Benjamin Franklin and the Ancient Science of Astrology

Views on Astrology by the Enlightened Benjamin Franklin

As you know, the First American, Benjamin Franklin, grew rich from the sales of his Poor Richard's Almanack, and is known to have been a prominent Freemason, scientist, and astrologer. These days, some folk say he was no astrologer, only an almanac writer and publisher. That's nonsense! Yet I am certain that Dr. Franklin can speak for himself on the topic of Astrology with his punctuation and spelling retained:

“Courteous Reader: Astrology is one of the most ancient Sciences, held in high Esteem of old, by the Wise and Great. Formerly, no Prince would make War or Peace, nor any General fight a Battle, in short, no important Affair was taken without first consulting an Astrologer, who examined the Aspects and Configurations of the heavenly bodies, and mark’d the lucky hour. Now the noble Art (more Shame to the Age we live in!) is dwindled into contempt; the Great neglect us, Empires make Leagues, and Parliaments Laws, without advising with us; and scarce any other Use is made of our learned Labors, than to find the best time cutting Corns, or gelding Pigs, – this Mischief we owe in a great Measure to ourselves: The ignorant Herd of Mankind: had they not been encourag’d to it by some of us, would never have dared to deprecate our sacred Dictates; but Urania has been betray’d by her own Sons: those whom she had favored with the greatest skill in her divine art, the most eminent astronomers among the Moderns, the Newtons, Helleys, and Whistons have wantonly condem’d and abus’d her, contrary to the Light of their own Conscience.”

Whew! Ben calling out Sir Isaac Newton, one of Thomas Jefferson's three philosophical idols along with Bacon and Locke for as you know, Mr. Jefferson hung portraits of The Three in his temple-observatory, Monticello. And thanks to the astrological astuteness of Franklin and Jefferson, the American people were saved from owning the Saturn-ruled Capricorn Moon of July 2, 1776 (famously the favored date of John Adams) which opposed the Cancer Sun and have instead enjoyed the airier, humanitarian Aquarius Moon of July 4, 1776.

Speaking of Ben Franklin and Astrology, here's a brief presentation which might interest you:

Actually you may wish to consider the hidden, more unconscious or karmic information residing in the Full Moon horoscope of July 1, 1776 for debate concerning American independence certainly occurred under its influence. Significantly, this is America's Syzygy Moon, the lunation prior to the founding of our country across the Cancer-Capricorn axis of Security as Franklin and the rest debated and planned a 'New Order of the Ages' under peril of their own lives. Note that all the planets are in the usual signs of for the USA with the obvious exception of the Moon and the not-so-obvious exception of goddess planet Venus not yet in her July 4th sign of Moon-ruled Cancer and at a critical-crisis 29th degree of Mercury-ruled Gemini. Mercury was retrograde as on July 4th which to me describes the final (re-) signing of the Declaration of Independence on August 2, 1776 when Mercury, planet of signings, writing, and agreements, had turned Direct (which is preferred!)

Now here is a very much related post: Horoscope and the Hidden Dynamic of the American Revolution set for the 'first shot fired'.

Genius, occultist, philosopher, and probable Rosicrucian, Benjamin Franklin, was born January 17, 1706 (NS) at 10:30 am LMT (+4:44:14) in Boston, Massachusetts under the influence of a Capricorn Sun (27:12 conjunct US natal Pluto) and a Pisces Moon (5:20), a humanitarian combo of a scientist-poet-dreamer, a lover of mysteries with a talent for bringing order out of chaos. (Harvey.)

View Ben Franklin's natal horoscope at astrodatabank where you'll note that Isaac Starkman has rectified Ben's chart to 9:37:20 am LMT which, among other things, changes his fiery Ascendant from Mars-ruled Aries to an intuitive, mystical 13Pis40, making philosophical Jupiter and higher octave Neptune his chart-ruler and sub-ruler and gives him an earlier 4Pis49 Moon. A Pisces Ascendant is intriguing considering the very secretive Dr. Franklin yet given his amazing physical energy, a 9th house Mars as chart-ruler makes sense, too. Of course, other factors apply as well with an earlier birth time. What do you think?

