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Category Archives: Retrogrades + Directions

A Good Day To . . . 17-18 September 2019

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Posted by in astrology, current events in the sky, forecast, Retrogrades + Directions, Saturn

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By Kreuzschnabel – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=36304960

The 17th and 18th it’s a Good Day To . . . temporarily shut down communication. I know! Usually we’re looking for ways to make our exchanges clear, to avoid offense, to understand and be understood–but not today. This is prime time to keep it all to yourself. Potentials include precipitating chaos or accidents with the ‘wrong’ message, hurting the ones you love, and causing damage to otherwise healthy power arrangements. This trend may all be because Saturn is going direct on the 18th, at 13 Capricorn 54. That could make for a sense of building pressure, and just three hours after direction the Moon will trine Saturn from Taurus. It’ll likely to be an emotional dam bursting, whatever restraint held it in giving way in an instant. Plan accordingly.

A Good Day To . . . is based on the aspects perfecting on each day, Pacific time.

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5 March 2019 Mercury Retrograde: Re-Visiting A Dream

04 Monday Mar 2019

Posted by in astrology, Born Today, current events in the sky, forecast, Mercury retrograde, Retrogrades + Directions

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‘Dreamers’ By Albert Joseph Moore c1870 {{PD}}

Mercury stations retrograde at 29 Pisces 38, and a vision appears–but is it because Merc’s change in direction has pulled back the curtain, moving some obstacle out of the way of our perception, or is it because our mind is forced back in on itself, and so seeing what’s been there all along? This may come as a dream or a waking dream, through a reverie that takes us away, through an ideal realized, or in a technicolor display that plays out before us in real time in the material world, in events that may even include us—but in any case, depicts something visionary and highly personal, something we may re-visit, or that may coalesce for the first time, making itself apparent as a goal or ‘perfect concept’ against which we can measure our progress; most of us will experience the retrograde through an emotional lens, or through a Collective one, oriented toward the House Merc is now traversing, which also happens to be the House where Pisces resides.

In shorter-term news, we’re in the Dark of the Moon, awaiting the Pisces New Moon. Along with current, mostly minor transit contacts, today is likely to be low-key in a somewhat stressful way, as we strain, metaphorically speaking, toward the soon-to-arrive renewed light. Issues revolve around things like authorities trying to mess with your life direction, confusion over commitments and values with resulting unwise conclusions; but on the other hand, these conditions may lead to realizing the ideal commitment for you, the righteous cause driven by a vision, and may show clever ways to gain in Love or Money, so don’t give up, just because of the retro–Merc in apparent backward motion is always a time to plan, to review, to re-think–use the day wisely.

(Mercury stations retrograde, Ceres sesq NN, Neptune conj Vesta and contra-parallel Pallas, Sun semi-sq Uranus and nov Venus)

Setting the table for your year ahead. Art by Peter Ilsted {{PD}}

Happy Solar Return to those born with the Sun at 15 Pisces! (See your birth chart for your Sun degree!)Your Solar year, beginning with your birthday, starts in a ‘dark period’, not much activity, not much movement (or a chaotic thing, where you might as well be in the dark!) This doesn’t last too long, but might feel dispiriting as it rolls by–and yet, this could be a period of incubation, if you dedicate the time to visualizing and then, when the light returns, acting to give the dream or vision a solid, real-world form. Think of this year as a Visionary One for you personally; expect inspirations galore, some testing of commitments and values, and a really prime opportunity to put the highest order of your dream in motion.

6 January 2019 Pay Attention

05 Saturday Jan 2019

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‘ Kansakoulu’ By Magnus Enckell 1899 {{PD}}

Uranus goes direct at 28 Aries 36, just past perfection but still within orb to a sesquiquadrate to Jupiter and semi-sextile to Chiron. This may be like waking up mid-step, or mid-action, or mid-choice, with our beliefs about the situation (especially about our own capacities, a la Aries) suddenly awakened to how we are hurt, what hurts we’re causing, and what skills we can bring to bear. May be an ‘ouch!’ moment, or one of exquisite sensitivity, the kind we usually bury as it’s just too potent to carry in consciousness. Whatever you experience, take it for the (shocking, electrifying, revolutionary) revelation that it is, and resolve to remember it, and to let it inform your Beingness going forward.

