Playing Games

I'm not much into games, but it seems that as Jupiter and Pluto have moved from Sagittarius to Capricorn there is a big switch from interest in Poker to interest in Chess. The party, gambling aspects of Poker seem much more suited to Sagittarius. And the serious, long drawn out strategizing and planning seem much more suited to Capricorn.

The Father of Computer Science

While looking up great Scientists & Thinkers of the 20th Century I came across the name of Alan Turing. Turing is called "The Father of Computer Science." I haven't got a clue what that means except to say "I wouldn't be sitting here doing this if it weren't for your Big Fat Brain, Alan. Thanks, Dude." Besides, Alan & I have the same Sun and Rising Signs and I'm flattered out of my mind.

Well, the whole point of this exercise was to look at the signature for why Alan was such a lightening rod. Could it be....? Did he have a prominent...? What planet could possibly show such an intuitive gear head? Yeah, silly, you guessed it...Uranus!

Alan's Uranus, unlike mine, was right at the top of his chart conjunct to the degree and in its own sign of Aquarius, sign of innovation, intuition, lightening fast speeds.

In addition, Uranus was opposing Neptune, the other planet of psychic intuition, down at the bottom of the chart in the 3d House of Thinking Processes.

Turing's Uranus is also trining Saturn in Taurus (Realism, lends stability to all that Electricity) and his Gemini Ascendant. Uranis is also inconjunct the Sun (Will, creative expression); quintile his Pluto in Gemini; and sextile his Jupiter in Sagittarius (Broadmindedness, Luck). So, Uranus is working in cahoots with all the Outer Planets plus the Sun in this chart.

Alan Turing
b. June 23, 1912 2:15am London, England

Sun 2 Cancer; ASC 6 Gemini; Moon 17 Libra; MC 3 Aquarius; NN 18 Aries (H12).

The Primal Screamer

I'm on a Venus-Pluto theme right now. Little Volcanoes, Good old Rage. We've got one in the sky and I've personally got one in my chart. This combination is rarely handled well by astrologers as it's difficult to understand how the intensity will play out. I've found an example that plays out perfectly here.

It turns out that the guy who invented Primal Scream Therapy has a Venus-Pluto conjunction in Cancer, sign of primordial ooze. Arthur Janov published his book on Primal Scream Therapy in 1970. His progressed Venus was passing over his natal 5th House Leo Sun when he published this book. I can only imagine the level of howling that went on in his house while he was therapeutizing people. And the conjunction is in the 3d House so I imagine that the neighbors were really annoyed by it all.

Janov didn't want to talk about neuroses. I can tell you I don't either. (I like to act out my neuroses as well and everyone will tell you I'm quite good at it.) Janov figured the client should just scream in order to heal. He's got the conjunction in Cancer, sign of the birthing experience so it makes sense that he would understand the release that comes from Baby's first cry.

Arthur Janov
b. Aug.21, 1924 9:18 pm Los Angeles, CA

Sun 30 Leo; ASC 3 Taurus; Moon 28 Taurus; MC 20 Capricorn; NN 30 Leo

Janov's Venus-Pluto conjunction opposes his MC from the 3d House of communication, pop psychology, as well as neighbors and siblings. We could stop right there with the interpretation but it turns out most of Janov's chart points back to this conjunction. His whole chart is ruled by this conjunction. Venus and Pluto rule his Ascendant and Descendant representing himself and his one on one (client, business, as well as marriage) partners. His wife also worked as a Primal Scream Therapist. Janov's prominent 1st House Moon projects the Cancer theme and disposits to Venus. And the Venus-Pluto conjunction also trines/sextiles Uranus in Pisces on the 12th House cusp opposite Mercury on the 6th House cusp. This shows weird healing modalities that try to access the subconscious through unusual and inventive means.

Uranus on the 12th plus Sun and North Node in Leo in the 5th House show that this guy doesn't embarrass easily; really likes melodrama. My first therapy sessions were next door to a scream therapist. Trust me, those people are uninhibited.

Saturn, the planet of inhibition, is opposing Janov's ASC from the 6th House. It also rules his Midheaven (career direction). So, inhibited people were Janov's target audience.

Rodney Dangerfield

Pluto in Capricorn. Capricorn wants Respect and Pluto wants to take everything away. I'm already feeling that old familiar Doormat feeling. Feels like a good time to look at the chart of Rodney Dangerfield, the comedian whose persona was based on his line "I can't get no respect."

Rodney Dangerfield
b. Nov. 22, 1921 Babylon, NY (yes, that's right, he really was born in a place called Babylon).

Sun 30 Scorpio; Moon Leo or Virgo; NN 16 Libra Rx

So, I was expecting a lousy Saturn here. Saturn rules Reputation and Failure and Fear. But Dangerfield's is exalted in Libra and not Retrograde. The guy had a lot more hope than he let on, that's for sure. His Saturn is involved in a t-square, though, conjunct Mars (and widely conjunct Jupiter), opposing Chiron and squaring Pluto. This shows a lot of setbacks and a lot of drive and a lot of determination. Uranus, one of the key signs of Comedy is aspecting every planet in his chart except Neptune in Leo. Most notable it is in Pisces placed in a Grand Water Trine to a conjunction of Mercury-Venus in Scorpio and Pluto in Cancer.

Dangerfield started writing jokes for money when he was 15. He started his own Stand Up career when he was 19 (Nodal Return conjunct Jupiter-Mars-Saturn). And after 9 years gave it up to become an aluminum siding salesman in order to support his family (p.Moon and Saturn Return, t. Pluto c. n. Neptune, t. Neptune c. n. NN).

Then 1962 and 1963 were weird years for Dangerfield. Dangerfield divorced his wife in 1962 and remarried her in 1963. In 1963 he went on the Ed Sullivan Show with his new image as a pessimistic everyman type guy. And apparently he made Ed Sullivan laugh. And nobody, but nobody, made Ed Sullivan laugh. It so happens that this was right when Dangerfield was going through his Uranus opposition and Neptune Square. The woodenness of the Pluto-Mars-Saturn aspects was suddenly loosened apparently and he figured out how to use his "God-Given gifts." Also, he suddenly came into his own during his mid-life crisis years. You can't be a loser until you've actually experienced some loss (Saturn-Pluto working together).

Wikipedia says that this was an example of "Fate" intervening. I noticed that Saturn was opposing his natal Neptune and during that year the Nodes would have been layered over this opposition.

And as for Respect. I suspect this is as much a Sun thing as a Saturn thing in this case. His Image was the thing he created. And he kept his Image within the dictates of what his progressed Sun was doing in the middle of Capricorn. Determination, pessimissm, career, age, gruffness.

Pluto in Capricorn

Wow. Well, hopefully my blog will be removed from the Astrology Top Ten List. Best for all involved.

Governor Bill Richardson on the Saturn-Uranus Opposition

Too bad that Bill Richardson pulled out of the presidential race. In an article that he wrote for a magazine called The National Interest this Scorpio perfectly explains the best way to take advantage of the upcoming opposition of Saturn to Uranus, especially as it comes into square with Pluto on the Aries Points.

The article is called "The New Realism" and is available online at www.nationalinterest.org/Article.aspx?id=16086. Richardson talks about the United States' "responsibilities" and "reputation" as a "leader" (all Saturn keywords) to deal with the prevailing " trends" (Uranus) which are no longer National but Global (Uranus). He explains very clearly the problems and what must be done to "transform" (Pluto) them. Richardson's Sun is conjunct his MC, SN and Jupiter in Scorpio; he's born to face this challenge.

Here's a quote:

These six trends present us with problems that are international in their origins and will be international in their solutions. Other nations need to do their part, but only the United States can provide the essential leadership. If the world succeeds in preventing nuclear terrorism, defeating jihadism, integrating rising powers into a stable order, protecting global financial market stability, and fighting pandemics and global warming, America will deserve much of the credit. If the world fails to meet these challenges, America will deserve much of the blame.

Bill Richardson
b. Nov. 15, 1947 11:35am Pasadena, CA (astrodatabank)

Sun 23 Scorpio; Moon 27 Sagittarius; ASC 4 Aquarius; MC 23 Scorpio; NN 24 Taurus

In the Pocket - Today's Stock Market

Hey, howabout today's Stock Market? Ey-y-y-y-y? I never miss an opportunity to panic my brains out so I was falling off my chair with this one. Good chart to check out for Volatility Signatures. Dropped 300 points then went up 150 points, then dropped, then I flat-lined and turned off all media, then closed 300 points up on the day. Who needs roller coaster rides when we've got Ben Bernanke running the Federal Reserve? Can we ticket him for a DUI or something. I swear I'm ready to puke.

The Devil's Ride, Today's Stock Market

Jan. 23, 2008, opening bell 9:30am New York NY

Sun 3 Aquarius; ASC 23 Pisces; Moon 17 Leo; MC 27 Sagittarius; NN 28 Aquarius

Many factors pointing to Volatility. I don't even know where Saturn was in this chart. The day ended with it in the 4th House.

