PREVIOUS THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY April 21 2008 to April 27 2008 Monday April 21 Mars and Jupiter Once every couple of years, Mars and Jupiter form an opposition. The two planets were edging towards this alignment on September 11, 2001. They were slipping out of opposition on July 7, 2005. Mars and Jupiter were also opposed in late August, 2003. No single explosion made its mark on history around this time, but significant bomb blasts took place in Israel, India and Iraq. For the past few weeks, Mars has been rising in the East, just as Jupiter sets in the West. Soon, their angle of opposition becomes 'exact'. It continues to have potency till early May. Tuesday April 22 Jupiter Jupiter, traditionally, 'makes things bigger'. It is the the planet of plenty, the heavenly magnifier. Mars governs conflict and competition, anger and aggression. If the zodiac is a clockface, these two planets are now at twelve and six. When reading the cosmic clock, astrologers aren't so interested in the numbers round the dial. We read most into the shape that the hands are making. Jupiter, now 'opposite' Mars, is 'amplifying' its influence, causing hidden anger to show itself. Mars, meanwhile, is provoking Jupiter, turning normal largesse into wild magnanimity. These are intense times. But by no means bad ones. Wednesday April 23 Jupiter and Mars Around 1915, Gustav Holst composed an orchestral suite in seven movements. Each evoked the traditional mood of a different heavenly body. In between writing music, Holst cast charts for his friends and relations. To them, and to his musical audience, he called Mars 'Bringer of War' and Jupiter 'Bringer of Jollity.' Holst knew these descriptions were oversimplified but they helped convey a quick message. Jupiter and Mars are in opposition now. Though Jupiter means more than jollity and Mars more than war, their alignment suggests many victories can now be more easily be won with humour than with argument. Thursday April 24 Predicting Not everything I prophesy comes to pass - or I'd have a big head and a boring life. I've made several 'world event' predictions lately. Some have been accurate. Others still hang in the balance. In theory, every prediction stands a 50/50 chance of coming true. It's possible to improve on this success rate by making modest forecasts based on good information. I have, though, been reasonably reckless recently and still scored high. The magic is in astrology, not me, so I don't want any credit. Nor do I want the blame if Hillary doesn't get all the way! Friday April 25 Mars and Jupiter If you were an alien, passing our solar system in some intergalactic cruise liner, your view of Mars and Jupiter might not comprise the perfect 'opposition' that we can see. Astrology is concerned only with the view from the window of Spaceship Earth. It may, technically, be an optical illusion... but then there are mystics who insist that the whole of existence is just an illusion! Here in the world that seems so real to us, Mars and Jupiter's opposition is no longer waxing. It now grows less intense each day. This may yet prove a surprisingly peaceful weekend. Saturday April 26 Your Weekend 'There are,' as the old song says, 'more questions than answers.' That's because many questions share the same answer! This week, Mars and Neptune form an antagonistic angle causing many people, regardless of when they were born, to start doubting old assumptions and beliefs. The old certainties make less sense than they used to. The more we all wonder what's really going on, the more we suspect that we will never understand anything again. What's really happening now is the discovery of a new solution - a possibility that has always been open to us all, but has never previously seemed appropriate. Expect soon to come across an answer to many questions. Back to Index   Click here for Jonathan Cainer's Daily Zodiac Forecasts