PREVIOUS THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY April 18 2016 to April 24 2016 Monday April 18 The Simultaneous Stations of Mars and Pluto More Sally Fisher Art here. Pluto and Mars are 'stationary'. Well, I don't mean that literally. If any planet were actually to stand still in the sky, those folk who hold placards saying The End Is Nigh would feel briefly delighted with their accuracy and prescience... before vanishing in the same puff of smoke as the rest of us! Yet there's strong symbolic meaning in the way these two powerful heavenly bodies are now preparing to 'change direction'. Some of us may indeed soon feel that the bottom is dropping out of our world. But coming events will actually restore our missing strength! Tuesday April 19 Assessing the Opposition More Sally Fisher Art here. Hello Jonathan, My birthday is November 10, my best friend's is November 9. You have been talking about the Mercury Transit on May 9. How will this affect us with our Sun signs opposite the transit? Peter Hello Peter, This rare event is positive for all in different ways. For Scorpios, it suggests the renegotiation of an important agreement. But are you asking whether we can read more into how, if we plot the days of the year round the edge of a wheel, your birthdates appear 'opposite' May 9? It isn't quite that simple, as I'll explain tomorrow. Wednesday April 20 A Matter of Degrees More Sally Fisher Art here. Yesterday, Peter, whose friend's birthday falls on November 9 asked how this will interact with the rare Transit Of Mercury on May 9? If you plot the calendar of the year on to a circle, you end up with May 9 and November 9 roughly, but not exactly, opposite. The zodiac, like every circle, has 360 divisions or 'degrees'. Each year, though, is 365.25 days long. We average out our clocks and calendars. It will actually take till November 11 before the Sun reaches a part of the sky that directly opposes the position of the Sun on May 9. Thursday April 21 Full Moon Party More Sally Fisher Art here. It's Full Moon time. Or, at least, it will be soon. To an astrologer, it is always the phase just prior to the Full Moon that matters most. Once the angle of opposition between the two luminaries has become exact, we expect less tension, drama or change. The Moon will still look full tomorrow and, indeed, all the weekend. Vampires and werewolves can still officially cite this as a licence to get out and about. But if you're worried about any aspect of your own life resembling a scary story... by this time tomorrow, you should be seeing solutions. Victoria Wood Born May 19, 1953, Victoria Wood was a musical Taurean with the Moon in the entertainer's sign of Leo. On the day that she entered the world, an unusual conjunction of Saturn and Neptune opposed Mercury, the communication planet. That triple alignment is a classic symbol of fierce brilliance. As for what was going on in the sky on the day that she left us? That's beyond an astrologer's remit to examine, as is the rate at which so many great talents seem to be leaving us this year. Some things, in life and death alike, are beyond explanation. Friday April 22 Group Therapy More Sally Fisher Art here. Dear Jonathan, My whole family seems to be in crisis. Many friends are also on the edge: tired, sick, anxious, the lot! What's going on? Rachel Dear Rachel, It could be the Full Moon or the recent 'stations' of Mars and Pluto. Or the trouble may not be so universal. The full personal birth charts of family members often turn out to have 'sensitive spots' in common. Astrologers also sometimes find people with similar personal horoscopes are unconsciously drawn to befriend each other, even if they are born under different signs. Thus, one passing planet can agitate a group! What is a horoscope? You may may have noticed that this website now has a headline that reads 'Daily Horoscope'. It is there for a series of technical and commercial reasons but I really ought to point out that these daily readings I give here aren't, technically, 'horoscopes'. A horoscope is the correct name for a full personal birth chart, calculated from your exact moment of birth. The term 'stars' is also misleading. The zodiac signs we refer to here are named after constellations but they don't occupy the same exact positions in the sky. Here, on this site, you are reading forecasts, calculated on the basis of the movements of the Sun, Moon, the planets and one dwarf-planet, as they pass through equal divisions of the Ecliptic, interpreted according to sacred tradition, passed down orally through the generations and supported by ancient scrolls and stone tablets. A horoscope is a very different thing. From the Greek words 'Horo' (hour or time) plus 'scope' (vision, insight) it is properly used in astrology to mean a map of the sky as it looked above the horizon of your birthplace at the exact moment of your birth. Such a map is always full of deeply revealing symbolism, much of which is unique to you alone. If you'd like to see your very own personal map - and obtain, with it, a full reading of this chart from me, with point by point interpretation, click here! And, as I was saying yesterday, some things are beyond explanation. Any astrologer could furnish an apparent reason for the current sad stream of celebrity departures. The 'cosmic culprit' can only be an unprecedented planetary placement. When can any of us remember a time like this? But that's still hardly an explanation. An astrologer's work focuses on birth, never death. Why would anyone ever want to predict that? I'll look more closely at the sky this weekend to see if there is more to say. First though, I must pause to mourn the passing of Prince; a genuine Gemini genius. Saturday April 23 Your Week Ahead More Sally Fisher Art here. Though the Full Moon is now past the peak of its power it still dominates the night sky for the next few days. Full Moons come round once a month or so. That, indeed, is where we get the concept of a 'month' from. The disparity between the 27.5-day lunar cycle and the 365.25-day solar cycle, by which we measure days and years, has long fascinated astrologers. It evens out once every 18.6 years! With that in mind, let us look now at what may seem to be uneven in our daily lives. This week, with clearer vision, we may be able to take more constructive steps. Sunday April 24 Your Week Ahead - Love Focus More Sally Fisher Art here. Remember, your Love Forecast today does not 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           Jonathan Cainer's Daily Zodiac Forecasts