If you’ve followed me at all on Twitter you’ll know that I’ve had a thing for astro-meteorology for a number of years now. My nerdy childhood enjoyment of the weather channel, National Geographic magazines and a deep appreciation of nature is likely at the root of this obsession .
I’m constantly in wonder of our planet’s ability to create both gorgeous and terrifying weather events in the blink of an eye. With the effects of climate change becoming a fixture in our daily lives I find myself including a lot more meteorology and farming practice into my astrological studies for enjoyment and research sake. It’s better to be forewarned and prepared for what’s coming our way and I believe astrology can help us through the worst of that.
If you’d like to see my Summer Solstice thread detailing the wild weather we experienced last year, you can find it here.
So how does this work? At each Cardinal Ingress that heralds in a new season, the entire world experiences that seasonal ingress at once.
As soon as the Sun hits 0 degrees of a Cardinal sign we commence the season. The difference lies in local time and location and where the planets fall within that local chart.
While there are slight variations within a time zone I’ll be casting a singular chart from a major city within each time zone to get a general read of the region’s weather patterns over the next 3 months.
If your state is not included on this very short list, I encourage you to look up your local chart and work through the steps below on paper. It’s an excellent way to learn astrology and I’m also more than happy to assist.
As always, I’m using Kim Farnell’s Basic Guide to Astro-Meteorology as my reference. As of right now I won’t be going week to week, but focusing on the overall outlook for the season across mainland United States & I will hopefully add in Hawaii & Alaska at a later date. If you’d like me to look at your part of the world drop me a comment and I’ll see what I can do!
The process:
- Locate the IC (or 4th House Cusp if you’re using House Systems other than Whole Signs), note the planets with that House if any, and the sign/ruler of the IC as the main indicator of weather.
- Look at the sign on the Ascendant or 1st House, note any planets within the House and the sign/ruler of the Ascendant.
- Note planets on the other angles and planets near the Midheaven, as well as their sign and aspects.
New York City (East Coast)
March 20, 2022
11:34am
New York, NY
Mercury in Pisces is at the helm this Spring for the East Coast, he’s governing over both the Virgo IC and Gemini Ascendant. As a planet, Mercury rules the wind and tends towards cool to cold, dry temperatures and is linked to high pressure fair weather. In the sign of Pisces he’s seasonable, wet and moderate, similar to the sign of Taurus that typically brings pleasant steady farmer’s rain.
Mercury is in an applying conjunction to Jupiter by 1 degree and Neptune by about 6 degrees both in the sign of Pisces.
Jupiter tends to bring in warm pleasant breezes as well as big winds under the right conditions. There can be dryness with Jupiter and the ability to raise the temperatures as well.
Neptune also leans towards cooler temperatures, wetness, fog & mist but also freakish weather events. As an influence Neptune can provoke torrential downpours as well as flooding and oppositional weather patterns depending on the season. Something to keep in mind in light of the dangerous flash flooding we experienced last Summer.
On the angles: Virgo: tends towards cold, dry with blustery winds. Gemini: cold, dry, moving clouds and fluctuating temperatures.
Overall it looks like the east coast is set to enjoy a fairly windy Spring, on the cooler side with a seasonable amount of rain with occasional upticks in temperature thanks to Jupiter & Neptune’s influence. However there are a few outliers that I want to take into account.
- The Moon at the last degree of Libra may be unstable. It’s in a tight square to Pluto in Capricorn, a planet associated with violent, extreme weather and intensity. 11 minutes after the Equinox the Moon shifts into Scorpio which is a sign that is notorious for extremes and intensifies the rest of the chart. So perhaps windy days can become gale-like and worse.
- Although not angular in the east coast chart, Mars is in the company of Saturn by a loose conjunction and Uranus by a tight applying square. When these planets get together in harsh aspects we get “Storm Breeder” energy as we saw for much of last Summer around the world. Uranus can trigger sudden reversals, unexpected changes, unstable weather, lightning & sudden high velocity winds. With Mars, Saturn & Venus all sitting in the sign of Aquarius the likelihood of lightning & very changeable storm ready skies may be a factor.
