Demeter and Ceres grace the City of Washington DC

A drawing of Ceres and Pallas (Demeter and Persephone) by Jude Cowell

Nurturing Ceres/Demeter: the Corn Goddess of the District of Columbia

Friday July 30, 2021: For many Americans, current events transpiring within the District's city limits are head-scratchers now more than ever after four years of Tr*mp, so it seems to me that a study of the founding of Washington DC can gain the curious seeker a more complete understanding of DC's environs and the good and bad actors within, political and otherwise. If one has the time that is!

So although it's only one resource for such specialized study, within the pages of Alan Butler's Washington DC: Chamber of Secrets website lurk many intriguing factoids of a Freemasonic-Sacred Geometry nature concerning the esoteric founding of our nation's capital, the whys and the wherefores. Author Alan Butler published an accompanying book as well: City of the Goddess: the Freemasons, the Sacred Feminine, and the Secret Beneath the Seat of Power in Washington DC (2011) #ad.

Meanwhile, I'm quite certain that many dear readers of SO'W have previously checked into the Eleusinian Mysteries which is what the Mythology of Demeter, Persephone, and Hades (Pluto) are all about. (Rather creepily, America's first-ever Pluto Return/s will occur all through 2022.) So basically I'm saying that many or most of the Masonic founders of America and of Washington DC were of a pagan persuasion and, classically educated, were familiar with the Mysteries of ancient Greece. Then at some point in time, the religious rites at Eleusis had migrated to Rome where 'corn goddess' Demeter was called Ceres, and Persephone was known as Prosperpina. And as you know, the reunion of mother and daughter began the first spring and explained the archetypal concept of death and rebirth, a prominent theme in Freemasonry (and in Christianity but we're talking paganism) and one that no one born upon the Earth can escape. Even now, we can find Virgo and the sign's wheat sheafs of Ceres-Demeter represented in various images and Zodiacs all over the District. And significantly, the signing of the US Constitution on September 17, 1787 was a tribute to the pagan Demeter Mystery rites held annually in Greece on the 17th of September.

Thereby, the signing of the US Constitution can be said to represent the death of the US as a colony and its birth as an independent nation - or, as a symbol of the death of tyranny and the birth of liberty! So in our era we find our Constitution under siege by anti-democratic, unAmerican actors, both foreign and domestic, attempting with all their might to substitute tyranny in place of liberty - in America of all places.

What a rotten exchange that would be!

In closing, here's a word or two about Corn, the matrix of life:

"From the corn we learn to live, we learn the life that is ours. By grinding the corn we learn the footsteps of life." — Sharon Naranjo-Garcia, Santa Clara Pueblo.

And for more info about such topics, there's a YouTube video (14m 35s) which may interest some readers: An Overview of the Eleusinian Mysteries (Terence McKenna). Plus, for a related SO'W post (although it may not seem to be!) check out Is Washington DC the 'New Rome'? Altair the Eagle says Yes!

The Syzygy Moon of the 2018 Midterm Elections

Prior to the November 6, 2018 Midterm Elections comes a Full Moon, the last lunation or 'Syzygy Moon', @1Tau13 which perfects on October 24, 2018 at 12:45:05 pm edt in Washington DC. This Full Moon Horoscope is titled, "Stormy Proceedings" (ASC = Mercury-Mars) and "(A) Military Band(s) on the March" (Jupiter the General--and expansive Politician--@27Scorpio):

Of course the intensity, delving, monetary, and other qualities within the Taurus-Scorpio polarity are well known so let's not belabor such basics. We must look to the restrictive yet stabilizing Saturn rising for The Lesson-Bringer drags with him his usual karmic implications, and a serious tone of austerity, authority, and accountability is cast over proceedings as the Midterm Elections approach with Saturn the planet of lawmakers whose seats are up for grabs in November. Yet Saturn is also the status quo planet of The Establishment so it seems somewhat doubtful that all Republicans in office will be tossed out on their wide tushies even with the expected 'Blue Wave' of Democrats welling up across the land and spoiling for a cleansing flood.

