Daily Astro-Weather Monthly Overview

January

As January opens up, the Jupiter conjunct Pluto that peaked last month is still within orb and active, but will fade as the month wears on. Gains made during this positive transit should be focused on and made as solid as possible. As Jupiter moves away from the conjunction to Pluto, it moves into a very posi-tive trine to Saturn which will aid in the consolidation of the previous energy. This is a period that should be made the most of, both on the international stage and in our personal lives. Great benefit can be had on all levels with good intentions, discipline and perseverance. While this is a relatively fast transit for the outer planets, it will remain active through the month and into early February. Another significant outer planet action is Pluto making its first entry into Capricorn late in the month. It will retrograde back into late Sagitta-rius from mid June until late November when it enters Capricorn to stay until moving on into Aquarius in 2024. There is much more to say about Pluto en-tering Capricorn than can be discussed here, but it is safe to say that it signals the beginning of more interesting times. Pluto was discovered in 1930 in the opposite sign, Cancer. This brings the energy into a manifestation phase that can be quite positive or quite not. Things will become more serious and greater discipline on all levels will become more important than ever. The brief foray this year will give some clues that need to be clearly examined by cultures and individuals. I will write more on this elsewhere. One more sig-nificant energy to be aware of as January begins is that the Mars retrograde that began last November has Mars directly opposed Pluto. Here is when bad things that have been in the pipeline are most likely to occur. Because Jupiter is involved, whatever happens is likely to be spectacular in scope and effect., but because Jupiter is involved, it is more likely that what will occur are spec-tacular failures, or at least will have long term positive effects rather than the intended destruction. As always, it is imperative that we all participate in whatever meditation and prayer for peace events as are happening. Generate light.

February

As February rolls in, the Jupiter conjunct Pluto from last month fades all the way out. The Jupiter trine Saturn remains with us, but this positive energy will fade through the month and should be made good use of through the first cou-ple of weeks. See last month's overview. As the month progresses, Saturn continues its retrograde motion back toward its final trine to Pluto and the writing on the wall for the end of the Iraq war will no longer be deniable. It may be several more months before the dust settles, but we are at the same relative place with the Saturn trine Pluto that we were in the early '70s when the Viet Nam war was grinding to a close. The parallels between our in-volvement in these two foolish conflicts and the Saturn-Pluto cycle are quite striking. This Saturn trine Pluto will peak in April and May and by summer all but the most recalcitrant hawks will have to concede that the tide of public support has swung almost completely against. It will be some time before the problem between jihadist factions and the developed world calms down and bad things will still be planned, but U.S. involvement in Iraq will be moving toward an end. As interesting as anything else coming out of this will be the rise of liberality over the advantage that conservatism has had in the U.S. cul-ture war. The pendulum always swings. Let's hope for some wisdom on the left. While all of this is going on, we have another long-range positive energy rolling in. Later in the month Jupiter moves toward a sextile with Uranus. Due to station points and retrogrades, this energy remains with us through much of the year. Coming into focus as the month ends, it will be at peak March through June, separate out through the summer, but come back to peak again in October and especially November. This positive combination of energies favors altruism, spirituality, prosperity thinking, innovation, technology and change. This will be a year to remember and for progressives to make the most of.

March

As March opens up, Saturn continues to retrograde back to the trine with Pluto and further indications of the end of the U.S. involvement in Iraq will develop. The current administration's house of cards will begin to wobble more and more noticeably as more of the deceptions and errors in judgment come to light. The level of profiteering and cynical misuse of government that the plutocrats and corporatists having been enjoying should also become more apparent to the general public. This will strengthen the hand of liberality and positive change. Can the liberals clean up and discipline themselves enough to ride the social sea change that all of these energies indicate? We will see. This particular energy remains with us through the spring and early summer. Use it to make permanent the positive changes going on in your personal life as well. See clearly, with courage and forgiveness, and replace your less desir-able habits with better ones. Through the first half of the month, we will have the last of the Mars opposed Pluto that we last had at the beginning of the year. This is when last gasp efforts at maintaining control will be attempted. This is when the darkest of conspiracy theory fears are most likely to be tried and when attacks of various kinds and authorship may occur. They will fail if they do come to light. The Jupiter sextile Uranus mentioned last month be-comes more active as the month goes on, greatly increasing the wave of change in U.S. society and in the world at large. This is the time of innovation and positive change of all kinds. Conservatives of all varieties will not be pleased with much of what seems to take shape and will do what they can to impede, but these energies are too strong and the shifts will occur. Toward the end of the month, Jupiter and Uranus will move into orb of Neptune bringing that energy into the mix in a positive way. This puts Neptune in the middle of the Jupiter-Uranus sextile, and in semi-sextile with both of them, bringing religion and spirituality into the mix. Words fail me as I think to communicate just how powerfully positive this combination of energy is. It runs all the way through this year and recurs in a slightly different configuration next year. This is our time.

