Once in a Blue Moon

Today we've got a Blue Moon, the second Full Moon in a month. For those who like to get specific about the time frames (i.e. Virgos), apparently "Once in a Blue Moon" means "every 2-3 years". The last one was on July 31, 2004 and the next one will be on Dec. 31, 2009. That's in California, US, at least. Jack Kevorkian gets released from jail tomorrow and I think Paris Hilton goes in.

Go into your favorite neighborhood dive tonight and get sloppy all over the piano player. Here are the words:

"Blue Moon
You saw me standing alone
Without a dream in my heart
Without a love of my own
Blue Moon
You know just what I was there for
You heard me saying a prayer for
Someone I really could care for

And then there suddenly appeared before me
The only one my arms will hold
I heard somebody whisper please adore me
And when I looked to the Moon it turned to gold

Blue Moon
Now I'm no longer alone
Without a dream in my heart
Without a love of my own

And then there suddenly appeared before me
The only one my arms will ever hold
I heard somebody whisper please adore me
And when I looked the Moon had turned to gold

Blue moon
Now I'm no longer alone
Without a dream in my heart
Without a love of my own

Blue moon
Now I'm no longer alone
Without a dream in my heart
Without a love of my own "

Here's a link to a couple of interesting facts about Blue Moons from the San Jose Mercury News: http://www.mercurynews.com/search/ci_6026683?nclick_check=1.

Tuberculosis Quarantine

(edited 5/31/07)

The Center for Disease Control just imposed its 1st Government Ordered Quarantine since 1963 on a man who has a drug-resistant form of Tuberculosis. The last Quarantine was for a Small Pox infection.

Tuberculosis is a bacteria spread through the air by coughing, sneezing and talking. It can remain floating around for hours. I've read at one source (from Internet) that the rulership for Tuberculosis is Pisces. Rex Bills says Tuberculosis is ruled by Gemini and Saturn. The transits of all 3 of these are prominently aspected in the CDC's chart. The transiting Sun, of course, is in Gemini. This isn't significant by itself, but it is squaring an exact conjunction of the CDC's "natal" chart with it's progressed Sun. This is in the sign of Virgo, sign of Public Health. The North Node is currently in Pisces and Neptune has been opposed by Saturn. Saturn, according to Rex, rules Quarantines. In addition, Neptune rules jails. Saturn, right now, is placed at a significant point in the CDC's chart conjunct its Venus and maybe its Moon. The chart is a Bundle shape bordered by a trine of Uranus in Gemini and Jupiter in Libra. The natal Venus is sextiling both of these planets which means that t. Saturn-n. Venus and possibly Moon are at the midpoint of the two outer planets. If the birth time for the CDC is between 8 and 9 in the morning this midpoint is in the chart's 1st house which is one of the health houses.

The man who is infected with the TB is being held in Atlanta where he lives. He was infected before he left but apparently was not told that he shouldn't travel and went ahead with his honeymoon "because it had been planned for so long." (That's what happens when you try to plan to get married during a long Saturn-Neptune transit.) The CDC contacted him while he was in Italy on his way to Greece and told him to contact the Health Department there. He panicked about the quality of healthcare available and came back to the US via a flight to Canada exposing even more people. Now he's stuck in a Hospital bed with a guard outside the door.

Bummer of a Honeymoon. The new bride is not sick. Neither are the Crews of either flights. And the passengers are currently being sought for testing. This strain cannot be treated with drugs. That's why all the fuss.

Here are the flights. Hope you weren't on them:

Air France Flight 385 (also known as Delta Air Flight 8517).
Depart Atlanta, GA May 12 (8:55 pm?). Arrive Paris May 13 11:10am

Czech Air Flight 0104
Depart: Prague May 24 (time?) Arrive: Montreal, Canada (time).

The couple was actually on many more shorter flights in Europe. What a couple of dopes.

The CDC was established as:

The Communicable Disease Center on July 1, 1946 in Atlanta, GA by Dr. Joseph Mountin. If the Center opened in the morning (8am?) most of the planets would be in the Health houses, 1 & 12.

The chart is a Bundle shape meaning all the planets are held within a trine. This trine is bounded by a Gemini conjunction of Uranus-NN on one side and Jupiter in Libra on the other side. Jupiter and Uranus are concerned for the overall good of the public. In his Lessons on his website, Bob Marks gives an interesting description of the people who have this chart shape in their charts as ""immune to outside criticism." He really does use the word immune, interesting way to talk about a Center for Disease Control. (www.bobmarksastrologer.com -- see the Lessons section) All planets are concentrated on the left hand side of the chart over the ASC and 12th house (both health houses) in the 8 am chart.

Sun 10 Cancer; Moon 12 Leo; NN 21 Gemini (Maybe ASC 10 Leo; MC 3 Taurus, I'm guessing that the Center opened at 8am)

Sun and Saturn are in Cancer. I don't know if that's considered a combination for happy psychology in humans as Saturn is in Detriment in Cancer, but in a Public Health Organization, this could actually indicate some genuine caring. Pluto (control), Moon (public), Venus, and Mercury are in Leo. This shows great vitality but the transiting Saturn-Neptune opposition is just coming out of its long conjunction in Leo. This might be significant for the chart as Venus is midpoint and sextile to the Boundary planets Uranus and Jupiter.

During both Quarantines, 1963 and this year's, the Mars in Virgo was aspected by conjunction. In 1963 Uranus and Pluto were within conjunction. This year the progressed Sun is conjunct Mars (to the degree). In 1963 the progressed Sun was again prominent as it was at 26 Cancer on the Center's Saturn.

The Uranus-NN conjunction was also affected both times. In 1963 Chiron was at 15 Pisces maybe conjunct prog. Moon in Pisces and squaring the natal conjunction. This year, of course, there is a Uranus-NN conjunction at the same place in Pisces squaring the natal one.

Why It's Good To Be Alive: Beethoven

There's a recent reissue out of a brilliant recording of Beethoven's Late String Quartets performed by The Yale Quartet. I've been wanting this for a hundred thousand years and finally got it (only sets you back 12 bucks at Amazon. If you get it listen to the Grosse Fuge first). This isn't an advertisement. An friend of long ago turned me on to this quartet in its incarnation as The Fine Arts Quartet, or some such name, it was a long time ago.

Ludwig van Beethoven
b. Dec. 16, 1770 3:40 am Bonn, Germany

Sun 25 Sagittarius; ASC 6 Scorpio; Moon 14 Sagittarius; MC 18 Leo; NN 24 Scorpio

Beethoven is really "in" right now astro-wise. The current trines between Saturn in Leo and Jupiter and Pluto in Sagittarius are layered over his Sun-Moon-Mercury in late Sagittarius and Saturn conjunct MC in Leo. He just celebrated a Saturn Return last year.

On the mellow, serious side, you can feel his natal Jupiter and Pluto in Capricorn which will be all the rage next year.

And for those larger questions you can literally listen to the Earth grow through the Grand Trine he's got between the 3 outermost planets: Pluto in Capricorn-Uranus in Virgo-Neptune in Taurus. I wonder who else was born with this trine.

The Cavatina from Opus 130 of these Quartets was one of the pieces that was sent out into space by Carl Sagan et al. on the Voyager Missions back in 1977.

Memorial Day

Today in Washington DC a Moment of Silence will be held at 3 pm for our Soldiers who have been lost at War. Hopefully all will take this moment to wish all the Spirits well who have lost their lives in Iraq and in other Wars.

The Moon (Feelings, family) will be on the First Degree of Scorpio (grief) in the 2d house (values).
Libra Rising (diplomacy, peace) opposed by Mars in Aries (warrior). Ruler Venus in Cancer (family) in the 10th house (government).
Mercury in Gemini-MC (H9) opposing Pluto in Sagittarius-IC (H3).
No planets in Earth.
No planets in Water Houses.

The Lost Whales Delta and Dawn

The Mother Whale and her Calf, who have now been named Delta and Dawn, have been languishing in the Sacramento River all week unable to pass under a bridge in Rio Vista, California. They were bombarded with recordings of Whale Song, banging pipes, and some guy with a flute until finally they pulled off into a tributary and started to violently flap their tails in distress from the noise. The Coast Guard sprayed around them with water hoses. Concern about their health was serious as they were probably suffering from infections from the gashes on their bodies. Their skin was turning ugly in the fresh water. What are they eating at this point? Where are the Maori Whale Riders when you most need them?

Yesterday Delta and Dawn were shot up with antibiotics and this morning some tissues samples were taken from them to determine their health. And then, mysteriously, just like last Sunday they turned around and started down stream again. Oddly enough, their turnaround came at roughly the same time as last Sunday. There's a lot of born again Christians out in that area, maybe their praying helped guide the whales. Last Monday, Delta and Dawn were having problems passing under the Rio Vista bridge and just kept swimming in circles. I saw a map showing that the water suddenly gets a lot shallower at that point so maybe that was an impediment. They have about 60 miles to swim before they make it back out to sea.

Delta and Dawn the Whales turn around in the Sacramento River
May 27, 2007 "just before 2pm" (I used 1:50pm) Rio Vista, CA

Sun 7 Gemini (H9). Virgo Rising. Libra Moon (H2). Gemini MC. NN Pisces (H6).
Mars in Aries (H7).
Jupiter ruling H4 cusp and conjunct it. Pluto in Sagittarius (H4) opposite Mercury in Gemini (H10).
Virgo Rising with Uranus close to conjunct Pisces DESC.
Uranus conjunct NN.
Uranus apex of a t-square to Moon in Libra (H2) sextile Saturn in Leo (H12 cusp).
Kite: Grand Air Trine between Gemini MC-Libra Moon-Neptune in Aquarius. Neptune opposite Saturn on H6-12 cusp.

You Didn't Hear This From Me...

I'm just now reading the story about the four women in Hookset, New Hamphsire who were fired for gossiping about their boss; something where they thought he was having an affair with another employee who was receiving better benefits than they were. The part of me that has worked in offices feels both compassion for the women and an utter sense of relief and revenge that finally some real office shrews got what was coming to them. Usually the wrong ones get caught in these cases, the snakes manage to slither away. But these are the ones who got blamed and got the axe. One is 61 years old and is maybe losing some retirement benefits so maybe the guy they were gossiping about had ulterior motives. He's an accountant and everybody knows they're never up to anything good.

