I'm Having Someone Else's Nightmares

...or maybe they are mine, since it shouldn't matter that I don't know any of the characters who populated this morning's string of nightmares (a wheelchair-bound man whose legs were eventually amputated; a strange family of Australians who only sang, never spoke; a gang of frat boys pigging out at a hotel's breakfast buffet, leaving no food for anyone else). For one thing, I am a writer who constantly conjures up strange characters; for another, as anyone who's ever made even a cursory study of dream interpretation knows, so-called strangers in dreams can symbolize the dreamer. In which case, I really should worry.

Yes, my assorted astrologically inclined ruffians and fops, we're just about midway through the annual swim through Pisces, and the seas have been rough thus far. The Sun-Neptune conjunction in Pisces last weekend was utterly wasted on me, since I was too low-energy after the flu to be creative; instead I became obsessed with finding the box containing my framed photographs that I could contribute to my sweetie's imminent "Wall of Fame." (Okay, photographs are certainly Pisces, and my sweetie also happens to be a Pisces). Turns out my framed photos were scattered throughout a few boxes, and many of the frames are not designed for hanging, just propping. But no problemo: once I regain my energy, which should happen any month now, I can buy some frames with hooks at my no-longer-so-local 99-cent-&-up store.

Before returning to Piscean issues, I must say that I am disappointed in Mars in the fellow water sign of Scorpio--although to be fair, it more than earned its keep from early January till just after the Sun-Mars square in early February; I got an exciting opportunity as the Sunday Brunch Astrologer at class-act old-school French restaurant Raoul's in Soho. (It's a temporary gig, just through May until the regular Sunday Brunch reader returns from her maternity leave...but everything is temporary, is it not?) But then I got the flu, with Sun squaring my Saturn and Mars opposing it, as well I got more freelance projects than I could handle, and my life was pretty much reduced to three things: Medicine, Work, and Sleep. Whereas I used to require maybe 7 hours of sleep in order to function reasonably well, I now need at least 10.

Mars at the Scorpion's tail end will not go gently into that good night before visiting Sagittarius for a few months (yes, Mars will retrograde back into Scorpio in late May, and stay there till early August). This is because we are coming up on a Mercury-Mars square (exact 12:43 a.m. EST) at 29 degrees of Aquarius and Scorpio, respectively. Although it's not likely there will be much respect going on under this square. If at all possible, avoid getting into any arguments; they could turn ugly, even violent. This may mean having to avoid people in general for the rest of the day and evening. Even good friends may have a bad falling-out -- hell, especially good friends. That also goes for lovers, frenemies, coworkers, siblings, neighbors, and the random guy standing behind you at the bodega about to go postal because they're out of his preferred flavor of Fanta. Get the picture? If you can't really hide out or avoid hanging out, it might be a wise idea to hit your inner Mute button -- though if you can still hear, you may get incensed enough to flush that wisdom down the toilet.

Back to the Sun in Pisces. This weekend features an icky Sun-Saturn square (exact Sunday 3/6, 1:04 a.m. EST, i.e., Saturday night for many of us) and a potentially much better Sun-Pluto sextile (exact 3/6, 11:36 p.m.). This particular Sun-Saturn square from Pisces to Sagittarius highlights all sorts of conflicts: spiritual, religious, moral, family, career. I daresay it will be an "interesting" (i.e., scandalous and nausea-inducing) weekend in the continuing ridiculousness that is the U.S. election cycle. Especially if you have planets in middle degrees of mutable signs (Pisces, Sagittarius, Gemini, Virgo), the Sun-Saturn square may feel like a crucifixion. I am hoping that the Sun-Pluto sextile 10 hours later will provide the opportunity for a resurrection, for both body and soul.

Stay tuned for my Solar Eclipse in Pisces forecast!

Mercury Square Mars = Mostly Bad News

Marauding Middle-Eastern molesters in Cologne on New Year's Eve; ginormous gaffe committed by that city's female mayor: womenfolk, dress modestly and keep an arm's length away from those valued immigrants! Anti-government asshats in Oregon. Retard Repugnicons deride President Obama's plan to implement background checks for anyone who wishes to purchase any type of firearm, from a ladylike pistol to a totally unnecessary AK-47, as a ploy to take guns away from law-abiding citizens. Donald Trumpeters appear in Bernie's backyard. Stock marketus interruptus, rinse and repeat.

