PREVIOUS THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY July 30 2012 to August 5 2012 Monday July 30 Accept Cookies Each evening, just after Sunset, we can now see Mars and Saturn in the West. If you look at them each night over the next couple of weeks, you'll notice Mars edging ever closer to Saturn. Their conjunction will be complete around August 15. That, picking up on the analogy I drew here last week, tells us plenty about the state of the biscuit tin in the cosmic kitchen or, if you prefer, the cookie jar in the celestial pantry. It suggests that August will give rise to a great hunger for actions that produce a sense of certainty. Tuesday July 31 Mars Saturn a Bus Mars forms a conjunction to Saturn once every couple of years. We last saw such an alignment in July 2010. There's one starting to happen now that will be 'as close as it gets' around the middle of August. On pretty much the same date in 2014, we get a further meeting of these heavenly heavyweights. They may follow a regular timetable but we'd be wrong to imagine they're like buses in every respect. Or, if they are like buses, then some are rattling charabancs, others high-speed coaches. And, as I'll explain tomorrow, they head for different destinations. Wednesday August 1 Augustian Conjuc-tion Welcome to August, a month that brings a conjunction of Mars and Saturn. We get such an alignment every couple of years. They're not always visible to all, as this one is (look west at twilight to see it this week or next) nor do they happen in the same sector of the zodiac. Usually, they move on by one sign each time. Sometimes, a quirk in the cosmic timetable brings two in the same sign, two years apart. This month's conjunction is the second part of such a pair. The next double helping comes in 2020 and 2022. Thursday August 2 Lunarseed Why, when we think of full moons, do we imagine vampires, werewolves and witches? Why do we envisage courting couples silhouetted against the Moon? These are rhetorical questions. But to the answers we already know, I'd like to add an idea. Life for us all, involves a battle between chaos and order. We need order but we 'fancy' chaos. When 'anything could happen' it feels exciting. During a full moon like this one, it always seems more as if a wild adventure could sneak past the defence of sensible structure... like a stray seedling, bursting through a concrete path! Friday August 3 Raving Lunar Pary Technically, the Moon is no longer 'Full'. It will still look big when it rises tonight. For the next couple of days, we won't really notice it has started to wane. Astrologers find that it is largely just before the Moon opposes the Sun that we can expect most 'Full Moon magic'. But this is a weekend. Weekends are when many people let their hair down. And on weekends when the moon looks so full of poetic promise, even bald folk like me tend to put on party hats. The world may get a little wilder than usual soon! Saturday August 4 Your Week Ahead Dear Jonathan, We now know that Pluto has five moons. Does that change anything about what you as an astrologer can perceive in the influence that this celestial body has on people? Teddy Dear Teddy, Not really. Some while ago, Pluto was officially 'demoted'. Astronomers said it was too small to be a proper planet. Astrologers just raised a collective, sceptical eyebrow when we heard that apparently it is no longer 'supposed to be' so important. The discovery of an extra moon doesn't make it mean more to us; it simply confirms our suspicion that astronomers dismissed it prematurely. Sunday August 5 Sunday Love Forecasts Linked from this page every Sunday, you will find the Sunday Love Forecasts. These are not 'week ahead predictions' in the usual sense. Those appear here every Saturday - and can be found, now, from the menu to the left. Week ahead forecasts cover all aspects of your week... including, when relevant, your love life. Love forecasts are only about love! If you're not interested in love at the moment, if you are interested but not unhappy or in need of something, if all your relationships are comfortable and rewarding... there may not be much for you here. But remember, 'Love' doesn't just cover romance. A love forecast may also have something to say about your family life! Back to Index   Click here for Jonathan Cainer's Daily Zodiac Forecasts