We also see Mars contra-parallel Juno, Mercury semi-square Black Moon Lilith and Vesta, which are together, and the Sun parallel Saturn. These influences firmly fix consciousness in reality–and it may seem much realer, if you’ll pardon the saying, than it usually does; no blurry filters, no shelter from issues we want to deny or ignore, and a particular focus on what we’re doing that may be contributing to our own disempowerment. The motto today should be, ‘Pay Attention’–and then don’t bury or discard what you learn–that’s the most important part.

16 November 2018 Flow

15 Thursday Nov 2018

Posted by in astrology, current events in the sky, forecast, Mercury retrograde, Retrogrades + Directions, The Daily Word Image, Venus Direction

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‘Men in an Outrigger Canoe Headed for Shore’ By Arman Manookian 1929 {{PD}}

Will it be a riptide, pulling you out of your depth, pulling you under, or a gentle current carrying you to shore and depositing you carefully on the beach like a coconut floating in a tropical surf? Venus’ direction restores our aesthetic, relationship, and value norms (the standards we hold, not the actual state of matters to pre-retro dimensions), and we may look immediately to ‘the Other’ for feedback or reassurance (Libra), even as Merc’s retrograde in Sagittarius withdraws sharpness and focus from the mind–and at this point we were likely centering reasoning on either ‘the facts’ or our personal beliefs–so that the need to feel that comes forward during any Merc retro shows us the way out of our suddenly fuzzy thinking. The mind expands, and probably begins to traffic in images, sensations, big concepts, and ideas we might label ‘foreign’, as these are what’s accessible at this point of the cycle. Be prepared to spend the next three weeks in feeling mode–and as always, delay signing, agreeing, or formulating rules or conditions until Mercury’s turnaround, 6 December.

Today’s word image is a person holding a key, with no idea what it opens. We have the answer–the only way to use it, though, is to figure out which question it’s the answer to.

14-15 November 2018 No Straight Line

13 Tuesday Nov 2018

Posted by in astrology, current events in the sky, forecast, Mercury retrograde, Retrogrades + Directions, The Daily Word Image, Venus Retrograde

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‘Composition V’ By Wassily Kandinsky 1911 {{PD}}

Though the 14th may seem like a quiet day, big change can occur almost without our realizing it. We act with the future in mind, with goals and our highest priorities and values as guidelines–but what we’ve been ignoring or denying, or matters that have enraged us or forced us into a proactive stance, come forward and, in some amazingly clever and inspired ways, alter the terrain. Even if we don’t see the shift, it happens–and factors we couldn’t have anticipated (indeed, we make our choices only from what we start the day knowing) will spring up, appear, or (in a sense) reach out to us, and transform what lies before us. But, because we’ve used our values and commitments as a guide, we end up with things better aligned with our goals and priorities than they were when we started. That’s progress, as long as you don’t demand it unfold in an absolutely straight line.

Be ready for Mars to sextile Uranus tomorrow, the 15th, then move into Pisces–choices and actions, our own and others’, are unexpected, shocking, surprising, radical, or flow from Higher Mind–and leave us either confused or inspired. Keep in mind that the ‘Big Reveal’ of Venus going direct occurs the 16th, as does Merc’s retrograde in Sagittarius–that means what happens on the 15th may be a ‘pre-reaction’, as we feel the approaching shifts but are not yet conscious of them–more on both those changes later.

(Sun sxt Vesta and parallel Black Moon Lilith, Mars qnx NN and nov Pluto)

By Angelo Dall’Oca Bianca 1876 {{PD}}

Today’s word image is a death that’s not a death but a kidnapping, instead. That’s a vague way of saying something we think is dead isn’t dead at all, it’s just been moved to another ‘location’–and that means we’re operating in a bit of Neptune’s territory (or is it Pluto’s?), as we’re actively being deceived about the viability of something important. What dream have you given up on (deceiving yourself), or have you been convinced by others or circumstances is dead, that might fit this image? Consider that it may, yet, be resurrected, and watch what occurs at the double turnaround of Venus and Mercury on the 16th–but don’t make up your mind just yet, wait for Merc’s direction on 6 December–that’s the earliest point at which all pieces of the puzzle become clear.

