This week

It’s the week you’ve been waiting for... Firstly, Mercury is shifting from fence-sitting Libra into deep and meaningful Scorpio on Thursday... the TRUTH is coming, ready or not. But of course the HOT news lands on Friday when turgid, party-pooping, cosmic-heavyweight Saturn shifts out of Virgo after more than two years. (For a recap of what this means for you see the Ducky archives dated 10/04 in the right hand column, below.) The same day the Moon is drunk at the wheel from 5am – 6pm GMT. Do nada of crucial importance; your gut instinct will likely steer you into a ditch.

An advert...

NaNoWriMo
National Novel Writing Month is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing November 1. The goal is to write a 175-page (50,000-word) novel by midnight, November 30.

Valuing enthusiasm and perseverance over painstaking craft, NaNoWriMo is a novel-writing program for everyone who has thought fleetingly about writing a novel but has been scared away by the time and effort involved. Because of the limited writing window, the ONLY thing that matters in NaNoWriMo is output. It's all about quantity, not quality. Make no mistake: You will be writing a lot of crap. And that's a good thing. By forcing yourself to write so intensely, you are giving yourself permission to make mistakes. To forgo the endless tweaking and editing and just create.

In 2007, there were over 100,000 participants. More than 15,000 of them crossed the 50k finish line by the midnight deadline, entering into the annals of NaNoWriMo superstardom forever. They started the month as auto mechanics, out-of-work actors, and middle school English teachers. They walked away novelists.

Yes, Astroducky and friends are Going for the Gong. For how you can take part: http://www.nanowrimo.org

The ‘Ducky is back with a November monthly next Sunday. Have a super week and for those who dream of buckling their quill, Get Ready for Writing!!


Aries
Your novel, should you choose to make it a semi-autobiographical affair, will be something of a bonkbuster, Ramface. Think Babs Cartland meets Dysentry, ahem, Dynasty with twoo love and love- ‘em-and-leave- ‘em plot lines setting the pages on fire. Venus sez twoo love’s about you right now if you could just cool down enough to recognise it. As Mercury joins the Sun in deep, dark Scorpio in your own deep, dark zone of Letting Go, conversations about endings and transformations are being chalked up in the writers’ room. Will she/won’t she realise what’s right under her nose before it’s too late? Will he be able to turn over a New Leaf and say he’s sorry? Will it all end in tears – or the honeymoon suite at the Kink Emporia? All this amid a lucrative oil strike up ahead. Dinner and diamonds baby, diamonds and dinner.

Taurus
Your 9th house is lit up like a Catherine Wheel, Bullchops, and novel-writing, foreign shores, and study are on your pretty mind. Pluto’s in this zone, the Moon has just swept through it too and Saturn – ruler of this zone – is bringing commitment and staying power to your workaday world. What you do now in your everyday life HAS to reflect who you are more honestly and publishing, travel, and study are the routes towards it. What’s especially hot right now are the Sun and Mercury travelling together in your 7th house of loving and bidniz partnerships; writey/speaky collaborations look shiny either on the page or back in the real world. What seem to be throwing you off your stride, Bully, are home and family issues. Rows, developments, and feistiness are burning up the flagpole, thanks to Mars in this zone (watch Friday for eruptions). Perhaps your current passions mean the dishes and bins are being left for others to sort out and they no likey. Tough cheddar. That novel /partnership deal won’t get bashed out by itself.

Gemini
If ever there was a starsign that needed the ball and chain of a writing month to buckle down and do it, You’re It, Airy Friend. And with Mars flaring in your 3rd house of communications, you can type faster than a film noir villain can draw his gun. Venus has been warming your zone of Creative Ventures and as Saturn sets up stall here creative pursuits you feel a zingy passion for right now are strong enough to build a garage on. That goes for love affairs too – and plans for bebe-mekkin. In fact, careful what you sign up for this week because chances are it’ll be sticking to you for the next few years. From Thursday your ruler Mercury joins the Sun in your 6th house of work and health. Expect to be racing, exploring, and making plans in these areas too. Meanwhile, watch for clashes at the office this week, especially Friday when you’re liable to go off half-cocked in a fit of pique under chiaroscuro lighting. Even the Moon’s Void of Course so you’ll come round from the daze to realise that the blood on the carpet has been pointlessly spilled.

Cancer
Do you remember ‘Ducky’s warning that you’re getting hot under the collar about oof and possessions in the coming months? Perhaps you brushed that aside... but Friday brings the first Huzzah! Lovers or creative projects are paying less/costing more than you’d anticipated and you’re cross. What are you cross about? Some inner getting-even thang you don’t want to ‘fess up to? Or perhaps a fear that you’ll be left out in the cold if you don’t snap your purse strings now? Navel-gaze. There’s much more of this on your horizon. Mercury’s move into your 5th house of lovers, creative ting and bebes from Thursday portends a rush of Getting It Off Your Chest in these areas. Expect to be reaching some Deep Home Truths in the coming three weeks. Finally home is where the heart is. Even duties to family and hearth and reef right now are giving your life a welcome anchor and purpose.

