The Aesthete

For Love or Money

Ride the romantic rollercoaster after the bountiful Taurus full moon

by Shelley L. Ackerman

As Hurricane Sandy, described by weather officials as a rare and unpredictable “Frankenstorm,” descends upon the East Coast, astrological conditions are on the stormy side, too. The week features an intense full moon encoded with Mercury-Neptune subterfuge as well as Venus in hard aspect to Uranus and Pluto, dramatic activity befitting the last days of what’s been a ferocious though often entertaining presidential election race.

Monday’s Taurus full moon highlights the “money-values axis” of the zodiac as the Taurus/Scorpio polarity is about ownership and wealth. The moon is “exalted” in Taurus (exaltation is a strong and favorable condition) and the celestial support from Pluto, planet of power, to the moon on Monday emphasizes that strength even further. The upshot: Some of us are bound to do well financially this week. However, complicating things is Mercury’s entrance into Sagittarius a couple of hours before the full moon, which forms a challenging square (90-degree aspect) to Neptune (planet of fog and confusion). This aspect will repeat (when Mercury is retro) on November 13th and (when Mercury is again direct) on December 11th, so the confusing issue or garbled glitch that presents itself on Monday, October 29th could conceivably take until December 11th to completely resolve itself. To explain this a bit more fully, Mercury, planet of communication, tabulation and transportation, is slowing down now and will, in fact, turn retrograde for the last time in 2012 on Election Day. Earlier this year I publicly recommended voting early to compensate for the probable glitches, malfunctions, transportation issues, delays and errors that could make this Election Day play out similarly to the one in Y2K. It appears that many have already done just that, including President Obama, who cast his vote in Chicago on October 25th.

Whether Hurricane Sandy mimics Mercury’s hovering energy pattern and lingers through mid-week (as some experts have predicted) or not, it could put a “damper” on Halloween and the annual parade in the Village. Adding to the stormy story is Venus, approaching an opposition to Uranus on Thursday (sudden attractions AND break-ups), and a square to Pluto on Saturday (triangulations and major power struggles between lovers). It’s the stuff that double features are made of, and not for the faint of heart. Perhaps Sunday’s marathon is the perfect venue for releasing all of this pent-up psychic and emotional energy, though with Mercury slowing down one worries that some stumbling runners may find themselves in a Marx Brothers-like tableau. It could happen.

HOROSCOPES FOR OCTOBER 29TH to NOVEMBER 4TH

ARIES: It’s a mixed bag/mixed blessings week when within just a couple of days the planets rally to support you career-wise and financially, and then, in the very next breath, unsettle you in a way that can prompt you to throw a relationship into rocky terrain. But that’s the way it goes, and while Mars types are resilient enough to manage (and even enjoy) such bumps, why fall prey to the testing universe? Watch your tendency to snap when and if someone you care about approaches with a query (or something they need) at the wrong moment: You’ll be so proud of yourself (and avoid a mess) if you simply take a breath and pause.

ARIES Go To: What could be cooler than one location that offers a mix of physical activity with retail therapy? Free ice skating at The Pond at Bryant Park on 42nd St. is alongside the Bryant Park Holiday Shops, which features more than 120 artisans and vendors to choose from.

TAURUS: Monday’s full moon magnifies your emotional core and may temporarily throw you into primal survival mode. Moments of truth such as these serve to unearth layers of fear and mistrust and enable us to get a glimpse of what lurks beneath. But you’re sturdy as all hell, and it would take more than a little hurricane to knock you down. More important is to watch the Mercury/Neptune square that could cloud a banking or group investment issue. Info that comes by way of an organization can be shaky, and therefore it’s best to do your research before saying yay or nay.

TAURUS Go To: As the zodiac’s ultimate connoisseur of fine stuff, you’ll so appreciate the collection "Katharine Hepburn: Dressed for Stage and Screen" at Lincoln Center Public Library. Through January 12th see the designer pieces that helped to make her the icon that she was. 