But take solace, for not all the news during this first week of 2016 has been fit to shit: according to the December jobs report, the US has now reached full employment! Just ignore the fact that something like 3 out of 5 new jobs enable workers to rent a cardboard box and switch to a better brand of cat food (for themselves). But seriously, at least in some cities, city employees will now receive a minimum wage of $15/hr.

Oh, one other thing: under-45s in the US would apparently overwhelmingly prefer to Feel the Bern than to follow in the Puritans' dream of a City on a Hill(ary). I'd contest the New York Times columnist David Brooks's insistence on calling this a Millennial trend, since the oldest Millies are only turning 34 this year, but no one in the media has really noticed Gen X since 1996 or so, much less given this generation any credit for anything remotely positive, so whatever (or, as Kurt Cobain would say, nevermind).

We are now in the Dark of the Moon in Capricorn. This is a great day to hibernate. The New Moon in Capricorn occurs tomorrow at 8:30 p.m. EST. Depending on which house that New Moon falls in your own chart, plan on the next lunar cycle being a mixed bag of structured energy (Capricorn) and frustrating delays (Mercury is retrograde till Mon. 1/25). The Sun will catch up with that retrograde Mercury on 1/14, so it's likely your ego will feel very ambitious and override cautious deliberation.

Parting notes: Happy Birthday to rock legend Elvis "the King" Presley, who shares the same soulful combination of Sun in Capricorn and Moon in Pisces as Martin Luther King Jr. And Happy Birthday to David Bowie, who could be a poster boy for Neptune Rising (i.e., creative, glamorous, magical, elusive, what-you-see-is-not-what-you-get).

It's a New Year: Ready, Set, Go (Backward)!

Please note that all times given are Eastern Standard Time.

Happy New Year to you. Since 2016 began, we have already gone through some interesting ingresses (that's fancy-pants astrologese for "planet changing signs"): Mercury entered Aquarius at 9:21 p.m. on New Year's Day, and yesterday Mars entered Scorpio at 9:33 a.m., just five hours before the Moon joined it for Scorpionic Sunday.

To quote my friendly neighborhood transit company, "Sometimes you have to go backward in order to go forward." Hold on to your seats: Mercury is about to turn retrograde at 8:06 tomorrow morning, and this backward-turning motion may jostle and jar you quite a bit because it comes on the heels of a Mercury-Mars square (exact 7 a.m.). We went through a Mercury-Mars square on December 29, but because the signs were different (Mercury in Capricorn, Mars in Libra), the upcoming square will not be so much a repetition of 12/29 as a rhyme. Similarities are bound to include communication difficulties (ranging from mild misunderstanding to full-blown fighting), travel delays, and health issues, but expect more stubbornness (since the square occurs between fixed signs this time) and less of a willingness to compromise (since Mars in Scorpio doesn't know the meaning of the word). Technical difficulties are also likely, so be sure to back up your backups.

It is also likely that you will have to go back over certain things and situations that you thought you had wrapped up so neatly at the end of 2015. This could be a royal pain in the ass, but a more positive possibility is that you may be given a do-over -- a second chance you didn't think you had.

Since a Venus-Neptune square follows just an hour and a half after Mercury turns retrograde, however, I feel compelled to state that you probably won't be feeling much in the way of gratitude tomorrow. More likely is a feeling of romantic disappointment, or feeling spiritually jet-lagged, out of place and out of time, a "divine discontent" with the world. If none of the above applies, you might just feel low-energy or downright ill (since Neptune is in Pisces).

And with the Sun-Pluto conjunction exact tomorrow night at 10:26, you may feel called upon to restructure your self-identity, transform your level of ambition, or knock a couple of buildings down in order to start from scratch. You may find that you need to create an entirely new set of blueprints for yourself.

The Sun-Uranus square follows on Thursday 1/7, so you may be feeling particularly boxed-in and rebellious -- or someone important to you will announce his or her desire for more freedom and fewer rules. It all depends on whether you are more representative of Sun in status-driven, control-oriented Capricorn or headstrong, impulsive Uranus in Aries.

Welcome the Winter Solstice

With so much gloom and doom in the news, I was pleased to see that a powerful kite configuration is in effect as winter is born.

