"Gateway idiot" cleared path for Trump

Alaska; TUBS, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Two Potential Birth Times for Former Candidate Palin

by Jude Cowell, partisan for American democracy

The great state of Alaska's former governor, the know-nothing presidential candidate Sarah Palin, is featured in an Andy Borowitz clip which may provide a tickle for your funny bone. In the clip, Andy labels Ms. Palin the "gateway idiot that lead to Donald Trump." Chosen in 2008 as VP pick of John McCain, Palin gained national notoriety for standing next to John McCain onstage and for having only a threadbare knowledge base necessary for success and longevity upon the top rungs of US politics.

Well, knowledge was once a virtue for US politicians

Admittedly, there may be more information than anyone could possibly need concerning Sarah Palin on her Wikipedia page but do check it out if you wish. Meanwhile, if Andy Borowitz's assessment of Ms. Palin's influence is correct, her off-the-wall 2008 candidacy opened the door and cleared the path to the current threat of neo-fascism now promised for America by a second term of reality TV "star", Herr Trump, a man determined to take revenge for his grievances upon the American people (his rising Mars in Leo opposes 1776 US Moon in late Aquarius: conflict, attack, aggression).

And yes, prior to Palin in 2008, B-actor Ronald Reagan (Sun AQ-Moon Taurus) rang the Republican doorbell for the ill-governing politicians who followed.

Here's a quote from an archived Robert Parry article: "In the early 1980s, Reagan also credentialed a young generation of neocon intellectuals, who pioneered a concept called “perception management,” the shaping of how Americans saw, understood and were frightened by threats from abroad." And for a percentage of the population, this tactic has been successful, hasn't it? Yet nowadays with fantasist Trump, the threat is coming from inside the house.

The Lady From Wasilla

So no matter which of the two birth times we use for Sarah Palin's natal chart, she was born with an airy, quirky, eccentric Sun AQ-Moon AQ personality blend which is good for politics, but can also indicate one who overidentifies with causes (obessession is suggested). And curiously enough, this is also the double-Air personality blend of President William McKinley!

Now to close this fussy post, here's something for those who remember former beauty queen Sarah Palin's not-ready-for-prime-time foray into politics - the classic SNL Cold Open skit, Sarah Palin and Hillary Address the Nation, a brilliant parody of both candidates by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler.

Apr 8, 2016: Check Out This Week's Top Clips! plus, Sun Meets Uranus

Need a political catch-up? David's video clips for the week of April 4, 2016 begin with a disheveled Sarah Palin (the queen of incomplete sentences) and end with the Starbucks confrontation of Florida's Rick Scott--two Republicans rockin' the crazy eyes:

A Little Weekend Astrology

On Saturday (4.9.16 5:27 pm edt) the Sun (leadership) and quirky reformer and rebel Uranus catch up by conjunction in Mars-ruled Aries and this should make for lots of political activities, arrogant remarks, progressive proposals, shocking words and/or events, and arguments against any form of restraint on freedom or the sense of uniqueness. Protests continue, impatience is shown, reforms are in the news, originality may be rewarded, and perhaps an important meeting is held. (Bernie Sanders visits the Vatican next week, if memory serves. A Jew walks into the Vatican... wonder if the senator will be required to kiss the Pope's golden ring?)

Romney-McCain-Palin and Those Dag Dabbit Tax Returns

by Jude Cowell

Well, I almost titled this post: Cheater-Geezer-Quitter but I'd better not...

John McCain "personally vouches" for Mitt Romney's tax returns! Even though in 2008, McCain wasn't actually involved in the vetting process for his Vice Presidential pick, one of which was Mitt The Bainster Romney who, it is said, released years of his tax returns to the McCain team.

And you know who McCain's VP choice turned out to be: the awesomely unqualified for the White House, Sarah Palin, who would have been a mere wheeze'n'sneeze away from the presidency had the Older One expired while in office. Unfathomable! Why, it's as if the GOP wanted to lose in 2008, then saddle a Democratic president with the financial and military messes they'd made through eight years of Bush-Cheney---knowing he'd be hamstrung in so many ways! Especially since Republican obstructionism could easily make a Democratic White House look bad--a perfect ploy to counter a landslide vote.

Well, the above NY Magazine article makes some great points with quotes from John McCain on the topic of Romney's tax returns, yet one thing I expected was missing: that in 2008, as the Democrats and the public were coming off a Mile High Stadium high topped by the electrifying acceptance speech of Apollo--er, Barack Obama--the entire news and blogging cycle was promptly commandeered by the GOP's announcement of John McCain's running mate, the lovely yet virtually unknown, Sarah Palin.

Now does anyone think that Mr. Romney, with his lackluster 'charisma', secretive religious practices, dodgy financial baggage, condescending attitude, and awkward rhetorical style could have come anywhere near capturing the public's attention and imagination as did a VP choice on the scale of former beauty queen Sarah Palin, the lady who (the very next day) stole the thunder from DNC 2008 and its fascinating orator, Barack Obama?

Then you and I must not think along the same lines at all!

A few posts which may be related to the above topic:

Mitt Romney March 12, 1947; with Mercury, Mars, and Sun in murky, secretive Pisces, Mittens thinks, acts, and is just as fishy and mystical as you might suspect him to be! Picture a fish flip-flopping on a pier...

Obama's Natal Chiron and The Bridge

John McCain August 29, 1936 (horoscope shown)

Quick Notes on Sarah Palin's Natal Chart

Ayn Rand natal chart

(Rep. Paul Ryan's current idol and former amour of Alan Greenspan)

And last, but definitely not least, Julie Demboski on the current transit of Mercury Retrograde and more!

Happy 164.79th Birthday, Neptune! w US natal Neptune

In dealing with Politics through the lens of Astrology, one grows accustomed to thinking of Neptune's less attractive traits such as deception, illusion, confusion, fraud - plus, the masses, the media--well, you know the list of nebulous, yet sometimes inspired or even divine, tendencies and provinces of the gaseous planet.

Yet as seen from Earth, Neptune is one of the most beautiful objects in our solar system with its blue methane cloudiness and a charming, mysterious quality of elusiveness (telescope or binoculars are needed to spy upon the Sea King!)

So I was happy as a puppy with two tails when my friend Crystal Pomeroy, who writes the insightful column Moon Meditations @ Daykeeper Journal, sent along a link to a celebratory, informative article concerning our eighth planet, the rather glamorous Neptune.

Tuesday July 12, 2011 was Neptune's 164.79th birthday since its discovery on the evening of September 23, 1846. Yet in true Neptunian fashion, a veil is tossed carelessly across even that event for actually, Galileo was first to document (January 1613) what he notated as as a 'fixed star'...which we now know was planet Neptune!

US natal Neptune in the sign of The Worker, Virgo

Current US circumstances with jobs elusive and bank fraud run rampant (with much still hidden and un-indicted) may be described in part by Neptune (loss; fraud; deception; disappointment) in Virgo (work, service; discrimination) ruled by quicksilver Mercury which in America's natal horoscope (July 4, 1776) is retrograde in Cancer at a very interesting degree in the Sabian Symbols in relation to the events and participants of 1776 and to our national character in 2011.

US natal Mercury '25 Cancer' = "A Man Wrapped in an Invisible Mantle of Power."

Now it's true I always think of Pluto's Cape of Invisibility (and Adam Weishaupt, founder of the Bavarian Illuminati, in May 1776) when I read the word picture for '25Can' yet Neptune plays an obscuring part in the charade as well. Neptune is quite the masquerader and actor, as is well known. And that, dear reader, becomes more and more apparent as the mummery of the debt and budget 'meetings' (rehearsals?) continue up to the wire of Default and obscures from realistic view what may occur to US and World markets after August 2, 2011 if a devil's deal isn't reached.