A mix of election results sounds more reasonable--yet this Syzygy Moon chart's MC-IC axis is at a critical-crisis 29th-degrees just as the Full Moon perfects. Matters are serious and strained and pressures must be released, perhaps partially in the T-Square between the Sun-Moon opposition squaring the 7th house North Node in dramatic Leo and suggesting new contacts and associations. Yet necessarily the separative South Node, the Tail of the Dragon rises in 1st house, not the happiest indicator in any chart, along with wealthy manipulator and saboteur Pluto at that problematic degree of '18Capricorn' of POLITICAL POWER and 'smug or strong-armed paternalism' (Jones). Authoritarianism with its draconian measures are on the rise unless We The People stop it in its tracks soon.

Mars-Mercury-Jupiter

A values-laden 2nd house barely holds activist Mars desirous of reforms when in Aquarius while voting Mercury @21Sco29 has just entered the public 10th house at '22Scorpio' = "Hunters Starting Out For Ducks"...ENTERPRISE (Jones). This degree places transit Mercury nearing Mr. Trump's natal IC (24Sco18) from the 3rd house side with tr Jupiter in Scorpio, as noted above, on the 4th house side. Mercury-Jupiter opposite n MC may provide Jupiterian Trump a sense of optimism yet there are negative potentials involved with the planetary pair as well: failures through dishonesty; negligence or clumsiness; and fraud (Ebertin). Sadly, any or all of these possibilities may apply and I must also add grandiose thinking to this picture.

Will an 'October Surprise' occur intended to sway the Midterms?

Well, it's been years since one or more political 'surprises' (aka, dirty tricks) have not caused disruption of our elections or at least the fear of it--see disruptive chaos-creator Uranus at IC, the Basis of the Matter--which also suggests a sudden change of residence for someone! So let us agree that surprising events if not trickery will happen as 2018 rolls on toward November along with campaign promises--especially since at the 2018 Midterms, Jupiter will reach 29Scorpio which, rounded up, is "The Halloween Jester". And of course we can depend on tactics such as gerrymandering, voter suppression, foreign and domestic interference via hacking, and social networking illusions to haunt and muss with ballot boxes across the nation. And it isn't as if Trickster Trump the Gemini has supported any efforts to improve the 'integrity' of our voting system--things worked for him in 2016 so sly dog that he is, his 'Sneaky Mind' (Mercury-Neptune square--Oken) wouldn't willingly change a thing.

Of interest as well is the separative South Node of the Moon @1AQ21 nearing POTUS Sun (Trump 2017 = 00AQ49) so endings of relationships and separations from the White House continue as will further unpopularity with the public (Nodes) for Mr. Trump which supports the theme of a culminating Full Moon and its Venus-Uranus/Sun-Uranus oppositions, plus, the Moon-Uranus separation issues and excitement that nestle at the IC.

Eroding Neptune on Election Day 2018

A quick glance at two horoscopes set for November 6, 2018 Washington DC show deceptive loss-leader Neptune of media, propaganda, falsehood, and the masses fame at IC (the Basis of the Matter; The Drain) at 8:00 am est and again at MC (The Goal) at 8:00 pm est. In the chart above we see Neptune @13Pi57 Rx in Money House (2nd) with the Sabian Symbol for '14Pisces' = "A Lady in FOX Fur" (my bold, for obvious political and broadcasting reasons).

Underneath all this, the Republican Party's first-ever Neptune Return continues apace this year with the 4th of 5 'hits' perfecting on October 20, 2018, and the final conjunction perfecting on December 29, 2018. Strong in its own secretive scandal-plagued sign of Pisces, masking Neptune covers for Donald Trump as Republicans do while he play-acts the presidency of the United States and distracts the public from real issues which include the hollowing out of the US government by anti-government politicians and their wealthy backers. We may even find some evidence of his thespianism penned on the Syzygy Moon chart, lower left, in a midpoint picture:

Neptune-MC = Ascendant: acting and pretending which also carries potentials for an inability to get over losses and/or insecurity (Ebertin). Sorry Trump fans but I see no "stable genius" acting under the spotlight of this particular Full Moon--and that doesn't take into consideration The Tower Solar Eclipse of August 11, 2018 @19Leo which is the Prenatal Eclipse of the November 2018 Midterms as previously discussed, and falls into the corporate and Scorpionic 8th house of this Full Moon chart.

