Norman Cousins - Anatomy of a Poisoning?!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

How to Repel the Mosquitoes This Summer

Now that Summer is here so are the Mosquitos. And so that means, so is the DEET. NPR had a cute little show about the search to find a replacement product for DEET that's just as effective. They don't like how the stuff smells. DEET repels the mosquitoes by confusing their olfactory senses. They won't bite you because you won't smell like a human. Unfortunately, you will smell like DEET. And I can assure you that's not good. The Wikipedia statistics say that 30 percent of the population of the U.S. will use DEET this Summer. Nothing, but nothing's, going to be buzzing around them this summer, hew.

I thought maybe there was some interesting astrology to look up here and found a whole lot more. First, about the Smell detail. DEET was first used by the U.S. Army in 1946. Pluto rules, or at least partly rules, the sense of smell. At least the part of the smell sense that rules deep, dark emotional memories, think Jungle imagery. Towards the end of 1946, Saturn was just joining Pluto in a conjunction in Leo. Man v. Jungle. Man controls the Jungle. Man can finally sleep. Man's so happy that Saturn is finally out of Cancer which is always a miserable transit. And, well, actually DEET has been found to create insomnia, so the mosquitoes won't bother you, but you still won't sleep.

Really odd thing is that DEET dissolves plastics. It's a solvent. I didn't know anything could dissolve plastics. I thought plastics weren't biodegradable. Plastics have to be recycled because they don't mix back in with the earth. So this is very confusing. If you spray DEET on your clothes and your clothes are made of synthetics they will burst apart. But for some reason we aren't concerned about what will burst apart if we spray DEET on our skin. Why would we spray something on our bodies which can dissolve something that is so durable it doesn't dissolve on its own? Our bodies are biodegradable. That's pretty weird. So, go wash that stuff out. It will go straight into the oceans where 90 percent of the fish have vanished, mysteriously. Dissolving fish, how Neptunian.

The rulerships for Plastics isn't confirmed really. Uranus would be involved because Uranus rules man's innovations. Mercury might also be involved for the same reason. Neptune is involved because Plastics are so moldable. Solvents are ruled by Neptune, unless they're acids and then they're ruled by Mars.

During 1946, there was a really awesome aspect between Uranus and Neptune. Uranus and the North Node were in Gemini so that's great for innovation. Jupiter and Neptune were in Libra. During various times the Libra outer planets were in trine with the Gemini Uranus-NN conjunction. What a great year for manufacturing Plastics.

Actually DEET wasn't sold to the public until 1957. (Isn't it amazing how the Servicemen got to be the Guinea Pigs for testing out these new products? Is that PTSD you've got? Or ....) Uranus was in Leo close to the spot where the Saturn-Pluto conjunction was. And Pluto moved into Virgo, sign of Public Health. Neptune had just moved into Scorpio so I suppose for a while there was confusion about what was healthy and what was poison. Between the DEET, the monkeyvirus vaccinations, and who knows what else, the outer planets were really having their jollies hooking men into some long-term, difficult to understand health issues. Malaria's no joke, of course, so the DEET's around for some really good reasons.

The Italians used to throw fresh Basil on the floor of the kitchen to keep the mosquitoes away. That's my preferred method, of course, although I've recently used DEET (my socks all mysteriously fell apart and the leather on my shoes completely split apart, the guy at the shoe store said wow that's weird).

There's also a new product now out called Icaridin. It doesn't smell and it doesn't melt plastic. I guess it doesn't have an appropriate Outer Planet configuration to latch on to for marketing purposes yet.

J. Craig Venter - Prog. Mercury & Venus Rx's

J. Craig Venter is sort of the reason why I started writing this blog. He's the guy who got frustrated with the National Institutes of Health for doodling around while sequencing the Genome and decided to open his own company and do it himself, only quicker. He succeeded by a few years but wasn't well liked by most of the Science community.

A while back I read a very entertaining book about famous geneticists. The characters of the Scientists described were so well drawn out I figured it would be fun to compare the charts of different personalities who were following the same path in life careerwise. They were so different personality-wise. Then I couldn't find some of the birth dates and I realized that I know nothing about Science and I got distracted by something else. And now I can't even remember the name of the book or the author. The Title was very long, that's all I can say.

Venter was described as the aggressive, pushy maverick in the book. He needed to do things his own way. Big ego. In short, he was called "The Devil."

Meanwhile, another guy whose name I forget was sort considered the Angel of the Genetics community. He also stood up to the Science Community because he insisted that Geneticists follow ethical guidelines regarding the work. Ethics and Financial Reward don't always go hand in hand. When I looked at both scientists' charts I noticed that both had strong Saturn-Pluto ties in their charts and realized this could be one indicator that they would push against the grain. Venter has the conjunction and the other guy had the Trine. I thought of doing an Angel/Devil comparison but in the end realized that's stupid as both these men have done equal amounts of good for the world.

So, the Saturn-Pluto combo has its rep and its personality, not always considered airy fairy. I know, I've got one myself. I'm also amazed by the reactions I hear from Astrologers about Hillary Clinton and Al Gore concerning their conjunctions. No matter what these two do in life, they are still considered evil at the core. Also, I had an evil step-mother with the t-square from Hell that included these two planets and the personality and misdeeds to match so I know that Saturn-Pluto people can be a little overbearing and selfish. But, now that I'm studying the Progressions more closely I can find better reasons for why Venter would be considered a Devil. Oops, did I use that label? I said it was stupid.

J. Craig Venter
b. Oct. 14, 1946 Salt Lake City, UT

Sun 21 Libra; Moon Gemini; NN 13 Gemini

Ah, look at that weetol cute chart. All Air. Air Signs aren't Devils, they're sweet little munchkins with social skills. Thing is, Air Signs progress, the mental gets initiated into the emotional water signs. You can't stick your toe into the same river twice in life, we've got to learn life's lessons, we're all progressing (or spiraling) whether we like it or not.

Venter's Sun progressed into Scorpio. And natally he has Mercury, Mars and Venus in Scorpio which were illuminated by his p. Sun early on in life so everyone immediately knew what a brilliant Medical Researcher/Scientist he was. His book describes how his life was sort of just carried along by his natural abilities.

Venter's got Mercury, Mars and Venus in Scorpio squaring his natal Saturn-Pluto conjunction. This indicates that he's got plenty of confidence and is a risk taker. Although this seems like a bit too creative of a combination for a stodgy science laboratory, one can see the affinity for scientific research, the confidence, ambition & showmanship.

But, his Venus went Retro by Progression when he was in his teens and then his Mercury went Retro by progression just before he received his Doctorate. And they did this after just barely passing over in to Sagittarius so they knew how much lighter things get once you reach the other side and don't have to deal with all that deep churning Scorpio stuff. That can be frustrating.

