Mercury, Venus and Mars Retrogrades of 2012, 1st half

People with major points in their charts at Mid-Mutable signs are catching the brunt of some tricky energy this year from the Venus and Mars Retrogrades.  Mutable Signs are about refining things and finishing things up.  Mutable Signs are closers.  Probably even the Geminis if you can keep them from getting distracted or chain them to some Scorpios or other Fixed Signs.

Mars stationed Rx on  Jan 23, 2012 at 24 Virgo and then stationed D on  Apr. 13, 2012 at 4 Virgo.  It will return to its point of Rx, 24 Virgo on June 19, 2012.  This means that 4 through 24 degrees of Virgo are probably a little more impulsive and inspired than usual. Mars usually has a retrograde aspect about every 2 years, I think its slightly more than 2 years but don't quote me and I'm not looking it up.  Virgos may be feeling like they are getting picked up by the nape of their necks and pulled along at very fast speeds right now.  The other Mutable Signs might be feeling like they are getting pushed

A major aspect of any Mars Retrograde is that it includes an opposition from Mars to the Sun.  This occurred this year on March 3 with Sun at 14 Pisces opposing Mars at 14 Virgo Rx.

The last Mars Rx was in Leo-Cancer and included an opposition from Pluto over the important 1 Cancer/Capricorn points.  This was right around the time that the Saturn, Uranus t-square would have been forming.  

March 3, 2012  between 3:00 pm and 3:24 pm EST, NY, NY

This Sun-Mars synodic cycle might promise Success for those afflicted ro affected as Mars was in a Grand Trine with Jupiter in Taurus and Pluto in Capricorn.  At the time of the opposition Mars was in the 2d House and Sun was in the 8th House.  This doesn't seem like the world's most ethical combination but it does seem lucky.  

I remember reading once, but can't verify the truth of, that Mars has the most erratic cycle of all the planets.

All the planets outside of the Earth's orbit will have an opposition like this.  This is called a Synodic Cycle.

The two planets which are inside the Earth's orbit, that's Mercury and Venus, will have conjunctions to the Sun instead of oppositions.

Venus is currently traveling through the sign of Gemini.  She will go retrograde on May 15.  She will then be in conjunction with the Sun on June 5.

Venus and the Sun have a very regular cycle in which they are in conjunction every 18 months.  This is a very interesting cycle because of all the cycles it is the most precise.  5 of these cycles in a row puts them back almost in the same spot in the Astrological Wheel.  This cycle makes up a star pattern on the wheel which looks like a pentagram.  This Venus Rx is the end of an eight year cycle which is rare.

Venus will be in conjunction with the Sun on June 5 this year at 16 Gemini.  It will square Mars at 17 Virgo and widely trine Saturn at 24 Libra Rx.

June 5, 2012  about 9:13 pm EDT  NY, NY

Marketing angst.  Mental Angst.  Communications Angst.

Angst.  Angst.  Angst.

I would assume that Gemini's are getting some extra help by this Venus transit but I'm certainly not.  And a composer-artist I used to know who was born on June 5 or 6 committed suicide last year.  Venus and Sun together can often have that effect.  At least that's my observation, but most astrologers would probably like to say that this is a great time to get married.  June is a big month for marriage.  Why not wait until October this year?

And speaking of Angst.

Mercury, that nervour little beast, was in Rx in March and April. and was in conjunction with the Sun at 2 Aries.  It was also in conjunction with Uranus.  The rewiring of the world.

March 21, 2012  3:13 pm about, EST  NY, NY  

Murders at Jupiter Returns?

There was a Total Lunar Eclipse on Dec. 10 which looked pretty violent. Total Lunar Eclipses are like Full Moons gorked out on steroids because the Sun-Moon opposition is in conjunction with the Nodal Axis. In this particular Eclipse, the planet Mars was squaring the opposition from the sign of Virgo. Mars = Aggression and Violence, along with many more pleasant characteristics.

Moon-Mars squares tend to be times of emotional volatility because the Moon = Emotional Receptivity and squares indicates two planets that "challenge" each other.

Virgo rules Service, Jobs, Public Health, and a host of other things. Don't know if this has anything to do with anything but the progressed chart of the U.S. is currently going Retrograde (in Libra) so Mars Retrogrades may play require even more attention now than they did in the past. In early Libra, the U.S. Prog. Mars is going to be under stress no matter from the outer planets Uranus and Pluto (and last year Jupiter and Saturn.

And it seems that there have been several instances of violent behaviors which occurred on or around New Year's Eve. I have a birthday for only two of the perpetrators of the crimes and for none of the victims so I can only wonder at this point what was going on in their charts. What is interesting is how so many were the same age. Age 24 or 25 so they would have been born around 1987. Three of the stories involve ex-military personnel and one involves an arsonist. That makes sense as Mars rules fire and soldiers. Virgo rules Service.

Mars will be transiting through Virgo for a very long time because it will turn retrograde for about 6 months (I haven't looked up exact amount of time). Mars Retrogrades involve an opposition to the Sun which will occur in this case when the Sun hits Pisces in February or March. This is called a "Synodic Cycle" of Mars. The gang stalkers are going strong, that's for sure. They are not getting caught so terrorism is definitely the way to go. Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook, has a natal Sun-Mars opposition and he just put Facebook public so Facebook now also is "born" under this cycle.

