Mount Redoubt

I've babbled a couple of times on this blog about how there may be a connection between Saturn and Uranus transits and the concepts of Doubt and Certainty. It seems that I keep seeing affirmations of this out in the Real World. I'm looking for it, of course, which make the difference.

There's the Meryl Streep movie called Doubt. It's about a mean Catholic nun so I don't know if anyone's gone to see it except maybe Mel Gibson. That really great actor, forgot his name (He's a Leo), plays a nice priest who is accused of molesting a kid (have only seen the trailers). The trial of "Blog of Chicag" (heard him called that by Renee Terwilliger on David Letterman last night) brought up a whole lot of personal questions I have about how the Judicial System likes to override the concept of "innocent until proven guilty" and "beyond a shadow of a doubt". It seems that people with cruddy personalities are automatically guilty. I'm remembering how Eliot Spitzer was also kicked out in this way after having fought the big drug companies regarding antidepressents and suicide. And my old best boyfriend Al Gore fought the cigarette companies and won and then lost the election for President and History fell apart.

So, there's some Gemini Rising rambles and anxieties for you. Where was I?

What this all boils down to at this point, after a few leaps of mental gymnastics, is earthquakes. I've been waiting for them patiently. The scientists say they're coming. The astrology is looking awesome. The government isn't pushing to educate people about what to do in the event of .... it's looking like an awesome set-up for a Big Un.

And so I forgot about Volcanoes. We need an explosion to spew crap into the atmosphere. I think I heard that it will protect us from Global Warming. So there's a Mountain getting ready to blow any time now up in Alaska.

As far as Astroblab goes, and nobody's read this far, the connection with this particular Volcano and Saturn-Uranus is kind of fun. First of all, the Volcano is called Mount Redoubt. So the Saturn-Uranus connection is built right in to the name (according to me). And, because of this curiosity, I looked on the Wikipedia to see if the eruptions in the past were connected with Saturn-Uranus, and, yes Edna, they seem to certainly god damned be.

Here's the Wiki link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Redoubt_(Alaska)

Here are the years and dates when available. (I don't think I'm making this up.) It looks like Jupiter and Pluto are part of the dance as well. The explosions go on for months at a time which seems to indicate outer planet transits at any rate. Uranus seems to enjoy being in Mutable Signs. Saturn is in Capricorn for two of the eruptions:

1881: East of Redoubt, not explosion from out of the mountain:

Jupiter conjunct Saturn in Aries. Uranus in Virgo.

beginning of year there was a conjunction of Jupiter-Saturn in Aries. Uranus 12 Virgo. Pluto end of Taurus so Jupiter would have been widely in conjunction towards the end of the year.

Jan. 18, 1902 to June 21, 1902:

Saturn conjunct Jupiter in Capricorn. Uranus in Sagittarius. Uranus disposits to Jupiter.

On date of 1st eruption SAturn 20 Capricorn conjunct Jupiter 26 Capricorn & Sun 28 Capricorn.
Not directly related to Uranus 20 Sagittarius. But, Uranus disposits to Jupiter which is conjunct Saturn. Uranus is also opposing Pluto 17 Gemini.

1966-68:

Saturn in Pisces opposing Uranus in Virgo. Uranus conjunct Pluto and squared by Jupiter at some point.

Dec. 15, 1989 and continues popping for 5 months:

Saturn conjunct Uranus in Capricorn.

Uranus 5 Capricorn conjunct Neptune 12 Capricorn & Saturn 14 Capricorn opposing Jupiter 8 Cancer. Saturn sextile Pluto 17 Scorpio.

Jan. 30, 2009: will blow anytime now:

Saturn in Virgo opposing Uranus in Pisces.

Wikipedia states other times when smoke was thought to have come out but questions whether these were eruptions: Summer 1778, 1819, 1933, 2003.

The Boogeymen of the Inauguration

Obama's swearing in was a Miracle both in acceptance by the U.S. of an African American Leader but also in the peaceful control of a huge crowd. This shows the angular Sun in the 10th House and angular Moon. The Sun was conjunct Mercury and Jupiter (eloquent President born of an immigrant and mixed marriage). The Moon was at the last degree of Scorpio in the 7th House (Public's deepest desires working in harmony and cooperation). Those are my interpretations, at any rate. There were problems with the music due to the cold temperature. YoYo Ma and his Classical friends apparently played to a dubbed version of their performance because their instruments couldn't stay in tune. Aretha Franklin was on Larry King saying that she was unhappy with her performance. But, damn, her hat was the finest confection that ever graced a female head, my knitting forums were going ape face over it.

There were problems with both of these aspects, the Mercury and the Moon as would be interpreted. With Mercury both Retrograde and Cazimi the Sun and with the Void of Course Moon one would expect some snafus and we were not disappointed. The Swearing In happened a bit late at around 12:06pm rather than at noon on the dot. Then the chief Justice messed up the 35(?) words of the swearing in. This was redone one Wednesday but without the Bible. So the actual "words," the Mercury element, didn't quite jell. It doesn't matter, really, but it's always difficult to know whether it's God in the Details or the Devil. I suppose it's best say a Blessing for the Virgo's before all important activities because things like this can be real thorns in the side. I think this is Obama's natal Gemini Moon square Pluto aspect in action anyway.

There was another problem, which could be attributed to the Scorpio Moon. Some Texan politican refused to okay Hillary Clinton's election as Secretary of State until the next day.

I wanted to check out the charts of the two guys who sort of put a clinker in the day's activities to see maybe what are party pooper aspects.

Both are Aquarians, oddly enough (an Aquarian keyword). Both are also Conservatives trying to cope with the aftermath of the Neptune transit to their Suns I suppose. Neptune is the planet of formlessness. It's supposed to break down one's sense of boundaries, thus its normal rulership for compassion for others. Needless to say this is not a Conservative's favorite planet. Conservatives like things to stay the same, like structure, and simple plans and boundaries.

First Boyfriend, Republican John Cornyn from Texas had to input his negativity by ensuring that Hillary Clinton's appointment as Secretary of State was delayed a day. I wanted to see what the dude's problem is.

John Cornyn
b. Feb. 2, 1952 Houston, Tx

Sun 13 Aquarius; Moon Taurus; NN 1 Pisces

Cornyn's in that limbo space between his 2d Progressed Lunar Return and his 2 Saturn Return. The second pass is not as quite as big a deal usually. They happen farther apart in years than the first return does. And they say that if you screwed up during your first Saturn Return you don't often make it to your second Saturn return. That last interpretation sounds like office folklore wisdom and I have no idea if it's true or not. Probably it's true some of the time.

Cornyn's got a Cardinal Grand Square in his chart. His Saturn is at 15 Libra and opposing Jupiter at 11 Aries. These square a Venus-Chiron at 8-9 Capricorn opposing Uranus at 11 Cancer. Right now his Progressed Sun is on his Jupiter to the degree so he's outspoken about his opinions. This is sort of a double whammy Sun-Jupiter aspect as transiting Jupiter is conjunct Cornyn's Sun. This is reflected in the Sun-Jupiter conjunction of the event chart.

I'm sorry I can't offer a reasonable interpretation of what a Grand Cross means except that a huge amount of difficult aspects will be tripped off quite frequently in a person's life due to the squares (challenges) and oppositions (opposition, need for balance). Venus conjunct Chiron in Capricorn certainly seems to bring on some loveability & fear issues that are focused outward into the social Jupiter-Saturn-Uranus squares. If someone had thought to send Cornyn a box of See's candies maybe he would have mellowed a bit. Cardinal Signs begin projects, so this was perhaps the Republicans' announcement that they intend to fight everything.

Cornyn's progressed Mercury has begun moving in Retrograde Motion in Aries since he's come in to office. (sometime around 2005? I'm not real sure about date) so he's probably going to become all balled up over a lot of mercurial type of issues concerning getting facts straight and being a pest in general.