A while back I heard Adrian Duncan Ross give a whole lecture on how progressions act when they go retrograde back over cusps. If I'm remembering correctly I think he said that by that time you already know the lessons given by the end degrees of the signs, you're really sick of the energy and just want to move on to something new. In this case, life makes you go back and learn more of what you're tired of. And nobody really wants to learn more Scorpio. Venter describes in his recent autobiography how naturally all things Scorpionic came to him at work. He was intelligent, confident, driven, he was creative in his observations, he could manage large groups of people.

First to mention the progressed Sun. Venter's Sun progressed into Scorpio in 1956 when he was around 10 years old. His Sun progressed into Sagittarius around 1985 when he started working at the National Institutes of Health. Between that time it passed over and highlighted his Mars, Mercury, and Venus and squared his Saturn-Pluto conjunction in Leo. After the p.Sun passed into Sagittarius he really does seem to have become known for Sagittarius traits. Highly opinionated, independent, and impatient with bureaucracy, along with high intelligence.

Now to move on to Venter's Venus. Natally it is at 30 Scorpio. It's influence is strong in his chart because it is unaspected and it disposes his Sun. His Prog. Venus went Rx at 3 Sagittarius in 1960. Noel Tyl has described Venus Rx "issues" as having to deal with "love ability."

Things here get really interesting. Venter went to Vietnam right after this time and was so full of despair he attempted suicide. He literally titles the Chapter describing this time in his life as "University of Death." Sagittarius rules universities, Scorpio rules Death and Venus rules self worth. Pretty interesting. Venter was also in a foreign land. He swam out into the water where he knew poisonous sea snakes were with the idea that he would be bitten. Snakes are just so Scorpio, this seems like some kind of weird Odyssyean imagery (I don't know how to spell that and neither does spell check). Venter's Venus passed back into Scorpio and stayed Retrograde in that sign until 2000-2001 when he was awarded for sequencing the Genome. Because of this Retrograde his Self worth was truly honed to what Sagittarius would truly want it to be. Venter was married twice during this time and divorced twice. He's now in a new relationship. Hope she's a free spirit.

Venus Retrograde, in the Libra sense, could bring social difficulties, lack of diplomacy. Could explain why Venter didn't feel comfortable around his peers and finally just decided to buck against them. As he's a Libra Sun this would have affected his ego expression more strongly than other signs. Could also explain the Devil label, especially coming from Scorpio.

According to Venter's biography he had multiple talents for working in the medical field, both through people skills, intelligence and management skills. He went to school after serving in Vietnam and finished his Ph.d early. Lots of Scorpio drive. Mercury, like Venus, is strong in Venter's chart because it disposes both his Moon and his North Node. This one I can't quite figure out. I need a good keyword for what a Mercury Rx means. Mercury Rx in transit of course brings all kinds of snafus which would make all the details of medical research ten times more difficult. Natally it can make a person feel out of place and misunderstood, just because communications are so important in the world. I read only part of his autobiography and skipped this entire part of the book. Maybe that's part of the thing. I can't imagine trying to do Medical Research under a long Mercury Retrograde progression, ew.

In Venter's case, his Mercury went Rx by Progression in 1973-74 at 8 Sagittarius just before Venter received his Ph.d (1975). Mercury in Sagittarius is very fitting for achievement in the academic world. Then it went Rx and he started working out in the world.

Venter's progressed Mercury seems to correspond pretty closely with his relationship problems. He got his first Divorce as Mercury passed back into Scorpio. At the same time, Mercury was conjunct prog. Sun. He got involved with and married one of his students, very Mercury. His Mercury stationed direct in 1993-94 while conjunct his prog. Venus. Something significant probably happened that year. Mercury passed into Sagittarius in 2006.

Venter claims he will be able to use Genomic science as sort of an Alchemical process. I don't know if he can spin straw into Gold but he says he will be able to turn human urine into drinking water. I've heard that there's a video of Venter on the Colbert Show telling this to Stephen Colbert and that it's the only time you'll ever see Stephen Colbert speechless and bowing in reverence to one of his guests.

Venter's natal Mars is also in Scorpio in his natal chart. It has never gone retrograde. He's very athletic and has a special interest in sailing.

Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar

Massive Destruction in Burma from Cyclone Nargis which made landfall on the coast of Myanmar last Friday just as its winds were at their maximum speed of 132 mph.

The information I've pulled up so far is:

Cyclone Nargis
begins to form in Bay of Bengal on April 27 and dissipates on May 3, 2008

Landfall west of Rangoon (Yangon).
May 2, 2008 4:00pm closest town: Ngaputaw, Burma
(map at http://www.reliefweb.int...)

Sun 13 Taurus; ASC 8 Libra; Moon 30 Pisces; MC 8 Cancer; NN 25 Aquarius Rx

The Sun here is unaspected in the 8th House of Mass Destruction & Crisis & Death ( except for minor semi-square gizmo to Moon). As a matter of fact, the Sun had been unaspected since April 29, the day after the storm began out in the ocean. Its last aspect before that had been as part of an Earth Grand Trine to Saturn and Pluto which it shared with Venus. Venus has massive rulership of this chart as ruler of both the Sun and the Chart itself. Venus is placed in the Landfall chart, angular, in the 7th house.

This storm seems like another present from the Uranus-Neptune mutual reception. The cosmic outer planet mingling of everything that wind and water can do together. Nothing gets you thinking outside the box quite like having almost an entire country x-d off the map. It's interesting that the rest of this chart is so prominent in Earth signs.

First to look at Uranus & Neptune in the chart:

• Neptune here is conjunct the North Node to the degree and also conjunct Chiron. Saturn is conjunct the South Node from Virgo. The Landfall chart puts the axis in the 5th and 11th Houses.

• Uranus is placed in the 6th House and had just been passed over by the Moon which was at the last degree of Pisces on the Aries Point.

The Moon here is squaring Pluto at the Aries Point. Pluto is in the 3d house, having just crossed the IC about the same time that the Moon crossed over Uranus.

The Saturn-Pluto trine is super strong at this point. As I said the Storm had been piddling around out in the ocean for days and decided to plop onto land just as it reached its strongest point. Saturn and Pluto are both in the beginning degrees of earth signs. They are included in a Grand Trine with Venus, which is ruler of the chart. They are also included in a trapezoid figure where they square and inconjunct Mercury in Taurus (H8) and the Moon in Pisces (H6). What this means to me is that the planets were just crystallized and working together with each other. Saturn and Pluto tend to like to manifest terror if given half a chance, and that's what they did here.

Mars is in Cancer, still. This is one long transit through the Terrible Two's. Mars is elevated up in the 10th House, opposing Jupiter down in H4 and trining both the Moon and Uranus in Pisces.

