TUESDAY NOVEMBER 6. Moon continues in security-oriented Cancer. However, at the same time there is a desire to break through convention and caution into self-assertive mode. This drive for freedom will continue and increase until the Scorpio New Moon on NOVEMBER 15. Romance, love, and good conversation can highlight the evening.

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 7. Moon is in Leo, and all the world’s a stage. What drama do you want to create? We have the help of Neptune for creating the plot, Mercury for the lines, and Mars for the action. This afternoon Mercury moves into Scorpio to intensify the dramatic expression.

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 8. Last Quarter Moon occurs at 17 Leo at 7:21 a.m. EST. We move into the final quarter of a very powerful Moon Family which began with the great Eclipse of Aug. 11, 1999 at this degree. There were all the usual world power plays going on around this time, plus the great Turkish earthquake. To me the most significant event then was a request by attorneys for the Democratic National Committee asking the courts to declare the 1964 Voting Rights Act unconstitutional. (Yes, really!) This would have effectively disenfranchised many minority voters—which was done anyway by the State of Florida at the 2000 election. We do see a pattern here, most recently culminating with the U.S. walkout re the UN Durban Racial Conference this summer.

Power is the big goal now, and the energy is here to eliminate whatever gets in the way of achieving that power. Venus is in the final degree of Libra. This is the degree of the election night stationary Mercury, as well as the October 1 stationary Mercury. Both of those times were disastrous for democracy. Later this morning Venus will join Mercury in Scorpio. The drive for independent action is very strong this afternoon. This is not encouraging for democracy, or even real teamwork.

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 9. This is a primo day for practical problem-solving. Work, especially in the communication realms, will flow magically.

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 10. Rise early and work hard. Save your relaxing until after 1:40 p.m. when moon goes VOC, and we won’t feel as dedicated. But then even a VOC Virgo Moon tends to enjoy work.

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 11. Moon is in sociable Libra, and we do want to chat and share with others. All types of social gatherings are favored today. Enjoy! Mercury squares Neptune to add a dash of imagination and artistic flair. This is a good night for a romantic movie.

MONDAY NOVEMBER 12. Moon continues in Libra, and we’re occupied with relationships and with big ideas. Justice is one of them. The urge for freedom is strong, and tonight we have a turning point in expressing it. We are moving into the final stretch of a Uranus cycle which began last February 9, when Ariel Sharon was elected Prime Minister of Israel. Many of our current "war" preparations began then. Moon goes VOC at 7:41 p.m. EST. Sleep may be difficult tonight because Uranus speeds up the electrical vibrations of the nervous system.

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 13. Moon enters intense Scorpio at 10:44 a.m. and rushes to join Venus tonight. In the meantime, they both square Neptune during the day, where they pick up psychic and mystical vibrations. Tonight can be richly and deeply loving. If we indulge in the greed side of Venus, or the addictive side of Neptune, it can instead be deeply destructive.

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 14. This is a go-for-broke day. For one thing, we are at the end of a moon cycle—we have nothing left to lose. For another thing, we have just completed the final Sun-Uranus square, which means big release. Also, we are working with Scorpio planets, which go all the way. And those Scorpio planets have all just connected with Neptune, the great dissolver.

And, the final frosting: Pallas Athena and Chiron conjoin with the Moon’s South Node today. South Node is a place of letting go. It brings up old issues to be released. Pallas Athena in Sagittarius is a master strategist on a wide scale. She just conjoined Pluto, ruler of birth and death, when the U.S. began their invasion of Afghanistan. Chiron, too, last conjoined death-dealing Pluto. The date was December 30, 1999. We entered the new millennium on a Chiron-Pluto conjunction. Chiron throws us into brand new dimensions so that we have to cope with life in a new way. It is a planet of initiation. On that New Year’s Eve we rehearsed for a breakdown of the electronic communication system. Perhaps now we experience the real thing.

I think this Pallas-Chiron-South Node conjunction means that our current initiation is to move through the chaos of a dying system. A system which destroys earth and the life which springs from it cannot survive, and we see it falling apart all around us. Why is it taking a military/police state to maintain it? To me, this configuration represents its death knell, with wise Pallas Athena and Chiron guiding us through the fields of destruction which must precede rebirth.

