’ll feel this edgy influence throughout the work week and possibly into the weekend. It’s normal to want to be left alone to do as we please, but this aspect demands that you account for your behavior and maybe your beliefs. Whatever you can’t justify, you will need to change. There won’t be any point in blaming anyone. This is a way to get you to make necessary changes. If you’re on the right track and doing the work, then this aspect shouldn’t register as much more than a blip on your radar screen.

On Wednesday, Mercury enters Aries, which should get us out of the fog zone, thank goddess. I don’t know about you, but I’ve had a devil of a time staying focused. Turning thoughts into action should be easier now.

Thursday is the New Moon, in tight conjunction with retrograde Venus and a wide conjunction with Mercury. Neith will have more late tomorrow or early Tuesday, so watch this space for her full report.

The Sun conjoins Venus on Friday, and then Mercury crosses paths with the wayward planet of love on Saturday. President Obama is getting ready for a big diplomatic tour of Europe — hardly surprising, given that Venus was exactly on the Ascendant in Washington at the Aries ingress (Sun’s entrance into Aries). Let’s hope the talks don’t break down … although I can’t say I’m feeling terribly positive about this.

In our personal lives, we’ll have a chance to renew and strengthen old ties, but we’ll have to be ready for heavy doses of understanding and compromise. It won’t do any good to revive neglected relationships if you don’t plan on doing anything differently this time around.

Much love and courage to all …
Pat

Image: Power of association — daffodils, the quintessential sign of spring, in front of Big Ben, the quintessential symbol of London. Photo by Shaun Curry for Agence France-Presse.

Weekly Forecast March 16: Spring Equinox

Statue of a ram from ancient Sumer We’ve had snow here three days in the past week, but the rhododendrons are budding, so spring has got to be on the way!

The big news this week, of course, is the spring equinox (fall for our many readers south of the equator). This is the moment that the Sun enters the sign of Aries, the first sign of the zodiac. It’s the beginning of the astrological year and time for new projects, fresh beginnings, renewed optimism … in short, getting off your butt and getting moving.

In theory, anyway. People everywhere are telling me that they are just plain tired. There doesn’t seem to be a lot of energy for new projects. Then, maybe a shift to Aries is what we all need to get some motivation and enthusiasm.

The equinox isn’t until Friday, so this actually is a great week for finishing up anything on your plate. I have a couple of projects that feel like great weights, and I’m going to make a concerted effort this week to get them done, once and for all.

Venus continues on her retrograde path, making this a good time to go back and focus on certain activities, particularly those involving relationships, money, or what we value. Questioning what you value could be a fruitful exercise in the next few weeks, especially if you’re having difficulty getting what you want. Do you really want it, and why? Are you getting it at the expense of what you hold dear?

Otherwise, there’s not a lot going on this week — which may turn out to be a good thing if you’re trying to get old stuff out of the way. You may feel a blip on Wednesday, when Mercury in Pisces opposes Saturn in Virgo, and another on Sunday, when Mercury conjoins Uranus (late Saturday in western time zones). Events associated with this alignment won’t necessarily be disruptive. To the contrary, you may get some great ideas for solutions to the issues you’ve been facing with the Saturn-Uranus opposition.

Also on Wednesday, Mars opposes Ceres, who has backed all the way up to the first degree of Virgo as she prepares to return direct in April. I’m still observing Ceres in individual charts and have to be honest with you that I’m not sure what this aspect will bring. I’d love to hear from you, especially if you’re a Virgo or have strong Virgo in your chart, if anything happens in your life around Wednesday that could be related to this aspect. Issues possibly related to Ceres include diet and digestion and how we serve others, whether formally through our jobs or informally through our day-to-day circumstances. With Mars opposing Ceres, we would expect some sort of flare-up in one of these areas. Examples might be a case of food poisoning or a severe allergic reaction to something you eat.

On Thursday (late Wednesday on the West Coast of the United States and points west), Mars sextiles Pluto. Unless this aspect hits personal planets or critical degrees in your chart, I doubt you’ll feel it. If it does make close contact, you should get some extra energy reserves to push forward with a pet project or plow through opposition. As always with Pluto, you need to make sure that your motivations aren’t purely selfish, or your efforts will backfire.

Love and blessings to all …
Pat

Image: Ram Caught in a Thicket, statuette from ancient Sumer (modern-day Iraq) made of gold, silver, lapis lazuli, copper, shell, red limestone, and bitumen, ca. 2650–2550 B.C. This amazing artifact is part of the permanent collection of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. The sacrificed ram is repeated throughout ancient mythology. In the story of Jason and the golden fleece, the winged ram from which it came becomes the constellation of Aries.

