Romney-McCain-Palin and Those Dag Dabbit Tax Returns

by Jude Cowell

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Obama's Natal Chiron and The Bridge

John McCain August 29, 1936 (horoscope shown)

Quick Notes on Sarah Palin's Natal Chart

Ayn Rand natal chart

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

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

The Weekend of 6.29.12: "In the United States Today..."

June 29, 2012: Some Quotes and Notes on America and the SCOTUS Decision

by Jude Cowell

First, two quotes on America:

"In the United States today, the Declaration of Independence hangs on school room walls, but foreign policy follows Machiavelli."

- Howard Zinn

"Whatever it is that the government does, sensible Americans would prefer that the government does it to somebody else. This is the idea behind foreign policy."

- P. J. O'Rourke

Well, the weekend is here and most Democrats, Independents, and Liberals are celebrating yesterday's SCOTUS decision to uphold the president's Affordable Health Care Act of 2010 (which I said all along should be titled a 'Health Insurance Act' for it does little or nothing to curb medical costs as they need to be.)

An interesting tidbit is that yesterday, Mercury (decisions; announcements; pronouncements) was at 2Leo51 and thus on its degree in the natal horoscope of President Obama, and in Washington DC, Mercury was the 12th house of The Unconscious (and of Politics, Self-Undoing, Karma) as FOX 'News' and CNN acted as "victims of the unconscious' those first 7 minutes by reading and reporting what they expected to read and discover. Yes, Trickster Mercury was at work! To add complexity to the circus along with elements of the media and the masses, too-speedy Mercury was aided and abetted by confused, confusing, deluded Neptune. The inconjunct aspect (150 degr = adjustment) between them (0A08) was almost exact and lead to (some of) the media's misinterpretation and misunderstanding in their crazed attempts to be "first" with the news. They reported what they wanted to report, not what was before their eyes.

Republicans Throw Justice Roberts "Under the Bus"

As for Chief Justice John Roberts who sided with the Court's more liberal Justices and wrote the opinion upholding 'Obamacare', his natal Mars is now triggered (conjoined) by transiting Uranus 8Ari27 marking a period of time when unpredictable actions disrupt his typical behavior. Tsk tsk!

Meanwhile, you may have noticed the top of this blog's sidebar where I've recently added the feed to The Political Astrology Blog which trumpets the tidings that a birth time has been found for Rep. Paul Ryan of Ayn Rand fame. His details are: January 29, 1970 @2:37 am Janesville, Wisconsin if you wish to set up a natal chart for the "Path to Prosperity Plan" fellow. By his daft idea to "tax the poor"--the 'blood out of a turnip' school of economics--I think he means prosperity only for those who already heave it, don't you? Anyway, this gives Rep. Ryan an Ascendant of 00Sag+ with Neptune rising at 00Sag+...he's a thespian wearing a mask!

Plus, as you know, the Sabian Symbol for '1Sag' is: "A Grand Army of the Republic Campfire." Well, the GOP does consider itself to be very Grand (as in, Old Party) and envisions itself to be the only political party worthy to helm the White House--ever. Guess they're just a little ole' army of never-give-up-win-at-any-cost Machiavellian soldiers on a take-over campaign who stunningly had their marching orders diverted somewhat by yesterday's SCOTUS decision.

A hearty Thank You to the excellent Information Clearing House for sending along the above (distressingly descriptive) quotes concerning the nation I love dearly--the one my ancestors fought and died for. But For Best Results: Keep Sovereign.

Plus, you'll find more about the on-again-off-again Mercury/Neptune inconjunct and its effects on President Obama in the July-August-September 2012 issue of Stars Over Washington Monthly set to go out just before and in honor of Independence Day 2012 and including Horoscopes for America's Solar Return 2012, President Obama's Solar Return 2012, and Autumn Equinox 2012--subscribe if you dare!

Here's a previous post concerning the birth data of Niccolo Machiavelli with his natal planets listed if you're interested; added are some plantary links to President Obama's natal planets for curiosity's sake.

6.19.12: A Gemini New Moon, TPP, and Obama v Romney

A Gemini New Moon, Romney, Obama, and A Draconian "Free Trade" Pact

by Jude Cowell

Wondering about the significance of the June 19th New Moon @28Gem43? Then let masterful Dipali Desai fill you in with pertinent astro-details and insights!

Coming so close to Summer Solstice 2012 (Wednesday June 20), this New Moon perfects at 11:02 am in the edt time zone, is disposited by Mercury (ruler of communicative Gemini) during a Mercury Hour, plus--Mercury is the only planet out-of-bounds. Whew! Lots of Mercurialism going on next week with a New Moon signaling a new cycle of activity beginning in the realms of Mercury (trade, commerce, journalism, travel including air and space, plans, thinking processes, teaching, speechifying, and more.) Plus, '28Gem' is a degree of BANKRUPTCY in the Sabian Symbols and the June 19th New Moon stimulates the Moon of 9/11/01 for it's something of a Lunar Return to the 9/11 horoscope.

Additionally, Moon and Mercury (the 'heart v head' combo) are engaged in supportive mutual reception for Mercury (what I think of as our solar system's 'tofu planet' for Mr. Speedy takes on the flavor of whatever it contacts) is now zooming through the zodiacal sign of Cancer, sign of Home, Nurturing, Self-Protection, crabbiness, caginess, and shrewd business maneuvers. And with its New Moon position @21Can15, we know that a US Mercury Return will soon occur, another 'new cycle' indicator for our nation.

However, restrictive Saturn 22Lib47 Rx in Mercury's natural 3rd house of Communication provides a bit of braking or delay by squaring Mercury in 11th H of Groups where the New Moon occurs (edt) while the Venus 8Gem45 Rx-Jupiter 1Gem47 duo in the New Moon's 10th H of Public Standing (both disposited by Mercury) contact US natal Uranus 8Gem55 and continue to affect the Republican Party's assumed presidential candidate Mitt Romney's natal ASC 1Gem01 and 1st house NN 5Gem29.

These expansive contacts are giving Mittens an airy lift of his thinking, plans, newsworthiness, and visibility though with all the unstable Mutable energy, the good effects may be temporary or alternating. As you know, in Washington DC, Mercurial thievery seems to be a constant and methinks we're very wise to mistrust any politician of any partisan persuasion who expresses a desire to join that particular club of elites! Yes, Mitt has been rapping at the club door for years and this former resident of DC had a good chuckle this past week when Mr. Romney said of Mr. Obama that 'talk is cheap'--for Mitt was talking when he said it.

Now with Venus to US n Uranus (plus the June 5/6, 2012 Venus Transit in mid-Gemini), unusual or unorthodox alliances are being formed, one of which is the super-secret Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a draconian "free trade" deal (Mercury) between Asian nations and America which, among other Global Governance goals, will set up an international authority (tribunal) to which the US will bow, thus totally destroying US sovereignty with no legal recourse for the American people--ever. This makes a visit to TradeWatch.org an imperative for We the People--and we must forget Washington's tiresome 'con v lib/R v D' divide-and-conquer tactics and propaganda before all is lost.

And yes, my fellow Americans, communist China may join later as and when it will. Although an official site makes it all sound quite mild, others such as myself aren't nearly as complacent. If the radical reforms are so beneficial, why was the pact formed in complete secrecy during its nascent stages (2008--2010)? More offshoring of US jobs is afoot! This is a negative for President Obama's re-election campaign dreams for details and text now emerge in the light of the May 20, 2012 Solar Eclipse @00Gem20 (conjunct Alcyone--this pact is indeed something to cry about) along with the June 6 Lunar Eclipse (conjunct US natal ASC) and its uncovering-of-secrets function for TPP's "free trade" details have been leaked in line with the current (un-)veiling Neptune in oceanic Pisces influence. Such a leaky White House! Makes me wonder if the identity of the GOP mole will soon be leaked!

