dry Venus and the Comet's tail grows back

Space Weather News for Nov. 29, 2007

SOLAR WIND DRIES VENUS: The European Space Agency's Venus Express spacecraft has made an important discovery: the solar wind dries out Venus.

Unlike Earth, Venus has no global magnetic field to deflect particles from the sun; when solar wind hits Venus it actually strips away some of Venus' upper atmosphere. Hydrogen and oxygen atoms fly into space, removing from Venus the chemical building blocks of water. This process makes an already hellish planet even worse.

Link to more information may be found below.

COMET 17P/HOLMES UPDATE: Now that the full Moon has left the evening sky, Comet Holmes is visible again. The comet is not as bright as it was when it first exploded in late October.

Most people now have trouble finding it with the naked eye. A quick sweep through Perseus with a pair of binoculars, however, will pinpoint the comet while the smallest of telescopes reveals it to be a truly impressive object.

Comet Holmes now occupies about 10 times the volume of the Sun and it is developing a hint of a blue-green tail. A similar tail was observed in early November, but it broke off during an apparent magnetic storm.

Now the tail is growing back.

Visit SpaceWeather.com for sky maps and the latest images.

thoughts of and on Samuel Adams

"The liberties of our country, the freedom of our civil Constitution, are worth defending at all hazards; and it is our duty to defend them against all attacks. We have received them as a fair inheritance from our worthy ancestors: they purchased them for us with toil and danger and expense of treasure and blood, and transmitted them to us with care and diligence.

It will bring an everlasting mark of infamy on the present generation, enlightened as it is, if we should suffer them to be wrested from us by violence without a struggle, or to be cheated out of them by the artifices of false and designing men." #

Samuel Adams (1722-1803), aka the "Father of the American Revolution."

Oops! the cheating and artifices began years ago, sad to say.

Here's the WIKI article on Samuel Adams if you're interested, and I took a peep at his natal placements for day of birth...his Mercury/Mars conjunction in Libra sextile n Saturn 12Sag57 (Saturn conj US natal ASC in the 'Sibly' chart indicating a long-term and strong relationship.)

Sep 27, 1722, Boston, MA: Moon was in Taurus the entire day so we have a personality blend of Sun Lib/Moon Tau which is a diplomatic combo with a desire for justice.

An Air-Fire blend is a "live wire" type of personality, no matter the signs, and may be blustering and long-winded. Full of ideas and persuasive ability, Air-Fire type tends to be a utopian idealist...just what America needed at the time, bluster and all.

Sun Lib/Moon Tau has a very good business sense (for beer brewing, one assumes, and otherwise!) and is interested in abstract ideas which are put across with impartial passion.

With both Libra and Taurus ruled by Venus, art and music are well-loved, and people and relationships are of primary importance. Adams believed that everyone should be heard as this blend supports.

This is an idealist + hedonist blend, a lover of nature with a healthy helping of generosity and friendliness; plus, this blend gave Adams a patient and balanced commitment to justice which served his nation well.

Image for Integration: A lecture on ancient Greek architecture and town planning. (Sun Sign-Moon Sign, Chas & Suzi Harvey.)

with garbage as collateral

Charles Schumer, Countrywide, and garbage for collateral?

The world's fanciest financiers have been up to no good and trying to keep things hidden from view. Collapse is the game, domination and enslavement the goals.

Seems odd to me that a certain few people who just Had To Have a world economy (and considering all the billions and trillions they've piled up inside
their lairs and nestled within secret offshore accounts)--seems odd that they can't do any better than common corruption, ponzi schemes, and crookery.

But beggaring 99% of the world's population is very hard werk and must be quite time consuming. Guess that's how they sleep at night--they're just big ole pooped puppies gnawing on all their hoarded Milkbones and plotting their next overthrow of government while wondering which massacre of the defenceless to back next for the greatest 'return' for their overflowing coffers.

Follow the above article link to LeftRightUnite! and join, if you like. And let me know if you do because I'll be happy as a puppy with two tails to see you there!

Just BYOM (Bring Your Own Milkbone, if you still have one.)

Winter Solstice Dec 22, 2007

December 22, 2007, 1:07 am est, White House:

Sun and Jupiter fuse together at World Point 00Cap00, in 3rd house of Communications, Pluto nearby--and just after the Great Conjunction of Jupiter and Pluto on Dec 11.

Click to enlarge the image and you'll see the 2006 Solstice chart as well (in green) with my chicken scratch notes squooshed in. It's Jupiter Hours for 2006 and for 2007 which are suitable for expansive, possibly over-inflated Jupiterian things.

