Saturday, August 18, 2007

Many public schools have become pagan religion indoctrination centers. These schools now teach children anti-Judeo-Christian beliefs and pagan religions, and try to mold children's minds through the latest techniques in behavioral psychology.

“Come to the medicine wheel!” the teacher's cheery voice beckoned the Iowa fourth graders to a fun Native American ritual. “And wear your medicine bags.” . . .

“She taught Jonathan to make his own medicine bag, a deer-skin pouch filled with special things, such as a red stone that symbolized his place on the medicine wheel astrology chart. This magic pouch would empower him in times of need, such as when taking tests. Jonathan wanted to show it to his parents, but his teacher said no. He didn't know why.”

“Sitting cross-legged in the circle, the class sang a song to honor the earth: “The Earth is our Mother. We're taking care of her. . . . Hey younga, ho.” Then the teacher read an Indian myth from the popular classroom book, Keepers of the Earth. It told about a beautiful spirit woman who came to save a starving tribe of Sioux Indians. This mystical savior brought sage to purify the people, and she showed them how to use the sacred pipe, a symbol of “the unity of all things” for guidance and prayer to the Great Spirit.”

What's wrong with these seemingly innocuous classes, aside from the issue of separation of religion and schools? The kids were having fun as they learned, so what could be wrong? Plenty. By teaching religious mysticism, public schools throughout the country are filling impressionable young minds with group think, multiculturalism, paganism, Earth worship, astrology, polytheism (belief in many gods), and pantheism (belief in spirit gods that exist in trees, rocks, and water). The God of Moses is out in our public schools, and Earth worship is in.

Many teachers in public schools across the country now stress feelings and mystical experiences, not facts and reason, much less critical reading and thinking. Their behavior modification techniques indoctrinate children with emotion-driven group think and anti-Western, anti-Judeo-Christian values. . . .

What follows is only a small sample of the flood of “spiritual” sessions taking place in classrooms throughout the country (from Berit Kjos’s brilliant book, “Brave New Schools”) :

1. “Altered states of consciousness: Teaching students to alter their consciousness through centering exercises, guided imagery, and visualizations has become standard practice in self-esteem, multicultural, and arts programs. They often encourage contact with spirit guides.”

2. “Dreams and visions: After studying a pagan myth, students are often asked to imagine or visualize a dream or vision, then describe it in a journal or lesson assignment”

3. “Astrology: Countless teachers across the country require students to document their daily horoscopes. Others help students discover their powers and personalities through Aztec calendars and Chinese.”

4. “Other forms of divination: Through palmistry, I Ching, tarot cards and horoscopes, students learn to experience other cultures and tap into secret sources of wisdom. Students in Texas were told to create a vision in their minds and “describe in your best soothsayer tones the details of your vision.”

5. “Spiritism: While pagan myths and crafts show students how to contact ancestral, nature, and other spirits, classroom rituals actually invoke their presence. California third-graders had to alter their consciousness through guided imagery, invoke or “see” their personal animal spirits, write about their experience . . . and create their own magical medicine shields to represent their spirit helper.”

6. “Magic, spells, and sorcery: Many parents consider magic and spell-casting too bizarre and alien to pose a threat, yet gullible students from coast to coast are learning the ancient formulas and occult techniques.”

7. “Occult charms and symbols: Dreamcatchers, Zuni fetishes, crystals, and power signs like the quartered circle and Hindu mandala are only a few of the empowering charms and symbols fascinating students today.”

8. “Solstice rites: After seating themselves “according to their astrological signs,” Oregon students who traded Christmas for a Winter Solstice celebration watched the “sun god” and “moon goddess” enter the auditorium to the beating of drums and chanting. “Animal spirits” . . . . followed.”

9. “Human sacrifice: Students are given lessons on death education with assignments like the “Fallout Shelter.” Other lessons advocate the cultural endorsement of abortion and euthanasia as a way to prepare the new generation to accept many new forms of human sacrifice, such as the notion of sacrificing oneself for the “common good.” [All of the above seem like wonderful exercises in respect for nature and its cycles, but this they must have made up.]

10. “Sacred sex: Students get lessons about pagan societies’ appreciation for the “unifying power of promiscuity.” By studying these pagan notions on sexuality, children get the idea that promiscuity is normal and acceptable.” [What?? Examples please!]

11. “Serpent worship: Many ancient or primitive cultures throughout history have worshipped snakes, which have symbolized occult power, wisdom, and rebirth. Public school multicultural history classes that celebrate these primitive societies can idealize cultures that worshipped serpents.” [Wasn't there something about this in the bible? Adam and eve and all that?]

Dreams, visions, magic, spells, sorcery, astrology, spirit worship, divination, solstice rites, human sacrifice, sacred sex, and altered states of consciousness? Is this what our children should be learning? Should schools turn children into Earth-and spirit-worshipers? Should parents pay property taxes for public schools that promote pagan religions that can affect their children's ability to tell facts from spirit dreams?

Teaching pagan beliefs and religions can harm children. Author Aldus Huxley wrote about ‘new-think’ indoctrination in Brave New World, his frightening novel about a future totalitarian society. In his book, school authorities molded children’s minds so that as adults, they lost their ability to think critically or judge the policies of their leaders. [Somehow I don't think Native American spirituality was what he had in mind.] . . .

Parents, I can think of no better way to corrupt your children’s mind’s than by keeping them in government-controlled, public-school indoctrination centers.

Labels: Pagans

Posted by Lynn Hayes :: 8:13 PM :: |

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Friday, August 17, 2007

Who is Zac Efron?

A question I had to ask myself. As I told my National Ledger editor, I may be a bit too old for celebrity profiles. But he is the hot new thing as the sequel to the hit movie High School Musical debuts this week, and if you'd like to know more about the Sun/Jupiter opposition that put him there take a look at an analysis of his relationship with his co-star Vanessa Hudgens.

Labels: Celebrities

Posted by Lynn Hayes :: 11:29 AM :: |

---------------oOo--------------- "An astonishingly bright side within darkness"

The New York Times had an article by Jane Brody the other day that is so beautiful I had to share it:

Can getting cancer make you happy? For Betty Rollin, survivor of two breast cancers, there’s no question about it. In her newest book, “Here’s the Bright Side,” Ms. Rollin recounts:

“I woke up one morning and realized I was happy. This struck me as weird. Not that I didn’t have all kinds of things to be happy about — love, work, good health, enough money, the usual happy-making stuff. The weird part is, I realized that the source of my happiness was, of all things, cancer — that cancer had everything to do with how good the good parts of my life were."

Her realization is hardly unique. I have met and read about countless people who, having faced life-threatening illness, end up happier, better able to appreciate the good things and people in their lives, more willing to take the time to smell the roses.

