March Madness, Reality Style

On Your Mark, Get Set…Wait a Minute!

Fellow fans and friends of the Flow, the Flow! Is back! Hopefully, with everything going on right now, I will be able to keep up the posts on a regular basis. How regular is hard to say, but the goal is every other week for now. Let’s see how that goes.

But first, a few words from our sponsors…

First a huge thank you to…you! Even though I stopped posting in mid-September, we were still able to log over 19,000 hits from 123 countries. We still have a ways to go before we’re on par with the HuffingtonPost, but I’m still very pleased with our progress.

For a couple years now, I was able to keep the Flow going just on my own steam. Usually, I have a lot of it, and don’t mind using it to help others power their own ship across the waters of life. But it’s a heck of a lonely job, especially out in space. I don’t require a paid subscription, can’t image I ever will. But I would like to see the site become more of an arena for discussion.

The observations I make are based on my studies and experience, but they are essentially theory. What you are out there living it in a myriad of different ways, paths, and perspectives. I therefore invite you all to partake in the MERCURY MALL, your place to comment on the affairs of moment, astrological or not at the bottom of this post.

Lastly, there’s a new Flow coming. If you notice at the top of the blog, the url address is wordpress.com. What that means is that the site is essentially free, but the features are severely limited. As I was surfing around looking for ways to spruce up the blog, I stumbled upon the wild, wacky, and wonderful world of widgets and gadgets. Gadgets that could tell you where the planets are at the time you are on the blog, gadgets that can tell you when the planets rise and set for your location, gadgets that will let you enter the birth details and generate an astrology chart on the fly. Gadgets to rule them all, and gadgets to bind them.

As I understand it, the only way to get gadgets on the site is to pay for web-hosting on wordpress.org. I need to look into how it all would work, but I’m too excited about the possibilities not to take the plunge, if I can.

So watch for it. The Flow! V2.0!

Now, without further ado…

House of Mirrors, House of Smoke, House of Cards

It is March, 2013. We are all in the process of emerging from a huge whizz-bang conjunction of planets in Pisces on the 10^th and 11^th of this month. Just how whizz-bang? There are 12 significant bodies astrologers track all across the wide zodiac, and 7 of them were all in the single sign of Pisces at the same time.

In February of 1962 we had 7 planets in Aquarius that ushered in a tsunami of cultural transformations throughout the 60’s, and in January of 1994 with 7 planets in Capricorn, we experienced a global conservative revival the consequences of which we are still feeling today.

And the next mass conjunction of 7 or more planets won’t occur until 2032 in Gemini. I’d like to be around then, there should be an immense cornucopia of inventions, discoveries, and fun toys to play with. Who knows, we may even discover the fountain of youth!

But that is then, not now. So what is likely to be the effect of our grand conjunction?

Of all the signs, Pisces is the most elusive. Just when you think you have a Pisces pinned down and cornered, they evaporate as if transported by Scotty someplace else, and you’re left with a bewildered expression on your face. Pisces excel at that – bewildered expressions.

That’s because they’re not really of this world. Yes, their physical body is here, but little else. Mental wool gathering for them is a fine art, and they use that wool to knit tapestries that illustrate the strange and wondrous worlds they visit. All that travel can make them quite visionary.

But so often, those worlds bear so little relation to our own. So much is not as it seems.

Why?

Two reasons, because the two primary processes of the sign are Federation and Perpetuation, and both have more to do with what is to come than what is in the here and now.

Pisces are great for seeing the forests for the trees. They are masters of being able to bring people together for common cause. Whether they are building networks of families, friends, or political allies, they have an inner ability to find common denominators and other resources, and use them to divide their enumerated opponents. Similarly, if you ever need to network, find a Pisces. They have a knack for being able to connect you with the right people just when you need them. They may play down their connections, because they’re also not particularly fond of the limelight, but they always know people who know people. Federation.

They also rarely get bogged down in details. In fact, rules and regulations often give them the hives. An affliction many of them suffer from since all of this inter-dimensional travel often leaves ones nerves frayed.

And then, after everyone has been brought together in unity and sung a rousing chorus of kumbaya, Pisces will take the individual elements, like strands of DNA and weave them into a seed to form the genetic structure of the next generation. Perpetuation.