Chief Justice John Roberts also messed up during President Obama's Swearing In Ceremony by quoting the words out of order. I thought that Obama had fumbled due to nervousness but apparently it was Roberts who mis-spoke. Later on that night I heard the news trying to replay the Swearing In and realized what a loss this was. Well, there's Mercury Retrograde for you. This one was right on Robert's natal Sun which was close to going through a Return (Solar). And Jupiter was there. And the North Node was there. And Mercury was cazimi. And the Moon was Out-of-bounds. And, boy did he screw up. So, the Sun-Jupiter-Mercury Rx conjunction really points the astro arrows at these guys.

Chief Justice John Roberts
b. Jan. 27, 1955 Buffalo, NY

Sun 8 Aquarius; Moon Pisces; NN 6 Capricorn

While looking up his birth data I was reminded that Roberts had a seizure on July 30, 2007. This may have a result of an illness. Interesting that at the time of the seizure, his Sun was in the process of progressing in to Aries at the time. Aries and Mars rule the brain and inflamation. Right now his progressed Sun is exactly square natal Pluto and is 7 degrees away from a conjunction with his natal Mars. Boy, I hope he's taking a lot of Vitamin C because that's an inflamatory aspect.

Additionally, transiting Neptune is at 24 Aquarius moving into conjunction with Robert's natal Mercury 26 Aquarius. He has to be careful about any drugs he's taking because they could be causing Mental Fogginess. Either that, or it could have been a Freudian Slip of a super conservative white guy. Neptune rules the subconscious memory.

With these heavy transits to his Mercury and Mars it would make sense that he's really trying to maintain right now. Robert's natal Mercury is in a t-square with Saturn and Pluto so his normally sharp, conservative mind is getting a good fogging over, that's for sure. His thinking could also possibly be getting an opening up to new and better ideas.

There are many aspects to look at. I'll end here. Hope I've got this info right.

Inauguration Chart - January 20, 2009

Of course, as an ex Salmonella survivor I've been following the latest peanut butter crisis like a hawk. Turns out to be a really nasty joke that on the Eve of the inauguration of the First African American President in U.S. History Kellogg's has put out a Recall for all of its "Crackers." Okay, bad joke, but at least it's coming from a white person.

We get a new President tomorrow. Yayyyyy! It's certainly looking like Barack Obama will be an incredible gift to the American people. On Noel Tyl's Forum Dean Bensics has written a really great interpretation of this chart which explains this situation. www.noeltyl.com. Look in the general astrology forums section.

Inauguration of Barack Obama
Jan. 20, 2009 noon, or close to noon

Sun 1 Aquarius (H10); ASC 15 Taurus; Moon 30 Scorpio (H7); MC 27 Capricorn; NN 10 Aquarius

Tomorrow's chart has 15 Taurus Rising. This sets a tone of practicality and fiscal responsibility. Material welfare and strength is of great concern. A set of values is being determined. This is a very Fixed Chart. Sun, Moon and Ascendant are in Fixed Signs and are Angular. Obama is a Fixed Person: Leo Sun with Aquarius Rising.

Ruler of the chart, Venus, is conjunct Uranus and is in the 11th house of community and group efforts, also hopes, wishes and dreams. The entrepreneurial spirit that the U.S. is known for could find a spark now. This conjunction is opposite Saturn Rx in the 5th House so it is placed in Fixed Houses of Resources (and off the angles which is great, imo).

The inauguration chart is hooked right in to the Saturn-Uranus opposition through a fortunate way. It is the central Axis of a Kite configuration which hopefully is an excellent aspect for success in houses involved: ASC (personality), 5th House (creativity, risk), 9th House (higher education, legal, religion) (Grand Earth Trine Taurus ASC to Saturn in Virgo to Mars in Capricorn) and to 11th House. As a Leo Sun with Aquarius Rising who is a Lawyer, I'd say this Kite reflects Barack Obama pretty well. (Wouldn't have been able to see this before the election of course).

The Grand Trine of Earth, Ascendant, Mars, Saturn will put the U.S. back to work. Venus-Uranus will open up the closed off energy of the Grand Trine and spark the entrepreneurial spirit.

The Sun in this chart is at 1 Aquarius conjunct Mercury to the degree and conjunct the MC and Jupiter at 4 Aquarius. The 10th House represents the President. I remember thinking that this must mean that an old white guy would win. oops. This shows a positive leader with excellent speaking abilities and a prudent stance and an open mindedness. There are some problems with the flow of these energies with the rest of the chart, though. Mercury is retrograde showing some unfinished business. Communication may not go well. Ideas may not be well thought out. Obama's plans for infrastructure will be dependent on a Mercury flapping both of his little ankle wings and that might not manifest as planned.

Mercury here is cazimi the Sun. They say that its energy is swallowed by the Sun so it may not have a strong expression. Jupiter's only aspect is the conjunction to the Sun and Mercury. There could be a latent show of arrogance.

This combination may be great for international affairs. There is understanding of the law and of how things ought to be, manifesting them may not go very smoothly at first. It would be interesting to watch Retrograde transits and progressions to see what happens when Mercury comes out of and goes into Rx at those times. (Noel Tyl gave an interesting description of Tertiary Progressions in event charts on his forum and I'm dying to check it out.)

The Moon in this chart is at 30 Scorpio in the 7th House so it is angular. On a literal level that shows the influence of powerful women and a powerful public. It is out of bounds and void of course. I don't have a clue what void of course means but these are 3 strong indicators that the feelings of the public and of Obama's partners are very strong. In the 7th House it may mean that we are welcoming his leadership. It would be so cool if they could have waited until it was in Sagittarius just to keep things on a light scale emotionally perhaps. A Scorpio public overall may deal with the difficult times in a very stoic way which can do without, but crime may become a problem for those who can't handle tough times. Obama has a Moon-Pluto square in his chart so I guess this is more appropriate to his style. And Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton are both Scorpios so this could mean nothing more than a literal description of their contributions to Obama's plan. This shows reserve powers but also maybe bottling up of emotions.

The Moon represents the Public. Obama, as a Gemini Moon, understands the emotional healing powers of keeping people busy. But, resentments shouldn't be allowed to escalate and feelings should be checked at regular intervals. This goes very deep as it means that the Moon disposits to Pluto. And Pluto is in the 8th House at 2 Capricorn which is an Aries Point. Pluto's deepest darkest desires (and God knows these are unfathomable) will find public expression. Pluto is unaspected in this house which shows a lot of bottling up within the chart. The true pure need of Pluto is to get to the core. If secrecy and power trips fall by the wayside and crises don't keep crashing down this can be a wonderful thing.

Through this nasty Pluto the chart clearly states that this President is taking over during times of great economic crises (it's always clear in hindsight). I just heard on the news with regards to the economic crisis that Obama wants to shift from Bank Bail outs which is a 2d House, Venus thing to opening up Credit lines which is 8th House, Pluto methods, as a way of dealing with the financial crisis. All secrets that people are feeling right must be acknowledged. But, Pluto doesn't really like to talk about much and with that Mercury out of communication mode there could be some misunderstandings and snags. Hopefully it means that this President will have the ability to understand how to deal with this type of situation. He has Gemini Moon square Pluto so this chart in a way does reflect the same energy.

Hope I've spelled Inauguration right.

Neil F. Michelsen's "Planetary Phenonmena"

The other day I sold about $100 worth of books to a used bookstore and received $12.00 in return. I immediately turned around and spent $16 on books. Someday I will know how to sell things on ebay and my book buying addiction will stop being a financial exercise in the fine art of subtraction.

On the other hand I bought the coolest astrology book. It's Neil F. Michelsen's Tables of Planetary Phenomena which I've never seen before. This is like an Ephemeris of all things that an Ephemeris doesn't list. As a matter of fact, all the stuff that I really really need right now. Lists of Eclipses from 1700-2050, lists of Ingresses, some weird chapter on the Sun's Retrograde, Moon phases, planetary clusters, etc. etc. etc. And Cycles, Cycles, Cycles!!! The back of the book has the best part. There are graphs of planetary cycles with regards to the planet's retrograde motions and relationships to each other. Michelsen calls them Mandalas and yesiree, they are hypnotic.

