Planet Weather for the Week of May 4, 2008

SkyWatch – Moon phase of the week: 5/5 -- The Moon enters Her New cycle at 8:18 AM EDT, at 15 degrees of Taurus. Look for Her slender crescent low in the West a couple of days later. This means that the Sun is also at 15 degrees of Taurus at the moment of the New Moon, the midpoint of Spring, celebrated as Beltane in some occult circles. (Beltane usually corresponds to May Day, May 1, except that the actual midpoint comes a few days later.) So this is a New Moon full of astrological portent, especially considering that Taurus is also the sign of Her exaltation. Skywatching events of the week: 5/5 -- Making this date even more portentous is the peaking of the Eta Aquarid meteor shower at 2:00 PM. The best watching will be early morning before dawn. 5/10 -- The Moon passes so close to Mars that this will appear as an occultation or eclipsing of Mars by the Moon as witnessed from parts of Europe, North Africa, and Southern Asia. Their point of closest approach occurs around 10 AM EDT, but look to the West after sunset to see them still close. 5/10 -- The Moon also occults a portion of the Beehive star cluster around 10 PM EDT. Look high overhead at mid-evening. (A start cluster is a kind of mini-galaxy orbiting our much larger Milky Way galaxy.) Space news of the week: Three astronauts (including one American) had a rough ride back home from the International Space Station last week aboard a Russian Soyuz capsule but managed to land safely in Russia. 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 5/4/08 – Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday are all active energetically and potentially very productive days – more Moon or planetary aspects for engagement and/or producing results. On 5/4/08, the Moon is VOC/Aries from 3:16AM to 7:58AM EDT – on 5/6/08, VOC/Taurus from 4:22AM to 7:17AM EDT – On 5/7/08, the Moon is VOC/Gemini from 9:37PM  to 7:02AM EDT (the next day 5/8/08) – On 5/9/08, The Moon is VOC/Cancer from 8:06PM to 9:10AM EDT (the next day 5/10/08).

 

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.

 

Jupiter turns Stationary Retrograde (Rx) @ 22deg. on 5/9/08 @ 8:11AM EDT until 9/8/08. There is not the volume of planetary activity this week as there was last week! Instead, the two patterns this week are powerful ones, also because they take place on the same day -Friday! Jupiter turns retrograde, and as with all retrogrades, means it’s a time to review, re-evaluate and backtrack for awhile. In the case of Jupiter, the quality of expansion shifts. You may feel yourself changing your plans about the goals you’ve set and recalibrating the time frame. Some of your goals and plans may need more development or they may change entirely as you discover a facet you did not consider previously. That is the power of the retrograde – to uncover more material, to go deeper into the story. Some events or projects may be slowed down and you may not attain the level or degree of expansion you expected. No problem. Use this cycle to refresh and renew the contacts you made and really work through the opportunities that came your way but that may have slipped between the cracks or hat you simply couldn’t get to yet. The reprocessing of Jupiter continues throughout the summer and, as you reach early September, your plan will be armed with better information and more juice for your success. Jupiter in the sign of Capricorn will also enlarge issues that have to do with family, commerce, and goods and services that you use on a daily basis for your general well-being (housing, food, oil, for instance). One of the best ways to work with Jupiter Rx in Capricorn is to elicit and understand your major priorities and what is worth your time commitment.

 

Mars enters fixed, fire Leo on 5/9/08 @ 4:20PM EDT until 7/1/08. It was in September 2007, that Mars entered Cancer, which was also the sign in which it eventually turned retrograde (Rx). A Mars Rx only takes place approximately every 2 years, so it is a rarer phenomenon than other planetary retrogrades. Mars, being a forward-seeking energy, is not too happy moving backwards. Add to that, that Mars was in Cancer, the sign of its Fall (opposite the sign of its exaltation, Capricorn). What emerged from this cycle was plenty of “angst,” worry, and agitation in our everyday life. This cycle brought the housing crisis to a head and raised oil and food prices. Mars in Cancer is an energy that never strays too far from home – meaning that issues that arise are ones that are home and family related and typically engender lots of emotional response. When Mars turns retrograde, it lengthens the time it stays in a sign – usually six months (instead of six weeks). With Mars entering fiery Leo, we are finally freed from this long and somewhat emotionally draining time. Fire signs are more active, they are warm and impatient, full of spirit and the energy around will crackle with a desire to transcend the struggles in your life and find ways to have fun and enjoy life more fully. Leo is also a problem-solving sign because, although it likes to play, it is also very loyal and will stick with a project and make things happen. It will be amusing to watch the political candidates during this six-week cycle. Hillary and McCain were both born with Mars in Leo and Obama is a Sun-sign Leo.

 

NewsBits: The Irreverent Reverend! Rev. Jeremiah Wright had his 15 minutes of fame (or infamy) at the National Press Club Conference. His commentary there created yet another furor for his most famous now ex-parishioner, Democratic Presidential hopeful, Barrack Obama. The Rev. Wright has quite the chart, with Mars in its own sign, Aries – impulsive, hot-headed, direct, impatient opposite both Mercury and the Moon in Libra [Impulsively hooting (Mars) his mouth off (Mercury, speech) gets him in trouble (the opposition, a hard aspect)]. He certainly displayed this dichotomy of wanting to engage actively with others in controversy and fire them (and himself) up at the same time. Obviously, he got carried away with all the attention directed at him – the questions kept coming and the Rev. gave quick and (he thought) very witty retorts, except for the fact that many listeners were insulted by his words. The aspect mentioned is certainly one that lends itself to strong speaking ability, along with his chart placement of the silver-tongued Jupiter in loquacious Gemini. Another combination in Wright’s chart is Venus in Scorpio square Pluto/Leo, which can drive its point home forcefully, along with a dramatic and charismatic flair and intensity. One intriguing aspect in Wright’s chart is similar to one in Obama’s chart. Wright has Saturn late in the earth sign Taurus conjunct Uranus @ 0degree air-sign Gemini. Obama also has Saturn late in an earth-sign, his in Capricorn conjunct Jupiter @ 0degree air-sign Aquarius! How very curious to see this quixotic combination – a conjunction (joining, blending) of two planets in two different signs is always complex and the fact that for both men, the planet in late degrees is Saturn – surely this similarity between them is part of what drew them together. We can say that both are poised and required by this aspect, to bridge a gap having to do with historical patterns and habits (Saturn) and not only communicating messages of history to many people (air-signs, Uranus/Gemini and Jupiter in Aquarius), but also bringing a broader perspective to old and established historical concerns. In the case of Rev. Wright, perhaps hysterical concerns! The unfortunate event, however, gave Obama the chance to firmly and deliberately disengage himself from Wright and express more of his convictions.