Did the U.S. Give Leftist Latin American Leaders Cancer?

Wow, I hope not. I suspect that the U.S. invented most of the treatments that the Leftist Latin American leaders are getting treated for. Anyway, Hugo Chavez of Venezuela has just conjectured out loud that the U.S. probably infected all these leaders with Cancer. I think our Lone Wolves are too busy shooting up the House of Pancakes, the White House, and little kids to bother with infecting Leftist Latin American leaders but I can't be sure. I know that I'm being gang stalked by Mexican, East Indian and others. Wow, Hugo, I'm sorry for your pain, but have to admit you look better with a bald head. I suggest trying Homeopathy and Acupuncture and Macrobiotic Diet. Most Americans go down to Mexico for cures. Maybe sleep on a couple of Aloe Vera leaves for a week.

All the Leftist Latin American leaders have different signs and different types of Cancers so if the U.S. infected them then I guess they tailored the stuff. All the Leaders are just past their 2nd progressed Lunar Returns. Most are about to enter their 2d Saturn Returns. In other words, they're in their 50s and that's when Cancer rates begin to go up.

What they do have in common is placement of Neptune in the sign of Libra. This explains their leftist politics. And they should include listening to music of the Beatles in their therapies. Music is extremely important for this generations' well being. Saturn has just passed over their natal Neptunes which can sap energy. Saturn rules old age. Right now we're having a trine between Saturn and Neptune in the sky. Don't know that that means a hill of beans, you don't really hear astrologers talking about it too much right now. Neptune removes boundaries and Saturn builds boundaries, so obviously there is a disagreement between what both want to do. Trines can lend an ease to the tension so that they might help each other put form into chaos. Trines might also bring out a problem that both these planets can grapple with in that they both can buckle under fear and guilt. These guys all need to do some deep breathing exercises.

What is interesting in connection with Chavez' blame game is that both Libra and Neptune rule enemies. Libra rules open enemies and Neptune rules secret enemies, and poisons and gases and blame.

I'm not real interested in looking at the charts further so I'll list the Leaders and dates below. I wish everyone rapid and full recovery and freedom from suffering.

Cancer in Astrology, I suspect, is ruled by the Moon/CAncer and Pluto/Scorpio but I haven't even looked that up. The Houses related to Health are (as far as I know) the 6th House of Daily Health Habits, the 12th House of Chronic Health Problems and the 1st House of the Physical Body.

I'm not in any way whatsoever a Health Astrologer so my investigations here are kindergarten.

Hugo Chavez, President of Venezuela, Colon Cancer which has erupted into Pelvis, gad I'm totally cringing right now thinking about how that must be.

Colon Cancer ruled by Virgo, Mercury.

b. July 28, 1954 4:00 am Sabaneta, Venezuela

Sun 5 Leo; ASC 7 Cancer; Moon 15 Cancer; MC ; NN


Christina Fernandez, President of , Thyroid Cancer

Thyroid Cancer rules by Gemini, Mercury

b. February 19, 1953 12:15 pm

Sun 1 Pisces; Moon 18 Taurus; ASC 12 Taurus; MC ; NN


Fernando Lugo, President of Paraguay, Non-Hodkins Lymphoma, Blood Cancer

Blood Cancer, Blood ruled by Jupiter?

b. May 30, 1951 (unknown, 12:00 pm) San Solano, Paraguay

Sun 9 Gemini; Moon Aries; NN


Dilma Rousseff, President of Brazil, Lymphatic Cancer

Lymphatic Cancer ruled by Pisces, Neptune

b. Dec. 14, 1947 Belo Horinzonte, Brazil

Sun 22 Sagittarius; Moon Capricorn


Luiz Inaciolula, previous President of Brazil, Throat Cancer

Throat is ruled by Taurus, Venus

b. Oct. 27, 1945 Caetes Garanhuns, Brazil

Sun 4 Scorpio; Moon Cancer or Leo; NN 2 Cancer

Cookin the Books With Kinde Durkee

I was just wondering whatever happened to California Cuisine. Turns out that it was all gobbled up by the Campaign Treasurer of the Democratic Party, an embezzler named Kinde Durkee.

I'm sorry, "Kinde" "Durkee" but that dopey name sounds like some sort of mistake that could only pop out of Cape Cod.

And, I know, I know, Innocent until Proven Guilty so I'm way ahead of myself here.

But, no, this woman is most likely a native Californian. There are rumors saying that Kinde Durkee needed to pay for her Mother's old folks home. But apparently Mom is parked full time at Disneyland because Kinde Durkee has stolen almost $5 Million from Dianne Feinstein's campaign funds alone. That would fund a whole new monorail.

It looks like Durkee took from women politicians but perhaps she defrauded some boys as well.

Man, California journalism is such a mess. In addition to the typos and mispellings nobody wants to give out Kinde Durkee's birth info. I thought I would up-end the status quo and look it up in my new secret astro b-day spot but then that unearthed two different Kinde Durkees with two different dates. Both Californians, but one So-Cali and the other No-Cal. This woman can cook.

What's the signature for an embezzler? The two birth dates I've found so far, there may be more to come.

Kinde Durkee
two possible birth dates

May 15, 1948 Long Beach, CA

Sun 25 Taurus; Moon Leo?; NN Taurus

Sun opposite Chiron 22 Scorpio Rx
Jupiter 28 Sagittarius Rx opposite Uranus 25 Gemini
big stellium in Leo: Pluto 13 Leo; Saturn 17 Leo; Moon Leo; Mars 29 Leo
Venus 6 Cancer square Neptune 11 Libra Rx

***OR***

Mar. 29, 1953 Alameda, CA

Sun 9 Aries; Moon Virgo or Libra; NN 11 Aquarius

Venus 1 Taurus Rx opposite Saturn 26 Libra Rx
Mercury 21 Pisces Rx
Neptune 23 Libra c. Saturn 26 Libra Rx

A Forensic Accountant named Grant Beauchamp first noticed discrepancies in the books when a $4,500 check went missing back in March 2010. Wouldn't we like to know what his sign is. But, he deserves his privacy, he's earned it. He began to notice scorch marks on someone's account back in March 2010, a check in the amount of $4,500.

Looking at the victims we see a bunch of Cardinal Signs. Kind of freaky to see what the eclipses and the Saturn-Uranus-Pluto t-square did.

