The Science of Magic with Gwilda Wiyaka: Guest - Barbara Hand Clow

Fantastic! Here's an interview with Barbara Hand Clow, the author of the first book I ever purchased on Chiron the Wounded Healer. My 3rd house Chiron is quite pleased with this communication!

Thom Hartmann Sees Shades of the 1964 Republican Convention - clip

As of 2015, the RNC of 1964 occurred 51 years ago which may suggest that a cyclic astrological influence from that era upon the upcoming Republican National Convention contains Chirotic vibes of mentorship, guru-ism, wounding and/or healing. Or perhaps Mr. Hartmann is sensitive to such an influence!

Although his birth hour is unverified, you may wish to view the natal horoscope and brief bio of Senator Barry Goldwater who was born under a very individualistic Sun-Mercury-Uranus conjunction.

And here are two of what are perhaps Goldwater's most famous and instructive quotes:

"A government that is big enough to give you all you want is big enough to take it all away."

"Now those who seek absolute power, even though they seek it to do what they regard as good, are simply demanding the right to enforce their own version of heaven on earth, and let me remind you they are the very ones who always create the most hellish tyranny."

Related: The Colbert Report on Being Poor in America (clip).

New Millennial Politics: a Feb 18, 2015 New Moon @29AQ

February 2015: In the Waning Darkness of an Aquarian New Moon

by Jude Cowell

Aquarius is the sign so often associated with New Age ideas and ideals leaning into a Utopian vision where Reason alone allegedly uplifts humanity. Certainly Politics as a practice and a profession is not exempt from Aquarian influences which now are at a peak within this the 15-year-old New Millennium with code words such as 'new order' and 'global government' being openly touted every day.

This 'new order' means the old order will be destroyed and US sovereignty and the nation-state are considered things of the past. Trade pacts and ill-protected borders do their parts in the dissolution game along with infiltrated courts and institutions.

Wealth-hoarder and transformer Pluto of The Underworld now creeps through Saturn-ruled Capricorn, sign of law, government, and business, toppling heads of state and causing irrevocable damage to protective laws and useful traditions. In year 2022, America will experience her first ever Pluto Return and some say that 2016 will be the last presidential campaign in US history--if so, 2022 arrives only two years after a 'last presidency' ends for the term of office begins, of course, at noon on January 20, 2017 assuming that all goes as traditionally planned.

As Above, So Below

Astrology is a study, a language, and a tool that is useful (though not infallible) for 'peeking under the hood' of Politics to assess the squirmy creatures underneath as Stars Over Washington has attempted to do since 2005. And as a former resident of the District, this Sun-Mercury-Mars-Jupiter Capricorn can do no less while dissenting against misguided leadership corrupted by criminal elements not of a democratic persuasion who act in cahoots with the current crop of Utopian power-grabbers.

So if we look to the Cosmos on February 18, 2015 we find a new cycle of Aquarian influences beginning as marked by a New Moon at a critical-crisis 29th degree. Yet the Aquarian influence wanes and an anxious eagerness may be in evidence as 00Pisces looms upon the solar and lunar calendars for the Moon enters Pisces at 6:47 pm and the Sun enters at 6:50 pm est. Perhaps the lunation manifesting at 29AQ denotes that the time has come for certain actions to be taken for the planning stage has been successfully completed. And symbolically the murky realms of Pisces can provide high inspiration--or much cover for unsavory actions and events as 2015 proceeds.

Curiously, February 18, 2015 is the date set by the White House for a 'Security Summit' of global leaders which is ostensibly justified because of the attacks on Charlie Hebdo offices in Paris, a tragic event which some believe was a false flag op so that new security measures could seem justified in France and across Europe. You know--like the 2001 WTC attacks that 'justified' the pre-prepared US Patriot Act and the Germanic sounding Department of 'Homeland Security'.

Here, the plutocratic pair of Pluto-Chiron in sextile form the base of a YOD (a pattern with potentials for crisis, crossroads, turning point, special task, health issues) that points to Jupiter Rx @16Leo02 and on the verge of leaving the 12th house of Politics and Karma (12th cusp 15Leo01, a degree that recalls the Full Moon of February 3, 2015 @14Leo). With the Leo-AQ axis emphasized, we may expect self will and humanitarianism to be on the collective menu until we morph into the victim-savior Virgo-Pisces axis at the March 20, 2015 Spring Equinox and Solar Eclipse.

As noted in previous posts, transit Jupiter turns Direct on April 8, 2015 @12Leo (again conjoining President Obama's natal Sun) and passes shadow degree in early July when investment, expansion, and political plans and actions may proceed more freely.

Jupiter-NN: Compromised Legal Societies and SOTU Plans Retracted

Now in the February 18 New Moon horoscope set for Washington DC 6:47:13 pm est the Jupiter-NN midpoint rises @12Vir34. This midpoint was prominent in similar fashion (rising) in the horoscope of President Obama's SOTU 2015 address on the 6th anniversary of his 8-year presidency--an Inaugural Solar Return and a symbol of a new 2-year phase beginning for him and for his style of global implementation of a 'new order'. As you know, our military guided by the Pentagon, a 5-pointed death star, acts as the military enforcement arm on behalf of global government though the armies of other nations and entities are in process of being fitted up for the task once ours is totally used up.

As you know, archetypal Jupiter plays roles such as the General, the Banker, the Religious Leader, the Broadcaster, the Professor, and the Politician and is prominent in all horoscopes this year. When coupled with the North Node (NN) of future direction, he makes contact with the general public quite often, sometimes pleasant contact.

In the New Moon chart, the only applying Ptolemaic aspect made by chart and Midheaven ruler Mercury (in 5th house @4AQ05) is a sextile with Saturn (in 3rd house @4Sag27) and this denotes needs for better organization and management, setting priorities, and the protection of privacy (especially for communications), plus, a tendency toward bickering, not heeding warnings, and/or for listening to alternate opinions (Epstein). One of boundary crossing Jupiter's loves, freedom of expression continues to turn up in the news and spying on the conversations of others is a default position for many (I won't name names but ya know who ya are).

Other chart factors in the Feb 18 New Moon horoscope are important as well yet for the sake of brevity I shall mention only a few more, many of which have been discussed in recent posts (exs: the Cardinal square between Uranus and Pluto, investing Jupiter Rx acting as the handle planet of a Bucket pattern, Neptune @6Pis59 as Final Dispositor, and the Solar Eclipse @00Sco24 in this chart's 2nd house of the National Treasury which occurred in October 2014. Type 'eclipses' into this site's sidebar Search field and you'll find a list including the powerful upcoming Spring Equinox 2015 Solar Eclipse @29Pisces, the position of testy Mars in the Feb 18 New Moon horoscope).

For these and other reasons, the New Moon of February 18, 2015 emphasizes financial matters

especially with Uranus @13Ari59 in 8th house squaring Pluto in the 5th house of Speculation, and golden Midas Rx @9Gem25 and trickster agent of panic, Pan Rx @10Gem33, topping the chart at Midheaven (The Goal Point in DC) in tandem with US natal Uranus (8Gem55) representing technology, genius, radical Politics, revolution, and a potential for disruption and upset. We may also expect the wealthy financial donors of our sold-out politicians to continue working toward their ultimate goal of total ownership of the tattered-on-purpose US government as February fades into March and Spring 2015.

Note: the Feb 18 New Moon conjoins America's reputed Pre-Natal Eclipse degree of 00Pis33 in the 12 South Series that manifested prior to July 4, 1776--I say 'reputed' because the August 14, 1776 Solar Eclipse in the 13 North Series--the initial eclipse of the Series and thus indicative of a major new start--seems more descriptive of our nation and its founding than the 00Pisces eclipse. Plus, as you know, the Declaration of Independence was signed in full on August 2, 1776 which falls within the required two-week window of influence by the August 14, 1776 eclipse.

For comparison, here are the themes of both 12 South and 13 North (12S, 13N):

12S (initial occurrence September 19, 1541 @6Lib10; also occurred on April 3, 1307, the year the Order of the Knights Templar was decimated and run out of France though some say the ones who escaped sailed to the New World of America where their descendants have worked for centuries to establish the 'new order' you see before you): 'successful outcomes to long-term worries or illness; draining or worrisome issues seem worse, then clear'--a theme which does relate to our Founders who met and deliberated an American Utopia at risk of their lives and fortunes, and many of whom were members of secret societies and orders such as Templar Freemasonry. 12S last manifested on July 11, 2010 @19Cancer and influenced the successful capping of the oil well due to BP's Deepwater Horizon fiasco in the Gulf of Mexico, a watery Cancerian event. Next 12S occurs in 2028 @30Cancer during Chiron's 3 returns to natal discovery degree (3Tau08) in 2027 and 2028.

13N: 'large, ambitious group projects that require separation via the breaking of an existing bond; the separation leads to joint achievement' (both themes paraphrased from Brady's Predictive Astrology). Obviously, this describes America's break from Britain and its King. 13N last occurred on January 4, 2011 @14Cap where transit Pluto now plods opposite US natal Sun in Cancer. Next, a 13N eclipse occurs in 2029 @25Cap within two degrees of US natal Pluto Rx which was out-of-bounds of the earthly plane in July 1776.

Horoscope: George Washington sworn in as President

Horoscope: The American Presidency; and, President Obama Has a Presser

by Jude Cowell

Since Congress is on break now, my blogging schedule is lighter than usual. However, at 3:00 pm est today, President Obama holds a press conference (his first in about 3 months) with '2Sag' rising which places Jupiterian issues of finance and investment on the front burner along with military concerns. The Sabian Symbol for '2Sag' = "The Ocean Covered with Whitecaps" which naturally reminds us both of the White House, Capitol Hill, etc, and may result in questions about foreign policy and the tense US-Russian relationship. The keyword for '2Sag' = IRREPRESSIBILITY and its positive expression is: "an indomitable resourcefulness and a naive delight in the problems of everyday living; negative: pointless irritability and nervous self-exhaustion." (Jones.)

Well, POTUS and family are about to leave for Martha's Vineyard to relax for a week, then he comes back to DC for the Obama v Republicans fiscal stalemates of Autumn 2013. Oh joy, it's another round of Political Theater for the American people who deserve much better than these sorry jokers, many of whom probably cheated their way to office in the first place.