Due to the Political Isolationism of Burma, the country has been denying its people international Aid. The first help has been received Tuesday afternoon as must of the country has been without electricity and fresh water for 4 days. The death toll is thought to be staggering, up past 20,000 dead last I read. The Government failed to warn the people beforehand about the impending dangers. Perhaps the Saturn-Pluto-Sun-Venus Grand Trine accounts for their isolationism and false sense of thinking they could deal with the problem on their own. (Noel Tyl gives a great description of how Grand Trines work in this way.)

Pat Steir

Pat Steir is an Abstract artist in New York who is known for her huge canvases of dripped paint. Her paintings evoke imagery of Water and Land. So, I was sort of surprised to see that she's an Aries Sun which is in conjunction to the degree of her South Node and Jupiter in Aries. I suppose you could say that Steir's paintings are "Ariesian" in that they are so direct. There's absolutely no distinction between the content, the paint, the philosophy, and the technique. Somehow Steir can drip paint on to a canvas and create exceptional beauty.

My introduction to Steir was through a video about artists. The video was filmed some time in the 90s and Steir was bemoaning the fact that clients were at that time paying more for labor than for inspiration so I guess her works weren't as marketable at that point. I wanted to look at her chart for indicators of ease and not wanting to labor over something just because I was so taken aback by her frankness and lack of ego. For this I would expect a strong Venusian contact and that's definitely here. Steir's Venus is in Gemini conjunct Mars (creativity) to the degree. It's also relating to Pluto in multiple ways. Venus here is out-of-bounds. And it's squaring and is parallel to Pluto which is also out-of-bounds. An extremely artistic, emotionally intimate nature. Her Taurus Moon also disposes to Venus. All this indicates a very tactile nature. You can tell she must really enjoy watching the flow of that paint.

Steir's Venus went Retrograde by Progression around 1997. I wonder if this is about the time that she made the video that I saw.

The Mars and Venus conjunction is also remarkable because these planets together rule both her Nodal Axis and her Aries Sun and Taurus Moon! This perhaps shows how Steir works from such an intuitive and well synthesized vision.

As one would expect Steir's Neptune is strong. It's opposition to Mercury in Pisces forms the Boundary Opposition to a Bowl Shaped Chart. Mercury, as a matter of fact, is a singleton in Water. Pretty interesting because, as I said before, Water and Wateriness is such a strong subject matter in Steir's paintings. Mercury and Neptune have many connections with each other in the same way that Venus and Pluto do in Steir's chart. Mercury disposes to Neptune as it's in Pisces. Also, the two are in Mutual Reception.

Pretty interesting is the Saturn-Pluto square. This can show more of a need for control than I would expect from Steir. Maybe there is a lot of control necessary to create these paintings, I don't know. Making things look easy is the signature of great artists. This pair together certainly gives a lot of drive to work and to have a career. It can also give a great sense of scale and mass which Steir's work certainly has.

Maybe this is too much infomation, but I will also note that Steir was born while Uranus was in Taurus trining Neptune in Virgo. A great signature for Abstraction. Uranus may be in conjunction with Steir's Moon.

More Pluto in Capricorn - Enlightenment About The Dark Side

The cover story of the latest issue of New Scientist Magazine (March 8, 2008) is called "The Dark Side." It is actually two articles, one about Dark Matter and the other about Dark Energy and it relates how we may be on the verge of great discoveries in the so far fruitless search to understand either one just this year. I think that's very significant because of Pluto's entry into Capricorn right now. If I understand these concepts even a little bit Dark Matter is connected with very strong Gravitational pulls in the Universe and Dark Energy is connected with understanding how Time speeds up and slows down in the Universe. Both are strongly ruled by the Saturn-Pluto combination working together.

Anyway, the article will probably be available online soon: www.newscientist.com. "Cosmic Enlightenment" and "Dark energy begone!"

The Scientist who first discovered Dark Matter was Fritz Zwicky. According to Wikipedia Scientists are still completely baffled by his insights. One can see this uncanny extra sense represented in Zwicky's chart. Zwicky was born while Neptune was conjunct Pluto in Gemini and opposing a conjunction of Saturn to Uranus in Sagittarius.

Saturn-Pluto oppositions bring out the Dark Side, but connection here with Neptune & Uranus really brings a broader, Universal Element to this chart. Since most of Zwicky's inner planets are in Aquarius (Sun conjunct Venus to the degree, Mercury conjunct Mars) and are all strongly aspecting most of these outer planets it's easy to see why he may have been able to gain understanding and give voice to this powerful aspect. Aquarius' connection with innovation & futuristic thinking is really well represented here.

Not only did he discover all kinds of new notions about the Universe but he is considered "The Father of the Jet Engine."

Fritz Zwicky
b. Feb. 14, 1898

Sun 26 Aquarius; Moon Scorpio or Sagittarius; NN 26 Capricorn Rx.

Zwicky's chart is predominately Gemini, Aquarius and Sagittarius. He had no planets in either Earth or Water unless his Moon was in Scorpio. Jupiter was a singleton in Cardinal, in the sign of Libra. This seems like the ultimate set up for an astronomer.

He also had a remarkable amount of planets in parallel aspect with each other: Mercury to Mars to Saturn to Uranus to the Nodes at 20 degrees+ declination. And his Sun is parallel his Pluto.

During 1933 when Zwicky discovered the phenomenon of "Dark Matter" his progressed Sun had just changed Signs and was on 1st degree Aries. That's a very significant degree as it's the beginning of the entire zodiac, sort of the "Birthing Point". Of course it's the Aries Point which is read as a point in time where he will bring something out before the public. He also even have had a Progressed New Moon at that point which would be really incredible. Pluto was at 22 Cancer which means that it was approaching conjunction with his South Node.

And right now seems like a good time for his vision of Dark Matter to finally materialize. Zwicky's progressed Sun is conjunct his Neptune-Pluto conjunction. And t. Neptune and the Nodes are conjunct his natal Sun-Venus conjunction in Aquarius. It would be interesting to see if the Scientists would are connected with this research were born during the mid-60s opposition of Saturn to Uranus-Pluto in Virgo. This would square Zwicky's big opposition in Gemini-Sagittarius.

Who Invented the Telephone?

Valentine's Day is sort of the Telephone's Birthday. Although "eclipsed" by other news in the media this year I do remember hearing about a new book written about the unbelievable competition between Alexander Graham Bell and another guy, Elisha Gray, who both applied for the Telephone Patent on Feb. 14, 1876.

Way I understand the story (from Wikipedia), Gray brought in his Patent application right after the Patent office opened. Apparently he dropped it in the box where it languished until the afternoon. Meanwhile, Bell's attorneys rushed in with his application and insisted that the clerk sign for it right before noon. So, Bell was awarded the patent. He was out of town and said he didn't know what was going on, only a Pisces can get away with a story like that.