If you've ever looked at Erin Sullivan's book on Retrogrades you've seen the amazing cycles of Venus, Mercury and Mars. It's been a while so I can't really remember what all is in there. Venus has a very precise 8 year retrograde cycle which has 5 spokes. Michelsen shows the 16 year cycle which shows an almost perfect overlay of the 2d 8 years over the 1st 8 years. I've talked about this before and there are some amazing websites on the internet that explain these cycles clearly. The rest of the orbital patterns aren't as precisely made. Mercury pretty much completes a 19 spoke flower pattern over a period of 6 years. Mars completes a 15 spoke flower over a period of 33 years. Hope I counted correctly. It's difficult not to believe that these proportions don't mean something but who knows what.

The planet to planet graphs are extraordinary as well. The ones that I'm attracted seem to be completely different from what Michelsen is attracted to. The Venus/Mercury cycle looks like a kindergartern version of the Jupiter/Saturn cycle to me. I'll quote him because his descriptions are really fun:

(from p. 227)

"I often asked people who viewed the mandalas to report the subejctive impression made on them by the mandala pattern. For example, I see Mercury/Venus, Figure 31, as an insect with two bulbous eyes and a maw of a mouth. I see Venus/Mars, Figure 35, as a spider, in its web, waiting for its next meal! I see Uranus/Pluto, Figure 47, a creature with two claws extended, ready to clamp on to an unsuspecting victim.

"Isn't it striking that Venus/Earth, Figure 34, is a heart pattern?! Venus, the Goddess of love, when joined with Earth, is a heart. Most of the other patterns are more geometric -- Jupiter/Uranus, Figure 41, I see as a Mogen-David, the Jewish six-pointed star symbol.

It would be fun to put up a website where people can share their impressions of these mandalas.

Johannes Mehserle, BART Police Shooter

Johannes Mehserle is the ex-Oakland BART Train police officer who killed a hand cuffed man in the back on New Year's Day. I wrote about the incident a few days ago. Mehserle has been charged with Murder and has surrendered to Oakland Police.

Can't vouch for its accuracy, but Mahalo.com and a SFGate.com article have listed a birth date for Mehserle. The chart is really incredible from an Astrological point of view. According to that website and the article which is available at this link:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/01/06/BAK61540MH.DTL:

Johannes Mehserle
b. Jan 5, 1981 (no place given)(probably wrong birth date so maybe scroll down and read about the similarity between this incident and the Stanford Prison Experiment).

Sun 16 Capricorn; Moon most likely Capricorn; NN 11 Leo

If this is correct, Mehserle was 3 degrees away from his Solar Return. And the Solar Return would involve a conjunction of the Sun to Mars and Pluto. According to the SFGate article, the shooting happened, Mehserle's wife gave birth to a Son and Mehserle had a Birthday. Wow. Mars can indicate violence, but it can also indicate having a Son.

If this birth date is correct, Mehserle is a Double Capricorn. On bad days this can indicate an overbearing streak and authoritarian attitude. On the other end of the Capricorn spectrum, this can indicate a heavy Karmic side involving intense lessons concerning guilt and shame, difficult lessons. Capricorns tend to have to play by the rules because they often can't get away much. The Leo North Node could repeat the Bossiness theme and Mars conjunct South Node could further emphasize this along with an impulsive streak that acts before it thinks.

Chiron squares the Nodes and Mars. This indicates some kind of wounding wound up in one's destiny with fighting and aggression. The Mars energy and the Saturn energy in this chart seem to have found a common ground in the police profession but in this case they are bringing out each other's bad side.

Mehserle's chart has two conjunctions which are exact to the degree: Venus-Neptune in Sagittarius and Jupiter-Saturn in Libra. These are pretty friendly aspects overall. The Venus-Neptune could get carried away especially in Sagittarius. Mehserle may have had a little bit of a hang over from too much partying the night before. The (natal) Jupiter-Saturn conjunction is conjunct the 12th house cusp to the degree of the event chart (Placidus). Jupiter-Saturn represents Society on a Social Level and its placement in Libra, sign of Diplomacy and Peace Making, is pretty bizarre. 12th House, though, represents Self-Undoing, Institutions like Jail and Martyrdom so perhaps this particular event seems to have brought out a streak of this. Mehserle's refusal to speak infuriated the public which has evolved into rioting on at least two occasions. 12th House often simply can't explain its actions.

Mehserle is caught in a lot of Cyclic Return activity. He is probably just past his 2dary Progressed Lunar Return and is heading in to his Saturn Return. This is significant since both his Sun and Moon disposit to Saturn. He is also going through his Nodal Opposition, a time of extreme confusion and having one's world turned upside down. If this is a true birth date this chart is really amazing because the Nodal Axis for the event was crossing the IC/MC axis which represents opposition between the Public and Authority. Interesting that these points are represented by the Moon and Saturn in one's chart as well. And the chart shows someone with strong Saturn-Moon contacts.

If Mehserle were born early in the day his Moon would have been getting hit by the Sun-Mars-Pluto transiting conjunction on the Aries Point. That's a highly emotional aspect. Bob Marks, who has done extensive research on the astrology of murderers, has pointed out the significance of Mars-Moon combination in violence. (www.bobmarksastrologer.com) He has also found how common Capricorn Moon is in murderers (which isn't the best news for those of us who have the natal aspect ourselves.)

I've listened to Malcolm Gladwell's book (either Tipping Point or Blink, can't remember) where Gladwell discusses research that has examined a sort of Mars-Moon-Pluto hormone effect in police officers which can lead to brutality. There's a chemical reaction that can happen which causes them to go into some sort of brutality mode if not checked. Astrology sure would have been useful to the police department in this case because Mehserle was in line to completely lose it around these dates.

Also interesting is the mutual Venus-Neptune conjunctions between the natal chart and the event chart. The conjunction in the natal chart is in Sagittarius and is in Aquarius in the event chart in the 4th house. Venus in the event chart rules the 7th House so I associated it with the Victim, Oscar Grant, but it certainly looks like the killer is indicated as well. These aren't planets I would associate with committing police brutality unless it's through some sort of gas or inaudible, invisible vibe. What's even more interesting is the fact that they both square the Uranus placement of the other. Mehserle's natal Venus-Neptune is apex to a t-square of the Saturn-Uranus opposition. One possible explanation could be the amount of video filming that was done at the event and the Internet "conviction" by the public.

The natal chart shows an unaspected Uranus in Scorpio indicating that for Mehserle, impulse and shock run deep and can bring on crises. Uranus is in a sign for 7 years so this is a generational planet showing general social consciousness. in this chart the Uranus energy can't flow with the rest of the planets of the chart so sudden crises could tend to ball up for this guy (if this is his chart). Progressed Mars is now squaring this Uranus which heightens the volatility and impulsiveness for Mehserle over the next few years. His nervous system will be under assault something which a double Capricorn already would struggle with due to deep perceptual abilities and difficult self-expression. Hopefully, he is not living with the rest of the prisoners in the jail.

By some sort of coincidence I was reminded here of the Stanford Prison Experiment which I studied on this blog a while back. This case for me seems to be about uncontrollable rage and police brutality rather than racism and this is what the Stanford experiment was about. A psychologist at Stanford University hired ordinary men to conduct a study on behaviors that occurred within a prison environment. Half were assigned roles as prisoners and half were assigned roles as prison guards and they all knew they were play acting their roles. Within a day the prisoners were rioting. The experiment, originally planned to last 14 days, was ended after 6 because the prison guards abused their authoritarian roles and became abusive.

I compared the charts between the New Year's incident and didn't find any significant similarities at first. But, I did find similarities between Mehserle's supposed birth chart and the Stanford experiment transits. The Leo-Aquarius nodal axis shows up in his natal chart and the Stanford Prison Experiment which took place between Aug. 14 and Aug. 20, 1971.

The NN for the Stanford Prison Experiment was at 15 Aquarius conjunct Mars 17 Aquarius Rx. This Nodal Axis is on the IC/MC of The BART Station shooting with NN at 10 Aquarius.
And Mehserle's Nodal Axis was on top of this. And he was going through his Nodal Opposition.

