Sun Waxing Square (90°) to Mars (Mars Max begins)
Mars S-Rx = Mars Retrograde Station (Retrograde Begins)
Sun-Mars Oppositiion (180°) (Mars Perigee)
Mars S-D = Mars Direct Station (Retrograde Ends)
Sun Waning Square (270°) to Mars (Mars Max ends)

That closer, bigger, brighter and more prominent stuff is why I refer to Mars Max as the "über Mars" factor, the hallmark of ultra-violence, to borrow a phrase from Anthony Burgess Clockwork Orange (written under a Mars Max) and Stanley Kubrick s film of the same name (released under another Mars Max). Any nodding acquaintance with the astrology of Mars tells you what to expect during a Mars Max cycle: extremes of violence, from interpersonal to international; short, hot tempers and big blazing fires, explosions figurative as well as literal, accidents on a grand scale, etc. Or, as I summarize it, a rash of "fires, clashes, crashes and explosions."

The 9/11 attack, the German invasion of Poland that started World War II, Pearl Harbor: they re all obvious Mars Max manifestations, and they all came during a Mars Max cycle. Warfare is integral to the astrology of Mars, which is why Roman mythology dubbed Mars the god of war. But war is only one end of the Mars spectrum of violence, which ranges all the way from the individual to the collective, from interpersonal squabbles to mass murder to terrorism to all-out warfare. Consider Columbine a case in point: the archetypal 1999 high school massacre took place within days of the April 24 peak of the 1999 Mars Max.

Long story short, the current Mars Max began August 27, 2022 and ends March 16, 2023. This whole time, Mars is in Gemini. So if you were born under a prominent Gemini factor check your birth chart this whole period is a time to slow down, count to ten, check yourself before you wreck yourself. Likewise people born with the other mutable signs (Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces) prominent in their charts are apt to be "under the gun" during the particular Mars Max cycle.

Incidentally, as with all planetary Max cycles, there s a retrograde cycle included in every Mars Max. The old astrological tradition that planets when retrograde are somehow not as prominent as they are when direct is just the reverse of true. Like so much of the astrological tradition we accepted uncritically as we were learning the cosmic craft.

In closing, I would be remiss not to remind you that we re now in the second Stealth SuperMoon of the year, exact today at 1° Pisces. (For more on the SuperMoons of 2023, check pp. 30-36 in my 2023 World Timeline Forecast.)

  JAN 9, 2023 UPDATE A couple of timely reminders for you, given the recent (and ongoing) solar storm activity on the one hand, and my 2023 World Timeline Forecast (WTF) on the other. The two are not unrelated.

Anyone following recent space weather reports knows we re now in a period of increased solar storminess and associated geomagnetic storms, since December 21 - the day the current Mercury Max cycle began. It started with a Kp5 geomagnetic storm on December 23 (one of three since then) and three X-class solar flares (the strongest class of such events) starting on December 30, including the most recent one on January 10.

This comes as no surprise to anyone who has been following my annual world forecasts over the years. Like SuperMoon, planetary Max Cycle is a term of my own invention. It describes an important cycle of relationship between the Sun, Earth, and another planet; a period centered on the planet s perigee (closest approach to Earth). The table below shows the Mercury Max cycles for 2022-2023. In particular, note the first line in the table, which details the five key points in the current (December 21-January 30) Mercury Max.

2022-2023 MERCURY MAX CYCLE 2

Max-E	S-Rx	Cnj. SUN	S-D	Max-W
DEC 21, 2022	DEC 29, 2022	JAN 7, 2023	JAN 18, 2023	JAN 30, 2023
APR 29, 2022	MAY 10, 2022	MAY 21, 2022	JUN 3, 2022	JUN 16, 2022
AUG 27, 2022	SEP 10, 2022	SEP 23, 2022	OCT 2, 2022	OCT 8, 2022
DEC 21, 2022	DEC 29, 2022	JAN 7, 2023	JAN 18, 2023	JAN 30, 2023

Max-E = Mercury (Evening Star) Max. Elongation East of Sun (Max begins)
S-Rx = Retrograde Station (Retrograde GBegins)
Cnj. SU = Inferior Conjunction with Sun
S-D = Direct Station (Retrograde Ends)
Max-W = Mercury (Morning Star) Max. Elongation West of Sun (Max ends)

There s a lot to Mercury Max, and you ll find it spelled out on pages 6-14 in my 2023 World Timeline Forecast. While this Mercury cycle is relevant to seismic and meteorological disturbances as well as human health, psychology and social activities, the present focus is on its connection to solar activity including Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) and solar flares. As described in my forecast (p. 12): "Keep a sharp eye on these cycles, and in particular on those five key points in each Mercury Max cycle."

For more on Mercury Max, and how it puts Mercury retrograde into an astronomically based real sky perspective (free of "Mercury Shadow" nonsense), plus a whole lot more about what lies ahead this year, see my 2023 World Timeline Forecast. (Ordering details here.) I m now caught up on all orders received as of January 10. If you ordered prior to that date and haven t received your copy of the forecast yet, please let me know so I can fix the problem.

In closing, auroras are one of the signs in the sky that show evidence of space weather impacting Earth. You can watch some of them in real time, from the comfort and warmth of your own home if you like. For example, here's a peek at the skies above Churchill Station, Manitoba. There s also a live skyview from Lapland. (Thanks to my friend Vi Schafler, moderator of the Facebook Orin and DaBen group for sharing these finds for our viewing pleasure.)

  NOV 30, 2022 UPDATE It s that time of year again, as inquiries about my 2023 World Timeline Forecast (formerly called the World Forecast Highlights) have started coming in by phone and email. Yes, I m working up to the deadline this time as usual, getting it ready for the customary December 31 release date. (Gotta keep the copycats at bay, like that character in South America back in the 90s who copied and published whole paragraphs without permission or attribution.)

What s coming our way? Four eclipses and four SuperMoons (no overlaps), every possible terrestrial planet Max Cycle lots of turbulence there, including a slew of solar storms. Oh, and there s a Jupiter-Pluto square triggering the 2006 Jupiter-Saturn-Neptune T-Square the only reoccurrence of this configuration since the one in 535 CE that ushered in the Dark Age. For details on what all these celestial events portend, as well as when and where they re focused, see the 2023 WTF. Ordering details are now online here.

  NOV 28, 2022 UPDATE/SUPERMOON ALERT Retired astrophysicist Fred Espenak does some great work on eclipses, which is why he s popularly known as Mr. Eclipse. But when it comes to SuperMoons, he misses the mark as often as not. I know, because I created and defined the term back in 1979. In recent years, Mr. Espenak has taken to redefining it, without regard to my work in this field for the last 40+ years.

Most recently, as cited in EarthSky online, he took it upon himself to declare that the November 23, 2022 new moon would be the first in a series of five new moon SuperMoons in a row. Well, he s a bit more than half right but three out of five ain t bad, to borrow a phrase. He s right about the December 23, 2022 new moon, as well as the ones on January 21 and February 20, 2023. (All three are listed in my free online 21st Century SuperMoon table.) But his two selections fall short.

I have defined SuperMoon as a perigee syzygy where the syzygy (new or full moon) occurs closer to perigee than 90% of all syzygies. Earth and Moon are relatively close at all perigee syzygies: that s part of the definition of the term, after all. While there are basically thirteen such perigees a year, few of them are SuperMoons. It takes a syzygy that s close enough to the time of perigee to count.

Typically, you can figure that a SuperMoon is any syzygy occurring at perigee within about plus or minus a day s apparent lunar motion (i.e. roughly within 24 hours either way, usually considerably less). And that s exactly where Mr. Espenak falls short.

Take his November 23 new SuperMoon for example. It occurs 2 days and 2 hours (50 hours) before the perigee of November 26. Likewise the March 21 new SuperMoon happens 50 hours after the March 19 perigee. A miss is as good as a mile? Suggestion; if you want to know when to expect a SuperMoon, it wouldn t hurt to start at the source: my free online tables.

  OCT 5, 2022 UPDATE We re now in the rearguard of 2022 s penultimate Mercury Max cycle, which began on August 27 (the same day the current Mars Max began), and concludes on October 8. (The grand finale Mercury Max begins in December and extends into 2023.) Like all Mercury Maxes, this one is accompanied by intensified mercurial phenomena, putting a sharp focus on thought, communication and commerce. It s a time to do your utmost in all such areas of human experience, because nothing less will pass muster. Everything goes to custard if the mind and focus wander in this cycle.

Every Mercury Max is marked by the close approach of Earth and Mercury, as the latter in its faster, inner orbit catches up on us from behind and then passes our home planet and races around ahead of us to the far side of the Sun. It s a time when the little planet is at its biggest and brightest in our skies.

The whole Mercury Max cycle is marked by solar disturbances including M- and X-class solar flares, CMEs (Coronal Mass Ejections) and resulting disturbances in Earth s magnetosphere (Kp5 and up geomagnetic storms, satellite as well as terrestrial infrastructure outages). All of which plays havoc with the nervous systems of people who are sensitive to such things. But as described in the section of my 2022 World Forecast Highlights dealing with Mercury Max (pp. 18-23), the sharpest signals of this type occur within plus or minus three days of the five key points in the cycle. Two of those have blended together from September 29 through October 11. So far in this interval, we ve had the strongest solar flare of the year (an X-class on October 2) and a continuous Kp5 geomagnetic storm from the 2nd through the 3rd (so far).

This risk period has a week to go yet, more or less. Stay alert, have your backups and backup plans ready to hand. Be patient and keep well hydrated!

P>  JUN 20, 2022 UPDATE The 2022-2023 Mars Max cycle is just around the corner. Looking back on the history of this phenomenon which isn t specifically recognized in traditional astrology it s not too early to start coming to terms with what lies ahead. First and foremost, this heralds a widespread surge in all facets of human experience related to Mars: intemperance, belligerence, impatience, haste, hostility and aggression. Anything and everything that stems from such impulses is found in abundance during the Mars Max cycle. Think "fires, crashes, clashes and explosions," and you ve got a good handle on the Mars mayhem that lies before us.

2022-2023 MARS MAX CYCLE

Sun-090-Mars	Mars S-Rx	Sun-180-Mars	Mars S-D	Sun-270-Mars
AUG 27, 2022	OCT 30, 2022	DEC 8, 2022	JAN 12, 2023	MAR 16, 2023

Sun Waxing Square (90°) to Mars (Mars Max begins)
Mars S-Rx = Mars Retrograde Station (Retrograde Begins)
Sun-Mars Oppositiion (180°) (Mars Perigee)
Mars S-D = Mars Direct Station (Retrograde Ends)
Sun Waning Square (270°) to Mars (Mars Max ends)

At the personal level, tension and friction erupts in relationships, along a spectrum ranging from disagreements and arguments all the way to outright violence. Likewise in the social dimension, where the expression can range from riots to class warfare to civil war. At the international level, war takes center stage. We have seen lots of examples on all these fronts lately and in fact, throughout human history. What we see during a Mars Max is typically beyond the pale. Be ready: keep your head down, make an extra effort to steer clear of trouble, and respond with a clear head and steady hand to the crises that break out in the world around you.

Mars Max comes around on a biennial cycle, more or less. I call it Mars Max because it s a cycle anchored by the Red Planet s close approach to our home planet. Astronomers call this close approach to Earth perigee, and it is the key to both Mars Max and SuperMoon. Any planet in perigee appears abnormally big and bright in the sky like a full moon SuperMoon, for example. You can see this for yourself with the two full SuperMoons this year: June 14 and July 13. In both cases, the Moon will be in perigee, and looks larger and brighter than usual when it rises full in the eastern sky at sunset.

It s the same with Mars Max. Look up in the sky to find the Red Planet during a Mars Max cycle and particularly around the time of its peak, the Sun-Mars opposition that defines the Mars perigee. You ll see Mars burning bigger and brighter than usual - roughly eight times bigger and brighter than it does when farthest from Earth. This increased Mars prominence in our sky coincides with an amplified presence of all things martial in human experience. (As above, so below.) This isn t to say that humans are gentle lambs the rest of the time far from it, as is clear from history and literature. But it is to say that, when the red orb of Ares burns brightly in the sky during the Mars Max cycle, everything martial is amplified in us.

To borrow a phrase from Anthony Burgess 1962 novel A Clockwork Orange, ultraviolence is the hallmark of Mars Max. Coincidentally (?), A Clockwork Orange was first published in December 1962, under another Mars Max. Stanley Kubrick s film adaptation of Clockwork Orange, was released in December 1971, near the end of yet another Mars Max.

The 9/11 attack, the German invasion of Poland that started World War II, Pearl Harbor, the start of the Korean War, the Suez Crisis, the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, the 1973 Arab-Israeli War, the Gulf War, etc.: they re all obvious Mars Max manifestations. Warfare is integral to the astrology of Mars, which is why Roman mythology dubbed Mars the god of war. But war is only one end of the Mars spectrum of violence, which ranges all the way from the individual to the collective, from interpersonal squabbles to mass murder to terrorism to all-out warfare. Cases in point at he finer grained level include the Valentine s Day Massacre, the 1988 Pan Am Flight 103 Lockerbie bombing, the archetypal 1999 Colombine high school massacre (which took place within days of the April 24 peak during the 1999 Mars Max), and the February 14, 2018 Marjorie Stoneman Douglas school shootng in Parkland, Florida . . . again, to name only a afew.

We can look back to see what Mars Max has ushered into history, and look ahead to see when it will come again. But the best place to start is to look into the night sky, because you won t find Mars Max in old school astrology books and references. That s because, like SuperMoon (a concept I defined and named on the pages of Dell Horoscope back in 1979), Mars Max is a new kind of astrology. Like SuperMoon, it s a concept I defined years ago, but it has deep roots in ancient astrology. It has been lost down through the ages, as astrology turned away from the night sky and into books and tradition.

Mars Max Markers

Mars Max, as I have said, is the perigee of the Red Planet its close approach to Earth. This happens once every 24-26 months or so, which is termed the synodic cycle of Mars. As Earth and Mars orbit around the Sun, Earth on the inside track periodically catches up on Mars, and then laps it. When this happens, both planets are on the same side of the Sun, and they re as close together as they can get: this is the perigee of Mars. From here on Earth, the Sun and Mars then appear at opposite ends of the sky the Sun-Mars opposition. That s when you ll see Mars rising in the east at sunset; and hours later, the red orb of Mars culminates high in the sky at midnight.

From the opposition onwards, Earth begins to leave Mars behind in their race around the Sun. Some 13 months later, our Home Planet is on the opposite side of the Sun from Mars, and our two worlds are as far apart as they can get. From Earth, when we look for Mars then, it s in the same spot of the heavens as the Sun: the Sun-Mars conjunction, in other words.

Mars Max is the close approach portion of this orbital interplay. Its peak point, obviously, is the Sun-Mars opposition (the Red Planet perigee). The beginning and ending points are not so obvious. What is clear is that, as Earth begins to catch up on Mars from behind, the Red Planet s apparent motion in our night sky begins to slow. It slows so much that, a month or so before the exact perigee (Sun-Mars opposition), the apparent motion of Mars in the heavens comes to a complete standstill. This is the Red Planet s retrograde station; after which it appears to move slowly backwards (westward) across the night sky for a period of a few months. Then, once again, its apparent motion slows to the point of standstill the direct station this time, at which point the retrograde motion ends, and Mars resumes its forward (eastward) trek across the heavens as seen from our perch here on Earth. From there, the pace of Mars through our sky picks up, until at last the Red Planet has resumed a normal speed through the heavens as we see it. The key thing is this: the apparent motion of Mars averages roughly 33 minutes of arc per day, from solar conjunction to solar opposition. When it drops below that motion, Mars Max is on. When it gets back above that motion, Mars Max is off.

There are any number of metrics one can use for determining the definitive slow-down and speed-up points in this process, the beginning and end of Mars Max respectively. After a dozen years of trying different options, I finally settled on using the Sun-Mars square aspects as the markers for the beginning and end of Mars Max. The square following the Sun-Mars conjunction is when the Red Planet s apparent motion in our night sky begins to slow, as Earth catches up on Mars in their race around Sol. This is the waxing square, the 90° arc from Sun to Mars. Conversely, the waning square (270°) is the point at which Mars resumes its normal rate of apparent motion in the sky. Using the Sun-Mars squares to represent the beginning and end of Mars Max is an approximate, rather than precise, delineator of these turning points in the Red Planet s apparent motion. But it s quite close enough and much more practical, since all astrological and astronomical software readily calculate the time and date of the Sun-Mars square (or quadrature, as it s more commonly called in astronomy). The clock face is a shortcut to seeing waxing and waning. In clock terms, 90° is three o clock (a quarter way around past 12), and 270° is nine o clock (three quarters of the way past 12, or a quarter of the way before getting back to 12). Waxing is therefore first half of the cycle: from top of the hour to bottom of the hour. Waning is the final half of the cycle: from bottom of the hour back to top. See the clock face in the sky in your mind s eye, and you see that the lunar cycle goes from new (the Sun-Moon conjunction) to first quarter (the waxing Sun-Moon square) to full (the Sun-Moon opposition) to last quarter (the waning Sun-Moon square). We re all familiar with the changing face of the Moon in the lunar cycle. Seeing that reflected in the clock face is a visual metaphor for the most basic of all celestial cycles, from waxing to waning.

Red Planet Retrograde

Between its start at the waxing Sun-Mars square, through its peak at the Sun-Mars opposition, and its end at the waning Sun-Mars square, there is a seemingly paradoxical quality buried in the Mars Max cycle; namely, that its peak occurs while Mars is retrograde i.e., apparently moving backwards through the sky. Of course this is apparent motion only. Mars or anything else in space will never go backwards in its orbit. This seeming reversal is only what it looks like to us, as our Home Planet catches up and passes Mars. It s like passing another car on the highway. The car may whizz by as it passes us. But if we accelerate, we catch up on it, and as we do its motion relative to us gradually slows until, if we maintain sufficient speed, we pass the car and it begins to move backwards until it fades in the rearview mirror.

The seeming paradox here is that the peak of "Marsness" occurs while the Red Planet is retrograde. That s only a paradox, however, if we believe the common but mistaken notion that retrograde planets are somehow weaker or less important. The fact is, it s quite the reverse. Retrograde planets are always closer to Earth, bigger and brighter than usual. They re not less important they re more dominant than ever! (To put this into a more personal perspective, anyone whose natal horoscope features Mars retrograde was born under a Mars Max. In fact, any planet in your birth chart that happens to be retrograde is in its Max phase.)

This is true for all the planetary Max cycles, by definition: they all include the planet s retrograde. The beginning and ending points are figured a little differently for the inferior planets (those inside Earth s orbit, namely Mercury and Venus) but that s neither here nor there for now. The bottom line in this case is that that Mars Max is über Mars, it comes around once every couple years or so, lasts for six to seven months as a rule, and peaks during the Red Planet s retrograde. You can see it for yourself in the night sky, as Mars during its Max cycle shines larger and brighter than usual. And you ll see it in the world around you, in a surge of "fires, crashes, clashes and explosions." Better yet, you can see it coming far ahead of time, by looking for a Sun-Mars waxing square, followed by the Red Planet s retrograde station, solar opposition, and direct station and finally a Sun-Mars waning square.

Fine Tuning Mars Max

Again, I want to emphasize that humanity doesn t go into a tranquil state of nirvana during the times when Mars isn t in its Max phase. Clearly, non-violence is not the default state of the human species. It s not as though nothing nasty happens outside of a Mars Max! However, a perusal of history shows plenty of evidence that Mars Max coincides with an intensification of human recklessness, hostility and violence. Along these lines, you can think of the Mars cycle as a cross country road trip, from Manhattan to Los Angeles. The trip begins and ends at sea level, and along the way your elevation varies a lot. But inevitably, there s a stretch of the journey say, along the continental divide where the elevation is markedly higher than anywhere else. That s what Mars Max is like: the stretch in our journey where Mars runs big and strong.

Even though it s a higher than average level of Mars experience, the Max cycle is not homogenous. It too has sharp peaks. These include the beginning and end of the cycle (the two Sun-Mars squares), the peak (the solar opposition), and the two station points (where the Red Planet changes from direct to retrograde motion, and vice versa). As I always tell my clients, don t make a fetish of exact dates. Figure that Mars spikes about a week either side of the beginning and end points of Mars Max, and about three days either side of the two stations and the solar opposition.

Apart from these organic points in the cycle, hard aspects involving the Red Planet during Mars Max also up the ante for outbreaks of ber Mars manifestations; particularly if these aspects include eclipse points or other major planet configurations at the time. By hard aspects, I mean principally the conjunction and opposition, and to a lesser extent the square. Granted, hard aspects to or from Mars can raise the risk profile even when there isn t a Mars Max going on. But put the two together, and you get . . . well, take 9/11 for example. On that day, Mars was in direct opposition to the degree of the preceding solar eclipse (on June 21). Anytime you see Mars Max conjunct or opposite the lunar nodes, as in the case of the 9/11 attack, you know there s a good chance of a Mars-eclipse tie-in to the event. And that eclipse, as it happened, occurred just a week before the peak of the 2001 Mars Max cycle.

I will confess here and now that I hadn t discovered the Mars Max cycle back in 2001, so I had no way of seeing 9/11 coming on this basis. But I have made many successful forecasts of world events using Mars Max since then such as, for example, the onset of Gulf War II. My 2002 World Forecast Highlights (published online in 2001), predicted that a big offensive modeled after the Persian Gulf War" would come in 2003, probably during Mars' Sagittarius transit (January 17 - March 4". My 2003 World Forecast Highlights (online in 2002) warned that Whoever thinks a swiftly concluded Persian Gulf War II settles the world into a Pax Americana early in 2003 is tragically mistaken. This late summer super Mars thing says peace and quiet remains far away, that danger and conflict are close at hand. The 2003 Mars Max began on April 17, less than a week before the US Army s 82nd Airborne entered Fallujah, setting up what history would record as the bloodiest battle of the Iraq War. We all know how it turned out now.

What if we could have known that beforehand? Wait, we can! We can see years or even millennia in advance when the Mars Max cycle returns. We can fine-tune the picture by searching out major Mars aspects within the Mars Max cycle. Anyone can see things like this in hindsight, but Mars Max can be more to the point has been used to discern the danger in advance.

Unpacking the Future

The 2022-2023 Mars Max begins with the Sun s waxing square to Mars at 3° 56 Gemini on August 27. The retrograde station of Mars takes place on October 30, at 25° 36' Gemini. Mars at 16° 5 Gemini makes its perigee (close approach to Earth) on December 8, opposing the Sun at 16° 5 Sagittarius. The Red Planet s retrograde ends on January 12, 2023 at 8° 7 Gemini . And the Mars Max cycle as a whole ends on March 16, 2023, with the Sun-Mars square from 25° 47 Pisces to 25° 47 Gemini. If any of these happen to be important degrees in your own natal chart, pay attention: be cool, be calm, be focused and then watch the maelstrom unfold around you.

The big picture here is that Mars spends the entire 2022-2023 Max cycle between 3° 56 and 25° 47 Gemini. This range, and the specific degrees and dates mentioned above, outline the extent and the high points of the 2022-2023 Mars Max cycle. Mark those dates in red on your calendar (give or take a few days or so) as focal points for the "fires, crashes, clashes and explosions" factor. You might want to pay particular attention to the period around the October 30 Mars retrograde station, falling as it does at a time when Saturn is making its final close pass to a square with Uranus: an economic and geopolitical crisis point on the world stage since 2021. Given that much of this particular Mars Max cycle coincides with major outer planet configurations (the squares to Neptune, the Saturn-Uranus square) all while the whole planet teeters on the precipice of a global disaster for the better part of two years now, it s not a promising outlook.

  JUN 14, 2022 UPDATE June 14 (Universal Time) brings the first full SuperMoon of 2022, described in my 2022 World Timeline Forecast (pp. 30-31) as anchoring "a nominal June 11-17 shock window. That s the period when a surplus of strong storms and seismic activity is likely to make news." Extreme tides are part of the SuperMoon profile as well. This is all taking place during the wrap-up phase of the April 2 June 16 Mercury Max cycle, which adds an additional storm and seismic kick to the June SuperMoon. Details on what to expect follow shortly, but first a necessary clarification.

Several uninformed/misinformed sources are claiming that the June 14 alignment is only one of four consecutive full SuperMoons this year, beginning on May 16 and concluding on August 12. This is plainly wrong. I know, because I created the SuperMoon concept over 40 years ago, in an article for Dell Horoscope magazine. Essentially, I defined a SuperMoon as a new or full moon that occurs when the Moon is at or very near its perigee the point in its orbit where Luna is closest to Earth.

By this standard, only the June 14 and July 13 full moons qualify, occurring as they do less than 12 hours from the exact moment of lunar perigee. By contrast, the May 16 full moon (a total lunar eclipse) happens a day and a half after perigee, and the August 12 full moon comes more than a day before perigee, so neither one qualifies as a SuperMoon. (For a table of all four actual 2022 SuperMoon alignments two full and two new - see my April 1 update (below), or the table in the SuperMoon section of my 2022 World Timeline Forecast (pp. 25-33).

"A SuperMoon," as explained on pages 30-31 in my 2022 world forecast, "is planetary in scope, so there s no limiting the zones of Earth s atmosphere, seas and crust that are subject to the SuperMoon tidal effect. That said, the astro-locality map for the June 14 full SuperMoon draws a longitudinal bead straight north-south through western Europe and west Africa, China, another through the Bering Strait, one through eastern North America and the Gulf of Mexico another through the middle of East Asia. There s also a horizon arc going through Southeast Asia, eastern China and across the Bering Strait through western North America and the southern tip of South America." (See the map below.)

You ll see a worldwide increase in powerful storms with high winds and heavy precipitation, plus extreme tides and seismic events (including M5+ earthquakes and VEI-4 greater volcanic eruptions) including many located along the danger zones described here and depicted on the map. This time around, I expect that the most intense geophysical events will cluster around the end of the June 11-17 shock window, since it overlaps the maximum western elongation point of the current Mercury Max cycle. (See pp. 16-23 in my 2022 World Timeline Forecast for more on Mercury Max.)

SuperMoon shock windows are not limited to the geophysical sphere. They re also present on the plane of human experience, the way of a greater than usual level of emotional intensity. Interpersonal conflict and confrontation can be an obvious sign of this manifestation. Here again, the June 11-17 shock window is operative. And in particular, people born under cosmic configurations emphasizing 23° of the mutable signs Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces are a special focus this time around. This applies most especially to Gemini and Sagittarius, home to the Sun and Moon respectively in this particular full moon; as well as Pisces (home to Neptune, which makes a T-Square of the full moon alignment). Do your best to keep things from going off the rails!

  APR 29, 2022 UPDATE The next Mercury Max cycle of the year is just starting, ushering in the second Mercury retrograde of 2022. (See my February 3 update below for a table of the 2022 Mercury Max cycles.) But there will be no Mercury "shadow" or "storm" nonsense seen in the sky, because that silliness can only be found in hoary old books. Rather, Mercury in its Evening Star phase will reach its maximum elongation east of the Sun on April 29 the start of the Mercury Max cycle. (For more on Mercury Max in general, and the 2022 cycle in particular, see pp. 16-23 in my 2022 World Timeline Forecast.)

