Author: Joan Porte

Juno the Loyalty Goddess in Retrograde

First I want to thank the people at “Dell Horoscope” for their wonderful review of “Signs of the Tines: The Ultimate Astrological Cookbook,” which can be read on my website wwww.signsofthetines.com – under “press.” I have written a lot about the “big” retrogrades we are under right now – Pluto, Neptune, etc. The big boys and girls. We do have a fairly prominent asteroid also in retrograde, that is, Juno, the goddess of loyalty – the consort. When she is strong in a birth chart – and hovers around the 7 – 8 houses the person will be looking for a committed relationship – sometimes to a fault. I have seen many strong Juno’s cause a person to stick with a highly unfavorable mate because they are stuck on that need to be committed to someone no matter what! However, what does it mean when Juno, like now, is in retrograde? Well this is a time to find fault in relationships – to want to tear down and analyze what isn’t making us tick. Someone born with Juno in retrograde will have to work harder to find that “one and only” and to make it work for all parties. Right now Juno is retrograded in the rebellious planet of Uranus. Depending on where Juno is in your natal chart – you can be doing a lot of questioning about the relationships that you are in. Remember it is Juno – don’t make any rash decisions! I wonder if the little “tiff” in the Republican Party has something to do with Juno. There are the rebels our “Tea Party” – ah pals – who are questioning the loyalty of what is left of the normal GOP. I for one love watching what is going on and thank Juno for stirring up a wee bit of trouble. 🙂

DOG DAYS AND BLUE MOONS

As a kid I always remember hearing about the “Dog Days of Summer.” I didn’t have a clue what it meant but it ws hot and humid and the dogs were panting and lying down more than usual so it must have something to do with it – so I decided dog days are hot summer days in August. Little did I know that, of course, had roots in ancient astrology. It is the time of year when the star Sirius (called Canis Major, or the Dog Star) can be seen in the eastern sky just before dawn. Dog Days! Of course!  Well we are now in the dog days and watery days they are. 
All the big slow guys,  Jupiter, Saturn and Neptune in water signs and will be for the foreseeable future. You know water loves to delve deeply into the emotional issues and with Neptune being in retrograde – you can expect those emotional issues to be backing up on you – particularly if you are not getting in touch with them. Use the time to assess emotional issues – don’t keep pushing them under the rug. 
OK now August 21 is going to be a hum-dinger because Jupiter, Uranus and Pluto will be in a t-square  – that is a bunch of oppositions – Jupiter – Pluto and then a square to Uranus. Emotions will be ragged – oh and did I mention that Pluto is also retrograded. You will feel “picked on” and judged and can find yourself and others lashing out at each other for reasons that are not the real ones. “You made the door slam again could be a cover up for “Why don’t you ever listen to me?” on the 23rd and 24th Venus and the Moon get hung up in this mess. Oh great the goddess of love and the one of emotions in a vast, difficult square with the watery big guys. Everyone remember to count to 10 please! 
It might not be a good time to tell you this but there will be a “Blue Moon” on the 20th – the second full Moon of the month it that unique and rebellious sign of AQUARIUS.  Yeah folks – hold on to your wigs – this is going to be a bumpy week. Better go outside and play with the dogs! 

The Tale of Two Leo Presidents

Two recent Presidents were born under the Sun Sign of Leo. But just to show you how little the Sun Sign means to a full chart analysis let’s look at these two men, President Clinton and President Obama to see how that Leo energy manifests in their chart.

First, President Clinton whose birthday is later this week. His Leo Sun is in the eleventh house, the house of group and social interactions – well yes, he does excel at that, don’t you think? However, look at his first house, the house of personality. It is opened by Libra – the sign that demands interaction with other people  – it is a people sign and Libra rising people can even exhibit co-dependent traits. Libra loves human interaction! Mars right on the ascendant! Holy Cow – the god of war – the raw energy of Mars also in the sign of “other” – and one degree away from his rising sign.  I have to make myself heard and seen not only in a crowd but to everyone. Love me please, love me! (Chiron also in the first,  the wounded warrior shows how much he really needs to be love and accepted by others.)

Neptune sits on Mars – well you know Neptune – the obfuscater – that helps that President well shall we say distort his version of things from time to time! Adding Venus to the mix – the goddess of love and romance – oh let’s not rehash that. You get the picture.

