Planet Weather for the Week of  November 5, 2006                                                                         

SkyWatch – Moon phase of the week: 11/5 -- The Moon reached perfect fullness at 7:58 AM EDT at 12 degrees of Taurus. This Lunar Moment will not be visible from the Eastern U.S. but should be further West, just as the Moon is setting. This first Full Moon after the Harvest Moon is traditionally called the "Hunter's Moon." Presumably, farmers who harvested under the light of the Harvest Moon can now hunt all night by the light of the silvery Hunter's Moon, which will sail very high and bright across the sky. Skywatching event of the week: 11/5 -- The South Taurid Meteor Shower peaks at 11 AM EDT, when it will not really be visible. Even looking before dawn to the South in the constellation Taurus where the Taurids appear to originate probably will not produce many sightings because of interference by the nearly full Moon. All week -- Saturn is currently the only planet readily visible in the night sky. Mercury, Venus, Mars, and Jupiter are all clustered together too near the Sun and will remain so for some time. Space news of the week: NASA Administrator Michael Griffin announced last week that a Space Shuttle mission has been scheduled for 2008, to repair and refurbish the aging Hubble Space Telescope. A previously scheduled repair mission was canceled in the wake of the Columbia disaster because of concerns for crew safety, but these concerns seem to have been allayed by the success of the three recent Shuttle missions. The Hubble will get new batteries and new stabilizing and control gyros, as well as upgrades to some of its observing devices. With these repairs, the Hubble could continue to return its amazing photographs of the universe and perform other yeoman service to astronomy until 2013 or even 2014, when the James Webb Space Telescope is scheduled to take over. Go out! Look up!

This week Sunday, Wednesday, and Thursday are the most active and possibly the most productive energy days. The longest Void-of-Course (VOC) Moon time, during the day – is on Monday @ 5:18AM until 11:46AM EST, Wednesday @ 6:15AM until 2:46PM and Friday @ 3:59PM until 9:34PM EST. 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 day. VOC is best for processing, imagining, and open-ended activities.

Venus in Scorpio square (90deg.) Neptune in fixed, air Aquarius @ 17deg. on Monday, November 6, 2006 @ 7:24PM EST.  Strong passions and desires stir us deeply and can engender romantic feelings or melancholic ones of elusive and frustrated dreams and wishes, depending on your current circumstances! There is definitely wistfulness to this combination and also a creative desire to capture an elusive ideal. Scandalous situations and twisted needs are also evident depending again on the circumstances.

**Mercury Is Retrograde! Mercury turned Rx @ 25 Scorpio on 10/28/06, until 11/17/06.

Mercury Rx Scorpio conjunct (0deg.) Venus/Scorpio @ 17deg. on Tuesday, November 7, 2006 @ 3:24AM. Powerful sentiments marshal us to go after what we want, sometimes at all costs. It’s deja-vu all over again! We certainly don’t want that to mean election fraud! A discussion/conversation is needed in a relationship you have. This is nothing new but something that has been pending or discussed before. This would be a good time to discuss feelings especially regarding values and needs that have been stuffed or otherwise ignored. This aspect is another indicator that the collective is looking back to evaluate communication and promises (values) that have led us to our current state of affairs. Strong feelings prevail so tread carefully on sore spots in your personal social communication. Expect some last minute election invective – a la the stings of Scorpio!

Mercury Rx Scorpio square (90deg.) Neptune/Aquarius @ 17deg. on Wednesday, November 8, 2006 @ 11:51AM. This combination can mean that something is hidden or scandalous and bring about outrage in the public forum. Instincts may be running high, but do be sure your channels are clear of your own biases, so that you can transmit a true essence of perception and emotional intelligence free from self-interest, possessiveness, jealousy, and other negative permutations. Are we confused and disenchanted yet, and is there now hope and vision on the horizon?