To add fuel to the fire, so to speak, Mehserle's natal Mars is at 5 Aquarius conjunct his South Node is at 11 Aquarius (NN at 11 Leo) which adds the violent streak.

(The Sun was conjunct Venus in the Stanford Prison Experiment and this was passing over the South Node at the time of the Stanford Prison Experiment.)

I talked about Mehserle's "alleged" (might as well use that word) volatile Uranus in Scorpio at 29 degrees. In alignment with that point, there was a huge transit aspect during The Stanford Prison experiment with Jupiter 30 Capricorn conjunct Neptune 1 Sagittarius and opposing Saturn at 6 Gemini. The Moon was in Taurus and passing through Gemini during the beginning days of the experiment so was setting off those points.

(If the Stanford Prison Experiment had been conducted during a Jupiter-Neptune trine maybe the prisoners would have gotten along.)

At any rate, going even further, way too far probably, down the line, we can look at the publication date for The Lord of the Flies. This book deals with the same type of brutality. It was published in 1954 while the NN was in Capricorn. This means that it was probably being written 1-2 years before while the NN was in Aquarius. Good time to observe the behaviors of people abusing authority in mass group settings, I guess.

In conclusion, all I can say is, boy, the Police really need to pay attention to Mars transits.

Miracle on the Hudson

Yesterday a Miracle happened in New York. Why do Miracles only happen in New York? I can't answer that. But anyway, U.S. Airways Flight 1549 made an emergency landing right into the Hudson River. It looked on the newsreels like the pilot got really upset about wanting his own parking space in downtown Manhattan. The plane, headed from La Guardia airport to Charlotte North Carolina, ran in to a flock of geese. Nobody's talking about the welfare of the birds but apparently both engines were struck. With nowhere else to go the pilot dropped the plane down into the River. By happy circumstance, the plane landed very near the ferry building so help came almost immediately to the passengers. All 155 passengers made it out alive with very few injuries.

The pilot is America's newest Hero. His name is Chesley B. (Sully) Sullenberger III. I just noticed that some people on Noel Tyl's forum have located a birth date and are discussing it at www.noeltyl.com. If the data is correct Sullenberger's an Aquarius, which is considered a natural Sun Sign placement for a pilot. Airplanes are ruled by Aquarius as as are Migratory Birds. Sagittarius and Gemini, as rulers of travel are also indicated. Rex Bills even lists Neptune as a ruler for Pilots, which is very interesting to look at in the event chart.

U.S. Airways Flight 1549
Crash Lands into the Hudson River
Jan. 15, 2009 3:30 pm ET

Sun 26 Capricorn; ASC 10 Cancer; Moon 29 Virgo (H4); MC 18 Pisces; NN 10 Aquarius

When you look at this chart what stands out is the Saturn-Uranus opposition which almost exactly crosses the IC/MC axis; the bottom and top of the chart. That right there says a lot about Take Offs and Landings, and Safety (Saturn) and Unexpected events and Earth (Saturn) and Flight(Uranus). Uranus, as I said, rules Airplanes. It also rules Miracles (along with Neptune); anything that can't really be explained by ordinary mortals. Saturn can cause clogs and delays and it also rules Lead. So, with this placement it would make sense that Lift-off might be more difficult. It would be interesting to see if Saturn is often figuring strong in the background of Miraculous events. As they say in the arts world, success is 10 percent inspiration and 90 percent perspiration and Saturn is generally the task masker of the horoscope. Sullenberger has 40 years' experience and is an expert in safety issues concerning airplane travel.

So, I was remembering the bad take off that happened back in Denver, Colorado back in December. I wrote about it in "Airplane Crash on Take-Off Denver Airport". In that case the Airplane veered off the runway and blew up in to flames and all passengers miraculously survived. I found that there are big similarities between these two charts.

Both of these charts have Cancer Rising with Moon in the 4th House. That could indicate a public event and a water landing and a protective influence. Am not sure if cause of the Denver episode has been determined. The Moon in the Hudson River event is conjunct the Libra Point and it's interesting to see how much more appealing this story is in the public eye.

Both Charts have the Saturn-Uranus opposition crossing near the IC/MC axis. The Denver Chart has them placed in the 3d - 9th Houses. The New York Chart has them in the 4th - 10th Houses and approaching the IC/MC axis by about 2 degrees.

In addition, the 8th House of Death is packed in both charts. This is really curious as both 4th and 8th Houses co-rule Death. They seem to be charts of events where Mass quanities (Cancer Moon influence, also Aquarius) managed to cheat Death. I'm sure Pluto is really happy about being cheated...(sarcasm)

Both Charts have the Aquarius (again, airplanes) North Node conjunct Chiron in the 8th House. That seems to be the common denominator. In the Hudson river chart, Mercury Rx is conjunct Jupiter over the 8th house cusp. In the Denver chart I believe that there was a Venus-Neptune conjunction in the 8th House. I attributed that aspect to the miracle part of the event but now think that it must be associated with the Aquarius North Node. And Aquarius is known to function better when accompanied by all sorts of happy friends. There are no malefics in the 8th Houses of these charts.

Neptune in the Hudson River Chart is just conjunct the 9th House cusp, so Neptune might still count, especially since these charts are describing events that happen to the Airline Industry which they co-rule.

For what it's worth, Mars at 15 Capricorn is angular and opposing the Ascendant from the 7th House. Mars rules accidents, interesting to see Saturn's influence on accidents here as Saturn rules preparation and caution. Mars trines Saturn in this (event) chart along with the 7th House Sun.

Mother Science Predicts Whether You Will Rich

Interesting article more related to Palmistry than to Astrology. Researchers have found that Financial Traders who are successful risk takers and quick decision makers have ring fingers that are longer than pointer fingers. This has to do with testosterone levels and is thought to be determined while the baby is still in the womb.

The Forefinger is ruled by Jupiter and the Ring Finger is ruled by the Sun (Apollo) according to this website on Palmistry:

http://www.geocities.com/mystically_mf/palmistry.html

So, it's definitely a Confidence thing, but it's more about Creativity than about Luck. And the biggee here is that the Sun rules Leo and the 5th House which show a person's ability to take Risks and to Gamble.

Since both are determined by Testosterone pre-natally so Pluto is working behind the scenes in there somewhere.

Interesting that the Middle Finger, which I use to communicate when someone cuts me off while driving, is ruled by Saturn and not by a Mercury/Mars conjunction. I have a very long Saturn finger.

Link to the Yahoo article:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090113/ap_on_sc/sci_financial_finger

Unarmed Man Shot in Back by Oakland Police

On New Years Eve/Day a white police officer shot and killed an African American man in the back after the man had been handcuffed and was lying face down on the ground. The victim had been pulled off of a commuter BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) train for being involved in a fight. It is not known why the police officer shot the man but the incident was filmed on several cell phones and the African American community along with most of the world is claiming that the reason is racism.

On Jan. 7 protesters went to the Fruitvale Bart Station where the incident ocurred to protest the shooting. Subsequently a riot broke out. The police officer involved has resigned, it is said, in order to avoid questioning from officials.

Police respond to fighting on Bart Train in Oakland, CA around 2:15am on 1/1/09.

Sun 12 Capricorn (H3); Moon 5 Pisces (H4); ASC 5 Scorpio; MC 11 Leo; NN 10 Aquarius

Astrologically this looks like a clear example of the Sun-Mars-Pluto stellium in action. This isn't a good time to provoke Adrenaline in others. These planets were right on the 3d House of Public Transportation. This indicates violence involving all things 3d housian. A Bart train station is certainly that. It would also rule catching the crime on a cell phone. What's extra special about this chart is for the time of the incident these planets were ruling the angles. Pluto rules the chart and the Sun rules the Midheaven. Mars is stand out in this chart because it is out of bounds. It rules the 6th House of Policemen. The Sun rules the Back and all planets disposit to Capricorn which rules the Spine (and subsequently, the back). The Sun in this chart has only a wide conjunction to Mars and is otherwise unaspected (by Ptolomaic aspect). Both Sun and Mars are Fire planets and this chart lacks planets in Fire signs so there is going to be problem with impulsiveness in actions.

