Thursday, December 20, 2007

We walk between the worlds during the season of Yuletide, especially during the Thirteen Nights of Solstice. If we keep our senses sharp and our imaginations lively, we may encounter many strange and wonderful beings during this liminal time instead of just that tired old department store Santa.

It has been suggested that the Twelve Days of Christmas were originally thirteen nights, dating from the dark moon nearest the Winter Solstice until the next Full Moon, a period of about thirteen days.1 The “tide” of deepest darkness started at Samhain for the Celts and in mid-October for the Nordic people with the festival of Winter-Nights. To our northern ancestors, this was a supernatural time when all sorts of otherworldly beings roamed the earth. The borders between the worlds overlapped. The dead returned to earth and the living visited the lands of the dead. Elves, trolls, ghosts, gods, goddesses . . . all were abroad during these dark days. During the Thirteen Nights of Yule, the activity of the otherworldly visitors increased. Wildness was rampant during these days when the sun had turned but the increasing light was not yet visible. The festivities and terrors lasted until the days were once more noticeably longer (usually the first week of January, after the thirteen nights).

Many of the numinous beings who escape back into our world during this time are magical Giftbringers. Our modern jolly Santa, his iconography invented by the folks at Coca-Cola in the 1930’s, is the last in a long line of Giftbringers — some male, some female; some kindly and charming, some challenging and terrifying. Two of the most beloved Giftbringers in contemporary Pagan circles are St. Lucia and the Holly King. Perhaps they will make an appearance at our parties this Yuletide season, bearing gifts of sweets and song!

Behind the figure of the Holly King stands the more ancient Green Man, the British vegetation god who symbolizes fertility and the annual death and rebirth of Nature. In some mythologies of the changing seasons, the year is divided in half and is ruled alternately by the Holly King and his twin brother the Oak King. They are also known as the Winter King (Holly) and Summer King (Oak), or the Old God and the Young God. Echoes of their battles at midsummer and midwinter are found throughout British folklore, as in the mummer plays of St. George, the ballads of Robin Hood and in the tale of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. In some stories, they battle for the hand of the Spring Maiden. The custom of “hunting the wren” on December 26th speaks to the symbolism of burying the old year. The Holly King is identified with the wren, as the Oak King is identified with the robin. In rural Britain, it was the young men of the village (their youth symbolizing the Oak King and the newborn year) who would choose the Yule tree and hunt the wren. It is said that “on Yule morning, the men would dance the Morris dances in the fields, preparing the fields for the coming of new life in the spring, keeping their crops in time with the newly waxing Sun.”2 Behind all these stories is the ancient myth of the dying and rising god.

Art historian John Williamson tells us that “the widespread motif of a ‘dying god’ or vegetation deity, who is sacrificed or sacrifices himself for the benefit of mankind, is basic to the seasonal motifs of agrarian societies.”3 At the end of the nineteenth century, Sir James Frazer published his great work The Golden Bough, in which he presented the controversial theory that in many early societies, the Sacred King of the land, who was consort to the priestess of the Mother Goddess, was slain at each of the solstices at the height of his powers of virility and potency. Because of his sacrifice, the fertility of the land was assured. Later on, as the power of the temporal kings grew, another man or even an animal — a “scapegoat” — was substituted as the sacrifice. Later still the sacrifice became symbolic rather than literal. Yet the mythic purpose of the ritual sacrifice of a “green god” to assure abundance persisted. We see it in mythology, in literature, in pre-Christian ritual and even in the metaphor of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.

The Oak King and the Holly King were regarded as two such sacred kings, one representing the waxing year and the other the waning year. At each solstice, one slays the other, though it becomes clear that the slain king is not really dead but only absent until his season comes round once more. We see this theme carried out in the famous 14th century tale of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.

In the opening scene a fierce giant “grim, and all a-glittering green”, holding a holly cluster in one hand and armed with a huge ax, appears in King Arthur’s court one chilly Yuletide Eve. He issues a challenge to Arthur’s knights: is there any among them who will strike a blow at him, on the condition that, on the following New Year’s Day, he shall receive a stroke from the giant in return? Only Sir Gawain is brave enough, or foolish enough, to accept the challenge. He cuts off the Green Knight’s head, only to watch in horror as the giant calmly picks it up, mounts his horse, and reminds Gawain to meet him in twelve months. After a year of questing and adventures, Gawain meets the Knight again and offers his own neck to the blade. The ax swings, but only nicks his neck. By facing his fate, Sir Gawain has passed the test. He bids farewell to the Green Knight after swearing eternal friendship and allegiance, and returns home.

Labels: holidays

Posted by Lynn Hayes :: 8:34 PM :: |

---------------oOo--------------- Vladmir Putin is Man of the Year?

Time Magazine has declared Vladmir Putin to be Man of the Year for 2007, saying he is the single person with the most power in the world to influence global events. Time calls Putin "the new Tsar," saying that although he doesn't care about civil liberties he has brought stability (Capricorn) to a country that desperately needed it after the fall of Communism resulted in a chaotic political and economic system. (See my astrological articles about Putin here and here.)

This could be a harbinger of what we can expect with Pluto in Capricorn: a shift in power (Pluto) structures (Capricorn). Pluto's last venture into Capricorn marked the beginning of a new loci of world power in the New World. Ever since then, the United States has grown in the kind of power that Pluto traffics in: military power, economic power, the power to influence endings and new beginnings for all other nations.

There is little doubt that now, as we enter the current Pluto in Capricorn period, the US is losing much of that influence in the global arena and thanks to the war in Iraq has lost the respect it once commanded. Russia has a long history of a strong alliance with China, the most powerful developing nation in the world, that continues to this day and I wonder whether the shift in power over the next thirteen years of Pluto in Cap could lead to the ascendancy of the Russian/China alliance. If Russia and China become more powerful, it would bring about a total global shift towards Asia as their other allies such as Tehran and Sudan get a ride on the coattails. India has expressed an interest in strengthening its alliance with China and Russia in order to exploit the tremendous untapped reserves in all three countries, something which would tip the scales to an Asian domination of the world economy. Add to that the large percentage of ownership of US debt by the Chinese, and we have a significant sea change in the established power structures (Capricorn) that have been familiar to us.

Labels: Vladmir Putin

Posted by Lynn Hayes :: 9:52 AM :: |

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Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Pluto in Capricorn: Part II - The Historical View

This is Part II of the Pluto in Capricorn series.

Pluto will be enter Capricorn for the first time January 25, 2008 and will retrograde back into Sagittarius one final time on June 14. It will journey back into Capricorn on November 26, 2008 and remain there until January 21, 2024. For sixteen years, Pluto will engage in a process of breaking down and then rebuilding the structures on which we depend for a successful experience in the material world.

There is a natural evolution to the path of the planets through the zodiacal signs as each sign offers a completely different experience than the sign before. In Sagittarius, Pluto has been compulsively expansive and optimistic, intensifying religious fervor - all qualities of Sagittarius. In Capricorn, Pluto seeks to contract and solidify and build solid structures for society. In the process, the structures that already exist are broken down and irrevocably transformed

Pluto was last in Capricorn from November 1762 until December 1, 1778. Pluto deals with transformation of the political and economic realities of our world, and its entry into Capricorn marked the end of the Seven Years' War in which France ceded Canada to Britain, but political unrest was felt throughout Europe as well as in the Colonies and this period marked a reconfiguration of many of the nations in the world. Catherine the Great acceded to the throne after the murder of her husband, perhaps at her own hand, and presided over wars with the Ottoman Empire that resulted in Russian acquisition of much of the Turkish lands. The first partition in Poland occurred during this period which split Poland into three sections owned by Russia, Prussia and Austria. Britain traded Cuba to Spain in exchange for Florida; Parliament passed the Stamp Act to pay for the wars that began the Colonial rebellion that resulted in the American Revolution.

