Planet Weather for the Week of February 18, 2007

Next issue of Planet Weather will be published for March 4, 2007.                                                                                                                      

SkyWatch – Moon phase of the week: 2/24 -- The Moon enters her First Quarter phase at 2:56 AM EST, at five degrees of Gemini, about an hour after moonset. Skywatching events of the week: 2/19 -- The Crescent Moon will pass 2 degrees south of Venus. Although their point of closest approach occurs in the late morning, the silver sliver of Moon and brilliant Venus will still make a spectacular close pairing in the early evening sky. 2/23 -- The nearly First Quarter Moon will pass about a degree north of the Pleiades star cluster with their point of closest approach happening early in the evening, about 6 PM EST. This passage will occur nearly overhead for most U.S. observers. The Pleiades or "Seven Sisters" star cluster is a kind of "mini galaxy" of thousands of stars (of which the brightest are visible to the unaided eye) orbiting the Milky Way. Space news of the week: Space Shuttle Atlantis was just successfully rolled out onto the launch pad at Cape Canaveral for scheduled liftoff in about a month. In a variation on the old light bulb joke, how many workers does it take to ferry the Space Shuttle from its hangar to the launch pad? Answer: about 30, just to operate the crawler-transporter that carries the shuttle, including three drivers, a jacking and leveling operator, a control room operator, two electricians, two electronic technicians, and four diesel mechanics. And you thought getting ready and driving to the mall was a major operation! Go out! Look up!

Knowing when VOC Moons occur is a key to planning your astrological 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, or delays. If you want specific outcomes, or if timeliness is critical, choose another time if possible. VOC is best for processing, imagining, creating, and open-ended activities, like parties, research, or cleaning your desk for instance! It is said that when a new action is initiated during VOC, “nothing will come of it.”

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This week, Monday (with potential struggle), Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday are the most active energetically and potentially most productive days (depending on what you’re doing!) The Moon is VOC/Pisces on 2/19/07 – 11:43AM EST to 2:06PM EST, on 2/21/07 in Aries from 12:41PM to 3:03PM EST, and on 2/23/07 in Taurus from 2:47PM to 5:42PM EST.

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2/25-3/3/07. This week, Sunday, Monday, and Thursday are the most active energetically and potentially most productive days (depending on what you’re doing!) The Moon is VOC/Gemini on 2/25/07 from 8:21PM EST to 10:48PM EST, on 2/27/07(long one) in Cancer from 1:03AM EST to 6:29AM EST on 2/28/07, and on 3/2/07 in Leo, from 2:02PM to 4:32PM EST.

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The Sun enters mutable, water, Pisces on Sunday, February 18, 2007 @ 8:09 PM EST, until 3/20/07. Now we move into the changeable (mutable) portion of the first quarter of 2007! Especially in Pisces, we are in the betwixt and between time, a.k.a. the dreamtime, when Zodiacally the year wraps up and renews again when the Sun enters Aries, and Spring begins in the Northern Hemisphere. In Pisces we are challenged to loosen our boundaries, although not to the extent that we become victims but rather to encourage our compassion and understanding. Spiritual insights are particularly prevalent and relevant while the Sun moves through Pisces, and we are often confronted with areas of our life where we have been blind and allowed self-delusion. You may be privy to secrets, or hidden things/situations may reveal themselves during this astrological month.

Venus/Pisces squares (90deg.) Pluto in mutable, fire Sagittarius @ 28deg. on Monday, February 19, 2007 @ 10:54PM EST. Potentially a difficult aspect, this energy indicates struggle and soul-searching. The other side of this energy is research and discovery of some of the finer, subtler points of situations that are either problematic or in development in your life. Look for potential insights in resolving them.   

Venus enters cardinal, fire Aries on Wednesday, February 21, 2007 @ 3:22AM EST until 3/17/07. A taste of Spring comes in with Venus entering Aries! This will tend to lift spirits and bring bounce back into your step or else light a fire under your plans and projects. Fire always stimulates and energizes, so enjoy this call to action. It will also spice up the interaction between the sexes and women tend to be more feisty.

Sun in mutable, water Pisces conjunct (0deg.) Mercury/Pisces @   deg. on Thursday, February 22, 2007 @ 11:45PM EST.Your mental light-bulbs are sure to burn particularly bright with this focus on the planet that stimulates our neurons. This combination is not necessarily logical; it has much more to do with the feelings behind your decisions and that it is important to acknowledge those feelings and adjust your thinking and decisions accordingly. At the very least, pay attention to what is surfacing. Someone’s wisdom may bring you great comfort and support.

