Jon Stewart on the US Debt Ceiling Crisis (video)

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Wednesday June 29, 2011: Thank goodness! Someone without an election campaign to finance, The Daily Show's Jon Stewart, deals with the tiresomely political stalemate and one-upsmanship between Ds and Rs concerning the US economy and the August 2nd debt ceiling deadline.

Here in Athens, Georgia I suspect it's proving difficult for some of my aquaintances to take much of it very seriously since in Washington DC the issues are being treated as an opportunity to hold a 3-ring circus and score points against a Democratic White House. And did you hear that Treasure Secretary Timothy Geithner may be stepping down (or absconding) later in the year?

Actually, Secretary Geithner is denying it.

Personally I can't help but feel that if the GOP delights in making Capitol Hill look so completely idiotic and childish to the rest of the world because 'lawmakers' can't leave the golf course and come together long enough do their jobs and raise the debt ceiling without all the ideological crap piled in, then the Rs' campaign to 'make Obama fail' at the expense of all but the topmost tier of Americans is merely par for their cynical, zealous, corporate-worshipping course.

And if they don't shape up soon, may gophers and ferrets purloin every one of their balls.

US Solar Return 2011's YOD: Pluto/Chiron = Mercury

It's time for the second part of Horoscope: US Solar Return 2011 detailing the factors not yet mentioned. Click to view the chart which may be enlarged for better reading, if you wish; chart details are included in addition to those listed below.

Basic details: US Solar Return July 5, 2011 12:28:09 pm edt Washington DC ASC 2Lib41; MC 3Can03 with US natal Venus; Hour Saturn; Sun 13 Can19 in 10th house; Moon 8Vir59 in 12th H; chart-ruler Venus 1Can51 out-of-bounds at MC.

Planetary Patterns in Effect July 5, 2011 - July 4, 2012

As noted, and highlighted with dotted lines, there is a YOD pattern (Finger of God denoting a special task, crossroads, turning point, or crisis) with a Pluto/Chiron sextile at its base and pointing toward Mercury 5Leo35, just barely entered into 10th house of Public Status.

Communicating, trading Mercury as apex (focal) planet in a YOD configuration indicates those who appear to be out of tune with their environment, mental loose ends flapping about, and describes those who have difficulty expressing themselves directly.

Mercury's condition here is similar to Mercury retrograde phases. Productively acting upon thoughts isn't easy for there may be too much attention paid to redefining of concepts and a lack of cohesion within a myriad of ideas and plans devised or presented. Superfluous factors must be jettisoned (such as passing a debt ceiling raise without cluttering it with ideological issues? jc) which results in a meaningful simplicity; unnecessary tangent chasing should be avoided, and gathering information and facts must at some point cease so that things can move forward in the real world.

If properly handled, this energy may yield new avenues for communication, a greater educational impact on others, and/or a destined role as a master communicator or enlightened social activist or leader.

Knowing that inconjuncts are aspects of adjustment (that 'square peg in a round hole' feeling), we may wish to consider the Mercury/Pluto inconjunct (or, quincunx; 150 degrees) which denotes unconscious energies that work against smooth mental functioning; lack of discipline and a drive to keep control over all communications is indicated, and the mistrust created may include a sense of self-mistrust and lack of confidence (B. Lundsted.)

Mercury inconjunct Chiron is the aspect of the server with a strong sense of destiny; broad thinking is an asset, and the key to balancing this energy is using the discipline which is hopefully supplied by Saturn. (Clow.) A trine from Uranus to Mercury gives ideas wings.

Cardinal Grand Cross (aka, Grand Square) if ASC is included:

Technically a Grand Cross is formed when two or more planetary oppositions square one another but here, one point in the pattern has only the Ascendant (and Sun/NN midpoint) to complete the square. Ordinarily a GC indicates restriction and self-limitation with little capacity for moderation and self-discipline. Scattered energies may drain out so perhaps the US SR 2011 ASC shows where energy will drain away or be expressed.

A positive outcome for this pattern is increased social awareness though discord and antagonism may be in evidence, and a crucial karmic lesson may be involved which, if well-managed, brings improvement in the areas of the houses involved.

Perhaps the several midpoint pictures created by this pattern will provide further clues; any, all, or none may apply; in no particular order they are:

Uranus/ASC = Venus: taking the line of least resistance; softening the impact one's harsher, disruptive side; appreciating the inivduality of others.