The telephone is ruled by Gemini/Mercury/3d House. Both men had conjunction of Mercury to Venus in their charts. Gray's is in Cancer and Bell's is in Pisces. The telephone was to carry the human voice (Venus) over the wires (Mercury).

Alexander Graham Bell
b. Mar. 3, 1847 7:00am Edinburgh, Scotland (astrotheme)

Sun 13 Pisces; ASC 17 Pisces; Moon 25 Virgo; NN 20 Libra; MC 26 Sagittarius

Elisha Gray
b. Aug. 2, 1835 Barnesville, Ohio

Sun 10 Leo; Moon Scorpio?; NN 7 Gemini

The competition between the two men is blazing all over the place when comparing their two charts. For one, Bell's Moon is in his 7th House of partners and open enemies. Gray's Mars is in Virgo conjunct Bell's Moon. This could bring a lot of emotional animosity between the two gents.

Both inventors had Chiron conjunct their North Nodes. This explains that, on a personal level, they both had genius coupled with some sort of flaw or wound that was linked to their destiny pattern.

Their nodal axes are also strongly influencing each other's charts.

Elisha Gray had a Saturn-Pluto opposition between Libra-Aries which was placed on top of Bell's Nodal Axis. Saturn and Pluto working together in challenging aspects can bring Loss, bad timing and plain old bad luck. These two working together can attract a lot of competition to an individual.

On the other end, Bell's Saturn was squaring Gray's Nodal Axis. This might explain how he gained the Authority with the Government in this matter. The Patent was placed right as he was moving into his Saturn Return.

Also, on this date, Bell's transits were really good. Transiting Venus was exactly conjunct the t. North Node on top of his natal Venus so he was having a Venus Return. This would have been very fortunate for him as his natal Venus is placed in his 1st House (remember conjunct Mercury, ruler of telephone) and at the 1 Aries Point meaning that he would come forth before the public in some way. And, on this date Venus-NN was trining Jupiter which had just moved into Sagittarius, sign of Lawyers. The action of Bell's Lawyers were basically the reason why he was given credit for the invention of the telephone. Sagittarius is a very competitive sign (rules athletes, etc.).

I checked the times for the Feb. 14, 1876 chart at the Washington DC Patent office. Not sure what kind of hours they kept. If the office opened at 8:00am, 19 Pisces was Rising. This would have matched Bell's Rising Sign.

If the office opened at 9:00am 16 Aries was Rising.

By 11:45 am, guesstimate for the "just before noon" time that Bell's attorney's may have signed for the Patent, 12 Gemini was Rising. This, of course, is the most appropriate sign for applying for a telephone patent. And, of course a conjunction of Sun-Mercury-Saturn in Aquarius was perfect for the invention (Aquarius) of the telephone, especially from a Government (Saturn) office.

Alas, this stellium would have opposed Gray's Sun and squared his Moon. The timing was simply not very good for him. I get so upset when I read these stories.

A Sociology Student discusses the School Shooters who are His Age

While looking for Stephen Kasmierczak's birth date, the guy who shot 21 or 22 students in Illinois I came across an interesting blog written by a Sociology Grad Student who is observing that many of the school shooters were born within a year of his/her own birth year, 1981. That's the Saturn-Pluto in Libra conjunction year. These people will have great insights into the workings of the world, here's one who is harnessing the energy for good. I certainly think that psych meds don't do them much good at this point, best to leave that maybe for the Jupiter-Neptune folks. At last count there were about 4 or 6 school shootings last week but not all this same man's age.

Here's a bit from the blog entry for today called "Sociology is a martial art."

Last night, when first reading about the shootings at NIU, I commented to Jennifer that we belong to an ill generation, whose high school rampages have recently graduated and taken to college campuses. This was before finding out that Kazmierczak was a graduate student, which only makes that statement truer, since those of us born in the early 1980s, as Kazmierczak was, as Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold were, as Kipland “Kip” Kinkel was, and as Luke Woodham was, are, or would be, now in our mid-twenties.

Again, pockets full of sentiments. It shouldn’t surprise anyone that men under thirty keep committing crimes. Also, it shouldn’t surprise me that students who commit crimes at schools are around the same age and of the same generation as me. Until recently, that would have to be the case, since I’ve been the age of most students for the last twenty years.

That said, this constellation of school shooters were born within a year of 1981 (my birth year). Scattered across this generation are young men who dramatize violence, dressing for the roles and carrying too many weapons to use.

from: poorgradstudents.wordpress.com

Bride Dies in Husband's Arms during 1st Wedding Dance

This is a tragic story. A bride in Florida, Kim Sjostrom, passed out in her Husband's arms during their first dance at their Wedding. She suffered a heart attack and was unable to be revived. The date was Jan. 19, 2008, Davies, Florida. (http://www.wpbf.com/news/15269770/detail.html). The couple had met 3 years before to the day. I don't have Kim Sjostrom's birth date but wanted to see what kind of astrology this might show.

First thing that stands out is the Mars-Pluto connection in both the Date of the couple's Meeting and in their Marriage. Probably not the best combination for a marriage due to its volatility.

When Kim met her future husband on Jan 19, 2005 Mars was at 18 Sagittarius conjunct Pluto at 24 Sagittarius. On the Wedding Date Pluto was at 30 Sagittarius so Mrs. Efkarpides was probably going through her natal Pluto Square.

This energy repeats for the Wedding. Pluto was opposite Mars at 25 Gemini conjunct the Moon at 24 Gemini and was amplified by a conjunction to Venus at 25 Sagittarius and Jupiter at 8 Capricorn. This is a very stressful & emotional combination, kind of like too much of a good thing.
I don't know what time Mrs. Efkarpides passed away but this opposition was passing over the ASC-DESC line of Marriage right before 4:00 pm. It was also connected with North Node conjunct Neptune which were just passing into the 8th House (death).

What also stands out is Kim's age, 36 years old, which indicates something to do with an upcoming Nodal Return. If Mrs. Efkarpides' perhaps indicates weakness in the Heart. During her childhood she was a Poster child (Leo) for Diabetes and a 1st grade teacher (Leo) which shows that she was very connected with her Leo South Node. In 1972, Pluto was just passing into Libra (the planet of marriage) and for a while was in a Grand Trine with the North Node and with Saturn in Taurus. This means nothing because I don't have her birth information and probably doesn't apply to her chart at all but I'm mentioning it anyway. At any rate, when the couple met, Pluto, Saturn and the North Node were once again figured together in a triangle shape including a trine, opposition and inconjunct. Saturn, Pluto and North Node are all connected with "Fate" and "Karma" which probably means nothing but there does seem to be an unreasonable amount of either one of these in their marriage (South Node for their meeting was in Libra (marriage). They were not in aspect on the date of their marriage.

I'm very sorry for Teddy Efkarpides' loss. May his wife's soul Rest in Peace.