Anyway, I have no birth info. Jessica Skorupski and Joanne Drewniak were fighting the firing on all kinds of grounds that sound totally justified to me, but they lost their appeal. There were 2 other women. I don't have their birth dates so who cares about their names? The Town Administrator who took over in July, 2005 is the guy they were gossiping about. I guess he's super sensitive about his marital status. I'm sure they were making the other woman's life a living hell. Gawd, years working at some dead end government job, they were probably bringing everyone down. I wonder how much it cost to hire the attorney who interviewed them, that's what I wonder? And, then, so, why did they offer any information to him? Mum's the word, ladies. Everyone knows that lawyers are scum, worse than accountants even.

Oh, am I talking gossip or am I talking astrology? No difference. Believe me, if you ever went to an astrologer's convention you'd know what catty, meddlesome, petty, lie-producing sons of guns astrologers are...

ahem!

Well, Mercury rules Gossip. (That doesn't mean that only Mercury types gossip because trust me the whole damn wheel is pretty much guilty on this one.) On April 11, 2007, the day the ladies were fired, Mercury was right on the Aries Point at 0 Aries. The AP explains how the matter comes before national attention. Aries might rule Axes. What's that asteroid that's planted at the end of Taurus that rules Loosing One's Head? And that guy, David Jodoin, who didn't have the affair and didn't give favors to the new chick who is no doubt a blond with long skinny legs? Here's the thing about David Jodoin. David Jodoin doesn't drink coffee. That's so-ooo-ooo suspicious. He drinks Mountain Dew. How weird is that? I didn't even know they still make that stuff. How can he possibly enjoy the wonders of what a good cup of Joe can bring out of the warped human mind that's trapped in a boring 8 to 5 job all day? He's sitting in his office by himself drinking his Mountain Dew...weird, very weird.

Methuselah Gives Birth

Here's a weird story on the theme of Sun in Gemini and Saturn in Leo: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2007-05/25/content_880344.htm. A New Jersey woman gave birth to twin boys. What's unusual is that at age 60 she's the oldest woman to ever do so. What's even weirder is that she gave birth a year to the day after the now 2d oldest woman to ever give birth to twins popped out her own set last year. What can I say? Sun at 2 Gemini both times.

Both Mothers apparently have Saturn in Leo and are celebrating their Saturn Returns.

This week's record breaker is a Psychologist and her Husband is a Lawyer. They haven't named the babies yet. Maybe they forgot due to Alzheimer's:

"Baby A" May 22, 2007 12:44 pm Trenton, NJ (Hackensack University Medical Center)
"Baby B" May 22, 2007 12:45 pm Trenton, NJ

The babies have a 6 1/2 year old son, 29 year old daughter, and 33 year old son. Used to be that your Grandmother raised you because Mom was messing around at too young an age. You grew up thinking that your Mom was your sister. Now it looks like the Daughter will be raising the Mom's kids. What a heavy to have dumped on you at your Saturn Return. At any rate, Mom was not making Whoopee with Dad, she was impregnated via in vitro fertilization in Cape Town, South Africa. She says this is all about "empowerment."

So, born one minute apart, the babies both have early Virgo Rising (same degree) with Sun in Gemini conjunct Taurus Midheaven. Both Mercury and Jupiter are in their own signs of Gemini and Sagittarius respectively and opposing each other from H10 to H4. Pluto rules and is also in the 4th house indicating crazy psychological power trips. The Moon is in Leo conjunct Saturn in the 12th house and opposing Neptune in Aquarius in the 6th house. Uranus-NN in H4 trined by Venus in Cancer, H11. Anything goes relationship-wise with these little boys.

Last year's babies were born to another New Jersey woman, 59 years, in New York on May 22, 2006 at at New York Presbyterian Church/Columbia. These babies were a girl, Giselle, and a boy, Gregory. The woman's name is Lauren Cohen, she turned 60 on August 11, 2006 so I guess that makes her birthdate: August 11, 1946. She is also a Lawyer.

Both Moms look remarkably well preserved for their age.

Skin Deep

Here's a Website to check out the safety (Capricorn) of the cosmetics you use. http://www.cosmeticdatabase.com.

In anticipation, no doubt, of Pluto's move over into Capricorn next year, it's literally called "Skin Deep." Get it? Skin (Capricorn) Deep (Pluto). What's that saying my Grandmother used to repeat over and over? "Too soon I got old, too late I got wise." Old Age and Wisdom and Regrets. Capricorn X 3.

Evidently, those anti-wrinkle potions that penetrate down into the skin 10 layers are made out of the same petroleum products you're running your car on (or at least used to when you could afford such a thing). They're only slightly less toxic for you than Battery Acid. Acne concealers are also way up there on the "You're Gonna Die!" list. I wonder how Sun Screen fared. Wouldn't that be funny if the sun screen that you put on to avoid getting cancer gives you cancer?

Capricorn also rules the knees so, if you've been swinging your hips and slinging your svelte calves whilst perched on top of those sexy Pluto in Sagg stilettos that are Oh So Cool, be ready to purchase a couple of new ball joints for said body part within a couple of years. Either that, or get the name of a really good Acupuncturist.

Verb-age and Key Phrases

The Verbs. When learning foreign languages you automatically are taught the most common ones. I am...I have...I eat..

So, I realized that "I am" equals the Aries key phrase and "I have" equals the Taurus key phrase. I wondered if the rest of the most frequently used verbs would match the Key Phrases for the rest of the signs. It seems that you can probably tell a lot about a culture according to which verbs its people use frequently.

First, here are the Signs and their Key Phrases.

Aries = I am
Taurus = I have
Gemini = I think
Cancer = I feel
Leo = I will
Virgo = I analyze
Libra = I balance
Scorpio = I desire
Sagittarius = I understand
Capricorn = I utilize
Aquarius = I know
Pisces = I believe

Here's a list of the 25 most frequently used verbs in the English language.

Be (Aries)
Have (Taurus)
Do
Say
Get
Make
Go
Know (Aquarius)
Take
See
Come
Think (Gemini)
Look
Want (Scorpio)
Give
Use (Capricorn)
Find
Tell
Ask
Work
Seem (Pisces?)
Feel (Cancer)
Try
Leave
Call

Turns out they're all monosyllables and 20 of them have been retained from Old English. That's a shocker because the Romans tried to kill off anything English back in the 1st millenium. Ay, hardy stock we are. And we really do all talk and think like Dick and Jane. Almost all the most common words are pronouns and conjunctions, words without meaning. It's interesting that among English speakers "To Know" is used more than "To Think." We're all a bunch of conceited airheads, no wonder we've burnt up the earth. It's interesting how "I want" is still down low on the lists (except for the Germans place it pretty high up, along with must, should and could. No wonder they invented psychotherapy).

It would be interesting to see if the Middle Easterners who created the Signs use their Key Phrase verbs more in their everyday life. It would also be extremely interesting to compare Native American languages (actually, I did a quick search and found this: http://www.enformy.com/dma-b.htm. Scroll down to the section where it discusses how a Native American uses mostly verbs, they don't think in terms of "Nouns" but in terms of "Forces.").

Just for reference, here are the most common French and German Verbs:

FRENCH:

etre (to be)
avoir (to have)
faire (to make)
dire (to say)
aller (to go)
voir (to see)
savoir (to know)
pouvoir (to be able to)
falloir (to be necessary)
vouloir (to want)

GERMAN:

sein (to be)
haben (to have)
werden (to become)
konnen (to be able, can)
mussen (to have to, must)
wollen (to want)
mogen (to like (to))
wissen (to know)
machen (to make,do)
sollen (should, ought to, supposed to)
heissen (to be called, named)
tied w/sagen (to say, tell)
gehen (to go)
sehen (to see)
geben (to give)
commen (to come)
lassen (to find)
bleiben (to stay, remain)
mehmem (to take)
bringen (to bring)

P.S. Except for the English list which is from the Concise Oxford English Dictionary, I didn't write down where I got these lists from. I just Googled: "most common verbs" with the language.

Gas Price Highs

MoveOn.Org sent an email requesting that all bloggers blog about the inflated prices of Gasoline. So, here I am. Gas Prices are astronomical (appropriate word). They've surpassed the March, 1981 highs of $3.22 per gallon (adjusted to today's prices). I can't begin to say that I understand the politics behind the Oil Industry. It's connected to whether or not the U.S. is stirring up trouble in the Middle East. It's also mysteriously connected to whether or not we have a Bush in the White House. It's ruled by Neptune so nobody's supposed to understand it anyway.

So, Oil Companies ruled by Neptune. Inflation is ruled by Neptune and Jupiter. Gas in the Intestines is ruled by Virgo, the opposite sign of Pisces. This is the Gas that ought to be farmed in order to power your car. Oops, I'm already digressing.

Right now, Neptune is boogying down in the skies with all kinds of outer planets and slow moving points. This seems to correspond with its inflations in the past.

For one, Neptune's been opposing Saturn in Leo. This is great for artists as it brings spirit to form. It sucks for Government agencies as Saturn and Leo are both rude, bossy, arrogant sons of guns and opposed by Neptune lends an air of spaciness (i.e., incompetence), we can't deal with you, go straight to jail or the booby hatch or wherever just don't stress us out escapist kind of babble. Neptune rules Institutions, Jails and Restraints and Saturn rules Government, Inhibitions, Restraints and the Presidency. The opposition between the two indicates that Yes This is George Bush's fault. It's all his fault. (You don't believe me, just look at 1981. George Bush the Father making his debut in the White House as the VicePresident. George Bush the Son. George Bush the Father. I guess that makes Dick Cheney the Holy Ghost. (Ha, is this an old joke that I'm just now getting around to?) God, this is a ramble, hope nobody tries to read it.

This opposition began last Summer and will have its concluding conjunction in June.

In addition, Neptune is in Mutual Reception with Uranus which means that they are transiting in each other's signs. Uranus likes to motivate people by shocking them into action and getting them to gather round in large crowds and on the Internet. Look at Dick Cheney, for example, everyone's favorite TV Aquarius Sun-Pisces Moon. He scoots little George into the Presidency under Al Gore's nose, scoots the Governerator in under the Californian's noses, shoots his Lawyer in the Face and/or Heart at Sun Down, and even has an employee named Scooter who's scooting to Jail. Shock. Shock and Awe as a matter of fact. Uranus-Neptune. Well, to be honest, Uranus was still in Aquarius when the War started.

Jupiter, the planet of excess and inflation, has hit both of these big aspects and it's extra powerful because it's in it own sign. In 2006 it squared the Saturn-Neptune opposition from Scorpio and now it is just passing a square to the Uranus-Nodal axis. Right now it doesn't really feel all that bad, people are optimistically just sticking their credit cards into the Gas Pumps without really feeling what it's doing to their credit limit. Right now everyone feels that the Sky is the Limit. Besides, Jupiter is also inflating the Stock Markets.

