Sexual Mobbing of Journalist Lara Logan

CBS Reporter Lara Logan will be interviewed for the first time on the TV show 60 Minutes tonight. Logan was mobbed by a group of about 200 men in Cairo, Egypt on February 11 on the day that President Mubarak left office. A NY Times interview with her is here: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/29/business/media/29logan.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1.

There are a couple of great articles on the web which discuss the astrology behind Logan's assault. Her natal chart was under assault and the astrology matches perfectly.

I don't know what time the attack was, but the mobbing apparently lasted between 20 and 30 minutes. She has since been contacted by multiple other women who were attacked while overseas. I guess these women are mostly journalists. I'm a little flummoxed by how she and the media say that this is something that happens to women who are working overseas, as if it doesn't happen in the United States. She's blond, blue-eyed, a hundred zillions of billions times more beautiful than I am, and I've been assaulted multiple times in my life. Women get attacked everywhere.
There's a reason why those women wear tents. Maybe they should begin to wear corrupgated tin quonset huts.

I'm really happy Logan has the courage to speak out. This will help not only journalists working overseas, but perhaps will help some of the women living under oppression in the Middle East to seek aid.

Last night I was reading web articles about Logan and the comments which followed on the web and it was unbelievably devastating to see how abuse continues from the public. A couple of Egyptians have written articles saying that they witnessed the attack and didn't see Logan's clothes ripped off and that the mob was partly a circle of men who were surrounding her to protect her. They say that only about one woman showed up. Don't know what the truth is. I do know personally that this kind of discrediting will happen.

Lara Logan
b. Mar. 29, 1971 Durban, South Africa

Sun 8 Aries; Moon probably Taurus?; NN 22 Aquarius

Assaulted by a Mob of Men
Feb. 11, 2011 Cairo, Egypt

Sun 23 Aquarius; Moon Taurus; NN 1 Capricorn

The Sun that day was conjunct Mars and the North Node was conjunct Pluto and Venus. That's prime stuff for a mobbing or for a President to give up power.

This would have been a Lunar Return for Logan. And the Sun-Mars conjunction was on her North Node.

Logan is an Aries Sun so she's game for adventure. Her Sun is involved in a t-square between opposition to Uranus 2 Libra Rx with apex Mars 10 Capricorn. Sun opposing Uranus will show engagement with large groups of people in mostly humanitarian activities. Any harsh combination between Sun-Mars-Uranus is going to put a person in danger at times. This was certainly one of those times as the t-square was heavily activated. Transiting NN-Pluto-Venus conjunction was passing over natal Mars, a very violent and provocative transit especially considering the t-square.

Transiting Mars was also passing over Logan's natal Venus so there was a mutual conjunction, double whammy aspect between the two planets which represent sexuality.

On top of this, the t-square was layered right over Logan's natal Saturn-NN square, Sun 20 Taurus square NN 20 Aquarius. Saturn rules Government, Authority, Career. Aquarius rules Rebellions, Groups of People, Community efforts, Humanitarian deeds. This is reinforced by the fact that t. Saturn was still within conjunction with Logan's natal Uranus 17 Libra Rx.

Solar Sun-Chiron was at 17-19 Taurus squaring SA Mars at 19 Aquarius. The addition of Chiron certainly adds the idea of a wounding through which she can teach and help others.

MKULTRA

I don't remember hearing about this project. And, maybe that's intentional.

While laughing my head off at some of the videos having to do with gang stalking I found one of President Clinton confirming and apologizing for CIA experiments that were done on unwitting citizens back in the 50s and 60s.

Sorry, don't mean to laugh about the videos, it's just that they seem more like a cover-up than reality.

Anyway, back to the CIA and Mind Control and how much Fun is that?

Apparently there was this one operation called "Midnight Climax" in which LSD was given to men who went to whorehouses and their behavior was observed by the CIA through two way mirrors. This happened in San Francisco and Marin and New York, was supposedly shut down in 1965, and is probably the real reason for the Summer of Love in 1967.

So it sort of looks like Sun-Neptune is involved in mind control. And also in victimizing people without their consent. Venus is involved as well. And maybe unaspected Mercury.

The CIA program, MKULTRA was started on a New Moon in Aries conjunct Venus Rx. That says something special about the relationship axis right there. Sun and Moon in Aries in aggressive and Venus RX can't move. What a great time to start a program where you target people without their consent. This conjunction opposes an outer planet conjunction of Neptune 23 Libra Rx-Saturn 24 Libra Rx. This hooks the Mars-Venus personal energy into an overall feeling of being fearful and depressed and out of control by the general public.

MKULTRA
Apr. 13, 1953 Washington, DC?

Sun 24 Aries; Moon Aries; NN 9 Aquarius

The program was ended in 1973. At that point the Venus Retrograde in the natal chart was Stationing Direct by progression at 15 Aries. And transiting Uranus was in conjunction with the Saturn-Neptune conjunction in Libra. Gottlieb was a stutterer and had a club foot. His life goal was to figure out "how to crush the human psyche."

Gottlieb had a natal conjunction of Sun to Neptune and Saturn just like the one which was occurring when he set up MKULTRA. His natal Saturn-Neptune conjunction was in Leo. MKULTRA was started during a Saturn-Neptune conjunction in Libra. And I thought that was just a signature for Broadway Musicals...

Sidney Gottlieb.
b. Aug. 3, 1918

Sun 11 Leo; Moon Gemini or Cancer; NN 20 Sagittarius Rx.

The CIA was giving LSD to whomever they felt like giving it to. So they gave it to a Biochemist who they met at a meeting. 10 days later the Biochemist committed suicide by jumping out a window and the CIA made up a story about how he had suffered from depression.

His name was Frank Olson. Olson had Sun conjunct Mercury and Neptune in Cancer which opposed Uranus 24 Capricorn Rx.

He was going through his Neptune square and his Uranus opposition at that point, so that significant natal opposition was under serious stress. Notice the death date. 1953 right after the program was started. It went on for 20 more years. Everyone at the CIA didn't give a shit. You know, a friend of my Mother's had always said that she had been given LSD and she was never quite right again. At the time she was going through a divorce so everyone said that this was just the stress from that. I don't know what her husband did, but I do know that there's a high probability that he worked for the Defense dept. How great to work for the Government when you're trying to avoid making alimony payments.

Frank Olson

b. July 17, 1910 d. Nov. 28, 1953
Sun 25 Cancer; Moon Scorpio or Sagittarius; NN 26 Taurus

Ken Bradshaw Surfs the World's Biggest Wave

Vanity Fair has written a very interesting article about the day that a surfer road the world's largest wave. The wave was somewhere near 85 or 90 feet high and riding it was like jumping out something like a 10-story window.

http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2011/02/big-wave-surfer-201102

The surfer was Ken Bradshaw. The wave he rode was in Hawaii during the 1989 El Nino. Seriously, Dude, what's your sign?

Ken Bradshaw

b. Oct. 4, 1952
Sun 12 Libra; Moon Aries or Taurus; NN 19 Aquarius (source: Wikipedia)

When I saw the Oct. 1952 date I was curious to know if Bradshaw has a Sun-Neptune conjunction. Neptune rules the Ocean, and that would just be too pat. Turns out his chart is even better than that. Bradshaw has both planets in the same sign, Libra, but his Sun is actually in conjunction with Saturn in Libra. He has a stellium of four planets total in Libra: Sun 12 Libra (Vitality & Will); Saturn 18 Libra (control); Mercury 20 Libra (thinking); Neptune 22 Libra (Ocean). Saturn rules Boundaries and Neptune rules letting go of boundaries so, when combined, they often create some really interesting circumstances. Bradshaw's Sun stellium is trining his NN 19 Aquarius. And it is squaring his Uranus 19 Cancer.

The Uranian element seems as important here as the Water element. The article instructs us to think of waves not as water that is rolling but as "pulses of energy." The article explains some of the science involved in understanding how the waves will form. More speed, bigger size. Bradshaw's Uranian North Node is in conjunction with a stellium of planets in Aquarius on the day that he caught his big wave. These are trining his natal Libra stellium. Both charts have a Mercury-Neptune conjunction.

"Condition Black" Bradshaw rides biggest wave

Jan. 28, 1998 I used 11:30 am as time, actual ride probably occurred later. Bradshaw was out in the ocean between 10:30 am and 4:30 am that day. (source: V.F. article)

Sun 9 Aquarius; Moon 18 Aquarius; ASC (11:30 am) 29 Aries; MC 21 Capricorn; NN 13 Virgo

This was a New Moon with Sun conjunct Uranus to the degree.

