Catch-22

Yesterday while sitting in a cafe I started thinking about "Catch-22s." No-win situations where you're damned if you do and damned if you don't. Something about sitting in coffee houses watching guys with pony tails and berets pounding away on computers that makes you revert back to college ponderings. And I guess it must be Mars tripping through my 12th house. Mars in Taurus sure has me looking up a lot of Taurus Sun charts recently. That sign just really fascinates me right now.

At any rate I wanted to find a couple of symbolic charts in order to maybe figure out a way to backtrack through and see if the configuration of Yods has anything to do with Catch-22s. Yods are triangle shapes made up of a sextile between two planets that are both connected to another planet through inconjunct aspects. Inconjuncts connect two planets that have nothing in common through element or modality. As such they irritate each other and never find a common or easy resolution for their expression. Sometimes they can lead their owners to resolve very difficult complicated issues which is maybe why they can be called "Fingers of God." Sounds like good Catch 22 fertilizer to me. On the other hand, one could look at a plain old Opposition aspects which acts as a Balancing Act between two planets in a chart. Or one could look at a chart with a lot of Gemini or Pisces or Libra emphasis, double signs which are known for indecision or scattered energy or double talk or vague ideas or too many ideas or, you know how you're feeling right now as you read this sentence, oh yeah, nobody's reading this sentence because nobody's reading this damn blog. Yeah, you know, THAT kind of energy. Bureaucracy, according to Rex Bills, is ruled by Jupiter___.

I haven't read the Joseph Heller book which coined the Catch-22 phrase but decided to look it up on Wikipedia and there you go, Joseph Heller had a Yod. He was a Taurus Sun born May 1, 1923 in Brooklyn, NY. Interesting about his chart is that his outer planets are all in aspect to each other which connects through Uranus (Age of Aquarius thinking). His Yod has Uranus in Pisces at its apex. Uranus is inconjunct on either side to Saturn in Libra and Neptune in Leo. Libra and Pisces are well represented in this Yod. The Gemini element is missing but, hey, Heller had an unaspected Mercury at 1 Gemini. He was the "messenger." As these are all slower moving, generational planets, Heller spoke to a whole group of people who hooked into this Yod energy.

Catch-22 was published in 1960 and became very popular during the Vietnam War as the perfect satire for the "circular logic" (Wiki article) of Bureaucracy. That was a War that couldn't be won. Interesting that with Uranus in Pisces once again we are stuck in another War that can't be won. Both times Uranus is conjunct the Nodes. Heller's was conjunct Pisces South Node. This last year Uranus has been conjunct the North Node.

Heller's Uranus links his Yod to the Grand Water Trine of the rest of the Outer Planets. It is trine Jupiter Retrograde in Scorpio and Pluto in Cancer. He was able to write one of the main books of his generation that held an extreme sensitivity (Grand Water Trine) to situations that never quite resolve (Yod).

I briefly spoke about Heller's Mercury in Gemini. What gets extra interesting is his Taurus Sun. He coined a phrase for his generation. The vision was very clear for him because all the outer planets were in such strong configuration in his chart. This hooks into my earlier blog (The Spiritual Side of Taurus) about Taurus being able to give an idea form especially through naming. And that Gemini Mercury helps a whole boat load as well.

The story doesn't end here, hehe.

At the end of the Wikipedia Article on "Catch 22" there's a list of earlier phrases on the same subject. "Hobson's Choice" was coined by Joseph Addison in an article published Oct. 14, 1712. Read about it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hobson's_choice. It's names the idea of a offering a choice that isn't really a choice at all. By interesting coincidence, Joseph Addison was born May 1, 1672 Wiltshire, England, same birthday as Joseph Heller. He also had Uranus 18 Pisces conjunct North Node at 14 Pisces!!!!!!

I wonder what great things the little kids born just this last May will write about the messes that are being handed down to them.

There are a couple of other even earlier phrases "Morton's Fork" and "Boridan's Ass" whose creators', or "coiners", birthdates aren't available. Is this idea of "Coining a phrase" a Taurus idea or what?

Herman Melville

In College I had a well respected professor who asked the class "What is the one true meaning behind Moby Dick?" I had never read it so I was exempt from answering, but someone cutely said, "It's a Whale Hunt." The Teacher sneered. He could have coached us along by saying that it was an allegory full of symbolism and then asked us what the symbolism was, but he didn't, this was the 70's when students were expected to teach themselves. We were trembling, feeling stupider and stupider by the second. I think that some bold student eventually piped up with "It's about obsessive people going after their goals." The teacher this time winced and said, "That's just the appetizers." He scoffed to let us know of our ignorance and dropped the subject as it was a Renaissance Lit class, totally unrelated. Teaching through sneering as never done much for me so I remember just drifting off and waiting for the class to be over. But, it always bugged me. What is Moby Dick about? I read the first 100 pages at least three times and couldn't go on. I carried the damn book around with me on the bus once for about 3 months while I lived in San Francisco and do remember telling a friend on the elevator at work that Melville was obviously Gay and Moby Dick should be embraced as a Gay Manifesto. He got really excited and carried the book around with him for maybe a couple of days. But, I never made it past the first 100 pages, don't even think I was properly introduced to Ahab. Finally thousands of years later, while meandering through a book store, I picked up a Remainder called something like "How to Read Books." Miraculously, it opened right to a page where the professor/writer clearly and succinctly explained that Moby Dick works on several layers of symbolism, the main theme being that "Man can never really know God." Wow. Totally awesome. If only they had told me years ago I would have been curious enough to get through the 50 page chapter on how to shop for harpooning equipment. Or at least I would have known it was worth skipping.

So, as Melville was a Leo and the Sun is in Leo, I thought I would try to see what it takes for the Stars to come up with such an unfathomable work. And someday, I do hope to read the thing. And Thank God for Wikipedia, now this information is much easier to get hold of.

Herman Melville
b. Aug. 1, 1819 11:30 PM New York, NY

Sun 9 Leo; ASC AS 22 Taurus; Moon 14 Sagittarius; MC 1 Aquarius; NN 15 Aries Rx

It makes sense that with Sagittarius Moon Melville would publish great novels about his exotic travels to far-off places. With Sun and North Node also in Fire, he was an inspired visionary, but also very adventurous and restless. According to his Wiki bio, Melville was born into a wealthy family but insisted on making it in the world on his own. After teaching for a few years, he took off sailing on a Whaling Ship which is where he got the subject matter for most of his most successful novels. He left port at Fairhaven, Mass on Jan. 1, 1841, sailed around Cape Horn for 18 months and then left the ship in the Marquesa Islands and spent a few weeks living with the Islanders. It's interesting to look at his astrocartography chart. After passing through the Cape he would have had to pass through a crossing of his Saturn-Pluto-Chiron lines. The Marquesas were probably the first stop after this and this is where he jumped ship. He probably got a little claustrophic on that ship...

Melville returned to Boston in October, 1944 and started to write about his adventures in fictional form. In 1846 he became an overnight success with his novel Typee. (Prog. Sun c. natal Mercury (writing); T. Uranus c. n.Aries NN (overnight success); Prog.Lunar Return conjunct n.Uranus-Neptune; t. Saturn c. MC; t. Jupiter c. n.Chiron-Saturn. He enjoyed 4 years of success with more novels after this, got married, and moved out to a farm in Massachusetts near Nathanial Hawthorne where he lived for the next 13 years. This is where he wrote Moby Dick. Moby Dick which was published Oct. 18, 1851. Moby Dick was not a success and his life sort of fell apart. (Guess lots of people got stuck on the first 100 pages.) Melville's fame slowly passed away. One of his sons commited suicide in 1867, his marriage suffered, and he worked as a Customs Inspector for the last 19 years of his life. In the 1920s there was a revival of interest in his writings.

Like Emil Nolde's life, the Leo I talked about yesterday, Melville's shared a strong Saturn-Pluto aspect with a conjunction of Pluto 28 Pisces-Chiron Rx 29 Pisces- Saturn 1 Aries placed in his 11th house. It's interesting that he also achieved Success early and lost it.

Melville's Saturn is right on the Aries Point meaning that career will bring him before the public. Even the Customs Inspector job he held was considered a good accomplishment so he was never really a "failure." Saturn connected with Pluto and Chiron means that he will be brought before the public in a way connected with their energies which can be quite an intense combination of crash and burn around desire and ambition.

I think that a whaling ship manned by a guy obsessed with catching a demon whale is perfect imagery. So is his Aries North Node and Aries on his 12th house cusp (hunting big sea mammals). In fact, when Moby Dick was published, Melville had just had his Saturn Return two years before so that he had been writing the work as a Saturn Return expression and with his complicated natal Saturn he was due to produce a "Behemoth". At time of publication, Saturn was once again conjunct Pluto along with Uranus in Taurus in Melville's 12th House. A deep allegory, unfathomable (12th house), a work that pretty much destroyed Melville's success (12th house). On the more spiritual side, this is totally awesome for imagery of a whaling trip, especially one that is symbolic on many layers for "obsession, religion, idealism v. pragmatism, revenge, racism, hierarchical relationships, politics." These descriptors are a direct quote from the Wikipedia article on "Moby Dick:" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moby_Dick.

Opposing this huge 12th house conjunction transit, t.Jupiter in Scorpio was opposing from his 6th house. This novel was published within a year of Nathaniel Hawthorne's Scarlet Letter and Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, both works that look closely at the evils within society, so you can see that it was a banner work for publishing very deep and questioning works of Literature about right and wrong and alienation. I can't think of a greater aspect for publishing a work that uses as one of its main themes "It is impossible to ever truly know God."

Emil Nolde

As the Sun is Shining in Leo right now and I want to celebrate a few Leos because, of course, they are Magnificent. Leo likes a Beginning, and a Middle and an Ending because that creates Drama. Leo likes spectacle so often it has been relegated to pop or folk music. And they have an incredible sense of play and warmth (and orneriness) which I think is missing from modern art. But, back in the day...well, think of Picasso who had Leo Rising. He produced huge amounts of work often trying to emulate the innocence of children in his art.

Emil Nolde is one of my favorite German Expressionist artists. He was your basic Bold Leo. He sort of took the idea of expressiveness to the max with wild brush strokes, heavy paint, loud colors, everyone and everything in his paintings looked like a hooker. There was no sense of order especially in the early oils, or spatial depth or perspective in his paintings. His figures are dancing around naked and in your face, as avant-garde and progressive as one could have created. I'm sorry that I still don't know how to add pictures. If so inclined, please google "Nolde landscapes."