This conjunction occurs exactly at sunrise in Washington DC, the birth of a new day, on a very old balsamic moon. I suggest that at sunrise we all meditate on the kind of new world which we want to be born, and ask the heavens to help guide us towards it, and to give us strength to work positively with the pains of labor.

This is a perfect time to work with Crystal’s New Moon Meditation.

(Viewing this old moon sunrise is extraordinarily moving. The moon appears as a translucent ghostly white crescent—and sometimes whole circle—as it is absorbed into the sun. One feels the ghosts of the past disappearing into the lively present.)

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 15. New Moon at 23 Scorpio occurs at 1:40 a.m. EST. On the West Coast it occurs at 10:40 p.m. November 14. Scorpio New Moon ushers in a 29- day period of working with the Scorpio energy field. It is a time of very deep transformation. Please read the Scorpio Sun description from the archives. Scorpio is a complex and dynamic sign, not reducible to a few key words.

This Moon ushers in a VOC Moon period until 1:51 p.m., when Moon enters Sagittarius. But before that happens, just before Moon meets Sun, Mars in Aquarius makes an easy aspect to Saturn, the Builder, activating new ideas. Mercury in Scorpio is also in on the picture, and brings possessiveness and power drive into the equation. Building new power is the theme. WHAT IS THE POWER YOU WANT TO BUILD? Give it input. Don’t let it go by default because somebody else is saving you the work. And believe me, they do want to do it for you. It’s very easy to use the "default" key on the social computer. Remember the new world meditation you did yesterday morning. Now we plant the seeds. And Scorpio is fertile ground.

This Moon month will contain surprises. Its closest aspect is a square of Uranus, that great disrupter of the status quo.

However, we have been preparing for change this month, with many aspects to Uranus encouraging us to break through restrictions and run free. In addition, many of the charts of the month have had rising signs at exactly 23 Scorpio, anticipating this New Moon and expressing its energies. New Moon itself has a wheel identical to the Mercury-Venus conjunction of November 3. And that conjunction itself was at the degree of the Libra New moon a month ago.

Events are continuing and interweaving. This is a complex autumn.

The fixed signs have it now, with four of the 10 major planets in Scorpio and three in Aquarius. The fixed signs always deal with issues of power. Scorpio wants power in the world, and Aquarius wants the power of reform and progress. These two can work together to uplift the world if Scorpio allows Aquarian idealism to be the guiding light. If not, Aquarius will rebel against Scorpio’s restrictions. The Battle of Seattle was a classic demonstration of how worldly corporate power clashed with the idealism of reform. We see these clashes happening all over the world as people are protesting the massive corruption, exploitation, and injustice which are part of the ruling system.

The energy of this New Moon encourages such clashes. Mars moving through Aquarius will push for progress in human rights.

Money can be a bottom line for Scorpio. It is a means of power and of transformation. And shaky financial systems are apt to be one of the areas where power is challenged this month. Vesta, Saturn, Jupiter, and Pluto, all money planets, are all involved in quincunxes now. In a quincunx aspect, we are forced to make adjustments—and sometimes those adjustments are jarring. The forces at work here are the Scorpio-Cancer needs for security and status quo, and the Sagittarius-Gemini needs for freedom, adventure, and growth.

In Washington, Pluto, Lord of the Underworld, is on the foundation, showing the powerful forces moving the U.S. government. Pluto and Saturn extend through Canada, Florida, Cuba, and Central America. The structure-changing Pluto-Saturn opposition is also strong through Mongolia, China, and Southeast Asia, as well as in eastern U.S. This opposition also runs through central Africa, the Balkans, eastern Europe, and Moscow. Pluto and Saturn together show hard conditions and hard work. They can bring severe weather.

