Planet Weather for the Week of February 24 & March 2, 2008

SkyWatch – Moon phases of the Week: 2/28 -- The Moon enters Her Last (aka Third) Quarter phase at 9:18 PM ET, at 9 degrees of Sagittarius. 3/7 – The Moon enters Her New cycle at 12:14 PM at 17 degrees of Pisces. Skywatching events for these two weeks: 2/25 -- Mercury passes within two degrees of Venus. Their moment of closest approach comes around midnight ET when the two are well below the horizon for all of North America, but they will still be close very low to the southeast about a half hour before sunrise the following morning. 2-29 -- This "leap day" sees the Moon pass close by the bright astrological royal star Antares in the southeastern sky before dawn. Their closest approach again occurs well before moonrise, but the two should make for a pretty sight when they rise together before dawn. 3/2 – The New Moon will be passing close by Jupiter just after sunset. Their closest approach comes after moonset on the East Coast but before moonset further west for a nice evening sight. Space news of the week: The Space Shuttle Atlantis landed safely last week after shuttle astronauts successfully attached the European Space Agency's Columbus lab module to the International Space Station, further internationalizing the ISS. In other space news, a U.S. Navy cruiser shot down a wayward U.S. spy satellite with a missile, exploding the failed satellite's nearly full load of hydrazine, a toxic propellant that could have posed a threat when the vehicle reentered the Earth's atmosphere. This shoot-down was a space first of sorts. 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.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Week of 2/24/08 – Monday, Tuesday, 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 2/25/08, the Moon is VOC/Libra from 8:35AM to 1:06PM EST – on 2/27/08, VOC/Scorpio from 9:54AM to 1:22AM EST (2/28/08) – on 3/1/08, VOC/ Sagittarius from 11:54AM to 1:33PM 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 in mutable, water Pisces opposite (180deg.) Saturn in mutable, earth Virgo @ 5deg. on 2/24/08 @ 4:48AM EST.  There’s a pause indicated, an evaluation of circumstances, of processes, of patterns, since Saturn is, by nature, cautious and circumspect. Within that pause, there is an evaluation, a critique, and eventually a decision is required, after much Virgoan analysis and desire for perfection. Because Saturn entered Virgo last September (2007), it has just begun to work with the mutable Sun signs (mass consciousness) – first Sagittarius on 11/30/07, and now Pisces. The mutable signs are about the information or details we use to reach conclusion, and about the environmental influences or ambiance that affect us.

 

Mercury in fixed, air Aquarius conjunct (0deg.) Venus/Aquarius @ 11deg. on 2/26/08 @ 12:52PM EST. Here comes straight talk in the truthful and logical Aquarian style with a bit of sweetness and romance thrown in but always in that unusual, and unconventional Aquarian character. This aspect favors raucous meetings with friends, group process, much humor and laughter, and that cool, clear Aquarian intelligence. Look to the future and ask for what you want.

 

The Mercury in fixed, air Aquarius Retrograde (Rx) cycle has technically ended. However, “finalization” takes place once Mercury passes the degree at which it went retrograde (24 Aquarius), called the “shadow point,” on 3/9/08. Because of Mercury’s Rx cycle, it conjoins with elusive, inspirational, and sometimes illusion-prone Neptune three times – 1/21/08, 2/2/08, and lastly on 3/6/08. The task for this Mercury Rx was/is to uncover elusive truth or a hidden yearning and acknowledge our desires for an ideal in some area of our lives, or life in general, and whether we ought to pursue a dream that persists in consciousness – and the possible consequences of doing so.

 

Mars re-enters cardinal, water Cancer on 3/4/08. Just as Mercury’s long Rx is coming to an end, so is the more than six-month Mars Rx concluding. When Mars re-enters Cancer, on 3/4/08, it repeats where it initially entered the sign on 9/28/07. It reaches its “shadow point” (see above) on 4/2/08 @ 12 Cancer, the degree at which it turned retrograde on 11/15/07. Shortly after Mars re-enters Cancer something even more significant takes place - Mars/Cancer opposes (180deg.) Pluto in cardinal, earth Capricorn @ 0deg. on 3/6/08 @ 4:05AM EST.  This aspect signifies the first strong aspect to Pluto since it entered Capricorn on 1/25/08. Powerful forces are at work in the world, and this contact is likely to produce something that will be significant in the overall cycle of Pluto’s 16+ year sojourn in Capricorn. In addition, this aspect – Mars opposite Pluto – repeats the aspect present on 1/1/08 and exact on 1/2/08. At that time, the aspect was Mars Rx @ 29 Gemini opposite Pluto @ 29 Sagittarius. This powerful and often violent combination is the signature for 2008, and is now repeated as stated above. These energies indicate turmoil, aggressiveness, and the urge and struggle for power and control. It is also indicative of a vital new movement that wants to express itself. We are seeing some of this energy expressed in the radically opposed messages between the Republican and Democratic candidates and also in the struggle between Hillary Clinton and Barak Obama. Certainly there is an ideological process but the roots go even deeper into race and gender issues. The urge is to mature in consciousness and move into a brave new world that will be filled with the challenges that are the fruit of our past habits.