As it generally is, the Sun is in the 11th House at opening of the Stock Market. That's a resource house. The U.S. likes to do business by wishing things into action and through silly group activities like banging on bells. Keeps things light. The Leo Moon is just about to pass into the opposing 5th House, also a Resource House. Risk, Will, Drama.

The Venus-Pluto conjunction on the last degree of Sagittarius is conjunct the Sagittarius Midheaven. That's volatile. Maybe Bernanke threatened someone at Gun Point. Maybe Dick Cheney really did shoot!. Remember what I said about Venus-Pluto singer Corinne Bailey Rae singing about how her love is like "Little Volcanoes" erupting? Sets the tone for this day. Jupiter is in Capricorn also up in the 10th house. It looks like the Corporations may have finally bought back some of their stocks the way they've been promising. I'm researching how to look for "Corporate Buy-Backs."

At opening the Ascendant is at 23 Pisces Rising with Ruler Neptune in the 12th House. There's a load a "Fairy Godmother" type planets and what-not in the 12th House at this point. Neptune is conjunct Mercury (Markets) at 22 Aquarius to the degree. And Chiron is there. And the North Node is there. And Uranus is there just having past over the Ascendant. And people are feeling sorrowful but they don't really know why or what to do about it.

Uranus likes to gather a group together so it can rebel. It's very strong in this chart because both it and the Sun are unaspected by Ptolomaic aspect. They are however linked to each other through a semi-sextile which really just reemphasizes the 11th-5th House position of Sun and Moon. Sun and Uranus like to work together. Resources aren't just about the money. They are about the ability to play with the money, take risks with the money, and socialize over the money and use to materialize one's hopes and dreams.

By the end of the day, the Moon will be in the 2d House (Banks) and the Sun will be in the 7th House. Moon in Leo is generous so the CEO's finally decided to give it up and buy some stock. The Moon is widely opposing Mercury-Neptune-Chiron and by the close of the Market will be directly opposing Mercury-Neptune from the 2d House.

The Charts show that the Turnaround came right between 1:30 and 2:00pm. The CEOs had apparently all come back from Lunch. Bernanke had bought them martinis. At 1:30 19 Gemini was Rising. Bernanke's Sun was opposing. The Chart Sun for 1:30 was within degrees of passing backward into the 8th House of Investments where it spent the next 2 hours bottom fishing along with the CEOs. All the Angles were loaded. On the MC-IC bases Mercury-Neptune-MC was opposing Moon-IC. And Mars was in the 1st house opposite Venus-Pluto-Jupiter in the 7th.
Does Neptune on the MC bring a Sugar Daddy? Boy, it's about to hit my MC so I'll be sure to watch for that one. I've heard nothing good about it so far.

By the Close of Business everyone was grinning like a bunch of well, lunatics. Bernanke and Dick Cheney put away their guns. And no surprise, 22 Cancer was Rising and the ruler, Moon, ruler of Lunatics, was in the 2d House of Money.

Pluto Lights One Last Fire in Sagittarius

This will never happen when Pluto moves into Capricorn. Sweden is going to study the amount of Greenhouse Gases that Cows emit when they burp. http://enews.earthlink.net/article/top?guid=20080121/479426d0_3ca6_1552620080121770947499.

I don't know why we need to measure a Cow's burp but I do know that Capricorn is all about looking good in public and burping is not part of the curriculum. If they ever clone the burps and farts out of cows I know I will have to turn Vegetarian for once and for all. Holding it in for the sake of Global Warming...wow.

No one will be allowed to do much of anything in public let alone burp once Pluto hits Capricorn. The gas is just going to have to slowly force its way out through the skin, I guess. Sagittarius, on the other hand, excels at burping. I once worked with a Double Sagg who bragged that she could say "Dodge Daytona" under a single long burp. She did not however do it at work. Her Sun was obviously progressing through Capricorn. Maybe the Cows will just naturally let up on their own once Pluto moves into Capricorn.

This story also reminds me of my Brother's marriage. He's a Virgo and suffered terrible stomach problems all his life. He married a Double Capricorn and forever after refused to engage in our ritual burping contests. He said he was really struggling not to mess up the bathroom too much now that he was married. I don't think the Double Capricorn would have minded too much, there's just some sort of loss of decorum about the whole activity that one can sense really turns them off. So, at any rate, I was concerned about this because this would mean that I would have to come up with meaningful conversations if I was going to hang out with my brother and so far this had been the only thing we shared in common. In the end, the Capricorn figured out that my Brother is allergic to dairy and since cutting all milk out of his diet his stomach problems have completely subsided. That's the good side to Capricorn. They like to fix problems and often have the intelligence to do it.

I told two coworkers about my brother's problem, a Sagittarius and a Gemini. The Sagittarius immediately got a laughing fit and practically passed out gasping "No way! "No way!" I could tell she had had some amazing private moments at home with her hubby. The Gemini, Air Sign that he was, immediately launched his kean Geminian word skills in order to find a socially acceptable way to bring up the subject to one's significant other in a way which would articulate one's needs that was both direct and loving, gentle and friendly. Dryly, he pan-faced:

"Would you care to cut the cheese? Or shall I?"

I joined the Sagg until tears were coming out our eyes.

Theosophical Society's links to Articles about Cycles

Here's a link to a great list of articles about Cycles:

http://www.theosophy-nw.org/theosnw/cycles/cy-selec.htm

The 2 Dudes Who Measured the Meter

I've been taking a bunch of notes and need to try to crank them out. This one is about two French Astronomers who were chosen to determine the length of the Meter by measuring the distance between the Equator and a Pole. The Distance would be divided by one ten-million would be the length of a Meter. Both Guys started out from Paris. One Guy went North and the other Guy went South and betweenst the twos of them they figured out the length and it was deemed that this would become the Meter. I'm American, we're all feet here, left-feet at that. The idea that measurements can be made related to the size of the World rather than some old Roman's smelly foot is beyond my comprehension. Anyway, it turns out that the measurements may be off, the story reads like a prequel to Wayne's World or Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure.

Here's the Guys. Remember, the Virgo went North. The Leo went South.

Pierre-Francois-Andrew Mechan
b. Aug. 16, 1744 Laon, France

Sun 24 Leo; Moon Scorpio or Sagittarius; NN 24 Aries

Jean-Baptiste-Joseph Delambre
b. Sept. 16 (book says 16th, Wiki says 19th), 1749 Amiens, France

Sun 24 Virgo; Moon Scorpio; NN 17 Capricorn

The book that I haven't read is The Measure of All Things by Ken Adler. It's about how the Leo fudged his Data in order to make it work with the Virgo's Data and then didn't tell anyone. He supposedly goes a little crazy and then dies. He's a famous astronomer who discovered a bunch of comets, Hencke, for example, which was just in the news. Anyway, the two presented their work and the Virgo discovered the Leo's Errors after the Leo had died. You're supposed to read through the whole book in order to find out if the Virgo admitted the mistake or not. I assume that he didn't because Virgos are pretty practical people and they had worked for 7 years sailing around trying to gather the data. The Leo was in Spain just as War broke out and was thrown in jail for awhile because they thought he was a spy. Things just went wrong a whole lot and the Guys just wanted to get the damn project over with.

The whole story was kept under wraps until the writer, Ken Adler started reading their correspondence and realized, after 200 years, what had gone on.

It's interesting to check their charts first for trying to understand how the error could happen. The expeditions occurred between May 1792 and 1799.

The Virgo being a Virgo sorted out his calculations without a hitch. It's just that he had to decide later on what to do with the Leo's bogus calculations. The Leo got all snarled up, hence the Drama, when things didn't work he just used his Leonine creativity to fix them. And incidentally it turns out that his numbers weren't that far off and were for some reason more accurate than the mathematical figures would have been (I don't understand the reason).

Around the time that they were working on the project both Men's Mercury's went Retrograde by Progression during their 7 year voyages. Good old Merc Retrograde, I can see how that might not be the best situation for measuring the entire Globe. The Leo's Rx - 1796-97 and the Virgo's - 1797-8. Things just sort of don't go quite right during Mercury Retro, and the progression lasts for a really long time. The transits and natal Mercury's also flesh out the picture here. The poor Leo's progressed Mercury in Scorpio was hit by transiting Neptune in 1795. This accounts for his inability to think clearly but also the accuracy of his "creativity" and also why he decided to "fudge" the answers anyway and also maybe why he went insane from the guilt of what he had done. During these years the Leo's progressed Sun was passing over his South Node as well. Too busy to discover the Comets to spend time interpreting what that means I guess.

