Studying Lunar Months

The Moon is what makes people nuts. If you try to study the orbit of the Moon around the Earth you begin to understand why. The Moon's orbit is measured not by one orbit, but by many orbits around the Earth that are slightly out of sync with each other. Trying to follow the Moon's orbit is probably a lot like trying to view the world out of a Fly's eye, a Kaleidoscope effect.

I've found a great link to an article that explains some the Moon's orbits here: http://www.hermit.org/eclipse/why_months.html. I believe there are more, something like 29 or more, cycles of the Moon but I can't remember where I read that. Some book written by a psychologist in Florida. Since we're talking about the Moon here, and not Mercury or Saturn, I don't feel a strong need to be factual or correct. Imagination, Baby! That's what the Moon is about. Enjoy it! Use it! And don't try to focus too hard. I think the New Moon is most likely to land you in jail followed by the Full Moon.

Here are the cycles as presented at the link listed above:

Sidereal Month: The days it takes for the Moon to orbit the Earth moving due West I suppose from the Vantage Point of the Earth.

27.321661 days

Anomalistic Month: Accounts for the elliptical orbit of the Moon which makes it slightly longer in some way than the Sidereal Month.

27.554549 days

There is a 9 year cycle associated with this type of Month which is the time it takes for the Moon to return to some sort of spot that's thrown off probably by a tilt or a pole or the earth's own orbit around the Sun. I can't figure it out.

The point when the Moon is farthest from Earth is called the Apogee and the point when the Moon is closest is called the Perigree. Sophisticated titles to label your next Abstract Paintings after.

Synodic Month: The Time it takes for the Moon to travel from one New Moon to the next. This varies from 29.27 days to 29.83 days. A Lunar Day is measured off of this. For example, if the Little Prince were actually from the Moon instead of a comet, he would have to scoot his chair across the surface of the Moon according to the Synodic Month. It's not an Earth Day, in other words, it's a Moon Day. Maybe St. Exupery lived according to these himself.

Averages 29.530589 Days.

Draconic Month: The Nodal Month. The Time that it takes for the Moon to return to a Node. Named after the Dragon's Head and Tail that are responsible for the North and South Nodes. Maybe your Past and Future Lives can be measured best through these Months.

27.212220 Days.

The combination of these last 3 Lunar Months combines to create a Saros Cycle of 18 years 11 Days 8 hrs. because the the Synodic Months and the Draconic Months almost line up with each other at those spots. (223 Synodic Months = 6585.321 days and 242 Draconic Months = 6585.357 Days).

The Saros cycles run alongside of each other in time. They are a long series of Eclipses that begin with a very short eclipse that builds into the longest Eclipse in the series and then ends with another very short Eclipse. They take 2,000 to 3,000 years to complete and sorry I forgot how many cycles of each Eclipse it takes, 70+ I believe. Astrologers are starting to study them to try to see if they show some sort of common theme. In 1776 when the United States gained Independence, there were significant phases in some Saros Cycles. The Longest Total Lunar Eclipse of Saros 120 occurred on Feb. 4, 1776 possibly showing a culmination of some sort. And, the first Solar Eclipse of Saros 151 occurred on Aug. 14, 1776. There are 72 eclipses in that series. Whew! I wrote that down.

There's also:

Tropical Months: Time it takes between Lunar Equinoxes (Equinoxi?).

27.321582 Days.

Hell's Bells

The Oakland Chapter of the Hell's Angels is celebrating their 50th Birthday this Week-end. Chiron Return. Wonder if a Chiron Return conjunct Neptune in Aquarius mellows a bunch of old outlaw bikers... Don't answer. Hey, it's all about the beer and the music and the revving of the engines.

The Hell's Angels is said to have been founded in 1948 in Fontana, California. The Oakland Chapter claims to have been started on April 1, 1957 by Ralph Sonny Berger. There's a picture of a plaque somewhere in Oakland that I saw on the Internet. Nice plaque.

So, 1948, no specific date. Fontana has a speedway of some sort. It's down in Southern California out in San Bernardino very close no doubt to the spot where the Ku Klux Klan was formed. Al Capone owned a house there. 1948 seems to have started off with lots of outer planets in air and fire which moved into Earth toward the end of the year. Jupiter was in Sagittarius for most of that year so Hell's Angels is going through a Jupiter Return. Saturn & Pluto in Leo and then Saturn moved into early Virgo. Uranus in Gemini. Neptune in Libra. The North Node was in Taurus.

The Oakland Chapter of the Hell's Angels
April 1, 1957 Oakland

Sun 12 Aries; Moon either in Aries or Taurus; North Node 21 Scorpio

This is as cliche as it gets in astro terms.

6 or 7 planets in Fire.
Sun c. Venus. Mercury Aries.
Mars singleton Air in Gemini opposite Saturn in Sagittarius.
Jupiter singleton Earth in Virgo
Neptune singleton Water in Scorpio
Uranus 3 Leo squaring Neptune

The leader of the Oakland Group was notorious as well he ought to be. He sort of mended his ways after a 10 year visit to jail. Wrote an autobiography, wrote some fiction and agreed to lend his name to a brand of beer.

Ralph "Sonny" Berger
b. Oct. 8, 1938 Modesto, CA

Sun 15 Libra; Moon probably in Aries; North Node 19 Scorpio

You will notice that he became the Leader of Hell's Angels on his Nodal Return.

Sun c. Mercury opposite Saturn 15 Aries (and maybe Moon)
Uranus 18 Taurus conjunct South Node Taurus trine Mars 20 Virgo conjunct Neptune 22 Virgo.
Jupiter Aquarius square Uranus Taurus and inconjunct Neptune in Virgo, square Venus in Scorpio

The thing about this week-end's anniversary, which is attracting hoards of Mr. Police Officers as well it ought, is that it shares a Nodal Return with an infamous Hell's Angels event held in 1969. The Group was "hired" for something called the Altamont Free Concert to provide Security. This was a huge Rock Concert and the Angels were offered free beer to guard the musicians. They ended up killing a member of the audience when people starting messing with their bikes.

The Dec. 6, 1969 event happened when the T. Sun was conjunct the group's Saturn. You can see from their natal Saturns the oppositions to said planet, i.e. problems with authority figures and others who don't do as they say. The North Node was at 18 Pisces squaring their n. Saturn-Mars opposition and trining their natal NN position. This really made those issues with authority figures stand right out in the open. Hopefully, they've had some therapy by now about these issues because there is going to be a repeat of some of the key transits. In 1969, t.Pluto was c. the group's Jupiter, there would have been a Moon-Jupiter conjunction that day on top of the natal Neptune. That's great for everything in the world pertaining to Music except imbibing huge quantities of alcoholic beverages and mind-altering substances of any nature.

This year's event, a 3 day extravaganza has a Chiron Return conjunct Neptune. T. Jupiter will conjunct the n. Saturn. (Why can't they just consult an astrologer?) The Moon this week-end will conjunct Jupiter which suggests over-indulgence. The Moon will also pass over the South Node. Which means that it will be opposite the North Node which is at 17 Pisces conjunct Uranus and Mercury. Once again it will be squaring the Saturn-Mars opposition. That will bring out the adolescent aspirations in any guy but transiting Mars will be opposing the group's Pluto.

Anyway, they'll probably just share Lipitor stories and take off to their weekly Dialysis appointments after the event.

Ready Boots? Start Walking...

This is another Gemini Story.

Nancy Sinatra
b. June 8, 1940 Jersey City, NJ

No, it's not about Nancy Sinatra. It's about Helga Estby whom you've never heard of. It's about boots, and it's about walking, and it's about another wild Gemini.

Helga Estby
b. May 30, 1860 Christiana (Oslo), Norway

Sun 10 Gemini; Moon probably in Libra; NN 4 Aquarius

I've been reading a feminist biography about a Victorian Norwegian American Immigrant named Helga Estby. It's called Bold Spirit, written by Linda Lawrence Hunt.

Frought with financial problems and the threat that her family would soon lose their home because they couldn't pay the mortgage, Helga took up a wager from an Unknown Sponsor in New York who offered to pay $10,000 to any woman who would dare to walk across the country alone. This is still not considered a safe practice for a woman with a Visa card, a cell phone, and a car to drive, but Helga did this back in 1896 on foot while carrying almost nothing.

Helga's husband's carpentry business had suffered since a financial bust in 1893 and his back had given out on him. Their Son had just died. The family was about to lose its farm which they had worked so hard to get. This offer of $10,000 seemed to be the answer to Helga. She brought along her teenage daughter, Clara. They carried almost nothing: $5 each, a gun, a knife, some writing supplies and no change of clothes. They had to make money and to find lodging by any means possible. This is Reality TV in the Wild Wild West, only without the script and the camera crew and, well, without everything else. She couldn't even phone home. The Newspapers did cover them. The women did visit some big wig politicians, like President McKinley and his wife. Part of the wager was to wear special shorter skirts and to gather signatures from famous people. And they did this. They did it all back in the day when women were considered completely helpless. And they were wearing corsets! And they made it across the entire country from Washington State to New York City, through rain and sleet and snow and snakes and railway bums.

Helga and Clara started their walk on May 5, 1896 and ended up in Manhattan on December 23, 1896 and once they landed in New York City the "Mysterious Sponsor" reneged on the deal. They were left stranded penniless in New York with no way to get back home. And back home, Helga's husband was taking care of her other 8 kids. Two of them died. When she finally gained passage to get back home, her family and her Norwegian community was completely chagrined. She was never allowed to discuss the trip with them. And although she wrote about her travels, two of her daughters burned her papers after her death. And she actually lost her travel diary immediately after landing in New York. And her family lost their farm. Whew-wee, that's Extreme Makeover Gone Wild.

Helga was a Norwegian Immigrant. Her father died when she was 2 (Mars return c. NN) and her mother remarried, her step-father moved to America in pursuit of a better life and she and her Mother arrived at their new home in Michigan on August 12, 1871. Helga became pregnant by an unknown Father when she 15 and gave birth to her daughter Clara the next year (b.Nov. 26, 1877, Manistee, Michigan). Right before the birth she married Ole Estby (b.July 8, 1848, Oslo, Norway), a recent immigrant to America. They moved out to the prairie in Minnesota and tried to set up a homestead and start a family. But the life out there was total hell, due to Blizzards, Fires, & Pestilence. Ms. Hunt, writer of the book, calls prairie life a Crucible. When you look at Helga Estby's chart you realize it was the transiting conjunction of Neptune to her natal Pluto in Taurus. This can be an isolating transit when applied to practical everyday life. It turns out the Neptune-Pluto combinations seem to be significant in creating havoc in Helga's life, but are probably the reason why she was so creative. Apparently she spent hours up in her special room writing and painting during her latter years.