On more personal levels, be sure to read ahead and make plans for dealing carefully with the new Moon period. It is exact on the 7th but starts on the 6th and is exceedingly high energy, both positive and cautionary. The full Moon on the 21st has very highly cautionary energy around it, so what you put in motion at the new Moon can be very important. Plan for dealing wisely with the weekend of the 21st which really kicks in on Thursday the 20th. There is a great deal of relationship energy to deal with from the 12th through the 16th or so. There are very contradictory aspects and some people will feel like they're on a roller coaster. The concluding energy is positive, but do read ahead and plan for dealing with all of this. The weekend of the 28th is similar and also bears reading ahead and planning for. This is going to be a memorable month. Make the right decisions so as to remember the right things. The most signifi-cant daytime Moon void of course periods include the 3rd, 7th-8th, 16th, 18th-19th, 20th-21st, 23rd and the 28th.

April

Through the month of April, the last phase of the Saturn trine Pluto will be at its peak. The U.S. involvement in Iraq will be showing clear signs of ending, at least the overt military part will be shown to be the failure that it is and U.S. public sentiment will be very strongly opposed to its continuation. Fallout from this will be years in the working out, but the mistakes and abuses will be clear for all to see. All of this adds to the disgrace of the current administra-tion which will by now have the wagons circled and be waiting for its end. The Jupiter sextile Uranus mentioned the past two months remains strong and the winds of change will be blowing strong. Great gains will be made in reha-bilitating liberality and the pendulum swing back from conservative domi-nance will be evident everywhere. What remains to be seen is what the left does with its new power. Can it clean up its act and discipline itself? It will be vitally important that we remain vigilant and involved. Tremendous gains can now be made in the areas of innovation, expansion of the common good, re-sponsible technology and personal freedom. The energy is here, now we must make the most of it. As the month progresses, Neptune becomes increasingly involved adding the religious and spiritual element. Old systems and beliefs continue their descent after these past few years of blowback. The old gives way to the new no matter how hard it tries to hang on to its power. It is the nature of paradigm shift and age change.

On more personal levels, April will be a very high energy month. We have a Mars opposed Jupiter through the second half and aspects to one will some-times be enhanced by the other, and sometimes contradicted. We also have many aspects where planets grand trine the Saturn-Pluto trine, most notably the full Moon with the Sun in trine and the Moon in sextile with Mercury pre-ceding. Efforts made towards world peace, and for greater self understanding and discipline, at the new Moon can be very successful at the full Moon. This is a month where you really want to read ahead and plan for making good use of the positives and dealing with the cautionary which are also very much pre-sent. The most significant daytime Moon void of course periods include the 2nd, 6th, 8th, 10th, 17th, 22nd and the 27th. There are some half day voids to be aware of as well.

May

Through the month of May, the Saturn trine Pluto remains very strong, con-tinuing to signal the death knell of the current administration and its mis-guided policies. All but the most recalcitrant of conservatives will have to acknowledge that it's over and the new is taking shape. As new power struc-tures form, it will be very important to remain involved and aware of what will now be done in our name. This is no time for complacency. We cannot assume that because the worst is over the best will come to power. The left now has to be more self aware, disciplined and concerned for the highest good for all than ever. It is much easier to be out of power and carping on the side than in power and responsible for what does happen. The positive configura-tion of Jupiter, Neptune and Uranus that came into focus recently is very strong through the month and will give rise to great change and confidence in the future, but it needs to be guided by consciousness and good will. Continue to participate in the process of change and any and all global meditation and prayer for efforts for world peace and the betterment of humanity and the world.