(Amazingly, we just completed the New Moon in Aquarius which was in exact conjunction with Mars. Again, the world has again experienced Extreme Weather as the U.S. was caught in a record breaking Blizzard and Northern Australia has suffered a Category 5 cyclone, the worst possible kind with 186 mph winds. The Eclipses have a strong influence on the current problems. (The political upheaval that is occurring is explained very well by Mary Plumb over on the Mountain Astrologer blog.)

With anything this extreme we want to look at the planet which rules Daredevils. That's Mars. Impulse, Spark, Action, excitement.

Bradshaw is part of an elite set of surfers who rides large waves and he was scheduled to participate in a contest at North Shore on Oahu but, due to the extreme conditions of the waves, the contest was called off. Bradshaw went off to his favorite spot, "Outside Log Cabins," to surf with his friend who towed him out.

In the event chart, Mars is a singleton in Water in the event chart at 3 Pisces. Mars is also a singleton in Bradshaw's natal chart, as well as being in conjunction with the Galactic Center 25 Sagittarius. In the event chart, Mars rules the chart until just a little past 11:30 am. It is conjunct Jupiter (rules anything big) and squaring Pluto 8 Sagittarius (rules anything extreme, also rules Jupiter). Bradshaw's natal Mars is at 25 Sagittarius and is a singleton in mutable signs. It's also conjunct the Galactic Center and is trining Pluto 23 Leo and possibly in a Grand Fire Trine with the Moon. That shows that he has great strength and is willful and emotional, perhaps a loner, and is protected within these characteristics. The article explains how a friend of his was killed by a wave while they were out surfing.

Bradshaw's Moon can't be figured out without a birth time but it sure would be interesting to know. It is the lead planet of a locomotive chart. In a 12:00 pm natal chart it would be both moving fast and out of bounds. That would in very literal termes explain a dare devil surfer who can ride waves at very fast speeds.

The RSVP Cycles

The RSVP Cycles was a textbook I read for an experimental music class in college. Having grown up in Southern California in the 1960s in a town where 35 modernist architects lived, one of whom was my Father, I think I took this type of thinking for granted. The book was written by Lawrence Halprin, a landscape architect, (and innovator) and his wife, Anna Halprin, who is a dancer, choreographer (and healer and innovator). RSVP stands for "Resources" "Score" "Valuaction" and "Performance." There's a nice explanation on Wikipedia. These principles propose a new way of understanding how to create, sort in the way that John Cage's books do, but with more structure. For the music class it was a text on composition. It could just as easily be a text on design, or dance, or painting, or anything else. Beyond that, I have to say that I didn't really "get the whole idea." Lessons in those days were usually kept pretty vague as a way of avoiding any authoritarian set rules.

What attracts me now is the word "Cycles," especially connected with the word RSVP, since I'm so much into studying Return Cycles as points of development. Lawrence Halprin passed away last year in 2009 on October 25. There must have been a mention in a newspaper somewhere about this anniversary on Monday that caught the corner of my eye because I suddenly started thinking about that book.

So, I decided to take a look at Anna and Lawrence Halprin's charts. What I found is a really amazing pair of Sun-Venus conjunction people. Sun-Venus is related to both the Arts, Harmony, Balance and Beauty, and also Marriage Partners. I can't find astro data about their actual marriage and don't know if they remained married. It appears that they stayed together, but with Uranus leading both of their chart shapes they probably kept their relationship pretty loose.

Not only did they share the conjunction but they shared it in the same sign in Cancer. The sign of Cancer is really appropriate for people who are involved in environmental design. (Think Buckminster Fuller, Tesla, Viktor Schauberger). Water is an extremely important element in Lawrence Halprin's design. The idea of allowing things to evolve and to grow from a seed is also a Cancerian ideal.

What's even more interesting is that Lawrence Halprin, who was born first in 1916, had a natal Sun conjunct Venus Retrograde and Pluto in Cancer. Sun-Venus conjunction people sometimes follow a really interesting 8 year cycle of 5 which is related to the proportions of the Golden Mean. It appears that Sun-Venus Rx people follow a 4 year Return cycle as well. Lawrence was going through a Sun-Venus Return at Age 4 when his wife was born. Both even have the conjunction aspect connected with outer planets by conjunction, but not in major aspect to other planets. Lawrence had a huge stellium in Cancer with Pluto, Sun, Venus Rx, Lilith, Saturn and possibly Moon.

Anna's Sun-Venus conjunction is later on in the sign at 21-24 degrees. Her Pluto is 8 Cancer.

It's really fascinating to flip the animation wheel on the software program and watch how the Sun-Venus Rx conjunctions cycle back on through every year on Lawrence's Birthdays in childhood. I said before that Sun and Venus seem to have been in conjunction every four years (something I don't understand because I thought this occurred every 8 years). Lawrence also experienced really intense Sun-Pluto conjunctions every year on his Birthday for about the first 10 years of his life.

Because Pluto is placed farther apart from her Sun, Anna also would have had the same type of Solar Return aspect every year during her childhood starting from about Age 6 or 7 and lasting through High School. That explains their need to completely change and transform their environment and ways of healing. They shared a very deep emotional core, that's for sure. They must have been left alone a lot as kids.

Lawrence Halprin

b. July 1, 1916 Brooklyn, NY
d. Oct. 25, 2009

Sun 10 Cancer; Moon 24 Cancer; NN 1 Aquarius Rx

Anna Halprin

b. July 13, 1920 (Place?)

Sun 21 Cancer; Moon Gemini; NN 13 Scorpio Rx

Of Dame Edna Born

Was listening to an interview with everyone's favorite Australian Lady, Dame Edna, and really, really, really started to wonder about her astrological chart. I also wondered about her "alter ego" Barry Humphries, chart as well. It turns out that Dame Edna is a Sadge. No wonder she's so charming, and so much fun.

I assumed that Dame Edna would have a Leo Moon, but I was wrong. To my personal (well, heh) delight, the Dame actually has a Capricorn Moon. Well, we Capricorn Moons certainly do make a good spoof of the female ego, don't we? The control thing; The "Mature Woman" who leaves her invalid husband behind in order to go after her career, jet-setting around the world, confidante to the Queen (in her own mind at any rate).

Well.... the astrologers like to tell us Capricorn Moons that life gets better after we get older (b.s. interpretation) ... Edna's thriving I guess because she has the charming Sadge Sun and North Node to fall back on.

Humphries himself has the zany Aquarius Sun, perfect signature to play an "alter ego" since opposite sign Leo rules the Ego proper. His natal Moon is in Aries. Mom was a spitfire? Interesting that Dame Edna was first "born" in 1955 when Humphries progressed Moon was probably in Capricorn, he must have been really depressed that year to the point that he had to do something about it.

Humphries has a loaded 12th house with Sun, NN, Saturn and Venus in that house. Great for an actor who escapes into other characters. His Saturn is conjunct his North Node to the degree and it's interesting that his Wikipedia entry says that his absent, strict Father was his inspiration for wanting to escape into other characters during childhood.

One would want to take a look at Humphries' natal Venus, of course, to understand his ideas about women, and art. His Venus is in Aquarius and unaspected and retrograde. That means that weird women are a strong signature for him. At any rate, tt's no surprise that he is involved with Arts and Comedy and the Unusual and with Shock. When he was younger he performed as a Dada-ist. That certainly embraces the unusual.

Onward to the Mommy story. It's connected with Humphries' natal Rx Venus, so prominent in his natal chart, which went direct around 1942 by progression when Humphries was around the age of 8. During the same age his progressed Mercury stationed Rx. I went back to Wikipedia to find out if any significant changes in psychology would show up around that time. Wikipedia says that his Mother threw away all his books when he was 9 years old! Mercury = Books! Rx equals being held back and forced to stew in the juices of the planet for a while longer than other folks.

Rather than turning to sports, or whatever, as Aries Moon Mom probably would have preferred after tossing out all her sons' precious books, Humphries became a voracious reader and turned to all kinds of Mercurial antics. His natal Mercury is in his first house of personality conjunct Mars in Pisces and is opposing Neptune. Humphries also suffered from Neptune's flip-side problem and turned to drinking early on. He was sent to Rehab in the early 1970s when his parents found him passed out face down in a gutter. His progressed Mercury had stationed Direct back in the mid-60s. It passed into Aries around 1991.

