Category: Evolutionary Astrology

There is a correlation between our inner being and the vast universe. Evolutionary Astrology illuminates your current life Soul-intent while analyzing and reviewing past life gifts and blockages. Because the Soul is the most profound level of our being, it produces the widest and most meaningful context for direction in our lives. As the old saying goes, you can’t know where you are going if you don’t know where you have been. I provide the “a ha” moments as you uncover subconscious blockages and bring latent gifts to life. No matter how many times we reincarnate we are never the same person again – make the most of each life – live a life that is most in tuned with the universe and nourishes your soul most deeply.

Ted Kennedy – Capricorn Tenacity

When I heard of the passing of Senator Edward Kennedy I did what I always do – I ran to my computer and looked up his chart. While it may seem odd to some, death times in karmic astrology are as important as birth times. (More on that issue later, I promise.)

What struck me so much about Sen. Kennedy’s chart was the high concentration of Saturn in his first house (the house which dictates how we present ourselves to the world.) The ancient Sumerians, who are credited with being the first known astrologers, didn’t deal much with a Sun sign because when the Sun was up they couldn’t see the rest of the stars. It was your first house – your ascendant – that was key to them.

Sen. Kennedy had Capricorn on the cusp of his first house and its ruler, Saturn, in the first house. That is a lot of Capricorn! At first it seemed bizarre. Capricorn is known to giving form and structure and being very much “within the lines” while Senator Kennedy had been known for – how shall I say this – living outside the lines for a long period of his life. I “credit “that to his heavy Piscean influence – the escapist. However, it was that strong Capricorn which gave him the courage to go on when things felt hopeless and which allowed him to prevail even over his fatal illness when he mustered the strength to speak at the 2008 Democratic Convention.

If it weren’t for that Capricornian tenacity (symbolized by the sure-footed mountain goat) he never would have been able to face and ultimately triumph over life’s traumas and his own self inflicted wounds.

Gemini South Node Shadow – Gemini South Node Shadow

Yes, I repeated that twice. Why? Simple – Gemini is all about duality – it is symbolized by the twins. Gemini is also about speed – ruled by Mercury that speedy little planet that zips around the sun at quite a good clip. At home in the third house – the house of communications and the processing of information – I often think of Gemini as the computer of the Zodiac – quickly moving information from one point to the other — IF it is working! When Gemini goes awry – when we are stuck in the shadow of a Gemini South Node, we exhibit nervousness, gossipyness (information gone a muck is gossip, isn’t it?), multitasking to the detriment of concentration on any one thing and learning problems.
Those of us who are Gemini South Node (yup I am one – Gemini 9th House South Node – more on what karmic identity that brings later) need to focus and allow ourselves to get into life instead of skating across the surface. In a phrase we need to “stop and smell the roses” instead of just stomping on them or racing past them thinking, “Did I just see a rose? oh well i will look at it later.”

Me and My Shadow – Taurus

You got me JF! I was showing the shadow of my Gemini South Node — jumping around too much. Your comment was correct – I SHOULD go to the opposite of the Scorpio North Node now – not jump to another nodal axis. Ah ha – I tossed in another word – Nodal Access. You know one thing I hate about astrology is when people try to make it totally confusing and inaccessible. The zodiac is a circle – go look at a chart – it is round – right? So, if you have a North Node on one side of the circle – the South Node has to be on the opposite site – that whole north and south thing. Therefore, that is a Nodal Axis. See? Easy.

So the opposite of Scorpio is Taurus. The last post dealt with a Scorpio South Node…so now we will like at Taurus. Taurus is the Bull, to me the ultimate Earth sign – content to laze in the pasture – feeling the wonderful Earth beneath it. They can stay in the pasture all day and look at the pretty colors of the fields. How wonderful. Well, to an extent.

If you have a Taurus South Node, some of the traits you may become too reliant on are stubbornness, materiality and just be stuck in stuff. Come on, you know someone like this – they hoard materials either actually like having a hoarding illness, or they are people stuck on collecting possessions. “See my toys – I have all of these possessions so I must be good – see what I just bought. You must think me valuable now because I have all of these valuables.”

Taureans also have a hard time turning away from the table. People who eat and eat despite having to reinforce the bed, the car and the house frame – are stuck in a gluttonous past. As are people who can’t change their situations no matter how miserable they feel.

Think of the bull, eating in the pasture all day, enjoying all that surrounds him -never moving – taken to extreme that is a person stuck in a Taurus past.

Remember, our South Node is comfortable to us – no matter how detrimental it is to our soul development in this lifetime. We have lived in that existence for so long that we subconsciously crave to go back there. However, the longer we reside there the more shadow aspects develop as the soul development stalls.

