Based on Ronald Wright's 2005 book, A Short History of Progress which includes Sumer, Rome, Easter Island, and the Maya with a theme of 'civilization is a pyramid scheme', here's Part One (14 minutes) of a presentation, Surviving Progress:
For a plethora of interesting videos concerning a variety of topics visit Forbidden Knowledge TV.
Uranus in Myth and Astrology
In Astrology, the concepts of progress, progressivism, and other futuristic ideas belong in the exalted realm of planet Uranus yet isn't it curious that the Enlightenment planet's natural spin in the heavens is backward?
As the higher octave planet of thinking-communicating planet Mercury, Uranus is connected to reasoning ability, intellectualism, and genius. The Greeks considered Ouranos, the sky god, to have no parents--to be born of Chaos, something astrological Uranus seems disruptively capable of creating in our times especially since it now traverses Mars-ruled Aries and is in square aspect with transformative Pluto in Capricorn causing civil unrest and uprisings the world over.
Sighted in 1781 by William Herschel, Uranus, then in Gemini, is what I tend to call America's 'totem planet' since its discovery and principles are forever imprinted upon both the American and the French Revolutions with freedom, independence, liberty, and equality the hallmarks of Uranus' domain.
Of course, crankiness, contrariness, and self-willedness are also typical traits of those possessing a strong Uranian nature. So perhaps you may wish to check out a previous post from 2005 which was inspired by the quirky stubbornness of the neocons, Karl Rove, and the rest of the warmongering Bush-Cheney administration: Chiron-Uranus Types in Government.
And if you, brave reader, have perused very many of the 3,000+ posts published here on SO'W, you're almost certain to have been irked at some point by something this Uranus-in-Gemini typed at you. Yet I guess I'm free to blame most of my own quirky ideas on being born with a Mercury-Mars conjunction in Capricorn inconjunct a 10th house Uranus in Gemini!
Well, wouldn't you?
~:~
America's natal Moon (We-the-People in Mundane/Political Astrology) is in Aquarius, the sign traditionally ruled by Saturn and co-ruled by modern-day Uranus. Our natal Moon in Aquarius gives the American people a humanitarian streak (when a natural human tendency toward selfishness and detachment aren't being exploited by partisan politicians), a wealth of ideas, good powers of observation, a love of independence, a sympathetic readiness to help others, and an abundance of hopes and wishes. Therefore, in spite of the fact that it's the 49th anniversary of the JFK assassination, I wish all Americans an abundant and happy Thanksgiving Day 2012!
Yet many Americans are now decimated by the destruction of Hurricane Sandy and are facing a difficult Day of Thanksgiving this year. How better to celebrate our own Thanksgiving Day than to provide what we can for an excellent hands-on organization the Dr. Atlas Foundation of Staten Island? No, Ayn Rand's survival-of-the-fittest Atlas can't shrug with lack of sympathy for our fellow Americans over this one! jc
September 15, 2012: Additional Mercurial Thoughts on Election Day 2012
by Jude Cowell
As the second issue of Stars Over Washingotn Monthly is being typed, my natal Mercury in Capricorn is naturally busy studying many political horoscopes and keeping up as best I can during this fast-paced period with all the Politics I can manage to watch, read, and consider--all provinces of Mercury.
Election Day 2012 (November 6) with its Mercury Station Retrograde has been noted here on this blog and well-analyzed by many other astrologers for we all see trouble ahead with astrological Mercury so intimately connected to such things as voting, decisions, communications, thinking processes, considerations, ideas, plans, agreements, and voting machines which can be tampered with. Even in the fairest of elections, it is, after all, he who counts the votes who determines the winner.
Yes, Mercury in his trickster guise is obviously desperate to win the race and is definitely up to something, can you feel it in the air? The wings on his sandals flutter wildly in the political breeze and Mercury's wing'ed helmet is strapped tightly in place for the climb!
As previously noted, Mercury's Rx Station on Election Day 2012 falls at 4Sag18, directly opposing President Obama's natal Moon 3Gem21 (in natal 4th house) and I have made suggestions in previous posts of what this and other astrological factors on that day may indicate for the president's re-election bid and have rather mildly asserted that the outcome for Mr. Obama doesn't look as good as I personally might prefer (common-gooder and populist as I am. No plutocrat-lovers around here!)
Remaining stationary (seemingly at standstill) all of November 6 until 6:03:47 pm est (as per SolarFire Gold v8) when the Speedy One reverses gear is a sign of strength for the celestial body I tend to call the Tofu Planet because Mercury tends to pick up the flavors of whatever planet or planets in a horoscope it contacts. A Jack-n-Jill of all trades is The Youthful planet, servant to the gods, messenger, and bringer of Good (or sometimes bad) News.
