PREVIOUS THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY November 18 2013 to November 24 2013 Monday November 18 Auspicious Start Mars now forms an angle of sixty degrees to the position currently occupied by Jupiter. We call such alignments 'sextiles' because they span one sixth of the zodiac. Sextiles, regardless of what planets they fall between, are generally considered auspicious and benign. Because Mars moves relatively quickly, alignments such as this arise a lot more often than, say, the series of squares or right angles now being formed between slow-moving Uranus and Pluto. Nor does the influence last as long. But today is exceptionally good for those who are starting new ventures or seeking a fairer form of justice. Tuesday November 19 The End of the Line Dear Jonathan, Gina recently wrote to you quoting what her teacher had said about parallel lines. But if lines meet anywhere at all they are NOT parallel. It's an illusion; they only appear to meet. It's a trick of our perspective vision. Jim Hello Jonathan, Parallel lines, by definition, are continuously equidistant. That is, they will never meet. If two lines ever will meet, they are convergent; converging to meet at some point however distant. Grant Dear Jim and Grant, You are, of course, both right. Unless (as some physicists suspect) the fabric of 'space-time' is actually slightly curved. Wednesday November 20 Bright Ison? Comet Ison, last year, was expected to provide us with the 'show of the century'. Then the experts revised their view and warned that it may be a 'bit of a damp squib'. But it has brightened dramatically and became visible to the naked eye just before sunrise last week. As it now makes its closest approach to the Sun, it may either explode, fizzle out or become a spectacular beacon of inspiration for the world, all through December and beyond. I'm still hoping for this, but then (as regular readers may possibly have noticed) I am an optimist. Thursday November 21 Pole Dancing The Sun's magnetic poles are starting to swap over. Readers with long memories may recall that we discussed this here some months ago. It is clearly nothing to worry about as it happens every 11 years or so. It may well have some symbolic significance, but the traditional textbooks make no mention of it. My ancient predecessors knew nothing of 'coronal mass ejections' or 'solar polar rollovers'. There are, though, some modern specialist astrologers who have made a careful study of sunspot cycles. I'm trying, as we speak, to track one down, interview them and report on their views. Friday November 22 Description Only Hello Jonathan, You frequently say in your forecasts that we are here to be happy and enjoy our lives. You even suggest it is a duty. That is well and good for people living in relatively affluent peaceful countries. But what about those who are starving, facing war, made homeless by flood or earthquake, experiencing illness or suffering great injustice? Jenny Hello Jenny, Do I say that? I must watch myself. It is beyond an astrologer's remit to prescribe a philosophy. We should merely describe the meaning of celestial alignments. Otherwise, we'll get letters containing more questions like yours! Saturday November 23 Your Week Ahead Last month, Mercury commenced a retrograde phase just as it reached the 18th degree of Scorpio. Though the planet of commerce and communication turned 'direct' a couple of weeks ago, it will not be until the middle of this week that it fully makes up the distance that it lost. Now obviously, all this is subjective. No planet ever actually moves backwards. But that's how it looks from here. And from here too, it looks to many of us as if a lot of productive processes have recently lost momentum. This piece of celestial symbolism implies a welcome improvement. Sunday November 24 Your Week Ahead - Love Focus Your forecast today doesn't just cover romance. A love forecast may also have something to say about your family life, your closest friendships and even some of your most important working relationships... Back to Index   Click here for Jonathan Cainer's Daily Zodiac Forecasts