Chicago (Midwest)
March 20, 2022
10:34am
Chicago, IL
The Sun in Aries is at the helm of this chart, ruling over a Leo IC. The sun offers warm, dry weather unless in a violent aspect configuration with storm breeder planets. Aries as a sign provides warm, hot, dry temperatures that can shift and bring in some wind.
On the ascendant is Gemini, ruled by Mercury in Pisces encouraging cool to cold temps with additional winds and unusual stormy weather via its conjunction with Jupiter and Neptune
On the angles: Leo: hot and dry, the most still sign. Gemini: cold, dry, fair, moving clouds and fluctuating temperatures.
At the Midheaven is the sign Aquarius with Saturn its ruling planet, Venus and Mars applying in strength towards it. Aquarius tends towards cold, dry & crisp atmospheres, a propensity for lightning, highly changeable and adds to storm charts. This particular combination of planets in this sign points to a storm heavy season for parts of the Midwest. Perhaps there will be an increase of violent thunderstorms that arrive out of nowhere and even tornadoes if the environment is right. Mars & Venus often produce storms as does Saturn and Mars. With both Mars and Venus in a tight square with Uranus, another storm breeder planet that engenders record breaking extremes, high wind velocities and sudden reversals, I’d keep an umbrella handy, a scarf in my bag and make sure my flashlights have fresh batteries this season. If you live in these areas, be sure to update your emergency plans and to-go bags just in case.
Colorado (Mountain)
March 20, 2022
9:34am
Denver, CO
Similar to Chicago, Colorado has Leo on the IC cusp and the Sun in Aries at the helm of its weather this season. The chief difference is that Taurus on the Ascendant in this chart, giving Venus in Aquarius who is besieged between Saturn and Mars partial control of the skies as well. As described above, Venus in Aquarius and in this aspect configuration with storm breeder planets may point to changeable, stormy weather across the region.
In this case it’s important to note the correlation of fixed signs to earthquakes. The signs of Taurus and Scorpio in particular are the most related to great shocks within the earth. With all 4 angles of this Ingress chart in fixed signs I’d definitely keep an eye on seismic activity throughout the region and to states/nations with this fixed modality so prominent in its chart. At present the lunar nodes are currently in Taurus & Scorpio until July 17, 2023. I’d be curious to see how the weather behaves when we enter Taurus season and the eclipses activate by late April and into May.
Colorado experiences 100s of small earthquakes annually with the latest one effecting the state occurred March 19, 2022 at 5:53am local time 51 miles outside of Laramie, WY registering at 3.8 in magnitude.
If you’re living in a region with fixed angles for the season try tracking the weather when the Moon travels through the fixed signs (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio & Aquarius) to see if there’s any significant changes of note.
Los Angeles (West Coast)
March 20, 2022
8:34am
Los Angeles, CA
Cancer is on the IC cusp for the west coast, meaning the Moon in Libra is at the helm of this season’s weather. Of the planets, the Moon is the wettest of them all as well as chilly and maybe this means that California will see some much needed moisture after many months of off and on drought, heat and fire. While in Cardinal signs the Moon tends to exhibit a propensity for record rainfall especially in the sign of Capricorn, In this case though the Moon is in Libra which leans more towards cooler temperatures and breezy dryness. The Moon is a tight square to Pluto which gives me pause as Pluto can create violent extremes in weather. Could this manifest as tornadoes, dust storms, or high winds that can leave the area at risk for brush fires spreading once again?
On the Ascendant is Taurus, ruled by Venus sandwiched between Mars, Saturn the storm breeder planets and in the sign of Aquarius, prone for erratic storms and lightning. With Uranus in the 1st house delivering cold, dry, unstable squalls and high winds this could be troublesome for already parched areas. Hopefully there will be enough rain delivered to offset any fires that could develop due to lightning strikes.
Pluto on the Midheaven can point to violent extremes and severe storms but hopefully its placement in the sign of Capricorn, a cold sign that can produce long periods of wetness, will support the Taurus Ascendant’s tendency towards steady gentle rain fall instead of hazardous lightning storms.
As of the day I’m posting this blog there have been at least 2 tornadoes. One in New Orleans & the other in Texas.
I may update this blog with other weather events and pull up those charts to see what we can discover astrologically. The more data we have from these events the better we become at tracking them ahead of time.
Til next time,
Janelle