Margaret Mead

I spent most of Saturday night digging through the magazine racks at the Barnes & Noble. Even spent a while gawking at the latest issue of Skeptic Magazine and found an interesting story about a guy who spent 40 years trying to discount Margaret Mead's findings about the sex lives of natives in Samoa. Mead was the anthropologist who is said to have opened the gateways for the sexual revolution of the 1960s with her writings about how the free sex lives of the natives of Samoa. Apparently this wasn't true for all Samoans, just the ones who Mead, as a closeted Lesbian, was most attracted to.

The article in the magazine was was actually trying to debunk Mead's debunker. This magazine just loves to disagree with everything. There was also some kind of article about how professional Magicians are more skeptical than the average person. Maybe this was the once a year Introspective Issue where the Skeptics turn on themselves, sort of like watching a dog chew its own tail off. Capricorn Moon here; I was entertained.

At any rate, the debunker was Derek Freeman. Like Mead, he was an anthropologist. Freeman said that he interviewed the two women who Mead had originally interviewed as old ladies they told him that they had sort of made up the stories because they were embarrassed by Mead's questions. Sounds reasonable, but who knows.

At any rate the story in Skeptic magazine says that the fateful interview was on Mar. 13, 1926. I just love it when they give the date. Actually the article even said that the interview happened at night. It's sort of like Skeptic Magazine was tossing a bone to me so they could have a new person to attack. Wonder if they could sell an issue that attacks a blog called "Out the Comet's Ass?" That would be even more perverse than the tail chasing scene. By the way, are there any women who write for Skeptic Magazine or is this sort of White Boy thing like the Astrologers who live in Tempe, AZ?

Either way, I wanted to take a look at Mead's chart to see if it could show that she would be vulnerable to deception on that date, or whatever else it could explain. And I also wanted to look at what happens in a chart when there is a great public reaction to a person's idea and then a gradual wearing away of that idea. Scorpio Midheaven can show this.

Margaret Mead
b. Dec. 16, 1901 9:00 am Philadelphia, PA

Sun 24 Sagittarius; Moon 27 Aquarius; ASC 18 Capricorn; MC 12 Scorpio; NN 12 Scorpio;

Mead has the type of chart you'd expect to find in an independent, educated woman concerned with humanitarian causes, a real adventurer. She was a Sagittarius with an Aquarius Moon. Her Sun is conjunct Uranus which repeats the Uranian theme of her Moon.

Mead's Ascendant is also really interesting. It is Capricorn which shows a serious ambitious personality. She was born during a conjunction of Jupiter to Saturn in Capricorn which is tightly conjunct the Ascendant and Mars. Jupiter-Saturn conjunctions are thought to influence world politics. They were connected for a long time to Tecumseh's curse which led to the attacks of Presidents in the U.S. The last George Bush was the first President to break this curse. Tecumseh has a really witty ghost apparently.

Mead's Mars-Jupiter-Saturn-ASC stellium does not make any aspects with the rest of Mead's chart. This shows that her personality would have been quite strong. It also will show down the line as affecting her relationships in some way as ASC/DESC shows this area of life. Saturn not only rules her chart and is in conjunction with the Ascendant and the natural ruler of the Ascendant, Mars, it is also the final dispositor.

Respect is important to everybody, but for a Saturnian a loss of respect can be deadly. It can show fear of failure. Either way, Mead's work was kept stable until after her death. She has Scorpio on her Midheaven with a conjunction of her North Node on the same degree in Scorpio. How great is that for the woman who is thought to have a great influence on the Sexual Revolution of the 60s? Freeman waited to publish his debunking book until after Mead's death, that's a Scorpio MC I guess. Scorpio also gives one the magnetic and powerful ability to hold on to one's reputation. I looked at Donald Rumsfeld's chart which showed all kinds of different things. (The post is somewhere, I don't know where.)

On Mar. 13, 1926, a number of aspects were setting off Mead's chart. She was going through her first Uranus square transit. By coincidence the Sun was conjunct Uranus in both her Natal Chart and in the Transiting Chart of that day. There may also have been a New Moon on that night in Pisces which means that the Moon was approaching conjunction with Sun-Uranus by transit and squaring the natal.

That much Sun-Uranus action could have indicated that she was perhaps coming on a bit too strong for the natives. Her enthusiasm may have influenced their responses and reactions. Sun is Ego and Uranus is sort of the alter Ego as it rules the opposite end of the Leo polarity. I suppose if we want to start a Revolution, we might as well be going through a major Uranus aspect like this, though. Mead already had that Mars-Saturn conjunction on her Ascendant natally and was no doubt a bit of a pushy personality. She would have needed this in order to do what she did in a man's world, even today.

Further influencing Mead at this time: she was going through both a Venus Return and a Mars Return on that day. Since these are the two planets that rule the love life of an individual it seems that Mead would have been taking the meeting with the two women in Samoa on some sort of personal level.

Further echoing the influence of the New Moon transit at the time of the meeting, Mead's progressed chart shows a New Moon aspect as well in Capricorn. And this New Moon was at 17-18 Capricorn is right on top of her Ascendant and Mars-Jupiter-Saturn Stellium! (Saturn 16 Cap; ASC, Mars and Jupiter 18 Cap)

The planets are definitely lining up for Mead to make a break through in some sort of way through the planets related to sociology, Jupiter-Saturn, by some sort of one on one relationship (interview). One of the women she interviewed, Fa'apua'a Fa'amu may have been born with the same Jupiter-Saturn conjunction in her own chart as well, as both women may have been born in the same year (can't vouch for the birth date I found on the Internet but it is listed below).

So, during a Pisces New Moon there can be deception or confusion at least. Since Fa'amu's Sun is at 10 Taurus and Mead's is at 24 Sagittarius I sort of wonder if the New Moon aspect was at the midpoint between their charts. There is a point between 5-7 degrees Pisces which I'll show is significant in Mead's progressed chart with relation to Retrogrades. Hey! I just noticed that I've been writing this just as we're approaching a New Moon in Pisces conjunct Uranus!!!!! Cool!!!

