Sunday, April 30, 2006

The Truthiness Hurts


I will make a flimsy attempt to link this post to astrology by saying this event sums up the current transit of Saturn to George Bush's ascendant/descendant axis by putting further stress on his public persona (ascendant). Editor and Publisher describes the performance by Stephen Colbert at the White House Correspondents' Dinner in this article. One Good Move has links to various video sites. It's definitely worth watching, this is Colbert at his best.

He noted former Ambassador Joseph Wilson in the crowd, just three tables away from Karl Rove, and that he had brought " Valerie Plame." Then, worried that he had named her, he corrected himself, as Bush aides might do, "Uh, I mean... he brought Joseph Wilson's wife." He might have "dodged the bullet," he said, as prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald wasn't there.

Colbert also made biting cracks about missing WMDs, “photo ops” on aircraft carriers and at hurricane disasters, melting glaciers and Vice President Cheney shooting people in the face. He advised the crowd, "if anybody needs anything at their tables, speak slowly and clearly on into your table numbers and somebody from the N.S.A. will be right over with a cocktail. "

Observing that Bush sticks to his principles, he said, "When the president decides something on Monday, he still believes it on Wednesday - no matter what happened Tuesday."

Clearly the tide has turned and the gloves are now off as the press begins to confront the President on his abysmal record.
Posted by Lynn Hayes :: 5:13 PM :: |

---------------oOo--------------- Skywatch for May posted

Want to know what exciting things the planets have in store for us in May? Check out the latest Skywatch article, hot off the press. May will bring the second phase of the Jupiter/Uranus trine that is offering expansion and innovation and which will culminate in a Grand Trine including Mars this week.

Stay tuned for more exciting planetary news.

Posted by Lynn Hayes :: 5:06 PM :: |

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Friday, April 28, 2006

May Day and the Immigration Rallies

On Monday, May 1, millions of legal and illegal immigrants and their supporters are expected to walk out of their jobs and hit the streets to declare their value to the American economy. It is an interesting choice of dates, since May Day has a long history of significance, going all the way back to pre-Christian Europe where it was celebrated as Beltane.

In ancient Celtic times, the wheel of the year was honored as the turning of the seasons. In the northern hemispheres, the winter solstice was the shortest day of the year and represented the return of the light, and the summer solstice, being the longest day of the year, was the Celtic fire festival. The equinoxes represented the points of balance when day and night were of equal length: the vernal equinox represented planting and fertility, and the autumnal equinox was the time of harvest. (Southern hemisphere civilizations had their own traditions of marking the seasons which obviously were very different than in the north.)

Halfway between these solar events are the "cross-quarter" days, the times of magic. Still celebrated today for their imaginal power, these were the periods when the Sun was at the midpoint of the fixed signs: Taurus, Scorpio, Leo and Aquarius. In the astrological wheel, the cardinal signs of initiation are followed by the fixed signs of stability, which are followed in turn by the mutable signs of adaptation. So we have cardinal Aries at the Vernal equinox (in tropical astrology), followed by fixed Taurus at the cross-quarter, which precedes mutable Gemini. Cancer begins the summer solstice, followed by Leo at the cross-quarter, which precedes Virgo, and so it goes around the wheel.

Each of these "triplicities" as they are called has a different energy. The cardinal signs demonstrate leadership, they initiate action, each in its own way according to its element (fire, water, earth and air). The fixed signs are stable, rooted, grounded. In many ways they are the most powerful because they don't blow off steam like the cardinal signs, and they are not tempted to lose themselves through adaptability like hte mutable signs can. The ancient Celtic peoples found the mid-point of the fixed signs to be magical and called them the "Gates of Power." The first "Gate of Power" in the year occurs in the mid-point of Taurus, which technically does not occur until May 5.

The ancient Celts called the first cross-quarter festival Beltane, from the ancient word for "bright fire." On the eve of Beltane, bonfires were lit throughout the land to invoke protection for the crops and farm animals for the coming year. Beltane was a fertility festival, and marriage vows were often lifted for just one night. The dance around the Maypole is a clearly phallic symbol calling for fruitful fields and families.

In the middle ages, Mayday became a time for the craft guild to celebrate the patrons of their craft, and later trade societies and then unions celebrated Mayday as their holiday. May 1st later became the holiday of trade unions after a general strike and riot in Chicago resulted in the establishment of the eight hour workday which is now commemorated by International Workers Day on May 1.

Today, as tempers rise on both sides of the immigration debate, we find ourselves on the eve of this historic protest, as mostly Hispanic workers in the U.S. stay home from their jobs and boycott American products. We are still in the midst of the healing crisis produced by the Saturn/Chiron opposition but the approaching Grand Trine in water planets should help to facilitate compassion and understanding as this event begins to force changes in the way we think about our neighbors. However, the day will begin with an opposition of the Moon (emotions) to Pluto (power struggles and obsession) at 7 am EDT and 10 am PDT that could begin a series of clashes that may set an aggressive tone for the event.

Taurus resists change, but change is inevitable. The only variable is how we ourselves react and whether we are able to use that change in our own personal evolution.

Posted by Lynn Hayes :: 6:47 AM :: |

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Wednesday, April 26, 2006

New Moon on Thursday

The Old Moon in the New Moon's Arms
Credit & Copyright: Laurent Laveder

Thursday's New Moon falls in Taurus on the afternoon of April 27. Taurus is a fixed earth sign, and represents all the sensual pleasures that life on earth has to offer: good food, comfortable clothing, soft touch. New Moons represent beginnings, and this New Moon squares the Saturn/Chiron opposition which is applying (coming together) until it is exact again for the second time in June. The Saturn/Chiron opposition puts pressure (Saturn) on us to face areas of our life that need healing (Chiron), and will challenge us to take seriously any new ventures that we begin now.

This New Moon will be a good time to honor the challenges and emotional crises we may be experiencing, particularly if the Saturn/Chiron opposition is affecting our own charts, while taking a step back and realize the perspective of a human being living on Planet Earth. Flowers are blooming, birds are singing. Farmers markets are open and we can take advantage of fresh fruits and vegetables. Taurus teaches that sometimes the simplest things are the ones that give us peace and serenity.

The expansion of Jupiter is nearly exactly trine the radical ideals of Uranus, so don't be surprised if you encounter the unexpected, particularly during the next week. With Venus in sensitive Pisces moving into a square to the intensity of Pluto, though, relationships could be challenged. This is not a time to skim the surface - either dive in and get intense or take your space. Layers of the onion are peeling back and exposing what's real right now.

As Robert Wilkinson writes,

[W}ithin the sphere of the New Moon influence, be ready to turn a corner in some relationship, and follow the mental tension, riding the feeling of striving into a new view, a new mental environment, and new understandings of how your discoveries need to be exteriorized in the near future. Drop everyone and everything getting you lost in loose ends or preventing you from getting the concrete results you want from your life and efforts. Move into a deeper compassion and/or empathy, and allow whatever needs to be refined to go through its modifications, taking care of the details.

Posted by Lynn Hayes :: 5:09 PM :: |

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Tuesday, April 25, 2006

Science debunks Sun Sign astrology

I, for one, am glad to see this headline. Ever since newspapers began printing "horoscopes" to sell more papers, real astrologers have been complaining about it. Clarke Fountain says sun sign "horoscopes" are like "trying to funnel the ocean into a ketchup bottle." There are some good astrologers out there writing these columns, and there's no doubt that sun sign columns bring increased exposure, but they are just not accurate.