(Note: we see financial instability and spending issues with Venus/Uranus; Venus/Pluto has a bankruptcy undertone, or of working with large amounts of money; as you know, the SAturn/Pluto square brings hardship, hard work, and brutality, while the Uranus/Pluto square relates to protests, revolts, and revolutions now affecting the world.)

Uranus/ASC = MC: fulfillment of aims even though unexpected changes occur; experience prevails over disruption (on Capitol Hill? that would be good - jc.)

Uranus/ASC = Pluto: unconventionality lowers others' opinions; extreme behavioral peculiarities; changes with morbid outcomes (austerity measures for those who can ill afford them? Thanks, Pluto, planet of the criminal underworld jc); a desire for success even under the most difficult circumstances; the use of force.

Venus/Pluto = Uranus: fanatic attachments; indifference to the destructive powers available for political uses; compromises involving extreme uses of power.

Venus/Pluto = ASC: a polite response to those with a punishing intent; wielding a great influence upon others (if America falls under the bankruptcy bus, is the whole world next? NWO freaks would love to 'build anew upon ruins' - jc)

Pluto/MC = Uranus: organizing talent; prudence and endurance; sudden attainment of aims with irresistable power; sudden occupational changes; sudden or drastic changes affect stature or reputation; coping with the unusual; publicity; using Astrology.

Pluto/MC = ASC: seeking practical ways of meeting with success; persuasion ability; intensity and power when addressing others; personal power; procuring an important position; a famous person.

Plus, Sun/NN = ASC: seeking contacts; establishing ties to helpful groups; rituals which occur at meetings.

Also of note is a Kite pattern which is a Grand Trine with a 'tail' and the tail here is the SR Moon in Virgo which is the focal planet of the serious-minded Mercury/Saturn midpoint:

Mercury/Saturn = Moon: intuition about released data; sensitive communications; inconstancy; retarded development; the opportunity to gain experience; absorbing mnay different impressions; a love of variety; emotional indecision due to a fear of losing; a taxing learning process.

A Solar Return Moon in Virgo shows that fore the next year we-the-people are involved primarily with the intricate details of our lives, hygiene and health matters, the running of our households, the performance of services, and possibly with volunteer work.

Virgo's Mutable quality gives a sense of preparation to the atmosphere and taking on extra duties at work is possible; this SR Moon is trined by Pluto (public relations; propaganda), trined by Jupiter (grand imaginings; fortunate associations), yet is squared by Mars in 9th house of Foreign Lands which conjoins tr MIDA$ and Pan, two bodies with financial implications (anger, quarrels - over money? - and a potential for violence or accidents.

The good news is that US natal Moon and Mars are trine which will lessen the difficulties of this SR Moon/Mars square and aid us in dealing with its blocking, frustrating, grumpy energies over the solar year.

SR Moon in 12th house (Karma; Self-Undoing; Hospitals; Politics; Behind-the-Scenes) adds to our preparatory sense and indicates deep levels of self-reflection; seclusion brings productivity and feelings of obscurity or inferiority may abound. Taking time over the next year to emotionally recharge is the best way to counter a 12th house SR Moon, along with judiciously meted out volunteerism which brings spiritual rewards through aiding the collective.

The house of the Sun in a Solar Return is naturally prominent and here our SR 2011 Sun is in 10th house of Public Standing so there's not much hidden from the world concerning our natal Sun's qualities of leadership and our government's objectives. Yes, our sorry trajectory of overreach is 'out there' for all the world to see so big changes to America's reputation are on the agenda, positively, negatively, or a little of both.

Aspects to SR Sun are important as well and include a sesqui-square (135 degr; interlaced squares; can be positive or negative energy) from nebulous Neptune its favorite sign @ 00Pis39 Rx in 5th H of Risk-taking, Gambling, and Creativity ('1Pis' = "A Public Market"), and a pesky, limiting, conflict-riddled square from the 1st house SR Saturn 10Lib52.

This solar condition echoes America's natal Sun/Saturn square and its restrictive energy will again be emphasized strongly on August 28, 2011, when the 3rd of 3 hits occur in our ongoing Saturn Return which marks the start of a new cycle of responsibility, accountability, authority, and lessons that need to be learned relating to our nation's Saturn exalted-in-Libra, sign of the Scales of Justice which have so currently become unbalanced by excessive greed and a lusting quest for global power.