On more personal levels, May will probably not be quite as intense as recent months. There are still many positive and cautionary energies to read ahead and make plans for dealing with and most days do have major energies, but there are not the same kind of mass complexes like last month. Relationships will be featured through the month, so pay more attention to them than usual, but probably the biggest thing to be aware of is Mercury turning retrograde on the 26th and backing up until June 19th. See the Mercury retrograde page at the beginning of the book for more on these periods. The most significant day-time Moon void of course periods are on the 24th and 31st. There are a few half day voids to deal with as well.

June

Through the month of June, the Saturn trine Pluto that we have been enjoying remains, but is slowly fading. The positive Jupiter-Uranus-Neptune energy mentioned last month remains strong, however, and the political and social landscape will continue to rapidly change with fascinating and surprising re-sults. The winds of change will be blowing very strong and this is great, but we should not think that regressive forces will just roll over and play dead. The forces of conservatism will always resist the forces of change, each be-having according to their nature. Enjoy the return of the ascendancy of liberal-ity, but keep a wary eye on those who would impede. Now is a time for cele-bration, but with a sober knowledge that the culture war will never really be won. The pendulum will continue to swing back and forth for many decades to come even if the prevailing wind is toward liberality and enlightenment. It will probably always be two steps forward and one step back. During this step forward, let's make the most of it. It remains vitally important that we stay involved. Put the light of your consciousness to work in the various global meditation and prayer for peace and world healing events that you know about and are attracted to. The more light we generate, the less dark can re-main.

On more personal levels, the main thing to be aware of as June begins is the Mercury retrograde period that began back on May 26th and continues through the 19th. See the Mercury Retrograde page at the beginning of the book for more on these periods. The new to full Moon period should be made good use of. Deep positive changes can be made. Do, however, keep an eye on others' motivations and your own as well. There are the usual major energies running through most of the day. Read ahead and plan for making the most of the positives and minimizing the cautionary. There are some long daytime Moon void of course periods to be aware of, especially in the first half of the month until Pluto retrogrades back into Sagittarius. The most notable include the 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th and the 13th. There are some half day voids to watch for as well.

July

As July begins, we still have the Saturn trine Pluto within orb of influence, but by the end of the month it will have faded almost all the way out. Just a moment of thanks for this hugely beneficial aspect that does signal the end of these dark past few years. It is instructive to look back at the last time we had this aspect. As noted before, the parallels between the Viet Nam war and our current debacle with the Saturn-Pluto cycle are remarkable. During the previ-ous Saturn opposed Pluto in the mid '60s, U.S. involvement in the Viet Nam war was ramping up. The next Saturn opposed Pluto was when the airplanes hit the buildings on September 11, 2001. Saturn opposed Pluto gives way to Saturn quincunx Pluto which was when the U.S. involvement in Viet Nam peaked and when the war on terror was diverted onto Iraq. During the previ-ous Saturn trine Pluto is when public sentiment turned irrevocably against the Viet Nam war and here we are again with this go around. Those who don't remember the past are indeed doomed to repeat it. There will be two more years of shake out from all of this. The next aspect is the Saturn square Pluto. When we last had it, the pictures of helicopters lifting the last personnel aban-doning the embassy in Saigon were taken. In 2010, we will in similar fashion be leaving Iraq. The very positive Jupiter-Uranus-Neptune configuration re-mains in effect as the month opens and every possible good use should be made of it. Reread the past two Overviews. Jupiter will retrograde out of the aspect through the month and that will temporarily remove some of the posi-tivity, but the Uranus semi-sextile Neptune will remain very strong and this is excellent energy for beneficial changes in the areas of religion, philosophy and the uses of science and technology. The winds of positive change will continue to blow.

On more personal levels, July will be a relatively normal month with not much more than garden variety complexes of aspects. It's always a good idea to read ahead and make plans for making the most of the positive energies and minimizing the cautionary. There is a series of high social energy aspects run-ning from Thursday the 3rd through Monday the 7th. Plan for fun, but be mind-ful not to get too carried away as some are certain to do. There are no all day Moon void of course periods, most of them running only two or three hours. There are a handful of half day voids to work around including the 3rd, 18th, 29th, and the most significant, the 31st.