Social Democracy Is 100% American - Thom Hartmann w Harvey Kaye

Author Harvey J. Kaye and Thom Hartmann discuss the Socialist Democratic history of America including Thomas Paine, Dr. Martin Luther King, Franklin Roosevelt--and the 2016 presidential candidate who's drawing the largest campaign crowds of anyone--Senator Bernie Sanders:

#BernieSanders #ThomHartmann #HarveyKaye @harveyjkaye #ThomasPaine #FDR #MLK #Bush41 #DesertStorm #SocialDemocracy

Meritocracy v Plutocracy

On November 8, 2016 which will you vote for: compassionate Social Welfare or greed-drenched Social Corporatism aka, Welfare Capitalism?

Although Senator Claire McCaskill, a Hillary Clinton booster, recently demonstrated a faulty memory concerning the progressive history of the Democratic Party, Senator Sanders highlights it. And Thom recalls the 1991 invasion of Kuwait by George H. W. Bush and reads the prophetic words of Bernie Sanders delivered on the House floor, all of which have turned out to be tragically true so as I viewed the excerpt of Thom's broadcast embedded above, I hoped their interview might mention that Bush 41 had proclaimed 'Operation Desert Storm' as "a triumph of the New World Order" in part because the Soviet Union had joined or was in cahoots with the US-led Coalition.

Knowing that, it seems not so curious that we heard the Jupiterian word "coalition" ad nauseum from Bush 43, Cheney, and pals in 2002-2003 as they sold the 'advantages' of their next forays into the Middle East--even as millions of people protested in streets across the globe against the brutality and folly of these warmongering psychopaths and megalomaniacs who think to rule the world and the 2003 invasion and occupation of Iraq which, as we now see, has no expiration date.

#SocialWelfare #CorporateWelfare #WelfareCapitalism #MiddleClassn #EndlessWar #Kuwait #NWO #Plutocracy

What Does the Constitution Say? - Organic Laws of the USA - video

Now here's a very interesting interview to publish here on Independence Day 2015 concerning America's founding, its government, and laws:

#FederalGovernment #USConstitution #DeclarationofIndependence #StatesRights #UShistory #OrganicLaws

Summer 2015: a Starry Summer Triangle, Pluto's historic flyby - Cosmic Pursuits (plus, astro-notes)

Cosmic Pursuits, Brian Ventrudo's excellent astronomy website and newsletter, gives us a heads-up on the brilliant Summer Triangle of stars Vega, Altair, and Deneb (Adige) with double star Albireo twinkling colorfully in the triangle's center.

Of course, depending on your vantage point, the trio may be called the Winter Triangle!

Now let's consider a little astrology concerning Vega (Alpha Lyrae, the Lyre of Orpheus in the Lyra constellation), Altair (Alpha Aquilae, constellation Aquila, the Eagle), and Deneb in constellation Cygnus the Swan, with Deneb (Alpha Cygnus) as its tail.

Among others, these stars have appeared here on Stars Over Washington in previous posts, some of which are linked below or are searchable via the sidebar Search field by name, or try 'fixed stars' if you dare.

Keywords and themes for Vega (or, Wega) include magic, mysticism, other-worldliness, and charisma. As with all stars that are prominent in a horoscope, Vega's expression depends upon the planet/s or chart angles it is linked to by conjunction, opposition, or by paran (rising, culminating, setting with, etc.) Artistry is indicated either positively as in the Arts, or negatively as in criminal activities; plus, its connection to the Lyre of Orpheus provides a magical divine spells implication along with musical talent. Leadership ability and social awareness may also be noted with Vega but a caution is to avoid pretentiousness.

Keywords and themes for Altair include boldness, dogged determination, and achievement through risk-taking. Altair is a masculine star of strength and action that is taken--not just for the self, but for others when its energy is positively directed. Yet its swift and bold action traits may also express themselves with rashness and excessive aggression as we see by the eagle symbols of the Roman Empire and the American Empire acting under a foolhardy urge to conquer, vanquish, devour, and/or control. Still, a planetary or angular link with Altair promises high honors and preferment though they may be temporary (as with everything other earthly thing, This too shall pass).