This happens at a time when Mercury is catching up on Earth, which means that its apparent motion in the sky is slowing. It slows so much that it eventually comes to a standstill (station) in our sky on May 10, and then appears to start moving backwards. This is called the retrograde cycle of Mercury, and it lasts until the June 16 direct station this time around, when little Mercury has gotten far enough ahead of Earth that it starts leaving us behind again. Halfway between the start and end of the retrograde cycle comes the inferior Sun-Mercury conjunction, when Mercury passes between Earth and Sun. The Mercury Max cycle as a whole comes to an end on June 16, as Morning Star Mercury reaches its maximum elongation west of the Sun. (See the animation below.)

Check out any astronomical reference, and you ll see all five of these key inflection points of Mercury Max mentioned by name: the extreme elongations, the retrograde and direct stations, and the inferior conjunction of Sun and Mercury. What you won t find is any mention of shadow or storm periods. Because those aren t real events in the sky. Get real. Pay special attention to those five points: within plus or minus three days, that s when the most pronounced manifestations of Mercury Max are likeliest. (The whole cycle is continuously active, but these points are apt to be especially extreme.)

So what to expect during Mercury Max and most especially on or about those five key points within it? Aye, there s the rub. Essentially, as Mercury traverses this stretch of its orbit, it modulates the energy field emanating from the Sun, disturbing that flow as it radiates outward to Earth. This is most extremely focused on our home planet during the retrograde period itself, because it is during that phase when Mercury passes directly between Earth and Sun; which is also when Mercury reaches its perigee (closest approach to Earth). This is not unlike a SuperMoon, when the Moon s perigee occurs at or near the solar conjunction (New Moon) o opposition (Full Moon).

The turbulence in the solar flow associated with Mercury Max has another geophysical component; namely, its association with storms on the Sun: Coronal Mass Ejections CMEs), X-Ray outbursts (M and X class), etc. These correlate to geomagnetic storms (Kp 5 and up) here on Earth: enhanced auroral displays, electrical and electronic outages affecting communications, the power infrastructure, satellites in orbit, etc. Dump Gigawatts of excess solar energy into Earth s atmosphere, crust and geomagnetic system, and you get a surge in atmospheric storms and seismic activity as well again, most especially within a few days of the five key points in the cycle.

Mercury Max also stirs up storminess in the human nervous system: elevated levels of anxiety, difficulty concentrating and communicating, impulsivity, and just plain fritziness. Some people are more susceptible to these phenomena than others you know who you are but the disturbance in the force is environmental and we all have to deal with it. Add it all up, and it s no wonder that all the classic qualities associated with Mercury are at a premium. So make a concerted effort to think sharp, stay aware and focused, and have a backup plan ready to hand. This particular Mercury Max is likely to be one of the year s most potent, since it includes Pluto s retrograde station on April 29, the solar eclipse on April 30 as well as the lunar eclipse on May 16, and Saturn s direct station on June 4. Take note of these dates particularly if the several celestial events just mentioned are at or near important points in your natal horoscope. (Check your chart!)

My next update will focus on the fast approaching Mars Max cycle, which is historically associated with extreme outbreaks of fires, crashes, clashes and explosions; and violence at all levels, from the personal to the social and international. Coming at a time when military clashes are already horrendous, this does not look at all comforting.

In closing, recent and ongoing inquiries have reminded me that many people remain unaware of changes in my professional practice over the last year or so, affecting both the services I offer and the hours I m available. Please see this year s February 3 update, and the one from April 12 last year for those announcements. The gist of it is that I m no longer accepting new clients, nor offering personal astrological reports. I m still publishing my annual World Timeline Forecasts, and doing personal phone consultations for clients of record during my regular office hours: Tuesday-Saturday, noon to 6 PM Arizona Time (GMT -7 hours). That s 2-8 PM Eastern Standard (3-9 PM Eastern Daylight), 1-7 PM Central (2-8 PM Central Daylight), 1-7PM Pacific Standard (noon-6 PM Pacific Daylight). The toll-free number to call for orders and consultations remains the same: 800-527-8761.

  APR 1, 2022 UPDATE As I ve been writing and saying in my annual world forecasts for years now most recently in my 2022 World Timeline Forecast (p. 27), "Venus Max cycles come around roughly once every year and a half or so. All else being equal, they point to better rather than worse financial/economic conditions." (See table below for the 2021-2022 Venus Max details.) As anyone who has been following the equity markets since the 2021-2022 Venus Max cycle began at the end of October 2021 knows, the current Venus Max has not lived up to its reputation. What happened?

2021-2022 VENUS MAX CYCLE

Max-E	S-Rx	Cnj. SUN	S-D	Max-W
OCT 29, 2021	DEC 19, 2021	JAN 9, 2022	JAN 29, 2022	MAR 20, 2022

Max-E = Venus (Evening Star) Max. Elongation East of Sun (Max begins)
S-Rx = Retrograde Station (Retrograde Begins)
Cnj. SU = Inferior Conjunction with Sun
S-D = Direct Station (Retrograde Ends)
Max-W = Venus (Morning Star) Max. Elongation West of Sun (Max ends)

Well, for starters, all else has not been equal. We've had a trio of Saturn-Uranus squares in 2021-2022, and that's not good for stability in the markets, owing to social, political and economic turmoil. Investors like stability, and that's been scarce. (For details on the Saturn-Uranus square, see pp. 15-17 in my 2021 world forecast.) Neverthless, coming into the end of the 2021-2022 Venus Max, equities did make a healthy turn for the better. For example, the S&P 500 index got off to a good start at the beginning of the Venus Max at the end of October 2021 (4,605), managing to climb to 4,713 by January 6, 2022 (an increase of a little over 2%). From there, a decline set in such that by early March, that index had fallen to 4,173 - a drop of 11%. Then, coming into the home stretch of the Venus Max, the S&P dug itself out of a hole to end up 11% at the end of March (4,630): a rise of paltry 1/2% over the life of the entire Venus Max. Some stocks did considerably better, e.g. Apple, which went from 149.32 at the start of the Venus Max cycle to 175.60 at the end - gaining 17.6% over the cycle as a whole. Just as Venus Max was ending, equities took a nosedive, with the S&P 500 dropping 2% from the close on March 29 to the end of the week.

2023 SUPERMOON ALIGMENTS

DATE (UT)	TIME (UT)	TYPE	ECLIPTIC LONG.
JAN 21	20:53	NEW (STEALTH)	12 CAP 20
FEB 20	07:06	NEW (STEALTH)	1 PIS 22
AUG 1	18:31	FULL	9 AQU 15
AUG 31	01:35	FULL	7 PIS 25

The first SuperMoon of this year was one of the New Moon (Stealth) variety. It has already passed without notice, just as predicted in my 2022 World Timeline Forecast, p. 30: "the only SuperMoons likely to get much notice from the media in 2022 will be the full SuperMoons of June 14 (23° SAG 25 ) and July 13 (21° CAP 21 ). You ll see lots of dramatic photos, as usual. And if you happen to get clear skies and go out at sunset, looking to the east will reward your eyes with a visual feast." But as I have written consistently since I created the term back in 1979, a SuperMoon is a new OR full moon (syzygy) that occurs when Luna is at or very near its perigee (cyclical close approach to Earth). And as the time draws near for the next SuperMoon, be prepared for the usual: a rash of powerful storms, moderate to severe seismic activity (including M5+ quakes and VEI3+ volcanic eruptions), and extreme tides including extreme emotional tides as well as those of the oceanic variety.

Although I am the one who crafted the word, it s clear to me that astrologers for many centuries have been (implicitly if not explicitly) aware of the lunar perigee as a celestial alignment of note. After all, it was in the 2nd Century BCE when Hipparchus recognized that the Moon appeared larger at some times of the month, smaller at others. He reasoned the larger Moon was nearer to Earth, the smaller one farther away; perigee and apogee respectively, he termed them. Claudius Ptolemy wrote in the 2nd Century CE that a planet - a term he used to include the Luminaries (Sun and Moon) is "strengthened" when "swift and direct in its proper course and motion." (Tetrabiblos Book 1, Chapter 17) So, what is a SuperMoon? A syzygy (alignment) of Sun and Moon occurring when the Moon is at perigee, at which time it is moving with its greatest apparent motion ("swift in course"). All I have done is to bring these ancient astrological strands together in a modern context and nomenclature. For more on SuperMoon, see my free online article. For a more recent look, specifically focused on 2022, see pp. 25-33 in my 2022 World Timeline Forecast.

  FEB 3, 2022 UPDATE

Here we are in the midst of the year s first Mercury Max cycle - see below for a table of this year s Mercury Max - and I m just now caught up with most of the transitional 2021-2022 work around here, from filing away the old year and opening files on the new one. Phone consultations are back in full operation now, with one important caveat: I m no longer accepting new clients, since it s all I can do just keeping up with those who have been with me through the years. (More about Mercury Max in a moment.)

2022 MERCURY MAX CYCLES 2

Max-E	S-Rx	Cnj. SUN	S-D	Max-W
JAN 7, 2022	JAN 14, 2022	JAN 23, 2022	FEB 4, 2022	FEB 16, 2022
APR 29, 2022	MAY 10, 2022	MAY 21, 2022	JUN 3, 2022	JUN 16, 2022
AUG 27, 2022	SEP 10, 2022	SEP 23, 2022	OCT 2, 2022	OCT 8, 2022
DEC 21, 2022	DEC 29, 2022	JAN 7, 2023	JAN 18, 2023	JAN 30, 2023

Max-E = Mercury (Evening Star) Max. Elongation East of Sun (Max begins)
S-Rx = Retrograde Station (Retrograde GBegins)
Cnj. SU = Inferior Conjunction with Sun
S-D = Direct Station (Retrograde Ends)
Max-W = Mercury (Morning Star) Max. Elongation West of Sun (Max ends)

But first, speaking of clients from way back, many have long been accustomed to ordering personal annual forecasts (as distinct from the World Timeline Forecast). However I announced nearly a year ago - see my April 12, 2021 update that I will no longer be providing the personal forecast reports. There s just no time for that anymore.

With regard to the annual world forecast, my records show that I have filled all orders for the 2022 WTF received so far. If you ordered one and didn t receive it, the fault may well be mine. Please let me know, so I can check into it for you and fix any errors on my part. See my online order form for details on ordering either by mail, phone, email or using the PayPal order form there. (You don't need a PayPal account to place an order, as detailed on the order page.)

Returning to Mercury Max, it s the true and observable Earth-Sun-Mercury cycle as seen in the sky, as opposed to the inaccurate notions promulgated in traditional astrology. It s a concept which includes (and accurately depicts) Mercury s retrograde, and does away with the incorrect and irrelevant Mercury "shadow" and "storm" vernacular. For a fuller explanation, see pp. 18-23 in my 2022 World Timeline Forecast. For the present, suffice it to say the Mercury Max is the phase in the Earth-Sun-Mercury cycle during which Mercury passes between Earth and Sun, coming from behind and catching up on our home planet, aligning between us and the Sun (the Sun-Mercury conjunction), and then passing ahead of us before it retreats behind the Sun again. (See accompanying illustration.)

I have long wondered how astrologers managed to get astrology so wrong, when it comes to the notion that retrograde planets are somehow inferior. They re the very same planets as when they re direct only they re bigger and brighter in the night sky, because they re closer. I think maybe Mercury s retrograde is somehow key to this misperception. Mercury after all goes retrograde more than any other planet. So we have more experience of its retrogrades. Since Mercury has to do with mental processes and communication, and since so many people can t be bothered to think straight and communicate clearly under even the best of circumstances, it s understandable that they might be frustrated and anxious when they encounter a cycle that places a premium on these qualities.

What I have termed the Mercury Max cycle is simply a way of putting the Earth-Sun-Mercury relationship into a perspective that reflects real-sky, observational astronomy; the dynamics of our solar system as seen from our terrestrial perch which is what astrology was, back in the time when it was astronomy. Look up in the sky over the indicated periods, and you will see the phenomena described above. Astronomical software and references provide the greatest eastern and western elongations of Mercury (and Venus, for that matter), but astrological software and references do not. One is a real sky perspective, the other is something less and that is what astrologers have settled for over the course of time. Instead of peering into an ephemeris, I advocate a more natural "eyes to the skies" approach, which is exactly how real astrology began millennia ago.

This perspective replaces the stilted, removed-from-reality practice of looking not at the sky, but at an ephemeris (a book of planetary positions): first to see when Mercury comes to the degree at which it will later make its direct station, and second when it reaches the degree at which it will later make its retrograde station; and then referring to the overlap between these two dates and the lesser included Mercury retrograde dates as the "shadow" and "storm" phases of the retrograde. (Some astrologers don t use the "storm" nomenclature, referring to the overlap at both ends of the retrograde as the "shadow" period. It makes no difference: either way, it s just plain nonsense.)

For example, the first 2022 Mercury Max cycle begins with the little planet s maximum eastern elongation from the Sun on January 7, 2022 at 6° 18' Aquarius, includes the January 14-February 4 retrograde period and the intervening January 23 inferior conjunction with the Sun at 3° 22 Aquarius, and concludes with the western elongation extreme on February 16 at 1° 53 Aquarius. (Check your chart: if you were born with silgnificant placements around these degrees, you may feel you're in the spotlight on or about the inidicated dates.)

The corresponding shadow period would begin on December 29, 2021, the day Mercury reaches the degree (24° 22 Capricorn) at which it goes direct on February 4, 2022; and ends (or the storm period ends, depending on which irrelevant nomenclature you prefer) on February 23, the day Mercury returns to the degree at which it went retrograde on January 14 (10° 20 Aquarius). Notice that neither of the shadow/storm dates accords with the actual astronomically determined elongation dates that are rooted in observable celestial events.

I hope this helps clear up the Mercury "shadow" delusion, which has lead astrologers astray for so long now. Meanwhile, now that we're in a Mercury Max cycle, I hope you've noticed the increase in space weather that has accompanied it so far, and will continue throughout this Mercury Max. This has been an integral part of my writings on the subject from the beginning; namely that Mercury Max signals a time of enhanced solar storminess, manifesting in an outburst of Kp 5+ geomagnetic storms on Earth, and solar storms on our parent star. You ll know they re happening even if you don t follow space weather. You ll see it in unusual auroral displays, electrical/electronic infrastructure outages, X-Ray flares and Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) from the Sun, etc. Some people feel it right in their own nervous system. We ve already had a slew of Kp5+ g3eomagntic storms during this first Mercury Max of the year, including a KP6 on January 15. There s more and possibly bigger to come. The entire Mercury Max cycle is a time of increased solar storm potential, but the risk is especially great within plus or minus three days of the five critical dates in each cycle as shown in the table above.

  NOV 1, 2021 UPDATE It s been months since my last update! That s because my phone consultations have kept me even busier than usual, and I have been hard at work on my 2022 World Forecast Highlights as well leaving precious little time for anything else. (Advance orders for the 2022 WFH began arriving last month, and the online order form is live now.) As usual for this season, I ve had to stop accepting new clients until January 13 next year (the eve of the next Mercury station, at 10° Aquarius).

While this update has been a long time coming, it s really quite timely. That s because it arrives just before the third (and penultimate) SuperMoon of 2021, happening on November 4. It s what I have come to call a "Stealth SuperMoon,"" because it s the new moon variety invisible to the eye, since it rises and sets with the Sun. Given that the media can t furnish showy photos of a giant glowing moonrise or moonset, the new SuperMoon is almost universally ignored. But it s still there, and you ll likely see its imprint in the headlines, as I ve been writing since I introduced the SuperMoon concept in my 1979 article for Dell Horoscope magazine. For more on SuperMoon, see my online article. More current information can be found in my 2021 World Forecast Highlights, pp. 26-32.

Although it s impossible to see this or any other Stealth SuperMoon, but you ll be able to feel it, and see its impact on the news of the day. We re already a couple days into what I have called the SuperMoon geophysical shock window, which extends from three days before to three days after the date of exact alignment (November 4 in this case); e.g. from the 1st through the 7th, as described on page 32 of my 2021 WFH:

"The November 4 Stealth SuperMoon at 12° 40 Scorpio anchors a surge of tide, storm and seismic activity extending from the 1st through the 7th. December 4 brings a total solar eclipse Stealth SuperMoon at 12° 53 Sagittarius. This looks like the heavyweight of the two, first because it is a solar eclipse. This amplifies the intensity of the alignment, plus it extends the range of the shock window from plus or minus three days to plus or minus a week; i.e. from November 27 to December 11. But because this eclipse SuperMoon is also conjunct both the Sun and Mercury (i.e. a Sun-Mercury superior conjunction), it echoes two weeks later, when the spot on the Sun which had been under Mercury at the superior conjunction has rotated around to face Earth; meaning that December 18 (give or take a few days) brings a reprise of the geocosmic shock window." (There s yet another Stealth SuperMoon to come, on January 2, 2022.)

This is not meant to trivialize the November SuperMoon, which is itself embedded in a significant celestial configuration: a T-Square incorporating the SuperMoon in Scorpio, opposing Uranus in Taurus and squared by Saturn in Aquarius. Apart from the geophysical manifestations - extreme tides, storms and seismic outbreaks (magnitude 5+ earthquakes and VE3 volcanic eruptions) - and in some cases triggered by them, expect shock waves to hit financial markets and infrastructure. There will be psychological expressions as well, in some situations linked to the financial swings: introversion, withdrawal, defensiveness . . . think risk on. Along with the Saturn-Uranus square ((within a few degrees of exact from late November into early January), this will for a time blunt the economic buoyancy historically associated with the Venus Max cycle the current one having started days ago, (October 29), and extending to March 20, 2022. (See pp. 9-10 in the 2021 WFH.) The Venus Max cycle isn t a rocket ride skyward, but it s a general upward move with periodic pullbacks, that ends up being higher at the finish than it was at the beginning.

  MAY 17, 2021 UPDATE "An error in the calculation of an ephemeris," as the Hindu astrologer Varahamihira wrote some 1,500 years ago (under the aegis of Justinian s T-Square), "is as sinful as the murder of a Brahmin." If that precept extends to editing errors, I m guilty as sin. At the bottom of page 18 in my 2021 World Forecast Highlights, the last two lines in my table of the 2021 Mercury Max erroneously substitute the bottom two lines from the 2020 table. I m pretty sure this happened while I was inserting the 2021 data into the 2020 table. Likely, a client call took me away from the work after I had finished the first line; and by the time I got back to work on the table, I had lost my place. I hate when that happens.

The bottom line is that I m obliged to correct the table here and now, to give you the proper parameters for the 2021 Mercury Max the second one of the year having just begun as I write this. (For the lowdown on the meaning of these cycles, see pp. 17-25 in my 2021 World Forecast Highlights.) For now, suffice it to say that a period of brain fog, solar storms, heightened auroral activity and geomagnetic disturbances is currently underway under the banner of the year s second Mercury Max. On the microcosmic level, if you were born with significant placements in the range of this specific Mercury Max - 18-23° Gemini then you d be wise to double-check everything while it s on. If your chart features placements in the 18-23° sector in any of the other mutable signs (Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces), this applies to you as well.

2021 MERCURY MAX CYCLES

Max-E	S-Rx	Cnj. SUN	S-D	Max-W
JAN 24, 2021	JAN 30, 2021	FEB 8, 2021	FEB 21, 2021	MAR 6, 2021
MAY 17, 2021	MAY 29, 2021	JUN 11, 2021	JUN 22, 2021	JUL 4, 2021
SEP 14, 2021	SEP 27, 2021	OCT 9, 2021	OCT 18, 2021	OCT 25, 2021

Max-E = Mercury (Evening Star) Max. Elongation East of Sun (Max begins)
S-Rx = Retrograde Station (Retrograde GBegins)
Cnj. SU = Inferior Conjunction with Sun
S-D = Direct Station (Retrograde Ends)
Max-W = Mercury (Morning Star) Max. Elongation West of Sun (Max ends)

Take note that in any Mercury Max cycle, the five critical points delimited in the table above are especially potent, within a range of plus or minus three days. Moreover, since the May 29 retrograde station and the June 11 inferior conjunction each occurs within three days of a SuperMoon total lunar eclipse (May 26) and an annular solar eclipse (June 10), you can expect a notable increase in heightened tidal action, seismic activity and powerful storms. (For more on this year s SuperMoons and eclipses including specific geographical risk zones - see pp. pp. 27-35 in my 2021 World Forecast Highlights.)

  NOV 1, 2021 UPDATE It s been months since my last update! That s because my phone consultations have kept me even busier than usual, and I have been hard at work on my 2022 World Forecast Highlights as well leaving precious little time for anything else. (Advance orders for the 2022 WFH began arriving last month, and the online order form is live now.) As usual for this season, I ve had to stop accepting new clients until January 13 next year (the eve of the next Mercury station, at 10° Aquarius).

While this update has been a long time coming, it s really quite timely. That s because it arrives just before the third (and penultimate) SuperMoon of 2021, happening on November 4. It s what I have come to call a "Stealth SuperMoon,"" because it s the new moon variety invisible to the eye, since it rises and sets with the Sun. Given that the media can t furnish showy photos of a giant glowing moonrise or moonset, the new SuperMoon is almost universally ignored. But it s still there, and you ll likely see its imprint in the headlines, as I ve been writing since I introduced the SuperMoon concept in my 1979 article for Dell Horoscope magazine. For more on SuperMoon, see my online article. More current information can be found in my 2021 World Forecast Highlights, pp. 26-32.

Although it s impossible to see this or any other Stealth SuperMoon, but you ll be able to feel it, and see its impact on the news of the day. We re already a couple days into what I have called the SuperMoon geophysical shock window, which extends from three days before to three days after the date of exact alignment (November 4 in this case); e.g. from the 1st through the 7th, as described on page 32 of my 2021 WFH:

"The November 4 Stealth SuperMoon at 12° 40 Scorpio anchors a surge of tide, storm and seismic activity extending from the 1st through the 7th. December 4 brings a total solar eclipse Stealth SuperMoon at 12° 53 Sagittarius. This looks like the heavyweight of the two, first because it is a solar eclipse. This amplifies the intensity of the alignment, plus it extends the range of the shock window from plus or minus three days to plus or minus a week; i.e. from November 27 to December 11. But because this eclipse SuperMoon is also conjunct both the Sun and Mercury (i.e. a Sun-Mercury superior conjunction), it echoes two weeks later, when the spot on the Sun which had been under Mercury at the superior conjunction has rotated around to face Earth; meaning that December 18 (give or take a few days) brings a reprise of the geocosmic shock window." (There s yet another Stealth SuperMoon to come, on January 2, 2022.)

This is not meant to trivialize the November SuperMoon, which is itself embedded in a significant celestial configuration: a T-Square incorporating the SuperMoon in Scorpio, opposing Uranus in Taurus and squared by Saturn in Aquarius. Apart from the geophysical manifestations - extreme tides, storms and seismic outbreaks (magnitude 5+ earthquakes and VE3 volcanic eruptions) - and in some cases triggered by them, expect shock waves to hit financial markets and infrastructure. There will be psychological expressions as well, in some situations linked to the financial swings: introversion, withdrawal, defensiveness . . . think risk on. Along with the Saturn-Uranus square ((within a few degrees of exact from late November into early January), this will for a time blunt the economic buoyancy historically associated with the Venus Max cycle the current one having started days ago, (October 29), and extending to March 20, 2022. (See pp. 9-10 in the 2021 WFH.) The Venus Max cycle isn t a rocket ride skyward, but it s a general upward move with periodic pullbacks, that ends up being higher at the finish than it was at the beginning.

  MAY 17, 2021 UPDATE "An error in the calculation of an ephemeris," as the Hindu astrologer Varahamihira wrote some 1,500 years ago (under the aegis of Justinian s T-Square), "is as sinful as the murder of a Brahmin." If that precept extends to editing errors, I m guilty as sin. At the bottom of page 18 in my 2021 World Forecast Highlights, the last two lines in my table of the 2021 Mercury Max erroneously substitute the bottom two lines from the 2020 table. I m pretty sure this happened while I was inserting the 2021 data into the 2020 table. Likely, a client call took me away from the work after I had finished the first line; and by the time I got back to work on the table, I had lost my place. I hate when that happens.

The bottom line is that I m obliged to correct the table here and now, to give you the proper parameters for the 2021 Mercury Max the second one of the year having just begun as I write this. (For the lowdown on the meaning of these cycles, see pp. 17-25 in my 2021 World Forecast Highlights.) For now, suffice it to say that a period of brain fog, solar storms, heightened auroral activity and geomagnetic disturbances is currently underway under the banner of the year s second Mercury Max. On the microcosmic level, if you were born with significant placements in the range of this specific Mercury Max - 18-23° Gemini then you d be wise to double-check everything while it s on. If your chart features placements in the 18-23° sector in any of the other mutable signs (Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces), this applies to you as well.

2021 MERCURY MAX CYCLES

Max-E	S-Rx	Cnj. SUN	S-D	Max-W
JAN 24, 2021	JAN 30, 2021	FEB 8, 2021	FEB 21, 2021	MAR 6, 2021
MAY 17, 2021	MAY 29, 2021	JUN 11, 2021	JUN 22, 2021	JUL 4, 2021
SEP 14, 2021	SEP 27, 2021	OCT 9, 2021	OCT 18, 2021	OCT 25, 2021

Max-E = Mercury (Evening Star) Max. Elongation East of Sun (Max begins)
S-Rx = Retrograde Station (Retrograde GBegins)
Cnj. SU = Inferior Conjunction with Sun
S-D = Direct Station (Retrograde Ends)
Max-W = Mercury (Morning Star) Max. Elongation West of Sun (Max ends)

Take note that in any Mercury Max cycle, the five critical points delimited in the table above are especially potent, within a range of plus or minus three days. Moreover, since the May 29 retrograde station and the June 11 inferior conjunction each occurs within three days of a SuperMoon total lunar eclipse (May 26) and an annular solar eclipse (June 10), you can expect a notable increase in heightened tidal action, seismic activity and powerful storms. (For more on this year s SuperMoons and eclipses including specific geographical risk zones - see pp. pp. 27-35 in my 2021 World Forecast Highlights.)

  APR 14, 2021 UPDATE It's clear from my April 12 consultation call volume that many of my clients haven t seen this week s (April 12) update. I was able to handle less than half the calls that came in on the 12th, and for every one I was able to take, two or more callers were waiting in the wings. For the benefit of those who may not have read it, here s the relevant passage in that update:

"My office hours have changed. I have cut back to 6 hours a day rather than 8; and 5 days a week, rather than 6. My office hours are now Tuesday-Saturday, noon to 6 PM Arizona Time. That s 2-8 PM EST (3-9 PM EDT), 1-7 PM CST (2-8 PM CDT), 11 AM-5 PM PST (noon-6 PM PDT), and 7 PM-1 AM GMT (aka UT). This allows me one weekday and one weekend day to get things done and have more family time."

While the above changes went into effect April 12, this week I have answered calls on the old schedule (Monday - Saturday, 10 AM 6 PM Arizona Time). I ll continue to do so if I m at my desk and free when the phone rings on the old schedule, until April 19. From that day forward, the new schedule obtains until further notice. Please do see the April 12 update (BELOW) for other changes in my practice, if you have further questions. Thank you!

  APR 12, 2021 UPDATE Lots of water under the bridge here, since my last update. My Facebook friends and followers know that, some two weeks ago, our 8 month-old German Shepherd puppy Max chewed through the Kevlar-clad fiber optic cable that delivers our Gigabit internet service, cutting us off from the world between March 30 and April 8. (Well, we managed to limp along with our iPhone hotspots, but 50 kbps is a pale shadow of 950 kbps.) Kevlar may be "bullet-proof", but it s just another chewy challenge to a German Shepherd pup.