The thirst for revolution in France, England and Russia stemmed from a reaction to the breakup and reconfiguration of world nations (Capricorn) that followed the colonial expansion (Sagittarius) that preceded it. Pluto's previous passage through Capricorn back in 1516-1533 c.e. was preceded by the original exploration of the New World that gave rise to the later Colonial ideals. Once the original explorers had returned to the courts of Europe, under Pluto in Capricorn those countries set out to conquer the New World and create new colonies that were subservient to the European rulers. The rise of anti-Catholic sentiment that brought about the rise of Protestants under Pluto in Sagittarius gave way to Martin Luther's formalizing his revolt with his nailing his Thesis to the door of the Church in 1517 under Pluto in Capricorn, founding a new structure of worship, the Lutheran Church.

Perhaps later I'll add more historical data to the version of this article that will be posted on my website. Meanwhile, over the next few days we'll make a few predictions about what we might expect over the next thirteen years.

Labels: Pluto in Capricorn

Posted by Lynn Hayes :: 3:42 PM :: |

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Monday, December 17, 2007

Close encounter with Mars and the Geminid Meteors

From Spaceweather.com:

On Tuesday evening, Dec. 18th, Mars makes its closest approach to Earth until the year 2016. At a distance of only 55 million miles, Mars outshines every star in the night sky (it is slightly brighter than Sirius) and draws attention to itself with its distinctive red color.

This is not to be confused with the famous Mars Hoax that claims that Mars is as close as it will ever be. That happened back in 2003, and it will not be that close again until 2018. Still, Mars is spectacular right now and worth a look!!

Take a look at this amazing movie from the meteor shower last week too!

Labels: Space

Posted by Lynn Hayes :: 7:08 PM :: |

---------------oOo--------------- A true story: Creating a vision

I've down with a bad flu bug so I'll pick up the Pluto in Capricorn series as soon as I am feeling back to normal.

Meanwhile I wanted to share a true story of what happened to a friend of mine. She has had a lot of trouble over the years with a business that caused her to go deeper and deeper into debt, and over the past few months has been trying to find a job. I did a mini-reading for her to see what the planets had in store for her and it became evident that the only thing keeping her from getting a job and getting her feet back on the ground was her own belief systems that were keeping her firmly entrenched in this financial abyss.

She was very resistant to the vision work that I do, feeling that she should be beyond affirmations, but she reluctantly agreed to try. When we began to create the vision for her new job she became even more resistant to the idea that she could earn more than a very limited amount of money. The more I encouraged her to expand her sense of what is possible, the louder her voice of resistance became. Finally she agreed to work with the vision statements that we created. Five days later I had an email from her that she had found a job with earning potential that was 1-1/2 times the limit she had imposed on herself.

Clients often seek to know when financial abundance, or love, or success is coming according to the stars. The truth is that we create our own abundance, and it is our own belief in our limitations that prevent us from moving forward. As we move towards the end of the year and look back at the past year and make plans for the next, this is a good lesson to remember!

Labels: Visioncrafting

Posted by Lynn Hayes :: 6:27 AM :: |

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Sunday, December 16, 2007

Jupiter in Capricorn and the Saturn trines

I'm going to take a break from Pluto in Capricorn to discuss Jupiter, which paves the way for Pluto when it enters Capricorn on the 18th.

Jupiter takes roughly a year to go through each sign of the zodiac, and it will remain in Capricorn until January of 2009. As it does so it will make three trines to Saturn, the ruler of Capricorn. Saturn and Capricorn take us to the highest levels of practical awareness; they provide the structure and discipline that is required to build a life of achievement and success. Saturn will also be trine to Pluto several times which will bring even more structure to the chaos that has prevailed over the past couple of years and foster an environment that can bring success as Pluto's transformative urge combines with Saturn's patience and planning.

Jupiter is the planet of optimism and faith - it teaches us to expand our horizons and to learn the value of positive thinking. Under Jupiter's influence we gain new confidence and the ability to trust that life is carrying us in just the right direction. When poorly aspected, Jupiter can inflict a reckless and overconfident approach to life but the Jupiter cycles we are seeing over the next year are largely positive.

As Jupiter makes its way through Capricorn we will see the melding of Jupiter's optimism with Capricornian practicality, resulting in a more reasoned approach to all things Jupiterian: the media, religion, culture, and travel. From the relentless optimism of Pluto in Sagittarius era, we are moving into a much more conservative and contracted time with Pluto's entry into Capricorn, and this shift in motivation will begin as Jupiter moves into Capricorn this week.

Capricorn is ruled by Saturn as we have said, and Saturn is already in Virgo where in its role of Celestial Taskmaster it is inspiring greater attention to health and increased caution in risky behavior. Although this growing tendency towards contraction rather than expansion may seem depressing, the combination of Jupiter's optimism with Saturn's discipline can lead to great success if we follow a plan rather than just rely on sheer optimism itself.

There has been a serious dearth of the earth element over the past six or seven years, resulting in an environment that lacks stability and structure. With Saturn now in Virgo and Jupiter and Pluto moving into Capricorn that situation is being remedied to the extreme. We will see a more conservative approach to all things, not necessarily political conservatism, but a conservatism that demands restraint and patience rather than the reckless and impulsive actions which have dominated the Jupiter and Pluto in Sagittarius era.

Jupiter will make its first trine to Saturn in mid-January of 2008, offering the potential for great success in our endeavors, particularly for those of us with planets in the early degrees of earth and water signs. Even for the more impulsive airy and fiery types, the trine of Saturn to Jupiter will make it easier to find the discipline and stability to achieve our goals.

Jupiter's expansive urge seeks freedom from restraint, and in Capricorn that thirst for expansion creates new boundaries and structures. The last time Jupiter in Capricorn made a trine to Saturn was in 1948, the year that Burma, Sri Lanka, Israel and Palestine all declared their independence.

In April, Saturn trines Pluto for the first time (although Saturn has been within orb of a trine to Saturn for the past six months or so). The second trine of Jupiter to Saturn takes place in mid-September as Jupiter stations direct after its retrograde passage, with the final trine occurring in November 0f 2008 just in time for the elections. This will be a particularly interesting time since Saturn will also be opposing Uranus, bringing about some interesting surprises!

Labels: Jupiter in Capricorn

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

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Friday, December 14, 2007

Pluto through Capricorn 2008-2024

This is going to be long, so I'm going to serialize it over the next few days!

Image is The Tower from the Glastonbury Tarot, a much less frightening image than the Tower in other decks. The Tower in the Tarot signifies destruction and rebuilding of the established order, which is exactly what Pluto in Capricorn is all about. I like this Phoenix image representing the emergence of something new out of the ashes of destruction.

Part I: Introduction

Although Pluto is a small planet (in fact, it is now classified as a dwarf planet) it packs a powerful punch. Pluto represents death and endings and the breakdown of the structures in our life that are required in order to bring transformation and fresh beginnings. Pluto brings us face to face with the ultimate reality of life and, watching over us like a shamanic guardian, destroys whatever stands in the way of our soul's ultimate destination.

Pluto's passage through the signs brings with it a compulsive fascination in the issues denoted by that sign. He ruthlessly exposes the darkness that lies at the core of the sign's archetypes and, destroying the old order, demands that we rebuild on the ashes of the old. Like the Phoenix bird with which it is associated, Pluto dies and is regenerated to begin anew.

Pluto has been traveling through Sagittarius since 1995, bringing with it wars (Pluto) over religion and ideology (Sagittarius), as well as "culture wars" and the growing divide between groups that think differently, all Sagittarius archetypes. Sagittarius rules the media and entertainment, and the rise of a new compulsivity in celebrity journalism has grown up since Pluto entered Sagittarius, with the internet spawning a huge new gossip market. Sagittarius carries with it a nearly relentless optimism; ruled by Jupiter with its expansive need for growth, Pluto in Sagittarius has seen soaring home prices and a burgeoning stock market that seems to have no end. The "new economy" of the dot com era occurred under Pluto's Sagittarian influence, as did the explosion of the vacation home market.