So all you Taurus South Node people – get out of your pasture – and into the drama of the world… embrace your Scorpio North Node passion!

Me and My Shadow – Scorpio

I have a friend into whom I have tried to pound the basics of astrology for months. Being born with a Scorpio South Node, she constantly gets lost in the minutia of each astrological concept despite my urgings to see the big picture. Scorpios are the detectives of the Zodiac – they love to root out the secrets – all of the details. (The South Node, remember, is where our soul has come from in previous lives and from which we need to evolve.)

So this Scorpio South Node, Moon Child rising friend is regaling me in the many projects in which she is immersed right now – providing food for friends, shelter for people coming in from out of town for a political campaign and battling bureaucrats over the building of a new church. Does it surprise you that Moon Child are the mothers of the zodiac? At the end of the list she said with exasperation, “I wish I weren’t addicted to the rush of doing all this stuff.”

“That’s it! That is Scorpio South Node – addicted to the thrill, addicted to the drama and the passion – that is what I have been trying to explain to you!” I think she got it.

All signs have their flowing and shadow aspects — Scorpios have a tremendous talent for connecting with nether worlds – they are physic antennae beaming out to all of those frequencies and worlds others can’t even imagine. They are also passionate warriors for justice especially for the underdog. However, the shadow of Scorpio is a lust for, often inappropriate, passion and an unnatural pull to the unusual and dramatic — the passionate fight.

This particular friend is addicted to fighting for her church and being the uber mother (remember, she is Moon Child rising) on all political campaigns. I have another Scorpio South Node friend who married twice –both times to difficult men with whom she battled for years. One husband was foreign – feeding her attraction to the unusual. Recently, she has met another man whom she describes as unusual and bizarre and the warning signal went off in my head again.

We tend to live in the shadow of our South Node because that type of existence worked for us in the past and in this lifetime we want to go back to it. However, like old shoes, our South Node identity no longer fits us in this lifetime. We need to evolve.

Scorpio South Node people have Taurus as a North Node. So instead of seeking other worlds and passionate fights, they need to ground themselves on this planet and find their creative heart.

Next time – a South node that I know so well – my own….Gemini.

Meditation Retreat at Homestead

A Special Invitation from Mimi Malfitano,
Master Healer and Gifted Meditation Teacher . . .
RECHARGE & REJUVENATE YOUR LIFE
at The Homestead, a Premier Mountain Resort
October 9-12, 2009

In the spirit of the Homestead and
Hot Springs, Mimi is offering a
special 3-day healing experience
that might even change your life. This
retreat is for everyone—novice, beginner,
or experienced meditator. If you
are looking to . . .
• Reduce stress and re-establish
balance and clarity in your life OR
• Jump start a meditation practice OR
• Reenergize an existing practice OR
• Give yourself a meditative tune up
. . .this Meditation Retreat is
for YOU!
The program is group taught with each
participant leaving with an individualized
meditative practice that fits their needs.
Your Weekend Includes:
• 5 Meditation teaching & practice
sessions
• 3 Nights–Deluxe Accommodations
• Friday evening welcome reception
• Saturday & Sunday dinner
• Breakfast every morning
• Snacks during day sessions
Private Reiki Healing sessions with
Mimi available upon request.
$100 per hour.
Your Weekend Investment
Bring a Companion to enjoy Virginia’s
premier mountain resort while you destress
with meditation. Meals with the
group are included as well as a $75
credit to help your companion jump
start their adventure. While you
meditate they can enjoy golfing on
one of three championship golf courses
or hiking the gorge or pampered spa
treatments. And of course, the Homestead’s
sought after southern
hospitality is included.
$767.00 per person/double occupancy
Share a Room. If you are attending the
retreat solo and want to share a room,
we will try to pair up meditators–
though we can make no guarantees.
$767.00* per person/double occupancy
*Call for single occupancy rate.
For more information or to book your
reservation, call Joan at Joan’s Travel
703-533-2210.
Or email: [email protected]

“I Have A Dream” Neptune’s Whisper

I have been so taken by the Inauguration of President Lincoln, I mean President Obama, and the talk of Dr. King’s “I Have A Dream Speech” and the dream realized that I took at look at the astrology behind the day.

I was struck with the realization that it was singer Mahalia Jackson who whisper to Dr. King, “tell them about the dream” as he was speaking to the participants in the March on Washington. His “I have a dream” was ad libbed – not a part of the original speech. Amazing. What made her do that – what was the connection between the two?

The problem with the analysis revolved around timing. The accepted data for Dr. King’s birth is Jan 15, 1929 in Atlanta at 12 noon. I am always suspicious about noon birth times as they are the fall back when time is not known. I researched it a bit and found some citations that he was born – around high noon — or “late morning” – so I am not sure if 12 noon is accurate.

