Astroblogick

A Grand Gesture of Gratitude

  Memories of summer are already beginning to recede as we approach the cross-quarter, seasonal celebration of Samhain this week; marking the symbolic beginning of winter - the dying time. Nature goes to ground, turning her vital energies inward while her hills and valleys blaze forth like a grand gesture of gratitude before settling in for the deep sleep of winter.

Turbulence

    We have a major week ahead of us in terms of astrological activity against the backdrop of jaw-dropping daily news at home and in the world. Most of these stories act as harbingers for the epic Saturn-Pluto conjunction of mid-January that will see upheavals and reformulations on the socio-political and financial scenes across the planet. But at the moment, we have other fish to fry.

Scorpio New Moon

    On Sunday, shortly before midnight, the New Moon opens an important new cycle in the early degrees of Scorpio (04Sco25) at 11:39 pm (Eastern Time) while directly opposite Uranus in Taurus, suggesting unusual twists of fate or other remarkable events that will take two weeks to completely unwind. It won’t be until the Taurus Full Moon that whatever is going down at this time comes into clearer focus.

    Earlier the same day, we’ll experience a harsh aspect that speaks of a building pressure due to an immovable force (Saturn) being met (squared) by an unstoppable force (Mars). Any tension surrounding this contact could then be triggered and released with the New Moon in volatile opposition to Uranus later that night. I would expect this will continue to reverberate into the next day while we’re most likely going to see the process take two weeks to a month to reach some stage of completion.

    On a more personal scale, the Scorpio New Moon lends deep introspection and emotional intensity to the coming cycle with the most noticeable impacts on finances (especially debts), sexuality, manipulations and hidden motives. As Scorpio is considered a “fixed” sign, it denotes determination and steady applications to make things happen. Whatever you set into motion after the New Moon is likely to come to some form of fruition again at the Full Moon, but just how well you set out will be the main determinant to ultimate success.

    The Cazimi Window for empowered new beginnings will be inconveniently located in the hour surrounding the exact time of the New Moon. If you miss this fleeting moment, you would be better off waiting until Tuesday to commence. Note: if your new business is communication or transportation-based, you’ll want to get it rolling before Mercury stations retrograde late Thursday morning.

Mercury Retrograde 3.0

    Mercury officially turns retrograde on Oct. 31 at 11:41 am in the late degrees of Scorpio (27Sco38), heading back the way it came until ending retrograde on Nov. 20 (11Sco35). I assume most of my regular readers understand that Mercury retrograde marks a three-week information input phase, so all things related to this idea works best, especially research and contemplative problem solving. It would be best to avoid contract signings, electronic device purchases, important mailings or statements you don’t want coming back to haunt you.

    Collectively, we should also expect to see major news and revelations as we approach the Nov. 12 Taurus Full Moon, especially in light of the fact that the day prior, Mercury will retrograde across the face of the Sun in what’s known to astronomers as the “Transit of Mercury.”. Symbolically speaking, this is an extremely big deal and we should expect an important announcement Nov. 11-12; such timing would seem perfectly imperfect in numerous ways.

Retrograde Flashbacks

    Looking over the past two Mercury retrograde cycles this year, we saw the Mueller Report released during the first Mercury retrograde period which coincided with the White House and D.O.J. issuing the now-famous, “Nothing to see here, folks!” summary of the report. The second Mercury retrograde took place when Mueller testified to Congress with little to show for it which concerns me as far as the effectiveness of any kind of fact-based prosecution taking place over the next three weeks. If Congress remains in the investigation arena during Mercury retrograde in Scorpio, the better the chances are that the impeachment will be clear-cut if launched after Nov. 20. I hope I’m wrong, but there may be too many loose ends to contend with as well as the ability of the accused to muddy the waters, sow enough doubt to distort the outcome, much in the same way they did at the last two Mercury retrogrades this year. It makes me wonder if they aren’t getting astrological advice from somewhere.