Now Back to Mitt Romney: March 12, 1947 9:51 am EST Detroit, MI

The political nature of these transits to Romney's Uranus-NN pairing in the personal 1st house denotes a 'political association advocating reforms' flavor (R. Ebertin.) Romney's natal 2nd H of Money and Earning Ability is affected as well with the June 19th New Moon occurring therein--cusp 25Gem00; some fluctuation in his campaign funding efforts--up or down--may be forthcoming as well once the new cycle begins and culminates two weeks later at the July Full Moon in Capricorn. Of course, revelations of financial double-dealing are possible for Romney with Gemini, the sign of multiplicity and duplicity--here in money matters (2nd H.)

President Obama: August 4, 1961 7:24 pm AHST Honolulu, Hawaii

Yes, the Gemini planets of June also affect President Obama's natal 4th H Moon 3Gem21 which sextiles his n 6th H Mercury 2Leo20 but is squared by n Pluto 6Vir59 in 7th H of Partnerships. Natal 7th H also contains his 'political associations advocating reforms' duo of Uranus-NN in Leo which is in much closer orb than Romney's Uranus-NN in Gemini.

In addition, it may turn out to be politically significant--especially in the realms of speeches and goals--that Mercury's Rx Station @12Leo33 on July 14, 2012 is a direct 'hit' to President Obama's natal Sun @12Leo33--and will recur with a direct Mercury--but I can't type about that now since I'm in process of adding such notes to the first-ever issue of Stars Over Monthly which is coming soon!

'Wild Card' Eclipses of November 2011 and May 2012

November 2011 and May 2012 Eclipses Spotlight Mercury/Jupiter

by Jude Cowell


The current Solar Eclipse from the 14 North Saros Series in which events are occurring manifested on November 25, 2011 at 2Sag37 ('a peculiar turn of events') and the next Solar Eclipse will occur on May 20, 2012 at 00Gem21, opposite the November 2011 eclipse.

In between the two Solar Eclipses fell a Lunar Eclipse on December 10, 2011 at 18Gem11 triggering America's natal Mars in Gemini.

You remember that the November 2011 Solar Eclipse occurred within two days of the deadline of the so-called 'Super' Committee of 12 congressional elites who came to no agreement concerning their debt reduction duties, an outcome which is to trigger automatic cuts for which no single US politician may be blamed. (They think they're so slick, don't they?!)

So we haven't heard the last of the budget reduction negotiations with the American people still being held hostage to austerity promoters who are attempting to starve the baby before tossing it out with the bathwater--and the 'baby' is a sovereign and solvent America.

That austerity measures (against those who can ill afford further reductions) used as financial 'solutions' hasn't worked in Europe seems not to trouble US conservatives--or maybe they're hoping the American people won't notice the glaring obviousness by Election Day 2012.

In fact, US economist Joseph Stiglitz says that "European austerity plans are a suicide pact" that collapses economies. Well, duh! That's a major objective of the Global Governance agenda, as I've groused here many times before--to collapse the global economy and build it back in the image of the totalitarian model they prefer (the mark of the beast?), aka, a New World Order.

(Scroll down this blog's sidebar for a video of Bush Sr announcing the inevitability of a NWO around the time of the Great Conjunction of Uranus and Neptune, the 'Enlightenment' planets. Remember Poppy's famous slogan, "a thousands points of light"? It's from his 1988 RNC speech which also contains, "Read my lips: no new taxes!" among other gems--text and video here.)

So with eclipses being the 'wild cards' of the Universe and since we're poised upon the spotlighted Gem/Sag axis as I type, the influences of sign rulers Mercury (Gem) and Jupiter (Sag) are active within the Collective until Solar Eclipse polarities switch emphasis to the Taurus/Scorpio (Venus/Mars-Pluto) axis with the Solar Eclipse of November 13, 2012 at 22Scorpio (more on that eclipse later.) Yet even then, one more Lunar Eclipse will manifest at 7Gemini on November 28, 2012 thus wrapping up our Gem/Sag lessons until year 2020.


Let's consider the Mercury/Jupiter combination of energies which now color many of the events and issues of 2012.

When Mercury (thinking processes, communications, senses, oration, etc) combines with Jupiter (expansion principle, growth, abundance, largess, faith, ideology, philosophy, relating, etc) an interesting dynamic is described as their planetary energies are combined and strengthened. Naturally, all things mercurial are increased by Jupiter's touch and a wealth of ideas often results. Common sense, the intellect, optimism, erudition (especially in retirement or solitude), plans for gorwth, and constructive thinking are on the menu, along with enthusiasm (for ill or good!)

On the negative side, over-stretching or ignoring boundaries and verbosity are possibilities along with a potential for exaggeration or over-embellishment which makes Washington's euphemism for their habit of telling lies--to misspeak--is prominent as well though it's difficult to imagine when falsehoods are not one of their favored tactics to get what they want by hook or crook. And some of them are or have been on the shady side including those who hide their fortunes in the darkened shade of palm tree tax shelters like the Cayman Islands, as Mitt Romney is now reported to do.

Perhaps the news that Rick Santorum actually won in Iowa rather than Mitt Romney is a Mercury/Jupiter case in point with Mercury relating to voting and Jupiter to numbers or tallies.

As Always, Jupiter and Saturn

As you know, austerity is the province of planet Saturn, and together, Jupiter and Saturn are known as our societal planets for their constant stand-off between Saturnian restriction and Jupiterian expansion describes one of society's greatest needs: balance between opposing forces to create stability, the yin-yang of our dualistic world.

And in Mundane Astrology (with this blog concerned with its sub-category, Political Astrology), Jupiter and Saturn may be used to signify America's two political parties (between which many people see little difference--I tend to think of them as factions of warring ideologies more than actually differing parties especially since they've made everything an Us v Them/class warfare stand-off.)

Now not every mundane astrologer agrees with me on this, but I use Jupiter to represent the Republican Party ('Grand' Old Party of the wealthy--as Harry Truman said of them at the 1948 DNC, they're the party of "special interests--always have been and always will be"), and Saturn for the Democrats (being the older of the two parties, a little dour at times, and not as flamboyantly theatrical--with a few exceptions through the years. Republicans do like to leave Dems with Saturn's accountability, don't they? Takes the heat off the GOP, they hope.)

Now if everyone in Washington played fairly and were open about their true allegiances, perhaps the balance we sorely need, so wistfully expected by America's founders through 'checks and balances' provisions, would be easier to maintain than we currently experience. However, ideological forces within and without our government are at work and have been since America's first cry and before.

Let's hope and pray that We the People will continue waking up to Washington's machinations and mummeries in time to Save Our Republic for we cannot automatically assume that national politicians will do so as they jockey for top positions within the devilish New World Order.



Further reading: Graphics: European Debt Crisis Explained.

Plus, President Obama is now within his three-fer Mars Return 2012, a two-year cycle of new activity which began for him on January 14, 2012. The recent smoke bomb tossed over the White House fence garnered the president a Martian calling card and I'm glad that he and Michelle were having dinner at a restaurant down the street and were in no danger, with 'smoke' ruled by Neptune, and Mr. Obama's natal Mars 22Vir35 sitting directly upon US natal Neptune 22:25.