Pluto transits typically include a breakdown phase, where structures that no longer serve us are dismantled to make room for new structures that are more in line with our spiritual evolution. I like to think of these periods as course corrections, where our guides or gods decide that certain changes are required. If we understand the process and can surrender to it with trust, this can be an exhilarating time of transformation and empowerment. If we resist and hold on to the past it can be full of tragedy and pain.

Capricorn is the sign of the builder, the achiever. Capricorn is rooted in the material world and understands that life on earth requires a practical approach to the matters of earning a living. There is also a drive for success; to climb the highest mountains like the goat which is it's symbol. For Capricorn, the ends justify the means and achievement of one's goals is the important thing and it is able to maintain a powerful focus.

Its rulership by Saturn gives respect for discipline and authority and Capricorn has tremendous respect for governmental structures and the stability of a moral system. However, Saturn also bestows its tendency towards pessimism and lack of humor as all things personal are sacrificed for the goal. There is often a tendency to prize material things above those of the emotional or spiritual realms, and this lack of balance can create a dry and miserable experience.

When Pluto goes through Capricorn we can expect the transformation of all things ruled by that sign - such as our religious institutions, halls of government and political structures, the way we inter our dead and take care of our old people, construction techniques and buildings, and how we handle ownership of property.

While Pluto takes 244 years to orbit the Sun, its elliptical orbit means that it doesn't spend the same amount of time in each sign. For example, it only took twelve years to travel through Scorpio, but it took 26 years to get through Cancer and 19 years through Leo. Pluto will be in Capricorn until 2024, and this occurs at a time when our Capricornian structures are ripe for transformation. Industry (Capricorn) in developed and developing countries as become a major source of carbon emissions which threaten the survival of life on earth. The Catholic Church (Capricorn), rocked by sex scandals, is struggling for survival. The very way we do business (Capricorn) is being forever changed by the globalization of politics and the economy.

Tune in for Part II: A History of Pluto in Capricorn
to be followed by Part III: What can we expect?

Labels: Pluto in Capricorn

Posted by Lynn Hayes :: 8:01 AM :: |

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Thursday, December 13, 2007

From the advice column: My daughter is wearing me out!

One of the more interesting applications of astrology is to identify the underlying nature of our relationships. People ask: Why does my husband think I'm critical of him? Why am I always angry around my co-worker? Usually the conflict is shown in a comparison of the birthcharts, the art of synastry.

One reader wrote, "Dealing with my emotional 16-year old daughter sucks the life out of me." Here's what the charts showed:

"Your daughter has an interesting chart. She has four planets in a VERY tight conjunction, all in Leo - Jupiter, Sun, Mercury and Venus, all within five degrees. Leo is the sign where the Self is celebrated, and there is a great need for recognition and admiration. The conjunction of Jupiter to the Sun, Leo's ruler, indicates that this need is enhanced even more by the confidence and expansive qualities of Jupiter. She has a tremendous amount of future potential since all of these planets fall in the tenth house, but in the meantime I'm not surprised that there is so much drama in the house! She is generous and has a huge heart, but she can also be stubborn and bossy.

This Leo need for drama is complicated by her Scorpio ascendant. Where Leo is outgoing and seeks to influence the outer world, Scorpio is withdrawn and secretive. The Scorpio influence intensifies her emotions and makes it more difficult for her to express herself openly. This inhibition of her self-expression is exacerbated by the five retrograde planets in her chart: Mercury retrograde makes it more difficult for her to communicate verbally and feel that she has been heard. Venus retrograde makes her more shy and less able to relate directly with others. Saturn retrograde shows that she is very critical of herself. Uranus and Neptune retrograde are not as significant on a personal level except that they increase the tendency to operate in a more inner-directed fashion which makes it more difficult for her to express that Leo desire to shine and be noticed. This could be frustrating for her and lead to even more drama.

The two of you have good synastry (relationship between your charts) overall, except for some difficult aspects from your chart to her Mars, the planet of boundaries and drive. Most notably the Saturn/Chiron conjunction is in an exact opposition to her Mars, indicating that she feels she is blocked (Saturn) and affected in a deep and possibly painful way (Chiron) by you. At the same time the Uranus/Pluto conjunction in your chart conjuncts her Mars which can be both stimulating and overwhelming at the same time. She is inspired by you but also frustrated and she may feel disempowered.

Knowing the dynamics that are underlying her reactions may help you to see how through no fault of your own you set off the conflicts that lie within her chart. We select our families carefully in order to learn how to resolve these inner conflicts and gain greater wisdom, but that doesn't make family dynamics any easier! Engaging in sports, acting, theater, or other creative pursuits where she can express herself in a competitive environment will help her to channel some of this energy in a more positive way. With Mars in Virgo she might also enjoy pottery or some other craft."

Labels: advice

Posted by Lynn Hayes :: 7:31 AM :: |

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Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Can Hillary Clinton Win? View from the asteroids

Rollan McCleary sent me this link to an article he wrote that is quite fascinating. Some excerpted tidbits:

Opposite Hillary’s name asteroid and conjunct her so called Nadir angle,( the home base in any chart) is of all things asteroid, Whitehouse! I accept with the Bible that the skies “utter knowledge” (Ps 19:2) and this seems as near as the heavens could get to telling us where Hillary’s truest home would one day be. Granted George Bush’s natus by comparison doesn’t show Whitehouse on the same angle. Instead it’s minutes off the degree of a world point perhaps reflecting someone who can rule the world from the Whitehouse while preferring to be absent from it and perhaps not thinking of it much as home. However, both Hillary and Bush have Whitehouse in retrograde which for astrology can signify a return factor. Bush was returned to the Whitehouse for a second term, might Hillary now return home more gloriously ?

Inside Hillary’s career house we find not only Hillary and Fama (Fame) but asteroid, Washingtonia (i.e. Washington because asteroids were originally registered in feminine form) and this Washington is making close aspects, one hard, one easy, to Hillary C’s Mercury and Saturn respectively. Since Hillary has already been First Lady this combination, though suggestive, cannot by itself guarantee winning the Whitehouse race for which her chances must be analyzed by other means as I do in conclusion.

The article is quite lengthy and has a very compelling comparison of the charts of President Bush and the USA. However, I do not agree with his use of the Scorpio rising chart for the USA; I instead use the Sibley chart which I find to be much more accurate.

Labels: Hillary Clinton

Posted by Lynn Hayes :: 3:34 PM :: |

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Tuesday, December 11, 2007

All about the Jupiter Pluto conjunction

When you combine the Cosmic Santa Clause with the Lord of the Underworld (© Robert Wilkinson) all kinds of things can happen. You can get a phenomenal (Pluto) understanding of the Universe (Jupiter). You can also get a gigantic (Jupiter) kick in the pants towards your cosmic destiny (Pluto). Here is a collection of wisdom from astrologers around the web:

Bill Street: As the Saturn-Neptune configuration lessens in quality as the year progresses, a potent conjunction takes place that has an almost diametrically opposite manifestation than the Saturn-Neptune opposition. If the Saturn-Neptune opposition is characterized by an anemic, ascetic and world weary urge for transcendence, a spiritual longing for a heaven or hereafter that is more ideal than this world, then the Jupiter-Pluto configuration is nearly antithetical in quality and tone. Jupiter coupled with Pluto represents life force in triumphant, haughty swagger. The Jupiter-Pluto pairing is Nietzsche's "Will to Power" dressed in royal regalia and regal splendor. With Jupiter and Pluto in pairing, the king of the Gods meets the king of the Underworld, and the results are quite striking.

With this planetary pairing, Jupiter tends to exaggerate, inflate, expand, and liberate the evolutionary life force associated with Pluto. Conversely, Pluto's immense power tends to "hypercathect" Jupiter's tendency towards social elevation, success, and aristocratic resplendence. At its best, Jupiter and Pluto together can manifest as truly magnificent displays of grandeur, majesty, and imposing splendor - art that overpowers, authority that commands, individuals and organizations that triumph and succeed. At its worst, the combination can easily degrade into grandiosity and pomposity, or an arrogance that reeks from an overwrought decadence.