    Another, more immediate feature of Mercury’s station is that it will be in hard aspect to Trump’s Mars/Regulus/Ascendant in Leo: Trump’s Achilles’ heel. Keep in mind that this grouping was activated at the Total Solar Eclipse of 2017 and remains a festering wound long after the event itself; where planetary aspects or stations act as triggering mechanisms. As for Regulus, the Star of Kings: “Success if revenge is avoided; otherwise all that has been gained will be taken away.”

    Another coincidence to consider is the fact that Mercury is the planet directly associated with the phone call to the Ukrainian at the center of the impeachment inquiry, so it stands to reason that Mercury’s retrograde station in square to Trump’s Mars/Regulus/Ascendant complex will act as an echo of his ultimate self-undoing, no matter what other facts emerge in the days, weeks or month to come.

Russian Troll Bots

    As for muddying the waters, it comes to my attention that many of the astrological, tarot and metaphysical sites on the Internet dealing with politics have seen a recent surge of Russian bots trolling the comment sections, sowing the seeds of misinformation, division and intolerance. I would attribute this to Mercury’s extended stay in Scorpio where psychological warfare being waged in the data-sphere by the makers of mayhem have the edge. Even so, I’m inclined to think that with such activity taking place while Mercury is retrograde in Scorpio, their efforts won’t be effective. The disinformation campaign waged to help elect Trump in 2016 was effective mainly because we were largely unaware that this was occurring; now we know and there may not be any new tricks the trolls can use that won’t be seen for what they are: attempts to drive deeper divisions between Americans, one against another.

The Party’s Nearly Over

    Another consideration involves the fact that Mercury in Scorpio also points to the suppression of information with regard to ongoing investigations. Scorpio in its universal expression (NOT as a sun-sign personality) involves secrets, underworld activity, corporate power and the plutocratic elite, many of whom wouldn’t want the truth to come out and spoil their long-running party.

    Speaking of parties, I’m wondering if this is why the Republicans are so willing to attach themselves to and defend an indefensible president. Maybe it’s because they’ve been receiving illicit rubles from the Friends of Vlad via the NRA and other sketchy entities; understandably terrified of being exposed as beholden to hostile foreign interests. The Republican Party is only now emerging from a rare, 165-year Neptune Return which has coincided with a three-year fit of denial, corruption, deception and delusional fervor that has been masterfully played by what we’re about to see as an international criminal conspiracy (Saturn-Pluto). Delusional or not, these dazed Republicans know that if Trump goes down, he’s going to take the lot of them down with him. Cheers!

Lunar Gardening Report

    With the New Moon leaving the weekend in the dark, the first favorable day for planting, transplanting or fertilizing goes into effect early Tuesday under the Scorpio Moon. Late Tuesday through Thursday are good days for cutting, clearing, cleaning, weeding and raking, but not for planting under the fiery Sagittarius Moon. Friday and Saturday are good days for planting and feeding, particularly bulbs and root crops as well as adding compost, straw and soil amendments before putting your beds to bed for the winter.

Daily Forecast (For all signs)
(Times are Eastern Daylight/-0400UTC)

Sunday, Oct. 27: The Moon is void-of-course in Libra until 4:30 pm while occupying its darkest hours before tonight’s New Moon, probably not the best time to kick things off. What’s of greater concern is a potentially explosive planetary aspect involving Mars (unstoppable force) t-boning Saturn (unmovable force) reverberating throughout the day. Anger, violence, frustration, accidents or steps being taken to reduce them are suggested, yet with this being the very darkest lunar phase, the shadows have emerged. Before we’ve had a chance to recover, the New Moon opens a potent new cycle in early Scorpio (04Sco25) at 11:39 pm while opposing revolutionary Uranus. Whatever extreme is being unleashed at this time will be embedded in the new cycle, where it will make itself known over the coming month. A fleeting Cazimi Window opens between 11:00 and Midnight - long enough to plant the seed of intention before it closes; otherwise, we wait until Tuesday morning to launch.