A "horoscope" is so much more than a sun sign, it is no less than an actual map of the sky at the time an individual was born. It includes an ascendant, Sun, Moon, planets, Chiron, asteroids, midpoints, angles, and that's only the beginning. It then analyzes the relationships between each of those factors, and then studies their evolution. Although the Sun sign is the most important single piece of the chart, it is only one piece and strongly affected by the other factors. For example, someone with Sun in fiery Aries whose Sun is conjunct Neptune will take on characteristics of Neptune as well with a more watery personality. To make a determination from only the Sun sign is just impossible.

So I was glad to see that a recent analysis by Dr. Peter Hartmann, a researcher in psychology in Denmark, proved that

"When considering the current scientific standing with respect to Sun signs, it becomes clear that there is little or no truth in [them]," says Dr Peter Hartmann, who led the study in the May issue of the journal Personality and Individual Differences."This does not necessarily mean that all astrology is without truth, but only that the independent effect of Sun signs is most likely to be irrelevant," he said.

Dane Rudhyar, the grandfather of modern astrology, dismissed the attempts of astrologers to attempt to "prove" astrology in this article. Quoting Einstein, he says

"Science knows more and more about less and less." This is the result of its analytical and reductive approach to the empirical data of human experience.

he then goes on to conclude:

[I]f astrology is to be considered a science, it should not be as an empirical science, but as a kind of algebra based on a new and complex type of "holistic" logic dealing with the structural operations of a few variable factors which can be found at work in any steady and organized system of activities.

I feel no need to prove how astrology works, for me it is enough that it brings insight and magic into our lives, giving us a new level of self understanding and bringing us in greater harmony with our purpose.

Posted by Lynn Hayes :: 5:53 AM :: |

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Monday, April 24, 2006

Pluto in Sagittarius and Xenophobia

This is part of a larger article that I'm working on about Pluto's journey through Sagittarius and the global (Sag) transformation (Pluto) that has taken place since 1995 when Pluto entered Sagittarius. Pluto brings upheaval and crisis, and in Sagittarius it has deeply affected areas ruled by Sagittarius such as travel by air, foreign cultures, and religious ideology.

During the early years of Pluto in Sagittarius, we saw the more harmonious aspects of this cycle: the spread and easy availability of "world music" from all over the globe; international trade agreement and the organization of the European Union which was to create a more unified government. As Pluto settled into Sag it started to create one crisis after another (Pluto creates periods of crisis in order to facilitate transformation, and if we don't go willingly we are led kicking and screaming.) The EU began to break down, the Islamist revolution took hold after 9-11, and the immigration crisis began to erupt.

Since 1995 we have seen a dramatic increase in the intensity of cultural identification, which has been behind the eruption of Islamic terrorism in the western world. Religious zealotry has also become more pronounced during this period, causing divisions within Christian groups in the US as well as in Muslim cultures. Sunnis and Shias, the Religious Right and the Secular Left - this cultural identification has driven a wedge into society and created a great deal of conflict.

Pluto in Sagittarius has also brought a new influx of xenophobia, fear (Pluto) of other cultures (Sagittarius). In the US as well as across Europe, immigrants have been tolerated over the past 50 years as minorities without power. Under Pluto in Sagittarius, these cultural minorities are taking to the streets and taking that power. We are seeing this with the Hispanic immigrants in the US, in France with North African Muslims, in Germany with Turkish migrants and in Britain with Muslims of Pakistani descent. Europe is finding itself desperately in need of skilled workers, and these workers are coming from non-European cultures while many Europeans who lack modern skills find themselves unemployed and resentful of the newcomers. In many European countries, foreigners can enter the country to work but can never be citizens, which has created a twilight zone of second generation immigrations who have no ties to their old country but don't fit into their new one. Assimilation has not come easily, and previously homogeneous countries in Europe are finding it difficult to cope with a burgeoning population with differing cultural values.

As more and more people feel that their way of life is threatened, there will be more and more of a backlash. Xenophobia and fundamentalism often walk hand in hand. The world is getting smaller and smaller as the population increases, and we will need to learn to live together. When Pluto leaves Sagittarius in 2007 it will enter the sign of Capricorn where it will begin to break down the structures of our governments and religions, all barriers that create illusory separation and keeps us from realizing that we truly are one people, living in one world.

Posted by Lynn Hayes :: 5:17 PM :: |

---------------oOo--------------- Thanks Elsa!

The Elsa Elsa Advice Blog had some nice things to say about my profile of Jeff Skilling this past weekend. She offers more than advice, and comments on a wide range of subjects.

If you're interested in astrology advice you might want to visit my advice column at the Innerchange Magazine website. You can take a look at what astrology can tell you, and ask a free question.

Posted by Lynn Hayes :: 6:56 AM :: |

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Saturday, April 22, 2006

Spike Lee on the cusp

Spring, by Cindie Watkinson

Jeffrey Kishner (of the famed Astrology at the Movies blog) always adds a fascinating astrological layer to the business of films. This week he takes on the question that is the bane of astrologers who lack an accurate birth time: What is the real Sun sign of Spike Lee, whose birthday straddles Pisces and Aries?

I'll be attempting a technology free weekend, so until Monday you can feed your astrology fixation at Jeffrey's place. If that's not enough, check out Dermod Moore's new link center collecting astrological link posts from sources all over the globe.

This weekend offers some nice aspects for creativity with expansive Jupiter making a trine to the separating Venus/Uranus conjunction (innovation in relationship to others) and the Moon which is conjunct Neptune today (emotional harmony and creative opening) and trine Mars (offering physical energy to our emotional needs) tomorrow. That sounds like a great time to take a break and have some fun, and I hope you can do the same!

Posted by Lynn Hayes :: 7:05 AM :: |

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Friday, April 21, 2006

Friday poetry blogging

Photo from NASA via Corbis

I saw the Omnipotent's flaming pioneers
Over the heavenly verge which turns towards life
Come crowding down the amber stairs of birth;
Forerunners of a divine multitude,
Out of the paths of the morning star they came
Into the little room of mortal life.
I saw them cross the twilight of an age,
The sun-eyed children of a marvellous dawn,
The great creators with wide brows of calm,
The massive barrier-breakers of the world
And wrestlers with destiny in her lists of will,
The labourers in the quarries of the gods,
The messengers of the Incommunicable,
The architects of immortality.
Into the fallen human sphere they came,
Faces that wore the Immortal's glory still,
Voices that communed still with the thoughts of God,
Bodies made beautiful by the spirit's light,
Carrying the magic word, the mystic fire,
Carrying the Dionysian cup of joy,
Approaching eyes of a diviner man,
Lips chanting an unknown anthem of the soul,
Feet echoing in the corridors of Time.
High priests of wisdom, sweetness, might and bliss,
Discoverers of beauty's sunlit ways
And swimmers of Love's laughing fiery floods
And dancers within rapture's golden doors,
Their tread one day shall change the suffering earth
And justify the light on Nature's face.

Excerpt from "Savitri" by Sri Aurobindo

Posted by Lynn Hayes :: 7:37 AM :: |

---------------oOo--------------- Happy birthday Taurus!

Art by Cameron Anne Mason

The Sun has moved into Taurus, the sign of the Bull, of earthly delights and pleasures. Taurus is an earth sign and ruled by Venus, the goddess of love. Under the rulership of Venus, Taurus seeks peace, harmony, aesthetic pleasures and serenity. However, Taurus is deeply rooted in the physical body in a way that Venus cannot explain, and for this reason I assign a dual rulership of Taurus to Earth, or Gaia.

In Greek mythology, Gaia was named for the land ("ga"). Born from Chaos, she was the wife and mother of Uranus, and with him bore rather monstrous children (the Titans, the Giants, and the Cyclops. To protect her children from her husband (Uranus is the idealist and does not care for imperfections) she hid them, including Kronos or Saturn, within herself. Finally she asked Kronos to castrate Uranus, thereby separating earth from sky. Over time, Gaia has become associated with the planet earth itself: with fertility, agriculture, and the sensitive ecological balance of the planet on which we make our home.

