Planet Weather for the Week of February 4, 2007                                                                                                                       

SkyWatch – Moon phase of the week: 02/10 -- The Moon enters her Last (aka Third) Quarter phase at 4:51 AM EST, at 21 degrees of Scorpio, rising around midnight and setting about noon. Skywatching events of the week: 2/7 -- In preparation for turning retrograde (see PW below), Mercury reaches its greatest elongation east about noon and should be visible low in the West after sunset. Mercury alternates between "following" (setting after) and "leading" (rising before) the Sun. When it reaches its greatest angular distance ahead (west of) or behind (east of) the Sun, this position is called its "greatest elongation," roughly 18 degrees in either direction. Mercury's G.E. east always marks the start of its retrogradation, and its G.E. west marks the point at which it turns direct in motion once more. Also on 2/7 -- The Moon passes the bright astrological star Spica about 11:00 PM EST, just before moonrise in most of North America. The two will still be fairly close together when they become visible in the East an hour or so later. Observers near the southern tip of South America may see the Moon actually occult (pass in front of) the star. Space news of the week:  The Hubble Space telescope has detected the atmosphere of a planet orbiting another star. This is the first time scientists have seen such a thing, observing massive amounts of hydrogen boiling off the top of a so-called "hot Jupiter," an appropriately named gas giant that orbits only a few million miles from the surface of its primary star. (This is much closer than even Mercury is to the Sun in our solar system.) The roasting planet and its star are about 150 light years from Earth. Go out! Look up!

This week Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday are the most active energetically and potentially most productive days (depending on what you’re doing!)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. The Moon is VOC in Virgo on Monday 2/5/07 from 5:36PM EST to 9:15PM EST, on Thursday, 2/8/07 from 6:38AM to 10:09AM EST, and on Saturday 2/10/07- a long one - from 5:39AM to 10:01PM 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 time if possible. VOC is best for processing, imagining, creating, and open-ended activities, like parties, research, or cleaning your desk, for instance! It is said that when a new action is initiated during VOC, “nothing will come of it.”

Venus in mutable, water Pisces conjunct (0deg.) Uranus/Pisces @ 13deg. on Wednesday, February 7, 2007 @ 1:56PM EST. Expect some surprises, or said another way – wanting some excitement and change from the normal routine is the essence of this aspect. Remember what they say, “Be careful what you ask for!” These energies can manifest as fun times in groups, or with friends, as well as new-found friends and associates. Creativity flourishes and you may feel compelled to redecorate, change your appearance in some way, or show an aspect of yourself that has been hidden. Find ways to laugh and take yourself less seriously. It’s a wonderful aspect to remind us that basically “we’re all in the same boat,” (and some of us seem to be rocking it pretty hard)!

Sun in fixed, air Aquarius conjunct Neptune/Aquarius @ 19deg. on Thursday, February 8, 2007 @ 10:54AM EST.  This is a warm and fuzzy moment each year in some ways – meaning that tenderness, weepiness, compassion, forgiveness, and also bending of boundaries, idealism, and deception are easily stimulated. You may have a major breakthrough, especially if this degree is sensitive in your chart. You are likely to come face-to-face with one of your illusions and/or your dearest dreams. Pay close attention, since information with this aspect often arrives symbolically, or in unusual ways such as – through dreams or chance encounters and conversations. Think back over the past year. What have you learned about your blind-spots, how have you deceived or deluded yourself? This aspect is an ending and a new beginning pertaining to dreams, ideals, illusions, and your personal spiritual truths. It’s an aspect inviting you to converse with your soul and your soul intention. These energies can bring disappointment and melancholy as we see what could have been and what is not, and then we need faith.

Venus in mutable, water Pisces square (90deg.) Jupiter in mutable, fire Sagittarius @ 15deg. on Friday, February 9, 2007 @ 6:31AM EST. This energy is over the top, and you may find yourself compelled to overdo it in some way. This is not necessarily a bad thing – as in expressing your affection – but in over-spending in various ways, it can cause real problems. There’s a fine line between being compassionate and forgiving or in giving yourself away, avoiding the truth, and being a victim.

Sun in fixed, air Aquarius opposite (180deg.) Saturn in fixed, fire Leo @ 21deg. on Saturday, February 10, 2007 @ 1:42PM EST.  Saturn is the Stop Sign of the Zodiac and means you’ll have to pause and check what direction you’re heading in, and whether you’re likely to meet success or not. Reevaluate, especially in light of Mercury slowing down too, and readying to turn backward for 3 weeks! You may need to make a serious decision or take a strong stand on a core issue in your life. Will this decision further your major goals or send you on another detour?

MERCURY RETROGRADE ALERT!  Mercury turns Retrograde (Rx) @ 10deg. Pisces, on 2/13/07 @ 11:38PM EST until 3/7/07. Mercury entered the wider arc of its retrograde cycle on 1/30/07 when it reached 25 Aquarius, which is the degree at which it will turn direct again on 3/7/07. Then, Mercury passes the shadow point, again reaching the degree at which it turned retrograde, 10 Pisces, and that will be on 3/28/07. These arcs before and after the technical Rx usually foretell and resolve, in that order, the issue that is to be revisited or revised during the actual Rx. When Mercury Rx spans two separate signs, as it does this time, there is more complexity to situations, and it may mean we have to go back a few more steps before we can go forward with a decision or application. The complexity or confusion we find in Pisces may be resolved by looking at some cold, hard truths in Aquarius. The truth can also be circumstantial and based on many variables and yet again, the stark truth may not be as important as the forgiveness and compassion that is needed. Review your dreams at this time and know that there is a deeper truth lurking in the complexities and chaos of life situations. It is your task with this Rx to uncover it, embrace it, and work with it to the best of your ability.

NewsBits: Sky Pattern: Saturn in Leo is still separated from the rest of the planets (except when the Moon strays away from the pack of eight, as it transits from Aries through Scorpio). Saturn emphasizes the “Fall of the King.” Saturn, rules the knees and in the royal sign of Leo the king/queen, means that the ego must bend, as the knees bend, the ego needs to be mastered, and is often diminished and tested, strong critical factors of the essence of life and love come into play, and past matters and decisions often come to haunt us. (Saturn last passed through Leo September 1975 through July 1978). Saturn requires a bending and a yielding, down on your knees, or if you remain stiff and rigid, you will break. All of this means that something concludes and ends, especially if it’s simply not working and not viable. We’ve lost various leaders during this cycle which began July 2005 and ends in September 2007. The sky pattern these days is called the Fan – with Saturn/Leo acting as the handle, waving the fan and opposing one of the planets in the pack, Neptune, which overall increases dissolution or trust in leaders, exposes “smoke and mirrors” games, and brings an end to regimes. Leadership is certainly tested and the public is increasingly critical of its leaders, as it should be. Question Authority (Saturn)! It keeps them, if not honest, at least on their toes, dancing! Saturn’s position in the sky pattern and its relationship with Neptune/Aquarius expresses a real “crisis in confidence” from the top to the bottom and everywhere in between. At this time in history we seek to define true leadership, and the fears that plague us in relation to our own standards, integrity, and willingness to succeed and reach our goals. We are at first confused and sent spinning into chaos as we attempt to recover our own soul’s purpose, even if soul is MIA in the world around us. The intensity of Saturn/Leo as described, met by the Full Moon in Leo, exact in the early minutes of 2/2/07 ET, resulting in the deadliest suicide bombing in an Iraqi marketplace, killing over 127 innocent civilians. The structure of the government of Iraq is tenuous at best.