Monday, Oct. 28: Whatever extreme exploded on the scene yesterday continues to echo through the day with the Scorpio Sun fully occupying the space opposite Uranus during the morning hours (Sun opposed Uranus). All things considered, today would be a good day to stick with routine, especially with the Moon still dark until tomorrow morning. Cooler heads prevail later in the day while something or someone may be trying to boost the fear factor later tonight (Mars quincunx Neptune). Don’t take the bait.

Tuesday, Oct. 29: If you’ve been waiting to pull the trigger, this morning looks promising, at least until the Scorpio Moon goes VOC at 1:34 pm, remaining void until 6:00 pm when the Moon enters Sagittarius and things begin to take on a more expansive tone. Mercury is slowing ahead of turning retrograde in two days, so if your projects and plans involve communication or transportation to any significant degree, it would be best to roll it out today or tomorrow. Sports, games and adventures off the beaten path are highlighted tonight and tomorrow.

Wednesday, Oct. 30: A waxing Crescent Moon in Sagittarius suggests a more positive, upbeat outlook while matters involving laws and legislation come into stark relief. An interesting configuration is taking place with Mercury virtually motionless (stationary) ahead of turning retrograde tomorrow with Venus brushing past Mercury in late Scorpio (27Sco). This is the third and final conjunction between these two planets since July 25 (ring a bell?) and boy, do these two have stories to tell! But before they can, someone sows the seeds of confusion and doubt later tonight although it’s doubtful they’ll ever take root.

Thursday, Oct. 31: Halloween/Samhain/Mercury Retrograde. The waxing Sagittarius Moon lends itself to parties, gags, hilarious and imaginative costumes, especially in the morning hours when the Moon joins Jupiter. Otherwise, it’s all fun and games until the Moon enters Capricorn at 10:30 pm and the night has grown old and cold. Of more urgent focus, Mercury commences its third and final retrograde of 2019 at 11:41 am in late Scorpio (27Sco38) where the information sphere downshifts from output to input mode until Nov. 20. The next three weeks will be better for research and exploration than for broadcasting while we should expect to see Vlad’s Russian troll farms working overtime, cranking-out bogus social media accounts; all with marginal effect.

Friday, Nov. 1: Duty, responsibility, ambition, productivity and the status quo are writ large with the Moon trudging through Capricorn with very little in the way of aspects. This is ideal for making major strides with regard to projects recently set into motion ahead of the weekend. After having spent the past three weeks in the swampy waters of Scorpio, Venus crosses the border into the warm and happy sign of Sagittarius, shifting from exclusively personal emotions to larger, more encompassing social engagements, collective values, finances, business partnerships and long-distance relationships until Nov. 25.

Saturday, Nov. 2: The late morning hours show a short-lived energy flare which could find expression through impatience, frustration, irritation, anger, accidents or stupid errors. Things then get back to what passes for normal although we might still be feeling a strong sense of emotional gravity under the Capricorn Moon, especially if we feel taken advantage of in some way. Of course, all of this might simply be the feeling of vertigo ahead of our overnight experience of temporal dislocation as we collectively fall an hour backward in time.

Copyright 2019 Gary Paul Glynn

More Cracks in the Wall

  

    It appears as though the dam has finally been breached in the wake of the Scorpio Full Moon last week, illuminating dirty business through the testimonies of Americans who defied orders and stood up for Democracy. So yes, the impeachment inquiry will continue to pick up speed as we move into the Moon’s Last Quarter Phase - a time for closure, consideration and clarification.

    I would expect we’ll start seeing even bigger developments spike around the time of the explosive Scorpio New Moon of Oct. 27, taking place directly opposite volatile Uranus. Also on the same day, we see an irresistible force (Mars) ram into an immovable force (Saturn) with the potential for major damage. This means a highly unpredictable and unstable month leading up to Thanksgiving that may provide more of a shake-up than we’ve seen already. Also keeping an eye out for Mike Pence playing more than his usual, stonewall cameo role at the New Moon.