~:~

Midpoint pictures from Ebertin, Munkasey, and Tyl; no midpoint pictures or aspects were harmed in the typing of this post; the title of Betty Lundsted's excellent book is Astrological Insights Into Personality. jc

Is Rick Perry the Prez Pick of the Bilderbergs?

My friend Alex D'Atria over at Political Astrology 2010 ~ 2012 is seeing Rick Perry as the presidential nomination choice of the social tinkering power elite known as the Bilderberg Group. One thing about: if he's the one they want, he's the one we'll get (remember that Barack Obama slipped away from his campaign plane in June 2008 to meet with the group in Chantilly, VA, with candidate Hillary Clinton in attendance as well. Was their choice for US president then declared?)

Now wouldn't a Perry-Bachmann ticket be yet another kick in the head to America's under-siege working class? And that's not counting the importance of who controls the White House in 2013 by which time Supreme Court Justices may retire and SCOTUS's already overly autocratic, monarchist traits will only be expanded by a Republican administration's appointments.

So if you'd like to read my astrological considerations concerning these two Republican specimens, try my Rick Perry and Michele Bachmann posts. Compare and contrast!

As for astro-peeks at the zealous, democracy-perverting Bilderberg Group of elitists (many of whom you know), simply scroll the sidebar a short way to SO'W's search field, type them in, and I promise you'll hit pay dirt.

~:~

'You Need to Know This' says Thom Hartmann, who just reported on his TV show that Goldman-Sachs has announced the layoff of 1,000 US workers so that the bailed-out-by-US-taxpayers firm can send the jobs to Singapore. So tell me: will you vote Corporate GOP in 2012?

Thom also correctly points out today that Michele Bachmann's 'John Quincy Adams was a Founding Father' misconception means that John Q. helped found this nation at the age of nine! Perhaps she meant to say, second president John Adams, his father. But apparently, John Q.'s Wikipedia page has been edited to reflect Bachmann's ridiculous revisionist history as was the page on Paul Revere! You know, Wikipedia, this is the sort of crud that causes me to use your links in my articles less and less.

And I agree with Mr. Hartmann when he says, Nationalize the Federal Reserve which is neither federal nor does it have reserves! jc

Obama presser 6.29.11: Saturn rising

June 29, 2011 White House 11:30 am edt: President Obama holds a news conference to discuss US actions in Libya and the US economy; expected to call for bipartisanship from congressional Republicans and Tea Partisans intent on causing a Democratic president's failure.

With 16 Virgo 09 rising, US natal Neptune 22:25 is first natal planet to rise and as you know, this brings up the president's natal Mars as well. This is the link between the US natal horoscope and President Obama's natal planets which has been previously described on this blog and elsewhere as the 'rock star' effect he enjoyed early on and as a Neptunian veil which prevents the public from seeing his actions and motivations (Mars) in a clear light and creates an aura of glamour (Neptune) to his personality.

With nebulous Neptune, planet of the masses, the media, secrets, compassion, falsehood, and fraud, rising we may not find much relief from the answers heard this morning though some may feel inspired. In Virgo, sign of Work, Employment, and Health, the unemployment rate may be discussed with a potential for fudging the numbers or the solution.

Next to rise from the US chart is Saturn 14Lib48 and at 11:30 am, transiting Saturn 10Lib40 is in 1st house (delays, restriction, contraction, potential for loss - a good description of what's threatened if the US defaults on financial responsibilities, August 2, 2011 being the proposed deadline for compromise on raising of the debt ceiling), the ongoing US Saturn Return (# 3 of 3 hits on August 28, 2011) shows its influence of accountability in the financial life of our nation.

Chart-ruler Mercury 25Can32 (in 11th house of Groups, Associations, Hopes, and Wishes) makes no applying aspects in the 11:30 am chart for the planet of Communications, Trade, and Commerce is entirely unaspected (even to chart angles.)

The unaspected condition makes Mercury's sign, degree, and house position especially important this morning, plus, there's another factor to consider about this Mercury position: a national Mercury Return occurred yesterday (June 28, 2011 @ 5:32 pm edt, ASC 28Sco08 which rises with Fixed Star Ras Alhague: the desire to heal a wound or to create balance. This is President Obama's natal Midheaven, The Goal.)

Now tr SN of the Moon (23Gem28, the Tail of the Dragon) is poised to swipe US natal Mars (22Gem) and here conjoined by tr Venus. Venus to US n Mars indicates people who are highly motivated toward attainment. But what does Washington wish to attain? is always my question.