New Moon is on the nadir through the Great Plains and Rocky Mt. areas, seat of major centers for U.S. strategic air warfare. It is on the midheaven through all of the "stans," India, and Russia. It rises through western Africa and all of Europe, and sets near Japan and New Zealand. These are especially fertile areas for the planting of our new Scorpionic seeds of transformation.

Nadir refers to the foundation or security base, midheaven to facing the world, rising or ascending to self-assertion, and setting or descending to reacting to circumstances.

The prolonged and curious Mercury-Venus conjunction, a central focus of November, is on the midheaven in Afghanistan. We will see it there because the midheaven is a public place. It is on the nadir in the U.S. far west, ascending through Ireland, and descending through Japan and New Zealand. News usually comes out of Mercury places.

The Aquarian planets are descending along the U.S. West Coast, with active Mars running right through the California coast. They are ascending through India, China, Mongolia, Russia, and close to th "stans," especially Pakistan and Kyrghistan. They are on the midheaven through Micronesia, New Zealand, and Australia, and on the nadir through Iceland, Ireland and western Africa, e.g. Senegal, Guinea, and Sierra Leone. Revolution or disruption of the status quo will be stirring through all of these areas.

Protective, defensive retrograde Jupiter in Cancer is on the midheaven through Brazil and on the nadir through China, Japan, the Koreas, Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia and Australia. Jupiter descends all through Africa, the entire Middle East, and Russia.

Watching for news from various parts of the world, and correlating that news with these planetary locations during the next month can help us to understand how the planetary energies work.

The Sabian Symbol for 23 Scorpio is

"A RABBIT METAMORPHOSES INTO A NATURE SPIRIT. The raising of animal drives to a higher level. The rabbit is traditionally a symbol of an overabundance of progeny, thus of a great stress on procreative and sexual processes. "Nature spirits," on the other hand, represent the higher aspect of life energies, as they are said to guide those normally invisible forces controlling the growth of all living organisms, particularly in the vegetable kingdom. Thus the symbol refers to the transmutation of the generative power into a more ethereal and subtle form of potency. TRANSUBSTANTIATION."

Excellent!

After the early morning New Moon, moon goes VOC until it enters Sagittarius at 1:51 p.m. By evening we are apt to feel our energy pick up. New Moon time can be vulnerable, like a new baby, and we need to protect ourselves.

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 16. The Scorpio New Moon action commences immediately, beginning at midnight EST. A Sagittarius Moon can literally carry Scorpio off into the wild blue yonder. During the next few days, Moon touches off all of the month’s major configurations.

Today’s special is Mercury squaring Mars, combining thoughts with warrior activity. Mercury in Scorpio is fresh from its close sojourn with Venus, picking up Venus’ desires, and is now asking Mars to fulfill them. Mars in Aquarius is willing to do the unorthodox to accomplish its mission.

The chart for this moment is very assertive, and potentially disastrous. Look before you leap. U.S. power is a prime mover now, and its steamroller style invites big repercussions.

For each of us, all planets in our chart between 10 and 16 degrees are super stimulated. Today 7 of the 10 major planets are moving in that degree range. The big stress is on 13-14 degrees—freshly activating the Saturn-Pluto opposition and its current evolutionary work.

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 17. This can be a wild day. Moon is VOC in exuberant Sagittarius for the entire day. (VOC refers only to aspects with the major planets.) Between 3-5 p.m. Moon conjoins Pallas Athena, Chiron, and the Moon’s South Node to sensitize us to the energies of that conjunction, which refers to release of old issues. With both Maverick Chiron and VOC Moon involved, anything can happen. At 7:40 p.m. Moon enters Capricorn, and serious analysis begins.

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 18. This is a fine day to enjoy the company of people about whom you care deeply—perhaps a partner, perhaps your family. It’s also good for doing work which you enjoy, or participating in artistic endeavors. Serious pleasure is the theme.

MONDAY NOVEMBER 19. Yes, with industrious Capricorn we’re moving right along. This is a good day to communicate with people who can help us reach our goals. Business moves well and easily.

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 20. Moon travels through independent Aquarius for the next two days, and ticks off our rambunctious Aquarian planets one by one. In the New Moon entry of NOVEMBER 15, notice the global areas where Aquarius is highlighted.