Nolde studied art from 1884-1891 and was part of the group called Die Brucke (The Bridge) from 1906-1907. He was successful and well-received until the Nazis held their famous "Degenerate Art Exhibit" in 1937 and denounced his paintings among with many other artists like Kandinsky and Klee. In 1941, the Nazis literally forbade Nolde to paint. Asking a Leo to quit expressing himself. Hah! He gave up Oil Paints because the smell would give him away and spent most of the rest of his life painting Watercolors, many of which he called "Unpainted pictures." Much of the subject matter changed to still lifes, florals and landscapes. He reduces the subject matter to a few simple forms of the most amazing color you've ever seen. In order to get the colors intense enough he used very absorbent Japanese papers and applied the paint to both front and back of the painting.

Emil Nolde
b. Aug. 7, 1867 North Schleswig, near Nolde, Germany

Sun 15 Leo; Moon Scorpio; NN 15 Virgo

There's a trick to studying Nolde. His personality was a little complicated. Although he was very progressive and avant-garde in his artistic talents he belonged to the Nazi party right from the start and agreed to the extermination of the Jews. Even after he was banned and was hiding out in his little room, he thought this was a good idea. I guess one can see this in his chart. There are no planets in Air so he maybe lacked distance in his judgments. His Moon was in Scorpio, maybe involved in a very harsh t-square in conjunction with Saturn 18 Scorpio opposite Pluto 17 Taurus squaring Sun in Leo at the apex. One can see through his paintings how in touch he was with brutality, creativity and rawness, sensuality and sexuality. The empty leg of this t-square is Aquarius and in Nolde's chart Uranus is emphasized as his only out-of-bounds planet. The innovation and rebelliousness of Aquarius without the feeling for brotherhood? Sometimes one does see this in a difficult Aquarius aspect that will tend more towards conformism than the brotherly love that can accept others' differences.

Otherwise, his artistic talent is shown through his Sun-Mercury-Chiron-Venus in Leo stellium with Artistic signature Sun trine Neptune (15 Aries). And his Uranus 11 Cancer is in aspect to both Jupiter 5 Pisces (trine) and Neptune (square) which explains the lighter vibe of his paintings and the interest in social gatherings as subject matter.

In 1937, Nolde's t-square was hit hard. T.Uranus reached natal Pluto while his Progressed Mercury hit his natal Saturn. This, of course, squares his Sun. He was seen as the vulgar Revolutionary who was to be oppressed by the uprising Government. Saturn and Pluto combo's are the first to go as creators of evil. It's just strange Saturn-Pluto stuff that he was being punished for what he did right rather than what he did wrong. With progressed Mercury opposite Uranus he was going to paint his own truth no matter what anyone said.

In addition, T. Pluto hit his natal Leo stellium, so it was conjunct Venus at 2 Leo and would continue to pass over his Mercury and then Sun. People who are good at making changes can just go with the Pluto flow. Fixed Signs simply must transform. T. Neptune was moving into conjunction with Nolde's North Node in Virgo, so he would have just begun to find his true expression.

In 1940 this Neptune-Node aspect was exact and conjunct natal Mars in Virgo as well.

In 1941, Chiron had joined t. Pluto in the middle of his Leo Stellium. And Uranus had moved off of his n. Pluto but Saturn was just then passing over it. So his Saturn-Pluto was amplified. He had a Nodal Return along with a conjunction from Neptune to his natal Virgo North Node. And, well, as Neptune rules a Water Sign and Virgo prefers a more graphic medium, I guess it was a good time to switch to Watercolors.

At the end of the War, Nolde's progressed Sun moved into Scorpio. T.NN and Saturn were both conjunct his natal Uranus. My understanding is that he continued on after the war as a successful artist until his death. But there is still this lingering feeling of shame (Saturn-Pluto) surrounding his works because of his links with the Nazis. I think the Chinese have a proverb for it: "May you never live in interesting times."

Today's Financial Dunking

I went to bed last night when the Announcer on the News was saying that a Tsunami warning had been declared off the coast of Indonesia and woke up this morning to reports that a Tidal Wave had hit Wall Street instead. Last I read the market had closed with about a 310 point loss after dipping almost 450 points. This kind of thing just makes me nuts.

Here's a list of rulerships from Rex Bills:

Losses: Saturn, 8, 12 (Pluto)
Losses or gain, financial: H2
Losses, cause of financial losses (1)
losses through unwise specualtion (Uranus)
Panic: Uranus (Saturn)

Market opens at 9:30 am. Today that makes 17 Virgo Rising with an empty House. Mercury rules both ASC and MC. Placed in Cancer in H10.

Uranus in Pisces conjunct Descendant trines Chart Ruler Mercury in H10 and squares the IC-MC axis. That explains the panic. Mercury in H10 in Cancer = message from Government about Real Estate.

Biggee is at the Bottom of the Chart. Pluto conjunct Moon in H4. Worries about the Real Estate Market tanking fueled the panic. Jupiter's down in H3.

H2 is also empty, ruled by Venus who is up in the 12th house conjunct Saturn in Leo on one side and the South Node on the other side.

Aries rules the 8th House, also empty. Mars is squaring the Saturn-Neptune opposition which is splayed across H6 and H12.

"Four Pigeons"

Two Boston mobsters who were framed for murder by the FBI and sent to jail in 1965 were finally vindicated. They were released after 29 & 33 years for a murder they didn't commit along with two other men and have now just won a $101M settlement against the Government after proving that the FBI withheld evidence. The other two men died in Jail. The FBI knew who the real killers were but wouldn't convict them because one was an informant. Here's a link to the story: http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/law/07/26/wrongful.convictions.ap/index.html

I've found many of the birth dates of men involved at: http://whiteyworld.com/Whitey%20World%20A%20to%20Z.htm. Don't know if the dates listed are accurate and can't vouch for my own typos. It is interesting to see who acts as snitch, who gets blamed and who really does the deed. In the scheme of things, all these guys were of questionable integrity. Don't want to make any comments, except that it is interesting that, during 1965-68, Uranus-Pluto conjunction was forming in Virgo and was opposing Saturn in Pisces. It seems that the Mutable signs involved managed to escape conviction while the Fixed Signs were fingered and trapped. I would have figured it would be the other way around but Fixed Signs have to contend with the weird games that Pluto and Uranus play.

The Man murdered was Edward Deegan, no b.d.

FBI Informant being protected: Vincent James Flemmi, b. 9/5/1935 // Sun 13 Virgo c. Neptune-Venus opposite Saturn; Moon in either Scorpio or Sagittarius; NN 21 Capricorn. The FBI knew that he was on an uncontrollable killing rampage having committed 7 murders and still managed to cover up for him.

The Men who DID commit the Murder:

• Roy French (set up Deegan and shot the 1st bullet): 3/13/1929 Swampscott, MA // Sun 23 Pisces, Moon Aries?, NN 23 Taurus
  
• Ronald Cassesso: b. 12/22/1931 // Sun 30 Sagittarius, Moon Taurus or Gemini, NN 2 Aries
  
• Romeo Martin: no birthdate, murdered by Barboza in 1965.
  
• Joseph Barboza (was the snitch who told lies to the FBI, also an informant): b. 9/20/32 // Sun 28 Virgo, Moon Taurus or Gemini, NN 18 Pisces
  

The Men who went to jail for the Murder:

• Henry Tameleo: no b.d., died in jail
• Louis Greco: b. 2/4/1917, was in Florida at time of Murder, died in jail // Sun 16 Aquarius, Moon Cancer?, NN 20 Capricorn
  
• Peter Limone: b. 5/6/1934 Served 33 years, released in 2001 // Sun 17 Taurus, Moon Aquarius or Pisces, NN 15 Aquarius
  
• Joseph Salvati: b. 10/30/1932 Served 29+ years, commuted in 1997 // Sun 8 Scorpio, Moon Scorpio?, NN 16 Pisces
  

Deegan was murdered: 3/12/1965, Chelsea, Mass.
Date of Arrest: 1965
Date of Conviction: 7/31/1968

Timeline of what supposedly happened: http://justicedenied.org/issue/issue_27/fbi's_legacy_of_shame.html

The corrupt FBI agent who organized the set-up:

H. Paul Rico, b. April 29, 1925 (place? Mass?) // Sun 9 Taurus opp. Saturn and squaring NN 10 Leo

Head of FBI who received an illegally acquired warning that Deegan would be murdered 2 days before it happened and did nothing to protect him:

J.Edgar Hoover b. Jan. 1, 1895 Washington, DC. // Sun 12 Capricorn, Moon Pisces? NN 25 Pisces.

Painter Painting - Jeremiah Palecek

A number of artists have been blogging their paintings in recent years. One that I really like is a young painter named Jeremiah Palecek. Lately he's changed the name of the blog to "Nerd Art" and is concentrating on computer imagery. His paintings are really interesting. He's included a couple of videos showing how he works which I think is really magical and also fun because he's pretty eccentric. Here's a link (hopefully) of him painting "Lonely Girl." Watch the video with the volume cranked up and guess his sign (hint: he's got a listing on Wikipedia with his birth date, or at least he will until he sees this).

Here's the link: http://jeremiahpalecek.blogspot.com/2006_09_01_archive.html (scroll down about half way). If you like this there are a few more somewhere in the archives.

Zonbu

What's small, silent, green and cheap? HaHa, bet you'll never guess the answer. It's a new computer called a Zonbu that will be launched sometime in September by a Tech Start Up Company in Menlo Park, California. The computer runs on 20X less electricity and that's supposed to cost $10.00 less a month to run than the average computer. It comes loaded with Open Source software which is managed online so that you don't have to pay for or manage or waste any more of your time in computerland hell. No back ups, no scans, no viruses, no reinstalls, but no privacy for your documents, but maybe you don't care... The cost is only $99.00 plus up front subscription fees that range according to how much storage you want. This must be paid 2 years in advance.

This sounds great. The company hasn't committed to a launch date though. Sigh, how astrologically incorrect. Hope they don't make any iPhone mistakes with the chart. Virgo is a nice sign for a computer but there are some tricks to avoid. There's a Total Lunar Return on Aug. 28, 2007 and a Partial Solar Return on Sept. 11, 2007. Wonder if they will choose a Libra Sun though. All month long there will be an opposition from Mars to Pluto and from Venus to Neptune and Sept. 24 and Sept. 30 take advantage of these possible afflictions and turns one or the other of them into Kites (depends on time of day too). Virgo Sun says "Back To School" to me, while Libra Sun says "Second Computer" which is the market the CEO's say they are striving for. Will be interesting to see which date is chosen.

Other attempts to make an eco-friendly computer have failed. According to an article in the San Jose Mercury News a big first attempt was made in the mid-90s by Larry Ellison of Oracle called Network Computer.