Dec 22, 2007:

Chart-ruler Venus 19Sco46 is in 2nd house of Money, Earning Ability, and Values but at what some call the "accursed degree of the accursed sign"...19Sco, a degree which is the neighborhood of two Fixed Stars of mixed-at-best influence:

Serpentis 19Sco: tragedy and misfortune (if your home is foreclosed on, this one's for you.)

North Scale 19Sco22: honor; wealth; distinction; intelligence; good organizer; tragedy; violence; hasty words cause problems; success in sports, religion, war, law, or writing.

Venus also rules the 8th house of Shared Resources, Credit, Insurance, Debt, etc., and is involved by her square with nebulous, undermining Neptune in a FIST of GOD, similar to a strong T-square but with more punch.

And did you know there's lightening on Venus?

Mars 3Can38 Rx is the focal point of this FIST, in 9th house of legalities, foreign travel (and enemies), higher education, philosophy, religion, and such.

This Rx out-of-bounds Mars is conjunct US natal Venus 3Can06--a Venus which is out-of-bounds in the US natal chart as well (July 4, 1776, 'Sibly' chart 5:10 pm lmt, Philadlephia, PA.) Mars to Venus can bring new alliances, joint ventures, and invigorated interactions.

A midpoint picture is formed:

Venus/Neptune = Mars: easy self-delusion; misdirected energy. (Those we've seen lots of in recent years.)

2007 and USA natal chart:

Rising in the Winter Solstice 2007 chart is US natal Saturn and US 10th house which also brings up the US n Sun/Saturn square. Timing can be off with this configuration, and planning must be realistic to succeed. America has had a spotty record on that score, hasn't she?

In fact, the Bush-Cheney regime's lack of realism may be said to be a major part of our current troubles. I would go back to 1999 and the fake presidential campaign of George W. Bush but that's just me.

North Node (the path) is at a critical 29th degree in the 5th house of Speculation and Risk-Taking, a degree associated with destroying ancient lands and monuments (Lynda Hill) and with projecting negative things upon foreigners instead of owning up to your own shadow.

Every Winter Solstice takes the Sun just beyond "30Sag": " The pope blessing the faithful" (the ASC degree in the Jefferson chart for the America, 6:30 pm--MC = "23Lib", conj Spica and Arcurtus) but we'll look again at the Sabian Symbol for "1Cap" using Lynda Hills' 360 Degrees of Wisdom:

"An Indian chief claims power from the assembled tribe"...assuming authority and the need for it; accepting the consequences for what that "Claim" could lead to; charismatic leadership; consolidating power.

Caution: power tripping and struggles; overinflated views of one's self (in Washington? !); the continued need to quieten power battles; being challenged by those left and right; demanding attention and that others follow orders; taking over; selfishness and ego-drive; too many chiefs.

As Lao-Tzu said, To lead the people, walk behind them.

Dear Technorati: how about a PING in my stocking?

As I got out my quill to pen a plea to Santa Claus for a new pair of legwarmers, it seemed that Technorati was really where my plea should be sent--SO'W has racked up 28 days without a PING:


If I could ask for just one thing
it'd be a Technorati PING
to let folks know my blog's updated
overblown yet underrated.

Technorati Pings away
Stars Over Washington? not today
says it's 28 days since pinging
for some service I am singing.

Technorati isn't hearing
lots of blogs won't Ping I'm fearing
if a poem of plea will do it
Ping my blog and get right to it.


by jude cowell (I know many bloggers are having the same PING issues and that Technorati's auto-ping service has had some outtages of late and was offline for awhile. But this is ridiculous! And manual Pinging doesn't work either--plus, my other blogs are Pinging, just not SO'W. Anyone have ideas? Santa?)

Chomsky on US and Iran

Noam Chomsky On U.S. Policy Towards Iran

Must watch - Video and Transcript

"Suppose it was true that Iran is helping insurgents in Iraq. I mean, wasn't the United States helping insurgents when the Russians invaded Afghanistan? Did we think there was anything wrong with that? I mean, Iraq's a country that was invaded and is under military occupation. You can't have a serious discussion about whether someone else is interfering in it. The basic assumption underlying the discussion is that we own the world."

Read or view at: Information Clearing House.

Here's a previous post with some good advice from Chomsky and a few details concerning his natal chart.

Stars Over Washington: Solar Return 2007

Dual charts here--the chart on the left, lower, is the current Solar Return 2007 horoscope of this blog, with the natal chart Oct 16, 2005, 3:30 am edt, upper, right, as per Anne's request.