Money planet (and significator of the GOP) Jupiter 4Tau42 is posited in the 8th house of Credit, Debt, and Shared Resources. Hopefully, its province of The Occult is not involved in these practical, financial considerations but who knows what goes on behind closed doors in our Masonic Capitol Building and White Lodge we popularly call, the White House?

Well, expansive Jupiter is trined by a 4th H Pluto 5Cap10 Rx (1A28) so international bankers may be seen to be at the base of US economic problems including Real Estate
(4th H), as Pluto continues his destructuring and breakdown of Capricornian institutions (law, government, and business.)

Concerning The Occult vibe, it may be interesting to consider here that the enlightened, insightful New World Order planets, Uranus and Neptune, have their powerful midpoint upon the Descendant of the 11:30 am chart (setting) which gives a midpoint picture of Uranus/Neptune = ASC: instability; heightened sensitivity; being sad or depressed with others; wrong ideas. This is the planetary pair whose Great Conjunction/s of 1993 emphasized the Sabian Symbol for '18Cap' = 'The Union Jack': smug or strong-armed paternalism. (Jones.)

Plus, at 17 Pisces, the Uranus/Neptune midpoint at is at a critical or crisis degree. So perhaps it would be instructive to paraphrase the Thesis and Antithesis implications of Uranus/Neptune from Michael Munkasey's Midpoints: Unleashing the Power of the Planets:

Thesis: changes in social and political structure because of new ideals and futuristic dreams; strikes or revolutions focused on new ways of thinking; groups formed to exploit oil or chemical resources.

Antithesis: subversion using new methods of acquiring information; sudden upsurge in illegal drug availability; movements that diminish the power of authority or of police systems.

(With the current upsurge of strong-arm police tactics arresting US citizens exercising their right to free speech and catching police arrests or brutality on cell phone cameras from their front yards, it's difficult to believe that 'police systems' are diminished. Diminished by a lack of moral authority, however, is on display in America along with the subversive spying by the US government on all citizens. The more laws on the books, the more crooked the country. We-the-people have been couped. Plus, 2011's Uranus in Aries is given by Ebertin as: Utopians, relating to that Great Plan for America, Sir Francis Bacon's New Atlantis-world-democracy vision, now being expressed, at least in part, by NWO freaks, totalitarians, and sectarians.)

Other chart factors for today's news conference include:

US natal Sun/Saturn square is echoed in transits for Sun 7Can34 in 10th house of Public Status, is squared by tr Saturn in 1st house, as mentioned. Are Democrats (Saturn) blocking (square) the president's (Sun) initiatives on today's financial and war waging topics? It looks that way though I'll leave it to you to be aware of it or to search for related news links.

So with SN, a separative, Saturnian point, at Mc 14Gem10, we see the 1st house Saturnian issues underscored along with the above mentioned Mars to US n Venus, planet of relationships and evaluations. Mars in 9th H @ 6Gem04 nears the degree of the June 1, 2011 Solar Eclipse 11Gem02 and will trigger its influence. This eclipse falls in the 13 South Saros Series and though I've covered it on this blog previously, I will paraphrase here its flavor from Brady's Predictive Astrology:

13S: expansive, yet sinister energy; frustration, inhibitions, loss, and separation. An element of constitutional crisis may be in evidence and this may describe the current presidential v congressional war powers issues being debate concerning the president's NATO alliance now bombing Libya in an attempt to dislodge dictator Gaddafi.

And what about the Moon (the public)? At 16Gem38 (Gemini: of two minds?) and at 11:30 am, about to cross Midheaven, this Moon conjoins Fixed Star Rigel (ree' gal; a lovely star in the right foot of Orion) whose keyphrase is: to bring knowledge, to teach, and Anthony Louis includes: ambition and luck. (Horary Astrology Plain and Simple.)

Well, the American people could use a boatload of luck just now under the yoke of a divisive, partisan, warmongering, gridlocked Congress. Must we be brought further down economically and socially by selfish politicians intent on recapturing the White House in 2012?

At this point it would seem so and yet I would prefer to think that things can move forward in a more balanced way (rich folk paying their fair share in taxes toward the nation's finances - they who have much being called upon to share - oh my!) if not now, then around the time of tr Mars' return to its position in America's natal horoscope on July 21, 2011 (a new 2-year cycle of activity, including war.)