Spiritual Side of Taurus

The other day when I was writing about the Comanche "psychic" warrior Isatai who suddenly seemed to have lost his ability to predict at the same that Neptune moved from Aries to Taurus, I became acutely aware that I don't understand the spiritual side of Taurus. How would Neptune in Taurus manifest? Trying to understand the "Piscean" side of Taurus has always bothered me as Taurus isn't usually described from that angle. I've got Taurus on my 12th house and no planets in the 12th house and I'm sort of resigned to the fact that I don't seem to have a subconscious, or, at least, when I do tend to have unconscious motivations, they immediately manifest, usually into Saturnian "lessons" of an unfortunate nature, ah hem.... I actually studied Classics in College so that I could understand the philosophical side of things. (That was of no use as I found out that both Socrates and Plato were maybe Tauruses.) And once I had a little education, my philosopher friends just seemed to be wasting their time reinventing the wheel by repeating what the Ancients already knew. Taurus seems necessary in order to give shape to the raw energy of Aries into new form.

As I've been writing this blog, I've become aware of how important Taurus is in the charts of many spiritual leaders. This sign is not all just about money and practical matters yet astrologers fall back on this terminology when discussing it. There's a different, non-material level that Taurus works at. I haven't been able to understand it until I picked up a book on Graphic Design yesterday from a Library Shelf called The Non-Designer's Design Book by Robin Williams. How appropriate that a book on making Art would be where I could find my answer as this is Taurus' domain. Artists and musicians are notorious for not being able to express themselves verbally (I have personal experience in this matter). This is exactly what Robin Williams discusses in her Introduction. The excitement and energy of rushing out to see everything and do everything is Aries. It's Taurus' job to name items as a first step in developing a relationship with them. In so doing, one begins to "manifest" one's environment, to make new pathways in one's life. As Williams says in a Plutonian fashion, have power over them.

I hope this isn't breaking Copyright Laws, but I wanted to repeat the story that Robin Williams tells in her book. It seems to explain the Taurus ideas of creating "value." This is from the Introduction on page 15 and is called "The Joshua Tree Principle." She explains why one would want to learn the design process. It means a lot to me because I live in California and went through this same exact experience when I first started gardening. Joshua trees are planeted everywhere here.

"Many years ago I received a tree identification book for Christmas. I was at my parents' home, and after all the gifts had been opened I decided to go out and identify the trees in the neighborhood. Before I went out, I read through part of the book. The first tree in the book was the Joshua tree because it only took two clues to identify it. Now the Joshua tree is a really weird-looking tree and I looked at that picture and said to myself, "Oh, we don't have that kind of tree in Northern California. That is a weird-looking tree. I would know if I saw that tree, and I've never seen one before." So I took my book and went outside. My parents lived in a cul-de-sac of six homes. Four of those homes had Joshua trees in the front yard. I had lived in that house for thirteen years, and I had never seen a Joshua tree. I took a walk around the block, and there must have been a sale at the nursery when everyone was landscaping their new homes -- at least 80 percent of the homes had Joshua trees in the front yards. And I had never seen one before! Once I was conscious of the tree, once I could name it, I saw it everywhere. Which is exactly my point. Once you can name something, you're conscious of it. You have power over it. You own it. You're in control."

The Non-Designer's Design Book
by Robin Williams, Peachpit Press, Berkeley, CA, 1994

By odd coincidence, just today, as I am learning that the U.S. Navy is going ahead with their undersea Sonar testings, literally avoiding orders from the Federal Courts to do so because of the hazards to the Whales, etc. I found out that both men responsible for the first simple attempts at creating Radar and Sonar were born in 1881 when 4 outer planets, Saturn, Neptune, Jupiter and Pluto (plus Chiron) were in Taurus. I don't know if I appreciate all the places where these inventions are leading, but they certainly do show an incredibly deep understanding of how to harness the energies of what exists right under our noses. A long time ago I wrote a blog about the Spiritual Leaders who have a great ability to transform others and discussed the prevalence of both Taurus and Pluto in their charts. (I'll have to go look for it when the inspiration strikes, it was probably last summer sometime, I'm so lazy.)

Tuna Commits Suicide in Aquarium?

A Bluefin Tuna swam head first into the glass window at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California late Sunday afternoon. It was found the next morning lying on the bottom of the tank, but security cameras caught it ramming into the glass at 5:34 pm the evening before. It weighed 229 pounds and was 5 1/2 feet long. Here's the story: http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_6449003?IADID=Search-www.mercurynews.com-www.mercurynews.com&nclick_check=1.

For basic information, Aquariums are ruled by Pisces, Neptune and the Moon, according to Rex Bills. Windows are ruled Gemini, Mercury, Neptune.

This chart has 20 Sagittarius Rising so it is very similar to the other story I wrote about on July 13 "Bouncing Baby Girl..." about the Father in China who threw his baby daughter out a window. In that chart, ruler Jupiter, was conjunct the Ascendant. In this chart, Jupiter is in the 12th house of Fish and Aquariums. Jupiter is squaring the Pisces North Node in the 3d House. Neptune is in the 3d house also opposite Saturn and squared by Mars (Force). Gemini is on the Descendant with ruler, Mercury, in the 7th house.

Mars ruled the 4th house and was apex of a t-square so that explains swimming head first into the walls of one's "home."

I wanted to look at the chart to see if I could figure out if this was a mistake or intentional on the Fish's part. With Pluto conjunct the Ascendant and the Sun unaspected in the 8th House it would seem that Suicide is a strong possibility. With Jupiter on the Ascendant and Venus exactly conjunct the 9th House, I think this Big Fish just wanted to be set free.

Guantanamo Bay Prisoners - What AreTheir Signs?

A former Guantanamo Bay prisoner blew himself up today, July 24, 2007. His name was Abdullah Mehsud. Although a known Taliban member fighting for Al Quaida he was released from Guantanamo in 2004 for undisclosed reasons. The U.S. Dept. of Whatsitsname has published a list of prisoners held at Guantanamo which includes about half of the prisoners' birthdays. Mehsud's name is not on the list along with some other former prisoners (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Guantanamo_Bay_detainees_missing_from_the_official_list). So, can't really look at Mehsud's chart. He was 33. Lost a leg in Sept. 1996. Personality described as daredevil, risk taker, could survive tough conditions. May You Find Peace, Mr. Mehsud.

Here's a list of the prisoners who were held at Gitmo from Jan. 2002 through May 15, 2006. It's totally bogus information but I'm totally nuts so I tallied the Sun Signs for all available dates anyway. http://www.defenselink.mil/news/May2006/d20060515%20List.pdf. I can't vouch for the accuracy as about half are given birthdays on January 1 kind of like how the veterinarian gives that date to your cat if your cat came from the shelter. If I'm ever detained (and the freaky way things are going I probably will be) I've already decided to give the Sun Sign of my least favorite sign just for revenge on future astrology buffs. Or I guess I could just say nothing and The Government will chock me off as a Capricorn... Get it? Capricorn = Government? HaHa, just a little astro humor about a completely grim subject, I know.

Here's my Tally of who gets caught and held. Water Signs really jammin up the jail led by Scorpios. Terrorism makes total sense. But, aren't Scorpios supposed to be sneaky and never get caught? Capricorns and Aquarians are also pretty bad. As a matter of fact, the Wheel after Libra really likes to fight with just Cancers gunning away in the first half. Aries has the lowest numbers. Isn't that interesting since Aries is ruled by the War God? Those early signs just don't get smoked up for religious fervor or war. That's good to know. Kind of weird how many Cancers and Scorpios we have running the war from the U.S. side, huh? Colin Powell is an Aries and he quit.

Aries: 22
Taurus: 29
Gemini: 24
Cancer: 31
Leo: 26
Virgo: 25
Libra: 23
Scorpio: 39
Sagittarius: 29
Capricorn: 31
Aquarius: 33
Pisces: 34

Alexander Calder

Sun in Cancer, Moon in Virgo seems like such a sweet, quiet little combination. Seems to describe your friendly little neighborhood bank teller who doesn't want too much out of life, born to serve in some humble way. Well, surprise, surprise. The Dalai Llama and Jean Cocteau; both Sun in Cancer, Moon in Virgo. As spiritually evolved as these two are, I actually don't know if I would feel comfortable letting either of them count out my cash for me.

The one whose chart I'm looking at right now is Alexander Calder's.

Alexander Calder
b. July 22, 1898 Lawnton, PA

Sun 30 Cancer; Moon in Virgo; NN 18 Capricorn

I've always remembered Calder's Moon as being in Aquarius, the Virgo just doesn't stick for some reason. Obviously I still don't have a grasp of that energy.

Calder was raised by artists; his mother was a portrait painter and his father was a sculptor. He was born into the profession, and according to Wikipedia, his parents didn't want him to follow that line of work. It looks as if he tried to avoid it as well as he could as he studied Mechanical Engineering in College and joined the military, worked on boats and as a logger. Then he made his way up to the Washington coast, saw the beauty and had to capture it. (1922) . Notable transit for that time: Jupiter Return in Libra that year with t.Saturn, t.NN and prog. Venus all conjunct Jupiter at the same time. Guidance from the stars leading him both in career (Saturn) and life path (NN), maybe even offering extra Luck (Jupiter) in art (Libra, Venus).

Calder's chart is a bowl shape bounded by Mars in Gemini opposite Saturn in Sagittarius conjunct Uranus in Scorpio. Bowl shape people are looking outside of themselves for their other half (read Bob Marks description on his website www.bobmarksastrologer.com). In this case, Calder was consistently surrounded by Artists. First his Family. Then his buds in Paris, Joan Miro, Jean Arp, Marcel Duchamp, and Mondrian. He had no reason to become anything but an artist in his life if you look at what the other half was about.

I suppose you can use your Mars-Saturn-Uranus to work in an office building constructing Gemini-Sagittarius type whirligigs like bridges or buildings, or you can use to invent a whole new art form. Calder would have had the training to build his moving scultures, toys and sculptures. Most artists would not. And although he worked in most mediums, he is most known for his Sculptures and Mobiles, very Mars-Saturn types of Works.

He turned to abstract art after being "shocked" into it when viewing Piet Mondrian's work in 1930. (Had to look for Uranus aspects after seeing that word, of course). At this point there was a transiting t-square of Saturn in Capricorn opposite Jupiter-Pluto in Cancer that was placed right over Calder's Nodes. This was squared by Uranus in Aries (shock). Calder's progressed Venus (Art) just happened to fill out the empty leg of this t-square. Again, an interesting guidance from the stars. Calder's progressed Sun changed signs into Virgo, marking a major turnaround in his expression. It did this at the same time that transiting Neptune (Art) passed over. This p.Sun-t.Neptune squared his natal Mars opposite Saturn-Uranus aspect. (Since we have a similar t-square transit coming up (without Jupiter I think), it's nice to see how wonderfully this energy can manifest.)

