January 2021 Lunations and the Testing of America

October 6, 2020: As you know, too much is happening in 2020 to focus fully on year 2021's political and cosmic happenings and conditions but so far there's this: 117th Congress Scheduled to Open January 3, 2021 - depending, of course, on the medical status of DC politicians and their staff members by January. Of course, a virtual Congress may be an option but time will have to tell. So as it now stands, thanks to the superspreader-in-chief, mainly Republicans have been put in danger of the contagion, if Trump contracted the virus at all.

(Perhaps you agree that it's difficult to believe anything a pathological liar says and this one has major political, financial, and personal motivations for everything he says and does, so there we stew. As usual with Trump, nefarious schemes are afoot! And as Trump has said, What you see and hear isn't what's really happening. Yes, we know. That's one reason Astrology is a valuable lens for looking at Politics.)

But on to some basic info concerning the Lunations of January 2021:

January 13, 2021: New Moon @23Cap13 activates all the recent transits to this degree (and 2 or 3 degrees before and after) by Jupiter, Saturn, and Pluto including the harsh, calcifying Saturn-Pluto Conjunction of January 12, 2020 (conjunct Trump's natal Vertex! Hardening of his arteries?). In fact, this New Moon may act in similar fashion to a solar eclipse as some new moons do and may activate the energies within the Saturn-Pluto combination, plus, the lunation may make signifcant contacts with the rest of the January 12, 2020 horoscope and planets. Note that this Capricorn New Moon also opposes US natal Mercury Rx which then ruffles America's natal Mercury-Pluto opposition (surveillance, propaganda, mind control, etc, etc). And of course, conditions within our national Mercury-Pluto opposition continue to be activated or revisited as America's Pluto Return perfects three times in 2022.

Sabian Symbol of the January 2021 New Moon rounded up to "24Capricorn": "A Woman Entering a Convent--CONSECRATION: positive expression: the irresistible power of a true inner vision; negative expression: abject surrender to weakness.

The culmination or fulfillment of something begun at the 2021 Capricorn New Moon arrives with the Full Moon of January 28, 2021 @9Leo06 so the Collective goes from the Cancer-Capricorn security axis to the Self-Will axis of Leo-Aquarius. Other realms are involved, of course, but those are the ones I tend to use here on SO'W for mundane charts and political indications. And naturally, since a Full Moon can act similarly to a Lunar Eclipse we can expect the leaking or unveiling of additional secrets, scandals, and/or inconvenient facts around or during the last week of January 2021 into February. Not that we wish for more but criminals always have a lot to hide, doncha think? Their lives depend on keeping secrets. Additionally, this Full Moon conjuncts the natal 12th house (hidden!) Pluto of Trump (10Leo02) and along with his natal Pluto of the Underworld always comes his natal midpoint of death, murder, bodily harm, fury, and destruction: Mars-Saturn = Pluto (Ebertin).

Despite this, the symbol for the January 28th Full Moon is bracing for the Collective for it's "Early Morning Dew"...REJUVENATION!

Even so, considering the lunations which open year 2021, plus, Trump's mishandling of the pandemic and other grievous Republican 'antics' against the American people, I'd say that there will be bright spots in 2021 (ex: 2021 solar eclipses bring less difficult themes) yet we'll continue to be mired within the difficult atmosphere of the cold-hearted, brutal Saturn-Pluto duo (with its 33-to-35-year cycle) into February 2021 and on to the first eclipse of 2021, a Lunar Eclipse @5Sagittarius on May 26, 2021.

May all who are able Stand Tall for the Testing of America continues!

~:~

The Sabian Symbols in Astrology, Mard Edmund Jones.

Above Image: Phases of the Moon, a pencil drawing by Jude Cowell

September 2020 Mars: "The Music Of The Spheres"

2020 Mars in the Cosmic Order of the Universe

by Jude Cowell

April 6, 2020: As my wait for delivery of fresh printer ink cartridges drags on into April, I've decided to take horoscope matters into my own paws and perpetrate a messily hand-drawn version of a chart for the Mars Station Direct on September 9, 2020 at 6:22:12 pm edt Washington DC, the moment in time that transit Mars pauses in order to turn retrograde (Rx). This significant event with warrior/pioneer/activist Mars strong in his own sign and stationing (which adds strength to any planet) suggests significant changes of direction in the affairs of Mars-ruled activities and events.

A close connection to male personages in general is also part of the Martian picture along with exploration, adventure, sports figures, military officers and troops. Additionally, police forces are involved as are negative possibilities such as blind zeal, destructive urges, impatience, quarrels and fights, ambitious projects, fevers, tummy upsets, headaches, and head injuries. Optimistically speaking, perhaps the pioneering spirit of Mars will lead to cures for what ails us during the Mars Rx period (September 9 to November 13, 2020), a time of review and reaction (exs: FDA approval; drug trials). Or perhaps the coronavirus contagion could go into a remission of sorts--at least during the Rx period of infectious Mars. And as you see in the chart below, the Virgo-Pisces victim-savior polarity is intercepted across the 1/7 axis (along with Virgo and Pisces placements) which suggests karmic issues that must be dealt with. But who needs Astrology to tell them this?

So once Mars reaches and moves past his 'shadow degree' of 28Ari08 (his September 9th Station Direct degree) on January 2, 2021 (see the Path of Mars listed, lower left on the chart, below) activities and projects begin forward movement with speedier outward and direct energy. For as you know, energetic Mars, planet of motivation, does prefer direct motion for all his activities and his focus is more easily channeled when moving direct.

Horoscope: Mars Station Direct @28Ari08 September 9, 2020; Disseminating; Hour of Mars; radical Uranus in earthy Taurus is unaspected (spurt-like behavior; separative or independent tendencies increase--Trump the Uranian?); both planets are posited in 2nd hou$e which is ruled by Mars as is the 9th house of Foreign Lands, Legal Affairs, Higher Education, and Philosophy; Sun @17Virgo, sign of health (7th house), Moon @12Gemini conjunct IC (The Public at Home) and Aldebaran (success through integrity); fighting Antares ('anti-Mars') conjunct Midheaven ('MC'); disbelieved prophetess Kassandra rises with Mirfak, a challenge-oriented star, while the Sun (vitality; ego) conjoins determined Sisyphus and health asteroid Panacea. See lower right for themes of the 4 North Solar Eclipse as restrictions within the Collective continue and strength and/or situations are misjudged by those in society who should know better and lead more effectively:

The rounded-up degree for Mars ('29Aries') has an interesting Sabian Symbol for our time in history (to me it seems late days although you're welcome to disagree). Here is Dane Rudhyar's interpretation:

"The Music of the Spheres": "Keynote: Attunement to the cosmic order.

The music of the spheres is the celestial embodiment of principles of polyphonic interplay. The individual advancing 'on the Path' should seek to understand and realize his place in the vast scheme of mankind's evolution, in the immense Chord of the harmony of the universe. The message to the seeker for meaning which is implied in this symbol is To Listen To The Inner Voice; to listen without personalizing this Voice in a glamour-producing manner. It is the Voice of the Whole, of which one begins to realize that one is a tiny little part--yet a significant part, for every note of the universal Chord has its place and its ineradicable meaning."

This symbol speaks of "a new realm of possibilities of action" and the "harmonic principles operating in this realm."

One quite rare factor listed on the chart is an exact septile (51degr:27mins) between The People's Moon and 6th house Venus, money planet of perspective and evaluation. (Ex: the recent awareness that members of the elite class put money over people couldn't possibly be a wake-up call for anyone but apparently it has been. And master astrologer Robert Wilkinson has termed the septile aspect, "The Grand Irrationality." The septile's appearance in the chart underscores our Collective feeling that humanity is 'at the crossroads of destiny' which relates to the interception of the Virgo-Pisces polarity in the chart which has karmic opportunity embedded within.

As for the comic weather of September 9, 2020, Sun Virgo-Moon Gemini is an Earth-Air blend which can get swamped with details yet is reasonable, rational, moody, studious, intellectual, and a mixture of pragmatic and playful. Writer and diplomat John Buchan (Lord Tweedsmuir) was born under these influences and once famously informed us that,

"An atheist is a man who has no invisible means of support." (Sun Sign-Moon Sign, Charles and Suzi Harvey.)