All in all he has a stellium – more than 5 planets and asteroids in Libra in or bordering the first house. Even if his talent was in shoe sales and not politics he would be the town’s best known, most affable and most avuncular show salesman. He can’t help it. Is a a person who needs people.

President Obama, also a Leo Sun, has a vastly different first house. His rising sign is not people loving, people needing Libra, but aloof and cool Aquarius. Aquarius loves all Mankind but he isn’t too interested in getting down and dirty with people every day – he feels your pain but doesn’t want to learn too much about it. Where Libra is all about other – Aquarius is a very cerebral, very detached sign – they are smarter than the average bear – know what needs to be done and expect everyone to just do it without any fuss or muss. 
His Sun is in the 6th house the house of work and service. So he firmly believes if he keeps his head down and keeps working the noise will dissipate. Unfortunately, the noise of opposition  is too determined to just go away but since they are illogical to the Aquarius mind he just doesn’t imagine that he has to address them as serious. 
President Obama’s South Node is in the first house – and like Clinton, the Chiron, wound issue. (I wonder how many people who carry a deep wound in the first turn to politics for acceptance?) So he is carrying a lot of deep issues inside him that are just below the surface – which again translate to caution.
To Leo’s – two Presidents – vastly different men!

Grand Cross – Drama or Just Awakening?

I am feeling annoyed…not terribly annoyed because I am in Maine taking in the breezes, the lobster and ocean air – but as annoyed as one can be in this situation.The reason for my consternation is the talk about the coming of the April 23 grand cross. As you might recall I went heard two speakers weave a tale of horror and destruction that will occur when this grand cross occurs; i.e., the EU will fail, our dollar will be gone, mass economic and political upheaval will occur and a new world order will arise from the gloom! 

A grand cross is when four planets are in opposition to each other. In this case we will have retrograded Pluto in Capricorn opposing Jupiter in Cancer and Uranus in Aries opposing Mars in Libra. These planets will be in cardinal signs. There are three kinds of signs, mutable, cardinal and fixed. The mutable signs are easy going – go along and get along, The fixed signs have more stubborn in nature and cardinals are the movers the shakers, the doers. Hence, the doom and gloom – the god of War, the god of expansion, the god of quick change and the god of slow change all pulling against each other and in cardinal signs – each grasping for their piece of the pie!

Any type of cross, square or opposition is a difficult time but not always horrible – without them we would not have change – not have awakenings. Someone with a birth chart overloaded with “positive” aspects can have a rather boring and unfulfilled life because they have no mountains to climb. I keep thinking what are these gloomy astrologers going to tell people born on April 23, 2014 – OH you will have a terrible life? Instead of seeing this time as a nightmare I am hoping that people will throw off the old ways and say we are tired of waiting around – we want to move forward! Cardinal signs want action. Perhaps people will be tired of stalemates and do-nothing politicians and those who want to bring our country back into the Stone Age. 

I am not saying there won’t be some violence – there could be an aspect of “taking it to the street.” Bad things could happen at that time but I am not comfortable with saying the only result will be total destruction of the social order. 

Change is not always easy but let’s use it as a time to break bonds, break stalemates and demand the end to inertia. Energy release is energy release – it is up to us to make it constructive and not destructive. Let’s not paint an ending before we have even started and let’s encourage people to use a rough time to yield a positive outcome!

A Royal Tizzy

Oh my, it seems some people in the astrological community have their royal panties in a wad over the royal baby! Is he a Cancer Sun or Leo Sun – it is a topic that is quite the sticky wicket. The new Prince George of Cambridge had the dastardly audacity to be born on a day that the Sun moves from one sign to another and at just about the exact moment the deed was being done. On July 22 the Sun moves from Cancer to Leo – earlier in the day it is at 29 degrees Cancer and later it tips into 0 Leo. 
Do please pardon me as I partake in a wee bit of astrological esoterica. There are many different house systems that astrologers use; some use units of time to divide the sky into 12 houses and some use degrees of distance. I know it would be “loverly” if we could all get along and there be one standard system but life is messy. I like Koch and Porphyry myself but there is also Placidus and a few others. The differences are minuscule and usually unnoticed unless someone is born on the razor’s edge. (For we Yanks it is sort of like a Presidential election in Florida.)
The little imp was born at 4:24 PM London time. When I heard the news I jumped on the computer and cast a chart in Koch which showed the Sun at 0 Leo Sun. I went with it and wrote my blog entry for the day which was placed here and on another site.  You would have thought I said that kid was the direct reincarnation of Oliver Cromwell! No, no I heard from some sources – he is 29 degrees Cancer, you fool. He is a Cancer Sun like his father and his late grandmother Diana – he is of the Cancerian line and at 29 degrees which is a very karmic placement we have family karma… Diana karma! He must be a Cancer Sun you silly wench!
Sorry but I don’t do astrology to make cute stories fit. I remember 30 years ago when astrologers were running stories about Diana and Charles and how “wonderful” the marriage would be. I was looking at those charts saying HUH – this is going to suck. (I have published the article I wrote then on the blog.) Yes it is romantic and it is what people want to hear but if it isn’t true I am not writing it!