    In my last post, I discussed Mercury’s upcoming retrograde (Oct. 31-Nov. 20), but failed to point out its most salient feature: midway through its retrograde, Mercury will align so perfectly with the Sun that it will be seen crossing its face. This is called the “Transit of Mercury” and a potent zyzygy/cazimi configuration suggesting major information (Mercury) eclipsing and overshadowing He Who Would Be King (Sun). I don’t know how I could have missed it, but there it is. I would also be very surprised if this came and went without incident especially considering a Full Moon takes place the following day. Hoo-boy!

This Week

    With the Moon entering its Last Quarter Phase on Monday morning, the coming work week is better geared for completing things that have already been started as well as ridding ourselves of unwanted stuff. New business needs to wait until Oct. 30 if it’s to gain any traction. Although the Moon’s Last Quarter Phase is considered largely a time of release, it can also suggest the continued development of something already in the works that won’t find its own closure for some cycles to come.

Lunar Gardening Report

    With the Moon in super-fertile Cancer, Sunday is your last best day for planting, transplanting, seeding, sprouting and fertilizing until we reach the other side of the New Moon (Oct. 27). The Moon enters its Last Quarter Phase on Monday morning where it will occupy mostly infertile signs for the remainder of the week. Harvesting, drying, cutting, clearing, raking as well as other yard and garden activities come highly recommended while we’re waiting to sow our seeds once the Scorpio Moon takes on light Oct. 29.

Daily Forecast (For all signs) (Times are Eastern Daylight/-0400UTC)

Sunday, Oct. 20: The waning Cancer Moon lends its emotional depth to the proceedings with an emphasis on all things of a domestic nature, making this a good day to stick close to home. The Moon involves itself in a planetary aspect that would suggest a mature and deliberate approach to relationship, financial or security matters, especially if limits have now been reached (Moon-Venus-Saturn). Movies, concerts, cooking, bathing or napping on the couch are highlighted midday while the evening favors puzzles, mysteries, research or activities that engage our problem-solving skills.

Monday, Oct. 21: Today we reach the Moon’s Last Quarter Phase in Cancer, marking the time to begin putting our toys away as the current solar-lunar cycle draws to a close. These next six days will be geared toward finalization, completion, elimination, release and closure ahead of the New Moon on Oct. 27. Today we can expect a vibrational shift around noon when the Moon exits the back door of Cancer to dry out a little under the sunny skies of Leo. Showtime! Even so, there is considerable water in today’s forecast with the potential for extreme weather events involving copious amounts of rain (Venus trine Neptune). This aspect also suggests matters pertaining to honesty or the lack thereof in the way of personal, financial and collective values. Sudden, unexpected shifts or changes may test our flexibility and ability to adapt later tonight.

Tuesday, Oct. 22: On this last full day of solar Libra, lunar aspects falling in the Leo Moon’s spotlight appear mixed with an energy boost midday followed by odd or strange behaviors. Someone, somewhere is squirming in their seat; trying to lie with a straight face, I reckon. Differences in tastes and values take center stage tonight and unless we have something to prove, this is where standing down might be a wiser course of action.

Wednesday, Oct. 23: Be aware that the Moon is VOC in Leo until 3:30 pm, a hazard to decisions and agreements until the Moon enters discerning Virgo at that time. The big news is the Sun crossing the cusp into Scorpio at 1:20 pm for its annual deep dive into this mentally-focused and emotionally-intense water sign for four weeks. Happy Birthday, Scorpios! Flashes of profound insight are possible late tonight; write them down, they are far too fleeting to commit to memory. 