In the closing months of 2007, phenomena congruent with the Jupiter-Pluto archetypal matrix will manifest. This is a "bigger is better" combination in all respects. In art and culture, Jupiter-Pluto alignments tend to correlate with "events" - spectaculars, fanfares, and enormously large-scale events that tend to overpower the senses and sensibilities. In politics, the Jupiter-Pluto aspect is arguably the aspect for displays of political might and power.

The danger with Jupiter-Pluto aspects as they relate to politics is that they tend to correlate with either stunning successes, or conversely, extreme downfalls. In business and economics, the Jupiter-Pluto aspect is a titan's aspect, a captains of industry aspect, and it can correlate with extreme business deals and mega-mergers - anything excessively large and excessively expensive can be an expression of this aspect.

Ralfee Finn: As Jupiter conjuncts Pluto in the last degrees of Sagittarius, these karmic red threads of fear, fundamentalism and existential anxiety dominate daily life. So it's not quite a merry Christmas. A thoughtful one, perhaps, but certainly not "holiday-lite." Of course, other astrological configurations color the days of December this way or that-but nothing is more important than the Jupiter/Pluto conjunction and how you respond to its effect. Nothing. How each of us processes through the end of this cycle determines how we go into the next Pluto cycle-Pluto in Capricorn, which will reveal the structure of things, and during that cycle what is built on wishful thinking will fall apart with a whispered breath.

I have focused on Pluto's shadow because this is not the time for a spiritual bypass or Pollyanna spin. We are being tempered by Divine Fire, and it would be wise to show up committed to a clear view of what needs to heal.

Each of us has the potential to be an agent of change, and as Gandhi said, each of us must be the change we wish to see in the world. If we want peace, we must be peaceful. If we want love, we must love. We must embody our principles. That is the secret meaning of the Sagittarian Archer.

Integration is how we unite heaven and earth. It is one way we weave our personal and collective red threads into a pattern of diversity and acceptance, each of us actively transforming ignorance and fear into wisdom and love through our bodies, minds, hearts and souls. Goodwill toward all sentient beings is not just an idea, but also a reality.

Wendy Guy: These planets, of course, represent parts of yourself. Jupiter is the part of you that seeks to find truth, meaning, significance and understanding about life and your experience of the Universe. Pluto is how you experience and work with power, control and bedrock-level change (transformation).

Jupiter and Pluto together can inspire you to put your heart and soul into something you passionately believe in. But belief and passion are tricky things. When you believe in something, it means you believe it's right, it's The Truth, it's The Answer to your questions, it's the hope that washes away your doubts. That's Jupiter.

When you add in Pluto, that belief and faith can become passion that transforms your faith in life and the Universe—or it could become obsession, arrogance and relentless persistence to ensure that everyone else believes and sees things the same as you.

When you're set on fire by Jupiter-Pluto passion, it can sometimes be hard to tell the difference. There can be a fine line between finding your own passion and power versus inflicting it on others. The key is self-honesty and remembering that The Answer is a bit different for each of us. The Answer is even different for you at different times of your life, as you grow and evolve and become open to the many different facets of life.

Labels: Jupiter/Pluto

Posted by Lynn Hayes :: 7:03 AM :: |

---------------oOo--------------- I missed the New Moon! and other planetary news

Sorry y'all - when I returned I was obsessed with this mall shooting and didn't catch up on where the planets were.

Those of you who subscribe to Skywatch have already had this information, but for newbies and visitors here's the excerpt from the December Skywatch on the New Moon and this week's events including the Jupiter/Pluto conjunction:

The New Moon in Sagittarius occurs on December 9 at 12:41 pm EST. We now have five planets in Sagittarius (Mercury, the Sun/Moon conjunction, and the conjunction between Jupiter and Pluto. Sagittarius brings optimism and an expanded sense of possibility, but also a tendency towards recklessness and superficial. I believe that this combination will bring the last hurrah of the financial markets before the cold winter of the Capricorn and Virgo influence sets in next year.

The New Moon begins a new cycle each month, starting things afresh in a different segment of the zodiac. We have the opportunity now to make a fresh start in our search for Truth as we explore new realms of ideas and philosophies. Sagittarius instills an innate curiosity about other cultures and religious ideas, although there is a tendency towards judgement and self-righteousness under the rulership of Jupiter, King of the Gods. This will be particularly now that Jupiter is two days away from a conjunction with Pluto which adds a compulsive and rigid quality to the need for an understanding of The Truth.

This New Moon makes a square to Uranus (rebellion against the status quo) and a sextile to Neptune (the world of Spirit), indicating that the focus for this lunation is a radical departure (Uranus) from the established religious orders and into a true experience of the divine (Neptune). This is enhanced by the approaching square from Mercury (thoughts and ideas) to Uranus that is exact the following day.

You can see where a conflict occurs here between the rigid fundamentalism of Jupiter/Pluto and the breaking free that takes place at the New Moon with the square to Uranus. This could result in warfare on a global level or it could manifest in an exciting new openness between humans and civilizations. On a personal level it could mean the breakdown of our established internal theologies, or a breakthrough into a new level of awareness. The choice, as always, belongs to us.

The exact conjunction of Jupiter and Pluto takes place in the last degrees of Sagittarius on December 11. This conjunction has been approaching for several weeks and we may be able to sense the intensity building as belief systems (Jupiter) become more rigid and prone to power struggles (Pluto). This will be particularly true as Mars opposes Jupiter at the end of the month and heads towards the second phase of the opposition to Pluto (for more information see this article on the Mars/Pluto opposition cycle).

The next few days offer a welcome respite as lovely Venus (peace and harmony) makes a trine to Mars (energy and inspiration), smoothing out any rough edges. She also makes a sextile to Saturn (discipline and responsibility) which extends the effect of the Mars/Saturn combination as well. This helps us to focus the energy that is available after the powerful New Moon event in a practical way.

Photo from "Almost Nomad"' Flickr

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

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Sunday, December 09, 2007

Robert Hawkins: Astrological profile of the Mall Shooter

Last Thursday, December 5, a young man walked into a shopping mall in Omaha Nebraska and shot thirteen people, eight of them fatally, before turning the gun on himself. He left a suicide note saying that he was a piece of s&*t and that now he would be famous.

Nineteen year old Robert Hawkins had a long and troubled history of rage and depression. At the age of three his parents divorced, and by the age of six he was in trouble at school for biting and hitting his teachers. He became the subject of a messy custody dispute that included allegations of cocaine and drug use by Robert's mother. Robert's father subsequently gained sole custody and Robert was raised along with his father's two children with his new wife. By the time he was fourteen (the age when transiting Saturn opposes its place in the natal chart) he had been hospitalized twice for psychiatric illness. Counselors reported that Robert longed for the attention of his parents.

In 2002 he was sent to a treatment center for threatening to kill his stepmother, and made a ward of the state. He was treated for depression and was in foster care and various institutions and in 2005 was convicted of felony drug possession. In mid-2006 he moved in with two friends and their mother because of problems at home, but when his girlfriend broke up with him a few months ago his fragile mental condition began to deteriorate. He was arrested November 24 for underage possession of alcohol, and lost his job at McDonald's on December 2.

Hawkins' chart shows a rage problem, but certainly his chart is not more troubled than many others. His Taurus Sun is in a tight square to Mars in Aquarius which shows a tendency towards a powerful anger that is denied full expression. Taurus resists change and longs for stability, a stability which was denied to Hawkins in his childhood. Mars in Aquarius has a vivid imagination and tends to be both a rebel and a visionary as the inner drive (Mars) is fueled by a radical and revolutionary fervor (Aquarius). The square of Mars to the Sun shows an inner frustration as that rebellious individuality (Aquarian Mars) conflicts with the Taurean need for stability, resulting in the "oppositional defiant" label that was given him at an early age.