It's good to remember that there was a Sun-Pluto conjunction in Capricorn on New Year's Eve which occurred this year and last year and will actually occur on every New Year's up until about 2018. Make sure there are a bunch of Scorpio Suns at your New Year's parties and make sure they are having a very, very good time and you will be okay. They make really good designated drivers because they can drive whilst unbelievably drunk, but don't tell anyone I said that, especially not them, they have too much confidence sometimes and you'll be bailing them out of jail on New Year's Day.

This would mean that the most recent planetary cycle completed by this age group of people is the 2d Jupiter Return. The kids this age were also born right before the big conjunction of Saturn-Uranus and Neptune that occurred around 1988-89. I think there was something called a Grand Concordance or something which everyone went to New Mexico for back in 1987. I went the day after just by coincidence. So, something was up when these kids were born. There was a Recession in there at some point as well, maybe it came a little bit later.

Jupiter has been on the fence between the signs of Aries and Taurus and has been opposing Saturn in Libra. It seems that 2 of the individuals involved were already going through their first divorce as well so were under a lot of stress. As I publish this it is firmly in Taurus at 4 degrees.

I noticed that while Saturn ruled the East Coast Chart for the December 10 Total Lunar Eclipse, Jupiter ruled the West Coast chart. And, amazingly, all the events I'm looking up involved West Coast. There's been a rash (sp?) of school teachers getting arrested for child molestation in California as well.

Arsonist begins setting fires in Car Ports in Hollywood, CA. on Dec. 30, 2011. The fires stop after Harry Burkhart was arrested on I believe Jan. 2, 2012. He is Age 24 and according to a website was born on July 12, 1987 in Chechnya. His rage was triggered by the arrest of his Mother. He also said he hates America. They always do. Both Mother and Son are German Nationals who had been living in Los Angeles for 3 months.

Iraq War Veteran Benjamin Colton Barnes then shot 4 people at a New Year's Eve party up in Washington with one other person. He is also Age 24. He was going through a divorce and custody fight and supposedly has a long history of problematic behavior. Barnes was apparently was not a combat soldier and was discharged from the army early for bad behavior. Colton shot and killed Park Ranger Margaret Anderson on New Year's Day at 10:20 am in Olympia National Park. Anderson was Age 34. May she rest in Peace.

Then in Coronado, San Diego, CA, there was a Triple Murder-Suicide among Navy Pilots. John Robert Reeves, Age 25, committed Suicide. It is now thought that he murdered David Reis, Age 25 and his sister Karen Reis, Age 24 along with Matthew Christopher Saturley, Age 31.

The shots were heard on Jan 1, 2011 at 2:20 am Coronado, CA Scorpio was rising at this time.

Then in Orange County, Southern California, another Veteran, Itzcoatl Ocampo, stabbed 4 homeless people to death before he was caught. He has now also been charged with the stabbing death of the Mother and Brother of a high school friend. Ocampo had also been discharged from the army for bad conduct, like Benjamin Colton Barnes up in Washington. His family said that he had been acting strangely ever since coming home.

Birth date I found:

Itzcoatl Ocampo
b. Mar 20, 1988, Mexico

Sun 1 Aries; Moon Leo or Virgo; NN 23 Pisces Rx

Ocampo has been going through his Jupiter Return at 5 Taurus. This is extra strong for him because his progressed Sun is exactly conjunct his natal Jupiter right now. Natal Sun at 1 Aries is on the Aries Point and, so has been heavily afflicted over the last year by the big outer planet t-square of Saturn-Uranus-Pluto-Jupiter in a way which brings him before the public, unfortunately not for a good reason. Ocampo's natal and progressed Suns are both heavily afflicted by lots of difficult aspects. Natal Sun is squaring Neptune-Saturn-Uranus in Capricorn and is inconjunct Pluto in Scorpio and is possibly apex of a Yod to Pluto in Scorpio and Moon in Virgo. The Progressed Chart shows p. Sun c. p. Mercury and squaring p. Mars 11 Aquarius and opposing n./p. Pluto.

Wow, Jupiter in Taurus. Who knew? Well, with an opposition to Pluto in Scorpio these kids are going to be feeling the Economic pains extra hard. Taurus and Pluto are the money signs.

Fall Equinox Fall 2011

Happy Equinox. It's getting dark early. You are getting sleepy. Actually, according to this chart you're too psycho to fall asleep, but what do I know?

The chart for Washington, DC which is supposed to explain all things United States of America for the next 3 months:

Sept. 23, 2011 5:14 Washington DC
Sun 1 Libra (H1); Moon 5 Leo (H11); ASC 12 Virgo; MC 9 Gemini; NN 19 Sagittarius Rx

There are a couple of indicators that things will be volatile and will occur on split notice. There's a Sun-Uranus opposition from Libra to Aries. That's the Aries Points. So that shows oppositions or needs to balance ego with group, resources involving taking risks and showing off with handling unexpected surprises within a group of strangers. Probably more interest in dealing with strangers than with individuals.

There is a Moon-Mars conjunction which is extremely volatile emotionally. Moon = the Public, adoring or not. Mars is impulsive, spark. Together they can be reactive and raging. This conjunction is in the 11th House. That's points back at the Uranus influence of the Sun.

