Planet Weather for the Week of September 17, 2006
SkyWatch – Moon phase of the week: 9/24 -- The Moon enters a new cycle at 7:45 AM EDT, at 29 degrees of Virgo. Skywatching events of the week: 10/22 -- This New Moon also coincides with a solar eclipse starting about five minutes earlier. This eclipse will not be visible from North America but will be from the East Coast of Brazil across the South Atlantic. This is an annular eclipse, meaning that the Moon does not completely cover the Sun, leaving an "annulus" or ring of light around the Moon's dark disc at totality. 9/23 -- The Sun crosses the celestial equator at 12:03 AM EDT, marking the September equinox and the official start of fall in the Northern Hemisphere. Space news of the week: The International Astronomical Union (IAU) renamed the newly-discovered "dwarf planet" originally nicknamed Xena. The newly-minted official name of this far distant ice world (currently 9 billion miles from Earth) is Eris -- the warrior princess has morphed into the Goddess of Discord. The IAU considers this choice extremely clever, since the discovery of Eris last year prompted a ongoing and amazingly acrimonious debate about Pluto's status that led a couple of weeks ago to its demotion (by the IAU anyway) from planet to "dwarf planet." (Well, after all, the Goddess Eris was responsible for starting the Trojan War.) She also had a daughter Dysnomia ("lawlessness") after whom Eris's moon has been named. We suppose this is all appropriate not just to the debate about the term "planet" but to the times in general. On a more positive note, Space Shuttle Atlantis astronauts continue their successful renovation efforts on the International Space Station (ISS) despite losing a couple of bolts in space! Atlantis will be returning to Earth sometime this week; the exact day depending on weather conditions at the Cape Canaveral, FL, landing site. Go out! Look up!
This week Monday, Thursday and Saturday, are the most active and possibly the most productive energy days. Some of you will feel the effect of the eclipse several days before it is exact on Thursday morning. The longest Void-of-Course (VOC) Moon time, during the day, is on Tuesday 8:16AM to 8:07PM EDT. 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 mutable, earth Virgo sextile (60deg.) Jupiter in fixed, water Scorpio @ 16deg. on Tuesday, September 19, 2006 @ 7:28AM EDT. This aspect is one of opportunity to specifically discover something more about relationships – to deepen them, or to understand a nuance you may have missed previously. Otherwise, this aspect may benefit your work, making you and others aware of the precise skills you possess. You may be inclined to seek more knowledge with this aspect. You may discover joy and satisfaction in the process of discovery or the willingness to reveal something deeper about yourself in a relationship.
Mercury in cardinal, air Libra trines (120deg.) Neptune in fixed, air Aquarius @ 17deg. on Saturday, September 23, 2006 @ 9:44AM EDT. This flowing, or easier aspect pattern lends magical, creative, fanciful thinking. You may find yourself caught in a reverie, or daydream, and you may dream a dream that you will wish to make real. Conversations can wax eloquent, poetic, and even prophetic. Neptune grants “far sight” if there is the willingness to see beyond the boundaries of “reality.” If you can, place yourself in the company of interesting people and the conversation may be enlightening. If you are creative, this aspect will facilitate your art or craft.
Solar Eclipse, New Moon @ 29 Virgo on Friday, September 22, 2006 @ 7:45AM EDT. Always significant is a planetary point at the 29th degree. This degree has unpredictability, and instability as it expresses the ending of a cycle, in this case of the sign Virgo. The eclipse is a foreshadowing, both in the description of how an eclipse works and also in that it will be stimulated by the next Pluto station retrograde at 28 degrees of Sagittarius. Eclipses often remain sensitive for years, and Pluto’s station on 4/1/07, also near the Galactic Center, is a signal to make necessary changes – in this case pragmatic changes and specific changes in the way our important “systems” operate and with the involvement of Pluto – our resources such as oil. In politics, the eclipse chart drawn for Washington, D.C., shows an unstable situation aggravated by maverick behavior and methodology – the viability of which is being questioned by fair-minded people. All that said, it is still a confusion of ideas, plans, and methods, and questionable ethics in the government. There is tension in the air and liaisons are fragile and delicate. Fair negotiation and the willingness to compromise, as well as to forgive past wrongs is the only way. Compassionate consciousness is what will save the day.
The Sun enters cardinal, air Libra on Saturday, September 23, 2006 @ 12:04AM EDT, signifying the Autumnal Equinox. Zero degrees Libra is a powerful moment, recognized as a unique balance point in the Zodiac and in our earthly time. There is a distinct shift as we move into cardinal Libra – the edges soften and we (hopefully) recognize the bounty we have developed over the course of the year since the spring. Our attention turns to others and the myriad and specialized relationships that make up the web of our lives and its meaning. We see how we might be reflected in the eyes of others. We seek a rebalancing of energies and harmonious affectionate contacts.
NewsBits: The Bush Terrorist Program meets GOP opposition! Democrats have been railing against the illegalities of Guantanamo Bay detentions and secret jails, etc., insisted on by the Bush administration as deterrents against terrorism. Instead, these secretive methods are garnering nothing but more contempt from the rest of the free world and are being cited as violations of the Geneva Convention governing detainment of prisoners of war. These struggles are part of the strong dynamic of Saturn/Leo opposite Neptune/Aquarius that is in progress and continues with two more exact aspects through June 2007 – authority confused, deluded, and overstepping bounds with some hidden agendas and actions. George W. Bush is on the hot seat with Saturn/Leo in his first house – he is challenged to forge a new persona and win his party another presidential election. And yet, we know something is rotten in Denmark, we can smell it.
Twin Hate! Lamb and Lynx Gaede, twin 14-year olds are making headlines. Their neo-Nazi white nationalist folk music, under the name of Prussian Blue, is alarming the citizens of Kalispell, Montana, where the twins and their family recently settled. They were interviewed recently in national media and have been seen wearing Hitler smiley faces Tee shirts. Their mother and stepfather moved the family from Bakersville, CA, because it was “not white enough.” The twins were born on June 30, 1992, time/place unknown presently. The most striking features of their chart are Sun, Moon, and Venus in Cancer opposite Uranus/Neptune in Capricorn and a grand Earth trine composed of Mars/Taurus trine Uranus/Neptune Capricorn trine Jupiter/Virgo. Add to that a harsh Mars/Taurus square Saturn/Aquarius – coincidentally an aspect Hitler himself had (chilling) and the seeds of hate are alive and sprouting. Saturn/Aquarius also squares the strong Pluto/Scorpio. The parental influence is evident and is a controlling factor in the lives of these teens. We know so little and not enough of their birth father. They have a stepfather and a young stepsister, Dresden from the mother’s second marriage. These twins with their intense chart, and observing the arc of their development is already a sad testament to how hate is transferred in families.