We don't know exactly where Hawkins' Moon was because we don't have the time of his birth, but we do know that it fell in Gemini and very likely conjunct Chiron which would describe his early abandonment (Chiron) by his mother (Moon) and a tremendous sense of loss and inner pain. Gemini is the sign of the twins and often there is a dark twin and a light one and an afflicted Moon can denote a deep sadness and sense of loss as the twins seek to reunite within oneself.

Uranus, Saturn and Neptune are all conjunct in Hawkins' chart, and all in retrograde motion indicating that these planets are operating at a deeper and more internal level. Saturn retrograde in the chart shows a strong tendency towards self-criticism and low self-esteem, and its conjunction to Uranus accentuates the rebellious nature as the radical Uranus bumps up against the Saturnian need to establish some kind of order in one's life. Both Uranus and Saturn oppose Venus exactly which reveals both a deep inner sense of failure and doubt as to his ability to receive love (Saturn/Venus) and difficult in connecting with others on any kind of real level (Uranus/Venus).

Often we find Jupiter transits occurring in the chart of troubled people who suddenly find the courage to react in this kind of violent rage to the disasters that their lives have become. Jupiter adds confidence and bestows a sense of righteousness that seems to release the inhibitions that have kept these people under control. At the time of the shooting, Jupiter and Pluto were approaching a conjunction in Sagittarius that made a tight sextile (harmonious aspect) to Mars in Hawkins' chart which seems to have lit the fuse that enabled him to emerge from his depressive fog and take this drastic step.

Since 2002 when Hawkins' problems began accelerating, transiting Pluto began working in the dark underbelly of his subconscious, beginning with his Mercury and then his Moon, followed by Chiron over the past year or so. A transit of Pluto over Chiron can be quite challenging for the individual who has not embraced a path of transformation as it can bring up all of our inner wounds (Chiron) and force a healing crisis. This process can be quite exhilarating if we are ready to let go of our inner demons, but if we allow ourselves to be consumed by them it's a different matter altogether. Pluto was edging dangerously close to its next phase of Hawkins' transformation, hitting Saturn/Uranus in his chart and therefore setting off Venus which resulted in the breakup with his girlfriend. This of course set off the whole devastation of his emotional deprivation (Saturn/Venus) which was ready to burn when the Mars fuse went off.

Another individual carrying this same astrological signature could have handled this chart much differently if he or she had the proper counseling and support in early life. The tragedy is that a young man with so much inner conflict experienced rejection over and over again in his personal life and was never able to know a stable family life that could have given him the tools he needed to be able to overcome his inner distress.

Labels: crime

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

---------------oOo--------------- I'm back!

Hello dear readers - I am back from my journey. This is the longest I've gone without blogging in two years! But I see that Dharmaruci and Neith have provided you with great articles while I've been gone and I can't wait to read them.


I'm working on a post about the young man who went on a shooting spree at a shopping mall in Omaha - he had a tight trine from Chiron (wounding and healing) to Mars which was aspected right now by the Jupiter/Pluto Sagittarius conjunction along with a taste of the upcoming Pluto entry into Capricorn.


Speaking of which - I promise I will finish the Pluto in Cap article over the next few days. But meanwhile, please note that we are currently in a heavily Sagittarian period with five planets in Sag including the Jupiter/Pluto conjunction which is exact tomorrow. This dynamic brings an intensification of the relentless optimism that has driven financial markets and created a thirst for happy talk that we've been seeing in American politics. Once we turn the Capricornian corner there is likely to be a new taste for realism and perhaps a rude shock for those who take the Sagittarian buoyancy too much for granted. Doors are opening now, but it's up to us to walk through them!

Posted by Lynn Hayes :: 2:21 PM :: |

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Saturday, December 08, 2007

Jupiter-Pluto and the End of the War on Terror?

Posted by Dharmaruci On 12th December there will be an exact conjunction of Jupiter and Pluto in Sagittarius. It relates to all sorts of things, such as the sub-prime scam and the bursting of the credit bubble. But it also has a lot to do with the War on Terror: Pluto is war and secret attacks, Sagittarius gives religious fundamentalism as the motive, which Jupiter can also suggest, as well as expanding it out of all proportion.

But conjunctions are beginnings/endings of cycles, so we may well see some new phase in the War on Terror. I use the chart for 9/11 for this war – 8.46am 11 Sept 2001, New York – and what I have been aware of this year is that the 9/11 chart had a Progressed New Moon in August, which again suggests the beginning of a new phase.

I think that this war takes place as much inside of George Bush’s head as anywhere else. It was him who first used the term, and he has since used it as a single category for any person/country who he considers to be an enemy of America. To start with, it was a war against those who had brought about 9/11. But none of the resulting military activity has actually had much to do with 9/11. And he’s fudged it, drawing in Iraq, Iran and North Korea, his ‘Axis of Evil’, as all somehow connected to this ‘war’.


The only attack America has had on its home territory in this ‘war’ was 9/11 itself; the only attack the UK has had (America’s main ally in this war) were the July bombings of 2005. Yet this ‘threat’ has been used to justify rafts of measures in both countries that undermine civil liberties. In the UK we know what it is like to be subject to a terrorist campaign, through the IRA bombings of the 1970s. That was real, and yet we did not need all these repressive measures throughout the country. OK, we had such measures in Northern Ireland itself, where most of the trouble was, but that was understandable. So this heightened state of security we have recently been living under is largely phoney.

Because it is phoney, you can only keep it up for so long, and the other night I suddenly had this sense of weariness about it, that the War on Terror is now old hat, it belongs to the past. Pluto in Sagittarius may be about fundamentalism, but it is also about truth, and as Pluto and Jupiter move out of Sag, truth may be what we are starting to get.

For the US, its 2 main theatres for this war are Iraq and Iran. Around the time of the progressed New Moon in August, things improved in Iraq, and have remarkably stayed that way; and just as Jupiter comes up to conjoin Pluto, all the American intelligence agencies say as one that Iran is not such a threat as we thought. So I think this war, at least as it is now, is slowly starting to end. The Iraq War Sun is at 29 Pisces, which Pluto will be squaring all of next year. This has the definite meaning of a new phase in the war, and I think a probable meaning that the war will be continuing to draw down – with no doubt the odd blip of increased bombings etc.

In the UK, just as Jupiter is coming up to conjoin Pluto, the Home Secretary has announced plans to increase from 28 to 42 days the time the police can detain a suspect without charging them. She has to get Parliament to agree to this. There seems to be a good chance they won’t agree, and I think the outcome may be a general sense that the crisis is not what it was.

I think that the period between the last Jupiter-Pluto conjunction in 1994 and the present one has been a particularly strong cycle. Astrologically, this is because each conjunction took place in the rulership sign of Jupiter or Pluto. In 1994, the sky-god Jupiter visited his brother Pluto in the Underworld; in 2007, Jupiter is returning the hospitality and hosting Pluto at his home on Mount Olympus.

In November 1994, 3 weeks before the conjunction, George Bush was elected governor of Texas, and the political career of this fundamentalist began. On the same day, the Republicans gained control of both Houses of Congress for the first time in 40 years, paving the way for the ascendancy of the neo-cons. In 2007, a week before the current conjunction, Bush has received a major political knockback over Iran, and this may come to be seen as the point at which his own jihad finally went into reverse.

Because I think it is a jihad, a ‘holy war’, that he has been waging. He wants us to think it is the Islamists who are the problem, but Bush himself embodies all those characteristics that he sees in his enemies. It is a classic case of projection. He is a religious fundamentalist who will go to any lengths to impose his own rigid view of the world on other peoples. Just like the Islamists.

So I think the 9/11 Progressed New Moon and the Jupiter-Pluto conjunction are between them pointing to a new phase, and probably a drawing down, of Bush’s War on Terror that has so dominated international relations for the last 6 years. It doesn’t mean that e.g. Iran’s nuclear ambitions won’t remain a major problem, but the way of dealing with it will be different.