Taurus is primarily concerned with security and stability - it longs to set down roots and resists change. Taurus is acquisitive and enjoys accumulating wealth in tangible form such as coins that can be counted, or antique collections. Taurus is rooted in material reality and often resists the pull of fantasy or imagination, preferring to depend on that which she can see.

Taurus loves the finer things of life, but is not concerned with status. Taurus prefers a lovely old car that is unceasingly reliable to a fancy sportscar that requires lots of maintenance. Delicious food, soft fabrics - substance rather than status is the domain of Taurus. They tend to be rather simplistic and dislike nuance, preferring a world where everything is clear to a confusing picture of half-truths and dualities. This can create a dogmatic nature that is unyielding in its prejudices, and this is the shadow side of Taurus.

In relationships they are steadfast and true, but may lack imagination required to sustain romantic excitement. Like the bull, they can be stubborn and immoveable once they make up their mind and they will always know best what is good for you, having done the research and established that sense of commitment to an idea that is inherent in the Taurus nature.

In mythology, Taurus is associated with the legend of the amorous Zeus who took the form of a magnificent white bull in order to ensnare the lovely Europa in his amorous advances. He was so calm and placid that Europa had no fear and climbed upon his back, immediately after which he plunged into the sea with her and swam to Crete where he became her lover. She bore him three sons, one of whom was Minos who introduced the bull cult to Crete. This story shows the seductive side of Taurus, whose calm and placid demeanor calms the hearts of all that they encounter.

Posted by Lynn Hayes :: 6:16 AM :: |

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Thursday, April 20, 2006

Bush and Amahdinejad face off

President Bush and Iran's president Amahdinejad share an important astrological component: Mars in the chart of one man is square to Mars in the chart of the other. Mars is the god of war - in the birthchart it shows our drive, our aggressive instinct. It shows how we go about getting what we want, and how we defend what we already have. George Bush has Mars in Virgo which is normally a rather restrained placement for Mars but tends to be shortsighted. Mars in his chart makes no aspect to any other planets, and he tends to act as a lone wolf, a renegade soldier who listens to advice from no one. His Leo ascendant and triple conjunction of Mercury/Pluto/Venus in Leo adds fire and combustion to his personality and creating a sense of entitlement (Leo). For more information on Bush's birthchart view my initial analysis and update.

Ahmadinejad's Mars is in Pisces, which makes no tight aspects to other planets but it does widely oppose Jupiter (theology, expansion) in his chart. Mars in Pisces is someone who is driven (Mars) to lose oneself in an experience of the divine (Pisces). The opposition of Mars in Pisces with Jupiter often results in an individual who has an aggrandized (Jupiter) view of oneself and an expanded sense of self-importance and self-righteousness. In Bush's chart, Jupiter squares his Sun which has a similar effect. Both men are proud to the point of arrogance and belligerent in their actions to each other.

The interactions between their charts also tell an interesting tale: the Mars opposition between their charts creates a stressful tension between them. Each views the other as arrogant and aggressive and therefore each refuses to back down. Bush's Uranus is square to Ahmadinejad's Mars, which provides a constant irritation to Ahmadinjad and renews the conflict. Bush's Pluto is in square to Ahmadinejad's Sun, creating a sense of potential annhilation and danger. Uranus as it transits the sky has been activating Mars in the charts of both men, providing a constant irritation for the tension that already exists between them. Ahmadinejad is already in the middle of the "Chiron Return", where transiting Chiron returns to its place in his birthchart which is also setting off the square of Chiron to the Sun in his birthchart, causing him to be extra reactive and emotional over this next year. For more about Ahmadinejad's chart view the earlier article here. You may also be interested in Art Gianfermo's analysis here.

President Bush has become a symbol that is greater than life across the globe through his political actions, but nowhere is this stronger than in his effect on Iran's president. This is having a dramatic effect in the news this week as Iran's nuclear ambitions escalate.

Posted by Lynn Hayes :: 6:19 AM :: |

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Wednesday, April 19, 2006

Mercury in Aries April 16-May 5

from the Elemental Tarot: " The classical figure of Mercury dashes across an urban landscape. In the sky the sun is a compass indicating the ultimate in creative possibilities and the multitude of directions in which he can travel. "

Mercury has moved from Pisces into Aries, and issues of communication and mental functioning (Mercury) now take on the fiery energy of the sign of Aries. Having just come through the explosive opposition of Mars to Pluto which forced confrontations and released a sudden aggressive force over the past couple of weeks, we will find some relief in the fresh innocence and simplicity of the Aries Mercury.

Aries is the sign of initiation as we have noted, and Mercury's travel through Aries brings with it an excitement over new ways of thinking. Ideas that may have previously been kept within us have an opportunity to be expressed as there is now a sense of courage (Aries) in communication (Mercury) that may have been missing before.

Mercury in Aries can bring an environment conducive to argument and disagreements (since Aries is ruled by Mars, the god of war), but over the next few weeks as Mercury travels through Aries it will make several beneficial contacts with other planets that will soften this effect. Today and tomorrow Mercury makes a trine to Saturn in Leo, lending stability to the fire of expression and grounding (Saturn) us, enabling us to build bridges (Saturn) through communication (Mercury). On the 22-24 of April, Mercury will harmonize (sextile aspect) with Chiron, offering a new way to conceptualize (Mercury) the healing of old wounds (Chiron). On April 28-30, Mercury will sextile Neptune, soothing the rough edges and bringing imagination and a sense of divine inspiration (Neptune). And on May 2-4, just before moving into Taurus, Mercury will trine Pluto, offering the ability to see beyond the superficial and effect true transformation.

Posted by Lynn Hayes :: 6:45 AM :: |

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Monday, April 17, 2006

The Smartest Guy in the Room

Photo from Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room

Jeff Skilling is currently on trial for his role in the Enron debacle which brought down an entire company and most of its employees and was likely the major culprit in the California energy crisis of a few years ago. Under Skilling's leadership, in less than a year Enron's stock soared and then crashed in a spectacular flame of arrogance and deceit.

Skilling's story is the age-old story of hubris. David A. Skeel Jr. writes that "the very qualities that make Icaran executives special - self-confidence, visionary insight, and extreme competitiveness - spur them to take misguided and even illegal chances." This sentence could have been written for Jeff Skilling.

"In part, Jeff Skilling's influence can be explained by his particular brand of intelligence. When people describe Skilling they don't just use the word "smart" — they use phrases like "incandescently brilliant" or "the smartest person I ever met."
Skilling in the late 1980s wasn't a physically striking man — he was smallish, a little pudgy, and balding — but his mental agility was breathtaking.

He could process information and conceptualize new ideas with blazing speed. He could instantly simplify highly complex issues into a sparkling, compelling image. And he presented his ideas with a certainty that bordered on arrogance and brooked no dissent. He used his brainpower not just to persuade but to intimidate.
Without question, Skilling's formidable intelligence had a lot to do with turning Enron into a company that was successful — at least for a while.

But he also had qualities that were disastrous for someone running a big company. For all his brilliance, Skilling had dangerous blind spots. His management skills were appalling, in large part because he didn't really understand people."

Excerpt from The Smartest Guys in the Room by Bethany and Peter Elkind, copyright © 2003, published by Portfolio, a imprint of Penguin Group (USA) Inc., all rights reserved.

Jeffrey Skilling was born with the Sun in Sagittarius, a sign of optimism and enthusiasm, with a strong sense of faith in the possibilities that life has to offer. Like others profiled in this column, his Sun makes no aspect to any other planets (unaspected Sun), which shows a person who makes his own way through life and finds it difficult to connect with others. The unaspected or singleton Sun is fairly common in the charts of famous people, and some writers have noted that without aspects to other planets and the ability to make interpersonal connections, the individual must work that much harder to gain recognition.