GEMINI: Monday’s stormy full moon provides a much-needed mental health break from the ongoing craziness that’s been your lot these past weeks, so while it sounds like an oxymoron, “Seize the day and unplug” (fat chance, I know). But seriously, Mercury’s entrance into your 7th house of partnership(s) on Monday is at odds with your career house. With messages likely to be mixed and communication unclear, why not take five? Later in the week, a romantic issue or drama involving a creative pet project may test your stamina further: Do you have the resources (financial and/or support from friends) to weather this sucker, or do you have what it takes to go at it alone?

GEMINI Go To: “Sometime in the early 1950s, Madison Avenue’s hucksters realized that they could sell political candidates like any other product, a throat lozenge or facial tissue,” Steve Seid said. On November 1st, five days before the presidential election, The New School’s Vera List Center on West 13th St. presents “Political Advertisement 1952-2012.” The film screening/discussion hosted by Antoni Muntadas and Marshall Reese is from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Admission is free.

CANCER: Every now and then, we get a little insight into who our true friends really are. Monday’s high tide full moon takes place in your house of groups and communities and sheds lunar light on the values that bind you together. Watch how within a few days those values may be stressed and tested when either you need support for something (or someone) at home base or a buddy needs to be in your care and in your space. The challenge (or resentment) from a spouse, partner and/or a superior could get you off balance for a moment, but you excel at serving more than one person at a time and will easily ace this sucker, too.

CANCER Go To: Feathering your nest inexpensively always entices Moon children of all ages. We hear that Chelsea’s Angel Street Thrift Shop has the most exquisite tchotchkes, clothing, furniture and trinkets in the city. Donations (with free pick-up) are accepted.

LEO: If a banker or money person is MIA on Monday, let it be: It’s a blessing in disguise. For you royals of the zodiac, a sequence often arises that tests your loyalty: This week, the wet and wild Taurus full moon in your professional zone is beautifully supported by someone or something (an event?) in the workplace or by an underling who swings the tide in your favor. So how is it that by midweek that same person or location is involved in a mess up for you communication or transportation wise? Know that whatever emanates from this being or spot is not coming from a place of awareness and that other factors — possibly legal or from abroad — are at play and will need sorting. 

LEO Go To: How long have you been thinking about writing that children’s book of yours? C’mon, you know you’re so good with kids! Get inspired on or after November 2nd at The Morgan Library’s exhibit “Beatrix Potter: The Picture Letters.” The show runs through January 27th and features the picture letters that Potter created for her own enjoyment. Years later, these evolved into Peter Rabbit, Pig Robinson and Squirrel Nutkin. Go figure.

VIRGO: There’s organizing to be done on/or involving matters at home. However, don’t rely on your partner, roomie or significant other to be clear-headed about or show up for their end of the paperwork; they just don’t have it together now. But, the picture involving a legal or academic issue is much brighter with the “case” being driven home via help from a staffer or coworker who saves the day. Financial movement may be stymied by a rogue banker, a devious romantic interest and/or an offspring of yours with an agenda. This too will shift to your liking in but a few days.

VIRGO Go To: Get your Halloween fix in early on Monday October 29th at The Bell House in Gowanus for Pat Kiernan’s Ultimate Halloween Pop Culture Trivia Night. There’s even a shuttle bus provided from Manhattan. And should “Frankenstorm” wash this baby out, you can always get to Joe’s Pub on October 30th and 31st to enjoy Ute Lemper’s song cycle to the love poems of Pablo Neruda. Lemper is touted as the “heir to the tradition of political cabaret theater of Weimar-era Germany.”

LIBRA: The money axis is buoyed by Monday’s full moon with extra support from a family member and from just being at home. No second-guessing how or why this works and no looking a gift horse in the mouth — please, just go with it. At the same time, a co-worker or underling can’t be counted on to keep up his or her end of the communication or to necessarily receive a message sent. Prepare for a do-over here. And last, but far from least, the confrontational action mid-late week to your ruler Venus may deem you less effective for a couple of days. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off and know that you’ll bounce back in a few and in style.