And as America approaches her third of three 'hits' from transiting Saturn to US natal Saturn (a 'Saturn Return' which occurs approximately every 28 years: accountability issues must be addressed) I am put in mind as I watch and listen to the debt brouhaha on Capitol Hill that the cold water of tr Saturn (restriction; denial; delays) stamped its signature upon Mr. Obama's presidency and America's n Neptune (hopes, dreams, ideals)...in Virgo, sign of Work and Health. (Being without work or income greatly affects one's mental, emotional, and physical health.)


Tr Saturn saluted US n Neptune on August 27, 2009 and that evening, Mars was closest to Earth as calculated at the International Planetarium in Vancouver, B.C. by way of a code (mathematical formula) found on a pyramid near the Observatory Hotel in Palenque, Chiapas, Mexico. That night Mars (in Tropical Cancer)looked like a second Moon! Are sky-watchers the Maya now considered the Greeks of America?

Of particular note politically is the handy timing device of the parallel between tr Saturn and US n Neptune (similar to a strong conjunction) which formed on September 10, 2009, an interesting date in Politics. Challenging, confrontational Mars in Cancer was just passing US n Jupiter and about to conjoin US n Sun, the president and this was the evening that President Obama addressed a Joint Session of Congress to urge the passing of his health care reform bill (more insurance reform, really) and was rudely interrupted by Joe Wilson's martian shout of "You lie!"

(Noting that the "You lie!" interruption of Mr. Obama - SN conj Hopi: see Tea Party info below - is paralleled or echoed by the current and reputed interruptions of him by Republican Eric Cantor during their debt ceiling 'negotiations' at the White House. John Boehner as Speaker of the House is the one who should be talkin' to the president, not lowly Representative Cantor.)

And now in 2011, somewhere between Saturnian realism and Neptunian lies, left twisting in the wind are the American people. Ill-served (Neptune in Virgo, the Server) by a double-dealing, warring government, robbed of pension funds, employment, and hard-won bargaining rights with management (Saturn), we-the-people are forced to wonder if the politicians of Washington DC are still able to govern a sovereign nation at all with their visionary (perhaps self-deceptive) Neptunian ideology getting in the way of practical concerns and needs.

Too bad we can't tie Tossing Out Every Top Government Official (especially those in Congress) irrevocably to the proposed Default of August 2, 2011, a speculative Jupiter-Neptune circumstance which, if allowed, will effectively toss out the American people if the US defaults on its debts, since WE should be the last ones standing in America--not the select few who pretend to govern while driving our nation off a financial cliff for the sake of their one-world-government vision...Saturn (government) Neptune (vision) as inspired long ago by a mercurial Man Wrapped in an Invisible Mantle of Power.

~:~

Read more Astrology at Julie Demboski's Astrology, Global Astrology, Political Astrology 2010~2012, or visit Neptune Cafe as you wish!

Hey! Did you miss the dual charts of the Tea Party Convention (Feb 4 - 6, 2010) in Nashville, TN? Some amazing astro-factors are shown (click image to enlarge horoscopes) as sunrise on February 4, 2010 in Nashville brought up Sarah Palin's natal trio of Sun-Mars-Saturn @ 22AQ - 26AQ.)

The Tail of the Dragon (South Node, SN) conjoins tr asteroid Hopi, keywords: ambush; prejudice which seems to me is a theme of the Tea Party's challenge to Barack Obama. Sorry, but there it is, right there in the chart. This doesn't mean that all Tea Partisans are racist, only that those at the top either feel that way or have determined that their political advantage is assured by appealing to that nasty prejudicial strain in the American psyche - even though the majority of us come from generations of immigrants of all skin colors. Crazy!

In the symbolic 'end of the Convention' chart set for 11:59 pm February 6, 2010, two interlocked YODs (crisis; crossroads; special task) appear with Mars/Saturn at the base of one (YOD pattern (Mars-Saturn on one level is Mrs. Palin), and Jupiter/Pluto as the base of the second YOD; Jupiter-Pluto = wealthy preachers and the corporate funders and backers who, for one thing, have hijacked the leadership role of the Tea Party--here, I trustingly assume that the TP was ever a 'grass roots' movement rather than the externally controlled astro-turf model the national organization now resembles.

Well, on the Convention's last night, February 6, 2010, the key asteroid has to be Hidalgo, one of the power archetypes with a social climbing vibe, which was, at 11:59 pm, perfectly mirrored by the light of the Moon @ 3Sag06 = a woman; publicity, conjoining powerful Hidalgo...synchronistically @ 3Sag06!

No, I can't count Sarah 'Sun-Mars-Saturn' Palin out of the Jupiter-Pluto-funded 2012 presidential race just yet. Sad to say. jc


Above image: Neptune Ascends (c) Jude Cowell 2011 & beyond...

Sarah Palin's natal chart and a Mystery Bus Tour 5.29.11

Some are calling it Sarah Palin's mystery tour for the loose ends still dangling as the perennial candidate prepares for what apparently is a bus tour to get the presidential ball rolling...today, it's a speaking engagement for Rolling Thunder who are camped out in a Pentagon parking lot.

Yet particulars are sparse concerning Palin's tour schedule and what she'll be doing at the various stops she makes. So far, I'm calling this her 'bus tour to somewhere' and will wait for more details which are promised on her website though one must assume that fund raising may be part of the deal. Some think it's her nomination to lose yet with Palin's propensity toward gaffes and blank answers to serious questions, she may outdo Newt on foot-shooting well before the 2012 campaign ends in a Republican nomination for president.

Okay, so I've never visited Palin's website and don't follow her on Twitter either. But if she makes it through this mystery 'campaign' I'll have to re-familiarize myself with her unusual antics and her natal horoscope, too, because posts like this, written while she was still acting as governor of Alaska, will no longer suffice if she enters the 2012 race.

Astrodatabank shows a Palin natal chart with a possible birth hour of 9:43 pm but there's another birth time of 6:00 pm (probably rounded off; Virgo rising) which is said to come from a newspaper birth announcement at the time. (February 11, 1964 Sandpoint, Idaho.)

Presidential Links to the US Aquarian Moon

Yet no matter what time of day or night the demi-candidate entered Earth's time flux, her Sun, Mars, and Saturn are near the US natal Moon - no matter which birth hour for America you use for July 4, 1776. And that makes a Palin presidency a potential even though her closest planet to our Moon (we-the-people) is restrictive yet long-lasting Saturn. But there is one natal planetary aspect which deserves a closer look and it does not depend on knowing her precise birth time.


Religious Jupiter Inconjunct Spiritual Neptune

Sarah Palin's closely orbed, applying inconjunct between Jupiter in mid-Aries and Neptune 17Sco49 indicates relating issues and some distortion between intellect and emotions. Too many responsibilities tend to be taken on with tirades of bitter complaints being the result. Warmth, a positive attitude, and social conscience are evident yet the relating principle (Jupiter) is affected by Neptunian illusions and delusions. She dreams (Neptune) of power, control, and big money (Scorpio) and relates (Jupiter) as a pioneering, action-oriented, me-first leader (Aries) - or broadcaster (Jupiter.)

In his masterful book The Inconjunct, Alan Epstein describes those with Jupiter inconj Neptune as tending to misjudge their own importance, needing reassurance to the point where others begin to doubt their competence, and sending and receiving double messages - along with a tendency to misread other people's intentions. Opportunities are put in jeopardy due to vacillation or ambivalence, and daydreams and fantasies about success may be indulged in a little too often.

An Over-Concern with Image and Facade: Who Knew?

Confusion, escapism desires, problems fulfilling commitments, difficulties related to a lack of perspective, and subsequent bad judgment are indicated as well and all this (from one natal aspect!) reminds me of her stint (and scandals) as Alaska governor and her early bail-out from self-created problems while in office.

