The Return of the Ring

Okay so this ain't no JRR Tolkien blog post, my precioussssssssss.

And it ain't no Mahler song. (Rhinelegendchen from Des Knaben Wunderhorn)

But it's still a story about a really cool married couple, a ring. And, well, eh, a toilet.

In case I messed up the link:

http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montana/couple-finds-engagement-ring-missing-years/article_111a0fdf-1262-5554-bdd8-392853769679.html

Terry and Donna Claver have been married more than 38 years up in Billings, Montana. I don't have their birth dates and I don't have their wedding date but this particular story from their marriage sounds like a Nodal Cycly thing to me.

Terry proposed after the couple had gone on only 3 dates back in August, 1973. About a year and a half into the marriage, Donna was very very pregnant. While in the bathroom she took her engagement ring off to put some lotion on and watched as the ring fell into the toilet bowl. The couple did what they could to try to fish the thing out, but to no avail. A few years later they moved to a bigger house. This house was sold many times over and eventually bought by a group of hunters. This past Fall, the toilet froze up and broke so, by coincidence, just as the hunters were visiting their little one room cabin and removing the toilet, Terry the husband of our miracle story was across the street working on the neighbor's house. Terry asked for the toilet. The hunters handed it over. And when Terry got back to his shop he took a sledge hammer to the porcelain and released the engagement ring for once and for all. The story of how he used it to propose to Donna is really cute and is explained in the newspaper story linked to above.

Well, what do we expect from the Astrology? Rings go on the hand and fingers and hands are ruled by the sign of Gemini and its ruler Mercury. Marriage is ruled by Venus through her rulership of the sign of Libra. Venus also rules jewelry through the sign of Taurus. The ring was made of a pink sapphire. Sapphires are ruled by the sign of Virgo and Virgo's ruler, Mercury.

So, we see a lot of Mercury and Venus imagery. And here we go. This probably won't make sense.

Don't know the exact date that Terry reclaimed the engagement ring. But on Nov. 10 Mercury, ruler of fingers and rings, was in conjunction with Venus, ruler of marriage and Jewelry, at 10 Sagittarius. They were in conjunction with the North Node which was at 16 Sagittarius. I'm not sure what the significance of the sign of Sagittarius is except that Sagittarius is considered lucky and also a little clumsy. Sagittarius rules Hunters, so maybe that's the connection. I don't know what rules toilets freezing up and cracking. I think we'll just give chalk that one up to Global Warming weirdness, or maybe the weather in Billings, Montana. This transit of Mercury through Sagittarius is more significant than others because it is very long due to Mercury's Retrograde on Nov. 21. And also Merucry has had a very long conjunction transit with the North Node which rules the idea of events having to do with one's Destiny and Life Path.

Retrogrades are said to bring things back to you from the past. I've found that Uranus can as well because he rules circulatory systems and inexplicable events but don't know how other astrobuffs would feel about that.

Wish I had the exact dates. There might be a lot going on with these charts which explains this amazing event. It helps that Jupiter is passing through Taurus because Taurus, as said before, rules cash and possessions. It seems that Donna gave up on the ring but Terry continued to wish he could get it back. That's a Taurusy kind of thing.

It looks possibly like some interesting stuff through progressions in the charts. Again, I don't have the exact dates so this is very very fictitious.

In August, 1973, when the ring was bought, Mars was at 2 Taurus. This brings us back to Taurus thing. Taurus rules objects so a ring would be considered partly under its rulership. If the Aug. 15 is progressed forward from 1973 to 2011 to about 2 weeks before Thanksgiving (I used the date Nov. 10) then we notice that prog. Mars is now Retrograde. It stationed back in 2007-8. Transiting Jupiter is hanging over that point right now. Maybe that's when the Hunters bought the house. Jupiter represents luck, and also clumsiness and all kinds of accidents that occur like this.

Also interesting is that t. Neptune stationed Direct at 5 Sagittarius in August, 1975. (exact date: Aug. 17). I'm using what I'm assuming is the purchase date for the ring. Not the date that it went down the drain.

Prog. Neptune took roughly (very roughly) 2 years to come out of Rx by progression. The outer planets move extremely slowly by transit and almost not at by progression. The ring was lost during Donna's first pregnancy because she set it down on the toilet lid and it slid into the toilet where it jammed at the base.

