Starlings

Even if you've ever seen a flock of starlings fly in formation you'll enjoy this article from the New York Times called "Flight Patterns" by Jonathan Rosen (Apr. 22, 2007) : (www.nytimes.com/2007/04/22/magazine/22birds.t.html):

"It is, of course, natural for birds to surrender individual autonomy to the flock; according to the Roman ornithologist Claudio Carere, who has identified 12 basic flock patterns, the starlings are primarily trying to evade falcons. But we project onto the natural world a large measure of ourselves. In ancient Rome, augurs studied the flight patterns of birds to divine the will of the gods; part of the fascination of the starlings is the way they seem to be inscribing some sort of language in the air, if only we could read it."

If you've never seen Starlings fly you'll like to watch this video from Wikipedia. There's probably nothing on earth more spectacular:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8761390434094738310.

And if you still haven't had enough please see these photographs of the starlings takne by Richard Barnes (found at kottke.org):

http://www.richardbarnes.net/murmur01.html

Like the Romans, my first interest was to find out what the 12 basic flock patterns are and associate one for every sign of the zodiac. Fortunately, that information isn't easy to find, or I'm not that crazy. Actually, I am that crazy, but am also really spacy and lazy these days.

I think it is interesting to understand that these birds, like a lot of wild beasts, are born in the Spring and Summer. They mate in the early Spring. They nest and raise their young in Spring and Summer. This means that most are born while the Sun is in the first half of the Zodiac. From watching them I assumed they would have to all be Pisces, collective unconscious and all. There certainly aren't any loner Scorpios, independent Sagittarians or Innovator Aquarians in the crowd. They cause problems for humans because they nest in any empty cavity and plug up vents in houses. Sorry, that must be the Cancers.

Nouns and Verbs

I'm still thinking about the Scientists who are learning to read the human mind by understanding where Nouns and Verbs work together in the brain. It's the study mentioned in the blog post called "Scientists 'Blowing Roses.'" The Mercury trine Neptune-NN-Chiron transit is sort of flapping around on my ASC-MC so I'm weirding out and I'm going to stop trying to make sense.

Prediction is based on Nouns and Verbs for the Scientists. What a person is, as represented by Nouns, would be represented by the natal chart. What a person does, as represented by the Verbs, would be represented by the transiting & progressed charts (and all the other techniques). Easy peasy.

Difference is, I think, that the Scientists still think that human existence is empirical. Probably I'm missing something. Certainly I'm not going to attempt to read the scientific lingo. But Human Existence is not Pure Will except for a few priviledged souls. Mostly those souls are extremely creative types. And we all know how rare that is on Earth. Good Luck, for example, finding someone right now who can figure out how to fix Global Warming problems.

Human existence is strongly based on relationships with everything else. These relationships change through time and in different environments and with different people and in different circumstances.

And, of course, there's the shit that just happens to you. (That's Uranus, I looked it up, Good Old "Out of the Blue").

Some people develop weird belief systems that state that everything that happens, happens for a reason. Those are the people who haven't caught too much shit in life. Those are the Folk Artists who have no Will.

So this brings us to the most unpredictable and illogical part of humanity of all. The Human Belief System. On what do humans derive this bizarre and often hysterically beautiful and absolutely useless bull shit? And do the scientists know how to read the kind of lights that this can do during a brain scan?

The Astrology Chart shows all of this, of course. Doi.

How to Repel the Mosquitoes This Summer

Now that Summer is here so are the Mosquitos. And so that means, so is the DEET. NPR had a cute little show about the search to find a replacement product for DEET that's just as effective. They don't like how the stuff smells. DEET repels the mosquitoes by confusing their olfactory senses. They won't bite you because you won't smell like a human. Unfortunately, you will smell like DEET. And I can assure you that's not good. The Wikipedia statistics say that 30 percent of the population of the U.S. will use DEET this Summer. Nothing, but nothing's, going to be buzzing around them this summer, hew.

I thought maybe there was some interesting astrology to look up here and found a whole lot more. First, about the Smell detail. DEET was first used by the U.S. Army in 1946. Pluto rules, or at least partly rules, the sense of smell. At least the part of the smell sense that rules deep, dark emotional memories, think Jungle imagery. Towards the end of 1946, Saturn was just joining Pluto in a conjunction in Leo. Man v. Jungle. Man controls the Jungle. Man can finally sleep. Man's so happy that Saturn is finally out of Cancer which is always a miserable transit. And, well, actually DEET has been found to create insomnia, so the mosquitoes won't bother you, but you still won't sleep.

Really odd thing is that DEET dissolves plastics. It's a solvent. I didn't know anything could dissolve plastics. I thought plastics weren't biodegradable. Plastics have to be recycled because they don't mix back in with the earth. So this is very confusing. If you spray DEET on your clothes and your clothes are made of synthetics they will burst apart. But for some reason we aren't concerned about what will burst apart if we spray DEET on our skin. Why would we spray something on our bodies which can dissolve something that is so durable it doesn't dissolve on its own? Our bodies are biodegradable. That's pretty weird. So, go wash that stuff out. It will go straight into the oceans where 90 percent of the fish have vanished, mysteriously. Dissolving fish, how Neptunian.

The rulerships for Plastics isn't confirmed really. Uranus would be involved because Uranus rules man's innovations. Mercury might also be involved for the same reason. Neptune is involved because Plastics are so moldable. Solvents are ruled by Neptune, unless they're acids and then they're ruled by Mars.

During 1946, there was a really awesome aspect between Uranus and Neptune. Uranus and the North Node were in Gemini so that's great for innovation. Jupiter and Neptune were in Libra. During various times the Libra outer planets were in trine with the Gemini Uranus-NN conjunction. What a great year for manufacturing Plastics.

Actually DEET wasn't sold to the public until 1957. (Isn't it amazing how the Servicemen got to be the Guinea Pigs for testing out these new products? Is that PTSD you've got? Or ....) Uranus was in Leo close to the spot where the Saturn-Pluto conjunction was. And Pluto moved into Virgo, sign of Public Health. Neptune had just moved into Scorpio so I suppose for a while there was confusion about what was healthy and what was poison. Between the DEET, the monkeyvirus vaccinations, and who knows what else, the outer planets were really having their jollies hooking men into some long-term, difficult to understand health issues. Malaria's no joke, of course, so the DEET's around for some really good reasons.

The Italians used to throw fresh Basil on the floor of the kitchen to keep the mosquitoes away. That's my preferred method, of course, although I've recently used DEET (my socks all mysteriously fell apart and the leather on my shoes completely split apart, the guy at the shoe store said wow that's weird).

There's also a new product now out called Icaridin. It doesn't smell and it doesn't melt plastic. I guess it doesn't have an appropriate Outer Planet configuration to latch on to for marketing purposes yet.

Scientists "Blowing Roses"

An article from The Guardian tells how Scientists are learning to read people's minds through the use of brain scans. 77 percent accuracy rate. They can't do it, though, without their big fat magnets and by making you sit very very still. Astrologers can just bring a Scorpio Rising along and ask them what's on your mind. Could this be some amazing symptom of all the outer planets in the outermost signs? Once Uranus moves into Aries are we going to enter a Flowers for Algernon phase?

Here's link to the article:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/may/30/mindread?gusrc=rss&feed=technologyfull

and part of the article (found at kottke.org):

"The paper establishes for the first time that one can predict the pattern of neural activity associated with thinking about many different nouns, from the verbs that co-occur with that noun," said Mitchell. "It can't yet decode arbitrary thoughts, but it does well on a multiple-choice test with two choices."

The team scanned the brains of 9 volunteers using functional MRI as they viewed 58 nouns such as body parts, vehicles and vegetables. The scanning technique detects increases in blood flow in the brain when different regions are activated.

The team then categorised the nouns using an electronic database of texts that contained more than a trillion words. They were looking for how often each of the nouns appeared together with simple verbs such as push, run, fear and open.

Next they matched this pattern of co-occurrence with the brain scan patterns and found that the brain does something similar. "The meaning of an apple, for instance, is represented in brain areas responsible for tasting, for smelling, for chewing. An apple is what you do with it," said Prof Marcel Just, who led the study.

To test the model, the researchers showed the volunteers two new nouns which were also subjected to the same textual analysis. The model then predicted what it expected the brain scans for those nouns to look like.

By comparing these with the real scans it guessed which of the nouns the person was really looking at. The model was correct 77% of the time, significantly better than chance.

"Philosophers, psychologists, linguists and others have debated for centuries how the brain organises and represents meaning. But they were hampered in debating these issues because they lacked experimental data," said Mitchell.
"[We have] established for the first time a direct connection between how a word is used in a large collection of typical language, and the neural activity the brain uses to represent the word's meaning."

Scott, we now know, Is Disgruntled

The headlines of the San Jose Mercury News use part of a quote by a White House Staff in describing ex-Bush Aida, Scott McClellan. It says "This is not the Scott We Knew." Wow. This is like something you say about a 3 year old or a person you've just had locked up in a Mental Hospital. McClellan is the former Bush Aide who has written a memoir about the experience which is said to not be very flattering to the President.

The entire quote that the White House released is:

"Scott, we now know, is disgruntled about his experience at the White House. We are puzzled. It is sad. This is not the Scott we knew."<sup>[8]

Is the White House Staff sad over this? Someone -- please get the Kleenex.

Scott McClellan
b. Feb. 14, 1968 Austin, TX (from Wikipedia)

Sun 26 Aquarius; Moon Leo or Virgo; NN 21 Aries Rx

Scott is one of those 60s babies with the Uranus-Pluto conjunction still in Virgo. Eric Francis caught a great interview with Donna Cunningham about these people and what they are going through transit-wise on his Planet Waves blog here: http://planetwaves.net/pagetwo/category/uac/.

McClellan's Uranus-Pluto conjunction is opposing a conjunction of Mars and Chiron in Pisces. This is a fairly willful combination that won't have a problem with rebellion, could also be considered a traitor/defector in some situations. McClellan was told to go before the World and lie for the sake of President Bush, Dick Cheney, Karl Rove and Scotter Libby during the Valerie Plame/CIA Leak, he Pluto was just moving into its square with his opposition.