Currently I'm in a wait-and-see attitude as to whether the apparent smoke bomb was thrown by Occupiers for most of them had left the scene of their White house protests by the time the bomb was thrown and everyone knows the tiresome tactic that police or other entities use to stain the integrity of peaceful protests with violence by embedding police officers to cause trouble and adulterate a protest's public support on behalf of the corporate masters who sign their paychecks.


As expressed decades ago by candidate Harry Truman, here's a good Rs v Ds example of History repeating with similar themes a la Campaign 2012:




For progressive reading and video viewing, you may wish to visit Thom Hartmann, Amy Goodman, and/or David Pakman.

And, as always, please become involved with Move To Amend Citizens United while we still have a tattered republic in dire need of saving!

Is Newt Gingrich a "national candidate" yet? 5.11.11

May 11, 2011: Has Newt Gingrich announced his run for US president yet?

He's supposed to be doing so today and weeks ago the story was that his prez bid announcement would be made from Philadelphia's *Independence Hall. My assumption is that announcing from such a location would be a shout-out to Tea Partisans and a bid for hyper-patriotism.

Well, here's Mr. Gingrich's birth data (hour unknown) with a few notes on his natal chart in case he sticks around the campaign trail long enough, successfully stores his past morality baggage of malfeasance and adultery in a dark enough closet, and finally manages to finagle the presidency of the United States.

Personally, I prefer someone who doesn't want the job so obsessively!

And isn't it interesting to note that today is when the planet of announcements, oration, reporting, negotiations, and communications of all kinds - Mercury - leaves its shadow, the degree of its last retrograde station, and begins to move forward into the light?

That degree is '25 Aries' and its Sabian Symbol is:

"A Double Promise Reveals Its Inner and Outer Meaning" which Marc Edmund Jones gives as: SENSIBILITY.

positive expression: a facility of adjustment by which everything in a given situation may be brought into the fullest co-operation with everything else.

negative/unconscious/shadow side: compromising insincerity and a lean to chicanery in all human relationships.

A two-faced degree! Yet it's almost as if Mr. Gingerich makes use of Astrology for its timing function, isn't it?

~:~

Update 11:30 am edt: just found bwo Twitter, The Nation's list of the eleven craziest things Newt ever said...only eleven?


*post contains an image one of the many versions of America's natal chart, the Scorpio Rising horoscope, which may be used for spying agencies, surveillance concerns, or even for Big Business, if not as a natal chart for our nation.

Visible Alignment of Planets: a presaging of 2012? 5.10.11

1999, the New Millennium, 2012, and Planets All in a Row 2011

by Jude Cowell

May 10, 2011: as of today it is possible to see with the naked eye a fabulous celestial show: a line-up of Mercury, Venus, Mars, and Jupiter in the wee hours of the morning for the next few weeks.

Even quirkily inclined Uranus and shy Neptune may be viewed if environmental conditions are right and you have a decent pair of binoculars! (Do let me know here in a Comment if you spy them. Or message: judecowell at gmail dot com.)

Now some folk are relating the current line-up to the potential devastation expected in 2012 though astronomers at NASA are poo-pooing the idea. They say that no similar configuration is on the Universe's schedule for December 21, 2012, the end date of the Mayan Calendar. Yet what the date is the end of, no one really knows. Apparently planet Venus is involved and is said to have been the culprit in an earlier cosmic disaster some millions of years ago; the Sunspot Cycle is also implicated.

For further investigation on such topics as 2012, you may be interested in a website I recently discovered called Shift of the Ages along with New World Order 2012 which addresses such head-scratching topics.

Plus, there's a classic A&E program that mentions the Mayan Calendar 2012 question and is narrated by the excellent Leonard Nimoy - click for a video of Part 1, then click through for the rest, if you wish, for it remains quite watchable as Planet Earth nears 2012.

Is Fear of 2012 Really Necessary?

Personally I suspect that one-world-government types have for decades played upon and manipulated public fears (perhaps assisted by the ancient cataclysm mentioned above involving Venus which, if so, rests deep within our Collective Unconscious) for their own power-grabbing purposes. Something is coming up that they will use to justify their increased control and reordering of our lives.

Such social manipulators use Astrology, too, you know!

And their agenda was ramped up after the Biblical portents in the Book of Revelation became visible astrologically in the horoscope of the King of Terror Solar Eclipse (aka, the 'King of Alarm Eclipse', or 'The Mother of All Eclipses') which Nostradamus predicted centuries ago and which manifested on August 11, 1999. The article lines you up with the eclipse horoscope if you wish a view.

1999: A Major Shift of Cosmic Energies

The mid-degrees of the Fixed signs (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius) are spotlighted in the August 11, 1999 chart and in Astrology have been known for ages as the Oxen Point, Lion Point, Eagle Point, and Angel Point.

So I must ask you: since the New Millennium began have we not experienced an abundance of misery and fear-mongering upon the Earth since God's angels (timed by the 1999 eclipse and predicted in Revelation) let go the four corners of 'the winds of war and strife'?

The Ultimate Dilemma

In an ultimate and eternal sense, all I can say is that everyone who ever lived, lives now, or will be born of Planet Earth has a true condition before God - what our Creator thinks of each one of us, not what we or anyone else thinks. (Mankind's ego need not apply!)

So to me, given the current climate of natural and other disasters - with more to come - it seems that the most important thing anyone could ever do in his or her life is to examine one's heart of hearts and attend to and repair His opinion - the only one that truly matters - in order to improve one's status according to The Light one has received!

Gov Shutdown and a Mystery at Stars Over Washington 4.8.11

Author of Stars Over Washington Stumped (more than usual)

by Jude Cowell

As a US government shutdown looms large, Stars Over Washington has to wonder if the stars will dim tonight over our nation's capital at 12:01 am edt. Both sides will look bad in this stalemate though which party takes most of the blame remains to be seen. Republicans adding social issues to the budget agreement seems calculated to guarantee a shutdown since the GOP knows the Dems won't accept its passage with such controversial riders attached.

Plus, the upcoming debt limit debate seems stalemated before it gets a good start.

Astrologically Speaking

Can the current Mercury retrograde period have something to do with the impasse? Mercury rules agreements, bills, voting, orating, thinking, planning, and all manner of things which are intricately involved in the situation as Washington moons we-the-people and acts out like unruly children.

Yet Mercury won't make a Direct Station and change directions until Saturday April 23 and then must leave its shadow (May 11) before mercurial things can really move forward again. Well, Mercury did turn Rx at a critical-crisis degree (click for my notes on Mercury's schedule.)

If you missed it, here's my post on the possible April 8/9th shutdown at midnight showing America's natal horoscope with tonight's transits added.

So now I sit here typing and wondering - both noble mercurial pursuits - why in the last couple of weeks or so, the page views for SO'W have quadrupled and then some. That any of my posts could receive thousands of views in one 24-hour period is gratifying of course, if true, so yesterday I took time to add up pvs of individual posts. As expected, they did not add up to the total...not even close.

Then is SO'W under hack attack? Or is increased readership good news for my 6 years of blogging here? Mercury is the planet of Good News, after all, and rules my natal Ascendant and Midheaven.

Well, if the page view increase is for real, perhaps it's due to a blog link a kind person added to a forum on Planet Waves, an brilliant Astrology site containing much astro-info from expert astrologer Eric Francis and friends.

That, possible Blogger miscounting, or hacking are the 3 best explanations I can think of for this mysterious uppage of SO'W's readership. And this is where in my text a bemused 'head scratch' should be inserted...