SO'W is into its 3rd year now and although I've written some midpoints onto both charts, I'll not be spoon feeding you this evening. ;p

Peeking Out! apparently the Redacting Monster has shown up to sex up these charts...chomp chomp. He and his mentors are the best at redaction--or ordering drones to do it. Bonus! self-destructing emails have seemingly been invented by this White House (which is not to excuse any White Houses gone before...)

Now back in October 2005, I did not elect the time for the first post, and was surprised to see how time had flown (to 3:30 am) when I got #1 finally published.
I'm still dumbleheaded about composing while typing, usually with a few notes, so
it takes a while to get anything blogged what with charts to study and all.

Way Back in 2005:

One rather obvious feature in the 2005 natal chart is a YOD (Finger of God; special task or purpose; crisis) pattern between the Sun/Pluto sextile pointing accusingly at Mars 21Tau50 Rx at MC.

Click chart to enlarge and you'll see the Sun/Pluto/Mars midpoint picture spelled out.

There's also a T-square between Saturn/Neptune and Mercury listed.

The SR 2007 chart has a Mutable Kite pattern--see how I've drawn the kite's tail onto the North Node for you? The opposite end of the dragon is of concern with its conj upcoming...separation, older person, father, leader, Democrat...perhaps a certain Senator of the chirping variety? He is pretty ancient, you must agree, and South Node has a separative, Saturnian quality--a double emphasis on Saturn's loss, restriction, separation. Perhaps law and order will go MIA, a la police state.

Nahhh! not in America!

SR 2007 has Mercury, Venus, and Mars all at 7 degrees, perhaps a significator of something fated. (Think back to October because this 7 degree resonation between the three planets lasted quite a while in the Collective...we were steeping in it.)

Then finally tonight, we may want to share together a tidbit which for me sums up the entire why-blog controversy, at least as far as 'Political Astrology' (Mundane Astrology)'s p.o.v. is concerned...

...it's the shared and inspirational Sun-Moon personality blend of SO'W 's 2005 natal chart which has Sun Libra/Moon Aries...as does e.e.cummings--and his perfect definition and p.o.v., in my estimation, describes my thinking when birthing this blog:

A politician is an arse upon which everyone has sat except a man.

An arse. We've got an infestation of arses.

Nov 24: Full Moon, Snow Moon

Crystal Pomeroy says that the upcoming Gemini Full Moon of Nov 24 is a chance to consolidate goals established 11 months ago!

Her article on this Snow Moon (the last Full Moon in this solar year) is a must-read with its instructions for 'entering the portal to the Snow Moon.'

I, however, don't actually do rituals myself, I just pass them on for others to do, if they like. Because if you were going to do one, this would be a good one to do, especially with its poetic imagery...makes me want to draw a new snow scene for Nov-Dec 2008.

"Snow Moon" is the loveliest named Moon of all, imho, yet this Full Moon chart is discordant in several ways (including financially, politically, and other -llys as well) esp when the US and Bush natal placements are added in.

If you click to enlarge, you may find some readable notes on midpoints, etc.

Too bad this administration only listens to its own echoes. That's Bush's natal MC (Aspirations; the Goal) at the IC, the lowest point in the chart. Asteroid, Cupido, corporations; The Family, is nearing it at 22Ari09, now Rx.

Transit Pluto/Chiron (plutocracy; oppression; class warfare; racism) is now hovering at 19Cap29 and so in this chart, the problematic midpoint rises just after Vesta. You see that Chiron 11AQ10 is conj 2nd cusp ($$) with restrictive, controlling Saturn in 8th house ($$), so there's that. Someone's making money, but it's not you and me.

If you do enlarge this chart, see rising asteroid, Icarus, and one of his keywords written there. Then you may notice the Sun 1Sag55 conjunct asteroid, Tisiphone, retaliation.

The Moon is conj Mirfak, the star most recently emphasized when Comet Holmes seemed to engulf Mirfak as the Comet exploded in Perseus.

You may see that the Sun is just beyond the "1Sag" degree: "Grand Army of the Republic campfire" which is a degree we must naturally associate with US military services...or perhaps the military industrial complex which is ruining much of the world. (I just finished watching--finally--No End in Sight.)

Yet I love a Full Moon as much as the next traveler on the path, so I like it when Crystal says that Snow Moon colors are dark blue and purple--my favorites.

Guess being brought home as a mere squalling bundle in snowfall stays with you a long time! The snowflakes, not the squalling. Okay the squalling.



The Book of Coincidences

Dear Santa: Toys for Christmas?