The Pluto Square is much different for the Pluto in Virgo generation than it was for the previous generations as it comes so much earlier in life. Pluto represents crises but also a desire to transform. This is the first generation to have grown up in Divorced families en masse so the generation was literally branded for mutability early on in life. The mid-60s people have Pluto conjunct Uranus.

McClellan made his Speech/Lie on Oct. 10, 2003. His Sun had progressed to 1 Aries, the spot where transiting Pluto is now. He is publishing his memoir of working for the Bush Administration and is, in my opinion, empowering not only himself by coming clean, but empowering (and cleansing, don't forget it's Virgo, first things first) the Nation.

Transiting Uranus was also in strong aspect in his chart. It was passing over his natal Sun-Mercury Rx conjunction in its own sign of Aquarius. This man has been due to create some shock waves.

Funny, I was just thinking yesterday how some world leader needs to call Bush up and say, "Mr. Bush, Tear Down That Wall." Perhaps here my wish is fulfilled.

Thanks, Scott! You're a Valentine with a Heart of Gold!

(there seems to be a typography problem. Blogger just changed its format so guess there was a change that I'm unable to figure out. Am having all kinds of technical difficulties so shouldn't hit that publish button but....).</sup>

Painkillers Kill More Americans Than Guns

Over-dosing and over-prescribing; more Americans are now dying from Prescription Pain Killers than from Guns.

from: http://wvgazette.com/New/Prescription+for_an_Epidemic/200711040016.

For the first time in modern American history, drug overdoses and other types of poisonings now kill more people than guns.

Such deaths more than doubled between 1994 and 2004, according to data obtained from the National Center for Health Statistics in a joint Sunday Gazette-Mail/West Virginia Public Broadcasting investigation.

The fastest-growing killers aren’t heroin and cocaine. They’re prescription painkillers.

Researchers were shocked when they saw the new numbers, said Lois Fingerhut, special assistant for injury epidemiology at NCHS.

“My God — Who would ever have thought that poisoning would have risen that quickly to surpass firearms?” she said.

West Virginians are more likely to die of drug overdoses than people from any other state. Poisonings — mostly overdoses — killed 20 times more West Virginians last year than they did in 1998 (see accompanying story).

Nationally, more than 30,000 people died from poisoning in 2004, the most recent year for which nationwide data is available.

When most people hear of poisoning, they don’t think of drug overdoses.

“What most people think of ... is a child getting into the Drano under the sink, but that’s the smallest part of poisoning deaths,” Fingerhut said.

“By far, the largest number of poisoning deaths are attributed to drugs. Nine out of 10 poisoning deaths in 2004 were drug-related.”

Prescription drugs are responsible for most of that increase in overdose deaths. Heroin deaths fell slightly between 1999 and 2004, while cocaine deaths rose 43 percent.

Drug Addiction is ruled by Neptune.

Rex Bills says that "Medicines" are ruled by Neptune, Saturn and Virgo.

"Pain" is ruled by Mars and Saturn. The opposite of Mars would be Venus. Perhaps this is a sign of a Peace Loving Nation? Mars has progressed into Libra which is ruled by Venus and it is Retrograde.

I looked up the Progressions for the Sibley Chart, July 4, 1776, 5:10pm, Philadelphia, PA. Wouldn't ya know? The U.S. Sun has progressed into Pisces, one of the signatures for Drugs and Addiction.

Progressed Sun is currently at 4 Pisces so it is still trying to get used to the Pisces vibe. P.Sun is also very significant in the Progressed Chart as it is in aspect to both of the planets that Bills gives to rulership of Pain. It is trining Saturn at 4 Scorpio and inconjunct to Mars 19 Libra Rx.

This is maybe telling us to take a look at the natal Mars-Saturn trine in the U.S. Chart. Progressed Mars is echoing the progressed Sun's aspect as it is moving back into a conjunction with n. Saturn and is trining n. Mars. I read this as meaning that we really don't know how to use Force right now and we are reexaminig what Strength really is (hopefully). That's why we're acting like Bam-Bam over in Iraq!

Confused? Bring in the CandyMan. Neptune, ruler of Drugs and Addiction is in Virgo, sign of Medicines. It has been Retrograde since about 1952. That timing seems to match up with the time in America when all the Household Moms starting turning to booze and tranquilizers. (Allopathic Medicine is so brilliant for treating Crises and Emergencies, but so bad at treating most chronic illnesses, ruled by 12th House & Neptune.)

Prog. Mercury is also Retrograde right now as well so our brains ain't working too good. Mercury is Retrograde in both the natal chart and the progressed Chart and they are in an inconjunct aspect right now. Inconjuncts are said to be related to health problems, so it makes sense that we are more mentally ill now than during most times. It's in Aquarius so this should give us extra opportunities to innovate new technologies to fix the world -- as long as we just keep attending the 12 step meetings, that is.

On a different note, it's interesting that in the Sibley Chart the Progressed Moon is so strong in the Progressed Chart. It is conjunct the Progressed Ascendant, both at 28 Leo. The natal Moon is at 28 Aquarius right on the Descendant. I suppose I would assume that Hillary Clinton would win the Presidency due to Moon's relationship with Women. Perhaps this isn't the correct chart after all.

Waking From a Dream

Is anybody having good dreams these days?

I'm such a light sleeper I rarely drop down into the type of sleep that you need to have a really good dream. This morning I had one of those great moments where I overslept and a loud noise woke me suddenly. I had been dreaming something, of course I can't remember what, and then I had that feeling of rising really quickly from the bottom of the ocean to the surface while waking.

I checked the chart. The first time I woke this morning was 6:30 am. Gemini was rising at the exact degree of my birth chart. Ruler Mercury was in Gemini in the first house trining Neptune-Chiron-NN-Moon right at the Midheaven. It was too early so I rolled over and went back to sleep.

When I woke from the dream slightly after 8:36 am, Mercury was in the 12th House of Dreams and still trining that huge stellium. Neptune was in the 9th House and the Moon was in the 8th House. Uranus was just past the Midheaven and squaring Mercury.

Mercury went Retrograde at 8:48. Neptune quickly followed going Rx at 9:14 am. It had just joined the Moon in the 8th House.

The Presidential Candidates Get New Rising Signs

According to the new information about the Presidential Candidates that was presented at UAC I decided to look at the basics of the 3 current running mates. I also looked at progressions. Obama has an interesting thing going on in his chart in this regard. He's born with a Jupiter-Saturn conjunction over the Capricorn-Aquarius cusp. Both have been retrograde since birth but both will be turning direct within the next 6 years. In this new chart the conjunction is in the 12th House. I would suppose this will be a big psychic release for him.

The new times give John McCain a Scorpio Rising rather than Libra Rising. And Barack Obama gets an Aquarius Rising rather than a Scorpio Rising. Most people are now giving Hillary Clinton the Scorpio Rising rather than the Gemini Rising that she had the whole time that her Husband was President. I still use the Gemini Rising Chart. Her nose just isn't Double Scorpio material.

These chart times change so much this is a pointless waste of time. I think somebody doesn't want Astrologers messin with their heads so they're messing with ours.

These are the new times for the Presidential Candidates according to what USAToday said the Astrologers said they were at UAC in Denver.

I was curious about financial houses for the Candidates. Money sure does talk. Obama's gots oodles of bright shiny stuff, John McCain almost tanked early on but made a spectacular come-back. Clinton is in trouble. Both Obama and McCain have Signs representing Resources on their cusps. Clinton has Virgo-Pisces, this is where she's martyring herself. She's also apparently the only one who doesn't seek spiritual advice from a Minister who is a total sick piece of *&$#.

Hillary Clinton
b. Oct. 26, 1947 8pm Chicago, IL

Natal Chart:
Sun 3 Scorpio (H5); ASC 30 Gemini; Moon 30 Pisces (H10); MC 6 Pisces; NN 24 Taurus Rx (H12 cusp)

Progressed Chart:
p. Sun 5 Capricorn; ASC 17 Leo (c. Pluto-Saturn); p. Moon 18 Gemini (H11); MC 7 Taurus; NN 23 Taurus Rx

Prog. NN up in 10th House squaring p.Saturn in H1.

2d-8th House cusp natal: Cancer-Capricorn / Progressed: Virgo-Pisces

Barack Obama
b. Aug. 4, 1961 7:11 pm Honolulu, HI

Natal Chart:
Sun 13 Leo (H6, c. DESC); ASC 15 Aquarius; Moon 4 Gemini (H4); MC 26 Scorpio; NN 28 Leo

Progressed Chart:
p. Sun 28 Virgo (H6); p.ASC 16 Aries; p. Moon 10 Aquarius (H11); p. MC 11 Capricorn; NN 27 Leo (H5) c. Venus & Uranus.

Prog. Jupiter-Saturn conjunction is up in the 10th House.

2d-8th House Cusps Natal: Pisces-Virgo / Progressed: Taurus-Scorpio, cha-ching

John McCain
b. Aug. 29, 1936 11:00 am Cocosolo, Panama

Natal Chart:
Sun 7 Virgo (H10); ASC 18 Scorpio; Moon 29 Capricorn (H3); MC 16 Leo; NN 2 Capricorn (H2)

Current Progressed Chart:
p.Sun 17 Scorpio (H10); p.ASC 19 Capricorn; p.Moon 25 Virgo (H9); p.MC 27 Libra; p.NN 27 Sagittarius (H12)

Wow, this is a powerful chart for the President. p.Sun-Mercury in Scorpio in the 10th House of Commander in Chief. It trines Saturn which rules current p. Rising. p.Venus-p.Jupiter c. NN opposing Chiron might show some Health issues though.