During my enforced hiatus, I ve been working on streamlining my office routines and general life schedule. And if you re a client, some of this may be worth noting. For one thing, my office hours have changed. I have cut back to 6 hours a day rather than 8; and 5 days a week, rather than 6. My office hours are now Tuesday-Saturday, noon to 6 PM Arizona Time. That s 2-8 PM EST (3-9 PM EDT), 1-7 PM CST (2-8 PM CDT), 11 AM-5 PM PST (noon-6 PM PDT), and 7 PM-1 AM GMT (aka UT). This allows me one weekday and one weekend day to get things done and have more family time.

Another change involves the personal astrological reports I have offered since 1984. Many clients have ordered all varieties of these over the years - natal, relationship and forecast reports, all including interpretive text I created and saved. I won t be doing any such reports in future. (There are still some pages on this website that refer to personal astrological reports, but these will be eliminated as time permits.) Phone consultations have comprised the bulk of my professional practice for 30 years, and now that s the only personal astrological service I offer. (As always, no appointment is necessary: I answer the phone whenever it rings during office hours. If the line is busy when you call, it means that someone else got to me first. Please ring back later - thanks!)

I m still doing my annual World Forecast Highlights reports, as I have since 1997. But no more personal reports. (See my online PayPal page for pricing and availability on the world forecasts.) Speaking of online, if you haven t recently received one of my free occasional email updates, it may be because I don t have a current email address for you. Please let me know it, if you d like to get those occasional updates.

Procedural changes aside, I m getting lots of client queries about markets and economies this year. To date, 2021 has been a year of bigger than usual financial gyrations. Which is perfectly natural in the wake of last December s historic Jupiter-Saturn Trigonalis conjunction. and the subsequent squares to Uranus from the two Great Chronocrators, Jupiter and Saturn. (See pp. 1-8 and 15-16 in my 2021 World Forecast Highlights.) "Business as usual" is not at all what 2021 is and will be about, as predicted in my forecast for the year. This will be a year for nimble stock pickers. We ve already seen market turns timed by the January 17 Jupiter-Uranus square and the February 17 Saturn-Uranus square. Judicious profit taking shortly before and buying shortly after those turning points was profitable for me and, I hope, for those who read my forecast. Now get ready for the next Jupiter-Uranus quadrature: June 14.

Nearer to hand and different in scope is the first SuperMoon of the year, the full moon of April 27 at 7° 06 Scorpio. As described in my 2021 World Forecast Highlights (pp. 27-32), these Sun-Moon alignments time - give or take 3 days - powerful storms with high winds and heavy precipitation, extreme tides, and moderate-to severe seismic activity (including Magnitude 5+ earthquakes and notable volcanic eruptions (VEI 4+).

As described and illustrated in my 2021 World Forecast Highlights2021 forecast (pp. 31-32), "A SuperMoon is planetary in scope, so there s no limiting the zones of Earth s atmosphere, seas and crust that are subject to the SuperMoon tidal effect. That said, the astro-locality map for the April 27 full SuperMoon draws a longitudinal bead straight north-south through China, the Korean Peninsula, the southwest tip of Japan, Indonesia and east-central Australia. Emerging on the other side of the planet, that same line falls through western Greenland and down through Brazil. There s also a vulnerable horizon arc that sweeps northeasterly through the Pacific Ocean to cross over the US Pacific Northwest, and from the southwest coast of Canada before arcing across the northern part of that country, crossing north Central Greenland before dropping down through Northern Europe to cross the Mediterranean and northeastern Africa, exiting through Madagascar. Again, these are not the only areas." (See the table and map below.)

Apart from the above-mentioned geophysical hallmarks, SuperMoons also time extreme tides in the human psyche including irritability and erratic, impulsive behavior. In the case of the April 27 alignment, this is likely to be most evident in people who were born with significant natal placements at or near 7° in the fixed signs (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius). (Check your chart?)

  MAR 15, 2021 UPDATE It s good to be back! After a long absence long enough that I got some "Are you still alive?" emails - I m finally sufficiently caught up on the work at this end that I can spare time for a brief update. The consultation calls and orders for personal reports clients come first! - and orders for the 2021 World Forecast Highlights - have slowed down from the New Year surge to the point that a brisk trot will suffice to keep me in sight of being current; as opposed to the full gallop pace I ve maintained since the fall.

Normally I reach the catch-up point sometime in February, but here it is mid-March and I m just getting there. The reason is that the normal seasonal cycle of my business is compounded by a major hardware and software transition here in the office. For one thing, I m shifting from a PC platform to an Apple operation, and from Solar Fire to Astro Gold astrology software. The PC side of things is still here and handling some functions that that my 2020 MacBook Air M1 can t. (For example, Solar Fire has an ephemeris function that Astro Gold currently lacks.) So my 2020 Acer Swift3 still sits on the desk next to the Mac, for the time being . . .

Catching up a little on the sky stuff I ve been watching so far this year all of which you ll find covered in the 2021 WFH there are a couple things coming up that I thought I should mention. Most immediately, there s the first SuperMoon of the year, the full moon of April 27 at 7° 6 Scorpio. This one anchors a shock window stretching from the 24th through the 30th, wherein you ll see a notable increase in strong storms, extreme coastal tides and moderate to severe seismic activity (Magnitude 5+ earthquakes and powerful volcanic eruptions).

2021 SUPERMOON ALIGMENTS

DATE (UT)	TIME (UT)	TYPE	ECLIPTIC LONG.
APR 27	03:33	FULL	07 SC 06
MAY 26	11:14	FULL (T ECLIPSE)	05 SA 26
NOV 04	21:15	NEW (STEALTH)	12 SC 40
DEC 04	07:44	NEW (T ECLIPSE)	12 SA 22

As described in my 2021 World Forecast Highlights (pp. 31-32), A SuperMoon is planetary in scope, so there s no limiting the zones of Earth s atmosphere, seas and crust that are subject to the SuperMoon tidal effect. That said, the astro-locality map for the April 27 full SuperMoon draws a longitudinal bead straight north-south through China, the Korean Peninsula, the southwest tip of Japan, Indonesia and east-central Australia. Emerging on the other side of the planet, that same line falls through western Greenland and down through Brazil. There s also a vulnerable horizon arc that sweeps northeasterly through the Pacific Ocean to cross over the US Pacific Northwest, and from the southwest coast of Canada before arcing across the northern part of that country, crossing north Central Greenland before dropping down through Northern Europe to cross the Mediterranean and northeastern Africa, exiting through Madagascar. Again, these are not the only areas.

Regulars are well acquainted with the provenance of the SuperMoon concept, which I defined and introduced to the world in a 1979 article for HOROSCOPE magazine. In brief, it s a new or full moon which occurs with the Moon at or near its perigee (the point in the lunar orbit when it is closest to Earth). The geophysical phenomena mentioned above are the macro end of the SuperMoon spectrum. At the micro end "As Above, So Below" - is the intensification of human emotions. Tying into the waning Saturn-Uranus square as it does, this is apt to be a time of deep and strong feelings, of people unable to express their feelings in a way that communicates as well as usual. It s as if the whole world is in one of those "I don t care how much you know until I know how much you care" moods . . .

P.S. Yes, I am aware that Solar Fire can run on an old Mac in a Windows window. About as well as a dog plays chess. That worked on the old Macs, with their Intel microprocessors. But starting with the 2020 models, Macs are on the market with the Apple-designed M1 microprocessor. So the Windows emulator route is, pardon the expression, out the window. And Solar Fire seems to have lost its energy, in terms of updates. So in my estimation, it s time to move on. Astro Gold it is, for me. I have used the iPhone and iPad versions for years. They aren t up to par with Solar Fire, but the Mac version is getting closer. It s sufficient to support my client work, and that will do for me, for now.

  NOV 9 UPDATE Before addressing the "As Above" stuff, and in answer to ongoing requests, I need to restate my September 14 announcement. I am working on my 2021 World Forecast Highlights as usual for this time of year. By request, I began accepting orders back on October 5, as noted in my update on that day. (There s now a 2021 forecast option on my PayPal order page.) Be aware that these reports are always embargoed until December 31, regardless of how far in advance of that date the orders come in.

In between researching and writing, while at the same time keeping busy with client consultation calls, I cannot accept ANY new report orders, nor any new clients at all, until on or after January 11.

Procedural details aside, here s an overview of what s happening for the rest of November.

This month and this week, for that matter witnesses some of the year s most important celestial finales: the last Mercury Max and last SuperMoon, the last major critical point in the 2020-2021 Mars Max cycle, and the last of three appearances of an important component in the great (and world-historic) Justinian s T-Square Sky Train; namely Jupiter s alignment with Pluto.

>With Mercury reaching its maximum elongation west of the Sun on November 10, the last Mercury Max cycle of the year is now drawing to a close. Mercury Max, as described in my 2020 World Forecast Highlights (pp. 16-20), is the phase in the Earth-Sun-Mercury relationship when the speedy little inner planet comes up on us from behind, drawing closer to Earth as it does - shining brighter in the sky as it dets nearer.

The Mercury Max phase begins when the little Sun-grazer reaches its maximum elongation east of the Sun, during its evening star phase. This happens when Mercury has come 'round to the same side of the Sun as Planet Earth, and is relatively near us. The little planet is then pulling up to pass Earth on the inside track, as it were, catching up to us from behind and then passing between us and the Sun. Just as it catches up with us, Mercury passes directly between Earth and the Sun. This is Mercury's inferior conjunction with the Sun. After the inferior conjunction, Mercury continues pulling ahead of us until it reaches its greatest elongation west of the Sun (in its morning star phase), at which point the little planet is headed toward the far side of our parent star. Between these two extremes, the greatest east and west elongations, comes the fabled Mercury retrograde period of astrological lore. (See table below.)

It s worth noting that, with the inferior planets (those inside Earth s orbit; namely Mercury and Venus), the closest approach to Earth coincides with the inferior (retrograde) conjunction with the Sun. With the superior planets (those outside Earth s orbit), the closest approach to Earth coincides with the planet s (retrograde) solar opposition. Clearly astrological doctrine regarding planetary retrogrades is completely unthinking. Rather than being weakened or debilitated in some way, a retrograde planet is in fact bigger and brighter in our sky, and closer to our home planet. Not unlike a SuperMoon, in that respect . . .

2020 MERCURY MAX CYCLES

Max-E	S-Rx	Cnj. SUN	S-D	Max-W
FEB 10, 2020	FEB 17, 2020	FEB 26, 2020	MAR 10, 2020	MAR 24, 2020
JUN 4, 2020	JUN 18, 2020	JUL 1, 2020	JUL 12, 2020	JUL 22, 2020
OCT 1, 2020	OCT 14, 2020	OCT 25, 2020	NOV 3, 2020	NOV 10, 2020

Max-E = Mercury (Evening Star) Max. Elongation East of Sun (Max begins)
S-Rx = Retrograde Station (Retrograde GBegins)
Cnj. SU = Inferior Conjunction with Sun
S-D = Direct Station (Retrograde Ends)
Max-W = Mercury (Morning Star) Max. Elongation West of Sun (Max ends)

Retrograde means moving backwards. This is what Mercury appears to do in our skies when the little inner planet catches up with us and passes us on the inside, between Earth and the Sun. First Mercury reaches its greatest eastern elongation, then it appears to stand still in the sky (the retrograde station), and then it appears to move backwards through the heavens for a period of several weeks: that's Mercury retrograde for you. It ends when the little Sun-grazer's backwards motion comes to an apparent halt (the direct station); after which, Mercury moves forward again, until it reaches its maximum elongation west of the Sun (and goes on to make its superior conjunction, on the far side of the Sun as seen from Earth). The reality of course is that Mercury never stops in its orbit, and never moves backward: this is only how the relative motions of Earth and Mercury around the Sun cause Mercury to move through our night sky. (See the animated illustration accompanying this update.).

From beginning to end including the Mercury retrograde phase of the cycle Mercury Max is a time of pronounced solar activity, accompanied by solar storms, which fire up geomagnetic disturbances here on Earth. But in fact this applies to more than just the Mercury retrograde of astrological lore. It applies to the whole Mercury Max cycle, from beginning to end. That said, every Mercury Max has five key focal points see accompanying table each marking a zone of pronounced turbulence, stretching from three days before to three days after the point in question. So the November 10 end point of the current cycle anchors one of these turbulent phases, stretching from the 7th through the 13th.

What sort of turbulence? Among the typical sort of things to be ready for during a Mercury Max cycles: strikes and other disruptions affecting transportation and communication (e.g. postal, phone, mass transit, trucking, airline, shipping, dock and warehouse workers, teachers and all manner of media). Weather both terrestrial and solar (including geomagnetic storms) can play a part in the kind of breakdowns described here, but human effort (and sometimes malicious action) is a part of the mix as well. Power failures due to infrastructure breakdown and computer network disruptions caused by hacker attacks, software vulnerabilities and the like are also just a crossed wire or a keystroke or a short circuit away from a major mess at these times. Many of these disturbances stem from the geomagnetic disturbances wreaking havoc on all kinds of electrical systems including the human nervous system. Think brain fog . . .

There s also a macro dimension to Mercury Max. Pumping gigawatts of extra solar energy into Earth s magnetosphere and atmosphere not only increases the odds for heightened auroral activity, but also for a surplus of strong storms and moderate to severe seismic events (M5+ earthquakes and major volcanic eruptions). Intensifying the seismic and atmospheric disturbances this time around is the November 15 Stealth SuperMoon at 23° 18 Scorpio, which anchors a geocosmic shock window that s in effect from the 12sth through the 18th. For more on this year s SuperMoons, see pp. 25-29 in my 2020 World Forecast Highlights.)

The penultimate critical point this month is the direct station of Mars at 15° Aries on the 14th. This augurs an intensification of the "fires, crashes, clashes and explosions" so typical of this year s Mars Max cycle. You ll see signs of this trend most notably between the 2nd and 25th of the month, and particularly on or about the 15th. Be alert and on guard for danger, and steer clear of conflict and confrontation as best you can. This works at both the individual and collective levels, from the interpersonal to the international. (See pp. 20-25 in my 2020 World Forecast Highlights for more on Mars Max.)

Finally, and in the grand scheme of things most importantly, there s the final Jupiter-Pluto alignment of the year, the one on November 12 at 22° 52 Capricorn. This is an integral part of the historic Great Justinian s T-Square Sky Train, which is detailed in my 2020 World Forecast Highlights (pp. 2 and 12-16.). As pointed out in my August 10 update, this represents an explosion of the global coronavirus pandemic, which has been trending worse ever since Jupiter s September 13 direct station put the Giant Planet on track for its third and final conjunction with Pluto this year. (This will also mark a panic in equity markets, I suspect.) Be safe, be lucky, and for heaven s sake mask up! (Most especially if you'll be near the Jupiter-Saturn-Pluto meridian lines, which touch Washington DC and New York.)

  OCT 5 UPDATE The updated PayPal order page which now includes the advance order form for my 2021 World Forecast Highlights is now up and running. To those who have been requesting this for the last several weeks, I apologize for missing my October 1 target date to get the new order form uploaded. There s plenty more to tell you, but too much happening at this end to type it all out tonight. Tomorrow is another day, when I ll have time to add some more!

Here are a couple timely and practical business reminders appropriate to this time of year.

First, effective October 1, 2020, I will not be accepting any personal report orders (natal, relationship or forecast) until January 10, 2021. Until that date, any orders for these services will be refunded in full. The reason is that my schedule over this period tends to be filled to overflowing with consultation calls and other professional duties. ONLY World Forecast Highlights orders and consultation calls will be accepted between October 1, 2020 and January 10, 2021 until further notice.

Second, please bear in mind that the annual World Forecast Highlights for a given year is always embargoed until December 31 of the prior year, to keep the copycats at bay. No matter how far in advance you order it, your copy won't be shipped (mailed or emailed) before December 31. (For example, orders for the 2021 World Forecast Highlights won't ship before December 31, 2020.)

  SEP 14 UPDATE With the first Stealth (new moon) SuperMoon of the year and some major Mars Max activation, plus Jupiter and Saturn both making direct stations a few degrees either side of Pluto, September ranks pretty high on the drama scale. The SuperMoon end of things is fairly straightforward, so I ll start there.

It happens on the 17th at 25° 00 Virgo, anchoring a three days-either way stress window that stretches from the 14th through the 20th: that s when notable storm and seismic events are likely to shoulder their way into the headlines. (See pp. 26-29 in my 2020 World Forecast Highlights for more on SuperMoon.) From a rash of moderate-to-severe seismic activity (including M5+ earthquakes and news-making volcanic eruptions) to powerful storms with high winds and heavy precipitation, to extreme tidal surges along the coastline, this SuperMoon will deliver its customary geophysical calling card. People too respond to the enhanced SuperMoon tides: extremes of emotional depth and outbursts are par for the course during any SuperMoon.

This month s Stealth SuperMoon is the first of the three remaining such alignments in 2020: one at 19:32 UT (Universal Time) on October 16 at 23° 53 Libra, and one at 23° 17 Scorpio on November 15 at 05:07:02. The same cautions go with all three of these phenomena, within plus or minus three days of the exact alignment. Note those dates, have your go bag handy just in case, and keep an eye on the skies - not for the Moon in these cases, but for the storms that accompany these particular perigee syzygies.

Incidentally, you may have noticed a couple of renegade full SuperMoons touted in the popular peress earlier this year. Ever since I created and defined the term in a 1979 article for Horoscope magazine, astrologers, astronomers and meteorologist in particular have taken up my SuperMoon idea.

A few of these late arrivals have taken it upon themselves to enlarge the effective "orb" for the alignment. Like an engineer s tolerance specs, the orb defines the time/space window in which the event (in this case a SuperMoon) is close enough to exact to qualify. Widen the bullseye, you get more hits. No wonder these so-called experts are finding more SuperMoons than those listed in the Century 21 (CE) SuperMoons I published years ago!

2020 SUPERMOON ALIGMENTS

DATE (UT)	TIME (UT)	TYPE	ECLIPTIC LONG.
MAR 9	17:48	FULL	19 VI 37
APR 8	02:35	FULL	18 LI 43
SEP 17	11:00	NEW (STEALTH)	25 VI 00
OCT 16	19:31	NEW (STEALTH)	23 LI 53
NOV 15	05:07	NEW (STEALTH)	23 SC 17

The Mars Max cycle that began back in June is coming into a peak phase this month, beginning with Mars reaching its retrograde station on the 9th at 28d 08 Aries. If you read my 2020 World Forecast Highlights (pp 20-25), the headlines in the "fires, crashes, clashes and explosions" category since the onset of Mars Max make perfect sense. They re amping up throughout September, as we approach the October 13 peak of intensity in the cycle. Think safety and security: protect what s yours and stay out of harm s way as best you can. And remember that the conflict element of Mars Max operates not only at the collective level (social strife, wars and rumors of wars), but also the individual level (from irascibility to outright criminality).

2020-2021 MARS MAX CYCLE

Sun-090-Mars	Mars S-Rx	Sun-180-Mars	Mars S-D	Sun-270-Mars
JUN 6, 2020	SEP 9, 2020	OCT 13, 2020	NOV 14, 2020	FEB 1, 2021

Sun-270-Mars = Sun Waning Square (270°) to Mars (Mars Max begins)
Mars S-Rx = Mars Retrograde Station (Retrograde Begins)
Sun-180-Mars = Sun-Mars Oppositiion (Mars Perigee)
Mars S-D = Mars Direct Station (Retrograde Ends)
Sun-090-Mars = Sun Waxing Square (90°) to Mars (Mars Max ends)

The Mars Max cycle that began back in June is coming into a peak phase this month, beginning with Mars reaching its retrograde station on the 9th at 28d 08 Aries. If you read my 2020 World Forecast Highlights (pp 20-25), the headlines in the "fires, crashes, clashes and explosions" category since the onset of Mars Max make perfect sense. They re amping up throughout September, as we approach the October 13 peak of intensity in the cycle. Think safety and security: protect what s yours and stay out of harm s way as best you can. And remember that the conflict element of Mars Max operates not only at the collective level (social strife, wars and rumors of wars), but also the individual level (from irascibility to outright criminality).

If you ve been following the financial news at all this year, you know that the worldwide economic crash and pandemic explosion arrived together, as described in the 2020 World Forecast Highlights I published last year (see pp. 2-9 and 13). Also see pp. 7-9, where I described the March 24-August 15 Venus Max cycle as moderating the worldwide crash that began in January with the onset of the novel coronavirus pandemic. Check major world markets this year dropping in January and then beginning a recovery in March, which lasted into August before going south.

I ve been telling clients all year that the current economic malaise will continue well into and through next year; likely accelerating with increasing Covid-19 activity this month (under the aegis of the September 13 Jupiter station, putting the Giant Planet back on track toward its next conjunction with Pluto (November 12 at 22°51 Capricorn. If you ve been reading your copy of my 2020 World Forecasts Highlights and these updates, you know what to do. Plan on needing to do it pretty much throughout 2021, with the exception of a brief respite in the May-July time frame.

In closing, and in answer to several requests, I am working on my 2021 World Forecast Highlights as usual, but I haven t begun to accept orders yet. These reports are always embargoed until December 31, regardless of how far in advance of that date the orders come in. In between researching and writing, and at the same time keeping busy with client consultation calls and report orders, I still plan to add a 2021 forecast option to my PayPal order page by October 1. So if you re looking to get your order in early, check back then please.

  AUG 10 UPDATE I m getting lots of inquiries along the lines of one from a friend and client in Israel, who wonders why it s been so long since my last update to Astropro. For years I ve kept to a rigorous weekly schedule, but 2020 has been quite the exception. It s not that I didn t see it coming, and notify you accordingly.

As I told my Israeli friend, clients come first, and it's all I can do to keep up wilth the phone consultations and report orders. In the meantime and in between times, as my sainted friend and client Toni Gedney used to say, I study and write. Mostly about what s traditionally called "mundane astrology" a prime example of which is my 2020 World Forecast Highlights, which introduced readers last year to the main topics of this year: a global pandemic (p. 13) and economic downturn (pp. 2-9), to mention a couple. What s next? For the big picture, I recommend that forecast: here it is August, and orders are still coming in. (Word gets around, I guess.) But for the present, here s the skinny . . .

Now that we re in the second half of the year, the other shoe is about to drop. This is the pause between the pandemic s first and second waves. The first one got underway coincident with the January 12 Saturn-Pluto conjunction that was within a few degrees of exact from December into February. The pandemic went parabolic shortly afterwards, when Jupiter aligned within a few degrees of Pluto in March and April (exact on April 5). On March 11, when the World Health Organization declared Covid-19 a global pandemic, Jupiter and Pluto had moved to within 3° of their exact conjunction.

That was the first wave. We re not even out of it yet, and the second wave is just around the corner, timed by the Jupiter direct station; exact at 17° 24 Capricorn on September 13, but already within a degree of that point as of August 16. From this moment in time and space forward, Jupiter and Pluto are closing in on a reprise of their conjunction. It will be exact on November 12 at 22° 51 Capricorn some four degrees away from being a triple alignment with Saturn. In addition, Saturn makes a direct station at 25° 20 Capricorn on September 29, as close as it gets (less than 3°) to a repeat of the January 12 Saturn-Pluto conjunction. This presages a second descent into the economic and pandemic abyss. (The storm and seismic shock window associated with the September 17 Stealth SuperMoon only adds to the pandemonium. (See pp. 25-29 in my 2020 World Forecast Highlights.)

There s your second wave, from September into November. Preparations? Who can really be prepared for a global pandemic and economic collapse? What can be done to significantly mitigate it? Getting as healthy as you can between now and then is good. Laying in a supply of non-perishable foods and emergency supplies that will be scarcer then than now is good . . . There s not enough time in the weeks remaining to make ample preparations. The best we can hope for is sufficiency - and good neighbors. Anything is better than nothing.

Just don t delay. The Venus Max cycle that marked the beginning of global market rallies began in late March. It was described in my 2020 World Forecast Highlights (pp. 7-9) as pointing to "better rather than worse financial/economic conditions . . . In the face of a Saturn-Pluto conjunction, the best Venus Max can bring is a moderation or postponement of the inevitable downturn; a settling of the soufflé rather than a sudden collapse, as it were. This is not going to be some cataclysmic Mad Max hunker-down-in-your-bunker scenario: you won t need Krugerrands, MREs, a 50 cal. and a flak jacket, but a cash stash and a well-stocked pantry won t hurt."

The current Venus Max ends this week. (See accompanying table from my 2020 forecast.) I m expecting a downturn but not a crash in the equity markets. Our investment portfolio is still there, now running on a 5% trailing stop limit. It has done well during Venus Max, up nearly 20% last time I looked. (I went to cash in my trading account at the beginning of January.) I m currently allocated 57%/43% cash to equities with a 5% trailing stop limit on the latter, as mentioned. I m keeping a foothold in the market because, as I stated on page 9 of my 2020 World Forecast Highlights:

"Remember that the plutocracy has no motivation to destroy the financial system. That s the greater repository of their wealth. With borrowed money that we were forced to repay, they saved the system in the wake of the 2008 crash, by and large. Sure, some of the oligarchs went down, but most didn t. And those who survived gobbled up the assets of their own kind. More than that, they inhaled the wealth of the plebs who got run over in the housing market crash, the equities correction, and the interest rate collapse that followed. Don t be like the fish that flee from the sharks: they ll chase you down and gobble you up. Instead, be like the remora: follow the sharks, don t get in their way. They won t let you get rich, but they ll let you survive if you keep below the radar."

Keeping the wolf from the door is more than a matter of money and staples now. Mars Max has been running since June 6, and won t be over until February 1 next year. (See the accompanying table, and check out pages 20-25 in my annual forecast for the whole story.) "Fires, crashes, clashes and explosions" comprise Mars Max in a nutshell, "a phenomenon that consistently shows up in the heavens when the tide of human violence surges to extraordinary levels. It loomed large and bright in the sky at the Valentine s Day Massacre, the start of World War II, the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the start of the Korean War, the Suez Crisis, the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, the 1973 Arab-Israeli War, the Gulf War, etc. (Not to mention the 1988 Pan Am Flight 103 Lockerbie bombing, a kind of precursor to the 9/11 attack.)" The 9/11 attack, incidentally, also took place under a Mars Max cycle.

"War is only one end of the Mars spectrum of violence, which ranges all the way from the individual to the collective, from interpersonal squabbles to mass murder to terrorism to all-out warfare. Consider Columbine a case in point: the archetypal 1999 high school massacre took place within days of the April 24 peak of the 1999 Mars Max."

Unless you ve been living in a salt mine since the current cycle began back in June, you ve seen plenty of evidence that Mars Max is upon us. Irritable, reckless, hasty people who endanger themselves and others through carelessness or by design, tragic accidents, one-on-one violence as well as mass attacks . . . you know it s happening. Steer clear of it and protect yourself from it as best you can, particularly when Mars makes very strong alignments (conjunction and opposition primarily, but squares as well) in the sky; such as the Mars-Jupiter square on August 4, the day of the Beirut explosion.

For example, be on guard around August 13 (Mars-Pluto square and 24 (Mars square Saturn). Likewise, it s safety first within plus or minus three days of the remaining four critical points in the Mars cycle, as shown in the accompanying table: the September 9 retrograde station, the October 13 Sun-Mars opposition, the November 14 direct station, and the February 1 Sun-Mars waning square but most especially the October 13 Sun-Mars opposition, which times the peak intensity of the Mars Max cycle.

The 2020 peak is in fact a multifaceted T-Square, with the new moon on the 16th opposed by Mars in Aries and in square aspect to the Jupiter-Saturn-Pluto conjunction in Capricorn all occurring in a Mercury Max Cycle. Given that this complex is also strongly configured to Donald Trump s natal Venus-Saturn conjunction squaring his natal Jupiter, the prospects for some kind of "October surprise" look extraordinarily strong whether by accident or design.