For Pakistan, however, the problems with religious fundamentalism have yet to peak. President Musharraf’s position has been weakening for some time, and it seems to me to be just a matter of time before we have a nuclear armed Islamic fundamentalist state. Using astrocartography, this is reflected in Jupiter and Pluto being on the IC in Pakistan at the moment of their conjunction. It also opposes Pakistan's natal Mars at 0.35 Cancer – ‘violent religious revolution in the homeland’ – while at the same time Neptune is opposing the Pakistan Sun at 21 Leo (and Musharraf's Sun at 18 Leo), dissolving the present leadership. You don’t need the majority behind you to have a revolution, you can get away with quite a small minority if you are determined enough, which I think the Islamists are.

Labels: Jupiter/Pluto

Posted by Dharmaruci :: 7:01 AM :: |

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Friday, December 07, 2007

Mercury on My Mind

With Mercury currently moving through my 1st House and encouraging me to babble, some observations about Mercury in the natal chart have come to mind. There are several of us in the astro-blogosphere who have Mercury conjunct Mars natally. Mine is in Scorpio sitting on the 12th House side of the Ascendant inconjunct to Uranus in Gemini . . . lots of Mercury action there! One of my favorite astrologer/bloggers, Elsa P of Elsa Elsa.com, has Mars conjunct Mercury in Libra, and we all know what an amazingly prolific writer/blogger she is! Melody Zindell (Astrology and More) has Mercury in Gemini conjunct Mars. I know of several other people who share this astro-signature too. In fact, it’s an example of “affinities” between charts, giving us all a common denominator and a certain assertive turn of mind.

The way Mercury expresses its self in different signs and elements gives us all a decidedly different manner or approach to problem solving. To illustrate this, I will use myself and the young woman who replaced me as an office manager. She has her Mars/Mercury conjunction in Virgo as well as Sun in Virgo. I have an excellent visual memory and have a knack for finding just about anything if I’ve seen it. My organization style falls somewhere between neat & tidy and organized chaos – meaning I keep my work area clear but have vaguely ordered piles of papers, etc., sitting around. I could find things but nobody else could very easily. The first time I went by to help Ms Virgo after she had been there for about a week by herself, I was floored! My casual clutter was gone, replaced by extremely tidy files, all carefully labeled and if there were piles of paper, they were perfectly stacked and aligned. My former boss was thrilled because he shares her taste for what I see as excessive order. They both still call on occasion if they can’t find something . . . and I can usually direct them to its location.

My Aries SO has his Mercury conjunct Jupiter in Aries and is prone to painting a broader picture than I of the same event. One thing I’ve noted about Mercury in the Fire and Air signs is they often will be able to repeat a conversation verbatim. This is astonishing to me because I couldn’t do this to save my soul.

The women in my immediate family all have Mercury in Scorpio though we range from Libra to Sagittarius Suns. We are all good at ferreting out information when we put our minds to it. In fact, my mother and I had this ongoing “game” when I was growing up of her hiding my books and me finding them. She hid some Christmas gifts so well even she couldn’t remember where she put them! It’s tough to keep something hidden from someone with Mercury in Scorpio. =grin=

Mercury can be either Oriental or Occidental is relationship to the Sun. Oriental means it rises ahead of the Sun and in traditional astrology is more powerful; Occidental rises after the Sun. Modern astrologers tend to see Oriental planets as more subjective and vivid in expression and Occidental planets as more objective and cool in nature. My Mercury is Occidental and I know I tend to be quite objective and dispassionate in my thinking . . . unless I’m pissed about something, and then all bets are off because Mars is in charge. For those like me who get confused on what rising ahead of the Sun means, picture a chart with the Sun in the 1st House and Mercury in the 12th House – Mercury crossed the horizon ahead of the Sun meaning it’s Rising or Oriental!

Please feel free to share your thoughts on how you see Mercury operating in your chart or the charts of family and friends. A post on Mercury is a great place for feedback! Posted by Neith.

I ran outside in my birks to get this shot of a winter rainbow . . . too beautiful not to record!

Labels: Mercury

Posted by neith :: 11:14 AM :: |

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Thursday, December 06, 2007

Bits and Pieces...

Posted by Dharmaruci
Researchers think they may have found the first evidence of another universe. They have found a cold spot in the sky, where there are far less stars than there ought to be, and one explanation is the impinging of another universe at an earlier stage in the evolution of our own universe. A good one for Jupiter conjunct the Galactic Centre.

In the UK they’re trying to roll out super-fast broadband for which you need optical fibres. It costs vast amounts to dig up roads and lay new networks. So they’re using the sewage network. Is this an early sign of the upcoming square from Uranus (high tech) to Pluto (sewage)?

In a natal chart, the most powerful place for a star to be is on an Angle. The US Sibly chart has the star Betelgeuse conjunct the Descendant. This is one of the brightest stars in the sky, and the one most associated with unobstructed success. This does seem to characterise the history of the USA. The Descendant is associated (in Fixed Star astrology) with the later years of life, and it did take about 300 years from the first European settlers arriving in the early 17th century for the US to reach the heights of its success, when it took over from Britain as the world’s most powerful country.

Its good to see The Astrology Page Blog back. One nice point Susan Custer makes is that in traditional astrology, sex wasn’t associated with the 8th House, it was associated with the 5th, because it’s supposed to be fun!

Posted by Dharmaruci :: 9:30 AM :: |

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Wednesday, December 05, 2007

Understanding the Vertex Better

Posted by Neith. Lately I’ve been taking time to do more reading at Top Ten Sources for Astrology and have found some interesting paths to travel down. Just recently I happened across an article on the Vertex in the natal chart by Lynn Koiner. Now I have been looking at the Vertex in synastry because it cropped with great regularity especially if the relationship was an important one for the individuals involved. Pat Paquette (The Pisces Chronicles blog) was the first astrologer to bring the Vertex to my attention early this year and I’m very grateful to her for that!

The Vertex is almost always on the right hand side of the chart where we respond or react to other people’s urgings and attentions. Even those of us with an emphasis on the left hand side of chart as mine is still have to contend with the matters the Vertex is pointing up. In other words, in one particular respect it behooves us to listen to other people . . . something it takes a very self-directed sort like me more than a few years to comprehend. Reading what Lynn had to say really got my attention because her description of what it meant to have the Vertex in Cancer (as I have) fits extremely well. Here is what she said:

“Cancer: In this life, you will be pulled into dealing directly with the public, with the media, with the emotions of others—often this starts with the emotional issues in the family, depending upon the Vertex House position. In dealing with the emotional issues in your relationships with others, you will be drawn into soothing troubled water and nurturing others’ needs. You may also be drawn into dealing with issues connected with women in general. Cancer is the sign of the masses, mass trends and Universal Consciousness. This position can provide and opportunity to assess and spot trends on behalf of the public interest.
The natural tendency with the anti-vertex in Capricorn is to appear authoritative and unemotional. Now you are to learn compassion for the feelings of others. In this lifetime, you cannot let others down. You must get emotionally involved and care!”

Not only is my Vertex in Cancer but it falls in the 8th House, above the horizon in the chart and a Water House ruled by Scorpio in the Natural chart. Yes, this also goes along with a Scorpio Ascendant adding another layer to the pattern telling me it’s not only OK to deal with others emotional issues, it’s imperative to do so. Goes back to what Donna Cunningham said about the importance of being consistent and present when helping other Plutonians.

Since I’ve started looking at a lot of charts, both for clients and for blog posts, Vertex aspects between my chart and those who are drawn to my blog and me appear with great frequency. These demonstrations of how we are connected across time and distance always gives me pause – and a deeper appreciation for how wonderfully well Astrology can work.