Right now Dame Edna herself is close to celebrating a New Moon in Aquarius by Progression. This means that her Sun (and possibly Moon) is at 22 Aquarius and is going to be in conjunction with her "Alter Egos" natal Sun in about 6 years. No walker for this old lady, her mind will stay sharp as a tack.

The Rocket's Red Glare

Vanderberg Air Force launched a Minuteman nuclear missile this morning successfully hitting its target 4,200 away in Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. Isn't that where Amelia Earhart went down? No wonder why we've never been able to find her plane. Poor wildlife living around that spot, is all I can say.

The Minteman missiles were developed in the early 1960s. They are the only land based missiles that the U.S. employs. There's a stockpile of the Minuteman IIIs out in the middle of the country somewhere and the missiles are supposedly launched on a regular basis.

Today's blast:

June 29, 2009, 3:01 am Vandenberg Air Force Base, California (Santa Barbara or San Luis Obispo County)

Sun 8 Cancer; Moon 8 Libra; ASC 24 Taurus; MC 6 Aquarius; NN 1 Aquarius

source: Yahoo article and VFB Website

What a great day for a nuclear missile launch! That's all I've got to say. The land based Launch is in an Earth sign with ruler Venus conjunct the Ascendant and also conjunct Mars, the trigger planet. There were protests against the launch by people who know better, forgot what the group's name is.

The ASC-Venus-Mars conjunction is squared by the conjunction of Jupiter-Neptune and Chiron which is right on Kim Jong-Il's Butt. You think having a laser pointer aimed at your face is annoying, try this. Jupiter-Neptune-Chiron are placed in the 10th house of this chart, Authority, Government, Mean People Who Screw Up in spite of their High IQ because they are Selfish.

These rockets deliver bombs which are created to split apart and spread the nuclear fall out over a larger area than if just aiming for one target. So, if you've got one of these heading for your neighborhood, don't even bother trying to run away. Now all that shit is floating around in the ocean and a bunch of whales will wash up on a shore and the new agers will start trying to talk to their spirits.

The Air Force's presence is shown in the Midheaven and Moon which are in Air Signs.

The Sun here is opposing Pluto and squaring the Moon. That's Homeland Security for yah. They must have Astrologers employed in the Air Force.






http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minuteman_missile

Rumi

Last night as I was moseying through the remainders section of my local bookstore I noticed a biography about the Mystic Persian Poet Rumi. On the back cover were some of his quotes. One read: "I am Wind, You are Fire." I thought, damn, you must be a Libra. That's the ultimate Libra to Aries statement that I've ever read. Air to Fire.

I'd like to say that people born under this Sun Sign are the most transparent in the World. I'd like to say that you always know what you're dealing with with a Libra because when they're in their happy form they really do see it all ways. Because Rumi knows that he's Air and because Thich Nhat Hahn knows he comes from "Central Vietnam" not Southern or Northern. But, man, the Astro Wheel knows how to throw a real wrench in the old tool bag through the Succession of Signage. Scorpio comes after Libra and if you're ever watched that progression in a Sun Sign you know that the Opacity really fogs up the works pretty fast. You can wonder about what's right and fair for only so long before you start to realize that motives show the way humans really work. Anyway, with Venus Rx pulling U'ys opposite his Sun and possibly squaring his Moon (and doing the same in my chart pretty much) I guess I am drawn to talking about him. I don't know his poetry very well. And for some reason my surfer chick drawl is coming out extra strong on this one. I wonder if he'd mind. Probably not, Uranus was on his SN and squaring his Mars in Scorpio. Sick and twisted wouldn't have phased him.

Anyway, if the general birthdate given for him is more than fiction it turns out Rumi might really have been a Libra Sun. He might also have been a Capricorn Moon, my sign, which is just a gas and a half for all the creepy new agers who insist that Capricorn Moons are incapable of spirituality. Anyways, Rumi was born at the middle of Libra and just as the North Node was changing signs from Pisces to Aquarius, that's probably as fortuitous for spawning Great Ancient Mystic Poet as it gets. Mercury in Libra opposing Neptune compounds that a hundred, thousand, million times.

According to the bio on Astrotheme, a book was given to Rumi when he was 18 (Nodal Return) which was about the "entanglement of the soul in the material world." There you bring in the Cap Moon, I suppose, although I know that all the signs are concerned about this problem.

Rumi
b. Sept. 30, 1207 Wakhsh, what is now Afghanistan

Sun 14 Libra; Moon 15 Capricorn (noon), NN 30 Aquarius

I wonder if Rumi was a Whirling Dervish, he had a Grand Trine (out of sign) of Mars in Scorpio to Jupiter and Neptune (Jupiter in Cancer to Neptune in Aries). Seems like a signature for dancing, spinning, and mystical enlightenment if I've ever seen one.

I found an interesting pair of stories from Rumi's biography which really highlight the unexpected nature of how things could be expected to work in the life of someone with Aquarius NN in conjunction/square aspect to Mars and Uranus. This assumes that the birth date I'm using is the correct one.

Rumi met his teacher Dervish Shams-e Tabrizi on Nov. 15, 1244. According to my SolarFire ephemeris the Sun would have been at 1 Sagittarius which is great for meeting a teacher. T.Neptune was passing over Rumi's natal Saturn/Chiron conjunction in Gemini. That's also great for meeting teachers but is a time gaining great compassion and spiritual understanding. One would be very open to looking for help at that point because one is probably more open to "not knowing" with this aspect than for many of the others. Enhancing this conjunction were progressed Venus in conjunction with p.Mars which were in opposition in the sign of Sagittarius, sine of higher education, philosophy, religion, broader understandings. Oppositions often can indicate relations with others.

At this time, Rumi's progressed Sun was at 21 Scorpio. This means that it was 5 degrees away from conjunction with natal Mars 26 Scorpio, which is natally the apex of a t-square to Uranus-Nodal Axis. Transiting Pluto was passing out of a square with n.Jupiter (ruler of Sagittarius, high learning, religion) and into a square with n. Pluto which is a bit foreboding and deeper/occult understandings.

Rumi studied with the teacher until Dec. 5, 1248 when the Dervish went to answer the door and is said to have just disappeared. Sudden events are considered Uranian and having Mars activated certainly helps. It happens that Rumi was going through his Mars Return in Scorpio so his natal t-square was heavily activated. Not sure what rules Doors and Thresholds but I might suspect that Mercury is partly responsible and Mercury on this day was in conjunction with the double whammy Mars. The teacher is thought to have been murdered with certainly shows the Scorpio/Mars influence. The square to the Aquarius NN / Uranus-SN natal aspect brings in the unexpected element. I think we end up grieving more from Uranian experiences than from any other just because they are so difficult to reconcile with how life ought to have happened.

At any rate, Rumi is said to have gone into a period of deep grief as one would expect, especially since he was within 2 degrees of having his Pluto square from transiting Scorpio. He was also within about 4 degrees of his Uranus opposition which also activates the t-square from another angle. Interesting that Rumi was born while Uranus and Pluto were in Leo. We've got a few of those floating around who were born in the last half of 1955.

Once his progressed Sun and Pluto moved into Sagittarius he started a 12 year (Jupiter returns worth) of writing poetry.

His words, which I really need to be reminded of right now:

Love’s nationality is separate from all other religions,

The lover’s religion and nationality is the Beloved (God).
The lover’s cause is separate from all other causes
Love is the astrolabe of God’s mysteries.

Cougar Barbie

American Doll Sensation of My Childhood, Barbie, is 50 years old. I missed her Birthday by about a week but once you're this old you really don't give a shyte if anybody really remembers. At this age you're just an old Cougar. Those 60s stretch pants and tiger stripes just really don't cut it after a certain age. Or do they? Birthday Cake? "I'm not blowing that thing out it will show all my wrinkles." Well, I suppose that Barbie's spent wads on Botox at this point and doesn't give these matters a second thought. Sorry, Barbie, the big let down about Age 50 is that you gotta go through your Chiron Return. "Too Soon We Get Old; Too Late We Get Wise." That's Chiron's motto. My Grandmother used to say it all the time.

Barbie, for those who either don't know because they weren't born yet or for those who loved and adored their Barbies (like me) and can't remember because Alzheimer's is no longer considered "Early Onset" -- Barbie is a Doll. When any Toy turns 50 it is officially considered an Antique. So Barbie, Sorry Doll, you are a Golden Oldie.