Feinstein is a Cancer Sun (June 22, 1933) and Loretta Sanchez is a Capricorn Sun (Jan 7, 1960). Susan Davis and Laura Richardson are Aries (Apr. 13, 1944 and Apr. 14, 1962 respectively). Barbara Boxer's a Scorpio, that's Fixed so perhaps she's safe.

Innocent Released From Jail

It seems that lately there are an exceptional amount of high profile cases in the news about people being liberated from prison for crimes they didn't commit.

Well, actually, it seems that the first case to start things off was the infamous Casey Anthony case in which a beautiful young mother was let off for the murder of her daughter. Nobody believes that she was innocent so we got to see yet another case of how the scales of justice swing in all sorts of weird directions.

It seems that there ought to be some sort of astrological pattern as to why all these releases have happened within such a brief amount of time. It certainly seems that the last pass of the stressful big outer planet t-square of Saturn-Uranus-Pluto has finally let up on some of the tensions which it brewed up over the last couple of years. It seems to have done clean up on some of the major outer planet transits from years past. Pluto has hit the spot at early Capricorn where the big Uranus-Neptune conjunction was back in 1993. Saturn has hit the spot where the Saturn-Pluto conjunction was in 1982. And etc. The charts of both the people and the crimes are sort of folding in on each other over the years.

The Sun and Venus have been in an extra long conjunction through many signs over the Summer which maybe loosened up negotiations and helped people to see the other side of their opinions. Venus rules the sign of Libra which literally represents the Scales of Justice. Saturn, Governance and Judges, is also in Libra. And Saturn had its last pass through the big and stressful outer planet t-square with Uranus and Pluto, both heavy planets which are signatures of crises. That's sort of the kind of pressure cooker which makes you or breaks you.

Also, Neptune entered its own sign of Pisces last year but tracked back into Aquarius for the last time at this point. Neptune/Pisces rule Jail, especially escaping Jail through loosened barriers. And Aquarius rules Humanitarian deeds. So, however you want to interpret that, this is certainly a time when the world at large is looking at these activities through these people.

The recent Eclipses have been in Gemini/Sagittarius and Cancer/Capricorn and one can see the emphasis on Cardinal and Mutable signs in all these personal charts. (The innocent Fixed Sun Signs are still in jail I guess.) On the other hand, it's probably just an interesting coincidence to notice that all were incarcerated for crimes which were committed while the Sun was in a Fixed Sign.

I'm not reading too deeply into these charts and am hopefully putting down the correct information where I can find it. Basically just gathering the information here in a bundle hopefully for another day or another person's brains. And also am adding Chiron's placement. One hopes that the world will learn through the woundings which these people have received.

First off was the release after 18 years of the Memphis 3. Three men were released from jail for committing the murders of 3 8 year old boys back in 1993. Pluto has hit the spot where Uranus and Neptune were in conjunction in early Capricorn.

Murders committed May 5, 1993 West Memphis, Arkansas.

Sentenced 1994

Release date with suspended sentences: Aug. 19, 2011

Damien Echols sentenced to Death for the crime.
b. Dec. 11, 1974 West Memphis, ARk?.

Sun 20 Sagittarius; Moon Scorpio or Sagittarius; NN 11 Sagittarius
Chiron 21 Aries Rx square Saturn 18 Cancer Rx
trines Mercury 15, Sun 20, Venus 28 Sagittarius

Jessie Misskelley, Jr. sentenced to life in prison for the crime.
b. July 10, 1975

Sun 18 Cancer; Moon Cancer or Leo; NN 29 Scorpio Rx
Chiron 28 Aries c. Jupiter Aries opposing Uranus 29 Libra
Chiron sextiles Mercury 29 Gemini

Jason Baldwin sentenced to life in prison.
b. Apr. 11, 1977

Sun 22 Aries; Moon Capricorn or Aquarius; NN 25 Libra Rx
Chiron 1 Taurus possibly squaring Moon
Chiron squares Saturn 10 Leo SD


Amanda Knox was released from Italian jail on Oct. 3, 2011 after more than 4 years incarceration for the murder of her roommate in Perugia, Italy.

Date of Murder: Nov. 1, 2007 Perugia, Italy

Amanda Knox
b. July 9, 1987 Seattle, Washington

Sun 18 Cancer; Moon Sagittarius or Capricorn; NN 7 Aries Rx

Chiron 25 Gemini


2 American Hikers were released after more than 2 year in jail for crossing the borders into Iran.

They were detained on July 31, 2009.

They were released on Sept. 21, 2011. They were born during the Saturn-Pluto conjunction in Libra so this is definitely a pretty crazy Saturn Return for them in dealing with the Judicial System.

Josh Fattal
b. June 4, 1982 Elkins Park, Pennsylvania? (I think)

Sun 14 Gemini; Moon Scorpio or Sagittarius; NN 15 Cancer Rx

Chiron 25 Taurus opposite Uranus3 Sagittarius, possibly Moon

Saturn-Pluto conjunction in Libra

Shane Bauer
b. July 13, 1982 Onami, Minnesota

Sun 21 Cancer; Moon in Aries; NN 13 Cancer Rx

Chiron 27 Taurus

Mars-Saturn-Pluto conjunction in Libra

Released earlier due to health problems was their companion on the hike:

Sarah Shourd
b. Aug. 10, _____ Place maybe Los Angeles?

These 3 were detained soon after 2 women, Laura Ling and Euna Lee, were detained in North Korea.


Unfortunately it also looks as if a man was possibly put to death in Texas for a murder that he didn't commit. He was murdered by the Judical System just as Saturn was passing over his natal Sun.

Troy Davis died on Sept. 21, 2011 at 11:08 pm Georgia

Troy Davis born Oct. 9, 1968 Cloverdale or Savannah, Georgia (I think)

Sun 17 Libra; Moon Taurus; NN 10 Aries

Chiron 1 Aries Rx trine Neptune 25 Scorpio

murder: Aug. 19, 1989 Cloverdale, Georgia

Uranus-SAturn-Neptune between 2-9 degrees Capricorn where Pluto is now.

The Super Congress

Quickly looked up the 12 members of congress who have been ferreted out to go off on their own and duke it out over the country's debt.

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

The group is made up of 6 republicans and 6 democrats. 3 from the senate and 3 from the house.

2 of the republican house are from Michigan. That seems odd but maybe michigan is the only state left that's not on the brink of bankrutcy.