So! On that grumpy note, the following is a reprint with a few edits from my WordPress blog Jude's Threshold:

Horoscope: American Presidency, George Washington Sworn In

Image (click to enlarge): April 30, 1789, 12:45 pm LMT, NYC, George Washington took the first Oath of Office as President of the United States (historical record.)

There is a crisis pattern formed, a YOD (Finger of God) which indicates a special purpose or task, a crisis, crossroads, and/or a spirtual opportunity which gives this picture: Saturn/Mc = Neptune: one’s position is vague; a lack of clarity; feeling fears; peculiar circumstances; disappointment (Tyl; Ebertin.)

Now you wouldn’t think so, would you? Of course, Neptune was yet to be discovered. Outer planets are brought into our collective consciousness upon their discoveries when we are ready to ingest their concepts and manifestations for as with the Scriptures, we must be ready for light before it is given.

Well, I won’t wax upon idealistic Neptune’s divine nature here, or its links to creative realms, for you may certainly Google your way easily into the Neptunian territories of American life if you so desire. Plus, Neptune's association with The Masses, The Media, and propaganda is well known.

And you see that America’s natal Neptune of 1776 is conjunct this chart’s 2nd cusp of Values, Earning Ability, and the National Treasury. Americans do love to make money through creative pursuits including Neptunian film, theater, and music-–and spend money on entertainment, too.

One of the more interesting features I found in studying this chart which stands for the US Presidency itself because it is the first Oath (even the time here is verified through historical record though technically there were other 'presidents' before George) is the placement of Chiron @18Gem17 in 10th house of Public Status in the world.

As you know, the asteroid/planetoid/comet Chiron (the Wounded Healer) was discovered by astronomer Charles Kowal on Nov 1, 1977 @3Tau08 Rx; Chiron returns to Discovery degree in the years 2027-28–-it’s a three-fer due to retrogradation.

So what’s the deal with a visible-to-the-world Chiron in 10th house?

Using Barbara Hand Clow’s book on Chiron, we find that the crisis with a 10th house Chiron is over manifesting one’s true purpose on Earth.

You are aware, of course, of the ongoing debate over America’s ‘Manifest Destiny’ which is her providential mission set in motion by her Founders and certain others, and which has reached the crisis stage in the New Millennium as our opinions on the ‘how and why’ are split in two.

Because of George Washington’s well-documented membership in the Freemason brotherhood and perhaps in other secret societies as well, the Great Seal’s mysterious rider who magically showed up at Thomas Jefferson’s house with the Seal’s design, and a few other indications that our Founders were in on the ruse of masking (yet passing on) the mission, it may be assumed that a secret destiny is afoot even as I type, for Chiron in 10th house is very quixotic.

(“–as I type” is an example of Chiron’s be-here-NOW influence!)

And with 10th house’s association with authority (natural house of Capricorn, ruled by Saturn), a 10th house Chiron relates to a ‘mantle of power’ which looms large as a daunting undertaking for one man…a mere president.

From studying Washington’s natal chart, I believe he was as unconsciously arrogant as the next president, yet it is said that he refused to be king and settled for the title of president with a built in time limit. Good idea–-use ‘em, then retire ‘em, is always the best course.

Now with Gemini being the sign of communication, oration, writing, and the Eternal Youth archetype (America’s obsession with youth is quite tedious–Chiron is the “blindspot”), we know that mass consciousness is part of the presidential package–and Chiron in Gemini is highly attuned to it. The Geminian crisis here is to find new ways of integration and perception; the keyword is: awareness–-awareness that thinking creates reality. This Chiron is meant to learn how We-the-People think in order to change our mental realities, a concept that Science is just now catching up with.

Scripturally speaking it reminds me of, “As a man thinks, so he becomes.”

Moon is in Cancer, sign of Home and Domestic Scene. Most Americans seem to forget that there’s anywhere else in the world-–a love of home is typical, but we revel in things which are as American as apple pie. This brings in appetite and the nurturing qualities of Cancer along with comfort foods such as apple pie!

This Saturnian Hour, which was chosen for the American Presidency to be born, is perfect for exercising authority, management, and control; and with a Leo Ascendant, sign of the natural ruler–but also the sign of monarchy–the philosophical 9th house Sun in Taurus is the chart-ruler. Taurus relates to Freemasonry as the sign of the architect and builder. “I preserve,” says Taurus.

However, responsible, authoritative Saturn is Watery in mystical Pisces, a placement given by Ebertin as: self-sacrificing, modest, and struggling with opponents. This is an interesting sign for Saturn who is actually a master of disguise (was Washington really the leader of the country? Or was Britain and its banking system actually in charge as it is now?), and as Liz Greene says in her book, Saturn: A New Look at an Old Devil, “No event or mundane circumstance can occur without having first been set in motion by an idea, charged with emotion, and then manifested as action.”

It is my contention that as the “Father of Our Country,” this Piscean Saturn perfectly describes George Washington, the mystical Freemason and archetypal significator of the Presidency of the United Sates of America, a nation based on the Utopian ideal of Atlantis, charged with much revolutionary feeling, and manifesting in action toward her destiny...whatever it may ultimately turn out to be.

Your thoughts on this horoscope and the history it represents are invited!

Remembering Henry A. Wallace, our mystic Vice President

New Deal, New Day, New World...and mystic Henry A. Wallace

by Jude Cowell

If you've read or watched Oliver Stone's Untold History of the United States then you ran across an important if long forgotten figure in US history, Henry A. Wallace, FDR's Vice President (1941--1945), Agricultural Secretary, and more. Quite a resume but Wallace's familial lineage is politically impressive, too.

Now during his lifetime, Henry A. was known as a mystic which tempted opponents to use the label as a slur in political campaigns. His association with Russian mystic and Holy Grail enthusiast Nicholas Roerich and his wife gave Wallace notoriety when notoriety was still quite taboo. Freemason George Washington was a mystic, too, but we don't often hear much about that in the mainstream press or in a typical biography, do we? Though I should add that Wallace broke off with the very unusual guru Roerich after some amount of time. As in our day, such unusual interests often inspired men to perpetrate under-the-table dealings not suitable for a national spotlight.

(The creative Mr. Roerich was a painter as well so perhaps you're familiar with the Roerich Museum in NYC?)

Well, since Wallace has interested me for years (ex: as a link between FDR and Truman) I checked my copy of The Sabian Symbols in Astrology and found that author Dr. Marc Edmund Jones considered Henry A. Wallace significant enough to include in the birth data list in the back of the book and so I post Henry Agard Wallace's details here. Will his leanings toward mysticism and metaphysical studies show in the natal chart?

Born October 7, 1888 @7:12 pm LMT Adair County, Iowa, a quick peek at his Wikipedia page reveals a closer location: "at a farm near the village of Orient, Iowa in Adair County." Orient, it is then.

Now a SolarFire v8 horoscope set for 7:12 pm LMT calculates chart cusps a few degrees earlier than what Jones lists in his book but I'm using the modern calculation since it gives an Ascendant of 19Tau12, for this is conjoined by the current Solar Eclipse degree 19Tau31 from May 9/10, 2013 in the 15 South Series ('sudden release of tension along with a sense of loss or grief that's more collective than personal'--Brady.)

Natal Moon @19Sco17--a mystical sign of Occult interests--sets on the 7th house side of the Descendant, and a 6th house Sun conjoins progressive Uranus (15Lib11/17Lib28), a political combination, giving Wallace an eccentric manner, arrogance, and a determination to always speak his mind.

As for the mysticism of Henry A. Wallace, we find the mystical duo of the Supernatural rising: Neptune @2Gem01 Rx and Pluto @5Gem47 Rx with both planets opposing his 7th house Jupiter in religious Sagittarius (sign of The Seeker on a Quest, and he was that), plus, there's motivating Mars @18Sag48 in the 8th house of the Occult (the study of hidden things such as Astrology, Freemasonry and Sacred Geometry, a touch of Theosophy, a generous helping of Philosophy, etc.)

In addition, priestly Chiron @11Can28 conjoins his natal midpoint of Saturn-Pluto ('the adept') and is intimately connected to the past and to mentors who are folklore heroes (like FDR) when in Moon-ruled Cancer. Chiron in Cancer also gives a decided populist streak which remains a notable and lasting feature of Henry A. Wallace's personality.

That is, if one paid the least bit of attention to the long forgotten presidential candidate, Henry A. Wallace, our mystic Vice President.

Reasonably unharmed in the preparation of this post, Chiron: the Key to Your Quest, Richard Nolle.

April 10, 2013 New Moon conjoins America's Chiron in Aries

4.10.13 New Moon @20Ari40 conjoins America's Chiron in natal 4th House

by Jude Cowell

If you're reading this post, you probably know that New Moons mark the beginning of a new cycle of events which culminates approximately two weeks later in a Full Moon. In the case of today's New Moon, the cycle culminates (or, reaches a fulfillment of some kind) on April 25, 2013 with a Lunar Eclipse @5Sco45.

With so much happening in Washington DC this week, the New Moon may be starting new phases concerning many issues--ex: gun control legislation as the families of Newtown CT victims blanket Capitol Building halls, the president's budget which is to be announced today (at 11:00 am edt, so I've heard), and other legislative and political endeavors. Well, I can't write about them all especially since this is a very busy month at my house and eking out enough time to blog has become quite a challenge.

Plus, I'll wager that you've already found several articles online concerning today's lunation--one such with excellent insights on the Aries New Moon by top astrologer, Julie Demboski.

Now most of the New Moon articles do not contain references to Politics, Washington DC, or faithless, corrupt politicians, but of course, mine must.

New Moon @20Ari40, as stated, conjoins or conjuncts America's natal 4th house Chiron (20Ari08) so it seems appropriate to consider the basic (natal) condition of our national Chiron by sign, house, and aspect. And naturally, whatever planet aspects today's New Moon forms the same transiting aspect to our Chiron. So let's begin with some info on Chiron in Aries and its 4th house position ('Sibly' chart, July 4, 1776 5:10 pm LMT Philadelphia, PA):

Applying and Separating Planetary Aspects to US Natal Chiron:

1. US n Mercury square n Chiron gives great mental perception and intuition but leads to extreme opinionation. (US Mercury @24Can11 Rx in 8th house.)

