Mercury's Rx and Direct Stations Mar 30/Apr 23, 2011: degree symbols

Today at 4:48 pm edt in Washington DC, Mercury's current retrograde station occurs @ 24Ari21. I use '4:48 pm' because that's the moment my Solar Fire software gives for Mercury's first minute Rx (notwithstanding the March 11, 2011 earthquake in Japan which knocked Earth's axis off a smidgen.)

Then on April 23, 2011, Mercury performs his/her Direct Station @ 12Air53 (6:04 am edt in DC.) As you know, All Things Mercury are subject to re-view, re-consideration, re-doing, etc, during Mercury Rx periods and it is wise to begin no new projects or set in motion plans during this time. Trade, commerce, and transport are likely areas where Mercury Rx may hamper us now and we think of Japan's auto industry and parts manufacture which we already know are due more of a supply slowdown thanks to the nuclear meltdown.

US wars in the Middle East and the recent step-down of Mubarak in Egypt also threaten easy shipping in the Suez Canal but hopefully chaos won't lead to such dire results; food shortages and higher food prices are in the news now and we'll see if these situations spread between now and April 23rd, May 11th, or thereabouts.

Now I know that a reading of all the Sabian Symbols between 12 and 25 Aries is in order and would be instructive yet I trust you to handle this task yourself, if you will. Other sites and blogs are covering Mercury's trail of Rx-Direct degrees, and Lynda Hill's excellent Sabian Symbols site is always a good place to visit for more information on the Babylonian symbols.

For now, I want to paraphrase some highlights from the lesser-known degrees in Adriano Carelli's book The 360 Degrees of the Zodiac to add more depth to our mercurial re-considerations. This will be symbols which have a 'word picture' for not all of Carelli's degrees do.

April 23, 2011's Mercury Direct Station will occur at a critical-crisis degree so we expect more news (Mercury) of crisis conditions on top of the current crop (with a US gov shutdown in the making?) so let's begin there with Mercury's Direct Station degree and move toward today's Rx Station degree with a synopsis of each degree's meaning:

'12 Aries' = "An eagle on its nest." ("Sacred selfishness; strong fatherly or motherly instincts; keen sense of one's 'I', of personal initiative, and of the free individual property and leads to ...danger of clashing against the established order..or against the economics of the so-called modern democracies.) (IMF and World Bank? Austerity cuts to further bankroll the rich? jc)

An 'eagle' is, of course, a symbol of America (and the fallen Roman Empire); these days, Pluto is rising with Fixed Star, Altair (Alpha Aquila, the eagle; keywords: boldness and determination.

If you prefer to round-up, here's the symbol for:

'13Ari' = "A crucible in its oven." (Subjected to exceptional tests; if gold in the crucible, the furnace might purify and purge it of any dross; in less noble characters, the temperament will be harsher, warlike, even destructive...the tests will be frightening, but courage will not go unrewarded; fondness for gold.)

'15Ari' = "A warrior whose iron armor covers him from his toes to his chin, his head staying bare and unshielded." (Shutting windows but leaving the doors open; keep both eyes open and leave nothing to chance, have faith in yourself if you want others to rely upon you, and do not lean on others for anything; listen to others but follow no advice; first impressions of others may be erroneous.)

The middle of the period is April 11 with the Rx period's mid-degree of:

'18Ari' = "Wedding night in the king's palace. The queen, still in bride's attire, waits for the prince consort, seated on the marriage bed in a queenly yet modest attitude." (Keen intelligence, a sociable and hearty nature, (and) a talkative disposition; a personality worshiped by some, envied or slandered by many, feared or respected by all; love of peace (yet) compelled by karmic law to face some decisive fight for which destiny exacts the strictest control; rash acts may lead to trouble with fatal results owing to the plot of the envious.)

'19Ari' = "A gold digger at work in his mine, a satchel of nuggets slung from his belt. His face and attire betray a harsh, stunted life." (An eye only on gain; a soul utterly devoid of feelings; may be selfish, stingy, suspicious, misanthropic, and often unscrupulous.)

'20Ari' = "Ulysses in Polyphemus' cave." (Few moral principles, if any at all; an original mind, never at a loss; a daring temper with a pioneer's or adventurer's craving inquisitiveness; some renown and possibly a violent death.)

'23Ari' = "The medical pharmaceutical emblem of the snake and the chalice, the reptile's tail being wound round the stem and its head overhanging the bowl, its cleft tongue nearly skimming the contents." (A degree of fatality; an instrument of collective karma or the victim of his own; a healer or great invalid, aggressive and warlike; liable to fall under the influence of ill advisers; initiation is not ruled out.)

'24Ari' = "An almost naked woman." (Should a man want to be free, he must let the woman be free as well, who may become his wife tomorrow; to such hypocrisy we owe the institution of the demivierge, a typical infamy of the so-called modern civilization.)

'25Ari' = "A crisp-haired man riding a huge ram, which he holds by his horns." (An awakened ambition to rise very high and the power to do so; active, fierce, and independent but restless and selfish; the power tends to drift into intolerant tyranny; no sense of justice with not the least trace of chivalry toward foes or opponents.)

Well, perhaps these degrees add a bit of astro-info concerning our current Mercury Rx period and as you know, we must be patient until transit Mercury turns Direct and passes its Rx degree (its shadow) on May 11, 2011 when mercurial things begin to move forward once again without the glitches and snafus a Rx period so often engenders for both individuals and governments.

Messenger Orbits Mercury tonight as Mercury opposes Saturn 3.17.11

And a Happy St. Patrick's Day 2011 to you and to NASA whose space probe Messenger is to go into elliptical orbit around speedy Mercury tonight and for one Earth year after.

Here's a Timeline of the 6-year+ project to investigate Mercury.

NASA's Messenger page has lots of info (apt for anything to do with Astrology's mental planet, Mercury!) and says that Orbital Insertion begins tonight at 8:45 pm EDT when in the Tropical Zodiac, Mercury will be @ 14Ari20.

Mercury opposes Saturn Rx 15Lib10 w US natal Saturn 14Lib48, therefore Mercury opposes US n Saturn as well. This is a period of time when ideas, activities, and information are prone to diametric opposition to structures, tradition, and organization as other voices with dissenting opinions critique our authority and experience. Normally under this transit, travel is delayed or curtailed, good news is not forthcoming, other people don't tend to say what we want to hear, and conflicting information is all around us.