Jupiter/Neptune: Speculations and Grand Imaginings

The upside of having a Jupiter/Neptune quincunx is a talent for managing creative projects which is useful in advertising, promotion, and fund raising fields. That these areas are her strong suit has been noted by many pundits and by her many fans. That she is about to speak to the Rolling Thunder clan and (apparently) climb aboard a tour bus tallies well with someone with the talent and a personal motive for keeping the Sarah Palin Brand viable and in the public eye.

To sum up, I believe that Palin's lucrative 'king-maker' ability (Scorpio) and moneymaking public relations talent (Jupiter) are more important to her than following a grueling campaign trail and/or taking on the heavy responsibilities of presidential office where you can't just give up or change your mind like you change your suit...especially when you're rockin' a Jupiter/Neptune inconjunct in your natal chart.

Will Palin prez run 2012 bring Obama's 2nd term?

Woot! As my friend American Patriot notes, if Sarah Palin runs for president in 2012, a second Obama term may be guaranteed.

Me? Not as certain because a lot can happen between now and 2012/13 including Palin's loss (or increase) of political influence. And even with Moon 1Gem26 (we-the-people) in 1st house with Jupiter 6Gem27 Rx, the Inauguration Horoscope of January 21, 2013 isn't telling much about presidential gender but it does, however, occur under the rays of the 15 North Solar Eclipse of November 13, 2012 @ 22 Scorpio, a degree with the Sabian Symbol: "Hunters Shooting Wild Ducks."

'Keynote: The socially accepted release of an individual's or a group's aggressive instincts.' This relates to "the socialization of man's primitive instincts according to a cultural ritual. Keywords: SOCIALIZATION OF INSTINCTS." (Rudhyar.)

A "cultural ritual" like a presidential inauguration? Quack!

Well, Jan 21, 2013's 1st house Inaugural Moon in early Gemini is just before completing a Lunar Return (3:21) for President Obama, and Jupiter's position shows that the Jolly One will have recently conjoined Mr. Obama's natal Moon, a time of grand desires, emotional satisfaction, and popularity - yes, popularity!

The 15N Series has a flavor of 'joy through commitment' (Brady's Predictive Astrology) so apparently whomever is victorious in the 2012 US presidential election will feel quite happy about it.

Yet a caution is that South Node 23Tau is in 1st house and rising, not an auspicious indicator and showing separations of some kind and reliance on past behaviors and talents. From the past, this degree relates to the Great Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn of May 28, 2000 @ '23Tau' = "A Jewelry Shop Filled with Valuable Gems."

So who knows? Maybe by 2012, few will care whether Sarah Palin wants to run for prez or not. One thing everyone knows: if she does plan to run, she's got an awful lot of studyin' and learnin' and info-retainin' to do.

Astrology: Dueling Rallies in DC - Beck v Sharpton 8.28.10

If you've been in a cave lately you may have missed the news of two rallies being held in Washington DC tomorrow, August 28, one to mark the 47th anniversary of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr's I Have a Dream speech which was delivered at the Lincoln Memorial and which will be led by former civil rights activist Al Sharpton and the other led by erstwhile Obama opponents, FOX News and its prevailing mouthpiece, Glenn Beck.

Billed as a rally to honor our troops (who could use it), Beck's logic is somewhat turned on its head when one remembers Reverend King's opposition to the Vietnam War and America's tendency to use her less well-connected citizens to fight rich men's wars. For oddly enough, it's the FOX News-Beck rally being held at the Lincoln Memorial and Beck has claimed that he didn't at first realize the rally was scheduled for anniversary of MLK's famous speech - and in the exact same location at Lincoln's feet.

That Beck was unaware is difficult for me to fall for, how about you? But if true, perhaps a refresher course in US history may be in order for Mr. Beck and his colleagues who should have advised him. Methinks it more likely there's a skunk hiding in the woodpile!

Be that as it may, we know the ongoing Cardinal T-Square gives the same old difficult midpoint picture it's been giving the world of late between the two societal planets, Jupiter and Saturn, and manipulative string-puller Pluto in Capricorn. On the morrow, one is tempted to say that Pluto represents the powers-behind-the-FOX-News-rally, the Koch Brothers, who have funded much of the Tea Party's efforts in order to get people in the streets and undermine President Obama's term in the White House, to rally GOP voters - and to assure ballooning corporate profits for the Koch family.

That honest grasroots Tea Party members don't speak out about the whackiness of being funded by a massive corporation whose fortune has been made in several realms including petroleum and the manufacture of known carcinogenic, formaldehyde, is beyond me. Don't they feel their movement to be co-opted and secretly directed by those with quite a different agenda than taking back our government - co-opted by those who hide their faces and true motives?

Jupiter/Saturn = Pluto: transforming personal ideas about the future into today's reality; intense business activity; a total reversal of previously made plans; immense effort; toil; violent restrictions; separation. (All mdpt pics in this post from R. Ebertin; M. Munkasey.)

The point of meetings and encounters, the North Node (NN; 10Cap16) of the Moon (with the separative SN now in the midst of US natal planets in Cancer: will calls for Geithner's and Summers' firings lead to separation from the president?) nears its worrisome conjunction with tr Pluto on November 9, 2010 @ 3Cap36 - the Moon conjoins and possibly triggers them @ 3:13 pm est in DC; Pluto/NN = Moon: others arouse sensitive passions; uncertainties after meeting powerful people; the ups and downs of encounters taken to extremes)...but for Saturday's rallies, Pluto and NN remain approximately 7 degrees apart.

Here are three midpoint pictures which center on Saturday's NN and which you may find to be quite descriptive of the planned activities:

Mars/Jupiter = NN: increased ability to push your ideas and plans on others; attracting people who have similar ideas about the use of force in competitive activities (November 2010 midterms? jc); good cooperation dynamics.

Venus/Jupiter = NN: making proper connections with people able to support your ideas or causes; joining groups that value your opinions; meetings where feedback is received about your doctrines or ideas.

Venus/Uranus = NN: attention-getting methods that use disruption; intensification of feelings leads to new associations.

Well, it's after midnight so I shall close with a bit on the rallies' Sun Virgo-Moon Aries combo whose traits include...diligence; idealistic dedication; caustic wit; bossiness; committed; workaholic; skillful and pragmatic; a tendency toward scathing criticism; excessive verbosity; possessing a know-it-all attitude.

(Note: this is the natal Sun-Moon combination of Dick Cheney.) (Correction: not so! see Comments below this post: Cheney's natal Sun is in AQ w a Pisces Moon - thanks a bunch for catching it, Pete! jc)

This Sun-Moon combo has one Image for Integration: A jolly, rotund monk enjoying his food and wine while excelling in well-worn Latin sayings, witty responses, and kindly good humor. (Sun Sign-Moon Sign, by Charles & Suzi Harvey.)

A 'rotund monk' (Beck?) and Sarah Palin, too? Well, 'kindly good humor' does sound lovely, doesn't it?

Yet this day of duelling rallies in DC should be quite interesting, emotionally manipulative in time for November elections, and full of agitation and exaggeration. And perhaps it's catty of me to say so, but I will be listening closely for Palin's erudite remarks in Latin.

That's an inventive verbosity I'd really like to hear.

Mother Jones vs Sarah Palin?

So here I sit awaiting the arrival of out-of-town company, no time to blog though I'd like to, and I run across a fabulous article comparing Sarah Palin with a radical figure from US history.

She's Another US Radical: Mother Jones with two versions of natal charts shown in this informative article.

Is it possible that Sarah Palin, who's taken to the Tea Party movement as if it were her idea, is on some level a modern day embodiment of the famous Mother Jones?

Horoscope of Spring Equinox 2010

Also known as Aries Ingress 2010, here is the horoscope for Spring Equinox 2010 when the Sun clocks in at 00Aries00, the Aries Point (AP), in the Tropical zodiac.