With starry Deneb we find keywords and themes of the willingness to become aware, mystical or transcendental qualities or interests, spirituality and the inner journey, and the shamanistic legend of the World Egg. Deneb prominent in a horoscope bestows intelligence, artistic talent, and scientific ability. In addition, there is a duality surrounding Deneb for it can express both the strength and the aggression of a swan, one of the more vicious guardians of the animal kingdom--the "strong fighting bird and the swan-god"!

Popular Pluto To Have Professional Photos Taken!

Then for discerning Pluto fans, this summer marks the planet's (okay, dwarf planet's) historic flyby 'rendezvous' with NASA's New Horizons spacecraft set for July 14th which puts everyone in mind of another historic flyby of distant Neptune and its moon Triton by Voyager 2 in 1989 (see video recreation, below). On July 14, 2015 Pluto Rx will fall upon its current zodiacal degree of 14 Capricorn and some minutes--still within orb of US natal Sun (13Can19) which conjoins Egyptian goddess star, Sirius (The Scorcher) and Canopus (the navigator or pathfinder).

#Neptune #Triton #Voyager2 #NASA #Pluto #NewHorizons

Astrology of 1989 vs 2015: Saturn, Neptune, and Pluto

Voyager 2's closest encounter with Neptune and Triton occurred on August 25, 1989 (yes, Taylor Swift's birth year and album title) when Neptune was at 9Cap48 in the Tropical Zodiac. Perhaps you recognize 1989 as the year of the last Great Conjunction/s of Saturn and Neptune, a pair that has much to say in societal and political realms. Meeting three times through the year (March 3, June 24, November 13) in the degree range of 10 to 12 Capricorn, we note that transiting Pluto has very recently stomped on and around this degree of Capricorn, sign of government, law, and business, and remains within orb.

So if we use a 5-degree orb on either side of slow-moving Pluto we see that 4Cap to 14Cap is our focus though its powerful influence has been stronger while applying to the 9/10Cap area where gaseous Neptune floated on August 25, 1989. We have noted Pluto conjoining the Saturn-Neptune conjunction/s of 1989 in previous posts since its implications suit politicians and the corporatists who fund and direct them perfectly within the midpoint picture formed by this significant trio which includes these potentials:

Saturn-Neptune = Pluto: denial of responsibility by the guilty; fear of loss. (Tyl)

Naturally these potentials apply to both political parties in the US yet I think first of the GOP since 1989 implicates a Republican White House! Plus, America's ongoing socialism-communism-capitalism "debate" is found within the Saturn-Neptune duo as is secret or invisible (Neptune) government (Saturn), a description nearer the truth imho.

So when ancient Pluto has its close-up on July 14, 2015 and clocks in from our earthly vantage point at 14Cap, it qualifies as a Pluto-to-Neptune transit for society--ongoing since late November 2010. It marks a period of moral and religious issues such as abortion, mercy killing, executions and methods used, genetic engineering, GMO food contamination, chemically eroded health, racial and minority prejudices acted out, social welfare programs, workers' and Civil Rights as power and control slowly erode via unseen forces--or are seen to be only illusions and delusions.

Several other social concerns of the 1989 era still need to be addressed such as environmental degradation (Earth Day was revived in 1990), climate change, oil spills (now add coal ash leaks, bad water quality, and fracking), droughts and floods, 'mysterious' fish and bird kills, whale beachings, shark attacks, election irregularities, uranium and plutonium leaks, revolutions, conflicts, and topplings of government leaders across the globe along with the Fall of the Berlin Wall (and of Communism) which at the time seemed to justify America claiming victory in the 'Cold War' (which some say has returned). You can think of more examples, I'm certain.

Yet many if not all of these events were and are staged by those who profit from the wars and revolutions they take none of the blame for (denial of guilt) so let us note that on a deeper level the Pluto-to-Neptune transit indicates political, economic, and physical power struggles that actually have as their foundation uplifting spiritual ideals that identify the Collective's deep thirst for honesty, compassion, and clear-eyed solutions instead of the charlatanism, fraud, corruption, and propaganda we and Mother Earth continue to endure and accept at our peril.