Venus trines Jupiter to imbue us with optimism about getting what we want. We feel Lady Luck riding with us.

And tonight, as Mercury squares Uranus, we decide to go for it. Just before 11 p.m. willful Uranus sets in Washington DC. At the same time the fixed star Deneb Algedi sets. All three of these elements—planet, sign, and star, relate to invention and technology. It is likely that a new technology will be launched, probably a weapon.

Another fixed star is rising at the same time, Ras Elased Australis. Ebertin says that in connection with Uranus, there is danger of accidents.

For the next two hours, there is a flurry of action, and then Pluto and Saturn, hard taskmasters, take charge.

I would not choose to fly during the next four days.

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 21. Moon continues in Aquarius, and the energy moves along quickly. It’s a flowing, creative, and exciting day. Energy is high until late.

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 22. Sun enters Sagittarius at 1:01 a.m. EST, just in time for Thanksgiving. At 2:37 a.m. Moon squares Mercury, which indicates relating or connecting. Moon then goes VOC until 4:52 p.m., when it enters dreamy Pisces. Most of this Thanksgiving Day, then, we will be under a Moon VOC in Aquarius. Things are not apt to go as planned or expected, so hang loose and take it as it comes.

At 6:21 p.m. First Quarter Moon clicks in, at 1 degree of Pisces. Pisces and Sag are both universal signs, and world affairs take center stage. Eight of the ten major planets are in behind-the-scenes, preparation houses. Only one, defensive retrograde Jupiter, is in an action house, the first.

Mars, however, does have a major role. At 19 Aquarius, it stimulates the entire grand fixed cross of the potent August 11, 1999 Solar Eclipse. Mars is in the ninth house of foreign countries and travel. Uranus and Moon are also in that house, showing surprises in the public realm. Venus in Scorpio squaring Mars shows passion, intensity, and impulsiveness in going for one’s desires.

Juno in Leo shows abuse of the life center, the basic vitality, of people, and a quincunx to Ceres shows problems in getting food to people. Thanksgiving is apt to be a much more serious, conscious affair this year.

Pallas Athena has just entered Capricorn where she opposes the potent Solstice Eclipse of last summer. Pallas in Capricorn is serious and canny about strategy to support and defend the powers that be. She will be more cautious than she was during her many months in Sagittarius. With Pallas and Ceres now both in Capricorn, the entrenched hierarchy has strong backing. Pallas in Capricorn is a genius in systems management and efficiency.

With this First Quarter Moon, fixed rule has given way to mutable rule. Life and attitudes become more flexible. At the same time the Saturn-Pluto mutable opposition becomes re-emphasized. Realignment is the MO of mutables, and we enter now a period of shifting power connections.

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 23. Moon is in flowing, psychic, mystical Pisces, headed towards a feel-good grand water trine. Overindulgence of all kinds is encouraged. At the same time we can delve deeply into occult subjects and other mysteries of life. Tonight will be intense, but any conflicts end in harmonious feelings before midnight.

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 24. Moon continues in compassionate Pisces. Our hearts go out to suffering people. Transpluto turns retrograde today, conjoining Juno, and there is a focus on the many many people in pain. Those of us who are fortunate enough to have an abundant Thanksgiving do feel the contrast to most of the hungry people in the world, and families split apart by violence and poverty. And yet, even now, in the midst of massive world suffering, greed is pushing the buttons of many world leaders.

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 25. Moon is in martial Aries today, and action is the keynote. Sun now begins a 4-day transit of three black holes—Isis, Osiris, and Horus—which indicate a period of death and rebirth, and of aliveness and great creativity. Large economic organizations, flight, and nuclear power are all concomitants of these black holes. Early today a surprise is in store. This afternoon energy can flow easily as we follow our intuition.

MONDAY NOVEMBER 26. This is a super active day, carried along on the back of a forceful Aries moon. During the fateful morning hours, the pieces are set in place, concluding with Moon square Jupiter at 10:32 a.m. This aspect gives a feeling of invincibility, and an unreal assurance that anything is possible. It can result in hubris, over-expectations, and carelessness. This is a Jupiter that is heading to meet its destiny with powerful Pluto this evening as their month-long quincunx becomes exact. Something is apt to give then.

