Planet Weather for the Week of August 8, 2007

                                                                                                                                  

SkyWatch – Moon Phase of the Week: The Moon enters her Last Quarter (aka Third Quarter) at: 5:20 PM EDT at 13 degrees of Taurus, the sign of her exaltation. However, the Last Quarter Moon is generally considered the least propitious portion of her cycle for magical operations of any sort. Skywatching events of the week: 8/7 --The waning Moon passes near both Mars and the Pleiades or "Seven Sisters" star cluster in the early hours of the morning, although their point of closest approach occurs after sunrise. (A star cluster is a kind of "mini-galaxy" orbiting the Milky Way.) All week -- Mercury, Venus, and Saturn are now all lost in the glare of the setting sun. Without the competition of Venus, Jupiter currently is far and away the brightest object in the night sky after the waning Moon and will remain so until the end of August when Venus emerges once more from "the beams" (of the Sun, so called in astrology) and becomes Hesperus, the brilliant morning star. Jupiter also remains close to Antares, one of the four bright astrological stars known as "royal stars" -- a regal meeting of celestial lights indeed! The Perseid meteor shower does not peak until next week but you might catch a few early streaks towards the end of this week. Since peak activity will coincide with the New Moon early next week, the Perseids should be fairly spectacular this year without the competition of a bright moonlight to wash out the fainter streaks. Space news of the week: Inebriated astronauts (as reported in last week's SkyWatch) seem to have become a popular source of jokes on late-night TV. On a more positive note, astronomers recently discovered a planet around another star with an orbit almost exactly like earth's! -- The planet, although Jupiter-sized and orbiting what is known as a "red giant" star several times larger than the Sun, makes one orbit about the star every 360 days. (Our Sun also will begin to bloat into a red giant in another two billion years, and Earth will undergo a fiery death that will make global warming look positively frigid!)  Go out! Look up!

 

Knowing when VOC Moons occur is a key to planning your astrological 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, or delays. If you want specific outcomes or if timeliness is critical, choose another time if possible. 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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This week - Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday are the most active energetically and potentially most productive days (depending on what you’re doing!) On 8/6/07, the Moon is VOC/Taurus from 9:50PM to 10:01PM EDT – on 8/9/07, VOC/Gemini from 1:27AM to 1:36AM EDT – on 8/10/07, VOC/Cancer from 8:57AM EDT to 6:42AM EDT, the next day, (8/11/07) – a long one!

 

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.

 

Saturn in fixed fire Leo trine (120deg.) Pluto Rx in mutable, fire Sagittarius @ 26deg. on 8/6/07 @ 6:20AM EDT. This aspect will prove to be a testament to the power of your dreams to materialize. Think of what you desire most. You may have imagined or visualized it in the previous aspects of Saturn trine Jupiter and Saturn opposite Neptune and the most recent Mars square Saturn may have brought some important realities home to you. Saturn is ending its 2.5 years in Leo with the possibility of a rebirth of love in your heart, and greater prospects for creative living in your life. This is the energy of commitment, so ferret out from the depths of your soul what you want most to dedicate your time to invent and manifest. This aspect helps to make it clear. On a mundane level, strong measures are needed to move energy in more positive, useful, and responsible directions. Who will lead with that vision? What is your personal contribution to a sane policy for life on Earth in this still new century?

 

Jupiter Stationary Direct @ 9deg. Sagittarius on 8/6/07 @ 2:01AM EDT until 9/28/07. Like Saturn’s run to the end of its cycle, Jupiter does the same as it goes direct. Jupiter will now move quickly through the rest of Sagittarius, offering opportunities and options for those with the vision to capture them and sift and sort through the many variables. Make your plan and set it in motion, riding the wave of Jupiter as it ends with a conjunction to Pluto on 12/11/07. If you lay the groundwork now, you will reap what you’ve sowed in December. Remember to test for credibility, viability, and integrity to maximize the result.