Fall Equinox is always ruled by a Libra Sun, of course, and this may actually show ability to balance and harmonize and use these impulsive influences for good. With Virgo rising the chart is also ruled by Mercury and Mercury is placed very prominently here in the 1st House, conjunct the Sun, and in its own sign at 25 Virgo. Virgo is earthy, practical and shy and may also guide the flamboyant emotional influences usefully.

There are no planets in Water in this chart which shows a need to compensate. Either people will be super callous or super sensitive. Who knows which. And it looks like water, overabundance and drought are heavy in the Weather news.

Sun-Uranus and Moon-Mars in Leo are extremely creative influences. In this chart they hook into each other in a happy way because Moon-Mars is trining Uranus.

One only hopes this will pan out well because in the California Equinox chart which occurs 3 hours earlier the Moon-Mars conjunction is right on the Ascendant. This means that Leo is Rising and the Sun rules the chart. It looks like, if there's anything to astrology something significant will happen to the country through California.

Something to do with angry people, fire and water. A recent study was published which shows that the tap Water here is everything I have been saying that it is. And that is that the Sewer is coming out through the taps. I read it in a Science Magazine at a laundromat last night: www.sciencenews.org, "Cracked sewers link fecal germs" by Janet Raloff. Thank you so much Janet Raloff, you are my Magic Science Writer Best Friend. The sewers in Wisconsin are just as messed up. We don't know about the rest of the country. Anyway, California is agricultural so we have all kinds of chemicals in our water that probably Wisconsin doesn't have. Don't know. I didn't really like Wisconsin much.

Anyway, I also read in an internet article that people who drink Diet Coke are 48 percent more likely to have a stroke. That's probably why all these thin movie stars and news casters are having seizures during their presentations. It's the Diet Coke and the Neurontin which is probably still in the water from when my shrink prescribed it to everyone whether they needed it or not just because the company was treating her to all kinds of free week end trips to Hawaii.

What better Equinox to have a stroke under than one with a Moon-Mars conjunction on the Ascendant (ASC rules the head)?

I've also just read that people who wash their hands 4 times a day have much less fire retardant in their systems than people with less compulsive hygiene. Maybe the stuff acts as an embalming fluid or something and will save your loved ones dollars at the check out, if you know what I mean.

The California Equinox chart has 4 planets in the 3d house of communications, siblings, and neighborhoods. People want community, but they want their community. I for example am pretty sure that I don't want to smell anyone cooking curry because that smell doesn't evaporate, it just sticks. It also shows a lot of stupid gossipy people standing around water coolers. And cars and telephones. And young school kids who cough a lot.

The new iphone is coming out soon. Smart phones are great tools for gang stalkers. They can communicate with each other about your whereabouts 24/7. And then follow you around in their cars. So when you park they can then vandalize your car. Yay! And Homeland Security can hire all kinds of guys to hack your computer. And mafias worldwide can send all kinds of guys to do their own surveillance using whatever wifi hotspots you use. Yay again!

Saturn is in H2 of the Washington DC chart and is conjunct the IC of the California Equinox chart. So that shows crumbling old banks and crumbling old infrastructure.

Which reminds me of the police. You might want to stay away from them if you live in California. Pluto in Capricorn is on the H6 cusp. They will be a little power trippy. Pluto is in the 4th House for Washington so we're still standing in quick sand with enemies standing on the sidelines laughing their heads off.

So listen to me right now. Practice saying "What's the matter Mr./Ms. Police Officer? Can I help you sir/maam?"

Neptune-Chiron is in the 8th House of the California chart. I'm not going to go there. It is, shall I say, very creative. If you have a big ego and know someone with an original idea you will probably get away with taking credit for it and going on to achieve fame. This is the house where plagiarism begins. You will be a scum bag but as long as you don't feel guilt you can get away with it. Trust me, I had a step-family and know what people are capable of.

The Astrolocality chart for the Fall Equinox for Washington DC has Moon and Mars lines running through California, All ends of it. And the astrolocality chart for California has Moon-Mars lines running through Washington! So it certainly looks as if there is a Moon-Mars element to California. If you're Bipolar it would be a great time to move here.

There's million ways to interpret. My first one is always negative of course, in terms of the volatility and violence element. Wherever Jerry Brown goes, violence is sure to follow. Probably upsets him a bit because he's worked so hard to seek peace in his life, but the Dude's an Aries so he's got to deal with a really big shadow in that regard I guess.

This is such a strong "birth" chart with Moon and Mars, rulers of babies and infants and heads, that maybe something incredible will start here. Once half of the population has been poisoned by the aging water infrastructure that is. Or murdered by certain somebodies who are demanding their "rights". With Neptune in the 8th House of finance maybe the Mexican Drug cartels will take over the insurance companies. Or maybe Bank of America will go bankrupt.

It looks like fevers, and issues with public health might be a concern, but that might just be me going on about the underground plumbing again.

So I decided to look up more information about the Moon and Mars influences over the next few months.

There will be a partial Solar Eclipse on
Nov. 25, 2011 (didn't write down the time)

Sun 3 Sagittarius; Moon 3 Sagittarius; NN 15 Sagittarius; G
Grand Square between Mars 7 Virgo (H12) trine Jupiter 2 Taurus (H8) trine Pluto 7 Capricorn (H4)

Then there will be another Total Lunar Eclipse which repeats the Moon-Mars influence on California again for the entire country.