So, the Mars and Neptune progressions probably don't have anything to do with anything. I just mentioned them because I'm always interested in seeing what planets do when changing direction whether by transit or by progression. It does seem that perhaps Neptune st r and Mars coming out of Rx by progression might be connected, but who knows.

During Aug, 1973 there was also a Venus-Pluto conjunction. The love vibes were very intense. Venus was either at the end of Virgo or beginning of Libra. Pluto was at 2 Libra. Venus rules marriage and Pluto partially rules plumbing as it rules anything that moves under ground. Venus also rules Love and Pluto rules Sexual attraction -- a minor part of this 38 year old marriage, I'm sure.

Pluto was at 3 Libra and Saturn was at 2 Cancer so they were in a close square. So, right off the bat we see that the marriage was due for a revamp during the past couple of years because these two planets were again squaring each other over other beginning Cardinal sign degrees.

Cancer is actually the other sign/planet which rule plumbing as it is a water sign and rules the home and anything that "drains" from the home.

Double Scorpio Opening Bell

Well, so it's an Election Year and they say the Market doesn't tank during an Election Year.

Tomorrow's Opening Bell is going to test that theory. At 9:30 Wall Street is going to be a Double Scorpio. It's been a Double Scorpio Bell ever since the Sun entered that sign last week. Scorpio rules Investments in Other People's Money. It sort of looks like this Bell isn't concerned with that stuff right now, really, though. The trend is going more in the opposite direction as Pluto, Ruler of Scorpio is in the 2d House conjunct the Opening Bell. That's Banking and Cash (and how much you value yourself).

An Interlude from Billie Holiday:

God save the child that's got his own,
that's got his own.

Opening Bell Monday Oct. 25, 2010 9:30 am

Sun 3 Scorpio; Moon 1 Gemini; ASC 27 Scorpio; MC 11 Virgo; NN 6 Capricorn

Anyhoo, a Crisis gets Scorpio all hot and bothered. Scorpio is the Phoenix who rises up out of the ashes and brags about how transformed he feels from the purification process. That's because Scorpio is a very determined and strong willed sign. Everyone else is sitting around totally wasted and doesn't know why the Hell we have to bother with the idea of transformation. Well, if you garden you know how much better the plants grow if you prune them back. That's Scorpio. Give a Scorpio a set of clippers and a rose bush and you'll see what I mean. So, think about how good the market will feel after you've been flushed out along with all the rest of the dead weight.

At any rate, there's going to be some huge manipulations in the money markets tomorrow. Scorpio Sun, Scorpio Rising, Gemini Moon, Who we kidding here? The media will be involved and the Real Estate Market will be involved. And probably some immigrants will be involved. And the Republicans. And the President will be right where he ought to be but he won't be feeling real good about it (Saturn exalted and in its own house, squaring Pluto, Capricorn intercepted in the 2d).

The reason why I'm looking at this Bell is because my Father always told me that 3d Quarter Reports are a good reason to avoid investing in Stock Markets. He was a Scorpio and he grew up in the Depression so you can tell they screwed up his childhood Birthdays royally.

Also, I'm looking at this bell because I've noticed that often there is a correlation between Mercury-Venus conjunctions and crashes. It will be great at the end of the week to look back and say, hey, that wasn't so bad and I can throw that theory out the window. Mercury and Venus together rule marketing (maybe along with Moon) and the idea is that this combination will show that people are more likely to dabble in the markets. Tomorrow the conjunction is to the degree.

And there's a very volatile opposition of Mars to Moon layered right over the ASC/DESC of the chart which could show panic. What may make this a different one is that the planets are in Scorpio in the 12th House so the dealings may be more shrewd, tight lipped and behind the scenes. And there's an election coming up.

The Sun is always in the 11th House in U.S. Stock Market Opening Bells but right now the Sun is really close to the 12th House cusp and it's conjunct Venus Rx-Mercury in Scorpio which are in the 12th House. Venus rules Banking and Money so this Rx and conjunction to Mercury and Sun in the sign of other people's money is looking very complicated. 12th House might indicate some sort of angelic influence, the Neptunians always like to see it that way, Rose colored glasses and stuff, and deception. And boy, do I ever hope they pull out all the stops on that deception stuff because 12th House also rules self-undoing (once Neptune and Pluto and Mercury move away we all start chanting about how honesty is the best policy, but generally by then it's too late to do anything about it).