Both Men were born during Neptune-Pluto trines which fully explains their interest in Astronomy. Anything involving far-sightedness, like staring at the Heavens and surveying long distances, would come under these two planets working well together. The Virgo had the Trine very nicely aspected in a Kite Pattern with a Grand Trine of Neptune in Cancer trine Pluto in Scorpio trine Jupiter in Pisces. Sun was conjunct Mercury and opposing Jupiter. And Mercury is on the Aries point. This is a pretty sweet Kite. His Sun (will) and Mercury (thinking) could directly focus the energies of his Generation.

The Leo had the pizazz. His Neptune-Pluto trine was less spectacular. Mars in Cancer was conjunct his Neptune and Saturn was aspecting with a sextile. Mars and Neptune have charisma. Mars in Cancer gets pretty emotional when things don't go well and be less able to deal with a Mercury Rx progression. In 1801, right around the time that his nerves were getting the best of him, transiting Neptune hit his natal Pluto.

So, the part about the Secret that is buried for 200 years certainly seems like a Neptune-Pluto manifestation. Plus, the Leo's Mars-Pluto conjunction was opposing the Virgo's Mars-North Node. So it was on the Virgo's South Node. It was the Virgo's life lesson to learn how to balance his impulsiveness (Mars) with his coworker's.

Your Dirty Hands

This is the ultimate Gemini Rising Horror Picture. Our hands are always all over everything.

Wish I knew how to add images. I'll just have to add the link: http://birdflubook.com/images/articles/handwashing.jpg.

It's a picture of all the spots on your hand that you normally miss when you wash them. Once I worked in a building where someone pasted a really angry note on the mirror over the sinks telling people to use soap when they wash their hands. I'm not that compulsive yet. Also don't like sending that much funk down to the fishes.

Housing Hell, Credit Crisis and the U.S. Chart

I thought I'd take a look at the Credit Crisis problem compared with the U.S. Chart. This is elementary astrology written while watching the Stock Market fall so take it for what it's worth.

This particular Credit Crisis is caused by Banks (H2) who lent money (H8) to people who couldn't afford to buy Homes (H4). The Real Estate Market has become totally inflated so BLAM!!! POPPPO!! I just wanted to take a quick look at this. Here's the Idiot's Eye View.

I use Sagg Rising. Princess Di looked so much like the Statue of Liberty, after all, and she had the same Sun, Rising and Moon sign as this chart.

The U.S. of A., God Bless Her For All Her Flaws
b. July 4, 1776 (or somewhere there roundabouts) 5:10 pm Philadelphia, PA

Sun 14 Cancer; ASC 13 Sagittarius Rising; Moon 28 Aquarius; NN 7 Leo; 2 Libra MC

First I go straight to the 8th House. House 8 rules Sex, Death, Taxes, Credit and Lending. Moon, ruler of Housing, rules this House. Inside the House is the planets Mercury in Cancer and the North Node in Leo. Mercury is Retrograde, great set-up for writing Funky Contracts. So, this is sort of a natural born booby trap for America. Sometimes we're not clear headed when it comes to realizing that we can't afford a house with no down payment. The Progressed Moon in this Chart is conjunct n.Saturn which is placed in the 10th house. Up there at the top of the chart it has hit it Zenith and conjunct Saturn it is going to learn a lesson through constriction at the same time. Moon and Saturn together = Depression. Saturn = Builders. In the House that it rules, we are a Nation of Builders. We just sometimes forget to check for the foundation at times. Saturn rules the 2d House in this chart which is rules Banking and the Money we actually have. More on that later since it doesn't look like we have a whole lot of money left.

The North Node at 7 Leo is also placed in this chart's H8 so Credit, Insurance, Gambling, Big Stupid Schemes are the Country's True Goals. This of course places the South Node representing the Country's Ability to Screw Up Royally in the house of Banks, Money and Values. --We were born to invest as if our life depended on it. --Can't spend it after you're dead, after all. 8th House arguments, so American. --Death Defying. Haha, I can't stop. --Bankruptcy is the American Dream. And of course: --"A Sucker is born every (nanosecond)."

Furthering the Poo, Pluto is placed in the 2d House opposite Mercury Rx which means .... Death to the Banks?!!! Well, we're getting that wish, they're all posting huge zillion dollar losses. And why? I don't know why, they're all Harvard MBA's after all. Some kind of bread and circus Ponzi scheme.

Backtracking, the Moon is the ruler of the 8th House and it is placed in the 3d house of Contracts. The Progressed Sun just passed over it so everyone was writing away, composing all kinds of contracts, upgrading their neighborhoods, buying into 5 neighborhoods at once and the Butt-Brained Banks were giving them the money to do it.

The Chart's Progressed Mercury has gone Retrograde (around 1994-5) and is also just past conjunction with the natal Moon at 25 Aquarius. It is now back in the 2d house of this chart. Progressed Mercury has been running Retro by Progression since 1994 almost since the last Recession. I've heard that people with Natal Retrograde Mercury don't suffer from transiting Rx Mercury the way the rest of the World does so maybe this accounts for the incredible rise in Real Estate and Stocks. This natal Moon is going to remain busy. It will receive conjunctions from t.Neptune, Chiron and Jupiter within the next couple of years. Optimism, Wounding and Victimization rules the 8th House matters, but great for writing poetry so all is not lost. 3d House rules local transportation, and Neptune rules Gas. The good story from this would be that people would learn to get around on less Gas. Mostly Neptune-Jupiter and Moon together spell "corruption" to me. People still want to be Lucky. Maybe best to keep financials off the Internet as well.

The natal Moon is trining Venus and Mars in the 7th House. This doesn't concern Markets a whole lot except that these two planets rule the 4th and 10th house axis so that should in some way be a good sign, assuming Trines mean good things... and everyone knows they don't necessarily. Seems there are lots of Investors from overseas buying properties now that the Dollar isn't worth anything and the Boomers are all inheriting (H8) from their parents which might soften the blow overall.

Saturn rules the 2d House of Banking in this chart. Natally it is placed in the 10th house at 15 Libra and is receiving lots of attention as Solar Arc Moon is just past conjunction at 18 Libra and Progressed Mars (Ruler of H4, Land, Real Estate) is Retrograde at 19 Libra. Some kind of Government Intervention. At least the elections are distracting us. Moon and Saturn together do spell Depression. The Country is due for a Saturn Return in 2-3 years. Since our Founding Fathers were such Stud Muffins I have no doubt that this will be a good thing. I'm checking Ben Bernanke's face for Botox injections, that's for sure, I don't know how he's gonna make it through this but he was raising those Interest Rates pretty dang fast to begin with.

Your First Trines + Nodal Cycle

On my Trine Quest I decided to ferret out the ages we are when we go through our first Trine (applying). That is, the approximate age that we are when an Outer Planet trines our natal Planet. I just wanted to have a chart to visualize how these planetary energies fan out in our lives as they do in the sky.

The Trine is hopefully a time when we can capitalize on the talents that were presented at the first Sextile and the Challenges that we had to work through when presented with our First Square. As Retrogrades and oddball orbs shorten and lengthen each individual's personal cycle the Ages are approximate. Jupiter and Saturn, of course, represent how our Age Group handles the energy. The Outer Planets, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto represent how our Generation handles those energies. And, of course, everyone's got their individualized software of each planet spelled out according to their birth chart.

One interesting coincidence I've found is that the Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus trines correspond approximately with the Nodal Cycle. It seems that the trines could come in handy for balancing out the difficult transits of the Nodal Cycle. God works in mysterious ways. I've added Nodal Cycles in parentheses.

1st Jupiter Trine: slightly less than Age 4 (1st Nodal Square)

1st Saturn Trine: around Age 9 (1st Nodal Opposition/Inversion)

1st Uranus Trine: around Age 28 (2d Nodal Opposition/Inversion plus 1st Progressed Moon Return and 1st Tertiary Sun Return!! -- what can I say? Uranus likes a crowd)

1st Neptune Trine: around Age 54.7

1st Pluto Trine: very irregular. People who are Middle Age now have experienced Pluto transits much sooner than their parents and grandparents. This comes before the Neptune Trine now but I think it happened very close to the Neptune trine for earlier generations with Pluto in Gemini and Cancer.

Where's the Trines?

Trines, Baby, We need Trines!

To cheer myself I have searched for the big Outer Planet Trines for this year. Saturn is leading the Trine News. It is in essence escorting Pluto into Capricorn, the sign which it rules. As this happens, January 24-26, Jupiter and Venus will be within orb of conjunction. Saturn and Pluto working together can be very powerful, but in Earth Signs there may not be a strong positive vibe. On the good side, people will be finding the beauty in reality and the day to day. There is a conservative quality to these two working together, using what you have, not overspending. And with the Saturn-Jupiter trine overlaying the Saturn-Pluto trine for the first half of the year we might be able to ease into the transition.