Gen X & Gen Y

Interesting little article titled "Gen Y: An Alien Life Force?" in a magazine titled What is Enlightenment? (Feb-Apr 2008 issue). According to this article older people are confounded by the younger generation. The U.S. Navy has called them "narcissistic praise junkees" and "a somewhat alien life force." I suppose the boomers were called "Draft Dodgers" when faced with Vietnam, so I don't know how important this criticism is. Either way I was sort of shocked by a poll which is listed comparing people born in Gen X (Age 26-40) and people born later (Age 18-25). The Generation Y people just want to be rich and famous, very few want to become more spiritual. The magazine's website is www.wie.org so maybe they include the article.

I sort of starting blaming Pluto in Virgo v. Pluto in Libra for this phenomenon but when I looked at the years that separate these generations I realized that they are marked by major outer planet configurations.

Generation X began around 1967 when there was a Kite Pattern (February, 1967) of Uranus-Pluto in Virgo opposite Saturn in Pisces which includes a Grand Water Trine between Saturn in Pisces trine Jupiter in Cancer trine Neptune in Scorpio. Of course this generation wants spirituality with all that Water plus Virgo and of course they don't understand the money thing as well.

Generation Y began around 1982 up to 1990. In 1982 there was the Saturn-Pluto conjunction in Libra. Uranus and Neptune were both in Sagittarius, not in conjunction. Narcissism is one of the markers for both of these signs. Spirituality for these folks is going to be much different than it was for the previous generation, much more social and extroverted. Perhaps they don't feel any deep yearnings to pursue any big questions because outward adventure is their expression. I wouldn't expect a Libra Generation to run out and sign up for the draft, that's for sure.

The article only accounts for kids 18 years old and beyond which cuts off that Generation at 1990. In 1990 of course there was the big conjunction of Saturn-Uranus-Neptune in Capricorn, a sign which appreciates money and particularly fame.

So, anyway, I think it's interesting that these dates line up with some of the major outer planet transits.

Rodney Dangerfield

Pluto in Capricorn. Capricorn wants Respect and Pluto wants to take everything away. I'm already feeling that old familiar Doormat feeling. Feels like a good time to look at the chart of Rodney Dangerfield, the comedian whose persona was based on his line "I can't get no respect."

Rodney Dangerfield
b. Nov. 22, 1921 Babylon, NY (yes, that's right, he really was born in a place called Babylon).

Sun 30 Scorpio; Moon Leo or Virgo; NN 16 Libra Rx

So, I was expecting a lousy Saturn here. Saturn rules Reputation and Failure and Fear. But Dangerfield's is exalted in Libra and not Retrograde. The guy had a lot more hope than he let on, that's for sure. His Saturn is involved in a t-square, though, conjunct Mars (and widely conjunct Jupiter), opposing Chiron and squaring Pluto. This shows a lot of setbacks and a lot of drive and a lot of determination. Uranus, one of the key signs of Comedy is aspecting every planet in his chart except Neptune in Leo. Most notable it is in Pisces placed in a Grand Water Trine to a conjunction of Mercury-Venus in Scorpio and Pluto in Cancer.

Dangerfield started writing jokes for money when he was 15. He started his own Stand Up career when he was 19 (Nodal Return conjunct Jupiter-Mars-Saturn). And after 9 years gave it up to become an aluminum siding salesman in order to support his family (p.Moon and Saturn Return, t. Pluto c. n. Neptune, t. Neptune c. n. NN).

Then 1962 and 1963 were weird years for Dangerfield. Dangerfield divorced his wife in 1962 and remarried her in 1963. In 1963 he went on the Ed Sullivan Show with his new image as a pessimistic everyman type guy. And apparently he made Ed Sullivan laugh. And nobody, but nobody, made Ed Sullivan laugh. It so happens that this was right when Dangerfield was going through his Uranus opposition and Neptune Square. The woodenness of the Pluto-Mars-Saturn aspects was suddenly loosened apparently and he figured out how to use his "God-Given gifts." Also, he suddenly came into his own during his mid-life crisis years. You can't be a loser until you've actually experienced some loss (Saturn-Pluto working together).

Wikipedia says that this was an example of "Fate" intervening. I noticed that Saturn was opposing his natal Neptune and during that year the Nodes would have been layered over this opposition.

And as for Respect. I suspect this is as much a Sun thing as a Saturn thing in this case. His Image was the thing he created. And he kept his Image within the dictates of what his progressed Sun was doing in the middle of Capricorn. Determination, pessimissm, career, age, gruffness.

8 1/2

8 1/2 is the name of a brilliant movie by the Italian Filmmaker Federico Fellini. It is a semi-autobiographical story about a filmmaker who can't seem to finish his movie. It's told in a surrealistic, stream of consciousness, dreamlike style. It's the ultimate mid-life crisis movie. I was wondering if by any chance it was made by the maestro when he was going through either his Uranus Opposition or Neptune Square? I found out that the movie's original title was "The Beautiful Confusion..." Ah ha.... When the movie came out in 1963, Fellini was going through both his Uranus Opposition and Neptune square. The Title refers to how many movies Fellini had made while he was filming it. The next movie he made he did indeed not finish. Capricorns are total wrecks when they let their fears take over (in this case, a good thing).

Federico Fellini
b. Jan. 20, 1920, 9 pm, Rimini, Italy

Sun 30 Capricorn; Moon 26 Capricorn; ASC 16 Virgo; MC 13 Gemini; NN 23 Scorpio

8 1/2
released Feb. 14, 1963

Natal Uranus 30 Aquarius opposed by Transiting Uranus 4 Virgo & Prog. Moon 1 Virgo in the 12th House of Dreams and Confusion (and filmmaking).

Natal Neptune 11 Leo conjunct natal Jupiter 15 Leo squared by transiting Neptune 16 Scorpio (H3).

I pulled up Fellini's other movies and it's really amazing how the "Keywords" from the IMBD database of amazing movie information matches up with the transits that Fellini was going through when he made his movies.

As a Double Capricorn so maybe this gives him an extra sense of timing to the planets. I don't know, it's just a really interesting coincidence. I tried this with a couple of other filmmakers and it just didn't work as well. Fellini's Capricorn Sun and Moon dispose to Saturn which is in his 12th house of filmmaking and conjunct his Ascendant so the Saturn energy is super potent. It's also unaspected (by Ptolomaic aspect).

When Fellini was filming 8 1/2 he was going through another major transit which actually explains the Director's Block. Transiting Pluto was conjunct natal Saturn. Being a determined Capricorn, he simply wrote truthfully about what he was going through. It made absolutely no sense but the movie speaks to everyone who sees it.

Here's a list of some other films and aspects. Watching Fellini movies is definitely the best way to learn about astrology! I should also study his relationship with his wife, the actress Giulietta Massina who starred in many of his films as part of my True Love series but just am a little low on energy right now.