Leo
You’ll be feeling the Mars Factor by now, Pussy Cat. Having this sort of spring in your step can make a feline-type person everso Sparkly and Confident and Single-Minded all of which will blow smoke up more narrow-minded peoples’ aspics. Thursday and a smiling someone close is on your side. Watch Friday though for a dull, pillar of a person trying to spray water on your tail. It seems an envious family member or house mate wants to take you down a peg or two. Remember that Friday is no day to get to the heart of the matter. Pencil Monday for the showdown instead. For Cats communications and home-fires are your raison d’etres at the moment. If you need to crow then spouting and building a gold-plated porch are The Ways Forwards. As is novel-writing. Make your protagonist a world leader with a solid love life and make the plot a veiled smoke-screen of how you would rule the world. Sorry, DO rule the world. Natch.

Virgo
You’re a Mercury bunny, Virgo, and as your ruler springs from your 2nd house of dosh to your 3rd house of comms and out-of-town trips on Thursday it’s time to tawk/write/jaunt. Where you can make the most of the stars this week is to challenge your own comfort boundaries vz Getting Up at the front of the room and/or making vocal strides towards Lovers or Creative Projects. In fact, the more 'Chest Out Make It Count' you can be right now, the stronger you’ll feel and the more vocal and courageous you’ll be. The Sun naturally rules your 12th house of Meep! Talking about all the things that scare you most is going to lighten the load of having Mars stirring your 12th house during his current extended tour of dooty. (As mentioned last week on these here pages.) From the weekend make money earning/saving plans/investments your top priorities. And if you’re joining the NaNo writing tribe, researching the role of an accountant/ pawnbroker/investments jockey as protagonist should steer you out here in the real world too.

Libra
Mercury moves into your 2nd house of money and possessions just as Saturn steps up to your front door; where you’re getting real by the weekend is deciding what you’re worth. You want more of the green stuff that’s for sure but it seems that it’s for pretty things and dinners for lovers rather than sports cars in the drive way. Likewise, there’s love in your heart right now and honeypots already within your radar will be reflecting that sweetness backacha. On a money tip too, Librans buying, selling, or renting property have a Kerching moment Thursday as the readies come in. However, it seems a plan or a social bunfight could scalp your wallet come Friday. Steady as she blows! You’ll be counting the cost by Monday week.

Scorpio
One step forwards, two steps back, Scorpio. Just as Mercury lands in your first house of You and you realise that you’ve been giving in to paranoia about any number of issues in the past three weeks, so Saturn docks in your 12th house of Meep! And a two year karmic cleansing process begins... What’s softening the blow is Venus. Already floating through your 12th house in a flouncy dress, Venus implies that part of your Karmic Lesson in the University of Letting Go pertains to you recognising that you roll over and show your soft underside too easily sometimes simply because you forget that you have a weapon at your disposal - not your poisonous tail, your ability to say ‘No’. This NO can be ‘No, I don’t want to go on a date with you,’ as much as it can be, ‘No I want to be a maverick and do things in a new way.’ Savvy? Watch Thursday for a chance to practice this: Easy, and Friday for another chance: With Opposition. If you’re NaNoWriMo-ing, make a shrink’s couch your pivotal action station.

Sagittarius
Plans you have for writing (or holidaying or studying), indicated by Mars in your 9th zone of publishing (and holidaying and studying) may hit the buffers before they run smooth, Archer. Friday and Monday week the Sun and then Mercury have words with the Firebrand. Others and then the paperwork are getting in the way. It’s a case of being diplomatic and dotting your i-s before progress can be made. What’s essential to your happiness and general healthy chi right now is acknowledging that the planets are gathering in your 12th house of Meep! In the coming months meaning (a) it’s time to rest and (b) you are going to lose more arguments than you win. If you can get your head into the zone of a Zen-like warrior, you’ll find your writing (holidaying, studying) will be a lot less fraught and a lot more restive and reflective.

Capricorn
Wishes get a Shot in the Arm on Thursday, important plans you’ve been hatching for a while clearly hold water. Likewise conversations with important friends support this notion that you're barking up the correct tree. To get to the end of this perticaler rainbow you may need to be moving from one track to a new one now, Goat, and change is always a spooky thing. Feel the nerves Friday but by Monday you’ll have gathered yourself. Saturn’s move into your 10th house by then is especially significant vz mekkin changes. Firstly he’s your ruler. Secondly Venus is already at your boardroom table. What’s bringing you pleasure can also bring you career success in the coming months. And money. Lotsa money. Kerrrching!

Aquarius
As an Inventive sign of the zodiac you’re always up for a creative whatsit – and with Venus and Saturn both in your zone of publishing, studying, and foreign shores from the weekend it may be time to embark on a novel (novel-writing) escapade covering one or more of these areas. Watch Thursday for a penny dropping which indicates The Way. Amidst the creativity/foreign travel/shenanigans at the Student Bar, it seems you’ve opportunities to puff your chest out at the boardroom table from Thursday especially. Watch out for the naysayers and jealous partners on Friday. Plan to deal with them decidedly on Monday week.

Pisces
With the Sun and Mercury in your 9th house of publishing by the weekend, Fishes could be called to writing action... The 9th also rules foreign shores and study plans. Night school, hammocks, and emigration could be top of your to do lists too from now until late November. Watch Friday and Monday week for work chores clashing with those plans. Where you can really make headway now is in the land of oof. Additional income is around at the moment but you have to be wise. Trust your gut feeling Wednesday / Thursday, it could steer you straight to the cash, money, lettuce. I'll have a large one, cheers.