2. US n Saturn @14Lib48 in n 10th house opposes n Chiron, an aspect which describes conflict with the more rigid elements of society (Nolle) and a "rigid fighter for humanitarian causes" (Clow.) Of course, the American Revolution is part of this energy as are all the Chiron aspects described here--and they are part of the American psyche that we carry with us into the future.

3. US n Sun (@13Can19 in 7th house) squares n Chiron (6A48) indicating difficulty letting go of control (Clow) and of authority issues. You probably know that the natal Sun of the Republican Party conjoins US natal Sun which apparently gives the paternalistic GOP a constant sense that they should always be the party in charge of the US government.

4. US n Mars (@21Gem22 in 7th house of Partners and Open Enemies) sextiles n Chiron but the aspect is separating (1S14) so there's an unconscious quality to it. This is a 'sacred warrior' signature and I'm certain America's meddling misadventures across the globe is what you're thinking of as am I for it gives our nation a sense of being able to 'do anything' it so desires and adds the courage to try.

Chiron in 4th house identifies us as the God-Motherhood-Apple Pie nation and Richard Nolle says that our "roots hold the key to destiny" with "a cultural legacy that predates and survives it." Yes, we have a deep connection to our revolutionary roots, don't we? Discovering who we really are in the world has been a major task for our nation though most of the people I know don't agree with Washington's assessment of "our place" as the belligerent gorilla on the march toward conquest and domination.

Chiron in Mars-ruled Aries denotes "pioneers, trailblazers, and mavericks" (Nolle) and this sign position supports the 'sacred warrior' mentality our government has exalted to the point of exhausting its citizens, our National Treasury, and our nation's credibility as a "humanitarian nation" who only wants to "spread democracy" for altruistic reasons. Puh! That mask slipped long ago.

Well, in a horoscope set for Washington DC, the April 10, 2013 New Moon falls into 1st house with 22Pis34 rising. And since Pisces is ruled and co-ruled by expansive Jupiter and fraudulent Neptune, the inflationary speculator-wastrel-grand-schemer pair whose Great Conjunction/s of 2009 are imprinted forever on the Obama presidency, perhaps we should consider that the New Moon's Jupiter-Neptune midpoint sits upon attracting Venus, planet of values, evaluations, small amounts of money, and relationships. (Maybe Michelle Obama's recent Freudian slip of being a "single" mom tells us more about their relationship than the president wishes us to know! Oh, and she really needs those bangs trimmed!)

Testy shootist and activist Mars is strong in his own sign of Aries along with Venus, it's an Hour of the Sun (goals), and Mercury, planet of communication, agreements, voting, bills, negotiations, trade and commerce, is rising in confusing, murky yet inspired Pisces with America's natal Neptune in Virgo setting in the chart (conjunct Descendant 22Vir34, along with the president's natal Mars.)

As for today's financial and budgetary issues, 3rd house Jupiter in Gemini is unaspected except for a separating square to Chiron, but austere Saturn @9Sco32 is Rx in 8th house of Shared Resources, Debt, Credit, Transformation, and Death--inconjunct Uranus in 1st house (@9Ari11) which indicates difficulty in setting priorities in obligations, and a feeling of binding restraints and social burdens with a tendency to cling to the past. (Pelletier.) Will an out-of-the-loop Jupiter 'run away' with the chart for the next two weeks?

Are new conflicts beginning with the Sabian Symbol of the New Moon? '21Aries' = "A Pugilist Entering the Ring"...EXERTION. The negative manifestation of this degree is "blind rebellion and a willingness to squander every resources on pseudo values." (Jones.) Now this sounds like obstructionist Republican filibusters to me though a sense of stepping back from committing political suicide may help prevent the GOP from filibustering a Thursday vote on gun legislation. We'll see since their arrogance knows no bounds.

Then there's powerful, wealthy string-puller Pluto in 10th house of Public Status and Career which may denote the visibility of the Newtown families lobbying Congress on behalf of their tragically murdered children (Pluto, the assassin)..whose sweet faces I cannot forget.

A New Moon for Newtown?

My sincere hope is that with today's New Moon, our politicians will begin to think first of our citizens' needs and less of the agenda of the special interests who lucratively pay congressmembers to obstruct the will of We the People. For after all, Chiron in any horoscope is not only the Wounded One, The Key, and The Blindspot--He's also The Healer.

2013's Five Eclipses: dates, degrees, astro-notes

List: Dates & Degrees of the Five Solar and Lunar Eclipses of 2013 (EDT)

by Jude Cowell

Eclipses, sometimes called 'wild cards of the Universe', often reveal the hidden and trigger what needs triggering in similar fashion as does planet Uranus. If nothing else, they provide a celestial spotlight upon the zodiacal area of a horoscope in which they fall. The following is a list of the eclipses of 2013; additional astro-notes are included:

1. April 25 Partial Lunar Eclipse @5Sco45 (Mars-Pluto);

2. May 9/10 Annular Solar Eclipse @19Tau31 (Venus);

3. May 25 Appulse Lunar Eclipse @4Sag08 (Jupiter);

4. October 18 Appulse Lunar Eclipse @25Ari45 (Mars);

5. November 3 Hybrid Solar Eclipse @11Sco15 (Mars-Pluto.)

As you see, 2013 begins with eclipses across the Taurus-Scorpio axis, creeps into Jupiter-ruled Sagittarius in May, triggers Mars-ruled Aries in October, and ends with a Solar Eclipse again in Scorpio, sign of Big Business, the Occult, Spies, Secrets (and Leaks), Mystery, Betrayal, and possibly, Death.

Paraphrasing Brady's Predictive Astrology, the Saros Series and themes of the two Solar Eclipses are as follows:

May 9 @19Tau31 is in the 15 South Series with background themes of a sudden clearing of a tense situation which brings loss that's group-related or collective rather than personal (or, only personal.)

November 3 @11Sco15 (where transiting Saturn hangs out of late) is in the 16 North Series with themes of ideas being illuminated, a sense of inspiration, release of unconscious material (or someone's hidden secrets or a murky agenda is exposed), and wise insights arrive which may be acted upon beneficially. The initial eclipse in the 16N Series (February 15, 1599 OS @6Pis02) contains a Uranus-Neptune trine which inspires unconscious material to float up to the conscious mind. In 1599, their trine was between the signs of Aries and Leo.

Both the Taurus eclipse in May and the Scorpio eclipse in November have manifested in the modern era in the years: 1905 (Einstein's miracle year--Uranus-Neptune really inspired him!), 1923, 1941, 1959, 1977 (year of Chiron's discovery @3Tau08 Rx), and 1995; next manifestations of 15S and 16N will be May 21, 2031 @00Gemini (as did the May 20, 2012 Solar Eclipse @00Gem20--conjunct Alcyone in the Pleiades constellation), and November 14, 2031 @22Scorpio.

Click for NASA info on the visibility path of the May 9 (or 10, depending on your location) Annular Solar Eclipse and the November 3, 2013 Hybrid Solar Eclipse. Links to years of other eclipses are included.

The YOD in Thomas Jefferson's Natal Chart

Post Updated April 10, 2012--see below for new info on apex Saturn; original post begins here:

Discovering that the natal horoscope of Thomas Jefferson is replete to overflowing with intriguing facets describing an intellectual giant of The Enlightenment, his natal chart has been an off-and-on study about the place and here I shall make mention of one primary--perhaps The Primary--personality dynamic in President Jefferson's psyche as denoted by his natal planets. (Birth data below.)

This important determinate for understanding a small sliver of TJ is the pattern of a YOD, like a squished down triangle with two sides 150 degr or thereabouts, and both aiming at an apex planet or planets, and in Mr. Jefferson's case, that would be his natal Saturn (sense of authority; maturity; government) Rx in 7th house of Partnerships/Legal Relationships, and posited @ 29Leo04 (conjunct Royal Star Regulus--success if revenge is avoided--and at a critical-crisis 29th degr.)

The sextiled planets at the base of the YOD are Uranus 26Cap56 (conj US n Pluto Rx) just having risen though ASC = 00AQ29 (you note that this degree is the position of the Sun during our modern era presidential inaugurations since they've been held on January 20 (1937) rather than in early March. Is Thomas Jefferson secretively honored each US Inauguration by those who use whatever means necessary to stay in power? Was the 00AQ52 association--Office of the President = Thomas Jefferson's natal Sun? If so, this concurrence had to be synchronized by people who knew how.

Ex: Benjamin Franklin published an almanac for years and made his fortune therefrom; as a scientist and philosopher he was known to dabble in what today we term, Astrology. Now you know that astrological prowess is always passed down through generations, that's nothing new. So let us not fuss over whether Mr. Jefferson, whose aftereffects were found to include a Rosicrucian decoder in his possession (for writing and reading secret messages--they had code names, too) was in alignment or not with groups that are perhaps only now revealing their true designs. Being a loner, perhaps he wasn't a joiner, and being of an ivory tower temperament (so he could think without interruption) Jefferson would have been more of a spiritual adherent to a philosophy rather than a practical one (showing up at regular meetings, etc.) He was accustomed to coming up with his own concepts and developed his inner authority (Saturn, the father, Rx--didn't model authority well for young Tom for Dad was either weak when strength was needed, or absent on one or more levels.)

Jefferson was known for speaking publicly--in a whisper! If you could prevail upon him to do it. Natal Mercury (speaking; communication style; thinking processes; whispers, apparently) @ 26Pis36 was mystical and at-one and thrived on his gardening pursuits (Venus and NN in Taurus near natal IC 22Tau02 = Home) and intellectual wanderings--of course you know of his professions of longing for home and family whenever he was away.