  JUN 1 UPDATE Once again, I need to post some procedural items, before getting into the "As Above, So Below" stuff.

I am now totally overwhelmed with orders for personal astrological reports (natal, relationship, forecast); to the point that I cannot accept any more until about July 20. I have already been issuing full refunds on all new report orders received this month. I'm still accepting orders for my 2020 World Forecast, since these are simply a matter of order fulfillment from this end. (Old hands know that a lot of my personal time goes into the personal reports.) And of course I m still taking personal consultation calls as usual. They pay the lion s share of the bills around here, after all.

On a related note, it will be a great timesaver for me to receive no more video links, requests to follow or like Facebook pages and groups, etc. I get so many of these that there just isn't time to check them out, so I'm now reduced to deleting them sight unseen. Please don't be offended: this isn t personal, it s just a matter of survival, as I cannot recover the time it takes to give these things due consideration.

Videos are particularly burdensome. I ll watch to be entertained, but not to be educated or even just informed. Engage my mind with words, not images. I m a speed reader and I don t have time to plod along at somebody s speaking pace.

I apologize if any of the preceding seems repetitive. It is repetitive, but only because new people keep entering the discussion and haven t seen it before or because old hands have forgotten my requests along these lines over the 24 years I ve been doing this website.

Preliminaries aside, people keep asking when and how Trump is going down. I posed the question in my free August 2017 online forecast, "Is impeachment in Mr. Trump s future too, under the same eclipse that brought Mr. Clinton to that impasse? Or will it be a 25th Amendment removal from office? Or something else? There are a lot of possibilities here; none of which bodes well for Mr. Trump."

Astrology goes back to an era when rulers didn t leave office for constitutional reasons, so there are less genteel possibilities in the picture here. The man is morbidly obese and has a heart condition, so it goes wilthout saying that his physical health could take him out of office at any time. His pugnacious Mars rising temperament makes him lots of enemies, which recently had him cowering in a White House bunker. The coup de grâce could take any number of forms.

As described on pages 10-13 in my 2018 World Forecast Highlights (published in 2017), "In the current highly polarized political atmosphere, half the US population (at least) are hoping that Mr. Trump s removal from office is imminent. Not so fast! President Nixon s resignation occurred on August 9, 1974 some two years and two months after the break-in at the Democratic Party headquarters in the Watergate Hotel. (And that was with the Democrats controlling Congress.)"

"Realpolitik suggests a couple of alternative outcomes. The quicker one is that the GOP power structure turns on the President, and turns him out via the 25th Amendment. The slower hinges on the Democratic Party regaining a majority in the House of Representatives in the 2018 mid-term election which would put us on a timeline not unlike the Nixon-Watergate scenario." "By that reckoning," as I wrote in my 2019 World Forecast Highlights in 2018 (p.9) "a Trump ouster would be due not before mid-March 2019."

Look back on this history of 2018 and 2019, per my forecasts for those two years: the Democrats did win back the House in the 2018 mid-term election, and March 2019 brought the Mueller report, which was quashed by Trump s handpicked Attorney General William Barr; despite its finding that Russia interfered in the 2016 election with the objective of electing Trump, and that the Trump administration obstructed justice by impeding the investigation of Russian interference in the election. Nine months later, Trump was indeed impeached by the House, but was shortly thereafter acquitted in the trial before the GOP controlled Senate.

As I wrote on page 10 of my 2019 World Forecast Highlights, "All things considered, I suspect that Mr. Trump ends up leaving office by some means other than impeachment in the House followed by conviction in the Senate. If ill health isn t the cause of his exit, then he s likely to follow a Nixonian path resigning as part of a deal to avoid certain impeachment and conviction, in return for a pardon for himself and his adult children."

The 2020 election is now only five months away. Trump is known for fighting off every attack to the bitter end before surrendering at the last moment in order to save himself as best he can. (Consider the many lawsuits he has lost, or settled at the eleventh hour; e.g. the Trump University fiasco.) Alternatively, he could throw the country and indeed the world - into chaotic danger by means of a desperate "October Surprise" maneuver, "wagging the dog" with a disaster declaration, an attack on some hapless target of opportunity, or some other dastardly deed.

  MAY 18 UPDATE Personal report orders are coming in at the rate of at least one a day now. This is unsustainable. If you re thinking of ordering one, please consider waiting a week or two, so I can give it proper consideration.

I m getting inquiries from readers of my 2020 World Forecast Highlights about the upcoming (June 6, 2020 February 1, 2021) Mars Max cycle, the one that historically connects to notable "fires, crashes, clashes and explosions" including major wars in the extreme case. (See pp. 21-26 for more on this.) The interaction of Earth, Mars and the Sun that defines this cycle is astronomical in scale, and planetary in scope. So don t think you can find yourself a hidey-hole that won t feel the ramifications of a Red Planet rampage.

Still, an astro-locality map for the peak of Mars Max might point out some of the major fault lines for this close pass between Earth and Mars. The cycle only starts on June 6, grows stronger with Mars making its apparent retrograde station on September 9, and peaks when the Sun opposes Mars on October 13 at 23:25:46 UT. The Sun-Mars horizon arcs for the alignment run south-southwest through east central Canada and down through the US Midwest, the Mississippi River Valley and central Gulf of Mexico and Central America and the western coast of South America; crossing over the north pole, the arcs sweep down through Russia, Mongolia, China and Indochina. The longitudinal meridian arcs run through Russia and China in the eastern hemisphere, and from central Europe down through West Africa on the other side of the world. These won t be the only places where Mars makes its mark, but they will be prominent when the toll is reckoned.

On the individual level, those of us born under a celestial emphasis around 20° in the cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn) are likely to feel the tension in the air most strongly. (Check your chart and watch your back while you re at it.) This will be a time to anticipate and steer clear of conflict and danger as best you can. Preppers are well stocked for this.

Geopolitically, financial tailspins, a major debt crisis, non-payment of loans and bond defaults: these can be pretexts for war. Notice that the Sun-Mars opposition is in T-Square to the second coming of the January Saturn-Pluto conjunction, so an encore of the Covid-19 pandemic and its associated economic crash would not be out of place. This alignment also triggers the Venus-Saturn square to Jupiter in Donald Trump s chart. Given that Mr. Trump was born with Mars on the ascendant - for Trump's natal chart and astro-locality Mars details, see the May 4 update below - and that Mars in his astro-locality map passes through Washington DC, China and North Korea nations he has threatened frequently we can be sure of rising international tensions as we approach the Mars Max peak. (It doesn t help that Neptune at the time is on his natal lunar eclipse moon, opposing the Sun-Uranus alignment.)

This is not a promising portent for his mental and physical health then; all during a time when he s bound to try and create an "October surprise" national emergency in order to secure his reelection or postpone the election altogether. And then there s Vladimir Putin, whose natal chart is full of strong hits from the Mars Max peak; conjunct his entire Libra stellium (Sun-Saturn-Neptune-Mercury) and square Uranus.

One concerning thought regarding the 2020-2021 Mars Max peak occurred to me a couple years ago, when I referred to it on pp. 12-13 in my 2019 World Forecast Highlights (published in 2018):

"Incidentally, I ll venture a guess that the first use of a high altitude nuclear detonation as an Electromagnetic Pulse [EMP] weapon will come during a combined Mercury Max and Mars Max. Miscalculation or equipment failure will probably be a causal factor. 2020 looks vulnerable: Saturn and Pluto are conjunct early in the year, and within a few degrees of conjunction during the Mars Max and Mercury Max cycles in the fall.)"

Concerns about world financial stability are actually far more common than fears about the next brush with Armageddon, judging from my email and consultation calls. If you read pp. 8-9 in my 2020 World Forecast, you knew that the Venus Max cycle in advance that the financial paroxysm signaled by January s Saturn-Pluto alignment would be mitigated somewhat by the beginning of the Venus Max cycle on March 24. (You knew it was coming and what to do to protect your portfolio if you read my world forecast (published last year, reiterated here in my March 23 update.) Check that table again. See where the cycle ends? That s as far as the mitigation goes.

  MAY 4 UPDATE A couple announcements if you please; before I get into the timely faux SuperMoon and real Mars Max stuff. First, as you no doubt have noticed, this update is running a few weeks late. The reason, in case you haven t guessed, is that my workload always heavy - is crazy massive lately.

Due to the high volume of consultation calls and orders for personal reports and my 2020 World Forecast lately, I just cannot possibly keep up. That s why this update is late; it s why the customary 72-hour turnaround time for personal reports is now up to a week or more, and it s why clients tell me that they can t get through on the phone. Please bear in mind: I have several thousand clients out there, and there s only one of me at this end. (Suggestion: once you and I have connected for a consultation, please wait another week before calling in again, to give someone else a chance.) I thank you for your patience.

The January 12 Saturn-Pluto alignment And then there s the recent confusion over SuperMoon, which also takes time to clear up as best I can. This year, a few people have taken it upon themselves to start calling any full moon they fancy a SuperMoon. I created and defined the term over 40 years ago, and have furnished tables for all 20th and 21st Century SuperMoons in the last century.

Do not be misled: if you want to know about SuperMoons, go to the source. See, for example, pp 26-29 in my 2020 World Forecast Highlights; and for a table of all 2020 SuperMoons, see the one below, originally published in my Astropro March 9 update.

2020 SUPERMOON ALIGMENTS

DATE (UT)	TIME (UT)	TYPE	ECLIPTIC LONG.
MAR 9	17:49	FULL	19 VI 37
APR 8	02:36	FULL	18 LI 44
SEP 17	11:00	NEW (STEALTH)	25 VI 54
OCT 16	19:32	NEW (STEALTH)	23 LI 54
NOV 15	05:08	NEW (STEALTH)	23 SC 18

Bottom line: neither the February 8/9 full moon nor the one on May 7 is actually a SuperMoon. In point of fact, the one on May 7 occurs over a day (31 hours) AFTER perigee. No way that s at or near perigee.

Speaking of my 2020 World Forecast Highlights (published last year), it remains a hot item. (Word of mouth, perhaps?) Here it is May already, and I m still getting orders for the 2020 forecast; including the occasional request for a discount, because the year is almost half done. It s a whole forecast, a written composition that covers a whole year. I don t offer it in bits and pieces. If you want a calendar you can tear a page off as you finish each month, my forecast is not for you.

I suspect that the financial collapse and pandemic I connected to the January 21 Saturn-Pluto alignment see pp. 2-9 and 13 have a lot to do with the continuing demand for the 2020 forecast. Another factor has just begun to develop, as word gets out about the 2020-2021 Mars Max cycle. This is another one of my innovations in astrology, focusing on the Earth-Sun-Mars relationship, including the Mars perigee the closest approach of Earth to Mars, when the Red Planet is nearest to our home world, appearing biggest and brightest in our sky.

I ve been working with Mars Max since the really big one back in the summer of 2003. What I have found is that Mars Max is a phenomenon that consistently shows up in the heavens when the tide of human violence surges to extraordinary levels. It loomed large and bright in the sky at the Valentine s Day Massacre, the start of World War II, the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the start of the Korean War, the Suez Crisis, the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, the 1973 Arab-Israeli War, the Gulf War, etc. (Not to mention the 1988 Pan Am Flight 103 Lockerbie bombing, a kind of precursor to the 9/11 attack.)

We can look back to see what Mars Max has ushered into history, and look ahead to see when it will come again. But the best place to start is to look into the night sky, because you won t find Mars Max in old school astrology books and references. That s because, like SuperMoon (a concept I defined and named on the pages of Dell Horoscope back in 1979), Mars Max is a new kind of astrology. Like SuperMoon, it s a concept I defined years ago, but it has deep roots in ancient astrology. It has been lost down through the ages, as astrology turned away from the night sky and into books and tradition.

Look up in the sky to find the Red Planet during a Mars Max cycle and particularly around the time of its peak, the Sun-Mars opposition that defines the Mars perigee and you ll see Mars burning bigger and brighter than usual - roughly eight times bigger and brighter than it does when farthest from Earth. This increased Mars prominence in our sky coincides with an amplified presence of all things martial in human experience. ("As above, so below.") This isn t to say that humans are gentle lambs the rest of the time far from it, as is clear from history and literature. But it is to say that, when the red orb of Ares burns brightly in the sky during the Mars Max cycle, everything martial is amplified in us.

The 9/11 attack, the German invasion of Poland that started World War II, Pearl Harbor: they re all obvious Mars Max manifestations. Warfare is integral to the astrology of Mars, which is why Roman mythology dubbed Mars the god of war. But war is only one end of the Mars spectrum of violence, which ranges all the way from the individual to the collective, from interpersonal squabbles to mass murder to terrorism to all-out warfare. Consider Columbine a case in point: the archetypal 1999 high school massacre took place within days of the April 24 peak of the 1999 Mars Max.

There s a lot more to Mars Max than I have time and space to detail here and now, including its connection to "fires, clashes, crashes and explosions," and how to determine when the cycle begins, peaks and ends. (See pp. 21-26 in my 2020 World Forecast Highlights for a fuller treatment.) For the present, the important point is that Mars Max is now close at hand, for the first time since 2018. It starts on June 6 this year, peaks on October 13, and finally fades away on February 1, 2021.

I haven t time at the moment to flesh out what Mars Max portends for the rest of this year. If you re impatient, feel free to read the above mentioned pages in my 2020 forecast. Meanwhile, be advised that Donald Trump was born under a lunar eclipse as Mars rose in the east. His astro-locality birth map shows that Mars horizon line running from his birthplace in New York through Washington DC, and across parts of the South China Sea, China, Taiwan and North Korea. More later . . . time permitting.

  APR 6 UPDATE Remember AIBO , the robot companion introduced by Sony in 1999? (Google is your friend.) AIBO was a "cyber dog" at first, but has since evolved into other form factors. It s an expensive toy for computer nerds. It s also an ironic prophecy about the finish line for the human race. Allow me to explain . . .

I ve been writing for the last 15 years or so about the shift of human civilization to be ushered in by the air Trigonalis at the end of this year, which marks the arrival of the air sign series of what astrologers of old called the Great Chronocrator; the Time Lord, in other words.

The Great Chronocrator is a conjunction of the planets Jupiter and Saturn that occurs at 20 year intervals. (See my free online table of Jupiter-Saturn conjunctions from 582 BCE to 2398 CE.) For approximately 180 years these alignments happen in the three signs of the same element. (Fire signs = Aries, Leo, Sagittarius; earth signs = Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn; air signs = Gemini, Libra, Aquarius; and water signs = Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces.)

Great Chronocrator Trigons 74-2219 CE
copyright 2019 by Richard Nolle, 2020 World Forecast Highlights (p. 10)

Fire	Earth	Air	Water
1663	1842	2020	2219
868	1047	1226	1425
74	253	452	610

It s a cycle through all four elements that takes some 800 years to complete, more or less. Since 1842, the Great Chronocrator has been happening in an unbroken sequence of signs in the earth element with the sole exception of the 1980 interloper in the air sign Libra, after which the series reverted to the earth sign Taurus for its finale in the year 2000. Interlopers can occur near the end or beginning of a series of signs in the same element; but the following conjunction in the next element after an interloper establishes the new elemental series.

This year, for the first time in nearly 180 years, we leave the cycle of earth sign Chronocrators with the arrival of the Air Trigonalis the beginning of the first air sign series of Chronocrators since 1226. (For more on the structure, sequence and significance of Great Chronocrators, see pp. 9-12 in my 2020 World Forecast Highlights.)

The important and more or less immediate point of all this is, as I wrote in my 2020 World Forecast (p. 11):

"The time is now growing short for us to think once more about the unthinkable, to wrap our minds around the coming event that will (perhaps literally) blow our minds. I m referring to what s called the Technological Singularity, which is what happens when we humans create our own successors. Science fiction has explored the topic for decades, and Hollywood has spectacularly painted the pictures for us (e.g. James Cameron s Terminator movies). I've been describing for years now, in my World Forecast Highlights, how the period between the 1980 mutation Jupiter-Saturn conjunction (the first air interloper in the earth sign series of these alignments) and the 2020 Trigonalis (the first in an unbroken air sign series of the conjunction) marked a temporal watershed between eras that would be as different as the Industrial Revolution was from the agrarian civilization that preceded it. Arguably, the earth sign Chronocrator series and the corresponding Industrial Revolution define modern civilization. We're coming into the dawn of the next civilization: the Singularity approaches as under the aegis of the 2020 Jupiter-Saturn conjunction."

"I promise you this. It won't be The Terminator: I'm looking not for a bang, but more of a long drawn-out whimper. This is one of the reasons I ve been saying and writing for years now that there won t be a full recovery from the so-called 'Great Recession" until the next Chronocrator arrives. This old world is obsolete, and the next one will be as unimaginable to us as iPhones and moonshots were to the peasant farmers of the 19th Century. Business as usual is coming to an end; the much ballyhooed 'New World Order' creeps in as of 2020."

"Matthew 26:11 had it wrong: the poor will not always be with us. They ll be the first to go. The poor have always been fodder for civilization. They do the grunt work, and get enough in return to keep them alive. When grunt work disappears, so will the grunts. Do you think an Artificial Intelligence as far advanced over us as we are over cattle will have any use for us? AI is amoral. If it calculates as some scientists already have that the optimum human population for Planet Earth is two billion, what s to be done with the rest of us the other six billion? Once it s smarter than we are, it will be beyond our ability to control. At that point we become nothing more than competition for scarce resources. (Fascists called them useless eaters. )"

"Mind you, while the process as a whole is effectively born with the 2020 Chronocrator, it doesn t spring full grown from the brow of Zeus any more than the Industrial Revolution was fully evolved in 1842. This is an historical process, one that takes generations to mature. We ll be able to see it coming. But I don t think we could stop it, any more than our peasant forbears could have stopped the iron horse of the Industrial Revolution in its tracks."

So, what s to become of us once our evolutionary successors take over? Maybe they ll have zoos for us? Or maybe we ll be biological companions to our cybernetic masters much like AIBOwas to humans in 1999? Relax, it s still a few generations away . . . maybe.

  MAR 30 UPDATE I m getting lots of incoming from clients, Facebook friends, Twitter followers and Astropro visitors about market developments and the viral pandemic. (See previous updates for the latter, because I m focusing on the former now.) If you read pages 2-9 in my 2020 World Forecast Highlights (published last year), the global financial paroxysm came as no surprise. In particular there s the passage on page 7, for example:

"Considering the multiple megacycles melded into the January 12 Saturn-Pluto conjunction, there s no doubt that this will be a major turning point in the world. If all the Big Picture factors weren t sufficient evidence of this, consider the shorter term ancillaries at work here. The alignment is two days away from the January 10 penumbral lunar eclipse, and only one day from the Uranus direct station in Taurus. These are signals of short-term turbulence surrounding the Saturn-Pluto hookup, pointing to financial as well as political instability." (Incidentally, regarding the January 12 date of the Saturn-Pluto alignment, a BBC report dated April 2 put it this way: "On 12 January - less than three months ago - the coronavirus was confined to China. Not a single case had been found outside the country where it emerged. And then, on 13 Januay, the virus became a global problem.")

Facebook friends and Twitter followers got a heads-up on January 1: "Cashed out trading account yesterday. Now 100% cash. Still have equity stakes in investment account, for now." And last week s Astropro update gave you an acute alert on March 23, about the "economic boost that starts within a few days of the March 24 watershed. Be ready to take your money and run back to the sidelines again, if you re playing the markets." You saw it first in the forecast, and the next day in the markets. I ve already had clients tell me that they nailed down a 20% or better return buying on the 23rd and selling a few days later. I hope you re one!

Meanwhile, the world around us isn t looking too strong. Remember, as I wrote in my 2020 Forecast (page 8), "This is not going to be some cataclysmic Mad Max hunker-down-in-your-bunker scenario: you won t need Krugerrands, MREs, a 50 cal. and a flak jacket, but a cash stash and a well-stocked pantry won t hurt." You know the platitudes: stay safe and healthy, practice social distancing and good hygiene, and let s hope for the best.

Looking ahead a little bit, keep an eye out for the last full SuperMoon of the year, on April 8 at 18° 43 Libra. This anchors a worldwide geophysical shock window that runs from the 5th through the 11th replete with an increase in the number and intensity of strong storms (high winds and heavy precipitation), as well as extreme tidal evens, M5+ earthquakes and notable volcanic eruptions.

This particular SuperMoon occurs in a dynamic context, part of a T-Square to the Jupiter-Pluto conjunction, coincident with a Mars-Saturn alignment. This speaks to dynamic, explosive developments geophysically and geopolitically at the macro end of the scale, and personally at the micro end of the scale.

Check your chart, while you re at it. If, like Donald Trump, you were born with the degree of this SuperMoon prominent in the sky around you, give some thought to what challenges this could be emphasizing in your life in the days ahead. (The SuperMoon is conjunct his natal Jupiter, while Jupiter and Pluto oppose his natal Venus-Saturn conjunction and Neptune T-Squares his natal lunar eclipse.)

In closing, I m still getting queries indicating that lots of people are unaware of the changes I have instituted over the past several months, regarding new client orders, personal reports, the free monthly forecast, etc. All of these things have been addressed in this year s updates. If you haven t read them, please do so now at least as far back as the January 27 number - so you ll be up to speed. Thanks!

  MAR 23 UPDATE A couple of Nolle hacks, if you ll permit me. I don t mean to sound curmudgeonly, but the simple truth is that my daily calendar is always full to avalanching at best. So I try to simplify things, the better to get as much done as possible in the time available. In my defense, I was born under a Capricorn Moon rising, squaring the midheaven; and a Sun-Saturn opposition (with Saturn trining my Moon). That said, here s the deal:

First, the best way NOT to get in touch with me is via Facebook Messenger. I find it clumsy, intrusive and relatively incapable, and so I use it only very rarely. I do make exceptions. You already know if you re one - in which case, we've probably known each other for at least 30 years.

Second, I feel the same way about videos as a means of communication. I m a speed reader; generally, I see a paragraph at a time often more, depending on the size of the page or screen and font, and the density of the material. For me, watching a video is slow and tedious. Typically, I have more urgent and/or better things to do with my time. Before I ll watch a video, I ll read the transcript. Again, I do make exceptions entertainment, for example - but only rarely.

Preliminaries aside, here s a particularly timely personal request. Please be advised that my calendar is now so jammed up that, until May 1, I can accept no new clients and no personal report orders. For the present, I m still taking personal consultation calls and 2020 World Forecast Highlights orders from clients old and new. Seriously, in these uncertain times, a good portion of my consultation calls are answered in my world forecast. I recommend it.

For example, there s the current combination of a global pandemic and economic meltdown. No surprise, if you read pages 2-9 and 13 in your copy of my 2020 World Forecast Highlights, published last year. How big a deal is this? World historic, actually. What comes next? Read the forecast, please.

We won t be getting through this in 2020, although it will ease up a bit by summer before the next shoe drops. Meanwhile, we need to get through this month. We re coming into a temporary turning point between the March 24 onset of Venus Max (see pages 7-8 and 35 in my 2020 forecast) and end of Mercury Max (see pages 9, 16, 17-20 and 29-30), and Saturn s Aquarius ingress on March 22 and its alignment with Mars on the 31st; all capped off by the Jupiter-Pluto conjunction of April 5.

Add up all the above, and you get a mixed bag. The onset of Venus Max is typically a harbinger of better economic and financial conditions and the Jupiter-Pluto alignment speaks to an injection of liquidity that complements it. But the best these two celestial turning points can muster is mitigation, in the wake of the January Saturn-Pluto alignment and its part in Justinian s T-Square Sky Train, and in the shadow of the coming Fire Trigonalis. (See pages 1, 4-6 and 12-15.)

Remember, this is far from just a really newsy year. It is, as I wrote in my 2020 World Forecast (pages 1-2), a confluence of "world-historic themes the Great Sky Train unfolding from the 2006 'reincarnation' of Emperor Justinian s T-Square - including first Saturn and then Jupiter (three times, no less) aligning with an ultra-Pluto . . . also the Time Lord Trigonalis putting in an appearance for the first time since the start of the Industrial Revolution. Add them all up, and you get a celestial time stream that stretches from the dawn of the Roman Empire through its collapse (and the dawn of the classical Dark Ages), through the current ascendancy of fascism and the birth of a new Dark Age, and beyond, well into the 23rd Century."

More immediately, the March 24 new moon combines with Mercury s maximum west elongation that same day (the end point of Mercury Max) to up the ante not only for increased storm and seismic activity (including M5+ quakes and volcanic eruptions), but also solar weather storms. You ll see the latter in auroral activity and geomagnetic storms (Kp5 and higher), communication breakdowns, infrastructure disruptions and the like. This particular shock window extends from March 21 through the 27th. Back up, be prepared.

And then there s the final full SuperMoon of the year on April 8 although the latter date anchors a typical SuperMoon storm and seismic shock window (April 5-11) that muddies the water around that time. (See pages 26-29 in my 2020 forecast.) This will likely put a cap on the economic boost that starts within a few days of the March 24 watershed. Be ready to take your money and run back to the sidelines again, if you re playing the markets.

That s it for now, I m off to the gym again. No worries, it s just down the hall from my office: I m not violating the "social separation" principle.

  MAR 16 UPDATE This week s update is a bit heavy on the technical side. Let s get it out of the way, so we can move on to what s happening in the world around and inside us as March gives way to April.

If we re connected on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter, you may have seen my notification late last week concerning some digital remodeling here at my website. This was caused by switching the entire website to SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) protocol. This means that your connection with Astropro is henceforth digitally encrypted for privacy and security. That s the good news.

The bad news is that this has required a massive but fairly routine modification of every page here at Astropro. That runs into the hundreds if not thousands of pages. Last week, I put notices on my social media sites to let people know that the Astropro entry page was not working, because of the SSL renovation. At the time, I suggested using the Astropro news page (this page) to access the site. That s no longer necessary because the issue is fixed now, tested and running on Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari browsers for Windows, Macintosh and Apple iOS devices (iPhone and iPad). So feel free to set your bookmark back to the home page if you prefer or leave it here if that suits you.

There is one small difference now; namely that what used to be the Astropro gateway has been replaced with the home page itself. I still have some coding to do before the old gateway goes back up. But that s neither here nor there as far as content is concerned. And it will likely be many weeks before I have finished the necessary code changes for each and every page on this site. But I ll keep plugging away between client phone consultation calls calls, and orders for my 2020 World Forecast Highlights and personal reports.

Speaking of this year's World Forecast (see pp. 2-9 and 13), the financial crash and pandemic - plus last week s SuperMoon - have prompted a flurry of new orders lately, accompanied by lots of questions. Will there be a recession? (Yes.) Is the pandemic a hoax? (No.) When s the first light at the end of the tunnel?

The first glimmer comes at the end of March, when Mercury Max concludes, Venus Max commences, Mars and Saturn conjoin at 0° Aquarius (squaring Uranus), and Jupiter stands within a fraction of a degree of its April 5 alignment with Pluto all in the vanguard of the April 9 full SuperMoon, with its storm and seismic shock window. A shift is in the wind . . . but Mercury is conjunct Neptune and the Sun aligns with Lilith, so appearances can be deceiving. In the long run, a happy ending is just a story that hasn t finished yet. As I wrote in my 2020 World Forecast Highlights (p. 7), this crash isn t a Big Bang. It s not Thelma and Louise driving off a cliff all over and done in a flash. It s drawn out, and slow motion . . . a gradual "settling of the soufflé."