This heads-up just received in my PIRG Newsletter:

For the last 22 years we've released our report about unsafe toys: "Trouble In Toyland." Every November, we catalogue unsafe toys that we find on store shelves. It seems even more important this year, after so many recalls of toys, food and other products. And it's even more critical as we get closer to the busiest shopping day of the year.

But even after all the recalls and all the media attention, we still found a Curious George doll with lead at five times the current limit, a toy cow with lead paint at nearly 50 percent more than legal limits, and lead-laced play jewelry -- one piece was actually 65 percent lead, which is more than 1,000 times the legal limit!

Click the links below to read our report, as well as the list of unsafe toys and tips for parents.

Report: USPIRG: Trouble in Toyland

Tips for toy safety.

With so many unsafe toys, we can't rely on the news coverage to inform shoppers. Please forward a link to this post to all of your friends and family who might be buying toys in the coming weeks.

Noam Chomsky: sustain the pressure

"If you go to one demonstration and then go home, that's something, but the people in power can live with that. What they can't live with is sustained pressure that keeps building, organisations that keep doing things, people that keep learning lessons from the last time and doing it better the next time." --Noam Chomsky


Noam Chomsky was born Dec 7, 1928 in Philadelphia, PA (Rodden rating: A) with Sun 15Sag09 and Moon 24Lib06. His ASC/DESC and MC/IC cusps are same as the US ('Sibly') cusps...ASC 12Sag16, with Mercury Oriental (last to rise just before the Sun, concerns the career), and MC 00Lib55.

Mercury Oriental = dotting the i's and crossing the t's; respect for detail; getting things right with perhaps a need to conform to clearly defined procedures and expectations. (Tyl, Synthesis and Counseling in Astrology.)

Mars 4Can48 is Rx and out-of-bounds, plus his Sun-Moon personality blend can be quite iconoclastic.

Chomsky is now involved in a Mars Return (new cycle of activity) with three conjunctions to natal Mars:

1. Oct 10, 2007; 2. Dec 19 Rx; 3. Mar 17, 2008.

"5Can" = "At a railroad crossing, an automobile is wrecked by a train." (Lynda Hill, 360 Degrees of Wisdom.)

This car in this Symbol speaks of an individual with the ability to go in a chosen direction and the train represents the collective. The train can only go on the tracks and has no ability to maneuver tricky situations or to change directions quickly. There is a recklessness in this Symbol, of not considering consequences well enough to avoid catastrophe...of going "off the tracks."

With transit Pluto poised to enter Capricorn, Chomsky's n Mars will be opposed by Pluto beginning in late 2010 which is the 'powerful forces paralyze actions' transit.

And since Chomsky will be 82 by that time, a health crisis and/or surgery may apply--actually once Pluto enters Capricorn (Feb 2008), Pluto is within orb of opposition to natal Mars.

Born within the 2South Solar Eclipse Series, Noam Chomsky shares this PE Series with Woodrow Wilson and Ronald Reagan; its key theme is:

involvement in unusal groups through which it is felt that a great deal can be gained.

The 2S Series last occurred Dec 25, 2000--and you remember what was going on then! It next manifests Jan 6, 2019 at "15Cap."

Here are his Sun Sag/Moon Lib Images for Integration:

Amidst a whirl of gaiety, a writer sits in a coffee house taking notes, and a painter paints...The Dead Poets' Society. (Sun Sign, Moon Sign, Chas & Suzi Harvey.)

Wonder if he prefers Starbucks coffee...I don't!


"... the 20th century has been characterized by three developments of great political importance: The growth of democracy, the growth of corporate power, and the growth of corporate propaganda as a means of protecting corporate power against democracy."

--Alex Carey: Australian social scientist, quoted by Noam Chomsky in World Orders Old and New

Comet Holmes 'swallows' Mirfak

Space Weather News for Nov. 19, 2007

Comet 17P/Holmes is swallowing a star! Not really, but it looks that way. Tonight, the exploding comet is passing directly in front of Mirfak, the brightest star of the constellation Perseus.

Astronomers liken the view through a backyard telescope to a giant space-faring jellyfish gobbling a phosphorescent treat. Although Comet Holmes is now fading to the limits of naked-eye visibility, the star-comet duo is still easy to find in the northern sky after sunset.

Visit SpaceWeather.com for a sky map and photos.#

Here's some info on Mirfak and Perseus archetypes and myths.

Pentagon veils true casualty numbers

Pentagon Cover Up: 15,000 or more US casualties in Iraq War

By Mike Whitney

The Pentagon has been concealing the true number of American casualties in the Iraq War. The real number exceeds 15,000 and CBS News can prove it.

Read Whitney's article here thanks to Information Clearing House.