Venus Retrograde 2018 Experimental Passions

04 Thursday Oct 2018

Posted by in astrology, current events in the sky, future events in the sky, Retrogrades + Directions, Venus, Venus Retrograde

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‘Femme nue’, 1889 By Jean-Léon Gérôme {{PD}}

Venus currently appears stationary, and will begin apparent backward motion on October 5th at 10 Scorpio 50 (and a skosh), 12:05 PM PDT. Every 8 years Venus retrogrades at just a few degrees less in the same sign; last retro in Scorpio began October 7th 2010 at 13 Scorpio 13. We look back to what happened at that time for clues as to what will appear this time; the House of the natal chart where the retrograde falls will tell you what subjects, individuals, or groups will potentially be prominent. These issues may be the same as last time Venus went retro here, they even may pick up exactly where they left off, or another topic represented by the House may come forward, and there’s the possibility that the Venus retro effect may spill over into the matters of the Houses of the natal chart ruled by Venus, as well as Venus’ usual themes of ‘Love & Money’.

Venus’ turnaround prompts us to pull back on aesthetic choices, to reconsider friendships, partnerships, or love interests, to review investments of all kinds, to experiment in these areas. Suddenly we wake up one day and long to try something new in one or another Venus ruled arena; as this retro is in Scorpio, we are likely to dig, excavate, research, our need to find ‘the Truth’ urgent and emotionally stirring, with all the consequent (and probably predictable) upset this brings to relationships, values, or financial situations. We’ll be drawn, one way or another, into a Venusian ‘cave’–how and how deeply we choose to explore it is the retrograde journey.

During the retrograde we may decide to resuscitate some Venusian interest. We could go back to making Art, making money, or making Love, reconnect with an ex-, reach out to a lost friendship, dabble in new income sources, or look to handle our funds or interactions differently than before. What we cherish or find rewarding comes into focus–though we could say it loses its usual focus, giving us a different viewpoint than we are accustomed to–and we may see temporary circumstances that turn as much on finding what doesn’t work for us as by locating what does.

The retro period frees us from the usual Venusian constraints we apply (indicated by the natal Venus placement by House and most especially by sign), but caution from the get-go is necessary: what we may not see is that our judgments made under the influence of the retro may not hold, may in fact revolt or upset us when Venus is once again direct. We need to remain cognizant of the experimental nature of a Venus retrograde–the trick is to venture out of our comfort zones, try new things, but to do so without destroying what already is–though that judgment may come later, once the goddess goes direct.

Who holds emotional power within relationships may be at issue, and the choice to regenerate contacts that may have withered may come before us. Passions of all stripe may be re-ignited, and passion may be the measure against which we judge all things at this time. Does it fire us up, does it move us, does it reach us deep inside? Venus in Scorpio will let us know if it does–or maybe even more important, if it doesn’t–and one thing we can know is that our experiences now will reach into our emotional depths. Feelings that may have been hidden could see the light–and of course, once released that djinn can’t be shoved back into the bottle.

By Max Slevogt 1896 {{PD}}

What we must remember, though, is that our tastes and preferences change shape during the retro; tried-and-true preferences give way to the exotic or strange, or especially with Scorpio, to the dark impulse or forbidden, the urge toward complete obliteration, transformation, or change, the seduction of the extreme. What we fall in or out of love with may or may not better reflect who we really are–it all depends on so many things.

What have you always wanted to try, in line with subjects of the House placement of the retro within the natal chart, but it crossed a line for you? You may be presented with that very thing (or go out seeking it!) between now and 16 November–and add to that Mercury’s retrograde in Sagittarius as soon as Venus completes her apparent backward motion, suggesting that out from under the altered tastes of Venus retro we must immediately re-think our actions or what we’ve learned (Merc in Sagittarius, a Fire sign). Take the hint: during this Venus retro we are likely to do some things we later question; that means changes should be easily un-doable–dying the hair pink, yes! Getting a tattoo, no! Dating someone new, sure! Getting married spur-of-the-moment, nope!