Pluto is in its opposite sign of Taurus and is unaspected in Taurus so it is not comfortably placed and is a prominent influence in Helga's life. Natally she has Neptune well placed in its own sign of Pisces sextiling and trining an opposition of Mars in Capricorn to Venus-Jupiter in Cancer. But, Neptune is conjunct the Fixed Star Scheat which is known for giving misfortune through bad judgment & vanity. In Horary Charts it's thought to cause Shipwrecks.

Around the time that this Neptune-Pluto conjunction happens (1880-81), Helga and Ole are just settling in to Prairie Life and the Midwest suffers its worst Blizzard season ever. Families were already dropping off from the Diptheria epidemic and the family, both parents raised in an urban environmnet, was living in a mud hut out in the middle of nowhere. Now they were stranded and their crops were wrecked and faced a winter of starvation. Soon after that uncontrollable fires started torching the prairies. This whole time Helga managed to keep her family safe and healthy but she was completely drained. Her progressed Sun moved into Cancer (1881-82) and then she had her Saturn Return. She and Ole decided to move out to Washington State and start over, May1887. He was a carpenter by trade and they were assured of an easier life. But, man, life was hard back then. Towns kept burning down, sewers kept backing up. Helga had some health problems from a fall which required surgeries. But, eventually the family ended up on a nice farm out in the country where the 9 kids could cram themselves into 2 bedrooms, described as an awesome amount of space. But, the Market plunged and Ole hurt his back and couldn't work and the family fell behind in taxes and mortgage. In January, 1896 a son died and Helga was desperate. Transiting Pluto and Neptune were passing over her Sun so sort of repeating the chaotic stress of the prairie.

But, Helga it turns out had suffragette tendencies. Her Sun is conjunct Uranus in Gemini promising an Intellectual and Individualistic personality and her Venus is conjunct Jupiter and opposite Mars which all show a positive independent forward thinking person. This last opposition is loosely conjunct her Nodal axis. Plus, she was going through her Jupiter Return in Cancer so long distance travel seemed to be in order.

Also interesting is that her Progressed Sun at this time was conjunct her Husband's natal Sun. And her Husband's natal Sun was just changing signs from Leo into Virgo, not always the easiest transition as the gregarious ego has to go on Virgo's diet of discerning through insecurities one detail after another. Right now I'm finding a theme that this is a difficult progression for a Cancer Sun to make (Hart Crane's chart mentioned a couple of days ago and, I have to admit, from my own personal experience). Ole's ego would have been completely deflated from being physically disabled (Virgo=Health) and not being able to provide for his family and from his wife who takes off on a wild goose chase across the country with their one illegitimate daughter. Humiliation from News reports quoting Helga as saying that she was frustrated that her husband couldn't provide for their family also wouldn't have helped. This guy single handedly built the house they were living in and now was going to lose it for reasons out of his control and his wife publically mocks him. Stellium with Mercury-Uranus-Sun in Gemini sometimes cuts to the quick verbally, especially when trining n. Mars as Helga's does. But, Mercury rules walking.

T.Jupiter also would have passed over Helga's South Node in Leo at this time. She had Saturn in Leo natally and was perhaps a bit overcome with a need for Drama and Excitement in her life and loss and, combined with South Node in Leo, suffered despair through her Children as a result. Only her daughter-in-law managed to save any of her photographs; her own children destroyed everything else. And these lessons of overdoing Ego which are now once again coming out in positive ways through the Aquarius North Node. The writer of the bio, Linda Hunt tells the story not only of Helga's walk across the country, but how as a woman her great feat was ignored and disdained and unsupported. And also how she was ahead of her time in claiming her rights as a woman. And how families should preserve their families legacies. Most of the book is written through information gained from Newspaper accounts. That is very sad considering Helga supposedly wrote hundreds of pages about the experience.

A quick look at the chart for the day that the women departed Spokane Washington: May 5, 1896 12:19pm Spokane, WA. Virgo ASC with Nodes overlaid and Moon c. the NN on the DESC. The Sun was in Taurus opposing Saturn and Uranus in Scorpio over the MC-IC line. Mercury rules the Chart, is in H10 squaring Moon-DESC-NN opposite ASC. Sun and Venus are both in H9. Pluto-Neptune squaring Mars in H7, Pisces. The t.Sun was still within conjunction with that natal Pluto at 15 Taurus and t.Saturn was opposing it to the degree. Sun-Saturn can bring endurance and ambition to see a project through but the project will require much hard work and labor and the fruits may be somewhat limiting.

The Day which they arrived in New York: Dec. 23, 1896 1:00pm Manhattan, NY. Stellium of Pluto 13 Gemini-Mars 16 Gemini-Neptune 19 Gemini trining Venus-NN in Aquarius. Saturn and Uranus both at 27 Scorpio (sextiling Helga's Mars, trining her Neptune). Chiron was opposing n. Pluto. Funny how I've avoided saying anything about Jupiter through all this.

Both women had North Node in Aquarius. The NN was at beginning degrees of Pisces when they began the trip but moved back into Aquarius soon after. Clara had her first Nodal Return during the trip (her Moon, i.e. Mother, was probably in Leo and maybe conjunct her SN). Helga would have her Nodal Return after returning to Washington.

Eclipse information isn't easy to get before 1900. After Helga was born there was a total lunar eclipse that was shortest for its Saros Cycle on June 19 16:58 1860. The 1st Photograph of a Solar Eclipse was taken on July 18, 1860.

In 1896, there was the Longest Annular Eclipse of Saros 26 on June 12, 1896 12:24:24. There was a Total Solar Eclipse on Aug. 9, 1896. At some point in Idaho the women got lost for 3 days out on the lava beds in the heat with nothing to eat. For most of the trip they followed the railroad but had drifted off looking for a short cut at this point. On the 3d day they saw the light from a train. I wonder if it coincided with any of these eclipses.

Just because she was a suffragette, repressed though she be, I did a quick check of Helga's female asteroids. She had a small triangle of Juno 17 Capricorn trine Ceres 15 Taurus sextiling an apex Lilith 14 Pisces. Juno is squaring Pallas at 12 Aries.

And by wonderful coincidence almost the entire Estby family's birth information is listed on the Internet through the markers on their graves: www.interment.net/data/us/wa/spokane/micacreek/index.htm.

Clara: Nov. 26, 1877 (Michigan)
Olaf: Mar. 19, 1879 (Minnesota?)
Ida: Sept. 18, 1880 (Minnesota)
Bertha: Mar. 12, 1882 (Minnesota)
Henry: Jan 15, 1884 (Minnesota)
Arthur: Nov. 12, 1885 (Minnesota)
John: Nov. 10, 1887 (Spokane, Wash)
William: Apr. 16, 1892 (Spokane, Wash)
Lilian: Mar. 12, 1894 (Spokane, Wash)

Helga, a Gemini, took her Sagittarius Daughter with her because she felt they would have the best time together. They both shared the same North Nodes. Her daughter Ida was the most resentful and along with Lillian was the one who burned her mother's papers (1942). It's interesting the squares between the Virgo and the Pisces Suns to the Gemini and the Sagittarius Suns. Ida was born (Sun) right before the big Blizzards of 1880-1881 when Neptune was conjunct her mother's Pluto and it's interesting that she was responsible for almost erasing (Neptune dissolves) her mother's place in history. Lillian was born when Neptune and Pluto were both conjunct her Mother's Sun. It would be interesting someday to compare in detail the charts. Of course, the Moon's placements would be extremely important and we don't have those without birth times.

Twin Super Psychics

According to the Humungous Online Chart service, Astrotheme, two of today's most gifted members of the Modern Healing-Psychic community were born on the same day. And, they seem to even share the same Moon sign to the degree. Caroline Myss began the Modern Medical Intuitive field and Karen Hamaker-Zondag is an incredible Dutch astrologer who wrote one of my favorite books about Yods.

Caroline Myss
Dec. 2, 1952 8:00am Chicago, IL

Sun 11 Sagg (H12); ASC 22 Sagg; Moon 23 Gemini; MC 15 Libra; NN16 Rx Aquarius (H2)

Karen Hamaker-Zondag
Dec. 2, 1952 1:30 PM Schiedam, I don't know I think she's German

Sun 11 Sagg (H9); ASC 14 Pisces; Moon 23 Gemini (H4); MC 24 Sagg; NN 16 Rx Aquarius (H12)

There was a conjunction of Saturn-Neptune in Libra that trines their Moons and this Moon is placed on the angles in both of their charts. I was just reading about how Saturn and Neptune working together can give a person great empathic abilities. The Moon is on Myss' Descendant and it's on Hamaker-Zondag's IC very closely conjunct in both places. It's also out of bounds at 27+ degrees N in both charts.

Both women also have a conjunction of Mars-NN in Aquarius. I'm working on the chart of an amazing Victorian lady who walked across the country who also had this placement. I think it has been in famous scientists' charts, see "Boy's Toys" if I haven't managed to link to it below.

Progressions as Signatures for Changes in Mental Status

The inexplicable reasons why a person does what he does when he does, can often be foretold in the birthchart by looking very simply at just the Progressed Sun and the transiting Nodes. (The Nodes, of course, show a basically subconscious drive to pull a person through life.) I was beginning to wonder about this when I heard Michael Lutin restate it in a lecture. He has just published a book that works with this concept called Sunshines. I don't like what he wrote about my own combination but that doesn't mean that it's not true.

Anyway, I like to look at the progressions of the Inner Planets, and especially their retrogrades, to try to figure out how this affects a person. They seem to provide unconscious motivations and directions. The outer planet transits seem to like to dump all kinds of stuff that you struggle to cope with, but often a person sails through these times without too much of a deal. I think if the progressed inner planets are doing something funky, dealing with the outer turmoil becomes much more complicated. Not necessarily worse, but complicated. There is a turning inward through the progressions which for an artist or a writer could be a blessing.

I've noticed something to match this theory in the charts of Ernest Hemingway and Hart Crane. I'm using them because they were born on the same day, were brilliant and famous writers and both suffered severe depression and killed themselves. They both were born with difficult birth charts, lots of red squares between difficult planets. For that reason, though, the charts are easy to read for these qualities (after the fact at any rate) and I wanted to see if the progressions indicated anything that might have signaled beforehand that they would act on the difficulties of their charts.