Note: Obviously the above Sabian Symbol information reminds us all of Harmonics in Astrology!

Symbolism of The Trump Purging of Government

February 29, 2020:

Symbolism, Virgo-Pisces: The Victim-Savior Axis

At Axios we can read about Trump's "Deep State" hit list he's using to purge government officials who are 'disloyal' to him. Because having and retaining your conscience doesn't jive with working for narcissist despot Donald Trump.

Now sometimes a Sabian Symbol, regardless of its zodiacal degree, seems uppermost within the Collective and it appears to me that Trump's purge of government is one of those cases. Aptly, the Symbol I'm thinking of occurs in shady Pisces, sign of many talents and negative traits, among them paranoia, fear, corruption, fraud (via bubbly 'Jupiter-Neptune'), contagion, rumors, deception, hoaxes, secrets, scandals, psychism, and, on a good day: compassion, sympathy, empathy, creativity, inspiration, and/or spirituality.

So here I'll add the Symbol of purging according to Marc Edmund Jones' The Sabian Symbols in Astrology along with the Symbol's negative expression, plus, its Illumination Point (the degree opposite, '25 Virgo'):

'25 Pisces': "The Purging of the Priesthood" = "Keyword: REFORMATION; negative expression: blind bigotry and vindictiveness."

'25 Virgo': "A Flag at Half-Mast" = "Keyword: RESPECT; negative expression: superficial self-dramatization."

And if you're wondering why I don't include the Symbols' positive expressions, well that's because it's Donald Trump we're talking about.

Late December 2019 Jupiter opposes US natal Jupiter

Thoughts of Jupiter December 2019 into 2020

by Jude Cowell

As anyone who studies America's founding horoscope of July 4, 1776 knows, US natal Jupiter @6Cancer (5:56), its Moon-ruled sign of exaltation, possesses a descriptive Sabian Symbol that the 'ruling elite' through the centuries, more often than not, have apparently taken to heart for their own selfish gain:

"Game Birds Feathering Their Nests."

And with Jupiter's cycle of approximately 12 years (11.6), we can say with reasonable assurance that on or about January 14, 2008, transit Jupiter opposed US natal Jupiter in the midst of the financial implosion and heist that was the Bush-Cheney regime in 2007--2008 so the opposition flavored the entirety of 2008 when the game birds' feathers 'hit the fan' but the dire effects were dumped onto We The People to lose and pay. Transit Jupiter opposing Jupiter denotes a period of discontent with wealth and personal achievement, discouraging comparisons that lower confidence, promises which often turn out to be duds, and there's an inability to impress anyone. Obviously, funds may be depleted during this transit possibly due to previous extravagance and/or waste, things that most of the 'ruling elite' practice with aplomb.

Well, now it's time for 2019 Jupiter to oppose US natal Jupiter (1776) once again which the planet of bankers, financiers, corporatists, gurus, generals, and politicians will do in late December 2019. In fact, this challenging Jupiterian transit turns up within the horoscope of the 3 South Solar Eclipse which perfects on December 26, 2019 @4Capricorn06 (the eclipse also opposes US natal Jupiter and our Venus for that matter). The eclipse chart is linked, below, with 3 South's themes of: 'traumatic transformation through news received or short journeys' and 'sudden endings of relationships and/or alliances' (paraphrasing Brady's Predictive Astrology). Can Trump's machinations be far behind?

Of course, this is only one planetary transit affecting current events into year 2020 but it is, I'll wager, a significant one especially for the US economy, the budget, deficits, shortfalls, and for other areas that concern our nation--including for the massive Jupiterian who tweets from the White House.

Yet as you know, money is only as valuable as people believe it is.

Related Posts include: December Eclipse ends 2019 with Jupiter and Pluto issues in which Donald Trump, with his natal Neptune @5Libra squaring US natal Jupiter, makes his typically disturbing appearance and the Jupiter-Neptune pair of energies show off their usual speculation, risk-taking, grand schemes, and bubbly inflation capabilities; Donald Trump: In the Realms of Jupiter; and Saturn-Pluto 2020 Conjunct The Fed's Uranus 22Cap47 which thus forms a karmic midpoint picture of potentials for:

Saturn-Pluto = Uranus: "sudden changes or upsets in plans which have been made concerning very important activities; reforms in the way punishment is given for important crimes; the erratic or uneven use of retaliatory measures" (Munkasey). Reinhold Ebertin adds a potential for: "sudden acts of violence." Hopefully this planetary picture of potentials won't amount to much but time will tell. Which is what I tell myself until I consider with fretfulness what Noel Tyl adds to this picture of disturbing possibilities: "an attack, regardless of potential losses" and "brutal efforts to start a new order."

So in closing, below is the three-fer DC Horoscope of the Conjunctions of Jupiter-Pluto (plutocrats, wheeler-dealers, large project developers, independent contractors, the Fed) which perfect three times in 2020: April 5, June 30, and November 12 - all falling within the degree range of 22--25 Capricorn as you can see:

Making America Radical Again! - Thom Hartmann (via Uranus)

From his series the Thom Hartmann Book Club, here is Thom reading from Harvey J. Kaye's Take Hold of Our History: Make America Radical Again. Now I don't yet own a copy of the book but I see from its Table of Contents that my favorite chapter (16) will probably be one dear to my heart, "Let Them Call Us Rebels - We Are All the Heirs of Thomas Paine." Here here!

Now naturally, all astrologers familiar with America's July 4, 1776 Horoscope, no matter the hour used to set it up, know of the radical planet of our Revolutionary era, Uranus, @8Gemini55 in most US founding charts. Check out Thom's reading, then you'll find the rounded-up Sabian Symbol for America's radical Uranus (9Gemini), plus a few Paine-inspired notes are added below the video:

~:~

US Uranus at "9 Gemini": "A Quiver Full of Arrows" = "PREPARATION...positive expression: unlimited personal capacity for rising to the issue of the moment on any level of experience; negative: querulous overconfidence and quixotic notions." (Jones). The positive we aspire to, the negative sounds just like Uranian Trump!

Confusing, obfuscating, and shading America's reputation in the world and our national self-image a la Trump, during his campaign and ultimate selection to play the POTUS role, a three-fer series began in 2016 which culminated on February 16, 2017 (just after Trump's oddball "inauguration") when 2017 Neptune hit the American Revolution's Prenatal Eclipse in Pisces. Perversely, for Uranus is the planet of perversity, Trump's guiding planet is his 10th house Uranus @17Gem53 ('18Gemini' = "Two Chinese Men Talking Chinese in a Western Crowd") bringing forward his chaotic, erratic, contrary and disruptive style of so-called leadership, so perfect for foreign leaders to exploit in their ongoing campaign to sabotage America and our global alliances. And this makes my Child of the Revolution blood boil as my Revolutionary ancestors spin in their sacrificial graves. (To my knowledge, Trump has no Revolutionary ancestors. Can't you tell?)

Meanwhile, astrological Uranus is also known as The Awakener--and as we're currently hearing in the public discourse an echo from Thomas Paine, the times have found us, my fellow Americans.

So it seems clear that if Trump's authoritarian push to replace our constitutional Republic with a lousy, sub-standard Pluto-in-Capricorn dictatorship (effectively a monarchy such as our Founders so valiantly fought against!!) - if this misguided change of direction won't awaken the American people to the fight before it's too late, then tragically nothing ever will. Of course, it isn't merely Trump attempting such a coup, it's his wealthy backers, foreign and domestic. And my suspicion is that they too know about radical Uranus and about the usefulness of Astrology as a timing device.

So in closing my fuss, here's an excerpt from a previous SO'W post, sans edits, concerning misused or abused power, revolutionary Uranus plus Neptune, and our radical Founding Father Thomas Paine--born in 1737 with an arousing Uranus-Neptune opposition:

The Current Cycle of Uranus-Neptune Tells of Power Misused

In our era, Uranus and Neptune (reason + faith) met in Great Conjunction/s three times in 1993 at or about 18 Capricorn which implemented the degree's enlightening Sabian Symbol, "The Union Jack Flag Flies from a British Warship...Keynote: the protection afforded to individuals and groups by powerful institutions in charge of maintaining order. POLITICAL POWER" (Rudhyar). "Alas, this power can easily be misused under the pretext of 'law and order'." Ah yes, pretexts are totally relied upon in Politics and I doubt politicians could manage without them for then truths would have to be told and their masks would slip.

