Moon, out-of-bounds Mars, and Nevada

SpaceWeather News for Jan. 19, 2008:


MOON & MARS: When the sun sets tonight, go outside and look east. The Moon and Mars are having a beautiful close encounter all weekend long. The best night to look is Saturday when the distance between the pair shrinks to less than 2 degrees. Campfire-red Mars so close to the silvery Moon is a sight wonderful to behold.

Visit SpaceWeather.com for sky maps and photos.

BLUE MOON ALERT: This is an alert for Central and South Americans. The ongoing eruption of the Galeras volcano in southwestern Columbia is spewing fine ash miles high into the atmosphere. Airborne volcanic ash can act as a color-filter, turning moonlight blue. Although it is often said that Blue Moons are mythical, they can appear during volcanic eruptions, so this is a good time to look for a bright "Blue Moon" over your part of the world.#


UPDATE 2:20 pm EST: Romney wins a "quiet" caucus in Nevada and McCain and Huckabee tussling in SC...Romney says Rs voted for "change." Yeah?


Original post:

By tonight's hook-up of Moon with an out-of-bounds Mars in Gemini, sign of communications, speechmaking, travel, and young people, we will be chewing over the presidential candidates' fortunes and outcomes.

Taking a peek at this morning's charts for Las Vegas--9:00 am PST for the Republican shendigs to get underway, and 11:00 am for the Democrats--we see two midpoint pictures with Sun (leadership) as focal point...

Jupiter/Neptune = Sun: potentially misguided states; following a dream; trying to capture the essence of things; speculation; irresponsibility; deceiving or being deceived. (A foundation for the current political smokescreens: Saturn and Neptune continue their Quindecile Dance (165 degr) = deception within societal leadership.)

The R's 9:00 am PST chart has 11Pis36 as ASC with Uranus 16Piso4 (conj Pallas: strategy) rising which makes Jupiter as ruler of Pisces (and Neptune as the higher octave) point to the Rs as the primary inheritors of this midpt picture, imho.

The 9 am chart also has a T-square pattern with Moon/MC = Uranus: emotional excitability; upsets bwo females; motherhood; anxiety; threat of vocational instability.

Asteroid, Niobe (the grieving mother) is conjunct North Node (the public) in both charts, with NN nearing conjunction with US natal Moon, the People. (Is Cindy Sheehan in the house? I confess I'm posting this without looking at today's news--off the astrologer's cuff, you might say.)

And for the Ds at 11:00 am PST: ASC 28Ari35, ruled by the oobs Mars, with asteroid, Aesculapia (health) rising; the Sun is being triggered by the "powerful connections/wish to influence the masses" combo of Pluto/NN...

Pluto/NN = Sun: ruthlessness; the urge to impose one's will on others.

Is America's natal unaspected Pluto (always conj MC in each Inaugural chart since FDR's time--the powers-behind-the-throne, aka secret societies) setting up a Democrat to be "president"--aka their mouthpiece? This is my suspicion, and time, as always, will tell.


And in both charts and hence for the day is:

Venus/Jupiter = Pluto: enjoying an unusually large measure of popularity; ability to gain favor with the masses; publiicty; the world view; unbounded enthusiam. (Sounds like a good day for politicians--if there is such a thing.)



Perhaps of greater interest in the 9 am and 11 am charts for today are the midpoint pictures which differ between them.

First the Rs:

Sun/ASC = Neptune: high sensitivity about others' opinions; being duped or disregarded; disappointment; anger or upset; damage or calumny through others.

Pluto/MC = Venus: strong powers of attraction; emotional charisma; appearing sexy.

For the Ds at 11:00 am:

Uranus/MC = Mercury: nervous excitability in expectation of change; speaking with excitement; new ideas; excited discussion among people.

The last planetary picture fairly whispers of Barack Obama, yet we can't count out Hillary for her years of hanging about and toeing the world view's "free trade" line.

Last evening on Tavis Smiley's program, I heard former White House speechwriter David Frum say that Mike Huckabee "needles" the economic wing of the GOP with his attitiude and bad ideas. Guess that leaves John McCain who seems to be more aligned with the party than in 2000, with Mitt and Fred on hand just in case.

John Edwards has been sidelined--he talks against the establishment far too much for their NWO liking--and The People, who should be in favor of his ideas for more and better jobs, etc, don't seem to be interested in voting for their own best interests.

Go figure, America. Duped again?


(All midpoint pics from Tyl and Ebertin. No planets were harmed in the writing of this post.)

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr: April 4, 1968

Never can I fully express the sadness and horror felt as I watched the TV news shouting out the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1968--another one gone leaving America once again an assassination nation oppressed by unnamed murderers and political fanatics...the chaos creators.