But with Saturn rising in our Mars Return 2011 chart, Mars and SN conjoined in 9th H (foreign wars and violence), today's Sun position at MC (conj Fixed Star Mirzam, to have one's say, and Mars in semisquare (irritation) to Jupiter (again posited in 8th H of Shared Resources, in DC), what are the odds that our erstwhile denizens of Capitol Hill will cease kicking around the American people's needs like a political football while tarnishing our nation's reputation like its theirs alone to ruin - and all based on a Utopian dream?

~:~

Please check out Democracy Now!'s coverage of protests now shutting down Athens Greece occurring today at the barricades of the Greek parliament (about to vote) concerning the extreme, forced austerity measures as the world banking cartel enforces its take-over of the birthplace of democracy. These financial reptiles won't be satisfied until the whole world's citizens are on the streets to be assailed by strong-arm police forces spawned by their misguided vision of a chaotic, redesigned "Utopia."

Further reading: Debt Ceiling Deadline August 2: Jupiter/Neptune active with the planetary pair relating to inflation and speculative financial schemes.

Amazing Facts about Michele Bachmann

Must the Evangelical Right Shove Bachmann into the White House?

by Jude Cowell


Apparently that's their plan, if we let 'em. But today I have learned more amazing facts than is good for one person about ring wing candidate, Tea Party opportunist, and Christian Right promoter Michele Bachmann so I thought: why keep the craziness all to myself? Since I have a blog where I recently posted briefly concerning her natal horoscope while looking for that certain 'out-there' quality that some people think the Oral Roberts University law student possesses, why not share the linky love?

Because it isn't as if the MSM are covering much more than her gaffes and good-for-a-guffaw historical revisionism, is it? At least not yet though perhaps you've already noticed that the crazy train has arrived at the station right on time.

Some examples of what I'm finding:

Today's edition of Democracy Now! has Amy Goodman's informative interview with *Michelle Goldberg of The Daily Beast and Karl Bremer whose award-winning blog Ripple in Stillwater (the town where Rep. Bachmann currently lives) recounts her career exploits and dubious connection with a money laundering cocaine dealer who's about to go on trial for participation in a major Ponzi scheme, her falsehoods about profiting from farm subsidies, ethics violations, and more.

Then there's Mother Jones' Michele Bachmann: Greatest Hits, a list of her wackier statements and spouted misconceptions, a not-to-be-missed regaling of her unusual remarks worth reviewing before you decide to vote for Bachmann's brand of out-there, zealous, steam-rolling political and social reforms. (Be careful what you wish for!)

Quite a pile-up of amazing facts for someone who just announced her candidacy for president on Monday June 27, 2011...aka, yesterday!

~:~

*Yep! Ronald Reagan may be rolling over in his grave as the power of the Evangelical Right rears its double heads again in American Politics (after a period of hibernation.) On topic is Michelle Goldberg's latest book Kingdom Coming: The Rise of Christian Nationalism which I haven't read (just heard of it for the first time today during her Democracy Now! interview) but to me it sounds like Pluto/Chiron's Zionism of violent zealotry focused on the setting up of a one-world-government seat of power in Jerusalem.

For further reading on such topics also try Political Astrology 2010 ~ 2012 by Alex D'Atria.

In Washington DC

Tomorrow, Wednesday June 29, 2011, President Obama will hold a suddenly announced news conference on his refusal to seek congressional approval for actions in Libya (which has been made out to be 'the story' by the MSM so perhaps it's been set up that way as cover for US interference in yet another Middle Eastern country), and on the performance of the US economy, or the lack thereof.

Blog Note: if all goes well here on Wednesday morning and there are no further thunderstorm interruptions, I'll be posting on the president's news conference through the lens of Astrology; plus, my recent column on the US Solar Return 2011 horoscope will be completed as a fresh post, or simply added to my original entry. For as you may imagine from current events, America's Solar Return 2011 is quite a doozy so please stay tuned if you can. jc

Bachmann Gacy Gaffe Goes Viral

Missing her aim at The Duke by over a hundred miles, newly minted Republican slash Tea Party candidate Michele Bachmann rushed from the starting gate only to compare her campaign 'spirit' to that of rapist and serial killer, John Wayne Gacy.

Yes, the GOP-esque crew of Gingrich, Cain, and Bachmann already seem to be having trouble keeping their political pushcarts on track for a win! But their antics and off-the-cuff remarks do make great distractions for the press, don't they pardner?