I was wishing of course to be able to determine from Mead's chart that her ideas would be "debunked." That's probably a stupid thing to look at for such an achiever but a subject that most real people can relate to more in their own lives (how many of us get to be one of the top Anthropologists of all time and the spark of a Sexual Revoluation? Can't relate? I didn't think so). It seems that this debunking is considered acceptable in Scientific communities and is part of the method. It's why everyone believes in Science. Since most Scientific ideas are debunked every 50 or 100 years that's not maybe the most logical point of view, but who am I to get in the way of progress?

I found some interesting connections between Mead's debunking and her progressed planets. Her progressed Venus went Retrograde in 1942 at 4 Pisces. Venus is going to describe a person's love relationships. Mead went through a few of these. The Retrograde can bring some kind of stalling with whatever is ruled by the planet involved. With Venus perhaps more with women than with men because Venus rules Women. Mead had 3 marriages and 3 divorces. By 1942 she was married to her 3d husband. He left her in 1950. She said that he was her true love and that he broke her heart. At this point she seems to have switched sexual preferences and have become Lesbian. She completely changed the identity of her love relationships in order to have one that would work. I think that is often what happens with prog. Venus Rx in whatever way. The extended stay at the same place in the chart makes a person have to look deeper into how they love and are loved. A Sun-Uranus person with Venus in Aquarius is probably going to take experimentation a bit further than most.

In 1957, Mead's progressed Mercury went Rx at 6 Pisces. I wonder how things went for her as Mercury rules communications. I think she taught for a long time in her later years.

I wonder also what the significance of this specific area of Pisces was for Mead's chart. Both Venus and Mercury went Rx near the same spot in Pisces in her progressed Chart. This point is in the 2d house of her natal chart and is trining her natal Neptune 1 Cancer-Sun opposition, so it is significant in some way. It certainly shows that she influenced the idea of "values" in society, a 2d House topic.

Mead's Mercury stationed Direct in 1978. This is the year that she died. (Mercury ruled her 4th House which shows "end of life" so I suppose this could be one interpretation for that aspect although I wouldn't want to use it in any readings.

I'll just quote the paragraph from Wikipedia here which explains Mead's debunker. He spent 40 years re-researching her research. One can line up his story along side the dates that I've just given. The correspondences are pretty interesting for trying to figure out exactly how Retrogrades in Progressions can figure in a person's life.

Freeman described incongruities between Mead's published research and his observations of Samoans:
“ In my early work I had, in my unquestioning acceptance of Mead's writings, tended to dismiss all evidence that ran counter to her findings. By the end of 1942, however, it had become apparent to me that much of what she had written about the inhabitants of Manu'a in eastern Samoa did not apply to the people of western Samoa...Many educated Samoans, especially those who had attended college in New Zealand, had become familiar with Mead's writings about their culture...[and] entreated me, as an anthropologist, to correct her mistaken depiction of the Samoan ethos.[5] ”

Freeman conducted research for more than forty years, describing his research as concluding in 1981 when he was finally granted access to the archives of the High Court of American Samoa for the 1920s;[6] consequently, his refutation was published only after Mead's death in 1978.

Derek Freeman's chart
b. he was a Leo, I forgot where I wrote down his birth date.

The woman he interviewed:
Fa'apua'a Fa'amu

b. Apr. 30, 1901
Sun 10 Taurus; Moon Virgo or Libra; NN 24 Scorpio

Fa'apua'a had a conjunction of Sun to Venus in Taurus. Venus is strong in her own sign here. This aspect certainly shows a woman with a lot of sexual charm. A sort of Helen of Troy. No wonder she sparked the Revolution.

UAL, Y'all

There was a really weird blip in the Stock Market on Monday. One can expect weird, random events with Sun opposing Uranus. A reporter who was researching United Airlines stories on the Internet pulled up an old bankruptcy story from 2002 and thought he had hit pay dirt because no one else knew about it. Turns out the Google search engine had attached the day's current date to the story from 2002. Oopsey. The Reporter reported his story and United Airlines' stock tanked. For about an hour it lost 75 percent of its value. It then went back up, almost, to its opening price. The speed at which this all occurred is unbelievable and of course has brought up all kinds of questions which need to be solved. With the Saturn-Pluto-Uranus t-square coming up, man, they better solve this Internet stuff fast. Talk about Computer Goofology transits. In this case, the Internet goofed. The Reporter goofed. What the Hell was going on with the 3d House? Answer: It was loaded with planets that were squaring the ASC.

I looked at the day's chart for the NYSE on Monday, Sept. 8, 2008 Opening Bell: 9:30am, New York, NY. Libra was rising with Mars-Mercury-Venus still in conjunction. Venus rules this chart and she is conjunct Mercury here. Rulers of the Markets are indicated somehow. Mercury rules reporters and is conjunct Mars to the degree. Mars rules Rash behavior. Mercury-Venus-Mars-ASC are squaring (challenges) Jupiter which rules Journalism and Publishing as well. Jupiter is placed in and rules the 3d House of Journalism. Mercury and Mars squaring Jupiter will indicate exaggerations, misquotes, misinformation, but generally a really, really good story.

Don't know if I could have seen this coming through foresight but, in hindsight, this seems like a very easy to read event astrologically. The Sun opposing Uranus indicates Technology as does Mars conjunct the ASC. The Moon was in Sagittarius and also in the 3d house approaching conjunction with Pluto. That adds emotions to the 3d/9th house element. Pluto rules the Masses. At the height of the frenzy, the Moon was within 1 degree conjunction of Pluto in the 3d House. Jupiter and Sagittarius and Uranus and Aquarius all indicate something to do with Airlines.

Perhaps the Sun-Saturn in Virgo conjunction was the saving grace here. Saturn rules Caution and Virgo quickly grasps mistakes.

There are a couple other things I looked at in this chart. On his excellent blog, Jonah Lehrer discusses the event as a Herd Mentality thing. I'm writing this without my Rex Bills book so the Keywords will be my own -- probably a good reason to skip these paragraphs. I assume that Herds and Herding would be related to Virgo on a literal basis as Virgo rules Farm Animals. This is interesting since I just said that I thought that Sun and Saturn in Virgo were the saving grace for the quick fix to the problem. Oh well, the Stars will indicate a trend, they often don't indicate in which direction the trend will move. Virgo's ruler, Mercury, is conjunct Venus-Mars and the Ascendant as said before.

