State of the Union

This Wednesday, the 27 of January will see President Obama’s first State of the Union address. (Last year really wasn’t a State of the Union because he was only President a few weeks.) Besides, the State of the Union was in such a shambles that no one would want to have to talk about it – especially the guy who didn’t mess things up.

If you listen to the Talking Heads on television — something I would not advise anyone do because it just isn’t good for the body, mind or soul — this is already a failed President. Obama is a man fighting for his political career. While this is the usual hogwash on cable, the President himself has said they walked into a “buzz saw” last week with the astounding election of tea bagger Scott Brown in Massachusetts.

So what do the stars have in hold for the President when he makes this important speech? To find out, I ran a tri-wheel with his natal chart in the middle – August 4, 1961 1-6pm in Honolulu, HA – and yes, that is in the United States! In the center is his progressed chart – how those natal planets have moved since his birth. Progressed charts are unique for each person. On the outside are the current transits. — where the planets will be over Washington D.C. Wednesday night.

The first thing that jumps out at me is that transiting Uranus is right over (in conjunction with) his progressed Juno in the 5th House – the House of creativity. Uranus is the quick change artist. It creates inspiration but is like a thunderbolt – it is fast and scattered. Juno is the consort – where we make unions. This is a highly charged placement because you have Uranus energy interjecting itself into all of your joint activities. It creates change and excitement – but also detachment. Uranus is all about personal freedom.

So he is going to have a hard time connecting with the common man. Lots of energy – no place to go.

Venus and the Sun will be in conjunction in his 3rd House – the House of communication. That will help make his words, which are naturally melodious due to his natal Jupiter/Saturn conjunction there. However, both are in Aquarius (ruled by Uranus) so again he is going to have to bring them down – bring them down. Get his thoughts out of the clouds and start feeling some pain a la Bill Clinton.

Vesta, the asteroid indicating the burning heart’s desire, is in his 10th House – the House of career status and government is in Virgo and conjuncting all of the planets he has natally in the 10th (Pluto, Uranus, North Node). So he wants to buckle down and work on the nitty gritty of government.

Let’s hope he works hard to lasso Uranus and bring down his lofty wishes on Wednesday night to knock it out of the park. If not, he has a strong chance of saying a lot of pretty words that don’t resonate.

Hey Politicans did you hear me when I said Pluto was in Capricorn?

OK folks – listen to me – I know we don’t have court astrologers anymore but we should!
Months ago, I blogged about the changes coming when Pluto moved in Capricorn. Slow moving Pluto, takes 7 – 20 years to make its way through just one constellation and it always causes deep, fundamental changes in the world in the area influenced by that constellation. Unfortunately, no politican listened to me – apparently.

The baby-boomers, the “Me” generation were born when Pluto was in Leo – a time when people wanted to be the center of attention. Pluto in Virgo brought on the women’s movement and when it moved to Scorpio we had the sexual revolution. Fundamentalism and spirituality rose when we saw Pluto enter Sagittarius. Late last year it moved in Capricorn which rules government and the general structure of society.

Pluto came in Capricorn with a bang with the election of our first African American President. However, Pluto isn’t going anywhere for a long time — it is going to stay in Capricorn until 2023…it has just begun to foment change. The lunatic teabag movement, the general unrest of so many who feel government is working for everyone but them — these are all manifestations of this transit. Common sense will have little influence on these changes – Pluto always works from the subconscious.

Politicians who ignore this intense desire will do so at their own risk. Democrats who bicker among themselves instead of passing landmark legislation and Republicans who think they can control the teabaggers and other lunatic fringe elements will both be disappointed. The people want to be heard – they want someone to connect. President Obama, with his incredible oratory skills, has the ability to let people know that he “feels their pain”. He needs to start doing that and fast.

What’s The Deal With Pat Robertson?

So called Christian, Pat Robertson, did it again this week with the absurd comment that Haiti deserves what it got and has gotten over the years because it made a “pact with the Devil.”
How anyone can look at humans trapped, starving and in sheer agony and say oh well you are bad and you deserve it, is beyond me.

Unfortunately, we don’t know his birth time. His birth was March 22, 1930 in Lexington, Virginia but without a known birth time we can’t calculate his rising sign or accurately place the planets in the correct houses.

We do know, of course, that he is an Aries, the Ram – barely. I once read that people born in the early segments of each sign exhibit the strongest attributes of that sign. While I have never done my own analysis on this, it certainly works in this case. Aries starts on March 21. The adjectives most used to describe Aries are trailblazer and leader – and he certainly has done in the broadcasting field. The Shadow of Aries is rampant selfishness. They are the babies of the zodiac and like children, must be heard and must have things their own way – no matter what. A baby will scream at three in the morning if hungry and a selfish Aries will say hurtful and hateful things to enrich his coffers and get publicity.