 I have since run the baby’s chart in 2 other house systems and they show 0 Leo. The funny thing is – the really funny thing is folks – in karmic astrology your Sun sign doesn’t amount to a pile of fish and chips. Unless it is aspecting one of the nodes or Pluto or doing something similarly earth shattering it really isn’t that key. I have done many a chart interpretation with very little reference to the Sun sign. Sun sign astrology is a Western construct that has done a lot of confuse and bewilder people – sort of like the question, “what does the Queen put in that purse?”

Besides the kid is dripping in Cancerian influence – his Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Lilith and Pallas Athena are all in Cancer so he will be touchy-feely enough for everyone. So let’s have a spot of tea, a crumpet or two and relax – all very Cancerian things to do by the way. 

Full Moon Royal Baby – Born to Bring Change!

. 

I get a strong feeling from his chart that the new royal baby is going to use his Capricorn Moon to brood over the power and luxury he was born into and then, when he takes control of the throne, and with that force of his incredible 7thhouse – modernizes, changes and brings his country into the new century in a way that is remembered for a very long time.  

The new British royal baby boy who was born today at 4:24 PM London time just shy of a total full Moon. Had he waited a few more hours it would have been complete but with the Moon just 2 degrees away from Aquarius and the Sun already 0 degrees Leo – well it is close enough. 

We consider the Moon “full” when it appears totally lit and round.  This is because it is the furthest from the Sun and is out of the grasp of the its rays. The Moon is always “full” we just can’t see it when the sunlight is normally hogging a lot of the space.

Full Moon babies sometimes have a hard time connecting to their  emotions. Expressing their emotions, understanding them, feeling and channeling them will all be hurdles to conquer. During those times when the Moon goes “full” every month, if it is a constellation that activates his Natal Moon, he is going to be a bit off kilter for a day or so. 

I find it interesting that his Moon is in Capricorn. Capricorn Moon people are more serious and might even be prone to depression and with his Moon squaring Saturn I would alert the family to watch for depression and because the Moon is in the 2nd house of self-worth he might have to learn that he is “worthy” of the office he has been assigned to a birth. Still a monarch with a serious Capricorn Moon will serve him better than a more loosey-goosey Aquarius Moon. 

Speaking of Saturn – what issues is he going to have with daddy? He has Saturn right on the North Node – which again makes him more serious but also makes him more prone to have daddy issues.

However, that Saturn North Node placement is even more important in light of his profession! Follow me here.
Nodally speaking, he has his past life indicator of the South Node in Taurus in the 5th house and his North Node – where he should be going to in this life – in Scorpio in the 11th.  He shares that placement with such luminaries as Charles Darwin and Abraham Lincoln – not too shabby.  Taurus South Node people are comfortable relying on their physical self – they withhold, withstand and are as stubborn as all get-out. His Venus (ruler of Taurus) is in Virgo – so you want someone who gets a goal in his head and never budges – well watch this baby as he grows! No one will get him off course!

Scorpio 11th house North Node people are fulfilled when they bring about some great social change. Now back to Saturn on the North Node. Saturn represents all male authority structures – like say a 1000 year old monarchy for instance!  He will fulfill his North Node if he stubbornly sticks to his guns and brings about vast and lasting change to the monarchy.