By astrology sign there are no Aries, leos, virgos or Pisces included in this crowd.

Libra patty Murray from Washington senate is leading.

There are 3 sagittarians, 2 tauruses, 2 cancers and one of each of the other signs. Hopefully that will work out to 12. Haha, it's predominated by the yod pattern (finger of god, middle finger in this case) of Sagittarius in conjunct cancer and Taurus.

I wish these poor 12 fools lots of luck.

Ai WeiWei

Talked about Virgo artist Ai WeiWei of China in a previous post. An unveiling of WeiWei's latest work in New York has been post-poned because of the death of bin Laden. The work was due to be unveiled today. Very interesting that it is called "Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads." It's a set of 12 sculptures that represent the Chinese Zodiac. WeiWei refers back to an historical pillaging by foreigners in China back in 1860. Two heads showed up at auction somewhere (sorry, can't remember which auction house). So, the piece represents the horrors of pillaging.

He also has set the work into modern New York because he feels that New York, with its wide ethnic variety, comes closest to showing how the entire Zodiac interacts.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42821407/ns/us_news-life/

WeiWei hasn't been heard from since his April 3 arrest. One article I read has said that under torture he confessed to Tax Evasion. He was arrested under suspicion that he was helping to plan a rebellion.

If anybody reads this please say a prayer for Ai WeiWei's health and for his release.

Ai Weiwei

Secretary of State Clinton spoke out today about China's current surge of detentions of citizens who are seen as dissidents. One of the people she mentioned is artist Ai Weiwei who is one of China's most well known artists. He is only known to me as the person who helped design the Bird's Nest at the Chinese Olympics.

Weiwei was taken into custody on Apr. 3, in the morning at the airport while waiting to leave for Hong Kong.

This was on the Aries Full Moon in aspect with the Jupiter-Saturn opposition. There was also a conjunction to the degree of Mars-Uranus-Lilith at 1 Aries. This is a very dangerous aspect, especially if Weiwei's natal Libra Moon is opposed by it. Uranus rules rebellion. Weiwei was beaten in 2009 to the point of having a cerebral hemorrhage. His studio was destroyed by the Government earlier this year.

Ai Weiwei
b. Aug. 28, 1957 Beijing, China

Sun 5 Virgo; Moon Libra; NN 15 Scorpio

This chart shows the life of a person who will face a lot of harsh challenges. The Sun is conjunct both Mars and Pluto at the beginning of Virgo. These square Saturn at 8 Sagittarius. This shows a contest of Wills to me. Weiwei's parents were detained by the Chinese Government when he was only 1 year old.

The Saturn (Authority) in Sagittarius (Freedom/Opinions) shows a need to defy authority. Saturn is even more prominent in the chart as a boundary planet to a bundle chart which trines Uranus 10 Leo. There's a great bundle of energy here as this trine contains all the other planets of the chart. The link below which talks about Weiwei's current detention describes the Saturn-Uranus trine perfectly. It quotes the Chinese Government as saying "The Law (Saturn) will not bend for mavericks (Uranus)."

http://creativity-online.com/work/ai-weiwei-sunflower-seeds/22851

Progressed Venus (Art) has just passed beyond conjunction with Saturn and is currently in exact square with Weiwei's natal Mars 13 Virgo.

Don't know how to fit this in to the scheme of things except to just note that Mercury was stationing Rx at 26 Virgo when Weiwei was born. So it is strongly placed in its own sign for that reason as well as being unaspected by major aspect to any other planet. And is also very important as it disposes his Sun-Mars-Pluto conjunction. Virgo analyzes and describes what doesn't work. In the U.S., Virgo is generally valued for this skill.

Apparently China has detained several dozen prominent people since the beginning of the year, threatened by the rebellions in the Middle East.

A Spoonful of Sugar

When it comes to Pharmaceuticals Modern Medicine is really bummed out. Neptune has been in conjunction with Chiron, the planet which has to deal with things that it can't be fixed.

There isn't a fish in the sea at this point that's not gorked out on some psych or heart med that a human (probably American) has peed out. (source is from one of those graphs that's on the front of an old USATODAY)

"Medicines" are the 3d biggest killed in the United States after Heart Disease and Cancer. (source is from the lady who stood behind me in the taco shop) and this: http://www.cancure.org/medical_errors.htm (Errors and Hospitals, both Neptune)

The Drug Companies are so leery of making more mistakes and getting into more lawsuits that the Government is making bigger and bigger labs in order to try to keep up with the hopes and wishes of the Science community. (read that about 2 weeks ago in the newspaper somewhere)

And it turns out that pills that are meant for humans are the biggest toxin ingested by household pets. (Got this one: "Human meds a threat to pets (San Jose Mercury News, Jan. 29, 2011).

Whoa, Dude, gnarly session. On April 4, Neptune moves into Pisces its own sign. What that brings is anybody's guess. Artists and Orphans? Most of the fish have died off, there are islands of plastic bags floating where they used to live, but it seems that new species are showing up.

Neptune rules Drugs as they work for recreational purposes. I assume Neptune also rules Medications for health as well, but maybe that's actually more of a Virgo thing. Neptune rules big institutions, like big government labs and hospitals with long corridors that people lock up and throw away the keys to. This is probably great news for the pot farmers, though, except that Neptune also rules pesticides and fumigants and all things toxic.

Maybe it will be important to start paying more attention to where Ceres is during this transit. You sort of want to know what people really care about in order to deal in a constructive way with "Old Blue."

It's pretty interesting that the AMA was formed just as Neptune passed in to Pisces last time (19th century some time), so it's having a Neptune Return. And even more interesting is that the first Vegetarian Society formed in England the same month in May. This was just as Neptune made its first square to the Sun after its ingress. Both transits challenge the Sun first off from the same sign. Gemini the Fix It Guy. Interesting how that one month (gotta go look it up again, June 18--) kind of took the direction of cure in polar opposite directions.

For some reason I think this last transit mentioned is important. The Sun-Neptune square, that is. The leaders of the two biggest economies in the world at this point, China and the U.S. both have natal Sun-Neptune squares. Obama is a Leo Sun square Neptune in Scorpio. Hu Jintao is a Sagittarius Sun square Neptune in Libra.

