Planet Weather for the Week of April 6, 2008

SkyWatch – Moon phase of the week: 4/12 -- The Moon enters Her First Quarter phase at 2:32 PM ET at 23 degrees of Cancer, the sign of Her rulership. Skywatching events of the week: 4/8 -- The Waxing Crescent Moon makes Her monthly pass close by the Pleiades ("Seven Sisters") star cluster. (A star cluster is a kind of "mini galaxy" orbiting our Milky Way galaxy.) 4-12 -- The First Quarter Moon passes just over a degree north of Mars. In fact, the Moon "occults" -- passes directly in front of -- Mars as viewed from parts of Northeastern Canada, Greenland, Iceland, and Scandinavia. Space news of the week: An international team of astronomers just found 10 new planets orbiting stars other than our sun, some of them very exotic, like Jupiter-sized "gas giants" circling only a few million miles from their parent stars. To date, astronomers have discovered well over 200 of these so-called "extrasolar" planets. It's a good thing they're all too far away to influence our birth charts or astrologers would go crazy trying to keep up. 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 4/6/08 – Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, 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 4/6/08, the Moon is VOC/Aries from 11:02AM to 9:20PM EDT – on 4/8/08, VOC/Taurus from 11:13AM to 9:27PM EDT – on 4/10/08, VOC/Gemini from 12:11PM to 10:43PM EDT – 0n 4/12/08, VOV Cancer from 2:32PM to 2:29AM EDT (next day 4/13/08).

 

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 enters cardinal, fire Aries on 4/6/08 @ 1:35AM EDT until 4/30/08. Venus is a bit impatient in this sign (OK, it can be more than a little!) When Venus passes though Mars-ruled Aries it wants what it wants and it wants it now! Venus in Aries is also vibrant, fun, and funny, willing to explore and get around to where things are happening. It can make quite a scene all on its own, too. Expect a certain restlessness, especially with the Sun already in Aries. In relationships, there may be more ardor, spice, and willingness to address or confront issues.

 

Venus/Aries square (90deg.) Pluto in cardinal, earth Capricorn @ 1deg. on 4/6/08 @ 11:47PM EDT.  One by one, planets are making contact with Pluto, new in Capricorn (since 1/25/08). Venus takes its turn, and this means that issues in relationships may deepen through confrontation or crisis. Negative manifestations such as unreasonable anger, jealousy, or possessiveness may need examination for their deeper roots, as well as fears of loss, abandonment, and the like. The opportunity is to understand motives and desires on a deeper, more kinesthetic, or honest level.

 

The Sun/Aries square (90deg.) Jupiter/Capricorn @ 21deg. on 4/10/08 @ 10:11AM EDT. This is an over-the-top aspect, meaning that one can go to extremes. The tug-of-war is between what we may personally wish to do and our sense of responsibility. Aries likes to travel light and fast, but Jupiter in Cap brings issues of weight and consequence, sometimes guilt. The two different forces meet, struggle, and have to work out a resolution. A leader may shoot from the hip (Jupiter) and reveal more than they would like. This is an inflationary aspect in any number of ways.

 

Mercury/Aries square Mars in cardinal, water Cancer @ 15deg. on 4/10/08 @ 1:14PM EDT. Essentially, this is an aspect of frustration, and you may be prompted to lash out in words. Sensitivities are stirred by words that may not digest well with the listener. Feelings can be hurt, and angry emotions may result. Strong words about the status quo may bring concern or worry. Use information of this kind as an alert to put things in order.

 

NewsBits: Hillary Clinton or Barrack Obama? Polls now show that Obama is closing the gap between himself and Clinton in Pennsylvania. The PA Primary on April 22, 2008, appears to be the showdown date to determine the Democratic nomination. The thing is there’s a fudge factor on that day – the Moon is Void-of-Course (VOC) in Scorpio from 4:45AM EDT until 5:07PM EDT, when it enters Sagittarius. The Moon goes VOC with a square to Neptune in Aquarius – people are confused and may change their minds. At 10:47AM on the same day, Mars/Cancer makes a smooth trine to Uranus/Pisces (water element to water element), which generally means a surge away (Uranus) from the herd mentality (Cancer), or individualistic thinking/acting. The Moon in Scorpio until 5:07PM favors Hillary, who is a Scorpio and disfavors Obama, who is a Leo, since it makes a square to his Sun. There could also be problems with polling places, confusions around where to vote and various other glitches. After the Moon enters Sagittarius, it immediately conjoins with Hillary’s Jupiter and again seems more favorable for her, although it makes a smooth trine (fire to fire) to Obama’s Mercury/Leo. Hillary is favored by most polls to win PA, but the question is by what margin? Will it be enough? After 4/22, nine more states have their primaries. Including Pennsylvania, there are 689 delegates at stake. If Hillary wins PA and I feel she will, though her lead is narrowing, the aftermath will be very interesting indeed. Mars (the action) makes several important changes after 4/22 including – an opposition to Jupiter/Capricorn on 4/24 (over-reaching, overblown issues, over-exertion, over-expansion, new information blasted through the media), followed by an all-important sign change into Leo (Hillary’s own Mars sign and Obama’s Sun sign), which signal the end of the long Mars/Cancer retrograde cycle that began last September. There will certainly be a shift at those times, and the two are still quite evenly matched. Astrologers are hampered not having accurate birth-times for either Democratic candidate. Obama has a strong transiting aspect with Jupiter/Capricorn conjuncting his Saturn/Capricorn and this could be the aspect that says his time is now. What a show of firsts in this historic campaign, and we’ll simply watch it play out. The collective, as always, will speak for what it needs in the present moment.