One of my Gather friends, Andrew, has captured the times and feelings better than I ever could in his A Poem on the Anniversary of Dr. King's Birth which inspires me to publish the chart of Rev. King's assassination with his natal planets added by hand on the chart of April 4, 1968, 6:01 pm CST, Memphis, TN.

With my usual chickenscratch, you see I've run out of space around the outside of the chart, so I've listed King's natal placements coded in green.

Pink marks the Eclipse Series (6North) in which this murder took place, with asteroid, Icarus (assassination; flying too high; risk-taking) nearby and tr Chiron (the Wounded Healer/Christ archetype) at Aries Point (AP) of fame and prominence. Rev. King had become too prominent, too loved, and too listened to for the men in charge.

6N Series: relationship to authority/father figures and the need to take control; another's illness/unreliability brings commitments and responsibilities (Brady's Predictive Astrology.) 6N last manifested April 19, 2004 and was the PE Series of the 2004 US presidential election. Um-hmm.

(Note: any reference made here to 'MLK' or 'King' is for the sake of blogging brevity and implies no disrespect for Reverend King for I have none.)

With America's natal Sun at MC, this mayhem was carried out on behalf of America's goals and objectives, pathetic and cruel as it was, and the US n Jupiter and Venus are piled up at the top of the chart as well. Cancer is a very self-protecting sign, as you know, and there was much at stake in 1968 - for war profiteering must go on, as we see ad nauseum.

The chart shows the Moon 2Can08 being oppressed by the cruel Saturn/Pluto midpoint. Saturn/Pluto together = reactionaries; violent people; criminals and with Cupido conj Moon we have a vivid picture of the violence against Rev. King, his wife (Moon), and the American people (Moon in a national or event chart.)

And btw: the Pentagon's natal Mars (sniper/sharpshooter?) is conj the Moon, Saturn/Pluto, and Cupido. In a national chart, Mars represents the military, police, activists, etc.

Saturn/Pluto = Moon: cold feelings; renunciation; a tragic destiny.

Asteroid, Cupido = The Family; crime syndicates; corporatism. Pluto/Chiron (plutocracy) 25gem34 in 9th house of philosophy along with the Mercury/Pluto midpoint = powerful persuasion...King's ability to sway the People. His speeches had become very inconvenient to the empire.

Sun 15Ari16, signifying Dr. King on the level of 'leader' is being inhibited by controlling Saturn (authority) which repressed his self-expression in the worst way possible--his death.

Sun may also represent the president of the nation repressing King's authority (Saturn)--it works in both directions as does everything in life and thus, in Astrology as it describes life.

Violent instigator, Mars (male, appr age 25--35) is conj tr Vertex (VX), a point of destined encounter. On this day in 1968, tr Mars/VX conjuncted Rev. King's natal Chiron 5Tau25 at the moment of his murder, with asteroid Arachne (network, including spying networks; web; entanglements) there as well.

Did US intell agencies hire criminals to perpetrate this unholy act against a preacher of the Word? (Anti-vertex in Scorpio.) Did the president or his Party have a satanic claw in it? The Sabian Symbol for the DESC degree, "11Ari" = "The president of the country"...I'm just sayin'...

Opposite the Saturn/Pluto midpoint is asteroid, Atlantis, one of the significators for America, keywords: abuse of power; feeling doomed.

Most people are aware now--if they weren't at the time--that King's plans to unite protestors for civil rights with protestors against the Vietnam War was a huge worry for the US government esp since the Civil Rights Act had been passed and Rev. King was more free to voice his longtime convictions against the war.

For then--as NOW--a wrong-acting government has everything to fear from such large numbers of the People, whom they supposedly represent, and in whose name they supposedly act. Rev. King represented a father figure who could--and would--unite the People for the common good and for right-acting that should be inspired from a higher plane than the Oval Office.

Rising at 6:01 pm CST in Memphis was the spiritual midpoint of Jupiter (the preacher) and Neptune (spirituality), a midpoint combo which has both positive and negative connotations...a mixture of both depending on motivations:

Pos: the grand spirit; idealism; religion; ESP; benevolence; humanitarianism; visualization; dreamers ("I have a dream," and "the mountaintop" speech of April 3); ability to shape things; mysticism; art, music.

Neg: speculators; wastrels and spendthrifts; hypocrites; ideals vs reality; gain without effort; scandals; losses; political conflicts.

Jup/Neptune = ASC: a visionary; speculaton; sharing great hopes with others; living in an unreal world; living in a world lighted by personal imagination and an emotionally rationalized agenda.