Additionally, the symbol for '18Cap' highlights a warning "against using power for selfish advantage" and points toward the ruses and scams perpetrated by Britain (the City of London) and its never-really-severed alliance with the American government. For example, Uranus and Neptune in opposition identifies the era of freedom-lover Thomas Paine as a time of secret alliances, important information withheld from the people, apathy of the masses which allows leaders to undermine the people's natural freedoms, nationalism, unrest, strong economic and military developments, and countries hurled into a major world conflict a few years later (Pelletier).

This generational opposition also gave Thomas Paine and his contemporaries an intrinsic understanding of national and international politics for which he personally felt a responsibility to arouse the people whenever public opinion can reverse a threatening danger which may involve religious, social, and racial issues along with the political.

Such was the life and the mission of seeker Thomas Paine who died a pauper on June 8, 1809 and whose dedicated service to the Cause of Freedom I hereby honor with this post. jc.

Blog Note: the above Amazon link to Mr. Kaye's book may qualify as an #ad .

DC Horoscope: December 2, 2019 Jupiter to Capricorn

With 00Capricorn00:00 one of the four Cardinal World Points of manifestation, Jupiter's entry into the Saturn-ruled sign is a big deal which occurs approximately every twelve years. Here you see a DC Horoscope for the moment transit Jupiter reaches 00Capricorn00:00 on December 2, 2019 at 1:21 pm est--conjunct Midheaven ('MC'), the Career and Public Status Point, suggesting events occurring on the global stage, and in Washington DC since the cosmic shift happens at MC in our nation's capital.

Now if you're reading this you may already know all the roles that astrological Jupiter can play with politician, banker/trader, corporatist, guru or hierophant, broadcaster (propagandist), and military General being the primary ones who make cameo appearances on SO'W. And if you've visited here before, perhaps you know that when it comes to Jupiter, I tend to use the Great Benefic as the traditional ruler of Pisces as well as of Sagittarius, with Neptune as co-ruler or higher octave ruler of Pisces. (I refuse to divorce Saturn from the traditional ruler-ship of Aquarius but that's another fussy tale for another grumpy day.)

All that said, let's consider the December 2, 2019 Horoscope for its Jupiterian qualities, plus, for a few interesting cosmic factors and possibilities which may apply. The large-girthed Donald Trump is a Jupiterian for several reasons, one being his natal Jupiter in Libra at station and turning Direct 3 hours after his birth. Oh! that, and his greedy, materialistic nature exhibiting a love of money (the root of all evil--the love of it, not the money) so we have his nibs to consider as well. Actually, we tried this before with Donald Trump in the Realms of Jupiter. We've also previously discussed Trump's natal Mercury @8Can51 (conjunct Alhena: to have a mission) which is here on a future path via the North Node in 4th house. His apparent relocation to Florida may be part of this Mercury-NN picture although potential meetings, negotiations, and communications cannot be ruled out as well as contacts with reporters and/or with young people.

So in the DC Horoscope pictured above, basic chart factors are penned on if you don't mind enlarging the image to read my study notes. The energy shift of Jupiter, happy as a puppy with two tails in his own sign of Sagittarius, moving into sober Capricorn, sign of Jupiter's detriment due to his exaltation in Cancer, is supported via the Hour of the Moon (fluctuations, changes), plus as you see, the Aries Point rises along with star of misfortune Scheat and wounded/wounding Chiron Rx @1Ari29 following--Chiron, the blind spot, here conjunct US natal IC (Roots; Foundation) in America's late afternoon charts of July 4, 1776. (It seems to me that our country has certainly been undergoing a season of wounding as transit Chiron crosses and re-crosses our national IC--along with an opportunity for honestly dealing with our wounds and making karmic progress.)

Then on the chart, upper right, you see a list of planets that rise with stars on this particular day and there are quite a number of them including Sun, Venus (OOBs), Jupiter (and MC--both rising with Acumen), plus, Neptune, North Node ('NN'), and the Ascendant rising with difficult Scheat, as noted.

Thing is, the Ascendant, the What? Point of the chart @30Pisces, reveals an interesting Sabian Symbol: "The Great Stone Face" which speaks of destiny as character. Once upon a time I attempted an illustration of this symbol which may be viewed here if you wish, with Sabian Symbol details for '30 Pisces' included.

Now in closing, a few notes on how Jupiter relates in society when traversing the Saturn-ruled sign of Capricorn (a labyrinth unto itself!), sign of Jupiter's fall, as noted. Negatively, Jupiter in Capricorn suggests potentials for egotism, distrust, hypocrisy, and over-concern with the letter of the law rather than upholding its spirit. Yet when well-aspected, this placement tends to provide moral integrity, ethics in business and in general affairs, a sense of duty, and support for status quo traditions and/or for the prevailing value system. A conservative slant and positions of responsibility are indicated so those who hold them are the sorts of folk who may be cast in a bright spotlight while Jupiter is in Capricorn--basically until around Winter Solstice 2020 when Jupiter catches up with karmic Saturn @00AQ29, the US POTUS Sun degree, and the Jupiter-Saturn cycle begins again, lasting for approximately twenty years. As the 'flywheel of the Universe' keeping the planets in their courses via the natural law of expansion vs restriction, their conjunction times the genesis of a new order in society, and in Politics their combined energies express often as checks and balances and as our (alleged) two-party system.

As for the conjunction's synchronicity with US POTUS Sun (00AQ+ from our January 20th Inaugurations, the Presidential Oath of Office), a midpoint picture forms of Jupiter-Saturn = Sun: 'Taking destiny into one's own hands; major changes according to plan; or, if nothing has been prepared, becoming gripped by the status quo and having to make the best of things' (Tyl).

Now that sounds like a status quo we'd prefer to avoid.

Halloween 2019 Mercury Rx is King of the Fairies

Image: Spooky Fairy Night by Jude Cowell

On October 31, 2019 at 11:41:19 am edt, speedy Mercury, planet of messages, negotiations, diplomacy, commerce, trade, lies, and tweets performs a Direct Station @27Sco38:16 in preparation for a retrograde ('Rx') phase until November 20, 2019 @11Sco35:11 ('12Sco' = "An Embassy Ball"). Transit Mercury stations on Halloween 2019 in the natal 4th house of Donald Trump (IC 24Sco18) along with transit Venus @28Sco30.

Rounding up Mercury's Halloween 2019 degree we have '28 Scorpio": "The King of the Fairies Approaching His Domain"; "Keyword: ALLEGIANCE--positive expression: a special competence of inward vision and a consequent outward perspective of high effectiveness; negative expression: capricious self-indulgence" (Jones). Is Trump "the king of the fairies"? Well, he seems to believe he's a king, as we know, and since bullies are always cowards at heart, some might say that his nibs is fairy-like.

And naturally, Mercury's 2019 path through Mars/Pluto-ruled Scorpio relates to current events and scandals in the news which include whistle blowers, memes, phone calls, transcripts, letters, meetings of various kinds, and testimonies--for Trump, in relation to the 4/10 security axis (Career and Home), and later, in relation to his natal 3/9 axis of lower and higher mind, plus, with dozens of legal battles thrown in and ongoing (9th house). And significantly, this Mercury station activates the very degree of the May 18, 2019 Scorpio Full Moon when May 18th Mercury conjoined the natal Midheaven ('MC') of Donald Trump so that enraged star Algol was also activated! Curiously, transit Mercury was also @25Taurus conjunct Trump's natal MC the day Don Jr, Kushner, and the rest of the conspirators met with the Kremlin lawyer in Trump Tower (June 9, 2016, if memory serves).

Now as you know, transit Mercury entered brooding, intense, big-business-oriented Scorpio during the first week of October 2019 and won't leave the Halloween-esque sign to enter Jupiter-ruled Sagittarius (a happier place) until approximately December 10, 2019. This means that Mercury and his/her magic wand will hit '30 Scorpio' on or about December 9th which is the "A Halloween Jester" degree containing a "contempt for established values" vibe (Jones). And of course we think of the new film Joker and expect that its popularity will remain in force since many people attend theatrical movies during the holidays. And isn't it timely how Trump's recent shout-out to China about investigating the Bidens was soon 'walked back' by Trump and his defenders as being only "a joke"? Even so, I suspect that the Chinese government was in on the joke, don't you?