Lunar Eclipse & Full Moon @ 13Virgo on Saturday, March 3, 2007 @ 6:17PM EST.This Full Moon is called the Crow Moon [when the cawing of crows heralds the coming of Spring.] It’s also the first of 4 eclipses in 2007, and a Total Eclipse of the Moon (by the Earth’s shadow). [Moon's disk eclipses the Sun.] It is not visible in North America. An opposition to Uranus close to the time of this lunar eclipse makes this a potentially emotionally erratic and explosive one. Systems and how they function (or not) are highlighted, as well as the military and any patterns in your life, particularly concerning health and work habits, projects, or schedules. Being in an Earth sign makes the eclipse more physically expressive and also more accident-prone. Where the eclipse falls in your chart will express its particular relevance for you.

MERCURY is RETROGRADE!  Mercury turned Retrograde (Rx) @ 10deg. Pisces, on 2/13/07 until 3/7/07. Mercury entered the wider arc of its retrograde cycle on 1/30/07 when it reached 25 Aquarius, which is the degree at which it will turn direct again on 3/7/07. Then, Mercury passes the shadow point, again reaching the degree at which it turned retrograde, 10 Pisces, and that will be on 3/28/07. These arcs before and after the technical Rx usually foretell and resolve, in that order, the issue that is to be revisited or revised during the actual Rx. When Mercury Rx spans two separate signs, as it does this time, there is more complexity to situations, and it may mean we have to go back a few more steps (research) before we can go forward with a decision or application. The complexity, confusion, even illumination that we uncover or experience in Pisces may be resolved by looking at some cold, stark truths in Aquarius, bare and free from entanglements. The truth is often circumstantial and based on many variables, and yet again, the cold truth may not be as important as the understanding and compassion that is needed. Review your dreams at this time, and know that there is a deeper truth lurking in the complexities and chaos of life situations. It is your task with this Rx to uncover it, embrace it, and work with it to the best of your ability. Do that, and clarity may emerge.

Mars enters fixed, air Aquarius on Sunday, February 25, 2007 @ 8:33PM until 4/6/07. Mars moves into the logical and aloof sign of Aquarius. The next six weeks may turn things on their head, since it is the mission of Aquarius to reach beyond the status-quo and the typical to gain a wider perspective. Putting emotion aside – this position wants the truth, clear, cold and unfettered. This position is good for analyzing but a bit short on compassion – although humanitarian and egalitarian concerns are important. Aquarius is most concerned with the family of man or the international community. It is also the sign of friendship and the acceptance, even delight, in individuality. Freedom and space is needed with this position, so be prepared to let your partner roam more freely and exercise their individual impetus. Arguments, during this time, arise between the balance of closeness vs. distance and positions can be held stubbornly. Ask yourself if its worth going toe to toe with someone. Mars will eventually conjunct Neptune/Aquarius, and we will come face to face with the illusions of freedom and truth.

Mercury re-enters (by retrograde), Aquarius on 2/26/07 until 3/18/07. Still retrograde, Mercury takes us out of the understanding sea of human emotions (Pisces) and back to the cold, hard, logical truth of Aquarius. Check your illusions at the door – the Aquarian winds blow away embellishments and leave (so to speak) the bare trees of winter, leafless. There is a beauty in this stark landscape but it also has a biting edge. Where does this aloofness and distancing work in your life?

NewsBits: Congressional Vote Denies Support for Bush troop-surge. War Chart. The vote is clearly one of no confidence in the management of the War in Iraq by the Bush administration, but unfortunately, this vote has no power actually to make any changes in policy. (It’s called a "non-binding resolution.")  However, Democrats claim they will add contingencies to any further financial disbursement. The War began on 3/20/03 @ 5:33AM Baghdad, Iraq and shows 14 Pisces rising. Today, Uranus has moved from 0 Pisces in 2003 to 14 Pisces and now sits exactly on the Ascendant or Rising Sign of the War chart. Over the past 4 years, Uranus has worked behind the scenes in House 12, the results of this secretive anarchistic activity have now become fully visible, and the stark truth of the mess that is the Iraq war is patently and horribly obvious to nearly everyone on the planet. In 2003, we hardly understood what Uranus poised at the Fool’s degree, 0 Pisces, might mean. Today in 207, we have no doubt! We were blind to the conditions and the full truth of the warring factions in Iraq. Jupiter ruling the Pisces Ascendant is in proud Leo, and it is this pride (embodied in leaders) in swift and certain success, bravado, and swaggering that finds us in the mire of a civil war we cannot win. The balance held in place by a brutal dictator, dissolved witlessly with lies by the interference of the United States, now finds the US in a land it hardly comprehends, enmeshed in enmities whose roots span centuries. Experts have mentioned partitioning Iraq, but the Bush administration hold firm and unyielding to a plan described by Saturn opposite Pluto positioned on the vertical axis of the war chart. This aspect is a do-or-die pattern, will not yield easily, and loathes letting go, even when the situation calls for it. The political and financial investment seeks a return with this aspect, and that is what holds it to its course. It is a bitter pattern and always demands a high price.