His Leo Moon shows that he craves respect and admiration, and Saturn in square to that Moon shows he didn't get that admiration as a child. Saturn brings restriction and a sense of isolation, and in square to his Moon would have brought a deep sense of loneliness and inadequacy. His Moon is likely also square to Mercury, making it difficult for him to maintain perspective and giving him a tendency to think emotionally and to be extremely reactive. It is interesting that Skilling could not abide this trait in those that he worked with: "He expected people to behave according to the imperatives of pure intellectual logic, but of course nobody does that (including, it should be said, Skilling himself)." from The Smartest Guys in the Room.

Skilling was driven even as a child. At the age of 13 he was the chief production director for a public access cable channel, and he graduated near the top of his high school class. Skilling's Mercury (mental functions) is in Scorpio, showing an intense and powerful (Scorpio) mind (Mercury) that is capable of great depth. His Mercury conjuncts Venus, demonstrating his ability to be persuasive (Venus) with his ideas (Mercury): the consummate salesman.

Skilling's Mars (drive and aggression) fell in peaceful Libra and was squared by the often painful influence of Chiron. He likely had difficulty expressing his own needs at an early age and had suppressed his drives (Mars) in the interest of maintaining peace and equilibrium (Libra). Yet at the same time, Mars is widely squared by Uranus, a combination which gives rise to a love of danger and reckless behavior, such as his annual adventure trips with employees where he attempted to intimidate them with his apparent fearless exploits in motorcycle and car races. His management style was ruthless, where the bottom 20% were fired on a regular basis, yet the employees that remained described the atmosphere as "exhilarating" and "innovative." The trine of Jupiter (abundance and opportunity) to Neptune (creativity) shows a strong ability to inspire others and to open up to new possibilities. Skilling was out to change the entire industry through the power of his ideas.

Astrologically, this system (called a "T-square") with Mars as the fulcrum squared by both Chiron and Uranus can provide some of the explanation, but generally an individual who makes this much impact in the world has planets prominently placed on one of the "angles" of the chart, the ascendant or rising sign which describes the personality, and the midheaven, the cusp of the 10th house of highest aspirations.

Skilling shows all the signs of a Uranian personality - a personality dominated by the planet Uranus (the rebel, the innovator, the revolutionary). Unfortunately, we don't know Skilling's time of birth so we can't determine his rising sign or the house structure of the chart, but I have indulged in a fantasy exercise to come up with a chart that fleshes out Skilling's drives and motivations and gives us a fuller picture of his complex nature.

This fantasy chart uses a birthtime of 3:30 am and shows Libra rising with his Libra Mars on the ascendant. Skilling has the smooth charm of the Libra ascendant. Libra is the sign of partnership and ruled by the goddess Venus, who bestows the gifts of charm and flattery. The positive manifestation of Libra rising is beauty and harmony and the ability to please others; the negative manifestation is manipulation. Because the ascendant describes the mask that we wear to the world, in my fantasy birthchart Skilling was able to use the Libra sense of what others wanted to manipulate them into believing his world view. Skilling has been described as often "abrasive and downright rude" which would be explained by Mars on the ascendant, even in Libra. A planet on the ascendant becomes part of the personality, and while Libra rising is rarely rude, Mars as the god of war is very much "in your face" and aggressive. Skilling was described as "brilliant and intimidating" which would correspond well with Mars on the ascendant.

In my fantasy chart, Uranus (planet of rebellion and innovation) is on the midheaven, the cusp of the 10th house. The 10th house is known as the career house, but it is also the house of our highest aspirations. It shows the kinds of goals we have and how we are likely to achieve them. Uranus on the 10th house would explain not only Skilling's innovative yet bizarre (both Uranian keywords) management style (10th house), but also his desire to create no less than a totally radically new (Uranus) way of looking at business (10th house). Risk-taking (Uranus square Mars) and "thinking outside the box" (Uranus) were rewarded at Enron, and no one was at the wheel (Uranus on the midheaven doesn't care for the day-to-day operations of the business, and neither did Skilling).

Chiron would then be conjunct Skilling's nadir, or the cusp of his fourth house. The fourth house is the house of our emotional nature, our family and psychological roots. It also shows the inner dimensions of our life - how we make contact with our deeper self. With Chiron in that placement, Skilling would have felt a void, a painful wound (Chiron) that would not heal unless he faced his inner demons. We know that he refused to do so; instead he directed his energies into the business world. In 2004 Skilling's demons were on display for all to see when his excessive drinking led him to harass people on the streets of New York City after being thrown out of a bar, accusing strangers of being with the FBI and resulting in his being taken by police to a hospital for his "emotionally disturbed" behavior.

My fantasy birthchart for Jeff Skilling also shows the Sun in the 2nd house of money and personal possessions, and certainly Skilling was focused on aquiring wealth (2nd house). An article in Business Week quotes an ex-employee: "Skilling said all that matters is money." This article reveals a fascinating portrait of the Enron culture and the downfall of Jeffrey Skilling.

Skilling is truly a modern-day Icarus, who falls so in love with the wings he has created that he flies too close to the Sun and is punished by the gods for his hubris. His is a cautionary tale, warning us to balance the needs of the ego with a strong inner center, grounding our life into a sense of reality.

Posted by Lynn Hayes :: 8:29 PM :: |

---------------oOo--------------- The meaning of "left" and "right"

Here is a tidbit from Claire-France Perez on the etymologies of the word "left" and "right" as these words influence today's political climate. She also gives an interesting analysis of upcoming cycles to the chart of the US:

Left in Latin is "sinister" and the right, "dexter." Dexter interestingly, has something to do with the pointer finger, dextrously expressive of one's personal "righteousness"... and is informed by the left lobe of the brain, the sorter, the maker of hierarchies, the reader of text upon a horizon line, and Self-Declared Superior Lobe. Horror films are described as "sinister." That's the left hand, ruled by the RIGHT LOBE of the brain (a very important piece of the consciousness puzzle), the one that astrologizes, that follows the winding narratives around the many bends of the human psyche. The right brain is more inclusive, and performs in the opposite way of the left lobe. Music and love-making occur on the right lobe. Conversation and art, anything with patterns (like astrology) and abstract concepts are processed in the right lobe. The right lobe informs the left hand.

The concepts of Unity, Brotherhood and Humanity or E Pluribus Unum are products of the right lobe. We may use the lobes of the brain as another metaphor for the political left and right in the US. And so, when we speak of "Left" and "Right," let us also include these ancient associations in our considerations, and then look again at the national ascendant and now see the locus of the American Identity: The White House.

Let us also see a great white light, the SUN, the Appollonian center of power in this country, the very face of our nation to the world, in fact. Thus, "White" is important to the classic symbolism for the nation. Nobody more equal than the King (sic) as far as things had gone in the realm of their pre-1776 experience. That Jefferson took his inspiration not only from the Indian Nations, but also from the all too brief history of the Classical Greek form of government. An important trend in architecture swept the new nation. Public buildings were recreations of the beautiful pillars and porticos of the Greek Temples appearing in downtown Washington DC all the colonies, declaring themselves not only independant of Mother England, but also declaring a new identity for the colonies, and one in high contrast to the Britain of their oppressors. So, when the nation gets a transit to its IDENTITY (ascendant) it acts at first surprised, as if something is coming out of LEFT FIELD.


What will comprise the new identity of the US? Saturn makes a direct motion this month. And this week, the Republican party lost its "Hammer," in the person of Tom Delay, another figure to step down and face charges. But more obvious to those who blog (since the major newspapers can hardly deal with it in any detail for now) is the complete breakdown of the ruling Republican party over the budget, and various bills who are crumbling and crashing to the floor, effectively halting the powers of the party to provide any leadership.