The panic right now is coming from the Mars-Pluto opposition. This thing is endless. I don't care if it's in lunatic Cancer or Schizy Gemini, Mars is doing a number on us. It needs a crisis. And it looks like it's effects will last way beyond the time that it disperses around March 23-24 (yes, Edna, it's around for that long) because the opposition will be embedded in both of the upcoming Eclipses in February.

Okay, and thing is the Eclipses are coming, the Eclipses are coming. The Mars-Pluto opposition is one of the major feature of the Solar Eclipse on Feb. 7 (3:55am UT, 15 Sagg ASC). Pluto will be in the first house opposite Mars in the 7th. There is a huge stellium including the New Moon at 18 Aquarius in the 2d house of this chart and Saturn is Rx in the 8th House (very close to 9th house cusp) which might not be great for money matters. But both elements are trining the Mars-Pluto opposition.

This Solar Eclipse will sort of set things up for the Lunar Eclipse which is Total. It comes up on Feb. 21 (3:26 UT, 21 Sagg ASC) and includes more aspects. Now we've got the Full Moon spanning the 2d-8th Houses but this time Saturn Rx is conjunct the Moon. This puts a strong emphasis on Resources with regards to money. Mostly this could mean a depressing effect on the Investment Markets and a Hysterical Reaction regarding earning capacity. Once again both ends of this opposition will trine the Mars-Pluto opposition. In both charts, Pluto and Jupiter will be in the 1 House which might bring a proactive approach to dealing with the problems even if it's only a continuation of "that good old Lucky feeling" that seems to drive the markets. Too bad the South Node will be in the 8th House conjunct Saturn.

The Jupiter-Saturn trine will end around Feb. 11. But, Saturn will once again have begun its trine to Pluto on Jan. 25. And as I said, Venus will be passing over Pluto and Jupiter and trining Saturn as well. Venus rules money so maybe someone will come along with a plan and there will be hope for one fleeting mother fucking second.

Back to DisasterLand: On Feb. 11 Saturn will conjunct the South Node. Neptune and Chiron will be conjunct the North Node. These two planets won't oppose each other exactly but this will be one last blast of their antics. I think this gets closest in May.?????

At the end of April and into May there will be a long Grand Trine period to the Saturn-Pluto trine as Mercury, the Sun and Venus pass from Aries and into Taurus. It actually starts on Tax Day.

July looks really weird. The Saturn-Pluto trine will end just as Mars hits Saturn at 6 Virgo. This will leave the Mars-Saturn conjunction unaspected for a week or so. Mars wants to act and Saturn wants to wait. They don't really see eye to eye. Mars and Saturn will be within orb of trining Jupiter on July 17 for only a day or so. Pluto will be unaspected but Rx. and the conjunction of Neptune-Chiron to the North Node will be unaspected. Mars and Saturn will again trine Jupiter on August 1. All in All it should be a great month for Suicide Bombers and setting off Firecrackers.

Saturn begins opposing Uranus in September on the 4th. The Sun will be passing over Saturn at this same time and Jupiter will still be trining it so this opposition will also begin with a postive vibe. It's like a big gassy planet convention in the sky. Well, it's an election year, what do you expect? And if you don't expect much, check out the Goya painting of Saturn eating his Sons. That's sort of how the Old Guarde feels about letting the New Guys in.

It's an election year and the Stock Market isn't supposed to tank in an election year but if the Republicans know they are going to lose the election they might just let the garden go, so to speak. They're vindictive little buggers and from the looks of it they've all sold their stock last Summer. They've bought their Gold coins and will retire to the Castle.

The Jupiter-Saturn trine ends on Dec. 31. The Sun, Mars and Pluto will all be within 10 degrees of each other in Capricorn. There will be 5 planets in Capricorn and 4 planets in Aquarius. It will be a good time for the upper echelons to prove themselves, whether they are of the spiritual variety or of the pragmatic sorts. The only major aspect besides all the conjunctions will be the Saturn-Uranus opposition.

Max Heindel's Medical Astrology Site

Here's a link to Max Heindel's Medical Astrology Site: www.rosicrucian.com/adh/adheng01.htm#Affinities_Organs.

Non-Western cultures naturally link different parts of the body to each other and to psychological and spiritual states. Heindel does this as well through use of the squares and trines. You may have undetected problems in an area ruled by one Fixed Sign that surfaces through a different Fixed Sign just because squaring signs will affect each other in the body. Here's a quote:

Doctors have for years been studying the strange sympathy between different parts of the body which they have found manifested in the diseases of various patients. When they find a disease in one organ, they are in the habit of looking for the cause in another organ which is in sympathy with the first. For instance, in glaucoma or certain kinds of eye trouble they have invariably found that the real cause or seat of the trouble was in the stomach or the kidneys. In certain types of throat trouble and in goiter a weakened heart has frequently been found to be the cause.

The four points of the circle of the cardinal or equinoctial signs, namely, Aries the eyes, Libra the kidneys, Cancer the stomach, and Capricorn the knees, are closely in sympathy with one another, and trouble in one will frequently manifest in one of the other signs of this circle. For instance, if we find Saturn in the sign of its fall, Cancer, and afflicted, digestive troubles ensue and invariably the kidneys will be disturbed; sometimes stiff knee joints are the result. Eye troubles are frequently developed as a result of wrong eating. People with Saturn in Cancer are extremists in their selection of food. They have strange likes and dislikes.

The second vicious circle is that of the fixed signs: Taurus the throat; Scorpio the generative organs, rectum, urethra, and nose; Leo the heart and spine; Aquarius the legs, below the knees. When the organs of voice or the tonsils are operated upon in childhood there will be disturbances at puberty and later troubles in childbirth. Great sympathy is found between the sex organs and the organs of speech. The removal of parts of the sex organs causes change of voice, the male voice becoming feminine, and the female voice masculine. Valvular heart trouble often causes the swelling of the ankles.

The third group of squares we find composed of the common or mutable signs, corresponding to the cadent houses. The 6th house, which is correlated to Virgo, and the 12th house, correlated to Pisces, are especially vital in the horoscope, for they are respectively the house of sickness and the house of confinement and hospitals. We find great sympathy between these two signs and houses. Common signs are the most productive of sickness, and more hopeless invalids are found among common-sign people than in any other group for the reason that their will power is not overly strong.

Two common signs are ruled by Mercury, which has dominion over the breath, nerves, and sense perception; and one by Jupiter, which has rule over the fibrin of the blood, the arterial circulation, and the liver. Gemini rules the lungs, and through these organs the blood is oxidized. Virgo has rule over the intestines, sympathetic nervous system, and spleen. How often we hear the remark, "I caught cold (or pneumonia) due to wet feet," involving Gemini and Pisces. Many more examples could be cited of the action of the vicious circles.

John Muir

The sun shines not on us but in us, as if truly part and parent of us. The rivers flow not past, but through us, thrilling, tingling, vibrating every fiber and cell of the substance of our bodies, making them glide and sing...
-- John Muir

John Muir was one of the first Naturalists (Mars-Pluto conjunct Aries North Node) in the United States. His chart shows a great regard for the fundamental values of the world as he has an unaspected Sun in Taurus, the sign of values.

Muir was born during the Mutual Reception of Uranus and Neptune that occurred in the 19th century so I suppose we can expect that there are tiny John Muirs set up in Kindergartens all across the world right now, blissing out with each and every beautiful thing in the world. Neptune in his chart is conjunct his Aquarius Ascendant so both Uranus and Neptune rule his chart so he's an excellent example of what this combination will do.

His chart is a Bucket Shape with the handle Jupiter in another Earth Sign, Virgo.

Muir was self taught. He said that he had gone to school in the "University of the Wilderness." Saturn in Scorpio in the 9th House of Higher Learning. Saturn opposes his Mercury which grounds his interests in scientific thought.

John Muir
b. Apr. 21, 1838 3:00am Dunbar, Scotland

Sun 1 Taurus; ASC 17 Aquarius; Moon 18 Pisces; MC 16 Sagittarius; NN 13 Aries

Pablo Casals

I admire this guy so much I can't even begin to try to think of fluffing up some stupid introductory remark. You want to see a great Master in action watch this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NP5OUxyEOhk. Casals is teaching a student. The student plays, completely clueless how the music should sound and then Casals shows her how it's done...

Pablo Casals
b. Dec. 29, 1876 8pm Vendrell, Spain

Sun 9 Capricorn; ASC 20 Leo; Moon 24 Gemini; MC12 Taurus; NN 15 Pisces Rx

Casals was one of the greatest Musicians who ever lived. This is reflected by his Taurus Midheaven and Pisces North Node, and also his 5th House Sun trine Neptune.

Casals was born in Spain to musician parents. His Father had taught him to play piano, violin and flute by the time he was 4 years old. At Age 11 Casals decided he would play Cello. This would have happened right before Casals' first Jupiter Return in Sagittarius right on his 5th house cusp (music, performance). Jupiter is opposite Casals Moon which is way out-of-bounds at Declination 28 14' 36" N and a singleton in Air. At this time there was right around the time of the big conjunction of Neptune to Pluto in Taurus in the sky. This would have happened in Casals' 10th house and opposed his Mars in Scorpio.