But a federation is mostly an abstract concept which is so often so hard to define, and a seed is just a simple seed, bearing no relation to what it might eventually become.

Pisces is governed by Neptune, god of the seas, and its symbol is two fish tied together at the tail, swimming in opposite directions. Opposite, because only mortals are limited to traveling in one direction at a time. Pisces is like a school of fish, or a cloud that expands in all directions at once. It’s here, it’s there, it’s out there, it’s everywhere.

And along a similar oceanic meme, the emotional life of a Pisces often roils like the tempests of the seas. All of these expansive excursions of experience take them to shores that are bright and shining with hope and promise, and others are that are worrisome pits of frightful despair and desperation. Yes, Pisces get tired, but it’s their emotional bodies that often get the greatest workout.

All of which has its effects. On the ocean, when opposing currents meet, they form whirlpools.

Which pretty much describe where we’re at now — whirlpools of cross-currents and opposing agendas on uncharted seas. It’s less feeling like you’re swimming against the tide than needing to navigate around various dangerous eddies, shoals, and undertows.

So for much of the past month or two, people have been acting (and driving) like zombies. Mysterious figures making their way through the smokes and fogs of Pisces knowing there’s a direction to be heading and path to follow, but none of it clear, none of it well-defined, and little of it well-known.

But take heart, oh ye faithful! The mists of Pisces are not eternal nor are they infinite. At the edge of Pisces lay Aries, and like the Sun burning off an early morning Neptune’s mist, Aries can bring clarity, lucidity, and alacrity.

If Pisces is the seed, Aries is the young sprout springing from the ground to soak up all the sun and nutrients it can get. Aries doesn’t gather wool, it makes it. It is, after all, the Ram.

And if Pisces is the end of winter, Aries is the beginning of spring. Nature invigorated, energized, and potent, is bursting forth with renewal, rebirth, and regeneration.

Uranus, the touchstone for social progress is in Aries, and has been since March, 2011. Mars moved into it on the 11^th of this month, the Sun on the 20^th (ushering in spring), and Venus joined them the following day on the 21^st. Mercury, just having turned Direct on the 17^th, won’t complete the transition until April 13^th.

Don’t look for much resolution on difficult questions until then, though we should be able to have a better understanding of which way the winds are blowing as Mercury gains steam moving forward in the last few days of March/first week of April and the trendlines become clearer.

Mars and the Sun right now are trailblazing through the first half of Aries, so if you have a Desire that you want to make real, now is the time to make your wishes known and to do everything you can to pave their way to your doorstep.

During the first week of April, their energies shift and you have the opportunity to add flesh to the bones to any greenlighted projects. It may take real work (both physical and psychological) to make progress, but whatever you put in will be more than worth what you get out of the deal.

The Full Moon on the 27^th of March puts the focus on our ambitions. Are we willing to let the winds of destiny guide us to fulfilling our fate, or will we hunker down and hide within our protective shells, preferring serenity, harmony, and peace?

The 28^th of March is likely to be the STRANGEST day of the period as the Sun and Venus scoot by Uranus. Anything can happen when Uranus is involved, but the area most likely to be impacted is our relationships. Unusual demands, quirky behavior, or news out of the blue are likely to catch the unwary off-guard.

Pluto is in the sector of Capricorn symbolized by a Hospital Ward Filled with Toys, so look for continued economic revival until April 11^th when Pluto will be turning retrograde. At that point the economic situation muddies, and we enter a period on auto-pilot that doesn’t pick back up until Pluto turns Direct in mid-September and attention turns once more to budgets. At that time, Pluto will be turning direct in a rather harmonious sector of Capricorn, so I would expect the economy to be in better shape than austerity proponents and deficit hawks find comfortable.

And what of Jupiter and Saturn? These two planets are called the “chronocrators” because to the Ancient Greeks these two planets governed by passage of time. Similarly, their position and aspects to each other govern macro-trends.

Jupiter has just turned direct in the part of Gemini symbolized by an Industrial Strike. This influence brings to the forefront conflicts of all kinds. On a personal level, we are confronted with the question of whether our personal actions, ambitions and goals are also of benefit to the collectives to which we belong, or if we are simply out to make our lives better for our Selves. Neither is wrong or better than the other, though you may find more help realizing them if they are of benefit to more people.

