Tag Archives: mundane astrology

Weekly Forecast March 3: Venus Enters Aquarius, Jupiter Direct

The big question on everyone’s mind this week is whether the crisis in Ukraine is going to blow up into a major global conflict.

I’m not ready to predict one way or the other, but I can tell you that astrologically, we are in an extremely dangerous period, and it is going to get steadily worse into April and May, with the last two weeks of April being the most volatile period.

I’ve written so much about the Uranus-Pluto square that most of you know by now that it has been an unmistakable signature for the revolutions we’ve seen since 2010 and the violent response by police and military. The Uranus-Pluto square extends into 2015, but will have a “ripple effect” for several years afterward.
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Weekly Forecast February 24: Jupiter Square Uranus, New Moon in Pisces

Anti-government protests in Kiev. © Mykhaylo Palinchak/Dreamstime.com.

In preparation for writing my weekly forecast, I try to make sure that I have a good grasp of current events. This week, the task has been overwhelming.

Then yesterday I realized that astrological events are pretty overwhelming, too. “As above, so below.”

I’ve been reading news reports on the violent protests in Kiev, trying to figure out the truth of what’s going on and, even more confusing, who all the players are. But I am clear on the astrological signatures underlying these historical events.

On Wednesday, we experience the second of three exact squares between Jupiter and Uranus, both in conflicting aspect with Pluto. The first one occurred on August 21, Continue reading →

Weekly Forecast February 10: Sun Square Saturn, Full Moon in Leo

Leo in love. © Pat Paquette, 2014.

This week’s Full Moon in Leo falls on Valentine’s Day – fitting, since Leo is the sign of the heart.

The Full Moon always pairs opposite signs and focuses our awareness on opposing ways of being. With the Sun in Aquarius and the Moon in Leo, Friday’s Full Moon highlights the concept of the collective and team effort, versus individual identity and self-expression.

The Olympics are a perfect example. There are athletes who compete for championship in individual sports, and they often go home as national heroes. But they also are part of a team, and their goal is not just a personal win, but to help bring victory to the entire team and honor to their country.

For the past several weeks, cardinal energies have Continue reading →

Weekly Forecast February 3: Mercury Retrograde, Ceres Enters Scorpio

Artist’s conception of Ceres. Image credit: ESA/ATG medialab.

Anyone feeling a little fuzzy headed? I’m having trouble writing a coherent sentence, and I’m definitely slow.

As the week begins, Mercury is slowing down to station retrograde on Thursday, just a degree shy of Neptune in Pisces. Traffic moves slowly, whether it’s cars on the road, bytes on the Internet, or electrical impulses in your brain.

Then, slowing down can be a good thing.

In astrology, Neptune is the planet of sleep and dreams, and Mercury is the planet of communications, including communications between the conscious and the unconscious. One of the times when we can be aware of that connection is between wakefulness and sleep and vice versa – the hypnagoic and hypnopompic states of consciousness. Often, we get ideas, visions, and solutions to problems in that fleeting space between worlds. It’s not hard to understand how mythological Mercury (Greek Hermes) was the only god who could come and go freely in and out of the underworld – and swiftly, by virtue of his winged sandals.

We don’t always remember our dreams, but when we do, it’s often in that in-between place. That’s why it’s important to record dreams as soon as you wake up. Dreams can contain important symbols that help us understand what our unconscious is processing, and that knowledge can be powerful. When we’re awake, the conscious mind takes over, and most of us lose access to that power. With Mercury stationed so close to Neptune in his own sign of Pisces, the “signal” is stronger. The flip side is that it might be hard to stay awake during the day, and concentrating could be a real challenge. However, if you start to doze, you’re in that in-between state and have even more opportunities for creative ideas and visions to surface into your conscious mind. I’ve also experienced long-distance contact with friends in that space.

Mercury will be retrograde until February 28, the last day of the month, meaning that most of February will be slow going. It’s a good time for reviewing, revising, rewriting – anything that requires going back over something. Although he returns to Aquarius, Mercury stations direct the day before the New Moon in Pisces, so we might get messages similar to the kind that come up this week. The Messenger returns to Pisces on March 17 and conjoins Neptune on March 22.

On Monday, Ceres enters Scorpio, and she’ll be in a trine with Mercury on February 12 and a conjunction with the lunar North Node on February 11. She won’t quite reach a trine with Neptune before turning retrograde on February 27, and she’ll return to Libra in late March. In the meantime, it’s worth looking at what this could mean. I’m still observing the role of Ceres in mundane astrology, as I don’t think we’re sure yet what her influence might be. She has been prominent in charts for environmental disasters and events relating to the food supply, which is what we might expect, give the role of Ceres in classical mythology as a Mother Earth figure associated with crops and vegetation in general. As you may recall, Demeter, the Greek equivalent of Roman Ceres, lost her daughter Persephone to Hades/Pluto, who kept her in the underworld for several months out of the year. During that time, Demeter was so depressed that nothing grew.