~:~

Perhaps you'd be interested in reading Jesse Ventura's open letter to the ruling elite as provided by the excellent dProgram.net where you'll find information on topics the US government doesn't want you to know or think critically about.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Obama speaks on Libya 3.28.11 w Mercury at loose ends

Horoscopes set for Monday night, March 28, 2011, on the occasion of President Obama addressing the nation about the US-NATO-Arab-Allies mission in Libya, don't look so much unpromising for the globalists' usual war propaganda purposes as they look...well, ignored by the general public. We have, after all, heard this sorry tune too many times before.

Under conditions which must certainly be obvious even to our bubble-wrapped White House and Capitol Hill denizens, the American people are wumped out and few there be who are interested in hearing about another overly expensive (aka, bottomless pit in the money department) war and possible occupation. Mission Accomplished so soon? We'll see if NATO operations fill the expansionists' bill for domination in the region and if one objective is to get the American people more acclimated to acting in accord with with NATO and eventually, the UN. (Less national sovereignty for us that way.)

Moon and South Node of the Moon

As you know, the Moon in a mundane chart represents the people or populace, the general public, and Democracy. Women, children, and family are particularly associated with the Moon whether in a radix (natal) horoscope or a mundane one (events, inaugurations, coronations, speeches, politicians, elections, etc - whatever has a beginning has an inception chart, even pitifully crooked politicians.)

The thing about this Monday evening at such an hour as the President might read his remarks on the topic (8 pm or 9 pm?), the Moon is in the 6 - 7 degree range of Aquarius which conjoins US natal South Node of the Moon, not the most auspicious marker for anything expecting publicity, or for a speech you want to be well-received by a fickle public.

Speak to Me Only with Thy Mercury

In warring Aries, Mercury (planet of young persons, orators, negotiators, planners, scribes, reporters, bloggers, traders, and jugglers, among a myriad of other things) makes no applying aspect to any planet in the chart/s at 8 pm or 9 pm edt in Washington DC, an indication that the speech may make little difference 'on the board'.

So though he's at loose ends planetarily, Mr. Speedy does apply to a lovely trine with the NN (and thus sextiles SN) so reporters will be listening (it's their jobs, plus, zealous ideologues must pay attention because they can't exist without Politics to promote their causes - perhaps if no one claps their hands, they'll all go pouf! and leave us be.) Hopefully, mercurial young people will be listening, too, or watching it later on YouTube for they tend most often to supply the Pentagon's war fodder, and their futures are intimately connected to the rhythm the White House plays when beating its drums of war.

So it seems in his speech that President Obama may be falling back on past (SN) emotional appeals (Moon) to our better natures (AQ) and of course we'll hear political talking points parroted on both sides in the news before Tuesday and for the rest of the week unless another topic knocks it off the ticker.

Well, the way things are going these days, that's pretty much a given, isn't it?

And since a disciplined GOP desperately craves the White House in 2012, we know that just after Mr. Obama completes his remarks the yapping will begin and spread into the week, revealing the gist or essence of the Libyan conflict's required government propaganda modulated to suit the public mood, and embroidered with all the subtle nuances big money can pay journalists and talking heads to spout as the week plows on and Japan's leaked radiation heads this way. Now there's a leak meant to be taken seriously yet it's more politically correct to downplay it.

Meanwhile, Mr. Obama prepares an oration for our edification and Politico's headline is President Obama faces a hard Libya sell so perhaps we may consider his speech's Moon/SN contact as: "exit strategy" (what we-the-people want to have and hear about, thanks), bad timing (coffers now empty - US tax payers can't afford to act as the world's police force anymore, we're all tapped out, cheers), more 'terrorism' propaganda (6/7 AQ = Moon = US n SN = Neptune's position at Islam's Founding), or simply that the public (Moon) has negative escapist behavior it wishes to resort to (SN) and would rather not be bothered on a Monday night to listen to...ugh, crafty Politics.

With SN (aka, Tail of the Dragon) having a Saturnian flavor of separation or loss, the Moon nearby can give a Moon/Saturn vibe which includes: separation from females, depression or melancholy, emotional inhibitions, or more positively, ambition, direction, strategy. (Tyl.)

Now you'll easily think of other connotations for Moon/SN and other chart factors in the President's speech horoscope for the evening of March 28, 2011, I know, so your opinions and remarks are being awaited momentarily.

How about: Moon/SN = talk to the hand...?

Obama to Chamber of Commerce w Sun to natal ASC

President Obama Comes A-Courtin' February 7, 2011

by Jude Cowell

Today President Obama sprints across the street from the White House to the temple of the Chamber of Commerce to encourage them to open the gates of jobs creation.

Scheduled to speak at 11:30 am est (Hour of the Sun), the Sun 18AQ33 conjoins Mr. Obama's natal Ascendant (his nibs himself), a time for improving one's self image. The solar emphasis is on the president today and on the goals he wishes to achieve - perfect for speaking to an influential group which has previously opposed his every move yet the recent trade agreement with South Korea is a notable exception to what has been touted as a 2-year stand-off between the president and the Chamber (I don't really buy that, but you may.)

Moon 8Ari46 is in 11th house of Groups, Associations, Hopes/Wishes along with moneybags Jupiter 3Ari06 and rebellious Uranus, still hanging back in murky Pisces (28:18) but moving direct and ready to rumble at Aries Point soon (AP = US natal Ic.)

Moon/Uranus = Jupiter: becoming more aware of the political skills needed to market your ideas.

But will President Obama be successful in persuading the Chamber to loosen the corporate hiring strings on behalf of American workers?

At 11:30 am, ASC 26Tau44 gives an interesting Sabian Symbol: '27Tau' = "An Old Indian Woman Selling Beads" which always reminds me of selling Manhattan! Well, he is selling something and hopefully it isn't only himself with the 2012 campaign just ahead.

Since our topic is a speech, Mercury's position and symbol are even more to the point: Mercury 5AQ55 conjunct 11:30 am's Midheaven 5:33 (Goals; Aspirations)...'6AQ' = "A Performer of a Mystery Play." Mercury conjoins US natal South Node (SN), a point of separation which indicates that Mr. Obama's ideas and plans (Mercury) are either ahead or behind the times - and naturally Mercury in Aquarius has progressive ideas, so with the planet of commerce, trade, negotiations, and oration conjunct SN, we may expect Obama's ideas for improvement in the US economy to be original and to escape the pitfalls of popular opinion.

In the long run, the president's ideas will prove to be correct yet a downside of Mercury/SN is an inability to gain support for them; one must proceed alone because the new ideas go unheeded.

Chart-ruler Venus 3Cap06 opposes US natal Venus, a time when people are encountered who are unsympathetic to one's proposals and opinions. Diplomacy and relationships meet with conflicts yet the Chamber has publicly expressed that it now wants to "reaffirm the American business community's absolute commitment to working with (the president)" as Tweeted this morning by West Wing Report.

And evaluating Venus makes only one applying aspect in the speech chart, her conjunction to wealthy Pluto (2A40 - two days, weeks, months) which indicates material give-and-take, a connection with bankruptcy, and shows an inability to accept social injustices without doing something about them.

Well, today's Sun has moved beyond conjunction with testy Mars 17AQ52 ('18AQ" = "A Man Unmasked") and has nebulous, deceptive Neptune 29AQ02 to deal over the next few days (the masses; mass media.) This will put US natal Moon (the people) between them for this midpoint picture:

Tr Sun/Neptune = n Moon: feelings depend upon external influences; receptivity to the dreams and visions of others.