Pluto would be involved as it rules the Masses. The Moon which rules the Public is conjunct Pluto here. Uranus might be involved as well as it rules large groups of people, maybe not in the negative way though.

The Sun in the opening day chart is in the 11th House and is opposing Uranus. Random, unexpected events with sudden turnarounds. Check out the stock price chart for United Airlines that day. I mean, really, where's the epicenter to that earthquake?

Second thing I noticed by looking at United Airlines' chart for Date of Incorporation. United Airlines (incorporated Dec. 30, 1968, Delaware) chart is lit up by all kinds of aspects. Jupiter has been passing over United's natal Sun. That should be great for an Airline.

Here are some interesting progressions. Progressed Mercury has been moving Retrograde since between the mid-late 1980s sometime (sorry about lack of computer program right now). What a bad situation for an Airline as Mercury rules transportation. United's progressed Sun is also approaching conjunction with natal Venus in Aquarius. This is also the spot where t. Neptune, North Node and Chiron are at this point. The prog. Sun will be in exact conjunction in about 4 years about the same time that Progressed Mercury stations Direct at 1 Aquarius. There should really be big changes for the Airline at that time.

Jonah Lehrer's blog: The Frontal Cortex. http://scienceblogs.com/cortex/2008/09/herd_behavior.php

The Keeling Curve

The Keeling Curve is the result of 40 years of painstaking measurements of the rising Carbon levels in the atmosphere. It was made famous by Al Gore. But who was the person who tracked the measurements during all those years?

Charles Keeling
b. Apr. 20, 1928 Scranton, PA

Sun 1 Taurus; Moon Aries or Taurus; NN 11 Gemini

I suppose it's interesting that Keeling was an Oceanographer but became noted for his studies of Gases in the Atmosphere. He had no planets in Air in his chart, but his North Node was in Gemini which is an Air Sign. North Node shows your Destiny and lack of an element shows that you may be drawn to that element in some way in your life. Here's a description of Keeling's work from the book An Ocean of Air by Gabrielle Walker. As you can see by the title of the book, Walker seems to have read the problems that Keeling's chart propose in this respect. She also fobs off a pretty good description of a Taurus:

Keeling was inspired, technically brilliant, and also -- fortunately -- bull-headed. Fortunately, because he discovered that there was no funding available for long-term studies like the one he had in mind. There was nothing wrong with making a few measurements once in a while, he was told repeatedly by the U.S. science-funding agencies. But keeping highly expensive and very technical instruments ticking over constantly in Hawaii for years? There was simply no need.

Keeling, however, refused to hear the word "no." He wrangled and scraped and insisted, and he somehow managed to keep his instruments in place and switched on. It wasn't long before he was proved to be right. Even between one year and the next, he could see the difference in carbon dioxide levels. And it was exactly what you'd expect if the oceans were not, after all, soaking up those human outpourings.
Keeling made those measurements for more than forty years. When plotted out on a graph, his "Keeling curve" has become one of the most famous icons of the global warming debate. For as the years have passed, the carbon dioxide levels it shows look nothing like a flat line, or even a gentle rise. Instead, they rear up exponentially, like a malevolent tidal wave ready to crash.

-- from pages 82-83, Ch. 3 Food and Warmth

What a great book. I might actually have to read this one.

Keeling's Sun was in Taurus (he passed away recently so I speak of him in past tense) but his Moon may have been either in Aries or Taurus. In addition to that he had four planets in Aries (Uranus, Venus, Mercury, and Jupiter) so he was bound "to do his own thing". Those particular planets ganging up together want to do genuinely good things for the World. Venus-Merucry-Jupiter are trining Saturn in Sagittarius and squaring Pluto in Cancer.

Keeling's Pisces Mars was a great placement for an oceanographer and it was also squaring his Nodal Axis. His destiny in the fight to fix Man-made problems. North Node in Gemini seems to be a great placement for Scientists who want to fix problems at any rate. Born with this 1928 placement are Jack Kevorkian (euthanasia guy) and Bill Mollison (creator of Permaculture). They've all worked against technology. Kind of an interesting situation that these Gemini North Node people have been living on the heels of the Gemini Pluto people who sort of created a lot of the technological messes (something which Bob Marks describes in a thread on his forum, check it out).

Keeling began to take measurements of CO2 over in Hawaii in 1958 and stopped in 2005.

In 1958, by coincidence, he was going through his Saturn Return in Sagittarius. Good time to take on a new project (Saturn) which will be the center of huge amounts of debate (Sagittarius) over the next 40 years. T. Pluto was also just past conjunction with Keeling's natal Neptune at 27 Leo. A person is extra sensitive to poisonings of any type during this transit. Neptune was at early degrees of Scorpio opposing Keeling's natal Sun-Chiron-possibly Moon conjunction which is like a triple or quadruple whammy effect for understanding toxicity, especially through empathy. T.Uranus would have hit Neptune in a couple of years after that, probably around the time that Keeling was realizing that he was on to something. According to Wikipedia his research was used in a Government warning about Global Warming back in 1963 but the fundings were stopped.

Also in 1958 the Nodal Axis was entering Libra which means that the South Node would be passing over Keeling's Aries planets. Neptune was in Scorpio but still conjunct the t.North Node which was moving into late Libra (Nodal Axis moves backwards) for a great deal of the year.

Keeling's measurements stopped in 2005. I suppose this coincides with his death of a heart attack on June 20, 2005. The Astrology is pretty incredible for this. T. Jupiter was once again in Libra and conjunct the South Node which relates back to the start of his 40 year project.

