Saturday 7/27/2024: Why "Weird" is the Word

Plus: JD Vance and Val Demings, Right on Schedule

Jul 27, 2024

TGIF!

By the time you read this, we'll be ~~in the middle~~ at the end of a nice, long 19-hour Aries Moon void. It begins at 6:14 PM ET, with the me-me-me Aries drive looking to get something fun and festive started with Venus in showstopping Leo. Mind the twists and flakes; avoid impulse shopping and chilllllll. The rest of the weekend looks like this:

SATURDAY: Moon enters Taurus at 1:22 PM ET, seeking to preserve material comfort and stability. Simple joys are on your agenda…or…if you must create a structure for ideas generated during the Aries Moon, Taurus Moon has your back. This day is not without some tensions, however. Moon square to Pluto at 2:40 PM ET suggests a catharsis or power play. Get the word out before 3:35 PM ET, when Moon trines Mercury. Late evening may feature stubborn resistance, as the Leo Sun’s need to rule is (squared) resisted by Taurus Moon’s preference for keeping things as they are, thank you very much.
SUNDAY: Keep calm and carry on. If you’re working this weekend, your plan for advance may come together this evening, as Moon sextiles Saturn at 9:42 PM ET.

No sleeping in on Monday. The Taurus Moon will not be void. At 11:47 AM ET, Moon meets up with rebel Uranus -- be prepared for a surprising upset or revelation.

And now, the news.

Did you know that planetary patterns are reflected in words? I was thinking about this today because the word "weird" is all over the place this week, notably with reference to the adjudicated rapist and his running mate, JD Vance.

Kamala Harris' campaign releases statement wondering if "Trump is old and quite weird?"
Here are Senators Brian Schatz and Chris Murphy wondering about JD Vance's "weird" ideas
"The 2024 election is shaping up to be a partisan 'weird-off'"

"Weird" is a Neptune word. Mars entered Gemini last Saturday. Mars refers to weapons, and Gemini refers to words. I told you that when Mars entered Gemini, a war on words or war of words was to be expected. Just before Mars entered Gemini, it connected with weirdo Neptune, which is demanding prominence at the Aries Point. Mars entered Gemini and cozied up to Pluto (empowerment) on Sunday. That was the same day Mercury (communication) squared Uranus (a potential genetic mutation). And so...all this week, "weird" is the word...and it is being weaponized. Astrology helps us understand WHY.

But it's not just politics. Note this NYT review, posted nine hours ago: "A New Batman Is Less a Dark Knight Than a ‘Weird and Creepy’ One"
"2024 Paris Olympics: Most memorable moments from the wet, wild and weird Opening Ceremony"

[UPDATE: Now that I'm back at my computer on Saturday morning, I see that Heather Cox Richardson has noted the historical significance of the weaponization of the word "weird," in her latest Letter. Kewl!!]

Meanwhile...

Barack Obama's horoscope was functioning as designed at 5:01 AM ET Friday, when he tweeted a video of Kamala Harris receiving a call from the Obamas, endorsing her campaign. Some were wondering a few days ago why they didn't immediately join the endorsement chorus, but astrology tells the story.

Venus (social expression) was activating his Ascendant (how he needs to be seen), and it was supported by the Moon. This suggests an easy flow of social graces -- fiery, crusading, and/or showstopping. For the astro-nerds reading this: Venus was at 18 Leo; Moon was at 18 Aries (the degree of the April total solar eclipse); Obama’s ASC is 18 Aquarius.

If you have the Substack app, you would have seen the above tidbit in a Note I posted this morning. You might have also seen this exquisite comment from Avid Reader Alexandra:

I think Biden was very strategic behind the scenes in making Kamala get the nom so quickly and enthusiastically. To be a fly on the wall in that conversation with Pelosi!!

To which I replied:

Brilliant observation -- and true to the reigning need of Biden's horoscope. With his Taurus Moon, he NEEDS to preserve the status quo; to keep things feeling calm, comfortable and secure. This need is focused on taking care of others. The last thing in the world he would do is intentionally create chaos or leave something up in the air. He said he wanted to "finish the job," and -- with all those Taurus, Leo, and Scorpio placements, under pressure from Pluto and Uranus -- he is damned if he doesn't find a way to do it.