In modern astrology, Pluto rules Scorpio, sign of death and regeneration. However, the goddess Ceres also was associated with cycles of death and rebirth, and so we might look for evidence that dwarf planet Ceres has something to do with cycles of nature and other cyclical occurrences, such as the birth, rise, and fall of civilizations. Although Ceres couldn’t go into the underworld to get her daughter – only Mercury could do that – she was the only deity who could negotiate with Pluto (essentially her son-in-law) to get what she wanted. That gives Ceres a special relationship with Scorpio. During the negotiation period, she was mad as hell. It’s typical for people coming out of depression and grief to get angry before they can heal. Anger, by the way, is the function of Mars, ancient ruler of Scorpio and co-ruler with Pluto in modern astrology. Educated people laugh at how our ancient ancestors thought disasters were the work of angry gods, but I contend that it wasn’t entirely superstition; they were just personifying invisible energies that otherwise defied description. Astrology is a way to “see” and measure these energies.

As for depression, it’s growing worldwide at an alarming rate. When you’re depressed, you can barely do what needs to be done in a day, with no time or energy left over to protest abuse of government power and other societal injustices. I believe this is one of the reasons that more people aren’t out in the streets protesting the never-ending giveaways to the rich and cuts for the poor and middle class – a repeating cycle, incidentally. I don’t know what it will take for people to start getting angry enough to take back their government. Shortages of food and water and sometimes cited as the trigger. Because we don’t know enough about how Ceres functions in mundane astrology, it’s hard to predict if and when this might happen. However, we’ll want to monitor her position in the charts.

Ceres will return to Scorpio in August and will remain there until October. However, it will be interesting to observe world events in February and March to look for correlations. This can be tricky, because there are so many planetary energies in play at any given time that it’s difficult to distinguish which might be the main signatures for an event. I’ll be watching for possible correlations to her conjunction with the lunar North Node on February 11, plus or minus a few days.

A couple of other interesting facts about dwarf planet Ceres: Recently she was discovered to have water. Scientists were caught off guard, as they didn’t expect the bodies in the asteroid belt to contain water. What they think they’ve found is what they would have expected of a comet. There also is some speculation that Ceres might have had different origins than the other asteroids and that she and Pluto might be more related than anyone thought.

Those are the only major astrological events this week, but we’re still within the influence period of a strong cardinal T-square as Jupiter moves toward an exact square with Uranus later this month. With Mercury’s turn retrograde, we might expect to see headlines that refer back to events and situations last August. One event that comes immediately to mind is the chemical attack in Syria on August 21. Supposed proof that the attack was launched by the troops of President Bashar al-Assad is now acknowledged to be less certain, and yet conservatives are still calling for a military strike. Talk about déjà vu.

Much love and courage to all,
Pat

Weekly Forecast November 18: Chiron Direct, Sun Enters Sagittarius

Nymphs and Satyr, by William-Adolphe Bouguereau, 1873. OK, so this guy knows how to party, but you will never convince me that Sagittarius looks like this.

For the first week in nearly a month, we don’t have eclipses, retrogrades or serious squares to contend with. We’re still dealing with the aftermath, though.

The Full Moon in Taurus on November 17, which I covered in last week’s forecast, is the culmination of the astrologically charged solar eclipse on November 3. If nothing out of the ordinary happened in your life around that time or near the lunar eclipse on October 18, you may get the “message” this week. As usual, it depends on where these significant events fell in your natal chart.

Mercury gains speed this week, another indication that phone calls, e-mails, checks, and other matters on hold since mid-October could come through, possibly all at once, with the Moon in Mercury ruled Gemini on Monday and Tuesday.

On Wednesday, Chiron returns direct at 9 degrees Pisces. As you’ll recall, Chiron was discovered in 1977 and was the first of a new class of minor planets called centaurs, because their behavior is a sort of cross between that of asteroids and comets, just as the mythological centaurs were half-man, half-horse. For the most part, the centaurs were a wild bunch that partied hard, drank to excess, got in brawls, and made off with the village women. Chiron, however, had a different upbringing and became a wise healer and mentor to gods and heroes.

A big part of Chiron’s mythology revolves around a wound that wouldn’t heal. Emotionally, he was wounded by the rejection of his parents. Later, he was shot with a poison arrow and would have been doomed to eternal pain had he not asked to become mortal so he could die. According to ancient authors, he was placed in the sky as the constellation Centaurus, although some sources associate him with Sagittarius. In any case, astrologers began using minor planet Chiron as an indicator of our most fundamental wounds and where we have the greatest capacity to heal.

Pluto returned direct just shy of 9 degrees Capricorn in late September. When outer planets shift motion, they remain at the same degree for several weeks. For most of October and November, Chiron is in a sextile with Pluto by exact degree, and the two will remain at a close angle until Pluto turns retrograde again in April. Pluto is associated with death, regeneration, and rebirth. It’s not hard to see how the two working together can lead to a breakdown, followed by healing and rebirth or transformation. The sextile is considered a friendly aspect, but that doesn’t make the breakdown process any easier.

Plutonic forces are ruthlessly effective at destroying what is old, decaying, and corrupt. I’ve written a lot about this in terms of governments and civilization itself, primarily in the context of the ongoing square between Uranus and Pluto. The square was exact on November 1 but remains close through the end of December. Although we can notice transits of outer planets to planets in our individual natal charts (anyone who’s ever experienced an intense Pluto transit can attest to that), aspects between outer planets such as the Uranus-Pluto square tend to manifest as events that affect large groups of people and global affairs.

The favorable angle between Pluto and Chiron suggests that the breakdowns that have been occurring over the past several weeks – for example, the shutdown of the U.S. government and breakdown in President Obama’s signature healthcare program – could contain the seeds for deep healing. One can always hope.