So! What of TJ's YOD (special purpose; crisis; turning point; crossroads; a spiritual opportunity), what midpoint picture might fit the bill of Mercury-Saturn-Uranus (all associated with Astrology, btw)? Here are some possible manifestations for the emphasized trio in the horoscope of this deeply complex man:

Mercury-Uranus sextile (brilliant problem-solver; individual v group; rational thinker with high intuitions; can approach concerns with a fresh or different perspective; intellectually stands apart from the group; uncomfortable if ideas are too readily accepted--did his best when he rejected group assumptions; desired to awaken or convert others; society's critic; an emotional outsider; heretical views created controversy; little confidence in new situations; the spiritual debate between good and evil; a philosopher; foreign travel or self-exile brings insights that lead to wisdom. (The Sextile, Alan Epstein.)

Here's the trio's midpoint picture which I shall ask you to consider in the light of US Inaugural Sun 00AQ+ (the leader.)


Mercury-Uranus = (apex) Saturn: a desire for personal liberation; suddenly overcoming inhibitions through acting quickly; a correct grasp of a difficult situation and attainment of success and life advancement; separating oneself from others or attaining safety for oneself.

(The Combination of Stellar Influences, Reinhold Ebertin.)

I shall close with Jefferson's birth data and a few more details:

Thomas Jefferson
April 13, 1743 NS
1:53:48 am LMT
Shadwell, VA
38N00 78W23
Geocentric
Tropical
Placidus
True Node

ASC 00AQ29 conj Uranus 26Cap56 (an ability to cope with anything--FDR has Uranus rising); MC 22Sco02 conj Pluto 15Sco49 Rx (the Eagle Point); Sun 22Ari54 conj 3rd cusp; Moon 10Sag46 in 10th H of Public Status; Career; Mercury 26Pis36 in 2nd H of Values; lusty Mars 18Leo42 in 7th H conj Pan Rx, a trickster element quite suitable for conducting back door romances (in Leo-esque France); a scientific Jupiter 4Vir45 Rx (7th H conj Saturn in Leo.)

In a few days, he'll be 269 years old! And there's much more contained in the natal horoscope of the mysterious Mr. J, but you'll want to set up his horoscope for more details, if you don't have it already. Have you seen his close conjunction between Neptune 9Can26 and Chiron 9Can37 (6th H), a spiritualized duo which curiously was eclipsed on July 1, 2011 @9Can12 by a Solar Eclipse which began a fresh new Saros Series...


April 10, 2012: The following paragraph is hereby updated concerning Jefferson's apex Saturn in a natal YOD configuration:

Thomas Jefferson's natal YOD's apex Saturn indicates a karmic challenge which emphasizes what already contains karmic implications due to the presence in the natal horoscope of the YOD pattern--a 'fated' undertone is present in the life. This means that both timing and inner maturity were necessary leading up to 1776 for Jefferson to properly use and deal with the dynamic energy of the YOD at the turning point the pattern represents and from which issued the Declaration of Independence. That Thomas Jefferson was given a cosmic purpose to work out seems obvious in hindsight and imho, he was aware of it as well considering his extensive research and study into cosmic or occult subjects, and in light of the critical, soul-trying events of his day.

Though he was happier in solitude, it was a priority (said the Universe) for him to join with others of the New Atlantis persuasion and get the job done of creating a new nation free from religious persecution. His establishment of the University of Virginia further bears out his intentions on the matter.

Apex Saturn in a YOD configuration shows one who makes continuous adjustments when it comes to his ego-security and self-preservation at the start, then experiences much anxiety and self-doubt (part of his whispered speeches? natal 12th cusp of Karma, Self-Undoing, Politics = 5Cap56, ruled by Saturn) due to a lack of support in his early environment. Plus, natal Saturn Rx = weak or absent father; Jefferson's Moon out-of-bounds--his only OOBs natally--shows his well-known faulty relationship with his Mother which was never resolved in her lifetime.

Apex Saturn leads to a painful awareness of one's personal deficiencies and to feelings of being an unwanted outcast, an emotional and psychological condition which must be conquered in adulthood in order to take correct action at YOD's turning point or crossroads, and to successfully manage the special task which the YOD decrees. Yet Saturn's natural drive to overcome obstacles along with the corrective nature of a YOD (for those who cooperate with the Universe rather than selfishly balking) made Jefferson well-suited to take whatever actions and studies necessary to reorganize himself and his attitudes which assured efficient functioning in the world.

YODs are often considered cosmic tests, and Saturn is the planet of tests and lessons, so a great sense of freedom from past burdens may be experienced when a karmic YOD involving Saturn strengthens the character and its energies are thus well-managed. This leads to a definite life direction and an acceptance of social responsibility (something many modern day politicians fail in miserably--so are they 'politicians' at all?); plus, purposeful activity, steady focus, realized ambitions, hard work, and dedication to serious goals are uplifted and, as we know, a significant, well-respected social status results which his name continues to enjoy to this day.

Thomas Jefferson's karmic YOD with apex Saturn made his Saturn Return around the age of 28 highly important to the requirements of his natal YOD's purpose. His Saturn Return occurred three times: Nov 12, 1771, Jan 7, 1772 (Rx), and July 23, 1772; apex Saturn came into play again with a special purpose of karmic proportions at his next Saturn Return of Sept 2, 1801 for he had been inaugurated US president on March 4, 1801 with Congress deciding on his behalf on Feb 9, 1801.

~:~

Recommended for more info on YODs and other planetary patterns, see Dynamics of Aspect Analysis by Bil Tierney.

New Heart for Dick Cheney w Neptune in 6th house

Transits to Dick Cheney's Natal Chart

by Jude Cowell

All weekend you and I have heard of how Dick Cheney is in hospital after having a heart transplanted into his chest cavity. Yet whenever I think of Mr. Cheney, famous quotes like this come to mind:

"The common sense of mankind demands that law shall not stop with the punishment of petty crimes by little people. It must also reach men who possess themselves of great power and make deliberative and concerted use of it to set in motion evils which leave no home in the world untouched."

Justice Robert Jackson (Nuremberg Address)

Justice Jackson spoke from a high moral ground after dealing with depraved WWII war criminals.

But for our time, we have Dick Cheney.

Mr. Cheney has recently had a Jupiter Return (7Tau17, in 9th H conjunct Saturn 8:19; Jupiter rules natal 8th house and n Mars in 4th H), usually a fortunate time for anyone, and this may have helped with his good fortune in receiving a heart, plus, he has had the transiting Neptune/Chiron duo in Pisces snugged around his natal Descendant (2Pis55) and affecting his 6th house of Health. As you know, Chiron is the Wound and the Healer. Natal Sun 10AQ48 and n Mercury 24:15 are in 6th H as well, and with a Virgo Ascendant, health issues have been a lifelong concern for him.

His natal 8th cusp 26Pis16 is the spot where tr Mercury has been crossing and re-crossing of late, and Sun and Uranus met in his 8th H @ 4Ari+ this weekend. Quite a bit of 8th H activity there. Also natal SN 2Ari55 in 8th H has received lots of cosmic stimulation lately showing past concerns being brought up for further consideration--here, a major surgery.

Tr NN, the path or future direction point, is in n 4th H after conjoining n Mars 17Sag46 so the Tail of the Dragon (SN, a Saturnian point of separation) will swish his n Midheaven 27Tau59 as the Dragon's Head (NN) will conjoin n IC. I leave it to you to decide if a forecast may be made as to Cheney's outcome at age 71 considering his longterm history of heart attacks and the fact that n Moon 22Pis41, a weakening sign for the Moon (physical body) especially when opposed by n Neptune 27Vir25.

Is his heart condition congenital? I don't know but it would seem so from his natal horoscope.

And of course Mars (sharp instruments; surgeons) Rx has been crossing n Ascendant 2Vir55 (Self; Physical Body) in the sign of Health, Virgo. This puts a weakening Mars/Neptune opposition across his n ASC/DESC axis with Neptune still transiting his n 6th H--Mars/Neptune when combined can bring infection.

The next 3 to 6 months will be key for him if the risks of infection and rejection can be avoided.

No more comments from me. I'm content to leave the preemptive Mr. 1% Gang's ultimate condition up to his Maker just as I leave my own.


~:~

Dick Cheney
Jan 30, 1941
7:30 pm CST
Lincoln, NE

Rated AA from B.C.


Blog Note: my personal thanks to the many readers who've stuck with me during my time of transition. In addition to a major relocation in early March, I was involved in a car accident (beware Volvos that blindside you!) on St. Patrick's Day and am in the early stages of treatment. All this to say that my blogging time hasn't been as planned but April should bring better days for Stars Over Washington!

And hopefully for America, my only nag in the race.

Thanks again, Jude

Candidate Ron Paul ignored, now attacked by MSM (video)

Alex Jones discusses how Bachmann and Perry have co-opted Ron Paul's ideas about the Federal Reserve and how the mainstream media first ignored the candidate and his popularity, and now attack him.

Now not all of Ron Paul's ideas have always resonated with me personally but he is the only one in the current field who seems even remotely genuine. And his eyes aren't nearly as crazy looking as certain others we could mention.

A possible 'genuine' exception may be candidate Buddy Roemer whose current rhetoric suits me quite well but not his siding with President Reagan years ago--depends on the issues upon which they agreed but Roemer can't win in 2012 so it's moot. And of course, the MSM is ignoring Buddy Roemer's candidacy completely. Still, Roemer's recent speech at the National Press Club is worth checking out.

So if you hear during the 2012 campaign that Ron Paul has sprouted two heads and fries up batches of lizards for breakfast each morning, consider the source and its transnational corporatist agenda with the US media running scared that a populist swell for Ron Paul might sweep him into the White House.

Not that anyone in Washington would cooperate with Ron Paul if he won.

So with a Ron Paul presidency, we'd see real gridlock inside the Beltway instead of what we're accustomed to--staged, scripted, and rehearsed Political Theater that keeps the status quo ensconced and operating againstt the American people.

Astrology and Candidate Ron Paul

Here's info concerning the natal horoscope of Ron Paul from astrodatabank (no birth time is known) set for Pittsburgh, PA.

Plus, in the last presidential campaign, astrologer Lynn Hayes published an analysis of transits (2007) to Ron Paul's natal planets titled Who is Ron Paul? Lynn uses a Solar Chart (Sun 26Leo41 rising, in Green Tree, Pennsylvania; Moon 20Tau47.)

