Planet Weather for the Week of September 23 & 30, 2007

                                                                                                                                  

SkyWatch – Moon phases for the next two weeks: 9/26 -- The Moon reaches perfect fullness at 3:45 PM EDT at 3 degrees of Aries. In folklore and Native American tradition, this first Full Moon after the September Equinox (Fall in the Northern Hemisphere but Spring in the Southern!) is, of course, the Harvest Moon for obvious reasons. As the old song has it, "Shine on, shine on Harvest Moon, for me an' my gal...." Because it is exactly opposite the Sun, the Full Moon always rises just after local sunset. The Moon makes no close passes of any planets this week. 10/2 -- The Moon enters her Last (a.k.a. Third) Quarter phase at 6:06 AM EDT, at 9 degrees of Cancer. She will arise around midnight to start, and then later and later in the early morning and set around noon, and then progressively later in the afternoon. Skywatching events of week 1: 9/23 -- Venus reaches its maximum brilliancy, since it is at that point in its orbit where the combination of phase (the planets as well as the moon have phases) and angular distance ahead the Sun maximize the sunlight it refracts in our direction, rising as a bright "morning star" a couple of hours before sunrise. Skywatching events of week 2: For these two weeks, all four planets that are now readily visible (Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn) are in one part of the sky and the Moon is in the opposite part, so, unusually, there are no close passes of the Moon to any of the planets for quite a long time. Space news: NASA has processed and posted a set of stunning photographs from the Cassini spacecraft as it made a close flyby of Saturn's moon Iapetus. Iapetus is highly interesting to scientists because it is divided rather sharply into a bright side and a dark side, as well has having a mysterious ridge that goes two-thirds of the way around its equator, giving it somewhat the appearance of a giant walnut. The photographs don't really "solve" either of these mysteries but they do at least give us an amazing, close-up view of them. And this just in – Neptune's equator is tilted to such an extreme degree that its South Pole has been pointed more-or-less directly at the Sun for the past 40 years or so. Astronomers recently had their own "well, doh" moment when they discovered that Neptune's South Polar Region is now warmer than the rest of the planet! 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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Week of 9/23/07 – Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday are the most active energetically and potentially most productive days (depending on what you’re doing!) On 9/24/07, the Moon is VOC/Aquarius from 5:14AM to 8:55AM EDT – on 9/26/07, VOC/Pisces from 8:31AM to 10:22AM EDT – on 9/28/07, VOC/Aries from 9:59AM EDT to 10:17AM EDT. Week of 9/30/07 – Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday are the most active energetically and potentially most productive days (depending, as always, on what you’re doing!) On 9/30/07, the Moon is VOC/Taurus from 1:10AM to 10:34AM EDT – on 10/2/07, VOC/Gemini from 6:51AM to 12:57PM EDT – on 10/3/07, VOC/Cancer from 4:41PM to 6:27PM EDT (10/4/07 – VOC over 24 hours!)

 

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.

 

The Sun enters cardinal, air Libra on 9/23/07 @ 5:52AM EDT.  It’s the Fall Equinox when the Earth, in its relationship to the Sun, causes days and nights to be of equal length. It’s probably where the Libran characteristic of equality, balance, equanimity, diplomacy and cooperation originally came from. In the Northern Hemisphere it marks the official beginning of Autumn, and the last quarter of the year, which is also filled with four powerful holiday celebrations. Libra signifies the setting Sun and its amazing colors as it disappears for another day. In the same way, Libran energy softens and seeks to harmonize. It dislikes extended and unnecessary conflict but will stand up quickly against unfairness.

 

Mercury in cardinal, air Libra sextile (60deg.) Pluto in mutable, fire Sagittarius @ 26deg. on 9/24/07 @ 6:53AM EDT.  Mercury is asked to go deeply to research and discover, in its relationship with Pluto, the lord of the underworld. This is a wonderful processing and super-sleuthing aspect. So go spelunking, who knows what you will uncover lurking in the recesses and labyrinths of your mind.

 

Mercury/Libra trine (120deg.) Mars in mutable, air Gemini @ 28deg. on 9/26/07 @ 1:54PM EDT.  Mars energizes Mercury, so you may be involved in various passionate and pointed conversations. You may also feel the need, yourself, to express an opinion (or two) more forcefully. This combination, in air signs, and especially the usually diplomatic Libra, allows for conveying difficult communication in more considerate, if not straightforward ways. In general, it is a wonderful meeting of minds and makes for fascinating conversations, books, or other valuable exchanges of information.