Total LUnar Eclipse
Dec. 10, 2011 10:36 am New York, NY

Sun 19 Sagittarius; Moon 19 Gemini; NN 15 Sagittarius; ASC 23 Capricorn;

The Moon-Sun Full Moon squares Mars 14 Virgo.
Uranus will be stationing Direct at 1 Aries.

Then I looked at Richard Nolle's sight to see if there will be any SuperMoons and there won't be unless I mis-read the charts which is likely.

Then I read Richard Nolle's predictions about Moon and Mars and the Mars activity looks pretty active.

astropro.com/forecast/predict/2011-all.html

Every 2 years there's a Mars Max period. This year it starts on Oct. 28, 2011. Mars will be at 24 Leo squaring Mercury-Venus at 24-25 Scorpio. That could suck for the markets. I don't like to see Mercury-Venus conjunctions in October.

Mars 24 Leo will also be opposing Neptune 29 Aquarius.

Nolle's "Mars Max" cycle will last fromOct. 2011-July 2012. You can read about what that means over at his site.

Mars will SRx on January 24, 2012. This is the beginning of its Synodic Cycle which means that probably somebody very smart will be born who will be an early success in life, kind of like Mark Zukerberg. The Synodic Cycle is when Mars RX is opposing the Sun. This one will occur on Mar. 3, 2012 so people with significant parts of their charts at mid-Mutable will be under the influence, so to speak. Venus will be in conjunction with Uranus in Aries.

Mars will Sdirect on April 14.

Mars Rx happens once every two years so it's fairly common.

Saturn moving into Scorpio might make the Hayward Fault angry. I seem to remember that many of the larger earthquakes occur when a major outer planet is at mid-Scorpio so that would be in about 1.5 years. It wouldn't take a big earthquake to totally decimate the place. Saturn and Pluto at this point will be in mutual reception and that's a fairly ugly idea. It can show creative determination to be creative and as long as there is inspiration that's great. Maybe lots of fashion models will be born next year as well, good bones. That's a great combination for becoming anorexic. Watch your knees.

Saturn will enter Scorpio while opposing Jupiter 4 Taurus.

So that looks earthquakey although I don't think that Eclipses are predictably associated with earthquakes. The Sun-Moon and Mars lines for this Eclipse run through Southern California.

Tennis Player Lobs Ball At Crying Baby

Spanish tennis player David Ferrer just made news at a tennis match. While getting ready to 'lob a serve', a baby in the stands was balling his head off.

Aries Sun Ferrer tossed the ball up in the air and slammed it right over at the baby. I don't know where the ball landed, I guess that both Father and Baby are okay.

Of course, not all Aries will do this kind of thing. So, I wanted to look at the astrology to see what special planetary situation would be responsible for sending a guy over the edge. This guy is Spanish after all. They don't think twice about crying babies. It's not like the guy is Protestant German or something.

So, what is the astrology for an extreme reaction while performing one's job at a sporting event no that most of us would ever have to go through this ourselves due to lack of talent, discipline, ambition, and luck?

David Ferrer
b. Apr. 2, 1982 Alicante, Spain

Sun 13 Aries; Moon Cancer/Leo NN 19 Cancer

As I said, Ferrer is a natal Aries. This is heightened by the fact that his natal Sun is opposing the ruler of Aries which is n. Mars Rx placed at 10 Libra. Granted Mars is not happily placed in Libra, That's where the U.S. Mars is stuck in Rx right now which sort of puts a kink in our ability to be industrious.

Currently, Ferrer is approaching his Solar Return so this is all triggered. Mars rules Triggers. Aries is just impatient. And bringing out more firey impatience is t. Jupiter which is conjunct natal Sun almost exactly within a degree.

The Aries stuff goes on and on and I don't think that most people could ever match a set-up like this in our own natal charts. This is an exceptional case, after all. Ferrer's progressed Mars has been in retrograde ever since he was born. Right now, by progression, it has moved back to 2 Libra which is close to the Aries Point. Thatsa an Aries situation. Act, don't think. And so Actions, not Thinking is what came out and has brought this guy some fame, such as it is. And this p.Mars is also triggered heavily by opposition from a big conjunction of transiting Mars 29 Pisces, Lilith-Uranus 1 Aries. Mar and Uranus together make accidents. Put Lilith in on top and things get really weird.

And natal Sun opposes natal Saturn 20 Libra RX. And it's the poor guy's Saturn Return. Saturn rules Fathers, and this guy maybe doesn't have the best instincts for being a Father himself. Saturn brings discipline and concentration, though, and maybe a little problem with intolerance. Saturn is Rx so perhaps he overcompensates for what he didn't receive? Who knows?

We're supposed to be presented by some sort of big decision at our lives with regards to whatever level of maturity we've reached. And, what a drag, to be under the influence of so much flash reasoning that Sun, Mars and Jupiter present.

I can't tell what Ferrer's feelings about the situation might be. His natal Moon is in either Cancer or Leo. I'll leave that part out. Would be sort of funny if he has Cancer Moon and was just competing with the baby.

Robert Blaschke Predicts Some Enchanted Evenings

The Mountain Astrologer website has just posted an interesting article about a Venus-Mars conjunction cycle written by Robert Blaschke: "Aberrations in the Venus-Mars Cycles."