(This sounds a lot like the House speakers rising this morning to speak for or against public funding of NPR. No ideas in Congress for jobs creation, just attacks on the only nearly-balanced news outlet the American people have left, and the only one still maintaining an office in Afghanistan. Plus, defunding NPR will mean loss of jobs, so Thanks, Republicans. As usual, you're misdirecting your zealous energies. A majority of Americans are polling a resounding, No! to defunding NPR, so get over it. The procedural vote in the House is expected this afternoon. Even if you think NPR is 'left-wing', in America we desperately need a left to counterbalance the abundance of 'right-wing' info we're being inundated with 24/7, otherwise the US butterfly tilts crazily into Fascism as it hits the ground.)

NASA's Mercury Messenger Mission was launched on August 3, 2004 from Cape Canaveral FL and tonight begins the mission's big pay-off. You may wish to check out a 2008 post published just before a flyby. In the post you'll find I used *Adriano Carelli's degree for Mercury's position then (14Lib) where Saturn Rx soon returns 2011 - and, again, it's America's natal Saturn position. But you may be surprised to read at post's end of another entity's 14 Libra Saturn as stated by Mr. Carelli, so I'll let you click and sleuth it for yourself in your best mercurial fashion!

Tonight at 8:45 pm edt with Sun 27Pis05 and Moon 2Vir26, the muddy Water-Earth Sun-Moon blend's Images for Integration may be revealing concerning NASA's Mercury Messenger Mission, its cutting-edge photography of the planet, and other conditions going on now as well:

"A mosaic picture of the universe, each piece perfect in itself...Small events bring enormous consequences...Faith and reason shake hands." (Sun Sign-Moon Sign, Charles & Suzi Harvey.)

Yes, faith (Jupiter) and reason (Mercury) should shake hands much more often in this polarized, at-odds world and I hope NASA's Mercury Messenger Mission proceeds successfully tonight, and that the partisan GOP attack on NPR is beaten back once again.

~:~

*Source: 360 Degrees of the Zodiac, Adriano Carelli.

Venus to Pluto 2.9.11: hidden wealth in secret places

In a recent astro-post on President Obama's February 7th speech to the US Chamber of Commerce, I mentioned that the chart-ruler of the speech horoscope, Venus, made only one applying aspect in the chart, a conjunction with powerful, secretive Pluto in Capricorn, sign of government, politics, law, and business. A chart-ruler's applying aspects in Horary Astrology describes how things will proceed - here, from the "neighborly" event.

This Venusian-Plutonian encounter occurs on Wednesday, February 9, 2011 @6Cap38 and it may be instructive to consider the political and business ramifications of a Venus-Pluto pairing. The two can be passionately exciting in love relationships, yes, but also have financial connotations which relate to the president's presentation of ideas for sparking the US economy as he spoke to a room full of wealthy bankers and business leaders.

We might also keep in mind last week's report on the many places that Hosni and Gamal Mubarak have their wealth squirreled away with perhaps additional revelations to come as the Venus-Pluto hook-up uncovers more secrets (including hot love affairs, but that's not the purview of this blog unless politicians are involved. And even then, not so much.)

Even plutonian revealer-in-chief Julian Assange's Swedish situation (rape charges) may be affected in some way by this conjunction along with WikiLeaks revelations concerning diplomatic relations and/or banking misdeeds. And in the US, some of our threadbare state budgets are beginning to show signs of embezzlement or mis-usage of funds through the years...peep-eye!

Plus, the Chamber of Commerce members Mr. Obama addressed and cajoled on February 7th are said to be multi-millionaires and billionaires sitting on corporate mega-profits which they have so far refused to 'share' with American workers in the form of new jobs.


So using Michael Munkasey's Midpoints: Unleashing the Power of the Planets because it lists potentials in Politics and Business along with other indications, the Venus-Pluto combination of energies include:

Thesis: extremes of private wealth hidden in secret places; genetic alterations; those who wish to transform the natural beauty of a country; model waste processing or disposal systems.

Antithesis: volcanic activity deep within the earth which cause great destruction of agricultural or financial centers; attracting elements of organized crime (finances, drugs, sex trade; hidden partnerships; jealousy; rape charges); a breakdown within the social fabric of a society.

With authoritative Capricorn being an Earth sign, we may expect the above possibilities to apply very closely to the things that relate to material goods, mining activities, structures, systems, and, as stated, Politics and Business in finances, valuations, and relationship issues. And as stated in my previous post, Venus-Pluto can be linked to bankruptcy, too. The excruciating housing foreclosure mess may be implicated (real estate; banking.)

The Sabian Symbol for the Venus-Pluto conjunction @ '7Cap' may be revealing as well:

"A Veiled Prophet of Power"...SUPREMACY:

positive expression: unerring insight into the motives of men and a consequent gift for organizing their efforts along any given line of accomplishment;

neg/unconscious/shadow side: inability to distinguish true values from false.

(The Sabian Symbols in Astrology, Marc Edmund Jones.)

Additionally, the symbol for '7Cap' in Adriano Carelli's book The 360 Degrees of the Zodiac points us back to Egypt's Mubarak family who may have had a part in the ongoing looting of his country's ancient treasures: The Sphinx.

Well, this conjunction occurs ever year at varying degrees of the Zodiac (depending on where slower moving Pluto lies in wait for Venus) but this year I'm relating it primarily to the president's appeals and concessions to the Chamber of Commerce - though financial secrets and sexual misconduct cannot be ruled out.

112th Congress = "Swords" vs "Torches"?

In his weekly radio address today President Obama has called for Republicans to stop their symbolic battles, battles which seem to this blogger to be meant in part as a salve to the Tea Partisans watching GOPers closely for backtracking on their promises to do things differently than Congress' previous sorriness.

And the millions of dollars that GOP 'symbolism' has cost the US taxpayer during only half a week of this session belies the Republican Party's whines over the national debt. Guess they think our bucks are worth their gamble and they (and Dems) certainly have much past experience with such cynical calculations.

Now if you, dear reader, are familiar with the Sabian Symbols for each degree of the zodiac (360 degrees), you know of one that's quite esoteric in its imagery and which may apply here, namely 'A Symbolical Battle Between the "Swords" and the "Torches".' (Rudhyar.)

Let's examine the meaning of this symbol to see if anything shakes out concerning the current Capitol Hill Political Theater the GOP has been making (what they hope is) political hay with.