On Wednesday (Mercury Day), Mercury forms a positive trine to Chiron and sextiles Pluto. At the very least, we should get some good news about the Affordable Care Act. The programmers working on the broken website may get a boost, too. The way also seems to be clear to resume negotiations in Geneva over Iran’s nuclear program. France threw a monkey wrench into the deal at the last minute just as Mercury was stationed to return direct on November 10. Mercury, as you know, rules negotiations. Uranus is associated with electricity and advanced technology, while Pluto heads the nuke department.

On Thursday, the Sun wraps up its journey through the dark sign of Scorpio and enters Sagittarius, the party sign. I rather like the idea that Sagittarius represents Chiron, since it borders Ophiuchus. The snake handler is said to be Asclepius, the first doctor, who received his medical training from Chiron. However, Chiron wasn’t the partying kind of centaur. Moreover, according to some ancient accounts, Sagittarius isn’t a centaur at all, but the satyr Crotus. Rather than being half-man, half-horse, a satyr is a man from the waist up and a goat from the waist down. I don’t know about you, but I don’t think I could ever get the image out of my head of Sagittarius as a centaur with the bow and arrow. Crotus did hunt, and he cavorted with the muses on Mount Helicon. Jupiter, the ruling planet of Sagittarius, also had the reputation of being a great partier and womanizer.

Speaking of Jupiter, on Tuesday (Mars Day), there is a sextile from Mars in Virgo to Jupiter in Cancer. This is a day for getting a lot of work done and being productive in general. If you’re signing a real estate deal, this is a good day for understanding the fine print and renegotiating any terms you don’t like.

We have yet another sextile on Saturday (Saturn Day), this time between Venus and Saturn. It’s true that Saturn gets a bad rap, and it’s not entirely undeserved. He rains on parades, poops on parties, and delivers depressing reality checks. But Venus brings out his positive side, especially when she’s in his home sign of Capricorn. At his best, Saturn provides much needed structure, discipline, and commitment. It takes work to maintain relationships, the domain of Venus. Under this influence, you can do the work more easily. That applies to finances as well, which also come under the purview of Venus. If you need to sit down and make a budget or do any kind of financial planning, this is a perfect time to do so.

Sunday is a day for sleep, when the Sun makes a square with Neptune. If you partied too hard under the Sagittarius Sun and went home under the influence of Neptune-ruled substances like drugs and alcohol, you might want to have your favorite remedy handy. Or you can just sleep it off.

Wishing you all much love and courage,
Pat

Weekly Forecast October 28: Uranus Square Pluto, Solar Eclipse in Scorpio

Deep woods. © Osk Ingad Alden, 2013.

Ghosts, goblins, and witches are everywhere this week. Skeletons pop out of graves (and probably some closets, too).

In any given year, the last week of October is dominated by themes related to death, which is the dark domain of Scorpio and its modern ruler, Pluto. For thousands of years, people have felt something mysterious about this time of year, when the veil between the worlds is at its thinnest, and we can peer into other dimensions of time and space. The dead “reappear,” and we may even get glimpses of our own past lives.

However, this is not just any year, astrologically speaking. The coming week is arguably the most intense of 2013, with an exact square between Uranus and Pluto, a total eclipse of the Sun in Scorpio, and Mercury retrograde in the sign of death and transformation. This is Pluto on steroids.

There’s no question that we’re in scary times. The world seems to be disintegrating; civilization as we know it is falling apart. An image comes to mind from when I first moved to the Pacific Northwest. We don’t get much snow here, but winters are cold and wet. One day, walking into town, I noticed a dead raccoon in the ditch. Normally, animal removal crews would have cleaned it up, but it remained there. Weeks went by. It struck me as very strange that it wasn’t decomposing. Then, literally overnight, the outer shell collapsed, revealing a maggot-ridden mass rotting from the inside out. Within a week, all that was left was a layer of melted fur clinging to the grass.

There have been times in history when civilizations were destroyed by outside forces such as invading armies or natural disasters. But many slowly collapsed from within, usually due to corruption. Rot and corruption are synonymous. I often think of the raccoon when I observe how forces of corruption are rotting our system, feeding on the structure until, one day, the whole thing will collapse.

Saturn, ruler of Capricorn and the planet most often associated with structure, has been in Scorpio for just over a year. That means we’ve have Saturn in the sign of Pluto and Pluto in the sign of Saturn, a relationship called “mutual reception.” Under this rare configuration, corruption becomes more rampant, acting like force of voracious maggots.

At the same time, Uranus is squaring Pluto in a cycle that averages nearly 130 years from conjunction to conjunction. Uranus in a square with Pluto represents rebellion against authority or a sudden event that shakes up the power structure. A corrupt system won’t be able to withstand the challenge.

So, here we have a rare convergence of a Uranus-Pluto square and mutual reception from Saturn to Pluto. Add to that a solar eclipse and Mercury retrograde, both in Scorpio, and you’ve got the astrological equivalent of a Pacific Northwest winter. Oh, and did I mention an approaching comet?

The current Uranus-Pluto square began in June 2012, and it extends to March 2015, with seven exact alignments during that time. The exact square this Friday is the fourth of seven, so we’re exactly halfway through. As it also happens, we’re halfway through Mercury’s retrograde phase on Thursday. Although each retrograde seems to have its own rhythm, I’ve observed during some cycles that nothing much happens in the first half of the retrograde period, and then all hell breaks loose at the midway point. Likewise, Ray Merriman writes that the halfway mark for the Uranus-Pluto square tends to be the crisis period.