1950. Luci del Varieta (Variety Lights). About 2d rate Theatrical performers. Fantasy is often considered a Neptunian theme, but Grotesques and Carnival types are ruled by Capricorn. These figure strongly in all the Fellini Movies that I've seen. Major transits:

• 1st Saturn Return
• Prog. New Moon at 1 Pisces c. t. Jupiter and n.Uranus 30 Aquarius. Trines n. Pluto c. t. Uranus
• Prog. Venus 28 Capricorn c. natal Moon-Sun.
• T. Uranus c. n. Pluto in Cancer
  
• t. Pluto c. n. Jupiter-Neptune in Leo

1954. La Strada "The Road". Carnival.

• t. Jupiter-Uranus in Cancer opposite natal Mercury-Moon-Sun in Capricorn
• t. Neptune c. natal Mars

1957 Le notti di Cabiria "Nights of Cabiria" Prostitution, Depravity, Despair, Hope, Survival, Crooks, Cruelty

• Prog.Moon c. Gemini MC
• t. Saturn c. IC squaring n. Saturn
• Nodal Return in Scorpio
• Movie starred Giullietta and Fellini's progressed Sun was conjunct her natal Sun.

1960 La Dolce Vita "The Sweet Life" 7 days and 7 nights in the life of a reporter. Life imitates Art / Art imitates Life.

• T.Jupiter c. natal Venus in Sagittarius (H4)
• Prog. Venus in Aquarius H5 opposite Neptune in Leo

1963 8 1/2. Director's Block. Artistic and Marital Difficulties.

• Uranus opposition
  
• Neptune square
• T.Pluto c. natal Saturn/ASC opposite prog. Sun c. t.Chiron & Jupiter

1965 Giuletta degli Spiriti Surreal story about Housewife Mistress, Androgeny, Divorce, Private Detective, Hallucinations, Sex, Spirituality, Infidelity, Vision.

• Prog. Sun-t.Chiron c. DESC opposite n.Saturn c. t. Uranus and t.Pluto squaring natal Venus in Sagittarius in the 4th house.
• t.Neptune c. n. NN in Scorpio in H3
  
• t. Jupiter c. n. SN in Taurus (rules H4)
  
• t. Saturn c. n. Uranus in 6th House

1969 Satyricon. Historical reference to Roman Novel by Petronius. Pirates, Sacrifice, Avante Garde, Emperor, Decadence, Gluttony

• Chiron Return in Aries conjunct t. NN and prog. Mercury in 7th House.
• Pluto-Uranus conjunct n. Jupiter in Libra in 1st House

1972 Roma. Semi-autobiographical about Italy in 1940s and 1970s. Plotless.

• Prog. Moon and t.Jupiter in 4th House
• Prog. Mercury goes Rx conjunct n. Chiron

1973 Amarcord. Semi-autobiographical. 1930 Fascist pre-WWII Italy.

• Progressed Lunar Return c. natal Sun
• T.Uranus conjunct natal Mars squaring natal Moon-Sun
• t.Saturn and SN conjunct n. Pluto, Houses 4 & 10.
• T.Neptune approaching House 4 cusp.
  

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.

Whoopi Goldberg

Happy Birthday Whoopi Goldberg One of My Favorite Comedians In the Whole Wide World!

Whoopi Goldberg
b. Nov. 13, 1955 12:48 pm New York, NY

Sun 21 Scorpio; ASC 20 Aquarius; Moon 13 Scorpio; MC 7 Sagittarius; NN 19 Sagittarius

Wow, this is a weird chart. Whoopi's one of those people who isn't what she seems; but, she'd probably be the first person to admit it. It seems that Whoopi's almost like two different people who are nevertheless on the same mission in life. She has a very strong square aspect inside a very strong trine aspect which binds up all her planets into a Bundle Pattern which shows that she has a lot of enthusiasm, drive and luck for focusing on whatever she wants.

I have to admit it, I was sort of shocked when I first looked at the chart (astrotheme). First thing I noticed was the need for control. Whoopi's got Sun conjunct Moon and Saturn in Scorpio. Saturn is also squaring a conjunction of Jupiter and Pluto in Leo, H7. She's basically a Human Torpedo; there's such a strong will and drive here. But Scorpio is sensitive and low-key, it doesn't work by pushing and shoving. And Scorpio needs intimacy. Occasionally, Whoopi has to go through complete restructurings in her life as this combination will give an all or nothing attitude.

Scorpio likes Intimacy and, as all but one of the planets is above the Horizon in her chart,Whoopi just happens to like to be intimate with at least 10 million viewers at the same time. And with a Jupiter-Pluto conjunction in the 7th House the 10 million viewers are strongly attracted right back at her. There's a "Pizaaz" vibe to the Jupiter-Pluto conjunctions. The way this intense fixed square works is to cover itself up (Scorpio) while exposing itself (Leo). Scorpio works in private behind the scenes at the same time fuels the wild, zany Sagittarius-Aquarius combinations in her chart.

With Aquarius Rising and Sagittarius Midheaven, Whoopi's intellectual and humanitarian sides are what are shown to the Public. She's friendly and uplifting, salt of the earth and liberal. This is doubly emphasized as all of Whoopi's planets are bound up in a Bundle Shaped chart that's bordered by Venus-MC in Sagittarius on one end and her chart ruler, Uranus, in the 6th House on the other end. Whoopie dresses casually, a free spirit, doesn't like anything constricting. I actually watched a tape of the episode of The View where the other ladies convince her to wear a bra. She's got a Libra Mars that's basically unaspected except for a trine to her Ascendant. So the drive to be fair and to look at all sides of an issue are especially important to her. I sure hope she doesn't end up modeling for Victoria's Secret next but if she does Heidi Klum had better watch her skinny ass. Whoopi is one who has the courage to rampage through any taboos or boundaries.

Solar Powered Flight Record

Solar panels by day; lithium sulphur batteries by night. A British company, QinetiQ, broke a record for the longest unmanned flight in history with their Zephyr airplane of 54 hours. The airplane is completely powered by Solar Energy. A previous record of more than 33 hours was set on August 31, 2007. This plane flies at the same height as the Concorde which is higher than a typical passenger plane and the guy in Oregon who flies in a lawn chair that's tied to balloons.

I don't have the exact flight information for this 54 hour trip but here is a link to the stories:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6916309.stm
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070910/sc_afp/britainaviationmilitaryrecord.

The flight was kept secret and is not considered official but was launched from the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico as its thought useful for military purposes.

The previous record was set in 2001 by the US Military. It looks like maybe a strong Saturn to Pluto in Sagittarius aspect helps. That's a good signature for endurance. Pluto in Sagittarius and the Uranus-Neptune mutual reception.