But with Political Astrology, placing all threads into a clearer astro-tapestry without going nutzoid is a complex task to be sure and few do it better than The Daykeeper Journal's Alex Miller who includes in his articles additional information on Black Holes, centaurs, and other objects that reflect psychological facets from within the Collective Unconscious as they orbit in space, and embody our archetypal traits while transiting various degrees of the Zodiac. These then contact the planets we're so accustomed to considering in chart analyses and provide fuller, deeper indications, amplifications, and support for what the horoscope already tells us. Then the Law of Three becomes a multitude of portents for those who use extra bodies in chart interpretations so that readers may benefit from the added details supplied by an expert astrologer such as Alex Miller.
So if you wish an indepth analysis of President Obama's chances for success with his second presidential bid in November, check out Alex's Election Preview for Barack Obama.
And yet! If you've been keeping up with current events the last few weeks and you're like me, it's a bit difficult at this late stage in the race to understand what could possibly go wrong for the president on November 6 considering Mitt Romney's lowering approval ratings, his recent blunders, and his tone-deaf, precipitous, callous, and incorrect accusations about the president's handling of the tragic US embassy attacks of September 10, the amaturish and inciting 'film', and the other discordant notes issuing from the Romney-Ryan camp--including their survival-of-the-fittest Ayn-Randish world view of hardship and misery for the masses.
Middle East Crises Could Spiral Ever Outward and the EU Could Collapse
Or they could simmer down (she typed optimistically.) But even with current real-world events which are well-described by the ongoing Uranus-Pluto square of conflict, protests, and mayhem, the Astrology of Election Day 2012 may turn out to astound us all by showing a preview of what extreme wealth and the use of nasty political tricks can do for a takes-himself-too-seriously, overly self-conscious Republican candidate--a most wishy-washy, mysterious, and mystical Pisces--whose deepest fears are failure and suffering any loss of his shadily-gained financial status--especially through something as common and 'beneath him' as paying his fair share of income taxes which would set a good example for other tophats and bolster the nation from whose capitalist financial system Mr. Romney has benefited tremendously all his life.
So can astrological portents be 'wrong'? No, only misread by finite minds. For as the complexity of the language of Astrology (and Political Astrology at that!) seeks to describe and explain the intricacies and myriad experiences of Life on Earth, it is naturally subject to interpretation by 'only' human beings who, in common with everyone else, can often be incorrect in their assumptions and limited by personal viewpoints unless and until they are well-inspired by higher forces. I certainly count myself well within the limited category in particular considering the populist slant I use so frequently on this, my personal weblog of peeking at Politics through the lens of Astrology.
However, you'll perhaps agree that some chart factors fairly scream out from a horoscope, don't they? And in the end, I believe that Mercury's Station Rx on Election Day 2012 will be one of those screamers for it will not turn Direct and release us from our expectant condition until about the time the Voting Planet performs a Station Direct on November 26, 2012 @18Sco10, then moves forward past its Shadow Degree (4Sag18) in mid-December, 2012 when we may hope soon after that our election trevails will end and clear victories, presidential and congressional, are announced.
On November 6, 2012, all slices of Washington DC's political pie are up for grabs! So for all our sakes, please make certain that on Election Day 2012 you'll be one of the bakers in America's kitchen.
~:~
On a lighter political note, perhaps you joined me in catching Current TV's broadcast last evening (9/14) of the new documentary on Stephanie Miller's Sexy Liberal Comedy Tour because these days we must make an extra effort to laugh at Washington politicians just to keep ourselves from sobbing over what they commit against our nation.
Jul 18, 2012
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...
Representative Paul Ryan, whose draconian budget plan is primarily aimed at the older, younger, and weaker among us (easy targets!), has come up against formidable foes of the Catholic bishop persuasion who've disputed his claims of the plan's Catholic origin. As well they should.
Not-So-News Flash: Ayn Rand Was Not Her Brother's Keeper
Well, here's a tinge of Astrology concerning the personality blend and powerful quindecile (an obsessive-compulsive aspect of 165 degrees) of Rep. Ryan, the erstwhile Ayn-Rand-er, and a peek at the natal chart of Objectivist Ayn Rand herself, compliments of Astrodatabank.
Actually, a couple of weeks ago, I scampishly embedded on this blog the film made from her novel The Fountainhead--it's around here some place and as you know, Rand wrote the script for it. But I won't visit that horror upon you again now (please pardon me for the first embed!)
After all, for anyone who has a heart, the Ryan Budget Plan contains more than enough real-world horror to consider. And if you know someone with a student loan (as I do), the plan's implementation would bring losses and difficulties aplenty if America should follow Paul Ryan and his buds into that dark, austere place where 'survival of the fittest' leaves no room--or life--for anyone but the arrogant, self-annointed, megalomaniacal 'strong' who shall not (in spite of all their visions and intricate machinations) inherit the Earth.