  MAR 9 UPDATE There s a lot happening this month, starting with the March 9 SuperMoon. It s the first SuperMoon of the year despite the faux pas of some in the media about a so-called "SuperMoon" back on February 9. (There s another faux "SuperMoon" i.e. a non-SuperMoon being talked about for May 7.) At this point, everyone who wants to already knows that I created and defined the term over 40 years ago now. It s even in Britannica at this point, as you'll see by searching there for Richard Nolle or SuperMoon.

2020 SUPERMOON ALIGMENTS

DATE (UT)	TIME (UT)	TYPE	ECLIPTIC LONG.
MAR 9	17:49	FULL	19 VI 37
APR 8	02:36	FULL	18 LI 44
SEP 17	11:00	NEW (STEALTH)	25 VI 54
OCT 16	19:32	NEW (STEALTH)	23 LI 54
NOV 15	05:08	NEW (STEALTH)	23 SC 18

It does my heart good to see SuperMoon. catching on like this. Thank you to the meteorologists who were the first to take note of it 10 years ago, to the science writers who next picked it up, and to the astronomers and astrologers who at last followed suit! And thanks to Elke Hutton for spotting this article online at The Weather Network and sharing it with me.

Even the mainstream media recognize SuperMoon these days, e.g. the current issue of Newsweek, which was brought to my attention by Daphne Roberts. (Thanks, Daphne!)

If you ve been following along with this website, or my books and articles over the years, you know that a full SuperMoon is more than just a great ig glorious sight in the sky (especially around sunset and sunrise, thanks to the "Moon Illusion"). It also times an increase in the number and intensity of seismic events: moderate to severe earthquakes (M5 and up) and volcanic eruptions. Moreover, SuperMoons also usher in a surge in the number and intensity of powerful storms, with attendant powerful winds and heavy precipitation (think floods); as well as higher than normal tides.

This SuperMoon effect is typically operative over a span of three days before and after the exact alignment, which marks out March 6-12 as the shock window this time around. Keep your eyes on the skies! (For a long range look at SuperMoon, see my tables of these events for the 20th and 21st Centuries.)

The real storm isn t just in the sky this week and this month, obviously. It s all around us, as the markets tumble and the novel corona virus rocks the world. You knew this was coming if you read my 2020 World Forecast Highlights see pp. 2-15. There s way too much there to summarize here, but I feel obliged to mention that, while this global economic maelstrom won t be over soon, it will be mitigated somewhat starting the end of this month, when the first Venus Max cycle in two years begins on March 24. (See the 2020 Venus Max table below.) As noted on page 8 of my 2020 World Forecast Highlights, "In the face of a Saturn-Pluto conjunction, the best Venus Max can bring is a moderation or postponement of the inevitable downturn." Also on that page, see the astro-locality map for the Saturn-Pluto conjunction, which anchored both pandemic and pandemonium in the markets. It s reproduced above: notice the Saturn-Pluto antimeridian line running right through China.

That s it for now, except to remind you that the current Mercury Max cycle continues until March 24. (See pp. 16-20 in my 2020 forecast.) That s right, the same day Venus Max begins, and just a couple days after Saturn crosses into Aquarius, and a day before Pluto s retrograde station. Relatively speaking, this is a bit of a reprieve: the eye of the storm, when the sky above is blue again, and the winds are calmed . . . for a while.

In closing, I m still getting questions about my monthly forecasts, about the availability of my World Forecast Highlights, etc. Please see my January 27 update, where you ll find answers to both questions and more. And remember to check in here for my regular updates, to stay abreast of what s happening. I believe you ll find it better than the monthly forecasts of old.

  FEB 20 UPDATE This week s regular update is running a few days late, for a couple very good reasons. One is the usual: phone consultation calls and personal report orders are coming in ever thicker and faster to the point that I cannot keep up with them.

The phone calls take priority of course, since I am a consulting astrologer. I don t take appointments for these, because unless I m already on the phone I answer calls as they come in. (It s common for the next call to come in before I finish with the current one. When this happens, the caller gets a busy signal; along with a message asking that they call back at their convenience.

Naturally, I must stop working on reports, charts etc. in order to take a call. After the call is finished, it takes some time to return to my previous task and catch up with the train of thought that was derailed by the call. Lately, it happens that only a few minutes pass between calls, and then it s "lather, rinse, repeat" for an hour or more at a time. So writing and then coding these weekly updates, a task that typically takes only an hour or two, can stretch into a day or more.

Aside from these ordinary delays which have become even more frequent than usual over the last few months there has been a combination of personal situations since the February 9 full moon (conjunct Pluto and opposing Jupiter in the second-eighth house axis of my natal chart). Anyone familiar with astrological tradition will immediately recognize the themes which have been running through my life in the last week or so not to mention the Mercury Max which has been in effect since the current cycle began on February 10. (See table below.) Tending to these matters has taken a lot of extra time, in a calendar that s already stretched to the extreme.

2020 MERCURY MAX CYCLES

Max-E	S-Rx	Cnj. SUN	S-D	Max-W
FEB 10, 2020	FEB 17, 2020	FEB 26, 2020	MAR 10, 2020	MAR 24, 2020
JUN 4, 2020	JUN 18, 2020	JUL 1, 2020	JUL 12, 2020	JUL 22, 2020
OCT 1, 2020	OCT 14, 2020	OCT 25, 2020	NOV 3, 2020	NOV 10, 2020

Max-E = Mercury (Evening Star) Max. Elongation East of Sun (Max begins)
S-Rx = Retrograde Station (Retrograde GBegins)
Cnj. SU = Superior Conjunction with Sun
S-D = Direct Station (Retrograde Ends)
Max-W = Mercury (Morning Star) Max. Elongation West of Sun (Max ends)

For one thing, issues with one of my online banking accounts were bogging me down for several days, and only got resolved on the day of Mercury s retrograde station). (The solution focused on purging the history on one of my computers: how Plutonian!)

On a deeper level, death has stalked my inner circle in the days since the full moon. Friends and neighbors have been sloughing off the mortal coil thick and fast: two dead so far, and another in hospice care. And then there was the death threat that came to me in the mail on the 13th. Addressing the latter took a few extra hours, between providing documentation and interviews for the FBI, the US Postal Inspector and the local police. As I summed it up for my Facebook friends last week:

"To the fundamentalist fanatic who mailed me a death threat last week: be aware that what you have done is a federal crime, carrying a penalty of up to 20 years in prison. The FBI and the US Postal Inspector have opened a file on you. Don t think you can remain anonymous, just because you didn t give a name or return address. It s people like you who disgrace religion. Have a nice day."

It s not at all the first death threat I have received, directed against me as an astrologer. I m sure it won t be the last unless my harasser is a lot faster and more effective than I suspect. Anyone familiar with the history of astrology knows exactly what I mean. If you don t, Google "witchcraft laws," and bear in mind that rabid fundamentalist Christians include anything they define as occult astrology included - to be an abomination to their God, who commands that such people shall not be "suffered to live."

In closing, you may recall see pp. 19-25 in my 2020 World Forecast Highlights, or last week s update that I have for years said that the five key points in the Mercury Max cycle typically usher in periods of "greater than normal solar activity solar flares (M and X class), Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) and geomagnetic activity (KP5 and higher)," within plus or minus three days of those five points in the cycle. We are now within one of those windows (viz. Mercury s retrograde station), which extends from February 14th to the 20th. In fact, the Kp scale hit 5 on February 19. There s still plenty more Mercury Max to come. Get ready!

  FEB 10 UPDATE Pseudo SuperMoon scuttlebutt is making the rounds lately, with the claim that the February 10 full moon is a SuperMoon. No, it isn t. I know. I was there from day one. I created and defined the term 40+ years ago, in an article published in Dell Horoscope in September 1979. The fact of the matter is that there is no SuperMoon this month. The first such alignment of 2020 is March 9, as detailed in my table of 21st Century SuperMoons (published in 2000).

I ll grant that the February 10 full moon is closer to Earth than usual. But it doesn t meet the criteria I defined long ago: close, but no cigar. People who want to define their own SuperMoon should come up with their own term for it.

There are those who are jealous of the popular currency that SuperMoon has attained. It s the first time in centuries that a term created by an astrologer has been adopted by the scientific community. I m glad that they re addressing the idea. But it would help if they d get the address right. (For more on this year s SuperMoons, see pp. 26-29 in my 2020 World Forecast Highlights.)

Ersatz SuperMoon scuttlebutt is the big astronomical/astrological topic of the day. But there s another one passing unnoticed. It s what I have called the Mercury Max cycle. This occurs several times a year, when the planet Mercury comes around from behind the Sun to pass between our home star and our home planet. It s a cycle that includes the infamous Mercury retrograde of traditional astrology which, as is so often the case, gets it wrong (e.g. the arbitrary and fallacious Mercury retrograde "shadow" and "storm" periods).

As described in my 2020 World Forecast Highlights (pp. 16-20). Mercury Max is an astronomically defined relationship between Earth, Mercury and Sol. It begins when Mercury in its evening star phase reaches maximum elongation east of the Sun; meaning that Mercury lingers in the western sky long after sunset. The cycle continues through the retrograde and past it until morning star Mercury reaches its maximum elongation west of the Sun; when Mercury appears as high in the sky as it can before sunrise.

From the 2020 Mercury Max table below, you can see all three of this year s Mercury Max cycles at a glance, from beginning to end. Pay special attention to the five key points within each cycle: the elongation extremes at the extremes of the cycle as a whole, the station points at either end of the retrograde period, and the Sun-Mercury alignment that is the focus of the cycle as a whole.

2020 MERCURY MAX CYCLES

Max-E	S-Rx	Cnj. SUN	S-D	Max-W
FEB 10, 2020	FEB 17, 2020	FEB 26, 2020	MAR 10, 2020	MAR 24, 2020
JUN 4, 2020	JUN 18, 2020	JUL 1, 2020	JUL 12, 2020	JUL 22, 2020
OCT 1, 2020	OCT 14, 2020	OCT 25, 2020	NOV 3, 2020	NOV 10, 2020

Max-E = Mercury (Evening Star) Max. Elongation East of Sun (Max begins)
S-Rx = Retrograde Station (Retrograde GBegins)
Cnj. SU = Superior Conjunction with Sun
S-D = Direct Station (Retrograde Ends)
Max-W = Mercury (Morning Star) Max. Elongation West of Sun (Max ends)

These five points give or take three days either way mark the peak disturbances in the cycle, when solar turbulence (CME outbursts, X-Ray storms etc.) and geomagnetic disturbances (Kp 5 and up) reach peaks of intensity and frequency. You ll know it when you see it: electrical and electronic outages, a Murphy s Law festival playing havoc with transportation and communication infrastructure, scrambled circuits of all kinds (including human neural circuits etc.) And as you can see, it s on right now.

It s not all negative, by any means. In fact, if you stay sharp, observant, aware and focused during Mercury Max, you ll come out on top. Again, see pp. 16-20 in my 2020 World Forecast Highlights for more.

  FEB 3 UPDATE Headlines centered on the spreading Wuhan coronavirus see "As New Coronavirus Spread, China s Old Habits Delayed Fight" and "Wuhan Coronavirus Looks Increasingly Like a Pandemic, Experts Say" in the February 2 New York Times have prompted questions about my mention of the connection between Plague and other pandemics historically linked to Justinian s T-Square and its subsequent Sky Train the rare ongoing configuration which has been unfolding since 2006, for the first time in some 1,500 years. (See pp. 12-15 in my 2020 World Forecast Highlights.)

The January 12 Saturn-Pluto conjunction is part of that Sky Train, coming in late Capricorn 13 years after the Great T-Square in both its 536 and 2006 appearances. (See 2020 WFH, pp. 4-6.)

People are asking if chis new coronavirus is destined to be the modern analog of the Black Death in Justinian s time. The timing is right, but this isn t the first and only such candidate: Ebola, SARS, MERS and any of several influenza variants have all been epidemiological hot spots since the Great T-Square returned in 2006. (Ebola was known years before, but outbreaks have become more and more virulent since then.)

The January 12 Saturn-Pluto alignment at 22° 46 Capricorn, close on the heels of the January 10 lunar eclipse at 20° 0 Cancer and inferior Sun-Mercury conjunction at 19° 49 Capricorn very neatly timed a couple of Plutonian developments, starting with the Wuhan coronavirus. The first cases of Wuhan date back to early December, with Saturn and Pluto just a few degrees apart in the sky. A Wuhan doctor, Li Wenliang, let his colleagues know about the mysterious new disease with an online post dated December 30. Li was quickly reprimanded by the Wuhan health authority, on the grounds that his warning constituted "illegal behavior." (Officials remembered the hit the Chinese economy took from the 2002 SARS outbreak, and did their best to suppress any news of a similar fiasco.) On January 10 (a day before the eclipse and two days before the exact Saturn-Pluto alignment), Dr. Li was himself infected with coronavirus while treating an asymptomatic patient for glaucoma. Ten days later, the word was out, and spreading rapidly around the world - just like the disease. (Incidentally, the aforementioned Sun-Mercury conjunction will reverberate two weeks later, as a January 7-13 geophysical shock wave opens up. More on that next week.)

Meanwhile, a parallel time stream was unfolding in Washington DC: just as the coronavirus was taking off in China, the US House of Representatives voted to impeach President Trump on December 18 (the day Saturn moved to within two degrees of its alignment with Pluto). The Articles of Impeachment were delivered to the Senate on January 15 three days after the Saturn-Pluto conjunction became exact.

Just as Chinese authorities sought to suppress the severity of the Wuhan coronavirus, the US Senate did its best to suppress evidence of presidential misconduct. The global pandemic disease and the poisoning of the US body politic were proceeding apace under the aegis of the historic Saturn-Pluto alignment - which was happening in a tight, hard opposition aspect to the Venus-Saturn conjunction that was in the sky when Trump was born.

Are we witnessing the kind of Great Plague and Crossing of the Rubicon end of the Republic, rise of the Dictator, dawn of the Dark Ages - described in my 2020 World Forecast? Yes. But as I wrote, it won t be a sudden collapse; more like a settling of the soufflé. Not an Apocalypse, but a series of shudders. There are a great many steps ahead, but the descent has begun. Just remember: the Dark Ages weren t recognized as such until they were already centuries old. Sometimes you don t know what you ve got til it s gone long gone.

  JAN 27 UPDATE First, by way of taking care of business, my 2020 World Forecast Highlights was published a few weeks ago: 35 pages, 18,000 words, with color illustrations. If you ordered one, and haven't received your copy yet, please let me know. My records indicate that all paid copies, whether PDF by email or hard copy via USPS Priority Mail, have been sent.

If you don't have a copy of that forecast, you missed getting advance notice of the surge of earthquake and volcano action during the geophysical shock window surrounding the January 10 lunar eclipse at 20° Cancer: "Eclipses are much like SuperMoons in terms of their connection with storms and seismicity, but they tend to rank a little lower in magnitude. Don t expect an eclipse to herald the kind of extreme tidal surges so typical of a SuperMoon, for example. But there remains a notable historical connection between eclipses and strong storms and seismicity, including moderate to severe (Magnitude 5 and up) earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions." (See p. 29.) What's the time frame for this connection? As I've said for decades, "lunar eclipses are effective within a plus or minus three day window." (p. 30). For the January 10 eclipse, that workd out to January 7-13. Check the news for this period, and you'll spot a slew of moderate to severe (M5+) quakes and powerful volcanic eruptions. (Bear in mind that this also applies, although in a less extreme way, to the new moon on the 24th, which is just now leaving its shock window.)

Business aside, I ve been working on the above two paragraphs since January 3 between frequent consultation calls and report orders from my 3,000+ clients. "Thereby hangs a tale," as the Bard wrote . . .

Some of you may know that I ve been a full time professional astrologer since 1973, and a serious student of the subject since the mid-1960s. I sold the first of several thousand articles to the national astrology press back in 1975 (starting with Dell Horoscope magazine), and published the first of several books on the subject in 1983 (Chiron: The New Planet in Your Horoscope)

By the time I started this website in 1996, I was counselling several thousand private clients. To that practice I added everything you see at astropro.com, including the many "free" forecasts. In truth, nothing is free. It has all been subsidized by my clients, in the sense that what they pay me is how I make a living. The combination of all this work keeps me more than busy. Too busy, at this point. That s why it has taken weeks just to write the opening paragraphs of today s update, in the midst of a constant barrage of client report orders and consultation calls clients some of whom I have been a part of their lives for decades before I began this website. The long and the short of it is that my loyalty and obligation to them has priority over this website. It really comes down to the proverbial three-legged stool: my personal life, my clients, and the website. Something s gotta give . . .

Born under a Capricorn ascendant and Moon (the latter trine its traditional ruler, Saturn which opposes the Sun in my chart), I m a very hard worker by nature. It helps that I love my work, of course. But something has to give. I need a couple hours a day for physical workouts of one kind or another, and another few hours for things like sleep, errands, personal care and a family life. My current 12-hour workday doesn t leave enough room for all that.

The upshot is that the December 2019 edition is the last of my free monthly forecasts. I have given the matter considerable thought for a very long time now, and it all came to a head under the aegis of the January Saturn-Pluto conjunction conjunct my natal Moon, and the lunar eclipse opposing it and squaring my Libra midheaven. I have determined that it s the right thing to do, for me and for my work: a time for balance.

Freed from the tyranny of the monthly calendar, I ll be doing what amounts to weekly astrological commentaries; some shorter, some longer. I ll still address topical subjects those that arise in the world and the sky around us, and how they dovetail into astrology and the human experience.

There, I ve said it. I feel lighter already. I know I ll like the new agenda. I hope you will too.

PS For those who have asked why I didn t mention the Trump impeachment in this year s forecast, it s because I addressed it a couple years ago, first in my August 2017 online forecast, and later in my 2018 World Forecast Highlights (pp. 9-12, published in 2017):

"As I pointed out in my August 2017 online forecast, the solar eclipse that month has ominous connotations for the President. (The eclipses of 1974 and 1998 had impeachment connections for Presidents Nixon and Clinton.) As I put it in that forecast, 'Is impeachment in Mr. Trump s future too, under the same eclipse that brought Mr. Clinton to that impasse? Or will it be a 25th Amendment removal from office? Or something else? There are a lot of possibilities here; none of which bodes well for Mr. Trump." Astrology goes back to a time when rulers didn t leave office for constitutional reasons, so there are less genteel possibilities in the picture here.'"

"In the current highly polarized political atmosphere, half the US population (at least) are hoping that Mr. Trump s removal from office is imminent. Not so fast! President Nixon s resignation occurred on August 9, 1974 some two years and two months after the break-in at the Democratic Party headquarters in the Watergate Hotel. (And that was with the Democrats controlling Congress.)"

". . . the odds of his removal from office in the near term remain a long shot. But it s not unlikely that the train has left the station as of the August 21, 2017 solar eclipse. Realpolitik suggests a couple of alternative outcomes. The quicker one is that the GOP power structure turns on the President, and turns him out via the 25th Amendment. The slower hinges on the Democratic Party regaining a majority in the House of Representatives in the 2018 mid-term election which would put us on a timeline not unlike the Nixon-Watergate scenario."

Looks like we re on the Nixon-Watergate scenario, like I said a couple years ago . . .

  DEC 23 UPDATE If you read the full version of my 2018 World Forecast Highlights, the November 2018 "Blue Wave" in the US House, followed last week by the impeachment of Donald Trump, was very plainly indicated long ago.

2020 MERCURY MAX CYCLES

Max-E	S-Rx	Cnj. SUN	S-D	Max-W
FEB 10, 2020	FEB 17, 2020	FEB 26, 2020	MAR 10, 2020	MAR 24, 2020
JUN 4, 2020	JUN 18, 2020	JUL 1, 2020	JUL 12, 2020	JUL 22, 2020
OCT 1, 2020	OCT 14, 2020	OCT 25, 2020	NOV 3, 2020	NOV 10, 2020

Max-E = Mercury (Evening Star) Max. Elongation East of Sun (Max begins)
S-Rx = Retrograde Station (Retrograde GBegins)
Cnj. SU = Superior Conjunction with Sun
S-D = Direct Station (Retrograde Ends)
Max-W = Mercury (Morning Star) Max. Elongation West of Sun (Max ends)

Something far more momentous awaits us in 2020: another financial maelstrom for one thing, what with the Saturn-Pluto alignment next month. 2020 is going to be a year of wild gyrations, comprising three planetary Max Cycles. This will be the first such triple header since 2018: Venus Max, Mercury Max and Mars Max.

2020 VENUS MAX CYCLE

Max-E	S-Rx	Cnj. SUN	S-D	Max-W
MAR 24, 2020	MAY 13, 2020	JUN 3, 2020	JUN 25, 2020	AUG 13, 2020

Max-E = Venus (Evening Star) Max. Elongation East of Sun (Max begins)
S-Rx = Retrograde Station (Retrograde GBegins)
Cnj. SU = Superior Conjunction with Sun
S-D = Direct Station (Retrograde Ends)
Max-W = Venus (Morning Star) Max. Elongation West of Sun (Max ends)

In the face of a Saturn-Pluto conjunction, the best Venus Max can bring is a moderation or postponement of the inevitable downturn; a settling of the soufflé rather than a sudden collapse, as it were. This is not going to be some cataclysmic Mad Max hunker down in your bunker scenario: you won t need Krugerrands, MREs, a 50 cal. and a flak jacket, but a cash stash and a well-stocked pantry won t hurt.

2020-2021 MARS MAX CYCLE

Sun-270-Mars	Mars S-Rx	Sun-180-Mars	Mars S-D	Sun-090-Mars
JUN 6, 2020	SEP 9, 2020	OCT 13, 2020	NOV 14, 2020	FEB 1, 2021

Sun-270-Mars = Sun Waning Square (270°) to Mars (Mars Max begins)
Mars S-Rx = Mars Retrograde Station (Retrograde Begins)
Sun-180-Mars = Sun-Mars Oppositiion (Mars Perigee)
Mars S-D = Mars Direct Station (Retrograde Ends)
Sun-090-Mars = Sun Waxing Square (90°) to Mars (Mars Max ends)

At the very least, it s time to review your trading account trailing stops. When those stops get triggered or before, if you re more nervous or proactive take profits (or cut losses) and then hold some cash in reserve; but also look to reinvest some of the proceeds in precious metals and consumer staples. Just don t put your portfolio on automatic pilot during the five key periods in each Mercury Max, lest you get mowed down by a Flash Crash.

As for those other two Max Cycles Mercury and Mars you ll find details in my upcoming 2020 World Forecast Highlights.

  DEC 9 UPDATE It s that time of year and that waning phase in the economic cycle - when dire warnings of economic catastrophe spring up like toadstools after a rain shower. And there s no shortage of astrological indicators to buttress such forebodings. Including, most notably and immediately, the alignment of Saturn and Pluto; with the Sun, Mercury and Jupiter all thrown in for good measure. The Saturn-Pluto conjunction won t be exact until January 12, but it s within a few degrees of partile already.

Living as we are under the shadow of this looming configuration, it s no wonder that there s so much fear and paranoia afoot political, cultural and economic on the collective scale, and in a mutual feedback loop with the individuals who are feeling anxious at what they see unfolding around them. I m neither a Pollyanna nor a Cassandra, and so I feel obliged to try and temper expectations.

It s true that, historically, Saturn-Pluto configurations signal serious business. The conjunction comes along once every 35 years or so once in a generation, more or less. Alignments in Capricorn, like the one this year, are considerably more scarce. The last one occurred in 1518 a bit more than a year before the death of Leonardo da Vinci heralded the twilight of the Renaissance. It was a time of exploration, the rise of a new economic paradigm (mercantilism), and breakthroughs in science. This year s alignment is bound to have parallels to 1518.

Even more parallels will be seen in the 546 triple conjunction in Capricorn, which occurred 13 years after Justinian s T-Square. That rare and historic configuration formed when Jupiter in Scorpio moved to the square point of Saturn in Leo s opposition to Neptune in Aquarius, during the reign of the Emperor Justinian (the last Roman Emperor), at the dawn of the Dark Ages. There hasn t been an alignment like that since until 2006. Now just as in the case of Justinian s T-Square that T-Square is being followed some 13 years later by another Saturn conjunction to Pluto in Capricorn.

Is a new Dark Age imminent? Of course. But it s on an historic scale, rather than contemporaneous. An economic downturn followed by a new paradigm is coming, but it won t show up in the headlines on the day of Saturn s alignment with Pluto. This isn t a collapse around the corner. Rather, it s a gradual "settling of the soufflé" that stretches out over generations.

We will see a downturn connected with the Saturn-Pluto conjunction. The focus is on the period during which Saturn and Pluto are three degrees apart; i.e. from December 1, 2019 through February 17, 2020. The peak vulnerability is on or about the exact alignment date of January 12, 2020. There will be a disruption in the world financial system around that time, but not a total collapse.

Why not? First, there s the historical soufflé thing. Second, there s a Venus Max cycle starting just 2-1/2 months after the Saturn-Pluto conjunction, when Venus reaches its maximum distance east of the Sun on March 24. That s the start of a 5-month cycle during which Venus is making its close approach to Earth, peaking with the Venus inferior conjunction to the Sun on June 3 and including the May 13-June 25 Venus retrograde cycle.

2020 VENUS MAX CYCLE

Max-E	S-Rx	Cnj. SUN	S-D	Max-W
MAR 24, 2020	MAY 13, 2020	JUN 3, 2020	JUN 25, 2020	AUG 13, 2020

Max-E = Venus (Evening Star) Max. Elongation East of Sun (Max begins)
S-Rx = Retrograde Station (Retrograde GBegins)
Cnj. SU = Superior Conjunction with Sun
S-D = Direct Station (Retrograde Ends)
Max-W = Venus (Morning Star) Max. Elongation West of Sun (Max ends)

Venus Max cycles come around roughly once every two years. All else being equal, they point to better rather than worse financial/economic conditions. Remember the October 2008 financial system collapse predicted in my 2008 World Forecast Highlights? Recovery began when Venus reached its maximum elongation east of the Sun on January 14, 2009, the start of that year s Venus Max cycle less than a week before the Obama inauguration on January 20. As history shows, that was the beginning of the recovery from the 2008 financial system crash. How much grace does 2020 s Venus Max afford the world this time around? See my forthcoming 2020 World Forecast Highlights.

  DEC 2 UPDATE Today s update adds my December forecast to the FUTURES menu and site map. Meanwhile, I m so busy with the 2020 World Forecast Highlights that I ve had to postpone all consultation calls and report orders from new clients until January 6. (I posted notice of this a few months ago.) Thanks for your forbearance. (I m still taking consultation calls only from clients of record.)

Incidentally, if you happened to notice that the Trump chart appearing in my forecasts and updates has a more polished look lately, it s all due to a kind, generous and talented friend. She fine-tuned the graphic file I published years ago, and I uploaded it recently to over-write the original. All the pages that include that image link to the same graphic file as always but that file has been over-written by the new version, and you may need to clear your cache and reload any page with the Trump chart in order to see the new and improved image. (The chart is identical, except for the improved clarity.) Thank you, Cynthia!

  NOV 11 UPDATE Today s update gives you a bit of a preview of my 2020 World Forecast Highlights; specifically, a table of all the Moon-Lilith alignments (lunar apogees and perigees) in the year ahead, plus some background on what the so-called "black moon" Lilith really is. Yes, it s a "real thing" but it s not a moon. Rather, it s the point in space occupied by the Moon when at its apogee (farthest point in its orbit around Earth). In that sense, it s akin to a polar opposite to SuperMoon . . .