If anyone else is interested in reading Lynn Koiner’s article, here is the link: Vertex in the Natal Chart

This is a painting by Ellen Hill (tseka) called "Sun in the Cedars". Finding Lynn Koiner's info on the Vertex sent a shaft on sunlight into my mind! Here is a link to Ellen's website, tseka: one dance

Labels: Vertex

Posted by neith :: 11:18 AM :: |

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Tuesday, December 04, 2007

GORDON BROWN'S CHAOS (Part 2)

Posted by Dharmaruci: I wrote in ‘Gordon Brown’s Chaos’ on 4th August this year: “There has been a remarkable run of uncontrollable national events in the mere 6 weeks since he has been Prime Minister [of the UK]. Within 2 days of him starting the job, there was a series of attempted terrorist attacks. Then we have had endless and unprecedented flooding in the UK . And in the last 24 hours there has been a confirmed outbreak of Foot and Mouth disease: when this last happened, it spun out of control very quickly and became a national crisis.”


Gordon Brown is known as a controlled, authoritarian personality. Yet he has Sun, Mars, Venus, Jupiter and Node in 12th House Pisces. My suggestion was that these unacknowledged inner riches in his chart get projected outwards into uncontrollable events on a national scale. It’s a bit like the teenage poltergeist phenomenon being played out on a huge canvas.

In the last couple of months, there has been a new series of uncontrollable events, but happening much closer to home for Brown. It is as though the outward projection of his own romantic, chaotic nature is cracking, the nightmare monster has now reached the back yard, but it isn’t yet through the door.


What we have had is a media frenzy around an expected autumn election which he then suddenly called off; a run on a bank, the first for 140 years; the loss of confidential data (by his old department) on 15 million UK citizens; and now there is a major scandal over party funding involving his deputy, Harriet Harman. They’ve all been gob-smacking, like you can’t quite believe something like that could have happened.


In most of these cases Brown was not directly involved, but they have all reflected badly on the competence of his government (unlike the earlier uncontrollable events). And it is his competence more than anything that Brown prides himself on. If he can be super-competent, than the nightmare monster cannot (he hopes) get in; yet that is exactly what seems to be happening. It is his worst fear, his greatest humiliation.

It is funny how life sets us up sometimes to learn exactly what we need to learn. We’re allowed a certain amount of necessary achievement and success, and then (if we’re lucky) it all begins to go wrong: Pluto or Neptune comes along and pulls our life apart, it’s very painful at the time, but it means we can move on to the next stage in our life.

And I think there is a good case that this is what is happening with Brown. He has had his achievement, he had 10 glorious years as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Now it is time for him to address some of his limitations, to become more whole. Pluto has set him up, if you like, by dangling in front of him a job he can't resist, that of Prime Minister. But after 10 years of Labour in power, the job is now a poisoned chalice. Pluto is currently fast moving in on Brown’s Chiron-MC in early Capricorn and it is all starting to go wrong for him.


I like using keywords for the pairs of Houses, and the 6th-12th axis I call order versus chaos. As you can see, Brown has a very full Piscean 12th House, which he seems not to be able to acknowledge (as a good son of the Manse). In the opposite House of Order we find Saturn, in square to his Capricorn Chiron-MC. The MC is how the world sees us, and in Brown’s case it is Capricorn: responsible, competent, ambitious. But it is square to his 6th House Saturn, the ruler of Capricorn: this strengthens his MC, but also weakens it, it makes one-sided Saturn his undoing (Chiron is also saying this). As does Saturn’s 6th House opposition to his full 12th House. And Pluto at the start of the 6th suggests that it is through hard work that he feels his power and confidence, but being Pluto, it will also be his undoing if it is not authentic, if it does not involve his whole being.

So there we have it. A romantic, creative, indolent, compassionate man crippled by a one-sided adherence to Saturn: you are only what you achieve and are seen to achieve; you must be perfect; it is only through hard work that you will enter the kingdom of heaven. And Pluto (fortunately for him) will ensure that this one-sidedness ultimately disempowers him.

Uranus is natally conjunct Brown’s IC, making a t-square with his Saturn and Chiron-MC. Uranus introduces unpredictability and instability. He’s saying “Look Gordon, I know you want to pin everything down and create structure and order, but you go too far, and it makes me feel like I’m in a cage and I’ll just keep going off pop - I can’t help it, and I’m an outer planet, so I’ll come at you through outer events. It’s not personal, it’s just that I’m part of you and you’ve got to let me live.”

And it’s all happening in the next 2 to 3 years. In 2008 Pluto will conjoin his Chiron and square his Saturn, and 2 years later will conjoin his MC and oppose his IC-Uranus, by which time there has to be a general election – appropriately during his 2nd Saturn Return, a time for experiencing the consequences of your actions.

So the way it’s looking at present, Brown is going to keep trying to be super-competent and in control, and events are going to keep exploding in his face, and it’s going to get closer and closer to home, it’s going to hurt him and his personal reputation more and more. I think Pluto may be intent on destroying him over the next few years, but with his 10 years of success as Chancellor behind him, he may be able to take it and be changed by it. Unlike, it seems, his predecessor Tony Blair, who has had Neptune to deal with, and who seems to be becoming more messianic and fundamentalist than ever.

Labels: Britain, International politics

Posted by Dharmaruci :: 5:39 AM :: |

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Monday, December 03, 2007

The Natal Chart in Synastry, Part 4 – Saturn

Published by Neith, on Neith on Synastry. Saturn has gotten a lot of bad press over the years yet he has been my saving grace more often than not when Neptune, Uranus or Pluto embroiled me in their fun and games. As an astrologer, I look to Saturn in the natal chart to show how the individual handles their responsibilities to others and themselves. In fact, if we don’t learn to be responsible to ourselves first, the chances of us being there for others is not too great.

As a person with a natal out-of-sign Sun/Saturn square, I grew up with one or the other of my parents (Saturn) keeping my nose to the grindstone. We had a small family farm and we all had lots of chores to do. In general people with Saturn in aspect to their Sun, no matter the nature of the aspect, are often given responsibilities at an early age and are pretty much going to be made to attend to them. The effect of a Sun/Saturn aspect on how we relate as adults is often dependant on other aspects to our Suns. If we have a Jupiter or Venus aspect to the Sun natally, we will tend to develop a more optimistic outlook, and be less likely to choose a “parent” for a partner. If not, it may take several Saturn cycles including the Saturn Return to help us realize how valuable we are.

The Moon in aspect to Saturn has a sobering effect on our emotions and habits. We are often like Moon in Capricorn, very cautious and aware of where we fit into our social group; and likely to be “old” when we are young and “young” as we age. With a natal Moon/Saturn sextile myself, I know this pattern well. Saturn can have a dampening effect on the Moon, making one lean towards choosing friends and lovers based on whether they are reliable rather than exciting. That is unless Uranus is also aspecting the Moon, then all bets are off!

Venus in aspect to Saturn?! I have one of those too. With Venus in Sagittarius in the 1st House, having Saturn trine to it probably keep me from doing too many wild and crazy things. However, it’s possible with Venus in aspect to Saturn to be so conventional and hedged about by the need to fit in; all the fun can be drained out of life. This aspect is the one most associated with undervaluing our feeling of being desirable. Here again if we are patient with Saturn’s lessons we can learn how to unfold our wings and transform our self-image. People with Venus/Saturn aspects are sometimes the ones who undertake a healthy diet and exercise program to very good effect – mostly because they stay with it long enough to see real results. We attract partners who appreciate someone who demonstrates reliability, not very romantic but good for lasting relationships with others.

When it comes to Mars/Saturn aspects natally, I have to go with what I’ve observed in others, like my sister who has Mars conjunct Saturn in Cancer. She can work longer and harder without letting up than anyone I know – except for others with Mars in close aspect to Saturn. This aspect can cause deep frustration of the need to act but at the same time it gives great endurance. Mars/Saturn aspects function similarly to Mars in Capricorn, one of the placements of Mars said to give one a steady sex drive but very controlled. This aspect suggests this individual is going to take their time before committing to a relationship but if they do, they’ll be around for the long haul. Sometimes Saturn can give Mars a fear of taking action and lead to a situation of complete impasse.

