Planet Weather for the Week of January 6, 2007

SkyWatch – Moon phase of the week: 1/8 -- The Moon enters Her New phase at 6:37 AM EST, at 17 degrees of Capricorn, the sign of Her detriment, meaning that She is weakest there, astrologically speaking. Look for Her slender crescent in the West a couple of evenings later, setting just after the Sun. All week -- The Moon makes no close passes of any planet this week but the extended darkness of Winter is good for viewing Venus, Mars, and Saturn. Venus as a brilliant "morning star" rises a couple of hours before dawn. Mars also remains bright all week, high in the southeastern sky after sunset, rising higher as the evening progresses, and then setting in the northwest around sunrise. Yellowish Saturn rises in the late evening and can be seen for the rest of the night until daybreak. Also, if you look carefully under crisp, clear conditions away from city lights, you might catch a glimpse of a small, fuzzy smudge of light to the southwest just after sunset. That would be Comet Tuttle, an unspectacular, short-period comet that comes around every 14-15 years. Space news of the week -- Asteroid alert! If you live on Mars, that is. A sizable asteroid may smack into the Red Planet around the end of January. The news media made a big deal of the fact that the odds of the asteroid hitting Mars have gone way up during the past month. The bad news (if you don't live on Mars) is that the spectacle of the asteroid actually striking the planet is still not very likely -- about one chance in 30 by current estimates. The asteroid is similar in size to the one that created the mile-wide Meteor Crater in Arizona, so it will kick up a bit of Martian dust and scoop out a sizable hole if it does hit. Stay tuned. Go out! Look up!

 Knowing when VOC Moons occur is key to planning your successful week!

 

The Void-of-course (VOC) Moon is a kind of limbo. As it reaches the end of a sign, the Moon makes no major aspect to another planet before it enters the next sign. VOC is best for less outcome-oriented activity, since VOC often means detours, distractions, drifting, or delays. If you want specific outcomes, or if timeliness is critical, don’t use a VOC Moon time. VOC is best for processing, imagining, creating, and open-ended activities, like parties, research, or cleaning your desk/closet for instance! It is said that when a new action is initiated during VOC, “nothing will come of it,” or energies go in unplanned directions, which may not necessarily be negative.

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Week of 1/6/08 – Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Friday and Saturday are the most active energetically and potentially most productive days – more Moon or planetary aspects for engagement and/or producing results. On 1/6/08, the Moon is VOC/Sagittarius from 7:27PM to 8:43PM EST – on 1/8/08, VOC/Capricorn from 6:37AM to 6:13AM EST (1/9/08, almost 24 hours!) – on 1/11/08, VOC/Aquarius from 12:52PM to 1:44PM EST.

 

PlanetPatterns:

The following planetary energy patterns flavor the day and are felt or experienced often hours before and after their exact culmination. They remain effective, certainly until the next major planetary pattern comes along to shift the energy gears.

 

Venus in mutable, fire Sagittarius square (90deg.) Saturn Rx in mutable, earth Virgo @ 8deg. on 1/6/08 @ 8:39AM EST. This aspect’s tendency is first to focus on what’s wrong, or to be critical and judgmental. However, we can implement the next best use of this energy to focus on and organize ourselves around what we’d rather have regarding the situation or relationship. It’s the details that can make us anxious or feel deprived, somehow. Buck up and recognize that you alone can make the necessary changes to create a better outcome. This aspect asks you to formulate, plan, organize, and decide.

 

Mercury enters fixed, air Aquarius on 1/7/08 @ 11:46PM EST until 3/14/08. **Mercury turns Retrograde in this sign on 1/28/08. Yes, now’s the time to recalibrate your thinking – go from damage control, protectiveness, defensiveness, and the need to organize everything (Capricorn), to viewing the bigger picture (Aquarius). Is what you are doing now feeding that picture of where you want to end up? Think the future now, in your every thought. Also, be willing to entertain some interesting, even bizarre ideas and communication. Allow for some new mental stimulation – go out and mingle!

 

Venus/Sagittarius square Uranus in mutable, water Pisces @ 15deg. on 1/12/08 @ 12:23PM EST. Venus is busy this week struggling first with Saturn and now with Uranus. If you’ve felt cramped and cornered in some way, this aspect offers a chance to break free. The urge to free yourself can tend to be extreme with this aspect, so pay attention if you’re feeling out of control. Use this pattern to break out of habits that have become dull and boring and insert some excitement into your life. Take a little trip, an outing, something that stimulates you and opens the doors and windows of your soul and inspiration.

 

 NewsBits: Iowa Caucus Surprise Wins! The Presidential election year got off to a roar with surprising wins and the toppling of the front runners and favorites of both parties. What does this mean? The indication is that people definitely want a change and are sending a message to those who were in the lead. For instance, Iowans seemed to disregard the overworked mantra that Obama lacks political experience. Barak Obama was born on August 4, 1961 @ 1:06AM in Honolulu, HI. He’s a robust Leo, with two other planets, Mercury and Uranus, in Leo. With Gemini rising, ruled by Mercury, and Mars in Virgo (also ruled by Mercury) and Mercury in fiery Leo, the man can ignite the people with language. He is an excellent speaker and was first recognized when he spoke passionately at the Democratic National Convention four years ago. As mentioned in a previous issue of Planet Weather, Obama was born with a very stable and enduring Grand Earth trine, meaning that he has one or more planets in each of the three possible earth signs – Mars trine Saturn and Saturn trine the Moon. This Earth trine bestows upon him a mature nature, taking him beyond his age and experience and also solidifies habits, which may be difficult to change when necessary. He is definitely a visionary. Beyond all we have said about his speaking abilities, his Mercury/Leo is exactly opposite Jupiter/Aquarius, allowing him to perceive the big picture of what could be while working to make it happen with the practical and common-sense Earth trine. Iowans have responded to him; let’s see what happens in the upcoming primaries. Both transiting Saturn in Virgo and Jupiter in Capricorn benefit Obama’s chart, reinforcing down-to-earth themes.

 

Republican Mike Huckabee’s Iowa win was even more surprising. He was born September 24, 1955, in Hope, AR, time unknown. His chart shows a Virgo Sun with 5 planets in Leo, including a potent and political, transformational Venus/Mars/Pluto conjunction. In particular, Huckabee seems to have benefitted from Jupiter and Pluto’s last degrees of Sagittarius making a trine to Mars and Venus this past month. Huckabee’s planets are all clustered in a tight wedge of 120deg, with not one opposition between any planets possible. This pattern gives great concentration of energy but may at times be extreme in expression or lacking in perspective. A wedge pattern such as this can move mountains with very little force applied (think of the tool). The Virgo Sun and strong Mercury in Virgo gives him the gift of wordsmithing and a quality of naturalness and understanding of the common man. Huckabee’s chart has the Moon in Scorpio which, no doubt, squares some of the Leo planets – there’s intensity and a fire-in- the-belly kind of energy. Both these winners of the Iowa caucuses express an innate humility and lack the obvious specter of political manipulation, which has obviously charmed Iowans.  “The times they are a-changing,” as the old Bob Dillon song goes, with the new trend of strong earth energies – Saturn/Virgo, Jupiter/Capricorn, and, at the end of January, Pluto, bringing us a taste of Capricorn settling in.