The Week Above is a weekly astrological "weather report" detailing the major planetary configurations for the week ahead. All times given are in Eastern Time. There will be references to your birth chart and your Sun, Moon, and Rising signs throughout. If you aren't sure of what that means, check out Astrodienst for free online chart drawings, and Cups & Crowns for the basics of how to understand a drawn chart.

If you enjoy my writing and find it valuable, consider supporting me on Patreon. Future posts will feature horoscopes for all twelve signs if certain goals are met.

Strap yourselves in for this one, friends, it’s gonna be a bumpy ride.

The Lunar Nodes enter Cancer and Capricorn and Uranus returns to Aries - November 6th

Election Day in the United States is going to be a big shift, but I’m not predicting puppies and cupcakes here.

On Tuesday, the Lunar Nodes, which have been transiting the signs of Leo and Aquarius, shift into Cancer and Capricorn. In a sense, the Lunar Nodes by transit indicate an arc of collective evolutionary focus. The South Node tends to disempower the sign it transits through, sinking it down into a place that is alternately sapped of energy and given over to its basest instincts, with occasional moments of being on the beam so strongly that being itself is the most natural thing in the world. But mostly all that sign’s shortcomings get revealed. Since May of 2017, that South Node has been in Aquarius, doing all that to the territory of humanitarianism, collective thinking, technology, social networks, futurism, pariahs, and genius. Many of the themes of abuse of technology and abusiveness of technology companies, the agonies of social media, and the splitting away from collective unity got underscored over and again during this time, reemphasized and the humor taken out of it.

Until May of 2020, the South Node will be in Capricorn, sign of authority, ambition, and patriarchs, among many other significations. It’s gonna be an interesting time.

The North Node of the Moon, by transit, tends to hand a six-pack of energy drinks to whatever sign it’s in. It energizes that sign, activates it, makes it want to go go go move move move get shit done, but can also cause that sign to rev its wheels until they burn right off, become overactive, or just get overwhelmed with anxiety. Since May of 2017, the North Node has been in Leo. This is the territory of ego, self, self-centeredness, being centered in oneself in a more spiritual sense, shining in the spotlight, creative self-expression, children, and charisma. Perhaps this speaks more to the negative qualities of this point in history than necessarily the nature of the North Node of the Moon (which is generally considered a positive point in most Western texts, but this may have more to do with Western society’s biases of “more is always good”), but its most visible influences have not been great. Egotism, autocrats, anxious children, all have been spotlighted during this time. Anecdotally, I’ve also witnessed an increased willingness to pay artists for their art as part of left-leaning discourse, and otherwise give credit where credit is due. But I’ve witnessed a politics of “me first, then fuck you” from the right (and certain less-mature segments of the left tbh) get widespread as well.

The North Node will be in Cancer from Tuesday until May of 2020. Cancer is the territory of homes, families, cliques, mothers, emotional nurturing, the womb, feelings of security, and caretaking. On one hand, it’s a scary time for abortion rights. On the other hand, mothers enraged could be exactly the thing the world needs right now.

Now let’s get into Uranus.

Uranus’s initial entry into Aries 8-ish years ago coincided with the Arab Spring. Uranus in Aries is a hot, fiery, revolutionary energy that’s prone to burning hot and burning itself out. Uranus in Aries likes to break shit. Uranus is Aries is on fire with the urge to make things be different, by force if need be. Uranus will be in Aries for exactly four months, returning to Taurus on March 6th and staying there for another 8-ish years. This is Uranus in Aries’s last hurrah before Uranus starts shaking things up in a much earthier, more aesthetic way.

The Nodes square Uranus at 12:47pm EST, then shift signs at 1:09pm EST, then Uranus shifts signs at 1:59pm EST. The whole shift happens suddenly over the span of a lunch break to go vote. All of these major changes happen very, very fast.

Vote, by all means vote, but know that big changes do not happen easily. Shifts happen, but we’re too deep into the muck at this point for a single election to get us clean again. And whatever happens, a lot of people are going to be very, very angry, and seek out a vehicle to express that anger, possible the kind of vehicle they can set fire to. Probably not everywhere, all at once, but enough places to make folks stand up and take notice.

Things shift rapidly on Election Day, but not entirely, and not in a way that functions as a magic “make it all better” button. There’s more work to be done, and help is in fact on its way. Chin up, eyes on the goal, you got this.

New Moon in Scorpio - November 7th

This is not a big, loud lunation.

This is a quiet one. Trine Neptune in Pisces. Loosely sextile Pluto. Smack in the middle of Scorpio. Big things are happening, absolutely—it’s on the world axis, one of a few degrees of very public face—but these things happen in the dark and we just find out about them later. If you want to take political action you don’t want folks to know about right away, this is the time for it.

Not that I’d recommend you do anything untoward. Of course not. But I certainly expect some power players to be doing exactly that, and news stories to show up about protestors pulling off some kind of heist.

This is a heist moon. Secrets bandied about in the darkness taking hold of what isn’t theirs. Shifting shadows. Thievery. Sabotage.

Hey, I’m as anti-capitalist as the next astrologer who’s seen the writing on the wall, but I am not the guy with the mask. I’m the guy with the light in the darkness.

And this is quite the darkness.

Of note: This New Moon is exact just over 15 minutes after Jupiter’s exact trine to the Lunar North Node / sextile to the Lunar South Node. New beginnings are available to you for things you want to stay hidden, but ultimately a more monastic type of seclusion is called for here. The secret voice of the divine from the mountaintop. The Hermit. Spiritual truths only available in quiet contemplation. It’s a beautiful time to sit and contemplate your own mortality, because peace is available from that contemplation on this moon that isn’t always easy to come by. Not everyone’s cup of tea, but a worthwhile exercise when the time is ripe for it.

It seems to be ripe for it on the 7th.

Jupiter enters Sagittarius - November 8th

Jupiter entering Sagittarius is the astrological event of the year, at least in terms of being highly-anticipated and looked forward to more than any other. Here is the hope we’ve been waiting for. It’s a big, positive shift and deserves its own post, which you can read here.

Venus trines Mars - November 9th

Not as big an event as the other stuff this week, but still worthy of note.

Mars and Venus do a little dance around the zodiac, with Venus usually the faster-moving partner, except when she’s retrograde. Their retrogrades this year stepped on the toes of the same few degrees of the zodiac, around 9-10° of the Fixed signs, where they made their last aspect, a square. Their trine on the 9th will be the last major aspect Venus and Mars will make until their next trine on January 18th.

It’s a rare moment of harmony between masculine and feminine energies, or at least it seems more rare these days. Expect male energy to be a bit better behaved, or at least a bit more charming. And feminine energy to be a bit more comfortable making its desires known. Venus is still retrograde, of course, but she’s far out of the worst of it, already arisen as the Morning Star, emergent into the light and emerging further into the light every day. Her trine to Mars just emphasizes that she’s back in business and ready to mix and mingle and have some fun.

Up to you if you want to join her, but it’ll be a Friday, and that’s Venus’s day. Go out, have some fun, get a pedicure, fuck a stranger, dance on a table, impulsively redecorate your living room, enjoy your life however you do you. It’s a good time for it.

And we need these moments to celebrate joy, don’t we?