To foul things up further, we had a Total Lunar Eclipse on March 3, 2007 11:21pm (Saros 123) which highlighted these aspects. A Total Eclipse is thought to be extra powerful, especially when in strong aspect to the planets. This happened within conjunction of the Uranus-Node opposition with Jupiter squaring. Jupiter was trining Saturn, however, which is good for business. But Mars was conjunct Neptune which means that the business conducted might not be all above board or "nice." There was also a Partial Solar Eclipse on Mar. 19, 2007. These eclipses are reinforcing the Virgo-Pisces eclipses that happened back in Aug-Sept. 2006. Remember that Pisces rules Oil.

And the thing about both Neptune and Jupiter is that they never give an explanation for anything they do. They just do it and then they forget about it and complain about how everyone else is having such negative reactions. So does Uranus for that matter. He sort of just gets in and gets out, no whining afterwards. And Pluto is doing its thing on the Galactic Center in Sagittarius so, let's face it, mostly we're just looking for an escape hatch into a parallel universe.

So, back in 1974 when the US placed its embargo on Iraq, Neptune was conjunct the transiting North Node in Sagittarius (in January at any rate). That brings in the Neptune-Jupiter theme and connects it to the Fated Direction that the World is going as indicated by the Nodes.

In 1981, Neptune was still in Sagittarius kind of where Jupiter and Pluto are now. Jupiter was conjunct Saturn in Libra. This is the conjunction that happens every 20 years and is thought to cause Political Upheaval. The Iraq-Iran War started March, 1981. That's the last time the Oil Prices spiked astronomically.

For anyone who's interested the Eclipses that happened right before this last incident were:

Lunar Appulse: Jan. 20, 1981 7:50am Saros 114
Solar Annular: Feb. 4, 1981 10:09pm Saros 140

So, MoveOn.org, I've tried.

Helene Cixous

Helene Cixious is a French Feminist writer. I picked up her book on how to write: The Three Steps on the Ladder of Writing. The Book is set into 3 Chapters or Sections and the amazing thing is how the ideas behind each Section perfectly describe the 3 Water Signs or Houses. These are the signs that deal with sensitivity to environment and the "non-conscious" mind. Here they are:

The School of the Dead
The School of Dreams
The School of Roots

Helene Cixious
b. June 5, 1937 Orans, Algeria

Sun 15 Gemini; Moon in either Aries or Taurus; NN 16 Sagittarius

Sun in Gemini c. SN in Gemini with North Node in Sagittarius. School and Writing is Cixious' Natural Habitat.

The School of the Dead: Mars Retrograde in Scorpio trine Pluto in Cancer; opposite Mercury in Taurus; sextile Jupiter in Capricorn; inconjunct Chiron in Gemini.

From the book: "We annihilate the world with a book." "Reading is eating the forbidden fruit, making forbidden love, changing eras, changing families, changing destinies, and changing day for night. Reading is doing everything exactly as we want and "on the sly." Literally there's discussion about Pluto in a story.

The School of Dreams: Neptune in Virgo square Sun and Nodes.

"Dreams await us in a country we can't get tickets to." "A dream's charm is that you are transported into another world; no, you are not transported, you are already in the other world." A story about shoes; ample talk about mystery, especially lost mysteries. And about Fear: "...it is the fear, the delight in fear, we enjoy, a delight we cannot enjoy in reality since we fear for our skin...it's at this moment...that "we see the light...the joy."

The School of Roots: Pluto in Cancer squaring Venus in Taurus, maybe Moon; and trining Saturn in Aries.

That which is excluded and exiled. "Birth Certificates." "Borders." "Nature." "Proper Names." "Since we are shaped by years and years of all kinds of experiences and education, we must travel through all sorts of places that are not necessarily pleasant to get there: our own marshes, our own mud. And yet it pays to do so. The trouble is we are not taught that it pays, that it is beneficial...We don't know that we can fight against ourselves, against the accumulation of mental, emotional, and biographical cliches."

Adding the Asteroids really shows the Feminist side of Cixious' chart: Saturn is in a Mystic Rectangle with Pallas, Vesta and Juno. Jupiter-Pallas is opposite Pluto-Vesta squaring Venus and maybe Moon on one side. On the other side it is sextiling/trining Mars-Lilith in Scorpio.

Having A Whale of A Time

This last week two whales, a Mom and her Calf, swam up the Sacramento River Delta in California and have been attracting huge crowds and people with all kinds of ideas about how to get them to turn around and swim back to sea. Whales are the most glorious creatures on earth, why not just let them swim around in the Port for awhile? (The Mayor got on the TV and told us all not to come visit because there wouldn't be any bathrooms or hot dogs stands for us once we got there. Lol. No Barnum & Bailey shit out in Sack O-Tomatoes, that's for sure).

The Whales have cuts on their sides supposedly from boat propellers and the Scientists are concerned that they won't heal properly without the ocean salt water. Have you ever poured salt on a wound? Anyway, Scientists know best. The Whales will use up all their blubber if they don't get back to their food source. The Coast Guard has been trying to lure the Mom and Baby out by playing whale songs underwater. That was a no go. Then the Scientists said they would let the whales have the week-end off. That's a weird thing to say. The whales were turning into a total spectacle, I can't imagine it would be relaxing to be gawked at by 30,000 parents and their screaming babies from the shore.

But, anyway, it worked. At 3:30 pm yesterday, May 20, the whales suddenly turned around and started swimming downsteam. For no reason. For no reason? I had to look at the chart and there's no way I'm going to believe they weren't prodded. Libra Rising with Mars in Aries right on the Descendant within a few degrees of the Vertex. Jupiter and Pluto were in the 3d house, Jupiter in Sagittarius opposite Mercury in Gemini in the 9th house. Was this the work of the, like, 10,000 or so animal communicators who live in Northern California? Or was some scuba diver swimming around them with a pitchfork?

Anyway, the Moon was in Cancer along with Venus, both in H10. So maybe the whales just got homesick. (Since Moon in Cancer is so psychic I kind of wonder if it wasn't the communicators). The Sun was on the last degree of Taurus moving into Gemini and also is on the cusp of the 9th house, one of the travel houses. So today is a great day for swimming the 90 miles downstream where the Navy will no doubt be blasting its low frequency sonar and the tourists will be out in their boats ready to shave off more of the animal's bodies with their propellers. Oopsy.

The last time a whale swam up the Delta was 22 years ago in 1985. He was named Humphrey. His first appearance was Oct. 10, 1985.

ADDED: Now I've read that the whales started heading down the Delta at 2:30pm and that they started to turn back sometime during the night. There were two mild earthquakes yesterday afternoon in the San Jose area which is about 150 miles South. A 2.1 magnitude hit at 3:42pm in Milpitas and a 3.4 magnitude hit San Jose at 4:10 pm.

The Cicadas

I have a feeling there's a lot of Geminis in the Bug and Bird World.

The Cicadas are pretty weird bugs. For one, they're kind of ugly. For two, they live as adults for only 30 days out of their 13 or 17 years. For three, they live to, how shall we say? procreate? I mean, they're always born end of May, beginning of June. They climb a tree, pop out their wings, and go at it for 30 days, singing their heads off so loud they can drown out a blender (90 decibels). They lay their eggs. They die. They don't have to raise their kids the lucky dogs. Their survival tactics are to emerge in mass force, do their thing and die before predators can eat them all.

What are they doing as nymphs underground for all those years? I read that they just suck on the sap from the roots of the trees. I had a neighbor who lived the same way but I don't think he was ever planning on emerging...

This year's cicadas are called Brood XIII. Doesn't that sound like something that Angelina Jolie would belong to? She's a Gemini after all.

Sounds Pluto because he's the God of the Underground. Sounds like the Persephone Myth because she's the Girl that Pluto abducted. Their last emergence was in 1990 when Persephone was in Cancer and now she's in Virgo. Pluto's orb is highly irregular and these guys run like clockwork. Alas, I can't find a relation to the 17 year cycle. Maybe connected to a Mercury Retrograde cycle or something ala Erin Sullivan.

Zzzz-zz-z-z-z-zttt!

Electroshock Therapy was first administered in Hungary on February 23, 1934 by Ladislas J. Meduna. He had become aware that Epileptics stop having psychotic symptoms after seizures so he began trying to induce seizures in psychotics. He finally got around to plugging in the voltage with a catatonic schizophrenic guy. After 5 jolts administered within 3 weeks the guy was up and running like an old edsel. So, almost nobody else in history has been relieved like this but the "treatment," "therapy," "help" keeps being re-used. Wikipedia is full of stories of all the failures.

Anyhoo, enough about failures. Let's look at the time that the treatment worked. And look at the way the sky was set up that day. It must have been really blue that day (Aquarius = Electric Sky Blues).

First Electro Shock Therapy Treatment
d.o.p.i.* January 23, 1934 Lipotmezo, Budapest, Hungary

*means "date of plug in"

5 planets plus the North Node in Aquarius, the planet of electricity. The next time you meet an Aquarian at a party say: "You are Electrofying." (At first I misspelled that. It looks like "Electro-frying" LOL!)

Sun 3 AQU; Mercury 5 AQU trining Chiron
Saturn 17 AQU; NN 20 AQU; Mars 21 AQU; Venus 23 AQU trining Jupiter in Libra.
The Moon was probably in Taurus. The 9:30 am (Banker's Hours) chart has a square to Saturn and NN. That's a sobering aspect.

There was a t-square with retrograde Pluto in Cancer as apex squaring an opposition of Uranus in Aries (coming up in a couple of years again) opposite Jupiter in Libra.

I haven't been able to find Ladislas J. Meduna's birthdate. Born 1896, Budapest. Within 3 years electroshock was being used world wide. Ben Franklin could have just tied a catatonic to the tail of his kite I guess but that was the wrong century anyway. In many countries today, the treatment can be used on a patient without their consent. I don't think that's an Aquarius trait but I could be wrong. In January-February 1962 there was another line-up of planets in Aquarius to match the one on that day in 1934. Wonder who all got zapped that day. Wikipedia has a list of famous people who have received the treatment. Mostly people just permanently lost their memories. It's said that Memory loss from electroshock was the reason why Hemingway killed himself. The psychiatrists just call it "Depression." They could have just asked him to stop drinking.