Ernest Hemingway
b. July 21, 1899 8:00 Oak Park, IL

Sun 29 Cancer; ASC 8 Virgo; Moon 10 Capricorn; MC 4 Gemini; NN 28Rx Sagittarius

Hart Crane
b. July 21, 1899 20 h. 50 Garretsville, OH

Sun 30 Cancer; ASC 15 Pisces Moon 18 Capricorn; MC 22 Sagittarius; NN 28 Rx Sagittarius

Both men were born with a t-square of Saturn in Saggitarius opposite Pluto and Neptune in Gemini and squared by apex Mars in Virgo. Their Nodal Axes were loosely involved as Neptune conjuncts their South Nodes. The Saggitarius-Gemini-Virgo shows the writing/publishing theme along with travel and restless lifestyles. Mars-Saturn-Pluto in hard aspect together shows an aggressive streak which can play out through enormous creative talents or through violence and hard living. There's a deep sense of isolation and on the other hand the life force just wants to ruthlessly grab it all. Their Mercury's are well placed with sextiles and trines. In Leo, Mercury wants to roar and this would have come quite easily due to the easy aspects. This is quite a poet's combination and Mercury sort of seems like an oasis to run to in an otherwise chaotic and violent existence. The tensions from the rest of the chart seem to have driven them to express through their Mercuries. Plus, both men had Sun in Cancer which for men can be quite challenging as it is very sensitive and receptive and also very self-protective and hard shelled. Cancer men will often project as very Macho. Sylvester Stallone is also a Cancer Sun.

I see progressed Mercury for Hemingway's mental demise and progressed Sun and transiting Neptune for Hart Crane's. Also, their Saturn Returns were strong indicators. Crane jumped off a steamboat a couple of years after his 1st Saturn Return and Hemingway shot himself right after his 2d Saturn Return (His father committed Suicide during his 1st Saturn Return). Both killed themselves for Saturnian reasons, they felt like failures and couldn't work. Their standards were too high for themselves. Saturn rules Capricorn and this also would have set off the emotional challenges that are typical of their Capricorn Moons, namely only being lovable for ability to known in the world.

Hemingway's Progressed Mercury is very prominent in his psychological progression. First of all, Mercury rules both his Virgo ASC and his Gemini MC so it will affect his health and well-being and career. Natally it's at 26 Leo, but it progressed into Virgo when he was a child. In 1914 it stationed at 4 Virgo and retrograded back toward the cusp. When it passed back over the Leo-Virgo cusp in 1923 he had been working as a journalist. In 1925 he published his first book of stories. From then on Hemingway enjoyed much creative success. It seems he expressed the Leo ideal of the game-hunter, hard-living, big hearted guy and needed Mercury to be in Leo in order to create. Mercury hit its natal spot sometime around 1927 along with progressed Sun and transiting Neptune. Both writers were in fat city as writers at this point. Mercury turned direct by progression in 1937-38, passed over itself in 1946 and went into Virgo in 1949. He published his last great work The Old Man and the Sea in 1952 soon after. Hemingway had so much physical pain from accidents and health problems due to drinking that his creativity stopped. When his progressed Mercury hit his Natal Mars (remember apex of t-square to Pluto-Neptune opposite Saturn) he shot himself. Mars, of course, equals guns and it's heavily afflicted in his chart. He had been given electro shock treatments (Pluto) for depression (Pluto-Saturn-Neptune) and had lost his Memory (Neptune, probably Nodes too).

I don't know how Hart Crane's Mercury fared because he passed so much earlier. Mercury went retrograde in 1914 and his parents divorced in 1916. He dropped out of high school sometime around that time. When he killed himself he was struggling with some bad reviews about his poetry and was struggling with his homosexuality. Saturn opposite Pluto is pretty conservative, Hemingway was a blatant homophobe.

In Crane's case, I think the progressed Sun and Transiting Neptune were more to blame for his death than Mercury. Neptune rules his Ascendant. And Neptune rules the Sea where he died. His progressed Sun had just switched from Leo to Virgo the year before and transiting Neptune was still within conjunction with it when he jumped on April 27, 1932. The progression of the Sun from one sign to another is generally very strongly felt by a person. It can either be a very empowering experience or a total let-down. I personally experienced the let-down variety when my Sun progressed from Leo to Virgo. Leo is such an expansive, creative, foolhardy sign. The critical, discerning nature of Virgo that one needs to purify one's self in is not always a welcome adjustment. (I think Arnold Schwarzenegger shows a positive transition of Leo to Virgo through his progressions but he is natally a Leo Sun so maybe can keep some of that sunshine with him always).

Jupiter is in Scorpio in both men's charts, but it is conjunct Crane's 8th House cusp of Death and it rules his MC. (Scorpio being a water sign it also signifies Death at sea.) Also, he had the Mars-Saturn-Pluto-Neptune t-square right on the angles opposite his ASC which made their influence even more intense. Saturn had just passed over his natal Saturn-MC conjunction and the drive to make something of himself and to be something impressive in front of the world was just too much.

Ye Olde Office Politics Blog

I'm listening to a book on tape now where a Business Guy tells you how to communicate. Some of it's annoying but it sure beats reading heavy Western Philosophy. Business people talk in the colloquial and each sentence sort of coughs up the Bottom Line. Anyway, he works mostly with sport celebrities, whew can't remember his name. In one part he discusses how difficult it is to both give and receive Criticism and Praise. The advice he gives is really good but I was listening to it while driving, the other cars are so selfish about not sharing their lanes. Here's good old Rex Bills listings for:

Critical persons: Virgo (Uranus)
Friendly criticism: (Aquarius)
Critics, criticism, literary criticism: Mercury, Virgo, H3 (Jupiter, H9, Mars)

Praise: Jupiter (Aquarius)
Praise received: 10
Compliments (sp?): not mentioned

So, overall Praise and Criticism are Aquarius topics with Mercury-Virgo basically ruling Criticism and Jupiter ruling Praise. Praise is a religious thing so I guess it makes sense that Jupiter would rule it.

The author discusses the problem of seeming sincere (Jupiter) when giving praise (Jupiter) due to the fact that Praise often makes the recipient feel Uneasy (Uranus). The best Praise (Jupiter to receive is when you hear from a third party that someone thinks you are doing something well. Don't know what rules "Third Party" type of relations. That's an interesting one. "Triangularity" is mentioned in Rex Bills as ruled by (Uranus). It's best to give Criticism (Virgo, Mercury (Uranus)) in private. Private Chambers (Libra).

I also was wondering about the rulerships for the difference between the two words:

Vindictive (Saturn, Pluto, Scorpio)
and
Vindicated (Jupiter).

It's interesting that these problems come up in successive signs, kind of like the chart is telling you that once you have learn to be Vindictive, 8th house lesson, you can move on to be Vindicated (9th House lesson). If you go overboard with this you have to move on to Saturn's House, the 10th, to learn more lessons about being Vindictive.

Ew, I'm in a negative mood. Can you tell?

In Finale, here's one last word to get you through your Monday Morning:

Gossip, Gossipers: Mercury, H3, Gemini (Moon)

Baby's First Aspects.

Go back and look at your first aspects. What were they? How did they manifest in your life? (Sure, like you'd really be able to know.) Anyway, I had a Sagittarius Mother who was very forthcoming with most of the trials and tribulations of having become my Mother so I probably have more of an idea than most.

First check the Pre-Natal Lunar and Solar Eclipses. If anything in them hits anything in the birth chart it might indicate a strong emphasis on that part of your life. Also, check the Eclipses against the Mother's chart. Find out what kind of mental and emotional shape she was in and forgive her. (Forgive her anyway, but set up some really strong boundaries). Some Mothers endure difficult pregnancies and then the child comes out fine, other's seem to sail through and the child has problems. Who knows why this happens. I wonder if the Eclipses in particular have something to do with this. Some illnesses are thought to be created while the Baby is in the womb and I wonder if there are any correspondences between Eclipses or other problems. Solar Flares, I imagine, might influence the Baby's heart rhythms, for example.

The Moon travels fastest so it probably made your first aspect just in the same way. Your Mother was probably the most important person in your life at that point. Check to see if the Moon was Void of Course, maybe this brought a sense of relief around you for a few hours. Check the planet the Moon aspects first and see if that's a strong point in your chart in some way. I heard Michael Lutin, World's Greatest Astrologers of All Time (or at least part of the Pantheon), speak once. He said that the degrees that are first hit are most vulnerable to successive hits later in life. They may become "sore spots" in your chart that you subconsciously react to. It would be good to know these points. Maybe they're "good spots" instead. Maybe your First Aspect was a Trine. You can read a whole little story into this, or, at least I can. My first Moon aspect was an inconjunct to Mercury. I'm pretty certain the first words I heard was, "Wow she's Fat!" (Remember I had a Sagg Mommie and they can be candid) My second aspect was a sextile to Jupiter so the Nurse probably said something nice about Fat Babies (Jupiter in 6th house of nurses).

Also, people claim that the Phase of the Moon is very important in Baby's development.

And, of course, you want to check the baby's planets against the Mom and Dad's planets. If the baby's inner planets are in difficult aspect to the Mother's Mercury and Venus and Mars there may be a difficult set of petty adjustments in how they relate during the first year. These could balloon out later on in life into big problems in the relationship so it might be helpful to just recognize them and maintain a light hearted approach to the differences.

Because....

Mercury and Venus follow the Sun around pretty closely so a child's first year will be the experience of these 3 planets making their way around the chart. Mercury is Observation and Venus is Relating (and vanity, oh go on, admit it you were adorable and you knew it). The Sun is good old Ego. Take a look at when these were hitting your other planets and angles. When did they hit your Ascendant. Oh, the Lucky Baby who gets his/her first photos taken on the Day that Venus passes over the Ascendant. Pretty Baby with nice dimples. Be sure to check for Mercury and Venus retrograde Stations to make sure they aren't making stress aspects to Baby's natal signatures.

During the First year, Jupiter will change signs which it does roughly on a yearly basis. So, Baby's first year is taken up by Moon, Venus, Mercury and Jupiter perceptions. Sounds pretty nice. Those are the lights in Astrology and generally looked at favorably later on in life. When someone says they want to return to the womb, I don't think that's it at all. They want to the way the world looked during their first year.

Mars takes two years to make its way around the chart. So, Baby has been around the Block completely by Age 2 Mars wise. Mom and Dad are starting to feel it. Mars is Action. Mars is Toddler with a Bat. This repeats Age 4, Age 6, Age 8, so on. I'm beginning to suspect that the synastry aspects between the Parents' Mars and the Baby's Mars is very important. It's a lot easier to understand your kid if he/she is expressing the Terrible Two's with your own particular sense of Panache. There evidentally are 12 different ways to repeatedly slam the kitchen cabinets which correspond to each of the 12 signs of the Zodiac. And, boy, let me tell you, we always prefer the kid who slams the cabinets according to our own style of mayhem. Otherwise, it's just noise. These 2 year Mars phases may be mirrored by Saturn's 2+ years change of sign and the Progressed Moon's slightly faster change of sign. Saturn and Moon represent the Parents and they are learning how to deal with you.

Of course, you always want to pay attention to when the slow moving planets and the progressed and Solar Arcs Inner Planets hit another planet, hit an angle, or change a sign. These are particular to each Baby.