Well, I'm receptive to the dream of jobs creation in America, aren't you? But as for more Neptunian propaganda, I'm fed up to here.

Then at 12:30 pm today, President Obama is scheduled to lunch with former Fedhead Paul Volcker, Obama's outgoing economic adviser. Then Mr. Obama reports to VP Biden at 2:30 pm.

Let's consider the two enlightening *Images for Integration for today's Sun AQ-Moon Taurus blend:

"A court jester mocks the social injustices of the realm...Robin Hood and his band of merry men outwith the evil King John once again."

This analytical Air-Earth combo describes a maverick and truth-seeker with a social conscience; it is forward-looking, prophetic, and possesses radical views which may be too much for the staid Chamber of Commerce.

So perhaps I should include Mercury's (and 11:30 am Mc's) previous symbol for '5AQ' = "A Council of Ancestors"...ANTECEDENCE....

positive expression: power through absolute self-integrity (my italics - let's hope the Chamber has some);

negative/unconscious/shadow side: sterile conservatism. (Jones.)

Therefore, I shall close with a quote from one who shares natally the Sun AQ-Moon Taurus blend, Anton Chekov:

"Man has been endowed with reason, with the power to create, so that he can add to what he's been given."

With the president's speech today, I see conflict between adding to what's been given to a council of wealthy bankers and business leaders, and their fear that "Robin Hood" intends to "rob" the rich to give to the poor - even though America's ever-growing income equality is one of our nation's greatest injustices.

C-SPAN is providing live coverage of the president's speech to the Chamber of Commerce in a few minutes so I'll shut down, hush up, and listen. But will the Chamber?

(Update: BHO begins speaking at 11:29 am est; chart remains basically the same.)

~:~

*Sun Sign-Moon Sign, Charles and Suzi Harvey

Midpoint pictures: Tyl; Ebertin; Munkasey

Barack Obama: August 4, 1961 7:24 pm AHST Honolulu, Hawaii

DHS targets activists in PA; Mercury/Uranus busy

Magenta Alert! This HoSec-related article with video arrived in my mailbox from DProgram.net and I thought you might wish to know about some squirreliness going on in the excellent state of Pennsylvania:

In this edition of the Reality Report, Gary Franchi blows the lid off the Pennsylvania DHS list targeting activists. He also sits down with Arizona State Senate Libertarian Candidate Andrea Garcia to talk about her race for the Senate seat. Obama gets schooled during his own Town Hall meeting on CNBC, and we have the video. Nina breaks down the headlines including who is funding the Ground Zero Mosque and how the US is in bigger debt than the Government is letting on.

She also plays the controversial video of the middle school students praying at a Mosque during a field trip and reports on a new tax concept being proposed in the UK. The viewers brand a new “Enemy of the State” and the mailbag is sifted. #

~:~

View a basic image of Department of Homelnad Security's
2002 natal horoscope where you'll notice its North Node in Gemini conjoins US natal Uranus opposite HoSec's Mercury at South Node. The Nodal axis, as you know, signifies the path or future direction with US natal Uranus, planet of revolution and rebellion, at NN.

Uranus/NN blends of energy represent political groups advocating radical reforms and new efforts to alter the course of events. The attacks of 9/11/01, the purported justificaton for setting up DHS, have certainly played an integral part in the altering of our nation and at the time, gave an alleged legitimacy to the disputed SCOTUS installment of Bush-Cheney administration.

(Note: HoSec's birth horoscope was published in 2005 before I developed the bad habit of scribbling my notes all over the charts I publish; the text does include a few details all the same.)

The Nodal contact lends a Mercury/Uranus flavor to the enterprise and has a 'propaganda used during emergencies' quality along with advanced technological (Uranus) surveillance (Mercury) and a potential for riots, rebellion, or protests which begin because information on HoSec's goals is not well explained.

My feeling is that there would be many more such riotous outbursts from we-the-people if the true info on neocon goals of HoSec were well explained.

JFK assassination: Sun, Mercury, Moon Returns 2009

The brutal assassination of President John F. Kennedy on Nov 22, 1963 @ 12:32 pm CST in Dallas, Texas is now in process of having 3 Returns to 1963's degrees.

Charts set for Dallas, in order of occurrence, they are:

Nov 21, Saturday @ 4:05 pm CST is the assassination chart's Solar Return in Return 7th house, the degree's repeat of where the Sun (leader) was positioned at the moment of the dirty deed when the Sun was @ 29Sco44 in 9th house with no major aspects; Solar Return (SR)'s Moon 27Cap30 in 10th house conjoined US natal Pluto 27Cap33 Rx.

Nov 22, Sunday @ 1:37 am CST is the assassination chart's Mercury Return (9Sag45 conj Royal Star Antares, keywords: success if obsession is avoided, or obsessed with success); Merc Return Moon 2AQ11 in 5th house; 5th cusp = JFK's natal Ic 23Cap46 (Ic = 'Death; Endings'...his Ic is conj SR 2009's Mc, so we may expect media and public attention on this, the 46th anniversary of his death.)

Nov 22 @ 8:05 pm CST is the assassination's Lunar Return, with the Moon representing the public or the people @ 11AQ16 in Return 8th house with Jupiter 19AQ50, Chiron 21:30, and Neptune 23:47. This is a Neptune-to-natal-Uranus (n 23AQ43 Rx) transit for JFK describing a time of unrealistic expectations, confusions, deceptions, and disorientation in the atmosphere that stimulate societal changes; ideals conflict with economic and technological conditions which impact methods in unpredictable ways; NN 22Cap19 is near JFK's natal Ic in Moon Return 7th house.

One point about JFK's natal Uranus 23AQ43 Rx is that it was his first natal planet to rise in the assassination chart indicating shock, disruptive events, the unexpected, rebellion, upsets, alienation, and/or separation. (We got them all with this one act.) In fact, with his n Uranus so near US n Moon shows a 'shock to the people'; JFK's n Uranus is in his n 4th house and makes four aspects to n planets: squares to n Mercury, Mars, and Jupiter, and a trine with Venus in Gemini; his Mercury and Mars are in Taurus, 8th house.

Moon Return's Mc 26Pis36 has just been crossed by transiting Uranus 22Pis44 Rx; Saturn 2Lib22 is at the Foundation of the chart in 4th house; Moon Return Sun 00Sag55 is in Return 5th house with Venus 18Sco54.

The Saturnian South Node (SN) of the Moon is a point of separation, and of past events and behaviors. In the Nov 2009 Moon Return chart, JFK's natal SN is conj ASC 11Can40; his n SN = 11Can15, an interesting degree considering how America's relationship with China has changed over the last 46 years. I say this because of the Sabian Symbol for '12Can' which conjuncts US n Sun by one degree...

'12Can' = "A Chinese Woman Nursing a Baby with a Message" which has a Keynote from Dane Rudhyar: 'The revelation of latent worth in an experience once it is seen in its deeper meaning.'

Don't we wish! I believe larger forces and powers were battling over and above the US presidency in 1963 - as they continue to do.

So between the Solar Return's Sun Sco/Moon Cap, through Sunday's Sun Sag/Moon AQ in both the Mercury and the Lunar Returns, we actually have three sets of Sun/Moon energies within the three Return charts and with Sun Sco/Moon AQ in between, all of which influence the anniversary weekend in relation to the 1963 assassination when dark forces diverted America's direction once again. (This 'eternal flame' crap has become overly tiresome, oh illuminated ones who meddle.)