2d-8th House cusps natal: Sagittarius-Gemini / Progressed: Aquarius-Leo

Attack of the Bigot Babies

According to an article over at Jason Kottke's blog (kottke.org),, Baby Researcher, Elizabeth Spelke, is finding that early on in life babies show a preference for people who speak their own language. This seems to be the strongest determinant for a baby's likes and dislikes in people at that age. The Researchers are saying that this language preference might be more at the root of Prejudices in people than visual factors like skin color.

Astrologically this means there might be some sort of a link with the sign of Gemini, 3d house, and the Mercury rulership. The Gemini traits seem to be the reason why humans see themselves as more intelligent than the other beasts: we can speak and we can use our opposable thumbs to build things (some of us can even knit with our opposable thumbs although I'm not one of them).

Since some of the Gemini Sun charts I've studied on this blog have been heavily involved in problems concerning Racism, like Paul Rusesabagena (the Hotel Rwanda Saint) and Geronimo (the Apache Hero) I tend to think that there might really be some connection between Bigotry and Gemini, but not necessarily on the wrong end of the thinking. Gemini is meant to observe and then communicate, sometimes there can be a complaint that there's not more factored in, no sensitivity or diplomacy.

On the other hand, in the spiritual sense, Gemini would be the first to be able to sit on both sides of the fence at the same time. At UAC, I attended a lecture with Karen Hamaker-Zondag who gave a really incredible lecture on the meaning behind the Eye of Horus in Ancient Egyptian Mythology which factored in the spiritual side of Gemini. (I was hoping to share what she said but I'm pretty certain I may butcher it, buy the CD.)

Very fascinating that Elizabeth Spelke, the researcher who is studying the babies has a very strong Gemini emphasis in her chart. Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus & Uranus all in Gemini. And Mercury is Retrograde!

Rex Bills doesn't offer a rulership for Racism & Bigotry. Last year a lot of questions were raised while Jupiter and Pluto were passing through Gemini's opposing sign of Sagittarius, the sign of Opinions. I've since seen that sign attributed to bigotry. Sagittarians are certainly very opinionated and outspoken and like to ruffle feathers, but this sign also rules higher Education and International Affairs. IThe sign is interested in knowing what and who is out there than to set up the types of barriers that come with Bigotry.

One might also want to suppose that signs related to Conservativism, Security and Boundaries might have something to do with this. The first signs of the Zodiac might be more inclined as they are connected with growth of the inner self rather than development of the social whole.

So, back to the babies. I wonder if it's not very important to attend to a baby's preferences and perhaps fears concerning these social factors very early in life. The first Return a Baby experiences is the Lunar Return and the next one will be the Mercury Return. These will be his/her first self identifying "events" from an astrological point of view. I seem to remember that Spelke's research shows that this preference might be innate. Her research shows that it is showing up as early as 3 months. Her findings are controversial as of now. Everyone knows that babies are sweet and innocent.

Here's a link to an interesting article about Elisabeth Spelke and her research center appropriately called "Spelkeland" at Harvard which specializes in learning about the minds of babe.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/earth/2008/04/30/sm_babies03.xml

"More fascinating still is that Spelke's lab has revealed a deep-seated prejudice, present in infants, that trumps racial bias: language. Dr Katherine Kinzler, though based in Harvard, spends much time running parallel studies in France. 'Five-month-old babies will look longer at somebody who spoke to them in their language. Older infants want to accept a toy from someone who has spoken their language,' Dr Kinzler says.

'They like toys more that are associated with someone who has spoken their language. They prefer to eat foods offered to them by a native speaker compared to a speaker of a foreign language. And older children say that they want to be friends with someone who speaks in their native accent.' Accents and vernacular, far more than race, seem to influence the people we like. 'Children would rather be friends with someone who is from a different race and speaks with a native accent versus somebody who is their own race but speaks with a foreign accent.'

Also interesting is the amount of software we are born with already loaded. (Too bad no warranties). We are born with all kinds of math skills. According to researcher Dr. Koleen McCrink, who works with Dr. Spelke, when we are born....

"We have got core systems for understanding the world,' which are not shaped by learning. What is striking, McCrink says, is how formal mathematics is such a slog. 'Babies can do all this complicated stuff, and yet it takes years to teach kids how to add and subtract precisely. It is so frustrating.'

Dr. Spelke's birth information is below. As I said already she's got Sun and Moon in Gemini along with Mercury, Venus and Uranus. And the Mercury Retrograde in Gemini must have a really interesting story in her life. It is in Gemini it is in its own rulership and is dispositor of the chart. Her Aries North Node seems such an excellent study for someone who works with babies. It's the Birth Point of the Zodiac.

Dr. Elizabeth Spelke
b. May 28, 1949 New York, NY

Sun 7 Gemini; Moon Gemini; NN 26 Aries

Top 20 Complaints

Yahoo published the 20 top complaints for this last week. This inspired me to wonder who are the Worst Complainers of the Zodiac? Rex Bills doesn't have a rulership for Complainers. He lists "Malcontents" as ruled by Uranus. He doesn't even list Whiners although I've met two Capricorns who immediately told me that my sign, Cancer, are the Whiners of the Zodiac. Yahoo's list only gives a listing of what people were searching the Internet to complain about.

I'm sure that if you ask astrologers who the Complainers are in the Horoscope they may come up with different answers always very subjectively spoken from their own personal experience. (The Capricorns are the Blamers of the Zodiac so I'll let them off the hook in this category, heheh.) It's kind of a Double Edged Sword. If one complains about Complainers then one is a Complainer one's self. -- And that is how it ought to be.

I tend to think that Mutable Signs are the worst complainers but that's probably because I'm from a family of them. There may be some truth to this as they are the signs who refine what the Cardinal Signs begin and the Fixed Signs develop. They are the Refiners of the Zodiac. If you sit at a table with Mutable Signs you definitely get to hear about all the social subtleties going on in the room. Like I said, I'm from a family of them, it's personal.

Water Signs, like Mutables, are very sensitive to their environment so they may also be complainers. But, often they don't have the natural communication skills that are needed in order to complain. At any rate, People who don't complain are pretty scary in their own right. You know that old saying "Don't get mad, get even..." We all know which sign I'm talking about here (but I don't dare say it out loud).

I quickly went through Yahoo's list with Rex Bills in hand and was surprised to see that the Things that people were seeking to complain about through Internet searches were, by coincidence, mostly represented by some of the Mutable and Water signs. The charming Sagittarius entities once again slip by unscathed. Hummm. People don't complain about higher education or bad bow and arrows purchases I guess.

Another thing, these are the things that people complained about only during one week. It might change from week to week. Interesting that people don't complain for the most part about important, big ticket items. Like Real Estate dealings, automobile purchases, Doctor's services. We are a population that's very irate about our TV reception and the cruddy service we receive from discount department stores. Nobody, ain't Nobody, gonna complain about service from UPS man from Coast to Coast, that's for sure. They so cute and forgiveable. Must be Sagg's.

http://buzz.yahoo.com/buzzlog/91439/

1. Consumer Complaints - not listed. Consumption = Saturn, Mercury

2. FCC Complaints. Mercury for Communications, Saturn for Govt. Agency

3. Sample Complaint Letter - Mercury

4. Identity Theft Complaint Form - 1st house? Mars. Theft - Neptune-Pluto, form - Mercury,

5. Re-Bath Complaints - Don't know what this is. Bath ruled by Moon, Neptune, H5, Cancer

6. Blue Haven Pools Complaints - Moon, Neptune

7. LASIK Complaints - Eyes - Sun & Moon, Surgery - Mars

8. Direct TV Complaints - Mercury, Uranus. TV also ruled by (Sagittarius, Jupiter)

9. Mail Fraud Complaints - Mail: Mercury, Gemini. Fraud: Neptune, Pisces, H12.

10. Pay Per Click Complaints - Advertising Internet. Mercury, Uranus.

11. California Prison Complaints - Neptune

12. Tesco Complaints - Supermarket Chain, Mercury, Virgo, Moon, Cancer

13. Whirlpool Complaints - Household Appliances not listed. Refrigerators: Saturn, Virgo. Washing Machine: Moon, Cancer, Neptune (Pluto)

14. Home Depot Complaints - Home, Garden & Lumber Chain. Chain Retailer: Virgo. Lumber yard: Saturn, Capricorn. Hardware Store: Mars, Aries, Saturn. Home Store: Moon, Cancer.

15. Blue Shield Comlaints - Health Insurance, Virgo, Pluto

16. 84 Lumber Complaints - Lumber. Saturn, Capricorn

17. Tempur Pedic Complaints. Beds: Venus. Chiropractic: Saturn, Uranus.

18. Sears Complaint Center, Chain Department Store: Housewares: Cancer, Virgo, Clothing: Venus, Jupiter, Mercury, Virgo (Libra). Hardware: Mars, Aries, Saturn.

19. CVS Complaints - Pharmacy - Neptune; Chain Store: Virgo

20. Terminix Complaints - Fumigators; Chain Store. Neptune. Chain retailer: Virgo.


So, what do people whine about most? Guess Yahoo will have to show us the top 20 psychological complaints next week.

Learning to Knit

I'm trying to teach myself how to knit and so far I'm doing it with the same level of psychotic spasicity that I type with.

Here's a really good video of a woman teaching the Continental Style which overall may in the end work better for myself, too soon to tell really. They say this is a better style for left-handers like myself. I had a problem with the tension after I learned the English style.

http://blog.craftzine.com/archive/2007/02/craftsanity_continental_knitti.html

She makes it look so easy. In reality, the yarn is falling out of your hands, the needles magically remove themselves from the loops and your fingers are cringing like you've got really bad arthritis. And down there 3 rows below something went really wrong. I don't know, it looks like I spaced out really badly for a while. There's a hole and I drove the needle straight through the middle of the yarn and the loops are backwards.

Anyway, I watched a different video where the teacher says "If you're not a good ripper, you're not a good knitter." That's Pluto. It takes a strong Pluto to knit, I'll tell ya. I don't know if this is going to work for me. Crochet is for the Mercurial types. Too bad all you can really make with crochet is doilies. I don't want any doilies.