August

As August opens up, the Uranus semi-sextile Neptune remains. This positive energy (see the end of last month's overview) is here to stay for some time to come. It will be very strong all the way through 2011 and into 2012. It will not fade all the way out until late in 2014. The positive changes in society and in the world at large are impossible to imagine at the time of this writing. The other outer planets will shift into various configurations with this aspect throughout the period, but this energy will remain constant. This is not to say that regressive forces will disappear. They will in fact be driven by despera-tion to ever more deplorable acts and attitudes, but every move to counter the positive shift will have the opposite effect as the zeitgeist rejects the efforts. Every attempt to weaken the motion toward liberality and enlightenment will actually feed and strengthen it. As the month wears on, Jupiter, retrograding away from its involvement with Uranus and Neptune, moves into a trine with Saturn. By the end of the month, this very positive aspect will be very strong and there will be great energy for reconciliation between conservatism and positive change. This is energy conducive to recognizing reality as it is and making the right choices for improving it. This aspect stays with us through the rest of the year, and by October and November, it catches up to the Ura-nus-Neptune aspect to become one big positive configuration involving all four of these outer planets. By this time, the world will already be a different place than at this writing in early fall of '07.

On more personal levels, the first week of the month, starting with the new Moon eclipse, is very high energy, but very cautionary as well. Plan for deal-ing carefully with it. There seems to be more than the average number of cau-tionary days. Most of the cautions are not of the dire persuasion, but they are numerous enough to make it a stand out month. There are two or three days of dangerous energy, but most just seem to be mildly to hair tearing out annoy-ing and frustrating. Read ahead and plan wisely. The most significant daytime Moon void of course period is on the 23rd. There are some half day voids to be aware of as well.

September

All through the month of September we have the Uranus semi-sextile Neptune and the Jupiter trine Saturn very tight and strong. We are in a period of poten-tial for tremendous positive change, both in U.S. society and the world at large. It will be a mistake, however, to expect these changes to happen from the top down. Powers that be have a stake in keeping the status quo, and it is up to individuals at all levels and grassroots movements in a broader sense to make the most of it. You will see the rehabilitation of liberalism and the rise of progressive thought and policy. It will also be a mistake to think that re-gressive conservative forces will lie down and play dead. The tide is turning and there is little they can do to prevent the changes in the long run but in the short term, much mischief is likely to be attempted. Watch for fear mongering and attempts to shore up the conservative base with all manner of dire predic-tions if the liberals do come to power. Remember that the 2004 elections were won at the last minute on the phony issue of gay marriage. Courage of convic-tions is needed at all levels on the liberal side of things. Discipline and cohe-sion are needed as well. It will remain very important to participate in what-ever global efforts of meditation and prayer that you are aware of and at-tracted to. Your participation is needed at all levels of the effort.

On more personal levels, September starts out as positive as August started out otherwise. There is a very positive period starting on the 3rd and running into the 5th that we should all make the most of. It is followed closely by an-other positive streak. Mercury, Venus and Mars are conjunct for much of the month, setting up a string of connected aspects that are more positive than cautionary, although there is, of course, some pepper with the salt. This will be a go for it month, especially the first half. Do be aware, however, and plan for dealing with the Mercury retrograde that starts on the 24th and runs until October 15th. See the Mercury Retrograde page at the beginning of the book for more on these periods. The most significant daytime Moon void of course periods are on the 3rd, 5th and the 10th. There are a few half day voids to be aware of as well.

October

October will continue the energy from September. The Uranus semi-sextile Neptune and the Jupiter trine Saturn remain tight and strong and positive change will be unmistakable. As the month progresses, Jupiter and Saturn, now moving together in direct motion will move into a new alignment with Uranus and Neptune. Jupiter will move back into the positive position to Ura-nus and Neptune that we enjoyed in April through June. This time, however, Saturn joins the party, remaining in trine to Jupiter, while opposing Uranus and moving into quincunx to Neptune. This is a powerhouse of outer planet energy and this will be an electrified election season in U.S. politics with broad implications for the world at large. By this time the regime will be completely discredited, but not out of power. This is perhaps the time of greatest opportunity and yet peril for the U.S. and the world. I believe that light will win out and a whole new phase of American social and political life will begin, but it still remains vital that we all participate at every level. Medi-tate, pray, generate light however you will and certainly prepare to vote re-sponsibly. This is a key moment in history and you are a part of it.

On more personal levels, you will want to remember that Mercury will be ret-rograde through the first half of the month and turns direct on the afternoon of the 15th. Aside from that and the outer planet energy spoken of above, this will be a rather garden variety month. We have the usual spread of major positive and cautionary energies to read ahead and plan to deal with. There is the three day weekend of the 10th that bears special watching. And there is a flurry of high positive energy at the end of the month centering around the new Moon on the 28th. The only significant daytime Moon void of course pe-riod is on the 30th with a few half day voids to work around.