Man, hate to say it, first thing that comes to mind when I see Sun in Gemini square Neptune in Pisces is corruption. And, then, very quickly after that I see a great tendency to create compassion and beauty in the world. And that's pretty awesome. The French developed the idea of Impressionism during the last Neptune in Pisces phase. Scattered points of light and color.

http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/sepp/2003/10/29/medical_system_is_leading_cause_of_death_and_injury_in_us.htm

Comparison: Gabrielle Giffords and Anna Lindh

In my hasty reading of Gabrielle Giffords I don't think I even noticed that Mars is squaring Uranus as well as Chiron (Uranus opposes Chiron). This square is exact to the degree and can be an indicator of accident proneness or even violence of a shocking nature. After I read other peoples' interpretations I remembered the chart of another prominent female politician in Sweden who was assassinated, Anna Lindh a while back. I remembered she had a Mars-Uranus aspect of some sort. Turns out there are a number of connections between the charts of Gabrielle Giffords and Anna Lindh.

Both women were attached during times when they had no security. I wonder if this can be somehow read in to their Mars-Uranus and Mercury-Saturn connections. Women with Mars in Cancer have to be more careful than others in this regard (my opinion).

Both are Gemini Suns.
Both have Venus and Mars in Cancer.
Giffords has Mars square Uranus. Lindh had Mars conjunct Uranus
Giffords has Mercury conjunct Saturn. Lindh had Mercury opposing Saturn.
Both have Venus out of bounds. Giffords has Mars out of bounds as well, not Lindh.

The date of Sept. 10 and Sept. 11 come up in both assasinations.

Anna Lindh was stabbed on Sept. 10 2003 and died from her wounds on Sept. 11, 2003.

Gabrielle Giffords was shot by a man who was born on Sept. 10. Much has been noted about the little 9 year old girl in the crowd who was murdered. Christina Green was born on Sept. 11, 2001.

Anna Lindh
b. June 19, 1957 Enskede, Sweden

Sun 28 Gemini; Moon Pisces; NN 18 Scorpio

died. Sept. 11, 2003

Gabrielle Giffords
b. June 8, 1970

Sun 18 Gemini; Moon Leo; NN 7 Pisces

Jerry Brown - Governor of Christmas Past and Christmas Present

Is Jerry Brown a Buddhist or a Jesuit? I can't remember. Was just wondering whether or not he even celebrates Christmas as the title of this post suggests.

Brown is once again Governor of the Late Great State of California. Yayyy! Will sure be interesting to see how the interpretations of his chart change among the old hippie generation. Brown was called Governor Moonbeam during his first run. His weirdness as a "leader" earned him that name because he didn't live in the Governor's mansion and he drove something like an old Pinto around. And he dated pop singer Linda Ronstadt. He probably even wore sideburns and a wide psychedelic tie. What Steve Jobs did for Computers (and for California), that's what Jerry Brown did for California.

Brown's got a natal conjunction of Sun 18 Aries to Saturn 10 Aries. The Sun/Aries/Saturn combination is meant to lead.

Pretty interesting that his Saturn has progressed to 17 Degrees Aries so is one degree away from his natal Sun. They are super close right now. They are also in close conjunction with California's "natal" Saturn which is at 20 Aries Rx. As Saturn rules Old Age it's interesting to look at his progressed Saturn with regard to the age element of his leadership. He became California's youngest ruling Governor and is now returning as the state's oldest Governor. I'll have to make him some angora fingerless mittens. That's supposedly an old folk remedy for arthritis. Angora is the warmest fur. Maybe I'll just send him an actual rabbit to hold. The fur would molt all over his clothes and with Moon in Cancer he's probably got allergies.

California's also got a conjunction to the degree of Uranus to Pluto at 30 Aries so when the Uranus Return occurs in 7 years or so California should see a major shift of some sort. Jupiter will pass over it this year. Saturn will pass over it soon after. And that should help understand how the societal structure will develop. Jupiter-Saturnians are planners/builders.

So, whatever Saturn in Aries means to you, that's what it's gonna mean to Californians right now. Especially since Jupiter and Uranus are both passing into Aries pretty soon.

The Mercury Retrogrades for 2011 will for the most part be in fire signs so there will be some opportunities for getting our mojo back. Fire is enthusiastic and gives the creative spark to get things kick started. Hopefully there won't be any violence. Hopefully his Scorpio NN won't kick in. It's squaring natal Jupiter in Aquarius, which stands out in his chart (lead planet of locomtive chart, singleton Air). And his North Node also trines natal Pluto in Cancer.

Brown has Sun-Saturn conjunction in Aries in his 9th House of philosophy, religion, law, ethics. Interesting that his Sun is squaring his natal Moon in Cancer which is in his 12th House. That's very psychic and spiritual. His Moon 21 Cancer is in conjunction to his natal Pluto 28 Cancer. So, his natal Sun squares his natal Moon from H9 to H12. But natal Saturn and Pluto are in the same signs and houses but aren't in a square with each other. Can't really explain how, but I suppose this inner/outer combination might describe in some way the fact that Brown was the youngest Governor of California and now will be the oldest Governor. He was leading the Pluto in Geminis and Cancers and Leos (the hippies at least). Now he will be leading the Pluto in Leo, Virgo, Libra and Scorpios. At any rate, he's the only Democrat my Father ever voted for because he represented innovation and problem solving.

California was born of a compromise called "the Compromise of 1850." I forgot to read about it.

California
Sept. 9, 1850 San Jose, CA

Sun 17 Virgo; Moon Libra or Scorpio; NN 13 Leo

Jerry Brown
Apr. 7, 1938 San Francisco, CA

Sun 18 Aries; Moon 21 Cancer; ASC 5 Leo; NN 30 Scorpio; MC 24 Aries

Funsies Wunsies Crashing White House

The first State Dinner at the White House was sort of a reverse Look Who's Coming To Dinner fiasco as a very blond looking woman and her husband are said to have crashed the party. Nobody knows if they were invited or not, whether they were loaded with oozies and ammo, and how much more peroxide can that woman dump on her head without all her hair going up in flames?

Anyway, so blondee and her hubby (her Facebook page says her b-day is Oct. 1. So she's a Libra and that means that she truly uuly seriously did want to go to that thing, and she didn't upstage the First Lady so who really cares?) were allowed to play around at the reception before the dinner, apparently because he has a far-off Eastern last name and it was a dinner honoring the East Indian community. It seemed Kosher. But they weren't allowed to go to the dinner even though Senator Harry Reid's place at the table was empty.