Politically, however, Jupiter here simply makes for conflicts played out on a more global scale. At the moment, political party polarization, the banking crisis on Cyprus, the Syrian insurrection, Obama’s trip to Israel, and the upcoming arguments on gay marriage by the US Supreme Court all have potentially far-reaching impacts beyond the core conflicts involved.

At the moment, Jupiter is in the part of Gemini symbolized by Two Dutch Children talking, so between now and mid-April look for a softening of rigid lines separating political parties and positions. People are just a bit more willing to entertain previously opposing points of view, and are apt to be not so dogmatic. If you have been fighting with others to get them to see your point of view, now is a propitious time to make overtures to re-engage the discussion. Similarly, if you have been cut off or isolated from others, now is an excellent time to re-establish communications.

Saturn is in the part of Scorpio symbolized by the Moon Shining on a Calm Lake, indicating considerable activity behind the scenes and beneath the surface that goes unnoticed. Our beliefs guide our actions, and the best we can do is make sure that these beliefs accurately reflect the world in which we find ourselves.

To be honest, neither Jupiter nor Saturn is in a very compatible sign. Gemini is a bit too frenetic for Jupiter, who prefers a calmer and broader landscape, and Saturn does not deal kindly with Scorpionic manipulations. Saturn may not have a philosophical disagreement with Scorpio’s intentions, but gets exasperated when they are not performed out in the open, something that often makes Scorpio feel naked and exposed.

Previews of Coming Attractions

In very early May, Neptune enters the sector of Pisces symbolized by a Girl Blowing a Bugle, a call to arms and action against fear, fire, and foes.  It is bound to be a lively spring.

Blessed Be,

BillG Skywatcher

The Flow! Week of October 16 – 22, 2011

The Flow is a weekly blog published to better understand the flow of astrological, celestial, and magickal energies for the week, and how best to use them.   It is intended for those with little knowledge of astrology. 

For newcomers, the idea is to consider celestial influences as part of a larger whole, or the Flow.  All too often, astrologers tend to write about astrological events as if each were an isolated specimen as if pulled out of the sky and analyzed by itself – and there is no dearth of astrological sites on the net that write that way.  Here, it is the movement and interactions that are important and form the basis of discussion.

If any of the material is unclear or unfamiliar to you, it is probably unfamiliar to others as well, please leave a comment and I will be glad to answer your questions. 

If you like what you see, please share it with friends!  If you would like to get email notifications for when The Flow! is updated, or have a private question please email me at skywatcher888@yahoo.com.  Thank you!

The Flow! is updated every Sunday.

Please note: all times are in the Pacific Timezone.

This week’s synopsis: In Memoriam, Steve Jobs

A hearty welcome to all my new readers! I welcome you to the ranks of fellow friends and fans of The Flow!, and I hope you continue to enjoy your time here.

This week, I take a different path than usual, and am going to attempt an analysis of the astrology birth chart of Steve Jobs. If you like it, and would like me to do an analysis of a favorite public person of yours, please let me know!

Much ink and many electrons have been sacrificed to discuss his accomplishments, but little is said or known about his personal life. I hope you find it an insightful peek into someone who has changed the lives of so many of us.

He changed mine. I very likely would not have the career I have now, had it not been for him.

True, I was always a bit of a nerd. Chemistry, astronomy, and physics warmed the cockles of my young heart. Yet while getting eye-strain squinting at a slide rule (you can find them next to the abacuses in a museum) I knew that someday, somehow we’d have something to make performing complex calculations easy.

My first foray into the field of computers was with a machine called a Xitan, made by Technical Design Labs. (see below) It set me back the tidy sum of $2,800 which I understand in today’s dollars would be well over $6,000. It had a whopping 16K of memory, a tape storage device that never worked, and the most I ever could get it to do was count up to 100 in each of the 12 zodiac signs.

It is now resting comfortably in my parent’s cellar.

And then I heard about this wonderful new machine that had everything in one neat little package that was going to do away with all these home-grown contraptions: the Apple II+. I coveted one for several months while I saved up some money, and excitedly brought one home.

With nerves thrilling, heart racing, and the anticipation of the future pounding in my young ears, I open it up to install the floppy drive card – and blow out the motherboard. Electronic devices do not appreciate internal surgery with the power on, a lesson I have never forgotten since. Fortunately for me, the store I bought it from cheerily took it back and gave me a replacement.