Let's look at the 'Images for Integration' for the three combos:

Sun Sco/Moon Cap: "A general leads his troops to victory...A film director plans each shot to maximize its emotional impact." (My italics.)

Sun Sco/Moon AQ: "A hovering hawk surveys the world, at one with nature...An exotic moth emerges from its chrysalis, in perfect form, a specimen of the sublimity of nature's intelligence." (This blend is the one from 1963 and I have stated here or elsewhere that the 'hovering hawk' reminds me of an in-the-zone sharp shooter, a sniper. Or two.)

Sun Sag/Moon AQ: On a tour of primitive lands, a university professor goes through a tribal initiation and becomes a blood brother of the chief."

(Sun Sign-Moon Sign, Charles and Suzi Harvey.)

Sun: solar, leader, the adult, purpose, hero's journey; Mercury: thinking processes, intellect, communications, commerce, trade, news and reporting, changes, travel; Moon: the public, the people, emotions and feeling them, the unconscious, the family, nurturing and food, the inner child, fluctuations and changes.

When a past event has three Returns on, or almost on, the anniversary date of the event itself, the three cycles emphasize the event's importance and stimulates attention being paid to it, particularly with the addition of the Lunar Return.

So if we find ourselves discussing JFK's assassination more than on most anniversaries past and expressing our thoughts and feelings about it, we may be unconsciously tapping in to the Sun, Mercury, and Moon energies on that day in Dallas, Nov 22, 1963 at 12:32 om CST - in the Masonic Square of Dealy Plaza.


published Nov 22, 2009 @ 3:06 am est

Leo Full Moon 1.22.08

The chart for Tuesday's Full Moon, culmination of the New Moon of Jan 8 (day of the New Hampshire primaries), when set for Washington, DC, has an emphasis on 20--21 AQ bwo Mercury and Neptune.

North Node (a joining point) is conjunct US natal Moon (the people; the public) which gives two midpoint pictures to consider...

Neptune/NN = ASC: appearing strange to others; being duped; inhibitions; deceit from others.

Nep/NN = Moon: lack of adaptability or of community spirit; cessation of inner understandings between people; disappointments.

There may be some indications of health issues ("2Leo" = "An epidemic of mumps" but this could refer to the spread of infectious financial worries based more on emotions than on real statistics), yet the Goal (MC = "10Sag"; the WHY? Point) is REWARD with the Basis or Foundation (IC = "10Gem") having CRISIS at the HOW Point of the chart.

Is someone pulling financial strings to create crisis for their own gain? Well, didn't 9/11 do the same?

And if you noticed my post of a few days ago on current Jupiter transits to the US chart, 2008 finds no one likely to be impressed with the US financially. As you may read on the Full Moon chart, the US' Saturn (reponsibility; authority) is focal planet of Moon/Pluto ("zeal; upheavals; deep emotions") so we have...

Moon/Pluto = Saturn: pressure to regroup forces and plan anew; constraint; depression; inclination to feelings of loss. That's feelings which may be causing overactions all over the global markets...'demoralizing' is a word I'm hearing a lot, how 'bout you?

And I keep wondering how the modern progeny of the PROMIS software is involved in the current crises in world markets--software which can track finances and change whatever numbers it likes with a quick twitch of the globalist's finger, and your piggybank balance goes Pouf! at their whim. But of course we don't know just who has the software, so we may be watching tech wars in world stockmarkets more than actual loss.

And so...with this Full Moon--the Wolf Moon of January (when the hungry wolves howl outside the door) occurring within the 6/12 axis for Washington, you may want to search elsewhere for the Moon and Sun's Sabian Symbols for "1/2Leo" and "1/2AQ" and many sites and blogs will be emphasizing these degrees, I guarantee.

Therefore, I rebelliously give the Symbols for "20AQ" and "21AQ" instead, the idealistic, imaginative combo of Mercury/Neptune, with its capacity for special awarenesses. The first Symbol is one the world could really use about now and reminds us of the dove Noah sent out to find safe haven:

"20AQ"..."A big white dove, a message bearer"...CONVICTION...

pos: a facility for ordering all personal desires in a cosmic framework and a gift for knowing when to act and what to do;

neg/unconscious/shadow side: sanctimonious self-deception. (Dr.Marc Edmond Jones, The Sabian Symbols in Astrology.)

("Message bearer" reminds me of the NASA's Messenger to Mercury, the messenger. Yet Neptune with Mercury may be "inspired young person" or "loss of a young person." We have Cheney's occupation of the Middle East to do plenty of that.)


Using the rounding-up method for Mercury/Neptune we have:

"21AQ"..."A woman disappointed and disillusioned"...CLEARANCE...

pos: the self's inherent gift for pressing on and gaining increased powers with every setback;

neg/uncons/shadow side: acceptance of all defeat as final.


Somehow the last Symbol reminds me of the prez campaign and I keep wondering what sort of publicity is coming up for women (or a woman) with tr NN conjunct US natal Moon 27AQ10 (Sibly.) Hmmm...whistleblower Sibel Edmonds has been getting more and more attention online.

And then there's Hillary who's already reaping rewards of the meeting of Moon/NN, both of which represent publicity. Neptune/NN is contact with the public also but in a more deceptive, image-hiding-the-truth sort of way. Or perhaps I should say that Neptunian people in the public eye have the ability to reflect back what people want to see, not what's truly there...in a word, acting. Plus, the Moon/Neptune/NN trio has a spiritual influence infused within.

There is a flavor of being misunderstood rising with this Full Moon which may work positively for those trying to veil their true natures, yet it's difficult to hide in the light of a Full Moon!

Click the chart to enlarge and read my notes for more info, if you may. And since the entertaining Leo Moon seeks profuse approval, affection, and applause, here is the admirable Sun-Moon blend of the Wolf Moon...then you can mosey on to other accolades...


*Sun AQ-Moon Leo (AIR/FIRE):

Fearless defender of principle; emotionally idealistic; chivalrous; wise and generous; renaissance man or woman; visionary artist; gentle surface but strong underneath; marked sense of individuality; honorable; proud and regal; fount of wisdom; humanitarianism vs egoism; enthusiastic for new ideas; need for control; vain, despotic, stubborn and arrogant; rational logic + romantic imagination; tends to glamorize other people.

Image for Integration: A modern actress takes a bow, then leads the audience to a political demonstration.


*Sun Sign-Moon Sign,Chas & Suzi Harvey; midpoint pictures: Tyl and Ebertin.

Mercury the Messenger gets fly-by from Messenger!

In a spree of mythological perfection, NASA has named its Messenger after the planet it intends to fly by today.

Either that or there's an astrologer in the bunch!

So where is Mercury in the zodiac as this "different approach" makes the news?

Setting the chart for Cape Canaveral, FL and putting Mercury, planet of communications, planning, and travel (esp air) at MC--the Goal/Aspiration Point of any chart--we see Mercury positioned at 10AQ25 (tropically speaking.)

Aquarius is associated, of course, with science (esp the modern, progressive kind), air travel, group projects, and humanity...and is the sign which contains the Angel Point (15AQ.)

Chiron, the Key and *Bridge between Saturn and Uranus, is approaching the Angel Point now as the Saturn/Uranus opposition becomes exact.

*Is Bush attempting to "play" Chiron, the Healer as he visits the Middle East? The combination of Saturn/Uranus and their cycle represents that region, particularly Palestine and Israel. But if Bush is an "angel" he's one of the dark ones. For in arrogant defiance of decency and love of humanity, he's over there calling for more war! That man can't get enough bombing, can he?