In early afternoon, Mercury enters Sagittarius to add to the gambling mode of the day. Mercury in Sagittarius also highlights religious and fanatical motivations. Its job is to spread the truth far and wide. Mercury in Sagittarius will, in fact, spread anything far and wide, including viruses and chemicals, as it travels the world on its winged feet.

All of this is preparation for the day’s major aspect. In fact, the whole month has been preparation for this meeting, as Mars in Aquarius has inexorably headed for Uranus—featured at this current Scorpio New Moon. And Mars has been fed by a power-hungry Venus in Scorpio. Finally, at 2:07 p.m. EST on this already over-confident day, pushy Mars conjoins disruptive Uranus, both in the reformist sign of Aquarius. Together they will make a sudden big move. Impulsiveness is certain, and accidents are likely.

Robert Pelletier, in Planets in Aspect, says about Mars conjunct Uranus:

Unrestrained, forceful, and energetic…establish your own rules and won’t submit to restraints…guided by the belief that you must be free to do whatever is necessary to get what you want…seek and create excitement.

This impulsiveness can cause many problems…If you want to accomplish your objectives you will have to play by the rules…This courage can best be used in occupations that require daring…Even then, safeguards are necessary. Otherwise the results will be tragic.

At this same time, Juno and Transpluto make their exact conjunction with each other and the fixed star Alphard, "the one who stands alone," which is often connected with poison. Transpluto, the energy of resurrection, even transubstantiation (see Sabian Symbol), is powerful now. Juno here shows suffering. But human suffering is unimportant to the opposing Mars-Uranus conjunction, intent only on fulfilling its desires.

The midheaven at this time reflects three eclipses, beginning with Christmas 2000. This means another step in the process of change in the power and authority of the U.S. government.

By evening, just as bright Jupiter is rising over the eastern horizon, it has its quincunx with Pluto. This is a mandate for each of us to use our knowledge to do something constructive about the changing social conditions in which we live.

Aries Moon completes its assertive support by midnight, and then goes VOC. Sleep is apt to be difficult tonight.

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 27. Moon is VOC until 4:06 p.m., when it enters Taurus. During the Aries Moon morning, Sun opposes Vesta to mark the midpoint of a Sun-Vesta cycle which began on March 27. Vesta is about dedication and focus. What do we want to commit ourselves to wholeheartedly? The U.S. natal Vesta is in Taurus, and in the U.S. particularly Vesta tends to relate to money, investments, and land. Look for a change in the financial picture, and it promises to be a change for the worse. A process of realignment is now set in motion which will continue for a few days.

Sun now conjoins a black hole, and Vesta conjoins the Hyades. According to Ebertin, this star cluster is connected to a great increase in strength, and can lead to success. However, "if uncontrolled, it may lead to failure and a fall from power. With a connection to the Hyades, it is doubly important that power and strength not be used to exploit other human beings."

That the Bush Administration operates on a strong exploitative level does not bode well for connecting with the Hyades. At the conjunction on March 27, which sowed the seeds for this opposition, EPA Administrator Christie Whitman horrified the world by announcing that the U.S. was pulling out of the Kyoto Treaty. Also on March 27 the Arab nations met together for the first time in ten years to announce support for Palestine. These events are not disconnected, nor are they disconnected from the terrorist attack in New York.

We have now a turning point in those events. Where was your focus of attention last March 27? How has that area of your life been developing since?

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 28. Yesterday’s process continues into Full Moon on November 30. We are still dealing as well with Monday’s strong energies. Now we have Moon in Taurus for the next two days, and we are drawn to practical affairs, including money. This is an excellent day for taking care of a lot of things. And yet, ominous aspects are forming—to be expressed somewhere in the world.