Meduna did go on to have psychotic patients inhale CO2 until they passed out. (I always thought that was called either called kinky sex or a suicide attempt.) Anyway, just imagine: when Global Warming gets a little worse all the catatonics will be coming out of their stupors. They'll be the only ones left who are lucid. The meek really shall inherit the earth.

Leonard Eron, TV and Aggression

Leonard Eron is the guy who did the Landmark Psychological Study which linked violence in Children to the violence they see on Television. He passed away on May 3 from Congestive Heart Failure at his home in Illinois at the age of 87.

This was supposed to be a quickie where I locate Mars and Sun in his chart and be done with it. After all, violence isn't complex. Kids aren't complex either. Woof. I get the birth data from his obituary in today's San Jose Mercury News. Another Taurus.

Leonard Eron
b. Apr. 22, 1920 Newark, NJ

Sun 3 Taurus; Moon either Gemini or Cancer; NN 16 Scorpio.

So, yeah, if you look at his chart you go GAW! Leo & 5th house rules Children and Mars rules violence, little boys, and puppy dog ears. Eron had Sun opposite Mars. Bingo. His Mars is in Scorpio, sign of its traditional rulership and it's Retrograde. So aggression is right up this guy's alley. It goes further though. The Sun-Mars opposition actually expands out into a Kite where Mars is involved in a Grand Water (Feelings) Trine with Uranus 5 Pisces and Pluto 6 Cancer. Sun-Mars-Pluto-Uranus. You mention that combination in hard aspect to any garden variety astrologer and they just slant their eyes and ask "Who did he kill?"

Mars (in Scorpio, geead I gotta repeat that) is also handle to a Bucket Chart which puts so much more energy on it. But the Bucket Shape starts to show a gentler story because it is made up of a Boat Shape: opposition of Uranus in Pisces to Saturn R Virgo strung together by sextiles. Sextiles give talent and flow and depend on some action oriented trauma from Mars in order to get some locomotion. So, Uranus sextile Sun sextile Pluto sextile Saturn. You mention Uranus-Sun-Pluto-Saturn to your garden variety astrologer and he/she still asks "Who did he kill?". Remember though that the signs the planets are in are all feminine & receptive signs and Mars is Retrograde so it's influence is stifled or slowed in some way.

So where's Venus? Sweet, charming Venus who wouldn't harm a fly? Venus is in Aries conjunct Chiron and Mercury all dispositing to Mars. The conjunction is trining a conjunction of Jupiter and Neptune at 9 Leo (kids) and squaring Pluto in Cancer (parents). In addition to being conjunct to the degree, Jupiter and Neptune are Parallel which doubles and triples the power of this conjunction. Kind of a magical combination involving entertainment and kids.

I'll also add that all Eron's planets strongly aspect, or interact, so the energies between them flow and don't get stuck. Maybe this is something to look for. Unaspected planets can come on real strong during difficult transits and progressions. Also, there are no Out of Bounds planets.

Eron did his first study in 1960, was commissioned to do a follow up study in 1969 and then continued followup studies until 2000. Originally 875 3d-graders were studied in Columbia County, NY. The San Jose Mercury News includes an interesting description from his son on how the results were discovered by accident (Mars-Uranus). The original study was trying to connect child rearing habits with aggression. Apparently everyone was afraid of Communist Plots in 1960 and got paranoid that psychologists were commies out to perform mind control experiments. So, in order to defer the paranoias, questions about Television viewing habits were casually asked in order to relax the parentsand make the study sound like "Ladies Home Journal" questions. Eron's got Scorpio North Node so dealing paranoia was right up his alley along with psychology, research and hidden meanings. He excelled at all of these. Psychologists must perform better when accused of being a Communist. I'll have to remember that for next week's session.

So, I'm coming back to Eron's Mars for one final note: the movement of his Progressed Mars is linked up with his research to the year. Natally, remember it's Retrograde. It progressed back from Scorpio into Libra until 1960 when it went direct. This is the year he started the study. Then it returned to it's natal position at 1 Scorpio in 2000 the final year of the study.

Pluto and Chiron were also opposing each other in 1960 and conjunct the Saturn-Uranus opposition in his chart (border of the Boat).

I'm not even sure what rules Television. I'm assuming Mercury and Uranus, maybe Neptune? Where did I put Bills? In 1960, Eron's Solar Arc Mercury was probably close to conjunct his South Node. Progressed Mercury was squaring the transiting Nodes. And Venus and Sun were also progressing through Gemini.

Leaving the Light On For You

William Becker was the guy who along with his partner, Paul Greene, developed the Motel 6 chain. He just passed away. Here's a link to his obituary which tells his story: http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-becker12may12,1,5882331.story?coll=la-news-obituaries

William Becker
b. May 18, 1921 Pasadena, CA

Sun 28 Taurus; Moon in Libra?; NN 27 Libra

A friendly Venusian kind of guy.

As it says in the article, Becker got the idea for making a cheap, clean motel chain while driving cross country from Santa Barbara, CA to New York in the Summer of 1960. He was a contractor who built cheap homes and he turned around and used his experience to create a 6$ motel room. He and his partner spent 2 years developing ways to cut costs while providing a clean bed for travelers to sleep. The first motel in Santa Barbara, California opened in 1962. Cost cutting ideas: eliminate dresser, replace closets with clothes racks, shower stalls rather than baths with rounded corners so faster to clean, no attached restaurant, no-iron sheets, foam drinking cups, coin operated TV. I love cost cutting ideas but... no God-Damned in room coffee pots, cheap bastards. The idea took off, they had 31 motels by 1967 and lots of other brands copying their idea and getting into the competition.

Becker had Sun in Taurus a very frugal sign. His Sun is unaspected so he may have been very security conscious in this regard. Also unaspected is his Saturn in Virgo. This certainly add a no-frills picture, given to analyzing what works and what doesn't and eliminating the waste. And he's got Mercury in tight conjunction with Mars (8-9 degrees) in Gemini so he was a natural born problem solver. This conjunction is strong because it is apex to both a t-square to Uranus 10 Pisces opposite Jupiter 10 Virgo and a small triangle sextiling Chiron-Neptune trine. He was connected to what was fun and what wasn't, and also, through the Jupiter-Uranus-Mars-Mercury he had a natural affinity with the needs of the every day person. His natal Venus is conjunct his South Node and this may be opposite a Moon-NN conjunction. Just an interesting coinky-dink that Paris Hilton, hotel heiress par none, has this same aspect. It might be an indicator of connections with Hotel, or er um, Motel chains at whatever level.

His transits during the Summer 1960 cross country trip with his kids looks sort of bad. I think he may have been feeling kind of burdened with responsbility. T. NN c. his Saturn. His progressed Sun and Mars were 2 degrees away from his natal Pluto in Cancer. They became exact in 1962 by the time he and his partner opened their first motel. During the trip t. Saturn and Jupiter were close to opposition to natal Pluto as well. Cancer is the sign for motels, Pluto likes to make big changes. These extra aspects really highlighted that for him. I guess he was around Age 39 and was going through his Neptune square and Pluto sextile. He would have a Saturn trine during the planning process, that's a great aspect. The guy had good timing.

I don't know the opening date for the first motel in Santa Barbara. It was 1962 and during the middle of that year his Jupiter-Uranus opposition was strongly aspected. T. Pluto c. n. Jupiter. t. Chiron and t. Jupiter c. n. Uranus. Jupiter-Pluto combinations, are they called the Midas touch for nothing or what? Also, t. Saturn was c. the South Node and opposite natal Neptune-t.NN. And, as I said, before, his progressed Sun and Mars were conjunct natal Pluto in Cancer, a very forceful, powerful aspect and in this case focused into a Cancerian type of activity.

So, William Becker, I hope they've got a nice cloud for you to sleep on up there in Heaven. Rest in Peace.

I Vont To Be Alone

The five words "I vont to be alone" forever belong to Greta Garbo. Same goes for the phrases "Garbo Speaks" as part of the publicity for her first talkee and "Garbo Laughs" for her first comedy. The Midheaven of the chart expresses how your adoring public reacts to you. I thought I'd check out Garbo's chart for aspects to see what might have spurred these reactions (aside from the fact that she really did want to be alone, lol).

Greta Garbo
b. Sept. 18, 1905 7:30 PM Stockholm, Sweden

Sun 26 Virgo; Moon 20 Taurus; ASC 6 Gemini; MC 21 Capricorn

Saturn is the planet known for loneliness. The Goat gets lonely climbing that mountain and once he gets there he's even lonelier. Saturn is all over Garbo's MC. It rules it and it sits there heavily afflicted. So she just naturally came across as isolated and haughty and unreachable. In Europe she may not have stood out but in America this was really sumpthin special. And Garbo's Sun and Moon were in a Grand Trine with her MC so this image really worked well for her.

The Houses to look at that require privacy the most are the Water Houses, 4th, 8th and 12th. So her North Node in Leo was in her 4th house, her Moon was in her 12th house, and Uranus was on the AP of Capricorn in her 8th house. Neptune is a singleton in Water in her chart and it is placed in her 3 house of communication bringing an aura of glamour and mystique to her words.
There also was a genuineness behind this persona as Garbo really was what she appeared to be. She had Pluto in H1 which can be isolating and it is opposite Mars in H7 which brings a controversy in relationships. Her n. Saturn as mentioned before was in its own house, Retrograde, and conjunct her South Node showing a deep psychological trauma which could be isolating. Her Father, who she was very close to, died when she was 14 which is the Saturn opposition and she was forced to begin working. If she hadn't begun working she may never have been in the right place to be discovered. So the Saturn insecurity is prominent in her chart as well as her life.

But that's not what I vont to talk about here. It is her career and her public and her rejection of it. (Rejection ruled by Uranus and Saturn). There are a lot of different aspects that can be read behind her famous remarks. I have to hone them down. So difficult. The Solar Arcs are really fun to watch.

Garbo got her first big break in Silent Films in Sweden in 1922, took some acting classes and then came to Hollywood where she became popular in Silent Films. Her 1st talkie was Anna Christie which opened Feb. 21, 1930. The Media raved about her low, sensual voice and coined the phrase "Garbo Talks." Natally she had Jupiter in close conjunction to her Gemini Rising. She was going through her Jupiter Return at that point which is very beneficial for "Coming Out" as a talker due to Gemini's relationship with communication. Shortly after, Jupiter would have trined her progressed Sun and Mercury which were conjunct to the degree that year. In addition, Solar Arc Uranus was conjunct her Capricorn MC and trining her Sun and Moon. Uranus rules technology and Garbo was adored for her voice which the public could now hear through the talkies. Uranus and Saturn in combination also rule Aloofness so this became part of her projection.