As Ms. Rollin put it: “It turns out there is often — it seems very often — an astonishingly bright side within darkness. People more than survive bum raps: they often thrive on them; they wind up stronger, livelier, happier; they wake up to new insights and new people and do better with the people around them who are not new. In short, they often wind up ahead.”

This is not to suggest that battling cancer is pleasurable. Frustration, anger and grief are natural reactions. Cancer forces people to put their lives on hold. It can cause considerable physical and emotional pain and lasting disfigurement. It may even end in death.

But for many people who make it through, and even for some who do not, the experience gives them a new perspective on life and the people in it. It is as if their antennas become more finely tuned by having faced a mortal threat.

This so exactly defines the modus operandi of Pluto that it gave me chills. Pluto is strong in my chart and though I have never faced a deadly disease I feel an affinity for death and the ending of life. When I counsel people through Pluto transits I hear their amazing stories about facing the end of a life that they knew and being forced into a reconstruction of their very being that leads them into a new and exhilarating process of transformation.

The article goes on with more tales of this process, but the words of Lance Armstrong are particularly powerful, perhaps because we know so much about him:

After surviving treatment for testicular cancer that had spread to his lungs and brain, Mr. Armstrong went on to win the Tour de France a record seven consecutive times.

“There are two Lance Armstrongs, precancer and post,” he recounted in his 2001 memoir, “It’s Not About the Bike: My Journey Back To Life.” “In a way, the old me did die, and I was given a second life.” He created a foundation to inspire and empower people affected by cancer, helping them live life on their own terms.

“Cancer was the best thing that ever happened to me,” he said. “I don’t know why I got the illness, but it did wonders for me, and I wouldn’t want to walk away from it.”

When Elizabeth Edwards was diagnosed last spring I wrote an article about the concept of fighting cancer as really waging war against ourselves. A friend who is an oncology nurse once told me that of all the ways to die she hoped to end up with cancer, because of the amazing transformation that is possible with that disease. It appears that with cancer we are faced with the part of ourselves against which we have battled our whole lives, and in giving up those parts of ourselves perhaps we learn to live life in a more authentic way, even if that process ends up being for a very short time.

Labels: Cancer (the disease)

Posted by Lynn Hayes :: 8:55 AM :: |

---------------oOo--------------- Saturn/Neptune through the houses

Usually articles that provide astrological information for each sign are using sun signs, which have very little accuracy. Some astrologers recommend that you read those forecasts using your ascendant or rising sign, which in fact WILL provide a more accurate look but still only takes into account one component of the chart, so I say just stay away from them.

Dharmaruci has taken a unique approach which now that I think of it, I wonder why we don't use this for everything. It does require knowledge of your ascendant, and if you have your whole chart it will be more useful. If you don't know what time you were born you won't know your ascendant but it might be fun to look through his article to see where you might fit in. If you know your birth time and need a chart, go to astro.com to have your chart delineated for free.

Using the ascendant/descendant axis he has placed the Saturn/Neptune opposition in the different chart axes to come up with a summary of how the opposition has likely affected you. This is still not going to be exactly correct for everyone; if you have Gemini on the ascendant as I do you may not have Leo in the third house if your houses are of very unequal size. Still, it's an interesting article so check it out!!

Labels: Saturn/Neptune

Posted by Lynn Hayes :: 8:00 AM :: |

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Thursday, August 16, 2007

Saturn in Virgo

I've posted an article on Saturn's entry into Virgo in a few weeks:

On September 2, Saturn moves into Virgo where it will bring its trademark influences of restraint, discipline, structure, disappointment, limitation, and karmic lessons. Saturn has a natural affinity for Virgo and its cautious nature and love of service and work, and Saturn in Virgo periods can be very productive ones.

Saturn is far less compatible with Leo, the fiery sign of ego, leadership and drama. When in Leo, Saturn tends to quash these traits and undermine those who appear to be in control. "Who's in Charge?" Saturn in Leo asks, and demands that true leadership take the place of empty figureheads.

Saturn takes 2-1/2 years to pass through a sign, implementing its trademark role as the Celestial Taskmaster through the areas that are important to each sign. In Virgo, Saturn's tests move into in the area of health and service and encourage us to live dutifully and honorably. Saturn in Virgo demands organization and resists impulse, requiring us to live practically and cautiously with a high regard for our own safety and security and that of those around us.

While Saturn is well suited to Virgo's strong desire for improvement and perfection, it is less comfortable for the other mutable signs (Gemini, Sagittarius, Pisces) which prefer a life with more flexible options. As Saturn travels through Virgo it will create problems for those of us with planets in the mutable signs unless we stick to the lesson plan that Saturn requires.

Virgo tends to be a more conservative sign, and with Saturn in Virgo we may see a trend towards conservation that is quieter than Saturn in Leo's flamboyant "Live Earth" concerts. Oil conservation has been associated with Virgo over the years, and automobiles are likely to become more practical and air flight may become more restricted in an effort to conserve fuel and protect the atmosphere from carbon emissions.

Saturn doesn't always make it easy, though: During the time Saturn was last in Virgo from 1978-1980, the Shah of Iran was deposed in 1979 leading to worldwide oil shortages and the first Islamic Republic in Iran. A nuclear accident at Three Mile Island confronted the US with the dangers of nuclear power, and revelations of a town built on 21,000 tons of toxic waste, the Love Canal disaster, resulted in the Superfund laws of 1980. During this period, Saturn in Virgo was square to Neptune in Sagittarius, and this opening square of the current Saturn/Neptune cycle forced confrontations in these areas which we will not see during the next few years of Saturn in Virgo. We have already been through our Saturn/Neptune crises from August 2006 through July of 2007, and are ready for a new set of lessons.

read more here...

Labels: Saturn in Virgo

Posted by Lynn Hayes :: 7:35 AM :: |

---------------oOo--------------- Astrology in the Halls of Congress?

Astrococktail offers a link to this delicious report:

When the moon is in the 7th District

Does U.S. Rep. Julia Carson use astrology to make important office decisions?
A Capitol Hill newspaper recently quoted a Carson aide saying the Indianapolis Democrat consults the stars to make such decisions as whom to hire.

"In job interviews, she reportedly always asks for birthdays so she can check up on the astrological sign of the potential hire," wrote The Hill, which quoted Carson scheduler Aarti Nayak adding: "She's usually dead-on."

Carson spokesman Chad Chitwood on Wednesday said the office disputes "the accuracy of today's Hill article, both in general intent and with regard to specific quotes."

Asked whether Carson uses astrology at all, Chitwood did not respond.

The Republicans, as might be imagined, are having a field day with it all.

The National Republican Congressional Committee blasted out a news release saying that Carson "consults the stars, not her constituents."