Aspects made soon after the retrograde period begins, or aspects occurring at the turnaround point, often clue us in to the nature of the retro itself, and certainly to the circumstances early in the period. This time, other than a sextile from the Moon once she changes sign, Venus’ first aspect will be a square to Mars in Aquarius. That occurs 10th-11th of October and is accompanied by a conjunction from the Moon to Venus. This suggests that we likely meet at least some consequences of our actions during the retro–and these may show too much of a tendency to intellectualize the Will, perhaps divorcing it from the raw want that Venus can stir, and possibly underestimating the emotional impact our choices will have, on our own egos, or on our ability to continue to exercise our Will.

The retro period offers situations and circumstances that allow us to reconsider our values, to reassess where and on whom we spend our Venus energy, where we give or invest our Love, our cooperation, what we are willing to do in exchange for life giving material support or Soul-enhancing affections.  Happening in Scorpio, we need to remember during the retrograde that what we’re ultimately aiming for is better discovering or understanding the Truth that drives each of us forward–and from there, how well we receive and process and make use of that information is up to us.

Winter is coming! Photo by me

I’ll be taking some time off, so no daily reports for a while. I will pop back in randomly and do plan on reporting on New and Full Moons, and of course will be checking mail and orders. Hoping to finally finish my Moon book–right now I’m working on the Lunar relationship between Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds, and just finished a Juno-heavy Lunar look at Mary Shelley and her mother, Mary Wollstonecraft. Thank you to all my readers, to those who offer support in all forms, and to my clients–you keep me hopping!! and I love you for it 🙂

26-27 August 2018 Stirred Up

26 Sunday Aug 2018

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Winslow Homer ‘West Wind’ 1891 {{PD}}

Interesting to note for today, the 26th, as Venus perfects a square to Pluto, she also conjoins Zeus (and this will bleed over into the next day or two). So, the discord that a square can stir (and one to Pluto can easily spin up into a riot, a ‘You can’t fire me, I quit!’ kind of destructive fit) combines with a kind of heart’s desire energy, and the mix may result in a lashing out when we aren’t getting the prize we desire. Just be aware–a lack doesn’t translate as you never getting what you want, so why not use the energy to delve into what you might need to change in order to get it?

For the 27th the big event is Mars going direct. Is that gust of wind the combined sighs of everyone who’s been holding their breath over this? Because if so, their relief is premature. Mars does his about-face as major body of latest degree–meaning his energy is out there, swingin’ all on its own–and that can make for precipitous action as people sense the ease up and believe that’s a ‘Go!’ signal. Instead it’s more of a ‘look around and consider what you might want to do, once you get your bearings.

All other aspects simply amplify these major chords, with the addition of effects from Mercury sesquiquadrate Chiron and square Jupiter. This suggests thinking, reasoning, and yes speaking from the wound, likely without our realizing it–and what comes out may challenge our own beliefs about life, and certainly may pinpoint our disillusion with the social sphere–but does that help anybody? Only if it makes us more aware of what we can do to make things better–otherwise it may just kick up a lot of complaint, and fuel actions with badly mixed motives. But, if we can hold on to a gift from the 26th, where our thinking was able to disown or ignore the worst illusions and so show us our best power position and our most effective way of affecting the world, we can take that stirred up energy and point it in the ‘right’ direction (Merc qnx Neptune and nov Ceres)

Full Moon in Pisces 26 August 2018 The Effect of Fairy Tales

25 Saturday Aug 2018

Posted by in astrology, current events in the sky, Finger of God, forecast, Full Moon, Pisces, Retrogrades + Directions, Sabian Symbols

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The Full Moon is sesquiquadrate the close conjunction (only three minutes apart) of Venus and Zeus in Libra, making me think maybe this is about coming to some realizations as we try to find the ‘set point’ for relationships, earnings, ambitions, passions, or some matter ruled by Venus in the natal chart. Falling in Pisces, the Full Moon brings a conclusion, ending, or shift to a new emphasis, one flavored by the imagination, delusions, deceptions, ideals, and what they have (or have not) created in the life. We look at relationships, desires, and ambitions in that ideal form we’d hoped for, and with the culmination energy see what has come about in real-world terms. The Full Moon allows us a window into the effect of our own personal fairy tales, what they’ve actually wrought, and how far from (or close to) the dream we hold they actually are.

