Planet Weather for the Week of January 20, 2008

SkyWatch – Moon phase of the week: 1/22 -- The Moon reaches Her perfect Fullness at 8:35 AM EST, at one degree of Leo. In some Native American traditions, this first Full Moon after the Winter Solstice is the Full Wolf Moon. The packs hungrily howled to Her to feed them amid the cold snows of Winter. Skywatching events of the week: 1/21 -- Mercury reaches its greatest eastern elongation at 11:57 PM EST. That means that Mercury sets the farthest behind the Sun that it ever does, making it visible low in the southwestern sky just after sunset for several days before and after, a rare evening sight. 1/24 -- The waning Full Moon passes very near the bright astrological ("royal") star Regulus in Leo, in the western sky before dawn. So close, in fact, that viewed from Australia and Antarctica, this is an occultation (eclipse) of the star by the Moon. Space news of the week: And speaking of Mercury, NASA's aptly named space probe Messenger passed within hailing distance of the Solar System's fastest planet last week, returning spectacular photographs of previously unmapped regions, the first spacecraft to do so since Pioneer 35 years ago. 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 1/20/08 – Sunday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday are the most active energetically and potentially most productive days – more Moon or planetary aspects for engagement and/or producing results. On 1/20/08, the Moon is VOC/Gemini from 2:46AM to 3:05AM EST – on 1/21/08, VOC/Cancer from 5:56AM to 5:20AM EST (1/22/08 – nearly 24 hours!) – on 1/24/08, VOC/Leo from 9:43AM to 9:48AM EST – on 1/26/08, VOC Virgo from 6:32AM to 5:35PM 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.

 

The Sun enters fixed, air Aquarius on 1/20/08 @ 11:44AM EST until 2/19/08. Aquarius is the heart of the winter season in the Northern Hemisphere. Because it is an air sign, Aquarians in general are conceptual, abstract, and social basically but that’s where the similarity ends. There are many variations on the theme of Aquarius and in Aquarian natives – some being more aloof or reclusive, leaning more to Saturn as the traditional ruler. Other Aquarians thrive on sociability and make fantastic friends because they respect differences and people’s innate right to be unique and individual. Aquarians love to differentiate themselves from the group in some way because that streak of independence and urge to individuate is so strong. Where that shows up or plays out is another matter. Some Aquarians are often nerdy or techies and may remind us of Mr. Spock, the Star-Trek character, removed from his emotions and ultra-logical. Don’t be fooled by that, Aquarians need love and affection like all the rest of us. The crystal clarity of this month can do wonders for your creativity, so pull out the stops and invent something new or discover something new about what’s already in front of you. Aquarius is all about seeing with different eyes. Take the long perspective and take a look see into the future – where are your energy and actions directing you? Make new friends and love the ones you already have. It is with our friends that the best loving learning takes place.

 

Jupiter in cardinal, earth Capricorn trine (120deg.) Saturn in mutable, earth Virgo @ 7deg. on 1/21/08 @ 4:15AM EST. These two planets balance each other out, and excesses are modified but spirits are not dampened too much. Since both planets are in Earth signs, the energies are by nature cautious and reflective, certainly circumspect, analytical, even critical and judgmental. Use this combination to put things in order, to pare down, to ask yourself how you are supporting your priorities with commitment and allocating time.

 

Mercury/Aquarius conjunct Neptune/Aquarius @ 20deg. on 1/22/08 @ 8:16PM EST. This aspect supports imagination and creative visioning. In the past, imagining what the future might bring was called “far seeing.” Mercury and Neptune in this combination represent the mystical truth that is always there, always available, if we can but find the right channel to tune into it. On the mundane level, there can be seduction and twisting of the truth, and slander or secrets coming to the surface. In other words, it can be the con or the inspirational message; it all depends on who is using the energy.

 

Venus in mutable, fire Sagittarius conjunct Pluto/Sagittarius @ 29deg. on 1/24/08 @ 1:57AM EST. When Venus gets cozy with the Lord of the Underworld, something’s got to come off! Pluto always demands a price or a sacrifice. So what are you willing to give or give up, in order to get what you passionately want? Expect to notice passion, possessiveness, and possibly even the green monster of jealousy aroused in you or in others. As you enter into the grip of Pluto, remember to ask yourself what the possible consequences are likely to be if you want too strongly or grasp too fiercely.

 

Venus enters cardinal, earth Capricorn on 1/24/08 @ 3:05AM EST until 2/17/08. Venus definitely sobers up in Capricorn, offers the services of simplicity and solemnity and leans a bit to the negative side of things. What could go wrong and how will we prepare for it? Preparation and organization are two of the main messages of this Venus, along with structuring desired outcomes or consequences that you can live with.

 

NewsBits: The Year Ahead – A Major Focal Shift ~

Pluto enters Capricorn on 1/25/08 @ 10:44PM EST until 3/24/23! We are on the eve, for all of 2008, of a major paradigm shift, as Pluto, the Lord of the Underworld and transformation, enters Capricorn on this day for the first time in 248 years! [1760 – In colonial America, roughly the time of the so-called “French and Indian War,” against, well, the French and their Native American allies. A few years later, the seeds of revolution were sown, preceded by crushing taxation without representation from England resulting in the establishment of the United States of America.] This year, Pluto flirts with us and reveals tidbits of what’s to come, since it only moves from 0-1 Capricorn, and then retrogrades back into the last few degrees of Sagittarius on 6/13/08. Finally, on 11/26/08, Pluto re-enters Capricorn to stay for the duration of its Capricornian journey. And what a journey it will be! We are entering the arena of consequences and accountability of past habits and actions. The analogy I like to use is the journey from December to January in the natural course of our seasonal year. What happens in December? We are typically in major celebratory mode, and the tendency is toward excess and overdoing – eating, drinking, spending, and the desire for greater leisure and laughter and commerce necessarily slows down. What happens in January? We sober up, organize, make resolutions, diet, and pay the price in the form of bills due. We are ending an inflationary, expansive, philosophical time of excess and greed, and entering an era of contraction and the necessity to minimize, move toward simplicity, and recognize that we cannot consume in the ways we have in the past. Capricorn is an Earth sign, and we become ever more cognizant of how we have taken our natural and elemental resources (on all levels) for granted, and how we have abused the planet. All systems that have been in place will be open to judgment and scrutiny, asking the all important question, “Who do you serve?” Pluto’s penetrating energy will ferret out those systems that have unstable and faulty foundation of ethical practices, or those that simply cannot meet the needs of the changing climate will fail and crumble. The necessity to transform major systems that we have come to rely upon will become insistent and imperative. A foreshadowing of this is the housing and banking crisis and the wild gyrations in the stockmarket – (in particular the past month). We will face a series of crises that will test our mettle, making us think what the important things in life really are.  Capricorn rules the bones and the teeth and refers to that which supports us. Allow natural beauty and the cool, quiet stillness within tell you what you must do to bring your life into an alignment of integrity, caring, and the calm knowledge that you are doing the best you can with your accumulated wisdom of experience. Pluto joins Jupiter already in Capricorn since 12/18/07. More notes on Pluto’s historic shift in future issues of Planet Weather.

 

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