We’re certainly poised for such a crisis. Although the United States narrowly avoided default in a congressional deal that included restarting the government after a two-week shutdown, it’s not the end of the story. There are many possible breaking points, but one that comes immediately to mind is further cuts in entitlement programs such as food stamps and Social Security, both of which provide safety nets for the poor and elderly. Combined with the low minimum wage and high rate of unemployment, we’ve got a ticking time bomb in this country. We can be fairly sure that the plutocrats know this. So far, they’ve been able to count on infighting among the citizenry over who gets the bones with the most scraps of meat. But their thugs are ready, just in case people should unite and try to storm the Bastille.

Scorpio also is concerned with the nation’s wealth. In Greek mythology, Hades was lord of the underworld, but he also was called Plouton, meaning “giver of wealth.” The meaning could be quite literal, in that gems and minerals, a source of great wealth, came from underground. Incidentally, that’s how we get the words “plutocrat” and “plutocracy,” which means rulership by a small number of people who control all the wealth – a corrupt system by definition.

Click on image to enlarge

The above themes are amplified by the solar eclipse on November 3, which falls in close conjunction with Saturn and sextile Pluto. Mars, the ruler of Scorpio before Pluto was discovered in 1930, also makes a sextile with the Sun and Moon by exact degree. The trine from Mars to Pluto is exact on Thursday. Sextiles and trines are supportive aspects and provide paths to release pent-up energies. Mars in Virgo supports practical measures for necessary reforms. As it so happens, Virgo is associated with healthcare as well as computer programming, so hopefully we’ll get some good news about the Affordable Health Care website. Mercury retrograde periods are great for re-doing work and finding the glitches. That said, it remains to be seen how the program is received once people are actually using it.

As I already mentioned, Mercury is halfway through his retrograde cycle on Thursday. Two days earlier, he conjoins Saturn – more reinforcement for themes of breakdown and collapse, especially in financial systems. In the New Moon chart, Mercury is conjunct the North Node by exact degree. Astrologers use the North Node as a pointer to destiny, both in individual and mundane charts. What’s happening now in international economics is going to have long-lasting implications. Decades from now, when geopolitical alignments have shifted, people will look back at this period as critical.

There are several individual aspects over the weekend, but I’ve pretty much covered them above. The only other one I’d like to mention is Monday’s sextile from Pluto to Chiron in Pisces. This is an aspect for deep healing, especially psychological wounds that are so deep we might not even realize they exist. Pisces is associated with the collective unconscious and past-life memories. It’s also the sign of mental health. Due to the retrograde cycles of both planets, Pluto and Chiron are sextile by exact degree from the first week of October through the last week in November. The “conversation” they’re having is quiet but powerful. The New Moon eclipse falls in a trine with Chiron. This is yet another indication that, while intense, this week’s aspects hold a huge potential for bringing us toward wholeness, within ourselves as well as in how we connect within our communities and to the planet.

The thing about deep healing, of course, is that it requires going into the dark places we’d rather not venture. That’s the basic premise of the mythological underworld journey. The monsters we find there can be every bit as scary as the Medusa or the Minotaur, and the treasures we find can be worth their weight in gold.

Wishing you all much love and courage,
Pat

Full Moon Lunar Eclipse in Aries, October 18

Friday’s Full Moon at 25°51′ Aries occurs with the first in a new series of eclipses in the Libra-Aries sign pair, although there are still three in the Scorpio-Taurus series, one of which is a powerful solar eclipse on November 3.

This Friday’s lunar eclipse is penumbral; that is, it passes through part of the earth’s shadow. It’s not as dramatic as a total lunar eclipse, which can make the Moon look a creepy blood red. Still, it’s significant astrologically, especially since this is the first eclipse in a new sign pair.

The ruler of this Full Moon is Mars, the planet of action and aggression. Since ancient times, astrologers have observed the movements of Mars to predict wars and other disasters. As I noted in my weekly forecast, Mars just entered Virgo on Tuesday (“Mars day”) and immediately conjoined Regulus, one of the four Royal Stars of Persia and sign of kings. Also in conjunction was Comet ISON, which isn’t visible yet with the naked eye. ISON will track with Mars through early November. During this time, Uranus in Aries moves closer to a square with Pluto, exact on November 1. On November 3, there is a total eclipse of the Sun in Scorpio, in a sextile with Mars by exact degree.

Although Virgo isn’t an aggressive sign for Mars, it’s no secret that hawkish factions in the United States, Europe, and the Middle East are itching for another war. We narrowly averted an escalation in Syria, which I think we can attribute to the huge public outcry. Whoever was behind that venture has had to go back to the drawing board, and we can’t discount the possibility of black ops designed to instill fear and whip up public support for an armed conflict. While that sounds terribly conspiratorial, it’s not a stretch, given the countries involved. Regardless, the Mars-Neptune opposition in the chart for this Friday’s eclipse suggests major deception and cover-ups, whether they involve war or political battles.

Virgo rules public service, which includes federal workers and military personnel. Some of these people are furloughed under the U.S. government shutdown or working with partial or no pay, and they’re fighting mad. Virgo also rules healthcare, and there are plenty of people in the United States angry about that, too. Evidently, the deal to reopen the government currently on the table in the U.S. Senate involves creating a committee to discuss cuts in entitlement programs. In other words, the congressional infighting over the past 16 days is far from over.