Casals gave his first performance at Age 14 (Saturn opposition in Pisces including the Nodal axis) on Feb. 23, 1891. It's interesting that his progressed Sun was conjunct n.Mercury to the degree in the 5th house of performance. But, N.Mercury was apex of a Yod figure, inconjunct on either side to a sextile of Moon in Gemini & Uranus in Leo. I've heard stories about Casals' terrible stage fright, once his bow slipped out of his hand and into the audience because he was shaking so badly. I wonder if Yods can have something to do with this. There may have been some sort of fear of success related to not wanting to eclipse his Father in career matters. The Father is shown through Capricorn emphasis, Family tradition problems shown through the Yod and the Moon, and nervousness shown through Mercury, Leo, Gemini, and Moon. Certainly with the Capricorn there would have been fear of failure. Once he hurt his hand and had to stop playing for 6 months. He said it was one of the happiest times of his life. Fortunately he probably couldn't do anything else and had to go back to it. He was also an incredible Conductor who gathered together the greatest players of the time every year at his home for the Internationally famous Marlboro Festival.

Casals' major relationships show the Capricorn streak true to form. He was cautious and didn't marry his first partner who was his student. Then he married an American Socialite. Then at Age 80, at a very advanced age, he married another student. This marriage actually lasted until he died at age 96 and was his longest!!

Casals' greatest achievement is his contribution to music, but he is also known for his strong political stance against Franco's regime after the Spanish Civil War struck. Casals refused to perform in Spain until Democracy was reinstated in the country. He never got his wish and lived in exile for the rest of his life. He died in his Mother's birth country of Puerto Rico but he was buried in Spain. This tension is shown very clearly by a t-square aspect in his chart which is due for a repeat transit in a couple of years. Uranus (rebellion) was conjunct Casals' Leo Ascendant and it was apex of a t-square to Pluto (power, resistance) in the 10th House (Government) opposite Mars (discord) in the 4th(homeland). His t-square was in Fixed Signs whereas the transit coming up will be in the Cardinal signs which gives a much different flavor but Casals' planets are placed prominently in angular in his chart. The Uranus-Pluto square was furthered agitated by 135 degree aspects to his Sun in a Thor's Hammer aspect. This is again the Thor's Hammer which I looked at in Hillary Clinton's and John Edward's chart. It shows a strong need to fight for political rights apparently. Saturn in this chart is not in aspect to the t-square but is in the 7th house, also on an angle.

The Effect of Water

This is a link to an article about how our perceptions change when we're under water. http://library.thinkquest.org/28170/41.html. I wonder if this can be applied to astrology. It's interesting just to read how perceptions change whether a person is physically surrounded by Water as opposed to Air. Humans completely surrounded by Earth, of course, are dead. And if one wants to engulf himself completely in Fire I recommend hiring a stunt double.

I'm just adding the details of the article; it has nothing to do with astrology. Or does it? I'm not going to try to make any associations.

Vision is different under water. Size and Distance appear differently. Colors lose brightness with depth; the reddish tones vanish at different depths as there is less light so everything below 20 feet is bluish, greenish and grayish.

Sounds can be heard from much farther away and it's difficult to determine their origins. Human voices become loud and shrill.

The Body is lighter and it's easy to lose the sense of body position.

The sense of Touch is reduced. Pain almost disappears as the water cools the skin. Sensitivity to Heat and Cold is the same as on land and in the air but the body loses heat much more quickly than in air.

My New Year's Resolution

My New Year's Resolution was to never ever publish a blog entry without double checking all my work at least a thousand times. I guess that would be called "thousand checking." And I could just erase half of what I write and it wouldn't be a loss. And I could add pictures if I knew how.

Whatever it's called, it hasn't happened so far. Not even close.

Jim Kramer

There's this financial guru on the TV named Jim Kramer who I swear can stop a speeding bullet with his bare tongue. Kramer is one of those uptight East Coast guys who looks like he's 10 seconds due for a Heart Attack. We on the West Coast simply can't understand what keeps these people going. On the other hand, this guy has so much power. I had to take a look at his Mercury to see what's going on with his Mind and his Communications Skills. The Market keeps tanking and when it does I've learned to turn on Kramer and instantly feel better (I think he's on CSNBC around 7 or 7:30pm, you can't miss him if you're flipping through channels). Today I watched the Stocks that he recommended last night and all of them did better than the general market so I think a lot of people are buying what he says to buy. Sometimes I get the feeling that Jim Kramer is one of the main reasons why the Stock Market isn't standing around with its pants dropped down to its ankles -- or least that hasn't happened yet.

Jim Kramer
b. Feb. 10, 1955 Wyndmoor, PA

Sun 22 Aquarius; Moon Virgo or Libra; NN 5 Capricorn

Kramer has Mercury Rx at 26 Aquarius giving him ability to see a broad market view, airy intellectual combination that helps to give a broad market view. I'm sort of surprised by the Rx Mercury because that can sometimes give confidence problems regarding communications but this means that he got the nasty progression out of the way when he was a kid and Mercury in an Air sign is simply not going to take this too personally. It might be the reason, though, why Kramer speaks out the truth to the public about what realistically goes on in the Markets. He feels like a bit of an outsider and wants to help others not to be victimized.

Kramer's Mercury is pretty spectacular by aspect. It is conjunct his natal Sun which blends communications skills with ego. Then it is sextile Mars in Aries. God, is this guy an Aries Mars or what? Dude's style is direct and forceful. He has a real talent for forcefully telling people the truth, his expression is direct and forceful and he can see the bigger picture. With Venus (Money, Values) conjunct North Node (Destiny, etc.) in Capricorn his interests are related to matters professional and corporate. He's also born on a Nodal Return (within a couple of degrees) of the Federal Reserve Bank.

So, back to this guy's Big Lovable Golden Mouth. His Sun-Mercury conjunction sextile Mars is involved together in two big configurations. I know a lot of astrologers with a lot more knowledge and talent than I have say this means nothing. But, still, that's a whole lot of planetary energy working together. Also, when a planet transits over one point it is lighting up a whole big portion of the chart at the same time. This guy is an Aquarius, he likes to light up like a pinball machine.

First configuration is a Mystic Rectangle. This blends two oppositions (balancing, relations, opposites) with two sextiles (talent) and two trines (ease). It's supposed to be an easier configuration. It brings a lot of easy aspects together. With no squares maybe there's not enough tension for some but often if the rest of the chart dictates it can get alot of aspects to work together toward some sort of magical mystical harmony. That's a bullshit interpretation but it seems to hold true here. Sun-Mercury is opposite Pluto in Leo which can lend focus to one's thought and power plays to one's ego needs. Perfect for dealing with the Stock Market. Mars is opposite Neptune in Libra. He's addicted to this stuff. He's even written a book called "Confessions of a Street Addict." He may also have a real addiction. He certainly has the charisma promised by this aspect.

The Second configuration is a Trapezoid Shape. Sun-Mercury sextile Mars is square (challenge) on both sides to a conjunction of Jupiter-Uranus in Cancer trine Saturn in Scorpio. How to interpret this? Ugh. Well Jupiter-Uranus trine Saturn is a major outer planet aspect showing bliss and happiness along with a little paranoia. Loves maybe the challenge of working with fear. Would be interesting how this aspect is placed in the chart. The Sun-Mercury and Mars are energized to express this to his peers and the public.

No birth time so no Ascendant or Moon placement. The noontime placement of the Moon is in Libra. It would make sense that this guy would have a lot of air. He keeps his emotional distance while flailing all over the place and making it all seem like a game. With regards to his Heart, I'm sorry I just don't handle the tension well. I've literally told East Coast people (strangers) over the phone to go to the Doctor and get their hearts checked. This Moon placement also squares the Venus-NN in Capricorn placement. That would show concern for the public's interest.

Within a couple of years, there will be a conjunction of Neptune-Chiron and NN on his Sun-Mercury. If his health holds up, he may do something even more concerned with helping others. Since he will also be going through his Neptune trine at the same time, I think feelings of confusion will somehow balance out into constructive activities. Neptunians do remarkably well with money regardless of how much they whine.

Saturn in Virgo has to Clean Up in the Jails

Okay, I can quit beating up Saturn in Virgo now. Here's the true story. Prisoners in Georgia have filed a class action lawsuit against the guards who have been beating them to smithereens the whole time Saturn was in Leo. The guards even continued to beat the prisoners after they had tied them up.