But pay that no mind. Shirley Temple Dolls were considered a "Doll" Sensation as well back when my Mother was growing up and I remember watching the real Shirley Temple laugh about how she had just turned 50 and was considered an Antique. She was absolutely adored by Antique Dealers by that point and was also a well-respected Politician.

So, Barbie was officially born on Mar. 9, 1959 for Mattel Corp.

Barbie
b. Mar. 9, 1959 PLace?

Sun 19 Pisces; Moon Pisces?; NN 15 Libra

On her last Birthday she was not only going through her Solar Return, but was also going through a Venus Return at 16 Aries and a Chiron Return which was joined by transiting Neptune and Mars. That's not all, pretty much all of the outer planets were aspecting something or other in Barbie's chart. I'm haven't been seen the Walgreen's shelves bulging with Age 50 Barbies the same way that Age 40 Barbies were marketed. Guess it means a different thing to be turning 50 during a major economic downturn. With Pluto in Capricorn I have actually heard that thin lips are now considered sexy. Hmm, maybe that was a delusion. If that's so, Barbie's got to undo those Collagen lips. When Pluto's on your natal Saturn, there's probably more than that one has to undo, but best not to wreck the festivities with that irrelevant silliness.

So Barbie is a Double Pisces which means that she was let loose on the American Public during a Pisces New Moon. Pisces rules Glamour and Barbie was the first curvy, modern adult doll that young American girls had to play with. By fun coincidence her most inspired body part is considered the Feet. Well, in addition to those boobs. (The boobs probably come from the original German Doll that Barbie was cloned/stolen from). Explains those tiny curvy high-heel feet that inspired 3 generations of Birkenstock wearers among us. Barbie was Modern and yet her feet were perpetually bound to fit only high heels that suggest an Imperialistic Chinese upbringing.

But, I hate to say, Barbie wasn't an American Original. She was a Copy Cat based curvy arch to curvy arch on a German Doll named Lilli by the Mattel Toy Company Owner's wife, Ruth Handler. I seem to remember that she was created in some sort of uber new plastic which was meant to last and last and last. As kids we used to test the durability of the plastic in all kinds of sadistic ways which I'm sure would be considered anti-social by the psychologists these days.

So Ruth Handler was Mr. Mattel's wife, traveling through German toy stores looking for ideas to borrow I guess for her husband's company. She found the Bild Lilli doll which was originally created in 1955 and based on a German Cartoon written by Reinhard Beuthien which was first published in June 24, 1952. Beuthien was told to fill a spot for an empty cartoon spot in a paper. He made the original cartoon about a big baby. Pretty funny considering there was a New Moon in Cancer, sign of the Baby, on the day of Lilli's publication. There were also 3 other planets in Cancer that day. The Sun was conjunct Venus and Mercury was conjunct Uranus in Cancer.

Lilli Doll
cartoon published: June 24, 1952 Germany
Doll manufactured: 1955 - 1964

Sun (c. Venus and trine Mars in Scorpio); Moon Cancer or Leo; NN 25 Aquarius

As the Wikipedia article states, Beuthien was told to change the character because it disgusted his editor. Beuthien kept the Big Baby Head, the big round eyes, the pouty lips and the bulbous forehead and stuck a really sexy, modern woman's body on it. Big boobs, long legs and those creepy little feet. But, the German Barbie had lots of personality. She was a double Cancer like Leona Helmsly and Courtney Love, after all. She was a modern woman who earned her own way and was a brazen gold digger. Her wit was really raunchy. Those lucky German girls got to quote such comments as (from Wikipedia article on Lilli: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bild_Lilli_doll). Anyways, one can see the Mercury-Uranus conjunction at work:

• "I could do without balding old men but my budget couldn't!"

• The cartoon always consisted of a picture of Lilli talking to girlfriends, boyfriends, her boss ("As you were angry when I was late this morning I will leave the office at five p.m. sharp!").

• to a policeman who told her that two-piece-swimsuits are banned: "Which piece do you want me to take off?"

• "Of course I'm interested in politics; no one should ignore the way some politicians dress!"

• the beauty of nature: "The sunrise is so beautiful that I always stay late at the nightclub to see it!".

Mrs. Mattel loved the doll -- she was oh so fashionable. The Mae West comments apparently didn't carry over into the Americas. Eventually Lilli was discontinued and there is talk of a law suit. No matter, Mattel cranked out the Barbies and they were an instant sensation. American Barbie had no real personality, she was simply a modern fashion statement who came with lots of accessories. Her Venus was at 17 Aries in conjunction with her South Node at 15 Libra. Her Sun was squaring Mars. And she was re-born from the Neptune in Libra/Pluto in Leo generation into the Neptune in Scorpio/Pluto in Virgo generation. One can see the loss of playfulness between the generations. Kind of interesting, though, that a post-war German doll is so much more playful than a 1960's American Doll, but pay that no mind.

Mrs. Mattel was a Scorpio which rounds out the story into a Water Sign saga but I'm busy screwing up my life and can't really wonder too much what that statement means. The story pretty much sums it up anyway.

Ruth Handler
b. Nov. 4, 1916 (Where?)

Sun 12 Scorpio; Moon Aquarius or Pisces; NN 24 Capricorn

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.

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.

Pluto in Capricorn and Melanoma; that's a Double Negative

Just read that an Australian Immunologist is developing a Skin Cancer Vaccine which is due to go into human trials next year. I've been wondering if there would be advances in Medicine regarding things Capricornian like Skin and Bones. Either that or a surge of problems with diseases in those areas. Professor Ian Frazer is the Immunologist who has also been responsible for developing the Cervical Cancer vaccine which was recently put on the market. I'm a bit leary of vaccinations myself and strongly believe in using them only sparingly. I perpetually read the obituaries and have noticed what seems like a lot of premature deaths of people born between 1960 and 1961, or round abouts that time, and have read that there was some sort of super Vaccine which was injected into babies that was loaded with multiple vaccinations all at once. But I also live in California and have known my share of people in their 20s with huge chunks of skin hacked out of their bodies so a Skin Vaccine sounds like a good thing overall. Well, maybe they were given the Vaccines...

Article:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gq4t6R-QhHgUsus_JHp0iAV74n6A

I looked up Professor Ian Frazer's birthdate and noticed that he's born during the Saturn-Neptune conjunction in Libra in 1953. That's only a month after the magical date of Dec. 2, 1952 on which both Carolyn Myss and Karen Hamaker-Zondag share a birthday. Frazer is a traditionalist Capricorn so it makes sense that he went into straight forward Medicine while the two Sagittarians went for the Woo-Woo. In the end they are all extremely special Healers.

Dr. Ian Frazer
b. Jan. 6, 1953 Glasgow, Scotland

Sun 16 Capricorn; Moon Virgo or Libra; NN 13 Aquarius

Frazer has Sun conjunct Chiron 17 Capricorn which opposes Uranus in Cancer Rx and trines Jupiter 11 Taurus. That shows Healing Abilities in Academia and Innovation. Jupiter also squares his Nodal Axis and with Aquarius North Node this reinforces the relation to Uranus that these two share with the Sun and Chiron. Also, Frazier is going through a couple of Jupiter transits right now which shows Success in his life. First off, squaring the Jupiter, he's going through a Nodal Return (which includes conjunction of NN to Chiron and Neptune). And transiting Jupiter is passing over his natal Sun. He's also in between his 2d Progressed Lunar Return and his 2d Saturn Return. His life's work is coming to a peak.

Natal Mercury at 30 Sagittarius is very prominently placed on the Aries Point. It is also Out-of-bounds. Mercury rules Gemini and Virgo and is related to Public Health related side of Disease so it's interesting that Frazer's is so prominent. Right now, of course, transiting Pluto is right on top of natal Mercury. Pluto rules Research, especially Medical Research, and is probably a strong ruler of Vaccinations. Mercury in Frazer's chart is centered in a long line of sextile aspects. Depending on what orbs one uses (I reduce 75 percent on astrodienst) there is a string of sextiles in Frazer's chart that runs from Jupiter 11 Taurus sextile Venus-Mars 2-6 Pisces sextile Mercury 30 Sagittarius sextile Saturn-Neptune 27-24 Libra sextile Pluto 23 Leo. These planets aren't all in aspect to each other but this is still a pretty nice set-up showing incredible amounts of talent and ability to harmonize many different qualities.

Didn't See It Coming

Paul Krugman is an Economist who just won the Nobel Prize for Economics. I learned about this by hearing an interview with him on the radio on Monday. Just as I tuned in the Interviewer was asking him how it felt to win such an incredible award in the middle of a huge economic crash. He said "I wish I had seen it coming."