 

Mars enters mutable, air Gemini on 8/7/07 @ 8:01PM EDT. Mars is lighter, more objective, mentally agile, and sometimes full of hot air in Gemini – and also quite a chatter-box. This Mars is interested in wit and banter and is usually a treasure trove of information. Curious and distractible, you may find yourself a bit more scattered than usual. The cosmos is providing necessary new bits of information for your digestion and to update your ideas. While Mars transits Gemini, network as much as you can and collect the latest information regarding your chosen project. Mars in Gemini is typically friendly and loves to share and debate ideas and concepts with friends – in fact, with anyone who will listen!

 

Venus Rx in mutable, earth Virgo squares Mars/Gemini @ 0deg. on 8/7/07 @ 7:35PM EDT. Mars and Venus together heat things up and generally make magic. It is a direct confrontation between the sexes, so be aware that conflict or tempers may flare up more easily. This energy insists on making something happen, and sparks will fly. If you have plans for romance, this aspect will fuel the fire. On a non-romantic level, the fires of creative invention will burn just as brightly. Use the aspect to engage with another or others to create harmony and renewal.

 

Venus Rx re-enters Leo on 8/9/07 @ 9:11PM EDT until 10/8/07! Venus remains retrograde until 9/8/07, and due to its backward movement remains in Leo for much longer than usual. Venus in Leo means giving from the heart center through multiple creative expressions. This is the time to declare your affection in a more openhearted and demonstrable way. Be a bit dramatic but avoid excess focus on ego. During this cycle renew your feelings of love and creative expression in every way you can. A love challenge will require a decision on your part.

 

NewsBits: Infrastructure Preview - Bridge Collapse in Minneapolis, Minnesota, 8/1/07. We are swiftly moving into major and critical Earth sign issues. Here’s the schedule – Saturn enters Virgo 9/2/07, for approximately 2.5 years, followed by Jupiter in Capricorn on 12/18/07, for 1 year, followed by Pluto entering Capricorn on 1/26/08, for about 16 years.  After 1/26/08, we will have all three of these planets lodged in Earth signs until Pluto retreats via retrograde (for 6 months) on 6/15/08. Earth signs are about our sense of stability and security and the practical, tangible realm. Earth signs in general concentrate on viability, workability and issues of integrity. Moving into these strong Earth sign positions will exacerbate matters concerning foundation and what does or does not support us. Pluto in Capricorn will focus on a steady 16-year erosion of infrastructure, big business, and corporations, revealing the underbelly, the shadow of things we have ignored or things we have simply not seen or noticed. These matters will loom large in the practical day-to-day workings of life. Infrastructure, financial and insurance institutions, environment, as well as health-care matters will be big, among other Earth-related concerns. The strong Mars-square-Saturn we discussed in last week’s PW took place the night before the bridge collapsed, destroying lives and vehicles in four lanes and 500 yards of twisted concrete and metal as it fell into the mighty Mississippi river below. (Mars rules cars or movement, energy in general, and bridges certainly come under Saturn, ruling foundation, dependability, reliability, support. The square aspect caused intense stress and ultimately failure of the structure. Saturn is also the accumulation of time. The bridge had reached its tipping/breaking point!). According to the American Society of Civil Engineers, 159,000 US bridges are structurally deficient, meaning they cannot be absolutely counted on to support the traffic crossing them. It will cost millions to repair the faulty infrastructure – almost as much as has already been spent on the Iraq war. A quote from last week’s PW:  “Capricorn, the opposite sign [of Cancer], is the bureaucracy or the regulations and structures that society has in place to provide protection and services… Jupiter enters Capricorn for one year and, as already stated, Pluto enters Capricorn in January. Expect forms and institutions long held to be valid, crumble as we make way for forms and structures that are more valid and hopefully begun on a foundation of greater integrity.” Meanwhile in Baghdad’s over-100-degree summer, there is no fresh water available in large sections of the city and electricity is problematic.  One of the promises made by US occupation forces was to increase electric availability to levels better than during Saddham Hussein’s regime.