I had actually passed him by at the Walmart entrance before I turned to look at him again.  Approaching, he was just an average Joe, nondescript -- an ordinary fellow, just a regular guy sitting on the park bench.  Maybe in his thirties, lanky, tousled brown hair, earth colored shirt, jeans.  Like in this drawing, he wasn't doing anything, conspicuous for not reading a flyer or peering into his cell phone.

But something hit me, like a puff of warm air, a ray of sunlight.....  It was blue, like the sky.  So I stopped, turned back and at about 8 feet away he was still just sitting there, motionless, pensive but without any expression.  Actually, that wasn't true.  He was in total repose, no facial expression.  He was just there, being.

I could see his eyes a little, and that was the blue.  Reflexively I said, "You have God in your eyes."   He turned his head a little toward me, "That's interesting.  A lot of people have been saying that about me recently."

That was it, my comment and his reply.

I turned back to go into the store, looking for a very mundane thing, a paper cutter, for my girlfriend's new business cards and flyer. It took me close to an hour before a reluctant Walmart employee found the last one on the very bottom shelf across from at least 20 paper shredders.  There was a certain irony in this, but I didn't ponder it, for now I just wanted to go home.  At 69 my knees ache whenever I walk through the endless isles of a Walmart Supercenter.  I also had totally forgotten the sky blue eyed man on the bench.

Leaving the store, though, there he still was.  Hadn't moved at all.  I thought for a moment he was waiting for someone, but hey, a hour had passed.  It occurred to me that he actually wasn't doing anything, not waiting, not wanting, truly just being.  And that being was for the customers hurrying in an out for holiday gifts with forced cheerfulness mixed with the usual holiday desperation -- it will be over soon!

Approaching, and again at a respectful distance of about 8 feet, I said to him, "If you're not careful, you're gonna make a lot of people happy this Christmas."  He nodded just a little, and as I passed by, got up and walked to my right, saying, "God bless you and merry Christmas"

I looked back after a few seconds and saw him ambling across the road to the parking area. A few seconds later, I looked again, and he was gone -- the blue sun ray of his eyes vanished like that puff of warm air.

Mystical events like this are rare, actually nonexistent, in Venice Florida.  This isn't my old stomping grounds of  spiritual Sedona! Mid-westerners retire here, waiting for the five o'clock early bird special, attending church and basting in the sun.

I wonder how many at Walmart that day saw the regular guy on the bench with God in his eyes and were uplifted for that?  Maybe its like the drumming circles on the beach they love for being free, and where they bring little tables for canapes and wine and wear shirts and hats with their favorite football team -- Go Buckeyes!  They don't have a clue as to the history and meaning of these authentic Native American spiritual practices, but they must take something of that energy with them.  I call these Chablis Circles for that.

I try to keep a little of that blue eyed energy with me, especially now entering a new year that can't possibly be as fraught with disastrous dramas as 2017.  Well, if Trump Fever doesn't break soon, I still have the blue light memory reminding me that there truly is order in the universe.

The Celestial Wheel 2002-2017©
Doug Riemer

As we enter 2018, everyone seems to have come down with a dose of Trump Fever.

Astrologically, this is peaking now with Mercury, the planet of communications and the nervous system, nearing its third conjunction with Saturn, the planet of denial.  The stress seems unending and more acute every day.

The Celestial Wheel first discussed this in the November 28 entry Mercury/Saturn Triple Conjunction.

The dates for these three Mercury/Saturn conjunction are November 28 and December 26, 2017 and January 13, 2018.

Has Trump lost his mind?  Probably.  Or, at least he's becoming more deranged.

With this Rahu energy in both his chart and the U.S. chart, this destroyer of today and creator of tomorrow is wrecking havoc everywhere, including our own experiences.  Can any of us do anything about that?  Probably not, for United States' the ship of state cannot be steered by any of us regular folks.

Consider, if you live next to a church, you hear hymns being sung with joy.  It's uplifting, regardless of how you feel about that church.  But if you live next to an insane asylum, the cries of those wretched souls are upsetting and disturbing.  Living in Trump's Rahu-deranged America is like the latter.

Consider this editorial from the Washington Post, My therapy clients can’t tear themselves away from the news — and it’s messing with their lives.