And one major caution exists within the Earth-Water Taurus-Scorpio energies here--that blindness to the motives of others is possible and this could affect the decisions of voters in November, especially those who tend to take the theatrical, superficial utterances of a man like Trump at face value as if he's serious and actually concerned about their issues. Will he be in office by November? Probably but who can say at this point? As you see listed on the chart, upper right, one of the Images for Integration as detailed in the Harveys' Sun Sign-Moon Sign book:

"Pluto takes Persephone into the Underworld" which may refer to the mobster/gangster atmosphere and dealings of Donald Trump and his thuggish minions such as Michael Cohen. Of course, the Persephone myth also relates to sexual relationships and abuse so there's that--and asteroids Persephone @17Scorpio (transition) and Atlantis (where we feel doomed; abuse of power) conjoin in the visible 10th house, while wounded healer Chiron, still in mystical if shady Pisces, is about to leave the 3rd house of Communications along with difficult Scheat @29Pisces, a star of misfortune. Is someone tweet-plaining their troubles? Still? Tiresome!

Quirky Quixotic Uranus--Trump's Erratic 'Guiding Planet'

Now I shall leave you to read the chart yourself or to check out my scribbled notes on the chart if you can or wish but I must note the relationship and culmination aspect of any Full Moon, shining its rays here upon the security-minded MC-IC axis of Career and Home, plus, the implications of a Venus-Uranus opposition of eccentricity, obstinacy, moodiness, separation in relationship, peculiarities, and/or someone's frayed nerves on display will add its excited energies to the sudden changes that are in store for America and Congress as we careen toward another Midterm Election Day.

Related: from January 20, 2018 here's a brief FOX News interview concerning the 2018 Midterms with Michael Dukakis who was born in 1933 under the auspices of the Sun Scorpio-Moon Taurus blend of energies which will cosmically replay in the heavens via the 2018 Midterms' Syzygy Moon.

Taurus Full Moon 11.2.09: Pluto and Persephone

The '11 Taurus' Full Moon is at 3:13:52 pm est today, Nov 2, 2009 which gives the collective a Sun Scorpio-Moon Taurus flavor.

This particular Sun/Moon blend is shared natally by some notable folk you may have heard of once or twice: Warren G. Harding, Prince Charles, Michael Dukakis, Clifford Irving, Erwin Rommel, Nanette Fabray, Roy Scheider, and Michael Crichton.

What might we encounter today and in the waning stages of this Full Moon based on its alchemical blend of energies of Sun (conscious mind) and Moon (unconscious)?

Water-Earth blends create mud! Yet this is one of the most practical and nourishing combos around. Sympathy and compassion and a determination to do what needs to be done are prominent. Material and emotional security are wanted so change and challenge are viewed now as threatening. If we can keep ourselves from getting mud-stuck or swamped by duties or inertia, we'll use its practical energies well for domestic concerns and in the marketplace in resourceful ways.

It's a great influence for checking out possible business partners, too.

More specifically, the Sun Sco/Moon Tau blend is one of quiet strength, concern for others, self-control, and sensuality; dark mysteries of autumn alternate with love of the sights, smells, and tastes of the natural world.

This blend likes to encourage the regeneration of society and individuals and is a gentle blend that thrives on harmony. Art, science, and business are favorite pursuits; working hard tends to be balanced with playing hard - a feast or famine combination.

Yet there can be a remote quality at times with difficulty putting inner insights into words. This is an intense and passionate blend emotionally and it expects the same measure of devotion to be returned in kind.

Inflexibility, stubornness, and possessiveness are its unconscious/shadow side with a proneness toward clinging to the known. Blindness to the motives of others may cause trouble, so we perhaps should all beware of looking Trojan Horses in the mouth!

'Images for Integration: A successful businesswoman probes the mysteries of life...A celebrated surgeon amasses a fortune...Pluto takes Persephone into the Underworld.'

(Sun Sign-Moon Sign, Chas & Suzi Harvey.) Note: I changed 'businessman' to the feminine, just because.

Noel Tyl gives the Sun Sco-Moon Tau blend as: "the ambition to reorganize or reform things desperately needs a sympathetic audience to develop its potential" and says that it "depicts life in 'the grand manner.'" So my question is: could self-dramatizing Washington politicians be any happier? (Synthesis and Counseling in Astrology, Tyl.)

Both Pluto and Persephone relate to transition and permanent changes of status. For the collective my wish at this Full Moon in Taurus is that current societal changes will all be for the betterment of everyone concerned!