The media has painted the couple as just another couple gunning for reality TV show fame, kind of like the balloon boy's dad. It's the old Jupiter-Chiron-Neptune in Aquarius conjunction all over again, this time in a High Security Setting -- like the White House -- because Saturn is squaring Pluto and nobody's feeling safe this year.

According to Chatterbox website (highly reliable source, of course, this article) the couple arrived at the reception at 6:30 pm on Nov. 24, 2009 Washington, DC. Their name was on the list of arrivals so they were let in. At the time it seemed okay but now nobody knows how their name got on the list. They toodled around the room gumming for photos with Joe Biden and a bunch of guys in uniform and then left.

I wanted to look at the chart to see if this was a real accident, or a security breach, or just some funny people having some fun. A blond, a red dress, and Joe Biden's picture is involved so I suspected the latter. But, who knows? they could be spies. Remember Valerie Plame? She was blond. Oh yeah, she was on our side so who cares? It was Dick Cheney who was the bastard. Anyway, with Saturn squaring Pluto people should not even think of having fun. I don't care if Jupiter and Neptune are still in conjunction or what. Hide in your hole and keep your plastic surgeries to yourself.

At 6:30 pm Mercury was still ruling the chart, but barely, as Gemini was Rising over the Ascendant on its last degree (30). As Gemini rules telephone calls it sort of looks like maybe there were some unofficial words happening in addition to the ones written in emails/text messages at earlier times in the day (a refusal had been sent that morning at 8:46 am, a Thank you was sent the next day at 1:38 pm).

Chart Ruler Mercury was in Good Ole Sagittarius trining Mars, so, what the heck, lettem in, it's some good Holiday Karma. And Mars is in Leo opposing Jupiter so somebody's going to just have to take it as far out as it can go. Mars-Jupiter always overdoes everything. That's its nature. The stupid lady had to show up in a Red Dress, of course, couldn't just keep it mellow.

Mercury was in the 6th House of clerical stuff. So maybe the person who goofed was the staffer. It sort of looks that way. It wasn't really a goof, it was just that he/she got caught. Chiron is goofing up Jupiter and Neptune right now. And even bigger than that, Saturn is squaring Pluto near the Aries Points bringing all ruthless people and to the fore right now.

Anyhoo, Pluto was conjunct the Descendant. That gives power to "The Other." But how do you really interpret that? That means that somebody was spying on somebody and somebody was building resentments about somebody else. So I suspect that much worse power pooery was going on behind the scenes at this thing. And Saturn was in the 4th House and Uranus was up in the 10th. So, with all this angular stuff going with the Big Old Outers I suppose there's a lot more politics going on than meets the eye. Harry Reid and his wife didn't show up. But, I checked and I guess Har' doesn't like these things, he even dissed the Queen of England. Maybe he doesn't like eggplant.

And now we're picking on Reality TV Socialite contestants who have to pay for their dental work somehow? Come on? Where's the Holiday Good will?

Anyway, the Midheaven was at 8 Pisces and the Moon and Neptune had just passed over it. The First Lady looked like a fairy Princess. She was unbelievably beautiful. Was she having a Venus Return or something? Don't know. Something was seriously trining in her first house, that's all I can say.

Obama was looking a little worn out. Saturn (President) in the 4th House thing?


http://chattahbox.com/us/2009/12/02/state-dinner-crasher-emails-show-confusion-maybe-but-no-invitation/

Donald Rumsfeld on Your Dance Card

This is another blog that's based on an interview I heard on NPR a few weeks ago. Can't remember the guy's name or his book, or even who interviewed him, it would have been between 11am and noon because that's usually when I'm in my car driving. ((((sorry))))) But, at any rate, the interview was about Donald Rumsfeld and how Donald Rumsfeld has gone through wild swings in popularity even within his own party and chums. He's certainly been on a decline in this area of life what with having been wildly misinformed about things like WMDs in Iraq and Torture in the prisons. Things just didn't go as planned for Don. The whole war just shouldn't have happened. Of course, the real Dick behind this mistake was the Big Dick, but I won't go there. I just wanted to see in this blog entry why Rumsfeld's popularity goes through roller coaster rides as indicated in his chart. For learning purposes. He does seem to have shown a bit of "oopsey" for how things careened out of control which is more than any of us can say for Cheney.

Donald Rumsfeld
b. July 9, 1932 Evanston, Illinois

Sun 18 Cancer; ASC 24 Sagittarius; Moon 3 Libra; MC 17 Libra; NN 21 Pisces

So, Pluto was passing over Rumsfeld's Ascendant as his popularity waned. That indicates a big crisis related to how he looks to others. But, according to the NPR interview this is a repeat performance through Rumsfeld's life.

So, with Sagittarius on the Ascendant we can see the Jupiter influence. Jupiter does things in a big way. It also tends to be very opinionated and that can distance people who don't agree with you.

Then we look at Rumsfeld's Sun in Cancer. That's emotional and reactive. Strong personal need for protection which will sometimes focus outward into the world around. And the Moon which rules Cancer rules the Public sentiment as well. Rumsfeld's Sun is located in his 7th House and is conjunct Pluto in that house. His Ego expression is strongly connected with the impressions of others which may bring about crises (through Pluto).

The Midheaven shows how others see you. It rules your reputation. This is certainly something that would affect popularity. Rumsfeld has a Libra Midheaven, great for Diplomacy and Government dealings. But, Uranus, planet of shock and sudden changes is opposing his MC from the sign of Aries. Right there would be enough to knock anyone around a bit with regards to these aspects of life. But, the Ruler of Rumsfeld's Midheaven is Venus, another planet tied to popularity which is prominently placed and heavily affliced in his chart.

Venus rules Popularity, though, maybe along with Uranus. And I was really curious to see if there were some kind of Retrograde Action going down with Rumsfeld's chart. There is. Rumsfeld's natal Venus is at 2 Cancer Retrograde in his natal chart. This is close to an Aries Point showing that his popularity comes before the public. It is placed on an angle. The Rx shows that there may be complications regarding anything having to do with areas in life that Venus rules, like women, relationships, open enemies, even values if the Taurus sense is used (don't know if that applies here).

Venus is also placed in the 7th House where it is relies on the behaviors of others. This does give talents for Diplomacy and an interest in Politics.