The Nodal Axis here is crossing the IC/MC line. This can show a situation between the Authorities and the General Public.

I'll play Devil's advocate here and mention this: what the video footage doesn't show is any audio so its impossible to know what the victim was saying to the policeman which might possibly have caused him to lose his mind. The Fruitvale Bart station is not the friendliest place on earth at any time of day. It would be a total Hell Hole in the middle of the night and these guys had rap sheets and were drunk and fighting. I'm very aware that African Americans are accused all the time of committing crimes that they are innocent of, but it would be ironic if the last words out of the victim's mouth had actually been racist themselves considering the degree of reaction from the black community. The event chart may actually show this as Rex Bills gives tentative rulership of "irony" to Mars. (An Hispanic policewoman was discussed on the news for having killed an Hispanic man during an incident because she accidentally pulled out her gun instead of her taser. She is back at work so there is some cross racism going on here.) It's also ironic to watch the video where it appears that an almost all white police crew was sent in to deal with what looked like an all black fight. That's asking for trouble at any time.

I don't have an exact time for the shooting but it looks like the Nodal Axis was passing over the IC/MC axis with the North Node on the IC (endings). The Sun would also rule the South Node. The Node is conjunct Chiron (unhealed wounds). Taurus is on the Descendant. This would indicate that Pluto and Venus rule Killer (ASC) and the Victim (DESC).

Venus which is conjunct Neptune (drinking?, martyrdom) and the Moon (more water so lots of drinking, emotions, hysteria) in the 4th House. This appears to describe the Victim who was unarmed, restrained and facing his back to the police officer. Neptune rules Victims and Institutions and 4th House rules end of life situations.

I already talked about the women who fought off their attackers with this Mars-Pluto versus Venus-Neptune conjunction. This is a tragic version of these two working at the same time.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-oakland-shooting9-2009jan09,0,7674813.story
http://cbs5.com/local/BART.shooting.police.2.898502.html
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/01/12/BAMF1585T4.DTL&tsp=1

Rioting in Oakland at Fruitvale Station beginning peacefully at 3pm on 1/7/09. Transiting Mercury was at 6 Aquarius within one degree conjunction of 7 Aquarius IC of the shooting event chart. The cell phone (Mercury) videos had been surfacing on the Internet all week.

The Moon which rules Public Reactions is at 5 degrees Gemini by 7pm. This is the first square to the event chart Moon. Venus, which rules DESC of the event chart, was conjunct the Moon (Public reaction) of the event chart within a degree.

The Police officer was 27 year old Johannes Mehserle.

The Victim was 22 year old Oscar Grant. May His Soul Rest in Peace. May Justice be served if he was murdered because of hatred.

"Plow the Fields" 2009

The Chinese New Year will begin on January 25, 2009 at 11:55 PT. We'll be leaving the Year of The Rat and entering the Year of the Ox. I was lucky enough to hear Astrologer Susan Levitt give a talk about how to handle Ox energy which was very enlightening. Levitt's a very entertaining speaker. I think I might forget what my own Chinese sign is before I forget that Suzi Orman was born in the Year of the Horse after seeing Levitt's hilarious impression of TVs favorite financial advisor. You never really realize it but Orman really does look like a Horse rearing its head when she speaks.

Levitt offers a synopsis of Ox Year on the pamphlet she handed out describing it as: "a time of hard work, duty, discipline, and strength. This is not a time for laziness." She compares Ox Year to the Western sign of Capricorn. (She compares Rat Year to Sagittarius).

Levitt offered an interesting comparison with Western Astrology by telling us that Chinese New Year begins on both an Eclipse and a Mercury Rx. It did last year as well.

I looked up the chart for my time zone. (Guess the true chart should be set for China). The Western Chart shows Sun parallel Moon, of course, because it's an Eclipse. This will occur at 7 degrees of Aquarius conjunct Jupiter 5 Aquarius and NN 1o Aquarius; Chiron 13 Aquarius. People with these degrees Fixed Signs in their charts ought to be extra stimulated in some way.

The Mercury Rx at 25 Capricorn will be conjunct Mars at 23 Capricorn. Mercury is Retrograde which could mean that more boo boos (and old friends) from the past will be cycling back into our laps. At any rate, if you don't take care with your words you will be in deep doo doo. Mercury and Mars together can be a bit firey in that respect and Capricorn doesn't like to mince words. Mercury will be Parallel to Pluto and the Nodal Axis. The Markets may have more "pruning" to go through. The Sun and Moon in conjunction with Jupiter might also indicate a very positive, friendly vibe. Join a local group and make friends, but don't tell them everything you think of them....

Levitt has written many books on Chinese Healing practices and Tarot and can be located through her website at www.SusanLevitt.com.

Anonymous Comments Section Turned Off

I've disconnected the Anonymous Comments section because I've become aware from another blog that Hackers get into Blogs through those. I've been wondering where all those nice Anonymous comments were coming from and sort of wonder if some of the weird things that happen to my writing aren't a result of some kind of kindly software action. Guess that's wishful thinking... or is it?

Anyway, I'm writing another blog about Children of Divorce mostly so I have a place to gather thoughts for the Astrology project that I'm supposedly doing and I found all these forums where evil Step-Parents just really lay into their step-children and of course I linked to them. These people keep insisting that they are nice people and great step-parents and, well... Anyways, they've been harassing me ever since on that blog which gives IP addresses. And the IP addresses seem to be coming from a Hacker software company in Kentucky. So, yeah, baby, Cinderella is alive and well and hiding a lot from the World same as she's always done. Snow White is still under anesthesia, last I heard.

The Winter Solstice Chart / Link to Dates-Time for Solstice/Equinox Charts

It's a little late to be looking at the Winter Solstice Chart. I finally did and noticed that the Sun-Mars-Pluto conjunction is on the Ascendant in the chart for Washington, DC. In the astrolocality chart this means that a set of these lines are running through Washington DC as well. This combination is sort of like lighting a torch to the U.S. Presidency since Capricorn/H10 represents Presidents among other things. What a chart to come up just as there is such a big change in the Presidency (er, hopefully it will be a big change). These lines also run along 3 other lines over the Globe as well. There is a huge convergence of Sun, Pluto, Saturn DC and Uranus IC lines running through Great Britain and that part of Europe so it will be interesting to see if anything in particular occurs between U.S. politics and British politics, could even be the French. Wish they would give another Statue of Liberty to remind us of what we're all about over here, we could really use a reminder (just saw an article the other in the S.J. Mercury News about how rich immigrants are using U.S. Technology to ensure that their kids are boys because they don't like girls. Yeah, baby, Freedom and equality for all... sigh).

The Solstice Chart for East Coast Time:

Dec. 21, 2008 7:04am Washington, DC

Robert Wilkinson has written a really great essay on this Solstice on his blog "Aquarius Papers"

http://www.aquariuspapers.com/astrology/2008/12/winter-solstice-2008.html

Jude Cowell has also written a great essay on her blog and I wish I could find some comments from Dean Bensics as his interpretations are always interesting as well. I may be wrong but I think he uses Astrolocality Charts for Washington.

One thing which I hope I'm wrong about is that the Venus-Chiron line that runs through the Pacific Ocean between the West Coast and Hawaii doesn't indicate abnormal harming of the Whales who will be migrating. The U.S. Navy has finally been given permission to perform their Sonar Tests off the Southern California Coast despite the fact that this is known to harm whales. I didn't write it down but I suspect that a Neptune line runs through the area as well. Neptune rules both the ocean and the Navy. Bush set aside some parts of the ocean as a park or something which can't be touched so this could indicate that as well. I can't stop worrying about what the whales are going through right now.

Googled a great site called "Dates and Time of Equinoxes & Solstices." Here's the link: http://www.hermetic.ch/cal_sw/ve/ve.htm.

The Dates and Times for the Equinoxes and Solstices for 2009 along with some notes. Western Astrology is set up to follow these passages and this year and 2010 are very important to watch as we'll have the t-square of Outer Planets Saturn, Uranus and Pluto hovering over those points.

I've pulled up charts for London, England and I realize that some of these times are not quite right.