Man, that looks like some tragic human condition thing. So I looked into the astrology to see if I could see anything there. While looking for his chart I noticed that AstrologyMundo has a good introductory blog about Krugman's brand of Economics. He's Liberal, probably wants to help others.

Anyway, I've already talked about the Weatherman who didn't see the Galveston Hurricane (early 20th Century one, not recent one) coming. It happens. I know that the Astrologers were predicting the crash at UAC. But, Astrologers are lumped in with psychics and many of them cry wolf all the time. This wrecks one's believability.

Paul Krugman
b. Feb. 28, 1953 Albany, NY

Sun 10 Pisces; Moon in Virgo (Maybe Leo); NN 13 Aquarius

One can see Krugman's compassionate side from his Pisces Sun/perhaps Virgo Moon combination. He was also born during a conjunction of Saturn to Neptune in Libra which shows that he feels strongly for the less fortunate.

Interesting how Krugman's Venus (major planet that indicates money) is in opposition to the degree of Neptune. That shows a very idealized idea of how to deal with money and also a blinding and denial about reality. Saturn should have been helping him out but it looks like he used it for other purposes.

One can also see that Krugman has an Aquarius North Node which shows a destiny that's directed outward into Humanity and Abstract and Innovative thinking. This is squaring his Jupiter in Taurus which ties in the interest to money and finances. The Sun, bringing recognition, is in Pisces. It's interesting that recognition comes for this Pisces Sun while its dispositor, Neptune, is conjunct the North Node.

I've already mentioned Krugman's Venus. It is strongly placed in Krugman's chart because the Saturn-Neptune in Libra conjunction disposit to it. And so does Jupiter in Taurus. Venus itself is at 23 Aries and is conjunct Mars, the planet to which it disposts. Mars is strong here in its own sign. It represents action, rashness, forthrightness, the soldier. Mars acts now, thinks later.

Right now Krugman is approaching his Nodal Return and Neptune and Chiron are conjunct the North Node. Since Jupiter is squaring his Nodal Axis it makes sense that he would receive a huge award for his work. He is probably also somewhere close to going through or having gone through his 2d Progressed Lunar Return. I'm not sure if this is in Leo or in Virgo so don't know have much to say about it.

What's interesting is that his progressed Venus has been Retrograde since the mid 70's sometime. It went into Taurus for awhile and then started back tracking into Aries. Right now Krugman's progressed Sun is at 5 Taurus which would be close to Venus' Rx Station. The Sun brings recognition. Interesting how in this case, it's through economics.

Venus is now in a long term conjunction with natal Mars in Aries and progressed Mercury. Venus is interesting to look at because she rules Money and Values. When she turns retrograde by progression it can show an extended period, most of a person's life actually because this is a long term progression, where he/she has to question his self-worth/lovability by constantly adjusting values. Of course, this can strain personal relationships as well. Evidentally, it's doesn't affect an Economist's success. One constantly has to question the effects one has on others as one will be more aware of this. P.Venus in Aries conjunct Mars is a very complicated position as Mars rules just the opposite notion. One does what one wants to do and that's it.

Krugman's progressed Venus will Station Direct sometime around 2017-18. It will still be in conjunction with his natal Mars at middle degree of Aries and transiting Uranus will just have passed over it. Natally, Mars is involved in a t-square with opposition to Chiron in Capricorn and squaring apex Uranus in Cancer. So this will be a "challenge/action" spot that will be activated by the very long Uranus-Pluto square that will be coming up.

"The 3 Horsemen of the Apocalypse"

Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me this morning on NPR, or at least I think that's what show it was, referred to the 3 Feds in charge of saving the economy as "The 3 Horsemen of the Wall St. Apocalypse." This really is something straight out of Tolkien.

Anyway, here they are along with the Pluto-Nodal Axis transits that they are going through right now. This is the Pluto in Leo generation on overdrive. Paulson and Cox both have Mars out-of-bounds and Sun in conjunction (Cox) or opposition (Paulson) to Neptune. It's amazing they manage to stay in their saddles.

Henry Paulson, Secretary of Treasury
b. Mar. 28, 1946 Palm Beach, Florida

Sun 8 Aries; Moon Capricorn or Aquarius; NN 25 Gemini

t. Pluto conjunct n. South Node


Ben Bernanke, Federal Reserve Board Chairman
b. Dec. 13, 1953 Augusta, GA

Sun 22 Sagittarius; Moon Pisces or Aries; NN 25 Capricorn

t. SN 18 Leo conjunct n. Pluto 25 Leo
p. Sun 18 Aquarius & prog Venus 19 Aquarius conjunct t. NN 18 Aquarius-Chiron 17 Aquarius-Neputne 22 Aquarius

No out-of-bounds Mars but has Saturn unaspected in Scorpio. He's meant to do this, you can just tell.

Christopher Cox, SEC Chairman
b. Oct. 16, 1952 St. Paul, MN

Sun 24 Libra; NN 20 Aquarius; Moon Virgo or Libra

Has natal Grand Square of Pluto 23 Leo conjunct South Node 20 Leo square Jupiter Taurus opposing Venus 24 Scorpio.

Right now he's having a Nodal Return and t. Neptune-Chiron is opposing natal Pluto right over this.

Mars is out-of-bounds and conjunct Chiron in Capricorn. Apparently he went to a recital the day that Bear Stearns tanked and then went on vacation the next week (Sun conjunct Neptune-Saturn).

Large Hadron Collider

ADDITION/CORRECTION TO ORIGINAL:

Start time for the Collider is 10:28 am Local Time (Geneva, Switzerland). This is a much nicer chart than the ones I looked at. 25 Libra is Rising. Ruler of the Chart, Venus is in her own sign of Libra (H12). She is conjunct Mercury and Mars. They trine the North Node-Neptune conjunction in Aquarius (H4) and square the Moon-Jupiter conjunction in Capricorn (H3). With Neptune being the only outer planet placed on an angle and the Chart ruler in the 12th House, the Mysteries of the Universe might really be solved. The Big Bang Aspect of Sun opposing Uranus is placed off the Angles. Pluto is still unaspected to any planets down in the 3d House but is in aspect to both ASC and MC. Both Jupiter and Pluto stationed Direct yesterday so they are assured of a long life without suffering any Retrogrades by Progression.

********

They're calling it the Big Bang Machine. The Swiss have built a 17 mile wide tunnel under the ground somewhere outside of Geneva and hope to answer the great mysteries of the Universe with it. I hope they don't knock the Clocks out of whack, or worst yet, harm Our Astrodienst Folks and Free Online Computer Software in any way.

Other than this I don't have a clue what the thing does. It's called a Large Hadron Collider and this is what it's proposing to do:

"LHC experiments will address questions such as what gives matter its mass, what the invisible 96 percent of the Universe is made of, why nature prefers matter to antimatter and how matter evolved from the first instants of the Universe's existence."

That's from the CERN website that gives how many seconds till tee off but in Swiss time:

http://lhc-first-beam.web.cern.ch/lhc-first-beam/Welcome.html

I probably don't have the time right for when they're flipping the switch but the website says that a live Webcast will play at 8:30pm. I initially tried to count the time out by myself and got hopelessly lost in time zones but came up with a really cool chart fro 3:30pm that has a Galactic Center-Pluto Sagittarius Ascendant. Still exceptional, though, with this chart is that the 3 Outermost planets will be Singletons: Uranus in Water, Neptune in Fixed, Pluto in Fire.

With this 8:30 am chart Pluto is conjunct a 4 Capricorn Midheaven from the 9th House so still connected with an angle. There's a tight conjunction of Mercury-Venus-Mars at 14-15 Libra that's conjunct the Descendant. While the Outer Planets aren't working in cohoots with anybody the Inner Planets are colluding in a huddle on an Angle (and disposing to Venus as they ought to). That's got to say something about Scale. I think they're going to try to study Infinity through Minutae. The Outer Planets through the Inner Planets.

Mars rules this 8:30 pm chart (assuming the time is correct). That's pretty impressive for something called a Big Bang Machine.

Although this is the first run of the Collider, it won't be officially open until Oct. 21. Between that time Mercury will go retrograde so will hold close to this spot for a very long time. Astrologers aren't real fond of Mercury Rx. I believe that I read that this "machine" is its own prototype so there's a chance that there might be a couple of snags along the way in learning how to use it.