From a decidedly Leftie Blog (DailyKos.com) comes this pithy image: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/4/9/201239/8947 "This past week, the Hammer got nailed, a "breakthrough" immigration bill was broken at the last minute, the House budget busted, Bush hit more all-time lows, and the Plame scandal took a Presidential turn. A tough week for rubber-stamp Republicans and their midterm aspirations ..."

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-04-09-specter-cia_x.htm?csp=34 WASHINGTON - The Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee said Sunday that President Bush should speak publicly about a leak of classified intelligence that was released to rebut an Iraq war critic. "The president of the United States owes a specific explanation to the American people," Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., said on Fox News Sunday. Saturn goes direct with four degrees to go before exacting another steep toll on GW Bush's credibility, his ascendant.

Uranus squaring the Ascendant: there's a tension which polarizes the People and the Leadership. ... As squares tend to stretch things out into polarized camps, the contrast was a mood that can only be attributed to the myth of that wild goddess, Artemis: Back to Nature was one of the battle cries of the era of Love. The era was as destructive as it was full of life simultaneously. Viet Nam. Terrible losses. (May the gods forbid another forage into war!) Similarly, we are already informed of the "downsizing" arriving in the manufacturing sector, automobile manufacturers will lay off thousands in the next year and a half, interestingly just in time for Pluto and Uranus to begin the square. The hardest hit will never find new employment before the bottom drops out... in Detroit. As we know, the concentric circles of impact will of course make tin soldiers out of too many of us. Best Strategy: get out of debt ASAP... sell what you can, while you can, except if you've owned California property for over five years: these mortgages will still be at the level most people can handle in this state being that it is the 5th largest economy in the world; for the rest, consider renting out rooms for the displaced to keep afloat. If you own your home and you have no seconds on the loans, the situation is best for getting through a rough period of economic strife.

Pluto is about to enter Capricorn, the sign which describes corporations most vividly. If anyone questions this, please refer to the conjunctions in Capricorn with Uranus, Saturn and Neptune playing the chords of "hostile take-overs" and "corporate downsizing" in the 1986-1989 period; check on this by comparing the headlines of the news to the dance of the planets.

Read more from Claire France here: http://www.ancientsky.com/President-Prediction.htm.

Posted by Lynn Hayes :: 7:26 PM :: |

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Saturday, April 15, 2006

Happy Eostre!

Artwork by Paulina Stuckey-Cassidy

Many people will celebrate Easter Sunday tomorrow as the day that Christ rose from his grave and achieved godhood. In ancient mythology, the archetype of the dying and rising god actually began thousands of years before Jesus with the stories of Osiris and Tammuz, Adonis and Attis -- all legends of gods that suffered an untimely end but were reborn into physical existence in order to spread their religion. Festivals celebrating the death of the god in winter when the crops were dying and the resurrection in spring were common.

Long before the birth of Jesus, Dionysus was resurrected and ascended to heaven after being torn apart by the Titans, an event celebrated in mystery cults in early Rome. Belief in Dionysus was thought to give one eternal life, and followers were initiated by bathing.

Several hundred years before Jesus, stories about the Anatolian god Attis claimed that he was born to a Virgin and was considered both the Father and the divine son. The Festival of Joy was celebrated every year in Rome: the first day commemorated his death, and on the third day the worshippers celebrated his rising from the dead.

Mithras was a Persian god who had faded into prehistory until being imported into Rome around 70 BC according to Plutarch. Mithras was born on December 25 of a virgin mother. He was born into a mortal body in order to redeem humanity and was known as Savior.

According to the 8th century Christian monk and historian Bede, first asserted in his book De Ratione Temporum that Easter was named after Eostre (a.k.a. Eastre). Eostre was a Teutonic goddess of fertility, who was often portrayed in Anglo-Saxon myth with a white hare standing in attendance. The hare, or rabbit, of course symbolized fertility and it was said that Eostre took the shape of the rabbit at the time of the full moon. When Christianity took over the old nature religions, the fertility rabbit became the Easter Bunny.

The timing of Easter coincides with the Jewish festival Passover, presumably because Jesus's Last Supper took place at the Passover meal. Passover occurs on the 14th day of the lunar month following the Vernal Equinox, and when the Catholic Church established their dogma in Nicea in 325 c.e., it was decided that Easter would take place on the Sunday following the first full moon after the Vernal Equinox except if it falls on the same day as Passover.

Regardless of the holiday we celebrate, spring is a time of rejuvenation, of resurrection as that which has appeared dead springs to life. It's a time when we are able to revive parts of ourselves that may be dead as well, and live more consciously and with greater presence.

Posted by Lynn Hayes :: 3:24 PM :: |

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Friday, April 14, 2006

Pluto in Sagittarius and the Gospel of Judas

Pluto in astrological symbolism represents the god of the Underworld - it shows where we may be compulsive in our natures as we delve into the underworld of consciousness to emerge into light as transformed beings. It also represents the process of death and dying as well as resurrection, it shows where we will experience endings and beginnings. In transformational astrology for individuals, it represents the will of the higher self that continually directs us on the path that is for our highest good, and keeps us from experiences that no longer serve us.

Since Pluto entered Sagittarius in 1995, we have been witness to revelations of many secrets (Pluto) that have turned religious communities upside down (Sag), as well as death and destrution (Pluto) in the name of religion (Sag). Sagittarius rules religious ideology, the law, philosophy and man's search for meaning in life, as well as long distance travel, higher learning, and interest in other cultures. Pluto in Sagittarius has heightened the power of globalization as well as revealed its inherent dangers (because with Pluto we face death, we often find fear and danger there as well). In addition, under Pluto in Sagittarius we have seen an increase in power of religious groups and the fusing of church and state.

We are currently seeing the heightening of an ideological (Sag) war (Pluto) across the globe as a result of the combination of Pluto with Sagittarius, and religions (Sagittarius) are under tremendous scrutiny and requirements of faith (Sagittarius) are being challenged by the revelation of suppressed secrets (Pluto). Although the prosecution of priests for sexual abuse began while Pluto was in Scorpio in the 1980s (Pluto in Scorpio revealed secrets (Pluto) of sexual abuse (Scorpio) and created a global fever surrounding that issue), the real damage to the Church (Sagittarius) didn't occur until after Pluto's entry into Sagittarius in 1995 when a flurry of cases against priests were prosecuted in the court system.

The power (Pluto) of religious sects (Sag) across the globe are currently being challenged under Pluto in Sagittarius, paving the way for their possible destruction when Pluto enters Capricorn (the sign of social structures and government) in 2008. The Christian religions, which have manifested the most power over the last 2000 years, are being threatened by the eruption of suppressed information such as the idea that Mary Magdalene may have actually been an apostle and not a whore, thanks to the Da Vinci Code which brought into the public consciousness ideas that had been circulating underground for years. (read the book Holy Blood, Holy Grail by Baigent and Leigh).

Most comes the publication after a long verification process of the Gospel of Judas which claims that Judas was actually Jesus's most faithful apostle rather than the deceiver as claimed for the past 2000 years. Evidently there were over 30 gospels at the end of the 1st century b.c.e., but Iranaeus, bishop of Lyons, decided that there should be only four. The rest were banned, including gospels of other apostles such as Thomas and Mary, and these decisions were codified by the Council of Nicea in 325 which solidified the Church's official dogma. The banned gospels included such information as the fact that Jesus had brothers, which was very inconvenient in light of the Virgin Birth theory, and the idea that Mary was Jesus's constant companion which is mentioned in several of the banned works.