Ah, the memories! Who could ever forget the teeth-chattering noise the floppy drive made scanning the security code of a disk? True Apple II+ pioneers also remember needing to buy a finger protector for the Reset key. While Apple may now be known for its slick and thoughtful design, they very inconsiderately placed a Reset key next to the backspace. So that more than once when you went to erase a letter, you wound up erasing everything you had done. It was a little like putting ctrl-alt-delete next to the enter key. Computers do not come with Reset keys any more. That is a good thing, and now you know why.

With my trusty Apple II+ I learned the BASICs of programming and with a modem entered the Matrix before there was an internet, via CompuServe and The Source. Heady days!

While the AppleII may have been Steve Jobs first success, it certainly wasn’t his last. After a few fits and starts, Apple Computer developed the Macintosh now known as an iMac, which in turn spawned a healthy brood of iProgeny: iPods, iPads, and iPhones. And, perhaps Steve had something about a capital letter “P” and small i, because another of his success stories had them in reverse order with Pixar Animation Studios.

Steve Jobs was one of the world’s most powerful CEO’s, one of the most inventive genius’ of our time, and changed the way we use technology. But I come not to praise Steve Jobs, but to analyze his chart.

A word about this analysis. I fully recognize that many of my readers know very little about astrology. Astrology is one of those disciplines that are filled to the brim with jargon. In fact, a good friend coined the term “astrobabble” to describe just what it sounds like when two astrologers get together and talk astrology. So I will stifle the impulse to babble.

Yet, it is almost impossible to do an astrological analysis without using some of the terminology, so I encourage those of you unfamiliar with some of the terms to refer to the Key at the bottom of the post for more information. For those of you who are very familiar with astrological terminology and would like to know more about my methods, I am more than happy to do so, just ask.

Fortunately for someone who was adopted, Steve Jobs did have possession of his birth certificate, so accurate birth data is known. He was born on February 24, 1955 at 7:15pm in San Francisco. His chart courtesy of the Astro-Databank at www.astro.com is below.

One of the astrology terms not in The Key are Houses. An astrology chart is divided into twelve sections, each one called a House. Each House has a domain of activity and since it all gets a little complicated, here’s a rundown for Steve’s chart. You can follow along using with the image of his chart below with the numbers that are in the second circle of the chart, the signs are those that the lines point to.

House 1: Self – Virgo; no planets

House 2; Resources – Libra; Neptune (in Libra)

House 3; Community/Education – Scorpio; Saturn (in Scorpio)

House 4; Home – Sagittarius; North Node (in Capricorn), Venus (in Capricorn)

House 5; Creativity/Children – Capricorn; Mercury (in Aquarius)

House 6; Work/Service – Aquarius; Sun (in Pisces)

House 7; Relationships – Pisces; Moon (in Aries)

House 8; Transformations – Aries; Mars (in Aries)

House 9; Outreach – Taurus; no planets

House 10; Career – Gemini; Jupiter (in Cancer), Uranus (in Cancer)

House 11; Associations – Cancer; no planets

House 12; Subconscious – Leo; Pluto (in Leo)

As you can see, many of Steve’s planets are in a House whose line points to the sign before it. This is often an indication of someone who finds it important to MANIFEST their impulses. Something that I think Steve did very well.

If you look at the diagram of his chart, you will also notice that many of the planets have an R next to them. That means they are retrograde, or moving backwards in the sky. Astrologers often think of this as being an impediment to success, so the next time an astrologer shakes their head  and makes sad sounds describing a retrograde planet of yours, you now have my permission to laugh like a hyena. And rightly so.

So without further ado, and these is much ado till now, let’s get into it.

Steve Jobs was a Pisces, with his Moon in Aries, and a Virgo ascendant.

That means he was moody as all hell, found relationships a bit of a struggle, and expected perfection from everyone around him.

Pleasant sort of chap, eh?

Pisces Sun people are very sensitive. Someone with a strong Pisces influence in their chart can cry at sunsets, and can be moved by the sounds of waves breaking on the beach, and have moods that flit upon their soul with the constancy of the shifting of the wind. True, other sides can also be fiercely emotional and sensitive; Cancer and Scorpio come readily to mind. But no one submerges themselves in their emotions and get lost within them quite like a Pisces. And then, as rapidly as line of thunderstorms passing through and rainbows appear can be a completely different person moments later.