Enough Is Enough.  Protect yourself from Trump Fever disruptions by tuning them out of your life.  Switch channels from the news to a history program, a comedy, an old sitcom..... to bring yourself back from the contagion of Trump Fever to your regular life.  Talk about sports or gardening with your friends -- not politics.  Help your family and friends navigate the rapids.

In regard to this, recall the last Celestial Wheel, the January 1 entry, Just A Regular Guy.  Detach from your desires, especially those that disturb, like the fear Trump Fever brings.  Be one with yourself to find God.  Don't expose yourself to the current, although temporary, insanity that permeates society.  Keep your head down and live your life addressing your duties and responsibilities seriously but calmly.

The world is going through a complete transformation as the Second Gilded Age slowly yields to the Second Progressive Age. Disruption, even chaos, is everywhere.  Take care of yourself because nobody else will.

The Celestial Wheel 2002-2017©
Doug Riemer

Saturn/Mercury

We're just two days away from the Mercury's final and third conjunction with Saturn -- the planet of restriction.

As discussed several times in previous Celestial Wheel entries, this combination brings deception.  And when it repeats three times, that quality is strengthened.

Here's a pic of a flying sailboat over the Gulf of Mexico taken two days ago.

And here's a second pic.  The boat here looks like its floating above the water.

Is the boat actually flying or floating?   Or perhaps the slightly overcast sky has flattened the color difference between sea and sky at the horizon.

The Celestial Wheel 2002-2017©
Doug Riemer

Mercury, the intellect, conjoined -- for the third time -- January 13 -- marking the third peak of restrictive Saturn blocking Mercury. The effect, as explained previously, was deception.  Interestingly, and not coincidentally, January 12 was the day Trump made his racist comments about Haiti and other third world countries, calling them s....holes.

This planetary disposition was first discussed in the November 28 entry Mercury/Saturn Triple Conjunction.  Looking back now, the final paragraphs amaze even me!

Yes, the tax bill did pass, but the remaining predictions proved out.  Legislative imperatives have been, and continue to be, fractured. And Trump's racist statements could only emerge from a president truly losing his mind.  S...hole is the word heard around the world -- finally the poison pill wrecking his presidency by undeniably proving his racism.  Even the tax bill, however, was deceptive in promising massive tax cuts for the poor but actually giving most the benefits to the rich.

The December 22 entry Mercury Retrograde Train Wrecks addressed the tax bill,

There's been little in the press about how the tax bill will impact the middle class, but this December 20 CNN article is terrific.  It shows that the typical family with one child earning between $40K and 75K will see their after tax income increase about 2.3%.   Use this calculator and see how the tax bill will affect your paycheck.

So, if you earn $40,000, you'll take home pay will increase $800, or $15 weekly.  If you earn $75,000 you'll take home pay will increase $1500, or $29 weekly.  That doesn't sound like Trump's, The largest tax cut in history, putting $4000 annually in workers' pockets, does it?

The Celestial Wheel 2002-2017©
Doug Riemer

Mars, the planet of war, is thereby the planet of action.  His aggressively destructive and impetuous energy makes things happen, whether it's in the house he occupies and/or the planets he influences.

Recently, transit Mars (where he is in today's skies) has been in Venus-ruled ((females and wealth) sign of Libra with transit Jupiter (higher mind and abundance) from November 29 to January 16.  Libra is the eleventh house of goals and gains in the U.S. chart. There, Mars energized Jupiter to bring advocacy.  Venus's feminine nature stimulated the peak of the #MeToo movement -- goals set and gains achieved.  That has been a clear expression of the emerging Second Progressive Age which rebalances shared democratic values.  Venus's signification for wealth resulted in the tax cut, which was sold as stimulating wealth.  That's a last gasp effort of Second Gilded Age robber barons to increase their wealth -- at the expense of the rest of us -- because America's multiculturalism is tipping the scales against them.  Related is the immigration debate, which is a tide they can't hold back much longer.

On January 16 transit Mars moved into Scorpio, which is a sign he rules and thereby elevates him, boosting his strength.  Mars' courage, adventures, sports, logic, engineering and other positive traits thrive, but his essentially malefic nature remains -- fighting, accidents, storms, violences and other kinds of discords.  Scorpio is the twelfth house of loss in the U.S. chart, which energy naturally degrades Scorpio's energetic uplift on Mars.  So, the government shutdown occurred, and expect continuing Mars disruptions. bringing twelfth house loss until Mars leaves Scorpio -- March 6.