9/11 Predictions

I'm guffawing at all the Astrologers who are predicting a Democratic win in November. I'm so cynical at this point and the astrology is just so sucky we can't possibly have a humanitarian person running the country at this point. Anyway, I just read that most astrologers at the UAC conference predicted that Obama would win and I'm good with that although Hillary's way more qualified and I'd really like to see the Country enter the 20th Century at least with women's rights issues.

AstrologyWeekly did a great article on the Astrologers who predicted the 911 Tragedy.

http://www.astrologyweekly.com/astrology-articles/911-prophecy-prediction.php.

Just looking at the Charts I noticed that it apparently helps to have a Water Moon for making astrological predictions. I also noticed that 3 out the 4 charts of the astrologers presented had the Saturn-Pluto opposition very close to an angle. Rob Hand doesn't have those signs on his angles but his Sun is at 14 Sagittarius; same difference. So, all 4 were feeling the vibes in themselves really intensely.

Anyway, I seem to remember that I heard Michael Lutin screaming "Terrorists in August, 2001!!" when I heard him speak way back in 1997. My memory's not the best though but if it's anywhere near accurate I don't know why he's not included on this list. Either way I was telling people he said it for the next 4 years. "Mikie sez that there's going to be a rilly, rilly bahd terrorist attack. Can U imagine?" Not, the best PR. And I remember he said August, not September, but he certainly had enough years in between to refine things. He should have been added to this list. Where is his Moon???

Power of Prayer & Medicine

I just read Val Thomas' story. She's a 59 year old woman whose Heart suddenly stopped early Saturday Morning. The paramedics revived her as they took her to the Hospital and she coded two more times during the day. Her prognosis was dire and rigor mortis even began to set in but, just after her family had said their farewells and the life support was being removed, she awakened! The Doctors can't explain it.

The story as I understand it is that her body temperature was lowered at the Hospital (Induced Hypothermia). 10 minutes after the respirator was removed and after an electrical wiring system was removed her arm moved, she coughed and her eyes started to flutter. Then she spoke, apparently reassuring the apologetic nurse that it was ok that she wasn't dead.

This has got to be an example of Neptune (Hospitals, Spiritual Beliefs) and Chiron (Healer) conjunct the North Node in Aquarius (Hopes, Wishes). They were also opposing Saturn in Virgo (Health, Medical) which must also be significant here as Mrs. Thomas is somewhere near her 2d Saturn Return. Given the spiritual nature of Saturn and Neptune working together I have no doubt that her family's prayers played a huge role in her surprise recovery.

I looked at the event charts, just because I'm obsessive.

May 17, 2008 1:30 am Charleston, West Virginia
Sun 27 Taurus; Moon 26 Libra; ASC 9 Aquarius; MC 29 Scorpio; NN 24 Aquarius

7:00 pm (17.5 hours later)
ASC 10 Scorpio Rising c. Moon 5 Scorpio; 17 Leo MC;

The Saturn-Chiron-Neptune-Nodes axis is angular both at 1:30 am (over ASC-DESC lines.) 9 Aquarius is Rising with ruler Uranus (Surprise, Shock) in H1 . On this day the Sun-Venus conjunction was squaring the axis-opposition from Taurus. It's also angular from the 3d house very close to the IC (end of life).

Around 7:00 pm when Mrs. Thomas awoke the big Axis was just crossing the other angles, the IC-MC axis. Here 17 Aquarius is on the IC with ruler Uranus in H5).

They do this every day right now so something else must have been going on and here the Moon may have been a strong factor along with Mercury and Uranus.

The Moon was in Libra when Mrs. Thomas was taken into the Hospital and passed over the Libra-Scorpio cusp. That passage is foreboding as Scorpio rules Death. But it also rules Tenacity and Rebirth. This Moon was significant as it was approaching the 2nd Scorpio Full Moon in a Month. It also was trining the Nodal Axis and inconjunct the Sun from the 8th House.

The Moon/Scorpio theme goes on. Just before 7:00 pm the Moon was passing over the Scorpio Ascendant. At 7:01 it became a Thor's Hammer to a Mercury-Uranus square spanning from the 5th to the 8th House. I suppose this could be some sort of indicator for receiving an electrical charge ruled by Mercury and Uranus. I don't have a clear idea of what a Thor's Hammer means interpretation wise, but figure it must provide extra strength. These planets could certainly cause some extra jolts of electricity to one's system, especially in relation to the houses they are in: ASC (physical body), 8th house (phoenix symbol) and 5th House (heart).

And, of course, as I said before, the 4th-10th houses were loaded. And Aquarius was ruling the IC which rules the end of life. And Aquarius always brings Surprises and Shocks and Miracles.

NPR at UAC 2008

Here's a link to an interview with Shelley Ackermann broadcast by NPR. Yet another great speaker I didn't hear, sigh.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90619242

Ray Merriman at UAC 2008

I wasn't planning on writing anymore about UAC which is winding up right about now but have been reading some really frightening blogs about some of the financial astrology lectures. Apparently two speakers said that U.S. Currency will be completely worthless by 2012. It certainly seems to be moving in that direction with lowered exchange rate and rapid inflation and Bush and Dick in office.

I went to Ray Merriman's lecture "State of the World According to Astrological Cycles" which explained the bad stuff coming up but also provided some hope and possibilities through some good cycles we are currently in which can manifest in manufacture of new green earth technologies. He said that although we are on the downsides of some key cycles we are also on the upside of moving into a Renaissance in the bigger picture of things. Also, the price of Gas is going to start dropping either around now or in the Fall.

One of the basic concepts of financial astrology is the study of cycles so Financial Astrology is really interesting. A Cycle begins at its conjunction and peaks at its opposition. When we're in separating phases after the opposition, whatever peaked at the opposition begins to fall apart or pull back. Things get really grumpy by the time of the conjunction.

Saturn's cycle is super strong influence right now because it's begun separating aspects to all 3 of the outer planets. Saturn represents restriction and Governmental law. My notes are somewhere else so I can't quote what Merriman said. Saturn and Pluto hit their peaks 2001-2 and now are in the separating phase. And Saturn-Neptune hit their peaks last year with their opposition and now are separating. And now Saturn & Uranus will hit their peaks next November. So all 3 cycles will be in waning format. This shows a strong long term pattern where people need to concentrate on conserving and not losing what they already have.

Merriman pointed out that the other planets are still in some strong applying phases which shows long term gain aspects going on at the same time. And way out there Neptune and Pluto are still in their happy sextile aspect as part of a long term applying segment of their 500 year cycle.

Merriman pointed out a really interesting interpretation of Uranus transits in the financial markets. It creates a "boom" in whatever sign it's in which just pops near the end of the transit. Uranus in Pisces, of course, is doing this with oil prices. Uranus in Aries could bring a boom in alternative and new forms of energy . I just read in the newspaper that California Real Estate prices just rose a lot during the last month. I've also read about and personally observed how the Silicon Valley is trying to invent new energy efficient ways to live and get around. There are more and more funny little vehicles driving around town every day. So maybe they will keep the economy afloat.

Merriman went over the fact that Pluto in Cardinal Signs seems to bring a set-back in the Stock Markets. (My personal Pollyanna wish is that maybe this won't be so bad because the Pluto in Virgo People will be handling it and Virgo and Capricorn trine each other. I remember how much my Pluto in Cancer parents struggled when Pluto hit Libra. That was the square and boy it was nasty.) Merriman also discussed the Cardinal t-square that's coming up on the Aries Points. That, of course, can't be good. Last time it happened was 1930-31. If nothing else, people will be switching from Meditation classes to Self-Defense Classes by the droves.

Merriman says that many countries will be very interested in heavy Military Build-Up. Meanwhile the U.S. has progressed Mars in Libra Rx and isn't really in the mood for fighting. Maybe we'll bring forth a great Diplomatic leader or leaders. It sounds like many other parts of the World won't be very accepting of our Flower Power though.

I strongly recommend purchasing the CD of Merriman's lecture from UAC. It's only about $15.00. Hopefully, I haven't misrepresented what he said but he did provide constructive insights. He explains everything really well and at a nice pace.

Bruce Scofield at UAC 2008, Not

I was very sad that Bruce Scofield wasn't present to give his lecture at the Conference. He was one of the main reasons that I went. A woman at the room where he was supposed to give his lecture told me that he was sick. Hope it wasn't anything serious.

Bruce Scofield, have a speedy recovery. You were missed.

I've been studying his book The Circuitry of the Self: Astrology and the Developmental Model. It's a great resource for understanding the cycles as they pertain to children. As usual can't link to Amazon.com but it's available from that site.

Mary Oliver on the Moon

I think this poem by Mary Oliver describes the confusing influence of the Moon which is said to represent either the Character or the Subconscious of a Person. Hope I'm not breaking copyright laws or something by putting it here.

Li Po and the Moon

There is the story of the old Chinese poet
at night alone in his boat he went drinking and dreaming
and singing.

then drowned as he reached for the moon's reflection.
Well, probably each of us, at some time, has been
just as desperate.

Not the moon, though.


-- by Mary Oliver

published in the latest issue of Parabola Magazine, Summer 2008 issue
http://www.parabola.org/

Prince Charles at UAC 2008

The UAC conference schedules 4 lectures per day. I was there for 2 days so went to 8 lectures. Out of those at least 3 lectures gave Prince Charles' Chart as an example of someone born with serious "issues" to deal with.

I guess because I'm American I don't understand why they don't just let the guy alone. Craig Ferguson is the only person I want to hear talking about the Prince these days, just as long as Charles hasn't composted Diana's bones in his little Organic Farming hobbies. ( it's interesting that Ferguson is a Taurus with Scorpio Moon and Prince Charles has the opposite Sun-Moon combination).

Deep down, I believe that the Royal Family 86'd Diana so maybe there's a mediumistic reason why Charles' chart just won't go away.