And, at some point the Outer Planets make semi-sextile (30 degree aspects); and sextile (60 degree aspects) to themselves. These are the easier times, when you were so bored and just couldn't find anything to do. These will happen at differenet times for different people due to retrogrades. The semi-square (45 degree) is a tense 8th harmonic aspect and may bring some tension to how you express the energy of a certain planet. I was 6 when I had my Uranus semi-sextile (I wouldn't take off my Go-Go boots); I was around 9 years old when I had my Uranus semi-square (Problems with friends); and I was around 12 when I had my first Uranus sextile and this was around the same time as my Neptune sextile. I remember practicing for cheerleading competition even though I couldn't do a cartwheel. Man, if only I could have nailed those cartwheels.

The Saturn Square happens around Age 7. Baby's teeth come in adding practically a whole bottom half to his face. You never know what they're really going to look like until they get those 2d sets of teeth. I seem to remember that this was the age that we were taught to tell time. This is when we become fearful of our standing in the community and also when we catch on (or not) that Disciplined restraint can get us places in life. Maybe we begin to make our own decisions. This is mirrored by the square of the Progressed Moon to the natal Moon. It's the Waxing Phase of the Progressed Moon for you and it could mean first Protection and then a Struggle to the relationship with the Family, Home and Mother. Here's a link to a description of Dane Rudhyar's approach to Progressed Moon interpretation: http://starcats.com/lunar.html.

I believe at Age 8 or 9 there is a Venus phase of some type that's formed due to Venus' Retrograde Motions. A Mars Cycle is also formed at some point but I don't know what these are. Erin Sullivan talks about them in her book on Retrogrades but my copy is in storage and I can't get to it. Buy her book and learn and I should do the same.

At Age 9 the Nodes oppose themselves. The Child might feel confused about life or have a change of attitude. I wonder if this is the final phase where Children give up their psychic and past life visions in order to adjust to the new life.

The Saturn Opposition happens around Age 14 and is quickly followed by the Jupiter Square and is once again shadowed by the opposition of the Progressed Moon to itself. I suppose Age 14 has a Mars Return too. This is Adolescence. If the planets are Retrograde natally and under heavy aspects, there might be a stifling of Adolescence.

Of course, in here there are also trines and sextiles which show an easy time. Plan your Divorces around these, it might make things go easier for Baby. Jupiter trine Jupiter: Age 4 and then Age 8. Saturn trine Saturn: right after the 8th Birthday (but then that brings in the Half Nodal Return which is not recommended). Age 4 looks like a good age for a kid to go through your Divorce. Do NOT wreck his/her Jupiter Return at Age 12 with it, that's just absolutely rude. If you wait that long then just wait until all Children have cars or can ride on public transit by themselves so they can at least get out of the house and away from you.

Accidental Inventions DVD

Last night I watched a DVD called Accidental Inventions: 10 Inventions, 10 extraordinary stories. According to my trusty Rex Bills book Inventions are ruled by Uranus & Aquarius and Accidents are ruled by Mars and Uranus (H1, Aries, H3). If you're driving a car or steering a kid through Wal-Mart you hope for no Accidents, but Artists pray for Accidents, they brazenly call making Accidents "The Creative Process." I wonder what Scientists hope and pray for. I've been told that they are linear thinkers but actually went to a remote viewing class with a bunch of them and the teacher said that they were among the most psychic people he had taught.

Wanted to see if Mars and Uranus transits & progressions play a big part in the charts of the Inventions and Inventors mentioned. Also, want to look at Mercury for observation abilities. I think I'll hone the charts down to just these aspects. I haven't found birth dates for all the Inventors and don't have exact dates for most of the "Accidents."

Extra Note: Chiron seems to be heavily aspected in Inventor's charts. He's the asteroid that's known as a hybrid between Saturn and Uranus and might be the right mix of using solid, traditional thought and determination and drive (Saturn) with futuristic thinking that is required for Invention. Saturn is probably as strong as Uranus. Saturn seems to be underrated for brilliant thinking by Astrologers kind of the same way that Taurus is for healing (my opinions). These are just my impressions though, don't have any (hehe) scientific statistical proofs.

Sometimes there are more than one Inventors involved. I looked at the charts of the ones who experienced the actual "Accident."

1. Microwave Oven. Rulership of Ovens: Mars, Aries, Sun, Leo. No rulership for Microwaves, but guess Uranus and Pluto would play a part.

Inventor: Percy Spencer, b. July 9, 1894, Howland, Maine. Working with Magnetrons, noticed the thing melted the candy bar in his pocket, put a bag of popcorn in and it popped. No mention of whether it melted Percy. He lived for a long time afterwards.

melted chocolate bar: 1945
1st commercial Microwave: 1946
1st consumer Microwave: 1967 Amana Radar Range.

Spencer's chart is "locomotive" shape bounded by a quincunx of Uranus in Scorpio and Mars in Aries. Mars is conjunct NN in Aries. Uranus is apex of a Yod with quincunxes to Mars in Aries and Pluto-Venus in Gemini on either leg. Mercury in Leo aspects both Mars (trine) and Uranus (square).

In 1945 when the popcorn started to pop, t.Uranus was passing over natal Pluto-Venus-Neptune in Gemini. T. Pluto was trining n. Mars-NN and just past conjunction with Mercury and squaring Uranus. T. NN was conjunct n. Sun.

2. Post-It Glue. Glue: Saturn. Reusable glue?: Pluto?

Inventor: Spencer Silver, b. 1941
12 years later, Inventor who realized glue could be used for tacking paper: Arthur Fry, b. 1931.

1978: 1st marketing in Boise Idaho.
1980 Officially introduced

3. Ether for anesthesia. Ether: Neptune, Uranus, Aquarius.

In the 1830s College students would use Laughing Gas to get high. Horace Wells went to one of these parties in Dec. 1944. Someone hurt his leg and he noticed that the guy was so busy laughing he didn't notice how damaged his leg was. Horace realized this could help in surgery.

Inventor: Horace Wells, b. Jan. 21, 1815, Vermont. Got the ball rolling.

In 1840 there was a mutual reception of the two rulers of Ether (Wells used Nitrous Oxide), Neptune and Uranus (same as now). He had a conjunction of Uranus-Mars-Neptune in Sagittarius. In Dec. 1840, t. Jupiter was conjunct his natal Uranus and t. Uranus was conjunct his n. Pluto in Pisces and squaring his n. Neptune. He was just past his Uranus square. Natal Mercury at 25 Capricorn c. n. Sun-Saturn in Aquarius. Prog. Mercury and Venus in Pisces were squaring natal Mars-Uranus.

Actually Horace didn't succeed in marketing Laughing Gas. Later Dr. William Morton and Dr. Charles Jackson performed the first public demonstration: Oct. 16, 1846, Massachusetts General Hospital. There was a mutual reception of Uranus and Neptune back during the 40s which could account for this.

4. Matches: Mars (Saturn, Pluto)

Inventor: John Walker, English Pharmacist stirred chemicals. B. May 29, 1781. Later the stick burst into flames. He began to sell as "Friction Lights." Sold them beginning on Nov. 27, 1826.

Walker had Mars at 25 Capricorn trining Mercury 29 Taurus. Prog. Mars was retrograde at 21 Capricorn. T. Uranus was at 22 Capricorn. Walker's natal Uranus was at 28 Gemini squaring Neptune at 4 Libra.

5. Teflon: no rulerships mentioned

1938: Dupont looking for a safer refrigerant. Chemist Roy Plunkett, b. June 26, 1910 New Carlisle, Ohio, plasticized refrigerator gasses on April 6, 1938.

Mercury, Mars, Uranus not in aspect. Mercury 13 Gemini; Mars 5 Leo; Uranus 25 Capricorn. Transiting Uranus, however, was widely separating from a conjunction to Saturn and a square to Mars.

6. Fingerprint detection, Super Glue Fuming. Fingers: Mercury, Gemini, H3. Printing Mercury, Gemini, H3. Forensics not listed but Pluto, H8 has to be involved.

1977: Inventor: Fuseo Matsumora, Japan, no Birth Date.

7. Cellophane: Cellulose: (Jupiter) Celluloid: (Uranus). I'd suspect that Neptune and Moon have something to do with a transparent wrap. Maybe even Venus.

1900: Dr. Brandenburger, b. Oct. 19, 1872, Zurich, Switzerland, was trying to make a waterproof tablecloth. He coated cloth with a thin film of cellulose. The cloth was too stiff but the clear, flexible coating peeled off and he realized it could be used. Dupont marketed in 1923.

Mars 9 Virgo square NN Gemini, trining Saturn 16 Capricorn. Uranus 6 Leo square Mercury 1 Scorpio. In 1900 (in March), prog. Mercury was conjunct t. Jupiter and Uranus & NN in Sagittarius and squaring n. Mars.

8. Dynamite: This is the result of at least a zillion accidents. Ruler: Uranus.

Invented by Alfred Nobel, b. Oct. 21, 1833, Stockholm, Sweden in 1864.

1863: Nobel's family was into explosives business. His brother and others were killed in one of their laboratories in 1864. In 1863 Alfred dropped nitroglycerin and figured he would die. Instead it landed on sawdust and didn't explode. He realized that mixing nitroglycerin with an inert substance kept it from extreme volatility. Eventually mixed with diatomaceous earth for TNT.

Mars 2 Scorpio c. Sun 28 Libra opposite Jupiter 2 Taurus. Mars c. Mercury 9 Scorpio. Mercury trine North Node in Cancer. Pluto in Aries squaring NN. Uranus 19 Aquarius. Going through a Uranus trine that year. T. Jupiter in Scorpio conjunct prog. Mars-Sun-NN. This may have been more of a Saturn thing since the Invention was to keep Accidents from happening. He developed a delayed reaction fuse. In 1893, Nobel was going through a Saturn Return and then Saturn passed over n. Sun and Mars. Saturn = Safety.

9. Velcro. Rulership not listed. Hooks: Saturn.

1948. Georges Demesterol, b. June 19, 1907, Lausanne, Switzerland, took his dog for a hike in 1948 and when they returned home he realized that the burrs that were stuck in his dog's fur could make great fasteners. Experimented for 3 years. Patented in 1951.

OK this is a good one. Mars 18 Capricorn c. Uranus 12 Capricorn opposite Neptune-Jupiter-Mercury-NN in Cancer. In 1948, t. Uranus 23 Gemini conjunct n. Pluto 24 Gemini. Natal Mercury-NN trine Saturn 28 Pisces.

10. Stainless Steel. Steel: Mars. Rust: Mars. Non-rusting: ?.

1913 Inventor Harry Brearly, b. Feb. 18, 1871 Sheffield, England, working for Sheffield in England was experimenting making Iron Alloys to create a stronger steel. Had cast off more than 4000 samples. One day in 1908 he looked in the cast-off bin and noticed that the sample that was mixed with Chromium had retained its sheen. The Chromium made a thin layer on top of the steel that kept it from rusting.