Wowee Zowee, what'll they think of next? The world really is turning into a backdrop for a Jetson's Cartoon.

Stock Markets Taking a Bath Due to Credit Fears

Yesterday the U.S. Stock Market suffered its 2 worst day this year and lost almost 400 points. Well, it's gone up quite a bit this year so I suppose a correction was to be expected. But, today the World Markets suffered the same losses. They all say this is due to Credit Fears. This is a teeny tiny lesson for me in financial astrology. I pulled out keywords in Rex Bills, was surprised to find that 2d and 8th houses are not necessarily involved but the Saturn-Neptune opposition is. This opposition has received support from trines from first Jupiter, and then Pluto during this last year, maybe explaining why things haven't been worse....yet. Here are some Keywords regarding Credit from Rex Bills:

Credit, Creditors: (Neptune)
One's Credit: 10, Capricorn
Ruin of One's Credit: 5
Credit Depts.: (8)
National Credit (mundane): 10

Corrections: (Jupiter)

Moving on I looked up "Fear, Fears, Ailments caused by Fear:" Saturn, Neptune, 12 (8)
Then I looked up "Terror:" Saturn
Then I looked up "Horror, Places of Horror, that which is Horrible:" Pluto, Saturn

Then I looked up Bankruptcy: Saturn, 8 (Uranus)

U.S. Stockmarket Big Drop:
August 8, 2007 opening bell - 9:30 am New York, NY

27 Virgo Rising, Ruler in 11th House c. Sun
Pluto exactly conjunct the IC 27 Sagittarius
Neptune and Chiron in Aquarius in H5 opposite Mercury-Sun-Saturn in Leo H11
Mars in Gemini square the Nodes from Gemini (H9) and Jupiter square the Nodes from Sagittarius (H3).

Herman Melville

In College I had a well respected professor who asked the class "What is the one true meaning behind Moby Dick?" I had never read it so I was exempt from answering, but someone cutely said, "It's a Whale Hunt." The Teacher sneered. He could have coached us along by saying that it was an allegory full of symbolism and then asked us what the symbolism was, but he didn't, this was the 70's when students were expected to teach themselves. We were trembling, feeling stupider and stupider by the second. I think that some bold student eventually piped up with "It's about obsessive people going after their goals." The teacher this time winced and said, "That's just the appetizers." He scoffed to let us know of our ignorance and dropped the subject as it was a Renaissance Lit class, totally unrelated. Teaching through sneering as never done much for me so I remember just drifting off and waiting for the class to be over. But, it always bugged me. What is Moby Dick about? I read the first 100 pages at least three times and couldn't go on. I carried the damn book around with me on the bus once for about 3 months while I lived in San Francisco and do remember telling a friend on the elevator at work that Melville was obviously Gay and Moby Dick should be embraced as a Gay Manifesto. He got really excited and carried the book around with him for maybe a couple of days. But, I never made it past the first 100 pages, don't even think I was properly introduced to Ahab. Finally thousands of years later, while meandering through a book store, I picked up a Remainder called something like "How to Read Books." Miraculously, it opened right to a page where the professor/writer clearly and succinctly explained that Moby Dick works on several layers of symbolism, the main theme being that "Man can never really know God." Wow. Totally awesome. If only they had told me years ago I would have been curious enough to get through the 50 page chapter on how to shop for harpooning equipment. Or at least I would have known it was worth skipping.

So, as Melville was a Leo and the Sun is in Leo, I thought I would try to see what it takes for the Stars to come up with such an unfathomable work. And someday, I do hope to read the thing. And Thank God for Wikipedia, now this information is much easier to get hold of.

Herman Melville
b. Aug. 1, 1819 11:30 PM New York, NY

Sun 9 Leo; ASC AS 22 Taurus; Moon 14 Sagittarius; MC 1 Aquarius; NN 15 Aries Rx

It makes sense that with Sagittarius Moon Melville would publish great novels about his exotic travels to far-off places. With Sun and North Node also in Fire, he was an inspired visionary, but also very adventurous and restless. According to his Wiki bio, Melville was born into a wealthy family but insisted on making it in the world on his own. After teaching for a few years, he took off sailing on a Whaling Ship which is where he got the subject matter for most of his most successful novels. He left port at Fairhaven, Mass on Jan. 1, 1841, sailed around Cape Horn for 18 months and then left the ship in the Marquesa Islands and spent a few weeks living with the Islanders. It's interesting to look at his astrocartography chart. After passing through the Cape he would have had to pass through a crossing of his Saturn-Pluto-Chiron lines. The Marquesas were probably the first stop after this and this is where he jumped ship. He probably got a little claustrophic on that ship...

Melville returned to Boston in October, 1944 and started to write about his adventures in fictional form. In 1846 he became an overnight success with his novel Typee. (Prog. Sun c. natal Mercury (writing); T. Uranus c. n.Aries NN (overnight success); Prog.Lunar Return conjunct n.Uranus-Neptune; t. Saturn c. MC; t. Jupiter c. n.Chiron-Saturn. He enjoyed 4 years of success with more novels after this, got married, and moved out to a farm in Massachusetts near Nathanial Hawthorne where he lived for the next 13 years. This is where he wrote Moby Dick. Moby Dick which was published Oct. 18, 1851. Moby Dick was not a success and his life sort of fell apart. (Guess lots of people got stuck on the first 100 pages.) Melville's fame slowly passed away. One of his sons commited suicide in 1867, his marriage suffered, and he worked as a Customs Inspector for the last 19 years of his life. In the 1920s there was a revival of interest in his writings.

Like Emil Nolde's life, the Leo I talked about yesterday, Melville's shared a strong Saturn-Pluto aspect with a conjunction of Pluto 28 Pisces-Chiron Rx 29 Pisces- Saturn 1 Aries placed in his 11th house. It's interesting that he also achieved Success early and lost it.

Melville's Saturn is right on the Aries Point meaning that career will bring him before the public. Even the Customs Inspector job he held was considered a good accomplishment so he was never really a "failure." Saturn connected with Pluto and Chiron means that he will be brought before the public in a way connected with their energies which can be quite an intense combination of crash and burn around desire and ambition.

I think that a whaling ship manned by a guy obsessed with catching a demon whale is perfect imagery. So is his Aries North Node and Aries on his 12th house cusp (hunting big sea mammals). In fact, when Moby Dick was published, Melville had just had his Saturn Return two years before so that he had been writing the work as a Saturn Return expression and with his complicated natal Saturn he was due to produce a "Behemoth". At time of publication, Saturn was once again conjunct Pluto along with Uranus in Taurus in Melville's 12th House. A deep allegory, unfathomable (12th house), a work that pretty much destroyed Melville's success (12th house). On the more spiritual side, this is totally awesome for imagery of a whaling trip, especially one that is symbolic on many layers for "obsession, religion, idealism v. pragmatism, revenge, racism, hierarchical relationships, politics." These descriptors are a direct quote from the Wikipedia article on "Moby Dick:" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moby_Dick.