Biden is arguably in a much more empowered position now than he was a week ago, even if the restrictive potential of heavy Saturn transits and a solar arc (another way astrologers have of measuring time), combined with Pluto's "break down" potential are reflected in real life. There is always an upside, and often we see both sides of a pattern's potential manifesting simultaneously.

Now that Biden doesn't need to campaign, he can focus on other priorities, e.g, arresting Mexican druglords without actually invading the country, or proposing reforms to the corrupt Supreme Court (he'll do this on Monday), or nominate former US Rep. Val Demings (D-FL) to serve on the USPS Board of Governors. The timing is apt for Demings, of course. She has Mars (action, assertion) at -- wait for it -- 26 Taurus, square to Pluto at 28 Leo. A hard aspect between Mars and Pluto makes sense for an athlete or former police chief, which she is. Mars-Pluto suggests a need to work with extremes of assertion and/or aggression, for better or worse. Demings has a square between Mercury-Venus in Pisces and Saturn in Sagittarius, and these three planets are being activated by transiting Jupiter in Gemini. This is potentially rewarding and suggests a renewed sense of purpose. March 12, 1957 in Jacksonville, FL -- birth time unknown.

Speaking of Mars...

...the first public statement Biden made this week (as Mars was about to oppose his Ascendant) was about Sonya Massey, who literally lost her head on July 6th in her kitchen. She was senselessly murdered by a brutish police officer, and it seems someone initially lied about how she died. However, it was captured on body cam, and the officer has been charged with homicide.

As anticipated a few forecasts ago, July 24-25 did turn out to be a time of provocative assertion for Biden and Kamala Harris. Biden addressed the nation from the Oval Office on the 24th, explaining his decision to step aside and pass the torch to Harris (as Stephen Colbert explains). Harris spent the week provocatively asserting herself in campaign appearances and also by not showing up for Bibi Netanyahu's address to Congress. Watch -- and hear what Harris had to say about her private meeting with Bibi and the deal for a ceasefire that is on the table. Fun fact: her Jupiter/Pluto midpoint was hit by the total solar eclipse on April 8th. We would expect a sudden surge in matters of power and resources, and her campaign continues to rake in millions.

More on Mars...

...which is at the root of JD Vance's horoscope.

On July 15th, Senator J.D. Vance (R-OH) became the convicted felon's running mate. We only had a birth date then, but any skilled astrologer would expect to see heavy planetary transits to the Ascendant and Midheaven of Vance's correctly timed horoscope. Thanks to astrologer Steven Stuckey, we now have the birth time, and our expectations were correct. Astrology is amazing.

Observations:

Vance is a Leo, driven by the Moon in Libra. This is a regal people-pleaser, with a behind-the-scenes perspective and a message to sell. His Libra Moon was hit by the total solar eclipse on April 8th. That's one pattern reflecting his surge right now. Other patterns include transiting Mars and Uranus squaring his 27 Leo Ascendant. In April, Jupiter and Uranus were right on the Midheaven, suggesting a fresh start and expanded public status. He's in a period of change...and change again...continuing into April of 2025. So is his running mate.
Mars is at the root of this chart, powerfully placed in Scorpio. Ruthless action and assertion seek to be of influence. We see potential violence and upsets in the early home life, and it was no surprise when he said at the RNC that his grandmother had 19 loaded guns in her home. Yeesh.
Venus is on his 27 Leo Ascendant, conjunct his running mate's Mars and 29 Leo Ascendant. Vance needs to project a regal bearing, but gosh, that square to Mars in Scorpio can be off-putting
His Sun is exactly square Saturn, tighter than the Sun-Saturn square in the horoscope of the United States. "If you just work hard enough, you can be anything" is ingrained in the U.S. psyche, but gosh, the U.S. Saturn is in Libra, nowhere near as dark as Saturn in Scorpio. Take a look at stories making news in 2014, when Saturn was last in the sign of the nitty-gritty controls in matters of life and death. Sun in Leo and Saturn in Scorpio can be a righteous, rigid combination. This is the man who believes that women should stay in an abusive marriage for the sake of their children, and oh, by the way, a woman is worth nothing without them. No-fault divorce would be no more, on Planet Vance.
His Mercury (how he needs to think) is squared by Uranus. This is bound to be a person who "thinks different," which could be genius, rebellious, or simply mad.
Neptune, which refers to ideals, victimization, deception, and drugs is at the Aries Point, pushing boundaries in Sagittarius and demanding attention. His mother was a nurse and a drug addict, now recovered. Neptune is supercharged right now, squared by transiting Neptune at 29 Pisces. That can be sooooo weird!
Jupiter is in Capricorn, conjunct Neptune. Jupiter refers to one's need for reward. Cappy is happy in a hierarchy. At Yale Law School in 2011, Vance recalls being he was "obsessed with achievement and winning the 'social competition.'"
His Pluto -- power and resources -- is at the very end of Libra, also currently supercharged, but by transiting Pluto. He's backed by supercharged tech bros, including men like Peter Thiel, who doesn't believe in democracy.
Back in 2016, Vance was a Never Trumper, who called his current running mate "America's Hitler" (don't get me started on what I saw happening in Hitler's horoscope nine years ago, how disturbed I was at how empowered it was likely to become at this moment in time). What changed for Vance? A long series of heavy hits to Vance's Moon and Sun (from Pluto and Saturn) and Saturn and Midheaven (from Uranus) between 2018 and 2021. This culminated in the potentially razzle-dazzled, deceptive fog of a pattern between Neptune and his Midheaven in 2022, when declaring that "America's Hitler" was the best thing since sliced bread could earn him "AH's" endorsement in the Ohio Senate race, which it did, and he won. Weird. And here we are now.
Vance's Mars can be prickly for his running mate, as it clashes with AH's own Mars, Ascendant and Midheaven. Plus, Vance's Saturn squares AH's Pluto...and AH's Saturn squares Vance's Moon. These are not feel-good positions.

