Tag Archives: cardinal T-square

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 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 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 →

Weekly Forecast April 14: Full Moon Lunar Eclipse in Libra, Pluto Retrograde

Lunar Eclipse in 2000, image courtesy Fred Espinak.

Many years ago, I had a dream that I was hanging on to tree roots on the bank of a raging river. I was afraid to let go, but my shoulders were being pulled out of their sockets, and I was getting so exhausted that I couldn’t hang on any longer.

Once I let go, I was carried along by the current, which while dangerously fast, buoyed me up and allowed me to keep my head above water. I overcame my fear by trusting that I would land in the “right” place.

There are times when we need to fasten our seatbelts, hold on, and ride out the turbulence. Then there are times when being restrained is dangerous, and staying in one place subjects us to a terrible battering by Continue reading →

Weekly Forecast April 7: Mercury Enters Aries, Sun Opposite Mars

March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, 1963. In 2014, this march wouldn’t be allowed.

If last week was an indication of what’s to come later this month, we’re in for a wild ride indeed.

I wrote in my previous forecast that the Sun’s connections with Jupiter, Uranus, and Pluto mid-week might provide us with some hints about what to expect when those three planets form exact angles to one another starting on April 20, followed by close contact from retrograde Mars April 22-23.

Among last week’s major events were the mega-earthquake in Chile and the shooting at Fort Hood, Texas. A third event, which didn’t get much coverage, was an explosion at a gas plant on the border between Washington and Oregon. Continue reading →

Weekly Forecast March 31: Sun Opposite Uranus, Sun Square Jupiter and Pluto

Tuesday is April Fool’s Day, and while this week is anything but funny, the role of the iconic fool is curiously appropriate for the epic planetary alignment of our time and the concurrent madness here on Earth.

In a Tarot reading a few days ago, I drew The Fool. The usual interpretation of The Fool involves having faith that if you’re on the right path, the universe will support you. Knowing that gives one the courage to take risks and move forward despite uncertainty.

That’s not a bad image for this week’s tumultuous aspects. The winds are picking up as we head straight into the storm, and playing it safe isn’t an option. We’re being forced into new territory where few have gone before. The world is changing – socially, culturally, technologically, and politically – and we’re all explorers and pioneers.
Continue reading →

Weekly Forecast March 24: Mercury Sextile Pluto, New Moon in Aries

The big news this week is the New Moon in Aries on March 30, the first New Moon of the spring and the astrological year.

Although the New Moon doesn’t take place for another week as of this post, the tension is evident already on Monday, when in just over four hours, the Moon in Capricorn aspects Jupiter, Uranus, and Pluto. These three planets have been in a volatile “T-square” configuration that is the astrological signature corresponding to the surge in global conflict, especially popular uprisings and overthrow of governments.

The New Moon falls less than 3 degrees from Uranus, the planet of rebellion and sudden change. Uranus in Aries is impatient and wants change now; thus the revolutions in which Continue reading →

Weekly Forecast March 17: Sun Enters Aries, Mercury Conjunct Neptune

Storm in Hjørungavåg, by Gerhard Munthe, an illustration for Olav Tryggvasons saga, 1899 edition.

This week marks the beginning of spring and the end of the astrological year. We’re also heading into the most volatile period of 2014 and arguably the most tumultuous since the summer of 2010.

You might ask how much crazier it could get. Violent revolutions for “freedom and democracy” that depose democratically elected leaders. The United States and Russia in a new Cold War. A plane gone mysteriously missing without a trace. And now a U.S. government-funded report suggesting that industrial Continue reading →

RealAstrologers

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