"Seven Valdosta State Prison inmates claim in court documents that members of the prison's response team kicked them with combat boots, choked them with night sticks and donned black leather "beating gloves" to carry out the attacks between October 2005 and August 2007"

http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS158970+08-Jan-2008+PRN20080108

Those dates coincide with Saturn's passage through Leo. Saturn moved out of Leo into Virgo in September just as the abuse ceased. Virgo is the sign opposite Pisces and Pisces rules Prisons. Virgo also follows Leo. It has to clean up after all of Leo's wrongs which often have to do with putting restraints on Leo's outbursts of egomania.

Saturn rules Authority figures and all their antics, good or bad. Virgo rules the workplace so maybe there will be more outings of abusive Civil Workers as Saturn continues through Virgo.

More Saturn in Virgo: Monkeys Buying Good Times

Here's another Saturn in Virgo story. Cleanliness counts sooooo much that you can buy your Good Times with it.

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg19726374.100.

Girl Macaque Monkeys are 3 times more likely to have sex with Boy Macaque Monkeys if the Boys groom (Virgo) them first. This has been interpreted by researchers as prostitution. I read it as either Good Hygiene or Foreplay. Certainly it indicates intelligence among the women.

But it is true that the more the Boy Monkeys give the more they get. That's sex but it doesn't sound like they're putting the Girl Monkeys up in their own apartments or draping them in diamonds or anything.

Virgo rules Fair Business Practices as much as it rules Good Hygiene. The Monkeys found the perfect blend. However, this may be illegal in the States.

Saturn Opposes Itself in Virgo

Here's a Saturn in Virgo sentiment, article called "Healthy Habits Can Mean 14 Extra Years": http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/01/08/nhealth108.xml.

A research study has just been completed in England that says that if a person develops 4 obvious lifestyle changes he/she will tack on 14 years to his/her life. That's half a spin around the Saturn Cycle worth of extra living. It totally figures that this would come out while Saturn is in Virgo. Saturn, of course, is the TaskMaster of the Zodiac so it's no wonder that so many people fail to follow these simple rules.

Problem with this study is, look at what you have to do:

1. Snuff out the ciggies.
2. Eat Fruits & Veggies.
3. Hoof it: no elevator, no car.
4. Booze in moderation.

Good Virgonian oxymoron lifestyle stuff. Only a Virgo can do it. And that's just because they're allergic to everything and have to do it. At least we can have a drink every once in a while. We can receive a beer through our IV once a week.

"We didn't ask these people to do anything exceptional." says researcher Kay-Tee Khaw. Ha! That right there is where the research falls apart. This researcher evidently doesn't have a clue about the addictive allure of drinking or smoking let alone the pleasure of sneaking Hostess Cupcakes. 14 years of counting statistics evidently addles the brain.

I guess they didn't allow Heroin addicts into the research, that would have spun the Saturn cycle all the way around into Pisces. Well, according to this research that would spin the Cycle backwards 14 years. And you will notice that the study was begun back in the mid-90s right around the time that Saturn was ravaging Pisces. I've been told that Music conductors live longer than everyone else just because they wave their hands over their heads so much, enjoy their work, and are appreciated by other people. That sounds like a good approach to me. Where does Saturn have to be in order for that research to be published? Horrors, Leo is 26 years away!

The worst part about this research is that the guy is just so totally right, that's so Virgo. But, so what? This means that my parents would have lived to be 70 and 75. 14 more years of them complaining about how bored they are because they can't smoke or drink.

At least fruits and vegetables are pretty colors.

Democrats in the Election, Mars, Astrolocality

Twilightstarsong wrote an interesting blog comparing Presidential candidate John Edward's chart with that of the French artist Henri Rousseau. I don't understand Politics but if you bring in an Artist my interests spark up. So, anyway, I started thinking about the Democrats, maybe a little late in the game. Astrotabletalk has also written an incredible analysis connecting early to mid-Cardinal signs with wins of Presidents in the past (during times of major outer planetary aspects): http://astrotabletalk.blogspot.com/2007/01/next-american-president.html.

I figure this seemingly endless Mars transit through the end of Gemini-beginning of Cancer is a good place to start when looking at the Candidates's charts. I'm only looking at the leading Democrats here for now in order to see which parts of their charts Mars is revving up. Then I remembered that Howard Dean destroyed his Presidential Race when he had a Martian like outburst while on his Mars Line. It literally destroyed his campaign. Mars has impulse control problems. So I think we need to respect Mars. Mars rules Aries and is the starter planet. Let's see what kind of a leap out the gate the Candidates are dealing with astrowise.

The big deciding influence for the Race is said to be on Super Tuesday on February 5. Mars will be out-of-retrograde at 25 Gemini. Mercury will have gone back into Rx though and will be at 20 Aquarius conjunct Neptune and Chiron. There will be no squares and the Moon will be void-of-course most of the day. The Mars-Pluto opposition will be going most of February. Maybe nobody will show up at the Polls and with the Mars-Pluto opposition anyone who does show up will be shot. Two days after that on Feb. 7 there will be a Solar Eclipse (3:55am UT) and a total Lunar Eclipse on Feb. 21 (3:26am UT) so emotions may begin to heat up.

John Edwards has Mars at 28 Gemini so he is going through a Mars Return. Spunky Monkey. This will happen in his 12th house which adds to his mystique. His Mercury is at 8 Cancer so the Mars RX is also hitting his verbal communications and relationship with the media. His astrolocality is a lot like Clinton's. Uranus on the East Coast, Mars running through the middle of the country, Jupiter on the West Coast. Arizona and up northwards might be difficult for him due to Pluto influence.

Barack Obama has Venus at 2 Cancer so Mars has been adding to his Sex Appeal and also enhancing his Charm, Social Skills and perhaps also Values regarding nurturing. His natal Venus is trining Neptune so his allure is definitely assured. No birth time so no astrolocality. I think the whole country is his Venus line.

Mars is currently passing over Hillary Clinton's ASC at 30 Gemini (from astrotheme) and her Uranus at 26 Gemini. She has to either exploit the fact that she's probably putting out more power right now than Hoover Dam or somehow find a way to way to funnel it through her inner Neptune. Mars is sextiling her natal Mars-Saturn-Pluto conjunction in 3d house which definitely shows a highly competent person who must keep her words from appearing too coarse. She has to watch out that she doesn't freeze up in front of the media. There's an ancient Indian Medicine Wheel in Wyoming that she should maybe visit on her travels. This would hook her into the earth magic that exists in that area for her. (astrolocality: Her Mars-Saturn-Pluto lines all fall over Texas and run up into the Rockies). Start playing John Denver music, Hillary. She's got a lot of different major lines running through the U.S. so must put on a lot more hats than most in order to appeal to everyone.

Bill Richardson also has Uranus at 26 Gemini. His Moon is directly opposite at 26 Sagittarius. I imagine that with Mars hitting this opposition he's feeling pretty frustrated right now. Interesting that like Clinton he has Mars-Pluto-Saturn lines running through the Rockies. They even pass through Albuqurque, Richardson's main town. But, he has a Neptune line running right through Washington. I would imagine that's probably not the best influence for the Presidency because of its associations with victimization and confusion.

An interesting aspect I found in both Clinton's and Edward's charts are their Thor's Hammer configurations, both with Moon at the apex. A Thor's Hammer is composed of 3 planets. 2 of the planets are squaring each other and in a 135 degree aspect to the third apex planet. It's considered a challenging aspect like the t-square. Otherwise, I've never been able to find a real good interpretation for it. With these two, I'd say it somehow indicates a strong drive to help the less fortunate (apex Moon in nurturing mode). Perhaps the emotionality of the situation lessens their appeal as Candidates as the Moon reaches out in difficult Octile aspects to squares in their charts. Both Candidates are very concerned with Children, the Poor, and Healthcare. All Moon related concerns. They have to relax their emotional concerns and give off the appearance of ease in dealing with these issues.

Edwards' Gemini Moon is octile/sesqui-quadrate (135) to a square between Chiron (wounding, teacher) and a conjunction of Saturn-Neptune (compassionate authority figure) so one can see a strong personal struggle to help the less fortunate.

Clinton's Moon in Pisces is Octile/Sesqui-quadrate an unbelievable square of Mars-Saturn-Pluto (H3, Leo) to Venus-Mercury in Scorpio (H5). This shows great passion in communications and thinking and organizational ability plus a sense of the dramatic. I think Hillary's problem might be her weak Neptune. She doesn't hold back on what she thinks and feels. As it is placed in her 5th house and not strongly placed in her chart she might not make people feel like they can improve their lives through her. Neptune sells. She has a Neptune line running through Brazil. Hmm, maybe she should lay off the John Denver music and play Brazilian Music at her rallies. You can see why I'm not into Politics.

Mike Huckabee's Mercury

There's something so mesmerizing about listening to Republican Candidate Mike Huckabee speak. I only remember feeling this kind of hypnotic fascination while listening to Radio Personality Art Bell talk back in 1997. I was going through a really difficult time in my life and I had sublet a cabin up in the Sonoma Mountains and the only radio stations that came through were the ones that played Coast to Coast all night long. I fell asleep many nights listening to Art Bell saying that the World was coming to an end. Art Bell has a Mercury-Neptune square.

