Planet Weather for the Week of April 13, 2008

SkyWatch – Moon phase of the week: 4/20 -- The Moon reaches perfect fullness at 6:25 AM EDT, at zero degrees of Scorpio, the astrological sign of Her fall (because it is opposite Taurus, the sign of Her exaltation). This Full Moon has many names among Native American traditions, including Pink Moon for the wild phlox that blooms around this time, Egg Moon, and Fish Moon, marking the time when the shad come upstream to spawn. Skywatching events of the week: 4/13 -- The Moon passes through the center of the Beehive star cluster in the constellation Cancer. (A star cluster is a kind of mini-galaxy orbiting our Milky Way galaxy.) Their point of closest approach occurs in the afternoon over the U.S., but the Moon will still be close to the Beehive after sunset. 4/15 -- Appropriately, on "tax day," the Moon conjoins Saturn, the most astrologically "taxing" of the planets, passing within three degrees of this ringed gas giant. Look for the Moon a few degrees to the southeast of Saturn after sunset. Space news of the week: Peering across 7.5 billion light years (that's halfway back to the Big Bang, folks!) NASA's Hubble Space Telescope photographed the intrinsically brightest object ever seen by the unaided eye. For nearly a minute, this single exploding star was bright as 10 million galaxies. Now that's a supernova! 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 4/13/08 – Sunday, Monday (dreamy, inspirational), Tuesday, Wednesday (connections),, Friday and Saturday are the most active energetically and potentially most productive days – more Moon or planetary aspects for engagement and/or producing results. This is a BUSY week! On 4/15/08, the Moon is VOC/Leo from 12:56AM to 9:07AM EDT – on 4/17/08, VOC/Virgo from 1:59AM to 6:10PM EDT – on 4/19/08, VOC/Libra from 4:55PM to 5AM EDT Next day 4/20/08).

 

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.

 

Mercury in cardinal, fire Aries square (90deg.) Jupiter in cardinal, earth Capricorn @ 21deg. on 4/13/08 @ 1:49PM EDT. Generally, this aspect expresses enthusiasm and positive outlook. However, as with all aspects involving Jupiter, particularly the square, it can get out of hand or go overboard. Be careful of promising too much or be aware that others may not be able to keep the grand promises they make. Under this aspect of the storyteller, be amused at what you hear told but take things with a grain of salt. Included in this combination is taking verbal risks in speaking your mind, which may be a good thing, and yet be aware of the potential consequences and whether the information you are providing is really necessary. Be aware of giving “too much information!”

 

The Sun/Aries conjunct (0deg.) Mercury/Aries @ 26deg. on 4/16/08 @ 3:24AM EDT. Clearly, this is an active Mercury or mental week. In this aspect, the concept is to focus on the ideas, thoughts, or beliefs that are on fire in you and those that you want to develop and pursue. The aspect indicates seed ideas that want to grow and so it is up to you as to which ones are closest to your heart’s desire. There is definitely forward momentum.

 

Mercury enters fixed, earth Taurus on 4/17/08 @ 5:07PM EDT until 5/2/08. This shift of Mercury brings a slowing down of the mind in favor of developing and deepening ideas and concepts further. It’s a practical place for Mercury and says that less is more, so that you have the time to develop your seedlings and nurture them properly.

 

Mercury/Taurus trine (120deg.) Pluto/Capricorn @ 1deg. on 4/18/08 @ 5:21AM EDT. This can be a dramatic aspect, since Mercury in Taurus’ message is definite or stubborn (knows what it wants), and its meeting with Pluto is either powerful or intense, or both. This aspect can get you what you want with ideas, with words, as this combo has charm as well as the power to persuade and does not easily take no for an answer.

 

Mercury/Taurus trine Saturn in mutable, earth Virgo @ 1deg. on 4/18/08 @ 2:11PM EDT. Saturn wants things to get organized and definite, so talk about your plan. Equivocation will get you nowhere during the time this aspect is active in the sky. Give them the facts and figures, the stats and the charts. Talk about what worked in the past and why it could still work. Be sparse with your words but certain of what you are relating. This aspect is excellent for making a clear decision after weighing the fact and considering possible consequences.

 

The Sun enters Taurus on 4/19/08 @ 12:51AM EDT until 5/20/08. With Taurus, we enter the middle of the Spring or Autumn season depending on which hemisphere you reside in! Fixed sign times are more dramatic and their particular quality is much more visible. Relax into the beauty of the season – Taurus is ruled by Venus. You’re more likely to overspend in this month or overindulge in gustatory or other pleasures. There’s a natural lushness to Taurus and please don’t attempt to rush or push the bull – it usually does not work and both of you will simply get frustrated. More than that is downright dangerous. You definitely don’t want to see a raging bull. Not a pretty sight.

 

NewsBits: Polygamy!  Pluto in Capricorn is bringing all sorts of previously hidden things to the surface. The energy of Pluto always does that – it is the purview of the Lord of the Underworld to uncover all that has been held in the unconscious (away from the light) [Where the sun don’t shine!] In the sign Capricorn, Pluto will review and reveal matters that are social and concern social mores, as well as the general condition of the marketplace and the regulations we’ve put in place to “civilize” or protect ourselves! So, as Pluto is in its first modern retrograde cycle in Capricorn (the last was 248 years ago), we are confronted with not simply the practice of polygamy, but deeper within that belief the abuse of women and girls. I perceive this as another indication of the gradual erosion of the patriarchal grasp on the culture during Pluto’s 16year cycle in Capricorn. Subscribing to the principles of polygamy as a conscious adult, that’s a separate issue. The HBO controversial mini-series, Big Love (about a man with 3 wives trying to make a go of it off the compound), makes amusing (with dark undertones) entertainment, and yet even that TV series documents the control aspects and the marrying of underage girls, through various forms of coercion, with much older men – back on the official “compound,” with the “prophet” as leader. The long (over 7 month) Mars retrograde cycle in Cancer has also played a role in setting a tone for some of the issues that will be brought to light during Pluto/Capricorn. Cancer, ruled by the Moon, is about people in general, women specifically, family, everyday basics such as our homes, food, and, of course, freedom from excessive fear in favor of basic comforts and needs. We know what has happened in those arenas and the woman who is running for President. Pluto dominating the landscape of Capricorn will rebalance the opposite sign of Cancer and bring forth a new understanding of woman and her relationship to men and the culture. It is an exciting time to be alive and aware.