Thursday, Oct. 24: The Moon in Virgo teases-out a tangled web of details as the story continues to unfold with greater clarity during the late afternoon while we might find ourselves being taken for suckers at dinnertime. Critical thinking and the ability to follow the facts of any given matter is amplified into the evening hours. The Virgo Moon moves into its closing, Balsamic Phase tonight, marking the final days of the current lunar cycle; a time for release and elimination. New business should wait.

Friday, Oct. 25: The Grandmother Moon in Virgo goes VOC at 9:00 am, remaining in limbo until she crosses into Libra at 4:20 pm, making this a good day to get the weekend started early. This also appears to be a good night for a date or one-on-one time with someone you love if you can avoid centering the conversation on your unromantic health issues (Sun quincunx Chiron).

Saturday, Oct. 26: The typically calm airs of the darkened Libra Moon grow troubled this afternoon when the Moon encounters Mars; maybe not be an issue if the energy is being directed into something constructive. Even so, frustration might be building ahead of tomorrow morning’s Mars-Saturn square where an unstoppable force meets an immovable force. We might also be seeing the precursor to tomorrow night’s New Moon in Scorpio forming a potentially explosive opposition to Uranus. Boom. Wow. Peace, y’all.

Copyright 2019 Gary Paul Glynn

 

The Retrograde Shadow

   This week, Mercury, planetary symbol of language, measure and movement enters its retrograde shadow in Scorpio where it doubles down on news leaks and a continued output of excellent investigative journalism. On the whole, I don’t expect this third and final Mercury retrograde of the year (Oct. 31 - Nov. 20) to be as problematic as the last two retrogrades. This is partially due to the fact that Mercury won’t be making hard, repeat aspects to volatile planets, just a handful of soft contacts that will unfold this week, again mid-November and then once more at the start of December. What these aspects are saying involves clarifying information (Mercury sextile Saturn); calling out lies or creating new ones (Mercury trine Neptune) and deep, probing investigative work (Mercury sextile Pluto).

    We’ve witnessed prior Mercury retrogrades this year closely tied to the obstruction of information, documents and testimony by the Trump Administration. The most notable retrograde coincided with the release of the Mueller Report which was intercepted by the DOJ who replaced the report with a deceptive, nothing-to-see-here-folks boilerplate to cast doubt on the damning evidence that took Robert Mueller two years to assemble. The second series of retrograde aspects took place in late July when Mueller testified and Trump extorted the Ukrainian president to dig up dirt on Biden. I’m not going to say these Mercury retrogrades are directly tied together, but it has me wondering if there is a bigger theme going on than initially meets the eye. We might get a better idea after we emerge from Mercury’s retrograde shadow on Dec. 7.

    Whatever is set into motion in terms of discoveries and investigations this coming week is likely to be echoed over the course of the next seven weeks. I would also expect Mercury retrograde to drag the speed in which the impeachment proceedings unfold, if only due to the sheer enormity of emerging evidence. However you cut it. we’re already in the midst of the Great Unraveling that was signaled to us 26 months ago at the Total Solar Eclipse and like all the months that have led up to the impeachment inquiry, it’s only a matter of time.

The Hunter’s Moon

    The solar-lunar cycle which began two weeks ago reaches its monthly climax at Sunday’s Full Moon in Aries, becoming exact at 5:08 pm (Eastern Time) in the latter degrees of this sign (20Ari14). As with all Full Moons, awareness and polarity are the main themes and across the Aries Moon-Libra Sun axis, we find the focus going back and forth between our personal needs and desires of our partners. Finding compromised balance is the key to avoid devolving into an either-or situation where we’re either acting in self-serving ways or capitulating to our partner’s every whim.

    Another feature of the Full Moon is the presence of Jupiter in the configuration which could mean a number of things this coming week. On a personal scale, Sun-Moon-Jupiter signals the potential for opportunities born out of creative out-picturing. This can also point to too much ego in the mix as shown by exaggerations and bombastic rhetoric as well pushing a false narrative. This then spills out into the collective in the way of legislation, law enforcement and court decisions, particularly over matters of concealment.