Her reliance on astrology, the GOP charged, would explain "her record of voting for massive tax hikes and cuts to Medicare."

"Apparently, Julia Carson's constituents will have to wait for the stars to align in order for her to start providing the kind of representation they deserve," the Republicans said. "(Voters) never know what Julia Carson's crystal ball might have in store for them next."

They made no mention -- though The Hill did -- of the fact that a pretty prominent and popular Republican, former first lady Nancy Reagan, also was known to be a fan of astrology.

Considering the oracles the Republicans have been consulting lately, they could do a lot worse than hiring an astrologer. I'm available, if anyone is interested!

Labels: Astrology, Political figures

Posted by Lynn Hayes :: 5:38 AM :: |

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Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Aquarius Stellium of 1962

Although I have done several readings for people born in 1962 with five or six planets in Aquarius and knew that this was a strong Aquariuan time, I did not realize that on February 5, 1962 there was an astonishing seven planets including a New Moon (with a conjunction to the South Node) tightly aligned in Aquarius. The "Time Wave Zero 2012" newsgroup that I'm a member of posted a link to this chart of this event. It's really quite astonishing!

Any time you have a concentration of planets in one sign you have a personality with a tremendous amount of focus who is not well-balanced. Aquarius is a sign of the intellect and based in reason, and an unadulterated dose of Aquarius in the chart gives the individual a Spock-like quality. The urge for individuation in the sign of Aquarius can bring an unusual personality bordering on the bizarre, depending on the ascendant which describes the persona and appearance. We would expect them to be open minded and free spirits, passionate about social justice but with more difficulty in personal relationships due to the intense need for autonomy of the Aquarian influence.

Everyone born during this stellium has Neptune in Scorpio squaring the Aquarius planets - the
sign of sex, drugs and rock and roll. Also the blurring of identity, confusion over boundaries. Obviously, different ascendants and house structures will bring a variety of life experiences to these people.

Eddie Izzard was born on February 7, and his chart has six planets in Aquarius (all but the Moon which is in Pisces and therefore lends a strong water/emotional signature to the chart). Eddie's comedy takes the Aquarian tendency for the eccentric to the extreme: he is known for its surreal and hard to understand style, his bizarre sense of humor and his rambling stream-of-consciousness musings. He is a known cross-dresser (the Aquarius archetype tends to be rather androgynous)

Jennifer Jason Leigh was born on February 5, 1962 with all six planets plus the Moon in Aquarius. She is not as openly bizarre as Eddie Izzard, but the characters she plays are always pretty weird. Evidently she told Ron Howard when auditioning for the film "Backdraft," "The only role I want to play is the fire."

On the other hand, Clint Black was also born that day and appears perfectly normal. Taurus rising perhaps? He exploded suddenly into the country music scene in a very Aquarian way, out of nowhere, with a completely new style that had not been seen in country music until then. USA Today wrote, "There may never have been a country performer who has created a bigger stir right out of the box."

It's an interesting anecdote that Jeanne Dixon predicted that the Antichrist would be born February 5, 1962 at around 7 am, right at the heart of this stellium.

Labels: Aquarius

Posted by Lynn Hayes :: 6:15 AM :: |

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Tuesday, August 14, 2007

More on Richard Dawkins

The conversation in the comments thread to the last post inspired me to look at Dawkins' chart and I confess I am quite fascinated with the strong Neptunian signatures that lie therein: Pisces Moon and Mercury, with Pisces Venus opposite Neptune, two very mystical signatures that counteract the Grand Trine in earth signs, which Twilight says she also possesses and makes a case for a low number of astrologers in this age group (born 1941).

Dawkins also has an unaspected Sun in Aries. Unaspected, or singleton Sun makes it difficult to forge an identity and can result in extreme behavior, particularly in Aries where it demands attention. You know how they always say that homophobes are afraid of their own homosexuality; I think the same may be true about skeptics. It is their own vulnerability inherent in the mystical site of their personality that they disown and can't understand.

The patron skeptic of this blog, our friend Paul, had a similar dynamic: a strong Neptune and Pisces signature along with an equally strong Aquarius nature with all of its reason. There is no Aquarius in Dawkins' chart, but there is that earthy base and the singleton Aries trying to find expression.

Dawkins said something in an interview that adds weight to my theory:

"At the age of about 13 when I was being confirmed, I did have a fairly active fantasy life about a relationship with God, and I used to pray and I used to have fantasies about creeping down to the chapel in the middle of the night, and having a sort of blinding vision and things. . . .

It was a fantasy which happened in my head and it's not surprising that it should have happened in my head, because I was at that time being filled with all that sort of stuff in confirmation classes.

He goes on to say, "I certainly don't believe in a God who answers prayers, forgives sins, listens to misfortunes, cares about your sins, cares about your sex life, makes you survive death, performs miracles - that is most certainly a God I don't believe in. Einstein's God, which simply means the laws of nature which are so deeply mysterious that they inspire a feeling of reverence - I believe in that, but I wouldn't call it God."

There seems to be a dogmatic determination not to allow for possibility that the mystical experiences that he himself experienced as a child could have any basis in reality, and perhaps it is this desire to firmly close the door on those experiences that motivates his intense fear of the mystical today.

Labels: skepticism

Posted by Lynn Hayes :: 6:15 PM :: |

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Monday, August 13, 2007

Richard Dawkins goes after astrology

Richard Dawkins is a hero of the Saturn/Neptune opposition; his book The God Delusion was published last September as the forces of the establishment (Saturn) railed against the forces of the mystical (Neptune). Back in March, as we passed through the second phase of the opposition, I wrote about Deepak Chopra's response to Richard Dawkins. You can read more about what Dr. Chopra has to say here, but suffice it to say that Dawkins has made a personal crusade out of bashing anything that doesn't conform to establish scientific understanding.

For his new two-part television show on the BBC, Dawkins interviewed astrologer Neil Spencer who writes about the experience for Guardian Unlimited. Evidently the first episode of Dawkins' program will be bashing alternative medicine; he will dedicate the second episode to astrology. Spencer writes:

Scientism, of course, hates meaning. It prefers to view humanity as a random accident, isolated in a cosmos of 'indifferent vastness' - the legacy of the post-Copernican enlightenment that Dawkins claims is now being 'betrayed'. The opposing view, that the world has soul and purpose, that humanity and the cosmos are linked, is to be found not, as he and others claim, in the dogma of religion, but in art and in the depth psychology of Freud and Jung that Dawkins holds in contempt. The sweep of Romanticism, from Goethe and Beethoven down to Nash and Ginsberg is where modern humanity has articulated many of its quests for metaphysical and spiritual truth.