Grand Square of Saturn in Capricorn to North Node in Cancer squaring Mars in Libra opposite Chiron. In 1913, t. Uranus was conjunct n.Mercury in Aquarius and trining n. Mars in Libra. T. Neptune was c. n. Uranus. The Grand Square was aspecting by NN c. n.Chiron and t.Jupiter c. n. Saturn.

Springtime!!!! Aries Ingress

Chart I pulled up for Aries Ingress Chart for Washington DC is:

March 20, 2007 8:18 pm Washington DC

Sun 0 Aries; ASC 13 Libra; Moon 27 Aries; MC 15 Cancer

This is just an experiment. I have very little experience in reading Ingress Charts. Ingress Charts are based on the solstices and are used to look up political and world affairs. They read the "Aries Point" charts for each year as if there's something special to be gleaned from these points.

Visually what pops out is Sun conjunct Ceres in H6 to the degree and squared by Pluto in H3. That's the big square in this chart. There is a big story in the news about contaminated pet food that has been killing pets. H6 = household pets and hygiene. Be sure to never feed your beasts anything made with animal byproducts. The stuff the food companies consider to be animal byproducts is enough to make you lose your lunch. Which is another H6 manifestation. Also, this could lead to power struggles in labor and in educational facilities.

Venus is very strong in this chart meaning that Money and Diplomacy will dominate. Whoever can say it nicely and make money off of their words at the same time will dominate. Venus is ruler of the chart and is in Taurus which is the sign that it rules. It's also in H7 in the house that it rules. It's also an earth singleton. (Obama is a Taurus). And it's conjunct the Moon in Aries. So Washington and the U.S. will be diplomatically trying to resolve issues around the War in Iraq and wherever else we're killing people (As an American I'd be the last to know exactly which spots these are).

Venus in Taurus has it's own security issues at stake and money, as usual, will be the deciding factor in all outcomes at this time. This is amplified by the fact that Venus is conjunct the Moon which rules the MC. We'll be seen as big Crabs. Watch out for U.S. pincers that come at ya from the sides. And don't forget that we are sensitive people underneath all this armour. There are also 4 planets in the 5th house of speculation which repeats the money theme. I'd like to say that 5th house rules children as well but I think we've left them behind years ago at this point.

The U.S Chart (Sibley with Sagg Rising) has Sun at 14 Cancer conjunct the MC of this Ingress Chart and also Saturn in Libra right on this Ingress chart's ASC. Sun square Saturn sounds like Government problems. These problems will be exposed because of the contact with the ASC and the MC. Our future is being decided right now. MC and ASC don't have any squares other than to each other.

Hopefully with all those planets in the 5th house we'll get some good movies to watch in our theaters. Bread and Circus.

The Saturn-Neptune opposition lands on the 5th-11th house cusps with Chiron-Mars conjunct Neptune in Aquarius on H5 cusp. Let's hope that indicates business growth and innovation.

Uranus is still conjunct the NN in H5 in Aquarius. So hopefully that also indicates innovations in business. Well, we could hope for food and healthcare for the needy, but Saturn on H11 probably means we'll be stifling our wishes for awhile in favor of world domination.

What else? Mercury is also in Aquarius, apex of a small triangle to the trine between Venus-Moon and Pluto. Wow, that sounds like something where Women step in and take over.

There's a great technique that someone on a forum used with the last Ingress. He looked at just the 4 Harmonic chart which shows stress points. Then he looked for aspects from this (the 4th Harmonic) to the angles of the Ingress Chart. Venus is at 15 Leo which sextiles the ASC, but Saturn is at 16 Libra conjunct the ASC and squaring the MC. It looks like we may be held responsible for our actions. Venus is so strong, though, we may be better at playing with others than in the past.

The 3 Fathers of Modern Architecture

While reading about Itten and Albers I found an article that lists the 3 architects most responsible for the creation of the Modern Architecture movement. Of course this was a movement and all sorts of people contributed and many names are left off this list. But I thought I would briefly look at the charts. The list consists of 2 Germans and a Swiss. They were born 1883 - 1987 so two had the conjunction of Neptune and Pluto. This was probably more responsible for the explosion of creativity, and especially the Outer Space style which suddenly blasted out of all the Victorian Baroque goo-gah of the time. In historical cycles this just shows that Romanticism has shot its wad and left only one last yearning for clean and classical lines, organic shapes were ok but without the sturm und drang.

Rulerships from my boyfriend Rex Bills:

Architecture: Venus, Taurus, Saturn
Architects: Venus, Saturn, Capricorn
Modern Architecture: Aquarius

I'm not looking at these charts in depth. The Venus influence is very strong through both Taurus and Libra but I find it interesting that Aquarius is not very strong an influence in these charts. And, of course the Neptune-Pluto conjunction must be a big factor in the creation of Modernism in Architecture. Both water planets. A long time ago I wrote a blog (Water Walls) listing Architects with strong water signs in their charts. All built very Modern style. I can go on and on about how Modern Architecture might show the primeval roots of man's adaption to life on earth or something, but I won't. No matter. These 3 architects seem to have strong earth and air influence in their charts, not water.

Walter Gropius
b. May 18, 1883 Berlin, Germany

Sun 28 Taurus, Moon probably in Libra, North Node 12 Virgo

4 planets plus Chiron in Taurus: Neptune 19 Taurus with all the rest in tight conjunction: Sun 28 Taurus-Chiron 28 Taurus-Saturn 30 Taurus-Pluto 30 Taurus.

Mercury 19 Gemini
Mars 22 Aries conjunct Venus 25 Aries
Uranus 20 Virgo trining Neptune 19 Taurus
Jupiter 3 Cancer

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
b. March 27, 1886 10 am Aachen, Germany (astrotheme)

Sun 7 Aries; ASC 12 Cancer; Moon 7 Capricorn; NN 16 Virgo; MC 10 Pisces

Cardinal Grand Square contacting the Aries Points in Cancer and Libra: Sun in Aries in H10; Moon in in Capricorn H6; Saturn-ASC Cancer; Jupiter-Uranus in Libra, both retrograde, H4. Albers also had a strong Aries Point contact.

Neptune 24 Taurus H11 conjunct Pluto 2 Gemini H12 (conjunct H12 cusp)
Mars 9 Virgo Rx c. North Node
Venus 27 Aquarius H9
Mercury 24 Aries H11

Le Corbusier
b. Oct. 6, 1887 20:30 La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland

Sun 14 Libra; ASC 22 Gemini; Moon 5 Gemini; MC21 Aquarius; NN 17 Leo

Sun c. Uranus in H5 trining Moon c. Pluto 5 Gemini-Neptune30 Taurus

Mars 26 Leo H4
Venus 21 Virgo H5 cusp
Saturn 5 Leo square Jupiter 5 Scorpio H6.

Itten and Albers

In the late 1800's there was a conjunction of the two outer planets Neptune and Pluto which stretched for years over the cusp of Taurus and Gemini. These two planets working together bring out the Mystical and Abstract side of people. Taurus is ruled by Venus and Gemini by Mercury. Mercury and Venus together is the ultimate combination for marketing which was what the Bauhaus School in Germany was centered around. Designing for the masses and for the industrialized world in a completely new way. I'm finding that many of the Bauhaus masters were born with this conjunction (the architects at any rate).

The two Bauhaus Masters whose charts I'm going to look at today taught the Foundation Design Course and were great Innovators and Teachers of Color Theory. (Kandinsky and probably Klee also taught color but I'm not talking about them here.) I was lucky enough to take an art class once in which the teacher tossed a bunch of colored papers out in front of us, told someone to pick two pieces of different colors and then had us select different colored papers to set behind them. The exercise was to show how much color can change in relation to the colors which surround it. By changing the background colors the initial colors could be made to look almost identical to each other. No kidding! This was a total ah ha moment for me although the rest of the students didn't seem all that impressed. The teacher then brought out the Albers book called Interaction of Colors and showed us that this was just one of the exercises we could experiment with on our own. I'm still trying to read it but think it's much better to be shown these things. Color relationship theories were known for centuries but the Bauhaus brought it down into teachable form.

Johannes Itten and Josef Albers were born in the same year, 1888. Jupiter in Sagg boys born to teach their little hearts out. Itten created the Bauhaus Foundation course. But he was highly spiritual and required the students meditate before each exercise. Walter Gropius had a problem with this and Itten left the school. Gropius wanted to direct the school toward more practical aspects of design, mass production, no woo-woo. (His Pluto was conjunct Saturn and only very widely conjunct Neptune, so, you know, first things first). Albers began teaching sometime after.

Johannes Itten
b. Nov. 11, 1888 Sudern-Linden, Switzerland (good luck finding where this is)

Sun 20 Scorpio; Moon either in Aquarius or Pisces; North Node 24 Cancer

Itten is considered foremost a teacher. His paintings are not as strong as Albers and he didn't really stick with one solid style. According to Wikipedia he expanded his color ideas on those of Adolf Hozel. (I don't have a clue who that is.) He studied as an elementary school teacher and taught through Friedrich Froebel's style. He also studied psychoanalysis and mathematics. He had his first show and started his own school in 1916 and Gropius asked him to come teach at the Bauhaus in 1919 where he taught until the Tiff in March 1923. He was concerned with how colors look side by side. There are 3 main ways to differentiate colors: Dark against Light, Bright against Dull; and Warm against Cool. I guess he was the guy who tagged Reds as warm and Blues as Cold and he meant this in an emotional sense. He said that Medium Gray matches the required equilibrium of our sense of sight. Due to his psychology background he found that color harmony is individual and that each student will find his own subjective color harmonies. There are really interesting pictures in one of his books comparing photos of students faces with individual color exercises they've created. They literally find their own palettes by working on harmonizing colors together.

What initially got me into these charts was wondering if Itten had a lot of Libra in his chart, due to his interest in Color which is ruled by Venus and his incredible abilities to understand the relationships between colors. But, it turns out what I thought would be a Libra chart (unless he's got Libra rising) turned out to be a Scorpio chart. The relationships he was looking at were not social, he was looking for very deep spiritual and psychological connections between the colors and human perception. So, this is really boring writing but has been a great lesson for me.

Itten is said to have used Astrological symbols in his paintings and used them to meditate with so I know his full chart has to be out there somewhere. But I haven't found his birth time so don't have a Rising Sign or Moon. His Sun has only one aspect, a square to Saturn in Leo. That alone makes him kind of fascist. Thank God for the rest of the chart. He dressed like a monk so I'm guessing he had Pisces Rising. That would put Sagittarius on the MC which is very natural placement for a teacher. His Jupiter is in Sagittarius too, opposes his Neptune-Pluto conjunction and is a final dispositor in the chart. Mercury and Pluto are in mutual reception which again reflects deep thought and interest in psychology. Scorpio rules psychology and this was the man who related psychological feelings to color theory.