This chart is set for DC's Capitol Building, March 20, 2010 @ 12:32 pm est; Hour of the fluctuating Moon (see below: Moon conj Algol) but it should be set for 1:32 pm EDT. Mea culpa, but same chart even so.

For starters, 21Can12 rises which makes the Moon chart-ruler of Spring Equinox 2010's chart. Applying aspects of a chart-ruler tell the story of how things may proceed and here we see the Moon makes only applying aspects; in order they are:

1. sextile Uranus (0A33): opportunity; exciting possibilities;
2. square Neptune (1A10): blockage; separating fact from fiction nearly impossible;
3. sextile Sun (3A47): opportunity; the public relates easily with leadership;
4. square Chiron (2A09): blockage; high level of emotional awareness but too intense to learn from others;
5. trine Saturn (5A10): opportunity; respects tradition yet productive changes are seen as valuable; cautious, conservative, and creative.

Spring 2010 seems a bit of a roller coaster ride for the American people (Moon) and with Neptune visiting US natal Moon 27AQ10, we feel a sense of rootlessness continuing with foreclosures, loss of "our America" to unseen forces, refugee concerns, and homeland security - above all, security - appearing on the gigantic tab that Washington politicians are running up in our name -- and ultimately payable to who-knows-whom of foreign entities.

As usual, a large array of notes are scrunched onto the chart, but click to enlarge if you're daring or hapless.

There's the Sun 00Ari00 at Mc but on the less manifesting 9th house side of planning and preparation; Mercury 6Ari07 is conj MC and Uranus 26Pis46 is oriental (last planet to rise before the Sun; 'eastward') which brings elements of risk and danger to our picture - diversity appeals, innovation and adventure are on the menu for Spring 2010 (Synthesis and Counseling in Astrology, Noel Tyl.)

Yes, rebellious Awakener Uranus is still in Pisces for the moment but will soon conjunct AP and this Sun; Uranus is posited in 9th house as is jolly guru, Jupiter, significator of the Republican Party. With 9th house Philosophy, Religion, and Higher Education connotations, the Republicans are busy retooling their platform and hoping that religion and ideology will grease the wheels of power for them once again in November elections. I refer to the propagandistic, knee jerk, religious chain-yanking the GOP has been politically successful with in the past.

(Here's my usual clue for such things: true ministers and pastors of God don't frequent Earth's worldly halls of power - duh.)

Be all that as it may, my main point today is about the opposition between Saturn 1Lib23 Rx and the Spring EQ Sun, an aspect in which both actors (planets) may feel threatened by the other. With Sun in a mundane chart signifying 'the leader' we may expect President Obama's travails to go on as he learns Saturn's lessons, mostly in his personal dealings (yet he acts as the people's 'rep' as we've been taught.)

Lack of confidence in himself and ours in him are at the base of the problem as the opposition phase of the most recent Sun/Saturn cycle culminates for Spring Equinox 2010 and carries it's cyclic energy forward into the season (and until their next conjunction.)

Often with a Sun/Saturn opposition, others won't allow the Sun room to expand so space must simply be taken anyway. Expanded debt ceiling? Done!

Now this particular Sun/Saturn cycle began on Sept 24, 2009 with their conj @ 24Vir59, then on to 25Vir00 because Saturn reached that degree while the Sun shone upon the old taskmaster; soon Sun joined Saturn again. Thing is, on 9.24.09, Uranus 24Pis38 Rx opposed their conj so any, all, or none of these midpoint pictures may apply:

Sun/Saturn = Uranus: the unexpected becomes commonplace; the need for people who bring excitement (Sarah Palin? jc); unexpected barriers or turns of events; computers or astrologers playing important roles (!! Astrologer in the White House again? jc); clashes between the old ways of doing things and the long-established ways; crises in relationships; separations; nervous or emotional tensions; a fluctuating attitude toward life; a fight for individuality. (All midpt pics on this blog are from Munkasey, Tyl, and Ebertin.)

The theme of Sun/Saturn itself is one of discipline and determination lending purpose to one's goals. Obviously the blend has an air of authority, persistence, and respectability to it, yet inflexibility is an issue, as well as having to work very hard to overcome restrictions and criticisms coming from others. (Hey, wait a minute: did I just sum up most of Mr. Obama's presidential experiences so far?)

So for Spring EQ 2010 we find that the Sun has now moved from his previous conj with Saturn in Sept 2009 to a conj with progressive Uranus about 3 days prior to Aries Ingress 2010.

And with South Node already risen and Mars 00Leo53 (now moving Direct) in 1st house and rising, we have a Mars/SN = ASC picture I'd prefer to ignore other than to say that war and violence are the usual results with the Mars/SN blend. And NN 17Cap56 rounded up to '18Cap' points toward the degree that marks the modern beginning of the NWO: the Great Conjunction of Uranus and Neptune on Oct 24, 1993 (3rd conj of three, 1993.)

Also rising in the 2010 EQ chart is Castor 20Can14 (Alpha Gemini), a Fixed Star whose twin, Pollux 23Can13(Beta Gemini), is always nearby. *Castor can indicate such things as: sudden fame or loss, crippling of limbs, or murder. Pollux indicates the possibility of disgrace, cruelty, rape, murder, poisons, thievery, danger from large animals or women (or large women? jc); astrology and the occult are also provinces of Pollux, the 'dark twin.' And with twins always representing polarities, Castor and Pollux are the most famous starry reps for the concepts of light/dark, black/white, positive/negative, etc. Both stars are linked to creativity, especially writing.

Highlighted (in red) is the T-Square pattern between the Sun/Saturn opposition as it squares apex Pluto 5Cap20 which has been blurbed upon here before. Its Cardinal energy shows a here-and-now imperative toward goals. That the goals belong to secret hand Pluto is what grumps me up the most. You?

Sun/Saturn = Pluto: illness causes developmental inhibitions; pressure to change one's entire value system (guess that's considered by some to be a broken 'system', too, a la the 'systems fail; reforms needed' Solar Eclipse of July 21, 2009 @ 29Can27; immune system breakdowns are indicated); threat of loss in relationships or to health ('health' or health insurance reform? jc); a disciplined person who wants and attracts power; increased will toward retaliating against others due to slights - 'paybacks'; overwhelming rigidity or inflexibility; elimination of pessimism or despair (ok, that last would be good. jc)

Plus, US natal Jupiter supplies the missing actor, energy, or point in the Cardinal T-Square which turns the T-SQ configuration into a Cardinal Grand Cross, and adds financial and ideological issues through Jupiter's influence and particpation.

Noel Tyl gives Sun/Saturn = Jupiter as: breakup of a value system or relationship for eventual recovery; a cloud with a silver lining.

Considering manipulative Pluto's tiresome intention to interfere in everything, we might then stretch a bit to include a second plutonian midpoint picture using Mercury 6Ari07...

Mercury/Saturn = Pluto: compulsive to ensure that information is indeed correct; serious incidents provoke the questioning of official communications; total communications breakdowns bring an end to doing business with others; brooding over one's destiny; toiling or grappling with unusual, special circumstances or problems.

Perhaps a bright spot in the Sun/Saturn T-Square with Pluto and the Sun/Saturn opposition itself is Mars acting as Thales Planet or Point: Mars sextiles Saturn and trines the Sun thus acting as a conduit for some of the pressure and tension of the opposition.

Another less heavy T-SQ is highlighted by dots:

NN/ASC = Venus: tactful treatment of or from others; focusing on values received from mutual participation (Rs cooperating with Ds? Personally I'm fatigued beyond all get-out with 'Rs vs Ds' dirty tricks against one another, tricks meant to ruin opponents, stop the people's business from being done, and divert our attention from implementation of their actual goals - yet they don't divert as much as play a part in veiling the class warfare being fought - against we-the-people. So far, we're losing for you can't fight what you refuse to recognize - jc.)