Well, here's a brief peek at Bachmann's natal chart placements if you're interested in a fathom.

Then perhaps a comparison with Gacy's natal chart? The murky, obsessed fellow was born on March 17, 1942 in Chicago Illinois with a Sun Pisces-Moon Pisces personality blend and definitely demonstrated to the world the downright lowest of the lower side of the sign of the Two Fishes.

You may even wish to snag a view of John Wayne's May 26, 1907 natal horoscope, as you wish, with his Air-Water Sun Gemini-Moon Scorpio blend.

And funny thing, on Monday, as Michele Bachmann fit her foot squarely in her mouth over the wrong 'spirit', transiting Mars conjoined movie icon John Wayne's natal Sun 4Gem19 which brought The Duke more public attention than he's received in quite a while!

Ain't Astrology grand?

Above image from my Dreamyfish Art collection of very fishy botanical drawings: Pisces.

Fort Calhoun Nuclear Plant Breach: Neptune to US n Moon?

Waters of Neptune and Power of Pluto 6.27.11

by Jude Cowell

Can it be that our recent transit of Neptune to US natal Moon in Aquarius (we-the-people) is still operative? With tr Neptune dipping a mystical toe in the waters of Pisces (but Rx and preparing to lumber back into Aquarius for a while), it seems that dissolving Neptune is reflecting the massive water damage to properties from the Mississippi River and now the Missouri River. And of course, Earth's Moon rules the tides.

Should we fret? ABC News reports officials saying that the public 'is not in danger' even though the Fort Calhoun Nuclear Station has been breached. Click to see a horrific looking photo of the flooded plant which has been shut down since April.

And you may have heard that wildfire is threatening the Los Alamos Nuclear Plant within One Mile, which is also being reported by Amy Goodman of the excellent Democracy Now! so it seems that watery Neptune is riling both Uranus (electricity shut off in nuclear plants, back up generators in service, plus storm systems) and Pluto, whose link to nuclear power is well-known bwo Pluto's discovery in 1930.

(If you're interested in Enron news, click to read or hear what Amy Goodman just reported about it.)

Or perhaps I should say that our three outer, transpersonal, generational planets, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto, are showing their power to affect on the deepest levels The Collective in which we all must live, breached berms notwithstanding.

So where was Mars, the fire starter and instigator, in all of this when the Fort Calhoun Plant was breached by the Missouri River, a situation with the potential for being 'another Fukushima'? Testy Mars is in early Gemini (nearing US natal Uranus - danger) and about to trigger the June 1, 2011 Solar Eclipse @11Gem02.

As you know, we're inside an eclipse window just now with a brand new Saros Series about to start with the July 1, 2011 Solar Eclipse @9Can12 which falls precisely between US natal Sun and Jupiter.

When we look for resonance with this synchronicity to America's natal chart, we find that at the moment, a transiting midpoint picture brings these same planets together as the US approaches her 235th birthday: tr Sun/Jupiter = tr Mars: zeal and courage - two things the people of the Midwest and those who fight against the effects of such disasters need to possess in Jupiterian abundance.

Underneath that energy is another of sinister proportions with two midpoint pictures now formed and pointing to the ongoing Saturn/Uranus opposition (though it's not as exact in orb as it's been, Saturn and Uranus are subject to transits and progressions.) Any, all, or none may apply and are from Ebertin:

Sun/Pluto = Saturn: restrictions; physical impediments; ruthless overcoming of obstacles and difficulties; separation by a Higher Power; imprisonment.

Sun/Pluto = Uranus: carrying out fanatic reforms without regard for oneself (valiant nuclear plant workers? jc); sudden adjustment to new circumstances; danger to life.

Difficult pictures, are they not?

Plus, for some months now, the transiting Pluto/Chiron midpoint has been hitting US natal South Node off and on (6AQ.) As you know, Pluto/Chiron is one of the primary signatures for oppression, disenfranchisement, racism and other -isms including corporatism...and primal violence. Both bodies relate closely to nuclear power, separately and together, and with SN representing past behavior, Neptune's massive amounts of water now activate nuclear mistakes from America's past.

Yes, the homelessness of Neptune to US natal Moon is continuing on a different level of expression than the foreclosure fiasco which is also ongoing.

Hmmm...wonder what the Nuclear Energy Institute is up to this morning? Makin' policy, I imagine. They seem to be up to date on the Fukushima Meltdown but are not so up-to-speed when it comes to what's going on with the current threats to nuclear plants in the US, as near as I can tell from their website.