As a child, Calder had been impressed by some Horses (Jupiter) he saw at the Tournament of Roses in Pasadena which led to his obsession with circus imagery. This influenced his first works of art, a miniature circus made out of wire that could spin and play. In France he would put on performances just as if it were a real circus. This led to his development of kinetic (or moving) sculptures. He made his first true mobile, called "Feathers" in 1931. The Tournament Of Roses was on Jan. 1, 1907. There was a Sun-Uranus conjunction in Capricorn opposite Jupiter-Neptune in Cancer that day squaring his Jupiter. (The Sun-Uranus was just barely within wide orb of conjunction with his North Node).

Venus and Saturn was aspecting each other (t.Venus c. n.Saturn-Uranus and t.Saturn opposing n.Venus). One can see this influence in his work later on as Venus-Saturn aspects are very strong on linework in art and bold, flat, graphics. No subtle shading, no sentiment or humanitarian expression. Just playful, bold, and very attuned to shape and movement.

Brazil Brazil

Wow, Brazil's got more Aviation problems. Much of their Radar was knocked unconscious over the Amazon on Friday night (July 20) at 11:15 pm and they were turning away Airplanes until 2:30am, Saturday, July 21.

I found Brazil's latest chart here (http://members.tripod.com/tra_nations/a_brazil1988.htm) and can't believe the transits for this chart.

Brazil
Oct. 5, 1988 15:49 Brasilia, Brazil

First of all, Brazil's Ascendant is at 10 Pisces conjunct its North Node at 14 Pisces. The Transiting North Node is at 8 Pisces. So, not only is the transiting North Node hanging out on Brazil's Ascendant, but this is a Nodal Return year. (No wonder why they make such good music though.) This hooks into the Aviation industry because: 1) t.Uranus (Aviation) is in the 1st house 2) Ruler of the chart is in Aquarius (Aviation) celebrating a mutual reception with Uranus 3) The Nodes are squared by Jupiter (Flight) which is in its own sign and conjunct Brazil's Midheaven. 4) Jupiter is also opposing its natal position.

Here is another biggee. Brazil's natal Uranus is conjunct Saturn at 26-27 Sagittarius (H10, angular). So, transiting Pluto is exactly conjunct these two. I think I just read in my Rex Bills book that rulerships for disasters are attributed to these 3 planets, but am not sure. Once again Rex is in the Car and I am in the House and too lazy to go fetch. 26 Sagittarius is the Galactic Center, too. What's a little Earthly Radar when you got the Center of the Universe sucking you into next year? The transiting Sun (28 Cancer) was unaspected at this point, except for an inconjunct to t.Pluto c. n.Saturn-Uranus. This is just what happens when you screw up during Lent. It all comes back to you.

Oh yeah. Something else. A transiting Grand Square overlays a Grand Square in the Natal Chart (well, slightly out of orb). I'm not going to be able to explain it coherently. When the Radar went out, the Libra Moon was conjunct Brazil's Descendant. This is involved in a Grand Square figure with Mercury square ASC square MC. This figure was overlaid by an almost Grand Square figure where natal Sun was conjunct the Libra Moon-Descendant squaring t.Neptune opposite Chiron (conjunct n. Mercury). Mars in Taurus was squaring Neptune and Chiron but not opposing the Sun.

Oh, well, for what it matters, Brazil is going through its Venus Return in Virgo. They should just give it up and party until all this passes.

Bummin Me Out

Today President Bush signed a Bill stating that the U.S. can no longer torture its war prisoners through humiliation and denigration. By interesting coincidence, President Bush is going to have a routine Colonoscopy tomorrow at Camp David in Maryland tomorrow. For what I'm sure at this point is a total feeling of relief for him he will be signing official power over to Dick Cheney while he is put under anesthesia for the roughly 2 1/2 hour exam. How much damage do you think Dick Cheney can get done in 2 1/2 hours? Kind of like giving a toddler a bat.

Bush will be going through a Lunar Return in his 3d house so it's a great day for Mooning the Doctor, so to speak.

The 3d House of Logic. Hmmm, that's the House that rules the Ability to Think Straight. Natally he has Neptune(escape)-Chiron(wound)-Moon(insanity)-and Jupiter(extreme opinions) in that House and in that order so, trust me, he's going to making good use of those drugs. You can definitely see Birdies under that aspect. Think "Black Helicopters, George. All the Black Helicopters you ever wanted." Unfortunately for Good American Citizens, Bush has a Lunar Return 13 times a year, and drugs or no, we're subjected to the Moon raking over his Neptune-Chiron-Moon-Jupiter brand of Logic that many times a year.

Transiting Neptune (anesthesia) in the 7th House will be opposing Natal Venus (vanity) and being squared by transiting Mars (probe) at the same time. Yup, the Doctor's gonna be a Republican.

The transiting South Node is conjunct his natal Mars in Virgo (digestive tract). Huh, well, I wish him the best. The way the Bush Administration handles Openness with the American People we won't have to worry our empty little brains over the outcome either way.

Here's more reading material on the subject:

http://www.barrycrimmins.com/index.php?page=stories&category=02--CrimQuips&display=153

Isatai

The 19th Century in the United States is full of stories of how the European Settlers drove the Native Americans off their land. I've studied a little bit of the charts of Geronimo (Apache) and Black Elk (Sioux). There's also a story from the Comanche History that I was particularly interested in. It tells of the last time the Comanches used advice from a psychic in planning for a battle.

The Comanche Medicine Man, Isatai, told his chief, Quanah Parker, that God would stop the bullets in the White Man's guns if they would attack a Buffalo skin trading post in Texas. Quanah organized the Comanches and a few other tribes and attacked the Settlers at Adobe Walls. Parker was shot twice and many Native Americans were lost. Mostly, they began to understand the power of this superior warfare and they also never used psychic advice again before going into battle. Here is the story in Quanah Parker's own words: http://famousamericanindians4.homestead.com/Quannahsspeech.html


Date of Adobe Walls attack
June 27, 1874 dawn (I used 5am) Hutchinson Country, Texas

Quanah Parker, last Comanche Chief
b. 1845-49 (according to Wikipedia) b. 1852 (according to a placard) White Mountain Region, Oklahoma

Isatai
b. around 1850 Texas.

I've been stewing over this trying to look for astrological clues. I knew that there was the big conjunction of Neptune and Pluto in Gemini in 1891-92 which could possibly have had something to do with the dissolution of the Native Americans.

Since Neptune rules psychic abilities, I just looked up Neptune's placement for the day of this battle to see if it was afflicted. Indeed, Neptune had just changed signs from Aries to Taurus that month, 2 weeks before the battle. Aries is the sign of the Warrior which is what the Comanches excelled at. I'm not sure how Taurus' psychic abilities manifest but I'm certain that it would be much more materialistic in nature than Aries'. One would suddenly have to accept the reality of all things material, especially bullets. This was emphasized at the Battle of the Adobe Walls as Neptune was in conjunction with the Taurus North Node. The Comanches never took the advice of a psychic before entering battle again.

You'll notice that the 5am time for this date puts a Sun-Mars conjunction right on the Ascendant so Isatai was pretty accurate at harnessing the Aries energy. If he was born in 1850 one can see why. During that year, Saturn, Uranus and Pluto were all in Aries for the most part. In July, Uranus and Pluto were conjunct on the last degree of Aries-first of Taurus, same spot that Neptune was passing over the month of the Battle of the Adobe Walls.

Dave's Mom

I'm trying to avoid posting my rant against the Bush Administration who just denied Valerie Plame a trial so I'm going to rant about David Letterman's Mom who, according to his show last night just celebrated her 86th Birthday yesterday. At Age 86 she is very with-it, beautiful, and has a sparkling clean kitchen. Thing is, Wikipedia says that her birthday is August 12 or 13, but last night was July 18. The shows aren't usually filmed that far ahead of time due to the lack of time machines. Either way, Dave's Mom read the Top Ten List. Obviously, Dave gets his good timing from his Mom.

Coincidentally, Paula Abdul was on the Letterman show last night and she said that it was her Mother's Birthday too. Well, Dave was probably just making up the date to keep his mother's Identity from being stolen and now the thieves are going after Paula's Mom. This is so Capricorn Moonie. Always tripping over yourself. You try to fix one thing and it just messes up something else. Anyway, I looked at both Dave's and Paula's charts (astrotheme) and they have really similar Moons.

David Letterman
b. April 12, 1947 6pm Indianapolis, In.

Sun in Aries; Libra Rising; Moon 16 Capricorn in H3 opposite Cancer MC

Moon is squaring Neptune in H12 and Sun in H7 and is inconjunct Uranus in Gemini.

Paula Abdul
b. June 19, 1962 2:32pm Los Angeles

Sun in Gemini; Libra Rising; Moon 22 Capricorn in H4 conjunct IC and opposite Cancer MC

Moon is trining Mars in Taurus and Quintile Uranus in Leo and making some sort of minor aspect to Pluto.

I looked up the Chart for Dave's Mom for last night and it appears that her Moon would also be in Capricorn. Dave's Sun is conjunct her North Node so he is her Shining Light.

Dave's Mom
b.? July 18, 1921 or ???? Either way, she's made it past her Uranus Return.

Airplane Crash, Sao Paolo, Brazil

Looked briefly at the Charts for yesterday's Plane Crash in Sao Paolo, Brazil. The runway at the Sao Paolo Airport is known for being difficult to land on because it is too short. In wet weather is becomes slippery and even more difficult to land on. TAM Flight JJ3054 due to land right at the Rush Hour lost control at landing and slid past the runway, through rush hour traffic onto a busy street, into a gas station and then into a concrete building and exploded. This is now said to be the worst plane disaster in Brazil's history with more than 200 people dead.