This is an important part of the chart--the ASC is the WHAT? Point and so it equals the assassination itself--Dr. King's death. "An emotionally rationalized agenda" seems to me to be a must if you travel in the circles that assassinate well-loved leaders of the nation you're determined to control and persuade to accept your selfish ends.

As I type that statement, I'm reading the midpoint picture created by tr Uranus/Pluto (fresh from their mid-60s Conjunction which caused so many of my generation to take to the streets...the Uranus/Pluto duo = overturning the status quo; new perspectives; attainment of great goals through great effort; upsets and tension; revolution; collapse of the old order, building the new; the process of transformation)..and it's pointing to America's natal Neptune...

Uran/Pluto = Neptune: falsehoods, lies; fraud; the desire to harm others secretly; delving into supernatural realms; sympathy; unfulfilled wishes; fatigue.

This picture among generational (slower-moving) planets would have been a background influence of the day (not only on April 4, 1968) and would've affected many dimensions of life...and is one of the reasons I referred to America's 'wrong-acting' above.


Please click to enlarge the chart for a few more of my notes, for being fatigued myself, I shall close with the *Images for the Sun Aries/Moon Cancer blend for April 4, 1968, 6:01 pm CST:

The Salvation Army...A lightening storm at sea gives way to a peaceful, radiant dawn.

What Leo Strauss and Dick Cheney share

A previous post of 2006 on Leo Strauss includes Strauss and Cheney's shared personality blend and a link to an excellent article on Strauss who is considered to be the father of neoconservatism.

Paul Spit-Comber Wolfowitz studied under Strauss (who died in 1973--Wolfie is still with us) and Strauss has been ID'd as the "ghostly mastermind of current US foreign policy" in similar fashion to Rousseau's being blamed for the French Revolution.

I cannot recommend highly enough the above-linked essay by Edward Skidelsky if you've managed to miss it so far.

Simply click and you shall find--for Knowledge Is Power.

The War in Iraq - 1,760 Days and Counting


By Robert Higgs

On October 19, 2001, in speaking about the new government controls and heightened surveillance already being clamped on the American people in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, Vice President Dick Cheney said that the new war "may never end. At least not in our lifetime...The way I think of it is, it's a new normalcy."

We should have taken his grim forecast more seriously.

Read article here.


Actually, some of us did take it totally seriously.

On Oct 19, 2001 Neptune 6AQ00 was conjunct the Medina degree, Neptune's position as Mohammed entered Mecca which marks the beginning of Islam. Some astrologers count "7AQ" as the degree, perhaps because it occurred in the mists of many crescent Moons ago so let's look at the (Jones) Sabian Symbols for both degrees:

"6AQ"..."A performer of a mystery play"...SUBTLETY...

pos: a gift for dramatizing the deeper or real opportunities of a human society;

neg/unconscious/shadow side: consistent self-mystification and marked impracticality.


"7AQ"..."A child born of an eggshell"...ESSENTIALITY...

pos: a highly individual and completely unlimited resourcefulness;

neg: naive reliance on external accident.

Given the Pandora's Box that Cheney's war unleashed on the world, the shadow sides' impracticality and reliance on accident make Cheney and the Pentagon's unleashing of chaos in order to change the world to their liking and to control more of its resources even more criminal and sociopathic.

So can Astrology describe this kind of chaos-loving personality that imagines it knows what's best for the world? Here's a descriptive factor: see Chiron-Uranus Types in Government..."if you will."

Brown and Blair: this town's not big enough...

...for both of ya.

News Updates from Citizens for Legitimate Government Jan 16, 2008

LegitGov Breaking News

'Al-Qa'eda death threat' to Gordon Brown:

Intelligence services are investigating a threat on an 'Islamist' website to kill Gordon Brown, adding credence to warnings by the US security chief about the rising danger from home-grown European terrorists. [LOL.] Mr Chertoff said European visitors to the US face tougher security checks.

Security experts fear the posting in Arabic on alekhlaas.net, referring to "the creation of the al-Qa'eda organisation in Britain", may be genuine. ['Al-Qa'eda' uses Domains by Proxy. Registrant: Domains by Proxy, Inc, 15111 N. Hayden Rd., Ste 160, PMB 353 Scottsdale, Arizona 85260 United States - Registered through: Real Web Host Domain Name: ALEKHLAAS.NET--Created on: 10-Mar-05 Expires on: 10-Mar-08 Last Updated on: 06-Mar-07.]