Eclipse Note: in the October 31, 2019 chart of Mercury Rx, transit North Node @10Can19 in 7th house (Washington DC) points toward the 3 North Solar Eclipse of July 2, 2019 (10Can37) with 3N themes of 'worry, obsession, news that transforms a situation and/or involves young people', and with a caution 'not to get carried away with large plans' (Brady). Signs Cancer and Capricorn are intercepted in the Mercury Rx chart suggesting karmic conditions that need addressing, and of course eclipses are 'wild cards' of a disruptive Uranian nature which tend to contain a fated undertone as well. Late Sagittarius rises in the October 31st chart yet Capricorn holds the aligning Saturn (@15Cap24 conjunct the 2 South January 5, 2019 Solar Eclipse of 'joining unusual groups and gaining a great deal' of the 116th Congress), and Pluto at a critical degree (20Cap)--both rising with the separative South Node denoting difficult conditions for this Mercury Rx period. After all, Saturn, Pluto, and the Nodal axis are karmic as well (reaping what's been sown) so we can expect long-forming conditions to culminate soon in one way or another and with a sense of energy draining from situations and events (SN).

However, a bright spot appears in the Mercury Rx chart for there simpers the happy feelings pair of Moon conjunct Jupiter @23Sag+ rising in hidden 12th house near the natal Moon-SN conjunction (20--22Sag) of Donald Trump so his avoidance of facing his true condition and difficult predicament may continue awhile longer. But the three-fer exact conjunctions of transit Jupiter to his natal Moon conclude the first week of November, and significantly, the degree of Moon-Jupiter on Halloween 2019 pre-sages the upcoming 4 South Solar Eclipse @23Sag on December 4, 2020 with its difficult themes of 'blocked emotions, frustration over money and/or relationships, and potentially a sudden desire to end unions or alliances' (paraphrasing Brady's Predictive Astrology).

And so for now, let's wind down this fussy post with a quote from Reinhold Ebertin describing general potentials for Mercury in Scorpio:

"Sharp criticism, fanaticism, endurance and perseverance in the pursuit of difficult problems and in the solution of arduous tasks, practical ability. Sarcasm, skepticism, cunning and craft. Lively disputes, arguments, fights." (The Combination of Stellar Influences, R.E.).

Well, that's Halloween 2019 Mercury for us with its Scorpionic potentials which sound to me a lot like a day spent in or around the general vicinity of the fantasy world of Donald Trump.

Lunar Eclipse July 16, 2019: Illumination!

Since opposing degrees across a zodiacal polarity represent Illumination Points, the July 16, 2019 Lunar Eclipse @24Capricorn04 suggests that there is much to be revealed. Besides the habit of eclipses, the 'wild cards' and 'cosmic blinks' of the Universe, to uncover and illuminate secrets and other hidden things, perhaps a peek at the degrees' symbols activated by the July 16 Lunar Eclipse can be instructive especially considering the eventful and scandalous times we live in. After all, a lunar eclipse is a Full Moon and as such, provides the most light possible for revelations and full awareness, no matter how inconvenient for the parties, relationships, and/or activities thus illuminated!

That Robert Mueller is scheduled to testify on Capitol Hill on July 17 concerning his Mueller Report--with his natal asteroids Circe and Nemesis 'lit up'! and royal Regulus rising as in Donald Trump's natal chart--resonates well with the July 16 Lunar Eclipse in Saturn-ruled Capricorn, sign of government, law, and business. Perhaps some brazen Trumpian wings will be clipped if not singed by Mr. Mueller's testimony and its results!

Note that the rounding-up method is employed below, plus, the karmic confrontation degrees and their symbols are included (the prior degrees). Keywords and positive/negative expressions are quoted from The Sabian Symbols in Astrology by Marc Edmund Jones:

Cosmic Lunar Revelations July 16, 2019: As Above, So Below

Lunar Eclipse "25 Capricorn": An Oriental Rug Dealer"..."keyword: CONSIGNMENT...positive expression: an effective employment of the facilities and goods of a modern society; negative" (unconscious/shadow side--jc): "concern over trivialities."

Illumination Point "25 Cancer" (the Sun's degree): "A Dark Shadow or Mantle Thrown Suddenly Over the Right Shoulder"..."keyword: DESTINY...positive: some dramatic manifestation of genius vital to the general welfare of man; negative: a tendency to unwarranted presumption if not outright megalomania."

Karmic Confrontation Degrees, Their Illumination Points, and Symbols

Lunar Eclipse "24 Capricorn": "A Woman Entering a Convent"..."keyword: CONSECRATION...positive: the irresistible power of a true inner vision; negative: abject surrender to weakness."

Karmic Illumination Point "24 Cancer": "A Woman and Two Men on a Bit of Sunlit Land Facing South"..."keyword: INCEPTION...keyword: an unusual gift for organizing and exploiting the self's potentials; negative: a devastating sense of ineptitude and estrangement from reality."

Now I know that readers of Stars Over Washington who follow the Machiavellian political drama that is Washington DC Politics can locate players such as Trump and his fellow 'Republicans', a few thespian Democrats, plus, Trump's current Nemesis du jour Robert Mueller peeking out from within or between these cosmic symbols as they bask or squirm under the illumination that's certain to follow!

Related: DC Horoscopes: July 2019 Solar and Lunar Eclipses.

Will Republicans Cease to Exist? - Thom Hartmann

From author and progressive broadcaster Thom Hartmann comes an interesting segment from his show concerning the viability of the Republican Party in the era of Trump. Of course, all my astrologer friends are familiar with the Neptunian concepts of demise, disintegration, instability, disappointment, and dissolution affecting the GOP for a few years now as we've watched undermining Neptune in shady Pisces approach its 1854 position (1854 + Neptune's 164-year orbit = 2018) in the founding horoscope of the once-conservative party--in astrological terms, the party's Neptune Return to 14 Pisces--oh! and Neptune is the planet of fraud, deception, disguises, pretence, fakery, loss, fanaticism, propaganda, mass media, the masses, and plenty of conspiracy theories to promote it all:

Now naturally, the ongoing,, scandal-producing Jupiter-Neptune square (fanaticism masquerading as idealism) isn't improving such matters, political and otherwise, plus, how synchronicitous is it that the GOP's natal Neptune @14Pisces has quite a revealing Sabian Symbol: "A Lady in FOX Fur"! And the symbol's negative (unconscious/shadow side) expression? "Amoral opportunism," a description which can easily be applied to party members--some more than others, it appears--and to the undermining 'leader' of their demise, Donald Trump.

"14 Pisces" from The Sabian Symbols in Astrology by Dr. Marc Edmund Jones.

Banks Ready To Dish On Trump In Spite Of His Lawsuit - clip

May 5, 2019: Farron Cousins reports via The Ring of Fire Network and I say, Dish Away!

You know, each time I hear or read about Donald Trump and the laundering of dirty money (such as crime syndicates must do), I think of Big T's dreary Moon-South-Node conjunction in Sagittarius and an associated Sabian Symbol: "A Chinese Laundry". Then I think of opposite degrees of Gemini where Trump's natal Uranus-North-Node-Sun lurk and another symbol that nestles therein which speaks of 'alien relationships' and the 'dissipation' of selfhood which results through them: "Two Chinese Men Talking Chinese in a Western Crowd."

For as you know in Astrology, Sun and Moon represent integral parts of anyone's conscious personality and unconscious needs, and unpredictable Uranus in duplicitous Gemini, Trump's 'guiding planet' (due to its oriental condition in his chart as the last planet to rise just before his Sun) tends toward chaos instead of order and disruption and separation where harmony should better reside.

Sunday March 31, 2019: Pandora and Icarus spotlighted

Pandora (1896) John William Waterhouse {{PD-US-expired}}

Today, March 31, 2019, at 2:00 pm edt the Sun @10Aries38 shines directly upon asteroid Pandora who in Greek Mythology opened a jar of all manner of evils and illnesses upon the world and represents a gift that is actually a curse. Rounding up the Sun's degree to '11 Aries' we find an appropriate Sabian Symbol (word picture) for our current woes, "The President of the Country"...POTUS.