Specifically, there is a grand trine between Moon in Taurus, Mercury in Capricorn, and Jupiter in Virgo, with Venus opposing the Moon and forming a sextile to Mercury and Jupiter.

Kites are said to be a strong configuration because the grand trine is given a kick in its complacent ass via an opposition -- which in turn does not cause as much stress as a simple opposition, due to its friendly relations with the grand trine's other two planets.

This particular kite, due to the influence of earth and water elements, is not as apt to fly as is it to dig, ponder, sculpt, analyze, and tap in to deep intuition and mysticism.

In New York City, the Sun's ingress into Capricorn falls near the IC (aka 4th-house cusp), emphasizing home and family. Since 28 degrees of Virgo is on the Ascendant, the chart ruler is Mercury, which is also placed in the 4th house. Remember that Mercury is also involved with the kite, which suggests that at least in this neck of the woods, at this time of the season, communication with family is even more important than a 4th-house placement already would be.

In the NYC winter solstice chart, Jupiter and the North Node are just behind the Ascendant; there could be some hidden protection, even a guardian angel, at work (especially at work, though health is also involved). Jupiter is known for excess and travel, but placed in Virgo, going totally overboard is unlikely.

One word of caution: heed the approaching square between Mercury and Mars. With Mars placed on the 2nd house cusp in Libra, it seems likely that many arguments in the home will be about overspending and conflicting values and/or aesthetics. Mercury in practical, thrifty Capricorn may turn into a porcupine or cactus during that square (exact 12/29), while Libra's scales are knocked off balance.

Mercury Square Uranus: Tread Lightly; There's a Crack in the Ice

If you don't have something nice to say today, it may be best not to say it, for we are on a Mercury-Uranus square (exact 3:48 p.m. ET). A friendly debate may well turn into a full-on fight; constructive criticism is more likely to be interpreted as just plain mean.

Unfortunately, even after the square passes, we are just not getting much in the way of smooth, flowing aspects in the final few days of 2013: just after midnight ET the Sun squares Uranus, later on Monday Mars squares Pluto, and on the 31st Mercury conjuncts Pluto and squares Mars. Harmony must be somewhere out there, but it may not be so easy to find. Nerves are frayed. Patience has worn thin. Egos are bruised. Hissy fits are abounding.

For 1.3 million Americans (plus who knows how many dependent family members), the cause of this distress is very simple: being cut off from EUC (extended unemployment compensation) today, just a few days after Christmas. Hel-lo, Scrooge!

It is obvious to me that the White House does not have an astrologer on its staff; otherwise, this would never have happened -- not only is national unemployment still much higher than it was back in 2008, when EUC was first implemented (by then president Bush -- yes, United States of Amnesiacs, a Republican!), but we are only midway through the Uranus-Pluto square that astrologers have been ranting about since 2012 (or 2011 for the early birds). This is potentially a highly revolutionary aspect; the last Uranus-Pluto square happened in the early 1930s, and the New Deal (along with the associated and much-needed WPA) may have saved the United States from a truly ugly revolution. It is also worth keeping in mind that the depression that Germany went through during the same decade of the '30s triggered not a New Deal, but the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party and the exit of civilized law and order, which culminated in the Holocaust and World War II.

As we still have 15 months of the Uranus-Pluto square to go, the jury is still out about which way the United States will go. With Mars tying into the Uranus-Pluto square, an increase in civilized protests may result -- Mars will be in Libra until late July, and retrograde for part of that time; Libra is not a sign noted for its bellicosity. I am all for civilized protests, yet at the same time, in this current climate, I do not know what, if anything, will change as a result of genteel protesting. It is certainly possible that the generation with Pluto in Libra (born 1971/72 - 1983/84) will not react in a genteel manner with Mars passing back and forth over its collective Pluto, but like a bunch of modern-day charming yet ruthless Bonnie and Clydes. Remember that the short-lived Occupy Wall Street movement of 2011, run mainly by the rising Millennial generation, generated a lot of "they're so entitled and unorganized" criticism before the protesters were forced out of Zuccotti Park. Any future protests will have to take a different tack in order to garner not only respect, but the "fear and awe" that may be necessary in the face of crushing, Scrooge-like meanness from the Right and "sorry, but we need to throw you under the bus" attitude from the Left.

Stay tuned, and if anyone from the White House happens to be reading this, I am available for astrological consultation via Skype.