Rudhyar's 'Keynote: Refusing to depend upon the past, the seeker turns warrior, fighting anew the eternal "Great War".' (A World War I reference. jc)

Now I won't quote all that Dane Rudhyar wrote about the degree - the Bodhi Tree and spiritual light vs ego-will (though ego-will and global-ruling ideology are the basis of GOP desperation to win back the White House) - however, his last words concerning '17Tau' may make some sense to us within the political realm of Washington and the 112th Congress' first week of symbolic mummery:

(This symbol) "suggests that salvation is attained through the emergent individual's readiness to face all issues as if there were only two opposed sides. So teaches the Bhagavad-Gita. This is the dharma of this stage of human evolution: a stage of POLARIZATION OF VALUES. (An Astrological Mandala.)

In his The Sabian Symbols in Astrology, Marc Edmund Jones gives '17Tau' the Keyword: 'RESOLUTION...

positive expression: high organizational skill and an ability to bring the magic of understanding to any specific difficulty;

neg/unconscious/shadow side: a loss of self-competence through the conflicting compulsion of necessity and desire'.

(Blog note: though I seldom think to mention it, I am the very varmint who adds "unconscious/shadow side" to Jones' 'negative' expression of the symbols because it seems more descriptive. jc)

Perhaps Adriano Carelli has something to say about '17Tau' in his The 360 Degrees of the Zodiac:

"The vision St. Thomas of Aquino had while trying to fathom the mystery of God's unity and trinity; a child trying to drain the ocean with a pitcher."

Carelli's explanation of this symbol includes: "I do not need your advice, I can make mistakes myself!" And, in speaking of a native with this degree prominent, he states, "He is in for unceasing, often wasted labors which will not make him move a step forward. There is a guilty light-mindedness; the native will believe that he can solve single-handed and in his own way certain problems which impose on natural laws, as those of economics, dynamics and the like."

Hmmm. If we replace 'a child' with 'new congress member' and trying to drain the 'ocean' with the word, 'swamp' (which Washington DC is built upon), we may be on to something: new congress members wasting labor and believing they can single-handedly and in their own way drain the swamp of Washington, a campaign promise so old it's gray around the muzzle. And all they really have at their disposal is a pitcher!

For more details on the current state of our Congress, I looked at outer planet transits to the US Congress natal horoscope (Nov 17, 1800) and found that confusing, deceptive, delusional, fraudulent (though often inspired) Neptune is slightly more active than Uranus or Pluto at this time.

Neptune square (90 degrees = blockages; obstacles) natal Sun 25Sco: self-image is infused with disorientation, confusion, and a sense of unreality; it's hard to know how to satisfy one's ego demands or where to direct one's will power; positions of leadership, integrity, honesty, principles, and standards are difficult to sustain or attain; if determined and capable, one realizes that what seems to be reality actually is not (it's only Capitol Hill Theater, dahlink!)

Neptune opposite natal Saturn 24Leo: one's mature judgment, strength of authority, and hard work are threatened by illegal actions (like 2 Rs not taking their congressional oath because of attending their own fundraiser next door?), bankruptcy, fraud, deception, and unknown or disillusioned people (!); severe challenges test the ability or willingness to overcome obstacles, or to squelch inner fears; past traditions and structures become misguided, ambiguous, or subverted; previous responsibilities may disappear or dissolve with nothing good apt to take their place.

Neptune conjunct n Pluto 2Pis: power dissolves; treachery or poison can remove the current system of power and control; circumstances may allow the rise of those with religious, psychic, or spiritualist powers (who are not witches, one presumes.)

The only major aspect of Uranus now to Congress' natal chart is its coming opposition to its natal position: Congress will have a midlife crisis all through 2011 (March, November, and December)! This Uranus/Uranus opposition last occurred about 84 years ago: in April 1927, October 1927, and February 1928. The inflationary economics of the late 1920s seem all too familiar, don't they?

Uranus opposite n Uranus 00Lib47 (conjunct US n MC in the Sibly chart): generations clash; oldsters feel outdated by a wave of newcomers (awww!) and there's an unwillingness to give up the unique qualities of one's generation (age group); little meeting of the minds takes place.

(Plus, transiting Jupiter to Aries Point has and will oppose n Uranus, a time of cat-herding when everyone tends to wander off in their own directions so that organizing and scheduling group activities is made difficult; Jupiter increases the effects of Congress' Uranus opposition and its crisis implications.)

Pluto inconjunct n Jupiter 4Leo: significant adjustments are necessary to justify one's knowledge and ideals; feeling overwhelmed about social responsibilities; opportunism; a need to yield to real tasks and be constructive; others may victimize in order to serve their own interests; motives may be murky and there's a requirement to understand one's surroundings more fully.

Pluto square n Uranus: political and intellectual changes occur that benefit a new generation, and questioning their historical implications is appropriate.

Such is the condition of the 112th Congress as seen through an astrological lens....as interpreted by this particular blogging gnat of an American. Your on-topic comments and opinions are cordially invited.

Astrology of John P. Wheeler's Murder

Update 1.5.11 5:25 pm est: click the comments tab under this post for an astute reader's addition of a video link: seems that Mr. Wheeler's status as a bio-weapons expert may have been the cause of his murder: the redwing blackbirds falling dead from the sky in Arkansas on New Year's Eve may have been a bio experiment - and he was on his way to Washington DC. (See midpoint pics below with its 'criticism-sharp-analylist implications. Plus, Thom Hartmann mentioned today that dead birds have turned up in Maryland and in other countries, too.

And here's a link to an interesting post on the dead bird connection to this murder which may have occurred after a trip Mr. Wheeler took to Wilmington on Dec 28, 2010 after supposedly going to DC to 'raise hell' about a chemical weapon phosgene which was about to be sent to the battlefields of Afghanistan - from storage at a military base in Arkansas.

If this is true, wonder how long the Pentagon thought they could hide that?

Original post begins here:

John Wheeler murder: Last sighting of White House aide has the details released so far by Wilmington Delaware police concerning this sad story.

Now I seldom care to spend much time studying horoscopes when a definite time for the person or event is unknown but there are a few factors of note which do not depend upon knowing the exact hour of Mr. Wheeler's demise. The exact time of the discovery of his body is known, however (see below.)

On December 29, 2010, a lady attendant at the car park of the New Castle County courthouse in Wilmington Delaware observed him as "disoriented" and he replied to her query that he was not, in fact, "OK." On the morning of December 30, members of the public had what is apparently the last sighting of Mr. Wheeler walking down a Wilmington street.