Well, you see the sensual Taurus Moon 26Tau13 in 11th house conjoining a nasty Fixed Star, Algol (Beta Perseus; aka, Caput Algol) 26Tau10. Chinese Astrology calls Algol Tseih She, meaning 'piled up corpses' and in Arabia the star is called, Ras al-Ghul, 'Head of the Demon' or 'wife of the devil.' Obviously, the concepts of feminine anger, rage, and passion are indicated here along with a connection to Lilith in the Talmud as a 'demon of the wind.'

Yes, the intense power of Mother Nature is also spotlighted by a reflection of Algol from the Spring Equinox 2010 Moon, and as always, Algol's deeply unconscious compulsion to take revenge will be better for all concerned if left unexpressed because when rage is that deep, there'll always be an inconvenient amount of blowback to unduly affect the innocent in harm's way.

If you dare click the chart to enlarge, you may read the questions I've posed concerning Saturn conj Ic. Restrictive Saturn will return to his degree in the 2010 Spring Equinox chart (1Lib23) on or about August 6, 2010 as he continues working over US natal Mc in our nation's Sibly chart (00Lib53.) But hopefully it's a good thing for our Real Estate issues for Spring 2010 that Saturn is actually out of 4th house and into 3rd even though he's close enough to affect 4th house with its Libra cusp. Perhaps the worst of US foreclosures and evictions are over - or at least will be ending soon.

Now if this sour post gives you a yen for more uplifting energies this Spring, you may wish to look again to the Divine Source of inspiration and life still available to us (this chart, in 8th house): Chiron conjunct Neptune, a spiritual pair now lighted affectionately upon the hearts and minds of the American people and available to all who wish to follow a higher path than the power brokers of Washington can ever offer to a living soul.

Yet tragically for the whole planet, US leaders continue to ignore we-the-people's deepest wishes for world peace as they arrogantly proceed with their determined, over-arching Sun/Saturn activities toward greater and encompassing control.

Well, I for one hopey-changey that they fail in forcing their one-world-government restrictions upon us...and with Sarah Palin's careless bomb-Iran threat most definitely included.

Update 2.11.10:

But who are we kidding? The US war machine doesn't need a Sarah Palin to promote it because with Mr. Obama at the helm, war has been ratched up, not slowed down - and certainly not ended as he pledged on Oct 27, 2007 when the Democratic candidate said (I suspect you remember this doozy):

"I will promise you this, that if we have not gotten our troops out by the time I am President, it is the first thing I will do. I will get our troops home. We will bring an end to this war. You can take that to the bank."

(But first check to be certain your bank wasn't closed by auditors overnight.)

Yes, I suspect you may also remember the elated applause from the audience when he mouthed what I thought then was an empty promise, typical during a political campaign. Having read Chalmers Johnson's book The Sorrows of Empire I knew the list of occupied countries was long. So as we know, Obama's bring-home-the-troops promise, above all others, is why the people thought they were voting for him. Saps.

Now, out of madness or for propaganda purposes, President Obama says he wants to increase the US nuclear arsenal, in spite of his recent SOTU Address when he said he "seeks a world without them." Yeah? If this is what he calls 'seeking' then finding will be a real b*tch.

Well, enough of my grumping (and pardon me for wanting a decent world to pass on to our children)...please read Laurence M. Vance's article Same Empire, Different Emperor where you'll find a disturbingly long list of the countries and territories now occupied by the United States of America.

After all, we bought it all and pay dearly for keeping the imperial illusion going, so we should at least know where all our real estate is located while our own neighborhoods are being decimated by foreclosures and evictions. Right?

And just think - America's imperialist career started with mild, lovely, non-belligerent Hawaii.

~:~

*Castor and Pollux details from Horary Astrology Plain and Simple, Anthony Louis, and from Brady's Book of Fixed Stars.

Horoscopes of the Tea Party Convention Feb 4 - 6, 2010

Here is a dual-wheel display of 2 charts for the Tea Party Convention set for Feb 4 and 6, 2010, Nashville, Tennessee - symbolically, the Convention's start and its end.

Quite a few details are written on the charts so I hope my notes are readable if you click the image to enlarge.

Chart data:

Upper right: Feb 4, 2010, sunrise 6:49:58 am CST, Sun/ASC 15AQ36 (bringing up Sarah Palin's natal Sun-Mars-Saturn conjunction (22 - 26AQ); Hour of Saturn; Disseminating Sun/Moon phase = gettin' out the info, or propaganda, depending on how you perceive Politics.

Moon begins in late Libra (27:41 @ sunrise) and asteroid Hidalgo (one of the 'power' asteroids/myths) is at Mc (the WHY? Point) of the sunrise chart (or 'solar chart' which I use here to describe the purpose of the day and the Convention itself, Feb 4); at left you see Mrs. Palin's natal planets listed.

The interesting thing about Hidalgo is that by the time Feb 6, 2010, 11:59 pm comes (2nd chart), Moon ('a woman'; popular woman; the public) is @ 3Sag06 and Hidalgo? 3Sag06! I think we may surmise that Mrs. Palin is represented here by Moon/Hidalgo, with a 'powerful woman' vibe going on (and which very much includes her considerable sex appeal - but she's taken, fellas, ladies.)

Key concepts for Hidalgo:

self-assertion; a rebel with a cause; expects to be in charge; a revolutionary patriot (such as its namesake, Miguel Hidalgo y Costillas, a Mexican priest who is known as a 'champion of liberty'.) Perhaps a few words along these lines may be noticed before, during, and after Palin's keynote speech. In fact, these charts indicate to me that the event itself, a money-making endeavor that has caused two other speakers to bow out, is in part a showcase for Mrs. Palin's future political dreams of grandeur and social improvement.

And with the ongoing Mars Rx period affecting Mrs. Palin's natal Moon (5AQ) by opposition, there is much energy crackling around her now (including her FOX News contract.) Yet with her hectic schedule, Palin may be late in arriving or beginning her speech. (I believe this is par for her course, however, for whatever reasons.) Mars opposing natal Moon can bring anger or quarrels into one's environment, equipment breakdowns, intense emotions, or...debates.

But perhaps that's only if she can call you, Joe.

And if Mrs. Palin's efforts toward success do pay off, a large payback will probably be required. Will she be - or remain - willing to pay the price? Is her Tea Party performance an audition for a higher position? Hidalgo's myth carries a 'lower nobility' flavor ('don') of one who desires to move up in society to a 'higher nobility.' And in Celtic myth, 'don' is associated with the mother archtype. Mrs. Palin certainly is that, yet 'glamorous woman' Lilith is one of her 'faces' as well.

(We all have them though - 'faces' or 'masks' - so don't get your Sarah knickers in a twist over my comments concerning this political lightweight who has, imo, a 'priestly' vibe that concerns me, for when anyone presumes to dictate to others how to read the Bible, I get all up in it. Plus, once The Original came, sacrificed, and was sacrificed, all other 'priests' became unnecessary to my salvation. Nice, sometimes. Useful even. But wholly unnecesssary.)

Sarah Pied Piper Palin?

Well, now I must advise you that Art is upon my drafting table at the moment with an Art collaboration scheduled for Spring Equinox 2010, so I must soon mosey along since graphic work must be finalized pre-March 19. Also, in Georgia, an ice, sleet, or snow storm is said to be at my very door as I type so we'll see how that goes in the electricity department.

So if you want to say anything about the charts you see here, the Tea Party event or movement, or the politicians hoping to rouse the masses from its stupor on Feb 4 - 6, please leave a comment here.

Btw: I'm happy as a puppy with two tails to report that a few readers who have been silent until now, have spoken up to let me know they're reading - yay! Thanks, Guys.