Grand Hotel came out April 12, 1932. This is the movie for which Garbo made her famous line "I vont to be alone." SA Uranus was early into her 10th house. SA Chiron was conjunct her natal Saturn-South Node. SA Pluto was 2 degrees away from her IC.

Garbo and the studios decided that they wanted her to start projecting a lighter image so in 1939 (Oct. 6) she made her first comedy Ninotchka which was a hit. The Reviews wrote "Garbo Laughs." Solar Arc Mars was conjunct her MC trining Solar Arc Venus conjunct her natal Sun. Transiting Neptune was also conjunct her Sun (Bills: Laughter = Venus and Neptune). In addition transiting Uranus was conjunct her natal Moon.

Unfortunately, transiting Pluto was passing through her 4th house conjunct t.Chiron and her Progressed Sun was on the last degree of Libra before descending into Scorpio. This can be a deep soul searching time requiring alone time. I don't know enough about her life to comment but it sounded from Wikipedia article like she was homesick for Europe and deeply affected by the War. When she retired her Prog. MC was conjunct her natal Saturn-SN. Transiting Saturn and Uranus were conjunct her Ascendant. There are many other aspects. I have to cut it off here.

Wildfires and the Great Smog of 1952

Right now in the US there are wildfires in California, Florida and Minnesota. The news says that the air smells like smoke no matter where you are in Florida as there are more than 200 fires burning all over the state. I saw a picture and the air looked like San Bernardino when I was growing up.

I got a delusional idea to go back and look at a chart I've kept of a great smog that happened in London in 1952 from industrial pollution. I guess it stayed for a few days and was really thick.

I compared that chart with the sky now. Found a few coincidences. Maybe they indicate intense air pollution, maybe not. Seems to be a Fire (Sagg and Leo) and Earth phenomenon (Taurus and Virgo) which makes sense.

Great Smog of 1952, London, England. Dec. 5-9, 1952.
v.
Now in Florida.

Sun and Jupiter are in opposite spots by transits.
London: Sun 15 Sagittarius, Jupiter 13 Taurus
Florida: Jupiter Rx 18 Sagittarius, Sun 22 Taurus

Moon and Mars

London: Moon 12 Leo c. SN 16 Leo opposite Mars 12 Aquaruis c. NN 15 Aquarus
Florida: Moon c. Mars in Pisces square Pluto

The progressed Moon is also back in Leo conjunct within 2 degrees of the noontime Moon in the original London chart and the progressed Sun in that chart is exactly opposite.

Saturn and Neptune

London: Neptune 24 Libra c. Saturn 25 Libra apex of a tsquare to Uranus in Cancer opposite Venus Capricorn.
Florida: Saturn 19 Leo opposite Neptune 23 Aquarius and Chiron wherever it is.

Public Education v. Pluto in Sagittarius

Democracy and Capitalism don't work without Public Education so it looks like California is headed for a Police State because that's what it's going to take in order to control the High School Class of 2006. A Statistic was just announced in The San Francisco Chronicle that 1/3 of the Class of 2006 for the entire state did not graduate from High School. This is 4 percent lower than 2005 numbers. Bad and getting worse. I don't know if this includes both public and private schools. Most of the people I've known with kids haven't sent their kids to public schools for years. I've known people who work in public schools so that they can afford to send their kids to private schools. The graduation for kids in LA and Oakland schools was extremely low, around 40-50 percent.

Early education is ruled by 3d house-Gemini. Pluto in Sagittarius, the opposing sign, has really taken its toll in California which is a Virgo so is squaring it all. We've neglected the kids (Gemini) in favor of the Ph'ds (Sagittarius) (they all send their kids to private schools, the property taxes are very low in California so it's easier to do than in other states).

I don't know what this means except that these kids are some of the ones born with Pluto in Scorpio, an extra potent placement because it's in its own sign. That phrase, "Don't Mess with Texas?" That's sort of the feeling you get (and worry about) with the Pluto in Scorpio generation because they will probably have some extra powers. You kind of get the sense that it would have been best to have taken care of their needs in the crib before sending them out into the world. Nobody will understand that Might Makes Right better than these little buggers. There's a positive way to spin it and I hope it will come true. They might just need more self-reliance, a buck the system type of attitude, very creative, highly attuned to the deepest workings of Nature. They will be (or at least the ones from the states that educated them) great leaders able to create great change. They could also enjoy arson, theft, murder, terror and building bombs. What the Fuck? No one was there to correct their homework after all. Scorpio is highy emotional, repressed and not a great communicator and could really use some help in that area. And Blood Red is their favorite color too, they wouldn't have minded getting back a paper that's all marked up.

Uranus and Aquarius rules Public Affairs and Institutions and Aquarius squares Scorpio. Scorpio is also in a stress aspect to Gemini. So maybe these kids are just not that into the Educational crap. Let's face it, High School is a total waste of time. Maybe they'll be able to think on their own. After all, Global Warming was created by all the Ph'ds of the world and their inventions. These kids are going to have to fix it.

Okay, so now I feel better. I also feel like I had better get the Hell out of California because there's gonna be a lot of disgruntled kids fighting for the Jack in the Box jobs and once Pluto rolls into Capricorn they're going to do anything they're going to want to start their big climb upward in the World and it might not be pretty to be around. The square from Uranus in Aries that's coming up? OMG.

This year was the first year that a New Test was administered. The person behind The Test is an ex Senator and SomebodySomebody in the Public Education system. It's very controversial because people are wondering why they test the kids before they educate them? His name is:

Jack O'Connell
b. Oct. 8, 1951 Glen Cove, NY

O'Connell's chart is a Gas. Like the Grand Inquisitor of Betty Crocker's Test Kitchen for kids.

Rex Bills says rulership of Tests belongs to Uranus, Saturn and Mercury. O'Connell's chart is perfect for his role. Stellium in Libra (Balance, Justice, Intellect) of Mercury (test)-Saturn(scary test, concentration)-Sun(ego)-Neptune(spacing everything out around him) squaring Uranus (quickness) in Cancer and opposing Jupiter (higher education). His Moon may be out in Capricorn filling in a Grand Square of Cardinal Signs. That much Libra is probably a really great test taker. I bet most of the College Professors are Libras.

O'Connell's NN is 10 Pisces so he's coming up for a Return purty dang quick. Hope he can get those kids spelling before it happens. His Progressed Sun is at 10 Sagittarius exactly squaring his NN. Pisces is known for its empathy, sensitivity and kindness but also its institutions, incompetence and lack of organization.

This is frustrating. What isn't frustrating is the guy I met in the parking garage at the Library. A young engineer, computer techie, with talent and heart to spare. For some reason we started talking and he was telling me about his volunteer work setting up computers in schools. He was given a school with the lowest rating of all where the kids are considered hopeless because of their poverty and destitution. First he found them some old computers. Then he cleared off a wall in the classroom and set up the computers. Then he designed some programs to make it fun for them to learn. He said he designed the programs to speak to them through games that instead make them think in terms of computer geniuses. The kids ate it up and they started scoring phenomenally. The parents saw the improvements in their kids and got excited and started wanting to participate. The teachers came out from behind their bullet proof shields. I asked him how long it took to set the whole thing up. A couple of weeks! Can you imagine how long it probably took Jack O'Connell to write his tests? It was an unbelievable story. This guy, basically a kid just out of college, is a modern day miracle worker doing this for free. I wish I had his sign but I don't even know his name. I wish I could scream it to the universe.

Cameron Diaz and her Hats

I had the Tonight Show on last night and as I was falling asleep I could swear I saw Cameron Diaz come on. She was wearing another hat. I was so sleepy, was I asleep and dreaming this or was she really wearing another hat. She wears so many hats. Why does she wear so many hats? I was so sleepy but suddenly I was wide awake.

What rules Hats? Rex Bills: Venus, Aries. I suppose Venus for all things Apparel and Aries because it rules the Head.

Cameron Diaz
b. Aug. 30, 1972 2:53 am San Diego, CA

Sun 8 Virgo; ASC 23 Cancer; Moon 23 Taurus; MC 11 Aries; NN 24 Cap R.

Ha! Look at Diaz's Chart! All the rulerships for wearing Hats extremely pronounced.

(Ascendant rules your physical appearance and Midheaven rules how others perceive you, things like career and social standing)

-Venus c. Cancer Ascendant.
-Venus in a Grand Square with the Angles: Venus-ASC-SN opposite NN-DESC squaring Aries -MC-Chiron opposite Uranus-IC. The Angles are like the Aries Points, whatever is on them is brought before the Public.
-Aries Midheaven.
-Sun conjunct Mars (ruler of Aries) trining the MC.

It's also very interesting to look at Pluto at 1 Libra squaring Jupiter at 29 Sagittarius. The planets that bring success in aspect to each other and on Aries Points.

Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire

NPR has the best stories. They force you to be curious about absolutely everyone's signs. Today I didn't even finish listening to the story about Marilee Jones, the former Dean of Admissions at MIT who had to resign because she had lied on her resume. She lied about where she got her Undergraduate Degree and then she lied about getting her post-doctoral degrees. Dr. Marilee, Weeeee Roll Along.... This is so much better than the Paris Hilton Goes to Jail fiasco.

This is somebody who spent 28 years enforcing honesty on applications to one of the most respected schools on the planets. I mean, I never applied to MIT, with my spelling I couldn't even think of asking for an application.. but, man, this woman wrote a book: "Less Stress, More Success: A New Approach to Guiding Your Teen Through College Admission & Beyond." Less Stress! Yeah, it's all good, Marilee! Did you include the Chapter on how to fill out the forms while letting your imagination run completely wild?

Ha! Ha! So keep in mind: Rex Bills on Liars: Mercury, Pluto, Neptune. Here we go:

Marilee Jones
b. June 12, 1951 (not that this is the correct birth date, or anything)
I couldn't find a birth place so I'm using Concord, Mass because that's where she lives now, in a beautiful, big house no doubt that she can afford on a Dr.'s pay scale.

Sun 21 Gemini; Moon probably Virgo; NN Pisces

Bingo. Sun and Moon both ruled by Mercury. North Node ruled by Neptune. So NPR is having a debate about should minor indiscretions that one makes whilst still a youth be held against one later in life? Makes one wonder about how to get a job at NPR but you didn't hear that from me. I mean, should the mistakes that one makes during one's 1st Saturn Return be held against one right before one's 2d Saturn Return? Haaaallleee, yes. It's Saturn, it's not Neptune. You wanna lie and get away with it choose a Jupiter Return or a Neptune transit.