At any rate, a Moon-Mars opposition set right over the ASC/DESC is volatile and could show panic. This is squaring Neptune-Chiron in Aquarius. Neptune keeps showing up and this brings in the Hollywood thing, and hopefully not the jumping out the window thing. Spin the Wag, or Tail the Dog. Chiron added might show something different but who knows. The Neptune-Chiron conjunction has moved off the angle of the IC but Neptune still rules that angle. 3d House shows that the media will be wagging their tongues and nobody's gonna know what they're saying (but sometimes that's all it takes). 4th House shows Real Estate and the Public and Emotional Reactions. Mercury rules the Virgo Midheaven and Mercury is in the 12th House conjunct Venus Rx (Banking).

Pluto, the Ruler of this chart is squaring Saturn, the Ruler of Democrats (from what I've googled/gathered, Jupiter rules Republicans and Saturn rules Democrats). A Saturn/Pluto square brings loss, the painful kind. It can bring new motivations for leadership and ethics, just because all acts are pretty ruthless and probably a little corrupt right now. Saturn is very strongly placed in this chart in Libra (exhalted) and in the 10th House (natural house). Saturn shows governance and the President and in Libra there's a need to get along.

The Moon at 1 Gemini is apex of a Yod to a Sun 3 Scorpio (H11) sextile to Pluto 4 Capricorn (H2). There's something wrong with the female element in this chart. It's very out of balance.

Jupiter-Uranus, both Rx, are in conjunction in the 4th House. As I said this could be Real Estate, Farming, Overseas investments, Techies, Public, Oceans, Water.

By Closing Bell, Pluto-NN will be conjunct elevated in H10. Saturn will be in H7. Jupiter-Uranus will be in H1. That's angular and so the influences are strong. Sun, Mercury, Venus Rx, and Mars in Scorpio will all be in the 8th House. They will be trining the Jupiter Rx-Uranus RX conjunction in the 1st house. Neptune will rule Closing Bell chart. That's compassion, emotionalism, self-undoing. However, Neptune will be in his own house, the 12th, so perhaps, hopefully, compassion will rule out. We're all more compassionate towards others after a day of huge losses in the Stock Market, aren't we?

For the rest of this week Mars will be conjunct the Ascendant of the Opening Bell and both change signs from Scorpio to Sagittarius. So, the tone will change to Optimism. Friday shows a Grand Trine between Mars/ASC to Moon in Cancer (H8) to Jupiter-Uranus (H4).

Flash Crash 2:45

On May 6, 2010 the Stock Market wigged out after lunch and made the 2d biggest point drop ever, around 1,000 points, before regaining most of its value by the closing bell. Whew, who mixed up those martinis?

A while back I wondered if the Saturn-Uranus opposition would cause some sort of techno/trader weirdness in the Market. There was a conjunction of Saturn to Uranus back in the big crash of 1987 which seems like it may have been a cause factor. That conjunction was in Sagittarius and right on top of the 2d house cusp in the Opening Bell chart. (Oct. 17, 1987) I sort of think that with Saturn and Uranus trying to cooperate there tends to be some of that same annoying thing where man has to chase the machine he has created. Turns out that this crash probably has more to do with Jupiter and Chiron in Pisces.

I'm not sure if anyone's located a cause for the crash. I mean, why May 6? Well, Mercury was Rx .... nah, Mercury goes Rx 3x a year every year year after year. Anyway, they never really seem to come up with reasons for why these crashes happen. The Sun is in the 11th House every day at Opening Bell, that's a good starter reason. Good old 11th House wake up call.

Flash Crash Opening Bell
May 6, 2010 9:30 am New York, NY

Sun 16 Taurus (H11); Moon 21 Aquarius (H8); ASC 13 Cancer; MC 23 Pisces; NN 15 Capricorn

Market begins to drop
May 6, 2010 1:00 pm New York, NY

Moment of Impact
May 6, 2010 2:45 pm New York, NY

In addition to the Mercury Rx 4 Taurus (H11), there are a number of biggees. The Nodal Axis was conjunct the ASC/DESC in the Opening Bell. And Pluto had just barely preceded it by about 9 degrees. That weakens things. I figured it indicated sabotage of some sort, but it could have just as easily been the Martians or the Martinis.