Komilla Sutton says that according to Vedic Astrology the worst aspect one can have to one's Nodes is a Moon-Rahu (NN) conjunction. Charles has that. The Moon is afraid of Rahu and the conjunction brings fears and inner psychological demons which don't present themselves clearly in life. The second worst aspect one can have to one's Nodes is a Sun-Ketu conjunction. Charles has them in the same sign, very far out of orb. The Sun is afraid of Ketu because the Sun represents the Soul. The contact with Ketu obscures the purpose of the Soul. Ketu sort of rejects the Idealism of the Sun. Isn't this interesting considering the long wait Charles has had with being next in line to the throne?

Next there was the Dark Moon Lilith in Charles' Chart. I don't remember exactly how it's placed in his chart because I didn't write it down, but Charles is screwed here as well (literally and figuratively). Dark Moon Lilith was described by Antonia Langsdorf in a very fun, upbeat, and insightful lecture as the Girls Gone Wild placement (my words not hers). Problem is, Spring Break doesn't seem to end at the end of the week and one can be caught in behavior that one later has to make up excuses for, Soap Opera style. By the time that Langsdorf said "Do you remember the publicized taped phone conversation where Charles told Camela that he wished he could be Camela's tampon?" we all understood that these are the types of things that happen when the Dark Moon is involved. (This is not the Asteroid, the Dark Moon is a point in the sky determined by the Moon's orbit. Langsdorf says that in Europe it is now said to be at the opposite end of an axis with Priapus at the opposite end).

Okay, so that was Day 1.

2d Day, bright and early, Noel Tyl's pointing out psychological developmental problems in a person's chart. Up pops Charles' chart on the screen. The Nodal Axis is related to Mommy and Tyl says that a planet in aspect to it is auspicious. But turns out that Charles' Moon-NN conjunction is placed in a Grand Trine. Grand Trines according to Tyl's thinking present super protective defense mechanisms that can cause difficulties in relationships.

Charles also has a square between Pluto in Leo to Sun in Pluto. The interpretation for this is "there's a blanket over your hand grenade." Sounds pretty stressful.

I think this is certainly a lesson to husbands to watch out if your ex-wife goes to astrologers. We're slow to forgive. And we don't ever forget. And, also, I'd just like to say "Come on Guys. Show us a chart with a Grand Square and tell us what to do with that. Some people have real problems."

UAC 2008, Denver, CO

I've attended the United Astrology Conference in Denver, CO for 2 days and am sort of feeling freaked out. I was wondering how it would be to attend an Astrology Conference during a double whammy Saturn-Pluto transit. That means that I'm one of the people who has t.Saturn c. n. Pluto trining t. Pluto c. n. Saturn. It's a Trine so that's good but it's still Saturn-Pluto. With the opposition you feel that you're beating your head against a wall, with the trine you feel that you are the wall. I can still appreciate all the Amazing Astrologers who I heard this week-end but it's really difficult to express enthusiasm and my fear of being judged is stronger than usual even. Saturn-Pluto people are not meant to be groupies. But, still, I think that once this transit is over I may sign Philip Sedgwick's email list and gush every time he sends me new information on the Galactic Plane, 45 new planets and 15 plus Constellations that we ought to be interpreting. He's taking Astrology to where I think it ought to be taken. He's also very funny.

So many of the speakers were talking about Astronomy as it pertains to Astrology so I think they really are Rocking the Universe. Karen Hamaker-Zondag and Bernadette Brady talked about this through incredible scholarship and historical research. I heard lectures about the ancient Egyptian and Assyrian astrologies. These people who used to be influenced by observing the stars themselves, before the planets were known. The Sun and Moon were always there, of course, but the Constellations as they rose and set over the Horizon marked the time.

A long time ago I heard Kim Rogers Gallagher give a lecture. At one point she pointed out how amazing it is that seemingly unrelated astrological techniques tended to give very similar readings. This really is obvious when you hear a varied set of astrologers give sort of the same information. On Saturday Komilla Sutton said that Scorpio in Vedic Astrology is considered the Trash Heap of the Zodiac. Out of the junk and weeds a beautiful, pure Lotus Flower can grow. Then today Philip Sedgwick described how the arm of the Galactic Center that flows through the part of the Zodiac where Scorpio, Sagittarius and Capricorn sit receives most of the Cosmic Radiation in the Universe. Completely unrelated studies which seem to reveal very similar concepts.

There are little sections out of my notes that I hope to include here over the next week or so. Was hoping that more people would have blogged but that Conference is really overwhelming. Loading up, digesting and spitting out that much information is not easy. I was saying really stupid things all afternoon from the overload in my little bitty head. Earth to Comet... Earth to Comet...

I.M.Pei / Architect of the Adams Mark/Sheraton

I have ariven in the land of Sunshine on Your Shoulder and Rocky Mountain Highs and Golden Boy Rednecks and boy some of them are looking good but I'm on my Venus-Pluto line and am going to drewl no matter what. Am going to go to 2 Days full of Non-stop Astroblab. Even I burn out after one day so we'll have to see how it goes. The problem right now is that it's frustrating deciding who not to go see there are so many great names and great subjects. I just checked in on Eric Francis' blog and he's doing a really awesome, thoughtful job of covering the event. Check it out: http://planetwaves.net/pagetwo/.

The UAC Conference is being held in a Hotel that was designed by the great Chinese American Modernist Architect I.M. Pei.

I.M. Pei
b. Apr. 26, 1917 Guangzhou, China

Sun 6 Taurus; Moon in Gemini or Cancer; NN 14 Capricorn

I've read that the Sheraton has bought the Hotel and is remodeling it. Only hope that they are respecting the Architect's original idea as Remodels often bastardize originals rather than playing off of the ideas. At any rate, Pei had a natal conjunction of Sun to Venus at 6 Taurus and the Sun and Venus are now also in Taurus although later on in the sign, conjunct his natal Mercury. Perhaps he's hanging out in the Air Ducts trying to understand how 1,000+ Astrologers respond to the Spaces he created.

Pei's chart is a bowl shape bounded by Neptune in in Leo and Uranus in Aquarius so one can see the Outer Planet creativity at work, the need to venture off into the Outer Boundaries, looking for new realities. Well, Pei had lots of Taurus, Sun, Mercury, Venus & Jupiter, so he did have his grounded earthly side that just wanted to create comfortable surroundings. (I haven't even seen the building yet but I just drank a German beer so I can imagine it in my mind -- and from off the Internet).

The current transits are hitting the outer edges of Pei's chart. Mars is conjunct his Neptune and the Neptune-NN-Chiron conjunction is right on top of his Uranus. Better not screw up that remodel, Mr. Sheraton/Hilton. Corporate Nouveau Riche isn't the way to go here. Experiment, baby, experiment. And fix those Air Ducts, they're probably full of Asbestos.

Rockin the Patty Duke Show

I guess I'll be boarding a jet plane for the UAC conference.

Don't know why but just to get in the mood, the theme song from the Patty Duke show keeps playing in my head. I used to work in a place where my desk was right next to the Lunch Room and one mischevious Libra used to pop out of lunch every day and sing it for me. She liked to slow down and sing the line about the hotdogs really slowly, repeat it, and then say "Those are the real words."

Here's the Lyrics.

Meet Cathy, who's lived most everywhere,
From Zanzibar to Barclay Square.
But Patty's only seen the sight.
A girl can see from Brooklyn Heights --
What a crazy pair!

But they're cousins,
Identical cousins all
the way.
One pair of matching bookends,
Different as night and day.

Where Cathy adores a minuet,
The Ballet Russes, and crepe suzette,
Our Patty loves to rock and roll,
A hot
dog makes her lose control --
What a wild duet!

Still,
they're cousins,
Identical cousins and you'll find,
They laugh alike,
they walk alike,
At times they even talk alike --

You can lose your
mind,
When cousins are two of a kind.

J. Craig Venter - Prog. Mercury & Venus Rx's

J. Craig Venter is sort of the reason why I started writing this blog. He's the guy who got frustrated with the National Institutes of Health for doodling around while sequencing the Genome and decided to open his own company and do it himself, only quicker. He succeeded by a few years but wasn't well liked by most of the Science community.

A while back I read a very entertaining book about famous geneticists. The characters of the Scientists described were so well drawn out I figured it would be fun to compare the charts of different personalities who were following the same path in life careerwise. They were so different personality-wise. Then I couldn't find some of the birth dates and I realized that I know nothing about Science and I got distracted by something else. And now I can't even remember the name of the book or the author. The Title was very long, that's all I can say.

Venter was described as the aggressive, pushy maverick in the book. He needed to do things his own way. Big ego. In short, he was called "The Devil."

Meanwhile, another guy whose name I forget was sort considered the Angel of the Genetics community. He also stood up to the Science Community because he insisted that Geneticists follow ethical guidelines regarding the work. Ethics and Financial Reward don't always go hand in hand. When I looked at both scientists' charts I noticed that both had strong Saturn-Pluto ties in their charts and realized this could be one indicator that they would push against the grain. Venter has the conjunction and the other guy had the Trine. I thought of doing an Angel/Devil comparison but in the end realized that's stupid as both these men have done equal amounts of good for the world.

So, the Saturn-Pluto combo has its rep and its personality, not always considered airy fairy. I know, I've got one myself. I'm also amazed by the reactions I hear from Astrologers about Hillary Clinton and Al Gore concerning their conjunctions. No matter what these two do in life, they are still considered evil at the core. Also, I had an evil step-mother with the t-square from Hell that included these two planets and the personality and misdeeds to match so I know that Saturn-Pluto people can be a little overbearing and selfish. But, now that I'm studying the Progressions more closely I can find better reasons for why Venter would be considered a Devil. Oops, did I use that label? I said it was stupid.

J. Craig Venter
b. Oct. 14, 1946 Salt Lake City, UT

Sun 21 Libra; Moon Gemini; NN 13 Gemini

Ah, look at that weetol cute chart. All Air. Air Signs aren't Devils, they're sweet little munchkins with social skills. Thing is, Air Signs progress, the mental gets initiated into the emotional water signs. You can't stick your toe into the same river twice in life, we've got to learn life's lessons, we're all progressing (or spiraling) whether we like it or not.

