Planet Weather for the Week of August 3, 2008

SkyWatch: Moon phase of the week: 8/8 -- The Moon enters Her First Quarter phase at 4:20 PM EDT,   at 16 degrees of Scorpio, the sign of Her Fall, since Scorpio is opposite Taurus, the sign of Her exaltation. Skywatching events of the week: 8/3 -- Planetary trifecta! The Crescent Moon will be approaching Mars while both are low in the western dusk with Saturn close by. Mars is to the upper left of the Moon, whereas Saturn is a bit farther away to the right of the Moon. (The Moon's point of closest approach to Mars actually occurs at 5:13 AM EDT the following morning when both are below the horizon.) Due to Sun angles and the points in their orbits where they are currently located relative to the Earth, Saturn is now brighter than Mars although considerably farther away. Space news of the week: Last week, tests aboard NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander identified water (originally probably in the form of ice) in a soil sample. The Lander's robotic arm scooped up the sample and plopped it in a device that identifies the various gases produced by heating samples. Scientists were already 99.9% certain that Mars harbors water in sizable amounts but this ices it (so to speak)....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 8/3/08 –Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday are the most active energetically and potentially very productive days – more Moon or planetary aspects for engagement and/or producing results. On 8/4/08, the Moon is VOC/Virgo from 8:15PM to 10:28PM EDT – On 8/7/08, the Moon is VOC/Libra  from 5:01AM to 7:26AM EDT – On 8/9/08, the Moon is VOC/Scorpio from 5:02PM to 7:10PM EDT.

 

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 in fixed, fire Leo trine (120deg.) Pluto Rx @ 28deg. on 8/5/08 @ 12:51AM EDT.  Venus wants to express its love potency and exercise its power, and why not? Pluto exhorts us to maximize the subterranean desires that lurk within. You know the ones that don’t go away, the ones that stubbornly persist, and the ones that haunt and plague us. Isn’t it time to muster the will, the courage, the chutzpah and make something happen, push outward a little and make waves? This Venus is passionate and willful in pursuing what it sets its sights upon.

 

Venus enters mutable, earth Virgo on 8/6/08 @ 12:20AM until 8/30/08. Okay, sober up! It’s time to buckle down and get to work! This Venus LOVES to be productive and it has wonderful common-sense and endless practicality. You can count on this Venus to come through, if it makes a promise. More than that, it will remember those little personal details, much to your delight! By the same token, it’s time to sift and sort out your schedule. Clean up what isn’t producing the results you want. Be specific and be clear. This Venus stimulates cleaning up all sorts of loose ends and provides you with those satisfied feelings of work well done and things in order (well, mostly).

 

Mars/Virgo opposes (180deg.) Uranus Rx in mutable, water, Pisces @ 22deg. on 8/6/08 @ 2:37PM EDT. Mars acts as a trigger to Uranus, which has been sitting at 22deg. since mid-May! There is an outburst of energy and some of it may be unpleasant, somewhere. Uranus is unpredictable and often rebellious and does not take kindly to restraints of any sort. For those who are not unduly emotionally agitated, this aspect is likely to provide a great deal of creative momentum and inventive energy. Sense with new understanding your everyday existence and forge new neural pathways by remaining open to other possibilities and learning new tricks!

 

Mercury in fixed, fire Leo opposite Neptune Rx in fixed, air Aquarius @ 23deg. on 8/6/08 @ 2:40PM EDT.  Mercury/Leo trine Pluto Rx/Sagittarius @ 28deg. on 8/9/08 @ 2:17PM. Our mental capacities move between our dreams and our ideals to our desire to get what we want despite the immense effort that may be required of us. And that is precisely what this aspect requests – that we analyze the cost effectiveness of what drives us mercilessly. Not just the possible financial cost, but also the emotional, energetic, and temporal demands of whatever we allow to consume our attentions.

 

NewsBits: The 2008 Beijing Olympics! Controversy has continued since Beijing, China won the location for the 2008 Olympic Games. Concerns over China’s human rights violations and its violent oppression of Tibetans, as well as skirmishes within China itself with rebel religious groups and poisonous Chinese imports to the USA have definitely cast a shadow over the Games. Additionally, recently, the air quality in Beijing is being questioned and Chinese authorities are scrambling to clear the air for the Games and the throng of tourists descending on the city. Then there’s the Internet. Journalists are complaining of limited access to Internet sites, including Amnesty International. China has agreed to lift restricted access but not for its general public.

 

The official start of the opening ceremonies is set for 8/8/08 at 20:08:08, Beijing, China. The chart is an interesting one with Sun in Leo square Moon in Scorpio, the sign of its fall (works less optimally there). A square between the Sun and Moon, the “lights” in the chart, shows an inner struggle or discomfort, between what is expressed externally and what is felt within. The chart has Pisces rising, with Jupiter its traditional ruler retrograde in Capricorn, the sign of its fall. Here, we begin to see the repeated theme of restriction or control by those in power. Saturn, disposing of Jupiter/Capricorn is the planet closest to an angle, House7. Again, this factor expresses restriction and control and putting a good face on things for others to see but a lack of flexibility in compromise or cooperative situations. Uranus/Pisces is in House1 and this position shows that there is an opening or a desire to appear willing to play on the world stage and certainly wow the world with a really big show. Pisces rising is very much about the art of glamour and the ability to seduce or persuade. All the angles are in mutable signs, showing the changing dynamic of events and the need for many adjustments for hosting such an international event, as it clashes with the government’s need to maintain control. Pluto, the highest planet in the chart’s House 10, expresses the deep social/political implications of the event and again the need to control the image, as China becomes more and more of a player internationally. The last aspect the Moon/Scorpio makes is a telling square to Mercury/Leo. The desire to be noticed is clearly there and the entire world will be watching the pomp and ceremony, and yet the disturbing reputation of China’s relentless grip on Tibet and uncompromising politics in general are also included in this closing aspect. The Moon square Mercury aptly expresses the mixed messages and the restricted access to freedom of information and communication that is part of the government policy. Venus/Virgo conjuncts Saturn/Virgo, each planet on the opposite side of the House 7 cusp, expressing the constraint, adherence to tradition, and the historic implications of this event in and for China and the world. We will manage to see facets of China we have not seen before. Did you note the numerology of the opening time!