With Rep. Paul's natal Venus 22Vir38 Rx conjoining US natal Neptune, I feel uncertain that his values (Venus) are readily seen clearly (murky Neptune) by the media or the masses--both signified by nebulous Neptune especially when it comes to Virgoan themes such as work, health, police and military service (6th house Virgo matters.)

Of course, 'popularity' is also signified by Venus/Neptune contacts!

Yet this is a similar dynamic of potential 'misreading' as with US natal Neptune 22Vir25 precisely conjoining and obfuscating President Obama's natal Mars (desire nature, motivation, action, energy) where, as previously noted here many times, Mr. Obama's true motivations and actions are veiled in some way, confusing, or completely misunderstood by the American people and his popularity was facilitated early on by the 'rock star' illusion of Mars/Neptune that so many voters were taken in by in 2008 into 2009.

Yes, Neptune's tendency toward disillusion and disappointment have surfaced from the depths as his presidency grinds on. President Obama's now-obvious corporate ties and loyalties are cases in point along with his failure to fight for the public option in health insurance legislation, allowing Wall Street thieves to make off with our money and escape prison cells they deserve for their criminality and fraud, his willingness to place our social safety net programs upon the GOP chopping block, and the ramping up of wars which some voters expected dreamboat Mr. Obama to end the moment he walked into the Oval Office door.

And you can probably think of more let-downs!

Well, let's hope the president's bold jobs bill (maybe) to be revealed in September makes a difference for our economy and dire social conditions. See? Even Robert Reich uses a Neptunian word--'maybe' which is filled with uncertainty--to describe the president's proposed improvements!

You may also be interested in my own brief article concerning Ron Paul's natal chart with a Solar horoscope image shown along with a few details which include his Chiron (the Wounded Healer) in Gemini.


In other campaign news: as of today, Rick Perry has decidely joined Mitt Romney in the Jeered By Audience Club and I say, welcome! You both deserve all the jeering and 'pointed questions' you can't avoid!

Thomas Jefferson and the karmic Solar Eclipse July 1, 2011

If you've had a chance to read my column on the karmic Solar Eclipse of July 1, 2011 @ 9Can12, then I don't have to tell you that the eclipse manifests snugly between America's natal Sun and Jupiter - actually precisely upon our national Sun/Jupiter midpoint.

The importance of the July 1st Solar Eclipse 'hit' to or triggering of the expansive point of Sun/Jupiter relates closely to financial and spending matters, material loss, and to issues of striving for more power and control, recognition, and/or to conflicts caused by arrogance, pretentiousness, or lawlessness.

Perhaps a crook or two will be outed by the light of the July 1, 2011 eclipse, the first to launch in a new Saros Series. Often an eclipse 'acts' early and you probably heard that a fugitive mob boss from Boston was arrested just today in California after 16 years of giving the FBI the slip.


Historical Horoscopes Alive!

There is another triggering of historical importance because the July 1st eclipse conjoins *Thomas Jefferson's natal Neptune/Chiron conjunction @ 9Can26 and 9Can37 respectively, in 6th house of Military and Police Service, Health, Daily Lives, and Work (Employment.)

Now the eclipse (Sun/Moon) forms a midpoint picture with Mr. Jefferson's nebulous, spiritually oriented Neptune (made more **sacred by Chiron's ministrations):

Sun/Moon = Neptune: illusions and deceptions; becoming easily upset; inner discontent; realizing the importance of thinking through plans and ideas; dreaming of options for redirecting plans; delusions about what can be done and how hard people will work to accomplish it; misunderstandings in relationship.

Solar Eclipses are of course oppositions of the Sun (consciousness) and Moon (unconscious) and in general denote relationship and/or awareness issues.

To the extent that our third president Thomas Jefferson may be taken as an archetypal symbol of America and the US government, I surmise that the midpoint picture formed synchronistically by the July 1, 2011 Solar Eclipse is instructive concerning the pertinent issues of our day.

And perhaps the Sun/Moon midpoint itself should be considered more specifically in the realms of Politics and Business. From Michael Munkasey's book Midpoints: Unleashing the Power of the Planets, we find potentials that are up-to-the-minute on several levels including to raise or not to raise the US debt ceiling and war making decisions of President Obama:

Thesis: the international reputation of the country; how the will of the people is is applied (or not! jc) to taking the country into new or important directions; reading the attitude of the people when creating internal policy.

Antithesis: a loss of face in international politics (leaving Afghanistan? debt ceiling/default? jc); smears on the national reputation; pessimism flowing through the population or lawmakers (or both. jc)

You remember that the recent transiting Neptune/Chiron conjunction has mirrored disasters involving water such as regional flooding and levee breaches, BP's Deepwater Horizon Blow-Out of April 2010 which effectively sabotaged our Gulf Coast and its people, and which may have been an inspirational factor in this May 2011's World Will End prophecy with Chiron now in mystical, spiritual Pisces. And of course, 'water' is a stand-in for The Spirit in the Aquarian archetype of The Water Bearer, the sign in which the exact conjunction/s of Neptune and Chiron occurred last year.

Now what of such a close Neptune/Chiron conjunction in Watery Cancer in Jefferson's natal chart and psyche? Since it is about to be 'eclipsed' and highlighted on July 1, 2011, let's first take it apart including its apparent placement in Jefferson's 6th house (see below for his *birth data and the time I am using to set up his natal chart.)

Watery Neptune in Watery Cancer indicates a generation of folk with strong psychic ties to home, family, security, and the Earth (ecological interests.) Jefferson's love of home and family is well-known as are his regular rides across his lands with his daughter after his wife died and before, so naturally, his love of Monticello comes easily to mind.

Neptune in Moon-ruled Cancer denotes an emotionally sensitive and religious nature yet there is a still-ongoing debate as to Mr. Jefferson's religiosity (the Jefferson Bible; was he a Deist? an astrologer? etc) but these deep issues are beyond the scope of this column. However, his philosophical interests and talents are never in question.

Notable is the resonance between Neptune as the higher octave of Jupiter (the priest, guru, hierophant, philosopher) through their rulership of mystical Pisces, sign of Jefferson's natal Mercury. Thinking upon such inspired topics came easily to his highly idealistic nature; plus, Neptune in Cancer can also give mediumship or channeling abilities either from a higher or a lower plane.

His natal Neptune/Pluto trine indicates a response to the more positive side of the invisible realms but in modern times, we're stuck with a Neptune-Pluto septile (51 degrees 26 minutes), which is a fated, karmic 7th harmonic aspect.

Assuming that Neptune is posited in his natal 6th house, the placement emphasizes one whose work and service are done in a spiritual manner and/or for collective purposes. Yet with Neptune in detriment in 6th H, these issues will bring difficulties yet they had to be addressed for the sake of Jefferson's evolutionary progress (and America's, as it turned out.)

Many sacrifices are demanded by Neptune in 6th H, and we think of his desire to be home with his family instead of in Philadelphia attending and plying his penmanship of the Declaration of Independence at the Continental Congresses of 1775 and 1776. (The First Continental Congress was held in 1774 but Mr. Jefferson did not attend until 1775.)


Yet Jefferson's Sun in Aries Was Ambitious to Get On in the World

The red-haired young man arrived (unwigged yet Whiggish) in Philadelphia on June 20, 1775 with Neptune in Virgo (spiritual, devoted, and/or inspired work) snugged between Mars 18Vir55 and Saturn 2Lib18...hardworking Mars/Saturn = inspired Neptune: self-torment about identity (his fame and repute were yet to be established and his wordsmith genius known except by a few - he was a whippersnapper!); confusion; feeling threatened; pretenses or cover-ups about the state of preparedness.

But the whippersnapper did all right by us, didn't he? Perhaps that's because the difficult placement and conjunction of Neptune/Chiron were greatly eased by a natal trine to Pluto at Eagle Point, near Midheaven (Career, Aspirations, Public Status.) Plus, without difficult natal placements, one seldom bothers to stir oneself to make a sustained effort, does one?

Chiron in Cancer describes a "crisis over cultural roots and/or a crisis of personal protection" (Clow.) Cultural roots of the American experiment and personal protection reminds me of how America's Founders would have been strung up if their secret deliberations on independence from Britain had become known abroad.

In Cancer, Chiron tends to be tied to the past (a conflict for such a visionary futurist as Mr. Jefferson: home life v career ambitions), and reveals insecurity issues which are underscored by TJ's natal Moon out-of-bounds in Sagittarius which, when Moon is the only OOBs planet, points to one whose childhood connection with the mother was faulty or non-existent; a wounding (Chiron) from the mother (Cancer) is indicated as well, and TJ grew to have contempt for his mother and showed little, if any, regret at her passing. Jefferson had chaffed under her parentage after his father's death.

With Chiron in Cancer, a tough battle ensues to break Saturnian control (of his personal father/controlling mother and of colony-oppressing Great Britain!) and thus utilize the brilliance of Uranian genius, a task which he certainly managed to do. For his natal Uranus in Capricorn had a willing container in which to pour by way of Saturn's rulership of Capricorn, sign of Government. The inconjunct between natal Saturn and Uranus, though indicating crises and turning points, was better to have than no contact at all since the inconjunct (aka, quincunx) gave the creative ideas of Uranus a form (Saturn) in which to become practically realized on the earthly plane.

However, extreme consciousness of aims and objectives were necessary for the success of his Saturn/Uranus endeavors and he was nothing if not self-reflective while answering the call of service to the collective.

Another interesting factor to note in the 1743 horoscope of Thomas Jefferson is that the position of **Fixed Star SIRIUS, so intricately linked to America's natal horoscope and founding, closely conjoins his natal Neptune/Chiron conjunction by degree and thereby increases the conjunction's sacred nature.

In Astrology, the key phrases for SIRIUS (Alpha Canis Major; aka, the Dog Star, the Shining One, or, the Scorcher and relates to the annual flooding of the Nile River, and to gaining much more than was expected - Brady's Book of Fixed Stars) are: the mundane becoming sacred and the fire of immortality.

Few would disagree that Jefferson's work devoted to the founding of this country by penning the Declaration of Independence and through his service as Secretary of State, Ambassador to France, Vice President, then President (1801 - 1809), has garnered him an immortal name as well as high recognition in his day. Of course, founding the excellent University of Virginia in 1819 has increased his renown as well.