And considering the current presidential campaign so far, it's doubtful they want to win the White House in November 2012, from the looks of it! Romney? Really?
~:~
Oh okay, here's a link to the video of the film The Fountainhead with Gary Cooper. It is, at the least, a curious relic of black and white cinema and it fairly creaks along awkwardly.
Besides, I think you'd be much happier reading Jonathan Winn's intriguing new novel Martuk...the Holy which will draw you in and not let go!
Are you stalwart and curious enough to get through this entire self-important film with the screenplay written by the novel's author herself, Ayn Rand, the primary 'objectivist' psychopath followed by modern-day acolytes with the win-at-any-cost attitude such as Rep. Paul Ryan?
Oh dear! Then you're in for it now so cue up the video for Gary Cooper, Patricia Neal, and Raymond Burr star in, The Fountainhead:
Shouting out to Forbidden Knowledge TV for sending a link to this disturbing old film. And you may wish to check out a few astro-details on Paul Ryan and his idol Ayn Rand, born in 1905, a watershed year as historical events go.
Are you trying to remember who Paul Ryan (R-WI) is and where he came from? So was I until my friend Alex D'Atria sent me this excerpt from Katrina vanden Heuvel's article in The Washington Post explaining Ryan's past connections and where he got that little ole insulated viewpoint of his.
Excerpt:
Ryan is an Ayn Rand-quoting zealot, one of the Republican Party's self-styled "Young Guns." He's spent his adult life inside the Beltway, on the political right, with no experience in the world of business, labor, the executive branch or the private sector. Incubated in a right-wing think tank, writing speeches for Jack Kemp and William Bennett, he was elected to Congress at age 28. Ryan became the most loyal of loyal foot soldiers in the Congress presided over by Tom Delay and Denny Hastert, a fact Ryan now glosses over as he describes those Congresses as "corrupt."
Click above to read the WaPo article.
And you may be interested in the Wikipedia bio on Rep. Ryan with a list of the bills he has proposed, and been used by his zealot bosses to propose. Like other politicians of our day, Ryan's Saturn in money-loving Taurus is all about austerity as long as its piled on the backs of the classes beneath his pay grade.
An Astro-Peek at Rep. Paul Ryan
Born on January 29, 1970 in Janesville, Wisconsin, Mr. Ryan's Sun is in the range of 8AQ55 to 9AQ56. His natal Moon ranges from 22Lib49 to 5Sco36, making him either a Sun AQ-Moon Lib, or a Sun AQ-Moon Sco. Both personality combos are detailed below.
Using a noon chart for reference, there's a compulsive-obsessive quindecile (QD, 165 degrees) between a powerful pair: Pluto and North Node (contacts, the public, destiny). Pluto QD NN indicates his being thrust into renown through his powerful perspectives, that he may be manipulative and controlling with others, and he can always connect with powerful people. The maternal influence may be dominant, and he may play a role in sharing perspectives that either empower or distemper others. (Quindecile, Ricki Reeves.)
I italicize 'play a role' because Ryan did so last evening when he delivered the Republican response to the president's SOTU Address 2011. Acting and pretending comes easily to those with Sun conjunct Venus, a self-satisfied placement that can be whatever current company wants or needs it to be. (I've seen actors' charts with Sun/Venus conjunctions though dramatic talent is shown by other planetary factors as well.)
Pluto QD NN is shared natally by two famous figures: Fred Astaire and Heinrich Himmler.
Since the SOTU began last evening at *9:11 pm est with Moon 29Lib57 and ended at 10:09 pm est with Moon 00Sco31, Rep. Ryan may have had a Lunar Return as the president spoke. Let's consider Ryan's two possible Sun-Moon blends for good measure:
The Air-Air combo of Sun AQ-Moon Lib indicates one who is highly idealistic, charming, and romantic; broad-minded and tolerant, this blend gives avant-garde tastes and a good intellect, but can suddenly turn rebellious if its "rights" or its sympathetic nature are taken advantage of. It is long on theory and ideals with an overly abstract approach to life; therefore, it is not very practical.
An emotional naivety invites disillusion and disappointment when others turn out to be merely mortal. (Delay? Hastert?)
Sun AQ-Moon Lib's Images for Integration (Sun = conscious mind; Moon = the unconscious): Anarchists form a committee to overthrow the tyranny of committees...Good friends fall in love and get married.
This blend was mentioned in a recent post as being that of Boris Pasternak, who wrote, "As for the men in power, they are so anxious to establish the myth of infallibility that they do their utmost to ignore truth."
The Air-Water blend of Sun AQ-Moon Sco is a different story. It gives a powerful intellect, keen observation power, charisma, strong-willed, egotistical, and holds fierce principles. This charisma can have a hypnotic effect on others (those Aquarian blue eyes?) Here is an avid student of human nature.