Demystifying Lilith doesn t mean stripping away her mythological connection. The astronomy and astrology of Lilith not only coexist, but they re actually complementary. If you read my article in the May/June 2018 issue of HOROSCOPE, for decades the world's leading astrology magazine, you already know some of the story. But there s more, as you ll see in my 2020 World Forecast Highlights.

2020 has a lot of big stories waiting in the wings: a triple Max year (Mercury, Venus and Mars), the Saturn-Pluto conjunction, the Air Trigonalis Great Chronocrator and more. One of these has been lurking in the background for much of 2019.

The Saturn-Pluto conjunction won t be exact until January 2020, but it s been drifting in and out of being several degrees apart since March 2019. It was during the first of these close approaches that the first US bank failure since 2017 occurred followed by three more in the fall of 2019, as 2020 drew closer. The tide is beginning to shift.

  NOV 4 UPDATE My November forecast went online last week, and is now all properly linked into the FUTURES menu and site map. In brief, this looks like a fairly homogenous month with a couple of jagged edges, inexorably building into a harder hitting December and January.

In case you missed it, back in September I announced that I would begin taking advance orders for my 2020 forecast by phone and mail (as well as via PayPal), in response to early inquiries from clients. Also, as stated on my PayPal order page at that time:

"Effective October 1, 2019, I will not be accepting any personal report orders (natal or forecast) until January 10, 2020. Until that date, any orders for these services will be refunded in full. The reason is that my schedule over that period tends to be filled to overflowing with consultation calls and other professional duties. ONLY World Forecast Highlights orders and consultation calls will be accepted between October 1, 2019 and January 10, 2020 until further notice."

All advance orders received to date have been acknowledged via email, according to my records. If you have ordered the 2020 world forecast, and have not received an acknowledgment, please let me know so that I can rectify the situation.

  OCT 14 UPDATE Today s update is a bit of a struggle for me, because my laptop is actually on my lap as I type this. The ergonomics of touch typing is such that the wrists must be at or below the level of the elbows to achieve maximum speed and efficiency which is where they are naturally, if the laptop is on your lap. When it s on your desk, the wrists are WAY too far above the elbows; which is why I normally use an accessory keyboard (and trackball) on a pull-out keyboard shelf below the desk. But the office is being painted as I write this, so I m not at my desk, and not using my familiar keyboard. I could get the hang of this, with practice. But I m not there yet.

The October 13 Hunter s Moon that anchored the October 10-16 geophysical shock window has cut quite a swath of destruction in what Ptolemy called the sublunar world. (It was square Pluto, after all.) As described in my October forecast . . .

"There are the usual peaks in storm, tide and seismic activity within plus or minus three days of new and full moons with even bigger peaks when there s a SuperMoon or eclipse in the picture. This month, the full moon on the 13th anchors an October 10-16 shock window, while the new moon on the 28th sits in the middle of the October 25-31 shock window."

Super Typhoon Hagibis hit Japan on the 12th, during the full moon geophysical shock window described in my October forecast. "It is a level 5 situation; some sort of disaster may have already taken place," said JMA weather forecaster, Yasushi Kajiwara. "People are strongly advised to act to protect their lives right away."

Eleven M5+ quakes have so far been registered in this shock window including a 5.3 that hit Katsuura, Japan on the same day as the typhoon. There are still a couple days to run in this elevated storm and seismic cycle.

Meanwhile, I m hearing from lots of people taking serious falls, breaking bones and the like. Alas, I m sure there s a lot more where that came from as Saturn approaches Pluto. A reminder to watch your step especially if you were born with significant placements around the 15-20° range in the cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn particularly the latter). Check your chart!

  OCT 7 UPDATE In case you missed it last week, my October forecast is up and running, and now all properly linked into the site map as well as the FUTURES menu.

Speaking of the October forecast, consider the timeliness of the following passage (written last month):

"Watch Trump screw up his own impeachment: Neptune in the heavens squares his natal Uranus, as Jupiter activates his natal lunar eclipse, Pluto opposes his natal Saturn, and Mars crosses over his natal Jupiter. The man s chart is a cosmic piñata this month, particularly during the last ten days."

Trump s warning tweet to Turkey under this Jupiter-Neptune transit is pure megalomania, with delusions of godhood:

"As I have stated strongly before, and just to reiterate, if Turkey does anything that I, in my great and unmatched wisdom, consider to be off limits, I will totally destroy and obliterate the Economy of Turkey (I ve done before!)"

This is beyond impeachment material. It rises all the way to immediate emergency 25th Amendment remove the delusional despot before he wrecks the nation status. (Seriously, if you don t see his statement as prima facie evidence of lunacy, you should seek professional help.)

How does it end? See the October forecast, and follow the links to my preceding annual world forecasts. It s all there.

  SEP 30 UPDATE My October forecast is up and running, and properly linked into the FUTURES menu.

  SEP 2 UPDATE Today s update introduces my September forecast, which is now all properly linked into the FUTURES menu and site map. That s the heavy lift. Here are some finishing touches.

First, out of bounds calls are reminding me to remind you that my office hours are Monday through Saturday, 10 AM to 6 PM Arizona Time (5 PM to 1 AM Universal Time). That s noon to 8 PM Eastern Standard, 1 to 9 PM Eastern Daylight, 9 AM to 5 PM Pacific Standard, 10 AM to 6 PM Pacific Daylight, etc.

Second, please note that my toll-free consultation and order line always has been and still remains 800-527-8761. However, in the process of streamlining my telecom setup, there is a single digit change in my data/message line: from 480-753-6261 to 480-753-6251. Regulars know that there are many hundreds of pages online here at Astropro. I have managed to change the data/message phone number on a few of them. My schedule is so full that I ll be months (at least) getting to them all.

Third, I have been receiving advance orders for my forthcoming 2020 World Forecast Highlights for a month now, for delivery starting December 31 this year. I have been following up with a timely thank you and a reminder that the 2020 edition is embargoed until the end of this year, in order to keep the copycats at bay. If you have ordered your advance copy, and haven t received an acknowledgment, please let me know so I can address the issue. Thanks!

And finally, Happy Labor Day, from a proud son of union parents!

  AUG 26 UPDATE "The mills of God grind slowly, yet they grind exceeding small." It s a thought much on my mind this summer, as Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune and Pluto grind their way through the heavens, caught up in their own cycles as well as interacting with the world below.

There s the Jupiter-Neptune square, within a few degrees of exact aspect from late August into early October. It has already exact twice this year, and is moving toward its September finale at 17° Sagittarius-Pisces on the 21st. This is covered in some detail in the full version of my 2019 World Forecast Highlights (pp. 7-10). It s an alignment that coincides as it did in 549 CE with the Saturn-Pluto conjunction that s been within a few degrees of exact on and off since March this year, reaching partile on January 12, 2020 (in this midst of a string of alignments in 23° Capricorn on that day). Think about it, if you were born under planets or other points around these degrees. (Check your chart?)

But wait, there s more: the Jupiter-Neptune square is the third major turning point in the cycle of these two planets that began in 2009, when Jupiter aligned with Neptune in Aquarius three times: on May 27 at 26° 09 , July 10 at 26° 02 and December 21 at 24° 18 . These alignments all fell within a degree of Neptune s position in Justinian s T-Square back in 536 CE. And the 2019 Jupiter-Neptune square itself falls within a fraction of a degree of an exact square to the November 4, 2008 Saturn-Uranus opposition in Virgo-Pisces that timed the onset of the "Great Recession" one of the key turning points in the unfoldment of the 2006 reappearance of Justinian s T-Square.

These celestial configurations are notable in their own right. Jupiter s waning (270°) square to Neptune happens on a 12-13 year cycle. Saturn s conjunction with Pluto is on a 30-35 year cycle. But to have them both occur in the 13th year following a Leo-Scorpio-Aquarius Saturn-Jupiter-Neptune T-Square hasn t happened once since the year 549 CE, in the reign of Justinian the Great, the last Roman Emperor. Until this year, that is.

Justinian s T-Square and the Sky Train of planetary configurations in its wake, including the aforementioned Jupiter-Neptune square and Saturn-Pluto conjunction - ushered in the start of the Dark Ages back in 536. And then they disappeared for centuries. Until 2006, when the Great T-Square reappeared for the first time in some 1500 years. The same Sky Train that followed the 536 apparition has been following its 2006 apparition ever since.

You remember 2006. That was the beginning of the global financial meltdown that very nearly collapsed the world economy. The first tremors came in the subprime mortgage industry that year or at least, that s what the Wall Street crowd blamed it on. (Of course they d blame it on the poor.) Two years later, under the Saturn-Uranus opposition, the whole world fell off a financial cliff. It was called the Great Recession. But a skunk by any other name would smell as bad. In fact, it was the first Great Depression of the 21st Century.

Here we are 13 years later, and the latest shocks in the ongoing great financial earthquake are already evident. If history is any indication, this is not just a market crash. It s more like what happened to the Roman Empire in the wake of the 536 appearance of Justinian s T-Square: the collapse of a civilization, followed by what came to be called the Dark Ages. (It ushered in a Dark Age for the Mayan Empire in the Americas, the Gupta Empire in India and the Kingdom of Gallaecia in the Iberian Peninsula around the same time, too.) All these crashes and more were precipitated at least in part by a cataclysmic volcanic eruption around 536, in what is now El Salvador, with global climate consequences.)

Don t get me wrong, I m no Prophet of Doom. Nobody knew at the time that the end of Justinian s reign heralded the Black Death and the onset of the Dark Ages. That nomenclature didn t come into being for some 800 years afterwards. You don t know what you ve got til it s gone sometimes, long gone. The Dark Ages marked the death knell for some of the world s great hegemonies. But out of their detritus emerged new ones, in the fullness of time. One of those just happened to become the nationalistic (and then globalist) European civilization that is just now fracturing the same way the Roman Empire did in the 6th Century.

Of course there s a personal dimension to these great cosmic configurations, in addition to the historical themes. Sometimes they overlap, in the case of historical personages like Justinian the Great. Or maybe Donald Trump, whose BC-timed natal chart is heavily targeted by the great alignments in the sky. The Saturn-Pluto conjunction is dead opposite his natal Saturn-Venus conjunction, while the Jupiter-Neptune square is a dead-on hit to his natal Uranus (conjunct his Sun and opposite his lunar eclipse Moon). It s a combination that speaks of losing it on so many levels without the least bit of awareness on his part. And that s not even bringing this year s eclipses into the picture. (See pp 7-10 in the full version of my 2019 World Forecast Highlights for details, and watch for a fuller treatment of this whole historical watershed in my forthcoming 2020 World Forecast Highlights.) Indeed, "The mills of God grind slowly, yet they grind exceeding small."

  AUG 12 UPDATE This week s update is late, obviously. The reason is that we said a final good bye to our 10-1/2 year old German Shepherd Bruno on Monday the 12th. He was a big part of our lives for all those years. We were able to be with him at the end, talking to him and petting him in the comfort of his own home as he took his last breath in the very spot in the kitchen where he first set foot in our house. (A cast of his big paw print now overlooks that hallowed ground.) Fare thee well, Bruno . . .

Although it wasn t a SuperMoon-class geophysical shock window, the end of this year s second Mercury Max cycle didn t pass unnoticed. It came last week on the 9th, when the little inner planet reached its maximum elongation west of the Sun one of the five key points in the cycle. (See table below.) Typically, Mercury Max went out with a bang, as I wrote in the full version of my 2019 World Forecast Highlights (p 18):

"Keep a sharp eye on those five key points in each Mercury Max cycle! They re often accompanied (within a few days plus or minus) by intensified solar outbursts solar flares, Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) and the like, which can stir up geomagnetic activity here on earth. Auroral activity and strong storms tend to surge at times like this and in the worst case scenario, these can be associated with damage to satellites in orbit and power transmission systems on our planet s surface. It s more involved than that, actually. Extreme solar weather can stir up weather extremes here on Earth at other times as well including within a few days either way of Mercury s elongation extremes and station points. In any case, dump Gigawatts of extra solar radiation into Earth s magnetosphere, atmosphere and mantle, and you get big storms as well as an increase in seismic activity."

2019 MERCURY MAX CYCLES

Max-E	S-Rx	Cnj. SUN	S-D	Max-W
FEB 27, 2019	MAR 5, 2019	MAR 15, 2019	MAR 28, 2019	APR 11, 2019
JUN 23, 2019	JUL 7, 2019	JUL 21, 2019	AUG 1, 2019	AUG 9, 2019
OCT 20, 2019	OCT 31, 2019	NOV 11, 2019	NOV 20, 2019	NOV 28, 2019

Max-E = Mercury (Evening Star) Max. Elongation East of Sun (Max begins)
S-Rx = Retrograde Station (Retrograde GBegins)
Cnj. SU = Inferior Conjunction with Sun
S-D = Direct Station (Retrograde Ends)
Max-W = Mercury (Morning Star) Max. Elongation West of Sun (Max ends)

What happened during the August 6-12 period (plus or minus three days from the 9th)? Well, under the heading of severe weather, the leader of the pack was one of the biggest typhoons to hit China in years: from the 10th onward, Typhoon Lekima killed dozens and rendered a million homeless as it made its way up the Chinese coast. There was plenty in the way of other powerful storms, but Lekima definitely topped them all.

Seismic activity included 25 earthquakes in the moderate-to-severe category (M5+), but none 6 or above. The closest were a pair of 5.8 temblors, one in Afghanistan on the 7th and one in Turkey on the 8th. And then there were all the volcanic eruptions in this window: Stromboli, Etna and Campi Dlegrei in Italy, Nyiragongo and Myamuragira in DR Congo, 17 eruptions in Indonesia, Popo and Colima in Mexico, two dozen more in Central and South America, Mauna Loa in Hawaii, and 18 more scattered along the Ring of Fire. (This is not a complete list.) Two dozen of these eruptions fell in the active eruption category, but none ranked as a major eruption.

We re now entering into the August 15 full moon geophysical shock window, which opened up just as the last Mercury Max ripples trailed away. This one lasts until the 18th. The Moon s peak south declination on the 12th makes the first half of this shock window look the more substantial. The uptick in intensity and frequency of storm and seismic events that accompanies any full moon applies to this one, of course. But it should be relatively benign compared to the Stealth SuperMoons that bookend August. At the microcosmic level, any full moon heightens emotional tension and the potential for conflict. Edgy, jumpy . . . especially for people born under strong Leo-Aquarius polarities (particularly late in those signs). Check your chart?

I m working on the 2020 World Forecast Highlights now, between client consultation calls and personal report orders. Orders for the 2020 annual world forecast have been coming in for a week or two already, even though it won t be released until December 31 as usual. (See my PayPal order page for price and availability details. But do feel free to order by mail or phone if you prefer.) As I ve been writing for years, 2020 shapes up to be not just headline news, but historic a world shift with roots dating back many hundreds of years on multiple levels. More to follow . . .

  AUG 5 UPDATE You knew what to expect, from reading my August forecast and the full version of my 2019 World Forecast Highlights: "increases in the frequency and magnitude of strong storms with high winds and heavy precipitation and all that this entails, including flooding, property and infrastructure damage and worse. Also in the SuperMoon arcanum comes an uptick in notable seismic activity, including moderate to severe (Magnitude 5 and up) earthquakes and significant volcanic eruptions. Extreme tidal surges are the third leg of the SuperMoon geophysical tripod sometimes these are tsunami, but more often they re just normal tides that happen to be much higher than usual."

So far, the July 30-August 4 shock window has tallied 30 M5+ quakes including 4 M6+ temblors, the strongest of which was the M6.9 at Tegu Hilar, Indonesia on the 2nd. On the meteorological front, Tropical Storms Erick and Flossie have been lashing Hawaii with high winds and surf, while Florida has been under a flood watch under an onslaught of heavy rains. Here in Arizona, monsoon storms have been pounding the state this past week, with flood watches and warnings in effect from Tucson to Phoenix. And there s been plenty of volcanic activity during this shock window: Karymsky in Kamchatka, Aso in Japan, Sangeang Api in Indonesia, Kerinci in Sumatra, the irrepressible Popo in Mexico and Stromboli in Italy . . . just to name a few.

Don t forget that the current (June 23 August 9) Mercury Max cycle still has a few days to run. A burst of solar energy stirred up space weather earlier today, which is typical of Mercury Max, raising the Kp5 index to 5 as predicted. Geomagnetic storms, auroral outbursts and disruptions to electrical/electronic networks and infrastructure are on tap, so have your backups and fallback plans ready at hand. And don t forget that the human nervous system is a bioelectric network that is sensitive to these disturbances, to a greater or lesser extent. (For more on this, see pp. 13-19 in the full version of my 2019 World Forecast Highlights.)

Follow along and see what comes next in the August forecast, which is now all properly linked into the FUTURES menu and site map.

Speaking of linked in, I just activated a link for the 2020 World Forecast Highlights in my PayPal order page. (Requests have begun to filter in starting last month.) Just remember: my annual forecast is always embargoed until December 31, to keep the copycats at bay. Ordering early will put you at the head of the distribution list, but it won t get you the forecast until December 31. As I ve been saying for a dozen years now, 2020 is going to be monumental . . .

  JUL 29 UPDATE If you read pages 20-25 in the full version of my 2019 World Forecast Highlights (published last year), then you already know we re just now entering into one of the more potent storm and seismic shock windows of 2019; namely the July 29-August 4 interval anchored by the Stealth SuperMoon at 8° 37 Leo on the 1st of this month. This lunation is augmented by falling on the same day as Mercury s direct station, one of the five peak points in the June 23-August 9 Mercury Max. And it gets bookended by the second of three consecutive Stealth SuperMoons on the 30TH, at 6° 47 Virgo, with a corresponding risk period of August 27-September 2. But that s a subject of my forthcoming August forecast . . .

For now, the important thing is to keep a sharp weather eye out, and to make sure that your emergency kit is replenished and ready to hand. Also, if you were born under important celestial points around 9° in the fixed signs (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius), or 7° in the mutable signs (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces), then be advised that the August Stealth SuperMoons are focused on you personally in some sense. Check your chart!

Incidentally, unless you ve been living in a salt mine of late, you re used to mucho media hype whenever a SuperMoon comes around. It won t happen for these next three SuperMoons. That s because the media and indeed most people are unaware of the Little Fox s dictum: "What is essential is invisible to the eye." Full moons are gloriously visible, all big and bright in the night sky. So everybody pays attention to the full SuperMoon alignment; which is even bigger and brighter than ordinary full moons.

A new SuperMoon, on the other hand, is invisible in the sky, like all new moons. But it s notable in other ways, which is why, when I created and defined the term forty years ago Dell Horoscope, "SuperMoon Part 1," September 1979 I defined it as a new or full moon occurring when the Moon is at or near its perigee (closest approach to Earth). The popular media have more or less completely ignored the new moon variety since they first began taking notice of SuperMoon about ten years ago now. That's why I have taken to calling this type of lunar perigee syzygy a Stealth SuperMoon. You can t see it, but it s there; and you will either feel it directly, or see its consequences in in the news about extreme tides, big storms and seismic activity (M5+ quakes and notable volcanic eruptions).

  JUL 22 UPDATE The second bout of storm and seismic extremes this month came right on schedule, as described in my July forecast regarding "the July 16 partial lunar eclipse at 24° 04 Capricorn closely conjunct Pluto. Visible from Europe, Africa and South Asia, I expect this one will rank lower on the disturbance scale than the July 2 solar eclipse, but it will still leave its mark in the way of storms and seismicity during the July 13-19 shock window. Still, this is a Mercury Max, so it s not going to be business as usual. Astro-locality mapping this one draws a bead on Hawaii, the lower Pacific coast of South America, southern Mexico, the Gulf of Mexico and the southeastern US; and on the other side of the world, Mongolia, China, the Philippines, Indonesia and central Australia; plus a Jupiter meridian through west Africa and Western Europe, and a Jupiter horizon arc slicing through Central America, the southeastern US and eastern Canada, and out across Iceland." Check the headlines during this period, and you ll see what I mean.

Speaking of headlines, the "heightened geomagnetic activity (Kp 5+ storms), exaggerated radio interference and electrical/electronic malfunctions, etc." associated with this month s Mercury Max have made news as scheduled: the July 3 and 11 social media outages, the July 11-15 European Galileo GPS network outage, and the July 13 Manhattan blackout, for example. Geomagnetic storms also delivered per the forecast, hitting the Kp5 level on July 9 and 10. We still have a couple weeks of Mercury Max left (until August 9), so this is far from over. Remember the personal potentials of Mercury Max as well, because the human nervous system is also sensitive to these disturbances. (See the forecast, and check your chart.)

In closing, it s time for another periodic reminder that I do not use Facebook Messenger, because I find it clumsy and intrusive. Other than a consultation call, the best way to get in touch is via my email address, rnolle@astropro.com.

This latest reminder is prompted by a request that I help educate a skeptic of astrology. In my experience, there are no genuine skeptics when it comes to astrology, other than astrologers themselves. (Didn t we all come to the subject as skeptics?)

The rest are pseudo-skeptics, who have decided in advance that astrology is bogus - without benefit of first having studied the subject. From that point on, their only interest is in finding "reasons" astrology cannot be true. These include red herrings like how the doctors and nurses delivering a baby have more gravitational influence on the newborn than the Sun, Moon and planets; or that the signs and constellations are in different places in the sky. As if these objections to astrology were not apropos of nothing! Hand your friendly local skeptic a bibliography that includes some Rudhyar, some Gauquelin, maybe a little Addey, Erlewine, Jayne and Carter. That should help them get to the point where they can begin to ask intelligent questions.

  JUL 8 UPDATE You read the headlines in advance last week, if you read my July forecast first. It advised you of the "notable historical connection between eclipses and strong storms and seismicity, including moderate to severe (Magnitude 5 and up) earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions . . . On the geophysical front, watch for the customary solar eclipse shock window for this alignment; i.e. plus or minus seven days (June 25-July 9). Since this falls within the June 23-August 9 Mercury Max, I expect there will be more than the typical eclipse level of storm and seismic activity associated with this eclipse."

Here in the States, the big story in this vein was of course the pair of Searles Valley CA quakes (M 6.4 on the 4th and M 7.1 on the 5th). There have been 50 M 5+ temblors so far just in the seven days since the day of the eclipse. As for notable volcanic eruptions and powerful storms, there have been so many of these in so many places that I won t bother attempting to catalog them here. The news is full of them, as you know full well if you ve been paying attention at all lately.

The good news is that there s a comparative lull for a week or so, before the lunar eclipse shock window opens on the 13th. Enjoy the calm before the storm. There s a trio of Stealth SuperMoons coming up starting in August, and a lot of Mercury Max to get through along the way. What to expect? See my July forecast for a preview, and pp. 20-25 in the full version of my 2019 World Forecast Highlights for a fuller perspective.

  JUL 1 UPDATE Today s update is plain and simple: the July forecast.

  JUN 24 UPDATE June has run true to form per my forecast for the month, ranking "high on the geophysical turbulence scale." We re now embarking on the particularly hazardous June 25-July 9 shock window, anchored by the July 2 solar eclipse at 10°38 Cancer, taking place at the Moon s peak declination north of the celestial equator. Those of us born under significant placements around 11° of the cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn) are bound to find this an important time frame.(Check your chart!)

This month has already seen a surge in the frequency and intensity of "extreme tides, powerful storms and moderate to severe seismicity (M5+ quakes and notable volcanic eruptions)," per my June forecast. July, August and September, with their two eclipses and three Stealth SuperMoons, are about to make June seem tame by comparison. (See pp. 19-29 in the full version of my 2019 World Forecast Highlights for more on these eclipses and SuperMoons.)

Remember that since June 23 - as described in my June forecast - we re now into the second Mercury Max cycle of the year. This adds to the intensity of geophysical turbulence, and puts critical emphasis on mental focus and acuity, as well as transport and communication infrastructure. (If you're sensitive to EMF, brace yourself.) Under the aegis of the June 16 Jupiter-Neptune waning square (within a couple degrees of exact well into July), there s lots of lies, confusion, subterfuge and deception afoot. Accept nothing at face value, and "beware of greedy leaders, they take you where you should not go." (George Harrison, Beware of Darkness)

Speaking of lies and greedy leaders, be aware that the Jupiter-Neptune square is tightly configured to President Trump s natal lunar eclipse and the July eclipses make direct hits on his natal Mercury and Venus-Saturn conjunction. The demented despot is at his most dangerous now. Can you say "wag the dog?" Even his brainwashed True Believers are starting to catch on to the con now.

Jupiter s waning square to Neptune is a lot of things, one of them being the moment when Toto pulls away the curtain to reveal the conman pretending to be the Wizard of Oz. Some of us have known it for decades. Many more are about to wake up and figure out. It can t happen too soon. Just remember: this is an ongoing process. Many people hate having to own up to being hoodwinked by a huckster. They d far rather make excuses for him than admit that they got suckered. Short of a medical crisis which cannot be ruled out in cases of morbid obesity - this will drag on for months.

  JUN 10 UPDATE As mentioned in my June forecast, his week sees a lot of geophysical turbulence, with Earth making its close approach to Jupiter (the Sun-Jupiter opposition) on the 10th, and Jupiter squaring Neptune on the 16th. The latter date falls right in the leading edge of the full moon shock window, which stretches from the 15th through the 21st.

With Mars and Mercury making oppositions to Saturn in the midst of all this (on the 14th and 16th respectively), It s a good time to keep a weather eye on the sky, and have your emergency kit ready to hand. (Pay special attention to fire precautions.) Weather will be the worst of it for most of us as bad as that can get but some will also experience the seismic end of things, including M-5+ quakes and volcanic eruptions.

Remember that Mars is within a couple degrees of its exact oppositions to Saturn and Pluto from the 11th through the 23rd. This signifies a general climate of tension, irritation and unease that tends to bring out the worst in human behavior. Blessed are the peacemakers in such times of hostility and conflict. Want peace and quiet? Then pay no attention to the news of the day.

On the other hand, if there s dirty work to be done, this is a period when the strength, will and stamina for it can rise to the occasion quite readily.

Remember that Jupiter s square to Neptune means there s an abundance of lies and propaganda afoot. Take nothing at face value. Don t be a patsy for the plutocrats, who excel at manipulating the masses and the markets.

  JUN 3 UPDATE Today s update is running late, obviously. That s because it has taken me so long to finish the June forecast. The writing part was easy, and finished up last week. It was the coding that took so long, between an unusually heavy volume of client consultation calls and report orders. There s a lot of turbulence out there in the world, from all I m hearing.

There s also the ongoing technological upheaval here in the office, which I mentioned last week. There s always a spanner in the works anytime all the equipment gets tossed like a salad, and I have run into a few. Unintended consequences are the bane of bright ideas.

Lest you think this double Capricorn is just lazy, you can forget about it. My daily exercise schedule alone is over an hour sometimes double that. And then there s my personal life. And sleep, precious sleep. I m more than a little fatigued at this point, so I ll simply close by thanking you for your patience, and hoping you ll find the June forecast useful and not too plagued by typos due to my tired eyes. (Yeah, those Capricorn transits are hitting me too.) Just remember, anytime you get impatient for the monthly forecast, you ll find the lion s share of it (and a good deal more) in my annual forecast. (It's not free, but well worth the price - and there's no waiting.)

  MAY 27 UPDATE Today s update is mostly non-astrological, although I do have a peek into June for you in closing. But there are some developments I thought you should know about . . .