When he was born, Uranus, the planetary odd ball, and Venus, the planet of the heart, were in conjunction. This could easily explain his bizarre emotions and even his absurd notions of love and marriage. (This man who criticizes gays for “destroying marriage“- changed his own marriage certificate to hide the fact his first son was born 10 weeks after he was married.) Basically, his heart doesn’t work like others — it is a little off kilter.

There are no excuses here. We can’t say oh poor thing he is a victim of his chart. There are lots of early Aries, with Uranus conjunct Venus wandering around out there and they don’t become peddlers of hate. Our charts are fixed at birth but no so our free will and ability to grow and learn. Robertson will be 80 years old this year, he isn’t about to change. His North Node, where he should be going to, is in Taurus which is ironically ruled by Venus. He had the chance to open his heart, become more grounded and learn to appreciate the resources around him.

However, he has chosen to close his heart to humanity, and use the resources of the gullible to his best interest – (remember the 1994 scandal with the Zaire diamond mind?)

Void of Course Moon

Sounds pretty spooky huh? Well it isn’t – not really. However, the reason I am writing about this today is because I got a number of comments from people feeling lost and confused on New Year’s Day. There can be a hundred different reasons why a person feels out of sorts – and most have to do with what is happening in their charts at that time. When the Moon is Void of Course – it can play havoc with all of our emotions regardless of what else is happening in your chart.

So what does that phrase mean? Very simply it is when the Moon is stepping from one constellation to another and makes no aspects to any other heavenly body. ANY heavenly body that is not aspecting another is running amuck – it has no aspect to hold it in check. So when the Moon is Void of Course, our emotions (because they are controlled by the Moon) are all over the place. It is a bad time to make important decisions, sign contracts or pick that fight with your spouse. It is a time to pull back, meditate and breathe!

Void of course happens often. The Moon goes around the Earth every 28 days… so it visits each astrological constellation once every month. When it is moving from one sign to the other it is Void of Course – and that is when the fun begins. On January 1, 2010 the Moon was moving from Cancer to Leo – it was Void of Course so many people felt out of whack. If your Moon is natally in Cancer or Leo or making an aspect to them, the effect will be amplified. So every few days when you feel like tossing your computer out of the window and the dog after it – breathe… the Moon just might be on its way into another sign. It will get there soon and all will be “normal” again!

Blame it on Mercury

Cell phones on the fritz, Blackberry not working right? Yes, I have heard the news reports too – which made me run to my trusty astrology software to confirm what I assumed….. Mercury is back in retrograde position.. When a planet retrogrades, whatever area it influences goes a little haywire…Mercury controls communications – and thoughts and education (good luck to anyone taking a final exam this week.) Hang on — it will be straightened out on Jan 4, 2010. Happy New Year ALL!

Why December 25?

I have often wondered if the Winter Solstice is December 21, why do we celebrate Christmas on the 25th?Why did the Christians wait for four days before having the big party? The answer is simple – seems our ancient friends were rather cautious. Yes, December 21 is the longest night of the year – but it is the next day when the day grows just a wee bit longer and a little longer the next and so on. They wanted to be darned sure that Sun was indeed returning before getting out the party hats and horns (or reasonable facsimile thereof.)

But the day December 25 was long a day of celebration in the pagan world – a day to celebrate the return of the Sun or son. The Christians didn’t have to look far for a holiday to co-opt on December 25. It was the day that Attis, the Roman son of the virgin Nana who was later sacrificed to bring salvation by being crucified on a tree and then arising three days later, was born.

The Greek god, Dionysus son of Zeus, whose body was symbolically eaten in the form of bread and wine, was also celebrated on December 25. The Egyptians placed December 25 as the birth day of Osiris, the savior-god who was resurrected by his wife and then reined over the after world. The Persians, also happy that the Sun was proving itself back to stay, celebrated the birth of Mithra, a savior who performed miracles, cured the ill and ascended into heaven in the Spring.

So go ahead celebrate the Solstice and then 4 days later the return of the Sun – or son – if you prefer. In either case, you will be carrying on a tradition that predates the current Christian incarnation by about 6000 – 8000 years. It is a great way to link yourself to nature and our collective roots.

The Sun, ruler of Leo, is at its Zenith in August – the time of Leo — but it is the cycle of waxing and waning that we celebrate in the depths of cold winter. Rejoice for the Sun (son) has returned!

Ceres -Mother Earth

HAPPY SOLSTICE ALL

Ceres is the original Earth Mother. During good times she and her daughter Persephone wandered the Earth spreading seeds and making all things grow. One day, Pluto, Lord of the Underworld, tricked Persephone and took her into the Underworld. So aggrieved and annoyed was Ceres that she stopped all vegetation from growing. The Greeks were terrified of starvation and begged Zeus to mediate between Pluto and Ceres. Soon a bargain was struck whereby Persephone would be released but Ceres would have to go spend one half of the year in the Underworld. When Ceres did this, plants no longer grew and thus came winter. What a great story to explain the cycle of the seasons.