~:~

Thanks to a reader who asked me to look at the Astrology of the Fort Calhoun Nebraska situation in a comment left after yesterday's post on US Solar Return 2011. No time right now to provide links to eclipse posts and other related topics (though they may show up after this entry is published bwo LinkedWithin thumbnails - look below) because I must motor and deal w lightening damage to some tech equipment here (Uranus!) and other storm-related issues.

More reading on such topics is available to you at the blog of Alexander Higgins, if you wish to check it out. jc

Horoscope: US Solar Return 2011

On July 4, 2011, America celebrates her 235th birthday, our much-touted Independence Day. At 12:28:09 pm EDT on July 5th, the Sun returns to natal position in our nation's Sibly chart (July 4, 1776 5:10 pm LMT Philadelphia, PA) during an Hour of Saturn, with Libra and Saturn rising. Return Sun (SR) is posited in 10th house making the next 12 months a watershed year for the United States.

For as you know, Solar Returns are in effect from birthday to birthday so the following Solar Return chart extends from July 5, 2011 to July 4, 2012. (The US SR 2012 chart is chock full of planetary patterns including a Mystic Rectangle, but that's a topic for a later post.)

I have relocated the Return chart to Washington DC (from Philadelphia) which does not change houses of the planets but does slightly change house cusps by one or two degrees: Washington DC is chosen because of the dire financial circumstances our nation has been plunged into and because the 2/8 and 3/9 cusps are at critical-crisis degrees (29 Lib/Ari and 29Sco/Tau, as you see) when set for DC.

At Midheaven 3Can03 (MC), the Goal/Aspiration/Public Status point, is US natal Venus and transit Venus 1Can51, indicating that our national Venus Return will soon occur. Venus, a money planet of evaluations and relationships, is out-of-bounds of the earthly plane and is the closest planet to an Angle in the SR 2011 chart (1A12) and thus leads the action although powerful Pluto is a close second at IC (2A58), the Foundation of the Matter. Pluto does prefer those lower, hidden places.

So this puts the ongoing oppositions of transit Pluto to US Venus and Jupiter (US n Jupiter is @ MC as well) uppermost in our considerations in this post, and points out difficulties on the political, social, and financial levels for our country and for Washington DC. The precise identity of subversive Pluto is, of course, debatable yet International Bankers, Societal Puppet masters, Spying Agencies - even 'The Pope' - are certainly implicated when one thinks of the secretive, sabotaging events and calamities occurring in and against America these days.

Horoscope shown: US Solar Return July 5, 2011 Washington DC; please click to enlarge the chart and read my many notations, some of which may not be to mentioned within this text. US natal planets are penned around the outside of the chart; Inaugural Moon 2009 29Sco45 is notated at the 3rd cusp.



ASC 2Lib41 with Saturn rising indicates delays, restrictions, inhibitions, and a potential for further losses at this, a Saturn Hour. The third of our three
Saturn Returns occurs on August 28, 2011, and SR 2011 Saturn rules 4th house with Pluto and US n Pluto 27Cap33 Rx posited there so mining incidents may occur during the year along with Real Estate (4th H) problems, destructurization, and plutonian transformations continuing.

Chart-ruler Venus makes 3 applying aspects to other planets which describes how things will proceed for the coming year, In order, they are:

1. square Uranus (2A43): both planets are angular so have outlets for expression - Uranus conj Descendant of Partnerships may show disruption or break-ups in relationships, or new unusual partnerships, or sudden events caused by Open Enemies; Ebertin gives 'Uranus in Aries' as Utopians which indicates the one-world-government promoters; the Venus/Uranus square also denotes relationship break-ups, fickleness, erratic financial goings-on, impracticality, and a refusal to compromise with others in a traditional fashion.

2. trine Chiron (3A18): sacrificing relationships, devotion upon an altar, or enslavement (Clow.)

3. opposing Pluto: ah, the biggie! This aspect affects America's Public Status on the World Stage since it is spotlighted upon the MC/IC axis where its energies will play out over the next year for it's been running in the background but now takes center stage; excessive demands are made on partners; compromises are hard to make or to find; confidences will be revealed; legal affairs, joint ventures, and overspending are not favored.