(In the event of typos here's the link: http://mountainastrologer.com/tma/aberrations-in-the-venus-mars-cycle)

Blaschke describes a cycle between Venus Rx and Mars which repeats a 77-month cycle (6.42 years) and a 32-year cycle between the planets. It seems that the invention of the pill and the feminist movement have disrupted the regularity of this cycle since the 1960s and things won't get back into the swing of things until the last half of this century.

But, that won't stop us from trying, now, will it? The sky is going to plant a new set of three love trysts between the two this next Fall and Winter. Maybe it's a good time to buy Stock in Condoms...

So, if single and interested, prepare to hit the Bars and/or Twelve Step Programs on these dates for A Good Time, especially if the following degrees hit your 5th or 7th Houses, or necessary planets:

HUBBA: Aug. 20, 1010 -- 14 Libra (whispering sweet nothings)

HUBBA: Oct. 3, 2010 -- 13 Scorpio (doing the deed)

HUBBA: May 23, 2011 -- 10 Taurus (massages, fine dining, fights over money begin)

Howl

Today's Full Moon could really turn into a Fool Moon if you're not careful. There are quite a few difficult aspects right now that are within 1 degree orb of each other.

The Sun and Mars are in opposition at 10 Aquarius-Leo. This is certainly a time when a problem could be coming to a head if you have a planet with close orb connection with those points. Don't bite anyone and don't let anyone bite you.

Because Mars is going through a Retrograde phase this is called a synodic cycle. Mars will once again passing over this spot between Apr. 21-24. At that point it will also be in difficult square aspect to the Sun and Mercury(which will be Retrograde). So there could be need to revise what goes wrong right now.

Today's Moon connects into the Sun-Mars opposition. Full Moons are oppositions of the Sun to the Moon. They are emotional in themselves. They control the parts of the physical body ruling water retention and fevers so perhaps one should remember to drink lots of water today to keep things flowing. Also I think I might pop a couple Vitamin C's to keep inflamation (Mars, Sun) down. The earthquake survivors down in Haiti are at most risk right now for problems related to unsanitary conditions and infection.

This is an even more potent contact because Mars has been lead planet in a Locomotive Chart shape. Right now the Moon is Lead Planet and will pass this on to Mars within about an hour or so when the Full Moon is exact.

The longer term and equally difficult Saturn-Pluto square is also in exact aspect today. Saturn and Pluto working together rule Pollution so one can see how difficult the Inflammatory Full Moon/Mars connection could be. Sure wish there was a planet in Virgo today as that could show a positive influence for sanitation along with desire to work through practical details in order to fix the problems.

The keyword for "square" is "Challenge." So if one embraces the challenge as something to be survived and solved one will have the energy devoted to fixing the problem. Saturn right now is actually in positive sextile-trine aspect to the Full Moon so this is possible.

More about today's Full Moon from Yahoo: http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20100129/sc_space/biggestandbrightestfullmoonof2010tonight.

James Byrd, Jr. and Jesse Jackson

Today's News has an article that looks back on a racial beating/murder that happened in Jasper, Texas 10 years ago. 3 White Guys picked up a Black Man in their Ford Truck, chained him down, beat him, maybe slit his throat, then dragged him by the ankle for 3 miles while his body parts tore off, one by one. The Victim's name was James Byrd, Jr. The murderers have been put in jail, two are on death row. Their names are John William King, Lawrence Russell Brewer, Shawn Allen Berry. I can find Mr. Byrd's birth date but I can't find the birth dates of the murderers. Why is that?

link to article here: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iqy3nIU4RvYvkISr1XK_KatcGJcgD914P4BO0

James Byrd, Jr.
b. May 2, 1949

Sun 12 Taurus; Moon Gemini or Cancer; NN 26 Aries

Date of Murder
June 7, 1998 early morning hours (I used 3 am) Jasper, TX

I was hoping this would be a simple post about how awful Chiron Returns are because James Byrd, Jr. was 49 years old at the time that he died. It certainly is a lesson about Chiron but not the Return. Natally Byrd's Chiron is in Sagittarius and Chiron was still in Scorpio at the time of his Murder.

Chiron's presence, however, is very strong in both event and natal charts. It is conjunct the Moon on the day of the murder, to the degree at 3 am. Byrd's natal Chiron was being hit by a Pluto conjunction (within a degree) which was squaring the Nodal Axis. Chiron is opposite Mercury in Gemini in Byrd's natal chart. Without a birth time I don't have a placement for the Moon and Angles in Byrd's chart, but, this is the only Opposition in Byrd's Chart. As oppositions encourage a person to learn balance, relationships and how to play opposite others, this may have been a problem for Byrd in his life otherwise. The influence of this opposition certainly begins to stand out in his life.

I just wrote a blog where I talked, or rather rambled incoherently, about a researcher who has found that language differences may be the root of racist tendencies. I equated this with Gemini influences in the chart. And I have no idea how the influence works. It seems to work in good, bad, and ugly ways in only the way that Gemini can. At any rate, Chiron is the Wound and the Teacher and Mercury is placed in Byrd's natal chart in its own sign of Gemini so it's interesting that lasting lessons through Racism are a gift that Mr. Byrd passed on. His Siblings (Gemini) set up a Foundation for Racial Healing (Chiron) and today's articles say that conditions in the town are improved (Although I read on that there has since been another similar incident).