In astrology where the asteroid Ceres lies in a chart is the area that we see two things. One is parental relationships – loss, separation – and nurturing – how we nurture and how we feel the need to provide nurturing to others. Someone with Ceres in the 3rd house will likely nurture others by providing exposure to new ideas whereas Ceres in the 6th could produce a mother who runs an orderly and well structured family.

Ceres is a natural fit with Cancer – because they both are “motherly” but she also resonates with with Taurus. Taurus the Bull is the ultimate Earth sign and shows how we use resources – natural and otherwise. Also, because Taurus opposes Scorpio on the astrological wheel and Scorpio is ruled by Pluto – the guy whose tricks started all of this – there is a delicate balance between the power of Scorpio and the resource husbandry of Taurus.

By learning how Ceres fits between these planets we get a better outlook on how we deal with our Mother issues.

Vesta – The Fire Inside

The smallest but most determined asteroid goddess is Vesta. To the Greeks, she was Hestia who is actually the woman pictured in the Virgo the Virgin glyph. When the Romans took over the world, they renamed her Vesta and depicted her as the goddess of the hearth and the keeper of the sacred flame. (Remember the Vestal Virgins?) I, like a growing number of astrologers, assign Virgo rulership to Vesta. Poor Virgo doesn’t have its own ruling planet…Scorpio finally got Pluto but Virgo and Taurus are so far without rulers. However, Vesta’s dedication to a cause despite the hardship it causes her, the organized way she goes about keeping the fires burning – all sound Virgoan to me – and why else would the ancients make Virgo Virgin the picture of Hestia?

Simply, Vesta in a person’s horoscope indicates where their burning heart’s desire rests — some inner burning fire…for me it is in the 12th house. Duh — twelfth house our connection to the universe– astrologer – hello! Seen in the first house, it would be a dedication to self-goals -often to the exclusion of long-term relations with others. In the fifth house, it will give a dedication to artistic and creative goals. The eleventh house placement would lend a person to be dedicated to group humanitarian efforts — remember Jane Addams?

Vesta is the little but bright asteroid that keeps our inner passion and inner dedication burning. Someone with a strongly aspected Vesta will give up everything to achieve their goal – family, sex, society— everything! Now that doesn’t happen in too many charts but it gives you some idea of how intense she can be.

Girls will be girls. Don’t mess with them when they are set on something!

Another One of the “Girls” – Pallas Athene

Pallas Athene is one of the most interesting albeit confusing asteroid goddess. This is because of her basic duality. I am not talking duality like Pisces the Fish or Gemini the Twins. It isn’t that stark, however, she is the goddess of war and power as well as healing and wisdom. I guess, like most women, she figures she will have to clean up the mess others make so might as well get on with it. In her honor, the Greeks named their major city, Athens.

In classical Greece, this virgin goddess of wisdom was second only to Jupiter, king of the heavens, in importance. As the goddess of war, she was invincible in battle. In times of peace, however, her wisdom enforced the law and made sure justice prevailed. She was also patroness of the arts, architecture, cooking and weaving. Yes, insert your goddess multi-tasking joke here.

In the sky, Pallas Athene lies between the constellations Libra and Aquarius and opposes Leo – so when we use her in chart analysis, we see the flash of intelligence (Aquarius) and the driving originality of fiery Leo modified by Libra balance and fairness. For instance, someone with a well aspected Pallas in Taurus will have the ability to see beauty in new ways. Taurus is ruled by Venus – and is associated with the arts and beauty. A strong Pallas Taurus person is able to perceive art in a new way- with all senses – they might even “see” colors.* They could also be a fighter for the Earth – an ecological warrior. Taurus is the Bull, grounded in the Earth and earth resources (see my entry on Al Gore’s North Node in Taurus.) They will use the fire of Leo and the advanced mind of Aquarius to fight for Mother Earth.

Well aspected Pallas in Sagittarius people can become shamans or healers because the can actually see the big picture of someone’s health arc. Remember, Sag. is expansive in nature. Unfortunately, we also see Pallas Sag. people who have negative aspects and who can take that warrior energy and combine it with Sag’s belief in religious truth and become religious crusaders.

The main thing to remember is that Pallas packs a wallop of creative, fiery energy and high perceptive abilities. She was the original androgynous woman who competed quite well with men in the political and military arena.

*For more information on this see “The Spiritual Anatomy of Emotion: How Feelings Link the Brain, the Body, and the Sixth Sense ” by Michael Jawer.