Interlaced YODs, you say?

A YOD pattern = turning point = special task = Finger of God:

Why, those two interlaced YODs in the Feb 6 chart are enough to stir up a heap of trouble...they're listed lower left and show a 'special task' for Mars and for Jupiter, as Moon conjoins Hidalgo, and along the way, conjoins a few midpoint combos in Mrs. Palin's natal chart from '1Sag' to '4Sag'; I must note that '1Sag' is the "A Grand Army of the Republic Campfire" degree, which emphasizes revolutionary Hidalgo's 'patriot' flavor. The Tea Partiers will love and adore her on this score.

Here are her natal midpoint combos in order of the Moon's fleeting stimulation, then I must vamoose:

N Sun/Uranus = tr Moon: rashness; nervous, excited, or agitated women; impulsiveness; a demand for need fulfilment; an intense woman.

N Mars/Uranus = tr Moon: special effort expended by a woman; desire for recognition. (Easy, just go where they're enthralled and chanting your name!)

N Saturn/Uranus = tr Moon: emotional courage emerges under duress; changes for freedom; strong emotional strains; a sudden desire to liberate oneself from emotional stress (uh-oh! she's a maverick, y'know!); separation from females.

N Sun/Pluto = tr Moon: irritability, esp of women; illness; brutal suppression of feelings; attempts to project power and persuasion; feelings possibly trampled in relationship.

N Mars/Pluto = tr Moon: publicity; self-belief; daring; taking a chance; playing a powerful hunch (that Sarah!)

After the 'Embassy Ball' is over (see Sabian Symbol of the ASC degree in the Feb 6 chart), and the confetti is being swept up, transit Moon, a 'popular woman' in our mystery play, conjoins Sarah Palin's Saturn/Pluto midpoint...

N Saturn/Pluto = tr Moon: emotional coldness or rigidity of feeling; nunciation; giving up giving.

Can this refer to her giving up tea, Tea Parties, or her association with the founder of the organization? Alternately, she may simply be exhausted and feel all used up by the time the Convention balloons are popped. Plus, the amount of profits in ticket receipts will color everyone's attitude when the party ends, the lights go down, and Hidalgo-as-Pied-Piper has sung her siren's song of power, patrons, and patriotism.

~:~

Update Jan 29, 2010 8:48 pm est: here's a post concerning the 2010 Tea Party Convention's Sun/Moon blends from Feb 4 to Feb 6, as the Moon traverses Libra, Scorpio, and Sagittarius while the Sun remains in Aquarius; a bonus blend is included to cover the atmosphere of the immediate hours after the Convention ends on Feb 6...Sun AQ/Moon Capricorn.

PBS' NOW poll: is Palin qualified for office of VP?

PBS' NOW program has a poll asking if you think Sarah Palin is qualified to be Vice President of the United States...a heartbeat away from the Presidency.

So far, her supporters and political operatives are flocking to the poll with 'yes' votes. Can you weigh in to give 'fair and balanced' a chance? Takes about 2 seconds.

Land of the Free, Home of the Book Signing

Here's a chuckle taped at a Sarah Palin book signing where no questions will be answered except in a dark place...

Oh, Canada!

Astrology of the Nov 21, 2009 Health Reform vote

"Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane." - Martin Luther King Jr.

Tonight on Capitol Hill a procedural vote is scheduled for 8:00 pm est on the Health Care Reform Bill of Senator Harry Reid. My previous post cites an afternoon NPR Breaking News alert that Dem Senator Blanche Lincoln will be voting with her party thus giving them the elusive 60 votes needed to avoid a Republican filibuster.

Formal debate on the bill can begin after the Thanksgiving break if Dems get 60 votes, says C-SPAN.

Now I'm of two minds on the whole subject of this bill due to the tiresome 'unintended consequences' that so many congressional bills cause and lacking trust in my overly aggressive government, I believe most of the 'unintended' results are actually intended. But maybe that's just me - or FDR, who said, "In politics, nothing happens by accident. If it happens, you can bet it was planned that way."

So let's take a brief peek at tonight's horoscope set up for: Nov 21, 2009 8:00 pm est, Capitol Building, Washington, DC to see how things may get on during this Saturn Hour of control and authority:

ASC 17Can04 making the 7th house Moon 28Cap56 (conjunct US natal Pluto 27Cap33 Rx) the chart-ruler. Applying aspects to the Moon are indicators of the proceedings as they move forward this evening.

Sun sextile Moon (0A56); Moon trine Saturn (3A21) with Saturn the planet of the Democratic Party in Mundane Astrology; Sun 29Sco51 conjuncts 2009's Inaugural Moon 29:45 and Sun = leadership in a mundane charts. This times a promise of health care (insurance!) reform which the Obama administration made to the American people. Remember the president said that our economic woes are based on a health care system and its costs being out of control. (Just paraphrasing him there. That Reid's bill will repair the cost situation is a risk.)

Moon also sextiles (60 degr, an aspect of opportunity - and 60 votes needed!) Mc (The Goal Point; Mc 29Pis04 at 8 pm) very closely - 0A08.

Of course, the vote will probably not begin precisely at 8:00 pm; at 8:09 pm, Moon reaches *29Cap00 - a critical or crisis degree as is the Sun's 29Sco); at 10:10 pm, Moon will enter Aquarius, 00AQ00, which conjuncts the US Inaugural Sun (president) degree but also 2009 Inaugural Mercury Rx which described so well President Obama's second Oath-taking due to Chief Justice Roberts' mess-up. Mercury - oaths and votes; Rx = do-overs.

This indicates to me that the president's imperative to pass health insurance legislation has a good chance to be forwarded this evening with the vote at 8:00 pm.

However, if Lincoln and Louisiana's Mary Landrieu change their minds later on, the bill could be in trouble.

Mercury 9Sag19 in 5th house of Risk-Taking and Gambling indicates the ladies' concern over their own future political prospects; Mercury conjs Royal Star Antares ('anti-Aries, or anti-Mars') with contentious Mars 15Leo03 in 2nd house of Money and Values. '15Leo' is the Lion's Point degree and one of the Dark Moons (w'mat2 @ 15Leo29)) conjuncts Mars indicating that something is being hidden about Mars' position or by Mars himself. (Mars = males between the ages of 25 to 35, give or take a year or so.)

Mars opposite Jupiter 19AQ43 in 8th house of Big Money and Transformations) which means the instigator also opposes Mr. Obama's natal ASC. Chiron and Neptune 23AQ47 are posited in 8th house as well showing the inflationary pair of speculators (Jup/Nep) readying for their 3rd and final Great Conjunction of 2009 on Dec 21.

As you know, their conj occurs again on the US natal Moon (Sibly chart) so we have a midpoint picture to consider with 'grand schemes' Jupiter/Neptune as given here previously, and blending Tyl, Ebertin, and Munkasey's interpretations....

Jup/Nep = n Moon: going with the wind; little sense of reality; losing oneself in plans; becoming involved in speculation, instability, wastefulness; uncertainty about what is real and what is not.

If you, lone reader, have been feeling this way lately, you are not alone!

Well, I meant to cover tonight's T-Squares, one of which has Pluto (1Cap54 in 6th house of Health) as its apex planet in a Cardinal T-Square once the Mc hits 00Ari00, but if I keep typing it will soon be 8:00 pm!

This apex Pluto, planet of secret control, is a loner who refuses to share his power - he doesn't 'play well' with the other planets (actors) and has a chip on his shoulder which makes compromise impossible within his intensely driven goals.

Pluto's only aspects in this chart are: square Saturn (0S22); semi-sq Venus (0S41); sesqui-sq Mars (1A53); and a separating square to the Midheaven. In short, Mr. Pluto isn't happy and yet he is at apex of the Sun/Moon midpoint (29Sag24), so we have...