On both days, the Sun @ 8Cap+ conjoined Fixed Star Facies, one of the nastiest stars in the sky, with its keywords: ruthlessness or the victim; illness, accidents, violent death, blindness, leadership ability, cold, detached, not close to anyone. (A. Louis; B. Brady.)

Plus, a powerful midpoint picture was in force all through both Dec 29 and Dec 30, 2010 which relates to meetings and fated encounters (North Node):

Sun/NN = Pluto: the urge to use compulsion with others; exercising influence over the masses; power acquired from associating with the right people; concealing ties to dominant and important groups or associations; secret meetings where power and influence are allocated or divided; ordering and controlling others; being persuasive; exerting one's influence. (Ebertin; Tyl; Munkasey; any, all, or none may apply.)

Pluto, as you know, is famous in Astrology for certain things such as sabotage, spying, murder, rape, and assassination; Sun/NN = new contacts, the public, shared experiences, and, among other things, political associations that eventually do more harm than good.

(Wheeler served as advisor to presidents Reagan, Bush Sr, and George W. Bush, and worked on biological and chemical weapons issues at the Pentagon, once upon a time. It is reported that he recommended that the US not use them.)

Of note as well, December 30, 2010 was the day of Mercury's Direct Station @19Sag+ and though I could type out for you any of the various Sabian Symbols for 19 or 20 Sagittarius, I won't, because if you're reading this blog, you probably have that info at your fingertips.

So instead, I shall add Adriano Carelli's symbol for '19Sag' since it may relate on some level to Mr. Wheeler's ongoing tussle with his neighbor, Frank Marini, and to Wheeler's mysterious death; police have revealed that a smoke bomb was placed under Mr. Marini's house the week before Wheeler's death:

"A house on a holm whose bushy banks are wrapped in flames."

(The 360 Degrees of the Zodiac, Carelli; my italics because admittedly I'm prejudiced against all things Bush Crime Family.)

Carelli explains this symbol as possibly relating to a subtle but crooked intelligence, having to go through fire, war conflagrations, searing moral pains, and something having to be thrown overboard in order for someone to escape.

Now there is a definite time mentioned in the article linked above: 3:30 pm on New Years' Day, January 1, 2011, when a garbage truck emptied a dumpster containing his body at the Cherry Island landfill in Wilmington and "the grim discovery was made."

Rising was 24Gem35 (the Discovery degree of Uranus, 1781) with 1Pis03 at Mc; Pluto had moved on to become apex in a different midpoint picture which relates to strong opinions:

Mercury/Mars = Pluto: a sharp analyst; a fanatical critic; criticism with a passion; an over-zealous orator; the misfortune of suffering heavy attacks or assaults from others; compulsion about any suspicions about activities; angry communications from others about one's writings, business, or educational capabilities; involved in big arguments; knowing just what's wrong with the world (my italics.)

Okay, that's all I have for the moment concerning the mysterious death of John P. Wheeler III, a man once at the pentacle of Politics, now cruelly murdered and dumped in a Delaware landfill, a fate I can't imagine that he deserved. If you know more on this topic, lone reader, please elucidate by leaving a comment.

And if this case turns out not to be politically motivated, I shall remove Mr. Wheeler's name from the 'Political Murders' list in the sidebar of this blog.

Neptune Direct Stations @ Discovery degree 11.7.10

In the wee hours of November 7, 2010, gaseous Neptune turned Direct @ 25AQ55 with its traveling partner, Chiron, @ 26AQ04 now Direct as well - and both still affectng US natal Moon.

On September 24, 1846, Neptune was discovered when @ 25AQ53 and Rx, conjunct Saturn 25AQ08 Rx, with both planets at the base of a YOD pattern (Finger of God; turning point; crisis; special task) which points to Mars 25Vir59. The other planet at the base of the YOD/s is powerful, manipulative Pluto 25Ari23 Rx.

This creates two midpoint pictures to consider relating to the discovery (and meaning) of Neptune which in 1846 and 2010 conjoins US natal Moon (the people):

Saturn/Pluto = Mars: fighting battles to keep life going; enormous undercurrent of frustration; a gun with a cork in its barrel; activating plans for much upheaval or destruction; a need to use whatever means or power is available to continue working.

Neptune/Pluto = Mars: added compulsion to use violence to achieve one's dreams; use of drugs to speed up or alter life; great personal magnetism to set things right, or rejection of actions due to misunderstanding.

We might substitute Neptune in the equation with US n Moon...

Moon/Pluto = Mars: too much energy not knowing where to go; frustration and anger; use of force to achieve changes in corrupt practices; deep irritation about any delays; active in assuring that promised protection is delivered.

(Hmmm...is that last one a reason the president is in Asia? His trip's theme inspired by Gandhi: 'Be the change you want to see' yet with Neptune, one can never be certain what one is seeing. Dubious trade deals behind-the-scenes is more up Neptune's secret alley.)

So with President Obama now on his 10-day trip to Asia and speaking from New Delhi India, Neptune activity in the heavens seems appropriate for these mystical places and for a US president traveling over Neptune's oceans. When the Neptune Direct Station chart of Nov 7, 2010 is set for Washington DC, the Ascendant 6Vir06 'brings up' Mr. Obama's natal Pluto. With the chart set for New Delhi, India, his natal Midheaven in late Scorpio has the Moon (publicity) upon it as he spoke to a joint session of the Indian Congress.

Now I'm tempted to add the Sabian Symbol for Neptune's Direct Station-Discovery degree but am feeling too sassy for that. So here's Adriano Carelli's analysis from his The 360 Degrees of the Zodiac for '26AQ' which fits well into watery Neptune's realm:

'26AQ' = "A water source spurts forth by a high mountain top and dashes down, filling its boulder-strewn path with hissing foam."

This degree is about one who 'stands out like a beacon' but may have a position as unstable as water. "The danger of tumbling is an ever-present one" but Carelli reminds us that, of course, the rest of the map must support the tumbling.

"Should other strands in the pattern offset the headiness of the temper and induce a certain order in the turmoil of ideas babbling up in his mind, the native could turn into a real master (initiatory components would make him into an occult master); on the other hand, baneful components may warp his recklessness into blindness (taken literally or figuratively.)

So, happy Asian trip, Mr. President. Enjoy revisiting your roots and spouting your babbling of ideas...but do avoid the hissing foam.