The Virgo Sun (H6) will be opposing Uranus (12) and conjunct Saturn (h6) (Saturn & Uranus not in aspect). That sounds like a great set-up for a Particle Blaster. Saturn in Virgo is a great one for the Sciences and Uranus always likes a new whirligig. 17 miles, wow, that's huge. I keep getting it confused with 17 Mile Drive down in the Monterey area, one of the most beautiful drives on earth.

Large Hadron Collider
Sept. 10, 2008 8:30 pm Geneva, Switzerland

Sun 19 Virgo; 23 8 Aries Rising; Moon 24 Capricorn; MC 4 Capricorn; NN Aquarius

The Olympics

The Opening Ceremonies have already begun over in Beijing as I write this so guess this comes a little late. The Date and Time for the ceremony is very special as it is a string of 8's. 8/08/08 8:08 pm. Scorpio is the 8th sign of the Zodiac so the Moon placed in the 8th Sign is appropriate. The Moon is placed in the 8th House which is its own house. The number eight is also associated with the Venus Cycle. Venus in this chart is in Virgo in the 6th House conjunct the Descendant. The Chinese think of this date as very fortunate and many couples are getting married on this date. The Venus and Moon emphasis on partnership and family come through strongly.

Beijing Olympics
Opening Ceremony Aug. 8, 2008, 8:08 pm Beijing, China

Sun 17 Leo; Moon 13 Scorpio; ASC 7 Pisces; NN 19 Aquarius; MC 17 Sagittarius

Scorpio is competitive and strong willed. A feeling of control in order to gain the highest possible results will be very strong here. That's great for athletes. The Moon is apex to a big t-square in the chart as it squares the Nodal Axis which is layered over an opposition of Sun in Leo to Neptune in Aquarius c. Chiron. Leo is the sign of Games and Playing but it is conjunct the South Node in Leo which is not its favorite placement. I already know that there is some tension over the Spirit of the Games which seems to be hanging over these Games. Beijing is polluted and unhealthy, the Chinese have banned a U.S. Team Member for his political affiliations with suffering in Darfur. The Nodal Axis plus Sun and Neptune placed in the 6th and 12th Houses shows some concerns about Health and Toxicity. Inconjuncts can show Health issues as well and the only one in this chart connects Neptune with Mars in Virgo in the 6th House. Neptune rules poisons and drugs so there could be issues concerning both here.

On the other hand, Neptune is in its own house which should also be auspicious for my favorite sports, Gymnastics and Water Ballet. All the water sports should be awesome. Anything that happens outside in the bad air might be less interesting to watch. From the looks of it we won't be able to see any of the long distance races through all that smog anyway.

Neptune, of course, is in mutual reception with Uranus and Uranus here is in the 1st House of this chart and opposing Mars in Virgo and squaring Pluto in Sagittarius up in the 10th House. This is a very volatile combination. It's not an exact t-square but it is on the Angles of the Charts. Security must be kept very strong at these games and strict attention paid to the Rules. When the Moon hits any of these planets by hard aspect in the coming weeks we should watch for Attacks of some kind. I hope Beijing doesn't have an Earthquake.

Jupiter rules the Midheaven here. That's great for the Archery and Equestrian competitions and also for a show of broadmindness toward other countries. Opinions might be a little harsh though. Jupiter's in Capricorn in the 11th House and is a singleton in Cardinal Signs. He is also trining Saturn which rules Capricorn so there is a positive spirit of coming together on a responsible social level. Saturn is conjunct the Descendant showing that there is a feeling of repression and authority. This might dampen the fun a bit but the successes that occur here will be very well earned and have a lasting impact on people. Should check NBC's chart to see if they are capable of perking up the serious tone of this chart for us American viewers. I know the Knitting community has been planning their Ravelympics. This is a list of all the things they will make while watching the Games. teehee, what a fun crowd. I'll be on the Internet watching them more than the TV. Well, except for the Water Sprites, so pretty.

Panda Baby Boom in China

Four Mommie Pandas at the Chengdu Panda Breeding Research Center gave birth this week-end to four Tiny Baby Panda Bears, So Cute. I've got my face all puckered up into Cutsey Cutsey Coo Face. Yahoo gave their Birth Times so how can I resist looking at the charts?.

This means that all the Newborns have an Earth Grand Trine between Jupiter in Capricorn, Mars in Virgo and Moon in Taurus. While the Moon stays in Taurus for all of their births, Mercury changes signs from Cancer to Leo. It is conjunct the Leo Sun the whole time and is unaspected by Ptolomaic aspect to other planets for most of the charts. Venus, of course, is conjunct the South Node in Leo opposing Neptune-Chiron-North Node in Aquarius. These babies will pull out all the stops on the Charm Factor.

I haven't looked too closely but there are some amazing comparisons between these Pandas' births and the Earthquake that happened in China on May 12, 2008. At least one of the Mothers was evacuated from the Panda Center which was very close to the Epicenter.

• There was a mutual reception between Venus and the Moon on these dates. Since the Moon shifts quickly most of the aspects aren't exact, but still I think it's interesting. Venus was at 15 Taurus and the Moon was in Leo. Degree, 24 Degrees?

• The Sun was also at 22 Taurus so there really is a strong connection here between the Earthquake Sun and the Babies' Moon.

• Even Mars is connected. It is opposing Uranus in the baby Panda's charts and the two planets were trining in the Earthquake Chart. Mars and Uranus are definitely connected with earthquakes. Also, Mars was at 1 Leo in the Earthquake Chart. This is right where the unaspected Sun-Mercury conjunction is for the Pandas.

All these babies are Leos born during a Taurus Moon while a Grand Trine was formed between Mars-Jupiter-Moon. That means, obviously, that they're very lovable and playful. With Leo Sun and Taurus Moon they are very generous and kind little souls, though, so that helps too. But they will be Fixed in their ways and stubborn at times.

First there was a set of girl twins who were born to a Mommy whose name translates to "Magic Luck." The first was born at 5:24pm and has Sagittarius Rising with Pluto conjunct the Ascendant. She's got other Scorpio aspects. I think this girl is a people pleaser. She will have very good taste. Her little Sister will be more serious but very wise. She was born at 6:16 pm and has Capricorn Rising, but with Jupiter in the first house which will keep up her weight (sometimes Capricorn can be too skinny and we don't want that).

At 7:51 pm a Panda whose name translates to "Success" gave birth to a Boy with 2 Aquarius Rising. This Baby has the Neptune-Venus plus Nodal Axis running across the 1st-7th House. Very photogenic.

At 6:55 am on Sunday, July 27 (this morning) another baby was born. This one has 12 Leo Rising with Venus 18 Leo opposing Neptune along the Nodal Axis. She will be quite a Looker and always very well groomed. She will enjoy arranging the Eucalyptus leaves in her environment. Eucalyptus leaves? Eu, Do I have them mixed up with Koalas?

Notice that the last two Babies have Fixed Sign Ascendants which hooks them into the Earthquake Charts as well.

Pregnant Man Gives Birth

The Ex-Pregnant Man, transexual Thomas Beatty, is now properly deflated from having given birth to a little girl in June. He was in labor for 40 hours, eek. He generously gives his daughter Susan's proper birth information so I took a look. Link down below.

Susan Beatty, 1st child born to a legally transgendered male
b. June 29, 2008 8:55pm Bend, Oregon

Sun 9 Cancer; ASC 10 Capricorn; Moon 28 Taurus; MC 9 Scorpio; NN 20 Aquarius

I don't read Baby's charts unless I'm in a really stupid mood because I like to let them have free will for as long as possible. I'm going to look at Susan's chart from an odd angle which is in no way disrespectful because I tend to like animals more than people most of the time.

I do want to point out that Susan is a product of modern Science. She is a Cancer Sun. I remembered that Dolly the Sheep, 1st cloned sheep was also born with a Cancer Sun. Their charts share many similarities and I'm very surprised by what they have in common. With the Science/Innovation theme to both births I would have expected a very prominent Uranus. But here there's a very notable Jupiter which is in Capricorn opposite the Sun in both charts (10 degree orb for Susan so many Astrologers wouldn't count it). Capricorn represents one of the Parents, usually the Father. Susan was born to her Father, like the Goddess Athena. (Her Pallas Athene is in the 4th House in Taurus squaring her Nodal Axis). Dolly didn't have a Father really. Both were a product of artificial insemination. Athena just popped out of Zeus' head. Zeus is actually the Greek version of Jupiter which is the Roman Name. The Sun in Cancer, of course, disposits to the Moon which represents the Mother.