Legal Agreement


Scepticism greets "Al Qaeda in Britain" founding 16 Jan 2008:

An Internet posting that proclaimed the creation of an 'al Qaeda' branch in Britain is viewed by intelligence officials as typical militant "background noise", a security source said on Wednesday. An unidentified individual posted the claim in Arabic on a password-protected militant forum on January 2, saying the new "al Qaeda in Britain" would carry out major attacks including on political leaders, naming Prime Minister Gordon Brown and his predecessor Tony Blair.#

Guess I'm one of the sceptical but perhaps pardners Brown and Blair should stay outta Scottsdale, just in case...

Feeling the pinch: Jupiter to US chart

Economic slowdowns involve much more astrologically speaking than Jupiter's influence.

Although he prefers to bring us money, largesse, and abundance, jolly Jupiter can be something of a parsimonious culprit when making oppositions to natal planets.

Such is 2008 for America's natal chart with her Venus, Jupiter, and Sun in Cancer, one of the 'business' signs, and sign of the Home.

Beginning New Years' Day, and looking at the USA's Sibly chart (July 4, 1776, 5:10 pm LMT) we see Jupiter opposing natal Venus (money; values; relationships), natal Jupiter, and natal Sun (which is also George Bush's natal Sun, as you know.)

This ranges from 3 Cancer to 14 Cancer and illustrates a difficulty in having a triple conjunction--it extends transits to longer periods of time than if there were only one natal planet involved.

Plus, aspect patterns such as USA's Sun/Saturn square are set off simultaneously which adds complexity to the situation, but time is short this morning so I'll only give the Jupiter oppositions as a basic background of 2008.

Jupiter oppo Venus: the usual pleasures may fall flat; business and pleasure don't mix; promoted events don't live up to the hype; partnerships and joint ventures may suffer from lack of money or enthusiam esp if they're already stressful; others don't cooperate as they should (Bush in Arabia?); promises are not kept; values, perspectives, sincerity, and sense of proportion are under suspicion.

Jupiter oppo Jupiter: discontent with wealth or achievement; no one is impressed; worthwhile things are done better by someone else; overblown efforts and discouraging comparisons; taking things for granted or pushing too hard should be avoided; sources of money dry up.

Jupiter oppo Sun: situations occur that deplete resources (the entire Bush residency actually); generosity benefits the wrong people (the already rich?); those who would like to help are stymied by powerlessness; grandiose ideas don't pan out; victories won may compromise integrity and principles; pride is wounded, ego is deflated; father is cast in an unfavorable light (in Bush's case, he should be.)

2008 has other transits to consider as well, but I can't go into them now...except for one--a generational transit that's been a long time coming. So if you feel yourself succumbing, just hang in there and know that this too shall pass...

Uranus oppo Neptune: one ideology is replaced by another; loss of ideals.

Now America would be nothing without ideals, and the 'replacement' may be a good thing if we can replace the warhawkery and war profiteering ideology of Dick Cheney's 1% gang that we've been suffering under.

A higher destiny for America? How about higher actions and honesty to go along with it?

It's up to The People to do this--obviously our lying politicians have other ideals and plans which we know are dark and dreary and bring more war, not less, privation for us, more resources for them.

And remember that there are those on Wall Street who use Astrology so they've seen 2008 coming all along. Take their nuggets of wisdom with a grain of you-know-what, and most of all, don't hold back your own generosity when you get a chance to spread it around!

Rice inside the bubble

Totally unencumbered by reality...


Rice hails 'remarkable' progress in Iraq 15 Jan 2008:

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Tuesday praised "remarkable" political progress in Iraq, saying during a surprise visit to Baghdad that it represented a time of hope for the country. "Iraq is moving forward in a way that is promising but still fragile," Rice told reporters after talks with Iraq's leaders.

From Information Clearing House

cyber spying on the way...

...careful what your blog doth say.

Raw Story has today's update on plans for cyber security of the Bush Dy-nasty kind.

a subtle message sent to John Edwards?

News Update from Citizens for Legitimate Government Jan 14, 2008

Breaking News:

John Edwards' daughter hit by alleged drunk driver Jan 14,2008 (NC):

A alleged drunk driver crashed into a car driven by Cate Edwards in Chapel Hill on Friday afternoon. Cate Edwards is the older daughter of presidential candidate John Edwards (D). According to Chapel Hill Police investigators, Edwards was driving a 2007 Ford Sedan when she slowed down at a red light and was rear-ended by a woman driving a 1989 Toyota. Officials with the Edwards Campaign say Cate was not injured in the crash and calls the accident "minor".#

Glad Cate is okay. But what are the odds?

Is her Dad getting too close to the beast? Perhaps we should consult plain-spoken Ross Perot whose daughter was put in jeopardy some years ago during another prez campaign.

Mercury the Messenger gets fly-by from Messenger!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


But let's go back to bright Mercury:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

neg: sanctimonious self-deception.

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