Click on image to enlarge

There are some bright spots in the chart for this eclipse, including a supportive trine from Venus to Uranus (exact today). Uranus is the planet of rebellion and freedom. One of the better attributes of Aries is pioneering leadership, but the Uranus-Aries combination has a certain element of rebelling just for the heck of it or starting an uprising spontaneously with no clear goals – not a terribly effective method for fighting the authoritarianism of Pluto in Capricorn. Negotiation is a better strategy, especially with the Sun in Venus-ruled Libra, sign of harmony and compromise.

From an individual standpoint, how this eclipse unfolds for you depends on where it falls in your natal chart. In general, though, relationships are a key theme. Just about everything in life depends on relationships. How many people fail at their jobs, not because of incompetence, but because of office politics? People often get ahead through networking and who they know. If you have a health condition, your relationship with your doctor, alternative healthcare provider, or psychologist can be key to the healing process. Relationships with classmates and teachers can have a last impact on your life and career. And so forth. Aries is self-reliant and needs a great deal of freedom, while Libra needs to be in a relationship to feel whole and fulfilled. Friday’s eclipse highlights these two extremes. If you experience conflict in a significant relationship, try to observe the dynamics in as neutral and detached a manner as possible. Who wants what? How do they get it? If they don’t get it, how do they respond? Is their response appropriate?

The square between Venus and Chiron focuses our attention on how we have been wounded in relationships. With Chiron in Pisces, this can include relationships in other lifetimes. I don’t know anyone who has entered a new relationship with a blank slate. Some people are aware of what they’re carrying from the past, but most aren’t. It’s a tough balance, and it takes a lot of honesty, trust, and self-knowledge on both sides to work through conflict.

Trust could be especially hard to come by this weekend, when the Mars-Neptune opposition is exact. If you suspect that someone isn’t being upfront with you, it might be wise to hang back for a bit and just observe. A little investigation might be warranted, but make sure you don’t abuse someone else’s trust in the process. Reading someone else’s e-mail is a no-no, unless you have ample reason to believe they’re plotting a murder.

Mercury is stationing to turn retrograde on Monday. Be sure to back up computer data starting now. If you are working on important correspondence or contracts, it would be better to wait until after November 10. However, this may not be possible. We don’t always have a choice. At the very least, read the fine print. With Mercury in Scorpio, it’s possible that there are hidden terms and conditions. Secrets may be exposed during this retrograde. Take care to ensure they’re not yours. Many e-mail programs automatically fill in addresses after you type a letter or two. I don’t have to tell you where that can end up. Mercury stations in close contact with Jupiter, suggesting that any errors are going to be real whoppers.

Much love and courage to all,
Pat

Weekly Forecast October 14: Mars Enters Virgo, Full Moon Eclipse in Aries

Detail of Newton, by William Blake, 1795-1805.

I just heard the term “apocalypse fatigue.” Apparently, it has been around for a couple of years. I’ve been so busy analyzing charts for future crises that I didn’t notice.

The term is attributed to columnist George Will, who coined it to describe the scare tactics used by the media to boost ratings. Every crisis is positioned as the end of the world as we know it, from global warming and nuclear radiation leaks to the shutdown of the U.S. government and failure to raise the debt ceiling. According to the Urban Dictionary, “Eventually, even the dimmer bulbs on the marquee sense that they are being taken for a ride.”

Nonetheless, this constant state of fear is indeed exhausting. People are close to the edge as it is, struggling to keep their lives together in the face of policy decisions that benefit the wealthiest at the expense of the poor and middle class. When you’re this stressed out, it’s not a stretch to believe that doomsday is right around the corner. Screaming headlines make it worse, and I have to believe this is deliberate. Keeping people constantly off-balance makes it less likely they will band together to confront those who are stealing all the wealth. Of course, it helps to keep them fighting against each other, too, and nothing divides the U.S. population more than entitlement programs, the current focus of talks to end the U.S. government shutdown.

On some level, this is all just history repeating itself. It’s how tyrants have attempted to control the masses for thousands of years. However, there is no denying that these are extraordinary times.

As an astrologer, I attempt to put current events in the context of planetary cycles. Since we’re in the midst of a highly disruptive square of Uranus and Pluto, that’s my main focus. We’re about to have another exact alignment on November 1, the fourth of seven passes between 2012 and 2015. In the meantime, we have a lunar eclipse this week, and Mercury turns retrograde a few days later. There’s also a solar eclipse on November 3. Astrologically, we’re entering the most volatile period of 2013.

I don’t want to add to the stress load with dire predictions, and anyway, it’s not as though we don’t have a clue at this point what some of those scenarios might be. Instead, I’ve been looking at previous Uranus-Pluto cycles for clues about how the present cycle might unfold. Before I get into that, I need to explain another unusual event this week.

On Tuesday, Mars enters Virgo and immediately conjoins fixed star Regulus – which actually is at the heart of the constellation Leo, but due to precession is calculated at 0 degrees Virgo in the tropical zodiac. Astrologers have used Regulus for thousands of years to predict the fate of kings and kingdoms. As of this weekend, Mars and Regulus are quite close and easily visible in the predawn sky. What you won’t see is the triple conjunction of Mars, Regulus, and Comet ISON, because ISON is visible only with a telescope. Even though we can’t see it yet, and it may not be as spectacular as astronomers earlier predicted, I still have to think this rare alignment is significant – all the more so, as it occurs just four days before a lunar eclipse in Mars-ruled Aries.