~:~

Check out events of 1846 (see Feb 1 for an initiation involving hashish, both Neptunian by nature!); 1846 was the year the Donner Party was wandering about and freezing to death.

Plus, here's the Wiki page for 1846, if you prefer - there was a cholera outbreak in England - in Haiti now. And you know that the US annexation of California began in 1846 as well, with California now tending to be overcast with Neptunian puffs of smoke!



Flowers of India, my most-viewed drawing at Jude's Threshold.

Midpoints pictures: Tyl and Munkasey.

Two symbols for the Solar Eclipse of July 11, 2010

Now that the July 11, 2010 Solar Eclipse is almost upon us, I've had a chance to check a certain book which has what I consider to be quaint symbols, The 360 Degrees of the Zodiac by Adriano Carelli.

Not every degree has a word picture but all have explanations based on empirical study; the symbols are from start to end of the 360 degr circle, and not keyed to one another as in books on Sabian Symbols such as that by Dane Rudhyar and Marc Edmund Jones. Some people have critiqued Carelli's book for that reason - one symbol doesn't 'lead into' another and the meanings of opposite symbols may have little or nothing to do with another.

Yet I find Carelli's Symbols useful in most cases, quite odd in others, and think that perhaps the July 11 Solar Eclipse @ 19Can24 may be elucidated on some level by considering Carelli'a symbols for '19Can' and '20Can' since the book recommends rounding down to the actual degree sans minute. This suits me since each degree is part of a process, as is life, and one degree 'finishes' as the next comes into being. Ex: a planet's position @ 15Can29 is no less '15' than '16' but is in process of evolving.

Now I won't quote the book in full but will give 'highlights' of both degrees' explanations which may apply in 2010 as best they may, or perhaps you'll discover that they describe certain persons of your acquaintance - or people in the news.

Plus, the July 11 Solar Eclipse carries some hint of crisis because '20Cancer' is a critical, sensitive degree and conjoins Fixed Star,Castor, whose potentials include: writing or creating; sudden fame or loss; crippling of limbs; mental illness; murder (A. Louis, Horary Plain and Simple.)

Click the link above and you'll see that the Eclipse occurs in the 8th house of Shared Resources, Credit, Insurance, Debt, and Transformaton when the chart is set for DC (and it is. This is Stars Over Washington. ;p)

In his book, Mr. Carelli uses classical literature and other chivalrous references which may give a quaintness to the information. Yet he is describing, of course, archetypal images from the Collective Unconscious; 'knights' still exist in 2010 but whether they retain their integrity as they should is quite another question.

Both degrees for the July 11 Solar Eclipse do happen to have word pictures which are the symbols themselves, and I shall quote whomever Carelli quotes in italics while attempting to streamline the rest.

(Note: You may notice that the 1st symbol has an Illuminati flavor; the 2nd symbol reminds me of Sirius in its 'Dog Star' role.)

'19Can' SYMBOL: A renaissance gentlemen, sword and dagger at his side, plays the flute before a book stand on which an ancient illuminated score rests. Other courtiers stand respectfully around.

Though wearing a sword, I am of courteous manners. - Heraldic device to be read on the sword-bearing coat of arms of painter Courtois Bourguignon, still standing on the house where he lived in Rome.

Gallantry in war, civil courage, a great passion and gift for art, a taste for polemics. (...) capable of profound thought, will love books and research and will hold, for all his refinement, a marked sway over others. His is a terribly difficult character. He will be apt to fly off the handle for a trifle; he will be very kind when not aroused, but will frighten everyone when angered.

...a dramatic actor, an opera singer, an orchestra player or conductor.

The parents might be of illustrious descent, even if they do not display their title officially. (Ex: Michaelangelo Buonarroti, degree of Saturn, ruler of his Ascendant.)


'20Can' SYMBOL: A watchdog slumbering at the entrance of an old palace.

Masters is what dogs have. - popular Italian proverb.

The native will never be in want of either a piece of bread or of a roof. Though poor, he has, all considered, an easy life of it. His days are spent in blissful idleness. An easy life, not a dignified one. He cannot even think of being independent; as soon as the old master has gone, he will look for a new one. When kicked, he will whine like a coward and will think nothing of kissing the hands that enslave him.

...nothing weighs so heavily on his shoulders as a personal responsibility or thinking with his own head. Should the master allow him a minimum of authority over others, he will misuse it or at least make a display of it in front of those less well-dressed.

...he wants to be left in peace - that is, idleness...

For his master he has a faithful attachment which is both base and heroic, despicable and moving. A thorough craven, he will boast of his master's valiant deeds; in his own utter poverty, he will brag of his master's wealth.

...hale and hearty, though no great friend of water and soap.

....his poverty is at times the result of a heritage too costly for his income, which it would be wise to waive, though none would dare advise him to do so. A bastard (or a degenerate) scion of a very old lineage, he would die rather than forget it.

As long as mankind stays what it is, policemen, customs officers, sextons, career soldiers, jail wardens, harlots, are all necessary evils. The frontier needs watchdogs, justice needs bloodhounds, and the male needs the female.

~:~

For further reading, may I recommend to you a post from March 2009 concerning a horoscope that's good for 100 years? Midpoint pictures of the New Millennium Chart 2001 includes its Pre-Natal Eclipse Series (PE of the 21st century), the 2 South, which manifested on December 25, 2000 @ 4Cap15. This Solar Eclipse time-links by degree and sign to the recent Lunar Eclipse 4Cap46 conjunct Pluto on June 26, 2010.

So from 2000 to 2010, conscious and unconscious material synthesizes as events repeat in similar ways on various levels so they may be dealt with, and I believe this relates to the soon-perfecting opposition between societal planets, Jupiter (expansion) and Saturn (restriction.)

Their opposition is the 10-years-later culmination phase ('Full Moon') of their Great Conjunction of May 28, 2000 @ '23Taurus' = "A Jewelry Shop Filled With the Most Magnificent Gems" - when the seeds of our current malaise were planted, and which describes to me the wealth that's now been sucked out of the global economy and into Pluto's dark and selfish lair for Taurus is a practical Earth sign whose shadow side contains greed, possessiveness, intolerance, and prejudice.