So, when I hear Huckabee's voice, I'm wondering what's going on with his Mercury. There's nothing the Born Agains would like more than to have one of theirs in the Presidential Office during the Second Coming. 2012 -- Woo Hoo.

Mike Huckabee
b. Aug. 24, 1955 Hope, Arkansas

Sun 1 Virgo; Moon Scorpio or Sagittarius; NN 24 Sagittarius

Huckabee's Mercury is in its own sign of Virgo and squaring his Nodes so his Communication Style is closely linked with his Destiny. Its only other aspect is a sextile to Saturn. So he has a talent for speaking with very focus and concentration in a down to earth point of view in the words of the common man. But there's a whole lot driving those innocent Virgo words in this chart.

So where's all this magnetism coming from? Well, Huckabee's got 5 planets in Leo so whatever he's got he's going to flaunt.

And it looks like both Neptune and Pluto transits/progressions are influencing the matter.

First of all, Pluto. Natally, Pluto has a very strong willed conjunction with Mars and Venus in Leo and the Sun in Virgo. When he decides he wants something he gets it. Adding to this extremely energetic combo is his chart shape which is possibly one of those bunker busting Bundle Shapes bound within a trine of Uranus and the Moon (maybe, don't know about Moon's placement due to lack of birthtime).

He's played the transiting Pluto game very well. As it was approaching his Sagittarius North Node he started a Health Regimen and lost something like 110 pounds. This is a great feat for anyone, but especially for Huckabee because his progressed Sun is in Libra who functions much better and with confidence if looking beautiful. He's also budgeted Arkansas into the Black, another great feat. Pluto, right now, is trining Huckabee's natal mambo conjunction of Sun-Venus-Mars in Leo. Pluto likes Power and Fame.

The Neptune connection is coming mainly through Progressed Mercury and Sun. Just as Huckabee went into Politics his progressed Mercury (Secondary) went retrograde at 29 Libra at that time. It was conjunct his natal Neptune is at 27 Libra so here is the Mercury-Neptune connection extended over years and years. It is really interesting that he switched from Religion to Politics during this progression, one would think the opposite would happen.

Neptune is strongly pronounced in Huckabee's chart because it is a singleton planet both in Air and as a Cardinal Sign. As Mercury progressed back over it Huckabee became Governor by means of the Blackwater Scandal (Neptunian). P.Mercury is now progressed back into middle Libra just as Huckabee's progressed Sun approaches his natal Neptune (currently p.Sun is at 23 Libra). The conjunction should be exact right at the moment of the Second Coming. Gawd.

Alcides Moreno - Miracle

Alcides Moreno is the Window Washer in New York who fell 47 stories because the scaffolding he was standing on gave out. His brother who was working with him was killed on impact. Alcides survived and is expected to make close to a full recovery. It's a Miracle. CNN (I think) said that 47 stories is about the length of 2 football fields. Moreno would have hit the ground travelling with a force similar to about 4 times that of a high impact car crash.

Moreno has gone through multiple operations since the fall and his wife had been sitting at his side running his hand through her hair and over her face to try to revive him. On Christmas Day he woke up, got confused (or not) and started groping the nurse. That was his first sign of consciousness. Luckily his wife has a sense of humor. Then miraculously, Alcides immediately started talking, trying to explain his action. Men, I tell yah...

The Doctors say his survival is inexplicable, a Medical Miracle.

The accident occurred on Dec. 7, 2007 between 10:00am and 10:30am.

At 10:00 am, 26 Capricorn is Rising. Neptune (rules Windows) is in the 1st house along with Chiron and the North Node so this describes the general situation. At 10:30 am 5 Aquarius is rising. This keeps Neptune, Chiron, NN in the 1st House but adds Uranus, chart ruler. Uranus and Neptune co-rule Miracles and they are still in mutual reception.

Rex Bills says Saturn rules bodily falls so this rulership of the chart works. As Saturn was opposing Uranus (Miracles and Accidents) and both were squared by the Sun and Mercury in Sagittarius (Luck) they are strongly linked. In the 10am chart the opposition lands right on the cusp of H2 & H8 with Saturn on H8. This does describe the loss of Moreno's brother, Edgar Moreno, through Death.

Mars and Uranus co-rule accidents and they are trining in this chart with Mars in the 6th house of the workplace. Mars is Retrograde in Cancer and out-of-bounds which emphasizes its presence in the chart. I'm not very sure how that fits other than maybe it signals something overly emotional happening which caused the accident or a softened landing (Cancer). Moreno apparently rode the scaffolding down and it helped break his fall.

Moreno was extremely lucky. The Jupiter-Pluto conjunction in Sagittarius was conjunct within a degree on this date and Sun and Mercury were also in Sagittarius. (The Sun, Moon, Mercury and Jupiter all were parallel each other.) Sagittarius is the sign of Good Luck. Moreno's injuries are extensive, of course, but he managed to not suffer many head injuries or a broken pelvis, factors the Doctors say saved him.

In addition to the Uranus-Neptune mutual reception ruling over this Miracle in the 1st house the North Node seems to have been playing a part.The North Node changed signs from Pisces (Neptune) into Aquarius Uranus) right after the accident on Dec. 17. Also, Moreno is 37 years old so very close to having his Nodal Return (Destiny). It simply wasn't his Time.

Solar Cycle #24 Begins Today

NASA has announced that Solar Cycle 24 starts today and promises to be "Intense." Solar Activity blasts the earth and causes power outages, compasses to spin around and beautiful auroras. So, it's a good time to travel North to gawk at the sky but you might get lost and not be able to come back. Scientists are predicting that this cycle will peak in either 2010 or 2011 and promises to be a doozy. Helps that it peaks right around the time of the Pluto-Saturn-Uranus t-square.

Solar Cycle 24 started out with a bang in California where about 1 millions homes were without power due to some crazy storms. Solar Cycles last 11 years. Here's a link to NASA's article: http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2006/21dec_cycle24.htm.

Infrastructure

While this Saturn-Pluto trine is occuring in the sky off and on I think it's good to look at things like "Infrastructure" and "Industrial Landscape."

The Science Books are next to the Bathroom in the Barnes & Noble that I was in yesterday. That's a good place to stick a book on infrastructure I guess. Wow, the thing felt like the inside of a petri dish. Sure wish people would wash their hands.

The book is called Infrastructure: The Book of Everything for the Industrial Landscape by Brian Hayes. The photographs are really beautiful. Well, I've got a natal Saturn-Pluto trine so I like to find the beautiful in the everyday, especially when it messes around with proportion and scale, either towards the very large or the very small.

Here are the names of the Chapters for the Industrial Landscape as represented by this book. Probably all of them need to be reinvented for Global Warming. Most of the keywords are from Rex Bills but I've added some. Rex wrote the book before the Infrastructure started to crumble.

Mining - Saturn, Capricorn, H4, Cancer, (Pluto) // Gold Mines = Sun, Leo

Waterworks - Moon, Cancer, Neptune, Pisces

Fresh or Running Water - Moon, Cancer

Salt Water - Neptune - Pisces

Water Distribution - (Aquarius)

Water transport condition and occupations - Moon

Waterpower - Neptune, Uranus

Dams - Saturn

Plumbing Lines - Saturn, Moon, Cancer (Neptune, Pluto)

Food & Farming - H4, Saturn, Capricorn, (Taurus, Virgo, H6)

Oil & Gas - Neptune, Pisces, H12, (Uranus, Aquarius)

Power Plants -

Power - Sun (Uranus, Mars)Power, Reserve (Uranus)

The Power Grid

Communications - Mercury, H3, Gemini

Distant communications - 9, Jupiter, Sagittarius, Mercury

Local communications - H3, Mercury, Gemini

Roads - H3, Gemini (Uranus)

Railroads - Uranus, Mercury, Gemini, H3

Bridges & Tunnels -

Bridges - (H3, Pluto, Saturn, Uranus)

Tunnels - Saturn

Aviation - Uranus, Aquarius, (Neptune)

Shipping - Moon, Neptune, Pisces, H9, Sagittarius, Jupiter

Wastes & Recycling - Pluto

D.B. Cooper, Hijacker

The FBI is bringing up a Cold File of a Hijacker from the 70s. A guy in a business suit and a trench coat got on to a plane flying from Portland, Oregon to Seattle Washington on Nov. 24, 1971. No mention of when the plane took off but at around 3pm, the guy, who's smoking cigarettes and drinking bourbon and is kinda quiet and sort of looks like Vladimir Putin but without the Oboe player lips, hands a note to the Stewardess telling her that he's got a bomb on board the plane, he's hijacking the plane, he wants $200,000 and 4 parachutes. So, she's like Omigod Omigod Omigod all the way up to the cockpit. And the story goes on, it's on Wikipedia and all over the news, very amusing. Glad I wasn't there.