By coincidence, the Murder occurred while the Sun was in Gemini conjunct Mercury and Mars. The conjunction had cycled past Byrd's natal Mercury but these 3 planets were parallel to each other at 22 degrees plus declination. Byrd's natal Mercury is parallel these planets as well. Guess that shows some kind of relationship.

The transits show an uneven triangle shape (Trine-Square-Inconjunct, can't remember the name and I'm too lazy to look it up, sorry). The Sun-Mercury-Mars conjunction was was inconjunct the Moon-Chiron in Scorpio conjunction and trining Uranus in Aquarius. This is a violent combination. The murderers had been out most of the night driving around and knocking down their neighbor's mailboxes for the Hell of it. The chain that was used to drag Mr. Byrd was originally intended to pull mailboxes out of the ground. Well, along with a few other choice words, pulling mailboxes out of the ground certainly could be one of the less noble Mars-Mercury in Gemini manifestations. So is I guess picking up a man who is walking home from a baby shower, I guess.

Byrd's chart was really getting pounded by the outer planets as well. Everyone his age was going through these but these planets were hitting his personal planets so affecting him personally. For one, T.Neptune was conjunct natal Jupiter in Aquarius. This squares his natal Mars and certainly could show bad judgment. Byrd had problems with drugs . Another aspect, Uranus was opposing natal Pluto in Leo. This opposition squares his natal Sun-Venus conjunction. That's a major violent aspect.

One part of the newspaper story really struck me and that was how his family reacted. His siblings, either brother or sister or both, has since set up the James Byrd Foundation for Racial Healing. This, of course, would be the Chiron/Mercury influence. Those Pluto aspects, especially the conjunction of t.Pluto to n.Chiron shows Fame through the Death, and use of the Death to further healing in the environment and through the siblings (opposition to Mercury in Gemini).

What I didn't get while I read this was, why did they turn around and do this? With all that fear and rage that they must have been feeling, how did they not only show forgiveness but manage to organize such a thing? The answer, at least in part, was:

Jesse Jackson
b. Oct. 8, 1941 2:15 pm Greenville, SC

Sun 16 Libra; ASC 26 Capricorn; Moon 24 Taurus; MC 16 Scorpio; NN 27 Virgo

Wow.

(Just give me a moment).

So, this guy. I've always been kind of critical of Jackson. He's been so grumpy and firey lately and he sort of shows disrespect to others. But, no wonder. Jackson immediately went down to the community and gave the sermon at Byrd's funeral. He's been acting as a buffer for when all these psychotic, senseless crimes happen. He's been personally witnessing and trying to change these incredibly hurt people to keep them from getting revenge.

Most of Jackson's planets are on the right side of his chart showing that he's mostly influenced by others. He is also a Libra Sun so this is his natural expressive tendency.

The rest of the indicators that I'm looking at show how he can and will confront really difficult situations. This is a person who wants to confront the problems in the world.

His chart ruler is Saturn which is placed in the 4th house of family and environment. This shows that he comes from a background of poverty. His Saturn is conjunct his Moon and Uranus which brings in community and caring, a struggle to build a bridge between the past and the future. The Moon and Saturn in practical and kind Taurus will find a need and fill it. He's literally been building and rebuilding the community. And Taurus is a stubborn sign.

This Moon-Saturn-Uranus conjunction finds a lot of expression in the chart through strong aspect patterns with other planets. It is part of a Grand Trine to Jackson's Capricorn ASC and his Neptune in Virgo. Uranus is also part of a Mystic Rectangle opposing Venus in Scorpio and sextile/trine Pluto in Leo and Capricorn ASC. The conjunction also trines his North Node.

And there are indicators of struggles in personal relationships with Pluto in the 7th House. Pluto can force one to see into conspiracies, that's for sure. But with the Capricorn Rising there is wisdom to want to seek alternatives to Plutonian problems like revenge and deep rage.

Jackson's chart is my second find of a Sun-Mars Rx opposition. He was born under what I've been calling a Mars Synodic Year. (I now think that isn't a real term, or the proper term, but if I've made mistakes with that I'm leaving them because they seem to give some valuable information, at least for now). The other chart with this aspect was Mark Zuckerberg's, the kid who built Facebook while barely out of the crib. I thought that perhaps it showed a tendency for early success as Mars is related to Youth. Jackson has been driven from early on as well. There's is a strong identity with youth and forcefulness and how to handle forcefulness. It would be a perfect aspect for a Civil Rights Activist.

Jackson's Mars Rx is interesting to watch with regards to the Progressions. Natally, Mars is in Aries, the sign that it rules. With Mars opposing the Libra Sun, one can see a very primal need to lead others into better relationship with each other. Maybe also a problem with being a push-me-pull- you. Jackson's progressed Mars went direct in April, 1974. He took on more and more leadership roles in the Civil Rights Movement and then in Government roles. He ran for the Presidency twice and working as a "Shadow Senator" in Washington DC. (Don't know what that means).

This year, Jackson's Mars has returned to his Birth degree. This is extremely interesting as the United States may elect its first African American President. The thing which Jackson has worked so hard for has a very good chance of manifesting.