Itten has no real big geometric shapes in his chart which surprised me because I expect to see geometric shapes in a Bauhaus master's chart. Doi. I then remembered Bob Marks' lesson on Pallas (www.bobmarksastrologer.com). Pallas well placed gives a remarkable ability to see Patterns. In Itten's chart it is conjunct with Pluto (to the degree) and Neptune. Pallas is also extremely out of bounds in his chart at higher than 28 degrees so it's somewhere up there with Goya's Moon and pretty much nobody else's planets which I've looked at so far.

Josef Albers
March 19, 1888 9 am Bottrop, Westphalia, Germany

Sun 30 Pisces; Moon 13 Gemini; ASC 16 Gemini; MC 10 Aquarius; NN 11 Leo

Albers came to the Bauhaus as a student in 1920 and two years later began teaching. He became a Master Teacher in 1925 until the school was shut down by the Nazis in 1933. He then emigrated to the U.S. where he continued to teach.

Albers solidified Itten's ideas and added a disciplined approach to composition. His paintings abstract the relationship of colors and composition. Mostly he painted squares over and over playing with color interactions.

Itten's Sun is at the Aries Point and his North Node is in Leo. This is much more of a heavy duty set-up for self-expression and artistic success than anything in Itten's chart. Moon conjunct ASC in Gemini. Very versatile and in tune with public sentiment. Neptune at 28 Taurus is conjunct Pluto at 4 Gemini in H12. Unlike Itten's chart Albers' chart is full of geometric shapes. He's got two grand trines, one of which extends out into a Kite, a mystic rectangle, a yod, and a t-square with Mercury and Venus at the apex which seems to repeat the theme of Neptune in Taurus-Pluto in Gemini.

So many of Albers' planets are on the last degrees of signs. I've heard some astrologers say this is a very negative thing, the person expresses the sign that the planet is in with exhaustion and impatience for change. I hate these kinds of interpretations but I don't know how else to interpret it. I just always suppose it suggests a soul that lives in a transition time and also is accountable for a lot of strong aspects and geometric shapes in the chart. Since his Sun is on an Aries Point I suppose with these other planets aspecting it make it much stronger. Sun is at 30 Pisces; Venus is at 30 Aquarius; Neptune is at 28 Taurus; Saturn 30 Cancer; Mars at 29 Libra Rx.

So, today is Albers birthday. Happy Solar Return to You Josef! Jupiter Return too, yahoo!!

Ralph Nader - Stately Stud

Flipping through the channels on the TV with the sound muted and stopped on an Interview with Ralph Nader. Is he running for President again?

Anyway, I started to look at his face and sort of noticed that, wow, he's been Botoxed. Frumpy Ralph is looking really good and it's not the Olive Oil in his diet. First I noticed the Comb-over. Does he have a little bald spot under there that at age 73 he wants to hide from America? Maybe. I know Donald Trump's a Leo so I wondered where Leo is in Ralph's chart. There you have it, Moon in Leo on an Angle. Those Lions and their Manes.

Then I noticed that Ralph's skin is remarkably wrinkle free. The last election he looked like Lincoln. Now he looks kinda puffy, but youthful puffy. So I thought, wow, is Ralph vain? Our Ralph who drove a Dodge Dart for like 20 years? Yes! the chart never lies. He's got Venus in his 1st house. Yes, Ralph is vain. He really wants to be popular. Aquarius Rising at 0 degrees. He'll do what it takes to gather the votes. Hmmm, but then there's Saturn conjunct North Node in the First House too. He's inhibited and shy. He didn't do this lightly, it was for his career (Saturn). Do they list Plastic Surgeons in Consumer Reports? Maybe it's natural, Saturn ages well. Either way, he was born with the weight of the world on his shoulders. Then I realize, uh oh. Venus opposite Moon in Men means that they suffer sorrow through women. It would really hurt his feelings if I were really to write this and he were to read it which won't happen. And basically he's done so much good for the Country. And, at this point he's graduated to a Toyota Prius, right? And, if he has to date a Neptunian she'll be more of a blond Hollywood bombshell than a tweaker who keeps disappearing under the table.

Anyway, he's gotta be used to this harassment by now:

Ralph Nader
b. Feb. 27, 1934 4:52am Winsted, CT

Sun 9 Pisces; ASC 0 Aquarius; Moon 16 Leo; MC 24 Scorpio; NN 19 Aquarius Rx

Just to ease my own guilt pangs at having thought impure thoughts about Ralph Nader: this is Consumer Advocacy Man all the way. Pisces Sun in H1, sensitive, empathetic, but fearless as Hell, a real self starter. Ruler of Sun is Neptune which is in House 7 along with his Moon. Is he single? I think he's still single and he just channels those two planets into their higher octaves of public service and speaking out for the public consumer. Aquarius Rising with two planets and NN in Aquarius, friendly, the good of the whole, equality. Ruler of the Chart is Uranus which is in H2 but very close to H3 cusp so he speaks out on behalf of values of the everyman. It's squaring the Pluto-ASC opposition so he really likes to take on the big guns. And he's quite a shark about it too behind all that Pisces-Aquarius lovey dovey. Scorpio MC in a Grand Trine with Pluto in H6 opposite ASC and Mars-Mercury in Pisces conjunct the H2 cusp of Money and Values.

Wonder what rules Botox? Pluto and Venus would rule plastic surgery, I imagine, (and probably Sagittarius for youthfulness) and Ralph has Venus in H1 and Pluto both rules and trines his MC so he does very well with this stuff. Guess I could check his progressions and what not. Nah, not important. Wow, I guess Neptune's in his 1st house right now and that spells Glamour. Maybe he should go blond.

Friedrich Froebel - PeeWee's First Playhouse

While looking at the chart of Johannes Itten I came across the name of Friedrich Wilhelm August Froebel who was listed as one of Itten's major influences as an educator. Froebel also influenced many other modern artists and designers such as Frank Lloyd Wright. He developed a new educational style for small children which talked to them at their level and he was the first guy to think to do this. He gave them toys such as blocks to play with that were shaped on the basic units of nature and let them "harness" their own natural impulses. Through this he felt that a child would naturally develop his own logic about creation. He's the guy who coined the word "Kindergarten" which means "Children" and "Garden" in German based on the school that he opened.

Friedrich Wilhelm August Froebel
b. April 21, 1782 Oberweissbach, Germany

Sun 2 Taurus, Moon either in Cancer or Leo, North Node 17 Aries

Cardinal Grand Square: Jupiter 29 Sagg-Saturn 2 Cap opposite Uranus 30 Gemini (Aries Points!); squaring Mercury 7 Aries opposite Neptune 7 Libra

Froebel had a tough childhood. His Mother died when he was 9 months old. His father sent him to live with an Uncle and then died when Froebel was about 20. The Cardinal Influence shows an ability to start a whole new trend in thinking. He grew up in a forested town in Central Germany and was very connected with Nature and natural medicines.

Air Grand Trine: Mars 12 Gemini trine Neptune 7 Libra trine Pluto 9 Aquarius.
A strong intellect that maybe enabled him to see the need to develop a sense of play and the need for a child to develop his own thoughts organically through the experience of singing, dancing, gardening and playing rather than through mechanical means of memorization and repetition. His specially made toys called Froebel Gifts naturally exposed a child to the basic units of Nature rather than forcing learning through rote.

North Node is in Aries; directness and play are obvious avenues of development. NN is unaspected by planets which puts extra stress on its influence. It is, however, conjunct Pallas which is a strong indicator for recognizing patterns and is thought to be common in designers' charts. From 1811-1815, Froebel worked in a University Museum categorizing minerals by their crystal shapes. Perfect job for his Pallas-NN. He eventually correlated these geometries with his ideas about the growth of children, adults and even cultures. In 1811, t. Pallas was conjunct his natal Sun and his prog. Venus was conjunct his NN-Pallas conjunction. His Grand Square was lit up by his Saturn Return and by his prog. Mars which was conjunct n.Uranus and opposite n.Saturn. Saturn rules Minerals and Form and Shape. His job was probably pretty dull but just what he needed to form his future ideas.

Froebel opened his Play & Activity Institute in 1837. Lots of North Node and Chiron action. Transiting Pluto was c. his n. NN-Pallas and the t. NN was c. his natal Sun. Chiron, the Wounded Teacher, is strongly aspected at this point. His natal Chiron in Taurus was receiving a conjunction from prog. Venus and Pallas and t.Chiron was conjunct his natal Mars in Gemini. Also, he was going through the very mystical transit of t. Neptune c. n. Pluto. It's interesting that he seems to have been doing so well. Natally his Pluto is in Aquarius and squaring his Sun which would indicate some kind of defeat of his ego but he seems to have just been coming into his own. But here, Neptune and Pluto are working together at their highest levels. Both planets are involved in the natal Grand Air Trine with Mars.

When he coined the word "Kindergarten" in 1840 Froebel was going through his 2d Saturn Return. Opposite that, Progressed Sun was 2 degrees from conjunction with his natal Uranus at 29 Gemini which is an Aries Point. His revolutionary (Uranus) ideas about Children's education (Gemini) came to the attention of the world.

Neptune Sells

If you've got a plot of land and you want to make the most money off of harvesting a crop, find a plant that is ruled by Neptune. Neptunian products apparently reap the biggest rewards.

Found a book by Henry Hobhouse called Seeds of Wealth: Four Plants That Made Men Rich which talks about the major money making plant crops in history. Plants used for Medicine and Food don't come up in this book so I wonder how they compare in the Business World. This book lists 4 plants, a previous edition listed 6. The author doesn't say what one of the plants was but had included Coca (used for cocaine and crack production) in the previous edition. Coca's definitely Neptune. So is Marijuana, which harvests an income that outstrips Corn and Wheat combined in the U.S. In California, you don't even need a plot of land. You just need a tract house in the suburbs. Law enforcement has been finding stucco homes that house nothing but huge pot farms, garnering incomes of about $1M per year per house. Here's a link to an L.A. Times article about the growth of the booming Pot Industry: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-pot18dec18,0,5264617.story?coll=la-home-headlines.

Plant Life in general is ruled by the Moon. Farms are ruled by H4, Saturn, Capricorn (Taurus, Virgo, H6).

Here are the Money Making Cash Crops from the past as listed in the book:

Timber: (Neptune, Saturn)
Grapes for Wine: Venus (Sun) for Grapes. Wine, Wine Merchants: Venus, Neptune. Dry Wines: (Saturn); Light and Sweet Wines: Sweet and Heavy Wines: (Jupiter). Wine Color: Jupiter
Rubber: Neptune (Jupiter, Saturn)
Tobacco: Mars, Jupiter (Pluto)

The biggest legal Cash Crops in the United States are:

Corn: (Sun, Mercury, Taurus, Uranus). Used for Ethanol (Neptune)
Soybeans: not listed
Hay: (Saturn, Mercury, Virgo)

Here are a couple of other Big Money Makers:

Coffee: Neptune (Mars, Pluto)
Cotton: (Neptune)

Top Dangers (Mars) for Kids

Here's a link to an article describing the top dangers for kids in the Home. http://redbook.ivillage.com/parenting/0,,p5x6-3,00.html. I don't know if this is a valid study but I've applied rulerships to the dangers in the hopes that maybe they can be applied to a true to life chart. Rulerships from Rex Bills Rulership Book.