Dawkins and people like him can keep their dry and skeptical outlook on life. While googling what people are saying about Dawkins, I found this gem:

scientists who fall under the spell of scientism like Richard Dawkins are precisely like Falwell and Robertson; the only difference is the content of their thinking.
Beware of scientists who fail to demonstrate humility.
I hope people come away from this interview with a deeper appreciation for the importance of ideas. Ideas create 'reality'. We create realities that either bring our souls alive or subject them to slow agonizing deaths.

My thoughts exactly! I'll be interested to see what my friends in the UK think about these Dawkins programs.

Labels: skepticism

Posted by Lynn Hayes :: 7:02 PM :: |

---------------oOo--------------- Karl Rove Resigns!

Karl Rove has announced in an interview with the Wall Street Journal that he will step down as adviser to the president on August 31. The reason he gave is "to spend more time with his family," the classic euphemism nearly always given when the person resigning is being forced out or leaving for reasons that cannot be discussed. Rove's exit comes after the scandal over his role in the outing of CIA operative Valerie Plame and more recently, the tumultuous Congressional hearings over his role in the firing of US prosecutors for political reasons.

Karl Rove has been known as "Bush's Brain" and the architect of the Bush presidency, but he has been a political activist since the age 0f 9 when, as rumor has it, a little girl who supported Kennedy in the 1960 elections beat him up and he decided to support Nixon in revenge. In high school he began the famous Rovian tactics of smear tactics that put him and George W. Bush in the white house not just once, but twice.

Karl Rove's birth chart shows us that he is a deeply insecure man, with Saturn in Libra in square (90 degrees) to his Sun. Saturn in Libra often describes an individual who feels a great deal of self-doubt (Saturn) in relationships with others (Libra), and with Saturn square his Sun (his sense of Self), he has a deep-rooted sense of inadequacy and shyness. This square is part of a larger formation that also includes Uranus, the revolutionary, opposing his Sun in Capricorn. Rove has three planets in Capricorn including Sun, Venus and Mercury. Capricorn people are heavily responsible and driven to accomplish something great. Uranus opposes Rove's Sun, making him a bit of a maverick since Uranus rules revolution and destruction of the status quo.

Rove said that he first floated the idea of leaving the administration a year ago, just as his Sun progressed into Pisces. The progressed Sun changes signs only every 30 years, and this event generally marks a major shift in our approach to life. Pisces wants to draw us into the deeper aspects of our life, and perhaps Rove was feeling the call to a deeper experience.

Since Bush has been in office Rove has weathered transits of Saturn and Chiron over his Capricorn stellium. More recently, transiting Pluto has been square to Chiron in Rove's chart and the Saturn/Neptune opposition was conjunct his Pluto. This has been a time for change and a readjustment of priorities for many of us born in the early 1950s with the effect of Saturn passing over those Leo Plutos but also the opposition of Neptune in Aquarius to those Plutos. As a true Capricorn, Rove hung in there while he was going through these difficult cycles.

Now these difficult cycles are behind him and the planets are smiling on Rove now. Let's just hope that the planets will be smiling on the US as the country attempts to recover from the Rove Effect.

Labels: GWBush, Political figures

Posted by Lynn Hayes :: 6:23 AM :: |

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Sunday, August 12, 2007

There's a moon in my body...

from Kabir...

There's a moon in my body, but I can't see it!
A moon and a sun.
A drum never touched by hands, beating, and I can't hear it!

As long as a human being worries about when he will die,
and what he has that is his,
all of his works are zero.
When affection for the I-creature and what it owns is dead,
then the work of the Teacher is over.

The purpose of labor is to learn;
when you know it, the labor is over.
The apple blossom exists to create fruit; when that
comes, the petal falls.

The musk is inside the deer, but the deer does not
look for it:
it wanders around looking for grass.

~Kabir

Thanks to Blogickal for this image by Chobi from Deviant Art

Labels: Poetry

Posted by Lynn Hayes :: 9:05 AM :: |

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Saturday, August 11, 2007

A Neptunian New Moon

The New Moon in Leo takes place on August 12, just in time for the Perseid meteor showers! The darkness of the sky at the time of the New Moon will help make the meteors easier to see as they fly across the sky.

Remember that New Moons are times of new beginnings, when the Sun and Moon are conjunct and the conscious mind (Sun) and emotions (Moon) are in alignment. There is a great deal of power in the New Moon and this one is particularly strong since it is exactly opposite Neptune in Aquarius.

The New Moon in Leo is a time to take an active interest in expressing the Self in a creative and powerful new way. This is not a time to be shy or restrained - the Leo New Moon demands complete and full expression of the unique attributes of a healthy ego. On the spiritual path we are often taught to destroy the ego and become selfless. This is the voice of Neptune, and with the opposition of Neptune to the New Moon we find ourselves exploring a balance between the death of Self and the celebration of our own uniqueness as special beings of creation that Leo teaches.

The addition of Neptune adds a yearning for oneness, a longing to experience the divine. We do this in many ways: through meditation, church, music, artistic creativity, connection with a loved ones, or a walk through the woods. When the New Moon is opposed by Neptune, the doorways between worlds grow thin and we are able to move more freely between them. Romance and creativity are powerful influences now, and we are able to glimpse the Divine in all of our endeavors. Caution must be taken, however, since as with any strong Neptune experience though, there is potential for disillusionment and confusion.

This New Moon also marks the second conjunction of Venus to Saturn as Venus retrogrades back to meet the old guy. Many writers have taken the negative aspects of Saturn's effect on Venus (bad relationships, need for solitude, insecurity) but we can also look at the softening effect that Venus has on Saturn. Saturn is well-aspected now in a trine to Pluto so we have an opportunity to get the best of what Saturn has to offer: discipline, strategy, responsibility and commitment. Venus lends a hand of grace as we follow Saturn on the path to our goals and aspirations, and Saturn and Venus combined can help to cement our relationships (Venus) into structures (Saturn) that support us in our growth process.

Image: The Dream: In His Sleep He Saw Love, Glory and Wealth Appear to Him by Pierre Puvis de Chavannes, from Corbis.com

Labels: Neptune, New Moon

Posted by Lynn Hayes :: 6:41 PM :: |

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Friday, August 10, 2007

Fears of Global Liquidity

One interesting byproduct of Pluto in Sagittarius has been the globalization (Sagittarius) of our shared money systems (Pluto) such as the stock market and banking in general. Financial markets all over the world are linked, and a sudden liquidity crisis in the financial markets and banks are creating an element of fear in the global financial world. Still, many voices out there are determinedly optimistic, citing the strong and growing economies virtually everywhere in the world.