The part of Pisces that Steve Jobs’ Sun is in also gave him a strong need to call people together for the purpose of enacting his vision. He must have been much like a paterfamilias from whom all direction is taken – at least to follow his vision, and was most happy when he felt this vision was being carried out faithfully. When it was, he was sunshine and lollipops. When he wasn’t, he was thunderstorms, lava, and brimstone.

The earth trembled when Steve Jobs was angry.

And those who felt the heat of his wrath most, were most likely his closest associates – when he felt they let him down, or did not live up to his expectations.

Many people with their Moon in Aries find intimate relationships challenging. Oh, they can be passionate (man, can they ever – Aries is a fire sign!), and they can be found to wear their heart on their sleeve (subtlety, thy name is not Aries), but when it comes to commitment, and letting intimacy wash over them like breakers on the beach – they break speed records packing their suitcases and leave notes saying thanks for all the fish. Soul-melding intimacy is not Moon in Aries’ forte, and as a result they often leave a trail of broken relationships in their wake.

In Steve’s particular case, the relationships Steve made were always the earmarks of his destiny. It was those he knew, befriended, or beloved who wound up steering the course of his life and opening doors of opportunity. But with that Aries Moon, very few of them received the relationship they deserved.

Virgo rising people can be the salt of the earth. They really can be. So I don’t really mean to insult 1/12^th of the zodiac, but they can really be rather difficult people for the other 11 signs to live with. They are highly analytical, practical, and self-sufficient. So they are wonderful to have around, but they can also be picky. Picky to distraction.

Especially these days, since Virgos have convinced the rest of the zodiac of the benefits of rigorous hygiene, that their 21^st century obsession has become food.  Virgos put their analytical ability to use by running every morsel of food through a microscope before they put it in their mouth, and study the labels so that they are well aware of every nutrient and chemical to ensure they get the proper minimum daily requirement of those they want. That is, for those sections of the food pyramid they haven’t totally blacklisted.

And, dear lord, when they have finally decided what it is they are allowing to put into their mouth, they will obsess about the order in which it must go.

Virgo rising people can be the salt of the earth, so long as it is low-sodium, and you don’t have to feed them.

This meticulousness zeal for perfection can translate into other areas. It can be particularly trying for employees to satisfy a Virgo rising boss because the standards to which they are held can be difficult for a human to meet. While Steve Jobs may be a Pisces, who are known for sometimes being softies, that that would be enough to offset the rigor of his Virgo expectations.

The foundation of Steve Jobs’ intelligence is his Mercury in Aquarius, fuelling his future forward vision. In Aquarius Mercury’s antennae receive signals from dimensions the rest of us miss. He is sharp, quick, even brilliant. And because his Mercury is retrograde, he is able to analyze the inspirations he receives from these other dimensions and keep them close to his chest until he feels the world is ready to receive them.

The placement of his Mercury indicates that above all, Steve Jobs was driven to contribute his intellectual “children” to the world. Like Zeus birthing Athena, each of the products and visions he created sprung out of his mind almost fully imagined in fully developed form. It was only up to the ability of those whose job it was to actually build them to determine their eventual guts. But even if he had to settle for less than optimal due to limitations of our technology, Steve would continually rework and redesign his intellectual children until they resembled his perfected vision of them.

And perhaps the most striking aspect of Steve Job’s mind is that in spite of his creative abilities, in spite of his vision, and in spite of the wealth of resources at his disposal, Steve always needed someone else he could rely on to carry out the practicalities of making his visions real. His Athena always needed to be sculpted by someone else, and trusted not to turn out an Aphrodite.

Much has been said already about Steve Jobs’ relationships. And to make an already long story shorter, suffice it to say that he had a strong need for a stable family home life, but always felt both somewhat incapable of long-term relationships, and a coldness – no iciness, that could develop on a moment’s notice like a curtain coming down on a stage that would cut off all further communication until he was ready to lift it.

But his feelings here also tie into his spirituality. Steve was an intensely spiritual person, and he could readily understand how his values played out in his life and the lives of those around him. And this understanding of values and of others’ values gave him an ability to communicate beyond rational thought. It must have been that if you were in his presence, almost by virtue of being in his presence that you entered the world of his aura – a world that could be wondrous beyond imagining.