According to Rex Bills:
Airplane: Uranus, Aquarius (Gemini).
Airport Uranus, Aquarius.
Airway travel and transport: 3, Mercury, 9 Sagittarius, Uranus (Neptune) --geez, with Uranus and Neptune in Mutual Reception I'd expect more Airplane disasters... Uranus rules the Crash chart and Neptune is conjunct the Ascendant at time of crash. Yesterday Moon and Mercury were also in Mutual Reception.
Arrivals: (Uranus)
Departures: (Uranus)
No mention of crashes but Mars and Uranus?
Disasters: Saturn, Uranus, Pluto

The Nodes seem to play a big part here. At the beginning of the flight they are at the last degree of the 2d/8th house axis. At the time of the crash they are exactly conjunct the beginning of the 2d, and especially the 8th house cusp as this is the House of Death. The Moon and Venus were conjunct the South Node/8th cusp from H7. Retrograde Jupiter in Sagittarius was conjunct the 11th house cusp. Jupiter and Uranus both rule Airline Flight. The fact that the runway was slippery played a big factor. Moon (Water) conjunct the South Node and 8th House cusp (Water). Neptune (Water) conjunct Asc (Air). Pluto (Water) in H11. Mars in H4 (Water) conjunct IC and squaring Neptune-Chiron-Aquarius ASC.

The Airport had been shut down for 10 weeks to make repairs so that it would be safer to land on in rainy weather. It had just been reopened on June 30. Saturn rules Safety and Precautions. Guess an opposition from Neptune is not the best time to make safety repairs, especially when Chiron is also involved. Wonder if this opposition hooks into Brazil's chart in a significant way. This is the 2d major Air catastrophe for them in a year.

Departure: July 17, 2007 5:16pm Porto Alegre, Southern Brazil

20 Capricorn ASC; Sun 25 Cancer; MC 9 Libra
Ruler Saturn 25 Leo in House 8.
Also in H8 is a conjunction of Venus, Moon, South Node in Virgo squaring Jupiter 11 Sagittarius in H11
Ruler H8 is Sun in H7 opposite ASC
Ruler H9 Mercury (Virgo on Cusp); Mercury 6 Cancer H6

Crash Landing: July 17, 2007 6:50 pm Sao Paolo, Brazil

12 Aquarius ASC c. Chiron 15 Aquarius and Neptune 22 Aquarius squaring Mars 20 Taurus (H4) opposite Saturn 25 Leo H7.
North Node 8 Pisces conjunct H2 cusp/ South Node conjunct South Node and Moon.
Nodes squaring Jupiter in H11/H11 cusp. Pluto has moved into H11.
Nodes trining Mercury in Cancer in H5.
Sun in H6.
H3 cusp 6 Aries with no planets in House.
H9 cusp 6 Libra with no planets in House.

Dr. Alzheimer

Saturn has been on my Mercury for almost a year and that means that Neptune has been opposing. And it will continue to oppose my progressed Mercury for years to come. This made me want to look up the history of the great disease that no doubt is going to curdle my brain with what're they callin it? I can literally feel the plaque building up on my brain, sheets of aluminum are wrinkling out my ears. Who was the guy who first studied this condition?

Dr. Alois Alzheimer
b. June 14, 1864 4:00 am Markbreit, Bavaria, Germany

Sun 24 Gemini; ASC 24 Gemini; Moon 12 Libra; MC 21 Aquarius; NN 17 Scorpio
(chart is available at astrotheme.)

Dr. Alzheimer has a conjunction of Sun-Ascendant-Uranus in Gemini. All are trining his Aquarius Midheaven. Big Time Curiosity and Innovation. His Mercury is in Gemini as well and unaspected (H12). Venus is also in Gemini (H12). The Major Indicators in his chart are all Air except for his Scorpio North Node. That combination gives a lot of detached mental abilities to probe into the deepest problems of human nature through healing and research.

As I'm mostly curious to know if there's a way to discover significators for Alzheimer's, I thought I could just look at his 7th House to find out what signifies Alzheimers since that's the types of patients he preferred. No planets there, Sagg on the Descendant. I've been told that the Sagg ladies hold up quite well into Old Age so I don't know if this is an indicator. Perhaps the Liver (ruled by Sagittarius) is somehow responsible for the disease (just my crazy thought, don't take it seriously).

Pluto and Jupiter are opposed in Alzheimer's chart and layered over his Nodal Axis: Jupiter with North Node, Pluto with South Node. He had another significant opposition of Mars-Neptune in Aries opposite Moon-Saturn in Libra. How appropriate that I look at his chart just as the Saturn-Neptune opposition recedes off of my own Mercury! That's a pretty interesting combination for a psychiatrist. The Saturn-Neptune opposition can give a great feeling for empathy but Mars in Aries opposite the Moon, whew, that could be a pretty emotional combination.

Dr. Alzheimer worked as a psychiatrist and neuropathologist in a Women's Sanitarium. In 1901 he became fascinated by a 51-year old woman with dementia and became obsessed with her symptoms. In his Chart, Venus (women) is in Gemini in the 12th house (institutions, hospitals). Transiting Pluto (obsession) was passing over it at this time. This conjunction was trining his natal MC and squaring his 10th house Chiron. Transiting Neptune (fascination) was also conjunct his natal Uranus and just past exact conjunct with his Sun and Ascendant. Most people become drug addicts under that aspect. It's very interesting that he developed a fascination for someone with dementia during such strong Neptune & Pluto transits.

At this point, Alzheimer was also going through his Nodal Return (North Node in Scorpio with Pluto c. SN-obsession, focus, research). Pluto rules his North Node and this is said to be a most difficult combination of nodes to deal with. No wonder he took on the most difficult disease for study.

The patient, Mrs. Auguste D., died in April 1906. Dr. Alzheimer was able to study her brain through biopsy (Pluto?) which he lectured about on Nov. 3, 1906. Pluto was now passing over his Sun-ASC-Uranus and the Sun was opposing his Pluto and 8 degrees from conjunction with his Scorpio NN. That year, t. Saturn c. n. Chiron. T. Nodes conjunct IC-MC axis. Progressed Moon and Mars c. n.Pluto-South Node (able to get in there surgically). This was the peak of his career.

Perhaps Saturn(age disease)-Chiron combinations can indicate? There's been so much research on this disease during the Saturn-Chiron opposition transit. Since Uranus rules the nervous system it must be involved. It also is conjunct both his Sun and Ascendant and rules his Midheaven (what you're known for).

Dr. Alzheimer died at Age 51 in Breslau, Germany on Dec. 19, 1915. He had caught a bug while traveling on a train which passed quickly into rheumatic fever and kidney failure. This was his Chiron Return, of course, which was also being transited by Jupiter. Transiting Uranus was widely conjunct the South Node and squaring his Natal Node Axis/Jupiter-Pluto opposition, which accounts for the suddenness of his illness.

The significance of the Age 51 which is the time of the Chiron Return, in both Dr. Alzheimer's death and as the age of the woman who attracted him to study this disease makes me wonder if Chiron is not somehow connected with Alzheimer's in some way. It certainly is a disease that defies a cure. What's that other myth? the one about the guy who can't cure his own illness? Oh, forget it.

I haven't figured anything out here as usual. It's interesting to study a doctor's chart with regards to his specialty, especially when he's inspired and truly concerned.

Bargain Shopping

According to an article on SmartMoney.com called "The Cheapest Days to Buy Certain Items" you will never be in the mood to shop for these items on the days that you feel like shopping for them if Astrological Rulership of Days of Week affects you. Here's the article: http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/103216/The-Cheapest-Days-to-Buy-Certain-Items. Fridays are ruled by Venus which is the planet that I'd personally prefer to shop under. Notice how Bargains are not listed for purchase on that day. The true shopper swims up the stream against the current. Pack up your Pluto, Mars and Saturn into one big conjunction before trying any of this on your own.

Sunday - Ruled by The Sun

• Hotel Rooms - The Manager on Duty that day will be most likely to offer a Discount on this day because the Stingy Guy has this day off.
  
• Groceries - something about using coupons from the Sunday paper and reading up on all the sales
  

Monday - Moon

• Cars
  

Tuesday - Mars

• Dinner Out - This is when the food is freshest, on a Mars Day you'll want to eat too fast
  
• Groceries - Sales and Coupons thing like on Sunday
  

Wednesday - Mercury

• Airline Tickets before 10 am
• Entertainment - midweek discounts

Thursday - Jupiter

• Books - Sales and Coupons for the Week-end start now
• Clothing - Thursday Evening when new stuff is first put out

Friday - Venus

• No Shopping. No Shopping my ass!

Saturday - Saturn

• Department Store Wares on Saturday Evening - Blenders to make Margaritas, this one makes sense
  

Earthquake in Japan

Japan experienced an earthquake yesterday with epicenter off the coast of Niigata where the World's Largest Nuclear Power planet is located. I saw an article (sorry, no link) with a picture of a huge crack in the street running right next to the power plant.

July 16, 2007 10:13 am Niigata (Kashiwazaki), Japan.

780 homes were destroyed, 8 people have died, and the power planet suffered a number of problems, fire, burst pipes, knocked over storage drums, all of which leaked toxic wastes into both the sea and the air. Supposedly the amounts leaked are not at dangerous levels.

Uranus and Pluto both share rulerships for Earthquakes and for Nuclear Physicists (no mention of Nuclear Power Plants). I suppose I'd toss the Sun in there as well for Power Plants.

The most remarkable aspect of this chart to me is that all the angles are on Aries Points with 1 Libra at the Ascendant. The rulers of the ASC (Venus), IC (Saturn) and MC (Moon) are in the 11th house. So the 11th house, ruled by Uranus, is full of Rulers of the Angles. Saturn and Venus are opposed by Neptune in Aquarius. Pluto is within 4 degrees conjunction of the IC. Mars, ruler of the remaining angle is in Taurus (House 8) squaring the Moon-Chiron opposition.

Sun in Cancer and Moon in Leo are in Mutual Reception.
Uranus (H6) and Neptune (H5) are in Mutual Reception.
The Nodes are crossing the H6-H12 cusps. Venus (ruler of the chart) is conjunct the South Node.

Posh Spice at the DMV

I tried to ignore this one, I really did, but the video of Posh Spice asking for a re-do of her DMV photo was just too good. I don't even know what day she went in so I'm not sure of the transits, the placement of the Moon is so important for avoiding bloat and extra water retention...

Victoria Beckham
b. Apr. 17, 1975 Hertfordshire, England

Sun in Aries, Moon either in Gemini or Cancer (Noontime chart); North Node wherever it is.

The Lady at the DMV is the one who deserves the Emmy. The conversation goes something like this:

"Oh my hair looks a bit flat. Could we possibly do it over?"
"This is the DMV. We can't ... uh ..." (Shaking head)
"No Retouch?"
"No."

Neptune, of course rules Photography. And the DMV, that's probably ruled by Mars and Saturn. The Saturn-Neptune opposition is being kind to Posh as it's trining her Sun-Mercury-Chiron conjunction at the end of Aries. Venus was still within conjunction of Saturn last week so I'll bet the Photo looks just fine. The transiting Nodes are within orb of conjunction with her natal Mars in Pisces.