Besides relating to the Republican Party (Jup) and Democratic Party (Sat) in US Political Astrology, the orbital dance of Jupiter and Saturn relates to stock markets as well, and it's been 10 years since the clock began ticking on world banking plans of political import - the first half of their cycle has been the up side; now we have 10 years of the down side until their next Great Conjunction of Dec 21, 2020 in Air @ 00AQ29, the current position of US Inaugural Sun (the leader.)

Also in the post, you'll find Rose Lineman's advice on how to achieve karmic progress for eclipses occurring in Capricorn (June 26), ruled by taskmaster, Saturn. And I know this reminds you of the over-spending habits of the populace (Moon) of various nations and their should-have-known-better, ill-coping governments (Pluto in Cap), the bad habits which have brought mankind to the edge of a dizzying financial precipice, 2008 and beyond.



Pluto Draws Near, by yours truly. Mr. Underworld is repped by the little red sphere, upper right. He's small but he's primal.

Astrology of Bernanke renomination 8.25.09

Here is the text of President Obama's in-the-bag renomination of Ben Bernanke to remain at the helm of NY's Federal Reserve Bank.

Taking a break from vacationing with the family unit, the president began speaking at 8:55 am edt (Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts); he and Mr. Bernanke completed their mission at 9:01 am edt.

Wish I had time to post the start/end charts of today's announcement, but I don't.

The charts have a few critical 29th degree planets, plus North Node 29Cap45, with South Node at the degree of the July 21/22, 2009 Solar Eclipse which I've mentioned many times before (29Can27 'systems fail; new methods are needed', etc etc.) Wonder what's really going on?

Mercury 29Vir44 has just arisen (8:55 am edt: ASC 5Lib36 with Sun/Moon midpoint upon it - 'friendship'); chart-ruler Venus 28Can39 is *oriental and nearing a 29th degr and conjunct SN and the July Eclipse degree along with transiting Hygeia, Apollo, and Vesta.

Out-of-bounds Mars 29Gem53 is within range of opposing Pluto 00Cap44 Rx; Mr. Bernanke has a natal midpoint that arose from 8:55 to 9:01 am edt @ 6Lib44...

Sun/Uranus = ASC: sudden experiences; new contacts; an excitable person.

This morning's Sun 2Vir28; Moon 9Sco41/45, with Moon triggering Mr. Bernanke's natal Pluto/NN midpoint ('powerful connections') in a very interesting and apt way...

Plu/NN = Moon: reaching for the big picture; making the big scene emotionally; ambition is magnified, or there is too much fear for any action.

The desire to increasing Fed authority comes to mind with this one.

At Midheaven for the 6 minutes of the announcement are America's Venus, Jupiter, and Sun in Cancer; Midas 8Gem43.

There are a few T-Square patterns, too...

Mars/Pluto = ASC: the fighter who dares the impossible; showing the hero image (they did. - jc)

Mars/Plu = Mercury: seeing is achieving; tenacious pursuit of plans (yep - jc); publicity; effective salesmanship; the desire to realize plans fanatically; nervous irritation.

Pluto/Mc = ASC: procurement of an important position and of recognition; a person of fame; being out in front of everyone

Plu/Mc = Mercury: a person with great powers of suggestion; a great mind; thinking big; recognition of intelligence; planning.

Transiting Saturn 22Vir08 is on-degree for US natal Neptune and Mr. Obama's natal Mars, so let's smoosh together the three planets and see what we get - in no special order, and remembering that things may act in an any-all-none fashion...

Mars/Neptune = Saturn: being taken advantage of; misdirected energy; reticence; persevering in spite of fear; a sense of futility; instability; unfortunate consequences as a result of a weak will; toxins; an epidemic.

Mars/Saturn = Neptune: insufficient power to tackle resistance or obstacles; weakening efforts; weak vitality; undermining through poison, gas, or an epidemic; loss; a mysterious death.

Saturn/Neptune = Mars: inactivity; lack of energy; preoccupations that can't be explained. (Tyl; Ebertin.)

Yes, I figured that would cheer ya up. An epidemic could certainly put a damper on the recovery we're supposed to be feeling any day now.

Or how about a natal asteroid of Mr. Bernanke's that was also rising this morning at 8:55 am edt?

That would be Persephone, keyword: transition; other levels of meaning include: separation anxiety; Lee Lehman says Persephone may indicate 'where skills are undeveloped' (hope not!), and we know who Persephone was forced to hang around with: Pluto of the Underworld, the same Pluto that guards the richest treasures.

Now as you may know, I tend to occasionally lapse into the use of degree symbols as collected by Adriano Carelli in his book, 360 Degrees of the Zodiac (published by the AFA 1977; my copy 1982), so I can't resist adding his symbols' word pictures for 5, 6, and 7 Libra, the rising degrees from 8:55 am to 9:01 am edt.

No explanations now, I'll just give you the symbols themselves for the ASC which is the WHAT? Point of a chart:

'5Lib' - "An albatross with glaring red beak and claws";
'6Lib' - "An old sapper busy digging";
'7Lib' - "Mary Magdalene at Christ's feet in the house of Pharisee Simon, who is scandalized by the sight." Wherefore I say unto thee, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much." Luke 7:47.

~:~

*Venus oriental: in Astrology, an 'oriental' planet is the last planet to rise before the Sun, here Venus. This indicates a career where one works with things of value, the work function is personalized somehow, and work evaluation is a welcome substitute for direct evaluation of one's person which might be hard to accept or believe. (Synthesis and Counseling in Astrology, Noel Tyl.)

Election Protection WIKI now live!

Wikipedia's Election Protection went Live today, Oct 6!

A project of the Center for Media and Democracy, check out what you can do to ensure election integrity and help track voter suppression, too.

Some jokers will try ANYthing to win so let's keep our eyes peeled and our game on...after all, the Sabian Symbol for 2009's Inaugural Moon (noon, Jan 20) is '30Scorpio' = "A Halloween Jester."

Adriano Carelli gives a symbol for '30Sco' too, it's "A very large-headed snake." I can think of several politicians this would describe although the Moon in a national chart represents the people!

But perhaps such a Moon on such a public day may, on some level, also signify a famous individual of note who represents the people....supposedly our 'stand-in' although things seldom work that way anymore.

Carelli's fills in the picture with "will exert the greatest influence on his neighbors through his mastery of words, which will enable him to hold a nearly irresistible and hypnotic sway over others with the greatest parsimony of sentences" (probably not Joe Biden! more like Obama)...has "wariness, wisdom, and skill in the highest measure, which can be sublimated into the cardinal virtue of prudence, and as easily swerve into ignoble cunning, sneaking toadyism, venemous treacherousness."