So! Will the July 1, 2011 Solar Eclipse @ 9Can12 relate to Mr. Jefferson, his era and its politics, or to the very founding of our nation? Independence Day 2011 soon follows, after all. Will UVA be in the news? Or will another dance-off protest occur at the Jefferson Memorial in Washington DC with strong-arming police arresting peaceful American citizens? (I suspect the freedom-loving Mr. Jefferson would be very ill-pleased and disapproving of such arrests, don't you?)

These and other related concerns may turn up soon on the US menu and in The Press whose freedom he eloquently championed and my hope is that if they do, you will give a small, perhaps fond, thought to the Sage of Monticello!

~:~

For further reading you may wish to follow a link to the Monticello website or perhaps check out Thomas Jefferson's Wiki page. Also of timely interest may be The Cultural Contradictions of the American Media which contains his famous quote concerning the continuance of a free press in America:

"The basis of our government being the opinion of the people, the very first object should be to keep that right; and were it up to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without government, I should not hesitate to prefer the latter."

*Thomas Jefferson April 13, 1743 Shadwell, Virginia; birth time most often used: 1:53 am LMT though a day time birth may be a possibility; at 1:53 am: ASC 00AQ52, Sun 22Ari54, Moon 10Sag47; Neptune/Chiron conjunction in 6th house; 9th house Pluto at Eagle Point (15 Scorpio) conjoins MC; NN 18Tau57 conjoins IC 22Tau02...he'd rather have been contemplating and studying at home (Monticello), thanks.

Midpoint pictures: Tyl, Ebertin, Munkasey.

NPR turns 40 today with a Uranus/Chiron opposition

Looking at the natal horoscope of NPR's first-ever broadcast of All Things Considered, it's interesting to note a few of the astro-factors shown.

Broadcaster Jupiter Rx 3Sag58 ('4Sag' = "A Little Child Learning to Walk"!) is in process of its Great Conjunction with Neptune 2Sag13 Rx in 2nd house with Neptune representing media and its masses of listeners. Let's consider - not all things - but a few of the basics in the natal horoscope set for 5:00 pm edt Washington DC on May 3, 1971. We see from the date that NPR launched in the midst of Richard Nixon's two terms and with anti-war protesters marching and being arrested on DC streets for speaking truth to power (my generation!)

The Jupiter/Neptune combo represents speculation, grand plans, and sometimes, sympathy for people at a disadvantage.

You may wish to see NPR's Wiki bio for more of its historic details.

May 3, 1971 at 5:00 pm in Washington DC saw 7Lib19 rising with Uranus 10Lib15 Rx in tow indicating NPR's newness, progressiveness, technological innovations, individualism, originality, and the ability to cope with whatever occurs.

It's an Hour of Jupiter, perfect for Jupiter's broadcasting function, and Jupiter in his natural sign, fiery Sagittarius, shows international interests in foreign lands and peoples, a liberal mindset, and a capacity to inspire people with a vision of how much better everything might be. (Self-righteousness must be guarded against.)

Chart-ruler Venus at critical degree (12Ari18 and snugged between Chiron and Mercury in 7th house of Partnerships) makes no applying aspects so its sign and house positions are important factors in how things proceeded for the then-new radio network-syndicate. Venus = '13Ari' = "A Bomb Which Failed to Explode Is Now Safely Hidden", a Sabian Symbol which speaks of having a "very deep or hallowed purpose." (M. E. Jones.)

This 'hallowed purpose' tallies with NPR's Midheaven (The Goal; Aspiration) 8Can20 which showcases Fixed Star Alhena, 'to have a mission' and which falls, of course, between US natal Jupiter '6Can' and Sun '14Can'.

Venus also rules the monied 8th H and its inhabitants, Sun and Saturn.

An 11th house Moon 29Leo59 is at a critical 29th degree as well but conjoins Fixed Star Regulus, one of the Royal Stars of Persia, keywords: 'success if revenge if avoided.' All the Royal Stars have cautions showing what flaws will cause the promised success to slip away if the particular caution is not heeded - in this case, revenge.

In 8th house of Shared Resources is natal Sun 12Tau46 which receives this evening's New Moon 12Tau30 (8:49 pm edt) indicating a new cycle of activity of some kind; hardworking Saturn 24Tau11 is in 8th H, too and shows its conservation-preservation duties in Taurus which are expressed with reliability and persistence. For managing Saturn in Taurus, financial security is very important as it tends to develop a well-balanced sense of the value of material resources.

Plus, Saturn is helpfully trined by powerful publisher Pluto 27Vir17 Rx in 12th H of Behind-the-Scenes and I wouldn't care to guess who or what group Pluto represented in 1971 relating to the beginnings of NPR. Would you? But asteroid Lilith Rx conjoins Pluto so I will add that Lilith isn't always or only the glamorous woman for its archetype also has a link to Israel.

And what of action-oriented Mars? Mars 00AQ00, a critical degree, is in 4th H of Endings and Foundations - at "An Old Adobe Mission" so there's another reference to having a mission. This degree appears every January 20th at noon in Washington DC for its our presidential Sun's degree. Mars remained in AQ from May 3 until November 6, 1971 and was stationary part of that time which greatly strengthened its Aquarian instincts and interests which spearheaded a new way of life (NPR driveway moments forthcoming?)

Mars in Aquarius shows a desire for independence to follow an unusual or unorthodox course of action with reformist tendencies; in 4th H, Mars describes some testy interchanges taking place 'at home' with efforts made toward improvements.

We may well ascribe NPR's wish to 'dot all the Is' and 'cross all the Ts' to the fact that Mercury 23Ari10 is oriental, that is, the planet that rises just before the Sun.

There's only one midpoint picture in the chart other than those formed by a multiple-planet T-Square and an Earth Grand Trine: Mars/ASC = Jupiter: harmonious teamwork; the ability to lead others; a good organiser; agreement with others on pursuit of the same objectives (that mission again); enthusiasm; harmonious public outreach.

The T-Square/s all point to MC and Alhena's mission: Chiron/Uranus = MC, Venus/Uranus = MC (getting to like someone quickly; focusing on the modernization of tastes), and Venus/ASC = MC (harmony; art and music appreciation.)

Earth Grand Trine: Mars, Saturn, and Pluto which shows the hard work it took to get up and running, but also seems to relate to the anti-war protests on the streets and the heavy-handed governmental response for brutality is indicated. Mars = protests and activism, Saturn = control and government, and Pluto = power, wealth, subversive actions, and ultimate control. Perhaps these are the forces that now regularly threaten to withdraw government funding of NPR for its 'too liberal' stance.

A 5th H North Node (NN) 19AQ55 shows NPR's path is to serve mankind and its 5th H position makes finding its unique destiny a must.

And last, the Uranus/Chiron opposition on NPR's Identity axis (ASC/DESC) is telling considering Uranus' link to radicalism and politics (yet not forgetting the excellent traits of Uranus Rising mentioned above.)

Uranus opposite Chiron shows 1971 to be a time when people were very stressed out and feeling that things were 'too much' - as in 2011. The aspect's ferociously intense energy tends to burn itself out or push NPR to great transmutative levels of awareness as it dramatizes individualism (and individualistic, freedom-loving Uranus rises.)

I shall leave it to you, dear reader and NPR listener, to decide which result NPR has achieved over the last 40 years. Happy Birthday, NPR!

~:~

Midpoint pictures: Tyl, Ebertin, Munkasey; any, all, or none may apply; Chiron info from Barbara Hand Clow and Richard Nolle.

SuperMoon or Full? March 19, 2011 lunation in Virgo

If you're contemplating upon the Full Moon of Saturday March 19, 2011 @28Vir48 and the fact that it qualifies as a 'SuperMoon', as the phenomenon was titled by astrologer Richard Nolle in 1979, then you'll want to read the list (1954 - 2036) provided of natural disasters which have occurred within 3 days of a SuperMoon.

Now Astronomy does not concur on the subject of influence upon the Earth's weather systems even though simple New and Full Moons have been admitted to cause high and low tidal changes - well, even your Aunt Granny Fanny knows that. In Astrology, the Moon is said to rule the Unconscious, the physical body, and tells us about Mom's side of the family (along with our reigning needs.) And we know that the menstrual cycle of females is based on the lunar month because ideally, 'falling off the roof' (or, a 'visit from Aunt Flo') normally comes about every 28 - 31 days for a human being of the feminine persuasion...a Moon cycle.

But the idea that a Moon's perigee (closest approach to Earth) or apogee (farthest) could affect earthly weather conditions and thereby cause harmful storm systems, earthquakes, or volcanoes? Quelle Impossible! (That last was typed with a very bad French accent, as you can tell!)

Astronomers refer to the SuperMoon phenomenon as a perigee-syzygy being the cusses that they are (kidding!) As for weather effects, Saturday's SuperMoon is in Virgo which is an Earth sign; Moon rules the ocean bwo Cancer, the Crab: will part of Japan sink like Atlantis allegedly did after abuse, misuse, and/or overuse of power, as the myth goes?)

Well, personally I lean toward Mr. Nolle's argument: that extreme Supermoons tend to bring dangerous weather events somewhere in the world within 3 days after exactitude, as if we need an extra catastrophe right now. Hopefully the world will avoid turbulent weather though I have no real inclination to sleuth into which locations are most geo-stressed at the moment.

(Plus, transit Uranus to Aries Point and at zero declination - with its quirky, wild card, out-of-the-blue energies being affected by instigator Mars - has been gracious plenty for me to ponder in recent weeks.)

Besides, my friend Theodore White has just published info on recent and upcoming upheavals within our Moon-ruled atmosphere for I know he's been busy creating an overview of certain astro-weather conditions and global outcomes which we're all now dealing with on one level or another. The recent Cardinal Grand Cross is addressed as well, plus, Theo has included an article on facing current challenges authored by the excellent Lynn Hayes, and something by yours truly.

And in case you missed it, here's a link to a previous post Pegasus and the Virgo Full Moon of 3.19.11 with an image of the SuperMoon horoscope.

All in all, Saturday's Full Moon of Super proportions promises to be a gorgeously bright and glorious sight at which to marvel if no clouds block our views. Astrological exactitude occurs @ 2:10 pm edt, Washington DC, but by evening it should still be beautiful as it rises.