The relentless rise of the stock market of the Jupiter/Pluto passage through Sagittarius is hitting some rocky bumps. Ignoring the reality of market fundamentals, the optimistic rise of the stock markets have continued unabated over the past few years despite the gloomy predictions of astrologers during the Saturn/Jupiter squares of last year and recent eclipses. With Saturn on my Sun I am not much of a gambler, and last week when the US stock market fell over 100 points I sold about half of my stock portfolio, only to regret it when those stocks rallied and climbed ever higher.

As an astrologer, though, I see this ever-increasing stock market as symbolic of the overreaction of Jupiter and Sagittarius to which reality at some point must come to the party. For one thing, China is gobbling up all of the US debt it can swallow (some sources say China owns $900 billion in US bonds which is 44% of the entire US debt, much of which is caused by the war). China is now threatening to use that leverage for political advantage in response to US threats of trade tariffs.

Once again we see how the determined optimistic expansion of Pluto in Sagittarius is setting the stage for problems when Pluto enters Capricorn and begins to break down and rebuild the structures (Capricorn) on which we depend.

Studying astrological correlations to the stock market have shown me that you can't predict what will happen based on the planets - there are too many variables. Each company has a chart of its own, and the chart of the CEO and other leaders affects what happens within the company. There's the chart of the investor, and the charts of nations whose financial health depends on healthy markets. But if I were going to make a prediction I would watch for the eclipse at the end of August that includes a mutable grand cross which can signify energy leaks that would not help the global financial situation.

Labels: Pluto, Pluto in Sagittarius, Stock market

Posted by Lynn Hayes :: 6:46 AM :: |

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Thursday, August 09, 2007

Musings on Fate and the Progressed Chart

A reader writes that her birthchart is giving her a lot of trouble and she would rather chuck it away in favor of her progressed chart. I wish it was that easy! The birthchart is where we find our inescapable fate. The planets and their configuration around the space of the universe that enfolds us form our destiny on Planet Earth, and it is our mission, whether we choose to accept it or not, to engage in a process of experience that maximizes the potential of this fate.

How we pursue this process is where our free will comes in. We can resist the hand that has been dealt to us, which in my experience is a losing battle. Or we can embrace it and learn how to find the gift that lies within the burden of our challenges.

Kat Starwolf has written a blindingly raw and open article about her own horrific early life that was filled with abuse of all kinds. I copied and opened the image of her chart which shows a twelfth house of Fate packed with six planets. Whenever I hear a history that is fraught with abuse I always think Pluto and sure enough, there he is on the exact degree of Kat's ascendant, linking the dark side forever to Kat's destiny. But there is another side to Pluto: Empowerment. Pluto sends us into the Underworld where we must face death, rage, abusive experiences, and ultimately we have to let go just as we do in death. But when he brings us out of the Underworld, Pluto bestows a mantle of true Power.

The Lord of the Rings trilogy is very Plutonian in nature. The Ring sends those that are faint of heart, such as Gollum, into that Underworld from which they often don't emerge. But Frodo, who persists in his quest, emerges having saved the Middle Earth from destruction.

I took the liberty of progressing Kat's chart to the present day, where Libra is now on the ascendant and her Sun, Venus, Mercury and Neptune are all in Libra in the first house. Her chart has gone from the darkness of the Karmic twelfth house where all of our influences lie in the subconscious, to the first house where we create an identity for ourselves and learn to express our will. Her progressed Ascendant is conjunct her progressed Sun, both in Libra, revealing a newly confident persona and an ability to reveal herself in relationship to others.

Her progressed Mars is now in the twelfth house where she is learning to become a warrior in the realm of the unconscious, and Pluto by transit has been making a trine to her natal Pluto/ascendant and helping her to complete the tranformation process. Her progressed Pluto is virtually in the same place as her natal Pluto (Pluto moves so slowly it often doesn't change degrees by much during one lifetime) but it is now joined by Jupiter, adding a note of faith and optimism to the dark mix. The addition of Jupiter helps to enhance the empowerment process and enables understanding. Kat writes:

[I]nstinctively I knew, that if I were to be free of the anger and pain, to finally reach the state of peace that had eluded me for so long, I had to make a concerted effort to forgive those whom I believed were responsible for my pain, and – at a deep Soul level – integrate what I knew and what I had continued to learn in order to finally put to rest the demons that had continued to haunt me. . . .

What I had determined from my own experiences and extensive research into this and many other related subjects, is that this isn’t the only life our Soul lives, nor is this the only planet on which, or the only dimension in which we experience life. As Souls who are intrinsically one with the Divine Source, yet who have been sent forth to experience consciousness in various forms, we each continue to learn those lessons that will eventually (hopefully sooner than later) return us to that state of enlightenment or Divine Bliss from which we began.

Labels: Fate, Progressions

Posted by Lynn Hayes :: 7:43 AM :: |

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Wednesday, August 08, 2007

From the advice column: I want to get married!

Q: I want to get married. I have had three proposals and never crossed over to the I do. I go from having a committed relationship lasting years to a complete melt down without an explanation. Why has this heart felt desire so eluded me all these years? However, when I was twenty four given an astrology reading that this would be the year if I did not marry early to meet and marry my husband. However, year is almost gone and no one exciting has crossed my path.

A: Your note reveals our lack of ability to accurately predict the future. Often before we can be in a truly successful relationship there is work that we need to do in order to integrate the various aspects of our personality that each need something different. I'm sure you already know from the subject line that with Pluto in the Seventh House and opposite Venus there are issues connecting love and fear that need to be integrated before a relationship will be successful. But it CAN be done!

Your Capricorn Sun falls in your first house of personal identity along with Venus and Mars in Aquarius and Jupiter in Pisces. Capricorn is on the ascendant, reinforcing the strong sense of responsibility and achievement of your Capricorn Sun which is actually within 30 minutes of Aquarius and therefore takes on some of those attributes as well. Planets that are at the end of one sign bleed into the next, but because adjoining signs are so different (we call them "inconjunct") there is often difficulty incorporating the aspects of both signs into one person. You need both the Capricorn and the Aquarian experiences: both the structured climb to success and achievement AND the space to create your own uniquely original lifestyle.

Aquarius is "intercepted" in the first house (with Capricorn on the ascendant, or cusp of the first house, and Pisces on the cusp of the second) which suggests that the Aquarius influence tends to operate on a more subconscious level. So consciously you are goal oriented, disciplined, ready to sacrifice everything for the sake of your objective; but hidden within is the rebel that is yearning to be free.

Venus in Aquarius suggests that this need for freedom and autonomy that is expressed by Aquarius may be experienced through your partners. You are the one who needs to get away and have more space, but you are afraid of abandonment (Venus opposite Pluto) so it is easier to instigate situations where the other person is the one who leaves. The Venus/Pluto combination creates an intensity and passion of experience that can be uncomfortable for the Aquarian Venus, but ideally you need to have periods of both. Time together in complete intensity of emotion, and periods of space where you go back to being an individual.