Mars in fixed, water Scorpio trines (120 deg.) Uranus in mutable, water Pisces @ 10deg. on Wednesday, November 8, 2006 @ 11:23AM EST.  This combination portends a bold and sudden action taken abruptly, surprisingly, but based on a deeper instinct that may not be obvious from a logical standpoint. Rebellious and potentially destructive in nature, the inherent energy may shock and disorient and bring one to another understanding of reality. This energetic tool, depending on whose hands it is in – will manifest as creative and original inventiveness or catastrophic breaking down of rigid structures.

** Transit of Mercury over the disk of the Sun. The Sun/Scorpio conjunct Mercury/Scorpio @ 15deg. on Wednesday, November 8, 2006 @ 4:31PM EST. This boost to consciousness takes us deeply into the interior of our mind. What lurks there, what is the basis of our communication, the thoughts we hold on to in an obsessive and intense way? Now’s the time to review these lurking thoughts, that probably have roots in powerful childhood imprints and impressions. Research these roots and you will find discover more of who and why you are. Use the same research to understand the prevailing rhetoric. Considering the source is essential!

The Sun/Scorpio square Neptune/Aquarius @ 15deg. on Wednesday, November 8, 2006 @ 4:31PM EST. This is the third strong aspect from a planet to Neptune this week, and indicates that there is confusion of truths in the collective psyche. Well, we already know that, but the complexity of the truths and untruths becomes all too apparent and unsavory. The test is to use your pure and uncluttered instincts (free from fears) to sort through the disparate pieces of environmental influence.

Mercury Rx Scorpio conjunct Mars/Scorpio @ 12deg. on Saturday, November 11, 2006 @ 10:16AM. Strong rhetoric and potent invectives – possibly finger-pointing – trying to pass the blame or project our fears onto others is one way to define this combination. Another way to use this energy is to heal past wounds you’ve inflicted verbally or through actions taken or not taken and to forgive and let go of the need to reiterate harm done to you. Drop the stories and live life in the present moment. Letting go is always the wisest choice for Scorpio, especially when holding on is potentially poisonous to one’s nature or survival. What is haunting you from the past that you can repair in the present to make room for the future?

NewsBits: Mid-Term Elections! With Mercury/Scorpio retrograde, there is an excellent chance of a political reversal/reshuffling/recycling in the US House of Representatives and/or the Senate, that’s beyond all the bad press and scandals on the Republican side of the aisle. Of course, the cumulative negativity regarding a questionable war based on lies is weighing more heavily on the collective psyche. Recently, European newspapers polled readers, resulting in international sentiment agreeing that Bush policies have made the world much less safe than before the war with Iraq! Are we surprised?

The death toll for US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan is now over 3,000 and we know Iraqi and Afghani casualties are somewhere in the 60,000+ range (remaining largely unreported in the mainstream press). Then there are the young wounded on both sides, coming home limbless and otherwise physically and mentally destroyed, to face the rest of their lives. But then you know all that. The sky is heavily weighted with 5 planets in Scorpio, ruled by the recently demoted Pluto (now a so-called “dwarf planet”). Is this a message that our runaway (amok) power needs to be contained? That which has been stuffed below the surface of consciousness is screaming to be acknowledged – those unsavory inklings and perceptions, those niggling and nagging details, are looming large and our powerful instinctive reactions want something to be done. It’s frustrating to stew in the juices of our discontent. There’s a massive wave of the collective that wants positive change – although as we well know, the definition of positive change varies from person to person. We are seeking leaders who will make positive transformative change and we need to take action ourselves instead of bemoaning the state of things and what we don’t like. Scorpio is the cumulative force that can effectively transform – it does that through pressure amplified until it reaches the tipping point.

Election Day USA has the Moon in Gemini ruled by Rx Mercury, giving another indication of potential reversal! In addition, the Moon of the day conjuncts the Mars/Gemini of the US birthchart and gives yet another message of changing one’s mind based on the most recent information and the desire for clarity of information amidst the muddle of rhetoric and misinformation over the past (too) many years.