Mars also rules Aries, which is the fifth house of government, children and investments in the U.S. chart.  Expect more fireworks on DACA, as well as stock market gyrations.

For Trump, Scorpio is his fourth house of emotions, and Mars there makes him irritable and short tempered.  Notice in his chart that Ketu (the dissolving tail-of-the-dragon eclipse point) is in Scorpio at a high degree, along with Trump's overly sensitive Moon.   Mars transiting across these planets in late February/early March will add to his quick temper and emotional outbursts.

Donald Trump

As for eclipses, there will be a total lunar eclipse January 31 at 17 degrees Cancer and a partial solar eclipse February 15 at 3 degrees Aquarius.  Eclipses naturally destabilize by blocking the light of the luminaries -- weakening barriers against Mars' stormy harms.

Expect more and increased disruptions through March 6.  Perhaps we'll all look back at this month, January, remembering it as the calm before the storm.

The Celestial Wheel 2002-2017©
Doug Riemer

Just before dawn on January 31 (Wednesday) there will be a super blue blood moon. The media is literally trembling about this awesome event! CNN reports, Lunar trifecta: Rare 'super blue blood moon' will light the sky this week.

My golly, it's rare -- super. its blue and blood too!  Does this mean something awesome or awful -- end is near, society may finally collapse, the big-one earthquake will hit, Yellowstone's super volcano will erupt, alien hordes will invade our southern border, terrorists will overrun our overseas troops, the four horsemen are on the move... or maybe the Antichrist will reveal himself?

Let's break down these terms.

Super is the most complex and least understood term of the three.  And as its genesis is in Western Astrology, much of the information is new to this Vedic Astrologer.

TimeAndDate.com explains, What Is a Supermoon...?

This Wednesday's Moon will be a super full moon.

TimeAndDate.com also states that the increased gravitational pull of this closer moon affects only the tides, Supermoons lead to around 5 cm (2 inches) larger variation than regular spring tides. It will, however, be 14% brighter than the average full Moon.

The article also explains the origin of the term supermoon,

Encyclopedia Britannica, in its article Supermoon states,

EarthSky explains again in the article, Super effect on us from supermoons?, the elevated high and low tides tides but no other effect from a supermoon.  The article also discusses the popularization of the term.

To sum up these three respectable sources, supermoon was coined by Western Astrologer Richard Nolle in 1979 to describe the Moon at perigee when full.  The term didn't take hold until the media picked it up in 2011.  There are no verifiable effects from the increased gravity of a perigee full Moon except 2 inch higher tide variation.  The Moon, however, will appear larger and brighter.

Accuweather, is more sanguine about the effects, Do full moons and supermoons really influence people and animals?
It cited several scientific studies -- a lot of meat on the bone!

Blue is quite simple and also holds no meaning.  It simply refers to having two full Moons in a calendar month, as the CNN article, Lunar trifecta: Rare 'super blue blood moon' will light the sky this week, explains.

Calendars are man made constructs which have changed over the millennia, this attribute of Wednesday's eclipse is only coincidental.

The CNN article did include a nice graphic showing the eclipse effects and times in the U.S.

Blood is the third and last modifier describing this eclipse. Here's CNN's take,

That is, all total eclipses result in the Moon turning a reddish, copper color.

I just now found this terrific article at Wired.com, Don’t Call It a Blood Moon. Or Supermoon. Or Blue Moon.  It also explains the popularization of the term blood Moon,

Still, the studies cited in the Accuweather article about full and full Moons supermoons are relevant, especially with an eclipse thrown in.  And as stated in the January 25 Celestial Wheel Mars Action & Eclipse Season,

The Celestial Wheel 2002-2017©
Doug Riemer

The Venice, Florida inlet, flanked by twin rock jetties.

This lunar eclipse pic was taken from the south (right) jetty just before Sun rose and the Moon set over the Gulf of Mexico.

There were literally dozens of hardy souls there braving the chill and cold north wind.  Some appeared inspired, others somber.

The former seem to understand that taming Second Gilded Age excesses is a long and discordant process with a bright sunrise coming.  The somber ones huddled together against the cold and their unease, even fear, of a dangerous future.

Fear Not!

The Celestial Wheel 2002-2017©
Doug Riemer