Saturday Extra: Living in Uncertain Times

Keeping an eye on the sky gods Many of us are feeling jittery these days and wonder what we may be picking up. A lot of people are asking me to look at charts to see if I can figure out what’s going to happen.

It’s understandable that in times of great uncertainty, people want to know the future. Those who think astrology is a bunch of bunk turn to economic indicators, global political forecasts, and other “expert” advice. I have a feeling, though, that many of those same people are secretly taking a peek at what reputable astrologers are saying.

I’ve heard from several people over the past week that they feel like something big is about to go down, to the point that planning for the future is almost futile. We have to plan; we can’t just sit around doing nothing, waiting for fate to take over. But we also know that these plans may be meaningless.

I’m encouraging those of you with highly evolved intuition to listen carefully to the messages you’re receiving. These messages will be more accurate if you can move out of fear. We’re in a heightened state of collective fear, and it’s not hard to get sucked into it. If you do, the messages coming in to you will be distorted. For the good of everyone, we need to stay calm in our center.

There is no doubt that 2009 is going to be a landmark year. Astrologically, we’re in a tumultuous period, with six eclipses, a tense Saturn-Uranus opposition, and a Jupiter-Chiron-Neptune conjunction. Venus is retrograde, and she’ll conjoin Mars twice more after a conjunction in Libra in September. Three Venus-Mars conjunctions in less than a year is extremely rare.

I’m collecting charts for these events, starting with the Aries ingress chart for next week, and will let you know what I see. This has got to be a collective effort, however, as it’s far too much for one person to do alone. Please let me know if you find interesting charts for particular dates, and feel free to offer your interpretation. Each one is a piece of the puzzle.

Much love and courage to all,
Pat

Image: No, this isn’t a mushroom cloud! It’s a supercell over Amarillo, Texas, last year that meteorologists were watching as a possible tornado. Photo by Gene Blevins for REUTERS.

Weekly Forecast March 9: Full Moon in Virgo, Mars Enters Pisces

Photo by Carl de Souza for Agence France-Presse.

I found this photo some time ago in the news headlines and immediately thought, "Mars in Pisces!" I've been saving it, just for you. The man in this photo is walking by a poster in London's financial district — an optical illusion, specialty of Neptune, ruler of Pisces. Photo by Carl de Souza for Agence France-Presse.

Push comes to shove this week as the Full Moon activates the opposition between play-by-the-rules Saturn and freedom-at-all costs Uranus.

We begin the week with Mercury newly in Pisces and Venus retrograde in Aries. Whereas Mercury in Aquarius may have brought flashes of inspiration at lightning speed, Mercury in Pisces connects to the group subconscious and broadcasts information that may not make immediate sense to you. Alternatively, you may tap into a source of knowledge that is so vast that it’s too much to contemplate all at once. Pay attention to your dreams and visions, especially on Tuesday, when Mercury sextiles Pluto and opposes Ceres.

Retrograde Venus is turning up in various forms in my life and the lives of my friends. A check arrived for far less than expected, while a bill arrived for more than expected and earlier than anticipated. One friend got a disheartening letter of rejection but then received a glowing and totally unexpected acceptance letter from a different organization. Still, I think that in the weeks to come, the most noticeable effects will be on our close relationships. Please keep us posted on activities you think may be related to retrograde Venus. (Thanks to our readers who left comments on Neith’s Venus retrograde post on Wednesday.)

The Full Moon is on Tuesday, but if you’re like me, you’re already feeling it. The stage was set on Sunday, when the Sun opposed Saturn. Events will continue to unfold until Thursday, when the Sun conjoins Uranus. If you haven’t read Neith’s Full Moon report, check it out.

Those of us with strong Uranus in our charts bristle at the thought of restrictions and limits, which are the hallmarks of Saturn. We’d love to go off on our eccentric research marathons, investigating the secrets of the universe and searching for the thread that connects all the seemingly unrelated events in our lives.

However, at this Full Moon, we’re going to have to think of the collective good first. Most of us would love to be in circumstances that allow us truly to be ourselves and express our creativity to its fullest, but what we would like to contribute to the world may not be what the world wants or needs at this time. Moreover, Saturn in Virgo says we have to think about the bills that are piling up, the car that needs to be taken to the shop, and the project at work we’ve been putting off.

Work diligently, one step at a time, until your obligations are met. The fun will have to come later, but it will come.

Mars, the planet of action, is in Aquarius for this Full Moon, feeding the need for rebellion. However, he moves on into Pisces on Friday, which will help reduce the feeling of having one foot on the gas pedal and the other on the brakes. That said, Mars in Pisces has an icky side, as his ego nature is repressed. Direct confrontation isn’t always the right strategy, but avoiding it out of fear is rarely a solution.

Speaking of Mars, next week is the Spring Equinox, when the Sun enters Aries. There’s light at the end of the tunnel.