If you were expecting some kind of sun sign nonsense, forget it. This is real astrology. See the section above. Please note: this forecast is expressed in terms of Universal Time (UT). Current UT date and time appear at the top of this page. (To update display, use your browser's reload/refresh button.) 

June appears to be a 'marking time' kind of month, judging from the relative lack of major planetary aspects at work. Everything is tentative . . . the calm before the storm. That's not to say this will be a 'slow news' month. I mean, we're still looking at a storm and seismic upsurge through the 2nd as a leftover from last month, after all. Not to mention a Mars station on the 4th and another SuperMoon on the 13th. Plus, Jupiter's Taurus ingress on the 28th signals important economic news around then. Still, June has a peculiar flavor, as if time is somehow standing still, as if we're all waiting for the other shoe to drop . . . July and August will be here soon enough.

The Mars direct station opposing Jupiter on June 4 - within a degree of being exact from May 22 through June 16 - is a lot like the retrograde station that happened back in March. That one signaled the outbreak of war between Yugoslavia and the NATO alliance. This one augurs a last-ditch effort to avert further intensification of that conflict. (See my online 3,000-year tables for all Mars stations from 600 BCE to 2400 CE.) Unless a diplomatic solution can be worked out, by mid-month at the latest, NATO will begin massing ground troops. A diplomatic solution would be made much easier by the death or capture of indicted war criminal Slobodan Milosevic, and that's a possibility around the time of the June 4 station. Ironically, the natal charts of US President Bill Clinton and UK Prime Minister Tony Blair are also strongly activated by this Mars station. Either they're surrounded by danger too, or they're plotting serious strategy for an invasion of Yugoslavian territory. As a bargaining ploy, perhaps. Let's hope so . . .

But those strong eclipse and Mars-Saturn activations of July and August make the easy way out look like a very remote possibility. And in any event the kind of diplomatic resolution that gathers steam for a time in early June is in essence a capitulation to genocide . . . the kind of compromise that made "peace in our time" a hallmark of shame back in 1939. Politicians make deals like this all the time, so no thinking person can rule out such a sell-out.

A number of planetary alignments suggesting uncertainty in the financial markets are on tap this month. My 1999 forecast highlights have already warned that "major equity markets shape up as schizoid: somewhat bullish in the first quarter or two, mostly bearish thereafter." While the big drops on the market roller-coasters will probably hold off until late July or August, there are a few ups and downs looking very likely for June. Venus opposing Neptune on the 10th is one such signal, give or take a couple days.

There's another SuperMoon on the 13th, at 22 Gemini. (A SuperMoon is a new or full moon that occurs when the Moon is within 90% or greater of its closest approach to Earth. For more, see my 20th Century table of all these alignments.) Even more than an ordinary new or full moon, in fact at least on a par with an eclipse, a SuperMoon ups the ante for strong storms, flooding and moderate to severe seismic activity (including Richter 5 or greater quakes and volcanic eruptions) within three days before and after the fact. This one shapes up as very potent, because the new moon occurs just over 12 hours after the Moon's closest approach to Earth. (See my online table of 1999 lunar apogees & perigees for more on this.) So keep a weather eye on the period from the 10th through the 16th. And if your plans include travel, figure on allowing extra time for weather-related delays while you're at it.

Being planetary in scale, SuperMoons are planetary in scope. No place on Earth is safe from the potential for wild weather and seismic upheaval during the June 10-16 SuperMoon window. Still, there may be some hints as to regions of special vulnerability. The Astro*Carto*Graphy map for this particular SuperMoon suggests a number of possible target zones, as I wrote in my 1999 forecast: "The Great Plains states, west Texas and central Mexico appear to be in the crosshairs this time around (also central Canada), along with northern Russian, central India, central and western Africa, eastern Europe, Southeast Asia and Japan."

Another of those freaky market indicators comes up around the 19th, as Venus squares Saturn. (Margin calls!) And then comes the Venus-Uranus opposition on the 23rd, another sign of turbulence in the markets around this time. The Mercury squares to Mars and Jupiter that day suggest that war-related rumors, communication disruptions (including computer viruses and network attacks) and inflation worries can be a destabilizing factor. I've been telling you for a couple months now to take profits wherever possible, to reduce your exposure to speculative stocks - especially those Internet high-fliers. Relax, you can buy 'em back at a discount in a few months.

The full moon on the 28th is another harbinger of severe storms and moderate to severe seismic activity (including volcanic eruptions and Richter 5 or greater quakes). This one is in effect from the 25th through July 1st. Plan some flexibility into your itinerary if you have travel plans during this period, to allow for weather delays. (Non-stop flights are always best, but they're practically essential at times like this.) And do keep a weather eye on the sky, a few extra candles or lantern batteries in the pantry, etc. Storms are a big enough nuisance without letting them make you stumble around in the dark.

Jupiter enters Taurus as the Moon waxes full in the sky on the 28th, a sign that threats of inflation and interest rate hikes are much on the minds of investors as June draws to a close. Yes, there's likely to be an up-tick in these economic indices . . . but it's likely to last for only about a quarter before it turns out to be a false alarm, because we're not out of the deflationary cycle yet. With Mercury opposing Neptune on the 30th, it's likely that any tightening in the money supply will be short-lived . . . and mistaken.

  

SPECIAL FEATURE: This month's birthdays of the famous and infamous (with astrological birth charts)