The distance may not be all that far–or relationships, desires, and ambition considerations may all fall behind a more pressing concern, related to matters of the natal House in which the FM falls. An ending here could push the state of interaction or want to the back burner–where it could simmer through the coming month, perhaps arriving via the unconscious as it orchestrates things behind the scene in anticipation of the next New Moon.

The Full Moon may wake us up by ending some illusion. ‘The Sleeping Beauty’ By John Collier 1920 {{PD}}

The Full Moon in Pisces perfects on the 26th at 4:56 AM PDT at 3 Pisces 12. It seems to me that all the contact to Uranus and Saturn, with the Full Moon hovering just between at the rough midpoint, suggests a kind of measuring of action v. stasis, revolution v. what’s established, being original or following tradition (and this measuring probably started as early as the 22nd, as every day since has felt like one where our character and conduct was weighed in the balance). In looking at ourselves, we’ve laid the groundwork to look out at what we value, at our relationships, and at what we want–and the Full Moon delivers a conclusion, realization, or makes obvious an ending–then it’s up to us what we do with it.

The artist’s daughter, Effie, as Red Riding Hood. By John Everett Millais 1863 {{PD}}

The Full Moon’s sextile to Saturn catches the Black Moon Lilith point at the midpoint, and the Full Moon sextile to Uranus catches Chiron more-or-less at the midpoint, and this suggests a lot of peripheral influences on what manifests at the Full Moon–or is that a chain reaction, with wounds and those things we’ve ignored or been in denial about exerting a distinct but hard to pin down influence on proceedings? In any case, the energy of change and stasis each occupy the far ends of a fulcrum made up of the Full Moon point, with matters of hurt, rage, denial, and the demand for Self-respect tipping the scales toward either keeping things as they are, or throwing them into chaos.

The Sabian for the Full Moon is, ‘Heavy Car Traffic On A Narrow Isthmus Linking Two Seashore Resorts’. This speaks of the difficulty and confusion, the sheer stress and polluting presence, of communications and the interests that drive them. We’re all trying to have a good time, but it’s not going so well as everyone strives to have her or his message reach its destination.

For the opposing Sun the Sabian is, ‘Black And White Children Play Together Happily’. The origin of all this tension is the ideal of having everyone, no matter how contrasting the individuals seem on the surface to be, getting along and enjoying life. So, all the turbulence caused by the Full Moon influences have their roots in a wish for harmony and equality–not such an impossible dream, at all.

Michelangelo Buonarroti {{PD}}

These ‘peripheral’ energies do form a Finger of God, providing us with an answer, when we wonder what the point of having our fairy tales washed in a stark dose of reality really is: it’s found in the sextile of Chiron to Black Moon Lilith, as base of the Finger, apex the Sun. Our wounds and our denials must be abandoned, if we’re to find a way to interact successfully; harmony (the Sun Sabian) is, in the end, something we must deliberately create ourselves.

It’s worth noting that Mars will go direct just a little over 24 hours later, suggesting that what we learn at the Full Moon must be ruminated on, just a bit, before we take action. Consider that 27 hours or so a ‘cooling off period’, allowing you to process, and to look carefully, before you leap.