In making predictions about ISON, astronomers have cited the Great Comet of 1680, called “great” due to its exceptional brightness and extraordinarily long tail. When it was discovered, the Great Comet was in Virgo, close to conjunction with Mars, and it wasn’t yet visible (it was the first comet discovered by telescope). And here’s the kicker: Uranus and Pluto were just past a square in Aries and Cancer.

The entire 17th century was pretty much one Uranus-Pluto cycle, which began with a conjunction in 1597 at 9 degrees Aries (the exact degree of Uranus in the upcoming square with Pluto) and ended with the next conjunction in 1710. During that cycle, Galileo and Kepler were making waves with new astronomical discoveries, both using the controversial theory that the Earth revolves around the Sun. Isaac Newton used Kepler’s laws of planetary motion to formulate his theories of gravity and its effect on planetary orbits, and he verified his calculations by observing the Great Comet of 1680. Thus it became known as “Newton’s Comet.”

The more research I do, one thing becoming clear is that the most significant events related to the Uranus-Pluto square will take many years to play out. Think about the discoveries of the 17th century and how the Scientific Revolution in turn led to the Industrial Revolution. Who at the time could have predicted such a future?

I took special note this past week of the award of the Nobel Prize in physics to Peter Higgs, the scientist who discovered a subatomic particle that binds matter together. The particle was named the Higgs boson in his honor but is popularly known as the “God particle.” Scientists hate that name, and yet I think it’s fitting and prescient. I believe the discovery could lead to new techniques to intentionally manifest matter from energy, something we already can do with our thoughts, but not consistently, and often with unwanted side effects (I call them gremlins). If you think this is too far out there, think about how far out the theories of Galileo and Kepler were in their day. Galileo spent time in jail for heresy.

What I find even more intriguing is the idea that current discoveries in physics might reunite our concept of spirit and matter. As a result of the scientific discoveries of the 17th century, Western academia stopped thinking of them as one. A new scientific arrogance took over as the universe was seen as a soulless machine. It was the beginning of a materialist worldview that one could argue is the underlying source of many of the crises confronting us today.

All of this a very long way of saying that while the crises we’re facing in the wake of the current Uranus-Pluto square may be serious, other events happening in the background probably will be of more consequence in the future. Politics in the 17th century were every bit as incendiary as they are now, if not more so. Europe was split between Catholic and Protestant, and extremely destructive wars were fought over religion. Alliances changed, and international boundaries were radically redrawn. But none of those events had anywhere near the impact on humanity as the work of Newton.

The probability of a global financial meltdown and a shift in the geopolitical balance is high, given the dramatic celestial events concurrent with the approaching Uranus-Pluto square. And yet, if the past is any indication, discoveries are being made right under our noses that have vastly more significant implications for humanity. We can’t possibly know how these developments will change the world, but we know that this is the time to look for them. I gave the Higgs boson as an example. What else can you think of?

There is my antidote to apocalypse fatigue.

Since this post has gotten so long, I will write a separate post in a day or two on Friday’s eclipse. Right now I have to catch up on reports. For those of you who have been waiting patiently for more than two weeks, my apologies. I received an unexpected flood of orders for my revised StarGuide fall forecast when I still wasn’t up to speed, and then on top of that, the keyboard on my laptop died. I had a new external keyboard within a couple of days, but until my fingers are retrained, I’m typing the same word over three times. Apcalyse apocalupe apocaluyse. AARGH!

Wishing you all much love and courage,
Pat

Weekly Forecast October 7: Venus Enters Sagittarius, Sun Square Jupiter

Aerial artist Ginger Ana Griep-Ruiz performs for Cirque du Soleil. More info and links below.

As of last week’s New Moon in Libra, we’re heading into the eclipse zone, with a Full Moon lunar eclipse on October 18 and a powerful total eclipse of the Sun on November 3.

Libra is the sign of compromise, harmony, and balance, but the mood the world over is anything but harmonious. House Speaker John Boehner reportedly told fellow Republicans in a private meeting that they were “locked in an epic battle.” It’s interesting that he uses the language of war. Wars sometimes are fought for ideology, but usually it’s about who gets more land, more wealth, and more power. And in epic battles throughout history, the kings and generals cared about the people only insofar as there were enough troops to die for “their country.”

One thing emerging from this whole mess is that increasing numbers of people aren’t willing to sacrifice themselves for this corrupt and power-hungry bunch. People are starting to question long-held beliefs about their government. Many of our assumptions are long-outdated, ideas we learned in civics class that we continued to parrot without critical examination. And despite the polarization in Congress and heated debates on news forums, I see more and more people breaking out of party dogma. Many Democrats are disappointed in President Obama for not making good on his promise of change, for giving in to criminal financial interests, and for expanding the surveillance state. On the Republican side, many are embarrassed by the right-wing nut jobs who have hijacked their party. It seems that the epidemic of insanity is shocking some people into reason. If there’s common ground to be found, this may be where it is.

Although we’re heading into another band of turbulence, there is one bright spot this week. On Monday, Venus leaves Scorpio, the sign of her detriment, and enters sporty Sagittarius. Sagittarius still isn’t the best sign for Venus, and she makes an edgy square with Neptune on Thursday that could further mess with our grasp of reality for a couple of days. In general, though, she should help smooth out ideological debates, and some of the heaviness we’ve been feeling might lighten a little. Make time for some fun and games. If you’re into sports, get together with some friends and watch a game. I know that some people are very serious about their favorite teams, but for the most part, competition in sports is fun and friendly.