 

NewsBits: Pluto in Capricorn seedlings! Headlines: Changes in the reins of power - Cuba’s Fidel Castro is ceding permanent control of his government to his brother Raul. Rogue spy pace satellite successfully shot down at nearly the exact moment of the Lunar Eclipse @ 1 Virgo (great synchronicity)!  Oil refinery explodes in Texas. Another Earthquake in Indonesia at 6.1 magnitude. American Embassy attacked by riotous mobs in Belgrade, Serbia, after Kosovo announces its independence.  OK, we said in last week’s Planet Weather this was going to be a powerful week – given the Total Lunar Eclipse and various other planetary changes, including Mercury Direct and in forward motion again.

 

Clinton and Obama debated on 2/21/08 – both speaking strongly, each scoring points while vying for the Latino vote in Texas. They are scheduled for one more debate on 2/26/08, before the all-important March 4^th primaries. Things are definitely tense, since it is probably the March 4^th primaries that will decide the Democratic candidate. In other words, Hillary must win. She has a difficult Neptune/Aquarius opposition by transit to her Saturn @ 21 Leo – the general principle of this combination is disillusionment or unawareness of certain “realities” and the dissolving or eroding of formerly solid structures. Her lesson here is to understand what she stands for and to realize that her position is not coming through as planned. Transiting Neptune is also square (90dge.) her nodes @ 23Taurus/Scorpio and becomes exact on 3/17/08. There is a spiritual lesson here and with Neptune, always the chance of being blindsided, or caught off guard. Certainly, there seems to be some of that happening in her campaign. Pluto is still igniting her Jupiter @ 0 Sagittarius by minor aspect and beginning to stimulate her Sun @ 2 Scorpio. Obama, however, has the strongest aspect from Pluto – an opposition to his Venus @ 0 Cancer, also a minor aspect to his Jupiter @ 0 Aquarius and another one (150deg.) to his Mercury @ 0 Leo. The important moment to watch is when Mars re-enters Cancer (see above) and conjuncts his Venus, while opposing Pluto in the sky. This could be a difficult moment or an important initiation. There is some aggressiveness to this aspect – an igniting of what has been building from the Pluto aspect to his Venus. We watch with great interest. Obama’s birth-time is also still questionable and unable to be verified.

 

 

| Email Dorothy Oja | Like on Facebook | Planet Weather Website | Current Planet Weather Newsletter | Planetary Resonance Book |

Copyright © 1997-2013 Dorothy Oja All rights reserved.
General editing and science editor, John Flagg.
Opinions and interpretation/analysis expressed are the sole intellectual property of Dorothy Oja. PW emerged from transcripts of a weekly radio show in 1996.

MINDWORKS -- Dorothy Oja --
Let me help you manage your planets!

MC/Visa and PayPal are accepted.

MINDWORKS services include: Timing and Electional work (dates for surgery, weddings, business openings etc.), Composite/Davison Relationship and Couples analysis, Children's Profiles and private tutoring. Meta-Coaching sessions involve eliciting the astrological and sacred dynamics of your chart to empower realization of your goals and find satisfaction in self-expression. An active writer for national magazines and online sites, collections of Dorothy's articles are available upon request. Dorothy writes a weekly ezine, Planet Weather, published for the past 15 years for enthusiastic subscribers, which includes social, cultural and political commentary. She has frequently appeared as a guest on TV, hosted her own radio shows and has been interviewed in the print media. In October 2000, Dorothy published her text, Compatibility & Conflict for Romantic Relationships, as a computer interpretive report, followed by Compatibility & Conflict for Friendship and Business in October 2002. Her first book, Planetary Resonance was released in May 2012. Dorothy currently serves the community as Chair of the ISAR Ethics Committee including Ethics Awareness Training.