Venter's Sun progressed into Scorpio. And natally he has Mercury, Mars and Venus in Scorpio which were illuminated by his p. Sun early on in life so everyone immediately knew what a brilliant Medical Researcher/Scientist he was. His book describes how his life was sort of just carried along by his natural abilities.

Venter's got Mercury, Mars and Venus in Scorpio squaring his natal Saturn-Pluto conjunction. This indicates that he's got plenty of confidence and is a risk taker. Although this seems like a bit too creative of a combination for a stodgy science laboratory, one can see the affinity for scientific research, the confidence, ambition & showmanship.

But, his Venus went Retro by Progression when he was in his teens and then his Mercury went Retro by progression just before he received his Doctorate. And they did this after just barely passing over in to Sagittarius so they knew how much lighter things get once you reach the other side and don't have to deal with all that deep churning Scorpio stuff. That can be frustrating.

A while back I heard Adrian Duncan Ross give a whole lecture on how progressions act when they go retrograde back over cusps. If I'm remembering correctly I think he said that by that time you already know the lessons given by the end degrees of the signs, you're really sick of the energy and just want to move on to something new. In this case, life makes you go back and learn more of what you're tired of. And nobody really wants to learn more Scorpio. Venter describes in his recent autobiography how naturally all things Scorpionic came to him at work. He was intelligent, confident, driven, he was creative in his observations, he could manage large groups of people.

First to mention the progressed Sun. Venter's Sun progressed into Scorpio in 1956 when he was around 10 years old. His Sun progressed into Sagittarius around 1985 when he started working at the National Institutes of Health. Between that time it passed over and highlighted his Mars, Mercury, and Venus and squared his Saturn-Pluto conjunction in Leo. After the p.Sun passed into Sagittarius he really does seem to have become known for Sagittarius traits. Highly opinionated, independent, and impatient with bureaucracy, along with high intelligence.

Now to move on to Venter's Venus. Natally it is at 30 Scorpio. It's influence is strong in his chart because it is unaspected and it disposes his Sun. His Prog. Venus went Rx at 3 Sagittarius in 1960. Noel Tyl has described Venus Rx "issues" as having to deal with "love ability."

Things here get really interesting. Venter went to Vietnam right after this time and was so full of despair he attempted suicide. He literally titles the Chapter describing this time in his life as "University of Death." Sagittarius rules universities, Scorpio rules Death and Venus rules self worth. Pretty interesting. Venter was also in a foreign land. He swam out into the water where he knew poisonous sea snakes were with the idea that he would be bitten. Snakes are just so Scorpio, this seems like some kind of weird Odyssyean imagery (I don't know how to spell that and neither does spell check). Venter's Venus passed back into Scorpio and stayed Retrograde in that sign until 2000-2001 when he was awarded for sequencing the Genome. Because of this Retrograde his Self worth was truly honed to what Sagittarius would truly want it to be. Venter was married twice during this time and divorced twice. He's now in a new relationship. Hope she's a free spirit.

Venus Retrograde, in the Libra sense, could bring social difficulties, lack of diplomacy. Could explain why Venter didn't feel comfortable around his peers and finally just decided to buck against them. As he's a Libra Sun this would have affected his ego expression more strongly than other signs. Could also explain the Devil label, especially coming from Scorpio.

According to Venter's biography he had multiple talents for working in the medical field, both through people skills, intelligence and management skills. He went to school after serving in Vietnam and finished his Ph.d early. Lots of Scorpio drive. Mercury, like Venus, is strong in Venter's chart because it disposes both his Moon and his North Node. This one I can't quite figure out. I need a good keyword for what a Mercury Rx means. Mercury Rx in transit of course brings all kinds of snafus which would make all the details of medical research ten times more difficult. Natally it can make a person feel out of place and misunderstood, just because communications are so important in the world. I read only part of his autobiography and skipped this entire part of the book. Maybe that's part of the thing. I can't imagine trying to do Medical Research under a long Mercury Retrograde progression, ew.

In Venter's case, his Mercury went Rx by Progression in 1973-74 at 8 Sagittarius just before Venter received his Ph.d (1975). Mercury in Sagittarius is very fitting for achievement in the academic world. Then it went Rx and he started working out in the world.

Venter's progressed Mercury seems to correspond pretty closely with his relationship problems. He got his first Divorce as Mercury passed back into Scorpio. At the same time, Mercury was conjunct prog. Sun. He got involved with and married one of his students, very Mercury. His Mercury stationed direct in 1993-94 while conjunct his prog. Venus. Something significant probably happened that year. Mercury passed into Sagittarius in 2006.

Venter claims he will be able to use Genomic science as sort of an Alchemical process. I don't know if he can spin straw into Gold but he says he will be able to turn human urine into drinking water. I've heard that there's a video of Venter on the Colbert Show telling this to Stephen Colbert and that it's the only time you'll ever see Stephen Colbert speechless and bowing in reverence to one of his guests.

Venter's natal Mars is also in Scorpio in his natal chart. It has never gone retrograde. He's very athletic and has a special interest in sailing.

Don't Adjust That Dial: Astrologers on the Radio!

Just got this off the weekly NCGR News email:

Ray Merriman and Shelley Ackerman will be on the Alan Colmes Radio Show on this upcoming Tuesday, May 13.

You can find out more about times and local radio stations that carry the show at Alan Colmes' website:

http://www.foxnews.com/radio/alancolmes/index.html

7.9 Sichuan Earthquake in China (plus others)

The Death Toll from yesterday's massive Sichuan Earthquake in China is still climbing. I've quickly looked at the chart and have compared it to the chart of the last Massive earthquake in China that occurred back in 1976. Initially I read that 300,000 people perished in that earthquake but last night on the news the number given was 240,000.

The Chinese have had some incredible successes predicting earthquakes. (I talked about one here: http://outthecometsass.blogspot.com/2008/04/earthquake-that-china-predicted.html.) Wikipedia says that the 1976 earthquake was predicted by scientist Wang Chengmin but I can't find anymore information. Another successful earthquake was predicted, Nov. 29, 1999 in Gushan-Pianling. Water levels and animal behaviors play a big factor in Earthquake prediction.

Similarities I found in both charts are very striking. The Nodal Axis isn't on the Angles, is more just past them in H6-H12 in both cases. But the Nodal Axis is otherwise very strongly lined up with Sun, Moon, Saturn and others. California earthquakes tend to bring in Uranian & Mars influences a lot more. Maybe Earthquakes that happen inland rely on planetary influences that will affect the Tides like Sun-Moon relationship with Nodes and Saturn-Neptune while Earthquakes that happen in the Ocean and near the Coast rely on Mars-Uranus. And, well, the Moon and Pluto will always be there...:

• Pluto in 4th House, massive destruction.

• Nodes, Sun, Moon in Fixed Signs. Leo Moon in both charts.

• The Sun is squaring the Nodes in both cases.

• The Moon is conjunct Saturn in both cases.

• The Moon is aspecting the Nodes in both cases. (It is conjunct the Sun (and stellium) and squaring the Nodes in the 1976 earthquake chart; it is conjunct to the degree the South Node of yesterday's chart.)

• Chiron conjunct the Nodes. NN yesterday's quake. SN in 1976 quake (with Uranus conjunct NN).

• Saturn is in aspect to Neptune.

Here are the particulars I found of each quake. (Hope I've got my info right.)

7.9 Sichuan Earthquake, 2008
May 12, 2008 2:28 pm local time 60 m. NW of Chengdu

Sun 22 Taurus; ASC 14 Virgo; Moon 24 Leo; MC 14 Gemini; NN 24 Aquarius

1st Quarter Moon 24 Leo

• Mercury's presence is extremely strong in this chart. It rules both the ASC and MC and is conjunct the MC to the degree. Mercury is unaspected and out-of-bounds. Children in a school were killed when the roof fell in. The Panda Bear breeding center is very close to the epicenter and no one so far knows what the damage there was (and I don't know rulership of Panda Bears).

• Angular Planets: H1 empty; H4 Pluto; M7 Uranus; H10 Mercury

• Only aspect to Mars 2 Leo is an inconjunct to Pluto. Mars is in H11.

• Nodes aren't on angles. Sun square Nodal Axis. Moon conjunct SN to the degree, conjunct Saturn in H12. Neptune conjunct NN with one degree orb; also conjunct Chiron; in H6.

7.8 Tangshan Earthquake, 1976, about 250,000 dead
July 28, 1976 3:42 am (July 27, 19:42 UTC) Tangshan, China

Sun 5 Leo; ASC 17 Cancer; Moon 15 Leo; NN 9 Scorpio; MC 28 Pisces

• New Moon.

• Massive Stellium in Leo (Sun, Saturn, Moon, Venus, Mercury) squaring Nodes, Uranus, Chiron. H2 cusp squaring H5 and H11 cusps.

• Angles: H1 Sun; H4 Pluto and Uranus; H7 empty; H10 Chiron

• Nothing out of bounds

• Jupiter unaspected 27 Taurus, H11

• Mars 13 Virgo (H3), only aspect is to Neptune 12 Sagittarius (H5, right on H6 cusp), ruler of MC

Mary Roach

Do you think this writer has some kind of Pluto thing going on? Do yah?

Mary Roach is a writer. She writes Science books from a very humorous angle. I can't find Mary Roach's birth date which is driving me nuts. Considering the Scorpionic nature of her topics I suppose I never will find out Mary Roach's birth date. It's a secret. For her latest book, on Sex, she coaxed her husband into Doing the Deed while being observed in a laboratory. So she's got something extra going on in her chart, some major progressions into Sagittarius or something, something kind of "Britney". On the other hand, only a Scorpio would be able to coax her husband into doing such a thing.

Here's a list of her books.