1. Iron Burns (pressing). Pressing Irons: (Leo); burns: Mars, Aries.

2. Adult Iron Supplements. Mars, Aries (Scorpio). Toxic complaints: Pluto, Scorpio (Neptune, Saturn)

3. Wooden Swing Sets & Decks that are treated with Arsenic. The Arsenic doesn't dissipate with Time. Poisonous to every organ. Arsenic ruled by Mars.

4. Flea Collars. Pesticide poisonings if the child touches it. Pests, pest control: Pluto. Pets: H6, Virgo, Jupiter (Venus).

5. TVs that tip over because they aren't bolted down. Most injuries happen to 1-3 years olds (Venus and Mercury Returns around Age 1, Mars Return around Age 2) and involve head injuries (Mars).

6. Formaldehyde in home furnishings, off-gassing from new furniture, carpet, UFFI insulation, particle board. Irritates eyes, nose and throat and can trigger asthma. Is linked long-term to Lung and Sinus Cancer. Formaledehyde: no listing. Chemicals in general: Neptune. Organic Chemicals: (Pisces); (as compared with Inorganic Chemicals: Saturn (Scorpio). Gas (at room temperature): Neptune (Pisces).

7. Noise (Mars). Damages hearing (Saturn). Disrputive to language & cognitive development (Mercury).

8. Home Gyms (Mars). Hands (Mercury) and feet (Neptune) get stuck (Saturn) in equipment.

Happy 50th Birthday to The Cat in the Hat!!

Hey Buddy! You're Awesome! And Now You're a Golden Oldie!!

The Cat in the Hat
published March 1, 1957 New York, NY

Sun 11 Pisces, Moon in Pisces, NN 23 Scorpio

Cat's Dad:

Theodore (Dr. Seuss) Geisel
b. March 2, 1904 Springfield, MA

Sun 12 Pisces Moon in Virgo? NN 28 Virgo

Look Cat! You're the spitting image of your Father! Born the day before his Birthday, you came out as his Solar Return. Not only that but you were also born right smack dab on his Mercury Return Return and soon after his Venus Return. Both planets are in Aquarius in both of your charts so you're both real weirdos. He also has Saturn conjunct Mercury and Venus (trining Pluto) which means that he is your Dad (Saturn). He made you. I wonder how often creative masterpieces are brought forth on their Creator's planetary returns (See "Memoirs of a Fibber").

But, Look, Cat, you're both Pisces! That's why you're so light and funny and fun. Dad's Moon might be in the opposite sign of Virgo which means that he's a Full Moon baby with a very mental approach to his feelings. You were born on the New Moon making you a Double Pisces which means that you're all Feeling. That's not all. You were born during a Partial Solar Eclipse (exact 15:25). So, the whole world is crazy about you. You guys make great Dancers, Actors, and Singers, but also really crazy House Guests. You can whirl the House up into a Chaotic Mess and clean it back up like Magic.

And, Hey Cat, you were born with your Jupiter conjunct your Dad's North Node. You are very very lucky for him. Your unaspected Jupiter also fills out a t-square that's in his chart opposite his Jupiter-Mars-SN in Aries conjunctionwhich squares his Uranus in Sagittarius opposite Neptune in Cancer. All these are either on or very close to the Aries Points in the Horoscope meaning that you were the missing link for bringing him great Fame.

Sadly, we don't know what time you were born. We know that your Dad got inspiration for your face from the elevator operator at Houghton Mifflin. He gave you the guy's gloves and his "secret smile." I don't know what rules Elevator Operators off hand, and I doubt we could ever find out what that guy's Sun Sign is let alone his Rising Sign. I do know that Pisces are known for their Devastating Smiles.

Happy Birthday Cat!! You made my childhood really great!!!!

P.S. It's fascinating to note that Dr. Seuss and the Zerna Sharp who was mentioned in the last blog both have Mercury-Saturn conjunctions. They both wrote remedial readers for Children, but boy what a difference in styles!

Why Johnny Won't Read

What books did they force you to read with when you were growing up? I've noticed a resurgence of the Dick and Jane books which were crammed down my own throat. I was actually allowed to skip the 3d Grade Readers because I complained to my teacher when she passed one out to me first day of class. Actually I didn't complain. I didn't have to. I opened it up and read out loud from it with a Wicked Witch of the West voice while pointing up Jane's skirt. My teacher was cool. She walked over to the purse at her desk and pulled out a paperback of Phyllis Diller's latest joke book and told me to go back to my desk and read that.

So, who wrote those things? Who was it? Was she a lady? Was she nice? Did the dog Tag barf it up?

Zerna Addis Sharp
b. Aug. 12, 1889 Hillisburg, Indiana

Sun 21 Leo Moon probably in Pisces North Node 12 Cancer

"Oh, see. Oh, see Zerna. Funny, funny Zerna."

Funny, funny thing. Zerna's chart hooks up with mine big time and in a not so hot way. No wonder why I read slow and can't write good. Anyway, a kid can develop ADD just waiting for something to happen in those stories.

Zerna's Sun was in Leo conjunct Saturn and Mercury and trining Jupiter in Sagittarius. So there you have it. She had insecurities about her own reading abilities which she projected onto every American school child from the 1930's to the 1970's. These aspects would have manifested into good concentration skills and business acumen as Zerna grew up. The Jupiter in Sagittarius brought her luck in publishing. And the illustrators, Eleanor Campbell and Keith Ward, made some cute pictures of suburbia.

Dick, Jane, Baby Sally, Mother, Father, dog Tag, and the God Damned Clown were constructed to bring us all down to her own remedial level reading skills. It was a Communist plot. And it worked. (Personally, I think that Phyllis Diller wrecked my head. Zerna just made me want to pick my nose from boredom). And this stellium of Zerna's was right on top of my own conjunction of Mercury and Uranus and I like it weird and had already been exposed to Dr. Seuss at home...

Rudolf Flesch criticized Zerna in his book "Why Johnny Can't Read." This was in 1955, a generation of kids had grown up not being able to read and were rapidly morphing into beatniks and hippies. T. Pluto was conjunct Zerna's Sun-Saturn-Mercury. It brought changes, but, it didn't bring the needed changes fast enough. I wasn't even born yet but those books were waiting for me when I arrived in First Grade more than a decade later.

Zerna's style was called "sight reading." Flesch preferred phonics. I remember hating phonics too.

This is what I liked and I liked it a lot. "One Fish. Two Fish. Red Fish. Blue Fish. I do not like Green Eggs and Ham. I do not like them Sam I am." Much better. Seuss was a Pisces. He knew how to take it out there.

Seuss (Ted Geissel) wrote The Cat in the Hat in response to a May 24, 1954 article published in Life Magazine about why kids were unable to read. The Cat was published in 1957. I'll have to track down a publishing date but for now we'll say that the Cat in the Hat was a Gemini.

In 2003, Grosset & Dunlap reissued the Dick and Jane books. The originals sell for around $200.00 each, at least the ones that didn't get eaten by the Dog or run over by the School Bus. Hope you stole yours. Zerna is once again in style, American Publishing miracle. Her chart is currently going through a Saturn Return, t.Pluto is conjunct her n.Jupiter and she'll have a Jupiter Return at the end of this year.

Just out of curiosity, I had to check where her Lilith is. Lilith in Cancer right on the Aries Point. Lilith killed kids. Ah, astrology never lies.

Cyberworld Countries

I've heard talk about how the Internet has created Cyber "Countries" where people can connect with each other who otherwise wouldn't be able to connect. For example, if "MySpace" were considered a Country, it would be the 6th largest country in the World between Mexico and Japan. This is for me a manifestation of the outer planet transits right now. The Mutual Reception between Uranus and Neptune has created a non-Material reality (although the people who work for the Tech Companies are the Richest in the World). Pluto in Sagittarius gives huge power to Media and Publishing in a sense spreading the word. Sagittarius rules Religious affiliations and the Internet gathers people together on a Mental Plane which may or may not be considered a Godless operation.

There's a great blog about these cyber Countries and the good they can do on Christopher Coppola's blog. He's an experimental filmmaker who is running around the world encouraging all types of people to tell their stories. Here's the link: www.earsxxi.com/blog. Listen to the March 10, 2007 broadcast. Coppola is one of those kids who was born during the 1962 conjunction of planets in Aquarius and truly exemplifies the Aquarian ideals of community.

Snitches and Sneaks and Leaks

Today's unwieldy blog talks about some of the People involved with the Leak of CIA agent, Valeria Plame's Identity through the Press, the alleged cover-ups, admissions, and last week's conviction of "Scooter" Libby who, according to a jury of his peers, did indeed try to cover up who was responsible, I think they call it perjury and Obstruction of Justice.

Valerie Plame worked for the CIA from around 1985 maybe doing all kinds of mysterious stuff. She's really beautiful and an Aries just like her TV alter ego Jennifer Garner from Alias. She married an Ambassador named Wilson. (Now that sounds like an Alias.) First of all, I guess the guy was still married to his first wife and divorced her to marry Plame (or Wilson, yeah, that's his name, sounds like an Alias to me). So that makes for bad vibes in the Marriage arena right off the bat. But, marrying a high profile Politician it turns out is kind of a stupid thing for a Spy to do because people are gonna know, they're just gonna know, especially in the Bush Administration which is full of Neptunians and Uranians. The Wilsons (damn that sounds like an Alias) had twins in 1999 and everyone was happy and ritzy and working out at the gym and traveling. Neptune rules Aliasas, in case you're curious.

Then the Husband publishes an article in the NYTimes criticizing the Bush Administration on July 6, 2003. So, then a Conservative Columnist, Robert Novak, responds the next week with a retaliatory article which outed Wilson's wife as an Agent for George Bush's Secret Service. That's illegal and everyone wants to know who leaked the info to this idiot. So it goes on and on.... The Wilson's are suing Carl Rove and Dick Cheney and Scooter Libby and Richard Armitage. Wish I could just add the charts and be popular so all kinds of astrologers would visit and could comment on this B.S. It's really not all that interesting and I think just a cover-up to keep our minds off the fact the FDA is allowing cloned animal meat and dairy into our food supply, but I'm an Idiot, what do I know? And Alias was one of my favorite shows of all time, did you see how good Jennifer Garner looked in all those outfits? I mean, how do you Karate kick 10 hulking Czech and/or Asian guys at the same time when you're wearing a miniskirt and none of them dies or rapes you or even sees your crotch? So cool.

