by Dennis Klocek, 2018 Celestial Planting Calendar

To the casual observer the sun’s role in weather formation seems obvious, while the direct influence of the moon and stars seems remote or unlikely.  It is the purpose of this article to suggest that through a process of daily weather observation with an eye to the celestial aspects it is possible to see patterns emerge which point to significant relationships between celestial occurrences and meteorological activity.

Good starting points for observation are certain times during the year when extreme states of weather are consistently observable.  Take for instance the dog days in Leo.  Each year when the sun moves before the constellation of Leo on August 10 [currently August 11], the weather takes a distinct turn towards heat.  If we record the days of the most intense heat we will find that these days occur when both the moon and sun stand before fire constellations. This elemental phenomenon can be observed year after year.  In certain years however aspects of other planets interfere and this correspondence is not evident.  Nonetheless, it is a general rule that when both the sun and moon stand before fire constellations those days will be the hottest in the month.

...The movements of the sun in front of the zodiac create a monthly rotational rhythm of earth, air, water and fire.  A Pisces sun brings on the water element for rains and thaws at the time of the spring equinox.  As the sun moves before fiery Aries, skies brighten, air warms up and dries out, and storms tend to be short lived.  Those early heat waves in the spring can be expected in Aries, especially with a moon in a fire sign.  A Taurus sun ushers back in cooling trends and late frosts can be expected with strong planets in earth constellations.  At the summer solstice the sun moves before Gemini whose air/light energies clear the skies and give rise to stable, high pressure cells.  In certain latitudes the halcyon days of calm surrounding the solstice and the light breezes of midsummer are the very image of air/light.

The advance of the seasons thus keeps its pace with the rhythms of the stars.  The sun in Cancer brings a brief moist interlude after the brilliant skies of the sun in Gemini.  This bit of relief gives way to burning Leo and the dog days.  Leo’s heat in turn yields to the cool clear month of Virgo.  The turning of the temperature and the disturbance of the equinox will often make Virgo a month of strong weather changes.  In the central valley of California, Virgo is often the time of the first rain that breaks the dry season, which usually begins in Aires. 

Towards the end of Virgo, skies tend to be cloudy and temperatures are on the cool side.  Libra then brings clear skies and mild days and a touch of Indian summer.  This trend prevails for two weeks while the sun is before air and then the water element is ushered in by the sun moving before Scorpio.  Scorpio’s intense water energy promotes the growth of storms for the fall rainy season.
The winter solstice finds the sun standing before the fire constellation of Sagittarius.  At the winter solstice we can often observe the same calm period that we see at the summer solstice.  To be sure, some storm activity is often found in Sagittarius because of the increased activity of the polar low pressure area.  However, the most severe cold in the winter only occurs after the sun moves through Sagittarius into the cold earth constellation of Capricorn.  Even in California, Capricorn is the season of frost.  Record cold waves often occur when the sun and moon both stand before earth constellations.  The cold temperatures are then continued on into the constellation of Aquarius with its cloudless skies and windy days.  And so on into Pisces and the beginning of the spring thaw and rainy season.
The solar rhythm is the basis for seasonal weather patterns.  If we are to understand the birth and growth of storms and frontal passages we must look to other phenomena.  Pulsing through the grand solar rhythms we can find diverse areas of turbulent elemental force patterns that occur at predictable times.  The halcyon days of calm that surround the solstices in certain latitudes are an example of such regular phenomena.

Surrounding the equinoxes, however, are regular disturbances known to mariners as line storms.  A line storm occurs as the sun crosses the line of the equator at the fall equinox.  The storm then blows in a northwesterly direction away from the equator.  Hurricanes are examples of typical line storms.
In the northern hemisphere during the time of the fall equinox, it is also possible to connect the sun’s line crossing with the birth of storms that are not of a tropical nature.  By using the date of the equinox as a natal point for the birth of a disturbance, it is then possible to track the storm celestially on an ephemeris.  By assessing the nature of the celestial and planetary encounters that the storm will travel through, a flow chart of its character, strength, extent and duration can be obtained.  Each celestial encounter adds a particular elemental force to the storm. 

For instance, suppose that an equinox storm is forming off the southern coast of Alaska.  It begins to travel towards the southeast, and a day later the moon crosses the node.  The moon’s nodes are the places where it crosses the sun’s ecliptic and are therefore the places where the very disturbing energy of eclipses is released.  This disturbance encourages low pressure cells to develop more rapidly, especially if the node is near the full moon.  If the node is crossed during a period in which there is a cluster of six or seven planetary occurrences such as conjunctions and trines, then we can be sure that some disturbance is forthcoming in the next few days.  Each planetary aspect in a cluster must be carefully weighed for its storm potential.  However, it is safe to say that an equinox storm running into a cluster of trines and conjunctions is sure to be modified in a significant way.

For example, if we observe the activity of the planet Mars (“the precipitator”) we can see that it works to intensify conditions of precipitation.  When Mars is involved in a cluster of conjunctions or trines in front of water, then a definite acceleration of storm conditions is the result.  Cloudbursts and flooding can be expected.  However, the Martian character is masked when the starry background is earth or air.  Martian energy is easy to follow on an ephemeris and so it is a good planet to observe for storms.
Another planet that offers good data for observations, but for opposite reasons, is Venus.  Venus, a classic air planet, works to clear the skies and dispel overcast conditions.  When working out of a background of air, Venus gives rise to clear skies, bright puffy clouds and all manner of prismatic effects.  Sun dogs, halos, rainbows and luminescent clouds point to the influence of Venus.  But if Venus trines are conjunct in front of air with other air planets like Jupiter or Uranus, then her benign qualities can erupt into savage wind storms under the influence of these more violent planets.

... Due to its rapid orbit around the Sun, Mercury moves in front of a different constellation approximately every two weeks.  This two-week rhythm is a wonderful counterpoint to the more stately cadences of the outer planets.  Mercury enhances the heat element, especially when it is in retrograde motion.  At such times it is impressive to see the weather turn suddenly warm for two weeks and then shift to cold as Mercury moves before another constellation.  Its true character is revealed when conjunct or trined to Jupiter or Uranus in front of air or fire.  These aspects bring out the quick, flowing nature of Mercury.  Strong winds and rapid, churning clouds race across the sky.

Another planet that brings clouds racing across the sky is the tempestuous air planet Uranus.  Cloud building is its specialty.  Uranus energy is characterized by strong, expansive vertical movement of air.  These swift updrafts form large domes, castles out of which ride troop after troop of cloud cavalry units.  These dynamic clouds and the swift violence of the lightening bolts that they generate are sure signatures of Uranus.

The greatest mover of large air masses, however, is Jupiter.  If Jupiter is conjunct or trined in front of air and these aspects are supported by other air or fire planets, then savage windstorms result that can last for days.  The hot and dry Chinook winds find much support in difficult aspects of powerful planets like Jupiter (air) and Saturn (warmth).

The roles of the more remote planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto) are much more subtle to perceive in weather phenomena than the roles of the more local planets (Mercury, Venus, Mars, the moon, and the sun.)  When two or three remote planets with similar elemental characters interact in a cluster their influence may more easily be determined.  Due to the slow orbits of these planets they tend to linger at points of turbulence (nodes and trines).  They also have longer stays in constellations, such as Saturn’s protracted stay at the node starting in the fall of 1974 and going until the spring of 1977.  Having a heat planet so strongly at the node turned the weather upside down and created severely cold winters that turned into drought-parched summers for a few years in a row...
Reprinted with the authors permission from Biodynamics, Winter 1986.