With an accurate birth time, we can also find out if Saturn is conjunct the Ascendant or Midheaven in the chart. Those with Saturn on the Ascendant tend to present a dour face to the world even if they are fun loving and sociable in privacy. If we wish to draw a partner more in tune with who we are at home, we need to keep in mind to show this self more often. Saturn on the Midheaven is an indicator of someone who is all business on the job even if they are a party animal away from the office. In both these cases, it usually pays to take the time (Saturn) to get to know them in different settings.

This is more or less the cliff notes version of how Saturn works natally. I highly recommend getting a hold of a copy of Liz Greene’s book, “Saturn: a new look at an old devil”. Almost every astrologer I’ve ever talked agrees this book is the definitive source of information on Saturn. My copy is well read because it’s a staple reference book in my astrology library. Lynn has a link for this book on her right hand sidebar! :-)

This is the World tarot card from Toni Allen's amazing deck. The World card represents Saturn, interestingly enough.

Labels: Compatibility, Saturn

Posted by neith :: 11:08 AM :: |

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Sunday, December 02, 2007

TECUMSEH'S CURSE and the US JUPITER

Posted by Dharmaruci: Every US President from 1840 to 1960 who has been elected in a year ending in a zero has died in office. This phenomenon has been attributed to what is known as Tecumseh’s Curse, which appeared to have broken, or at least weakened, by the time Ronald Reagan was elected in 1980: there was an assassination attempt a few months after Reagan began his term, but he survived.

There is a well-known astrological correspondence to Tecumseh’s Curse, which is that there has always been a Jupiter-Saturn conjunction within a year or so of the ‘zero’ Presidents being elected. Until the discovery of Uranus, Neptune and Pluto, Jupiter and Saturn were the 2 outermost planets, and so very much the significators of world events and their cycles. When they conjoin (about every 20 years) a whole new cycle begins.

Saturn (authority) and Jupiter (King of the Gods) are both connected to leadership, so if this curse is/was real, it would not be surprising to find a correspondence to the Saturn-Jupiter cycle. That there is in fact a correspondence suggests to me that the curse is real.

So what was different about 1980? What happened was that the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction moved from being in an earth sign (which it had been all along) to an air sign. It has shifted element, and won’t be back in the earth element for a few centuries. The curse, it appears, has run its course.

It’s not quite as clean cut as that, however, because the conjunction returned to the earth element one final time in 2000, the year George Bush was elected. He has one year left in office, so we shall have to see if he makes it. His chart doesn’t seem to have particularly strong death indicators, and what happened to Reagan suggests that the curse is at best weakened.

Tecumseh was a Native American leader who spent much of his life trying to rally disparate tribes in mutual defence of their lands. The curse, for which there seems to be no documentation (nor would we expect there to be), arose out of his loss to General Harrison at the Battle of Tippecanoe on 7 November 1811.


Tecumseh is said to have declared:

"'Harrison will win next year to be the Great Chief….... He will die in his office….. I who caused the Sun to darken and Red Men to give up firewater tell you Harrison will die. And after him, every Great Chief chosen every 20 years thereafter will die. And when each one dies, let everyone remember the death of our people."

In fact Harrison became President 29 years later, in 1840, but he did die in office, after just 31 days, suggesting the Curse was pretty powerful. What I don't think has been looked at is the chart for 7 Nov 1811, which could be seen as a chart for the Curse. It yields some very interesting results.

Planets that are stationing in a chart – i.e. motionless in the sky as they change direction – are unusually powerful, and in this chart for Tecumseh’s Curse we find Pluto (death, curse) and Jupiter (leader) stationing retrograde. Not only that, but Jupiter at 5.58 Cancer is within 11 minutes of the US natal Jupiter at 5.47 Cancer!

Traditionally, it is the Sun and Saturn we look to for Kings, while Jupiter is Princes. But you could say that the US President is more of a Prince than a King. A King has the job for life, he comes from a lineage, and he has the solid authority that goes with that. Democracy only produces princes, because they do not have this authority. They just have the job for a few years, and they have to play to the gallery to get and to keep their job. They are lightweight.

So US Presidents are Jupiter, not Sun or Saturn, and the chart for Tecumseh’s Curse supports this.

If we progress the Curse Chart, what we find is Jupiter going Retrograde for the following century, during which time it passed into late Gemini. In 1916 it began to go Direct, and in 1966 it returned to its original sign of Cancer, on the way to completing its journey (in 2002) back to where it began. Looking at it this way, the Curse was over in 2002, and it was considerably weakened in 1966, when Jupiter returned to Cancer, which is perhaps why Reagan survived his assassination attempt in 1981.

So what about this idea of Jupiter being the President? The hard transits from Pluto and Neptune over the last century are interesting.

Pluto conjoined the US Jupiter in 1920, when Warren Harding, who died in office 3 years later, was elected. Pluto squared this Jupiter in 1974, when Nixon was forced to resign.

Neptune opposed the US Jupiter in 1945, when Roosevelt died in office. And Neptune squared it in 1986/87, a period when many suspect the US had a President in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease.

The next hard transit is an opposition from Pluto in 2011, so we will have to see what that brings. But if the President dies, it won't be due to Tecumseh. Maybe by then we will have 'Bin Laden's Curse' or 'Ahmadinejad's Curse'?

Labels: Jupiter/Saturn, US chart

Posted by Dharmaruci :: 5:35 AM :: |

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Saturday, December 01, 2007

Guest bloggers for you!

I'll be on a real vacation next week, so I've asked Dharmaruci and Neith to cross-post here. I'll probably post some vacation pix on my personal journal and I might stop in here a few times too. Have a great week!

Posted by Lynn Hayes :: 12:08 PM :: |

---------------oOo--------------- Skywatch for December is posted!

It's not surprising that there have been so many fires in the news over the past few weeks, since we are experiencing a preponderance of the fire element. With four planets in fire signs and Mars, the most fiery of planets, having recently turned retrograde and still moving extremely slowly through the water sign of Cancer, the fire element rules the beginning of December. Fire generates activity; it provides inspiration and fuel to achieve that which needs to be done. It is energizing and captivating, but it can also burn out quickly without the stabilizing power of earth which is in short supply at the moment.

The only planet in an earth sign now is Saturn in Virgo, which is challenging (Saturn) the manner in which we live in a body (Virgo). The body and the mind are not well integrated with this kind of fire and earth imbalance which can cause problems for those of us who are not well-grounded or who lack earth in their own charts. The water element is well-represented, and this cools some of the fire but can also sap our energy if we're not careful. Later in the month when Jupiter and Mercury enter the earthy sign of Capricorn it will become easier to find our footing.

Saturn has slowed down to a crawl in anticipation of its retrograde turn on December 8, and will move only one-quarter of a degree in the next 45 days. When a planet is "stationary" like this its influence becomes more powerful. It's as if a car with a loud boombox is parked outside your house, rattling your windows and creating a need to resolve the situation. With Saturn in Virgo there is a need to care for the mundane details of life: our health, our work situation, our day-to-day routines.

We are remarkably free from major planetary cycles at the moment except for the approaching conjunction of Jupiter to Pluto which will be exact later this month. The final meeting of Jupiter and Pluto in Sagittarius is the culmination of the relentless optimism that Pluto in Sagittarius has brought us since 1995. Expanding stock markets, housing markets - Pluto in Sag has witnessed the bursting of all kinds of bubbles. That optimism is waning but it is still alive; I expect that once Jupiter and Pluto both enter Capricorn we will see a hard bump into reality. Mercury enters Sagittarius on December 1st which will enhance that optimism for a while, so enjoy the ride while it lasts for the next few weeks!

Read more here, and you can sign up for a subscription on my website.

Posted by Lynn Hayes :: 11:55 AM :: |

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