Now I'm just telling you what books say on such topics, take your own meaning as you wish (and eliminate the "woes" part if that's your viewpoint; however, I cannot concur). And note that the negative expression of '11 Aries' tends toward "vain pretence."

The Fall of Icarus (1636/37) Jacob Peter Gowy [Public domain]

Then with an intuitive lunar message, at 2:00 pm edt today the Moon clocks in @19AQ46 and reflects her light upon asteroid Icarus who flew too close to the sun during his escape attempt and fell from grace because his wings (which were only fashioned from wax), melted and he was cast into the sea. This resulted, of course, from his not listening to the advice of a higher authority, the voice of experience, we might say. Rounding up Luna's 2:00 pm position to '20AQ" we find a word picture of "A Big White Dove, a Message Bearer" with a negative expression that tends toward "sanctimonious self-deception." Ouch!

Now does Icarus represent on some level America under Trump as a Pandora figure who busies himself knocking out supports of all kinds as he releases ills across our land? That he would fulfill his campaign promise to build roads and bridges--infrastructure--now seems laughable to me for this self-styled "King of Debt", this bankrupt artist extraordinaire. His focus on building a 'wall' instead seems even more inappropriate in the light of such mighty promises of restoration of our crumbling infrastructure.

Plus, Trump and the GOP now planning to take away the healthcare insurance of millions of Americans qualifies as Pandora's illness-releasing in my book--Trump's campaign promises to the contrary notwithstanding.

And yet...are you still hopeful he'll 'come through' for America? If so, then you'll be needing that last little bit at the bottom of Pandora's jar which some believe is, as do I, a tiny little ray of hope!

An oddly related post: Is Donald Trump America's Psychopomp?

'11 Aries' and '20AQ' from The Sabian Symbols in Astrology, Marc Edmund Jones.

Portrait of America 2019: "Two Men Playing Chess"

2019 America Is 243 years old = "3 Sagittarius"

by Jude Cowell

Last evening I played around with America in her 243rd year (2019) which, when translated into the 360-degree circle of the Zodiac (one degree = one year) brings our nation to 3 Sagittarius (243 degrees = 8 signs plus 3 degrees when counted from the Aries Point) because I was curious to see if the degree's Sabian Symbol held significance in relation to current events. Note that using the same method but counting from 13 Cancer, our nation's Sun (leadership) degree, gives 20 Scorpio, yet as it turns out, 3 Sag tells a descriptive 2019 tale of the moment.

Because today as I watched a few morning news shows, the phrase "playing chess" and the concept of a chess game came up more than once out of the mouths of political pundits and reporters (in relation to Mr. Trump, of course) so let's consider 3 Sag in the Sabian Symbols followed by Adriano Carelli's explanation of this degree.

First, Dane Rudhyar's interpretation for 3 Sag = "Two Men Playing Chess".

"Keynote: The transcendent ritualization of conflict" (yin vs yang, dark vs light) "ending in most cases with the checkmating of the king (the ego, the conscious self)...in a dualistic world such a conflict between forces is omnipresent. The chess game trains men to be more objective, more careful, more aware of whole situations--and less impulsive and intent upon side issues. {} it brings to the objective consciousness the basic realities in interpersonal INTERPLAY." This speaks of the "transmutation of man's natural aggressiveness under most conditions of existence."

In the Jones version for 3 Sag the word picture is the same; here are its positive and negative (unconscious/shadow side--jc) expressions:

"Positive: high sensitiveness to every possibility of accomplishment or broadened self-discovery.

Negative: unsuspected bigotry or foolish exactitude." (I'm not certain how "unsuspected" the bigotry is!)

Now I shall quote from Carelli's The 360 Degrees of the Zodiac for 3 Sag which has no word picture (not all his degrees do) and perhaps you'll agree that this version of 3 Sag sounds much like the fellow currently under siege in the Oval Office:

"A self-contradictory character: on one hand gentle and sensitive, on the other mettlesome, combative and even aggressive. His sense of charity and altruism can lead him to the hardest sacrifices that border on absolute self-denial, yet there will be something mean in it. Psychic and sexual fecundity, love of family, home and work; an aptitude for arts, engineering and perhaps architecture, though the skill in planning to the least detail be transferred from the field of material buildings to one of feelings and induce a petty scheming and plotting mentality.

People may like, love, even adore, the native, but the concourse of other astrological factors will be needed for this."

For more details see An Astrological Mandala by Dane Rudhyar and
The Sabian Symbols in Astrology by Marc Edmund Jones; also see Lynda Hill's more modern 360 Degrees of Wisdom.

Feb 13, 2019 Mars Meets Uranus at 1:21 am est

Say, remember when congressional Republicans shoved through their tax cut bill for the wealthy class under the auspices of a Mars-Uranus opposition across the Aries-Libra axis? That was the culmination-fulfillment stage of the bi-annual planetary cycle. A new cycle begins for this incendiary pair via conjunction on February 13, 2019 @29Aries, a critical, impulsive degree - while the opposition's December 2017 elements of "unbridled fantasy" continue to bedevil our economy, our financial futures (personally and nationally), our sanity, and society's communal ability to respond positively and effectively to whatever crisis may befall, economic and otherwise.

February 2019: Can You Hear It?

"A Celestial Choir (is) Singing" (29Aries) and calling on the individual for a "spiritual dramatization to his daily living for himself and his fellows within every range of his powers and skill. The Keyword is VENERATION. Positive expression: a gift for the effective articulation or manifestation of those eternal realities through which all people find themselves at one; negative expression: an acceptance of every fantasy which will flatter the ego." (The Sabian Symbols in Astrology, Marc Edmund Jones.)

Now I suspect we both know who acts under the influence of the negative expression of this symbol so I ask you, Is Trump the "immortal instrument" (29Ari) by which America must now be known?

Will no one step up and effectively intervene when a self-identified 'monarch' of a malignant narcissist sabotages our Republic just to pay his debts and/or work in tandem with a snot-nosed thug who leads a mere regional power?

Astro-Notes on Heather Nauert: next UN Ambassador?

Image: 'Neptune Ascends'

by Jude Cowell

Donald Trump's choice for UN ambassador to replace Nikki Haley is former Fox News personality Heather Nauert born January 27, 1970 in Rockford, Illinois. Follow the link for a few bio details on her life and a view of a speculative natal horoscope for her (birth hour unknown).

If confirmed to the UN post, Ms. Nauert will be the least experienced ambassador to the United Nations in US history with a diplomacy resume as thin as my own! Yet a communicator she is, and quite Airy, too, as we can see from her natal planets. I won't bother posting her 'noon' natal chart here since it's only a possibility that she'll be confirmed by the Senate. In her favor? She's a Fox alumni, blonde, and Mike Pompeo and John Bolton seem to be in her corner along with Mr. Trump so we'll see how her confirmation hearing goes.

And the downgrading of her UN position from Cabinet-level is being pushed by Pompeo and Bolton thanks to Trump who intends to run the show entirely and carry Putin's water on the global stage as far as the 'United' Nations goes.

Well, you know how astrological Neptune likes to downgrade, downplay, dissolve, undermine, deceive, disappoint, merge, infect, and confuse, right? Well, the Nauert-UN saga seems right on time since the first Mars Return to Trump's 2017 Inauguration horoscope (24Pis21) will perfect on December 23, 2018 at 11:20:54 am est, and in Washington DC, guess what rises at that moment? Why, Neptune @13Pis55, of course! Ascendant = 13Pis58 and Heather Nauert's natal North Node, a point of public contact, falls at 12Pis11 or so.