Not only was t. Pluto conjunct natal Saturn but t. Saturn had just been in conjunction with natal Pluto. That represents loss. (They're not in aspect with each other but they are both in major aspect to the following: Transiting Uranus was conjunct natal Mars (and squaring natal Nodal Axis) and transiting Mars was conjunct natal Uranus. Both aspects within a degree of conjunction. This shows a sudden, abrupt change of plans. Natal Mars is also trining natal Pluto at 16 Cancer (death) which was being hit by both Progressed Sun and Venus (15 Cancer for Sun, Venus ??). This squared his natal Aries planets and the transiting Nodal Axis. Transiting Venus and Mercury were also involved. Pluto does bring Fame and Keeling's Fame after his death has skyrocketed. And Venus, what was I saying about Venus throwing some curves?

An interesting little note about the Mercury Retrograde Progression. Keeling's Mercury went Rx sometime around1984-85 at 13 Cancer. This would have been conjunct his natal Pluto and squaring natal Mercury, etc. in Aries. He may have felt impotent to communicate his message. P.Mercury will come out of Retrograde in 2009-2010. The World will finally come around to paying attention to his word, especially with regards to transportation which is a Mercury ruled product.

IndyMac Bank Closure

A Pasadena Mortgage Company called IndyMac closed its door to depositors yesterday. The Feds will reopen it on Monday and customers with more than 100,000 deposited may have a problem getting their leftover money out. I've read that IndyMac was the largest Savings & Loan Company in Los Angeles and was the 7th largest in the United States. This is the 2d or 3d largest bank closure ever. (sorry I didn't keep links for this info).

IndyMac was founded in 1985 as Countrywide Mortgage Investment. A Date I found for this is July 16, 1985, incorporated in Maryland. The Company was reincorporated in Delaware on Mar. 6, 1987. (http://sec.edgar-online.com/1994/03/30/00/0000898430-94-000225/Section2.asp)

IndyMac was a spin off in 1997. I can't find any dates for the spin-off.

IndyMac was closed on Friday, July 11, 2008, Pasadena, California.

Sorry, I don't have any computer programs loaded right now so my planetary information is going to be spotty. What jumped out at first were the Jupiter Cycles. All these years began with Jupiter in Capricorn. Countrywide, however, would have an Aquarius Jupiter if incorporated in July, 1985. The current Neptune-NN-Chiron conjunction would be conjunct this Jupiter.

The July 16, 1985 Baltimore, Maryland date has Sun conjunct Mars by one degree. A 9am chart has a Moon at 7 Cancer which means that the Bank was born during an applying Cancer New Moon. (I don't know exactly what time to use for an incorporation date.) The Chart looks very good for a Mortgage lending Company with the (almost) New Moon in Cancer, sign of Real Estate and Taurus North Node. Very security conscious. The Sun-Mars conjunction in Cancer is volatile.

Neptune in the "birth date" was at 2 Capricorn. Pluto has just come very close to touching that spot. As Noel Tyl describes it that's "Ego Wipe-Out." The description applies even to Banks.

The Progressions stand out. Once again there's a prog. Mercury Rx situation here. Mercury went Rx at some point and has returned to 21 Leo of the Incorporation Date. This stands out because it's involved in a Grand Square in the natal chart where it opposes Jupiter and squares Saturn in Scorpio and the Nodes. The Transiting Nodal Axis is hammering natal Jupiter within 2 degree conjunction and is accompanied by Chiron-Neptune in Aquarius. Neptune dissolves everything it touches, Chiron can't heal its wound. So, of course, at the base we see a Nodal square by transit over a natal Grand Square. And Neptune is there. And Chiron too. And ugh.

Progressed Venus (ruler of Money) is at 8 Cancer. This would be conjunct the 9 am Moon. And the progressed Moon for this chart would be conjunct the Taurus North Node. That would be a double whammy Moon-Venus aspect. Interesting for a natal chart strong in Cancer and Taurus leading aspects.

I don't have a date for 1997 when Countrywide was spun off into IndyMac. What a stupid name for a bank.

The FDIC supposedly has a list of about 80 or 90 banks that are in trouble but they keep telling us not to worry. So far about 5 banks have failed this year. There were actually quite a few back in 2002 as well.

I looked back at the Summer Solstice Chart to see if this is part of the Country's bigger picture. Jupiter rules this chart through the Sagittarius Rising and Jupiter is in the 1st House conjunct the Moon in Capricorn. That's supposed to be lucky isn't it? Well, Jupiter in Capricorn apparently sucks, it doesn't know whether it's expanding or contracting but certainly would like to make a splash in the world. People are supposed to feel happy about receiving their Rebate Check. I just don't know where that money is coming from. It's sort of like having the mafia hand you a wad of bills and tell you everything is good. This chart had the Pluto-ASC opposition to Sun-Venus. I think that's what I noticed first when I looked at this chart. There's a strong power push here to try to help people that just doesn't feel quite right.

The Neptune-NN-Chiron conjunction (Dissolving-Wounding-Direction things are going) is in the 2d House of Banking. Saturn rules the House and Aquarius is intercepted (astrodienst default house). Saturn rules caution, fear, recession. It might also rule "Rebates". Aquarius and Leo intercepted might mean that the big emotional supports (risk taking and hope) that keep the economy running are not find much expression right now. At least those are my thoughts in hind sight.

Mars and Saturn and the South Node are in the 8th House of Loans, Insurance, Investments. Mars is at the apex of a Yod to a Moon-Uranus sextile. That's a pretty hysterical combination and with Mars at the helm could be pretty destructive. Yods are called the Finger of God because they try to combine elements that don't work together into a cohesive whole, something only God can do. In this case the Yod is extra challenging because Mars is placed on the Nodal Axis opposing Neptune-Chiron.

On a really weird note, John McCain's financial advisor, Phil Gramm, told everyone to stop whining. He did this just as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac share prices were dropping astronomical amounts. The Mars-Saturn conjunction was on his Virgo North Node to the Degree so he decided to shoot straight from the hip. He's an old guy and he knows that the real estate market blimped up to unbelievable levels really really fast. House prices increased probably 200 percent in 5 years. Maybe more. It's also very close to Gramm's own Birthday so I guess it's ok for the Birthday Boy to act like a turd. Maybe he was drunk.