Sun/Moon = Pluto: increased opportunities for personal and social contributions to be recognizes more universally; important secrets that help achievement. (Munkasey.) Noel Tyl says, "critical time of development."

Also of note: a **Cardinal T-Square indicates concentrated focus being applied toward major here-and-now goals; looking before leaping is necessary for there may be unintended consequences.

It's those unintended consequences I fret about for the American people even if tonight's vote reaches the magic number of 60, and a reform bill eventually becomes reality. White House Reality isn't the same as Common Good Reality!

Finally, in a previous post on the health care/insurance reform subject I stated the possibility that the bill's passage may be timed on, or soon after, the Dec 21 hook-up of grandly spirited (if overblown) Jupiter/Neptune, the speculators.

We'll soon know, won't we?

~:~

* Moon to '30Cap' a degree which Dane Rudhyar gives as, "A Secret Meeting of Men Responsible for Executive Decisions in World Affairs." 'Keynote: The power to assume responsibility for crucial choices arrived at after mature discussions with those who share this power. EXECUTIVE POWER.'

Rudhyar goes on to mention business and politics, 'inner Government' and an 'occult Hierarchy' or 'White Lodge' which for me points directly toward the White House and Freemasonic America. Beware deep Pluto's desire for control of DNA stats for everyone. The plutonian Aryan superiority complex continues - underground.

**Cardinal T-Square/apex Pluto details from Dynamics in Aspect Analysis by Bil Tierney.

If you like Political Cat Limericks A Kitten Called Palin is now published at Lim's Limericks as a further attempt on my part to aggravate aggravated Palin minions and operatives. Sure it's a measly attempt, but I'm only the typist there, not the poet. We must blame Mr. A. Cat for that!

Does 'The Matrix' have your computer?

In the wee hours of this morning I was on my WordPress blog attempting to do some code posting that wasn't working out when I got a message typed at me on the screen saying 'The Matrix' "has" me.

Read more here and don't hesitate to let me know if you have any good ideas. Is my pc's Adobe Flashplayer old, perhaps? Curiously, I had just spent about 3 hours or so creating a new Art Slideshow at Slide.com, too.

Funny that a mystery message should happen after the (rare) rude comment of personal attack that I received on this blog yesterday - by a cowardly 'Anonymous', of course - I published it and you may find it by scrolling to yesterday's post about Sarah Palin's disappointing folks who attended her book signing tour.

Well, I guess a rude comment would be from one of her fanatics, wouldn't it?

Astrologically, good old transiting Mars of quarrels and attacks - Mr. Contentious himself - is now opposing my natal Pluto in Leo. Nice. Because as stated in a recent post, it will be 33 long weeks of Mars in Leo!

Feeling 'badgering and biased'?

If you're feeling badgering and biased these days you'll probably adore book author Sarah Palin's characterization of Katy Couric as being just that. Birds of a feather, you.

Yet in a fit of tough love, I shall let you find Palin's book all by your lonesome (if you must.) Toss a browser in any direction now and you'll happen upon the roguish thing.

Now you'll notice it isn't 'badgered' but 'badgering' - Couric's trick was to do the biased badgering in interview form, says not-ready-for-prime time-politics Palin. She wants to do all the biased badgering herself as she plays 'the underdog' with style and with verve, if not panache.

Some fancy pageant walkin' should be cued asap a la Tina Fey's impersonation of Madame Palin which continually delighted the masses during the 2008 campaign - except for the gullible whose particular dish is the former beauty queen and Alaska governor, Sarah Palin. Many of her fans were not amused.

Surprise! Palin's name as McCain's running mate was let out of the bag just on the tail of then-Senator Obama's Apollo-flavored acceptance speech at the 2008 DNC, Denver. This tactic, you remember, was masterful by the GOP for stealing thunder from Barack the Annointed.

So naturally you can read whatever book you want. Just let me know how it goes. And think about transiting Neptune's veils and deceptions still within range (orb) of Palin's Aquarian line-up in her 7th house of Partnerships: a clumped-together trio of Sun, Mars, and Saturn 25AQ12. I say, '7th house' if the '4:40 pm pst' birth time circulating online is correct (ASC 19Leo34; Feb 11, 1964 Sandpoint, ID.)

Of course, Neptune also brings along The Masses and mass media in a trail of clouds and illusions, with its silver screen (or TV, photos, video screen, etc) and cameras/recorders a-blazing and along for the ride, too...as long as the media circus lasts. Yet Palin has shown herself to be a political lightweight, a perception that would hamper anyone's career in government. Ask what's-his-name Quayle.

At least around here her political reputation is hampering. But it's her n Saturn (responsibility; accountability; maturity) that's being energized with fairy dust by dreamy Neptune. Hmm.

Let's look at the current configuration formed by tr Neptune with Palin's Mars/Saturn conjunction in 7th house by checking what Michael Munkasey has to say and knowing that Mars/Saturn action is usually brash and has a stop-go flavor:

Mars/Sat = Neptune: inefficient use of energy; a weakening (Nep) of well-prepared plans (Saturn) for the development of desires (Mars); defects in training regimens; pretense or cover-ups about the state of preparedness or readiness of self or others.

Then is a World Book Tour in Palin's cards?

Lack of preparation holds our Sarah back yet again unless she comes clean to herself and others concerning deficiencies which may (or may not) then be addressed effectively. Or will it be, Foiled Again? For sparklingly, Neptune's glamour factor holds Madame's cue cards, muddles the mind, and often loses the thread which dissipates like Neptune's wisps of fog...

Then one more thing to remind you of: wherever politicians tell you to look - always look in an opposite direction to discover what political operatives and handlers don't want we-the-public paying attention to.

And illuminate and disseminate the you-know-what out of it.

Well, I'm really just babbling on...been under the weather due to allergies but things are smoothing out now. A parcel has just been Big Browned to the door so for now, adios! We'll soon cue up an old fave: Dinner Rush.

To close this zyrtec-infused, rambling post, here's a close-up of Golden Chanterelles in honor of the Neptunian fairy dust and moonbeams through which even Sarah Palin looks glamous enough for a leadership role.

Wait a minute...what?



Golden Chanterelles, detail from a drawing by Jude Cowell, published in full view @ Secret Moon Art.

The surrealism of Sarah Palin: the video 7.3.09

Oh yes, today's rambling announcement by Alaska Governor Sarah Palin that she is resigning from her governor's post July 26 and won't run for a second term in 2010 had to be published here so I can be fascinated by it at will. And if my courage holds, I'll be getting all the way through watching it any time now - cringe cringe.

And no, I don't blame David Letterman jokes as some are speculating online!

But yes, a run for president in 2012 may be the ultimate reason, sure, but this is a wacky way to go about it. She does need shiploads of preparation, agreed.

We knew the Neptune transit to her natal Sun and Mars would be trouble, didn't we?

Neptunian confusion and surrealism come through loud and clear to me in her performance today, how about you...any signals from Neptune getting through?

What a toss up for the Political Cringe Awards 2009: Sarah Palin or Mark Sanford? And the year is only half over.

David Letterman's natal chart - and Sarah Palin

David Letterman has now apologized for his tasteless joke about Gov. Sarah Palin's daughter - perhaps a day late after some are calling for his resignation from his CBS Late Show. Naturally Letterman's 'joke' has given him a case of Don-Imus-itis for its link to jokes about the sexual activities of young ladies.

Old men, young ladies - unlevel playing field and what amounts to sexual harrassment, so back off, fellas. You show yourselves to have lower standards than the ladies you disparage.

One hopes no one ever makes unkind remarks on national TV about his son, Harry!

Yet political opportunism coming into play is sadly expectable, but one wishes Governor Palin could resist the temptation. Still, as many public figures are fond of saying, any publicity is good publicity.