And whether visible to our physical eyes or not, we'll all know that on March 19, 2011, the mysterious Moon is glowing and sailing beyond us as Luna performs another monthly round as our heavenly lantern to light humanity's path.

~:~

Also by Richard Nolle: Chiron: The New Planet in Your Horoscope, The Key to Your Quest (published 1983, just six years after the discovery of Chiron.)

Wishing a Joyous and Safe Purim for those who celebrate!

~:~



Drawing: Full Moon at Green Arch Observatory from one of my art blogs, Secret Moon Art.

Meltdown in Japan & New Nuclear Power Plants Coming to Georgia (USA)

You know how you return home from a weekend trip and there are zillions of things to catch up with? Well, that's my situation this morning as I read the latest info I can find on the horrendous earthquakes and ongoing nuclear catastrophe in Japan, a nation of good people for whom I pray in this, their time of great trial.

Then my terra-mail is opened and I am starkly reminded of Japan's nuclear disaster bwo the recent addition to our Georgia Power electric bills: $3.79 per month for their rammed-through legislation allowing a Nuclear Construction Cost Recovery in order to build not one but two nuclear plants in my home state. This is a pay-it-forward tax since the money has been forcibly added to Georgians' power bills as of January 2011 for future construction.

(Anti-nuke protests are now going on over the globe!)

And of course, it doesn't matter if the public (whose taxpayers' will be saddled with massive costs if there's a catastrophe) wants the worrisome nuke plants or not, or if we consider them safe to live near. Georgia's well known water supply shortages seem not to matter either - millions of gallons of cool water for future meltdowns notwithstanding. Smart planning? I think not. Especially since Georgia tends toward debilitating droughts in recent years which are difficult enough to deal with without potential radiation poisoning to worry about.

Of course, dead people aren't thirsty people, are they?

So what if our nation's antiquated power grid failed during one of Georgia's extremely hot summers? Electricity and water are needed to cool down reactors! And I'm not even considering here the threat of hacking by terrorists.

Water Water No Where

Guess we Georgians could spurn water and just drink Atlanta-based Coca-Cola (not me!) all the time "going forward" - but oops! Brewing Coke takes lots of water, too. Gotta work on that pesky getting-thirsty habit, it seems, for if it comes down to drinking water or having nuclear energy, Georgia Power's thumb on the scale has decided 'what's best' for this native Georgian. It all makes me wonder just who could possibly have thought that hot, dry Georgia was a good location for two new nuclear plants.

Uranus, Earthquakes, and Sudden Disasters: Uranus to Aries Point

For years, astrologers have been expecting big events (as well as one can 'expect' with quirky Uranus, planet of The Unexpected) as The Awakener has again crossed the Aries Point of World Manifestation in 2010 and 2011. And I'm sure we've all been hoping that Uranus to AP wouldn't come to this. Hard lessons from Japan's current nightmare and the folly of placing nuclear reactors on or near fault lines reminds me that I've never considered nuclear plants to be "safe" neighbors.

So if I thought that writing a Dear John letter to the powerful power company would help this deplorable situation, I'd write and send it along - and ask pointedly for my money back for this devilish project. Something along the lines of: nuclear power is only "safe" and "clean" until the first accident occurs, you numbskulls.

Or perhaps I should delete 'you numbskulls' for a better outcome...?

Oh well. Never mind that the state of Georgia experiences infrequent earthquakes, too (name a location that doesn't, right?) At least we're the state with the mysterious Georgia Guidestones which tout (severe) population control, among other things, and apparently was commissioned in 1979 by a stranger with the pseudonym "R.C. Christian", a Rosicrucian reference, as some (such as myself) believe.

It seems that the 'purpose' of the Guidestones (unveiled publicly on March 22, 1986, Elberton, GA) relates to our Founding Deist Thomas Paine and the religious theories he expounded in his pamphlet The Age of Reason. I say this because a carving on the Guidestones states,

"Let These Be Guidestones to An Age of Reason." Voila! The Utopians are coming for us!

Well, after hearing this weekend of the earthquakes and subsequent nuclear meltdowns in Japan, both reason and common sense tell me that building more nuclear plants when you're incapable of dealing with the refuse of the ones you have - and building them on or near fault lines - is self-destructive madness and as such, is not reasonable in the least.

~:~

For similar topics, you may wish to check out an intriguing reciprocal transit in 2006 which occurred within the natal horoscope of Thomas Paine. As you know, 2006 was the year that US natal Mars turned retrograde by progression. Paine's reciprocal transit is: Sun to Chiron and Chiron to Sun - simultaneously! Read chart details, or skip the text and view a dual chart image here, if you wish, for his Sun/Chiron synchronicity in May 2006 is quite amazing to see!

Another previous post which unfortunately relates to today's topic of nuclear plants is the Chernobyl meltdown of 1986 (chart details are included.)

And here is a post containing the Horoscope of Chernobyl with a few notes on the Atom Split chart and its Secondary Progressions.

You may remember that in August 2010, 500 wildfires were approaching the Chernobyl site yet I heard nothing of the outcome of that additional health threat. (Yes, all nuclear catastrophes - and bombings - sound precisely like the Scriptures' abomination of desolation prophecy to me. The Atomic Split irreparably broke a natural law, and sad to say, America was in the forefront of unleashing such horror upon the world...in Japan.)

Well, if you're fatigued with state propaganda on such important topics, check out Democracy Now!'s coverage of the ongoing nuclear catastrophe to gain a clearer idea of what's really going on in Japan.

Julian Assange writes on The Hidden Curse of Thomas Paine; Johndro appears

Propaganda, its methods of implementation, its symbols and archetypes, and The Press are primary topics of interest to me though I'm not certain it shows through with my limited blogging hours and usual topics of news, events, and personalities. It's why I watch the Sunday morning parade of politicians and pundits on my TV - to keep an eye on their current...methods...of persuasion and dissemination of disinformation with a few true bits tossed in for a glowing patina of legitimacy.

Due to these Mercury/Pluto sorts of interests (by which our lives are so often directed insidiously and subliminally), I very much recommend to you an article by WikiLeaks' founder, editor, and spokesman The Hidden Curse of Thomas Paine.

Now Thomas Paine is an intriguing figure in US, English, and French histories and in his day he schmoozed with the likes of Adam Weishaupt, a man said to be founder of the Bavarian Illuminati (May 1, 1776) which is not to be confused with earlier Spanish orders. And though I'd always been drawn to Tom Paine's life story, and that of Benjamin Franklin with whom I share a Sun-Moon blend, Paine and many of his brethren in the cause of Liberty and Independence were too deep in the bottomless pockets of Reason for my philosophy to gain hold for humanistic secularism, that dabbler in chaotic utopianism, leaves no room and has no heart for Faith, Hope, and Charity.

It was a different time then. And it's an eventful time now with the Cardinal Points of Global Manifestation and Prominence receiving electromagnetic stimulation - infusions - off and on from such directions as expansive, abundant Jupiter and electric Uranus, both lately at or about to cross Aries Point (00Ari00), the beginning of a new cycle (Western Astrology, Tropical) for the year....in a word, Spring.

(You may wish to see Sun 2 Chiron, Chiron 2 Sun: the Strange Case of Thomas Paine, a slight re-titling here!)

As for jolly Jupiter's orbit in real time, there is a larger cycle of about 12 years before The Hierophant/Banker/Explorer/General/Guru/Comedian returns to AP in the Tropical Zodiac (or to 2Tau22, if you prefer); for Uranus, it will be about 84 years for Mr. Unpredictability to speed round again to the Vernal Equinox Point where he is now poised before crossing over into Mars-ruled Aries. Mars/Uranus contacts are volatile, in case you haven't guessed. Restlessness and excitement are also the Uranium menu.

Historically the transit of Uranus to AP tends to bring scientific breakthroughs into awareness, but many of which in 2011 we must be very concerned for certain moral hazards and risky ventures of those who may be classified as unscrupulous men and women of Science can and have caused all manner of ills for the human race. Profit-based Science creates monsters.

The rest of the Cardinal Grand Cross of energy: 00Lib00, and 00Can/Cap00, all signify a mode of being expressed by outgoing energy which may be tapped into.

Also I wish to draw your attention to rather high up in the SO'W sidebar to a new link: Johndro Geodetic Maps 2010 AD. Check out what's really happening at 2Tau22 these days. Hint: 32 degrees 22 minutes have been covered as of year 2010. L. Edward Johndro, math and physics teacher, early pioneer with electromagnetism, astrologer to FDR, and a researcher who determined the 'electrical ascendant' or what we now call the Vertex.

He and Kenneth Brown pioneered financial astrology providing clients with investment advice when it was even cooler then than it is now (and few there be who know of its efficacy for success in financial dealings. There is much more to say on such matters yet lack of time always seem to interfere in its sassy way.

Use of L. Edward Johndro (January 30, 1882 Franklin Centre, CN)'s Vertex (VX) retains its reputation as the most fated point in any horoscope. Earth's natural Spring Time occurs each year in March though some years the weather acts out of character from what the calendar tells us should be so!

US natal Chiron in Aries and the 112th Congress 2011

Today I'm off on a spree to purchase a telescope for a certain 5-year-old family member so this is a simple heads-up concerning a just-published post update. My astro-notes on the 112th Congress which convenes at noon on January 5, 2011 has been edited with info on America's natal 4th house Chiron in Aries if you'd care for a look.

What brought on such a US Chiron update? The fact that the 112th Congress convenes on Jan 5th with US natal Chiron rising! Perhaps this will 'bring up' important issues based on our natal house an sign position of Chiron unless Congress changes its announced gaveling-in time of 12:00 pm.

112th Congress Jan 5, 2011 @ noon w secret plans of the GOP

The GOP has a secret plan brewing to push states to declare bankruptcy and to smash unions and we will begin to see a ramping up of such unAmerican tactics implemented come January 5, 2011 when the 112th Congress convenes, teabaggers and all.

Check out some astro-info on Mitch McConnell now published by Alex Da-Atria writing from budget-strapped California and displaying my own version of a natal horoscope for Mitch McConnell. (I might have marked the chart less messily if I'd known it would be published elsewhere! Or not. Artists are a little messy, what can I say?)