Jennifer Garner
b. Apr. 17, 1972 Houston TX

Sun 28 Aries Moon Gemini NN 1 Aquarius

Oh No! Wait! Wrong Gal!

Valerie Plame
b. Apr. 19, 1963 Anchorage Alaska

Sun 30 Aries, Moon in Aquarius or Pisces, North Node 25 Cancer

Valerie's Aries Sun is both Trining and Parallel to Uranus at 2 Virgo. It's been said that she really worked in non-conventional weapons on an International Level. Sun is in mutual reception Mars in Leo and the strong combination of Sun, Mars and Uranus does indeed indicate someone who could work with weaponry and technology. Her Sun is exactly opposite Lilith. Lilith is known in mythology for struggling with marital issues and it is said that Plame compromised her Identity by marrying a political figure. Mars is involved in a "loose" Grand Square. Mars is squaring both Mercury in Taurus and Neptune in Scorpio but is 11 degrees out of orb for an opposition to Saturn in Aquarius. Both Mercury and Neptune are squaring Saturn. This shows a mind that likes to work under stress and is both elusive, assertive and precise. Great combination for her job until you look at the destruction that Grand Squares can cause in people's lives. These are the people for whom shit just happens. Everything happens all at once and things just break down. Plame's Venus in Pisces 25 is nicely trined to her NN in Cancer showing a lot of feminine charm. However, on July 14, 2003 when Nowak's article came out there was a Full Moon happening right on her NN. She was exposed!! Her Sun squares her Nodes, as does her Lilith. Charm doesn't do it alone. You need lots of Pluto in the Spy business.

It's also very interesting to look at the Eclipses that occurred before Plame's exposure. There was a Total Lunar Eclipse on May 16, 2003 and an Annular Solar Eclipse on May 31. Both hit many of Plame's personal planets. Lunar Eclipse: Sun 25 Taurus. t.Mercury 12 Taurus c. n. Mercury. T. Venus 30 Aries c. n. Sun. t. Mars c. Neptune 14 Aquarius c. n. Saturn. T. Jupiter c. n.Mars. Solar Eclipse: Sun 10 Gemini. T. Mercury c. Venus c. natal Mercury within 2 degrees. Neptune-Mars 22 Aquarius c. n. Saturn. Jupiter c. n. Mars.

So, onto Robert Novak, ace Conservative Columnist/Journalist/Is he still working?
b. Feb. 26, 1931 Joliet, IL

Sun 8 Pisces, Moon probably in Gemini, Node Node 16 Aries

Sun is conjunct Lilith and opposite Neptune at 4 Virgo.

On July 14, 2003 Mars was within one degree conjunction of his Sun so he was just so full of himself. Should have found a Date, like Newt Gingrich, to get the stuff out of his system.

Truth is, from the looks of this guy's chart, this guy's not much of a lover. He might have some Anger Management Issues and is overly Ambitious. Uranus c. NN is squared by a heavy opposition of Saturn-Venus in Capricorn opposite Pluto-Mars in Cancer. The Full Moon was on top of this opposition when his article came out bringing him into the spotlight.

I sure wish I had birth times for these guys. In the noontime chart both Novak and Libby have extremely out of bounds Moons. 27 and 28 degrees. If this applies to their charts, I bet they turn into Wolf Man at every Full Moon. Now we know the secret to getting ahead in Politics and Media!

Moving on to our next Snitch, possibly Fall Guy:

Lewis "Scooter" Libby. Gawd, those East Coast folks and their puppy dog names! I actually met a woman from Connecticut named "Fuff" (I don't know how you can remain haughty when you keep going by the name of Fuff, but she did). And I won't say the variations of "Scooter's" name that he'll receive in jail. Anyway, what kind of a Rising Sign does this give him? Gemini? That rules Bicycles. Rex Bills doesn't list Scooters. Digress. Back to subject.

Lewis "Scooter-Pie" Libby
b. Aug. 22, 1950 New Haven, CT

Sun 29 Leo, Moon in either Sagittarius or Capricorn, North Node 29 Pisces.

So, Libby's Sun is inconjunct his NN but it might also be trining his Moon. His path might not always be clear to him. He might also get a pardon. North Node in Pisces is the perfect placement for a Fall Guy, plays out the victim role, jail time, big government. Libby's Mercury at 27 Virgo is conjunct his South Node along with Saturn at 20 Virgo. So, he does have a great mind for concentrating, just gets a little bogged down by details. Like, for example, covering up his tracks to cover up for that small leak that blew the CIA agent's cover.

On July 14, 2003, t. Uranus was conjunct his Jupiter and opposite his Sun. He also was just too full of himself. His Jupiter (in Pisces) is also involved in a Grand Trine with Mars in Scorpio and Uranus in Cancer. Emotionally, he's a guy who likes to keep to himself pretty much but two of these planets were receiving transits so the thing was heavily charged: Uranus was conjunct his natal Jupiter and Saturn and Venus were conjunct his natal Uranus. So it's not surprising that things got a little out of control and a few unexpected events happened that required some fussing about later on. T. Jupiter was also about to conjunct his Sun and oppose itself so right after the Exposed Leak he probably was a little too optimistic about how the situation could be handled. Who knows?

Anyhoo, along comes Lilith. T. NN on his natal Lilith along with a Lilith return soon after -- women were really just making his life a living Hell. And Pluto was c. his Chiron in Sagittarius, so those nasty media events. His mood here looks like a lot of Hysteria to me.

Dick Cheney
b. Jan. 30, 1941, Lincoln, NE

Sun 11 Aquarius, ASC 3 Virgo, Moon 23 Pisces, NN 3 Libra

Dick Cheney's been extremely sick ever since he took office. The Der Wienerschitzel wouldn't even have hired someone in his condition to sell hotdogs. But he's been running our country. How can we expect him to be of proper mind to run the Country? That's all I've ever noticed about Dick Cheney. Maybe it's the Virgo Rising with Sun in H6 that just makes you worry about the guy's health. Maybe it's his Neptune c. NN. I can't stand the Martyr thing. I also can't stand the paranoia, secrets and mis-information. Anyway, he's got a t-square between Sun opposite Pluto and squaring Saturn-Jupiter, so you can rest assured that he's on such a power trip that he just can't quit. He would die if he quit. So he just keeps on going and going and going.... the whole U.S. Army...

So, July 14, 2003. The Full Moon is conjunct his Venus and Vertex in Capricorn. Venus = Women and Vertex = Fate. The t.Sun was c. his Part of Fortune. It's running across his 5th-11th house axis. Looks like his friends fucked up.

Mars and Uranus were passing over his Descendant. That's the amazing duo that everyone fights over where to place in the USA's Ascendant because it rules cowboys and ruthlessly out of control independent people. If in the 1st House with the Gemini Rising it puts Cowboys up front. Or is it in the 6th/7th House with the Sagittarius Rising, puts Cowboys out on the range. On this day, Dick Cheney had them out on the Range. And, like Valerie Plame, Dick is Uranian himself. His Sun is in Aquarius and is contraparallel his Uranus. So, with Uranus on his DESC he really got to meet his match.

And natally he has Moon in Pisces opposite Neptune in Virgo right on top of the Nodes so he's got his fair share of blind spots when it comes to women. T. Neptune was on his n.Sun, for, like ever, so it wasn't just the women that were confusing him. It was the whole damn country and the whole damn war and all he could see forever right out across the Horizon was Oil Fields, pretty Oil Fields, the only Neptunian thing his Grand Earth Trine could allow him to grasp. Surrender? Ha! Frothing at the Mouth. Digress.

Oh, and also, on July 14, 2003, t. Pluto was exactly conjunct Cheney's natal Mars at 18 Sagittarius which squares his Moon. That could easily lead to a Media Spectacle. I imagine, overall, he was not having a good day or couple of months for that matter. He should have just called Jennifer Garner up (Movie Actress=Neptune) for a Date.

Funny thing is, we've already got our guy and he's running around blameless and free. Richard Armitage, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State, has been outed by Bob Woodward who said that a high ranking official was blabbing to him that Valerie Plame was a CIA agent in June before Novak ran his column. Other resources confirm the information. And he quit his office in 2004. And on September 7, 2006 he took the Fall for creating the Leak. The American People don't care about that. We want a Media Event, with a Full on Criminal Trial, Civil Suit to Follow, and a Guilty Verdict with a Rich, Successful Person bound in Chains. We don't care about:

Richard Armitage
b. Apr. 26, 1945 Boston, Mass

Sun 7 Taurus, Moon either in Libra or Scorpio, NN 12 Cancer conjunct Saturn 7 Cancer

Sun conjunct Neptune. Easy going baby face type. So many of the guys in this administration have Neptune so strongly emphasized in their charts. Martyrs or Jail Birds? They should have gone into Art and Metaphysics to find a postive outlet for their creativity.

Mercury conjunct Venus in Aries inconjunct Jupiter. The guy's just got a big fat mouth. Sometimes he's diplomatic, sometimes he's enthusiastic, but this conjunction squares his Nodes, NN in Cancer. Unfortunately, on this date Progressed Mercury was conjunct his NN to the degree. Blabber mouth city. He even confessed. It's just that when you're always blabbing, nobody ever really listens to you.

Plus, July 14, 2003, the guy was going through his Saturn Return and his Progressed Sun was within orb of conjunction with natal Saturn. And t.Venus (women) was there. He's feeling old and vain. And he's kind of fat and ugly. So he picks the pretty chick at the party and he can't have her. So, on the Full Moon he gets his wish. He wrecks her life.

OK, Comet's Ass, Jury of One has declared Guilty Party.

Here's one more:

Carl Rove
b. Dec. 25, 1950 Denver, CO

Sun 4 Capricorn, Moon probably in Cancer NN 23 Pisces

So, Carl Rove knew too. It sorta looks that way from the Wikipedia entry (I know I'm full of b.s.). But don't know if he was the actual blabber mouth because Armitage's chart looks guilty.

Natal Sun opposite Uranus. More Sun-Uranus folks.

Mercury-Venus conjunction in Capricorn, 14 and 18 degrees which squares Armitage's. Rove's opposes his Uranus and squares his Neptune. So, he's a better liar, better gossip, better at knowing how to keep his mouth shut. Armitage worked right under Rove and, boy, I guess they probably really set each other off. The Sun was hitting these conjunctions right before the Full Moon, and, no offense, but these guys were really getting hormonal.

On July 14, 2003 t. Saturn was conjunct Rove's natal Uranus and opposing his Mercury-Venus. T. Chiron was conjunct Mercury-Venus.

Okay, I'm done. There's so much more to look at but Politicians bug me and there are a lot of really great people out there who do wonderful things. It is interesting to notice how strongly Neptune and Uranus play in the charts of the people in this scandal, kind of Scandal Uranus-Neptune Mutual Reception style -- with Pluto in Sagittarius thrown in for Spy and Media appeal.