Stiff, a book about the Science of Death

Spook, a book about the Science of Ghosts and the Paranormal

Bonk, a book about the Science of Sex

Makybe Diva / Mercury and Mars Rx

Makybe Diva is the Racehorse who has won the prestigious Melbourne Cup three times in her adopted country of Australia. She has won this prize more than other horse and her last win came when she was 7 years old. This would never have happened in the United States where horses are put out to pasture before they are 3 years old because of greed. After the latest Kentucky Derby tragedy I wanted to look back at her chart and found some interesting Retrograde planets. That's what I'm concentrating on here. The Aussies are such nice people they even give her time of birth on Wikipedia.

Makybe Diva
b. Mar. 21, 1999 12:05am Somerset, England

Sun 30 Pisces; Moon 15 Taurus; ASC 2 Sagittarius; MC 27 Virgo; NN 22 Leo

The Diva was born with both Mercury and Mars Retrograde and since she's doing very very well with her life I just want to use her chart as an example for my own knowledge of how Retrogrades play out in life. I am completely surprised that a really fast runner, whether human, horse, donkey or squirrel would have both a natal Mercury and Mars in Retrograde. Both planets rule physical and mental coordination.

I wondered if the Mars Synodic Year would be in effect here but the Sun didn't oppose Mars Rx until Apr. 24. The Sun was just past exact conjunction with Mercury by two degrees so she may be strongly affected by the Sun-Mercury Rx cycle and Mercury Retrogrades. I still wonder if these types of cycles don't have something to do with speeding up a person's life events early on so that they accomplish more at an earlier age. The person's Sun will be heavily affected by the cycling of these two quick orbiting planets. In this case we'll never know unless Monty Roberts will maybe go over to Australia and translate for us what's on the Diva's mind. I personally don't speak or understand Horse language.

I will note that natally she has a conjunction of Chiron and Pluto in the first house which have been slowly progressing over her Ascendant since birth. This can one reason for both the Diva's Power and her Fame. Sort of a fun thing to look at is her name which I believe is ruled by the 1st house and maybe also the 3d house. Makybe Diva is an "assemblage" of the first two letters of her owner's employees' names. It's a hybrid name. Chiron rules hybrids and Chiron is conjunct Makybe's Ascendant.

Makybe Diva was born and bred in England and was shipped to Australia at Age 1 when nobody showed an interest in purchasing her. This move is perhaps shown in her chart through the Mercury Retrograde. Natally she has Mercury conjunct her natal Sun in her natal 4th House of Home & Environment. Mercury is one degree away from the IC. Because it's progressing Rx it backed up onto that degree during her first year. Interesting that she moved to the other side of the Globe during this time. Meanwhile, her progressed Sun would have moved forward a degree right on to the Aries Point. Natally she has Jupiter at 9 Aries so her progressed Sun has been moving toward lucky Jupiter her whole life so far.

The Diva's Mars is in retrograde in Scorpio and placed in opposition to her natal Moon in Taurus. This is further intensified by a square to the Nodes and Uranus (NN 22 Leo, SN 22 Aquarius c. Uranus 16 Aquarius). Not only is she going to run like the wind (Uranus), but she's going to run like a fury (Moon, Mars) but Grand Squares can bestow a lot of energy. She is probably too emotional and unpredictable for the logical English and I can see how she would perform so much among the Australian temperament.

It's interesting that the Melbourne Cup, Australia's biggest horse race happens in the 1st Tuesday in November. This means that the Sun is close to conjunction with the Diva's Mars and so hooks into her Grand Square.

Mars-Jupiter-Pluto all disposit to each other. Jupiter rules the ASC and Pluto conjuncts it. This affects her physical strength, power and speed no doubt.

The Moon is a feminine indicator and it is also included in the Grand Square. The progressed Moon had moved out of the opposition to Mars by the time the Diva began to win her races in 2003 but was replaced by progressed Venus. P.Venus opposed her natal Mars, becoming exact in 2005-6. Interesting that she has always had a female planet opposing her natal/prog. Mars Retrograde. Maybe in a female chart this means that she doesn't think of the males as anything much to compete with, or she just enjoys the game all the more.

According to Wikipedia, Makybe Diva gave birth to her first foal on Aug. 17, 2007 at 3:16 am at Coolmore Stud Farm, Hunter Valley, NSW (New South Wales). A little Double Leo, Sun c. Mercury-Venus right on the Diva's North Node. I hope she's been allowed to keep her baby at her side...

Oliver Sacks - Prog. Mercury gone Rx and Back in Early Life

Oliver Sacks is the famous Neurologist who initially became famous for his book Awakenings in which he describes how early on in his career he brought a group of patients suffering from sleeping sickness up out of their coma like states. This post will focus on how the Mercury progression seems to have played out in Sacks' life. As Mercury rules the nerves and communication it's interesting to see how a neurologist who writes about his work has experienced Mercury progressions.

I keep finding that the progressions show a person's psychological status much better than other factors in the chart. The Progressed Rxs seem to show the really difficult to understand psychological problems. This is probably more because they last so damn long. I sort of would like to find the "Rainbow way" to read them so that I don't panic whenever I see one in a chart. The Mercury Retrogrades take 20 years but Venus and Mars Rx's can last for the rest of the person's life. From what I've seen they also seem to offer a really nasty undertow or drag to the person's ability to function in whatever area indicated by the planet affected.

I've mentioned it before but Robert Blaschke has written a really great book on Progressions. Unfortunately I don't have my copy available to refer to right now. He offers ways to discuss the Retrogrades that don't show the level of direness that I'm currently communicating when I see them.

I'm looking at famous people who thrive in spite of these Rx's right now. I've already discussed the effect of the Mercury Rx's that came late in the lives of Federico Fellini and Ernest Hemingway both at the times that they seem to have developed mental blocks in their creativity. Sacks experienced his when he was a child and it's interesting to see how the Mercury Rx Prog. played out in his life. (Short Answer: he's been in psychotherapy ever since it went direct, lol).

Oliver Sacks
b. July 9, 1933 London, England

Sun 17 Cancer; Moon Aquarius; NN 30 Aquarius; Mercury Rx 12 Leo

As the Nerves are ruled by Mercury and Uranus rules the neurological system in the body I was surprised to see that a Doctor so reknowned for expertise in this area of human physiology would have gone through a Mercury Retrograde progression in his life, but it seems to have actually helped. He probably developed his empathetic nature and mental depth through the early knowledge that communication can be very difficult. His Leo Mercury probably sees himself in his patients and really wants to "coach" them out of their situations.

I first looked up Sacks' chart when I heard him in a radio interview saying that his childhood was marked when at Age 6 he was sent away to boarding school in England during the war. He went in 1939 and stayed for 4 years.

Sacks' p. Mercury went Retrograde in September, 1940, the year after he went to boarding school. It remained in Retrograde during his entire Education years and turned direct in Nov-Dec. 1964 at 3 Leo. According to Wikipedia, Sacks moved to New York in 1965 and had a banner year in 1966 when he began working for the Hospital in the Bronx where he had his first major success with the encephalitis lethargica patients. This is also the year when he began his twice weekly psychotherapy sessions; something which he has had ever since.

Of course there are a whole bunch more transits, etc. which can be discussed but this alone seems so significant. Mercury rules early education, communication, siblings, cousins, neighborhoods, books, libraries etc. In Sacks' chart natal Mercury is at 12 Leo conjunct Venus and opposing Saturn in Aquarius. If it weren't for the introversion and self-doubt that can come with a progressed Retrograde period, Oliver Sacks probably would have tried to become a professional musician! Instead, this progression triggered the deeper parts of his soul as indicated in his chart by his Sun-Pluto conjunction in Cancer and Chiron square Nodes. Also, his Mercury-Venus conjunction is opposed by Saturn (maybe c. Moon) which has a serious, disciplining effect on the joy that the Mercury-Venus in Leo desires.

The effect of this very long Mercury in Leo seems to be that Sacks can really speak to the lay public. Sacks can explain what he does to ordinary people in an entertaining way. He is brilliant at treating each of his patients individually and as special people. He is constantly commenting on how he would feel if he were in their shoes. He can shine that Leo light, something which most Drs. can't do at all -- er, at least the ones available on my health plans. One can see the effects of the Leo Mercury written in the following Wikipedia article"

Sacks describes his cases with little clinical detail, concentrating on the experiences of the patient (in the case of his A Leg to Stand On, the patient was himself). The patients he describes are often able to adapt to their situation in different ways despite the fact that their neurological conditions are usually considered incurable.^[6]

E. (Edward) Lorenz, Father of the Butterfly Effect

Edward Lorenz was the Mathematician/Meteorologist known as the Father of the Chaos theory and the Discoverer of the Butterfly effect theory. He recently passed away on April 16, 2008 at the age of 90.

He is of particular interest to me as he worked with the ideas of Prediction. He said that the Weather can't be predicted more than about 3 weeks in advance. Having no scientific leanings I can't pretend to understand his theories. But, I think I now understand why people become so much more famous after their deaths. It's because only Obituary Writers can finally reduce a person's life's work down into a readable, understandable summary so the more humbly endowed can try to understand.

From the San Jose Mercury News' obituary: "Edward N. Lorenz, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology meteorologist whose efforts to use computers to increase the precision of weather forecasts inadvertently led to the discovery of chaos theory and demonstrated that precise long-range forecasts are impossible, died of cancer Wednesday at his home in Cambridge, Mass."

Lorenz's chart is very similar to the Cyclone which just hit Burma, at least the Uranus & Neptune parts of it so I suppose those planets might really have a strong influence on Weather. Obviously they are strong rulers for chaos, prediction techniques and progressive, abstract thinking.

Edward N. Lorenz
b. May 23, 1917 West Harford, Connecticut

Sun 2 Gemini; Moon Gemini or Cancer; NN 12 Capricorn

Although he didn't have stelliums in Aquarius or Pisces like I expected to find (Uranus in Aquarius, Chiron in Pisces), Lorenz' chart brings the Uranus-Neptune influence straight into focus. His chart is a bowl shape bounded by those two planets, Uranus very strong in its own sign of Aquarius is the boundary planet on one side and Neptune in Leo is on the other. They aren't in opposition to each other. Neptune is conjunct Saturn as well over the Cancer-Leo cusp so there is a strong outer planet boundary on this Bowl Shape.