Mark Zuckerberg - Mars Synodic Cycles

Forbes Magazine recently named Mark Zuckerberg as the World's Youngest Billionaire. Zuckerberg is going to celebrate his 24th Birthday next month. Happy Jupiter Return year you little mutt. Zuckerberg is the creator & CEO of the online social website Facebook which he created from his dorm room while attending undergrad classes at Harvard. Can U Imagine?

Looking at his chart, I found a great example of someone born at the beginning of a Mars Synodic Year. (I discussed Synodic Years on a previous entry called something like "Baby's first Synodic Years.") I'm interested in finding out if these "Years" present themselves as Cycles in person's life. Synodic Years are created from the Sun's opposition to a planet that is in the middle of a Retrograde period. Humans on earth never experience Sun opposite Mercury and Venus because those planets never oppose the Sun, but all the other planets outside the Earth's orbit do.

The Mars Year cycle seems like it would create a person who is highly energetic, aggressive, youthful, creative, perhaps having problems with authority through the planet, signs, and houses involved. It makes sense that a person who rushes into his life, makes his first Billion during his first Uranus square would have gained some extra boost from Mars in his chart.

Mark Zuckerberg
b. May 14, 1984, Boca Raton, FL

Sun 25 Taurus; Moon in Scorpio; NN 7 Gemini

Zuckerberg's chart shape is one of those fascinating See-Saw/Butterfly shapes. There's a bundle of mostly personal planets here in Aries through Gemini opposing a bundle of mostly outer planets in Scorpio through Capricorn (all Rx too). I've read somewhere that this chart shape is sort of a balancing act type of aspect between the two sides. The individual is continually playing a tight rope dance with life and with others. In this chart, even the Nodes are connected in with this chart pattern.

Included in this opposition is a Full/or near Full Moon in the financial signs of Taurus (Sun) and Scorpio (Moon). One can see that he's got a natural affinity with the green stuff. Zuckerberg's Sun is opposite this Retrograde Mars which is conjunct Saturn in Scorpio. The Moon is definitely in Scorpio but I don't know how closely placed it is to this conjunction without a birth time.

What got my attention is, as I said before, is the fact that Zuckerberg has a Mars Retrograde that opposes his Sun. Sun and Mars are highly energetic & forceful when working together, relating through an opposition means that the energy is used through relationships, sort of seems good for a sparring match.

The Mars-Saturn Rx in Scorpio conjunction (Saturn doesn't oppose n.Sun), possibly conjunct the Moon brings in some strong influences from the parents as Saturn rules the Father and Moon the Mother. Zuckerberg's parents are both professionals, I believe his Father is a lawyer and his mother is a psychiatrist. These planets in the sign of Scorpio indicate that they are driven, hard working, and very psychologically penetrating, exacting people. Zuckerberg learned from them well. He also may suffer emotionally from not understanding when to apply force and when to use the brakes. (Certainly hope he doesn't drive a stick-shift.) It's extremely interesting that Zuckerman is basically a glorified Hacker who has learned how to balance (opposite, Butterfly chart) his extreme behavior into a successful, constructive form with the outside world (not without problems, mind you). Harvard actually suspended his Internet privileges when he hacked into the school records in order to create a student website. He's in similar legal straights now for another breach of privacy through the Facebook sight. In December I guess he gave a public apology. Pluto was conjunct his natal Neptune at 1 Capricorn and opposing transiting Mars Rx. Nasty transit on the Aries point which brings things into public arena.

His Nodal Axis is in Gemini/Sagittarius and presents a completely different life pattern. One can see these two converge in his early life. His progressed Sun and Venus pass over his North Node in Gemini. Meanwhile, his Nodal Axis passes backward over his natal Sun and Venus. This might be significant because they were both hitting each other as he created Facebook at Age 19 (time of Nodal Return). He literally could create the Resources (Taurus) for a school social network (Gemini).

One of the problems presented in his life though is that Zuckerberg doesn't seemed to have learned how to respect the privacy rights of others (planets in Scorpio) and sort of assumes that others want to have a huge open social network where everyone can get to know each other. He understands the Gemini Side of the World and is in denial of the Taurus/Scorpio side. This is also indicated by the Sun-Mars opposition as you will see when you read Bob Marks' description down below).

Magically, many people really do want such a network, and hence Zuckerberg's fabulous sudden wealth. His Facebook software took off like lightening on College campuses (Sagittarius South Node conjunct Uranus in Sagittarius) and spread to the older population after that. Asking permission just isn't his way of doing things, slows things down, not a Mars keyword.

Okay, so to look at the Synodic Mars Year to see if it influences. These happen on average every 2 years plus 1-2.5 months (779.7 days). Recently they've been occurring on odd number years. From eyeballing the dates it looks like Mars goes retrograde for about a month, opposes the Sun and then continues the Retrograde for another month, then begins to move forward. It's not completely finished its the damage until it returns to the spot where it began its retrograde which seems to take another couple of months.