Like his late grandmother Diana, the baby has Sagittarius rising. This is good for several reasons. Sag. rising people are outgoing, athletic, inquisitive and good at people skills. The ruler of Sagittarius is Jupiter and his is right in the middle of a powerful stellium in the 7thhouse. In his 7th house, the house of intimate and contractual relations, Jupiter is joined by Mars, Mercury, Lilith and Pallas Athena all in the compassionate water sign of Cancer. This is where he will excel, with leading people by his action and his words – to take up the causes of the down-trodden or showing people how they can help and nurture people.
Pluto is still in retrograde and his is again on that tricky 2nd house – so he is going to work hard on feeling that he is doing something to earn his position. As long as he doesn’t beat himself up that should be OK.

The retrograde that I find really funny is Uranus in the 4th. That is an indicator of being born into a unique and rather odd family and having an interesting and even difficult childhood. Well , yeah we can all see that can’t we?

Grand Cross 2014 – Doomsday???

I recently attended a seminar on the astrology and the chart of the United States. As I mentioned before, the US is coming into its first Pluto Return as a nation and Pluto is a planet that “makes you an offer you can’t refuse – change or else!” With Pluto in our 2nd house of wealth, resources and financial stability it is no wonder that we are experience in great trauma around the banking industry, jobs and savings. When Pluto finally reaches the closest point with our natal Pluto around 2021 we will have undergone a major change in these areas. However, the question that begs is, what kind of change will that be?

Two of the speakers at this seminar, spent their entire segments painting a dire picture of effects of the April 23, 2014 grand cross. A grand cross is when four planets are in opposition to each other. In this case we will have retrograded Pluto in Capricorn opposing Jupiter in Cancer and Uranus in Aries opposing Mars in Libra. These planets will be in cardinal signs. There are three kinds of signs, mutable, cardinal and fixed. The mutable signs are easy going – go along and get along, The fixed signs have more stubborn in nature and cardinals are the movers the shakers, the doers. Hence, the doom and gloom – the god of War, the god of expansion, the god of quick change and the god of slow change all pulling against each other and in cardinal signs – each grasping for their piece of the pie!

Among the predictions are the collapse of the EU, the fall of the dollar, massive rioting in Spain, Greece and Syria and a new social order rising out of the economic disaster this cross will bring.

I don’t know I am a bit skeptical. I mean Y2K, the Mayans – haven’t we been doomed and gloomed before?  I will say that with Mars in the 2nd and Uranus in the 8th we can see some big movement by the 99 percent against the power of the 1 percent and some major economic upheaval..but is that always a bad thing? Yes, there could be some riots, there could be some economic issues but do I see the total collapse of the Western economic system? I don’t think so.

We have been in a Uranus Pluto square for months and that will continue – which is why nothing has gotten done anywhere for a long time. Jupiter’s expansion will break that energy. So something will happen – and it could be something big but they will have to go a little further to convince me to start hiding my pennies in the mattress.

Saturn in Scorpio – on the USA Chart

Last time I spoke about Pluto and the Pluto return America is about to undergo. There will be more on that and the Grand Cross of 2014 later but this week I promised a look at Saturn in Scorpio. Saturn moved into Scorpio on October 20, 2012 and will remain there until December 23, 2014. (It will retrograde back in for a few months June – September 2015.)

Saturn is called the task master of the zodiac. It makes us color within the lines. Generally considered a malefic planet, we often forget that without Saturn we would live in timeless anarchy. In medical astrology Saturn controls the bones and teeth. Indeed, where would we bewithout Saturn?

With it’s turn in Scorpio, Saturn will make us delve deeply into the houses it transits rooting out secrets and bringing the hidden to light.

“Natally the United States has Saturn in Libra in the 10th house (the house of government and authority and the natural house for Saturn) conjunct the asteroid Juno, the goddess of loyalty. It is no wonder we are known for stability but also for our tendency to tell others how to run their governments (Libra loves to meddle.)  Right now, transiting Saturn is on our 11th house, the house of social contacts and interactions, conjunct another asteroid, Ceres, the mother nurturer. If that weren’t enough, Saturn by progression (how it has progressed since our birth) is also in the 11th and conjunct the Moon.

I see two manifestations of this placement. The first is the sudden acceptance of gay marriage both by the public and more surprisingly the Supreme Court. What was hidden is now socially acceptable – what is a better way to express Scorpio – and Saturn in the 11th  brings that to public social and government arena.

