Planet Weather for the Week of June 25, 2006

SkyWatch – Moon phase of the week: 6/25 -- The Moon enters a new cycle at 12:05 PM EDT, at three degrees of Cancer. Look on the following evenings for a thin Crescent Moon low in the West just after sunset. Related sky factoid of the week: You often see references in the popular media to "the dark side of the Moon," but, in fact, the Moon has no dark side. In the course of a complete orbit around the Earth, virtually every inch of the Moon's surface is illuminated at some point by the Sun's rays. (Possible exceptions are portions of craters at the Moon's North and South Poles that may lie in perpetual shadow.) What journalists evidently mean by this phrase is the side of the Moon that is perpetually turned away from Earth, the far side. Skywatching event of the week: 6/28 -- The Moon passes 2 degrees North of Mars about 5 PM EDT. This happens before sunset, but look a few degrees South of the Crescent Moon just after sunset when the two will still be very close together. Space news of the week: Pluto's two newly discovered satellites now have official names! This past week the International Astronomical Union (IAU) conferred the names Nix and Hydra on the two bodies discovered orbiting Pluto last year, bringing the total of Pluto's known moons to three along with the much larger and closer-in Charon. The nearer of two outer satellites is called Nix and the one farther out Hydra. In mythology, Nix is the goddess of darkness and night, and Hydra is a nine-headed monster with the body of a serpent. SkyWatch, however, wonders why names that are a continuation of Plutonic mythology, such as Cerberus, the four-headed watchdog at the gates of Hades, and Styx, the river that runs through it (Charon is its ferryman) weren't chosen. Oh well.  Go out! Look up!

Mercury enters fixed, fiery Leo on Wednesday, June 28, 2006 @ 3:57PM until 7/10/06 when it retrogrades back into Cancer. Mercury’s entry into Leo begins this next Mercury retrograde (Rx) cycle. Mercury turns Rx @ 1 Leo on 7/4/06 @ 3:34PM EDT, the USA’s birthday and traditionally a major travel day. Mercury turns direct @ 21 Cancer on 7/28/06 @ 8:04PM EDT. Mercury re-enters Leo on 8/11/06. Mercury’s Rx cycle could wreak some havoc on the highways or with other holiday travel plans. If you are on the road, be aware and adjust to this reality. What are the basic concerns, inferiorities, commitments or schedules you have that interfere with your ability to play and express your freedom, your joy and your heart-essence? Express and communicate from the heart as much as you can in as many ways as you can muster. You may have to sort through some emotions before a new cycle of creative expression can take place – or, express from within your emotional self. What stops you from loving yourself or others enough, so that your self-expression is true, authentic, and honest?

Sun in watery Cancer makes a flowing trine (120deg.) to Jupiter Rx, in watery Scorpio on Friday, June 30, 2006 @ 7:22PM EDT. It’s about emotional intelligence and what your instincts tell you. For this – you’ll have to bypass the prevailing statistics and the law of averages and follow your own bliss! Arriving as it does at the start of a holiday weekend in the US – it exaggerates the optimism of a long relaxing weekend to come, but also promotes taking chances and ones that may be unwise. Be aware.

 

News Bits: Soldier hostages found beheaded in Iraq. From last week’s Planet Weather, “This (hostages taken) appears to be a prelude to the intense energies of this coming week, including the Mars/Saturn conjunction Sunday 6/18/06, which can be harsh, and the Uranus station retrograde on 6/19/06 which typically brings sudden surprises and upsets – and Uranus is certainly known for its anarchistic streak.” Uranus can also be cold, detached, and shocking in its manifestation. It speaks to our humanness, our humanity; so in negative manifestation it becomes inhumane and brutal, showing the underbelly of human destructive, violent expression. In the modern world, beheadings are so primitive that the act is difficult to comprehend and therefore has even more of a shock value, which is certainly the realm of Uranus, particularly when it makes a statement in the sky – a station retrograde. That something like this would happen is not unusual for a strong Uranus planetary phenomenon. The Mars/Saturn in Leo conjunction was also a contributor to the fiery, angry (fast, impulsive) ending of two soldiers lives.

 

Homegrown Terrorist Activity Prevented! The Uranus station certainly brought anarchy to the foreground. Al-Qaeda wannabees were foiled in their half-baked attempt to damage the Sears Tower in Chicago, among other planned sites. The unorganized group of 7 that were arrested suffered from ego displays and bravado that eventually brought them down. An FBI mole infiltrated the group and brought them to justice. The Uranus station made a trine (120 de.) to the USA Sun @ 13 Cancer, which means that Uranus energies are being exchanged but the fallout may not be as drastic (or the “conspiracy” wasn’t as serious as it was made out to be) as if it were a more challenging aspect such as a square (90deg.) or an opposition (180deg.), and that is indeed what happened.

 

North Korea Missile Crisis! The Uranus station Rx in Pisces brought forth multiple issues of international concern – among them the announcement by North Korea that they would fire a missile that has the potential to reach the continental US. The international community is understandably nervous about this announcement, since the N. Koreans also claim to have nuclear warheads. Europeans are in agreement with the US on this one and want the N.Koreans to stop the test launch. In 1998, the N.Koreans took the world by surprise when they launched an intermediate-range missile over Japan. The currently proposed launch has Japan alarmed, and it is united with South Korea, Australia, and the USA in seeing this missile launch as a potential threat and therefore liable for consequences from the international community. The N.Koreans have upheld a self-declared moratorium on long-range missile testing since 1999, but now claim this promise is only valid when they are in dialogue with the US. Using the chart of the Communist People’s Democratic Republic of Korea’s (September 10, 1948, 12PM JST, Pyongyang, Korea) – we see that the bold transiting Mars/Leo is approaching the chart’s Pluto/Leo @ 15 degrees. The exact conjunction will take place between 6/27-30/06. This fixed sign combination does not like to yield and its intended action is a call for attention and to get something it wants through applied pressure, force and control tactics. Pride and saving face will be important in any diplomacy that is applied. If the international community averts this current threat with N.Korea, it may face another when Saturn/Leo reaches a conjunction with Pluto in mid-August. In 2007, N. Korea receives its Saturn return @ 28 Leo.  N. Korea will remain a hot country on the international radar screen through 2007.