Phil Gramm
b. July 8, 1942 Fort Benning, Georgia

Oliver Sacks - Prog. Mercury gone Rx and Back in Early Life

Oliver Sacks is the famous Neurologist who initially became famous for his book Awakenings in which he describes how early on in his career he brought a group of patients suffering from sleeping sickness up out of their coma like states. This post will focus on how the Mercury progression seems to have played out in Sacks' life. As Mercury rules the nerves and communication it's interesting to see how a neurologist who writes about his work has experienced Mercury progressions.

I keep finding that the progressions show a person's psychological status much better than other factors in the chart. The Progressed Rxs seem to show the really difficult to understand psychological problems. This is probably more because they last so damn long. I sort of would like to find the "Rainbow way" to read them so that I don't panic whenever I see one in a chart. The Mercury Retrogrades take 20 years but Venus and Mars Rx's can last for the rest of the person's life. From what I've seen they also seem to offer a really nasty undertow or drag to the person's ability to function in whatever area indicated by the planet affected.

I've mentioned it before but Robert Blaschke has written a really great book on Progressions. Unfortunately I don't have my copy available to refer to right now. He offers ways to discuss the Retrogrades that don't show the level of direness that I'm currently communicating when I see them.

I'm looking at famous people who thrive in spite of these Rx's right now. I've already discussed the effect of the Mercury Rx's that came late in the lives of Federico Fellini and Ernest Hemingway both at the times that they seem to have developed mental blocks in their creativity. Sacks experienced his when he was a child and it's interesting to see how the Mercury Rx Prog. played out in his life. (Short Answer: he's been in psychotherapy ever since it went direct, lol).

Oliver Sacks
b. July 9, 1933 London, England

Sun 17 Cancer; Moon Aquarius; NN 30 Aquarius; Mercury Rx 12 Leo

As the Nerves are ruled by Mercury and Uranus rules the neurological system in the body I was surprised to see that a Doctor so reknowned for expertise in this area of human physiology would have gone through a Mercury Retrograde progression in his life, but it seems to have actually helped. He probably developed his empathetic nature and mental depth through the early knowledge that communication can be very difficult. His Leo Mercury probably sees himself in his patients and really wants to "coach" them out of their situations.

I first looked up Sacks' chart when I heard him in a radio interview saying that his childhood was marked when at Age 6 he was sent away to boarding school in England during the war. He went in 1939 and stayed for 4 years.

Sacks' p. Mercury went Retrograde in September, 1940, the year after he went to boarding school. It remained in Retrograde during his entire Education years and turned direct in Nov-Dec. 1964 at 3 Leo. According to Wikipedia, Sacks moved to New York in 1965 and had a banner year in 1966 when he began working for the Hospital in the Bronx where he had his first major success with the encephalitis lethargica patients. This is also the year when he began his twice weekly psychotherapy sessions; something which he has had ever since.

Of course there are a whole bunch more transits, etc. which can be discussed but this alone seems so significant. Mercury rules early education, communication, siblings, cousins, neighborhoods, books, libraries etc. In Sacks' chart natal Mercury is at 12 Leo conjunct Venus and opposing Saturn in Aquarius. If it weren't for the introversion and self-doubt that can come with a progressed Retrograde period, Oliver Sacks probably would have tried to become a professional musician! Instead, this progression triggered the deeper parts of his soul as indicated in his chart by his Sun-Pluto conjunction in Cancer and Chiron square Nodes. Also, his Mercury-Venus conjunction is opposed by Saturn (maybe c. Moon) which has a serious, disciplining effect on the joy that the Mercury-Venus in Leo desires.

The effect of this very long Mercury in Leo seems to be that Sacks can really speak to the lay public. Sacks can explain what he does to ordinary people in an entertaining way. He is brilliant at treating each of his patients individually and as special people. He is constantly commenting on how he would feel if he were in their shoes. He can shine that Leo light, something which most Drs. can't do at all -- er, at least the ones available on my health plans. One can see the effects of the Leo Mercury written in the following Wikipedia article"

Sacks describes his cases with little clinical detail, concentrating on the experiences of the patient (in the case of his A Leg to Stand On, the patient was himself). The patients he describes are often able to adapt to their situation in different ways despite the fact that their neurological conditions are usually considered incurable.^[6]

Brother Eliot Rides Rough on the Mayflower

Okay, this is going to be a Quickie. Yes, that's right, it's about Eliot Spitzer. It appears from the headlines that he has indeed resigned from his "Position" as Governor of New York. I think it was because he was from so much pressure from the Late Night Comics. Spitzer had to quit because he got caught renting hookers from a House of Ill Repute. As Governor all his finances are inspected and once his tab ran up into the $80,000's bracket the FBI walked in. Gemini's aren't usually this dumb, wonder what happened.

I don't know what kinds of moralistic things Spitzer tried to fix in his short term as Governor but I'm pretty sure his fall isn't about Morals. I also live on the West Coast in the Land where Anything Goes so I wouldn't know how to play the game out in sophisticated New York. But Morals? The Bush Administration would have been long gone if this were a problem.

Spitzer hired a Brunette, 5'4", 105 lb. Commodity to take a train to Washington DC and book a room in the Mayflower Hotel so that he could beg her to do it without a condom. I think I read that he paid for 4 hours from 10:00pm on Feb. 13 to 2 am on Feb. 14. But Spitzer only used her for 2. I told you this was all about Quickies. I've also warned to never even think of trying to find Love on Valentine's Day. It never ever works.

Eliot "Client 9" Spitzer
b. June 10, 1959 Bronx, NY

Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah. He's a Gemini. They're polygamous. I forgot to write down his chart stuff down. Where's his Moon? Oh yeah, that symbolizes his Wife and she's

Silda "First Wife" Spitzer
b. Dec. 10, 1957 Chapel Hill, NC

Comparing charts here gets interesting.

Mr. and Mrs. Spitzer have Suns which exactly oppose each other. Eliot's is 19 Gemini and Silda's is 19 Sagittarius.

Their Venus's (Her Planet) also oppose each other. Eliot's at 4 Leo (conjunct his Mars 6 Leo) and Silda's at 3 Leo.

The couple's Mars's (His Planet) are in squaring signs. Mars in the charts does throw some klinkers in the nuptial bliss with its intensity. Squaring Signs challenge each other, for one. But, these challenging aspects between Venus and Mars really increase the sexual attraction.