17-18 June 2018 Negotiating the Fog

16 Saturday Jun 2018

Posted by in astrology, current events in the sky, forecast, Retrogrades + Directions

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John Leslie Breck – ‘Morning Fog and Sun’ 1891 {{PD}}

The 17th could be an amazing day, especially if we put our attention on the life we want to create, and draw inspiration and creative juice from past successes. Employing creative energy is really where it’s at, today; those seeking power, rather than expression, won’t be nearly as happy with what they encounter. If you’re feeling like an all-seeing god or goddess, you may be in for a shock: you meet your power equivalent, and in order for either of you to get even part of what you want, you’ll need to negotiate. Some things to remember: those things that are normally your strengths will be useless in working out who gets what–and respect for ‘the Other’ is necessary, no matter how different from you they may be (Pluto contra-parallel Ceres, Neptune novile the SN, Sun novile the NN)

On the 18th Neptune retreats, and we may pull back in some Neptunian area, in the creative or in spiritual work or stepping out of ‘the flow’, temporarily losing our footing as the world shifts a bit around us. We have our commitments, those things to which we’re dedicated or that we find sacred, and we want to act on them, for them, put our energy toward them, which may be easier said than done as Neptune withdraws its imaginative optimism. Instincts are clouded by a desire for power and worse, are funneled through the mind, which is uneasy with the primal nature of instincts in the first place. Tip for navigating: keep your moral compass in hand as you move forward–it’s the only way to know if you’re heading in the right direction (Saturn qnx NN, Mars nov Vesta, Mercury at the midpoint of Sedna-Ceres)

The Last Days of Uranus in Aries

26 Thursday Apr 2018

Posted by in aspects and placements, astrology, Retrogrades + Directions, Uranus

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By Illustratedjc – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=60648788

By the 28th of April Uranus enters that tense 29th degree of Aries, and remains poised to stir up panic until its entry into Taurus on May 15th. What fears might this stir? Being alone, being abandoned, having to lead (if we’re more comfortable anonymous in the crowd) or having to follow (if we feel we must lead), as well as various cautions around what to do, what to choose, how to act, and whether asserting oneself is a good idea, and with that latter I can say, it may not be a good idea, but it may be one we feel compelled to do! Sort out what and who you’re really mad at (there are at least a few objects of outrage, if you’ll only admit it), for best (and least destructive) results.

Also of note today is the Mars-Pluto conjunction in Capricorn, a no-frills kind of wallop that will appear in some form as two angry, vengeful, insisting-on-change, or bent-on-destruction parties meeting head-on, with one insisting on forward progress of a Cappy nature and one determined to roll back the clock or go down in flames trying. Ugh, avoid this smoldering train wreck if at all possible by keeping the focus on manifesting your ideal and most Self-reliant Self (Juno in 29 tense degrees of Pisces). You have the mandate to be your best, now go be it without being distracted by the wreckage nearby.

Right around November 7th Uranus is in apparent retrograde and returns to that  final degree of Aries, for old times’ sake, I suppose–why else would we fling ourselves back into such a stressful position? We also see at that point that Uranus forms a massively tense T-square with the transiting Nodal axis and will stand quincunx Jupiter in Scorpio. And in just a few days this is followed by an opposition from Ceres and a sextile from Mars in Aquarius. To me this looks like the most incendiary point for Uranian upset, making the current conditions look quaintly tame in comparison. In contrast to the present single, easily-controlled-by-us fear we may wrestle with, November offers a do-or-die scenario where some of us may indeed choose the wrong option–we’re worried about the future, maybe fearing it won’t come!–likely out of fear of death, fear of obliteration in a more mundane sense, an insistence on vengeance or ‘teaching x a lesson’, or out of a deep, dark desire for more than our fair share (Jupiter in Scorpio). Not all of us will succumb, but we’ll certainly all be tempted, and the results will be a real-world check on the limits of our power (the opp from Ceres) and a more reasoned line of thinking, possibly arriving too late, to guide our actions (Mars in Aquarius).

Issues may linger (causing, among other things, a final push to do what’s right or resolve things, especially hurts–Chiron semi-sextile–as Mars passes conjoined Uranus mid-February 2019) until Uranus finally lets go of Arian concerns, around 6 March 2019. So, we’ll likely re-visit all this in a hopped up form late next winter-early next spring; once Uranus enters Taurus, get to know the ‘new’ way the planet will work in the sign, and be prepared for impact if you have early degree natal placements (especially if that placement is Mercury, which influence from Uranus may cause surprising things to shoot out of your mouth until you steady the impulse).

If you haven’t visited lately, you should: Jude Cowell’s Stars Over Washington is jam-packed with illuminating articles, mostly of a political or US history bent. Check it out!