PREVIOUS THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY
August 14th to August 18th
MONDAY AUGUST 14
Full Moons
Tonight, the moon will be full in Aquarius. Diaries and calendars though, which print the dates of new and full moons, show their little full moon symbol in Tuesday's space, not Monday's. Technically, this is correct. The Moon is officially full tomorrow morning. We astrologers however, feel that the Moon belongs to the night, not the day. By tomorrow evening, the Moon will be past full. More crucially, it will no longer be in the opposite zodiac sign to the sun. If, therefore, you have any traditional full moon business to perform (perhaps a seedling that you want to transplant by the light of a full moon - or a love-potion that you want to mix - or a would-be werewolf that you want to keep under lock and key), tonight's the night.
TUESDAY AUGUST 15
Bridge between two planets
Today, the Moon and Sun are opposite one another in the sky. Soon, from different points on the zodiac wheel, Mercury and Uranus will also be in opposition. Astrologers get very excited when celestial bodies align in this way. They see the planets in question as two floating islands which have been temporarily joined by a bridge. On that bridge, the inhabitants of each island can meet to talk, trade or tussle. It depends how much the islanders have in common - and on the type of 'bridge' being formed. Oppositions are wide, direct bridges that carry a lot of traffic. Tomorrow, I'll look at other types of cosmic bridge.
WEDNESDAY AUGUST 16
Mars and Pluto - wobbly bridge
Yesterday, I invited you to think of the planets as 'floating islands'. When they form significant angles to one another, it is as if they are joined by a temporary bridge. There are though, many different types of bridge. Some are big wide causeways, capable of taking an awful lot of traffic. Others are very narrow. Some may even be 'wobbly'. Mars today, is forming an angle of 120 degrees to Pluto. The two planets have plenty in common. They symbolise similar principles (Mars for example, traditional weaponry while Pluto rules nuclear arms) The bridge now being formed between them is what some astrologers call 'soft'. It can be crossed... but it takes some deliberate effort.
THURSDAY AUGUST 17
Aspects, oppositions and squares
As the planets move through the sky, they form angles to one another. You can think of these angles as bridges, temporarily joining two islands. The technical term is 'aspect'. 180 degree aspects are called Oppositions. 90 degree aspects are right angles - so we call them squares. Angles of 45 degrees are half a square so we call them semisquares. Angles of 135 degrees are "a square and half" so we call them sesqui-squares. These, plus the irritating angle of 150 degrees that we call a quincunx comprise the aspects that astrologers usually describe as tense, tricky, hard, sharp or challenging. Next week, I'll introduce you to the softer sort. Meanwhile today, I'm delighted to announce I am now able to provide a Monthly prediction for each sign on this website. You'll see the link, as usual, in the left hand frame.
FRIDAY AUGUST 18
Buddhist Monks cycling for peace
Kelsang Dondrub, Buddhist Monk, is leading a team of cyclists on a ride for world peace. Recently, their support van broke down. At first, they didn't even realise that it was no longer behind them. When they stopped, they found that the van had been towed to a garage, miles away. It was late at night and their driver needed rescuing. But how could they get her? Ride out again, with a spare bike in tow? In a touching example of inter-faith co-operation, the problem was solved by a local practitioner of Transcendental Meditation. I'd love to tell you that he flew them across the astral plane but actually, he lent the monk his Jaguar.
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