Eliot's Mars is conjunct his Venus and Uranus and possibly his Moon which is a fairly kinky aspect. He's got quite a Sex drive going there. This combination also makes for a really nice person but in Leo the Hubris thing I guess got the better of him.

Silda's Mars is in Scorpio is unaspected. Unaspected planets, in Noel Tyl's terms, "runs away with the chart." So she likes a guy with a long whip. Probably she likes his ambition and is willing to give up a little in favor of success. Maybe less so now that her Sun has long progressed out of Capricorn.

Both Mr. and Mrs. Spitzer have the Moon at 3-4 degrees Leo in the Noontime charts. So that means they have either Cancer or Leo Moon. They really are in sync with each other for Better or, um, Worse. There's a problem with some squares between Mars and Neptune. On the positive side I think this makes a couple want to help others. On the negative side it makes them do weird, creepy things. This square is in Elliot's natal chart but also in their Marriage chart (along with a conjunction of Venus-Pluto-Mercury, ooo boy).

Example of a Marriage Chart that Leads to Great Political Success and Fall through a Hooker named Kristen who was Rented from the Emperor's Club:

Oct. 17, 1987 (place? New York)

Sun 25 Libra; Moon Leo? (Moon conjunct their natal Moons?); NN 3 Aries (no shit)
Mars conjunct Libra South Node squaring Neptune

The Most interesting part of this story are the Progressed Retrogrades that have occurred in this couple's lives so far. Thank God there are only two.

The first is, this isn't a surprise, Silda's Venus. Silda is a people pleasing Sagittarius. The women are people pleasers, but they are also freedom loving. They attract marriage like flies but can really struggle with the confines of boring old same old, same old. Silda's first marriage failed. She was married in 1982 for 29 days. So years later, she met Eliot and they decided to give it a go. Silda's Venus went Retrograde by Progression the Month after they got married. She's really been sticking this one out. Robert Blaschke's book on Progressions would have a great description for what prog.Venus Rx means. I don't have it nearby. Noel Tyl has described natal Venus Rx succinctly as the person develops Loveability issues. Their entire Libra (Venus) marriage has been ruled by Silda's feeling unloveable (deep down, of course). She's so pretty and intelligent. It would be interesting to look at her Juno placement. Maybe later.

The second Rx Progression is Eliot's Mercury. His P.Mercury went Retrograde in 2001-2. It's really interesting that his political career really took off at that point and has suffered from his overly Mercurial personality. Spitzer's Mercury went Retrograde while conjunct his natal Uranus in Leo. This doesn't imbue a sublte, sweet communication style. He became a Crusader and Truth Teller for all kinds of Noble Causes. Unfortunately he began to yell at everyone and brag about what a Steamroller he was. It's very appropriate that Spitzer was caught through Mercury-Uranus means, through surveillance on his electronic accounts. Spitzer's Progressed Sun is moving into conjunction with p.Mercury and progressed and Natal Uranus so work-wise he may really take on even more of a crusade. I'm not sure, I think prog. Sun might just be finishing up with the conjunction to his Venus and Mars so he may be spent in those departments. It's not worth it if you have to use a condom.

Bulldozer Joe

Just found this story in connection with the downfall of Slobodan Milosevic of Serbia. Guess it's 7 plus years too late. Can I just blame it on the U.S. Postal Service (of my Mind)?

The event that led to Milosevic resignation is called "The Bulldozer Revolution." It occurred in Belgrade on Oct. 5, 2000. It's called "Bulldozer" because some guy got into a Bulldozer and rammed into the State controlled TV Station at around 17:00 hours. What can we say here? The guy was a Sagg, maybe a Double Sagg. Pluto was on his Sun & Mercury if not his Moon. This is the ultimate "I'm Mad as Hell and I'm Not Going to Take It Anymore" aspect. Anyway, I have Sagg on my Descendant so I just think this is the Ultimate Good Time.

I hereby present to you, the Guy who drove the John Deere that ended Milosevic's career:

Ljubisav "Dzo" (or Joe for Westerners) Dokic
b. Nov. 27, 1943 (Belgrade? no birth place given) Yugoslavia

Sun 5 Sagittarius; Moon Scorpio or Sagittarius; NN 9 Leo (c. Pluto)

Joe's got a great chart for driving a Bulldozer. I mean, he would have also been a great journalist or politician but you've got to work with whatever tools you've got readily available, right? And Milosevic didn't give his people too many options overall.

Joe here is a Sagittarius Sun with Sun conjunct Mercury and maybe, probably, Moon in Sagittarius. This opposes a conjunction Uranus and Mars. Joe likes Revolution. Saturn is also in a later degree of Sagittarius. I would have liked to have seen it exactly in conjunction with Mars and Uranus for a Bulldozer Driver but Joe was out of work and suffering from a spinal injury, so, as I said, he would have made a better journalist or lawyer.

On Oct. 5, 2000, transiting Pluto was opposite Jupiter and the two were layered over this natal opposition of Joe's. This is a sign of Success, that he would do something larger than life. A couple of Grand Trine figures link into this opposition as well, further assuring that something would happen.

Joe's bulldozing down of the door of the TV Station is clearly depicted by this Gemini-Sagittarius axis which represents both Media, Speech, Ethics, and Driving Skills. Saturn had just passed into Gemini as well. That literally just screams out "Bulldozer" (Saturn) and "TV Station (Gemini)."

So, why Joe? Why not Fred or Agnes or Hal? I'll tell you why. Two reasons.

Joe's Venus was placed in its own sign of Libra. That's the Scales of Justice, Baby. On this day, the Sun was at 13 Libra conjunct Joe's natal Venus and squaring the t.Nodal Axis and the t.Moon. This Sun (and Joe's Venus) was also involved in a Grand Trine with Jupiter in Gemini and Neptune in Aquarius. Joe was simply more likely to survive the police gun shots than anyone else, that's the Jupiter influence at work. Sagittarians know when they're feeling lucky and they know when their chances aren't so hot.