The Nodal Axis in these charts is interesting. Chiron is conjunct the North Node in both Charts. The North Node in Air would show that both Souls are faced with the challenge of dealing with their lives on a Mental/Intellectual Plain. Susan's Chiron 21 Aquarius conjunct NN 20 Aquarius. Dolly's 13 Libra NN conjunct Chiron 9 Libra.

With Chiron the Healer/Teacher in strong aspect their births through new conditions is certainly a product of Modern Medicine/Science. The South Nodes are both in Fire Signs. Saturn is conjunct Dolly's South Node. Paternity is certainly a big deal in both lives. This brings a theme of the Doctor/Scientist's role in the parenting process perhaps through Chiron? Chiron was a Centaur, half human, half horse and represents the Bridge between Saturn and Uranus.

Both also share a Saturn-Pluto trine. That could definitely signify man-made design as both planets want to control their lives.

It's interesting that Dolly was born when Pluto was on the 1st degree of Sagittarius and Susan was born while Pluto was on the last degree of Sagittarius. This brings in the Jupiter theme once again of Expansion into new realms of thought. A product of Academic Broadmindedness?

Dolly the Sheep, 1st clone
July 5, 1996 Edinburgh, Scotland

Sun 14 Cancer; Moon Pisces; NN 13 Libra

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,24069295-5016689,00.html

Addition to Evelyn McHale Suicide Story

In last night's blog entry I wondered why everyone else in New York City didn't jump off the roof of a building at 10:40am on May 1, 1947 the way that Evelyn McHale did. The Stars just seemed set up to guide people into a magnificent demise.

Then I realized that, at Age 23, McHale was perhaps going through a Jupiter in Scorpio Return which would have honed down the citizens of the Big Apple to only tragedians with Jupiter in Scorpio. Jupiter stands out in this chart as it was Retrograde and a singleton in Water, element of emotions and feelings. Scorpio is the sign of Death, Obsession, Passion, Deep Feelings, Confrontation and Sexuality. (also of Sexual Diseases and one wonders if... well, never mind). McHale was going through emotional turmoil in her love life, we do know that. So this hones the problem down to Jupiter in Scorpios, probably the ones who are suffering their first love affairs.

What does separate out McHale from the others is her extreme physical beauty. You can't have an event chart, after all, without at least one natal chart and one set of genes (and that's only the minimum requirement). With Neptune opposing Venus over the IC/MC lines and Saturn conjunct Pluto in Leo in the 1st House trining Venus and Mars in Aries, the woman who jumped off the Empire State Building at 10:40am had to be exceptionally beautiful and of an extremely dramatic personality. New Yorkers might have a good sense of the Dramatic but in the looks department .... well, let's just say that keeps many New Yorkers safe from experiencing what ailed Evelyn McHale.

Then I googled May 1, 1947 to see what else happened on this date and was really amazed how there really was a lot of activity and it can all be tied in to the theme of "things flying through space." List from www.brainyhistory.com/days/may-1.html.

1. Cleveland Indians abandon League Park to play all games at Municipal Stadium. Okay this means nothing to me. Guys throwing Balls through the air though ...it's a stretch... moving on.

2. Change of Leadership in the CIA. Rear Admiral Roscoe H. Hillenkoetter, USN, becomes 3rd director of the CIA. This is cool. The CIA changed Directors while the Saturn-Pluto conjunction in Leo (power, government changes, spying, Directors of Big Government Agencies) was trining Venus and Mars in Aries (military). Hillenkoetter was from the Navy, the guy he replaced was from the Air Force.

Uranus and the North Node were in Gemini, interesting time for the CIA as it's associated with Intelligence Gathering. Hillenkoetter was interesting because he is known on Wikipedia at least for wanting to expose the cover-up by the Government of UFO's. He started the "National Investigations Commission for Aerial Phenomena" and was a member of Majestic-12. This really matches the Uranus in Gemini theme as Uranus wants to take "it" as far out there as it can. --And if you can't go to it, you must think it is coming to you. Uranus represents communal good will, after all. People have been getting probed by The Grays ever since.

Hillenkoetter was also close to his Solar Return.
b. May 8, 1897 St. Louis, MO

Sun 19 Taurus; Moon Cancer or Leo; NN 10 Aquarius

Hillenkoetter's chart was lit up like a pin-ball machine with regards to the aspects. He was going through his Chiron Return in Scorpio. This squares his n.Nodal Axis (Aquarius to Leo). And Pluto was conjunct his natal South Node. One can only assume that he himself was personally probed.

Hillenkoetter's chart was also strongly affected by the Jupiter in Scorpio as Jupiter at 25 Scorpio Rx was very close to his natal conjunction of Uranus 28 Scorpio-Saturn 29 Scorpio. This conjunction is opposed by natal Mercury 5 Gemini and squared by n.Jupiter 1 Virgo. Talk about a truth seeking person. I wonder if this guy was the original influence for Muldaur on the X-Files. At any rate, the North Node was at 3 Gemini conjunct his Mercury on this date.

Oh, and he also had a conjunction of Pluto 13 Gemini to Neptune 18 Gemini which Uranus had just passed over (was at 20 Gemini). This is so arfing exciting! I wonder if I've read the chart right.

3. Radar for commercial & private airplanes 1st demonstrated. Pretty interesting. I'd think that this would be another manifestation of the Saturn-Pluto conjunction in Leo. Commercialization. Plus Neptune was in Libra which meant that "higher forms of knowing" that had been developed during Wartime (WWII) were now being used in peacetime purposes. Jupiter in Scorpio is prominent as singleton in Water. Both Uranus and the North Node were in Gemini (not in conjunction) which is great for intelligence gathering and radio communications.

Norman Cousins - Anatomy of a Poisoning?!

Norman Cousins wrote about his miraculous recovery from a mysterious disease in his book Anatomy of an Illness. In this book Cousins describes how he miraculously healed himself from what was thought to be a fatal illness by using life style changes to improve his mood, the most notable are use of massive quanitities of Vitamin C and through Humor. I read the book a long time ago and on re-reading I noticed some strange details in the story. Cousins got sick while on a Peace making trip to Russia in 1964. The reason for his illness was ultimately never really decided and the diagnosis is sometimes thought to be incorrect. He is very clear on stating that the Doctor told him that his condition would have been caused either by a Staph infection or by heavy metal poisoning. Was Norman Cousins poisoned? Was his book on healing really a cryptic way of reporting on how to recover from a bad visit to Russia? The Cold War was peaking, after all. Cousins was an Editor for the Saturday Review and was savagely trying to de-esculate the tensions through his editorials in order to avoid a Nuclear Holocaust. The Russians have a problem with Freedom of Speech and are still known for poisoning their reporters.

I wanted to look at Cousins' chart to see why the strange illness that he healed himself from would have been such a turning point in his life. The official diagnosis he was given at the time was ankylising spondylitis which he calls "collagen disease." He treated himself by targeting his adrenal glands, for exhaustion which he felt was a result of the trip. This Illness was definitely a Turning Point in Cousins' life. He became more of an advocate for Holistic healing in the human body rather than healing through world politics. I actually began to notice a theme of struggling with odd illnesses all his life that kept bringing him to crisis points. The one illness was only one of these crises.

There's a Good Bio of Cousins here: http://www.harvardsquarelibrary.org/unitarians/cousins.html

Norman Cousins
b. June 24, 1915 Union Hill, NJ

Sun 3 Cancer; Moon Scorpio or Sagittarius; NN 19 Aquarius

Natally, Cousins had a very dynamic conjunction of Sun to Pluto, Saturn and Mercury Rx in the beginning degrees of Cancer. Among other things, this combination shows strong managerial skills which would indicate a person who would need to take control of his own illnesses. Cousins had found a constructive outlet for this combination working for Peace, mostly by putting the "Brakes" (Saturn keyword, also maybe Merc Rx?) on Nuclear (Pluto) War. He constantly created Alarm Bells through his writings, trying to bring about change in other areas of life that needed improvement. And like most Sun-Saturn-Pluto people he got results.

And the illnesses he suffered through his life seem to have been awareness that fueled his work. During each illness he became more aware of the suffering in others and the need to bring about change. This began with a misdiagnosis and subsequent institutionalization for Tuberculosis when he was 11 years old. Change was an easy idea for Cousins too: his Uranus was placed in its own sign of Aquarius and was conjunct his North Node. Aquarius is the sign of Hopes, Wishes, Dreams, & Community. This is emphasized further by a trine to Neptune which possibly fans out to a Grand Trine with Cousins' Moon.