But let's go back to bright Mercury:

Click chart to enlarge and you will see two midpoints with Mercury as focal point (and thus is MC focal at 1:39:25 pm est) and they are:

Sun/NN (the public; new contacts; shared experiences; intellectual associations) = Mercury: communication; news; commentary.

Sun/NN = MC: becoming prominent through associations; fighting other people's battles.

Jupiter/Uranus (high expectations; deep respect for knowledge; breakthroughs; opportunities; long distance travel) = Mercury: planning on success; a series of fortunate breaks; confidence; gathering ample knowledge; ready wittedness; a fortunate occupational turn.

Jup/Uranus = MC: optimism; fortunate powers of adaptibility; attainment of good knowledge and understanding; becoming known for who one is.

Prospects sound good already for getting to know 'who' Mercury is!

This chart indicates that NASA willbe able to gather all the info they want on this hot, speedy little planet, and with Mercury at MC, the ASC degree is parallel the helpful Fixed Star, Arcturus, keywords: a different approach.

Today's fly-by is the first of three passes to Mercury-of-the-wing'ed-helmet-and-heel and I'm wishing them good speed and happy outcomes.

Yet! the chart has connections indicating the public's continued fascination with the presidential campaign today: Moon "11Ari": "The president of the country."

But with Mercury as my natal chart-ruler, I don't want to steal the Messenger's Uranian thunder today and I'm sure we'll be hearing communications from and about the candidates without a speck of prompting from me!


UPDATE: Messenger's closest approach to Mercury was to occur at 2:04:39 pm est. Setting another chart for that time at Laurel, MD (Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab) places idealistic (and perhaps deceptive or dissolving) Neptune at MC...

"20AQ" = "A big white dove, a message bearer"...keyword: CONVICTION...

pos: a facility for ordering all personal desires in a cosmic framework and a gift for knowing when to act and what to do;

neg: sanctimonious self-deception.

Check out the Mercury Messenger website where you can type in your city and find out the best time of day to look for Mercury--either just before sunrise or just after sunset--and keep up with the mission.

Spotlight on Mercury: John Edwards

John Edwards (June 10, 1953; 7:02 am est; Seneca, SC; rated A: astrodatabank) is proud possessor of an out-of-bounds Mercury in his natal chart.

Out-of-bounds (oobs) planets accept no limits and may indicate boundless success and creativity--in the case of John Edwards, Mercury's territories of communications, oration, intellectual pursuits, and commerce seem to have benefited him greatly when he was trying medical malpractice suits and making millions.

You see in his natal chart that Mercury had just risen as he was being born, yet the Moon is chart-ruler (ASC 12Can01--conjunct US n Sun = the leader in a national chart. He has already expressed this connection, of course, in the Senate and in running for president 2004.)

Moon is in Gemini near Jupiter and all in all there are many factors showing money-making ability, and links to medical issues (including wounded Chiron in 7th house of marriage partner and legal affairs (lawsuits.) And Edwards isn't the only Washington politician with a Moon-Jupiter conjunction...expansive emotional desires used in public relations...Dubya is one such...the glass is supposedly always half-full.)

Tonight I'm looking at Edwards' Mercury in Cancer, 12th house, yet perhaps should mention that also in 12th house are Sun (politician; unconscious arrogance); and Mars 27Gem33..."28Gem" = "A man declared bankrupt"--DELIVERANCE...

pos: an effective and overall effectiveness even in the worst of situations;

neg/shadow side: a willingness to dodge every responsibility and betray the very core of self. (This "Bankruptcy" degree refers to court cases and to "enter(ing) new paths of opportunity) (The Sabian Symbols in Astrology, Jones.)

Mercury in 12th house is very creative--as is the sign of Cancer, which is also connected to business and commerce) yet a 12th house Mercury, says Tracy Marks in her marvelous book, Your Secret Self, gives a constantly active mind, always seeking to organize vast amounts of stimulation and information; plus, a tendency toward nervousness.

Frequently there are negative messages from childhood which must be overcome--"don't be stupid" or "be quiet", etc. Then much can be achieved. 12th house Mercuries study many in-depth subjects behind the scenes--more than anyone knows.

In Washington, Sen Edwards was known to be a fast-talker, fast-walker, with little regard for protocol--Mercury in 12th house seldom develops an ability for small talk and makes compulsive lists of details for organizing and planning life.

An undervalued or overvalued intellect may result from having a 12th house Mercury and refuge may be sought in their intellectual capacities. Yet the Scarecrow's "If only I had a brain" mantra may sometimes prevail, esp during school days.

As you know, Edwards was first in his family to attend and graduate from college--AQ on 9th cusp of higher learning would've wanted that bwo Saturn's influence in 9th house. And Uranus' higher vibrations (AQ) would have wanted progress bwo higher education.

Basically this is a non-verbal thinker who perceives the world in terms of images, feelings, and sensations. His active Moon in combination with Mercury supports this, for Moon-Mercury is intuitive and thinks with the feelings (Tyl.) Moon is oobs, along with Mars and Mercury--and Edwards was born during a Moon hour--good for public dealings and publicity--an extraordinary amount of it thanks in part to an oobs Moon.

Although Gemini is the sign of a social butterfly, Moon-Mercury folks are usually very involved with their families. In fact, Edwards' Moon and Mercury are in mutual reception with one another, describing his family's strong support of his ideas and plans.

Mercury's only aspect is 'minor'...a semi-square with powerful Pluto. Semi-squares are in the octile family (8) and are weak but difficult; a separating semi-square = the release of self through creative interchange (The Astrology of Relationship, Michael R. Myer.) They show a tendency toward dynamic connections with others which manifest in either an exciting and constructive way or in a conflicting and difficult way.

And the combo of Mercury-Pluto = communicating or demanding new perspectives; persuasion ability (which attorneys need for success), and propaganda promotion--admittedly helpful in the political realm.

It may as well be for we sure are stuck with a gracious helping of it from every direction.

Mercury rules natal 4th (Virgo) and 12th (Gemini); Saturn is square Uranus--the two old vs new , tradition vs progress planets will be in opposition for the 2008 election and for Inauguration 2009. This re-contact may support his win along with this:

John Edwards--as you can see for yourself--has North Node (NN = connections with the public) conj his 8th cusp 3AQ13...and this is where tr Jupiter (3AQ32) will be at Inauguration Jan 20, 2009; noon; DC.

And while this one factor may not be enough to propel Edwards into the Oval Office, I've not found any other candidate with such an exact, or perhaps I should say, obvious--connection with Jupiter 2009, in 10th house of the Inauguration chart. Perhaps I will but haven't *as of yet.

*UPDATE 12.22: Barack Obama's natal Saturn 25Cap22 Rx and Jupiter 00AQ56 Rx are tucked next to the Inaugural 2009's MC (noon 26Cap11, conj US n Pluto) and Mercury 00AQ41Rx, and Sun 00AQ47. So...an Obama-Edwards ticket?)

Yet Jupiter = Republican...though jolly Jupe is also the rich man (Edwards or Romney or---Bloomberg!), judge, preacher (Huckabee? don't even joke--more Bushesque Armageddon there; besides, church + state is unconstitutional), professor, guru...and attorney--which again could be...John Edwards and his out-of-bounds Mercury as prez or VP!


general notes on Mercury and the natal Mercury of Barack Obama here.