Astrology of Bernanke renomination 8.25.09

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

~:~

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

Howard K. Stern 11.29.68

This evening I have two reasons to be miffed--Congress begins debating the escalation of Bush/Cheney's war Tuesday, not today as reported and posted upon below--and there've been too many requests for Stern's natal chart to ignore.

This is Stars Over Washington, not Stars Over Hollywood...Howard's not a politician, and he isn't Starr Jones--but he is a lawyer.

Please click chart to enlarge where you'll see some notes on this Jupiterian fellow...Jupiter relating to the Law, of course, and also to the guru...and to the extent that he could be with such a "my way" kinda gal as Anna Nicole, one might call him a guru if not a svengali of sorts.

Scribbled on his chart (solar/sunrise--no birth time known) you'll see a very strong midpoint picture which remains the same no matter his birth time...Mars/Pluto = Uranus:

chip on one's shoulder; fight first, talk later; dangerous sense of attack; tremendous energy--that's from Noel Tyl's Solar Arc Directory. Ebertin gives the combo a nasty twist: cruelty; violence; brutality; sudden disasters or calamities of great consequence.

Stern's Pre-natal Eclipse Series (PE) is listed on the chart as well: 6South: forceful, taking power; manic force esp in relationships. Degree? 29Vir30, the Moon's degree at their motel check-in, Feb 5, 8:00 pm, Hollywood, FL...Moon 29Vir23, with "29" being a critical or crisis degree.

Now I'm not saying he did anything against her--other than that someone should've gotten her better help for her debilitating depression over loss of her son, Daniel--but Stern has other indications of violence in his natal chart (ex: Mars conj Uranus--plus Mars/Uranus = South Node), yet it's possible that Mr. Stern was attempting to take control of that very thing--and get her to rein herself in.

But with Anna, that was seldom if ever possible, and the brutality of the Mars/Uranus duo is known as the most violent pair around--conj South Node he may have tended to fall back on Mars/Uranus when under stress. And Mars-Uranus is often quirky sexual tendencies as well.

The 'check-in' chart of Feb 5, 8:00 pm, Hollywood, FL, shows a seeking of new contacts or stimuli, and a possible love union of short duration. One inconvenient thing about astrology charts though is that they rarely tell you on whose part, but describe the atmosphere or environment...leaving the people in that environment to act as their free will allows.

The check-in chart also has a telling asteroid rising to the degree...Persephone 12Vir29Rx...keywords: separation anxiety; attitudes toward transitions which take one away from familiar people or circumstances. Persephone may also be where one is an innocent yet willing victim. Poor Anna.

After taking a second look at Anna's natal chart (scroll below) there may have been--or eventually would have been--health factors showing liver or gall bladder problems. Her rapid and excessive weight loss may have improved her health--or not, as it seems. If she was on Phen-Phen to keep her weight down, a heart attack (with vomiting) could have been on the miserable agenda as well.

Anna's well-known speech-slurring--which she had put down to her Texas accent--is another reminder of Marilyn Monroe, who was being prescribed a certain Rx which was actually for epilepsy--and gave her that sleeplessness, and the soft speech she was known for. Was she epileptic? Hmm.m.m...

Did Anna check-in with plans to check herself on out? Possibly.

But Back to Mr. Stern:

Howard's fiery, big-talking *Sun Sag-Moon Aries personality blend gives a kinder picture of him than the above comments might indicate...a plain-speaking, independent, warm-hearted extrovert with a childlike faith in himself which may make him seem more competitive than he really is. But even in competition, he has respect for his opponent.

As a natural egotist, he doesn't like to acknowledge things that are unflattering, and he walks a fine line between altruism and blatant self-interest. People trust him yet his own interests are never far from his mind. But intimate liasons are not his forte...he's romantic enough but isn't patient or willing to listen fully to other people's needs...details are not his strong suit.

He likes the freedom to 'do his own thing' as well, and can lapse into black moods when things go wrong...and life with Anna had been going very wrong, hadn't it? It couldn't have been easy for any of them.

Images for Integration:

He who would be king postpones the coronation for a trek through the Himalayas...A mature student discovers her political convictions and debating talents through confronting the corruption of academia (maybe he is a politician!)

Well, that's all I'd like to say about Howard K. Stern at this time--and hopefully there'll be no more to say as this sad investigation goes on.



*Sun Sign-Moon Sign, Chas and Suzy Harvey