So, balancing out the forcefulness/productivity of this Sun-Saturn-Pluto combination, Cousins also had Neptune in Cancer at 30 degrees. Neptune is trining Jupiter at 29 Pisces. Jupiter is also conjunct Chiron in Pisces. This shows a compassionate nature that seeks lightness in the world; the complete opposite of the dire circumstances which are indicated by the Sun-Saturn-Pluto-Mercury combination (Sun and Pluto are on an Aries Point).

Healthwise, this strong Neptune-Pisces emphasis in Cousins' chart may be the reason for the nature of so many of his illnesses. Misdiagnosis, Placebo Effect, Emotions, Miracle Cures. Also hysteria. There is a chance that the Jupiter-Neptune trine are involved in a Water Grand Trine with the Moon but I can't say either way because his birth time is not available. Cousins proved the value of alternative forms of healing and was a major facilitator in introducing importance of the Emotions for medical recovery. There's a strong emphasis of planets in Water Signs in his chart.

At Age 11 Cousins was misdiagnosed with Tuberculosis and sent to a sanatorium (Neptune). Age 11 is the Jupiter Return year so it seems that his Jupiter in Pisces trine Neptune in Cancer is to blame in some way for this mix-up. His Jupiter squares his natal Sun-Pluto conjunction so one can see how this could have been a time when he learned to mistrust the opinions of others, or at least to not take their word as the only option. He said this was also the time that he first understood the level of discomfort that patients have in hospitals and how that can hinder healing.

The Jupiter Return would have been extra important and Cousins' chart would have had a mutual reception type of transit between his Jupiter and Uranus this year (around 1926?). T. Uranus was passing over natal Jupiter and t. Jupiter was passing over natal Uranus. Uranus, of course, was strong in its own sign and conjunct Cousins' North Node, strongly hooking him into his Destiny. On the negative side, Jupiter and Uranus can bring community hysteria. His Doctors were probably overwhelmed by the Tuberculosis epidemic at that point to keep the illness from spreading; there was a Saturn-Neptune square going on in the skies as well. Saturn was in Scorpio and filling out the Grand Water Trine with natal Jupiter and Neptune. This seems to have been a trigger spot for Cousins' later illnesses as well.

Later in 1954, right after the time of Cousins' Nodal Return, he was diagnosed as having had a "silent heart attack" whatever that is. He was given 18 months to live. I told you he was continually faced with these dire circumstances diagnoses. Cousins was 38 years old and just past his Nodal Return in Aquarius. Heart is ruled by the Sun and Cousins' progressed Sun was at 10 Leo approaching conjunction with his South Node 19 Leo. He was approaching his Neptune Square and Uranus opposition but not quite there yet. I'm not sure of the dates so can't say more.

In late July, 1964, Cousins traveled to Russia on a Political Visit. On the way home he began to feel feverish and then his body began to ache. He thought he had the flu. Within a week he was hospitalized because he could barely move. His neck and hands broke out in nodules. The Doctors gave him a diagnosis of ankylosing spondylitis which is a collagen disease of the connective tissues. They said his spine was dissolving and his chances of surviving were very slim. A typical Cancer, Cousins decided he couldn't get better on hospital food and environment so with the Doctor's permission he checked into a Hotel. As the Doctors said that his main problem was that his Adrenal Glands were not functioning he began to take massive amounts of Vitamin C and began to listen to and watch Comedy films in order to laugh. He found that he could actually sleep and was relieved of pain for a couple of hours after his spirits were raised.

It is extremely that interesting that Cousins was approaching his Chiron Return at this time (about 4 degrees from conjunction). Chiron is the Healer/Teacher in Mythology who couldn't heal himself and is conjunct Jupiter which is one of the planets for jolly living. Cousins saw this as the turning point in his life. His Chiron-Jupiter conjunction is in Pisces. The emphasis on water certainly brings in the Emotional Element.

According to Rex Bills, Laughter is ruled by Venus and sub-co-ruled by Neptune. Humor is ruled by Venus, Jupiter, Mercury (Moon). Comedy, Comedians ruled by Venus.

Natal Venus in Cousins' chart is in Gemini. The only aspect it makes is a trine to Uranus in Aquarius. At the beginning of August, transiting Venus was at the end of Gemini and spent the first couple of weeks passing over the Pluto-Sun-Saturn-Mercury Rx conjunction in Cousins' chart. Venus spent all of the month passing through the sign of Cancer in conjunction with Mars and for about a week it was in a Grand Trine with t. Neptune and t. Chiron-natal Chiron! If you're going to heal yourself through Laughter you certainly would like to have a Grand Water Trine involving Venus and Neptune happening for yourself. Being given a Death Sentence during such a time just makes you a little giddy.

I was most curious if the true story is that the Russians poisoned Cousins. The Doctors said that the cause of the illness would either have been heavy metal poisoning or a staph infection. Cousins' wife, who was with him during the trip to Russia, contracted neither. Poisoning would be a Neptune-Pluto thing. One would really want to see Cousins' 7th and 12th houses to see if he was accumulating extra enemies at this point which I can't do without a birth time.

Cousins was just approaching his Chiron Return in Pisces (c. N.Jupiter). Chiron at that point was at 19 Pisces and opposing Uranus 9 Virgo-Pluto 13 Virgo (Mercury at this point was also in Virgo passing over the 2 planets).

The Transiting Sun was in Leo at onset of illness. On August 1 it was at 10 Leo, the same spot where his progressed Sun was when he was diagnosed with "Silent Heart Attack". It also would have hit Cousins' Nodal Axis about a week or two later. Cousins' progressed Sun had moved forward to exact conjunction with his South Node. Transiting Neptune was at 15 Scorpio squaring his Nodal Axis and opposing his natal Mars in Taurus. Wherever it came from, poisoning was certainly indicated in the transits and progressions.

And then one looks at what Mars was doing to Cousins. Transiting Mars was conjunct the Transiting South Node at 2 Cancer. This was right on his natal Pluto and within a degree of the natal Sun, 4 degrees away from natal Saturn and Mercury. His progressed Mars was not far behind at 26 Gemini. These, of course, are squaring that Jupiter-Chiron conjunction in Pisces. He may have become a little pushy to be around during his Peace Mission to Russia and angered some secret enemies. Neptune-Pluto experiences are never the kinds of things one really wants to discuss in public later on. Either way, the sign of Cancer rules overseas travels and this was probably not Cousins' favorite Kodak moment.

There's some chance that Cousins' progressed Moon was conjunct the transiting Uranus-Pluto-Mercury conjunction (transit) and opposing his natal Chiron-Jupiter. He describes Laughter as jiggling his insides back into shape. That sounds like a Cancer's way of healing due to the fact that we probably have bigger glands than everyone else, more to jiggle.

Moving on, Cousins had a Heart Attack on Dec. 22, 1980 just after lunch while at his home in Los Angeles. As the Doctor said, this time his illness was real and obvious. The Doctor told him that laughing and jiggling his innards around was not desirable. Cousins was 65. It was just past the Full Moon which happened right on his Sun-Pluto-Saturn-Mercury conjunction. He was also going through a Nodal Opposition with a square from transiting Chiron in Taurus. At this point Uranus was in Scorpio completing a Grand Trine aspect to n.Neptune trine Jupiter-Chiron. This is the trigger spot that I mentioned earlier during Cousins' tuberculosis diagnosis (the spot where t.Saturn was). Other than that, Jupiter, Saturn, Pluto were all in Libra but they weren't squaring any of the Cancer planets.

Cousins died on Nov. 30, 1990 in Los Angeles, CA of Heart Failure. The Transits are pretty amazing.

Remember the trigger spot in Scorpio that I pointed out? Saturn was there for the Tuberculosis Diagnosis. Uranus was there for the Heart Attack. Now Pluto was at 19 Scorpio just moving into trine with natal Jupiter-Chiron and Neptune. Not only that but Cousins was having a Chiron Trine so t. Chiron was conjunct natal Neptune. And the Nodal Axis was involved. The South Node was conjunct Cousins' natal Neptune to the Degree. He soared out of his life on an Outer Planet Kite. Now that's something to laugh with Joy over (especially because Saturn wasn't involved).

So I don't know if Cousins was poisoned by the Russians. Sorry. It sure does look like it though. And I've developed a terrible fever over the past few days while trying to write this so I'm going to hit the Publish button before it kills me.

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.