Meanwhile...

Random power plays reflecting Tuesday morning's annual Sun-Pluto opposition:

In the wake of the extraordinary surge among last week's planetary patterns, it was fitting that minutes before Thursday's dreamy Moon-Neptune meet-up, commentators on Maria Bartiromo's morning show were gobsmacked by the "most optimistic, fairy tale numbers ever seen" in the economic data for the 2nd quarter GDP.

Elsewhere...

Bibi Netanyahu and the convicted felon have something in common. They both have Mars at 26 Leo, which means that they are both receiving a hit from transiting Uranus over the next couple of days. Translation: both may be feeling rather daring, if not downright explosive, rebellious and/or reckless. Netanyahu gave a "defiant" lecture to Congress this week, and then went to Mar-a-Lago, which enabled yet another apparent violation of U.S. law (the Logan Act), which prohibits unauthorized private citizens from negotiating U.S. foreign policy. We should keep an eye on both of them in the first 10 days of October, when this Uranus-Mars pattern returns for a second of three hits. Astrologer Grant Lewi famously said of Mars in Leo that it may facilitate an ability to "get away with murder." Thanks to Avid Reader Andre for pointing out that 14 out of 46 U.S. presidents were born with Mars in Leo. Kamala Harris would be the 15th.

Anyhoo...the potential recklessness in the convicted felon's horoscope was brought to life last night at a rally, where he said this:

Get out and vote. Just this time. You won’t have to do it anymore. Four more years, you know what: it’ll be fixed, it’ll be fine. You won’t have to vote anymore, my beautiful Christians…. Get out, you’ve got to get out and vote. In four years, you don’t have to vote again, we’ll have it fixed so good you’re not going to have to vote.”

As Maya Angelou famously said, "When someone shows you who they are, believe them." Heather Cox Richardson has more.

Register to vote or check your registration status here.

Here's the 411 on personal consultations. Astrologers are like dentists, doncha' know. It's good to check in with yours every six months to a year, so you can stay on top of shifting planetary patterns. Astrology is a powerful tool for understanding why you are the way you are, and why things happen when they do. You can use astrology to improve any relationship -- e.g., with your child, spouse, boss, sibling -- any significant other.

Thank you for reading, liking, sharing, restacking, and commenting on Why Now News. Special thanks to Avid Readers who are supporting it. I am ever-so grateful to you for letting me know that my effort to show you the order in seemingly-random chaos is worthwhile.

I leave you with Hillbilly Eulogy, yet another clever and entertaining video from fellow Moon-in-Gemini, Stephen Colbert.

Why Now News by Elisabeth Grace

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