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Monday, July 24, 2006 | Planet News

THIS is a week of swift changes, of both direction and atmosphere. Venus, Mars and the Sun are already in new signs: Cancer, Virgo and Leo, respectively, shifting energy to a core region of the zodiac where we share and experience emotional, creative and intellectual intimacies. While these aspects may be energizing and fulfilling on the individual level, I also hope that the shift in environment will awaken people to the atrocities being committed in the Middle East [please see Political Waves for details].

The New Moon takes place overnight Monday to Tuesday depending on your time zone, in the third degree of Leo (early Leo). This New Moon is wedged nicely into the ongoing fixed cross placements. It's not the tightest aspect in history, but it is definitely between the goal posts. It's the earliest degree point; Sun and Moon then move on to make aspects to Chiron at 8 Aquarius; Jupiter at 10 Scorpio; and Saturn at 14 Leo.

To complete a grand cross from Taurus, we have the fifth asteroid (after Vesta, the fourth), whom I have never mentioned till now: Astraea. She is an interesting one, and surely apropos of our moment. Here is what the Encyclopedia Mythica says, from an article by Micha F. Lindemans:

"Astraea ('the star-maiden') is the daughter of Zeus and Themis. She was, as was her mother, a goddess of justice. During the Golden Age, when the gods dwelled among mankind, she lived on the Earth. When evil and wickedness increased its grip on humanity, the gods abandoned the habitations of mankind. Astraea was the last to leave and took up her abode among the stars where she was transformed into the constellation Virgo."

She is exactly square this lunation, currently moving in direct motion about one degree every four days. She is a little reminder -- we've lived in other very messed up times in history. Indeed, history (the real thing, not what you read in books in school) is usually the story of how messed up it all is, and how well we do despite it all. Humanity perseveres. As a member of humanity, you have that option, as long as you remember who and what you are.

There is also a Centaur in the neighborhood (at 7 Taurus), not as yet mentioned in Planet Waves, called Thereus. I have not delineated this one yet, nor have I bugged my friends about it, and the best I could come up with are keywords from Phil Sedgwick. Good start; Phil is super smart; but I am not a fan of the 'keyword' method of delineation. Still, these words may be evocative:

"Astrologically, Thereus seems to indicate the ability to keep personal and professional lives separate and balanced; identification with one's career or relationships; mercenary behavior; attraction to beauty and glamour; ability to work constructively with others; wildness, lawlessness, hunting, nature, wild animals, concern for the environment."

This is actually a great time to delineate Thereus because it's making so many aspects and will show up many ways. The feeling of a delineation is like a multi-dimensional AHA that you see through the apparent surface energy, and which you can explain to something else. Sometimes it comes through in three to five words, sometimes as a picture, sometimes as an idea, then you grow the delineation from there.

So -- that's the grand fixed cross New Moon, exact just around Monday at midnight in New York, at half-six Tuesday morning in London, and Tuesday evening Down Under, where the Marmite blooms and blows.

Lastly and definitely not yeastly, Mercury stations direct on Saturday. Thus, much of the week will be in that sensitive zone of Mercury slowing down, stopping, changing directions, and then coming back up to full speed the week after this one. As I've been droning on about in various horoscopes and phone forecasts here and other places...this is an interesting phase where complications and difficulties start to work out. Even if the solution is not in sight, trust all this movement will suss out the solutions you need.

But what you do NOT do is important. I have studied the past 40 or so Mercury retrogrades. No kidding. Here is the big conclusion to my study: if it looks broke, it's probably not. Also, the mental attitude with Mercury-related stuff is as important as the stuff itself. Solutions come from odd places, and mostly from the subtle shift in point of view. Be nice to your computer, and to the IT girl. Help tech support help you solve your problems. Hold off on major purchases for a week or two, they can usually wait. You will save time, money and effort.

Mercury in Cancer, just by the on-the-face symbolism of it all, is an emotional setup and it provides one of a countless number of examples of mental vs. emotional assessment and understanding. In short, we need to count in the emotional factor. The emotional factor often gets its reputation from some kind of bog involving the past, and the station of Mercury this week starts to put the throttles into forward motion, and we can leave this territory behind for a while. This is, by the way, somewhat familiar turf because Saturn was there for a long time and we all got a good dose of the late Cancer zone of the zodiac.

One last thing. When Mercury stationed three weeks ago, the main message I was getting and doing my best to broadcast was to REMEMBER what you were thinking then because it's worthwhile and you'll have a chance to come back to it as Mercury leaves Cancer, enters Leo and then enters new turf in mid-August. You will be able to pick up the thread just where you left off, even better, as the ideas will be waiting for you on a new, incubated, evolved level of reality.

All just in time for the Saturn-Neptune opposition.

More on Friday in Planet Waves Weekly. Keep your lights on.

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