Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, born 1986, are celebrating their 28th birthdays on Friday 13th 2014. Oops 😦
First the good news. “Friday the 13th” as a superstition is actually a load of spurious nonsense. There are no historical indicators that people thought it superstitious before the late 19th century, and it only really took off just over a hundred years ago. The whole fuss of the Templars being arrested on Friday the 13th? A modern ret-con!
Insurance companies have found that often, Friday 13th is less unlucky than other days of the year – because people are going out of their way to be careful. So whilst 13 is allegedly an unlucky number generally speaking, I have argued on this blog that in Qabalistic terms, it is in fact quite the opposite.
That being said, however, I notice a lot of talk on social media that Friday 13th June 2014 (a date alleged to associated with bad luck) is occurring during a Mercury Retrograde (also alleged to be associated with bad luck) and on the same day as the Full Moon (associated with Witches etc). Speaking as an astrologer, I would say that the world is not going to end that day. However, the planets on that day do feature some “interesting” alignments (as in the old Chinese curse, “May you live interesting times.”)
Chart for 12 noon on Friday 13th June 2014, London, UK.
In the above chart, which shows the horoscope for Friday 13th June 2014, all of the red-lines denote relationships which are potentially problematic. There are three main sets to consider here:
- The Sun + Mercury retrograde vs Moon opposition;
- The Saturn retrograde vs Venus opposition; and
- The Mars / Pluto / Uranus “T-formation.”
As regards the first: a retrograde is where the energies of a planet are directed inward rather than outward. Mercury, however, being a faster-moving planet, is never retrograde for too long (it is actually turning direct on 1st July). Hence, the period of a Mercury retrograde is an excellent time for planning what schemes you will commence next month – so long as you make sure you don’t actually commence them until next month.
Unfortunately, retrograde Mercury, the planet of communication breakdowns, is opposed by the Moon, the planet of how well we get on with other people. This combination presages arguments, quarrelling, misunderstandings, social awkwardness, and major faux pas! This will be especially the case in relation to self-esteem issues (i.e. the Sun’s influence).
As regards the second: miserable and overly-cautious Saturn is putting a serious damper on favourably placed Venus in Taurus. Marital upsets or frustration of marriage plans ahoy!
As for the T-formation, irritable and impulsive Mars is likely to fly off the handle at Uranus being an awkward sod. Meanwhile, devious Pluto is offended by Mars’ bolshiness and is secretly stirring up Uranus to be even more contrary – thus exacerbating the situation! This may sound like bad news: however, one may console oneself by noting that these three are relatively slow-moving planets, which means that this description applies to the times generally i.e. this Friday may be shit, but it will be no more shit in this regard than what has been occurring recently.
BUT… do you need to be worried about any of this?
Generally speaking, no – unless it happens to be your birthday that day. For most people, the energies of that day will pass with that day. Best to be overly cautious, like the drivers who manage to cause less accidents when it’s Friday the 13th! However, for those whose birthday is the 13th June, there is a theory in astrology that the position of the planets at the exact moment that the Sun returns to its position in one’s natal chart point out what you have to expect in the coming year. Thus the Moon/mercury, Saturn/Venus oppositions and the T-formation will conspire to leave a long shadow over the forthcoming twelve months.
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