Most of Lorenz's planets are clumped between Mars in Taurus and Neptune in Leo with Uranus hanging outside of the configuration sort of acting as a funnel for the energy. Makes sense for a pioneer in the maths and sciences and innovation.

According to Rex Bills, Atmospheric conditions are ruled by (H3). Interesting that Lorenz' Sun is in the sign that rules the 3d house. Gemini is an Air Sign. Lorenz made a "mathematical model of the way air moves around in the atmosphere." Also interesting, Lorenz was born with Gemini's ruler, Mercury in Rx at 22 Taurus. Mercury is conjunct Jupiter to the degree and is squaring Uranus. Mercury stationed direct out of Retrograde when Lorenz would have been around 5 or 6 years old. This held it in the conjunction with Jupiter and Mars throughout his Childhood which must have had some sort of really strong effect on the development of his thinking processes. Mars and Jupiter and Uranus (which held with the square) are all planets which I associate with speed and performance, tools necessary for becoming a forecastor. Taurus is sometimes considered to slow the communications processes down but it also may have been responsible for his early interest in the Natural world.

In 1960 when Lorenz figured out his Butterfly effect, p. Mercury had moved into conjunction with p.Sun and Pluto in Cancer. These ideas became what is known as the Butterfly effect where even small actions such as the flap of a Seagull's wing can have an effect on someting completely different on the other side of the earth. He eventually presented a paper in 1972 called "Predictability: Does the Flap of a Butterfly's Wings in Brazil Set Off a Tornado in Texas?" (Bills give rulership of Butterflies to Mercury, Gemini (Neptune)) There are different stories about who actually came up with the naming of the Butterfly effect.

During this time, the progressed Sun was passing over Lorenz's natal South Node-Pluto conjunction (which also maybe includes Moon in Cancer). Certainly he was meeting with his destiny at a very deep, profound level of existence. Emotionally, I wonder what state he was in though.

Also interesting, Lorenz's progressed Venus was exactly conjunct his natal Neptune in Leo and was about to pass out into the empty half of his chart. I think this is a great astrological metaphor for understanding the nature of chaos and unpredicability that would later be known as "the Butterfly effect." Both Neptune and Venus understand the importance of each small thing and the interrelatedness of all things.

Lorenz found that predications can't be made through linear thinking (like astrology). He initially created a model with 12 variables (like astrology, just a coincidence, I'm going overboard here) and eventually reduced them down to 3 variables.

Lorenz first developed a simple nonlinear model of the atmosphere that considered only 12 variables and tuned it to display nonperiodic behaviour. He then showed that the linear method did not yield perfect predictions of this behaviour and since perfect predictions could be made by forecasting with the exact equations, he had demonstrated that the linear method could be beaten. (from www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries...)

According to one obituary, Lorenz's office was a chaotic mess.
(http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1895916/Professor-Edward-Lorenz.html

Annie Dillard on Water

From Annie Dillard's book Pilgrim at Tinker Creek:

Live water heals memories. I look up the creek and here it comes, the future, being borne aloft as on a winding succession of laden trays. You may wake and look from the window and breathe the real air, and say, with satisfaction or with longing, "This is it." But if you look up the creek, if you look up the creek in any weather, your spirit fills, and you are saying, with an exulting rise of the lungs, "Here it comes!"

--from Chapter 6, "The Present," p. 101

Big Bottom

Pear Shaped People Rejoice!

Diabetes Researchers have decided to let us know that people with Big Bottoms are less susceptible to Diabetes. Something about our Big Old You Know WhatsIts, the Area-formally-ruled-by-Jupiter, protects us, makes our Insulin work.

Kind of interesting that Venus and Jupiter rule Sugar. Venus rules the Kidneys so it's easy to see the Insulin Connection. Jupiter rules the Thighs and Buttocks region. It also rules things are Ever-Expanding.

Here's the article:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/fat_diabetes_dc

Here's a link to an interesting discussion about Sugar Tolerance at Astrodatabank: http://www.astrodatabank.com/NM/Feedback.asp?ChartID=26429

At the ShakeOut

Only in California. We're a Virgo State and, so like a Virgo, we're on pins and needles worrying about the Next One, the Big Un. And if it won't come to us, we'll go to it. The Oregon Coast is probably in much more danger of getting wiped away sooner, but evidentally they don't worry.

In Honor of Our Neuroses, Los Angeles has decided to host a week long party event that's centered around Earthquakes from Nov. 12 through Nov. 18, 2008. Some Scientists will hole up in some conference rooms somewhere to make things look official. Then on Nov. 13 millions of Southern Californians will practice a massive earthquake drill. School kids will drop under their desktops. Firemen will ride around in their big red trucks. Drunks will fall off their barstools. Then, the rest of the week, The Art Center College of Design will host a Festival Extravaganza called "Drop, Cover, and Hold On." How many punk bands will have to play their rendition of "Shake, Rattle & Roll?" Some nut from Connecticut probably dreamed this thing up and decided to make some money off of it. Now that's California.

If a 7.9 earthquake happens in October, of course, everyone will be dead and so the party will have to be called off.

I had to check the chart. Is this a true Earthquake Drill? Remember we want to check for Nodes on Angles, Mars, Pluto, Uranus, Saturn. Maybe some intense Moonie thing. Whew, it looks like they're serious, Capricorn Rising = Be Prepared.

Earthquake Drill
Nov. 13, 2008 10am Los Angeles, CA

Sun 22 Scorpio; Moon 29 Taurus; ASC 8 Capricorn; MC 27 Libra; NN 14 Aquarius Rx

Well, I'm no astro-earthquake expert, but this looks like a pretty accurate chart for simulating having an earthquake. Actually, it almost looks like the real thing. It's too perfect to be the real thing though. The Party Planners picked the 1st Full Moon after the first exact pass of the Saturn-Uranus opposition. People will be pretty nuts. The Moon will also be out-of-bounds at 24 degrees and 33 minutes and opposing Mars in Scorpio to the degree which gives things a little extra oomph in the panic department. Best to wear a bullet protecting vest to this party.

Adding to the emotional fervor indicated by the Moon, Venus will be conjunct Pluto over the Aries Point. This will be conjunct the Capricorn Ascendant. If there isn't an earthquake on this day, all those kids ducking under their desks will be traumatized forever just from the drill. Aries on the IC is good for emergency preparedness. Mars in Scorpio in the 11th house is a good indicator for a real one.

The North Node will be in Aquarius, one of the signs of earthquakes. It will be conjunct Chiron and Neptune and squaring a stellium of Mercury-Sun-Mars in Scorpio. I was hoping Neptune would be involved for the kids' sake if nothing else. Mars-Neptune squares can at least add an element of Glamour. Maybe Ahrnold and Maria will at least be there cutting some ribbons or something.

This chart is actually kind of scary. Gonna have to mop up a lot of barf from under those barstools.

Ah, it'll be ok. Earthquakes only happen at rush hour or when you're naked in the shower.

Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar

Massive Destruction in Burma from Cyclone Nargis which made landfall on the coast of Myanmar last Friday just as its winds were at their maximum speed of 132 mph.

The information I've pulled up so far is:

Cyclone Nargis
begins to form in Bay of Bengal on April 27 and dissipates on May 3, 2008

Landfall west of Rangoon (Yangon).
May 2, 2008 4:00pm closest town: Ngaputaw, Burma
(map at http://www.reliefweb.int...)

Sun 13 Taurus; ASC 8 Libra; Moon 30 Pisces; MC 8 Cancer; NN 25 Aquarius Rx

The Sun here is unaspected in the 8th House of Mass Destruction & Crisis & Death ( except for minor semi-square gizmo to Moon). As a matter of fact, the Sun had been unaspected since April 29, the day after the storm began out in the ocean. Its last aspect before that had been as part of an Earth Grand Trine to Saturn and Pluto which it shared with Venus. Venus has massive rulership of this chart as ruler of both the Sun and the Chart itself. Venus is placed in the Landfall chart, angular, in the 7th house.

This storm seems like another present from the Uranus-Neptune mutual reception. The cosmic outer planet mingling of everything that wind and water can do together. Nothing gets you thinking outside the box quite like having almost an entire country x-d off the map. It's interesting that the rest of this chart is so prominent in Earth signs.

First to look at Uranus & Neptune in the chart:

• Neptune here is conjunct the North Node to the degree and also conjunct Chiron. Saturn is conjunct the South Node from Virgo. The Landfall chart puts the axis in the 5th and 11th Houses.

• Uranus is placed in the 6th House and had just been passed over by the Moon which was at the last degree of Pisces on the Aries Point.

The Moon here is squaring Pluto at the Aries Point. Pluto is in the 3d house, having just crossed the IC about the same time that the Moon crossed over Uranus.

The Saturn-Pluto trine is super strong at this point. As I said the Storm had been piddling around out in the ocean for days and decided to plop onto land just as it reached its strongest point. Saturn and Pluto are both in the beginning degrees of earth signs. They are included in a Grand Trine with Venus, which is ruler of the chart. They are also included in a trapezoid figure where they square and inconjunct Mercury in Taurus (H8) and the Moon in Pisces (H6). What this means to me is that the planets were just crystallized and working together with each other. Saturn and Pluto tend to like to manifest terror if given half a chance, and that's what they did here.

Mars is in Cancer, still. This is one long transit through the Terrible Two's. Mars is elevated up in the 10th House, opposing Jupiter down in H4 and trining both the Moon and Uranus in Pisces.

Due to the Political Isolationism of Burma, the country has been denying its people international Aid. The first help has been received Tuesday afternoon as must of the country has been without electricity and fresh water for 4 days. The death toll is thought to be staggering, up past 20,000 dead last I read. The Government failed to warn the people beforehand about the impending dangers. Perhaps the Saturn-Pluto-Sun-Venus Grand Trine accounts for their isolationism and false sense of thinking they could deal with the problem on their own. (Noel Tyl gives a great description of how Grand Trines work in this way.)