Moving along, we see that Rumsfeld's Venus is squaring his Moon which rules Public Opinion. A square is a hard aspect and indicates a Challenge between the two. This square is emphasized in Rumsfeld's chart because these two planets are in mutual reception with each other and are even caught in a triad loop with the Sun. Sun in Cancer disposits to Moon which disposits to Venus which disposits to Moon... it goes on and on.

The key for Rumsfeld to break this cycle, I suppose, would be to follow the path of his Nodal Axis. That's the key for all of us and good luck doing it.

Rumsfeld's NN is in Pisces. As Pisces rules veils and pink clouds and all the mysteries that don't present itself clearly to us in life I sort of suspect that it rules Terrorism. So Rumsfeld was perhaps abnormally attracted to dealing with Terrorists. He was on target with regards to performing public service and working within institutions. But he would have had to do it through Virgo means. The opposite end of the Pisces pole. Paying strict attention to details, being discerning about what is real and what is not, about how the basic systems work. If it doesn't look like a WMD, if it doesn't act like a WMD, if it doesn't talk like a WMD, then ... it's not going to be a friggin WMD, no matter how evil it is to its own people. Pulling down a Statue of the Leader and televising it to the World, very Neptunian. But, the point with the Nodal Axis is not necessarily to go overboard in expressing the North Node, it's in using the natural energies of the South Node to balance out its expression. At least, that's how I prefer to look at it.

Laura Ling

This past spring I wrote a blog entry that related the Venus Retrograde transit to the capture of female journalists abroad. Roxanna Barberi has since been released from Iran. Laura Ling and Euna Lee are still in detention in North Korea. They were detained on March 17, were given a trial beginning June 4, and found guilty of crossing the borders illegally on June 8. They were sentenced to 12 years of hard labor in a prison camp. Since the U.S. has no diplomatic ties with North Korea negotiations are particularly difficult. According to Wikipedia, Lee and Ling were reporting on the trafficking of women between the two countries.

I haven't found a birth date for Euna Lee. She is said to be 36 years old and originally born in South Korea. She is a producer for Current TV. I've just found a birth date for Laura Ling. I have no idea if this is the correct date for her, many entries are confusing her birth date with her sister Journalist Lisa Ling (who is a Virgo). If this birth date is correct, Laura Ling is a Sagittarius. That's good. Sagittarians are hardy folk.

Laura Ling
b. Dec. 1, 1976 Carmichael, CA

Sun 10 Sagittarius; Moon Aries; NN 2 Scorpio

source for birth info About.com

Laura Ling's chart is dominated by Fire. She has a conjunction of the Sun, Mars, and Neptune in Sagittarius which is trining her Saturn in Leo. This trine may possibly expand out into a Grand Trine with an Aries Moon but without a birth time it is impossible to know where the Moon's exact placement is but it will definitely be in Aries (assuming that this is her correct birth date).

With this conjunction/stellium in Sagittarius it is easy to understand why Ling would be attracted to adventure, publishing, an independent lifestyle like journalism, especially journalism which involves reporting on affairs in foreign countries. This is anything connected with the sign of Sagittarius.

With the Sun conjunct Mars and the Moon in the sign which Mars rules Ling could be attracted to dangerous situations. She definitely would be a highly idealistic person. And with a Saturn-Neptune trine could be a very compassionate person who is very empathetic towards suffering. Placement of the Moon in her chart could really complicate things if it's placed within a Grand Trine with these planets. The Moon rules Feelings and Emotions. This could be an indicator for rash behavior. But, a Trine also brings a lot of luck in life. Fire can flow into and out of situations easily. The Moon might also oppose Pluto which would turn the Grand Trine into a Kite pattern. This indicates that Luck in Ling's chart will focus itself and not stay self-contained within the chart and the life. But, Moon-Pluto oppositions can show some deep, complicated feelings about attracting resentment from others. Her Scorpio North Node repeats this more complicated theme.

Ling was taken into custody during the long Venus Retrograde transit that occurred this past Spring when Venus was in Aries for a really long time. This could have been hovering over her natal Moon for an extra long time. Venus was also squaring t.Pluto for an extra long time because of the transit. Pluto = Power plays and she and Lee are being used as Pawns in big Politics between North Korea and the United States. Their personal problem just seem to explode out into bigger and bigger issues.

Ling's stellium is really fascinating to study. This conjunction of Sun to Mars and Neptune in Sagittarius is prominent because the three planets are also parallel with each other. Parallels are like mini-conjunctions so this means that the 3 planets try to work together in a Double Whammy conjunction. The Sun and Mars together can be a bit self serving, or at least rash, but in conjunction with Neptune they can be directed towards an idealistic, perhaps not very realistic self expression.

With Neptune's ability to blur boundaries it is interesting that Ling has been jailed for crossing borders into enemy territory in a major International case. Neptune/12th House rules prisons and other institutions. Transiting Neptune and Jupiter are also hanging out over Kim Jong-Il's Sun which is pretty interesting. Ling's Sagittarius Sun and Neptune are represented in literal terms here in his chart.

I was curious to see where this conjunction has progressed to by Solar Arc to see if anything significant was going on there. Yes. With Mars and Neptune and Sun hanging out over this Venus there is an Aura of Danger (Mars), Rashness (Mars), Boldness (Sun-Mars) and Confusion, Hiding, Prisons (Neptune). Capricorn is related to Career and Government and Authority. All these symbols are mashing together into Ling's life. Ling and Lee were apparently covering a story about trafficking of women over the North Korean/Chinese Border. It's almost as if Ling has fallen into the story she was covering, very Neptunian. Sort of almost Alice in Wonderlandish.

In addition to this big Solar Arc Progression, Ling's Secondary Progressed Mercury is also in conjunction with this spot. Mercury rules Writing and also communication. A Retrograde likes to throw curve balls. Ling's Mercury stationed Retrograde back around 2004-5. I wonder if there was somehow a mix-up of communications related to her situation which could show a need to be more circumspect with regards to anything having to do with communications. Supposedly the women were caught because they didn't have information about a military drill that was breaking up in the area.

At any rate, there will be a Total Eclipse in July at the end of Cancer/Capricorn right near the spot where Ling's Venus is at the end of Capricorn. I hope that she will be released before then as this could be very hard on her emotionally. As she is of Chinese descent I dont' understand why the Chinese are not working with the North Koreans to have her and Lee released.