The recently released Gospel of Judas claims that Judas was actually the most loyal follower of Jesus, and "betrayed" him as part of a greater plan of Jesus to "sacrifice the man that clothes [him]." This idea has been bounced around for many years; it is integral to the story of the Passover Plot, a fascinating tale that shows the crucifixion and resurrection as a carefully thought-out plan crafted to coincide with biblical prophecy. If nothing else, these revelations force us to question our blind faith and determine for ourselves what the truth really is.

Posted by Lynn Hayes :: 6:11 AM :: |

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Wednesday, April 12, 2006

Libra Full Moon: Seeking peace in the midst of a storm

Photo by Tony Howell

The Moon is full in Libra tomorrow - Libra is the sign of love and beauty, striving for peace, harmony and balance. This Full Moon harmonizes with the Mars/Pluto (see below) opposition, shining a light on any dark places to inspire resolution and illumination. Mercury (communication) is in direct conflict with the Mars/Pluto opposition tomorrow, showing that there will be communication difficulties. But if all viewpoints are permitted to enter the circle resolution can take place.

Peace is not just the absence of war, it is a sense of deep trust and enduring faith that life is unfolding exactly as needed in order to continue the transformational process. Challenges and difficulties become but bumps along the road, and no longer have the power to destroy us. We become strong and anchored in truth and like the rocks in this photo, gain the peace that comes from recognition of the ephemeral nature of life.

Eckhart Tolle has a remarkable perspective on the power of stillness and the nature of reality:

You are not just a meaningless fragment in an alien universe, briefly suspended between life and death, allowed a few short-lived pleasures followed by pain and ultimate annihilation. Underneath your outer form, you are connected with something so vast, so immeasurable and sacred, that it cannot be spoken of - yet I am speaking of it now. I am speaking of it now not to give you something to believe in but to show you how you can know it for yourself.

Beyond the beauty of external forms, there is more here: something that cannot be named, something ineffable, some deep, inner, holy essence. Whenever and wherever there is beauty, this inner essence shines through somehow. It only reveals itself to you when you are present.

When you lose touch with inner stillness, you lose touch with yourself. When you lose touch with yourself, you lose yourself in the world.

Your innermost sense of self, of who you are, is inseparable from stillness. This is the I Am that is deeper than name and form.

Posted by Lynn Hayes :: 7:44 AM :: |

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Monday, April 10, 2006

Tom Cruise - Candid revelations or self promotion?

Tom Cruise has been shockingly open in recent interviews about his abusive father. I'm sure it's just a coincidence that he is promoting his new movie Mission Impossible III. For someone who has made a habit of filing lawsuits any time the press started delving into his personal life, Tom has been amazingly candid lately. From his sofa jumping on the Oprah show to public displays of affection everywhere since his relationship with Katie Holmes began, Tom Cruise appears to be opening up in a brand new way. But is he really?

A recent interview in Parade Magazine exposes some previously unknown facts about Mr. Cruise. Now 5'7", he was a small child and bullied both at home and at school. He was unable to read and forced into separate classes, causing him to feel excluded and lonely. His reading disability was diagnosed as dyslexia, but he says "labels don't mean anything." Parade Magazine quotes contemporaries of Tom during his high school years as being "angry, muscular, intense, obsessed with success." Tom later became involved in Scientology, probably as a way to manage his emotions. Scientology teaches the power of rational thought, and there is no doubt that Tom has successfully channeled his energies and emotions in a way that has brought him great success.

Tom Cruise was born with the Sun in Cancer, the sensitive sign of the soft shell crab. Cancers are primarily concerned with family, with taking care of others. It's a sensitive and emotional sign that strongly needs to be nurtured, which is challenging for a man in our society. Cancerian people who do not receive that nurturing at an early age or later in life tend to build a hard crusty shell, just like the crab does, to protect the sensitive inner being. We don't know Tom's birth time, but is Moon is either in Leo (if born in the afternoon/evening) or Cancer (if born in the morning). The Moon shows our deep inner drive and can be difficult to perceive in people we don't know well, but if Tom's Moon was in Cancer his emotional focus would be on family. Clearly his emotional focus is on his career, and the Moon in Leo has a strong need to be admired and celebrated, commonly found in the charts of actors. That need for publicity and press (Leo) conflicts with the need for a quiet home life surrounded by loved ones (Cancer) and could account for Cruise's apparent conflict between his need for publicity and his tendency towards filing lawsuits to protect his privacy.

This Moon in Leo is opposed by Saturn, which is retrograde in his chart. Saturn shows where we feel insecure and a lack of self-worth, and when retrograde that inner voice of self-doubt is turned within. Saturn retrograde people are strongly self critical and the stressful combination of a strong Saturn insecurity (Saturn Rx) opposed to the Leo need for admiration can create a personality that is driven towards success in order to prove oneself.

Tom's Mars (aggressive urge and drive) is in the fixed earth sign of Taurus the bull, showing he has tenacity and a tendency to be bullheaded. Mars in Taurus can't be easily pushed around, they are stubborn to the max and difficult to dissuade once they have set their course. However, Uranus (planet of rebellion and innovation) is square to his Mars, giving him an extreme restlessness that can be uncomfortable for the Taurus Mars that prefers serenity, possibly resulting in mood swings and periods of internal distress. Uranus has an electrical quality and can be difficult on the nervous system when in challenging aspect.

His Mercury is in Gemini, showing someone who is quite talkative and curious about all things. Gemini likes to try on different roles, making it a good placement for an actor. Venus in his chart is in Leo, which explains his very showy (Leo) treatment of his ladies, at least in the beginning. Saturn in his chart is also widely (9.5 degrees) opposite Venus, showing tension in his relationships and a great deal of criticism both of himself (Saturn Rx) and his partners (Venus).

Tom has a tight conjunction of Chiron (healing and wisdom) to Jupiter (opportunity and philosophy), and both are retrograde. The combination of these two planets indicates a person who is drawn to healing philosophies and who may have experienced an early wound (Chiron) around religion and philosophy (Jupiter), possibly in Catholic schools as a child. We know that he at one point thought of entering the Catholic priesthood but later joined the Church of Scientology. The Chiron/Jupiter conjunction is opposed by Pluto (god of transformation and destruction) in his chart. Pluto opposing Jupiter is often a placement of power (Pluto) struggles and self-righteous dogmatism (Jupiter), and with Chiron involved there is a constant and painful irritation that creates a need for continual change and transformation. We have certainly seen Tom Cruise's tendency to be dogmatic and self-righteous over the past year in his lack of sensitivity to the problems of others. This is usually a sign of someone who is hiding from their own emotional difficulties under the guise of healing themselves.

Tom Cruise has a very tight Grand Trine (with three planets all trine each other) involving his Sun in Cancer, Neptune in Scorpio, and Chiron in Pisces, all water signs. Grand trines in water tend to facilitate the flow of one's emotions and proffers a vivid imagination which can be easily expressed. For some, a Grand Trine in water can sap one's energies as life is sometimes too flowing with this placement and there is often a lack of direction. But for Cruise, the more challenging aspects also provide a dynamic element that enables him to energize his imagination and use it for his benefit.

Beginning last year and coinciding with the start of his relationship with Katie Holmes, Tom Cruise began a series of challenging transits. We don't know exactly where his Moon is, but transiting Chiron has likely been making a square to his Moon over the past year, dredging up old wounds and causing him to need distractions from his pain. At the same time he has been going through multiple transits of Uranus, shaking up his reality and causing him to explore something totally different. Rumors are flying about the possibility of his marriage and the impending birth of his baby, but Uranus transits typically create situations that do not lend themselves to that kind of commitment. Cruise will begin a challenging transit of Saturn to his Venus and Mercury in September which may bring a greater level of commitment in his life. Meanwhile, the more he puts himself in the public eye to promote his films, the harder it will be for him to hide from himself.