It looks like possibly Posh was having a Lunar Return if she got her license late last week. The Moon is great for zany publicity stunts as it will draw in the public, like me, who otherwise are kind of really annoyed.

What strikes me about Posh's chart is that she has every exciting opposition a girl could possibly want. Well, maybe not in opposition because that's a little too exciting for some of us... But lookee here: Venus opposite Neptune and Jupiter opposite Pluto. These two oppositions are bound together in a Mystic Rectangle combining the feminine allure of Venus-Neptune with the success of Jupiter-Pluto. Jupiter is accessorizing her Neptune in Sagittarius right now setting off the entire ensemble. She's also got Sun-Mercury in Aries opposite Uranus at 1 Scorpio so she might get bored with all the L.A. fluff or L.A. may not understand what the Hell that is coming out of her mouth -- words? complete sentences? ideas? NOOOOOOO, not in tinsel town. Two of the oppositions are also involved in t-squares. I don't want to get into it now, just keep Posh posh.

"Predictable Astronomical Events"

Jan Curtis is a Climatologist/Photographer in Wyoming or somewhere up where the Aurora Borealis flares. He or She has compiled a great list of planetary cycles and transits.

Here's the link. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to get to the lists.

link: http://climate.gi.alaska.edu/curtis/astro.html

On the introductory page, Curtis wonders about whether there is some astronomical reason between different events happening on earth. 25 years to the minute that the Astronauts landed on the moon, a bolt of lightening struck a tree very close to Curtis. At that point a comet was crashing into Jupiter. Here are the 2 times for the events, as far as I can tell:

Apollo 11
Man's First Step on Moon: July 20, 1969 10:56pm EDT

Lightening Strike: July 20, 1994 10:56pm EDT (not sure where so am using EDT)

(I've probably got the times screwed up but here's a couple of the sweet details, relations of Pluto, Node, Vertex, Sun and Ascendants with Uranus in conjunction with another big planet. I know that Alice McDermott has found that the Vertex shows fated encounters, for sure Nodes and Pluto do. But, like I said, I've probably got the wrong times here.)

Both Charts have Sun 29 Cancer, Ascendant 19 Pisces, Vertex 26 Virgo.

Lightning Strike has Pluto 26 Virgo conjunct NN 22 Scorpio.
Moon Walk has Pluto 24 Virgo conjunct Vertex 26 Vertex and South Node 23 Virgo conjunct Descendant.

The Lightning Strike has Neptune conjunct Uranus in Capricorn opposite Sun.
The Moon Walk has Uranus conjunct Jupiter at 1 Libra with Moon just past conjunction at 12 Libra.

Here's a link to some of Curtis' photography: http://www.wtv-zone.com/pegleggene/n4shows/aurorajc2/preludeajc.html.

List of Planetary Returns

Planetary Returns might show when the energy of your Natal Planets is most energized. The squares and trines will show when the energy will run in either a more challenging or less challenging way. How it all manifests only God and Michael Lutin knows. Here's a list I've tried to put together of at roughly what ages some of these transits will manifest. None of the numbers is exact because apparently the U.S. Government runs the cosmos, and also the orbits are not always the same due to their elliptical nature. Pluto transits are extremely different generation to generation. Maybe that's why they just demoted him.

I repeat: all ages are approximate because the orbits aren't regular and I did the math in my head.

About 28-29 days - Lunar Returns
New Moon and Full Moon every other week, plus squares, trines and oppositions

about 5.8+ months - 1st Mars square (waxing)

about 6 months: 1st Mercury and Venus oppositions, difficult to calculate

about 7.8+ months - 1st Mars trine (waxing)

about 10/11 months - 1st Mercury Return (about 3 retrogrades per year lasting about 3 weeks)
Mercury Return yearly

about 11 months - 1st Venus Return (about 1 retrograde per year lasting about 7 weeks)
Venus Return yearly

about 11.7 months - 1st Mars opposition

about 15.7 months - 2d Mars trine (waning)

1 year - Solar Return

22 months - 2 years - Mars Return -TERRIBLE TWOS
Mars Return every other year

3 years - 1st Jupiter square

3.63 years - Vesta Return

4 years - 1st Jupiter Trine

4 years - Mars Return

4.36 years - Juno Return

4.5+ years - Progressed Moon Sextile

4.61 years - Pallas Athena Return

4.6 years - Ceres Return

4.8+ years - Lunar Nodes square

4.8+ years - Saturn sextile

6 years - Jupiter Opposition

6 years - Mars Return

6.3 years - Lunar Nodes trine

6.6 years (approx.) - Progressed Moon Square

7.2 years (approx.) - Saturn Square

8 years - 2d Jupiter trine

8 years - Mars Return

9.1+ years - Progressed Moon Trine

9.5 years - Lunar Nodes opposition

9.7 years - 1st Saturn Trine

10 years - Mars Return

11.8 years - Jupiter Return

12 years+/- - Saturn Sextile

12 years - Mars Return

12.6 - 1st Chiron square

12.6 years - Lunar Nodes Trine

13.6 years - Progressed Moon Opposition

14+ years - Saturn Opposition

14 years - Uranus Sextile

14 years - Mars Return

16 years - Mars Return

16.8 +/- years - Saturn Sextile

18 years - Jupiter Opposition

18 years - Mars Return

19 years - Lunar Node Return

19.4 years - Saturn Trine (waning)

21 years (approx.) - 1st Uranus square

21.7 years - Saturn square (waning)

23+ years - Jupiter Return

24.2+/- years - Saturn sextile

25 years - Chiron opposition

27.3 years (approx.) - Progressed Moon Return

27+ years (roughly) - Neptune Sextile

28 years - Uranus trine

28-30 years - Saturn Return

28.5 years - Lunar Node opposition

32 years - Uranus sextile

36 years - Jupiter Return

33 - 62 years - Pluto Square

38 years - Lunar Node Return

41 years - Neptune Square

42 years (approx.) - Uranus Opposition

46 years - Uranus Sextile

47 years - Jupiter Return

47 years - Lunar Node Opposition

50-51 years - Chiron Return

54.6 (approx.) - Progressed Moon Return

55 years - Neptune trine

56 years - Uranus trine (waning)

57 years - Lunar Node Return

58+ years - Jupiter Return

63 years (approx) - Uranus Square (waning)

66.5 years - Lunar Node Opposition

66+ years - Pluto trine (only for some generations)

71 years - Jupiter Return

76 years - Lunar Node Return

82.4 years - Neptune opposition

83 years - Jupiter Return

84 years - Uranus Return (7 years/sign)

85.5 years - Lunar Node Opposition

165 years - Neptune Return (14 years/sign)

248 years - Pluto Return (12- 32 years/sign)

Bouncing Baby Girl Survives Great Odds

On Wednesday, in China, a baby girl was tossed out an 8-story window by her inebriated Father. Her mother left them 2 months ago and the Father, tweeked out on tranquilizers and Tsing-Tao, was arguing with his Mother-In-Law about not being able to take care of the baby. The M-I-L reportedly handed the baby to the Father who then tossed her out the window: July 11, 2007, 4:30 pm (Wednesday), Jiangqiao Town, Shanghai, China. The Father's name is Yu Dongrui; he's 26 years old and he's now in jail. (Have you ever read that Raymond Carver story about the divorcing couple fighting over who's going to take the baby?).

Miracle of miracles! The little girl survived with only a broken leg! Some tree branches broke her fall and she managed to land on some soft dirt in a flower bed. It's like a fairy tale.

Here's the story: http://www.shanghaidaily.com/sp/article/2007/200707/20070713/article_323227.htm. What I want to point out Astro-wise is that the baby is said to be 10-months old. This means that she was probably born last September perhaps around the same time as Evelyn Frayre and Anna Nicole Smith's daughter Dannie Lynn. I wrote about their charts here: http://outthecometsass.blogspot.com/2007/06/evelyn-frayre.html. The fact that the trees and flowers and dirt saved this little girl's life sure do indicate an uncanny ability to survive in the world. I truly hope I don't hear another tragic story about a baby born in September, 2006 but as they all seem to survive, I can appreciate when Miracles unfold.

I'm having trouble locating the exact town so probably am not pulling up a correct chart. Either way, the Ascendant for 4:30pm is maybe between 7 - 16 degrees Sagittarius.

I suppose if I had to choose a sign that indicates "Bounce" it would be Sagittarius, ruled by Jupiter. This Event chart shows Jupiter right on the Sagittarius Ascendant. Pluto is also in the 1st house in Sagittarius. Jupiter on the Ascendant is opposite the Moon (Baby) in Gemini on the Descendant. Both are squaring the North Node in Pisces. This sets up for the drugged out environment and hysterical reactions. Moon in Gemini on the 7th House cusp, a Dual Sign on the relationship angle containing the planet that rules homelife and babies. What bigger indicator for a Divorce situation, especially with "I did it my way" Jupiter opposing from the Ascendant?

The Sun is in Cancer (Family) in the 8th house (Shared Resources/Burdens as well as Murder) and this disposits back to the Moon on the 7th house cusp. The IC and MC are both on the Aries and Libra Aries Points with no planets in either of the parental houses. Obviously this story has made International headlines which explains the Aries Points. Cardinal Signs just want to start over, whatever the cost. (Of course, if I'm using the wrong coordinates for the chart none of this applies anyway.)

I'm not sure what symbolizes defenestration as it's a subject that doesn't come up often. Rex Bills gives rulerships of "Windows" to (Neptune, Gemini) and interestingly enough Neptune is conjunct the 3d house cusp opposite Saturn and Venus in Leo. I suppose the Venus in Leo in the 9th House simply shows a courageous little girl with bounce. There's that Sagittarius influence again.

Of course, there is the Saturn-Neptune opposition which finally made it's last exact conjunction last month. The obvious Saturn-Neptune symbolism is "Drunk Daddy" which is shown very literally here. This is an aspect that either brings out your inner Mozart or your inner Trailer Park.

King Midas - Carlos Slim Helu

Something like 53 percent of Mexico's population lives in utter poverty, living off $2.00 / day. And now, Great Mystery of Life, as of July 3, 2007, the Richest Man in the World also lives in Mexico. His name is Slim.

Carlos "Slim" Helu Aglamaz
b. Jan. 28, 1940 Mexico City, Mexico

Sun 8 Aquarius; Moon either in Virgo or Libra; NN 25 Libra.