It was a world vastly different from our own. His values were not the values others expected or wanted him to have, and to rub some sodium in that wound, he didn’t give a rat’s crap about it. He had his own values, they too  were his creation, and they were not subject to change. He probably also felt that he had contributed enough to the world to let the world let him keep his values his own.

I need to begin wrapping this up…

Mars is how we do things, and Mars in its home of Aries is powerful. When he put is mind to it, Steve could light fires and move mountains. Sometimes, exactly what he needed would unexpectedly precipitate out of the aether like manna from heaven.

But beyond all, Steve must have looked at himself like the captain of a football team. He had an ability to attract and motivate people who like to act as members of a team, each person with specific roles to play that benefit the whole as they charge their way forward to victory.

No discussion of Steve Jobs’ chart would be complete without a discussion of his Jupiter, the planet that opens doors and hands over the key to success. Steve’s is in Cancer in the 10^th House making it incredibly powerful, and that it is conjunct Uranus, planet of technology says it all. I don’t have to.

But the one thing that might not stand out as obvious is that one of the main keys of Jobs’ success was in extracting what he saw as worthwhile in other products and capitalizing it to make it the engine of his vision. He had an incredibly keen sense of being able to spot what was useful in something and putting things together in just such a way as to make them what he wanted them to be and even better than before.

And finally (at least for this edition), Steve Jobs’ Saturn indicates his was not a tranquil soul. Education, as in formalized schooled education did not come easy to Steve. He was too easily bored, and the structure of requirements bothered him. He probably was like someone who knew calculus before they fully understood algebra, or could write before they knew how to print.

Deep inside his soul was a volcano. Mostly that volcano was kept in control, but every so often, when in one of his infamous moods that volcano would break loose and wreak havoc far and wide.

Saturn in Scorpio is never an easy position. It forces one to face one’s deepest fears and use those fears to purify the soul and transform the self. That is never an easy process, so it is understandable that when one is forced to stare at hell in the face that occasionally one would be subject to black moods. The road to hell is not a pretty one, and Saturn in Scorpio forces you to stay there until you understand why you are there. But once you do and you turn around to walk out, you are a being reborn, and ready to carve a new place for yourself in your world. Steve went through many transitions, perhaps the most famous when he was booted out of Apple in 1985.

This was Steve Jobs. The man who not only helped usher in the personal computer revolution, but also revolutionized how we listen to music, how we use our phones, and how popular movies are animated. The tablet revolution is yet to unfold. Yes, there are PC’s, CD’s, Android phones, and Amazon tablets, but if you think any of them would be like they are today without the influence of Steve Jobs and Apple, I invite you to take a very long walk off a very short pier.

Steve Jobs, wherever you are, on whatever plane of existence you are now, thank you, and may you rest in peace.

To the Daily Details!

Sunday, October 16^th

Mercury sextiles Pluto at 9:58am

Sun quintile Pluto at 1:25pm

The Moon is in Gemini, the sign of communication and the focus of the day is on messaging. Messages learned, messages sent, and messages received all play an important part in the affairs of the day, and perhaps the most important what is felt more than what is said. If there have been matters that have felt unclear, undecided, or murky, today’s events may shed some sunlight to give them a more definite direction. Researches, investigations, and inquiries are all favored, as we try to get to the heart of the matter and expand our understanding of things. Yes, this is a Sunday and supposed to be a day of rest, but rest is the unlikeliest of ways we spend the day. Even if we do try to sit down and enjoy a cup of tea or java, there’s a sense that we need to find things out, learn what is going on, or stick out noses deep into whatever tickles our fancy. It is the hunt for connection, for belonging, and for understanding that is the fuel that drives us, the ultimate goal, merely the reason to partake in the hunt. Pay close heed to what is happening beneath the surface, it is ever so much more important than the chatter on top!