Your Moon is on the cusp of Gemini and Cancer, showing again the need for both the Gemini experience of communication and variety AND the nurturing mothering of Cancer. The Moon in your chart conjuncts Uranus (ruler of your Aquarius planets) which indicates first that your own experience of being nurtured and feeling safe as a child was somewhat erratic, and also that as an adult you need periods where you are able to operate totally autonomously and without restriction.

All of this is being exacerbated right now by a conjunction of Chiron (wounding and healing) to Venus in your chart which is setting off this push/pull dynamic. This cycle began in April and Chiron turned retrograde on the exact degree of your Venus, so you continued to experience this through June of this year. Chiron transits to Venus open up old wounds around our ability to feel loved and to love others, but while this is a painful process it is also a beautiful one because in allowing ourselves to release the energy around theese painful places we become healed. But to do so we have to walk into the fire of our pain and allow it to dissolve around us.

As a Capricorn with Capricorn rising, you are up to the challenge! The final phase of the cycle will return in early 2008. Transiting Saturn of course also ran over the Pluto/Venus opposition in 2006 and 2007 which also created disappointment and obstacles. But amidst these difficult cycles you also have some very positive ones involving Jupiter and Saturn which will facilitate your ability to process your understanding and offer opportunities for change.

In order to be in a successful relationship it's important to understand the underlying dynamics of your personality needs. You need the intensity of a love match but you also need space and independence. That is the primary conflict in your chart and it is important that both of those needs be fed. If there is too much closeness you will feel oppressed - too little and you will feel abandoned. Allow yourself to experience deeply emotions that come up in your relationships rather than react to them, this will be helpful as well.

I recommend that for now you let go of the goal to get married, and instead approach the dating scene as a fun experiment. If the interesting candidates fail to materialize, trust that they were not right for you. Cultivate a firm intention that when you are ready the perfect person will appear and know that you will have several practice relationships before that right person comes along. You want the RIGHT relationship now, so take your time and don't rush.

I am still working on getting the advice column posted to my website. Hopefully over the next few days!

Labels: advice, Relationships

Posted by Lynn Hayes :: 7:51 AM :: |

---------------oOo--------------- The problem with celebrity profiles

I really wanted to do a profile on Whoopi Goldberg to celebrate her new job on the View, but I'm finding that not to be an easy task. Astrotheme has a birth time of 12:48 pm which is unsubstantiated anywhere else; and in fact her birth date is also in dispute. Some sources say she was born in 1949 and older sources give 1955, although Wikipedia claims that New York birth records give a date of 1950.

An accurate birth date, at least, is necessary to achieve astrological accuracy so if anyone out there has any insights into Whoopi's birthdate please let me know!

Posted by Lynn Hayes :: 6:34 AM :: |

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Tuesday, August 07, 2007

"Boomsday" is coming

Newsweek has a column by Robert Samuelson about the upcoming "Boomsday" - the time (projected to be 2011) when 77 million baby boomers begin hitting the age of 65 and demanding their social security payouts. Because of the nature of the Social Security system, it will be the Boomers' children whose social security taxes are paying for their parents' retirement.

Many social critics anticipate a "generational backlash" when taxes have to be raised to accommodate the burgeoning Social Security program, and this dovetails nicely with the upcoming square of Uranus in Aries (revolution for individual rights) to Pluto in Capricorn (breaking down the power structure). Uranus enters Aries in 2010 and enters the orb of the square, with the exact square taking place in 2012. Capricorn rules finances and investments, and Social Security falls under the Plutonic realm of "other people's money." I have been anticipating a great deal of social unrest at that time, but this intergenerational battle could be a part of that as well.

Labels: Pluto in Capricorn

Posted by Lynn Hayes :: 5:29 PM :: |

---------------oOo--------------- Jupiter and the Milky Way at Yellowstone

Click photo to enlage. What an incredible view of the sky!!

Posted by Lynn Hayes :: 7:10 AM :: |

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Monday, August 06, 2007

Dry and hot in NC, flooding in the UK and Asia!

Today it is 98 degrees with expectations that the temperature will reach over 100 later this week! I have been playing with a variety of astrological configurations to see if I can come up with some astrometerology that makes sense for me, with no luck.

Then I read John Townley's August forecast:

Summer may have been late in coming for some, with July skies still replete with both earth and water, but as August moves in it all dries up, so anything you need done with your feet on the ground or some semblance of sensitivity should be taken care of by the end of the first week. Within the four days Aug. 4-8, Mercury moves out of watery Cancer into Leo and Mars flees earthy Taurus for some Gemini air, gracelessly squaring Venus backing out of Virgo into Leo, leaving the sky earthless and – except for Uranus – waterless. Hot and thirsty, pedal-to-the-metal summer has arrived. Only the Moon provides the occasional respite, with retro Venus herself in a last uncertain embrace with Saturn as he finally makes his move to Virgo.

Meanwhile, all the planets conspire to flee Mars, who dominantly becomes the bucket handle of action, swinging the rest of the sky for the rest of summer and all the way through the fall, where he turns retro and bogs down after going a bridge too far. Impetuosity rules, then reaps its usual rewards after tripping over two eclipses, one kicking near Saturn at his last lordly Leo degree with Regulus, and the other right opposite explosive Uranus, as August passes into September. Labor Day/Bank Holiday weekend falls right at the heart of the action. Lots of surprises, especially for those who forgot to check their brakes, which could be most of us.

Jupiter, meanwhile, is at the root of both the early recurring grand trines (with Saturn and Pluto) and the T-crosses with Mars and Uranus which expand to a full-blown grand cross at both eclipses. Things are wired tight like that all month, and daily aspects are a frantic hourly dance between the best and worst of possibilities. Definitely a month of extremes, with shrinks as usual on vacation

I had forgotten that we are in a cycle now that is primarily air and fire, with very little earth and virtually no water with the exception of Uranus in Pisces. Because Uranus is so dry by nature, it tends to dry up the water signs it passes through, particularly now that it is retrograde.
Extremes indeed, both outside and in!

When a birthchart lacks the element of water it shows an individual who has difficulty navigating through the emotional realms. It rarely signifies someone who is unemotional; in fact, quite often (depending on the ascendant which defines the exprssion of the personality) an individual who lacks the water element in their birthchart can be quite emotional. One might even say overemotional, particularly with a water sign rising. Without water in their chart they lack a conduit for which emotions to flow through, and they can therefore become overwhelmed by their emotions. Those with air signs on the ascendant who have no water in their chart can be cold and unsympathetic, disconnected from the ebb and flow of the emotional realms; with fire signs the personality is hotter but still dry. Like North Carolina!