So with no known birth time for Mr. Letterman, I don't wish to publish his chart here but I did take a look to see if there were transits causing him difficulties (although he brought this on himself - wonder who wrote the joke? The 'any publicity' works for him too, esp with Conan O'Brien now opposite him. Letterman's viewership numbers are trending up, I heard.)

David Letterman April 12, 1947, Indianapolis, IN (CST); Sun definitely in Aries, Moon in Capricorn for the 24-hour day of birth (ranging from 6Cap50 to 18:40.)

Well, the Sun has been recently highlighting his natal Uranus 18Gem41, a transit which emphasizes uniqueness and individuality - one may possibly 'stick out like a sore thumb' in fact, as a separation or singling out of some kind may occur, for good or bad. Showing stubborn pride (Sun = ego) is also a potential...perhaps a reason why he didn't apologize for the small-minded joke immediately.

Natal Mercury 25Pis24 is being affected by transiting Uranus off and on - a time when freedom to express one's thoughts is sought, and original, perhaps quirky, ideas come easily. Mercury is the planet of ideas and communications so with Uranus' electrical energy in the vicinity, there's no telling what might occur in relation to one's thinking processes - and in Letterman's case, one's joke writing and delivery.

Surfing on your behalf, dear reader, I found that Vega Attractions has an image of Mr. Letterman's Solar Chart (sunrise) if you'd care to snag yourself a peek. You'll see Letterman's natal Mars at Aries Point, a World Point of Prominence and Fame, as the whole world sees Dave's intrinsic Mars capacity for grumpiness and contentiousness!

But I still prefer Dave's show to Conan's - plus, it leads in to my favorite late night comedian of all time: Craig Ferguson and his "It's a great day for America, everybody"!

Sarah Palin-Media poll available

Is former beauty queen and Republican VP candidate Sarah Palin being treated badly by the media?

If you have a minute please navigate to Jude's Threshold and take my freahly published poll, Is the media bad to Palin?

Leaving Iraq + the 'New President' Eclipse

Iraqis stage mass anti-US occupation rally

Supporters of Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr have staged a mass demonstration in Baghdad in protest against plans to extend the US mandate in Iraq.

An estimated 50,000 protesters chanted slogans such as "Get out occupier!"

~:~

As mentioned previously, I must agree with what my mama always said: Never go where you're not invited, never stay where you're merely tolerated.

The toleration (what little there ever was) for US troops in Iraq, has ended.

You know that about 6 days into the new administration, a Solar Eclipse occurs. The Ascendant degree of the Eclipse when set for the White House is 1Sag59 so we may look to the Sabian Symbol for:

'2Sag'..."The Ocean Covered with Whitecaps" which to my ears has a White House/Washington DC flavor to it.

However, '1Sag' is a Symbol I've typed many times here and elswhere relating to the Pentagon, our military, and to the Bush-Cheney wars: "A Grand Army of the Republic Campfire."

This indicates to me that the Iraq Occupation and a redeployment or 'surge' into Afghanistan will be first-ups on the desk of the new president. War costs must be on the menu as well, if common sense holds any sway at all.

The January Eclipse degree '6AQ30' is conjunct America's natal South Node, a point of separation and of falling back on past behaviors and talents. If the 'past behaviors' are are better ones from our past, that's okay by me. But if it's unconscious behavior, it'll be more of the same Bushiness. You know - bashing your head against a brick wall and expecting a different result than self-undoing.

And I think that this Eclipse points to America's upcoming Nodal Half-Return, when our weaker relationships and associations may be broken. This Nodal Half-Return (as you will see notated upon the Eclipse chart) occurs on or about April 8, 2009 (using True Node.)

Obviously, the days between Jan 20 (or Jan 26, counting from the Solar Eclipse) until at least April 8 will be key, as the first days of any administration are, for they set the tone for the presidential term. We tend to call the period the "first 100 days" which goes into early May, of course. But it will be interesting to see if associations are broken around early April, give or take a few weeks or so.

Also the first 100 days of an administration are often referred to as a honeymoon period after which reality sets in along with a tinge of buyers' remorse, in many cases.

So with Europe and the rest of the world running from Washington and Wall Street like the plague because of the bandits and thieves who've burned them once too many times, it may be others breaking with us before it's the other way round.

But we'll see, esp since the influence of the Jan 26 Eclipse has to do with making greater commitments in relationships. It's an interesting influence coming upon the degree of our SN, a separative point (the Dragon's Tail), and with a Nodal Half-Return falling within the Eclipse season. All in all, it's a dicey season all around, but you don't need Astrology to tell you that.

Still, a Nodal Half-Return is problematic only where weak associations are concerned...if they don't break then, they will be strengthened going forward.

Soon I will be publishing the chart of what I'm calling the 'New President' Eclipse (Jan 26, 2009; 2:55:12 am est; White House) at Jude's Threshold on my Pages list in the sidebar column.

Check there in the next day or so if you'd like to view the chart and read my notes.

Today I'm still trying to rest up from the final presidential debate and from SNL's Sarah Palin~Tina Fey-lin shenanigans this weekend, but here is the Sabian Symbol for the US natal South Node's degree, and thus for the Jan 26 Eclipse itself (rounding up seems to refer to the Oval Office, shaped like Venus' egg)...

'7AQ'..."A Child Born of an Eggshell"...ESSENTIALITY...

pos: a highly individual and completely unlimited resourcefulness;

neg/unconscious/shadow side: naive reliance on external accident.

And, because opposite is America's North Node, aka destiny or path, here is '7Leo'...

"The Constellations in the Sky"...SURETY...

pos: consistent effectiveness in understanding and self-ordering;

neg/uncons/shadow side: a loss of all present integrity through an unnecessary retreat to the remote or mysterious.


The Sabian Symbols in Astrology, Dr. Marc Edmund Jones

~:~

For more details, here are the Symbols as given by Dane Rudhyar:

US natal South Node + Jan 26, 2009 Solar Eclipse degree:

'7AQ"..."A Child Is Seen Being Born Out of an Eggshell"...

Keynote: The emergence of new mutations according to the great rhythms of the cosmos.

EMERGENCE OF GLOBAL MAN.

And for US natal North Node:

'7Leo'..."The Constellations of Stars Shine Brilliantly in the Night Sky"...

Keynote: The power of basic spiritual values which refer to man's common humanity and to all enduring archetypes.

Obama-McCain debate ends 10.15.08

Well, tonight's presidential debate between Senators Obama and McCain was the final one of the trio and was held about 5 hours after orator Mercury turned Direct.

If you're interested, I've made some comments and added a bit of the dialogue from the Tavis Smiley Program which went on air just after the debate ended at 10:31 pm edt. You'll find a reference to my previous post on tongiht's debate which has more astrological comments to it so when you arrive, just scroll down a smidge if you like.

Then there's the political excitement tomorrow night - will John McCain show up to be on Dave Letterman's Show as promised after blowing Dave off two weeks ago for Katie Couric? Dave's discussing it as I type so the excitement is palpable, and you know I'll be watching.

"He'll be here tomorrow and he's got a lot of explaining to do," quips Dave. But now Dave's not expecting McCain to bring Sarah Palin. Dave doesn't think Miss Alaska will be there.

Yes, the road to the White House goes right through Dave, as he's fond of saying, since McCain announced his candidacy (this one) on Dave's show.

Oh funny Dave! He just had a split screen between himself and Hank Paulson to "ask questions" of Secretary Paulson...who keeps blinking in that trance-like way he has. Of course, they're looping the tape - and Hank isn't "answering" any of Dave's "questions" as if he doesn't hear him.

But Paulson's droopy frown stays perfectly in place, so there is that. Even when he's unlooped he looks to be in some kind of trance. Perhaps he should get looped more often.