Monday, October 17^th

Mars sesquiquadrates Uranus at 4:08am

Moon trines Sun at 6:37am

Mercury opposes Jupiter at 11:55am

Be extra careful in the early morning hours, and give yourself extra time to get ready and be wherever you need to be as dawn breaks. Quirky delays, things not working as expected, or sharp words may all cause a bit of drama early in the day. Things smooth over once the Sun makes an appearance and we head into the week a bit more confident, self-assured, and optimistic than usual. But this is a day in which we will reap as we have sown, so make sure that confidence sits on a firm foundation! It may come as no surprise the economy is many a mind, but there is a change in the air. Changes are coming in economic thinking, and the unthinkable several months ago may soon churn into reality. It will not be swift, but the winds of change are blowing. Sniff the air, the change is good, and it is so much cheaper than that other stuff!

The Moon enters Cancer at 6:38pm, and the tempo of the day settles to a more tranquil rhythm. Our emotions may run high, so if there is something that’s bothering you, don’t let it get out hand and you say something you might regret later!

Tuesday, October 18^th

Mercury parallel Venus at 9:56pm

Today is a great day for cleaning out unwanted garbage. Of both the physical and emotional variety.  If there’s something that’s been standing in your way at home or in the office, now is the time to toss it out. Or to clean, if so desired. Emotionally, we are feeling our oats, and it feels good. We feel as if we can take on any task, accomplish any goal, and progress toward those achievements we’ve already committed to. If there is analytical work that needs to be done, the later morning hours should be very productive. During this time, making calls, reviewing data, or communicating with someone important can all lead to beneficial results. In the evening, take time to do something nice for yourself. It is an excellent time to hold a conversation with a loved one. Not only may you be more inclined to say meaningfully nice things to each other, but also offer to do something that helps strengthen the relationship between you.

Wednesday, October 19^th

No major aspects

The Moon is in Cancer all day. Today is likely to be the most difficult day of the week, so try to take things in stride. Our emotions are also on full tilt, so be careful of unintentionally stepping on others’ toes. It’s possible that today or tomorrow some project may become unexpectedly due, so if there’s something that you’ve been working on and need to wrap up, stop staring out the window or hanging at the coffee machine and get it finished. Speaking of coffee, some people may have a need to bend your ear today to enroll you in their drama. Just remember, if it’s their drama, they’re the playwright, and you’re just an extra – and we know what happens to extras in the movies, right?

Thursday, October 20^th

No major aspects

The Moon enters Leo at 3:06am, and the sticky emotional stuff we’ve been caught up in the past few days gives way to brighter and happier attitudes. Even if there isn’t anything in particular to celebrate, we’re all in a rather joyful playful mood and want to play nice. If you have something you want to ask of someone, today’s a pretty good day to bring up the subject. The only area in which you might want to be a bit circumspect is in the pocketbook. While out shopping your impulses may get the better of your bank account. If you see something you really want, you may want to wait to the weekend to make the purchase – it may be a better financial move.

Friday, October 21^st

Sun trine Neptune at 4:59pm

Today is a mixed bag that may start out a bit dicey, but end on a smooth note. The morning hours are a bit tempestuous. People (especially children) are a bit out of sorts and express that dissatisfaction in engaging in a battle of wills. With the Moon in Leo, no one especially wants to be pushed around, but the best course of action may be to just give in to the extent you can – the afternoon may have the situation move in a more favorable direction anyway. We get a burst of energy shortly after lunch that helps us wrap up the affairs of the week, and get a whole lot more accomplished than we might have thought possible. Our weekend plans might be a bit hazy and fuzzy, which is fine because you know all about the “best laid plans.” Don’t bother, anyway it’s not worth the energy! This evening is perfect for relaxing soaks, idle meditations, and relishing your method of choice to acquire tranquility.

Tonight are the Orionid meteor shower that begins shortly after midnight. (see below for a map of where to find them.) Even if meteor showers aren’t on your agenda, be sure to make note of your dreams tonight…they may have special meaning!

Saturday, October 22^nd

The Moon enters Virgo at 7:41am

There oughtta be a law about weekends and Virgo Moons. Still, if there is any cleaning, chores, or work that must be done you should find sometime during the day the mood to attend to it. And it may be a Virgo Moon (last time I lean on Virgo this edition, promise!) but it is a very well aspected Virgo Moon at that. It is particularly well favored for socializing, leisurely activities, and making that purchase you had your eye on earlier in the week.

Today is the last day of Libra. Tomorrow the Sun enters Scorpio. Scorpio is always a vibrant time of the year, but also one of deep transition. The world changes during Scorpio, may it change beneficially for you!

Wishing you all a wonderful week!