Over 2009, the Nodal Axis will switch from Aquarius to Capricorn. Barack Obama has become President while these two points are passing over his ASC/DESC axis and also over his Sun. So far he is representing Unity and Change, both very Aquarian things. Hopefully the Fracture part won't be forthcoming. At any rate, in hindsight, through watching just these charts, it really does make sense that he is where he is. Capricorn NN is great for building, management, conservatism, frugality. He's in such an interesting position. The Country is so messed up through Finances, Housing, War, Environment, Health Care, Education. He's got no experience, the World loves him, and Obama's really coming in to it all with strong leadership. Hopefully there won't be cultural problems through racism and nationalism.

I took a quick look at the Equinox and Solstice charts for 2009 to see where Saturn-Uranus-Pluto is placed. 3 of the charts that I pulled up have Cancer rising which is interesting because Cancer is the one Aries point that is missing in this t-square. Cancer represents Home, Homeland, Food, ... not to mention a really long memory about past grudges. As a Cancer Sun I know personally how destructive this one element can be.

Vernal Equinox: 3/20/2009 11:47

Sun 1 Aries; Moon 19 Capricorn; NN 9 Aquarius (ASC 23 Cancer?)

Saturn opposing Uranus over the IC-MC axis
Saturn 18 Virgo Rx conjunct IC from H3 opposing Mercury 20 Pisces-Uranus 24 Pisces
Pluto (H6)

Summer Solstice: 6/21/2009 05:48

Sun 1 Cancer; Moon 8 Gemini; NN1 Aquarius; (ASC 13 Cancer?)

No Fire in this chart.

t-square:
Sun (H12) opposing Pluto 3 Capricorn Rx (H6) and squared by apex Uranus 27 Pisces in H10.
Both Uranus and Pluto are singletons: Uranus in Water and Pluto in Cardinal.

This chart brings in the Jupiter-Neptune conjunction in Aquarius in the House of Death, Sex, Taxes, Other people's money, stimulus checks? Could indicate lots of funding going towards Research in Technology? Sun (H12) trine Jupiter-Neptune both at 27 Aquarius and conjunct Chiron 26 Aquarius (H8)
Saturn 16 Virgo (H4)

Autumnal Equinox: 9/22/2009 21:29 UT

Sun 1 Libra; Moon 22 Scorpio; NN 29 Capricorn; (ASC 12 Gemini?)

No Fire in this chart

t-square: Apex Pluto 1 Capricorn (conjunct H8 cusp) squaring Sun-Saturn-Mercury at 26-30 Virgo opposing Uranus 25 Pisces
Grand Water Trine: Moon 22 Scorpio trine Mars 18 Cancer trine Uranus 25 Pisces

Winter Solstice: 12/21/2009 17:51 UT

Sun 1 Capricorn; Moon 28 Aquarius; NN ; (ASC 26 Cancer?)

t-square: Uranus c. MC opposing Saturn c. IC 5 Libra square Venus 25 Sagittarius,Sun 1 Capricorn, Pluto 3 Capricorn (H6)

Mars 20 Leo Rx (H2) opposing Moon 28 Aquarius, Jupiter 25 Aquarius-Neptune 25 Aquarius-Chiron 23 Aquarius (H8)

You Know What Would Be Cool? (Pluto in Capricorn)

What would be cool

would be

if all the Scientists, Engineers, Architects, Industrial Designers and people in the world who are educated in understanding how the world works could be compelled to write in 100 words or less how their specialty could be applied to fixing the environmental problems. And then this could be published in a Website where everyone could read each other's thoughts and ideas.

It would also be cool

if

all the Lawyers, Politicians, Media, Corporate Execs, Bankers, Insurers, Lobbyists and Financial Dumbasses, plus all the Healer-ologist Ooga Boogas could be compelled to keep their mouths shut, their opinions to themselves, and their ugly purple clothes locked in a cupboard somewhere in order to let these other people's thoughts be heard.

It's going to take Thoughts, not Voices, in order to tackle Global Warming.

And that's my Opinion. So there.

ReCycling Harpists

Flipping through a New York Times that was lying around in the coffee house on Friday I saw a photograph of Columbian Latin Jazz Harpist Edmar Castaneda in the middle of what looked like a really intense performance. I ripped the picture out. Mine, all mine. It's been a while since anything fun has hit the harp scene so I had to check this guy out on the YouTube. And things went from there to the astroblab in no time flat.

In watching a couple of performances of Castaneda on YouTube I sort of wondered if he was an Aries. I'm not good at figuring out people's signs but his playing seems very Marsian. Fast, sharp, daring. And it's just plain awesome. Somebody evidently forgot to tell this guy that it's impossible to play Jazz on a harp, let alone a harp without pedals which can't control the half notes. It's totally unbelievable what he's doing.

I sort of wondered if Castaneda were the same sign as a French harpist who was born a little less than 100 years before him, Carlos Salzedo. Salzedo was probably the greatest innovator in harp who ever lived. He composed completely original music and invented new techniques and colors. He worked with Russian Dancer Nijinsky on trying to understand how to use the body to perform. He was Toscanni's first harpist. Harp has never been confused with piano music since he composed for it. He even designed an Art Deco style harp to advance it out of its Baroque stylings and into modern times.

If the birth date which is listed on Wikipedia is correct Castaneda has a remarkably similar chart with Salzedo.

Edmar Castaneda
b. Mar. 31, 1978 Bogota, Columbia

Sun 11 Aries; Moon Capricorn?; NN 6 Libra

Carlos Salzedo
b. Apr. 6, 1885 11:30am Arcachon, France (time from Astrotheme, don't know how they got it)

Sun 17 Aries: Moon 5 Capricorn; ASC 28 Cancer; MC 9 Aries ; NN 5 Libra

So, both Harpists are Aries Suns. Yay. Love it when that happens (I only write about the times that my guesses are right, of course). In addition to same Sun sign, these men share same Moon, Venus and Nodal Axis. Castaneda was born on Salzedo's Nodal Return within two degrees. And, of course, the Libra North Node disposits to Venus, ruler of beauty, art and music (and women and we don't want to go there because I know enough gossip about Salzedo to know that it's not worth it).

Castaneda has an opposition of Sun to Pluto widely crossing over his Nodal Axis, perhaps squared by his Moon. Salzedo had a conjunction of Sun-Venus-Mars opposing Uranus crossing over his Nodal Axis, and squaring his Moon.

Both have Capricorn Moons (Castaneda's is at 11 Capricorn in his noontime chart so there is a possibility that he has Sagittarius Moon).

Both men were also born on a Mercury Return although in different signs. (end of Aries, beginning of Taurus).

Both also have Venus in Aries. Salzedo's Venus is conjunct his Mars (to which it disposits) and is conjunct his South Node and his Sun and squaring his Moon. On the opposite end, his North Node is conjunct his Uranus which explains his originality. Castaneda's Venus is conjunct his Mercury and Chiron. It squares his Mars 27 Cancer, so both men share the Venus-Mars aspect.

Since Mars is the energy I picked up on here I think it's interesting that both men have Sun and Venus and South Node dispositing to this energy. Castaneda's Mars would even be conjunct Salzedo's Ascendant if the Astrotheme Cancer Rising chart is correct.

Another interesting comparison are their Jupiters and Saturns. Castaneda's Saturn in Gemini is conjunct Salzedo's Jupiter in Gemini. And Castaneda's Jupiter in Leo is conjunct Salzedo's Saturn in Leo. Gemini represents Mental agility and manual dexterity among other things, important for a harpist. Leo represents Performance and Romance and Drama. Both of these combined in a chart might potentially hook a person up in to the same type of social groups which are described by their placements.

Like the Jazz musicians, Neptune's not really strong in these charts which is totally unexpected for the instrument known for its glissandos and ruffles. The conjunction of Jupiter to Saturn in Leo that they share makes aspects to both men's Neptunes, although in different signs. Castaneda's Neptune is at 19 Sagittarius trining Saturn 25 Leo. Salzedo's Neptune is at 22 Taurus squaring his Jupiter 27 Leo.