July 4, 2015: America's 1776 Sun Cancer-Moon Aquarius repeats!

Although there is 'no credible terrorist threat', for the US Independence Day 2015 weekend, headlines are appearing everywhere such as America on high alert this July 4th holiday due to Isis-inspired terror threats suggested particularly during the period of Ramadan which began June 18, 2015 and ends July 17th (some sources say June 17th).

On July 1st the cosmos provided the world with a lovely Venus-Jupiter conjunction @22Leo which descriptively had an asteroid lurking behind the happy duo in the form of Isis (22Leo). The Venus-Jupiter encounter became exact at 3:51 am edt on July 1, 2015, an interesting event since transiting Jupiter passes his shadow degree (where he turned Rx December 8, 2014) on late July 6 to early July 7, 2015 which denotes forward motion in Jupiterian areas of investment, growth, expansion, exploration, and development with Politics, Business, Education, Religion, and other realms of Jupiter will be affected and possibly benefited.

In the US, a Jupiterian plethora of 2016 candidates have been lining up in varied array as America prepares for our nation's 239th birthday which actually arrives this year on July 5th at 11:57:18 am edt when the Sun reaches natal degree (13Can19) and the Moon (We the People) floats past her natal sign (July 4, 1776) of freedom-loving Aquarius and enters Pisces (00:56).

But on the day we traditionally celebrate, July 4th, our national Sun Cancer-Moon Aquarius is again in effect and extends into the next day with a US Moon Return occurring at 5:39 am edt on July 5th (@27AQ09 Washington DC, based on the horoscope of July 4, 1776 5:09 pm LMT Philadelphia, PA: Independence declared).

Considering our July 2015 Lunar and Solar Returns, both manifesting on July 5th, we see natal Moon (the public) opposed by the Venus-Jupiter conjunction (including asteroid Isis) but separating, and static coming from the direction of Saturn square to our Moon (1A43). The position of Saturn @28Sco53 is interesting since it now has a sobering effect upon We the People's Inauguration 2009 Moon (29Sco45) with '30Sco' being the degree of "A Halloween Jester" in Sabian Symbols. Also of note is that during the current retrograde period of transiting Saturn, the natal Midheaven of President Obama is being crossed and re-crossed and times his recent achievements during what's been called the Best Week Ever of his presidency (see video below). And though Saturn can bring loss due to past errors, unreliability, or neglect of duties, the old man of authority can also gift long-term efforts with long-lasting rewards as in the case of President Obama as Saturn (natural ruler of the 10th house) expresses at natal MC, the Career and Public Standing point of any horoscope.

The dampening effect of inhibiting Saturn squaring the public's Moon while it conjoins the Inauguration 2009 Moon (a double whammy) describes our ongoing difficulties in the US economy but also the terror threats that are restricting or limiting our July 4th celebrations. Note that Saturn is the planet ruling Capricorn, sign of government, law, and business--Isis and its recruits in the US may not have to do anything against us on US soil for we have the US government to harsh our celebratory buzz with terror alerts! Of course, Saturnian authorities must warn us to be cautious or we'd been extremely accusatory if they should have but didn't.

Meanwhile, natal Sun (leadership) in the Solar Return 2015 chart remains opposed by manipulative Pluto (14Cap17 Rx) indicating ongoing titanic challenges to US power and control though the disruptive Uranus-Pluto Cardinal Square energy has somewhat waned with Uranus, the zealous fanatic when in Mars-ruled Aries, @20Ari19 and no longer squaring US natal Sun, a period when leadership and control are tested and are difficult to maintain due to unpredictable conditions and events.

As for natal Sun and transiting Saturn, a complex sesquisquare (135 degrees) is in effect denoting the complexity of conditions the president is dealing with this Independence Day 2015 (a square within a square! rock and a hard place?) and since a Solar Return horoscope lasts for one year, these complex issues and obstacles are in effect until July 2016. However, the nearness to the Sun of Mars, planet of police and military troops, aids leadership in the enforcement of control and protection with the July 1, 2015 Full Moon @9Cap55 having powerful Pluto nearby. Cautiously we feel the Full Moon's Mars-Pluto opposition alerting the public (Moon) to dangers and hostile forces within the environment as Isis attempts to inspire young Americans and other discontents to act--especially during Ramadan 2015.