LIBRA Go To: Venus’ crazy confrontation with Uranus and Pluto this week could just about make you scream. So instead of going off the deep end, go to MoMA and behold Edvard Munch’s original “Scream” through April 29th. And do plan ahead for this sure to sell-out treat: On Mondays November 12th, 19th and 26th, (Libra) theater legend and Tony award winner Len Cariou appears at 54 Below with his brand new cabaret show. Broadway royalty par excellence!

SCORPIO: A relationship or contract may be strengthened by the full moon and support from a powerful neighbor, sibling or media-savvy type in your camp. However, as Mercury enters your 2nd house of income and begins to stall (in aspect to slippery Neptune), delay investing in a creative endeavor for the time being as more info is needed. By the way, if you think a secret love affair in the workplace can be kept under wraps, think again! A jack-in-the-box type voyeur lurking in a hall closet somewhere could pop out and blow your cover, and while some surprises are a gas, this one would be hell to fix.

SCORPIO Go To: Leave Halloween to the amateurs and check out the newly restored shrine to the 26th U.S. President Scorpio Theodore Roosevelt at the Museum of Natural History. Teddy would have been 154 years old on October 27th.

SAGITTARIUS: The bases are loaded, the score is tied, there are two men out and though you’re the next batter up, you’re not quite feeling it. In your defense, Mercury’s entrance into your sign on Monday is being challenged and diffused by Neptune, and you may have to tend to matters at home or with a family member. Worry not, as there will be ample opportunity (between now and December 11th) to step up to the plate and score. Let a co-worker or staffer know that while you can’t sign off this moment on all the financials that you’re on her side and to hang in a while longer.

SAGITTARIUS Go To: Whether you’re in shape to participate or just have enough energy to cheer on “NY’s Fittest” as they charge en masse through the five borough/26.2-mile race, the November 4th NYC Marathon has Sadge energy written all over it.

CAPRICORN: Monday’s full moon puts you in the driver’s seat and in a position of influence about community transformation (possibly a program for creativity and/or recreation). How wonderful to be able to make a difference. However, be sure that your motives for helping are clear and that your needs are being met, too (can the BS about your not having any needs), for if your shadow rears its head it won’t be pretty. Along similar lines, later in the week, allow a female higher-up (and possible rival) her due: It’s her turn, and any spite-work would come back to haunt you. 

CAPRICORN Go To: Ever concerned about your moral compass? Why not give your conscience a break and take in “Compass: Folk Art in Four Directions” at the South Street Seaport Museum, on view through February 7th with a special public tour of this exhibit on October 31st at 1 p.m.

AQUARIUS: The full moon across your home/career axis puts pressure on you to deliver, but how much can you be responsible for when everything around you is in a state of suspension? Exactly. As Mercury enters your 11th house of friends and is diffused by Neptune, communication is sloppy or filled with static. There are times we just need to sit this one out and wait till things blow over. Although Mercury is about to go in reverse, other parts of your life (cultural, creative and romantic) will improve after this week. Until then, come rain or come shine, there’s no place like home.

AQUARIUS Go To: Socially aware and uber hip to what matters most, Aquarians will relish checking in with the editors of The Onion on Monday October 29th at 7 p.m. at Barnes & Noble on West 82nd St. for a reading and discussion of “The Onion Book of Known Knowledge.”

PISCES: Though Monday’s full moon has profound economic, professional and communal implications, you need not be nervous. Know that you are right to delay committing to or supporting anything that feels forced: Like the Gallo Brothers used to say, “We will sell no wine before its time.” Something that’s on the table now may need to play itself out until the third week in December, and that’s just fine (be cool with a boss’ backsliding as he or she will eventually come around). In the meantime, another financial issue altogether should be a-OK and settled to your liking within the next 10 days.

PISCES Go To: celebrate Halloween on October 30th at 8 p.m. with the Bushwick Book Club’s presentation, “The Works of Edgar Allen Poe” at Union Hall in Park Slope. Or skip the scary stuff all together, play hooky from work and catch “The Zen of Bennett” at the IFC Center at 323 Sixth Ave through Tuesday October 30th (two daytime screenings only).