Posted by Lynn Hayes :: 9:47 AM :: |

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Saturday, April 08, 2006

Rumors of War with Mars/Pluto

In the news today, Seymour Hersh reports that President Bush is planning to use nuclear weapons against Iran in order to prevent it from developing its own nuclear program, this while simultaneously penning deals to sell nuclear materials to India. Hersh reports that Iran is reportedly developing a "series of bunkers and facilities" with hidden command centers, and Bush cannot be dissuaded from taking military action despite the pleas of military chiefs. "A senior Pentagon consultant said that Mr Bush believes that he must do "what no Democrat or Republican, if elected in the future, would have the courage to do," and "that saving Iran is going to be his legacy".

Bush's astrological profile explains his extreme self-righteous philosophy and lack of perspective. Chiron is currently applying pressure to his renegade unaspected Mars, causing him to react without thinking in an effort to take charge of his situation and regain the control he has lost. Meanwhile, Saturn and Chiron are moving back and forth across his ascendant/descendant axis, coinciding with his crash in the polls and testing his political and personal partnerships. Andy Card is gone, and others are on the block. Tony Blair is pulling away his support of Bush's fool's errands in order to save his own political future. More and more, Bush is the president in the bubble, finding himself more and more alone (Saturn) trying to find a way out of the mess he has created. Yes the quote above shows that his arrogance and self-righteous bravado remains intact. Let's hope he can be stopped by the US Congress before he can do further damage.

Posted by Lynn Hayes :: 8:57 PM :: |

---------------oOo--------------- Mars opposes Pluto today

Mars has been leading up to an opposition (180 degree aspect) with Pluto just in time for the direct turn of Saturn (see article below), and over the past week we have seen political situations accelerating as a result. With Mars (the aggressive instinct of the individual) opposing Pluto (the god of death and transformation), the fur will continue to fly for another week or so that will affect the fate of leaders (Saturn in Leo) across the globe. In our personal lives, aggressive confrontations will be more common than usual, and we will see this on the global stage.

Mercury is moving into place to square Pluto (April 13) and then will enter the sign of Aries where it will square Mars (April 17). Pluto's goal in any transit is to wipe the slate clean, and when square to Mercury (communication and ideas) it tends to bring secrets out of the basement, and we are likely to see a continuation of revelations such as the one that President Bush authorized the leak of classified information in order to discredit Joe Wilson. Mercury square to Mars will bring more aggressive rhetoric, and the period over the next few weeks is likely to be one filled with arguments and power struggles, but the upcoming trine of Jupiter (philosophy and expansion) to Uranus (bringing new ideas and innovation) will create an environment where those power struggles will find new solutions and a greater sense of liberation.

Posted by Lynn Hayes :: 6:58 AM :: |

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Friday, April 07, 2006

More about Aries

Meanwhile, Robert Wilkinson has a great article today with more information about the sign of Aries:

Aries, when freed of the traps of impulsive behavior, egocentric judgments, being too quick to anger and too quick to bail when they lose interest in something, show their world a dynamic self-reliance and pioneering vision that leads the way for others without concern over whether others follow or not. Aries is highly self-sufficient, quick to bring their total focus to situations, and loathes dishonesty and betrayal. Aries' initiative comes forth naturally, and instinctively embraces whatever is new and fresh. In fact, in our charts Aries shows us the way to be first in the areas of life it influences. When Aries’ tremendous energy learns to slow down, consider other options, and not be so quick to take offense, this sign offers others a refreshing honesty and directness. Aries energies show all how to be themselves, taking the lead in the affairs of life without excessive equivocation or extraneous judgments interfering with their ability to act.

Aries is the unadulterated expression of Mars, which represents the will of the individual self, the Hero archetype. Robert's article gives examples of historical Ariens that have left their mark on the world they left; it is also fascinating to look to legend and myth for the Aries archetype (courtesy of Liz Greene's excellent work on the subject). On the positive side we have the story of Robin Hood - he operates outside of the law, just as Aries has to find his/her own way. But he's not a dark outlaw, he has a band of "merry men" - he finds life exciting and noble and he plays well the role of Hero. He gets to rescue maidens in distress, another favorite pastime of Aries men.

On the other side we have the myth of Jason and the golden fleece (from the Ram, the symbol for Aries). Jason, the classic Aries figure, is fascinated by the fact that the fleece cannot be found (Aries loves a challenge). Exhibiting the courage of Aries, he faces repeated dangers until he is finally able to capture the fleece. At that point, however, he begins to exhibit the more negative traits of Aries: he tries to reject Medea, who has helped him capture the fleece, in favor of a younger princess. His success goes to his head and he becomes arrogant and deceitful.

Both of these stories have one thing in common: the need for a goal, a quest, a role in which to play the Hero without arrogance and conceit. Then we truly do see in Aries that Hero of the old legends.

Posted by Lynn Hayes :: 9:16 AM :: |

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Thursday, April 06, 2006

Saturn turns direct

Since Saturn turned retrograde on November 22, 2005, we have been forced to slow down and carefully examine all options before moving forward. Saturn rules discipline, delay and disappointment, and when retrograde all of this becomes internalized. Blinders are put on us so that we are unable to look at anything but the goal. During Saturn retrograde periods it is difficult to move forward, and impulsive behavior is kept in check.

Saturn's retrograde turn has been particularly difficult because of the opposition with Chiron. Chiron represents areas both within ourselves and in the global consciousness that are painful and wounded, and Saturn puts pressure on those wounds - forcing them into our awareness where they can be healed. The Chiron/Saturn opposition is producing a world "healing crisis" (see this article for more details, and Saturn while stationary applied constant pressure. When Saturn turns direct on April 5, we will begin to see more forward movement as changes are put in place to alleviate dysfunction on both a personal and global level. Saturn is moving towards another opposition to Chiron and this healing crisis is likely to reach a climax when this occurs in June.

Saturn has been traveling in Leo since July 17, and since that time it has been challenging world leaders (Leo is the sign of Kings, and Saturn creates an environment of restriction and limitation). During this period the world's leaders have been working hard to claim more power, and have been thwarted in the process. Some are losing power (President Bush) and some are gaining power and becoming more vocal (Iran's leaders), and some countries have lost their leadership entirely (Israel and the Palestinian people). This is a cleansing process as the political structure works to achieve balance in the world, and we may see more crisis within nations as the process continues.

Posted by Lynn Hayes :: 10:01 AM :: |

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Tuesday, April 04, 2006

The end of the Hammer

Tom Delay announced today that he is stepping down from his congressional post this spring. Although he denied any wrongdoing, one of his top aides recently plead guilty of accepting bribes in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal. This recent astrological profile of Delay shows his underlying motivations and personality characteristics that got him where he is today, and this update from January predicts his demise and describes the planetary influences in his life that are accompanying this fall from grace.

Hopefully he will take this occasion to learn from the error of his ways, but in order to do that he'll have to admit where he's failed, something he has so far not been willing to do.

Posted by Lynn Hayes :: 7:50 PM :: |

---------------oOo--------------- Solar minimum has arrived

Beginning in February of this year, the Sun has been completely blank with no sunspots. NASA solar physicist David Hathaway says "Solar minimum has arrived." In 2004, he predicted that solar minimum, a period of low sunspot activity, would arrive in late 2006 and it appears it has come a bit early.

Sunspots are "great islands of magnetism"--force fields that are cooler than the rest of the Sun. They contract and expand and change as they move across the surface of the Sun. Some scientists believe there is a connection between solar activity and climate change, and a period of low solar activity between 1666 and 1700, known as the Maunder Minimum, is said to have coincided with the "mini ice age" of that period, bringing bitterly cold winters to Europe and heightened volcanic activity.