Slim has made his Fortune buying companies that are down and out and turning them around. As befits his Aquarius Sun-Mercury conjunction, his companies are mostly Telecommunications and Computer related. Sun-Mercury is opposed by Pluto in Leo which gives him super business sense and brings him into power relations with others. He is said to have a Midas Touch (Sun) which is really thought to be more due to having Friends in High Places (Sun in Aquarius opposite Pluto in Leo). You can see this Leo-Aquarius theme throughout the biographies that are available on him. He has even been quoted as saying that "telecommunications are the nervous system, or circulatory system" of the new civilization. So-o Aquarius! Here's where I picked up that quote: http://www.woopidoo.com/biography/carlos-slim-helu/index.htm.

Interesting to note is how transiting Jupiter-Saturn conjunctions have contacted his Uranus. Uranus (Technology, Circulation System) is in Taurus (Banking, Money). There have been 2 Jupiter-Saturn conjunctions on his natal Uranus. The first happened the year he was born on August 7, 1940 and the second happened in 2000 on May 18 of that year. Jupiter-Saturn is an ultimate business aspect but is also connected with political upheaval. In 2000, This big conjunction was joined by Slim's progressed Venus at 23 Taurus and his Mars was progressed to at 28 Taurus. That's out of orb but lending influence to the spot in his chart that's known for Banking and Money in general.

I followed Slim's progressed Sun just to watch for how a Midas Touch develops. I haven't been able to pick up much information about his life so don't know if these dates are exceptional for events; mostly they just show a pretty lucky way to transition through life.

His progressed Sun passed from Aquarius into Pisces in 1962 right as Jupiter passed over his natal Venus in Pisces. He probably was more comfortable at this point behind the scenes. This indicates that he went through a 30 year period of learning to quietly project his ego, picking up on and sensing trends from behind the scenes rather than running out into a leadership role.

In 1974, just as transiting Jupiter was again passing over his 13 Pisces Venus, his Progressed Sun also hit it. Venus rules money. I don't generally think of Venus in Pisces as being connected with money making skills but Venus is dominant in this chart. It is a singleton in Water and is unaspected by Ptolomaic aspect (one trine to Chiron). It is also in Mutual Reception with Neptune in Libra. Connecting with the Jupiter transit, he was getting in psychic touch with his inner Midas. At this time, 1974-75, he was going to Harvard Business School which is among the top business schools in the world.

When Slim bought Telefonos de Mexico in 1990 his Progressed Sun was at 29 Pisces and about to move into Aries at the Aries Point. The transiting NN was conjunct his Aquarius Sun-Mercury. He was moving out from behind the shadows big time.

In 1996-7, his progressed Sun was conjunct his natal Jupiter (in Aries) at the same time that transiting Saturn was passing over it. This mirrors the Jupiter-Saturn themes that I already mentioned. I'm not sure if anything exceptional happened at this point. I know he was in the middle of making extremely fortunate and shrewd decisions.

In 2000, in addition to the t.Jupiter-Saturn conjunction on Slim's natal Uranus mentioned earlier, his progressed Mercury was moving out of Retrograde. It was within a few degrees conjunction of his natal Venus and could have helped with Marketing and Business decisions. Certainly this could give mental/communication access to the mutual reception between Venus and Neptune could account for his psychic Midas Touch. While the rest of the Tech World began to collapse he was mopping up and making money. Transiting Neptune was conjunct his natal Sun so this is around the time that he began to retire. I did get the information that he has passed most of his duties on to his Sons.

Slim's progressed Sun is now at 16 Aries and is conjunct his natal Mars at 17 Aries. Not only is Mars in its own sign but just as his Fortune was passing Bill Gates' zillions he was celebrating a Mars Return. That can be a pretty fine "feel good" aspect.

In 2016-17 years the Progressed Sun will hit Slim's natal Saturn-South Node aspect in Aries. At this time Uranus will be passing over the same degrees (24-26 Aries). I suppose this is just an indicator that he will be very old. Hopefully he won't be playing out the Saturn-Uranus myth. I guess he has given away a huge amount of his fortune to the Mexican people to improve things like education and healthcare in that country. But, he has set up a charity in which he matches what other people are giving. One wonders if this makes best use of the money. Perhaps all those Friends in High Places are holding him back. Neptune at that point will be passing over his Venus. If he is still alive, perhaps he will be devoting his time to improving the lives of the others in his country who so need it.

Two Buck Chuck

I'm coming up with a lot of silly stories from out of the newspaper these days. And here's another one. Actually, it makes for a pretty fascinating "Retail Saga." What can I say? In the U.S., we like our Urban Myths and Retail Sagas.

2 week-ends ago, a $1.99 bottle of Chardonnay which is known on the street as "Two Buck Chuck" won Double Gold Prizes at a Blind Taste Test at the Cal-Expo in California. "Charles Shaw Chardonnay 2005" beat out something like 340 other Chardonnays scoring 98 points for "Best of California" and "Best of Class." If you've ever drunk California wine, you know that this is not necessarily a big deal. Myself, I try to stick with French not because I can taste the difference but because it doesn't give me a headache the next morning.

Two Buck Chuck is sold by Trader Joe's which is one of the world's coolest Gourmet-at-cheap-prices store, so it was marketed for best exposure when it first came out. It is created by Bronco Wine Co. which is based in Ceres, CA. Bronco is operated by Fred Franzia, a nephew of Ernest Gallo, so he knows how to jug a case of wine, it's in his, er, I was gonna say blood but in this case that makes him sound like Jesus and I don't want to go over board here. You can read about the whole story here: http://www1.pressdemocrat.com/article/20070628/NEWS/706280337&SearchID=73285627763793.
In the 1990's the Techies all planted vineyards because it was the California thing to do. When the Dot.com businesses tanked there was a glut of fine wines sitting in the warehouses, and the Techies all went back to wherever they were from. There were no more rich 20-somethings who could pay for it. Franzia bought out all the left-overs, bottled them up under an old defunct company name, and sold it all through Trader Joe's. The first bottle was sold in February, 2002 and included vintages from 2001 and 2002. So this is a story about how one man's failure is another man's fortune. The Dot.com bust, of course, coincides with that nasty Saturn-Pluto opposition in Gemini and Sagittarius. That's when Franzia and Trader Joe's became uber successful selling cheap versions of the Gourmet products that appeal to this crowd. Now they are established as better than the rest when Pluto and Saturn are trining each other. It seems there might be a good astro-finance lesson in here somewhere.

All I remember from financial investing class was the teacher saying over and over "The Trend is your friend." Ha! Look at the chart for when Charles Shaw hit the market in February, 2002! Most of the planets plowing through Aquarius that month. "Trends" and "Friends" are Aquarius keywords. Venus, Uranus, Neptune; Sun and Mercury for part of the month. Ceres (rules agriculture and is the name of the town where Bronco is based) is also in Aquarius. On Feb. 11, the Moon was also in Aquarius. (I have no idea of the real date.) These planets are mostly all trining the Gemini North Node (Marketing). Saturn was also in Gemini and out of orb with Pluto in Sagittarius. On the Feb. 11 date which was what I arbitrarily set, there are no squares and only one opposition between Jupiter and Chiron!

On the week-end of the Taste Testing competition, which I'm assuming is June 30-July 1, there was a Capricorn Full Moon. The Sun was conjunct Mercury in Cancer conjunct the Feb., 2002 Jupiter. Venus and Saturn were in conjunction in Leo opposite the Uranus-Ceres-Venus conjunction (possibly Sun and Moon) of the 2002 date. Mars was conjunct Ceres in Taurus. Mars had just had its Return in Aries. Supposedly Two Buck Chuck can be served the day that it is bottled, a major reason why it disgusts so many connoisseurs, but maybe that Mars Return was a good day for mixing the winning batch (Charles Shaw is often a mixture of 3-5 different wines). In Aries, I imagine one could stir up a nice batch of Fire Water.

Snafu. Mercury goes direct today. And Blogger really needs this. Apparently no one, me included, can type in the Title field.

Up Up And Away

Only in America. I tried to avoid talking about the Lucky 7/7/07 phenomena, but alas, Lucky Jupiter in Sagg brings all the weirdest stories out from under the floorboards. Here's the best use of the day that I have found so far:

So, on Saturday, a guy up in Oregon named Kent Couch tied a bunch of balloons to his lawn chair, hung 4 plastic bags for ballast, loaded up snacks and some mechanical instruments and let go of the grounding cord. He floated for 9 hours while his wife, friends, kids and household chihauhua followed in the car 13,000 feet below. Headed for Idaho, he almost made it landing 193 miles away just west of the state border somewhere.

Kent Couch's 9 hour flight
July 7, 2007 6:06am Bend, OR

The Sun was just rising over the Ascendant in Cancer and trining Uranus in Pisces. (One could say that Cancer is the Couch Potato sign. How great that Kent's last name is Couch!) Uranus rules Space Flight and it was in the 9th house of long distance travel at Launch Time. Thumbs up. The Midheaven was at 1 Aries and squaring an opposition of Mercury Retrograde to Pluto Retrograde; a t-square on the Aries Point. The Moon was also in Aries in the 10th House. Aries Point and 10th House Moon, two great indicators for publicity. Mercury Retrograde doesn't seem to affect space flight.

This was Couch's 2d flight. The first one was back in September.

Turns out that Flying in Lawnchairs has a loyal following; there's even a Website devoted to it. The First Guy to do it has become an Urban Myth. Of course he was an Aries, what else?

Back in 1982 Larry Walters became the GrandDaddy of the Lawnchair Balloon riders. He rose up from his girlfriend's backyard in Los Angeles, pack of beer on his lap and a bee-bee gun under his arm. He floated around for 6 hours until he dropped down in Long Beach. Meanwhile an Airline Pilot from United and one from Delta both reported that there was a guy floating around up at 16,000 feet (3 miles) in a Lawn Chair.

Larry Walters
b. April 19, 1949 (no mention of what cloud he was born on)

Larry's Sun and Mars conjunct North Node in Aries. Daredevil. They were in a stellium with Venus and Mercury in Taurus and squared his Jupiter (Air Travel) in Aquarius (Space Flight) and trined his Saturn in Leo (Flashy). Sun-NN sextiled his Uranus at 2 Sagittarius. What can I say? The Man was born to fly, he was the stuff from which Myth is made. (In 1982 His progressed Sun had just changed signs and was at 2 Gemini opposite transiting Uranus at 2 Sagittarius.)