November

This will be a November that will be remembered for a long time. The energy surrounding this U.S. election is immense and almost too complicated to de-scribe in this monthly overview. The complex involving Jupiter, Saturn, Ura-nus and Neptune described last month remains very strong through this month and well into next. The wave of change is here and by now everyone should be seeing it. At the time of the election, we have Venus and Mars in the com-plex as well. Many of the aspects would seem to counteract each other, but my take on the whole of it is that it supports the change-over from the conser-vative cultural assumption that we've lived under since the '80s to a new lib-eral cultural assumption. Know that after some years in the Sun, the assump-tion will swing back to conservatism, as that is the cyclical nature of things, and the pendulum will always swing first one way and then the other. But now is the time (since the advent of the age of Aquarius first significantly manifested in the late 1700s) when the prevailing direction reasserts itself and more gains in liberality and enlightenment occur. Let us make the most of this period that is now dawning and make ever more positive changes as perma-nent as possible. The last period comparable to this one started in the mid '60s and ran into the '80s. This one may be shorter, but it gets off with a bang. Be the change. Late in the month, Pluto, which is in a quiet phase right now, moves into Capricorn for the second time and now will remain there through the early '20s. This will be a period of great change that needs to be guided in enlightened ways. There will be changes in the fundamental ways that things are seen and dealt with. We will need to remain vigilant and involved throughout and things that get set in stone during these years will have lasting effects. Who should be more influential, the light bearers or the plutocracy? Who will be? Generate light in any and every way you can.

On more personal levels, there is a great deal of activity that will seem to bounce from the highs to the lows to back up again in a dizzying manner. This is because of the large complex of slower moving outer planets that sets up a gauntlet of positive and cautionary aspects for the faster moving inner planets to move through in rapid-fire fashion. For instance, Halloween and the first of the month have great positive and fun energy, only to be slammed on the sec-ond and rebound on the fourth. There will be a lot of that this month. It will be fun, but will need to be handled carefully at the same time with much contra-dictory energy flying around. There are many days that you will benefit from reading ahead and planning how to deal with. The only significant daytime Moon void of course periods to be aware of are on the 4th, 17th, and the 26th. Most of the others are short, but some do fall in the daytime so do watch for them.

December

As December rolls in, the complex involving Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune is still in place and powerful. Liberality is probably still partying, and with Venus conjunct Jupiter, a fine party it will be. But the work is just starting. The first thing to attend to is watching what the outgoing administra-tion is up to. Keep an eye on parting shots and plans to impede positive changes. Last ditch efforts by regressive forces, domestic and foreign, are likely. Also high on the agenda is the necessity for liberality to clean up its own house. Politically, although liberals are now emboldened to be actually liberal, there is much in the way of corporatist influence that will need to be dealt with. The Democrats being in power does not fix our problems. What they do in our name is what can, but not necessarily what will. It now falls on us to see that the right things are done. We will find it was easier to sit outside the ring of power and criticize. Now we must responsibly wield it. As the month progresses, Jupiter, which has been the largest contributor to the posi-tivity, will move on out of orb of the complex leaving the results to be dealt with. The good news is that it moves on to conjunct Pluto once again as it did last year at this time which kicked off the remarkable year we are now wrap-ping up. This energy is very positive for change in significant ways on both individual and societal levels and will intensify late this month, peak next month, and slowly fade out in February. Enjoy it, but get to work.

After all of the excitement of these past few months, December will tend to be a little more garden variety. There is the usual array of positive and cautionary energies to read ahead and plan to deal with. You may want to pay particular attention to the run up to the full Moon which is very intense. The most sig-nificant daytime Moon void of course periods are on the 1st and the 21st with a few half day voids to be aware of as well.

This brief overview is adapted from Guy Spiro’s Original Astro-Weather 2008. To order the complete version of Astro-Weather 2008 with precise daily aspects for your time zone, call Lightworks at 847-966-1110 or visit http://guyspiro.com/ where you can also access the full daily version of Astro-Weather on line. Guy Spiro has been a professional astrologer for over 25 years, publishing Astro-Weather continuously in The Monthly Aspectarian magazine since 1979.