Ling's Progressed Mars is also in Capricorn at 2 degrees. That's the Aries Point which brings a person into the public eye. It is also on the same spot where t.Pluto is. Pluto, of course, brings Fame, but usually a great crisis as well. When Mars and Pluto are together they can bring an element of danger and a need for great self will. This aspect is not relating strongly to Ling's natal chart, it is perhaps echoing a situation that occurred when Pluto transited over natal Mars a few years ago. That would have been around the time that Ling's Prog. Mercury went Retrograde.

One last thing (I can't stop.) Ling's chart doesn't have many squares. That's sort of odd for someone who takes so many risks in her life. Squares bring challenges and obstacles. It is considered good to have a few in the natal chart. Dealing with some internal tension early in life sort of helps one to develop an inoculation against when things go wrong later on. But, perhaps this is what will pull her through this situation. A person with a Grand Square would be tortured out of their minds just because the captors would pick up on their difficult vibe.

I only hope that the U.S. will send a Super Neptunian person over to Korea to try to spring these women. It will take some super charm to get to them out. And I hope they do it quickly.

AsianWeek.com has a petition to sign to request that significant measures be taken to secure the Women's release.

The Boogeymen of the Inauguration

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sun 13 Aquarius; Moon Taurus; NN 1 Pisces

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sun 8 Aquarius; Moon Pisces; NN 6 Capricorn

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

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

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

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

Inauguration Chart - January 20, 2009

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hope I've spelled Inauguration right.

John McCain and Mercury Retrograde

Mercury stationed Retrograde at 24 degrees Libra on Sept. 24 and will Station Direct on Wednesday at 8 degrees Libra. I've already looked at how it has affected the alleged U.S. natal chart by tripping off a t-square of Sun-Saturn-Chiron. It doesn't seem to have affected Barack Obama's campaign but it sure seems to have affected John McCain's behavior which has been erratic and ahem, Mercurial.

McCain "suspended his campaign" in order to go to Washington to work on the Economic problems. This was unusual and he did it abruptly. At last week's debate he used the phrase "My Friends" something like 22 times which showed that he's very stressed and is a babbling Mercurial guffaw. He stood David Letterman up and has been the butt of non-stop jokes on that show. Well, he would have received that treatment either way. This morning I read an announcement that McCain will now appear on Letterman's show on Thursday, the day after Mercury turns direct. He was shown as his old self again over the week-end correcting an old white woman with serious bed head issues about some racist thoughts she was having concerning Obama's character.

Today, as well, the NCGR weekly bulletin came up with an interesting new tidbit about McCain's birthtime. Retrogrades are supposed to bring up old issues for review. The post comes from Pat Tagliatello over at Astrodatabank who was notifiied that some old newspapers have found birth announcements for McCain which indicate that the commonly used birthtimes of 9 am and 11 am are incorrect. The announcement says that McCain was born in the afternoon. This is interesting because a birth after 3pm would move his Moon into Aquarius. Astrologers will start to say nice things about him if that's true.

From the newsletter:

Shelley Jordan has kindly sent me an article from the Panama American newspaper dated August 31, 1936. Page four of the newspaper carries a birth announcement that says, "Lt. and Mrs. John S. McCain, Jr. of the Submarine Base are the parents of a son born Saturday afternoon at the Submarine Base Hospital." Although his mother is on record as giving two different times for his birth (9 AM and 11 AM), this article points to a time between 12 noon and perhaps 5 PM. Mothers' memories as we know from experience are often faulty; and sometimes newspapers make mistakes or are vague as this one is. In the absence of a birth certificate or other official record, his birth time is considered unreliable.

If you haven't already seen them, here are the two links (the first to the newspaper announcement) that Shelley sent me:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/documents/mccain_announcement_041708.pdf and
http://americanpowerblog.blogspot.com/2008/05/mccain-birth-eligibility-remains.html

Sincerely yours,
Pat Taglilatello

NOT PART OF THE QUOTE, I just can't figure out how to undo the quote thingee:

Taking a look at his natal Mercury shows how important Mercury's influence is in McCain's chart. He has natal Mercury at 3 Libra, very close to an Aries Point. It is also the only planet squaring his Nodal Axis which is right on the Aries Points with North Node at 1 Capricorn. His Mercurial Qualities come out into public very readily.

McCain's natal Mercury is not Retrograde but it is at 3 Libra so one can see that it has also been receiving an extended visit from the Retrograde Mercury in Libra transit.

One knitting blogger who I follow said that his behavior seemed like some sort of PTSD. I thought the same thing. McCain's progressed chart may also indicate this as it shows similar Mercury Retrograde activity as at the time that McCain was held as a POW in Vietnam. Mercury rules the nerves and thinking processes and is known for moving in all directions at once when under stress. McCain was tortured to the point that he tried to commit suicide. His arms, ruled by Mercury, are permanently damaged because of what was done to him.

John McCain
b. Aug. 29, 1936 ((( 9:00am ????)))) Cocosolo, Panama

John McCain's natal Mercury is at 3 Libra and squares his Nodal Axis at 1 Capricorn (NN) / 1 Cancer (SN). So, this lends a strong Mercurial influence to his Destiny in life.

(((For the record, McCain's current Progressed Mercury is at 13 Scorpio. And McCain's current Solar Arc Mercury (Solar Arc doesn't go Retrograde) is at 14 Sagittarius.))))

This month transiting Mercury went Retrograde on Sept. 24, 2008 at 23 Libra. It will station Direct on Oct. 16, 2008 at 8 Libra. Keep this 8 Libra degree in your mind as you read this. This point is very important in McCain's Mercurial History.

McCain's prog. Mercury had gone Retrograde sometime around 1956 in his 12th House while it was conjunct his chart ruler Venus, which is natally in the 12th House. (House placement may no longer apply.). 12th House rules prisons and imprisonment.

McCain was captured by the North Vietnamese on Oct. 6, 1967 and was sent to the "Hanoi Hilton" where he endured extreme torture for about 6-7 years. The worst of the torture was in August, 1968.

At the time of capture, prog. Mercury was at 9 Libra Retrograde (remember this week's position of Mercury Station Direct at 7 Libra) and conjunct Prog. Sun at 7 Libra. The rest of his chart was going ape-face crazy as well but I'm trying to concentrate on Mercury here. With the work I'm doing on cycles I've been seeing how much a repeat cycle like this will influence a person down the road.

The whole time McCain was imprisoned Mercury was Retrograde and at one point was conjunct the progressed Sun in the 12th House (again, house placement may no longer apply) further emphasizing the prison theme. It also places huge amounts of stress on McCain for anything happening at early degrees Libra.