On Tuesday, the Moon and Venus conjoin in Sagittarius, which could help make the Mercury-Saturn conjunction on the same day more productive. Mercury and Saturn conjunct in Scorpio could be extremely effective in snapping people back to reality. That might even include enough members of Congress to get the government up and running again. However, stark reality can be too much, especially when we realize how bad we’ve allowed circumstances to get by stubbornly hanging onto political ideology. The same applies for any other beliefs that have prevented us from moving forward. Looking in the mirror can be hard. Venus and the Moon in truth-seeking Sagittarius can help bring optimism. After all, you can’t solve a problem when you refuse to admit it exists or don’t understand its source. If you’re in any circumstances that fit this description, try to get some insight on Tuesday, because it will be harder to see the reality by the middle of Wednesday.

On Saturday (October 12), the Sun squares Jupiter. I’m somewhat concerned about this jarring aspect. The T-square between Jupiter, Uranus, and Pluto in August corresponded to tragic turmoil, including the chemical weapons attack on the outskirts of Damascus. Even though Jupiter has moved well out of range of that configuration, the Sun “carries forward” energy from the Uranus-Pluto square to Jupiter. This is another pressure-cooker transit, although I’m hopeful that some of the issues that erupted in August can be addressed productively, perhaps because facts come to light.

While browsing the news headlines this morning, I found an interesting analysis about Arab Spring, which correlates perfectly to the Uranus-Pluto square and T-square with Jupiter. It included a quote by political scientist Shadi Hamid, director of research at the Brookings Doha Center. Speaking about the Middle East, he said, “Democracy is not a matter of principle or faith for most people. It is something they believe in to the extent that it brings good results. … If democracy does not bring those things, then people lose faith in the democratic process.”

“That’s part of the story in the past three years,” he said. “When push comes to shove, many say, democracy is fine in theory, but is not actually improving our lives. If the generals can promise us a greater degree of security and stability, we prefer that instead.”

Food for thought.

I do believe that good will come out of the global turmoil in that pressure transforms. I wrote a lot about that last week. If we look back at the transformational periods in world history, we see that the changes didn’t happen overnight but took many years. And I don’t know of any major shifts that occurred without violence and upheaval. In Earth time, three or five years or even a hundred years is insignificant. The human mind can’t grasp that reality, even if we understand it intellectually. However, we at least can ponder it in our attempt to understand how everything is connected, which is where we have to go, not just to resolve our differences, but to gain a greater awareness of dimensions beyond normal human perception.

Looking ahead, on October 18, we have an eclipse, the first in a new series in Aries and Libra. On October 14, we also have an alignment of Mars, Regulus, and comet ISON. You won’t be able to see the latter without a telescope, but I still think this is a major astrological event that could signal a change in leadership or political alignments, perhaps both.

We’ll know soon . . .

Much love and courage to you all,
Pat

About the image: Venus in Sagittarius is more about outdoor sports, but I still love this shot. I think of it as “adventurous balance.” Here’s how the show describes her act:
Descending gracefully from the heavens, her effortless beauty is part mortal, part Goddess; connecting the earth and sky.

Cirque du Soleil Mystère
Watch a breathtaking performance on YouTube.

Weekly Forecast September 30: New Moon in Libra, Sun Square Pluto

Weighing the Harvest. © Mafoto for Dreamstime.com

Astrologers have known for a long time that we were in for a difficult stretch between 2012 and 2015, so in some ways, the enormous pressure weighing on the world isn’t a big surprise.

We’ve also said that the pressure would force many positive changes on humanity, and that is indeed turning out to be the case. It’s hard to see the good when we’re being tossed about and struggling to survive (some more than others). Likewise, it can be hard to appreciate positive developments when they come at such an exorbitant price. But that is the nature of transformation, and it’s a very Plutonic concept. Suffering produces an alchemical reaction, and that is really what transformation is all about. It’s true for individuals, and it’s true for the collective.

Amidst the mass shootings, wars, and other tragedies, we are witnessing some stunning breakthroughs. In the past week, the international community managed to agree on a plan for the Syrian government to destroy its chemical arsenal. Syria earlier this month asked to join the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. Its membership officially begins on October 14, four days before a lunar eclipse in Aries, the sign of war, with the Sun in Libra, the sign of peace.

Equally as remarkable, the leaders of the United States and Iran spoke for the first time since 1979. Although President Obama and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani didn’t agree to a much-anticipated meeting at the United Nations on Tuesday, they spoke by telephone for about 15 minutes on Friday. Following the conversation, hopeful messages appeared in English on the Iranian president’s Twitter feed (the effusive tweets later were replaced with blander messages). Rouhani has a website in seven languages and a Facebook page, too. Talk about a “charm offensive.”

A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned Putin’s 13-degree Libra Sun and its relation to the planetary signature underlying this summer’s extreme events. As it turns out, Rouhani has Venus at 13 degrees Libra. Libra is skilled in the art of compromise, and Venus in Libra disarms through charm. Rouhani’s Sun is at 19 degrees Scorpio, squaring natal Pluto. It’s a safe bet that the charm is serving the power agenda of a shrewd, calculating politician. Incidentally, Venus was at 19 degrees Scorpio during the telephone call between Rouhani and Obama. You gotta love astrology.