The other manifestation is sadder, that is the Trayvon Martin  death and verdict. To date the verdict has brought people out of their homes and onto the streets in mostly peaceful protests to say this is no longer acceptable – a young black man’s life has value and he can’t be targeted. The racial secrets must be brought to the surface in a public arena. Hopefully, these protests will be turned into political action. Then there will be some long lasting value to this death.

Pluto Return for USA

I have to admit I didn’t “feel it” this 4th of July…it was a pretty quiet day and I didn’t even think to put my flag out, something I do every year. Things have been in overdrive for me lately but there was something more. I just wasn’t in the mood to celebrate.
It got me thinking of our country and the general sense of ennui so many of us have. We can’t get anything done, the infrastructure is falling apart, we are at least ten years behind in cell phone technology, our immigration policy sucks, we are letting other countries beat us at renewable energy and all we hear about are fat old men talking about women’s bodies and people’s sex lives. 
Then it hit me. Pluto is in Capricorn. American was “born” the last time Pluto was in Capricorn, we are in our Pluto return which will hit its apex in 2020. Any “return” of a slow planet is big because that energy returns to where it was at birth and asks the question, what have you done with yourself since I last visited. People never experience a Pluto return unless they are Methuselah’s grandfather. It takes over 250 years for Pluto to walk around the Sun. Any return is a time of stress, of reassessment
Of course, when the planet hit Capricorn in 2008, it did what we expected – cause big change in the structure of society like the banking system. Secrets of the rich and powerful were uncovered (i.e. Penn State, Catholic Church.) It also caused some other troubling changes such as the corporate personhood.  Pluto brings change and Capricorn deals with authority, government – the fabric of society. 
So what does this mean for the country as Pluto grinds through Capricorn? Frankly I don’t think anyone knows. I have read several articles on the subject. There are the requisite number of “the sky will fall and we will all go back to a nature-based people: America will be no more” articles. I expected that. Astrology has its fair share of alarmists.
My personal take is that government secrets will continue to come out and there will be more scandals and secrets. While I don’t think America will be no more, I do think it will be a vastly different place in 2024 – aware finally that we wasted almost 2 decades appeasing the lunatic right while the world marched on and we will realize what most already know – we are no longer number one.
Pluto was retrograded when America was born – perhaps we will right that backwards movement. Maybe our government will be more responsive to the people not just the rich ones? Perhaps we will head into Pluto Aquarius with a real sense of what is important and work together to catch up what we lost when asleep. I can always hope….

Next time – what does Saturn in Scorpio mean to the US?

Ken Cuccinelli – Full of Surprises

We have a hum-dinger of an off year gubernatorial election in Virginia this year. Sadly, Virginia has a bad record in off year elections – mostly because those of us in North don’t like to vote in off year elections and the results are often disastrous. This year could have the same results this year if we don’t muster the votes in the North.

The Republican nominee is Ken Cuccinelli who is as right wing tea party as they come. You know the type, the government should be out of your life except if you are female then it should be in your life, your body and every decision you can even conceive of making. (And yes I used that word on purpose.)

I wondered what made this creature tick astrologically and frankly assumed that he had an Aries south node – you know I do – I am – you follow – and that is it and no more. Silly me – you know what they say about assuming? He is actually the opposite – A Libra South Node. Libra? The co-dependent, super-people person sign of Libra? Was my eyesight going?

Even though we don’t know the birth time, the S Node will remain the same throughout the day so it really doesn’t matter. Yes indeed, he is coming from a Libra existence. What also caught my eye is his current Mercury Mars in Cancer -the sign of the caring mother. This can only mean one thing to me  – as odd as it seems he really believes the nonsense he is slinging!

With his South Node conjunct the Moon and Pallas all in Libra he is emotionally invested in taking up the cause of meddling into everyone’s personal life (Libra.) With Libra’s ruler, Venus, in the sign of the kingly Leo – he is stubbornly attached to this past life persona. Add in all of that mother energy of Cancer – he really thinks he is helping people! Argh

It doesn’t help that Cancer and Libra are Cardinal signs – the sign of the doer – the achiever.

He has a predominance of Cardinal -and fixed signs  -stubborn leadership energy – this guy isn’t going away and heave help Virginia if he gets any more power.  There will be no limits to his Libra meddling.