Anyway, if you want to become an Urban Legend, which Astrological Transit are you going to hook into? The Eclipses, baby! Take on those Saros Series! Larry chose July 2, 1982 for his Adventure. The Sun was conjunct the North Node in Cancer that day with the Moon moving into opposition in Capricorn. There was a Total Lunar Eclipse on July 5-6, 1982 which was sandwiched between two Partial Solar Eclipses on Jun 21 and Jul. 20. This guy had no planets in Water and I somehow figure this plays a part in his wildness. T.Mars and Saturn were at 16 Libra squaring the t.Sun and Moon. They were also conjunct his natal Neptune in Libra, so I imagine he actually was probably quite frightened, exhilarated, but scared out of his farking mind. Apparently, he was floating around out of control for a great deal of the time. The Chair broke it's rope and took off suddenly at Launch and shot up into the sky. He lost his glasses. Then Walters dropped his bee-bee gun while shooting at the balloons in order to let himself down.

Larry Walters went on to pay a fine for Violation of Air Traffic Safety Rules and to make History. Sadly, he shot himself in the heart at Age 44 and is now buried at Forest Lawn. (Uranus and Neptune were conjunct at 18 Capricorn squaring his natal Neptune at 18 Libra very close to the spot where the Eclipse Moon was during his Lawn Chair Ride. His Moon in the Noontime chart is at the end of Capricorn so maybe was affected)

Raging In The Slow Lane

Today as I was merging onto a Freeway I noticed a Brand New Big White SUV in my rear view mirror that I didn't have a clue was there. Whoa, she was right on my ass and just emerged from my blind spot and obviously blaming me for the whole situation. She was waving her hands around and obviously screaming her head off at me. I looked at my speedometer and noticed that I was going 60 mph which is not bad for a vehicle pulling onto a Freeway. As I gained speed I pulled into the next lane over in order to get the woman's contorted face out of my mirror and noticed that she was driving in that lane in order it seemed to get in people's way as they merged on and off. It's almost as if she was really, really lonely and just needed to engage people in some kind of interaction. I thought: Wow, she must have a lot of planets in her 7th House. The slow lane is for cars that can't drive fast or for mergers who want to get on and off. You don't just hang out there in order to scream at other people because they make you slam on your brakes, unless you've got some intense 7th house issues....

My North Node is in Libra so I need to learn this lesson and desperately don't want to. And I have no planets in Libra so no natural abilities in that regard. And I only have Saturn in my 7th House and true to that placement people tend to make me feel put upon. Pluto is about to hit my lovely Saturn and I'm very, very aware that I must get in touch with my inner Libra before then because when those two Mothers merge -- It All Comes Back To You.

(Imagine a series of wide eyed emoticons placed here)

I somehow have to learn how to play well with others before then and this has never been my strong suit. As a matter of fact, long ago I worked with a Libra from New England who used to constantly tsk, tsk tsk me the way New Englanders tsk, tsk, tsk people. She'd shake her head and say, "You attract more Bees with Honey than with Vinegar, you know." Tsk, tsk, tsk. New Englanders and their damn morals, they have one to humiliate you into coming down off of every manic episode in the book. Why the hell would I want to attract Bees? That's so Libra, the pollen thing, I just don't get it.

240 Goats die in Overturned Truck

On Friday a Truck loaded up with 400 goats overturned on a Freeway in Marin County, California and sadly more than 240 fine beasts were lost. The Sweet Little Capricorns are taken from place to place and allowed to graze in order to clear the brush (fire hazards). Apparently they are crammed into the 4-decker truck as tightly as possible to keep them steady during travel. The driver pulled off the freeway in order to get a cup of coffee and the whole truck tipped over. The goats were left inside too long and the ones on the top suffocated the ones on the bottom. This is just horrible. Here's the story: http://www.mercurynews.com/traffic/ci_6320654.

240 Goats Die in Crash
July 6, 2007 8:45 am San Rafael, CA

Rulerships according to Rex Bills:

Goats are ruled by Saturn and Capricorn, of course. Also, House 6 rules barnyard animals.
Trucks are ruled by Saturn, Uranus, Gemini, H3
Suffocation is ruled by Mercury, Taurus, Saturn
Coffee is ruled by Neptune (Mars, Pluto)

Leo was rising in this chart, so Saturn was conjunct the Ascendant and opposite Neptune. Venus is conjunct Saturn and Chiron is conjunct Neptune.

Mars was conjunct the Taurus MC.

Capricorn rules the 6th House.

The Moon was at 1 Aries (Aries Point) in the 8th house at the time of the crash. It was apex to a t-square to Mercury (H11) opposite Pluto (H5). Uranus was also in the 8th house. The North Node was within 2 degrees' conjunction of the 8th house.

The 3d house is empty. But, Venus rules both the 3d House of Transportation and Trucks and the 10th House which is the Goat's natural home.

The Sun is in Cancer, the sign opposite the Goat and is in the 11th House, within 4 degrees conjunction of the 12th house.

RIP. Know you've already climbed that Stairway to Heaven and then some by now. Beeeeeeeeah.

City Mouse and Country Mouse

I've been wondering why with all our Institutions of Higher Learning allow the U.S. Economy to be so accepting of Slave Labor. We seem to need Slaves. We talk about them as if they are Saints and accept their suffering. The jails are overloaded with people who can't handle being a Slave. I don't want to be a Slave and I don't want to walk down the street and think that anyone else is a Slave. Isn't it odd that this is such an impossible problem to cure?

So, I thought I would try to understand Economics, a Noble Ambition for sure, Dude. Bought a History of Economics tape and thoroughly enjoyed Adam Smith and John Stuart Mill. But, truth is, after a 1/2 hour of hearing about them I was climbing the walls. And then with the later guys the Humanity got sucked out of the Theory and replaced by Vocabulary. And the lecturer said that Karl Marx was a grump which I always suspected and I gave up. And it's easy to see why Economists don't mind the Slaves. They don't have a word for the Slaves and these guys are all about words. Slaves are a part of the pie chart that isn't filled by the rich.

So it helped that Muhammad Yunus won the Nobel Prize this year. He's a Muslim Banker in Bangladesh who decided to help very poor people get loans in order to build a better life. His winning the prize advertised the fact that some Economists, Academics and Bankers do think about these things. I started studying his chart with the idea of maybe understanding how Economists help the poor and I'll come back to it later. Yunus' chart led me back to the two men who first created Credit Unions which is the seed of Yunus' practice. I've never understood the idea of a Credit Union, actually thought they were some kind of Socialist Support Group for people who move to California from New York. HaHa, straight from the Comet's Ass. Here we go.

Two Germans created the First Credit Unions in order to help the Working Poor who were being eaten alive by Loan Sharks back in early 19th Century Germany. I've decided to call them City Mouse and Country Mouse because one Guy helped the Urban Poor like Tradesmen, Shop owners and Artisans, and the other Guy helped the Farmers out in the Country. I'm still not sure how Credit Unions work, something about relying on cooperation in one's community that relies on a philosophy of self-help. I still don't understand why the U.S. needs to import Illegal Immigrants and Slaves, but this is a start.

City Mouse:

Hermann Schulze-Delitzsch
b. Aug. 29, 1808 Delitzsch, Prussian Saxony (Germany?)

Sun 6 Virgo; Moon probably in Sagittarius; NN 16 Scorpio

Country Mouse:

Friedrich Wilhelm Raiffeisen
b. May 3, 1818 Hamm/Sieg, Germany

Sun 13 Taurus; Moon probably in Aries; NN 9 Taurus

Earth Suns. Fire Moons. Their Nodal Axes are the same but opposite almost to the degree; both in the Money Signs, Taurus and Scorpio, as one would expect for money lenders. Country Mouse has Sun conjunct his NN and City Mouse has Saturn conjunct his NN.

So these guys were good at business, especially in Money Lending and really into self-sufficiency (Scorpio). Where's the Good Will stuff come from though? I'm going to start with Pluto. Pluto was in Pisces and was strongly aspected in both of their charts. Neptune and Pluto working together, you had better be well-intentioned, purifying and compassionate with this combination. City Mouse had a conjunction of Jupiter with Pluto (so trendy, how Urban). This conjunction was exact to the degree and exactly (to the degree) opposing Venus (Banking planet) and Sun. It also trined the Saturn-NN conjunction in Scorpio. Country Mouse had a much more agrarian set-up. Pluto was conjunct Saturn and Chiron in Pisces. He obviously required the quiet and reserve of the Country. This conjunction trined Mars in Cancer and squared a Uranus-Neptune conjunction in Sagittarius.

City Mouse organized and developed the first "People's Bank" in Germany in 1850 in Delitzsch. He was trained as a Lawyer, quit his Government job out of frustration and wanted to bring about "co-operation" in the German culture. Country Mouse created the First Credit Union, a cooperative lending bank, in 1864 based on the idea of cooperative self-help. He understood the psychology of the small communities where he was doling out the cash. Towns of 2000 people will know who they are dealing with. A person's reputation is very important to maintain so he will probably be more responsible about repaying his loan. It does sound like a completely different clientele than what the City Mouse was dealing with. The two men disagreed on different aspects of lending, as one can well imagine.

City Mouse really did have a more Urban Chart. First there's the Jupiter-Pluto opposing Venus-Sun. Then there's Mars in Leo square Uranus in Scorpio. Mercury was also in Leo. He could handle risk and excitement, handing out the gold with a whoosh of the hand.

Country Mouse had Sun in Taurus, Mars in Cancer. Venus and Mercury were in their own signs and in conjunction on the Taurus-Gemini cusp. You could imagine that he would prefer the stability and honesty of the Country life.

So, then there's Muhammad Yunus who's alive and well and, better yet, well-intentioned.

b. June 28, 1940 Bathua, Chittagong, Bangladesh

Sun 7 Cancer; Moon probably in Aries (maybe Pisces); NN 17 Libra

Sun conjunct Venus and Chiron in Cancer with Mars also in Cancer.

Mercury conjunct Pluto at 2 Leo square Jupiter 9 Taurus conjunct Saturn 12 Taurus.

Yunus was educated in the U.S. and then returned to Bangladesh after it declared its Independence on December 16, 1971 in order to help develop a new nation. Supposedly giving loans to poor people is especially successful when new communities are being developed as it can take advantage of people's hopes and optimism. That sounds like a good use of all those Cardinal Cancer planets in Yunus' chart. There was a Famine in 1974 which fueled Yunus' desire to fight poverty. Yunus started a new bank in Dec. 1976 and renamed it on Oct. 1, 1983 as Grameen Bank. Grameen means "of rural area" or "of village." To ensure payment the bank uses "solidarity groups." I don't know what that means. In the U.S. it means "Gangs" or "Mafia" but I guess they know what they are doing. Yunus went on the help set up the Telecommunications systems along with educational programs for students in order to keep the country competitive with other countries. Self-dependence is very important to him. He wears only simple clothes.

Am I really gonna hit the publish button on this one?