Politics!

Carelli goes to mention debates and one who has "an uncanny knack of shifting any argument onto ground most favorable to himself" (herself = Palin?) and to "let opponents dig their own graves with statements jeopardizing their own case"...this is a "double-tongued trickster," he says.

So there's the trickster - jester element again, so of course we must remember Rovian tricks while hoping that the Democratic ticket will bring some small measure of improvement for what's really the only nag in the race:

America...once known as...

Iranian gunboats mock US ships: Mars wins

From LegitGov

Hello, Pot? This is Kettle... Iran should avoid provocative actions: White House Jan 7 2008:

The White House said on Monday that the harassment of US Navy ships by Iran was "provocative" and warned Tehran against taking such actions in the future.

"We urge the Iranians to refrain from such provocative actions that could lead to a dangerous incident in the future," White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said. [Is illegally invading and occupying a country and killing over one million civilians 'provocative?' Just curious.]

Read article here.

With expansive Jupiter at the "Indians rowing a canoe and dancing a war dance" degree ("5Cap"), let's have a look at the Sabian Symbol (Jones) for this war promoting degree:

MOBILIZATION...

pos: a capacity for aggressive leadership and an unusual effectiveness in sidetracking minor issues for the sake of major achievement;

neg/unconscious/shadow side: unnecessary moods and tantrums.

Sound like diversionary but reckless tactics, and we suspect we know what major achievement Iran--and the neocons--are preparing for.

Perhaps Adriano Carelli's book of degrees (linked in previous post) will provide a bit more detail (my italics):

"Two open doors...is a degree of hospitality; home and hearth are open to all. (Persian Gulf?) A jovial (Jupiter!) character, a generous and unassuming nature, marred by imprudence in word and action. The native's lack of reserve will give fuel to other people's slander and, coupled with his sometimes reckless hospitality, will lead to material theft and plagiarism of ideas."

As with everything in life and Astrology, energy flows in both directions--simultaneously or in alternating fashion.

Transit Jupiter is approaching opposition to America's natal Jupiter, a period when no one is the least bit impressed with one's grandiose Jupiterian efforts (which may also describe Republican candidates' performances on the campaign trail!), and there is potential for overblown efforts and discouraging comparisons.

Kind of like little unimpressed gunboats mocking huge US vessels as we push into their territorial waters (disputed though they may be)?

Mars, the instigator, still oobs and Rx, at critical "29Gem"..."The first mockingbird of spring"...QUICKENING...

pos: consistent stimulation to others in all human affairs;

neg/unconscious/shadow side: annoying self-assertiveness.#

He who annoys attracts annoyance.

Being that it's the "first mockingbird" of a season, and "consistent stimulaton" this is probably the beginning of a campaign of another sort by Iran inspired by the explosive combo of the off-again-on-again opposition of Mars and Pluto--with Pluto at the "The pope blessing the faithful" degree which speaks of surrendering to a lust for power.

There's a lot of that going around.



And did you know that Jan 6 was the second conjunction of Iran's current Saturn Return? Natal Saturn 8Vir18 and Jan 6's Saturn 8Vir17!

Current transits to Iran's Saturn: Jupiter trine Saturn, a time of rewards for hard work, and there may be a lucky break with financial backing made available.

Venus square Saturn is an anti-social time but indicates that favors are received which require something of equal value in return.

The triple Saturn Return dates for Iran are: Dec 2, 2006; Jan 6, 2008 Rx; and August 5, 2008.

one more time with feeling: The Chaos Blues

Unpack your favorite music hall refrain Maude so you can sing along to the Chaos Blues because it may do us good to sing it one more time before
the man rides the ass on Tuesday (Bush to Capitol Hill, Moon's degree: "16Tau" according to Adriano Carelli's book, The 360 Degrees of the Zodiac.)

Master Carelli says this degree describes someone who is "groundlessly cocksure" (which may be an oxymoron about a moron of mayhem, imho.)

He further adds that "foolish self-assurance" will result in misfortunes later in life. "Neither exile nor forceful segregation can be ruled out. Marriage may be lucky."


Tuesday June 12 Bush has lunch with his enablers (guess all of them employ Royal Taste-Testers):

At apex point in a Fixed T-Square, the Moon acts as catalyst (and on a level may so obviously represent a lady on the Hill) and so we find a stalemate situation--and stalemates seem to follow the irrationally and stubbornly-willed George Bush everywhere he goes--on Tuesday to speak to the Hill politicians ostensibly about the recent non-passage of the oft-trumpeted Immigration Bill so hastily and sloppily cobbled together.

Pluto/Chiron issues continue: racism, class warfare, oppression, women's issues, plutocracy...the pilagers and hoodlums with gangsterism rotting their hearts--against society.

Didn't Tony Soprano teach them anything? Seems not.

On Tuesday: over the Capitol Building, there is formed a Fixed T-Square indicating a rigid situation in which there will be explosive venting of emotions that rise from a habitual determination to re-energize conditions which no longer exist.

There's a deep urge to retain what is possessed (the Rich Man's back-monkey?)

Adaptability and detachment are lacking and past methodical planning may no longer hold sway as it once did. An aversion to change is petulantly on display.

Yes, it's a Battle of Wills on Tuesday and the chamber walls may shake--even with violence. Bush's demanding and obsessive needs completely block the needs of others and this may tell the tale of the Republican Party's inner conflicts at the very thought of hangin' with Bush as the 2008 Election nears.

{The alternate script: a surprise will make Bush's continuance in the role of "president" supposedly necessary--while Putin does what must be done to keep his throttling grasp on power's throat in Russia.}

Not that our votes count for anything in the US...our "inauguration" is a coronation from on-high--the ruling 'elite' lavishes the spoils to the "victor" who will do their bidding with few known facts on hand before making decisions (as one is directed. The big piture must be followed: very little option to do otherwise.)

With Bush's strong-arm visit to Congress this week, his grand irrationality will be in evidence as the brickwall is shaken with the ferocity of a bull who keeps bashing his horns until they're bloodied and he's comatose. He is the bull and he is the matador ole!


This creature has a low character (Saturn/Neptune = Moon: low character; emotional immaturity; pessimism; emotional drain.) This relates to the animal nature--and Taurus the Bull is an able carrier of the archetype, isn't he?

