Planet Weather for the Week of January 11, 2009

 

In dwelling, be close to the land.
In meditation, go deep in the heart.
In dealing with others, be gentle and kind.
In speech, be true.
In ruling, be just.
In business, be competent.
In action, watch the timing.

 

~ Tao Te Ching ~

(Translation by Gia-Fu Feng and Jane English)

 

NewsBits: The Inauguration of Barack Obama! The time is nearly upon us. The world is holding its breath, one can almost feel it – there’s a standstill as we prepare to inaugurate the first African American President of the United States and put some healing on very old wounds. You’ve heard Planet Weather speak of the Void-of-Course Moon (VOC), and on 1/20/09, the Moon is VOC until 12:30PM EST. Traditionally, the time of swearing in of the new President takes place at high noon. Often it’s a few minutes before or after, but typically not as late as 12:30PM EST. So…we can anticipate that Obama will be sworn in with the Moon VOC @ 29deg. Scorpio. Not only is the Moon VOC but it is in its Fall (opposite the sign of its exaltation, Taurus). The Moon in Scorpio is fixed (stubborn) and watery (strong emotions) and the 29^th degree is a critical degree. Emotions are intense and spilling out at that watery 29^th degree. The Moon represents the mood of the people. We can interpret that mood as packed with deep feeling about a whole range of survival concerns – money/debt, housing, employment, the life and death issues of two wars and the latest carnage in Gaza. The prevailing moods of the people and their relevant concerns are projected onto the new leader, the new hope – Barack Obama, who will have to hold that collective intensity and find ways to alleviate the pain and stanch the wounds. Scorpio is one half of the money axis in astrology, and in Scorpio it’s also about holding a phenomenal burden of debt – financial, yes, but other debts (some karmic) have come to be paid as a nation and as individuals. There is great possibility in Scorpio for destruction, even violence, as it represents raw, transformative energy, which must find an appropriate channel/outlet. Security will, of course be very tight, since there are so many emotions embodied in this Moon position and certainly not all of them are positive. The Moon is, in part, what Obama is inheriting, and we all know that it is a huge, complicated and chaotic mess. The VOC Moon is one of the most difficult conditions in the Inauguration chart and may indicate a measure of unpredictability and situations not going according to plan.

 

The very brightest part of the Inauguration chart is the Sun/Aquarius conjunct Jupiter/Aquarius, new in the sign (as of 1/5/09). This combination speaks to a leader with wide vision and innovative opportunity provided to him by his popularity and the ability to marshal vast sources of intelligent solutions to the insistent, urgent and dire problems embodied in the Scorpio Moon. Jupiter bestows favor on the leader, and in turn, inspires the global community. Yet, we must remember, that Jupiter in Aquarius will also bring the unplanned and the unexpected. Our prayers are with this man, who comes to the job, weighed down by enormous responsibilities. More on the Election chart, in next week’s PW.

 

SkyWatch: Moon Phase of the Week: 1/17 -- The Moon enters Her Last (aka Third) Quarter phase at 9:46 PM EST, rising roughly around midnight and setting around noon. This is the phase during which you can most often see the Moon during the daylight hours, leading the Sun across the sky for a few days before She gets too close to Her next New cycle. Skywatching events of the week: 1/14 -- Venus reaches the point in Her orbit where She appears farthest behind the Sun when setting as Hesperus/Vesperus, the bright Evening Star. This is as high in the western sky as Venus ever shines after sunset. 1/15 -- The Moon makes a not terribly close pass several degrees south of Saturn. The two celestial bodies are best viewed together by looking south-southwest shortly before dawn. Space news of the week: Asteroid collisions with Earth have periodically stimulated the evolutionary process, the most famous being the impact 65 million years ago that supposedly did in the dinosaurs and so opened many more habitats up for us mammals to evolve. Now, based on physical evidence, scientists are positing another such significant asteroid impact that happened nearly half a billion years ago and may have stimulated the formation of multi-cellar life in the oceans. Let's just hope we can evolve this time around without this kind of help from the skies! 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 1/11/09 – Wednesday and Thursday are the most active energetically and potentially very productive days – more Moon or planetary aspects for engagement with others or projects, and/or producing results. On 1/13/09, the Moon is VOC/Leo from 1:39AM to 1:33PM EST. – On 1/15/09, the Moon is VOC/Virgo from 9:37AM to 5:30PM EST. – On 1/17/09, the Moon is VOC/Libra from 9:46PM to 1:20AM EST(next day)!

 

This Week’s Cosmic Headlines:

1. The BIG news this week is the first Mercury retrograde of 2009. ** Mercury turned Retrograde (Rx) in fixed air sign, Aquarius @ 7deg. on 1/11/09. Mercury entered fixed, air Aquarius on 1/1/09 and remains until 1/21/09, when it retrogrades back into Capricorn. Mercury re-enters Aquarius on 2/14/09 and leaves the sign on 3/8/09. Mercury turns Stationary Direct on 2/1/09 @ 21 Capricorn. Polish your chops. Review and develop your plans. This Merc Rx is in its exalted sign position (cognition is lightning-fast, innovative, and shockingly aware) and is creative, controversial, and electric in this sign, with a sense of the universal or global perspective. Birth your new ideas and organize them, reflect on your intentions, and what you want to project and achieve. A Merc Rx can be a godsend in terms of deliberately slowing things down so that you get a different view or vantage point. Instead of fighting it, notice what turns up around you and where it may lead you in new thinking or unexpected situations. Because this Merc position is technologically oriented, there are likely to be glitches with electronics and communications of various sorts. Anything that is already weak is more likely to break down during this time. Socially, you may find yourself in deeper and more meaningful conversations with things revealed that were unknown previously. Remember that Merc Rx means going over the same territory three times – a thorough review. We have more than two full months in this cycle – of regrouping, reassessing, refocusing our lives and moving into a possible and better future.

 

2. We are in between the first and the second exact Saturn in mutable, earth Virgo opposite (180 deg. angle) Uranus in mutable, water Pisces. The first (of five) of these oppositions took place on US Election Day 11/4/08, and heralded the shift in power to another generation, the historic election of America’s first African-American President, amidst the rumble and thunder of a crashing economic and capitalistic system. The next exact Saturn/Uranus opposition is due on 2/5/09 @ 20 deg.  We are still in the breaking-apart phase and the chaotic birth of a new system of operation, of thought, of living. The complete breaking down process won’t be complete until July 2010.