And if we round up to '14Pisces' for Neptune-ASC's Sabian Symbol we discover "A Lady in Fox Fur," aka, Heather Nauert. Now some pundits are saying that Ms. Nauert as UN Ambassador is in for a world of hurt. Astrologically I'd say that the December 23rd Neptune-ASC-NN trio in the Trump Inauguration's Mars Return chart suggests potentials for rumor, deception, hurt through others, and being duped (Tyl) for this Lady in Fox Fur. Master-of-disguise Neptune must supply Ms. Nauert with quite a weighty mask to wear in New York! And to New York I suspect she will go for the January 5, 2019 Solar Eclipse @15Capricorn activates her natal Mercury in Capricorn with its eclipse theme of: "joining a new group and gaining a great deal" (Brady). For even if downgraded from a Cabinet-level position, a UN ambassadorship would be a lucrative step up for Heather Nauert after a brief stint as State Department spokesperson.

And if Nauert's personality blend of Sun AQ-Moon Libra is the case instead of a Water-Earth Sun AQ-Moon Virgo blend (if born not very long after midnight) which tends toward puritanism and a nit-picking attitude toward others, her double Air combination of energies suggests she is civilized, sociable, charming, broad-minded, and humanitarian with a good intellect. The AQ-Libra blend is shared by author Boris Pasternak and I shall end this post with an extremely appropriate quote from him which may very well remind you of someone we both hear from ad nauseum every single day,

"As for men in power, they are so anxious to establish the myth of infallibility that they do their utmost to ignore truth."

Horoscope: Spring Equinox 2019 - Virgo Moon Rising

Image: Spring Equinox March 20, 2019 at 5:58:20 pm edt White House Washington DC; ASC 14Vir25; Moon @27Vir48 rising; MC 12Gem10 conjunct Uranus-North Node midpoint (see chart, lower right); Sun 00Ari00:00 in 7th house of Partnerships, Open Enemies, and Legal Affairs/rules 12th house of Politics, Karma, Large Institutions, and Back Room Deals. Chart and MC ruler Mercury Rx @18Pis58 conjunct Neptune = "the illusionist" (A. Oken); Mars @23Tau08 in 9th house of Philosophy and Foreign Lands soon conjoins Trump's natal MC where raging star Algol twinkles. And we should mention that Donald Trump's natal Neptune @6Libra is his 'first to rise' planet at Spring Equinox 2019 bringing along his expansive, inflationary trio of Neptune-Chiron-Jupiter of speculation and schemes.

Lower right is a Note: Speaker of the House Pelosi's Mars Return (25Taurus) occurs on or about March 25, 2019 beginning a new 2-year cycle of activity for her with the House as of January 2019 ruled by congressional Democrats. Interestingly, the Moon leads a Locomotive shape of all the planets in the chart indicating a ruthless drive toward success by an executive--is this Speaker Pelosi representing the Democrats, plus, We The People? I suspect on one level 'tis She of The Gavel. Yet the Moon's Sabian Symbol suggests otherwise: '28Virgo' = "A Bald-Headed Man Dominates a Gathering of National Figures." Trump is balding, so obviously Spring 2019 is gonna be Trump vs Pelosi for the duration of the year (Aries Ingresses symbolize entire years) with a Virgo Moon signifying practicality and methodical procedures. Also see the Sabian Symbol of the Sun ('1Aries') at the top of the horoscope - America's Great Seal is hinted at along with the Founders' pagan worship of goddess Venus.

Future Direction: 11th house North Node in Cancer (conjunct US natal Mercury Rx) denotes contacts, meetings, and encounters of a Cancerian nature which includes; business, security, family, and domestic matters along with Cancer's penchant for tribalism (ex: Trump's 'nationalism'.)

Eclipse-wise, Spring Equinox 2019's Prenatal Solar Eclipse ('PE') manifested on January 6, 2019 @15Cap25 (2 South: 'joining a new or unusual group and gaining a great deal' - Brady; perfect for new Congress members). The PE conjuncts the 5th cusp of this horoscope (15Cap51)--5th house = risk-taking, speculation, creative pursuits, children (such as the ones Trump cages and tear gases). The Equinox 2019's Syzygy Moon, a New Moon, occurs on March 6, 2019 @15Pis47 conjunct Neptune = illusions, delusions, illusions, pretense, and disguises. This may denote a new cycle of deception beginning for or by the Trump administration or the seeding (New Moon) of them. Either way we'll know more very soon by the bright light of the next Full Moon @00Lib09 (March 21st) which conjoins the natal MC of the US natal chart (5:09 pm lmt) with the Sun @00Ari09 conjunct our national IC, the Foundation of the Matter, but also The Drain and the HOW? Point. America's public status and reputation in the world should be in the spotlight more than usual around that time, such as they are thanks to asset Trump and the Kremlin. (Have you ever wondered if Melania is actually Trump's handler?)

Good news is that protective Jupiter in his own sign of Sagittarius is in the 4th house of Domestic Scene, Real Estate, and Mining which happily is ruled via Sag by moneybags Jupiter, the financier, politician, guru, broadcaster, and The General. Between February 20th and 23rd, transit Jupiter passes over Trump's natal South-Node-Moon conjunction (20-22Sag), a real mixture of both positive and negative feelings (Moon) for him (will he relocate back to NYC? it's a transit of 'conflicts of interest' plus, 'happiness' - and he misses his penthouse so!). Yet if we look below the surface, we find the Hopi Blue Star of Prophecy, Ras Alhague waiting patiently for expression--apparently through mouthpiece Donald Trump. For more details on this star, see Donald Trump's natal Moon and the Sapphire Star.

Now as you see, unpredictable Uranus @00Tau41 (a degree of violence--Devore; and Hitler's natal Sun degree) is in the corporate 8th house of Shared Finances, Credit/Debt/Insurance, Death, Transformation, and the Occult, and is unaspected which emphasizes the detached, isolated quality of astrological Uranus, the chaos-creator (and Trump's guiding planet). Disruptions, shocks, or upsets may occur. And when unmodulated by aspects from other planets, quirky Uranus's energies are difficult for any individual to handle and denotes one who acts independently of outside influences, is restless, nervous, and discontent. There may be spurts or flashes of genius (positively or negatively) in the house (area of life) where Uranus is located. Then with Venus in detached Aquarius, Uranus has something to say about finances (8th house) of such things as the military, police, and civil services (6th house), and about perspective (Venus). Even health issues could be in the Uranian barrel (6th house) especially since the Venus-Uranus pair when acting negatively tends to indicate extravagance and waste. One is reminded of the sad state of America's Veterans Administration along with the EPA and every other government department suffering underneath the hefty Trump.

Yes, there are a many other chart factors worth mentioning here but I shall keep to my aim that this be a post, not a book, and shall leave them for you, dear reader, to admire. However, of special interest is the 5th house Saturn-Pluto conjunction which perfects @22Cap46 on January 12, 2020 - conjunct the natal Vertex of Donald J. Trump. Yet in this 2019 Equinox horoscope, Pluto @22Cap51 already conjoins Trump's Vertex, a point in Astrology of 'fated encounters' or 'appointments with fate'. This may suggest a meeting between Trump and one of his idolized dictators or it could suggest a cosmic picture of something even more sinister, something that's been brewing for a long time in that karmic reap what's been sown sort of way.

For there is one thing everyone in the Universe agrees on: the piper must always be paid!

Please enlarge the image to read my study notes if you wish and you'll spy some of Mr. Trump's natal placements penned around the chart and highlighted in a lovely lavender pink shade.

A Related Post: on February 18th Chiron again conjoins the Aries Point, America's natal IC Point of Home, Roots, and Endings, and which is, of course, the degree of the Spring Equinox Sun.

Chiron to Aries Point 2019 and America's Chiron Return

Image: tri-wheel of three Chiron to Aries Point transits 2018--2019: April 17, 2018, September 25, 2018, and February 18, 2019.

In a previous post titled Chiron to Aries Point 2018-2019, you'll find quite a few general details concerning centaur Chiron, the Wounded Healer and priest, plus, notes on Chiron in Mars-ruled Aries which happens to be America's natal placement of Chiron @20Ari08 in our national 4th house of Roots, Foundation, and Endings, July 4, 1776.

Upcoming in the New Year is the third of three conjunctions of Chiron to AP on February 18, 2019 (shown in tri-wheel, outer chart), and with the US natal IC @00Ari47 (in the US chart I prefer: July 4, 1776 5:09 pm LMT Philadelphia, PA), this transit which occurs approximately every 50 years to a Cardinal World Point of Manifestation marks the introduction or entrance of Chiron into America's 4th house of Domestic Scene and Homeland, and casts a glance toward our nation's eventual Chiron Return which will perfect three times, due to Chiron's retrogradation: on April 20, 2024, November 8, 2024 (Rx), and February 18, 2025. (More on this in a future post.)

