Weekly Forecast June 30: Mercury Direct, Sun Opposite Pluto

Butting heads with authority. Following the announcement of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, protesters in New York City pulled down the statue of King George III. Painting by Johannes Adam Simon Oertel, c. 1859.

No one will be happier than I when Mercury turns direct this week. Tuesday. At precisely 5:49:55 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time.

I have no idea why this Mercury retrograde period hit me so hard, and not even in the way it “should” have, according to where it is transiting my birth chart. Then, with Mercury in his own sign of Gemini, all things related to communications, including blogs, are subject to disruption. Posting this forecast has been a nightmare.

I just read Ray Merriman’s weekly column and saw that he is scratching his head over this one, too. I feel a little better knowing that one of the world’s most experienced and respected astrologers couldn’t make any more sense of it than I could. Ray also comments that predictions in the political Continue reading →

Weekly Forecast June 23: Mars Opposite Uranus, New Moon in Cancer

New Moon Over the Sea. © Algol for Dreamstime.com

It has been a crazy week. Mercury’s return to Gemini seems to have brought resolution to several issues I was having, but now I’ve fallen way behind in my work, another common occurrence when the Messenger is in reverse mode.

It took the better part of the week to troubleshoot my Internet connection, which has been working properly for three days but is showing signs of instability. This is totally not funny. The rug situation, however, continued to get more and more ridiculous. If I wrote a sitcom based on this transaction, the producers would criticize it as too contrived. There is no way I could make this stuff up.

I’m hoping the trend of resolving issues will continue so that I can get caught up. Continue reading →

Weekly Forecast June 16: Sun Enters Cancer, Summer Solstice

Uruk archaeological dig in Iraq. Civilization started with cities, and the Sumerian city of Uruk was among the first. The name “Iraq” is thought to be derived from “Uruk.” Photo credit: SAC Andy Holmes, Royal Air Force, 2008.

I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. A bit of both, I guess.

I’m getting slammed by this Mercury retrograde in the classic way, with Internet connectivity issues, cable TV interruptions, botched online orders, miscommunications, late ferries, etc. Knowing that most of these problems will subside in a couple of weeks, I’ve been more patient than usual, and I can laugh about it. Some of it, anyway.

As you might recall, I had a bad experience with an online home furnishings site that took my payment for an item that wasn’t in stock. With the Better Business Bureau involved, my case got bumped up the customer service food chain. Continue reading →

Weekly Forecast June 9: Neptune Retrograde, Full Moon in Sagittarius

Crossing. © Pat Paquette, 2014.

I’m B-A-A-A-A-a-a-a-ck.

Actually, I’m not entirely back. Even though I moved only a few miles from my former home, it feels as though I’ve been sent through the teleporter, and all the pieces haven’t reassembled yet on the other side. And with Mercury retrograde, there’s a transporter accident waiting to happen.

Moving with Mercury retrograde has been quite educational. Or maybe I should say, “reaffirming.” I’ve experienced most of the classic manifestations, including mix-ups and delays. I’d planned to be done by June 2, but it took until yesterday Continue reading →

Weekly Forecast May 26: New Moon in Gemini, Venus Enters Taurus

Begonias. © Pat Paquette.

This past week has been weird, almost like a Mercury retrograde period, but with more irritation.

Since Friday, Mercury has been in the “shadow” period before his next retrograde begins on June 7. Sometimes we experience the manifestations of the retrograde during the run-up. Many of you have noted that in the past. I think that will be all the more true this time, with Mars just coming out of retrograde and moving back toward a T-square with Uranus and Pluto. Both Mercury and Mars are moving very slowly (what it looks like from here on Earth), with corresponding events such as delays in transportation, missed and confused communications, errors in telephone and online orders, and so forth. Continue reading →

Weekly Forecast May 19: Mars Direct, Sun Enters Gemini

Beneath the Surface. © Gretchen Friedrich, 2014.

I’ve been double-teamed by Saturn and Buddha.

You’ll recall from last week’s forecast that Saturn was conjunct Wednesday’s Full Moon in Scorpio, which also was the festival of Wesak, an Eastern tradition in honor of the birth, death, and enlightenment of the Buddha. Normally I don’t schedule any activities on Wesak so that I can meditate in solitude. This year, I accepted a last-minute invitation to go for coffee and run some errands with a friend. I explained to her about Wesak and said we’d need to stop whatever we were doing at precisely 12:16 for a moment of silence.
Continue reading →

Weekly Forecast May 12: Full Moon in Scorpio, Venus Conjunct Uranus

In the flow, © Gretchen Friedrich, 2014.

There’s stress, and there’s stress.

As much as we might wish it weren’t so, some amount of stress pushes us to accomplish more and better, often beyond what we thought ourselves capable of. It forces us to go places we might otherwise avoid out of fear or complacency.

With too much stress, the opposite can happen. We can shut down entirely and become physically and mentally ill. Extreme stress can result in post traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. We usually think of PTSD as Continue reading →

Weekly Forecast May 5: Mercury Enters Gemini, Venus Opposite Mars

Although we’re still facing the same ongoing challenges and will be for some time to come, the pressure of the past month and especially the past two weeks has subsided.

It’s not anything like a restoration of order or return to “normal,” whatever that is or was. Circumstances that may go back three or four years haven’t reached their logical outcome just yet. We still have more growing and stretching to do. However, we’ve just come through the worst of it and can stop to get our bearings.

To me, it feels like having just sailed Continue reading →

Weekly Forecast April 28: Solar Eclipse in Taurus, Venus Enters Aries

Hinode satellite image of the annular eclipse in January 2011. Credit: Hinode/XRT

This week’s solar eclipse in Taurus arrives as the cardinal grand cross is past its peak but still potent.

Solar eclipses can occur only at a New Moon. Tuesday’s New Moon (late Monday in Western time zones) is just short of 9 degrees Taurus, placing it at a favorable angle with Jupiter and Pluto, two of the planets in the grand cross. So, while the grand cross dominates the chart for this New Moon, there is a strong connection between the grand cross planets and the Sun/Moon conjunction. I interpret this as a relief valve for the extreme pressure associated with the grand cross formation.

Continue reading →

Weekly Forecast April 21: Uranus Square Pluto, Venus Trine Saturn

Frontispiece from William Blake’s Song of Los, 1795.

As we’ve approached this week’s powerful planetary alignment, pressure has been mounting – in our personal lives, in society at large, and in world affairs. This week, it reaches peak intensity.

We’ve been feeling the buildup in stages, starting with new developments in 2010 that reached a crisis point last summer. The tension intensified in late 2013, and by the end of March, it was at near-breaking point. After this week, the four-way alignment in the change-oriented cardinal signs begins to break up, and the pressure will begin to subside.

You likely know by now what area or areas of your life are under duress. You even might have had a breakthrough recently. If not, you should get Continue reading →

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The astrology of world affairs, human evolution, the future, and the state of the universe.