July 29, 2003 - Nov. 9, 2003 / Mars Retrograde beginning at 11 Pisces.
Sun opposite Mars Rx on Aug. 28-29, 2003 at 5-6 Virgo-Pisces.
Mars D at 1 Pisces on Sept. 27, 2003

Oct. 2, 2005 - Feb. 5, 2006 / Mars Rx beginning at 24 Taurus
Sun opposite Mars Rx on Nov. 7-8, 2005 at 15-16 Scorpio
Mars D at 9 Taurus on Dec. 10, 2005

This Sun-Mars Rx was involved in a Grand Square aspect to the Saturn-Neptune opposition that was happening at the time. This squares Zuckerberg's Venus-Saturn opposition from Taurus to Scorpio. But Saturn was helped at the same time because it was involved in a Grand Trine with the NN and Mercury.

Nov. 15, 2007 - Apr. 7, 2008 / Mars Rx beginning at 13 Cancer
Sun opposite Mars on Dec. 25, 2007 at 3 Capricorn-Cancer
Mars D at 25 Gemini on Jan. 31, 2008

My analysis of the Mars Synodic Cycle isn't very good because I don't have enough dates to really compare against Zuckerberg's life. It sort of looks like he created Facebook close to a Mars opposition. He found investors during a trine to the Sun-Mars opposition. So perhaps it's a strong cycle to watch, perhaps not. I'd like to compare the oppositions to when Zuckerberg gets in trouble with authority, which is a strong marker of Sun-Mars oppositions. From Bob Marks' description from www.bobmarksastrologer.com:

Mars Aspecting the Sun: Whatever squares or opposes the Sun frequently shows traits that we reject, that we don’t even want to believe we have. But we do have them. Mars is anger and energy. One woman with a stressful aspect between the Sun and Mars had a violent father who beat her mother in front of the kids. She always wondered why her boyfriends were abusive. I asked her if she also had no energy. She replied "How did you know?". You cannot cut off the "bad" traits of a planet and keep the good. It’s a package deal. Jung was right in this case. She told herself that she wasn’t going to be like that violent Mars, so she attracted it from the outside. And since she rejected her Mars function, she also cut off her own energy. In other cases, the Mars seems to take over, and the person has an explosive temper. Stress aspects between the Sun and Mars can also tend to be defiant of authority if the Mars influence predominates. Once you learn to deal with this combination, however, the energy can seem never ending.

I don't have the Date that Zuckerberg hacked into the Student Records at Harvard in order to create his first Student Directory. I think they said it was in his Sophomore year.

He created Facebook from his Dorm Room at Harvard on Feb. 4, 2004. He was 19 and just past his first Nodal Return (7 Gemini). The Nodes then passed over his natal Chiron, Sun and Venus in Taurus. Facebook's "birth date" had a Leo Full Moon from 16 Aquarius-Leo. This squares his Sun-Mars opposition plus the transiting Nodes. Leo and Aquarius are rulers of Entrepreneurship and are very social so this is appropriate. As for Mars aspects, transiting Mars was at 2 Taurus so was almost opposing natal Mars but not quite. His Sun-Mars Synodic Cycle was almost halfway through. T.Mars was conjunct his natal Mercury at 30 Aries and opposing Pluto at 1 Scorpio. (The Mercury in Aries opposite Pluto in Scorpio shows how sharp and shrewd his mind really is).

Zuckerberg moved across Country to Palo Alto, CA in the Summer of 2004 with his roommate and some friends. They meant to stay only the Summer, but found an investor to back the company and stayed in Palo Alto. One would expect a Sun-Mars person to drop out of college. It's interesting that Zuckerberg's prog. Sun and Venus were in the social, networking sign of Gemini opposing his natal Uranus of computers, high tech. Venus = Money and Uranus = suddenness so I suppose this is a good aspect for asking for investor money. I took lousy notes but do remember reading somewhere that Zuckerberg was offered millions of dollars by his investors and while driving to meet friends to celebrate some guy pulled a gun on him at a Gas Station. Would be interesting to check that date for sure for Mars-Pluto influences.

Mars passed through Cancer, Leo and Virgo that Summer (2004) and ended mid-September with a nice conjunction of Sun-Mars-Jupiter-Mercury in Virgo which would have trined Zuckerberg's Taurus-Scorpio opposition.

Facebook ran into problems (always having to do with privacy issues and copyright laws) after it launched its Newsfeed on Sept. 5, 2006. This program was criticized for giving personal information over to cyberstalkers. The Saturn-Neptune opposition was in a t-square to Jupiter in Scorpio at the time which was right on top of Zuckerberg's natal Saturn-Moon-Mars in Scorpio stellium.

During the launch, Zuckerberg's first Uranus square was exact to the degree from Sagittarius (n.) to Pisces(t.). His progressed Sun and Venus were still within aspect to this square, so he could expect sudden and unpredictable events both good and bad. Mars was in an interesting aspect. It was at the end of Virgo conjunct the South Node and trining/sextiling Zuckerberg's natal Sun/Mars. It seems to have presented a test for his natural aggressiveness tendencies. You just want to go ahead and do whatever you want to do during a trine.

You can really see the Mars-Saturn conjunction in Scorpio pulling on each other in this chart. Zuckerberg seems to always get caught. The oppositions from the Sun just really put the spotlight on him and the Mars energy wants to keep jumping the fences. He's certainly learning about privacy issues through it seems all the Fixed Sign energies. He keeps insisting that openness and sharing are the way that society must exist on a larger scale. Hopefully he will figure out a way to make that happen without the evil element. He's so young, he probably hasn't weened off the Tolkien Trilogy yet.