112th Congress Natal Horoscope

A quick peek at the 112th Congress horoscope for January 5, 2011 @ 12 noon est, Capitol Building, shows 21Ari19 rising with *US natal Chiron and 11Cap54 at Midheaven. A 10th house Moon (we-the-people, but also publicity) @ 00AQ27 precisely conjoins US Inaugural Sun (the leader) with Moon ruling 4th house of Domestic Scene.

At IC, the Foundation and HOW? Point of any chart, is '12 Cancer' = "A Chinese Woman Nursing a Baby with a Message" - a Sabian Symbol often noted for its reference to Christ or to the Dalai Lama. But in Washington DC? It relates more closely, imho, to our nation's biggest debt-holder, China, who undoubtedly sends the US Congress messages all the time on how they're doing and what to do next.

This chart and congressional session puts all US natal Cancer planets at the Foundation with our natal Pluto 27Cap33 Rx at top where the whole world can 'see' and fear it. (I first typed 'despise' but changed it to 'fear'.)

Snugged around Mc is Sun 15Cap00 and tr Pluto 5Cap30 so we have a midpoint picture which affects and reveals the Goals and Aspirations (Mc) of the 112th Congress; this chart (unless they convene at a different hour than the 'noon' I've seen stated so far) is in effect for the entire session of the 112th...its natal chart.

Sun/Pluto = Mc: striving for power; consciousness of purpose or objective (to see Obama fail? jc); vocational crisis; changes to adopt new perspectives; power games with important consequences.

Also at Mc are three other midpoints...

Venus/Neptune = Mc: lost in illusions; Mars/NN = Mc: teamwork; and Moon/Mercury = Mc: independent thinking; making professional decisions. (Tyl; Ebertin.)

Chart-ruler Mars 22Cap01 in 10th house, makes only one applying aspect: the testosterone-laden one's conjunction with the Sun (7A01) which occurs on Feb 4, 2011 @ 15AQ31. '16AQ' = "A Big Businessman at His Desk": ACCOMPLISHMENT...

positive expression: effective self-realization through achievement of consequence;

negative/unconscious/shadow side: ambitious superficiality.

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

Well, many more factors are of interest in 112th's natal horoscope including opposing transits to the US planetary line-up in Cancer, but Georgia is under a storm watch so I must shut down for now and talk to ya later for I have a deep and healthy respect for Uranian lightening!



Image: '12Can' = "A Chinese Woman Nursing a Baby with a Message" from my Secret Moon Art collection of pencil-on-paper drawings.

~:~

And check out my latest blogging effort at Woolly Mammoth Chronicles if you wish, and please take a moment to vote in SO'W's poll concerning the prosecution of Julian Assange (sidebar, upper right.) jc

*US natal Chiron 20Ari08 in 4th house of the US Sibly chart: Chiron in the sign of the Pioneer and Explorer, Aries, indicates that a search for identity is paramount for the US. This tallies well with America's fight for independence from Great Britain and shows the life and death conditions at our nation's founding. Chiron in Aries is 'the trailblazer' with courage, restlessness, and idealism highlighted (Clow.)

In more recent years, Chiron has traversed Aries off and on (due to retrogression) in 1918/19 and 1926/27, and 1968/69 and 1976/77 which gave the US Chiron Returns to figure out who she is...that the American people often have trouble understanding just who our nation is (democracy? republic? oligrachy? Roman Empire revisited?) has become a major problem for many who are deeply concerned about our nation's current trajectory which has been a long time forming (often behind closed doors and in secret chambers.)

You'll find more such topics detailed in my article American Empire: When Jupiter Bowed to the Sun published recently in the Fall 2010 issue of Julie Demboski's Eclipse e-zine which covers November 2010 through January 2011.

Our nation's next Chiron Return will occur 3 times in the years 2024/25.

A 4th house Chiron echoes a similar Arien theme since 4th house concerns 'roots' and heritage and who we really are - our psychological roots. A 4th house Chiron indicates a need for deep connections with our true identity in order to heal. There is a wounding of The Tree of Life (4th h) with this position which points to Ecology and the wounding of our environment. One might say that the 'settling' of America involved much damage to our natural environment and the wounding continues as corporations have put profits above protections for so long that we are forced onto the verge of terracide.

This is a nervous, brooding, and intense house placement for the Wounded Healer and adds to the world's view of America as a land of selfish, resource-wasting belly button gazers; the idea that climate change problems and emissions reductions must be led by America's example may also be attributed in part to our national Chiron in natal 4th house - in Aries, the me-first sign.

Full body scanners: Chertoff's conflict of interest (video)

As you've probably heard by now, former Homeland Security head Michael Chertoff has a major conflict of interest when it comes to selling the US government the full body scanners now being loudly protested in our airports.

If the conflict pans out to be the scandal it now seems to be, President Obama will be in for criticism as well. Didn't anyone tell Mr. Obama from the get-go that retaining certain of the Bush-Cheney administration's staffers and lackeys was a very poor idea which would eventually bring him lots of political flack?

Then again, if you're anything like me, you think the highly praised 'peaceful transition' and baton-passing of American presidents every four years is another way of saying that the power elite's long-desired global take over is proceeding undercover and quite unnoticed as planned with the majority of we-the-people none the wiser. Old boss and new boss are virtually the same boss, m'peops.

Ahh, I remember the heady days of March 2006 when I posted the sunrise version of Michael Chertoff's natal chart showing his natal North Node conjoining US natal Pluto, and his Chiron at the POLITICAL POWER degree (18Cap) where the illuminated duo of Uranus and Neptune had their Great Conjunction/s of 1993.

And what is 18Cap's shadow side expression? "Smug or strong-armed paternalism," states Marc Edmund Jones in The Sabian Symbols in Astrology.

The post of 2006 also mused over Chertoff's possible loss of his HoSec czarship, but of course that turned out to be only a mirage created from the fumes that waft from the swamp of Washington DC to keep the savages manageable.

~:~

Topic suggestion provided by Alex D'Atria.

Lame Duck Congress: Sun Scor-Moon Pisc 11.15.10

Looking at a chart for November 15, 2010 10:00 am est Capitol Building Washington DC we see 1Cap57 rising with NN 3Cap36 and Pluto 3Cap45 in tow; Hour of Mars 13Sag19; Mercury 9Sag48 out-of-bounds and conjunct Fixed Star Antares (obsessed with success); it's a First Quarter (crisis in action) phase; there are no planetary patterns (T-Squares, Grand Trines, etc.)

Mercury OOBs may represent the new representatives and the change (Mercury) of members from the Nov 2 midterm elections since Mercury isn't in-sync with the other actors (planets) yet.

If I had to sum up in two words this horoscope and Lame Duck Session 2010 they'd be emotion and power. Sun 23Sco08 conjoins Fixed Star Agena (honors, high status, a good organizer, sensuality, scandal, gossip, sarcasm, cleverness, success with the masses - A. Louis, Horary Plain & Simple); Moon 14Pis08 conjoins Fixed Star Achernar (empathy, humanity, patience, success, religion, philosophy, but also 'crisis at the end of the river' which may relate to flooding or other Neptunian crises such as debt and fraud.)

At Midheaven, the Goal Point of the chart, are two Fixed Stars: Spica (potential for brilliance) and Arcturus (a different approach); we know the November 2 midterms will shoosh into Congress new political players but whether brilliance will shine forth from the infusion remains to be seen: a 9th house Saturn 13Lib05 parallels another Fixed Star that's not so lovely: Zuben Eschemali (negative social reform.)

'Negative social reform' is what this populist/common-gooder American would have to call the Saturnian austerity cuts being handed down from highly paid politicians who enabled the banking industry to steal trillions of dollars from the US economy and private pension funds, some of which US banks sent to foreign bankers and investors. Congress and Wall Street were indebted to foreign entities and we-the-people paid. It seems our current 'deficit hawks' suffer from a bad case of amnesia.

But aren't we nice to help out the banksters and fraudsters so intent upon our ruination?

Venus (valuations; smaller amounts of money; relationships; attraction) 27Lib52 is about to cross Nov 15's Mc and is still retrograde until November 18, 2010 (Venus' station direct degree = 27Lib40, so she's readying to flip-flop now. Does Venus represent Nancy Pelosi?)

Well, I realize that the Lame Duck Congress may not open for business precisely at 10:00 am on Monday - maybe the members will sleep in - thus, the horoscope I'm using here is symbolic. Still, the Sun Scor-Moon Pisc blend remains in effect on Monday and may yield some clues to the atmosphere - not just of the day - but of Lame Duck Session 2010 itself.

The Water-Water blend of Sun Scor-Moon Pisc indicates a dedication to hard work, emotional intensity, the able use of shrewd strategies and subterfuge, and a deep sense of commitment to a larger vision. This is the 'Jekyll and Hyde' combo torn between passion and compassion...Dracula vs The Good Samaritan.

With Scor-Pisc, there's a love of the mysterious or mysticism (perfect for that Masonic Temple we call the Capitol Building but I understand that the creepy crypt once in the cellar under the rotunda is now history) with a talent for seeing through the deeper motives of others; lack of objectivity may be problematic; love, drugs (including alcohol), and other addictions are potentials with this combination which has an ability to capture people's imaginations and 'come back fighting'.

Images for Integration: Madame Curie works for the Red Cross whilst dedicating herself to the mysteries of radioactivity...Long John Silver, with ruthless charm, becomes a successful entrepreneur. (Sun Sign-Moon Sign, Charles and Suzi Harvey.)

Radioactivity conjures images of nukes and plutonium, of course, and 'Red Cross' points to the Rosicrucians who are part of the bossy 'one world government' brigade; silver and gold are an old argument and obsession in Washington.

Now, if you're wondering what famous folk share the Sun Scor-Moon Pisc blend natally, here's a brief list: Hillary Clinton, Grace Kelly, Martin Scorsese, Bela Lugosi, astronomer Charles Kowal (discoverer of Chiron), and Robert Louis Stevenson and Marie Curie, as hinted in the Images above.

~:~

It's noon and the cruise ship Splendor has just docked: welcome back, everyone!