Comparing the charts, it appears that Rouhani and Putin genuinely like each other. Rouhani may even admire Putin, and they will find it easy to remain committed to one other. Obama and Putin also have an understanding, both with Moon in Gemini less than a degree apart (provided we have the right birth time for Putin). One might say they even come from the same “soul tribe,” and Putin’s lunar nodes on Obama’s Ascendant/Descendant further suggests that these two have been around the karmic block together a few times. Conversely, the relationship between Rouhani and Obama appears to be a flirtation, and Rouhani may end up becoming a thorn in Obama’s side. Looking at these three charts, along with when official meetings took place, I think it’s possible that Russia might have done some serious behind-the-scenes negotiating to patch up relations between the United States and Iran. I’d also bet my bottom dollar that major geopolitical shifts in the Middle East will come out of all of this, and it could be soon, given the coming eclipses and the rare conjunction of Mars the Warrior, Regulus the King, and comet ISON, discovered by a couple of Russians. Perhaps there’s even something symbolic in its invisibility to the naked eye. Talk about power-brokering behind the scenes…

There was another big breakthrough on Friday at the U.N, which announced that a new report shows that human impact on global climate change is “unequivocal.” If they’d only make a similar statement about Fukushima and get the international community involved in the cleanup. . .

As for Congress, it’s hard to say. Libra is the sign of compromise, and Venus, the ruler of this week’s New Moon, is in the seventh house of partnership in the chart cast for Washington, D.C. However, the New Moon forms a tight cardinal T-square with Uranus and Pluto, which turns compromise on its head. That said, there’s an “out” in the supportive sextile from Pluto at the apex of the T-square to Mercury, Saturn, and the North Node. Jupiter in the third house, while not closely involved in this formation, also could be a mitigating factor. The third house rules the media, Internet, and public information in general. It’s always helpful to remember that what politicians say for public consumption may have little to do with the horse-trading that goes on behind closed doors. It’s public posturing and political theater, and some of it (some people would argue most of it) is intended to distract the populace.

Given the high-stakes conflict indicated in this chart, it’s quite possible that failure to reach an agreement will cause a government shutdown. It has happened. If you’re up for some wonky reading, check out the Congressional Research Service report on what a government shutdown would mean. But it’s also possible that information could come to light that stabilizes the situation and prevents damage to an already limping economy. One can always hope.

There was a terrific article in The Guardian on Friday about Seymour Hersh, a Pulitzer-Prize winning reporter who broke the story about the My Lai massacre during the Vietnam War. Hersh was my hero in journalism school, and he’s still my hero for saying that 90 percent of editors in publishing should be fired. On Saturday, there was an article by Glenn Greenwald noting how the television networks distort the news. It bears repeating that the range of news sources available to anyone with an Internet connection broadens our ability to piece together what’s really going on. Of course, there’s also a lot of bad information out there. One needs to know how to judge the reliability of sources. That’s a task that will be made easier by Tuesday’s trine from Mercury in Scorpio to Neptune in Pisces. Watch the headlines for revelations of deep, dark secrets, possibly by a writer with a nose for sniffing out that sort of thing.

Click on image to enlarge

Otherwise, the entire week is pretty much a lead-in to the New Moon, which is exact at 8:34 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on Friday. On Tuesday, the Sun forms an exact square with Pluto. This is so not about compromise, even with the Sun in Libra. Depending on where the Sun and Pluto are in your chart, you may want to forego sensitive discussions, especially regarding work. In personal relationships, don’t push your point of view. It’s not like your bank account will shut down if you and your partner can’t agree on how to spend your money. Don’t let ego get in the way of compromise. Do you want to be “right,” or do you want to get the best deal possible?

On Thursday, the Sun opposes Uranus. Events may force a breakthrough of some kind, and new information could be part of the equation. If the Sun and Uranus make favorable angles to personal planets in your chart, sudden events a few days on either side of Thursday could be to your advantage.

The sextile between Mercury and Pluto is exact on Sunday, October 6. This is a good day all around for resolving conflicts through communications. Mercury is just a degree from the lunar North Node, which can indicate an event that is destined or that serves a significant purpose. This can apply to you personally as well as to the collective. The North Node currently is in Scorpio, sign of death, transformation, and rebirth.

Just over a month from now, there is a total eclipse of the Sun in Scorpio, conjunct Saturn, and with Mercury retrograde in Scorpio. This is intense, although I realize it’s hard to imagine how much more pressure we can bear. During a recent visit to my doctor, she told me that people are coming into her office in tears, at the end of their rope. That eclipse will square my Sun, with Saturn in a square by exact degree, so I’m feeling the pressure in a big way. In fact, I turned on my laptop yesterday only to discover that the keyboard died. I can get an external keyboard, but it was a reminder that my computer is reaching the end of its useful life, when I can least afford to buy a new one and when I suddenly have a flood of report orders. I’ve got a temporary solution rigged up, but it’s costing me time and energy.

For those of you who would like to order the StarGuide Fall 2013 forecast, my current turnaround time is about two weeks. To make up for the delay, I’m providing an extra couple of weeks of transits.

We’ve all got to hang in there. If we can make it through to mid-November, the pressure will lighten up — not entirely, but at least we’ll be able to breathe normally.

Much love and courage to you all,
Pat

RealAstrologers

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

Tag Archives: mundane astrology

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