As a pair, Venus/Pluto has bankruptcy implications and this seems to me to be what manipulative Pluto is attempting to engineer against America. (Hope I'm wrong!) Pluto squares the rising Saturn (Democrats) in 1st house so we'll have to wait and see. But with both planets angular, it may not be long before we find out Pluto's deepest imperatives. Plus, the Saturn/Uranus midpoint continues to be near Pluto, god of the Underworld, and will again perfect soon: it's the same 'brutality, harm through force majeure, desire to overcome difficulties, rebellion against one's lot in life' midpoint picture the world has been under since the world-shaking Cardinal Cross of 2010.

More Finances: 8th House Jupiter in Money-Loving Taurus


Jupiter 5Tau40 is in 8th H of Shared Resources, Debt, Credit, and Insurance (plus other 8th H connotations such as Corporations) but with 29Ari15 on the 8th H cusp. Asteroid Eros (piercing) conjoins the 8th cusp, too, at 29Ari04. Jupiter's powerful trine to Pluto (0A20) is nearly exact so perhaps help will come with finances though in whose favor remains to be seen (typed the Common Good/Populist leaning astrologer.)

Moneybags Jupiter, significator of the Republican Party, is being squared by Mercury 5Leo35 (in 10th H), planet of bloggers, reporters, thinkers, planners, orators, trade, commerce, transport, and communications in general. Of course, young people and those who serve are also provinces of Mercury.

This Mercury is interesting because it is apex (focal) planet of a YOD pattern (Finger of God; special task, crisis, crossroads) and Mercury is in its element since it sits at the crossroads of all travelers. Which way to go? Well, this Mercury conjoins tr asteroid Minerva (to be accomplished) and as I never fail to point out when mentioning her, The Owl of Minerva is the title of the Hegel Society's journal.

One of our problems is that the US is being assailed by acolytes of the Hegelian Dialectic, the Hegel Society. This is the Thesis-Antithesis-Synthesis crowd of political philosophers whose 'dialectic' sets up the US Saturn Return #3 (August 28, 2011) as the synthesis stage of development for our accountability-responsibility issues and Saturnian lessons which any Saturn Return brings. As we know from recent events, our August 2011 Return times a very important moment in US history.

So there's speedy little messenger Mercury in the house of Public Status at the apex of the situation. And its foundation? The sextile between Pluto 6Cap01 Rx and Chiron 5Pis09 Rx (the position of President Obama's natal Chiron in Pisces, the Knight in Shining Armor placement for Chiron, embarked on a Quest for the Holy Grail (R. Nolle, Chiron.) A 5th H Chiron describes lovers of pomp and circumstance and who direct human psychology toward doing their bidding. (Note: Joseph Goebbels and Barry Goldwater were both born with 5th H Chirons.)

The YOD's Pluto sextile Chiron "creates a very pragmatic dynamic in the chart" (Clow) and shows "a vortex of transmutative power in the location house of Chiron and then shoots the energy to Pluto" which then locates the power in Pluto's house (4th = Homeland; Domestic Scene; Real Estate, etc.) Seems that Pluto, planet of the Global Crime Syndicate, has America in the crosshairs. And with the angular Uranus, planet of Technology and Computers, more cyber-hacking and Internet thievery of account and other info/intell seems safe to predict.

And it's good to remember that Hitler rose to power under a Uranus/Pluto square so let's be wary of new bosses or 'czars' who love to dictate against the will of the American people (yes, we already have them, I know. Look at dissolved governments in various states being taken over by the anti-democratic forces of Corporate Rule.)

Well, there are more factors to consider and I'd hoped to complete this post before the next thunderstorm which now rapidly approaches (please pardon annoying typos!) This post will be edited with more info soon (including more on apex Mercury, other planetary patterns, we-the-people's Moon in Virgo, Sun aspects, and prominent midpoint pictures) or a new column will be published on the topic of our US Solar Return 2011, then linked to this post as my schedule - and Thor's thunderbolts - permit.

UPDATE June 30, 2011: this US SR 2011 column is now completed and you may wish to read the rest here. jc

~:~

For some mighty mystical reading, I recommend Kal Dani's Oracle with its amazing amount of information concerning 'The Eclipse Prince William' - 'The Shadow King' - and his occulted numbers. The info-rich site includes Numerology, Eclipses, Kate (born on the day of a Lunar Eclipse (he, the Solar Eclipse, she the Lunar), the X-Men connection, Biblical prophecy, the Queen's late night visitor, Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed, the Assyrian fish god, and much much more. It's astounding! jc