Opposing this huge 12th house conjunction transit, t.Jupiter in Scorpio was opposing from his 6th house. This novel was published within a year of Nathaniel Hawthorne's Scarlet Letter and Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, both works that look closely at the evils within society, so you can see that it was a banner work for publishing very deep and questioning works of Literature about right and wrong and alienation. I can't think of a greater aspect for publishing a work that uses as one of its main themes "It is impossible to ever truly know God."

U.S. Detainee Number 002

David Hicks
b. August 7, 1975 Adelaide, Australia

Yesterday driving along listening to NPR, holding my chin very close to my chest trying to talk back to Michael Krasny in his same hushed New England voice, pronouncing all the consonants at the ends of my words, doing it perfectly. The BBC Lady comes on, I think she's talking in Gaelic, or with an Irish accent, however it goes, and with beautiful lilt she dispassionately reads her little news blip about an Australian guy who's been detained at Guantanamo Bay for the last five, or is it 6?, years. He had joined the Taliban and was caught shortly after 9/11. In Guantanamo: Tortured. Beaten. Held in isolation. Denied a trial. 5 years. Then she moves on to the News in the rest of the world. I'm American. I've never heard of this guy. But, I'm on the side that has been doing this to him, really bad things: putting stuff up his butt to make him talk (?), locking him up by himself for 8 months, denying him access to due process for more than 6 years (first year he was on a boat I think)! He's in Guantanamo after all. Ah, Fuck. Inside Edition can't handle a story that's more sensational than its graphics so it remains silent on these matters.

So, I'm going to look at David Hicks' chart with his birth date and his Wikipedia entry. And I feel otherwise helpless about his situation.

Sun 14 Leo. Moon probably Leo. Sun c. Mercury and possibly Moon in Leo. Okay, so he's probably a little Full of Himself. Opinionated, Temperamental, Dramatic, Egotistical.

North Node 28 Scorpio opposite Mars 26 Taurus and trining Saturn at 26 Cancer. Mars and Saturn are both in their Detriment. Saturn is a singleton in Water. Some dire lessons in responsibility, maybe to the point of being scapegoated. North Node in Scorpio lives a complicated existence; how do you turn your life path toward darkness? Hicks dropped out of high school, stole some cars, did some drugs. He became Muslim, left his wife and kids to go fight in Albania and then joined Al Quaida and was caught right after 9/11. He's not exactly a model citizen.

First I'll discuss his t-square and some of its transits. Apex Saturn in Cancer squaring Jupiter-Chiron in Aries which is opposite Uranus in Libra. Jupiter-Chiron opposite Uranus in Libra could have some strong religious convictions.

In 1999, Hicks had a Jupiter Return that, because of retrogrades, lasted a very long time, from May to January of 2000. He had a calling and it was religious and kind of Aries fundamentalist type religious so he wanted to fight for his God. His progressed Mars hit n. Uranus (opposite n.Chiron-Jupiter) and t. Chiron hit his natal North node opposite Mars. I've heard of Mars-Chiron oppositions as being Spiritual Warriors and here he had two of them going at the same time. It would make sense then that Hicks would join a Holy War. Also at this time t. Pluto hit his natal Neptune in Sagittarius. That'll lead to some Extreme Metaphysics for sure. And, last but not least, this was also during the time that Saturn and Pluto began to oppose each other in 2001 bringing in the Bullying/scapegoating streak. Remember what it did to Lyndie England's chart and life. Eventually Chiron would join Pluto on Hick's Neptune in Sagittarius. I certainly hope he had a little mantra to chant at that point.

Hicks was caught around November or December 2001 just as the transiting Sun was passing over these planets, first hitting the North Node then hitting Neptune (along with transiting planets mentioned above). His progressed Mars and Transiting Saturn were opposing n.Neptune-t.Pluto as well. His progressed Sun squared his natal Neptune in 2002. He was captive by then.

There's another configuration that stands out in Hicks' chart. It would be much easier to explain with a picture. It stands out mostly because Hicks' progressed Sun has been passing over his natal Venus in Virgo the whole time he's been in Prison. So, Venus isn't happy in Virgo, this is the sign of its Fall. Venus also doesn't have any positive aspects in this chart so she's really left to express her dark side. She's squaring Neptune, so also affected by all the transits that his Neptune received, i.e. the square from Pluto and Saturn.

Venus is also involved in a trapezoid shape with Neptune, Jupiter and Saturn that contains minor sesquiquadrate and semisquare aspects. (Venus square Neptune, Jupiter square Saturn, Venus sesquiquadrate (135) Jupiter, Venus semi-square Saturn, Jupiter sesquiquadrate Neptune.) The sesquiquadrate aspect is a sign of irritation and agitation and considered a bad omen when it falls between major planets. It could explain Hicks' minor criminal mentality. As Venus rules Justice (or lack of) and Neptune rules Prisons and Jupiter rules Law and Lawyers and Saturn rules Government and scapegoating and these planets were set off by transits and major progressions, I suppose I can see how being captured as a POW could happen when this figure is under a heavy transit. I couldn't find a description for this chart shape, closest is the Submarine shape described at http://jstroberg.50megs.com/starlogin_us/interp.html#config but that has a sextile in it. Unlike the Submarine, this shape offers no positive relief to balance the difficult ones. As Hicks has apparently been Suicidal for much if not all of the time that he's been imprisoned we have yet another example of a progressed Sun-natal Venus conjunction expressing suicidal feelings in a person's life. He's been forcibly medicated for something and not told what it is he's being given.

Hicks' Saturn Return while at Guantanamo is interesting to look at. In December 2004, a Documentary was made about his situation, his cell was even photographed. His progressed Mercury was conjunct his natal Pluto which is at apex of a small triangle, sextile on either side to Neptune (film) and Sun (Drama). His Father (Saturn) has been very supportive about trying to get him out. But, alas, to no avail. He was set up for a trial in 2005 and it was denied at the last minute due to changes in the laws. The transiting North Node was conjunct his n.Jupiter-Chiron and squaring his Natal Saturn-t.Saturn.

The U.S. Government apparently has finally announced this last week what David Hicks will be tried for. The charges are 5 years in the making and God can only imagine what they might be. I believe he's going to be represented by a lawyer from the U.S. Army and not an Australian.

The thing that separates Modern Society from the Ancient Barbaric Societies (which we tend to think of when we think of the Taliban) is the concept that True Justice can only be administered if accompanied by Mercy. I don't see where the U.S. is following this rule. We've ignored the rules of the Geneva Convention with regards to treatment of these prisoners. I can only quote Joseph Conrad's famous line: "The Horror! The Horror!"