(Of course, what really interests me is that I used to play harp and also have Nodal Axis at the same spot, and a Capricorn Moon. Oh well, the talent doesn't hit every pass of the Nodal Axis...)

So, here's a listen:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAN8y-pcVH0

Saturn-Uranus Combinations in Jazz Musicians

Saturn and Uranus working together aren't generally thought of in terms of their ability to vibe artistically. Venus and Neptune are often given credit for that alone And I think those two are very important, especially for a certain style of art (that Astrologers tend to personally prefer), absolutely all the planets have a place in artistic creation. Western Art History is often taught in terms of cycles in which styles swing back and forth between a formal Classical style and an informal Romantic style. It's interesting that the Classical Style is generally connected with Realism and Naturalism and Form and Shape. That would be what I would maybe at first connect with Saturn and Uranus. But, Jazz is generally connected with Baroque music which is Romantic and often more improvisational.

Since Jazz is considered the one of the only true innovations that America has created in the Arts, I think it's very important to take a look at its creators. I am proposing that Saturn-Uranus combinations are extremely prominent in the charts of the innovators in Jazz music, maybe more than Neptune is. Saturn rules Rhythm and Uranus I suppose would rule Syncopation, anything Offbeat. The complex chords and dissonance certainly aren't music to Neptune's ears which prefers a sweeter more ethereal sound.

Since transiting Saturn and Uranus are opposing each other I suppose I was wondering in general how this opposition will affect the Arts. In the charts of the Jazz Musicians that I looked at, often these two are strongly connected with Neptune but just as often they are connected with Pluto. This probably reflects the types of personalities needed to survive social prejudice, I don't know. Neptune, alone, isn't going to cut through that torture; it will run away, or worse. Venus will kill herself. Both Venus and Neptune give the ability to refine spirit and to dissolve into the universe, but they aren't really innovators. They can't talk about the shadows. They dispell reality as ugly or inferior. Their job is to merge but they don't provide creative force and the desire to grow.

In the end, the Arts are open to all influences right down to Moon (Memory) and Mercury (mind) and Mars (creative drive) and of course Sun (Ego, the Bigger the Better). Different styles "swing" in and out of fashion.

I noticed something else that may or may not be true. It may be that the Saturn-Uranus aspects are major in many of the first innovators in Jazz and sort of "water down" to minor aspects in 2d and 3d generation musicians. Since my search isn't comprehensive and is based on eyeballing any of these gross generalizations I come up with are open to statistical proof down the line. The 1920s was when Jazz really took off. Uranus was in Pisces and then moved in to Aries. Uranus seems to be a much stronger influence in Jazz Musicians than Saturn.

Neptune's around in the charts, but I tend to think that Jupiter/Sagittarius is just as prominent, if not more so. Often they are found in aspect with each other. Jazz, after all, is a very social art form. Neptune needs isolation in order to create. I've discussed in other artist's charts Jupiter/Sagittarius' relation with Abstraction (and also unbridled Joy). I personally associate it with Broadway musicals but that's probably just coincidence with the Sadge's I've met.

Another interesting point is how important Mars' influence is either through aspect or through Dispositorship. And Mercury's influence is also extremely prominent, especially in Virgo. And often Venus is found in her own signs of Taurus or Libra (eyeballing, of course).

Neptune's influence will come back very strong once he rolls in to Pisces in a few years. My list is limited and I tried to focus on Saturn and Uranus only (but got distracted a couple of times).

Venus often is considered in Astrology to co-rule the Arts with Neptune but it really doesn't have relation with Neptune in these charts. More often it appears to share aspects with Uranus (which is in Pisces in a whole lot of the charts so Neptune really is involved). It's amazing in how many of the charts Uranus is involved in a Grand Trine. This could help an individual to harness its energy and to enjoy good fortune through it.

A very interesting note is that one or the other of these planets is often connected with Pluto. Saturn is often involved with Pluto. Saturn and Pluto working together are generally given a negative interpretation in Astrology. One hears words like "corporate" "Industrial" "Selfish" "Materialistic." The truth is Saturn rules Form and Substance and Pluto is farther out in the Solar System than Neptune even and hoards very deep, rich secrets, even its association with Death and fear of Death. Both planets are related to the creative force. They are forceful and sometimes not refined like Neptune, but they can confront the shadow side. They can also create magic from the real world. The two are very prominently working together in a whole lot of these charts. They also can show the magic of the Real World whereas Neptune wants to avoid all forms of Reality.

Something else that's ignored here is the influence of Mercury, both through Gemini and Virgo. The harmonies are very complex and mental. Compared with Classical Western Music there is no hierarchy, no set form. Scattered and experimental like Gemini. The musicians play with each other, improvising conversational style like Gemini. The Virgo influence is very strong. The players let things happen, don't try to control the outcome. There is no emphasis on limelight. They play as a community which I would associate once again with the Uranus influence. The musicians humbly perform their solos which is much different from the spotlight seeking Classical musicians. And, of course, the opposite relation of the opposite sign, Pisces is very present, especially since Jazz is so related to Neptune's transit throught Virgo.

Venus is very prominent through dispositorships. She often aspects Neptune but just as often doesn't. And seems to aspect Uranus just as much. Just looking at the charts it seems that Mars stands out much more than Venus. I had no idea that Thelonious Monk and Dizzie Gillespie were both Libra Suns born within a couple of weeks of each other.

Here's what I've got if anyone cares to take a look. If there is a direct relation of Saturn to Uranus by aspect or by placement of planet in sign ruled by planets I will put a YES after the musician's name. Down below the birth info I'll say what the relationship is. It's so much fun to talk about Trines and Dissonances in relationship to Musicians!! This list is my own and I certainly don't have the greatest knowledge of all Jazz musicians. This is a very rough study.

All Birth Info Thanks to Astrotheme except for Wayne Shorter, Art Farmer and Freddie Hubbard. I can't read my writing on some of the birth towns so may be mis-spelled.

Just as I was sitting down to finally try to write this I read that Freddie Hubbard had passed that day. (Dec. 29). My brother plays trumpet so I've had a lot of exposure to Freddie Hubbard's Ballades which are awesome. May his Soul Rest in Peace. He didn't have a Saturn-Uranus relationship in his chart, by the way. I suspect there was some strong Neptune...

Count Basie - YES, Saturn disposits to Uranus
b. Aug. 21, 1904 Red Bank, MD
Sun 29 Leo; Moon Sagittarius or Capricorn; NN 20 Virgo

Saturn 17 Aquarius so in Uranus' sign. Saturn trines Pluto in Gemini.
Uranus 27 Sagittarius in a Grand Trine with Jupiter 1 Taurus trine Sun 29 Leo
Neptune 8 Cancer sextile Venus Virgo

Duke Ellington - YES, Saturn and Uranus both in Sagittarius dispositing to same planet, Jupiter
b. Apr. 29, 1899 1:25 am Washington, DC
Sun 9 Taurus; ASC 9 Aquarius; Moon 24 Sagittarius; MC 29 Scorpio; NN 3 Capricorn

Saturn and Uranus both in same sign, Sagittarius.
Saturn opposing Neptune-Pluto in Gemini.
Uranus rules the chart and is in a Grand Trine with to Venus in Aires and Mars in Leo. Uranus opposes Pluto but not Neptune.

Miles Davis - YES - Trine
b. May 25, 1926 5 am Alton, IL (astrotheme)
Sun 4 Gemini; ASC 8 Gemini; Moon 9 Scorpio; MC 15 Aquarius; NN 19 Cancer

Saturn 22 Scorpio trine Uranus 29 Pisces and trine Pluto
Neptune 23 Leo trine Venus 21 Aries
Grand Trine: Mars Pisces trine Pluto Cancer trine Moon-Saturn Scorpio
Grand Square: Mercury 22 Taurus opposing Saturn Scorpio square Jupiter 27 Aquarius opposing Neptune Leo.