What will this period of decreased energy bring to human consciousness? Astrologically, the Sun represents the individual Self, warming and encouraging our spirit to grow and evolve, just as the Sun warms and encourages growth of plants. High levels of solar activity bring an increased degree of electromagnetic energy, stimulating our own bioenergetic fields and heightening our awareness of higher realms of consciousness. Intense electromagnetic stimulation, such as what we sometimes find in a transit of Uranus, can be ungrounding and somewhat disturbing to our earth-bound natures.

Percy Seymour has extensively researched the field of magnetobiology, which shows how organisms respond to the Earth's magnetic fields, and how the Sun affects those fields. If high sunspot activity causes the earth's magnetosphere to grow in size and amplify those affects, as he claims, then low sunspot activity is apt to minimize those effects.

Since the Uranus-Neptune conjunction in the early 1990s, there has been an intense expansion of conscious awareness throughout the planet. The combination of Uranus's electromagnetic charge with the longing of Neptune to transcend ordinary reality created an environment that, while stressful in its lack of stability, facilitated great changes in awareness. However, this rapid expansion has had the effect of stimulating nervous disorders and anxiety in many people who were not ready for the dramatic change that is unfolding. The Uranus-Neptune conjunction was followed by a trine of Uranus to Pluto in 1996 that coincides with the last "solar minimum" period.

The solar cycle is about 11 years, and the last minimum occurred in 1995-96. During that period:

• The UK records its lowest temperature in recorded history - December
• One of the worst blizzards in American history hits the Eastern US in January.
• Major snowstorm paralyzes the midwest with a tie for the all-time low temperature.

1996 also coincided with the beginning of the rise in the stock market and the dot com boom. If we are truly beginning a "solar minimum" period, this may be a time when as individuals we are drawn into a phase of contraction. Just as in summer we tend to be outdoors and embrace the change brought by the sun, and in winter we withdraw into the warmth of our homes, perhaps decreased solar activity will encourage us to ground into earthly pursuits and establish greater security for ourselves.

Posted by Lynn Hayes :: 6:30 AM :: |

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Sunday, April 02, 2006

Sharon Stone - a diva meltdown

As a woman of a certain age, I am a huge fan of women who remain sex symbols well past their 40s and into their 50s, and even beyond. I am also a big fan of women who appear strong and individualistic. This makes me very interested in Sharon Stone, and as an astrologer I had to wonder what the heck was up with her lately when I saw her sitting at a press conference with Shimon Peres, supposedly promoting peace in Israel, yet saying "People are ...saying, 'I just want to know is she getting naked?' So let's just get through to that. Yes!" I'm probably not the only one who was rather taken aback at that shameless and flamboyant attempt at self-promotion in the guise of working for world peace. Then came another shocker when she said: " "Young people talk to me about what to do if they're being pressed for sex. I tell them what I believe - oral sex is a hundred times safer than vaginal or anal sex." What can she be thinking???

Taking a look at Stone's birthchart, she has a Pisces Sun and therefore has a chameleon-like personality. Pisces, like the water it represents, adapts to fit its container. Pisces longs for a spiritual identity, and Sharon Stone has been a longtime supporter of the Dalai Lama. Yet Pisces can sometimes lack a strong sense of Self as a result of its extreme adaptation tendencies. When Stone was younger, she decried Hollywood's emphasis on her beauty and desired to be taken seriously as an actress. Her Sun conjunct Mercury bestows above-average intelligence, but both are squared by the self-doubt of Saturn. This indicates a deep-rooted sense of inadequacy and shyness (Sun/Saturn), along with an intensely serious nature (Mercury/Saturn) and tendency towards depression and negativity. One biographer said that early in her life she was insecure about her appearance and an uncle bribed her to enter a beauty contest.

If this doesn't sound like the Sharon Stone you have come to know, it's important to remember that the personality that we see in others is shown by the ascendant, or rising sign. The ascendant is the mask that we wear to the world, and it defines how we process our experiences. Celebrity birthtimes are suspect, because they are often taken from anecdotal conversations and such. Note to astrologers: Astrodatabank has published a birthtime of 4:52 pm, but this puts the ascendant in the early degrees of Virgo which makes no sense to me. AstrolReport uses the approximate time of 4:00 pm which places the ascendant at Leo with the moon in Sag and seems more accurate. The chart I have used for Sharon Stone places her ascendant in fun-loving, self-absorbed Leo which seems like a great fit for what we know of her public persona. Leos are generally regal in appearance and often feel they are destined for greatness, just like their symbol the Lion who is the King of the Jungle. Her mother has said, ""Sharon has been posing from the day she arrived. She came out posing." It is this very posing that can cause a Pisces to lose their own sense of self and who they are.

Pluto is rising in her chart, meaning it falls in her first house of identity and bumps up the intensity of her personality. It also indicates an individual who will continually reinvent and transform (Pluto) herself over her lifetime. Often people with Pluto rising in their charts are intimidating to others because of the intensity and power they project.

Sharon's Mars (drive and aggressive instinct) falls in Capricorn, the sign of achievement and hard work. She is well-known in the Hollywood industry to be driven and success-oriented. Capricorn tends to be extremely practical and is not above utilizing everything available to achieve the desired conclusion. Sharon's Mars is trine (harmonious aspect) to Pluto, showing that her individual will (Mars) and the god of power (Pluto) are in sync and operate as a unit to aid in the achievement of her goals.

Her Venus is in Aquarius, showing a certain detachment (Aquarius) to her relationships (Venus), and Venus is opposed by Uranus, which rules Aquarius. This is a "double whammy" (official astrological terminology) that shows us that this Venus/Uranus/Aquarius influence is very strong in her chart. Aquarius is idealistic and dislikes the mess of everyday life. Venus in combination with Uranus needs a great deal of autonomy and inventiveness in relationships, and this is sometimes (but not always) a marker of homosexual or bisexual behavior for that reason. This is a difficult placement for lasting partnerships because of the need for constant change and a dislike of the day-to-day messiness of human relations.

The picture that emerges is of an individual who lacks a strong sense of herself, who has learned to count on her beauty (Venus) and power (Pluto) to feed the ego needs of her Leo ascendant. Her strong drive (Mars) has propelled her into the kind of stardom that she craves, but over the long term this will not feed her need to develop a strong core within herself as she ages out of the Hollywood mainstream.

This year will not be an easy one for Sharon Stone astrologically. Transiting Pluto (transformation) will conjunct Saturn in her chart this year, shifting the sands beneath her feet as the structures that she has built for herself (Saturn) are buffeted about by the winds of Pluto. Pluto is also squaring Mercury in her chart, probably accounting for her bizarre communications (Mercury) over the past few months. Pluto dredges up all kinds of thoughts and ideas when in square (conflict) with Mercury (thoughts), making it difficult to communicate effectively. Also, because Sharon's Mercury is conjunct her Sun, Pluto is also setting off the square in her birthchart of Saturn to her Sun and forcing her to face her own lack of depth and groundedness. Pluto acts as the will of our higher self, forcing us to evolve as human beings whether we want to or not. The changes that come are difficult and can be frightening, but when we look back we always see that they were for the best.

This would be a good time for Sharon Stone to withdraw from the public eye and do some real personal work. Until she is able to let go of the diva persona and find the nugget of true reality within herself, she will never be able to achieve long-lasting success as an actor. Sharon Stone has demonstrated the capacity to be a great character actor (just rent the movie Casino) if she can allow herself to age gracefully and accept herself for who she can be: a powerful and inspiring woman.

Posted by Lynn Hayes :: 7:36 AM :: |

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