Labels: weather

Posted by Lynn Hayes :: 3:41 PM :: |

---------------oOo--------------- A Saturn Trine Pluto Exercise

The trine of Saturn to Pluto is exact today, although its influence has been approaching for the past couple of weeks or so. The two planets only meet once so this is not a long-term event, but Pluto is still conjunct the Galactic Center, meaning Saturn now trines the Galactic Center as well. Saturn stabilizes and restructures Pluto's urge for transformation in a way that facilitates change and the letting go that Pluto requires is easier under Saturn's firm hand.

The Magician card in the Tarot is associated with Hermes and Mercury, but it can also represent the Saturn trine Pluto process. Through hard work, discipline and focus (Saturn), the magical process of transformation (Pluto) occurs. Trines require some application on our part to really get the most out of them, otherwise we may not even notice this event. We rarely notice when things are going well! But this is an opportunity to create regeneration in our own lives in any areas where we have become stuck or need to let go. The wheels of change are lubricated now and ready for action!

Labels: Saturn/Pluto

Posted by Lynn Hayes :: 6:39 AM :: |

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Sunday, August 05, 2007

Steven Forrest : Rock Opera Composer

Noted astrologer Steven Forrest is an old friend and teacher of mine in Chapel Hill where we both live, and when his wife Jodi, also an accomplished astrologer, wrote a series of stories about the old Norse gods beginning with a book called the Rhymer and the Ravens. Steven, who you may not know is an accomplished musician, wrote a rock opera to accompany that first book.

About ten years ago I was fortunate to be involved as one of the dancers in the early stage productions of the Rhymer and the Ravens, which was succeeded by two more volumes in Jodi's trilogy. If you're a fan of Steven's you'll enjoy this article in the local paper about the band Dragonship who plays the music for the "Elves' Prophecy" and this page on Steve and Jodi's website about the project.

Steven's books are a must for any student of astrology. You can find many of them in the bookstore on this page!

Posted by Lynn Hayes :: 5:48 PM :: |

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Saturday, August 04, 2007

Water in the news

It appears to me that the news over the past few weeks has focused heavily on water. A steampipe bursts in NYC. A bridge in Minnesota collapses, sending commuter traffic into the river. Floods in India, China, Nepal and the UK evacuate millions of people. Baghdad is now without running water due to an overstrained electricity system.

I also have anecdotal evidence of an increased number of sudden deaths.

All of this comes at a time when Mars has been locked in a T-square with Saturn and Neptune. (The Saturn/Neptune opposition is known for weather anomalies as the dryness of Saturn confronts Neptune's moisture.) That influence begins to fade this weekend and hopefully things will get back to "normal."

Labels: Saturn/Neptune

Posted by Lynn Hayes :: 1:48 PM :: |

---------------oOo--------------- The Jupiter Station

Kenna asked me about the Jupiter station which is occurring now before Jupiter turns direct on Monday. Jupiter has been in Sagittarius since November of 2006 where the relentless optimism of Jupiter in its own sign has been driving the US stock market to ever greater heights and creating huge expansion in the economies of other countries as well. Jupiter turned retrograde in April of 2007 and that expansion began to face some opposition from a more reality-based perspective. As it stations to turn direct its influence becomes more pronounced.

Jupiter urges us to consider expanding beyond what we normally think is possible. It drives us to formalize our sense of meaning in life into belief systems (hence its rulership over theology and ideologies in general), and in Sagittarius it encourages us to pursue possibilities which seem limitless. While retrograde, though, the influence of Jupiter slows down so that we can consider these possibilities more carefully. The tendency of Jupiter towards recklessness is checked as we look backwards to see what mistakes have been made.

As Jupiter turns direct we become more aware of its influence, especially if it aspects sensitive areas in our own charts. We have been in a heavy retrograde period with five planets plus Chiron in retrograde motion and there has been much looking back to reconsider past events. We are likely to begin to look to the future with Jupiter turning direct, and once Pluto turns direct in September we should begin to see some progress with the global conflicts that appear to be in stalemate now.

Labels: Jupiter

Posted by Lynn Hayes :: 1:23 PM :: |

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Thursday, August 02, 2007

Pluto in Capricorn: Rebuilding our Infrastructure

Last week I listened to a segment on the Diane Rehm show about the problems we are facing with our crumbling infrastructure, so it was more than a bit creepy to turn on the TV the other night and see a vivid example of this very problem with the crumbling of a bridge in Minnesota.

The buzz around this issue makes it clear that the need to rebuild the infrastructures on which we depend for our daily lives is going to be a highlight of the upcoming Pluto in Capricorn period. Capricorn is associated with the structures of society and building itself. Dams, bridges, tunnels, subways - many of these were built over 100 years ago with little or no improvements over the years. The failure of the levees in New Orleans were the first reminder that the old infrastructures were in danger, but little attention was paid.

The debacle over rebuilding in Iraq is bound to come to the forefront of discussion now because of the appalling amount of money that is being wasted there and the lack of progress. A recent government audit of Bechtel's work there showed that less than half of that company's reconstructions jobs had been completed, and the ones that were finished had staggering cost overruns.

Senators Chuck Hagel and Chris Dodd introduced legislation on Wednesday to fund projects to revitalize the crumbling infrastructure in the US, creating an independent national bank to help finance such projects. Perhaps this will help to alleviate much of the pork spending that goes into earmarks and pet projects. More here.

Labels: Pluto in Capricorn

Posted by Lynn Hayes :: 8:47 PM :: |

---------------oOo--------------- John Roberts takes a fall - the astrology of seizures

John Roberts suffered a seizure yesterday and fell at his Maine vacation home on Monday, July 30. This was the second time he had blacked out after experiencing what they are calling a "benign idiopathic seizure," meaning the medical experts don't know what caused it. That always sends me running to the chart, because undiagnosable medical maladies are often energy imbalances in the physical structure.

Roberts has an Aquarius Sun [view chart]. Aquarians often have an interesting medical history because as a rule their inventive, rational mind typically takes control of their emotions. Roberts has the Moon in Pisces, which does add water to his chart and shows a deeply sensitive nature, and his Moon is part of a Grand Trine in Water which includes a conjunction of Jupiter and Uranus in Cancer as well as Saturn in Scorpio. This suggests a comfort with the emotional realm overall (Pisces Moon) with a need to care for others (Jupiter in Cancer) although that must be done in a way that retains his autonomy and freedom (Uranus conjunct Jupiter).

Saturn in Scorpio reveals a strongly fixed nature and works well in the trine; however, that same Saturn in Scorpio also squares his Aquarius Mercury and Pluto. Mercury and Pluto are in opposition which lends an intensity (Pluto) to the mental realms (Mercury) and can indicate a tendency towards obsessive thinking. This is not easy for the Aquarian Mercury, which prefers to live in the more subjective realms where life makes sense and there are no underlying psychic demons such as the ones that Scorpio embraces. In this T-square the Saturn in Scorpio suggests a fear and discomfort (Saturn) with the Scorpio realm of the emotional underworld.