And wouldn't you know? Asteroid, Sisyphus is rising in the chart for 9:30 am edt!

Plus, we remember that these days the tr Saturn/Pluto midpoint is triggering Bush's natal IC, the Endings/Partings Point, the HOW? of the chart, the Basis or Foundation/one's Roots. Gangsterism!


In Bush's chart, n IC's degree (HOW?) is:

"23Libra"..."Chanticleer": keyword: FERVOR...

pos: a fearless self-affirmation which gains a sympathetic attention and wins immediate allegiance from the hearts and minds of everybody (sound familiar, Sparkie?);

neg/unconscious or shadow side: ill-starred conceit and ineffectual bombast.


It's quite possible that quacker George Bush has only bombast left in his bag of tricks although he thinks to engage in power plays for personal advancement.

Yet if Congress bows again to the belittled and belittling dictator, we'll know they really are as in-cahoots with the Bush regime as many people were afraid they were.

Now we have to rid ourselves of that pile of termites, too.


June 12's Sun "21Gem+" may be found in May's post on Lincoln's Minor chart...look for info on George Bush's n Uranus/NN conjunction ('reformist political groups') and there you'll find this Tuesday's degree of the Sun as well.

And Bush's Uranus/NN conjunction being highlighted by the Sun? high tension; a group taking action; excitement; violence at the slightest provocation (Ebertin; Tyl.)

The burning bush of Bush: 8 Leo

There is a book, The 360 Degrees of the Zodiac, by Adriano Carelli, which was found for me by Junebug Books a couple of years back.

It was published by the AFA, and is somewhat unusual. Similar to the Sabian Symbol degrees, it gives most degrees a word picture, although some have only descriptions, and its references to ancient times I find most enlightening. If it has a downside (besides some quaint turns of phrase), it is that the degree structure isn't really there--the meaning of "1 Aries" isn't particularly related to that of "1 Libra", etc.

It reminds me the most of the empirically-obtained degree info in DeVore's Encyclopedia actually.

The info it gives can be especially applicable, and so I give here 3 of Carelli's interpretations for George Bush's natal ASC--"8 Leo"--his nibs himself, and for "9-10 Leo" as they relate to his natal Mercury--and these two degrees will also relate to the natal Mercury of the Republican Party:

"8 Leo": 'The burning bush'...In a highly spiritual horoscope this degree's influence will endow the native with the power of heavenly fire surging forth with ardor unquenchable, unsullied, and all-consuming. Its light will be hidden from the sight of the unworthy and might even stay invisible to most eyes or escape notice altogether. In the bush blazing with unearthly flame, much-too-human beings will fail to see the light of the Absolute and will be alive only to the fact that the thorns in the bush sting anyone attempting to violate its mystery.

...fieriness along with reserve; aims sublime yet secret; a nature flashing with hope; ...constantly on the defensive, as the thorns and the flames in the bush clearly imply.

On the contrary, should the horoscope as a whole point to a lustful nature, the Lion's 8th degree would shift to its opposite polarity and, instead of a divine imprint, give it a luciferic bent. The burning bush will thus change into the lunar devilish image of Cain and the thorns.

Then an unquenchable passion, impure yet devoid of hidden motives and mental reservations, will slowly and steadily eat up the whole being, body and soul. The fire might not die out before before having wasted the mind to its innermost reserves and burnt out the organism to its last shred.

Whether heavenward or earthbound, such a mind will be ruled by instinct rather than reason.

"9 Leo": 'A great show of fireworks. Rockets, bombs, and *tourbillions unfold their dazzling pattern in the sky'...The native's talk will sound like a show of fireworks.
The positive side of this influx is its utter distinction and refinement. The native is keenly aware of his own worth, has self-respect and commands respect from others; has sincerity, grandeur and elegance.

Overdone and disfigured, all these virtues might present themselves in the shape of defects or even of vices. We shall then meet a vain haughtiness, as contemptible as full of contempt, an antisocial and destructive character, apt to burst into fits of rage.

There will be vain self-ostentation, a misplaced fastidiousness, a slash of dazzling extravagance, a splurge of rank pageantry devoid of any inner foundations. In other words, a lot of money will go up in smoke; the permanent will be sacrificed to the transitory, the useful to the pleasant, and substance to appearance.

The virtue of sincerity will disappear and the nastiest surprise might be expected. The native seems, however, to have luck on his side, and he might travel to places very far away.

"10 Leo": 'Death, holding the scythe'...Ananke! In a **previous life the native has taken someone's life in cold blood, but not for selfish purposes. Therefore he is either an instrument of fate, or its victim. Whether good or bad, such a man is destined to destroy, not to create.

In extremely fortunate horoscopes the native is an indomitable being. No one can oppose his cunning and his cool determination. He can bide his time, but will not argue or listen to objections when he has made up his mind to act. Nothing equals his timeliness, nothing can shake his deliberation.

You might ward him off for a while but never finally thwart his plans, as he simply will lie in wait for a better opportunity to strike again, this time more unpredictably and more decidely than before.

If he is good (which is not excluded even side by side with the ruthless will power we credit him with) he will extend his kindness and hospitality even to the undeserving. If he is bad, nothing will limit his capacity for evil; no one will deserve pity in his eyes, no power on earth will be able to ward off his murderous hand.

Well, I feel as if I know the burning Bush better, I just wish he weren't infesting the Oval Office.

He's decidedly NOT the fella who should be tinkering under the hood of the US Constitution either. Let's keep this grease monkey OUT of it, shall we?


*Not sure what 'tourbillions' are or were, but it sounds like the billion$ Bush has sent up in smoke with the rest squirreled away somewhere in his private hidey hole.


UPDATE 11.11.06: is this the Bush family's new secret hidey hole?

They've purchased appr 100,000 acres of land in Northern Paraguay near the new US military installment, the Mariscal Estigarribia Air Base. George and Laura's neighbor will be Sun Myung Moon whose property "sits astride" the largest water aquifer in Latin America, the Guarani Aquifer. Is he making escape plans in case he's brought up on war criminal charges? Will his accusers be part of the escape plans? Do "the elite" protect their own? Do monkeys live in the jungle?


**Where some will see 'previous lives' I see heredity, DNA, and Unconscious behavior.

tags: george bush
leo

UPDATE: In my browser it's at the bottom of this page--have added the News Feed from Information Clearing House for "News You Won't Find on CNN"...there are some good articles on their site, too--why hasn't anyone told me about this before? ;O)