Planet Weather for the Week of December 7, 2008

 

NewsBits! The R Word – It’s official! There’s nothing like stating the obvious – recession. Main Street was quite aware that something was awry way back in the Fall of 2007, when the lengthy Mars retrograde (Rx) in Cancer (home, hearth, family, basic commodities) burst the housing bubble. That was followed by Jupiter’s entry into Capricorn, mid-December 2007, and then Pluto’s first entry into Capricorn at the end of January 2008. The Cancer/Capricorn axis is the core of the people and the marketplace. Jupiter expanded and exacerbated the weakness in the markets stimulated by six months of Mars in Cancer and its Rx cycle. Once Pluto entered Capricorn, the weaknesses became even more apparent and the stock market fluctuated wildly all year. In September 2008, just after Pluto made its last direct station in Sagittarius, the markets made historic drops to new lows not seen in years, only to tease us again in their big jumps upward. It’s been a zig-zag year. Now Pluto is fully ensconced in Capricorn until 2024, and the new reality is settling in. For the United States, 2009 will be a powerful year. Pluto will make its next station retrograde exactly opposite the USA Venus @ 3 Cancer. Venus has to do with our money and our valuables, including our relationships. Pluto’s intensity will challenge all those areas. There will be an attempt to balance out the mess we are in economically. President-elect Obama said it well recently. He said things are likely to get worse before they get better. Pluto is applying a great deal of pressure on our resources and it will take expert balancing to keep the ship afloat. Obama also said that it may be necessary to take on more debt for the time being to fund the job stimulus package. This also makes sense with Pluto’s opposition to Venus, since Pluto is a boom or bust energy and is making heavy demands and will require some sacrifice before it yields its profits. Stay tuned, as we continue to examine the trends for the coming year and the historic Presidency of Barack Obama.

 

SkyWatch: Moon phase of the week: 12/12 -- The Moon reaches perfect Fullness at 11:37 AM EST, at 21 degrees of Gemini. In Native American and folklore traditions, this is the Cold Moon. (Wonder why that is?) It is the last Full Moon before the December Solstice (which marks the start of Winter in the Northern Hemisphere and Summer in the Southern Hemisphere). Lunar factoid of the week: This Full Moon is closest to Earth of any Full Moon in 2008, about 221,500 miles distant, give or take. Skywatching event of the week: 12/11 -- The nearly Full Moon passes the Pleiades star cluster about 3 AM EST, when both will be high in the western sky in the constellation Taurus for great observing. (A star cluster is a kind of mini galaxy orbiting our Milky Way galaxy.) Space news of the week: NASA's Phoenix Mars lander is apparently out of juice due to reduced sunlight collection by its solar panels, preventing its batteries from recharging. This was, however, planned, since the lander touched down in the north polar region of Mars. Mars has seasons just like Earth and Winter is now approaching in the Northern Hemisphere there also. 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 12/7/08 – Monday, Wednesday, and Friday are the most active energetically and potentially very productive days – more Moon or planetary aspects for engagement with others or projects, and/or producing results. On 12/8/08, the Moon is VOC/Aries from 4:35PM to 1:52AM EST (next day!) – On 12/10/08, the Moon is VOC/Taurus from 5:23PM to 2:33AM EST (next day again!) — On 12/12/08, the Moon is VOC/Gemini from1:01PM EST to 1:40AM EST (next day).

 

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 enters fixed, air Aquarius on 12/7/08 @ 8:37PM EST until 1/3/09. Venus in Aquarius is the good friend and the one who cares but often from a distance. Give this person plenty of space and they will remain loyal. If you pressure them too much, or cling, they will flee for the open air. Use this cycle to assess your friendships and appreciate their uniqueness and variety. This Venus teaches us that you cannot expect someone to be what they cannot be, so accept your friends as they are and they will (hopefully) accept you as you are! This is also a time to join groups and make new friends. Find circles that pertain to your most cherished interests and make friends that you can talk to about those subjects that stimulate your interest and are dear to your heart.

 

The Sun/Sagittarius square (90deg.) Uranus in mutable, water Pisces @ 18deg. on 12/10/08 and squares Saturn in mutable, earth Virgo @ 21deg. on 12/12/08 and sextile (60deg.) Neptune in fixed, air Aquarius @ 21deg. on 12/13/08.  This week the Sun makes the rounds and contacts two outer planets (Uranus and Neptune), and Saturn, the boundary planet between the inner or personal planets, and the three outer planets. We are asked to accept new messages in consciousness and adjust shifting realities to our cherished dreams. The challenge is to innovate and create new ideas, question and shift our beliefs and philosophies, and certainly debate them as we participate in social groups this season. Those of you with planets between 18 and 21 degrees of any sign will feel this need to adjust more than others.

 

Mars in mutable, fire Sagittarius square Uranus/Pisces @ 18deg. on 12/12/08 @ 1:50AM EST. Mars, the active principle, gets into the game and creates controversy, excitement, or, in some cases, disruption, awakening, accidents, or even violent action. Expect the unexpected, as Uranus often offers a surprise or shock. Sometimes that’s a good thing and sometimes not.

 

Mercury enters cardinal, earth Capricorn on 12/12/08 @ 5:13AM EST until 1/1/09. The planets are gradually shifting into Capricorn, Mercury leads the way. Mercury in Saturn’s sign is not its best placement as it tends to restrict the mind’s natural tendency to freely exchange information. In Capricorn, strong filters are placed over information gathering and the sort is for practical solutions with perhaps greater rigidity or criticism. This placement is excellent for the scientific mind and responds well to habitual and repetitive tasks. It is a disciplined mind but tends towards more negativity or the perception of problems. In that way, however, it can become expert at problem-solving and quality control. For the time Mercury is in Capricorn, use it to plan for the current reality, and be prepared for future challenges – although, we have to say, no one can be completely prepared for every eventuality, and this Mercury’s lesson is to learn to relax and let go a bit.