This Grand Trine is echoed in Joe's progressed chart as his p.Sun had just passed into Aquarius (sign of Revolution) and was trining his Libra Neptune and Gemini Uranus (t.Jupiter). His chart was strongly hooked into doing something for the Humanitarian Good. With t.Pluto on one's Sun, one will go to extreme lengths/crises to change things.

Milosevec resigned 2 days later.

Another thing, Joe's progressed Mercury was just coming out of Retrograde and he just coming out of verbal hibernation. His communication skills had just received a huge boost.

The Mass Protest lasted all day and had been going on for years. The TV Station was overrun beginning around 17:00 hours according to this timeline: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/959077.stm

The 2 Dudes Who Measured the Meter

I've been taking a bunch of notes and need to try to crank them out. This one is about two French Astronomers who were chosen to determine the length of the Meter by measuring the distance between the Equator and a Pole. The Distance would be divided by one ten-million would be the length of a Meter. Both Guys started out from Paris. One Guy went North and the other Guy went South and betweenst the twos of them they figured out the length and it was deemed that this would become the Meter. I'm American, we're all feet here, left-feet at that. The idea that measurements can be made related to the size of the World rather than some old Roman's smelly foot is beyond my comprehension. Anyway, it turns out that the measurements may be off, the story reads like a prequel to Wayne's World or Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure.

Here's the Guys. Remember, the Virgo went North. The Leo went South.

Pierre-Francois-Andrew Mechan
b. Aug. 16, 1744 Laon, France

Sun 24 Leo; Moon Scorpio or Sagittarius; NN 24 Aries

Jean-Baptiste-Joseph Delambre
b. Sept. 16 (book says 16th, Wiki says 19th), 1749 Amiens, France

Sun 24 Virgo; Moon Scorpio; NN 17 Capricorn

The book that I haven't read is The Measure of All Things by Ken Adler. It's about how the Leo fudged his Data in order to make it work with the Virgo's Data and then didn't tell anyone. He supposedly goes a little crazy and then dies. He's a famous astronomer who discovered a bunch of comets, Hencke, for example, which was just in the news. Anyway, the two presented their work and the Virgo discovered the Leo's Errors after the Leo had died. You're supposed to read through the whole book in order to find out if the Virgo admitted the mistake or not. I assume that he didn't because Virgos are pretty practical people and they had worked for 7 years sailing around trying to gather the data. The Leo was in Spain just as War broke out and was thrown in jail for awhile because they thought he was a spy. Things just went wrong a whole lot and the Guys just wanted to get the damn project over with.

The whole story was kept under wraps until the writer, Ken Adler started reading their correspondence and realized, after 200 years, what had gone on.

It's interesting to check their charts first for trying to understand how the error could happen. The expeditions occurred between May 1792 and 1799.

The Virgo being a Virgo sorted out his calculations without a hitch. It's just that he had to decide later on what to do with the Leo's bogus calculations. The Leo got all snarled up, hence the Drama, when things didn't work he just used his Leonine creativity to fix them. And incidentally it turns out that his numbers weren't that far off and were for some reason more accurate than the mathematical figures would have been (I don't understand the reason).

Around the time that they were working on the project both Men's Mercury's went Retrograde by Progression during their 7 year voyages. Good old Merc Retrograde, I can see how that might not be the best situation for measuring the entire Globe. The Leo's Rx - 1796-97 and the Virgo's - 1797-8. Things just sort of don't go quite right during Mercury Retro, and the progression lasts for a really long time. The transits and natal Mercury's also flesh out the picture here. The poor Leo's progressed Mercury in Scorpio was hit by transiting Neptune in 1795. This accounts for his inability to think clearly but also the accuracy of his "creativity" and also why he decided to "fudge" the answers anyway and also maybe why he went insane from the guilt of what he had done. During these years the Leo's progressed Sun was passing over his South Node as well. Too busy to discover the Comets to spend time interpreting what that means I guess.

Both Men were born during Neptune-Pluto trines which fully explains their interest in Astronomy. Anything involving far-sightedness, like staring at the Heavens and surveying long distances, would come under these two planets working well together. The Virgo had the Trine very nicely aspected in a Kite Pattern with a Grand Trine of Neptune in Cancer trine Pluto in Scorpio trine Jupiter in Pisces. Sun was conjunct Mercury and opposing Jupiter. And Mercury is on the Aries point. This is a pretty sweet Kite. His Sun (will) and Mercury (thinking) could directly focus the energies of his Generation.

The Leo had the pizazz. His Neptune-Pluto trine was less spectacular. Mars in Cancer was conjunct his Neptune and Saturn was aspecting with a sextile. Mars and Neptune have charisma. Mars in Cancer gets pretty emotional when things don't go well and be less able to deal with a Mercury Rx progression. In 1801, right around the time that his nerves were getting the best of him, transiting Neptune hit his natal Pluto.

So, the part about the Secret that is buried for 200 years certainly seems like a Neptune-Pluto manifestation. Plus, the Leo's Mars-Pluto conjunction was opposing the Virgo's Mars-North Node. So it was on the Virgo's South Node. It was the Virgo's life lesson to learn how to balance his impulsiveness (Mars) with his coworker's.

Mike Huckabee's Mercury

There's something so mesmerizing about listening to Republican Candidate Mike Huckabee speak. I only remember feeling this kind of hypnotic fascination while listening to Radio Personality Art Bell talk back in 1997. I was going through a really difficult time in my life and I had sublet a cabin up in the Sonoma Mountains and the only radio stations that came through were the ones that played Coast to Coast all night long. I fell asleep many nights listening to Art Bell saying that the World was coming to an end. Art Bell has a Mercury-Neptune square.

So, when I hear Huckabee's voice, I'm wondering what's going on with his Mercury. There's nothing the Born Agains would like more than to have one of theirs in the Presidential Office during the Second Coming. 2012 -- Woo Hoo.

Mike Huckabee
b. Aug. 24, 1955 Hope, Arkansas

Sun 1 Virgo; Moon Scorpio or Sagittarius; NN 24 Sagittarius

Huckabee's Mercury is in its own sign of Virgo and squaring his Nodes so his Communication Style is closely linked with his Destiny. Its only other aspect is a sextile to Saturn. So he has a talent for speaking with very focus and concentration in a down to earth point of view in the words of the common man. But there's a whole lot driving those innocent Virgo words in this chart.