Jones' Sun is conjunct Mars in Gemini. Mars is squaring her NN showing that her impulsive side might somehow influence her Fate. It also means that she has a lot of really positive energy to direct at kids, gotta give her that. And actually her whole chart shows a lot of talent for coaching kids. And she was hired for her talent. Makes you wonder how important the credentials are in the end anyway.

Jones' Sun-Mars conjunction is squaring her Saturn and maybe Moon showing that her ambitious side could take over at times, she could even be a little aggressive but very organized. She says that she never admitted to her self-described "bad choice" to lie on her resume because she never had the courage. Well, according to Rex, "Courage" is ruled by Mars, Aries and "Cowards" are ruled by Saturn. With Sun c. Mars, she doesn't lack Courage; she's actually quite bold. But, man, that square from Saturn sure does bring in the Coward element, doesn't it? She has the courage to be a coward. Something to skip down the Yellow Brick Road about while on the way to see the Wizard. He give the real shit out and then returns you to Kansas for free.

Jones took her beginning Administrative Assistant job with MIT in 1979. This would have been her Saturn Return. Also around the time of her Progressed Moon Return. Saturn Returns are the times that you make your first big decision in life. If it's a bad decision you hear about it right around the time of your second Saturn Return. Jones is about 2 years away from her Second Saturn Return. When I heard that she had been at her job for 28 years I was hoping that the timing would work out a little more precisely, but, oh well. The progressed Moon return is in there sometime too, maybe more influential in this case but without a birth time, well, you know the drill.

Her chart shape is a bowl figure bounded by Jupiter in Aries opposite Neptune in Libra. She certainly would have been concerned about the stress levels of others. In 1979, t. Pluto was conjunct her natal Neptune and just leaving the Bowl Shape. It was also trining her Sun-Mars conjunction and opposing her natal Jupiter. Luck and Power were just falling into her lap if she just covered up her lack of credentials. Credentials = Mercury, Jupiter, Neptune. Interesting that Jupiter and Neptune bound the bowl figure and a bowl figure person has problems with feelings of Lack. And, actually, her progressed Mercury was conjunct her natal Venus and trining her Natal Jupiter. Saturn, Neptune and Uranus were all in aspect to her Sun-Mars putting a lot of energy into that aggressive combination that might have a tendency to tell a tale tale (Gemini). Some people are just born to write resumes, I tell ya.

In 2001 she received MIT's Excellence Award for Leading Change. The Saturn-Pluto opposition smack dab on her Sun-Mars in Gemini. Just saw in Rex Bills that Saturn and Pluto together rule Decadence.

Jones received national media attention for her book in 2006 and resigned from her job on Apr. 23, 2007.

It's now Time to look at her Chiron (Wounded Teacher). She has it at 1 Capricorn, an Aries Point. This brings all things related to Capricorn out before the public. Management Ability, Ambition, cowardice or whatever you call it, etc. T. Pluto is conjunct n. Chiron from the other side of the cusp in Sagg (Higher Education). T. Saturn is conjunct her n. Pluto at 18 Leo by a degree and her progressed Sun is approaching conjunction from 15 Leo. Transiting Neptune and Chiron are opposing this combination from Aquarius. And transiting Uranus is conjunct her Nodal Return in Pisces (more Neptune). Her Fate is now bound up with the negative side of that Nodal Placement.

So, anyway, she's getting off pretty much. I mean, Paris Hilton is going to jail for 45 days to be brutality raped, mugged and murdered by every low life in LA. And she didn't even hit a tree. She was probably driving erratically because the policemen were stalking her because it's fun to stalk pretty rich women. And this lady, she's going into retirement a couple of years early in her big, happy home. She'll probably write a book about Courage and what happens when you have Lack of it. Eeeesh, the world. Decadence, there's a Saturn-Pluto trine right now. And Jupiter is there. And Neptune is trining. And the Wizard is just a little guy behind the curtain who's found a great gig in the Emerald City.

Chuck Palahniuk

Chuck Palahniuk is the writer who wrote the book that was turned into the movie "Fight Club." He has since become a Bestselling writer and Cult Hero. I missed hearing him read his famous story "Guts" when he came to town. But, people afterwards told me that a few members of the audience either vomited or passed out because the story was so gross. I can't remember which. Wikipedia claims that they passed out. Palaciuk's a Pisces Sun with either Virgo or Libra Moon. Pisces would make people pass out. Virgo Moon would make them vomit. Libra Moon people like to wear bizarre outfits as Virgo rules the Gut and Libra rules the Kidneys. They would have peed their pants I guess if he has Libra Moon. Did I spell "Peed" right? It looks weird. Can't imagine a Libra Moon wanting to gross people out but what do I know.

Chuck Palahniuk
b. Feb. 21, 1962 Pasco, Washington

Sun 3 Pisces; Moon either Virgo or Libra; NN 19 Leo

I'm not up on my Literary Criticisms but I guess the labels given to Palahniuk's work are: Satire, Minimalist, Postmodern, Horror, Cult. You look at his chart in retrospect and it all makes sense as it usually does. I'm really fascinated by his status as a Cult Hero. Sometime compare his chart to Dr. Seuss'. Pisces-Aquarius sure does know how to take it out.

Palahniuk's chart is dominated by planets in Aquarius and Pisces. That's the last two signs of the Zodiac. Their rulers, Neptune and Uranus, have been in mutual reception in recent years which maybe shows why he speaks to so many right now. Actually, I think that strong Aquarius-Pisces was strongly emphasized in all the great genius scientists who created nuclear physics (i.e. "the Bomb") -- see "Boys Toys". Palahniuk's chart is a bowl shape bordered by Venus in Pisces to Uranus in Leo, a very different, open minded attitude to all things unusual, especially relationships. The Aquarius Planets oppose his Uranus and North Node in Leo (shock value, drama, eccentricities) and the Pisces Planets oppose his Pluto in Virgo, maybe his Moon (Horror, Empathy, Loss, Power, Satire, coming from the Gut). North Node in Leo is the Showman. He likes making em barf if that's what it takes to get a rise out of em.

Palahniuk's Sun conjunct Chiron (Wounded Teacher) and Venus in Pisces opposite Pluto in Virgo. So he speaks for his generation about difficulties in relationships, paranoia, underhanded power trips. A sensitive Pisces with a bent out of shape romantic nature involving victimization and martyrdom. Nice. Go watch "Fight Club" again. He worked at many different jobs before achieving success with Fiction writing. Pisces needs to wander around a bit in life feeling a little lost.

Both Sun and Jupiter opposite Uranus with Uranus a singleton in Fire. So he does it all in lighthearted, fun, and phantasmagorically morbid way as Neptune aspecting most of the planets on either side from Scorpio. And he's really good at intuiting what will shock the barf out of his audience. Leo NN has the showmanship.

As for the Satirical quality of his writing, I suppose that Mercury-Mars-Saturn conjunction in Aquarius could do the trick, especially with Mars conjunct the South Node. His mind is sharp, maybe a bit sadistic, to balance all those out of control Pisces glands. The square from Neptune in Scorpio lends a strange empathy for all that is taboo and also a whole lot of talent for creating anything fictional or dreamlike. Would be interesting to know what rules his chart and where exactly his Moon is placed.

The Cult Status? I suppose 4 planets plus South Node in Aquarius (groups, shock-value) squared by Neptune in Scorpio (hidden, underground, occult subject matter) could set a nice background for relating to one's generation. The opposition of Jupiter to Uranus could bring a lot of appeal to the masses. Interesting that he's got no planets in Cardinal Signs. Cardinal concentrates on beginnings, maybe this requires a conservative nature.

Kentucky Derby's New 4-Legged Heart Throb

Saturday's Kentucky Derby brought together a really fine pack of ponies and the Winner of it all was Street Sense, a gorgeous Pisces like Smarty Jones. This year brought the largest crowd ever to the Kentucky Derby. I suppose that's something you'd expect for a Jupiter in Sagittarius year, especially with Pluto in the same sign. Next year with Jupiter & Pluto in Capricorn the race will probably be won by a Clydesdale.

Man, you know, I almost think this race was fixed in order to impress the Queen of England who was there to watch and also to distract from the tragedy of last year's winner Barbaro, bless his beautiful soul. It was just that unreal. If I were a Jockey in this race I don't know if I would have let Borel bring his horse through the ranks the way he did. But they all did. Both Horse and Jockey were Water Signs, so it really could have happened. I'll just have to pinch myself to make sure I'm awake. Water wins by seeping through the cracks and this is exactly what happened.

Street Sense
b. Feb. 23, 2004 Kentucky somewhere, I used Louisville.

Sun 5 Pisces; Moon probably in Aries; North Node 14 Taurus

Calvin Borel
b. Nov. 7, 1966 St. Martinsville, Louisiana

Sun 15 Scorpio; Moon probably in Virgo; North Node 17 Taurus

Notice the Nodes. Both Jockey and Horse share the same Taurus Node, 2 degrees separating. Street Sense has Mars c. NN trining Jupiter. Donkey's can just step aside, horsey's gotta run. Aries Moon is the Martian Moon, a competitive and forceful spirit.

Street Sense exemplifies the current Neptune-Uranus mutual reception as he has Sun in Pisces c. Uranus. Uranus-Neptune might be bad for humans as far as the killer atmospheric conditions of the weather report, but it does seem to fire up hurricanes in those horse bones. His Jupiter is at 16 Virgo, is squared by transiting Jupiter right now and is conjunct the SN and opposite the Mars-Uranus-NN. On Saturday (May 5), the transiting Sun and Mercury were conjunct both his and his Jockey's North Node in Taurus.

Borel's chart is highlighted by two stelliums. Sun-Venus-Neptune in Scorpio and Moon-Mars-Pluto-Uranus in Virgo which is opposite Saturn-Chiron in Pisces. Street Sense's Jupiter is conjunct the latter stellium and squared by the Jupiter transit (Horses, Competition, Luck).

If anyone really could win through strategy and stealth, Borel would be the guy to do it. While Street Sense's chart is balanced by element and modality, Borel's chart lacks Cardinal Signs and Air Signs. Cardinal Signs are starters and this is not Borel's way. He's called "Bo-Rail" for keeping in the back of the race, sticking to the rail, and then moving forward at the end. Not your typical winning strategy. He says that all he ever needed was the right horse to help him make it happen and he found it with his Pisces buddy. Jupiter and Pluto squaring his big opposition brought him Fame and Luck. T. Mars-Uranus-NN c. n. Chiron-Saturn brought speed and surprise to the slow spot (Saturn) in his chart.