The Saturn opposition to Jupiter-Uranus was very close to the IC/MC axis. Times when this opposition hits one of the angles might be better for some of the techno gliche activity.

There was also a volatile t-square with Sun 15 Taurus squaring Moon 21 Aquarius opposing Mars 15 Leo. These 3 show some kind of emotional trigger thing. Here they in the Resources Signs in the Resources Houses so in a Stock Market chart I suppose one could expect something big to happen on that day, especially with the Nodal Axis hanging over the ASC/DESC line.

After lunch this t-square passes over the Ascendant. The Sun is conjunct the Midheaven. And the Moon is shootin shit with Neptune and Lilith on the Descendant. Neptune and Lilith? Martinis involved.

Mercury and Venus are in Mutual Reception so this shows ability for a lot of chatter in the markets. And Mercury is Retrograde which is great for any kind of clerical error. Supposedly the computers took over and were placing trades on their own according to mathematical principles. The Uranus-Neptune mutual reception had to have something to do with that as well.

The bottom of the market hit around 2:45. Venus was conjunct the Midheaven. I guess the traders quit trading. The Sun was in the 9th House in a Grand Trine with the Virgo Ascendant and the North Node. Maybe some sort of foreign investment deal made?

Today I found a link on a blog to a Wall St. Journal article (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB20001424052748703957604575272791511469272.html) which compares this Flash Crash with a Flash Crash from 1962:

1962 Flash Crash
May 29, 1962

Sun 8 Gemini (H11); Moon 15 Aries (c. MC); ASC 2 Leo; MC 17 Aries; NN 13 Leo Rx;

The Sun is again apex of a t-square from H11. This time it squares Pluto Virgo (H2) opposing Chiron (H8).

Interesting other connections. Again, there's a Mercury Rx so Mercury is looking suspicious.

It's interesting that both crashes occur in May. Taurus takes up most of the Month and Taurus rules Money and Banks so could be the culprit. But the Sun, Mercury and Venus are all in different signs in each year. The WSJ article says that complacency among traders might have been one of the major reasons because both of these crashes were preceded by years in which there was a steep rise in the market.

Also interesting is that both Jupiter and Chiron were in the sign of Pisces. Jupiter and Pisces need to learn how to handle their alcohol better. These things always happen after lunch. Anyways, the Sun mosies over the Midheaven sometime round noon and goes into a sort of giddey-up rodeo act as it travels through the 9th House of the Centaur and down into the 8th where it gains equilibrium.

I looked at some of the suspected causes given for this last Flash Crash on Wikipedia and tried to relate them through astrolocality to see if any looked prominent. Some company out in the Midwest is blamed for posting a trade that went berserk. This is where the Chiron line goes through. Since Chiron is in the same sign in both charts maybe this would be a good place to look.

****NOTE ADDED 10/8/10: According to editorial in USATODAY (10/7/10 issue) "Flash-crash analysis leaves investors reason to worry" the reason for the crash is related to a money management firm in Kansas, Waddell & Reed. The firm "decided to unload $4 billion in stock futures contracts, using a computer algorithm programmed to sell regardless of price, so long as trading volume stayed robust. High-frequency traders provided that volume as their computers bought and sold rapid fire, creating a kind of feedback loop that signaled Waddell's computers to keep selling even as the prices of the futures contracts, and the underlying stocks, plunged." "If anything, the report is disquieting in how long it took to simply figure out what happened, and in its lack of concrete proposals for preventing a recurrence. The truly scary thing is that all this happened in a relatively benign trading environment." Chiron can't heal its own problems and in the sign of Pisces we definitely get the sense that there's stuff out there that can't be figured out. Merc Rx never helps, of course.

There was some mention about some kind of currency exchange situation with Japan and that looks a bit suspicious as well because a Pluto line runs between Japan and North Korea. Jupiter is in Pisces in both Flash Crash charts so Jupiter lines might show something. I don't understand how the market works enough to say either way.