In closing, let's consider America's natal and Independence Day Sun Cancer-Moon Aquarius blend, an ethereal and insightful Water-Air combo that supplies America with potentials for humanitarianism, concern for the public welfare, sociability, and a generous spirit. Our fondness and talent for poetry, music, and literature are evident as well along with a romanticized view of the past--which we liberally indulge during every July 4th celebration!

The 'Images for Integration' for Sun Can-Moon AQ include "A mother and child skip down the street, arm in arm, to attend the Vision for World Peace charity fete at the park...The world as family."

(Unfortunately for the American people and the world population, these charming, hopeful humanitarian pictures have been darkened through the years by the threat of Global Government though you are welcome to disagree that a usurpation has occurred).

Our actual Sun Can-Moon Pisces Solar Return blend of July 5th, a double Water concoction of sentiment and nostalgia, denotes the caginess of Cancer mixed with the secretive tendencies of Pisces. This blend gives insight, compassion, and a sense of whimsy to the proceedings along with shrewdness, adaptability, diplomacy, suspicion of other peoples' motives, and a fear of being hurt or fooled.

The blend's "Images for Integration" include "A lone sailboat offshore at sunset...Ol' man river, he keeps rollin' along" (and other Rogers and Hammerstein musicals) which naturally brings up an image of the Mississippi River in particular.

And so, my fellow Americans, please stay safe and have fun this Fourth of July holiday and with this post, this American sends out fervent hopes and wishes for safety to all the world!

Jude

Barack Obama natal data as seen on a Birth Certificate online: August 4, 1961 7:24 pm AHST Honolulu, Hawaii.

For more Sun-Moon blend info see Sun Sign-Moon Sign by Charles and Suzi Harvey. You'll be glad you did.

Churches burn while fiery Mars in Cancer is out-of-bounds - video

Yes, it's Mars in Cancer and out-of-bounds again

Here's a bit posted in 2008 concerning the trouble with an out of bounds Mars, planet of fire and aggression. Away from the earthly plane, off on his own, going against the rest of society, and often acting under cover of night, hothead Mars has a favorite activity and tactic especially while traversing the tribal sign of Cancer--arson. This condition of Mars spotlights the burning of churches across the South in the last two weeks (two of which have been ruled arson, so far), and possibly denotes Mars as a catalyst of the wildfires out West which are now in progress.

As for the 'last two weeks', Mars left the 29th critical-crisis degree of Gemini, his sign during the tragic murders in the Charleston SC AME Church on June 18th, then entered Moon-ruled Cancer on June 24, 2015. A Moon-Mars contact often signifies emotionally based anger or rage which tends to imperiously assume or assert that no one else ought to become angry! Additionally, Cancer is the sign of 'the mother' and the Charleston AME Church, long active in the Civil Rights movement, has been called Mother Church by its members. Yes, testosterone-driven Mars is acting very 'crabby' these days in Cancer and will enter Sun-ruled Leo on or about August 9 which hopefully will bring society respite from his criminal activities--and just plain meanness.

Now here is a report concerning the burning of southern churches as yours truly sends a prayer to each congregation of believers:

#arson #Mars #OutofBounds #KKK #terrorism #AME #CharlestonSC #CancertheCrab #Astrology

Why Is President Obama so in to the TPP? Thom Hartmann video

PayOffs #TPP #FastTrackAuthority #PresidentObama #SecretTradeDeals #ThomHartmann

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: And Now - People Prematurely Declaring the End of Obamacare

#Obamacare #ACA

Georgia's Hidden Treasures: Fort Mountain segment - video

Here's a brief glimpse of my home state and 13th Colony, Georgia:

Looks like an ancient star observatory to me! Perhaps we should call Scott Wolter.

#FortMountain #archaeology #astronomy #stars #Georgia #Colony13