Carbon Footprints

Here's an observation on how the Saturn-Neptune opposition represents our new catch phrase: "Carbon Footprint," a measurement (Saturn) being developed to let people know how much gas (Neptune) they are letting out into the atmosphere (Aquarius).

Saturn = Carbon
Leo = Arrogance
Neptune = Foot
Aquarius, ruled by Uranus = Trackers (those who read footprints)

Saturn and Leo both indicate Leadership involvement. Saturn and Neptune rule Government. Neptune and Aquarius both indicate Atmospheric Conditions.

This opposition had been strongly aspected by the Jupiter-Pluto mutual reception. It was squared by Jupiter in Scorpio in 2006 and now Pluto in Sagittarius is trining Saturn.

Jupiter = Awareness, Optimism
Pluto = Confrontation, Crisis.

This is the "Discovery" time right before the "Legal Restrictions" time when the Government (Saturn) clamps down and starts restricting everything we do, which will probably happen when Pluto moves into Capricorn next year.

It's interesting that Cancer is not heavily involved as that rules environment, but I suppose it's environment as place, and we're talking more about atmosphere at this point and civilization's waste products, group involvement, scientists and legal experts and all kinds of professional experts.

Blogger's 7 year Itch

Blogger just listed all the dates involved in transferring from Old Blogger to Google's New Blogger. How kind. 7 years! Wow, that's the Itch. The 7 year itch. That's the Progressed Moon square, that's the transiting Saturn square, it's also known for the amount of years that it takes for Uranus to change signs. Well, Uranus is known for it's itch. Moon and Saturn are known for marking off major life changes. If the following were significant milestone years in your life then you know you're heavily affected by Progressed Moon and transiting Saturn aspects: 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, 42, 49, 56, 63, 70, 77, 84, 91, and so on for however long you live. Makes sense that it would coincide with a big corporate merger/and/or buyout.

Had to take a look. I've copied the significant dates of the transition down below. The Mercury Retrogrades coincide with some sort of malfunction end of October when Mercury went Retro, Thank God. Just imagine how Astrology would be considered a pseudo science if that hadn't happened. There was some kind of design flaw right off the bat that needed to be fixed, but with the Saturn-Neptune opposition hammering down on the chart the way it was they're lucky it wasn't worse. Saturn has been in Leo transiting over the Leo Stellium of the natal chart. It stationed retrograde on the Natal Venus on Dec. 6 and passed almost back to station direct at 19 Leo, almost making it back for a second conjunction to natal Mercury. Jupiter is now in Sagittarius along with Pluto and their conjunction later this year might bring a big change to publishing, maybe Blogger will be connected with this.

Unfortunately, the first post from Blogger's Birth date doesn't have a time. I'm assuming the place is San Francisco, that seems to be where Pete and his friends live with their girlfriends and cats. Wonder if they're gonna stick around now though.

Blogger
b. Aug. 23, 1999, San Francisco, CA

Sun 0 Virgo; Moon probably in Capricorn; NN 13 Leo.

The stars look great for the original chart. Sun is conjunct a late Venus in Leo. Virgo rules writing and technological writing, but Venus in Leo adds the creative element. Mercury is conjunct North Node in Leo and Uranus is conjunct the South Node in Aquarius. That's about as appropriate for an Internet Communication anything, let alone Journaling program. Uranus-Node is a very precocious little beast, isn't it? To reinforce this theme, Mercury-Uranus and the Nodes are also Parallel. And Sun is parallel Jupiter for Luck. Neptune in Aquarius, Uranus in Aquarius, and Pluto in Sagittarius indicate success in anything worldly, other worldly, and international. It shows the rapid spread of the Internet in these past few years across the globe. Everyone is linked. I don't know if people read anymore but we sure do share. Blogger is a great example of one of the most successful enterprises. Yet another example of this amazing phenomenon.

The Saturn-Neptune opposition has been on the Nodes-Mercury-Uranus opposition during the entire transition. This must have made it seem like a colossal hassle, but also contributed a lot of improvements to the original interface, much better for multi-media.

Natal Mars-Chiron in Scorpio were first hit by the Mercury Retrograde Oct. 29 to Dec. 26 through conjunction but Jupiter was there too. The next Mercury Retrograde squared Mars from Aquarius. Actually Mercury went Retrograde Feb. at 11 Pisces and then stationed on the square point on Mar. 8. It returned to 11 Pisces by March 29, 2007.

Here's the list quoted from the introductory page. I've added some astro notes in Italics.

"While old Blogger totters off to realize its dream of getting to level 70 in the Burning Crusade, let’s take some time to remember what it took to replace the old Blogger with the new.

14 August 2006: The new version of Blogger launches as a public beta

Transiting Grand square = restless energies. Pluto square NN = big changes. Mars opposite Uranus = relationships, technology

23 August 2006: Blogger’s 7th birthday

New Moon in Leo. 4 planets in Leo conjunct natal Leo Planets. Solar and Mercury Returns. Venus c. n.NN.

30 August 2006: Edit HTML added to beta’s Layouts

Sun c. Mercury in Virgo. That's great for editing and detail work.

2 September 2006: Login box fiasco solved

Moon c. Pluto in Sagittarius square Mars c. SN in Virgo. Venus Return.

5 September 2006: Beta Known Issues blog launched

T.Moon and Chiron c. n. Neptune in Aquarius

21 September 2006: Mobile posting added

New Moon in Virgo conjunct SN.

4 October 2006: Picasa support added

Sun c. Venus c. Mars in Libra (Visuals). T. Moon c. 1st n. Neptune, then transiting Neptune (photopraphy).

26 October 2006: Week of Old Blogger meltdowns

Huge stellium of planets moving into Scorpio = meltdowns. Mercury goes Retrograde c. n. Mars on Oct. 29. This retro squaring natal Leo Planets and t. Saturn-Neptune opposition.

2 November 2006: Beta declared “feature complete” with FTP support

Moon-NN in Pisces squaring Pluto. T. Saturn c. n. Venus. 5 planets in Scorpio. T. Jupiter c. n. Mars.

10 November 2006: All new accounts created on Blogger in beta

Still 5 planets in Scorpio (Phoenix rising from the ashes) trining t. NN in Pisces

12 November 2006: New mobile accounts created on Blogger in beta

T. Moon in Leo c. n. NN, Mercury, etc. T. Venus c. n. Mars.

11 December 2006: Team blogs allowed to switch to Blogger in beta

6 planets in Sagittarius. Go Team!

19 December 2006: New Blogger taken out of beta

New Moon in Sagittarius. Sun c. Pluto (self-reliance).

4 January 2007: BlogThis! added

T.Mars c. t. Pluto trining t. Saturn and natal Leo planets. t. Jupiter c. n. Pluto.

24 January 2007: Percentage of users required to switch to new Blogger
15 February 2007: All users required to switch to new Blogger on login

Full Moon and Lunar Return in Capricorn c. Mars. Moon = Public and Mars = I dunno, the energy to move them? Mercury-Uranus-NN conjunction in Pisces.

21 February 2007: FTP publishing reliability improved
4 March 2007: Performance problems with especially busy blogs resolved

Moon in Virgo. T. Mars c. n. Neptune. Sun c. Uranus-NN in Pisces. Technology.

28 March 2007: Offline process to move blogs from old to new Blogger begins
16 April 2007: 1000th Blog of Note

Moon conjunct Mercury in Aries and approaching new Moon in Aries filling out a Grand Trine with Saturn in Leo and Pluto in Sagittarius. Inspiration and Enthusiasm.

24 April 2007: All blogs moved off old Blogger, save [this] one

Sun c. n. Jupiter. Mars c. Uranus-NN.

26 April 2007: Blogger Buzz moves to new Blogger, turns off lights on its way out
27 April 2007: DNS change to point www.blogger.com to new Blogger
4 May 2007: Old Blogger physically dismantled

t. Moon c. n. Chiron squaring n. Sun-Venus. T. Sun-Mercury c. n. Saturn. Mars-Uranus-NN conjunction in Pisces.

Return of the Lost Wallet

I mentioned once before that I suspected that the conjunction of Uranus-North Node in Pisces had something to do with a Boomerang effect. Several Missing Children have been either found or have escaped their captors during the last few months.

Here's another story that seems related: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-05-02-stolen-wallet_N.htm.

It's about an 18 year old Sailor named Val Gregoire who had spend the day on leave visiting with his then girlfriend in Boston. After seeing her and her Mother off, he was hit on the back of the head and when he awoke both his pants and his wallet were gone. He went ahead and married his girlfriend and was married to her for almost 50 years before he passed away. So now, 56 years later, a demolition worker was taking down one of the walls of a theater in Boston and found the wallet. His wife noticed that a ticket in it was stamped with the exact same day (different year) as the date that her husband had found it. She located his widow and sent the wallet back to her.

Wallets (per Rex Bills Rulership Book): Jupiter, Venus, Taurus, Saturn
Theft: Mars (7 Mercury 12)
Sailors: Moon, Cancer (Neptune, Pisces)
Trousers, lol: (Saturn)
Boomerangs: Uranus

And so, date of mugging: Apr. 11, 1951 Boston, MA, late in the day to early evening. A 7pm mugging puts Mars in Taurus right on the Descendant. Muggers, take note, that's an excellent aspect to have for a mugging.

Date wallet was found: Apr. 11, 2007 Boston, MA. This gives both a Nodal Return (by 3 degrees) in Pisces and a Venus Return in Taurus (Wallets) and, of course, a Solar Return in Aries. Gregoire, age 18 at the time, may have been going through a Nodal Return himself.

The Node in the Transiting chart (16 Pisces) is remarkable for the conjunction from Uranus (17 Pisces) (surprising and unexpected events, boomerangs, etc.). It is squared by Jupiter in Sagittarius (Justice, Wallets, and friggin Good Luck).

The Node (19 Pisces) in the Natal Chart is apex of a Yod. It is inconjunct Pluto at 18 Leo on one leg and Neptune at 19 Libra on the other Leg. Transiting Saturn is now in Leo (Theaters) and is conjunct Pluto by a degree and is trining the Sun in both charts (since it's a Solar Return chart). Saturn conjunct Pluto is the ultimate transit for tearing down walls and doing demolition. Neptune in Libra, well, my opinion of that aspect is that it just allows the Universe to shine down on us.