Spotlight on Mercury: Barack Obama

Speedy Mercury, whose orbit lies inside that of Earth in relation to our Sun, is not much larger than Earth's Moon, yet astrologically describes the focusing lens through which one's creative powers are directed. The characteristics of the sign of Mercury indicate influences in thinking, ability to communicate, and what occupies the mind.

What one notices and considers important is also shown by this important chart factor; plus, neutral Mercury (as the Eternal Youth, Mercury can be male or female) may be thought of as tofu--taking on the flavors of any planets which are linked with it.

The god Mercury has quite a varied career and many talents including communication ability and style, speaking, writing, and commerce.

As the god of wisdom, Mercury is associated with the Buddha (divine wisdom = buddhi), and was known as Thoth in Egypt; aka Odin (or Woden) in Norse mythology, making Wednesday Mercury's day.

In Homer's Odyssey we meet him as Hermes, the Greek god of the 'persuasive tongue' and as the messenger of Zeus...aka The Divine Herald with wings on heels and helmet. And though this function of divinity is not prevalent in Washington, I think that a consideration of various candidates and their natal Mercuries may be somewhat informative as we listen ad infinitum to Mercurial speeches, expressed plans and ideas, and promises promises--all brought to us by Mercury as Orator, spinmeister, and Messenger.

Some comments will be included on aspects of their natal Mercuries by sign, and by other distinguishing factors which quicksilver Mercury may wish to mention. Only some of the R and D candidates have a known birth times so I'll leave out questionable factors which a vague hour of birth would render off-the-mark, particularly the house (department of life) of natal Mercury.

The charts for which I use sunrise, are also checked for the noon hour to see if anything interesting turns up.

Let's begin with Barack Obama whose natal Mercury is posited at 1Leo14--very creative Leonine thinking and communicating here in the purest expression of Leo--the first decan (first 10 degrees.)

(If Mercury in Leo sounds familiar, it's because it's the sign of George Bush's natal Mercury--plus, it's Gonzo's, and the R Party's as well...9-10 Leo, Jupiter's decan.)

Sen. Obama has an out-of-sign conjunction of Jupiter (00Aq56 Rx) and Saturn (25Cap22 R) opposite Mercury, so we may wish to consider their midpoint picture--and as usual, the picture may indicate all, none, or any combination of expressions esp when triggered by transits, progressions, and such...

Jupiter/Saturn = Mercury: desire to make changes; studying one's life philosophy; studying hard and asking the right questions; speaking with great maturity; travel; the search for variety; inconstancy of mind or philosophy; a fortunate separation (all mdpts: Tyl; Ebertin.)

Another midpoint pic with which Obama's Mercury is entwined is...

Mercury/Mars = NN (the public): realization of thoughts in association with others; quarrels within a community; determined expression of one's views in public.
(I added that last one.)

Planetary Aspects of Mercury:

Mercury opposite Jupiter: tendency to promise more than can be delivered (uh oh); follow-up actions may be insufficient; attention to detail may be lacking--thoroughness is needed and must come from other factors; may be literary, scholarly, or pursue esoteric studies; may be not good at keeping secrets (uh-oh squared); intellectual conceit may be present.

Perhaps we should count Saturn as being in opposition since old Cronos may provide a steadying effect to the above woolly difficulties...

Mercury opposite Saturn: somewhat self-defensive; may be critical with few friends; ambitious for intellectual recognition but may encounter obstacles to its achievement; may arouse jealousy in colleagues; attacks on reputation occur; challenged to listen well to what others say; "the world is against me" attitude; may be rigidly opinionated; subject to depression, nervousness or respiratory disorders.

Well, ooo. Doesn't sound so helpful but our charts are what we make of them, si?

And Alan Oken says that Saturn opposing Mercury can teach mental discipline, responsibility, and the necessity for precision (Alan Oken's Complete Astrology.) Seems it must have done for Barack Obama esp since Saturn is strong in his own sign of Capricorn.

Rx Saturn must develop his own inner authority for the father may have been absent in some way or was somehow insuffient in his authority role...the weak when he should have been strong, domineering when he should have been gentle model which many people must work through during their adult lives (from Erin Sullivan's info to me.)

Mercury in Leo: strong willed, fixed purpose; capable of focused concentration with the Sun dispositing Mercury; dramatic and forceful manner of speech; likes to be considered an authority; mental self-confidence gives positivity in thinking which aids in problem-solving; may deal with the broader view at the expense of important details.

Because Leo is a Fixed sign, opinions form slowly and change with much reluctance (or never, as with the current White House denizen.) Continuity of purpose bestows executive ability, and a love of travel for business or pleasure may be enjoyed.

Obama has been criticized as being short on details--now I see how that may be a permanent facet of his style of thinking, and not just a campaign ploy or a sign of lack of preparation. Details may be someone else's province were he to become president or vp.

The unveiled hook-up of Obama with former Clinton adminstration advisers may be their way of greasing wheels for a Hillary-Barack regime (I say regime because not much will be changing for America--sadly.

And John Edwards' out-of-bounds Mercury seems not to wish to cooperate as closely with the corporate gamesters and robber barons--Edwards is playing Robin Hood's part but I'm not convinced it means any real improvement for the common good. Wish it could, but if it did, who'd cooperate with him?)

~(Update 2008: Edwards dropped out of the race but is said to be consulted often by Clinton and Obama--an Atty Gen post for Edwards would be okay be me--or vp.)~

Well, that's my Capricorn Mercury attempting to communicate some info about the shiny, proud Leonine Mercury of roaring Barack Obama. Guess I'll continue next time with other Dem candidates, then it'll be on to the Republicans. Or perhaps I'll alternate R and D in no particular order.

To be continued...

Mercury stations direct tonight

At the White House, Mercury will go direct 25AQ25 at 11:38 pm est tonight.

As you know, Mercury, the Messenger and Scribe, (seemed to) turn Rx on Feb 13, 11:38 pm at 10Pis14 according to my Solar Fire software.

"11Pis": "Men seeking illumination"...DEDICATION:

pos: high accomplishment in an effective alignment with ultimate reality;

neg/shadow side: obvious hypocrisy.


On March 27, 10:56:16 pm EDT, Mercury will leave shadow territory after retracing his steps and press forward. Until then we may be hearing--or should I say, re-hearing--of things from mid-February...not the least of which concerns Dick Cheney's office and the Scooter Libby guilty verdict announced yesterday.

No time today to do Mercury's process justice (she said, justice!) but I do want to give the "25AQ" and "26Aq" degrees' Sabian Symbols for tonight's turnaround:


"25AQ": "A butterfly with the right wing more perfectly formed"...UNIQUENESS:

pos: a genius for turning deficiency into a real asset (my italics):

neg/shadow side: unhappy and rebellious conceit.


"26AQ": "A hydrometer"...EFFICIENCY:

pos: exceptional ability in manipulating the fundamental complexities of living;

neg: self-defeating worry over trifles.


And after studying charts for the Libby verdict, plus Cheney's natal chart, etc, it looks to me like yesterday's helpful Grand Trine--a closed circuit energy pattern if there ever was one--between Jupiter (Rs), Saturn (Ds), and Venus (Patrick Fitzgerald, seems to me...Venus' Scales of Justice)--may relate to Fitzgerald's immediate announcement that he expected to seek No Other Indictments in this leaky matter...which some might say is a reach-around if there ever was one. Squeezy!

Or was Fitzgerald cannily seeking to put certain big fish at their ease ("expected")?

Well, it is all about protecting Bush after all, isn't it?

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