Rounding up, the Sabian Symbol for US Chiron @21Aries = "A Pugilist Entering The Ring" as we did in 1775/76 and beyond; and with US Chiron in Aries we often express the 'sacred warrior' archetype of the Seeker on a Quest identified as "pioneers, trailblazers, and/or mavericks" charting an independent course, seeking our national identity, and endeavoring to lead the world into the future (R. Nolle). As a nation we have traditionally held high the ideal that America fights for what is right, tarnished though that principled position has become with the less noble "might is right" attitude of expansionism, greed, and lust for ever-increasing power and military conquests.

Yet America's 1776 chart contains a helpful Mars-Chiron sextile which Richard Nolle points out, "indicates one whose strongest energies are channeled into the social/aesthetic sphere as a crucible of the Quest for self-transcendence."

So as America's Chiron Return period of 2024/25 nears we may expect such principles to express within the Collective Mind once again in similar fashion to the events, personalities, and Quest of 1776 at the founding of our nation rising up as 'one among the many.' For after all, the 4th house is one of the Watery Psychological Houses (4/8/12--Cancer-Scorpio-Pisces) and relates to what is needed in order to feel that we are psychologically 'at home' with our inherent sense of identity, formerly wounded, but finally able to face our nation's inner pugilist and throw off the bonds of oppression.

For more details see Richard Nolle's Chiron: The New Planet in Your Horoscope, the Key to Your Quest and The Sabian Symbols in Astrology by Dr. Marc Edmund Jones. If a modern version of the symbols is preferred I recommend Lynda Hill's excellent 360 Degrees of Wisdom.

And did you happen to notice that The Great American Eclipse of August 21, 2017 @29Leo 'eclipsed' Chiron's natal Saturn @29Leo which is the same position of one of our Founding Fathers' natal Saturn?! In other words, the Discovery of Chiron basically timed a posthumous Saturn Return for...guess who?

DC Horoscope: Nov 8, 2018 Jupiter Enters Sagittarius

Jupiter to Sagittarius: Financial and Military Matters

by Jude Cowell

Two days after the 2018 Midterm Elections, on November 8, 2018 at 7:40 am est, transit Jupiter enters his own sign of Sagittarius just after the New Moon of November 7th @15Sco11. Below is the DC Horoscope of this cosmic event which marks a significant shift from the Mars-Pluto energies of intense, brooding Scorpio with its materialistic outlook:

Yet as you see, the shift may not be as light as we wish for there are several chart factors denoting both financial and military matters and a president unable to meet all demands or master all situations (Ebertin). This may be seen penned into the center of the chart as the difficult 'death axis' pair of Mars and Saturn combine their energies via midpoint directly upon America's POTUS Sun position (00AQ48 on Jan 20, 2017 = Trump). And of course, the Saturnian South Node, or 'tail of the dragon', is at a critical-crisis degree of 29Cap37 in the 2nd house of Values and the National Treasury, conjoining US Progressed ('SP') Pluto Rx. That two planets of karma are posited in the 2nd house as well with sign Capricorn intercepted suggests karmic conditions which must be dealt with because even Trump and America must reap what's been sown. Note that the Pluto-SN pairing also suggests potentials for war, violence, or other large-scale events which disrupt people's lives and are too large for mere mortals to handle. Refugees crashing trough border walls are suggested.

In Sagittarius, Jupiter emphasizes potentials for justice, religious and moral aspirations, making far-reaching plans, foreign concerns, but also wastefulness and speculation. Philosophically, a hint of Marxism may be involved or even bohemianism with this placement although given present conditions in US society, attempts to convert others to a particular system of beliefs is probably on the Jupiterian menu. This reminds me of the Bush-Cheney Vulcans' deceptive "hearts and minds" propaganda as they invaded and radicalized the Middle East against the West, plus, Jupiter can also play the role of The Broadcaster, for ill or good.

Now Jupiter enters Sagittarius during a Mars Hour, as you see, and Mars rules Scorpio --'27Scorpio' is emphasized by the Ascendant and Moon rising--'27Sco' = "A Military Band on the March". Of course, this may not be America's military band on the march but with impulsive Trump in the Oval Office, all bets are off in the predictability department. With warrior planet Mars as chart-ruler, he applies only once--a square with Jupiter. Potentials for the square are penned on the chart, lower left. Plus, Jupiter as actor in a horoscope also plays many parts such as politician, financier and banker, religious figures...and military Generals.

Jupiter's karmic confrontation degree of '30Scorpio' = "The Halloween Jester" (negative expression: contempt for established values") while his position @1Sag = "A Grand Army of the Republic Campfire (negative: unhealthy veneration for the past" (The Sabian Symbols in Astrology, Marc Edmund Jones). Having a cycle of approximately 12 years, of interest is that Jupiter last entered Sagittarius in November 2006 and on November 6, 2006, Democrats gained control of both the House and Senate in the 2006 Midterm Elections. Perhaps the history of the 2018 Midterms will rhyme, if not repeat, with Jupiter entering Sagittarius.

Just behind the rising Moon and Jupiter is little Mercury @10Sag = "A Golden=Haired Goddess of Opportunity" and Mr. Trump is nothing if not an opportunist as are his cabinet members under scrutiny for misuse of public funds and other unethical practices. Of course, communicating Mercury rules reporters and political pundits as well as voters and ballots and this Mercury squares the Career Point (MC) which denotes blockages in communications. We should also mention that the Midheaven ('MC'), the Goal Point of all horoscopes, points toward the 19 North Solar Eclipse of September 1, 2016 @9Vir21 with unstable Neptune opposite at the IC (Basis) of this horoscope. 19 North themes are: realism, coming down to earth and seeing something for what it really is, and tackling the truth (Brady). And there is radical chaos-creator Uranus Rx @29Ari55 in the 5th house of Speculation and Risk-Taking and in Nodal Degree, a fated or karmic condition as is the Cancer-Capricorn interception across the 2/8 axis of Money, Debt, and Corporatism with Uranus in Aries denoting blind zealots and Utopian anarchists (Ebertin).

As for the 19 North 'realism' eclipse and fraudulent, obscuring, eroding Neptune opposing it, we continue to find ourselves mired within truth vs fiction problems in large part due to Mr. Trump's fantasy-prone Mercury-Neptune square of falsehoods, misconceptions, and indiscretion for this manifestation of a 19 North Solar Eclipse is the Prenatal Eclipse of the 2016 presidential election and of Inauguration 2017 when saboteurs foreign and domestic placed Trump's fat finger on The Button. For a glimpse of the 2016 eclipse horoscope see The 2016 Eclipse That Heralded The Prevaricator.

Above Image: illustration for '12Cancer' = "A Chinese Woman Nursing a Baby with a Message" which Jones relates to "real community service"; ("negative expression: completely unreasonable demands for recognition") and of course one thinks of Trump's and America's financial links to China; pencil on black paper; image available in my Fine Art America portfolio.

Senator John McCain and a Flag at Half-Mast

August 26, 2018: As our nation mourns the loss of Republican Senator John McCain, the Capitol Building lowers the US flag to half-mast in honor of our fallen senator and Vietnam war veteran.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:John_McCain_official_photo_portrait.JPG

Astrologers can compare transits for last evening with Senator McCain's natal horoscope and although I glanced at them myself, I haven't the umph for typing them here. However, there is a Sabian Symbol, a word picture, which seems appropriate to quote in full, not just in honor of the senator and his sad passing, but also for the symbol's meaning as a description of such a man as John McCain:

"25 Virgo: 'A Flag at Half Mast'. This is a symbol of the inevitable judgment which life must pronounce on itself, and of the sure rewards that stand ready for whatever proves of worth in the course of effort. The highest of everyday values for the common man are created in a public service which has its first compensation in the individual's self-fulfillment, and its ultimate justification in some measure of immortal contribution to history. Reputation is the subtle coin by which personality creates an enduring wealth for everyone, to be preserved no less in death than in life. The keyword is RESPECT. When positive, the degree is achievement in a full transcendence of selfhood, and when negative, superficial self-dramatization.