In addition to working on the June forecast, I ve been engaged in some fairly extensive projects lately. On the purely technical side, replacing and rearranging devices and connections has been a preoccupation in background for the past week. Among other things, I am changing my data/message phone number to 480-753-6251. The old number (480-753-6261) has been disconnected. Testing has now confirmed that all the equipment and connections are working just fine.

My consultation and order phone number remains the same: 800-527-8761 (800-5ASTRO1). I ve had this same 800 number for almost 30 years now. It will take me a few days between client calls and other duties to change the data/message phone number in all my online contact info. (This page is the only one I ve updated so far.) And then there s all the printed stuff . . . sigh.

Another bit of housekeeping will be of interest primarily to my Facebook friends and followers. I did my best to notify all of you about this issue on Facebook and via Facebook Messenger over the last couple of days. But if I wasn t able to contact you there, here s the scoop:

I have been advising all my Facebook contacts for a year or more that I prefer not to use Facebook Messenger as a means of communication. If you want to communicate with me online, email is my preferred medium. The email address to use is rnolle@astropro.com the same one I ve had for 23 years now.

I don t like to use Messenger because it s too clumsy, intrusive and invasive. It s also insecure, as I found out last week, when a couple of clients advised me that they had received strange messages "from me" via Messenger. Knowing that I don t use that medium, they assumed it was a fake. They were right. Someone had set up a mirror account under my name, and was using it to send phishing messages to some people on my contact list. (The phishes offered government loans to anyone who d be foolhardy enough to click on the link in the message.)

I immediately changed my Facebook password and scrubbed my account, and then notified all my contacts to disregard suspicious messages "from me". I then found that four bogus "Richard Nolle" accounts had been set up on Facebook. I notified Facebook, and those accounts have since been taken down. How long it will take the hackers to set up new fakes is anyone s guess. But I ll keep monitoring the situation. Meanwhile, the suspicious messages appear to have stopped. At least, no one has let me know of getting any since the shutdown.

Turning from preoccupations of the recent past to future prospects, be advised that the second Mercury Max cycle of 2019 begins next month (on the 23rd), and lasts until August 9. Get your backups and backup plans ready in advance! Especially because Jupiter spends all of June within a couple degrees of its exact square to Neptune on the 16th. What s it all about? See pp. 13-19 and 6-10 (respectively) in the full version of my 2019 World Forecast Highlights; or wait for the free June forecast.

Speaking of forecasts, if you ll look over the May edition, I believe you ll find the recent trajectory of major equity markets familiar because they follow the downtrend I predicted last month. (The updated one month US S&P 500 chart above is a case in point. Compare it to the chart for last week - see below - and you'll see what I mean: the drop is accelerating.) For what comes next, see the June forecast.

  MAY 20 UPDATE If you ve been paying attention to the news these last few days or maybe just looking outside your window, depending on where you happen to be you may recognize that what s happening is what I wrote in my May forecast:

"May 1-7 (bracketing the new moon at 14° Taurus on the 4th) and 15-21 (centered on the Buddha full moon at 28° Scorpio on the 18th) are the two major geocosmic storm windows for May. Watch for an increase in the number and frequency of strong tidal surges, powerful storms with heavy precipitation (and attendant flooding), and moderate to severe seismic activity (including M5+ earthquakes and notable volcanic eruptions). Of the two, I suspect that the full moon will be the more turbulent geophysical shock window, occurring as it does with Lilith and Neptune within two degrees of alignment at the time."

As mentioned in my May 6 update, "the 6.1 earthquake in the Solomon Islands, Cyclone Fani hitting India and Bangladesh, and the severe storms and flooding afflicting much of the US" are examples of the new moon shock window effects described in my May forecast.

Weightier by far are the events of the May 15-21 shock window associated with the full moon on the 18th: a series of strong quakes in Papua New Guinea (M 7.5 on the 15th, M 6.0 on the 17th, and a pair (M 6.2 and 6.3) on the 19th ;several days of powerful storms marked by flooding rains and tornadoes in the US Plains States; and headlining eruptions at Mexico s Popocatepetl, as well as Krakatau, Kamchatka and Vanuatu to name only a few of those currently active.

This shock window has a day to go yet, so keep your guard up if you re in any of the watch or warning zones outlined by local authorities.

The geopolitical storm watch continues as well, with global trade wars and military jockeying having thrown major equity markets around the world into a tailspin this month. (For example, see the S&P 500 index for the last 30 days.) Re-read the May forecast if you wonder where this is headed.

  MAY 13 UPDATE Geopolitical chaos is intensifying this month, under the aegis of the still-close alignment of Saturn and Pluto. The seeds of global economic warfare sprouted the day the US succumbed to the Trump coup. The seedlings are now growing like weeds, as long established trade blocs fracture and crumble: NAFTA and Brexit initially, and the stillborn TPP as well.

We ve seen this movie before, in the newsreels of the 1930s (under the aegis of the last Pluto crossing of the ecliptic plane, as described in the full version of my 2019 World Forecast Highlights (pp. 2-5). The US Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930 precipitated the global Great Depression, followed inexorably by World War II. It was a global paroxysm that gave birth to a new world superpower. What new superpower will arise out of today s looming catastrophe?

It s not inevitable, but it will be a near thing if it can be dodged. The central figure but by no means the only bad actor is President Trump. As noted in the full version of my 2018 and 2019 World Forecast Highlights, Trump is at once the instigator and potentially the victim of the disaster signified by the Saturn-Pluto conjunction.

Trump s chart shows a Nixonian day of reckoning during this transit. And it has been gathering momentum since March (when the Mueller report was released) - right on the schedule spelled out in my last two annual forecasts. The Trump True Believers don t see it yet and probably never will - but the majority of the country is turning against their Pied Piper. Will he fall to a 25th Amendment process, Impeachment (followed by a resignation deal to escape prosecution), or a medical calamity of some kind? That s the question now. The timing? This year.

What do we see this week? The full moon on the 18th at 27° 39 Scorpio is the big cheese, and it s in effect from the 15th through the 21st. Apart from the typical increase in frequency and intensity on the storm and seismic front, the geopolitical conflict scale shoots up as well: confrontation and challenges aplenty, danger and stress. There s a Trump tantrum dimension to this shock window too, since the full moon squares his natal Mars on the ascendant, and opposes his midheaven: self-inflicted damage, aggression that does more harm than good.

Within a degree of exact until the 21st is the Lilith-Neptune alignment, which speaks of propaganda aimed at undermining the established order particularly during the May 15-21 full moon shock window. Lies and manipulation of markets think pump and dump have long been a hallmark of the President, whose natal Moon-south node alignment opposing his tenth house Sun-Uranus-north node conjunction is neatly T-Squared by transiting Lilith-Neptune. If you believe this man, you don t understand his long record as a con artist. Remember that on Mother s Day, Larry Kudlow, Trump s National Economic Council Director, gave the lie to the President s claim that China would pay for the Trump tariffs. ("Mexico will build the wall," right?)

  MAY 6 UPDATE Following up on my friend and colleague Lynn Hayes suggestion, I ve been looking into a function astrologers are calling Selena/Selene, or the White Moon. It s supported by Solar Fire, the world s standard astrology software, where it s defined (along with Black Moon Lilith) under the heading of "Hypothetical and Experimental Planets":

"The Lilith used in Solar Fire is the one popular in Europe, and it is also called the Black Moon. This is not actually a hypothetical planet, but rather the geocentric position of the empty focus of the moon s orbital ellipse (the earth being at the other focus). Solar Fire gives the Black Moon s mean position."

"Selena, also know [sic] as the White Moon is also popular in Europe. It has a perfectly circular hypothetical orbit."

A "perfectly circular hypothetical orbit" is a deal breaker for me. Hypothetical orbits can be anything at all, since they re not constrained by astronomical reality. Real orbits cannot be perfectly circular. If this be the definition of "White Moon Selena", then Selena cannot be real body or function in space.

It s also been said that White Moon Selena is the opposite of Black Moon Lilith. By this reckoning, since the latter is the lunar apogee point (where the Moon in its elliptical orbit is farthest from Earth), it would follow that the former is the lunar perigee point (i.e. closest to Earth).

This definition is also dismissed by reality. Calculate the Moon s apogee, compare it to TRUE (not mean) BML using Solar Fire, and you get a dead-on match. Calculate the Moon s perigee point, compare it to Selena, and you don t get a match at all. (They do agree to within 10° or so, which is almost a whole day s lunar travel.)

Maybe and this could fit with a circular orbit model Selena is only an approximation, a mean lunar perigee. If it s the real lunar perigee you want, just use true (NOT mean) Lilith, and look for its opposition to the Moon. That ll get you within a minute or two of arc precision.

The bottom line for me is this: any meaning that attaches to the so-called White Moon Selena will fit even better with the so-called Black Moon Lilith s opposite point. In that regard, I d like to suggest another archetype than Selena; namely Eve, who in mythology is essentially the polar opposite to Lilith. As described in the article I wrote for Dell Horoscope last year, Eve is the binary breeder, the mother, the wife. Lilith is woman wild and free, non-binary, defined on her own terms rather than in relation to others. What s in a name? Anyone who asks doesn t comprehend myth.

On a more prosaic level, here s hoping you were out of range of the flashpoints to date pointed out in this month s forecast:

"May 1-7 (bracketing the new moon at 14° Taurus on the 4th) and 15-21 (centered on the Buddha full moon at 28° Scorpio on the 18th) are the two major geocosmic storm windows for May. Watch for an increase in the number and frequency of strong tidal surges, powerful storms with heavy precipitation (and attendant flooding), and moderate to severe seismic activity (including M5+ earthquakes and notable volcanic eruptions)."

Examples include the 6.1 earthquake in the Solomon Islands, Cyclone Fani hitting India and Bangladesh, and the severe storms and flooding afflicting much of the US lately. We re on the tail end of this now, but we still have a little left . . . stay safe out there!

  APR 29 UPDATE I m running late with the weekly update, again. The reasons are partly professional finishing up the May forecast, having lots of long client consultations by phone and partly personal. It s all good from here, but I do apologize for making you wait.

The personal stuff was actually great fun. There was Easter, for example. It s a family holiday for us, a time to get together and enjoy each other s company, watch the grandchildren and their friends hunt Easter eggs and enjoy themselves doing kid things.

In truth, I m a subversive Easter celebrant. I actually celebrate the pagan Easter fertility and the Eternal Return rather than the Christian variety. It s a form of poetic and historic justice: the Christians expropriated their Easter from the pagan holiday celebrating Eostre, a fertility goddess. So I m just returning the favor.

Most of the family and friends we gather with at Easter are nominal Christians. We don t all have to pray to the same god or any god do we? We re not all on the same page politically either. But we care for each other, and I enjoy their company. That s the important thing.

On a related note this week, there was Maddie s school art show. I m so impressed by the work she does. My favorite is a rendering of a Nefertiti bust. Dramatic. And her solar wheel had uniquely human touches to set off the geometry. Maria and I both knew from the day we first met her in the NICU that she s an Old Soul.

  APR 22 UPDATE Over the last year or two, I ve been paying special attention to the lunar apogee point (LAP); i.e. the point at which the Moon reaches apogee, the spot in the lunar orbit that is farthest from Earth. The opposite point, perigee, is an essential part of the SuperMoon concept, which I defined in 1979 as a new or full moon (syzygy) occurring at or very year the Moon s perigee (closest approach to Earth).

I wrote about the lunar apogee point in my article "The Dark Goddess: Black Moon Lilith" (pp 43-50 in the May/June 2018 issue of Dell Horoscope, "the world s leading astrology magazine"). Like perigee syzygy, the technical term lunar apogee point is a mouthful; which is why I came up with the term SuperMoon. Likewise, astrologers have christened the LAP variously as the Black Moon, Lilith and the Black Moon Lilith. It s abbreviated BML in today s standard astrological software, Solar Fire which supports accurate calculation of the lunar apogee point.

Astrology has for millennia paid attention to the lunar nodes, which like BML are points of spatial relationship rather than physical bodies. Lilith warrants closer attention too, in my experience. The Moon is fundamental to astrology, and I am convinced that it cannot be adequately understood apart from the nodes and BML. I certainly see that in my client consultations especially lately, now that Lilith is making some important alignments with Neptune in Pisces.

In a recent Facebook post, I posited the following analogy: "Lilith is to Eve as id is to ego." There s a lot more to Lilith than this, but it s a good place to start. Lilith is yin rather than yang, female rather than male. And unbound. Lilith is NOT negative per se but independent, rebellious and narcissistic. We all need (and have) a certain Lilith quotient. But behavior that is charming in the very young is at best exasperating in the more mature. Lilith needs context and perspective, lest it descend into a destructive sociopathic (or even psychopathic) spiral. These are especially important considerations in 2019.

Aligning with Neptune starting in March this year (and on into 2020), Lilith signifies an intensified onslaught of manipulative charm, lies, deception, brainwashing and propaganda. It s a trend that began in January 2017, as Lilith aligned with Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn. But now it s different: it s pathological rather than political; the lies and deception are by default, rather than for purposes of specific manipulation. The deceivers just can t help themselves anymore.

We re all experiencing this. But a special focus falls on those of us born under significant factors around 15-18° in the mutable signs (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces especially Pisces, where the alignments with Neptune occur). Put another way, anyone getting hard aspect transits from Neptune this year, is getting a particularly strong dose thanks to the Lilith factor amplifying it. Check your chart.

  APR 15 UPDATE Here s a special offer from a dear friend, colleague and mentor and fellow admirer of the work of Dane Rudhyar, whose work first opened the door to genuine depth astrology for me and for many others over the last 80+ years:

A Personal Sabian Symbol Booklet - A Free Gift

In an effort to inspire extensive and continual use of the Symbols, this unique item is being offered only to serious astrologers who are friends of Richard Nolle.

The booklet is comprised of 20 to 30 pages of Rudhyar s interpretations for each degree, in an abridged form.

The person s degree Symbols and interpretations are printed in page groups such as: Zodiacal Positions; House Cusps, House-Oriented Positions; Planetary Midpoints; Arabic Parts; Aspect Phases; Soli-Lunar Progressed Phases, and more.

Please provide: Birth Data; Specify both the Birth Certificate Time AND the Time you wish to use, if different; The House System of your choice (if the house-oriented page is desired, then the Porphyry system will be used throughout); Your postal mailing address to: shela@fikus.net

This work is produced with a program that is 35 years old and will not be offered indefinitely.

A newer program which can print up to three of the above pages is available upon request.

PLEASE NOTE: As originally published earlier this week, the above notification omitted one critical instruction (due to an error of omission on my part); namely to send "Your postal mailing address." A majority of responses to date have not included this crucial information. The others are in process already, and should be shipped soon. Please, if you re not sure your address was included in your request, resend it. Thank you. (Mea culpa.)

Speaking of responses to date, they have been overwhelming. Hence, this free offer will be honored only through April 30, 2019. Please get your order in by that date. Thank you.

Anyone familiar with Rudhyar s life work will jump all over this offer. Anyone who doesn t know Rudhyar? Google is your friend.

Speaking of Rudhyar s interpretation of the Sabian Symbols, consider what he wrote about the one for this week s full moon degree, 30° Libra - "Phase 210 (Libra 30°): Three mounds of knowledge on a philosopher s head."

"A true philosopher," Rudhyar writes, "is a man who is able to understand, not merely know, the processes of life as he comes to experience them directly. He is the man of wisdom, different indeed from the man of science; for while there must be knowledge before understanding, knowledge alone can be both barren and destructive of wisdom . . . What is at stake here is A HOLISTIC APPROACH TO KNOWLEDGE, based on universals." (See 191 in Rudhyar s An Astrological Mandala: The Cycle of Transformations and Its 360 Symbolic Phases New York: Random House, 1973.)

  APR 8 UPDATE Doomsayers have a long and storied tradition. In Greek myth, Cassandra was cursed by Apollo to utter prophecies that no one believed in the moment but they always came true in the fullness of time. She foresaw the destruction of Troy, but the Trojans didn t take her seriously. She went so far as to warn them that the Trojan Horse was full of Greek warriors, but no one believed her. Why? It wasn t just Apollo s curse. It was the human penchant for living in denial. We know we re mortal, but live as if death will never come - except for the wise, who know that life is the art of dying.

Mundane astrologers, those who deal with national and world events, are often called doomsayers. I m not a great believer in doomsday, myself. Anytime someone prophesizes about the end of the world, I say bet the ranch against them. You ll win that bet every time except for when you don t, and then you won t have to pay off. Of course this world will end someday, but since it hasn t happened before we have no data that might prove useful in foreseeing it.

There are astrological indications of any number of more or less catastrophic events: wars, natural disasters, economic and socio-cultural collapses, etc. We re in the middle of some of those right now, and have been for more than a decade. (See pp. 1-13 in the complete version of my 2019 World Forecast Highlights for details.) But Baby Boomers remember growing up under a nuclear Sword of Damocles that never dropped. Our parents and grandparents lived through a couple of World Wars and the Great Depression. And everyone past puberty remembers the so-called Great Recession. As Nietzsche said, "That which does not kill us, makes us stronger."

My point is that, like all platitudes, "Tough times don t last, tough people do" survives because there s an element of truth in it. Whatever our weaknesses and frailties, we re all tougher than we know or we wouldn t be here today. Of course the world ends for each of us someday. Until that time, let us all love and laugh and persevere as best we can. Life is like a good stir-fry, except that the ideal isn t so much crisp-tender as it is tough-tender.

  APR 1 UPDATE Today s update features my April forecast, which hits the highlights for the month. There are a lot of them, with a cast of characters including Trump, Putin, Merkel and Maduro. And you especially if your chart includes some of the degrees pointed out in the forecast.

  MAR 25 UPDATE If you read my March forecast, you had plenty of advance notice about what the month would bring: "March especially within a few days either way of the SuperMoon on the 21st looks like a peak window for storms with high winds, heavy precipitation and attendant flooding, plus moderate to severe earthquakes (M5+), extreme tidal surges, and notable volcanic eruptions." (The cyclones that stuck Australia on the 23rd are a prime example of SuperMoon in action.)

There were also huge winter storms and floods here in the States, a slew of moderate to severe (M5 and up) earthquakes (including more than two dozen in the March 18-24 SuperMoon shock window alone, three of them rated at M6+: a 6.3 at Luganville, Vanuatu on the 20th, and a pair of 6.1 temblors at Dovio, Colombia and Bitung, Indonesia) on the 23rd. Lots of volcanic activity in the SuperMoon shock window too: Ibu and Bromo in Indonesia, Popocatepetl in Mexico, Fuego in Guatemala, and Reventador in Ecuador - just to name just a few. (Check out the astro-locality map for the March 21 SuperMoon. Note the lines off the cyclone-struck east coast of Australia and Africa, and the bomb cyclone-struck US from Colorado eastward, etc.)

SuperMoon aside, there s also an electromagnetic factor to this month s turbulence, which brings me to Mercury Max again, as described in my March forecast:

"Mercury Max as a whole is a time of above normal geophysical turbulence; especially around (within plus or minus three days of) the five critical points in the cycle. This time around, that s the February 27 maximum east elongation, the March 5 retrograde station, the March 15 inferior Sun-Mercury conjunction, the March 28 direct station, and finally the April 11 maximum western elongation."

Indeed, March has been a maelstrom on the storm front, under the auspices of the month-long Mercury Max- (most intense around Mercury s retrograde station on the 5th and the inferior Sun-Mercury conjunction on the 15th) and the last full SuperMoon of the year on the 21st.

Consider Cyclone Idai, the deadliest tropical cyclone worldwide so far this year. Idai originated as a tropical depression off the eastern coast of Mozambique on March 4. As of the 19th, under the aegis of the SuperMoon, Madagascar, Malawi, Zimbabwe and Mozambique are suffering from catastrophic damage. Mozambique's president Filipe Nyusi described it as 'one of the worst disasters' in the southern hemisphere, after rapidly rising floodwaters caused an 'inland ocean' in Mozambique. It s a curious parallel to the bomb cyclone that struck North America in the middle of March, under the auspices of the inferior Sun-Mercury conjunction on the 15th. Weathercasters at the time christened it an inland hurricane .

The good news is that turbulent, traumatic March is nearly done, with only a couple Mercury Max outbreaks remaining within plus or minus three days of March 28 and April 11. Don t let the geomagnetic storms catch you unawares: aurora outbursts, breakdowns in transportation, communication, commercial and computer networks, frazzled nerves and such; plus a notable increase in storms and seismic activity. Then it calms down, comparatively speaking allowing us to concentrate on the tightening Saturn-Pluto conjunction. (See pp. 1-7 in the full version of my 2019 World Forecast Highlights for more on the coming Saturn and Pluto alignment.)

  MAR 18 UPDATE The massacre in the Christchurch mosques last week has overshadowed all else, as atrocities tend to do. For us all, the query of the day is some variant on that most fundamental metaphysical question: Why is there evil in the world? The answer is both simple and daunting: because it s in us, as a species. We cannot eradicate evil short of extinction and we seem well on our way toward that. At best, we can only disarm evil to a greater or lesser extent. We might thereby save humanity. If there s time.

Why didn t anyone see those massacres in time to prevent them? The answer is that it s like trying to count the drops of water in the ocean. Evil has so many reservoirs, and so many niches to exploit. Especially this year and next, under the aegis of the Saturn-Pluto conjunction and the forthcoming Air Trigonalis conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn. These are more than historic. They re epochal, as pointed out in the full version of my 2019 World Forecast Highlights. (pp. 1-12), where I explain how we re living in what amounts to a reincarnation of Justinian s T-Square, which in 2006 reappeared in the heavens for the first time since 536.

That Jupiter-Saturn-Neptune T-Square from Scorpio to Aquarius to Leo respectively last appeared in 536 during the reign of Justinian, the last of the Roman Emperors, at the dawn of the Dark Ages. It was followed by a number of subsequent planetary configurations which have also reappeared since 2006 and those include the Saturn-Pluto conjunction which is even now only a few degrees from exact alignment. (The conjunction isn t partile until January 2020, but it drifts in an out of a few degrees apart in March-May and December this year.)

As described in my 2019 World Forecast Highlights, it s an alignment that speaks of "a contraction of wealth and production, a rise in oppression." Combined with Pluto s recent (October 2018) southward crossing of the celestial ecliptic (the plane of Earth s orbit around the Sun), it points to "a slow, inexorable descent toward the Underworld." Friday s massacre is the latest manifestation of this arc. Alas, it won t be the last.

Some commentators linked the Friday the 15th massacre to the Ides of March, using the popular association of that term with the middle of the month. But tradition is much deeper and far more astrological/astronomical, defining the Ides as the first full moon after the vernal equinox. This means that it falls on the 21st this year the day of the year s final full SuperMoon at 0° Aries. That s the time to "Beware the Ides of March." But you already knew that, if you read my March forecast. Remember, the SuperMoon shock window is in effect March 18-24. Be prepared. Especially if you were born with significant emphasis around 0° in the cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn). Check your chart, and check my SuperMoon astro-locality map for pointers as to potential higher risk target zones.

One last reminder, in parting: Mercury Max remains in effect throughout March, with all its associated geomagnetic disturbances and network disruptions including transportation, power and communication networks, as well as the human nervous system. This is most pronounced from the 25th into the 31st, surrounding Mercury s direct station on the 25th. The Kp5 geomagnetic storm that struck on the 17th, two days after the last Mercury Max peak (the direct station on the 15th).

  MAR 11 UPDATE We ve had a string of strong earthquakes this month, right on schedule during the three days before and after one of the main Mercury Max stress points delineated in my March forecast:

"Mercury Max as a whole is a time of above normal geophysical turbulence; especially around (within plus or minus three days) the five critical points in the cycle. This time around, that s the February 27 maximum east elongation, the March 5 retrograde station, the March 15 inferior Sun-Mercury conjunction, the March 28 direct station, and finally the April 11 maximum western elongation." If you re not familiar with the Mercury Max cycle, see pp. 13-19 in the full version of my 2019 World Forecast Highlights.)

Last week, Mercury s retrograde station stress window melded into the March 3-9 new moon period, for a double dose of geophysical stress that stretched from March 2 into March 9. Accordingly, it should come as no surprise that the frequency and intensity of moderate to severe earthquakes picked up during this shock window. There were a total of five M6+ quakes in the last half of this period alone, including most recently a 6.1 in Papua New Guinea on the 9th. Storms? Killer tornadoes in the southern US on the 3rd. Volcanoes? Karymsky in Kamchatka, Mayon in the Philippines and Bali s Agung come to mind.

2019 MERCURY MAX CYCLES

Max-E	S-Rx	Cnj. SUN	S-D	Max-W
FEB 27, 2019	MAR 5, 2019	MAR 15, 2019	MAR 28, 2019	APR 11, 2019
JUN 23, 2019	JUL 7, 2019	JUL 21, 2019	AUG 1, 2019	AUG 9, 2019
OCT 20, 2019	OCT 31, 2019	NOV 11, 2019	NOV 20, 2019	NOV 28, 2019

Max-E = Mercury (Evening Star) Max. Elongation East of Sun (Max begins)
S-Rx = Retrograde Station (Retrograde GBegins)
Cnj. SU = Inferior Conjunction with Sun
S-D = Direct Station (Retrograde Ends)
Max-W = Mercury (Morning Star) Max. Elongation West of Sun (Max ends)

On the personal level, the new moon fell in 15° 47 Pisces, targeting the middle of the mutable signs (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces especially Pisces). Check your chart! Meanwhile the Mercury station focused on the last degree of Pisces. Got anything around the end (29°) of those mutable signs particularly Pisces? If so, you probably experienced a lot of emotional turmoil and turbulence last week. What kind of turmoil? Inescapable good-byes and kicks in the gut, so to speak . . .

The March 20/21 equinoctial SuperMoon at 0° Libra the third and final FULL SuperMoon of the year shapes up to be a weightier concern by far, as described in my free March forecast: the biggest quakes, storms, tidal surges and volcanic eruptions so far this year, I suspect. For effective dates and astro-locality target zones, see the forecast.

(What s a SuperMoon, and why should you care? See pp. 20-25 in the full version of my 2019 World Forecast Highlights to get up to speed. And don t forget: the last of this year s full SuperMoons isn t the end of the 2019 story for this alignment. That s because there are still three Stealth SuperMoons to come, starting this summer.)

I ve been getting lots of queries in phone consultations with clients lately, that all tie in to the Saturn-Pluto conjunction that s looming larger in the skein of time this month. If you were born with significant emphasis around the 20°Capricorn area, you might want to check your chart. And the headlines. (Think Brexit, Venezuela, worldwide trade and financial maelstroms and other tailspins, for example.) See the end of the free March forecast for starters. For a more complete picture, see pp. 1-7 in the full version of my 2019 World Forecast Highlights.

  MAR 4 UPDATE Today's update introduces my March forecast, which covers not only the month ahead, but the span from 536 to 2020. We haven't seen anything like this since the days of the Byzantine Empire, my friends.

  FEB 25 UPDATE If you have been following my February forecast regarding the SuperMoon on the 19th, you knew what to expect: "The last and probably most important geophysical stress window this month is the SuperMoon at 0° 42 Virgo on the 19th (in effect from the 16th through the 22nd). You know what to look for: a rash of moderate to severe (M5+) earthquakes, powerful storms, flood tides and volcanic eruptions."

A total of 24 M5+ quakes struck during this SuperMoon shock window. A 6.3 temblor in Papua New Guinea on the 17th is included in this tally the first M6+ quake since a 6.1 quake shook Indonesia on February 2; as well as the first M7+ event of the year, a 7.5 quake in Ecuador on the 22nd. (Both of those big shakers came with tsunami watches.)