Mercury was conjunct within to a degree of its natal position when McCain was released on Mar. 14, 1973 and was conjunct to the degree with transiting Pluto at 4 Libra.

Right now, through the Retrograde, McCain's Mercury is having an extra long Return.

The theme of Pluto-Mercury-Nodes related to McCain's release date from the POW camps is repeating itself for McCain. When Mercury stations Direct this week it will be at 8 Libra. That's within wide conjunction to his natal Mercury and also wide square to his natal Nodal Axis. Transiting Pluto is at 29 Sagittarius conjunct his North Node and squaring his natal Mercury which repeats the Mercury-Pluto-Node aspect of his release date from prison.

McCain's progressed Mercury went out of Rx around 1977 at 2 Libra while it was conjunct the transiting North Node. This is the year that McCain entered Politics. This was his "real entry into the world of politics and beginning of my second career as a public servant." McCain's marriage was falling apart at this time. He met his current wife Cindy in 1979 and divorced his first wife in 1980. His wife said that he turning 40 and acting like a 25 year old. That's middle age of course but is also a very Mercurial behavior.

Who's Your Daddy? Tyrants and Dictators

Here's a light-hearted survey of really bad men. Take it for what it's worth. I pulled up a few names and a few birth dates from a couple of Bad Dictators of the 20th Century lists. I'm working without an astro program right now (managed to lose or misplace both last week after I had my computer reinstalled) so the data is even more casual than usual.

Leadership signs seem to predominate. And also signs that are interested in Politics, like the outer planet guys, which isn't all of us, I assure you. What are all those Tauruses doing in there though? Thought they all went into banking. Dictatorial parents, spouses, friends, co-workers, siblings, etc. aren't represented here. These are the boys who rise to power and start beating their communities.

Just because there seems to be a predominance of jerks in certain signs, that doesn't mean that there isn't an equal predominance of those signs doing wonderful things in the world as well. Don't ever, ever, ever forget that. Astrologers are a little low on the brains sometimes. Know what I mean?

When I list Sun, ASC and Moon it means that I found the charts on Astrotheme or elsewhere. When I give birth dates I can pretty much only give the Sun Sign and those might be off.

So, Welcome to the Party. Actually, from the looks of these signs I'd say that people who are duds at parties tend to become obnoxious world leaders. Lately there seems to be a lot of Leos stirring up the pots, though. They're fun but I haven't found them on the lists. I'm thinking Hugo Chavez and a couple of others, slips my mind.

(from http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/tyrants.htm)

• Mao tse Tung: Sun Capricorn; ASC Capricorn; Moon Leo

• Josif Stalin: Sun Capricorn; ASC Capricorn; Moon Virgo

• Adolf Hitler: Sun Taurus; ASC Libra; Moon Capricorn

• Chiang Kai-Shek: Sun Scorpio; ASC Capricorn; Moon Aries

• Enver Pasha: (Turkey) b. Nov. 22, 1881 Constantinopole: Sun Scorpio; Moon Scorpio or Sagittarius

• Hirohito: Sun Taurus; ASC Sagittarius; Moon Virgo

• Ho Chih Minh: Sun Taurus; ASC Taurus; Moon Taurus

• Kim Il Sung: Sun Aries; Moon Aries or Pisces

• Vladimir Lenin: Sun Taurus; ASC Scorpio; Moon Aquarius

• Leopold II: Sun Aries; ASC Capricorn; Moon Leo

• Nicholas II: Sun Taurus; ASC Capricorn: Moon Aries

• Pol Pot: Sun Taurus; Moon Aries

• Saddam Hussein: Sun Taurus; ASC Gemini; Moon Sagittarius

• Todo Hideki: b. Dec. 30, 1884 Tokyo. Sun Capricorn; Moon Taurus or Gemini

• Wilhelm II: b. Jan. 27, 1859 Berlin, Prussia. Sun Capricorn; Moon Scorpio or Sagittarius

• Yahya Khan: b. Feb. 4, 1917 Chakwal Punjab, India. Sun Aquarius Moon Gemini or Cancer

Here's Parade Magazine's list from 2006. When they came out with these lists every year I'd draw pictures of all the Dictator's mouths as a drawing exercise. Hey, we can't all get obsessed over Angelina Jolie's mouth. No wonder she's so skinny, she can't get any food past those blimps.

Anyhoo, It's interesting to update to people whose rise occurs in different Outer Planet transits and in different cultures. Things seem to change a bit at any rate.

• Omar al-Bashir (Darfur) b. Jan 1, 1944 Hosh Bannaga, Sudan. Sun Capricorn, Moon Pisces

• Kim Jong Il (No. Korea) b. Feb. 16, 1941 Vyatskoye, Soviet Union. Sun Aquarius; Moon Libra or Scorpio

• Than Shwe (Burma) b. Feb. 2, 1933 Kyaukse, Mandalay Sun Aquarius; Moon Aries or Taurus

• Robert Mugabe (Zimbabwe) b. Feb. 21, 1924 Matibiri, Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia, Sun Pisces; Moon Leo or Virgo

• Islom Karimov (Uzbekistan) b. Jan 30, 1938 Samarkard, Uzbek, Soviet Union. Sun Aquarius; Moon Capricorn or Aquarius

• Hu Hintao (China) b. Dec. 21, 1942 Jiangyan, Jiangsu. Sun Sagittarius; Moon Taurus or Gemini

• King Abdullah (Saudi Arabia). b.Aug. 1924 Riyadh ????

• Saparmurat Niyazov (Turkmentistan). b. Feb. 19, 1940, Soviet Union. Sun Aquarius; Moon Gemini or Cancer

• Seyed Ali Khamene'i (Iran) b. July 17, 1939, Mashhad, Iran. Sun Cancer; Moon Cancer or Leo

• Teodoro Obiang Nguema (Equatorial New Guinea) b. June 5, 1942 Acoacan, Spanish Guinea. Sun Sagittarius, Moon Aquarius or Pisces.

Oh, and What the Hay, Parade can't list these two. They've only killed the 4,000 or so soldiers in a really stupid war. But they've taken away our rights and destroyed our finances:

• George W. Bush. Sun Cancer; ASC Leo; Moon Libra

• Dick Cheney: Sun Aquarius; ASC Virgo; Moon Pisces

The Presidential Candidates Get New Rising Signs

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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