It is this T-square that was hit on Monday when Roberts experienced the seizure that sent him briefly to the hospital. The square of transiting Saturn to Mars exactly squared the Pluto/Mercury opposition in Roberts chart, and transiting Saturn was in exact conjunction to his Pluto.

This in itself does not signify a medical event, so I looked back to the earlier seizure episode that Roberts experienced in January of 1993. At that time transiting Chiron in Leo had just made a square to Saturn in Roberts' chart and was preparing to conjunct his Pluto and oppose his Mercury; meanwhile, transiting Pluto was exactly square to the Mercury/Pluto opposition. He was in his "Pluto Square" at the time - this is the time when transiting Pluto makes a square (90 degree angle) to Pluto in our birthcharts and being the God of the Underworld, begins drudging up any hidden psychic debris from which we have been hiding.

I was unable to find the exact date for that seizure in January 0f 1993, but transiting Mercury would have been opposite Roberts' Jupiter/Uranus square. Because Uranus rules electricity in general and electromagnetic energy in particular, the combination of Uranus and Mercury is often a volatile one that can bring about anxiety and other mental disorders.

From an astrological perspective, the timing of these seizure events indicates a reluctance on the part of John Roberts to delve into the deep emotional underworld where life is messy and complicated and full of darkness. Jealousy, rage, desire, loathing - all of these ugly things reside in that world, and the Aquarian nature prefers to remain in the world of the mind where all things make sense and emotions can be managed by reason. The darkness of the emotions get pushed to the basement, where they remain until a planetary transit activates them and the carefully constructed defense may begin to show cracks.

John Roberts has created an incredibly perfect persona in which no cracks have yet appeared: perfect good looks, the perfect wife, perfect children. Perfect Harvard education with a magna cum laude degree, Latin student, National Merit scholar, perfect Washington suburban home with the perfect Maine summer home. Still, according to Wikipedia Dr. Max Lee of the Milwaukee Neurological Institute, who is not involved in the case said, "Having two seizures so many years apart without any known culprit is going to be very difficult to figure out."^[12]

Perhaps the culprit is still hiding in the emotional basement.

Labels: medical astrology, Political figures

Posted by Lynn Hayes :: 10:53 AM :: |

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Wednesday, August 01, 2007

Welcome Third Age Blog!

For those of us who are past midlife, the Third Age site is a great resource. The Third Age blog has commentary on all sorts of subjects, from health to career and general subjects related to the blossoming of life as the years go by. Victoria Bazeley is the astrologer on the site, and she and I have exchanged links and admiration. I've added her Third Age blog to the blogroll - please visit and enjoy!!

Posted by Lynn Hayes :: 8:41 AM :: |

---------------oOo--------------- Skywatch is posted!

For those of you on my mailing list, unfortunately the mailing service is down and the individual copies will go out soon. Meanwhile you can read the whole article here. An excerpt for the first few days of the month:

As August begins, five major planets plus Chiron are in retrograde motion, including Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto and most recently, Venus. This is a strong retrograde period in which we find ourselves going back and re-doing anything in our lives that is not complete. The Venus retrograde period will be particularly interesting because having already passed a conjunction to Saturn it will retrograde back to conjunct Saturn twice more while Saturn is in a trine formation to Pluto. This dynamic provides a hint that between July and mid-October when the cycle completes is a time of rebuilding and transforming our relationships. The associations that we build now will serve us in our personal and evolutionary growth, and relationships that do not meet that criteria are likely to fall by the wayside. The trine between Saturn and Pluto suggests that this process will take place in a manner that is smooth and without crisis, but any time Pluto is involved there is a letting go and a regeneration of something new and improved.

The end of July witnessed a square of Mars to Saturn, and this influence will be in effect for the first few days of August. Mars is the planet of aggression and war; Saturn is the planet of restriction and blockage. When these two face off it can get a little wild, and news from the last week of July was full of car crashes and mysterious explosions. On August 1 Mars is quincunx Pluto. The quincunx is a relatively minor aspect that creates dissonance and stress without evoking a conflict that will release the energy of the two planets. It is not always noticeable, but in light of the current stress from Mars to Saturn this quincunx to Pluto will add intensity to the propensity for conflict and frustration that will linger for the first couple of days of the month. On August 3 when Mercury makes a sextile (harmonious aspect) to Mars it will be easier to understand and express (Mercury) that frustration which will help to facilitate productive changes.

If you'd like to subscribe to Skywatch and receive the update every month please send me an email to be added to the list!

Posted by Lynn Hayes :: 8:33 AM :: |

---------------oOo--------------- The Overview Effect

Phil Brown posted the other day on the Overview Effect, defined here:

The Overview Effect is the experience of seeing the Earth from a distance, especially from orbit or the Moon, and realizing the inherent unity and oneness of everything on the planet. The Effect represents a shift in perception wherein the viewer moves from identification with parts of the Earth to identification with the whole system. – Frank White, author of The Overview Effect: Space Exploration and Human Evolution.

Phil's link to a Live Science.com blog by Dave Brody has an amazing quote from astronaut Ed Mitchell who went to the moon with the Apollo 14 mission. Mitchell said,

And then, without warning: an overwhelming feeing of bliss, timelessness, connected-ness… He suddenly and deeply felt the understanding of his constituent atoms as having been born in the fires of ancient supernovas. He saw Earth and it’s people and all it’s other species and systems as a unified integrated synergistic whole. He felt good; ecstatic actually…

But that's not all -

20 years ago, author Frank White collected, sifted, polished and curated the observations of 30 astronauts and cosmonauts. But these weren’t science observations or notes about the spacecraft hardware. They were reports of this specific, marked psychological shift – common to all these space travelers – immediately and profoundly broadening these hard-boiled guys’ perspectives.

Phil wisely concludes,

Doesn’t the study of astrology produce an Overview Effect? In astrology, we come to understand the cosmic connections of our own lives. I mean, if we are each connected to Pluto, Uranus, Chiron, not to mention our own Moon, what a stunning and mind-boggling overview that is! Perhaps a part of astrology’s power lies in the fact that once we see the overview—the whole solar system is manifesting in each one of our individual lives—it forever transforms our awareness of what it means to be a human on Earth.

I would add that this "Overview Effect" is an experience of Neptune which occurs when we are able to surrender the boundaries of our practical and mundane reality and experience oneness with the larger whole. In letting go of those boundaries we delve into the mystical expansion of our spirit into wholeness and see the greater magic of life -- on earth or anywhere else.

Labels: Neptune

Posted by Lynn Hayes :: 5:43 AM :: |

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