To me it seems obvious that we can correctly leave off the negative expression for Senator McCain or apply it to a certain Gemini who now strides over Washington DC.

John McCain (1936--2018) He did his duty. May he R.I.P.

August 2018 Eclipse Spotlights The Unmasking!

Did the Helsinki 'Summit' Get Most People's Attention Finally?

This may be significant: assuming that we can depend on Sabian Symbols to have meaning in and for the Collective, the difficult August 11, 2018 Solar Eclipse @19Leo opposes by degree and sign (Leo-AQ) what at the time I was prone to calling, The Unmasking Eclipse because it manifested in the 10 North series on February 7, 2008 @18AQ, the "A Man Unmasked" degree.

Naturally, the year '2008' is well known for America's world-shaking financial collapse and subsequent heist but that's not the topic of this post. The symbol for '18 Aquarius' as described by Dane Rudhyar and Marc Edmund Jones is the topic for its themes resemble current events and are being triggered via opposition from the August 2018 eclipse @19Leo. In a comparison of the two eclipse charts there are many more planetary and cyclic factors involved, of course, but here's the gist of '18AQ" in relation to Donald Trump being unmasked as the __, a __, or the __ (fill in the blank) we didn't want in the White House even as Mr. Putin is now unmasked as Trump's handler, or, as some would reluctantly say, his boss:

Rudhyar: '18AQ' = "A Man's Secret Motives Are Being Publicly Unmasked"...

"Keynote: The difficulty for the modern individual to keep secret his private past or his deeper motives." This symbol may also "refer to the publicizing of past behavior" and it mentions "innumerable governmental agencies " that are "nearly always able to find access to remains or records of past actions..." Sounds like serenades by old-baggage-handling Trump, KGB-er Putin, and embarrassing Kremlin intel with shades of Michael Cohen's years' worth of records haunting around the edges. And toss in the 'Trump tariffs and trade wars' that, eyed clearly, seem to be intended for the purposes of losing American jobs and crashing the US economy, a further weakening of our nation at Putin's direction--in retaliation for the Fall of the Soviet Union (1991--over-confidently billed as the "End of Communism").

Jones: '18AQ' = "A Man Unmasked"...

This symbol "demands that each person make a public accounting of himself whenever the general welfare requires it. Life becomes a laboratory for an immortal curiosity. Keyword: ANALYSIS." Positive expression: "a considered self-dedication to greater and more wonderful reasons for being"; negative/unconscious/shadow side: "self-betrayal through exceptional ineptitude." (My italics and bolds.)

Public accounting? Long overdue, including Trump's tax returns, but perhaps Mr. Mueller can help us with that. General welfare? Naturally, We The People value it but a mask-free Trump now informs us that he prefers Russia over America, so if confronted he'll probably pretend not to have heard of the concept nor will he respond to the shouted question!

Additional Note: With Montenegro recently on Trump's lips, here's the nation's founding data from Campion's The Book of World Horoscopes chart #221: July 13, 1878 13:37 GMT Cettinje, Montenegro. Curiously, the nation's Sun @20Can58 (8th house) was precisely eclipsed on July 12, 2018 (20Can41) while Trump was overseas readying to rendezvous with Putin in Helsinki--and this July eclipse fell into Trump's Prenatal Eclipse Series, the 2 Old North, with themes of 'unfortunate news, separations, or endings', and 'quick action can bring good results'. The upcoming August 2018 Solar Eclipse ('The Tower') @19Leo in the 2 New North Series perfects upon Montenegro's 9th house Mars-Uranus midpoint with Sun-ruled Leo intercepted (Solar Fire v9; Tropical; Placidus System).

Above image: The Past Has a Way, another pencil drawing by Jude Cowell.

The Progressed New Moons of Trump and Bolton

Below is a dual image of the Secondary Progressed (SP) New Moons of both Donald Trump (lower left) and John Bolton (upper right). Trump SP New Moon we've discussed here previously and since Trump's natal chart is apparently accurately timed (birth data, below), the date of Trump's SP New Moon is assumed to be accurate.

John Bolton's lack of a correct birth time is more problematic when attempting to assess his progressed planets--the SP New Moon you see here issues from a 'noon' natal horoscope--and the SP New Moon's degree for Mr. Bolton is the same (8AQ52) for all three 'natal' charts I've progressed for this post--setting his natal chart for 12:00 am gives an SP New Moon on October 16, 2018 while 11:59 pm gives October 17, 2017. As noted, a natal chart set for 12:00 noon results in an SP New Moon on April 16, 2018, as you see. And since Mr. Bolton is scheduled to take over the position of National Security Adviser for Donald Trump on April 9, 2018 (last I heard), I'm choosing the 12:00 pm natal chart to calculate Bolton's SP New Moon, symbolically the beginning of a new cycle of life as will be his new White House job (if nothing goes wrong):

As you know, the timing of an SP New Moon denotes that one has been living previously within a darkened Balsamic Lunar Phase of endings, partings, and things going bump in the night, and may time a period when secrets abound. A good example of this phase and its effects is Donald Trump who was 'elected' during the phase and began his White House tenure under it. Balsamic phases are not favored periods during which to begin a new phase of life or a new project or job as we've seen with the many departures and endings of his alliances and relationships since he entered Politics. It's also a period of life when someone cannot carry on and another must take the reins in one's stead. If this can be applied to a previous president's term ending and a new fellow moving in, then there we go--Trump in the White House.

Otherwise, the constant hints or threats of VP Mike Pence taking over the POTUS helm could be part of this Dark of the Moon time which will symbolically come to a close on September 16, 2019 with Trump's SP New Moon @3Virgo12. For a view of the SP New Moon chart you see here along with the chart of the beginning of Trump's Balsamic Phase in April 2016, try this previous post. Of course, with SP New Moons, it takes time before the new life phase and its new themes become apparent to the individual as the lunar light symbolically brightens toward the culmination of an SP Full Moon.

Sabian Symbols Are Informative for Lunar Phase Degrees

Rounded up, the Sabian Symbol for Trump's SP New Moon '4Virgo' seems applicable to his concerns: "A Colored Child Playing with White Children." Now this doesn't mean that Trump is a colored child (though he behaves like a pouting little man-baby) but it does reveal a particular issue he must deal with at this time of life, and of course, the suggestion of racism and bigotry tend to be on his menu. The Keyword for '4Virgo' is: INTIMACY...and its negative expression = lack of capacity for psychological adjustment. I think most if not all people have given up hope that Trump can or will choose to change his behavior to any appreciable amount.

As for Mr. Bolton (whenever his SP New Moon perfects), his SP New Moon's rounded-up degree is '9AQ": "A Flag Turned Into an Eagle.". The Keyword for '9AQ" is: DRAMATIZATION...negative expression = vindictive pride. For Mr. Bolton, the Balsamic Lunar Phase holds true since he's stepping into the White House position left open by Trump's recent ouster of General McMaster (though I must confess that 'vindictive pride' sounds very much like Donald Trump's behavior). Plus, that Bolton may also be in a Balsamic Phase bodes ill for his new position lasting.

Planetary Shapes Also Inform

A further comparison may be made via the shapes of the planets in the SP charts: Trump's SP planets form a BUNDLE denoting an opportunist and archetypal dictator with narrow interests, one who can build the small into the great (which includes a tendency to turn mountains into molehills--and to build towers, one supposes). Supporting the Balsamic endings vibe is Trump's SP Saturn conjunct SP Midheaven which can be a potential marker for a fall from grace if conditions are right and other chart factors and transits concur. There certainly are those working against him to facilitate such an outcome to Trump's political career.

(Note that the natal chart of Benito Mussolini contains a BUNDLE shape of the archetypal dictator--at least, that's how Benny chose to use those particular energies.)

John Bolton's SP New Moon is a different tale for his SP planets form a SEESAW shape denoting one who constantly weighs pros vs cons, works mentally within polarities, and sees the world as full of conflicts. Bolton's natal Mars-Uranus opposition supports such a world view but unfortunately it does so on a grand and explosive scale and may be used by Mr. Trump to 'justify' war maneuvers and further power and territory grabs.