A commanding haughtiness and the inner conviction that he is "it" draws people under his spell (I missed that part during his rebuttal if this blend describes Ryan); there's a self-important streak (which would support the above-mentioned Sun/Venus conjunction.)
One with Sun AQ-Moon Sco is capable of detached withdrawal and expressions of contempt especially if the ego has been wounded; there's a tendency to carry hidden resentments for years. Here are instincts of the reformer dedicated to principles, and a persevering investigator who can brood with the best of them - an all-or-nothing personality...a 'zealot'.
Images for Integration: "A scientist dissects a scorpion with great tenderness and absolute precision...A researcher presents his findings to colleagues at a 'Science for Humanity' Conference....Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea." (Sun Sign-Moon Sign, Charles & Suzi Harvey.)
Sun AQ-Moon Sco is the natal blend of Adams family member Henry B. Adams who helpfully explained to us that, "Politics, as a practice, whatever its professions, has always been the systematic organisation of hatreds."
No less so now even when you mix up congressional seating arrangements at SOTUs for a milder effect.
Well, I don't know enough personal info about Rep. Paul Ryan to hazard a guess as to which Sun-Moon blend is his own (though I lean toward a Scorpio Moon) but I do know which Solar Eclipse Series he was born into (7 South) and it's one infused with Mars/Pluto energies because its initial eclipse had a Mars/Pluto square involved; 7S's initial occurrence was on June 22, 1248 OS @ 8Can03 ( = US natal Sun/Jupiter.)
7S = the immense power, force, and anger of the Mars/Pluto square is channeled into this Series by way of a trine to Sun/Moon; huge obstacles will suddenly clear, or a pending potential crisis will manifest suddenly and move through the life very rapidly; things will seem to move at great speed (paraphrasing Brady's Predictive Astrology.)
This hidden clue 'tags' Paul Ryan as a Mars/Pluto personality, perfect for the goose-stepping obedience required by string-pullers of the GOP (complete obedience, until the Tea Party crashed the party which still makes me smile a little.)
(Note: if you wish to understand your own Pre-Natal Eclipse Series and how it influences your life, study the initial eclipse in 'your' series for more clues, if you haven't!)
The last manifestation of 7S occurred Oct 3, 2005 @ '10Lib'; next occurrence will be Oct 14, 2023 @ '21Lib'. 7S has also occurred in the years 1915, 1933, 1951, 1969, and 1987. It is the PE Series of Leon Trotsky, the Dec 2005 elections in Iraq, and of 'Black Monday' Oct 19, 1987 when the DOW plummeted alarmingly.
~:~
*A potential which I had ruminated upon in my previous SOTU 2011 posts came to pass as President Obama began speaking at 9:11 pm est with US natal Neptune 22Vir25 precisely rising with Mr. Obama's natal Mars in tow.
Mars/Neptune = ASC: sharing grief and sorrow with others (Tucson); a strong mental focus on the subtle ways you use to compel or coerce others into adopting your ideas. (Munkasey; Ebertin.)
Our composite Mars/Neptune conjunction brought mixed responses, some a little confused, and which were bound to result, since our Neptune veils the president's actions and motives (and Mars/Neptune gives him that diverting 'rockstar' quality.)
The rising Virgo issues of Work (employment-unemployment, jobs creation), Health (health insurance reforms and repealing them), and Service (military concerns and withdrawal from Iraq beginning July 2011...really?) provide the misunderstandings, deceptions, and disillusions which he addressed - or didn't, as you may prefer. Predictably, some people are critiquing SOTU 2011's lack of details even though that's always the case with any SOTU.
If you have a mo, please answer the SOTU 2011 poll, upper right. Thanks, jc
And in case you missed it, here's a video of Rep. Paul Ryan's response to SOTU 2011:
"Formerly no one was allowed to think freely; now it is permitted, but no one is capable of it any more. Now people want to think only what they are supposed to think, and this they consider freedom."
Oswald Spengler (born May 29, 1880 - died 1936) from The Decline of the West, 1926; Herr Spengler was critical of Nazi 'racial superiority' theories
"We allow the most atrocious lies uttered by political and moral prostitutes to go unchallenged. These lies are endlessly recycled in the commercial media until they become ingrained in the public conscience as truth. Worse than burying our heads in the sand, we bury them up our collective ass. How do you like the view?"
Charles Sullivan (This brief Wiki bio is for the 'Charles Sullivan' who ran for president in 1960 - there are at least two of them, maybe more...who knows?)
"Ask yourself why totalitarian dictatorships find it necessary to pour money and effort into propaganda for their own helpless, chained, gagged slaves, who have no means of protest or defense. The answer is that even the humblest peasant or the lowest savage would rise in blind rebellion were he to realize that he is being immolated, not to some incomprehensible 'noble purpose', but to plain, naked, human evil."