The plane lands in Seattle and lets the passengers and some of the crew off and then takes off again from Seattle at 7:38pm heading towards Reno, NV. The guy tells everyone to go into the cockpit and he jumps out the back with the money and 2 of the parachutes and leaves his JC Penney tie behind. I bet he remembered to bring his cigarettes, you know how it is. This guy has got on a business suit and loafers and it's storming outside. Wikipedia has an animated picture of him jumping out the back but with no parachute. It's really cute and totally bizarre and no one ever found him.

A kid found some of the money in Washington on Feb. 10, 1980 and now the FBI has found his DNA on the JC Penney tie he left behind. Was it a clip-on? I seem to remember a clip on, that's kind of tacky. According to the Wikipedia article multiple guys have admitted to being this "D.B. Cooper" not his real name, or Dan. The FBI got a new guy who's determined to figure who this guy was after all this time. That sounds fishy and I really wonder why they give a shit.

Anyway, we're having a Nodal Return for the time of the event with North Node in Aquarius. Aquarius rules Aviation so that's optimum for a good hijacker story. The aspects were great for taking an Airplane flight. The Sun in Sagittarius, Moon in Aquarius, North Node in Aquarius. Those are all optimum aspects for flying the Friendly Skies. Thing is the Sun was exactly conjunct Neptune (escape) and opposite Saturn. It's interesting that the FBI brings the case back to our attention just as we're having a Nodal Return in Aquarius. The Node for this event was involved in an Air Grand Trine with Saturn and Pluto. When Dan or D.B. or whatever his name was notified the stewardess of the Hijacking at 3pm the North Node was straight overhead conjunct the Midheaven.

This is probably too much information but it's interesting to note that 5 planets were in Sagittarius. This includes an exact conjunction of Sun to Neptune which opposing Saturn right over the H2-H8 cusp. That's a really great set of aspects for either getting away with a crime or committing suicide. 1 degree Taurus was rising. The chart ruler, Venus, plus the other Sagg planets were in the 8th house. Guess those are lucky indicators for asking for other people's money.

It seems that the jump was around 8:13pm. Nobody really knows where the Hijacker jumped but some say at Woodland, Washington. This gives a 28 Cancer Rising with chart ruler, Moon, still in Aquarius but now in the 8th House. The Sagg Planets have moved to mostly the 5th House (risk). And the Grand Trine is set up so that Pluto is conjunct the IC with Uranus in the 4th also. I take that to mean that the guy was flattened like a pancake. But Mars was in Pisces in the 9th House. I have no idea what rules parachutes but anything including Pisces helps for making an escape.

For comparison, it's interesting to regress back to 1924 when Duane L. Weber was born in Dayton, Ohio. He's one of the guys who confessed to the crime on his death bed. In Nov, 1924 there were two Grand Trines. Those are good indicators for getting away with stuff in life. One of the Grand Trines is in Water and includes Saturn trine Pluto trine Uranus. Uranus at this point was in Pisces conjunct the Mars of the Hijacking chart. The other Grand Trine is in Fire and includes a conjunction of Neptune to the North Node in Leo to Chiron in Aries and Jupiter in Sagittarius. So there would be a Nodal Opposition, a Jupiter Return in Sagittarius no less and a Grand Trine including Saturn and Pluto to compare against the Event Chart! Plus, the Neptune conjunctions! Wish they'd give his birthdate.

I figured from the pictures and stuff that it's just some nut pretending he's James Bond, like a publicity stunt or something. Diamonds are Forever was released the next month, I checked.

The Scream

Happy New Year! I have to admit this isn't my cheeriest Holiday season ever. The World just seems like it's going to Hell in a handbasket (my Mother used to use that expression). Anyway, thought I'd check out the astrology behind one of the greatest symbols for the anxiety of Modern Society.

The Scream was painted around 1893 by Edvard Munch. It features a person so contorted he or she sort of looks like an alien, his mouth drawn out in a big fat zero with his hands over his ears. He's dressed in black, the sky is thick with opaque red. The picture has become one of the most famous paintings ever symbolizing Modern Anxiety. It just so happens that many people think that this painting was inspired by the explosion of Krakatoa in 1883 which occurred 9 1/2 years earlier. The final explosion is thought to have been the loudest sound ever heard. It spread from Indonesia to 2200 miles away in Australia. The skies as far North as Norway were turned red from the ash for months afterwards.

I decided to check the astrology for this explosion against the astrology of Munch's chart to see if there is a planetary explanation why he hooked into it. Actually, I just pulled a book off the shelf in the library by Anthony Aveni called Uncommon Sense and read about how NASA scientists were actually paid to research whether or not Munch was influenced by the explosion of Krakatoa for his painting. Hey, NASA scientists, look what I found. Can I have some of the money?

Krakatoa
began to explode Aug. 26, 1883 at around 1pm

Sun 3 Virgo; 21 Sagittarius Rising; Moon 16 Gemini; NN 5 Scorpio; MC 19 Virgo
Uranus conjunct MC squaring Moon c. DESC

Loudest explosions the next morning (according to Wikipedia) at
5:30am: 25 Leo Rising; 30 Taurus MC // Pluto c. MC squaring Sun-Venus c. ASC
6:42am: 15 Virgo Rising; 17 Gemini MC // Saturn c. MC
8:20am: 11 Libra Rising; 10 Cancer MC // Mars c. MC
10:02am: 9 Scorpio Rising; 4 Leo MC // Nodes straddling ASC-DESC, all planets above Horizon

This chart is a Bundle chart with all the planets held between a trine of Mercury-Uranus in Virgo and Neptune in Taurus. Krakatoa is said to have been 10 times bigger an explosion than the Atomic Bomb "Little Boy." "Little Boy's" chart is also a Bundle chart. Have never really read this description but I guess there's some kind of need for excitement with Bundle Charts.

Krakatoa's Sun was at 3 Virgo. It is apex of a small triangle to a Trine between the Scorpio NN and Mars in Cancer. And it's also squaring a conjunction of Pluto-Chiron-Saturn in Gemini. There is an explosive quality to all of these aspects. The Moon at the first explosion is conjunct this last stellium and by the last explosion has moved on to the last degree of Gemini in conjunction to Mars in Cancer right over the Aries Point. No Void of Course Moon on this day, needless to say.

And there's a Mercury-Uranus conjunction that's prominent on angles and in squares that I won't go into but I suspect that it has something to do with both sound and anxiety as it's in Virgo, the sign of anxiety par excellence. With the animation feature on the software it's just wild to watch this Bundle Shape swing around the chart. At the last and loudest explosion all the planets were above the Horizon and the Nodes were almost exactly straddling the Horizon line.

So, connecting Edvard Munch's chart with this is so much fun. It's basically just a big lesson in Scorpio North Node returns. Scorpio likes intensity, doesn't like to do things half-heartedly. Munch was born with 27 Scorpio North Node and his art is indeed extremely emotional. He made multiple copies of "The Scream" starting in 1992. He first wrote the idea down in his journal on 1/22/1892. At this point the North Node was at 24 Taurus so he was going through his Nodal Opposition.

The Krakatoa explosion happened just after Munch's first Nodal Return. It's North Node is at 5 Scorpio, so it would have happened about 8 months after Munch's Nodal Return (guessing at the amount of time). But it doesn't really matter that it wasn't an exact Nodal Return because this Nodal Axis corresponds pretty closely with Munch's natal Venus-Pluto opposition with Pluto at 11 Taurus opposite Venus-Jupiter in Scorpio. (I've actually remarked on Venus-Pluto imagery at being volcanic in the singer Corinne Bailey Rae, http://outthecometsass.blogspot.com/2006/11/girl-put-your-records-on.html). At any rate, Venus-Pluto is a signature for an artist, especially one who paints emotional extremes.

The imagery of the Red Sky really plays out in the chart for Munch's journal entry. Mars rules the color Reddish Orange and Scorpio/Pluto rules the Deeper Blood Reds. Munch was having his Mars Return in Scorpio (within 2 degrees) and this was conjunct his Natal Scorpio North Node. And, as a matter of fact, I'm writing about this just as we're having a long, drawn out Mars Return over the Krakatoa chart.

And, don't know how exact this timing really is, but Munch's Sun is conjunct the 1 pm chart for the beginning of the explosions on Aug. 16, 1883.

Edvard Munch
b. Dec. 12, 1863 Loten, Norway

Sun 20 Sagittarius; Moon Capricorn; NN 27 Scorpio

"I was walking along a path with two friends—the sun was setting—suddenly the sky turned blood red—I paused, feeling exhausted, and leaned on the fence—there was blood and tongues of fire above the blue-black fjord and the city—my friends walked on, and I stood there trembling with anxiety—and I sensed an infinite scream passing through nature."

--Edward Munch, Jan. 22, 1892