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 29. Moon continues in Taurus, and during the entire day it is forming a brief fixed grand cross, putting the pressure on various centers of power. Mars and Uranus are part of the picture, and willfulness is strong. There is very little reflective energy here, and somebody is apt to get hurt. Best to stand in the center, and send out compassion to all, for we are all brothers and sisters. We needn’t let our spirit power be diluted or diffused by outer events.

At 4:25 p.m., Mercury opposes Vesta, ready to carry out the Sun’s orders of two days ago. The black hole and Hyades influences of that time are still in orb, even stronger because at this time in Washington DC they cross the horizon, and the horizon is where star energy is especially potent.

Shortly before this, the fixed star Algol rises, and at this time Moon is conjoining Algol. The name is derived from Arabic "Al Ghoul," meaning demon, evil spirit, or devil. At Inauguration time on January 20, Saturn, which represents the Administration, conjoined Algol.

At this time on the East Coast, there is a mundane square of powerful Pluto to impulsive Mars/Uranus. This shows explosive power coming at or from the U.S., perhaps again in New York, the financial heart of the nation.

Moon goes VOC at 6:21 p.m.

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 30. Full Moon at 9 Gemini occurs at 3:49 p.m. EST. with Algol rising on the eastern horizon at that time. Gemini Full Moon is about making the everyday connections and facts needed to support the abstract philosophies and beliefs of Sagittarius. Sagittarius can veer into moral righteousness and religious fanaticism. A monastery is a type of Sagittarian abode. But what are the facts and conditions of regular daily living? This is Gemini’s concern.

Sun and Moon now both conjoin powerful fixed stars, two of the four ancient Royal Stars, which guarded each corner of the sky. They are both red, colors of passion, and they both have a Mars nature.

Moon is with Alderberan, the brightest star in that huge constellation of Taurus, the Bull, now high above in the late evening and early morning sky. Yellower Saturn now lies very close to it. They all rise in the late afternoon now. (Brilliant Jupiter is near, but a bit further east, close to the Twins—twin towers—Castor and Pollux. In fact, Jupiter was right at the zenith when the first attack occurred!) Aldeberan points to extraordinary energy and great accomplishment—but also the making of enemies.

Sun conjoins Antares, the bright orangey star in Scorpio, visible low in the south after sunset during the summer. Antares means of Martian nature, and Mars itself sat next to it for months this year as it slowly retrograded in Sagittarius. As I looked at those two red eyes night after night, and knowing that Mars was especially close to earth then, I wondered what significant action they portended for us. (Another pair of twins!)

All the elements of the last several days are here. Overseeing the Full Moon time is foggy Neptune on the midheaven. This repeats the Inauguration chart, and most of the seasonal charts of the year. Denial and living in a dream world continue to be the MO of the U.S. government. Neptune at the top also speaks to the importance of oil, drugs, and addiction in general.

Besides rising from the current New Moon in Scorpio, this Full Moon springs from the New Moon in Gemini of June 2, 2000. At that time President Clinton was having problems in Europe over the proposed U.S. missile system. The Europeans didn’t like it. He also had problems with Pres. Putin in regard to scrapping the ABM Treaty, which Russia opposed. Déjà vu!

The Sabian Symbol for 9 Gemini is

"A QUIVER FILLED WITH ARROWS. Man’s aggressive relationship to natural life, as a basis for survival and conquest. Implied in the symbol of an arrow is the piercing of a target. The mind of man is essentially a trans-piercing power; it goes through the object towards which it is aimed. This usually implies the destruction of the obstacle. At a higher level—as in the Zen practice of archery—the obstacle is the ego. CONQUEST."

Wow!

This Full Moon runs through Alaska, Canada, northeastern U.S., and Brazil in the West, and through Russia, the Middle East, Africa, all of the Far East, and Australia.

The reformist Aquarian planets run right through every one of the world’s continents, most notably through South America, Europe, Africa, and the entire Far East.

Jupiter moves through the hotspots of central Asia and western Africa, as well as all of the North American continent.

The world is buzzing with this Full Moon. In two weeks we experience a Solar Eclipse, and eclipses are often set strongly in motion two weeks before their occurrence. Eclipses mean major change.