Oh, and I suppose the stolen pants (Saturn?) were thrown into the rag bag years ago.

The Birds Do It,, The XXX Do It

The Bees have disappeared. What's a Cole Porter song to do?

So, it's Full Moon in Scorpio in the middle of Spring and the great Mentors of Sex have disappeared from their Hives.

Here's a list of rulerships concerning Bees from Rex Bills:

Bees, Beekeepers: Mercury, Virgo (Venus)
Honey: Venus, Jupiter (Leo)
Bee Hives: Mercury
Colonies, Colonization: Neptune, Uranus
Queen: Sun, H10

Some of the transits for today:

Full Moon: Sun in Taurus (ruled by Venus) conjunct Mercury opposite the Scorpio Moon and squaring Saturn in Leo.

Grand Square: Venus in Gemini opposite Jupiter in Sagittarius squaring the Nodes with Mars-Uranus conjunct North Node in Pisces

Saturn in Leo opposite Neptune in Aquarius

And, Neptune and Uranus are still in Mutual Reception, zonking the crap out of each other.

First Rabies Survivor

There's a continuing story about a young girl in the Mid-West who was bit by a rapid Bat and lived to tell about it. She is the first person to survive a Rabies Virus infection without having received an inoculation. She was bit on her finger while trying to remove the bat from her Church. Her Mother rinsed off the bite at home with Hydrogen Pyroxide but figured no other treatment was necessary until a month later when the victim began to show symptoms. Rabies affects the neurological system and then the muscular system. The Doctors treated her by inducing a Coma and then flooding her system with a huge dose of drugs. The idea was to keep her mind and body at rest in order to avoid neurological damage (or something like that) while allowing the drugs to get rid of the disease.

There have been 6 similar bites since this miraculous treatment but none of the Victims has survived. Only 2, however, were treated with a version of this "Milwaukee" protocol but none with the same type or amount of drugs. The Doctors are beginning to wonder if this is a Medical Miracle, sort of a one-shot deal, or the beginnings of a great new treatment. I had to look. I found the girl's birth date (or something close to it) but I don't want to disclose it. Sort of get the feeling that her family is not into astrology. But it's an interesting chart to read from an astrological point of view.

Well, so coma and drugs, we're gonna look at Neptune as Neptune rules altered states of consciousness. Neptune was in Retrograde when this girl was bit. It continued to Retrograde while she began to show symptoms, received the diagnosis and was put under. It came out of Retrograde the day before the Doctors determined that her body was fighting off the virus and she could be brought back up out of the coma. This sort of makes me think that a drug induced coma was the right treatment for her at the time.

If the birth date I have is correct she has a conjunction of Sun and Jupiter which is otherwise unaspected. This accounts for her great good Luck. It also accounts for her interests in sports and love of animals (she was picking the bat up by the wings in order to remove it from the church). Transiting Neptune was trining this Sun-Jupiter conjunction. That speaks for the Luck and Miracle theory. The day she was put into the coma, the Moon (Care) was conjunct Neptune (Hospitals, Coma, Drugs) and also trining the Sun-Jupiter. For the next few days the Moon would have passed over her North Node in Aquarius and then over Uranus in Pisces. This would have been very healing for her electrical system and nerves (Uranus and Aquarius). A few days after that Neptune stationed Direct. The next day her lab results showed that her body was fighting off the virus and the Doctors began to bring her out of the coma. Another thing, none of the inner planets went Retrograde at this time. This really would have have helped to keep things progressing without complications. Mercury waited until December to do a 3 week retrograde and by then the girl was in rehab. Interesting that the first sign that she was recovering was that she could wiggle her toes. Toes and feet are ruled by Neptune.

Wonder if Retrogrades have anything to do with Medical Recoveries, especially if they coincide in some way with the illness or treatments involved. Back in the Fall I studied another story about a woman in a coma with brain damage due to stress from pregnancy and noticed that Mars coming out of Retrograde corresponded with her miraculous recovery.

The girl's transits at the time were otherwise quite difficult. Saturn was in Cancer conjunct her natal Mars and probably Moon. Saturn is in its opposite sign when in Cancer and Mars is also not well placed in that sign. Since Moon rules Cancer, a conjunction to the Moon would only intensify this tension. There is mention that she was very irritable during recovery and people were laughing it off as being a good feisty sign that she was showing her age. Maybe a good thing to induce an irritable mood in very sick patients, maybe it helps to fight whatever's taking over the body. Also, T.Pluto was opposite her Sun-Jupiter conjunction with t.Sun and Mars squaring. Mars = Bites. Pluto = Bats. Oppositions = relationships, opposing forces. It was just a great day for a Bat Bite, what can I say?

There is one indicator in this girl's birth chart which indicates that hopefully the treatment she received will be used to save other's lives. Most of her planets are in Cardinal Signs which indicate a self-starter or one who starts a new trend.

Progressed Sun was on the Aries Point in Cancer conjunct her natal Venus-Chiron and beginning to oppose her stellium in Capricorn of Uranus-Saturn-Neptune. This can account for the health problems, extreme change in lifestyle plus the worldwide attention. T. Pluto opposite n.Jupiter can also bring Fame and miracles.

Natally, this chart is very powerful. The Capricorn stellium of outer Planets poses a strongly tenacious personality. Pluto in Scorpio, its own sign signifies life and death struggles. These planets alone represent a generation that is inheriting a difficult world. We can expect to hear more of these stories from many of the kids from this generation.

Grandma Moses

I tend to ask people their signs with curious abandon wherever I am. When you do this sometimes you get rebuffed by disinterested people who couldn't care less about what's spinning around out there. But, sometimes you get some really good information. The Physical Education instructor for the Senior class of an adult school where I used to work gave me a rundown on which old ladies make it into old age without losing their marbles. She said that hands down the Sagittarians win the prize. They keep up their appearances, wear sporty little jogging suits to class, and keep their minds sharp with their finances while discussing world affairs. She thought to tell me this because apparently the dopey little old lady with my own sign, Cancer, read everyone their horoscopes every day in class. Well, at any rate, we Cancers care. And I never liked P.E. class anyway.

Capricorn is the sign of the old Man, Father Time. Astrologers always say that life gets easier for Capricorns as they age but I don't think that's true. Capricorns are always sick and frail and old age just adds more ailments. If a Capricorn is doing fine in old age it's due to their persistence and intelligence rather than their well-being. Even so, you always have to look for its prominence in a successful old person's chart. You'll notice Grandma Moses had it for a rising sign with its ruler Saturn angular in H7 and strongly aspecting her Mercury (mind) and Moon (mood). But she also had strong Mutable emphasis in her chart which shows adaptability.

I looked at Grandma Moses' chart because The Barn mentioned her. Hey Barn, if you're still hanging around. I have to admit her paintings don't really me send me but I'm still amazed by her accomplishments. She's a Virgo. (That was actually the P.E. instructor's sign.) Grandma had always worked doing needlework and, due to failing eyesight, switched to painting while in her 70s. Her paintings were discovered hanging in a drugstore in Upstate New York in 1938 and a New York dealer gave her her first show the next year.

Grandma Moses
b. Sept. 7, 1860 3:58 PM Greenwich, NY

Sun 16 Virgo; ASC 23 Capricorn; Moon 9 Gemini; MC 19 Scorpio; NN 30 Capricorn

Virgo rules crafts and craft projects because of its attention to detail and probably due to its practical uses. I wonder if Folk Art, overall, is ruled by Virgo. Makes sense because Virgo is opposite Pisces which is always attributable to the arts due to its attention to everything that's not practical in life. Grandma Moses had Neptune in Pisces, natural rulerships. It's her only planet in Water which emphasizes it's prominence in her chart. With regards to a leaning toward artistic talents it is also very strong because it is in the 2d house, Venus' house, and is trining Venus. Venus is in Leo in the 7th house which it also rules and is conjunct her South Node. Venus, Neptune and Sun are often indicators for artistic talent.

Artistic talent is nice, lots of old ladies have it. But what indicates Fame? Moses had strong Fame indicators in her chart. Scorpio MC, ruled by Pluto and opposed by Pluto and squared by Jupiter is for starters. Pluto likes anything connected with power. Moses has it ruling her MC which shows career and public standing. It's aspected by Jupiter which gives extra pizazz and excitement to her outward expressions of herself. It also adds the Luck element. In addition to this, Moses had Sun in H8 (Pluto's house) trining Pluto. Her Sun is also trining Mars conjunct Capricorn ASC which could account for her strong constitution late in life. Probably nothing really got her down too much in life. She also had a conjunction of Mercury and Saturn in Virgo which is very stable that squares a conjunction of Moon and Uranus which is very unstable. Her mind and her emotions were probably always a little at odds with each other. she would have had to keep busy in order to avoid getting depressed. Mercury-Saturn is very practical, factual, analytical, linear and Moon-Uranus in Gemini is quite fanciful and eccentric so this is actually a very good complex for an artist to have. It explains all the rich detail in her work of everyday life as both Gemini and Virgo enjoy life on an everyday basis. Her Uranus Return and Neptune opposition would have happened in her early 80s and definitely seem to have given her a second wind. They set off all Grandma's inner planets with major aspects. Uranus hit Mercury, Moon and Saturn. Neptune hit Venus and Mars.

Grandma started painting in her 70s. She was discovered in 1938 when she would have been around 78 years old. You can really see this amazing shift in her progressions and transits but at her age I think it would have been easy to misinterpret them. Her progressed Sun had just moved into Sagittarius so she was moving into a new track in life. Her progressed angles had just shifted with each other. Her progressed MC (career) had moved into her 1st Houes (personality) and was conjunct her North Node (Fate) in Capricorn (Career). Her progressed ASC was about 4 degrees into her 4th house (Home, well, some people would have said this was an indicator of retirement and maybe even death, reasons for astrologers not to do predictions).

In addition to the progressions many of Grandma's natal planets were receiving major transits. T. Uranus was conjunct her natal Pluto and trine her natal Sun and Mercury (revolutionary shift)
T. Neptune was just past conjunction with her natal Sun (artistic shift, actually most astrologers would probably have read this as death because it occured in her 8th house, I think it also would have something to do with failing eyesight and having to reach for a higher plane of existence through painting).
T. Jupiter and progressed Mars in 1st house were opposite her natal Saturn-Mercury (Guess this balances the Death theories and gives ya a second career).