Lunar Gardening Report

    The current forecast period spans the Moon’s Third Quarter Phase, waning in light as it moves from Sunday’s Full Moon to the Moon’s Last Quarter Phase next weekend. The Full Aries Moon poses a hazard for planting or fertilizing until Monday at 12:30 pm when the Moon enters Taurus, opening another window for planting. Seeding or tending to root crops is suggested under the Taurus Moon as well as working nutrients into your soil until late Wednesday night. With the Moon passing through the agriculturally-barren air sign of Gemini Thursday and Friday, it’s recommended you take a break from gardening activities on these days. Excellent conditions for germinating, sprouting, seeding, transplanting, fertilizing and cutting to encourage growth return in force both Saturday and Sunday with the Moon sailing the fertile waters of Cancer. These then will be the last favorable days to plant and fertilize until Oct. 29.

Daily Forecast (For all signs)
(Times are Eastern Daylight/-0400UTC)

Sunday, Oct. 13: The day could get off to a cold start before we see things warm-up in the morning hours before a magnification or exaggeration develops this afternoon (Sun sextile Jupiter). Directly tied to this aspect is the Aries Full Moon becoming exact at 5:08 pm, illuminating the late degrees of Aries and Libra (20Ari/Lib14). The configuration would suggest a matter becoming magnified or taken to extremes wherever laws, courts or financials are concerned; perhaps a distraction away from the real story. On a personal scale, the Hunters Moon finds polarity between our own unique needs (Aries Moon) and our shared relationship desires (Libra Sun) with a tendency toward extremes and exaggerations on one side of the equation or the other. This would be a good night to unplug and move into rest and recovery mode.

Monday, Oct. 14: With the Aries Moon void-of-course (VOC) until 12:24 pm, it would be good to put major decisions and agreements on hold until the Moon enters Taurus and we feel solid ground under our feet. Indicators point to the possibility of an intense power struggle, a test of wills or an explosive revelation taking place throughout the day (Sun square Pluto). Unstable energies barge their way into the late night hours. Be safe.

Tuesday, Oct. 15: A balanced, practical approach to the task at hand is suggested by the Moon inhabiting the fixed earth sign of Taurus with some folks digging their heels in, refusing to budge from their positions, no matter how untenable. Mature deliberations and down-to-earth solutions are possible late afternoon while our ability to suspend disbelief will be tested early evening (Mercury trine Neptune). This is a terrific signature for poetry and creative writing as well as deceptions and misdirections. Words matter.

Wednesday, Oct. 16: With zero aspects cluttering the scene, the only action is likely to be something already set into motion these past two days as the Taurus Moon tends to hang on to stuff longer than other signs. Otherwise, today would be a good day to take care of business with little in the way of distractions or sidetracks. Uploading and downloading, the Moon crosses into Gemini at 10:30 pm where the chatter-factor ramps-up a couple notches while the daily news cycle is in danger of overheating.

Thursday, Oct. 17: Besides an energy spike or a deluge of angry tweets in the afternoon, today is as quiet as one could hope to expect under the Gemini Moon. A good day to make geni
us happen.

Friday, Oct. 18: A string of lunar alignments formed by the Gemini Moon points to foggy thinking early in the morning, followed by questionable news or information closer to noon. A major matter captures our attention this afternoon along the lines of gross inequalities and poor distribution of resources. Harmonious vibes dominate this evening with conversations lasting well into the night.

Saturday, Oct. 19: The Moon, now waning in light, crosses into her domain of Cancer, coinciding with a potential increase in emotional responses. Parents, family, home, lifestyle and that place we go to recharge our batteries are highlighted, making this an ideal weekend to stick close to home. Early evening aspects favor mystery movies as well as research or activities requiring deep, probing insights (Mercury sextile Pluto). You can use this aspect to mentally cut through the surface chatter and go straight to the heart of the matter.

Copyright 2019 Gary Paul Glynn