 

** Mercury retrograde (Rx) alert! Mercury enters fixed, water Scorpio on 9/27/07 @ 1:18PM EDT until 10/23/07 when it retrogrades back into Libra. Mercury re-enters Scorpio on 11/11/07 until 12/1/07. Mercury turns Rx on 10/12/07 and Direct on 11/1/07. Our third and last Mercury Rx for 2007, is in intense watery (swampy) Scorpio and the time it remains in the sign, Scorpio is approximately 9 weeks! Observe the undersides of things coming to the surface. Scorpio has rulership over the underworld and what is typically hidden, the motives, the desires that we often don’t talk about – the hot topics of money, sex, and power. We may discover some vulnerability, or revisit those old wounds we all have, and discover how well we have healed ourselves. Anything you’ve stuffed or held back is more likely to surface and be dealt with during this time. Bringing things to light is often enough to diffuse the power we grant our secrets and the space they take up in our subconscious, crowding out other, more creative aspects of our lives. It’s time to clear away whatever is not working, for whatever reason. Make peace and acknowledge your instincts to proceed with what feels right for you.

 

** Mars Retrograde Alert! Mars enters cardinal, water Cancer on 9/28/07 and will turn retrograde on 11/15/07 in this sign. Mars re-enters Gemini on 12/31/07 and turns direct in Gemini on 1/31/08. Mars re-enters Cancer on 3/5/08 and then remains in Cancer until 5/10/08. As Mars changes signs we will also be dealing with a biennial Mars Rx. Mars is never a planet that likes to be held back and it bristles during its Rx cycle. However, sometimes we simply have to take some steps back and re-group, retrace our path. In this case, it is the path of emotions, out feeling life, our family, community, and all those close to us. Cancer is the sign of comfort, supportive care-taking and basic well-being. Moving into 2008, on a Mars Rx is not the best of conditions and also does not bode well for Iraq. Clan clashes and civil war are what a Mars Rx in Cancer spells on a global level. People will fight for their homeland and for basic necessities and quality of life. In general and for us personally, we need to redo something important and reassess our direction certainly. This aspect will be important for the Untied States as it stimulates the cluster of US planets in Cancer. Watch PW for further commentary.

 

Mercury/Scorpio sextile Saturn in mutable, earth Virgo @ 3deg. on 10/1/07. Saturn brings a practical sense to Mercury. Perhaps it’s time to set your sights toward more long term plans and better organization, with a conservative eye for security and practicality. You may be ready to make a decision about something important to you.

 

Venus in fixed, fire Leo trine Pluto/Sagittarius @ 26deg. on 10/3/07 @ 9:12AM EDT. Venus will soon leave the sunny sign of Leo but not before it meets with Pluto to transform whatever it learned about love, affection, values, and creative living during its lengthy retrograde and direct journey.

 

NewsBits: OJ Simpson’s Bid for Punishment! Having been acquitted of the murder of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman is a double-edged sword, since he’s only been required to make financial restitution via the wrongful death suit filed by the Goldman family. OJ Simpson continues to pop up in the news regularly. This time, it’s about a plan to retrieve some of his football memorabilia. It’s still to be determined whether he hatched this plot with co-conspirators. OJ Simpson was born with Mars in Gemini and that’s where Mars is transiting now in the sky. People have a return to their birth Mars approximately each two years. It is a time when there’s more restlessness, energy, and certainly more visibility. The cosmos is on the same energetic page as you and is stimulating that part of your personality or energetic expression. Not a good time to try to do something covert – bad news for OJ! It’s like he has a punishment-wish, as well he should, a kind of unconscious desire to do penance for his violent crime of murder. O.J. is likely to continue to bee in the news, in the near term – his Venus @ 1 Cancer will be transited by Mars/Cancer, then opposed by Jupiter in Capricorn, and then by Pluto in Capricorn, in that order. He may finally get the punishment that he deserves, or at least a portion of it.

Dan Rather’s $70 Mil Suit against CBS! There are consequences, especially when you diss a popular news anchor like Dan Rather. The trouble began with Dan Rather's original report based on the supposed fakery of one of Bush's guard records. Rather wasn't able to prove that the document was a fake -- apparently his source reneged on him or some such. Then the right wing pressured CBS and Dan got to be the fall guy. Ah, the saga of corporate politics. It’s so transparent – there is little (if any) accountability. Rather, soon to turn 76, is rising up and taking CBS to task for damaging his reputation and for apparent breach of contract and consistently sidelining him and decreasing his air time. Good for you Dan Rather, for taking on a corporate giant! Of course, if you have the funds to do it, that helps! Dan Rather was born on October 31, 1931, 6:13PM, Wharton, TX and he’s certainly not going to let another Texan, or his administration, get the best of his long and brilliant career! A Scorpio always finds revenge or retribution, one way or another! Dan Rather has the Moon and Pluto in Cancer and Saturn in Capricorn and the upcoming Mars Rx will be all over those planets by conjunction and opposition. These aspects will set the agenda, and then Jupiter comes into the mix in mid-December, magnifying so that we can’t miss what really happened. Finally, by the end of January, Pluto says to CBS (powerful, corporation/conglomerate), “Hey guys; you’re going to have to give something up.” My bet is on Rather that he will get justice for the appalling behavior of CBS to one of its shining stars.