Storms? Lots of em record shattering winter storms here in the US and in the UK as well, plus a pair of tropical cyclones in the Pacific and the first February typhoon to threaten Guam since 2015 . . .

Volcanoes? Too many to enumerate during last week s SuperMoon shock window: Etna of course, Karymsky in Kamchatka, Popocatepetl in Mexico, and Sabancaya in Peru are just some of the more prominent among the two dozen eruptions accompanying the February SuperMoon.

The important thing is not what s past, but what lies ahead: the last full SuperMoon of the year, on March 21 at 0° 9 Libra. This shapes up to be the most dramatic (and potentially most dangerous) SuperMoon of the year equinoctial SuperMoons have a history like that. Have your emergency kit ready to hand, just in case. As I wrote on page 25 in the full version of my 2019 World Forecast Highlights, "I suspect that the March 21 full SuperMoon will end up marking one of the most destructive storm and seismic shock windows of the year. Equinoctial Sun-Moon alignments particularly eclipses and SuperMoons are like that. This one is accompanied by a couple of aggravating factors, including Mercury Max and a tight Saturn-Pluto conjunction (within just a few degrees of being partile)."

Pay particular attention to the March 18-24 SuperMoon shock window if you were born under important points or planets around 0° in the cardinal signs; viz. Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn. (Check your chart: these are the degrees emphasized by this last full SuperMoon of the year.)

  FEB 18 UPDATE It tickles me no end to see the media taking note of SuperMoon once again, in light of the second such alignment of 2019. When I created and defined the term forty years ago, it was addressed to my fellow astrologers only. Popular media have picked up the ball and run with it, if only because it s the biggest eye candy in the sky: that great big bright full moon rising in the east at sunset (or setting in the west at sunrise, as the case may be) is just too much to ignore. It s only part of the story, but it s the showy part and that s why it sticks.

What the media conveniently ignore for the most part is that my original definition specified a new OR full moon that coincides with the Moon s closest approach to Earth (viz. perigee). But since a new moon is invisible, it gets ignored by the media. "Out of sight, out of mind." We can be sure, therefore, that the only other SuperMoon they ll mention this year is the next one, the full moon on March 21.(In other words, they ll ignore the new moon SuperMoon alignments of August 1 and 30 and September 28, 2019.)

The media also ignore for the most part the geophysical dimensions of SuperMoon as I originally defined it; i.e. its connection with strong storms, extreme tidal surges and increased seismic and volcanic activity. Why? Because it doesn t make for big showy photos and videos.

As described in my February forecast, "The last and probably most important geophysical stress window this month is the SuperMoon at 0° 42 Virgo on the 19th (in effect from the 16th through the 22nd). You know what to look for: a rash of moderate to severe (M5+) earthquakes, powerful storms, flood tides and volcanic eruptions."

As I write this, only a couple days into the current SuperMoon shock window, we ve already had seven M5+ quakes, including a 6.4 in Papua New Guinea; plus Winter Storm Oren ravaging much of the US. And the SuperMoon hasn t even made its exact alignment yet. For more on this year's SuperMoons, see pp. 20-25 in the full version of my 2019 World Forecast Highlights.

Geophysical shock windows aside, there s a personal dimension to SuperMoon. It s a time of emotional intensity, and in the case of a full moon a higher than normal potential for conflict and controversy. This applies to all of us, at least in background particularly because of the simultaneous Venus-Saturn conjunction, which speaks of heightened anxiety and fear of loss (e.g. in the financial markets). But it s most intense for people born under significant cosmic points at or near the SuperMoon alignment. This time around, that s 0° 42 in the mutable signs (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces). Check your chart!

  FEB 11 UPDATE My Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) episode is on the wane now, thankfully. I m not 100% yet, but I ve been able to resume my regular daily workouts over the last few days, as well as handle a full slate of client consultations and report orders.

I managed to get the free February forecast up and running last week. It s now all properly linked into the FUTURES menu and site map.

We re now already into the February 10-16 storm window, as described in the February forecast. This is more geomagnetic than geophysical per se, so look for disturbances in electrical and electronic systems (including the human nervous system); auroral displays, radio outages and the like are typical under such conditions.

There is a storm and seismic component to this window, but it s not as notable as the upcoming SuperMoon cycle (February 16-22). Looking ahead, prepare for the Murphy s Law festival ushered in by the year s first Mercury Max cycle (February 27-April 11), as described on pages 13-19 in the full version of my 2019 World Forecast Highlights. Have your backups and backup plans ready!

  JAN 28 UPDATE This week s January 30 superior (far side) Mercury-Sun conjunction is a sleeper. It s important, but not right away.

Sun-Mercury-Earth alignments always point to a heightened potential for solar disturbances, leading to geomagnetic storms here on our home planet. Those storms happen more or less immediately (give or take three days) when it s an inferior Mercury-Sun conjunction; i.e. a Sun-Mercury-Earth alignment when Mercury is inferior (on the near side of the Sun, between us and the local star).

The inferior conjunction occurs at the high point of Mercury Max), and there won t be another one of those until the February 27-April 11 cycle. (For the lowdown on this year's Mercury Max, see pp. 13-19 in the full version of my 2019 World Forecast Highlights.)

It s a different story with the superior Mercury-Sun conjunction, an alignment of Mercury-Sun-Earth (Sun in the middle, Mercury on the far side from Earth). The disturbances raised by this alignment are delayed for approximately two weeks, until the Sun s rotation brings the conjunction point on the solar sphere around to face Earth. Sure, there may be a brief flare-up at the time of the superior conjunction, but it s typically short and mild if it s at all noticeable. But two weeks after that conjunction comes the plus/minus three day solar storm window. This time around, that works out to February 10-16. See my forthcoming free February forecast for more on this. (Incidentally, that February 10-16 solar disturbance window includes the February 13 Mars-Uranus conjunction: another sign of electromagnetic volatility here on Earth.)

On a more mundane note, if you ordered my 2019 World Forecast Highlights and it hasn t arrived yet, please let me know. I have learned of a half-dozen instances of non-delivery so far, thanks to concerned clients. They have all been resolved now. If your delivery issue hasn t been resolved, it s because I don t know about it. So please, do let me know!

On a related note, I have been hearing from people asking where s the free online excerpt of my 2019 forecast; an annual tradition here for 22 years now. The answer is that it hasn t been published yet, because I m overwhelmed with client consultations and report orders, plus orders for the full version of my 2019 Forecast. I haven t forgotten you, my friends. I just haven t caught up yet. Thanks for your patience.

  JAN 21 UPDATE Today s SuperMoon total lunar eclipse anchors a storm and seismic risk window that s already been in effect since the 18th, and continues into the 24th. As described in my January forecast and in the full version of my 2019 World Forecast Highlights, this is a sign of greater frequency and intensity for storms and moderate to severe seismic activity. See the January forecast for areas of greatest risk, and for background on SuperMoon straight from the horse s mouth. (This year marks the 40th anniversary of my creation of the concept.)

On a more personal note, people born with important planetary points in the vicinity of 1° Leo-Aquarius are spotlighted by this alignment. Check your chart!

There s a beautiful Venus-Jupiter conjunction in the predawn eastern sky this week, exact on the 22nd (in ecliptic longitude). This one looks favorable for people born under significant horoscopic factors around 16° in the fire signs (Aries, Leo and Sagittarius). Again, check your chart.

Finally, looking ahead, the January 30 superior (far side) Sun-Mercury conjunction sets up a time of solar disturbances and geomagnetic storms that will be pointing directly at our home planet two weeks later, give or take three days: mark your calendar for February 10-16, and watch for disruptions in electrical and electronic infrastructure, satellite, power, communication and computer networks and in bioelectrical systems such as the human nervous system.

  JAN 18 UPDATE After a delay of a couple weeks, I managed yesterday to put my free January forecast online, and all properly linked into the FUTURES menu and site map. Regulars know the reason why: this time of year December-January carries a monster workload in my profession, with my annual forecast added to all the year-end and New Year consultations and report orders.

I take pride in offering my free monthly forecasts, and in the positive responses I get in return. But I do have an obligation to my paying clients to prioritize them, and tend to the pro bono offerings afterwards. Now that I m just about current with clients, I m pleased to put the free forecasts back on schedule.

If you re among those who feel deprived yes, I ve heard from many more than I can actually respond to in the last couple weeks please bear in mind that you got a good head start on January if you read my December forecast (published in November). And if you ordered the full version (34 pages, illustrated) of my 2019 World Forecast Highlights, whether the hard copy or the email version, then you re already quite well and truly set for all the big stories of the year ahead.

  DEC 31 UPDATE This week s update is a couple days late, because of all the work involved in polishing off and then publishing my 2019 World Forecast Highlights. All the prepaid email deliveries went out at close of business here on December 31.

If you prepaid for email delivery prior to closing time here (6 PM Arizona Time, aka 8 PM Eastern, 7 PM Central or 5 PM Pacific) on December 31, you should have your copy now. Check your inbox: if it s not there, please let me know ASAP so I can remedy the situation. (So far there s been only one delivery failure, due to a typographical error on my part.)

I you didn t order a copy of the 2019 World Forecast Highlights (34 color-illustrated pages), it s not too late. Orders are still coming in to my PayPal order page; and of course you can always order by phone (800-527-8761) using any major credit/debit card, during regular office hours: Monday Saturday 10 AM 6 PM Arizona Time (noon 8 PM Eastern, 9AM 5 PM Pacific, etc.).

Meanwhile, you already know one major story of the next couple weeks, a strong storm and seismic surge under the aegis of the January 6 partial solar eclipse at 15° Capricorn: it was laid out in my December forecast. Check your chart, incidentally. If you have notable emphasis on the middle of any of the cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn), the January 6 eclipse is likely to be an especially significant timing signal in your life.

  DEC 24 UPDATE The killer tsunami that hit Indonesia on the night after the winter solstice is yet another example of the frequent correspondence between Sun-Moon alignments and notable seismic activity. As described in my December forecast, "The last storm and seismic stress window of the year is two-fold, associated with the full moon and Mercury-Jupiter conjunction on December 22 (in effect from the 19th through the 25th), and the coming January 6 solar eclipse (with its wider (December 30-January 13) shock window." So far, 29 Magnitude 5+ quakes (including one 7+ and two 6+ temblors) have been recorded just halfway through the specified interval. Next week brings more.

Granted, ordinary new and full moon alignments generally pale in significance compared to SuperMoons and eclipses. But they are not to be ignored. Planet Earth has rocked and rolled in rhythm with the Sun and Moon for billions of years. It s a timing signal that our home planet responds to at all levels, from the ordinary to the extraordinary. We get the latter next month, with a perihelion partial solar eclipse on the 6th and a SuperMoon total lunar eclipse on the 21st. Expect a new round of extreme tides, storms and seismicity.

Meanwhile, the geopolitical and financial drama looming on the horizon is accelerating, as we come into the New Year. See the forthcoming 2019 World Forecast Highlights for the historic nature of the celestial configurations reaching out from 1500 years in the past right into next year and beyond.

  DEC 17 UPDATE "Coming events cast their shadows before" is never more true than when speaking of solar eclipses. Consider the January 6, 2019 partial solar eclipse. As I ve written many times over the last 20+ years, the effective span for the geophysical accoutrements of a solar eclipse is plus or minus seven days: that s when extreme storm and seismic manifestations will surge in number and intensity. This time around, keep your eyes peeled for that December 30-January 13 shock window.

This will be no ordinary eclipse. In the first place, it happens just 76 hours from Earth s annual perihelion (closest approach to the Sun). The eclipse is sandwiched between (at the midpoint of) the tightening Saturn-Pluto conjunction. Simultaneously, Jupiter and Neptune are within a degree of their coming waning square (270° arc), and Mercury is likewise just a couple degrees from its waning square to Mars. Such a confluence of celestial shaping speaks of a magnified pattern of geocosmic disturbances. Be ready for a crush of powerful storms with high winds and heavy precipitation; as well as a flurry of moderate to seismic activity (M5+ quakes) and notable volcanic eruptions.

This is more than a geophysical harbinger. The involvement of Saturn and Pluto nearing conjunction and the waning squares of Mercury-Mars and Jupiter-Neptune speaks of political and financial disturbances as well. "Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown" fits this pattern to a T. Heads of state, corporate heads and faith leaders are all suitably nervous under patterns like this. And for good reason.

As I pointed out on page 10 in my 2018 World Forecast Highlights (published in 2017), "President Nixon s resignation occurred on August 9, 1974 some two years and two months after the break-in at the Democratic Party headquarters in the Watergate Hotel." By that reckoning, a Trump ouster would be due not before mid-March 2019. Notice the Jupiter-Neptune square in January (14° 22 ) in the mutable signs (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces) makes a T-Square tying into the President s natal tenth house Sun-Uranus and its opposition to his fourth house (lunar eclipse) Moon This is also in effect for the June and September appearances of the Jupiter-Neptune square.

Apart from the Jupiter-Neptune square to his natal full moon eclipse suggesting the public and the GOP lose confidence in him, there s also the Saturn-Pluto conjunction opposing his natal Saturn: authority comes down hard fits this transit very well, particularly during the close approaches of April-June and December 2019.

I m just scratching the surface here; completely sidestepping the hard aspects to Trump s natal chart coming from the July and December eclipses. For a fuller treatment, see the full version of my 2019 World Forecast Highlights. There are a host of patterns suggesting that the President will not be able to stand for election in 2020, because of what happens in 2019.

In closing, and in response to questions and comments from friends, clients and colleagues. I should explain that my forecasts don t pay much attention to some of the mainstays of mundane astrology as widely practice today. There are a whole lot of reasons for this.

For one thing, national horoscopes are not a reliable dataset. There are well over a dozen proposed US national charts, ranging from a dozen Declaration of Independence charts, a couple of Constitution Effective charts, and one for the first Presidential Inauguration to name only a few of them. Astrologers have made conscientious historical and astrological arguments for each and every one of these. Seriously, need I say more?

More importantly, to my way of thinking (Occam s Razor and all), is the fact that mundane astrology for many centuries was practiced - and still is, in some respects (e.g. ingress charts) without reference to the charts of nations or national leaders. Besides which, there s always been a problem with regard to the accuracy of personal birth data.

In my work, following the practice of Mesopotamian astrology reaching back millennia, I always look to connections between history and important celestial events, such as eclipses and major planetary alignments (long term hard aspects). I see these as signposts directing the forecasting process. In forecasting the outlook for the Trump Presidency, for example, the eclipse connections to Nixon s resignation and Clinton s impeachment were the initial alerts. Only then did I examine connections to their natal charts to flesh out the details.

It s hardly an untried approach; dating back to ancient Mesopotamian astrology. Consider Nostradamus, whose astrological approach never used the charts of nations or national leaders, but only celestial events per se: "Understanding created by the intellect cannot be acquired by means of the occult, only by the aid of the zodiac, bringing forth that small flame by whose light part of the future may be discerned." You don t need (and in fact can t get) charts of nations and leaders to predict events centuries into the future.

  DEC 10 UPDATE As described in my December forecast, there are a couple of solar disturbance factors remaining this month: "Mercury s direct station on December 6, and the maximum western elongation of Mercury (the end of Mercury Max) on December 15." These have an effective orb (window) of plus or minus three days from the exact dates, which puts the corresponding shock windows at December 3-9 and 12-18. So this week begins just the first shock window closes, and just a couple days before the final one begins.

What s the outlook during these sensitive solar storm phases? Kp 5+ geomagnetic storms inject Gigawatts of extra radiation into Earth s magnetosphere, atmosphere and mantle. This results in a burst of extra storm and seismic activity, and greater or lesser disturbances in all kinds of electromagnetic fields. You can see this in extra auroral activity in high latitudes, disruptions in communication, transportation and power infrastructure and disturbances in that most sensitive of networks, the human bioelectric system. (If you re sensitive to the latter, you already know this.)

Taking the longer view, I m watching something unfolding in the heavens as I prepare my 2019 World Forecast Highlights. The really big celestial signposts for 2019 focus on an approaching Saturn-Pluto conjunction at 22° 46 Capricorn; the first one of its kind since 1982 and the first one in Capricorn since 1518, when the Spanish began the direct shipment of Africans into slavery in America. It s a configuration that comes around only once every 30 years or so, and it speaks of a contraction of wealth and production, a rise in oppression. "The rich grow richer and the poor grow poorer" maxim is never more true than in a time of a Saturn-Pluto conjunction.

This is not a positive indicator for the global economy, to put it mildly. While the conjunction won t be partile (exact) until early 2020, it remains within a few degrees of precise alignment on and off here and there in 2019 (particularly spring and late fall). And it melds into a couple of eclipses (again, January and July) along the way, magnifying its significance in the course of events. Years like this one, when the economy is the big story, are times to be frugal and defensive rather than daring. Focus on the return of your investment, rather than the return on your investment.

And then there s the big picture, the continuing unfoldment of the world historic Justinian s T-Square sky train. This is something I ve been researching and writing about for more than a dozen years now. And the upcoming Saturn-Pluto conjunction plays an important part in the story. It falls within a few degrees of the Saturn-Pluto conjunction of 549 CE, which occurred in the wake of Justinian s T-Square. In both cases, the Saturn-Pluto conjunction in late Capricorn came 13 years after the Great T-Square from Jupiter in Scorpio to Saturn in Leo and Neptune in Aquarius.

There have been only two such T-Squares in the last 15 centuries: 536 and 2006 CE. The 536 T-Square ushered in Justinian s Plague, a major volcanic eruption that changed the climate, and the so-called Dark Ages. What has the 2006 repeat of the Great T-Square wrought and what s next in the process? See my 2019 World Forecast Highlights.

  DEC 3 UPDATE Today s Sun-Mars waning (270°) square marks the end of this year s Mars Max cycle, which has been in effect since March 24. (For more on the meaning ofMars Max, see pp 2-12 in the full version of my 2018 World Forecast Highlights.) Every Max cycle includes five critical points, the beginning and end being two of them. Those critical points mark a time of extra intensification of the Max planet give or take three days from the exact date. This means that November 30 to December 6 are the last gasp for Mars Max and all its ultraviolent extremes. Good riddance! That s not to say that peace breaks out all over, but it suggests an easing of the tensions, the conflict, the fires, crashes, clashes and explosions for a time.

Stirring the cauldron this time around is Mercury s December 6 direct station, one of the sensitive points in the current Mercury Max cycle, the last one this year. (See pp. 18-24 in the full version of my 2018 World Forecast Highlights for more on Mercury Max.) Allow the typical plus or minus three day leeway, and it s in effect from the 3rd into the 9th. You can figure that miscommunications, misunderstandings and miscalculations will play a big part in the Mars Max-associated fires, crashes, clashes and explosions early this month.

The five key points in Mercury s Max cycle are also a sign of intensified solar output, triggering geomagnetic storms here on Earth (typically Kp 5 and higher). This seeds a surge in storms and seismic activity, as well as heightened auroral displays, radio and satellite interference, and disruptions to all kinds of networks electrical, electronic, communications, etc. (Bioelectric networks too, such as the human variety.)

You'll find details on the Mars and Mercury Max cycles this month, and what they mean for us individually and collectively, in my December forecast.

Looking ahead to the end of the month, and on into early January, the forthcoming partial solar eclipse (January 6 at 15° 25 Capricorn) will be making its mark starting December 30, as described in my December forecast. (The extended shock window for solar eclipses, as I have written for many years, is seven days either side of the exact alignment. which means that we ll be feeling this one from December 30 onward. (Remember, the minor solar eclipse unit is 15° 21 : a new moon that occurs within this distance from either node will occur.)

For more on what shapes up to be one of next year s most important eclipses aligned with Saturn, Earth s perihelion and Pluto - see my forthcoming 2019 World Forecast Highlights.

And finally, another reminder for clients new and old who may be thinking of ordering any of the personal reports I offer. As I ve been explaining for several months now, the volume of client consultations and reports always picks up in the fall. This year, it has overwhelmed me; to the point that I can accept no more report orders (or new clients) until January 10. I apologize for the delay. As a double Capricorn, I like to be busy. But I don t like having to put my clients on hold. I do have a colleague whom I respect personally and professionally, who has kindly offered to take on my overflow in this busy time. If you re interested, please let me know via email to rnolle@astropro.com.

PARTING SHOTS

The "Freaky Friday" toll for 2015 ended up with only eight bank closures in the US - the lowest number of failed banks shut down by the FDIC in years. The first "Freaky Friday" casualty of 2016 - the first, in fact, since October 2, 2015 - finally arrived on March 11, when North Milwaukee State Bank got the axe from federal regulators. It was followed seven weeks later by the second "Freaky Friday"bank shutdown of the year, when the Bank of Fayette County went down in Memphis TN on April 29; and then the third (First Cornerstone Bank in King of Prussia PA) on May 6, and the fourth (The Woodbury Banking Co. in Woodbury CA) on August 19. The total number of bank closures for 2016 settled at five on September 23, when Allied Bank in Mulberry AR bit the dust. So the total for 2016 was a little lower than that for 2015.

I suspect that the era of wholesale bank closures crested and passed, with the dawn of the Venus Max cycle in January of 2017. Granted, we did start that year with a bank closure on the day after the Venus Max cycle began, when Harvest Community Bank was shuttered on January 13 in Pennsville NJ. And there was another FDIC bank takeover two weeks later, when Chicago's Seaway Bank and Trust bit the cosmic weenie on January 27. There followed a couple quiet months until Cottonwood Heights' Proficio Bank went down on March 3, First NBC Bank in New Orleans was shuttered on April 28, Milwaukee's Guaranty Bank was closed on May 5; and then Fayette County Bank in Saint Elmo IL on May 26. Next, after very nearly six whole months, the seventh bank closure of the year took place on October 13, when The Farmers and Merchants State Bank of Argonia, KS was shuttered, and then the Washington Federal Bank for Savings in Chicago was shut down on December 15, 2017. There wasn't a single bank closure in all of 2018, and we managed to get almost halfway through 2019 before the next one took place: the Enloe State Bank on May 31. There have been three more since then: Louisa Community Bank (Louisa, KY) and Resolute Bank (Maumee, OH) on October 25, and City National Bank of New Jersey (Newark) on November 1. The tide is beginning to shift . . .

As I wrote here years back, "as central banks attempt to normalize interest rates, failing banks will become even rarer." (Time to buy US bank stocks on the dips, as I wrote here a couple years ago. So far, I have doubled my money on Bank of America shares.) And as I first wrote several years ago, the landslide days of bank closures are behind us. The fact remains that the US (and global) financial system is a bubble the central bankers and finance ministers are struggling to keep alive by whatever means available. The thing is, we're just now turning the corner in the first Depression of the 21st Century. Recovering to the salad days of yore will only come well after the 2020 Air Trigonalis Great Chronocrator. (To play along at home, see the FDIC website.) All of which comes as no surprise, if you've been following my forecasts. First we have to get past the financial maelstrom associated with the Saturn-Pluto conjunction in 2020. It won't bring down the global financial system all at once like a house of cards, but it will set the whole structure slipping and shaking. The early signs have already appeared, since Saturn and Pluto first got to within a few degrees apart in the spring of 2019.

I've been saying since 2010 to expect an easing of the bank failings for a time, and likewise a moderation in the unemployment rate here in the States - again, for a time. Speaking of which, the latest stats put the official US unemployment rate at 3.6%, very nearly the lowest it's been in 50 years - and obviously well below where it was before the November 2008 Saturn-Uranus opposition, which heralded the economic collapse that precipitated the first depression of this century, as predicted. That's better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick: 3. 6% is well below the long term average of 5.82%. (The official 21st Century US unemployment rate bottomed out at 4.5% in September 2006, and climbed fairly steadily from then on until the peak at 10.1% in October 2009.) I figure US bank balance sheets will look fairly decent for a while - consolidating to the upside for a change, after years of Fed cultivation. See the complete version of my 2019 World Forecast Highlights for a longer range look into the future. It's available by mail ($75) or by email in standard Adobe PDF format ($50). Orders may be mailed in (see address below), or phoned in toll-free from anywhere in North America to 800-5-ASTRO-1 (800-527-8761); and charged to any major credit card. PayPal orders may be placed direct from your own PayPal account page to rnolle@astropro.com or by using the AstroPro PayPal order page. (Details for ordering the 2020 edition are on the same page.)

In closing, here's an invitation to get immediate updates (usually at least daily) on my Facebook and Twitter pages. Regulars know that Astropro gets updated at least weekly, and sometimes several times a week. Sending updates to Facebook and Twitter takes a lot less of my time - no HTML coding to worry about - so I can do it far more frequently there. If you'd like a quick take on what's happening - including what I'm doing in the markets - and it doesn't require a personal consultation, you can always find out what's on my mind (astrological and otherwise) via those two social networks. (If you missed the action and the profits on my Dow and euro shorts, share purchases etc., it's because you're not following me on Facebook and Twitter.) Please do let me know you're responding to this invitation, should you send a Facebook friend request. Thanks! I ask because I've had a few spam or phish-type requests. If you mention my website or this invitation, you qualify for a presumption of virtue. Otherwise, unless you're already a friend, a friend of a friend, or client or colleague, please don't be offended if I ask for something to put your request in context. It's really precious to have the odd bubble-headed bleach blonde offer to send pix of herself in her precious new undies if I friend her, but I really don't have time to go phish. (Invitations of this ilk come along at least once a week, so pardon my bemused skepticism.)

Incidentally, if you're already a Facebook friend, please let me know if you're interested in joining a Facebook Group I started a few years ago. It's called NolleAstro, and it's a free forum for astrological observations and discussions. It's also the first place I'll post my own astrological observations, including astrologically-based trades I'm making in real time. You don't have to join the group to get such info, because you'll see it if you're a Facebook friend - provided you're online often enough. The thing is, Facebook posts rapidly scroll off the screen, so you'll typically see only the last few dozen posts. If you're a member of the group however, you'll receive email notices about new posts to the NolleAstro Group; and in any event, checking in there makes it much easier to see what's new. (Incidentally, it's easy to turn off the automatic email feature or even leave the group altogether at any time if you wish: you're in control.)

Want more? You'll find lots of free astrology features at astropro, including Signs and Constellations and Precession, the Movie as well as other articles on selected astrological topics and a fair number of astrological reference tables: two hundred years worth of SuperMoons, thousands of years of major planetary cycles, a guide to astrological symbols, and much more. Plus lots of forecasts, of course. (And surprise - unlike the metaphysical mumbo-jumbo word salad and Sun Sign silliness that so often passes for astrology, this is the real thing; which is to say, first you see it here, then it shows up on CNN.

Collect notable charts and/or data? Then please do see the October Horoscopes of the Famous & Infamous, with dozens of historic and celebrity natal charts free for the downloading. (But don't dawdle, because the complimentary chart links there expire November 1st.) Want more? Check out the November collection, where the free chart links remain active until December 1. For still more, see the FEATURES menu, with a complete listing of all these monthly celebrity data pages: no chart freebies for the other months, but hundreds of data for the famous and infamous you can use to calculate your own charts.

If I've forgotten anything here, or if you haven't visited in a while, be sure to scan the updated contents page for a complete outline of everything on-site, or try the even more detailed site map. And if you're completely lost, try finding your way via the FAQ, or check in at the Help Center.

Richard Nolle, Certified Professional Astrologer consultations/orders (AmEx/Discover/MasterCard/Visa/Venmo/Zelle) 800-527-8761 data/messsage 480-753-6251 - email rnolle@astropro.com Box 26599 - Tempe, AZ 85285-6599 - USA astropro.com