John Coltrane - YES - Trine
b. Sept. 23, 1926 5pm Hamlet, NC
Sun 1 Libra; AS 4 Pisces; Moon 30 Aries, MC 14 Sagittarius; NN Cancer

Saturn Scorpio trine Uranus Pisces
Saturn trine Pluto Cancer and in Grand Square with Mars, Jupiter and Neptune

Charlie Parker - YES? (10 degree opposition)
b. Aug. 29, 1920 Kansas City, MO
Sun 7 Virgo; Moon Aquarius or Pisces, NN 10 Scorpio

Saturn 14 Virgo
Uranus 4 Pisces

Wayne Shorter - YES Saturn disposits to Uranus
b. Aug. 25, 1933 Newark, NJ
Sun 2 Virgo; Moon Libra or Scorpio; NN 29 Aquarius

Saturn 12 Aquarius
Uranus 28 Aries opposing Mars and squaring apex Pluto 25 Cancer

Bill Evans - NO
b. Aug. 16, 1929 Plainfield, NJ
Sun 24 Leo; Moon Capricorn; NN 17 Taurus

Saturn 25 Sagittarius trine Sun-Neptune Leo-Virgo
Uranus 12 Aries

Ornette Coleman - YES Saturn square Uranus
b. Mar. 9, 1930 Fort Worth, TX
Sun 19 Pisces; Moon Gemini or Cancer; __NN

T-square between apex Uranus 11 Aries square Saturn 11 Capricorn opposing Pluto Cancer
Neptune 2 Virgo in t-square opposing Mercury 30 Aquarius-Mars 25 Aquarius and squaring apex Jupiter Gemini

Billie Holiday - NO, but Uranus is in its own sign, rules the Chart and the North Node
b. April 7, 1915 Philadelphia, PA
Sun 17 Aries; Moon 23 Capricorn; MC 25 Scorpio; NN 24 Aquarius

Saturn 27 Gemini c. Pluto 1 Cancer (squaring Mars 23 Pisces)
Uranus 15 Aquarius
Neptune opposing Moon, Mercury-Mars and Venus all in Pisces

SATCHMO - Louis Armstrong - NO, But Saturn in its own sign and c. MC
August 4, 1901 New Orleans, LA
Sun 13 Leo; ASC 19 Aries; Moon 14 Aries; MC 12 Capricorn; NN 19 Scorpio
Saturn in Capricorn conjunct MC and Jupiter
Uranus 14 Sagittarius
Neptune 1 Cancer opposing Jupiter 1 Capricorn, nifty Aries Point Action

Coleman Hawkins - YES, Saturn disposits to Uranus
b. Nov. 21, 1904 Saint Joseph, MO
Sun 30 Scorpio; Moon Taurus; NN 15 Virgo

Saturn 16 Aquarius trine Pluto Gemini
Uranus 29 Sagittarius opposing Pluto in Gemini-Neptune in Cancer, More Aries POint Action
Venus in Capricorn also opposing Pluto and Neptune

Thelonious Monk - YES, Opposition and Uranus in its own sign
B. Oct. 10, 1917 9:15 pm Rocky Mount, NC
Sun 18 Libra; ASC 24 Gemini; Moon 22 Leo; MC 4 Pisces; NN 6 Capricorn

Saturn 13 Leo c. Neptune, Moon, Mars Leo and Opposing Uranus in Aquarius
Neptune 7 Leo in easy aspect to Venus in Scorpio, Mercury in Libra, Jupiter in Gemini

Dizzie Gillespie - YES, opposition, plus Uranus in its own sign
b. Oct. 21, 1917 Cheraw, SC
Sun 28 Libra; Moon 4 Sagittarius or Capricorn; NN 5 Capricorn

Saturn (c. Mars) in Leo opposinig Uranus 20 Aquarius
Saturn conjunct Neptune Leo in easy aspect to Venus in Sagittarius and Jupiter in Gemini
Uranus in a Grand Trine to Mercury in Libra and Jupiter in Gemini

Lester Young - YES, t-square with Neptune
b. Aug. 27, 1909 Woodmill, MS
Sun 4 Virgo; Moon Capricorn; NN 14 Gemini

Saturn in Aries apex to t-square with Uranus in Capricorn opposing Neptune in Cancer
Venus in Libra
Neptune sextile Mercury-Jupiter in Virgo

Oscar Peterson - WELL? (minor aspect, sesquiquadrate)
b. Aug. 15, 1925 Montreal, Canada
Sun 23 Leo; Moon Gemini or Cancer; NN 4 Leo
Saturn 9 Scorpio trining Pluto, maybe Moon
Uranus in Pisces opposing Venus in Virgo, inconjunct Neptune-Sun, quintile Jupiter

Charles Mingus - YES - in a Yod with Neptune
b. Apr. 22, 1922 21 h 30 m; Nogales, AZ
Sun 3 Taurus; ASC 6 Sagittarius; Moon 18 Pisces; MC 16 Virgo; NN Libra

Saturn 3 Libra inconjunct Uranus Pisces
Uranus in Pisces apex to Yod to Saturn in Libra nd Neptune in Leo
Neptune in Leo squaring Venus in Taurus

Dexter Gordon WELL? (minor aspect, inconjunct)
b. Feb. 27, 1923 Los Angeles, CA
Sun 9 Pisces; Moon 24 Cancer; NN Virgo

Saturn 20 Libra inconjunct Uranus in Pisces
Uranus 14 Pisces conjunct Sun and in a Grand Trine with Jupiter in Scorpio and Pluto in Cancer

Max Roach - WELL? (minor aspect, sesqui-quadrate)
Jan 10, 1924 4 pm Newland, NC
Sun 20 Capricorn; ASC 6 Cancer; Moon 15 Pisces; MC 17 Pisces, NN 5 Virgo

Saturn Scorpio sesqui-quadrate to Uranus 15 Pisces and quintile Neptune in Leo
Uranus 15 Pisces trining Pluto in Cancer
Venus in Aquarius opposing Neptune in Leo

Art Farmer - YES, trine
b. Aug. 21, 1928 Council Bluffs, Iowa
Sun 29 Leo; Moon Scorpio; NN _____

Saturn 13 Sagittarius trining Uranus 7 Aries
Venus 13 Virgo, square Saturn, trine Chiron-Jupiter 11 Taurus

Freddie Hubbard - NO
b. Apr. 7, 1938 Indianapolis, Indiana
Sun 18 Aries; Moon Cancer; NN 28 Scorpio

Saturn 10 Aries
Uranus 13 Taurus in stellium with Mars, Mercury, Venus and trining Neptune in Virgo

Chet Baker - YES, square
b. Dec. 23, 1938 Yale, OK
Sun 1 Capricorn; ASC 5 Libra; Moon 4 Libra; MC 6 Cancer; NN 10 Taurus

Saturn 3 Capricorn c. Sun and squaring Uranus 8 Aries
Neptune Virgo trining Mars, Sun and Saturn
Venus 21 Sagittarius inc. Pluto Cancer

Nat Adderley - YES, t-square with Pluto
b. Nov. 25, 1931 8:08am Tampa, FL
Sun 3 Sagittarius; ASC 17 Sagittarius; Moon 6 Gemini; MC 28 Virgo, NN 3 Aries

Saturn 20 Capricorn squaring Uranus Aries and opposing Pluto in Cancer
Uranus Aries trining Mars-Mercury-Venus in Saigttarius trining Jupiter Leo
Neptune 8 Virgo apex to t-square to Sun Sagittarius opposing Moon Gemini

Cannonball Adderly - YES, trine
b. Sept. 15, 1928 4:45 pm Tampa, FL
Sun 23 Virgo; ASC 18 Aquarius; Moon 15 Libra; MC 1 Sagittarius

Saturn 14 Sagittarius trine Uranus
Uranus 6 Aries opposing Venus-Moon in Libra
Neptune 30 Leo

Happy New Year Predictions from China

Happy 2009!

In case anyone hasn't read it, Yahoo has published astrological predictions for 2009 given by a Chinese Astrologer. It follows the Chinese Astrological Calendar which will change to the Year of the Ox sometime soon. We're just finishing up the Year of the Rat.

The prediction feels pretty accurate but I wish 2010 were included in the prediction...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081231/od_afp/newyearhongkonglifestyleoffbeat