So where's all this magnetism coming from? Well, Huckabee's got 5 planets in Leo so whatever he's got he's going to flaunt.

And it looks like both Neptune and Pluto transits/progressions are influencing the matter.

First of all, Pluto. Natally, Pluto has a very strong willed conjunction with Mars and Venus in Leo and the Sun in Virgo. When he decides he wants something he gets it. Adding to this extremely energetic combo is his chart shape which is possibly one of those bunker busting Bundle Shapes bound within a trine of Uranus and the Moon (maybe, don't know about Moon's placement due to lack of birthtime).

He's played the transiting Pluto game very well. As it was approaching his Sagittarius North Node he started a Health Regimen and lost something like 110 pounds. This is a great feat for anyone, but especially for Huckabee because his progressed Sun is in Libra who functions much better and with confidence if looking beautiful. He's also budgeted Arkansas into the Black, another great feat. Pluto, right now, is trining Huckabee's natal mambo conjunction of Sun-Venus-Mars in Leo. Pluto likes Power and Fame.

The Neptune connection is coming mainly through Progressed Mercury and Sun. Just as Huckabee went into Politics his progressed Mercury (Secondary) went retrograde at 29 Libra at that time. It was conjunct his natal Neptune is at 27 Libra so here is the Mercury-Neptune connection extended over years and years. It is really interesting that he switched from Religion to Politics during this progression, one would think the opposite would happen.

Neptune is strongly pronounced in Huckabee's chart because it is a singleton planet both in Air and as a Cardinal Sign. As Mercury progressed back over it Huckabee became Governor by means of the Blackwater Scandal (Neptunian). P.Mercury is now progressed back into middle Libra just as Huckabee's progressed Sun approaches his natal Neptune (currently p.Sun is at 23 Libra). The conjunction should be exact right at the moment of the Second Coming. Gawd.

Clyfford Still

While Gemini deals with the world of concrete ideas, Sagittarius deals with the world of abstract ideas. So it makes sense when Abstract painters are Sagittarians. There are very few painters who I feel completely moved by when I'm viewing their works in a Museum. When I was living in San Francisco I would go into a room in the museum which only hung Still's paintings. It was like being out in nature, or a lot like driving across the United States where there's nothing but vast amounts of land all around. The scale was huge and there was a sense of something even bigger existing just beyond what the eye could see. Really amazing. And also seems very Sagittarius to me.

Still was a 20th century Abstract Expressionist, I think he's categorized in what are called "Color field painters." His paintings were generally very large, full of strong, pure, flat colors in jagged shapes. The paint is very richly implied in thick impasto that tapers down to very thin edges in spots, sometimes to bare canvas. I seem to remember reading somewhere that he made his own oil paints so that he could work with exactly the correct type of paint that he needed. He made a huge donation of 30 or so paintings to a museum with all kinds of stipulations about how they were to be displayed just so that he could guarantee that they would be presented correctly. I know that Virgo is often thought to be the perfectionist sign but I've found this much more in Sagittarius. And in fact Still's chart has strong Virgo-Sagittarius emphasis as you can see below. He has one of the Classical Signatures for an artist with Venus in major aspect to Neptune (opposition).

Clyfford Still
b. Nov. 30, 1904, Grandin, ND

Sun 9 Sagittarius; Moon Virgo; NN 15 Virgo

Wikipedia seems to have updated Still's bio lately with some pretty interesting information. Usually short bio's dwell on his irascible personality and nothing more. Still was educated in Washington state and taught there at the beginning of his career. He and another artist spent 4 years teaching a school that documented the lifestyles of the Native Americans living in the area. His paintings are usually painted in earth pigments, perhaps influenced by interaction with this culture. The other Color Field painters were using the most modern materials they could get their hands on.

Still got his first show in 1943 in San Francisco. He had been working for the War in an ammunitions factory. This must have been a difficult time for him as t. Saturn was conjunct his natal Pluto and t.Pluto and the North Node were opposite his natal Saturn. His progressed Sun had been passing over his natal Venus in Capricorn for the last 3 years. This must have been a time of hard work and frustration for waiting. Don't want to make those Sagg's wait too long, they're pretty impatient. I wonder if this is when he developed his personality problems.

In 1943, the Pluto-North Node conjunction was in Leo, sign of art, and it was trining his natal Sun, so he got his first whack at Fame (Pluto) this year. T.Neptune was also conjunct his natal Mars in Libra (Art, Action) and t. Uranus was opposing his Sun (Innovation, Avante-Garde).

Also interesting at this time is the movement of Still's Progressed Mercury. It had been moving Retrograde in Capricorn until 1946 when it turned Direct. This happened right on the Capricorn Aries Point and might be associated with his growing prominence. I think this also extended the influence of his search as an artist as Mercury essentially remained within conjunction of his natal Uranus for a long period of time, about twenty or so years, sorry I didn't look up the exact amount of years.

The Pluto in Leo transit seems to have really brought out the artistic side of his expression as it was trining his Sagittarius planets, first Sun and then Mercury-Uranus. Viewing Still's art really is a firey experience. The edges of the forms are jagged (Wiki's word) and almost look like fire. His use of color is strong and pure, usually he used only warm colors, basic Black, Red, White and Yellow. You can actually see the influence of Pluto moving into Virgo in the late 50s as he started adding the color Blue into his paintings.

Natally Still's conjunction of Mercury and Uranus in Sagittarius could be naturally connected with a person who is Avante-Garde and Individualistic and Freedom loving. This is made extra potent by the fact that both planets are out-of-bounds in his chart. Mercury is also in opposition to Pluto in Gemini, a generation that stressed invention.

Still seems to have bounced back and forth between the West and East Coast. He was probably most appreciated on the East Coast but needed the freedom of the West Coast. In 1961 he settled on a Farm in Maryland. By then Pluto was firmly planted into Virgo and it seems that his most famous work was done. He died in 1980.