We know that Ms. Jackson’s timing is off as well and as I looked on every website and every book I can find and her birth time wasn’t recorded. She was born Oct. 26 (wonderful day :)) 1911 in the “Negro Section” of New Orleans. No one found the need to record the time.

Also, the time of the speech is fuzzy. The closest information I got was from going back to a “New York Times’ piece and it said the people marched to Washington and were addressed by Dr. King – later that afternoon. I chose 4p as a time but again that is a guess.The date was August 28, 1963 in Washington DC.

Sadly I was not an enlightened 7 year old so I don’t remember hearing the speech first hand.
____________
OK that being said when I ran a triwheel of the three – his known birth information, hers and a transit chart for the stars and planets overhead when he made the speech.

But what I did find is in a way even more interesting.The North Node was transiting the 3rd house on that day — what a way to say a speech will live in the evolution of the planet, right? Ms. Jackson’s Neptune was close to Dr. King’s Pluto – (and may even be closer than the charts show considering the time difference) – so I can almost see Neptune (dreams) reaching over and and nudging his Pluto, his transformative planet. “Tell them about your dream Martin,” – Neptune nudging Pluto to make a great transformation for all of us – making this transformative speech for the ages.

Dr. King had Saturn in the his 8th house, the house of change and transformation – the house of power and powerful transformation – in Sagittarius – the sign of expansion, growth and cultural understanding. At the time of the speech, Ms. Jackson had her Sagittarius Moon transiting his Saturn – (can you hear the emotion in her voice – “Tell them about your dream, Martin.” Now is the moment – seize the emotions – and then on the transit chart we see Moon conjucting her natal Moon also in Sagittarius. To me the arrow – the glyph of Sag. is like a arrow shooting from his Saturn – and giving structure to her and our dreams for cultural unity.

3rd Presidential Debate

Tsk, Tsk, John McCain – you didn’t read my blog and you let that anger sneak out just as I predicted. Your “that one” comment, referring the Senator Obama, while ignored by the corporate controlled main stream press, was one of those debate errors that will live in infamy. It also cemented in the minds of many of us what we have believed for a long time – that you hold your competitor in some contempt.

As we turn our eyes toward Hofstra University and the Oct 15 debate, we see many of the same dynamics as we did in the first debate. Basically, there aren’t a lot of aspects floating around these two men so it should be another bland debate.

The strongest aspect Obama has is a conjunction between transiting Saturn, his natal Mars and progressed Sun all in Virgo and all in the 11th house – the house of social contacts and group activities. This is going to give a lot of force and structure to his passion – he will be able to clearly outline what he wants to get across to people. The caution here is to keep the fires tamped down – don’t be too preachy, too picky. With his Moon semi square transiting Uranus – he will have to work hard to keep his famous cool as he will be burning with nervous energy.

Senator McCain has transiting Saturn squaring his Venus at the time of debate. His hopes for appearing youthful and open will be dashed – as he will come off more pedantic and grandfatherly than his handlers will desire. And with Moon square his natal Sun and his Mars square transiting Uranus his emotions, his anger can all boil over to make him come off not only grouchy but desperate and harsh.

Obama needs to stay cool, add a touch of levity and play out the clock!

Saturn – Uranus – The Past and Future of the Presidential Election

On election day 2008, Uranus and Saturn will be in exact opposition to each other. That is, they will be directly across from one another on their path around the Sun. The choice has been written in the stars – old and new across from one another. Which way will we go?

Saturn is all about tradition, and doing things by the book – all about form and structure. Uranus is new, electric and represents upheaval and change. I don’t have to tell you which candidate is represented by each do I? The fact that we have the elder McCain, and the young, unique Obama as our choice seems to have been written in the sky!

To add some mystery to it all – Pluto is making a move in Capricorn. Actually Pluto moved into Capricorn briefly this year but quickly retrograded back in Sagittarius where it will remain until after the election. Pluto is the harbinger of slow but deeply felt transformations and because it moves so slowly around the Sun, it stays in a sign for years, sometimes decades. When Pluto was in Sagittarius we saw the rise of spirituality around the world – as well as fundamentalism. (To everything there is a positive and shadow aspect!) With Pluto moving in to Capricorn we will see changes in those structures that control society – government and the financial infrastructure to name two.

I saw one of the best albeit unwitting explanations of this Pluto-Capricorn placement in the commentary section of the October 7, 2008 edition of “The Nation” Magazine written by William Greider. “Our country is at a rare and dangerous juncture. The old order is crumbling, and virtually all centers of power that govern us have been discredited by events.”

The last time Pluto was in Capricorn we had the American and French Revolutions… does that tell you something about Pluto power?

But Joan, you say, you told us Pluto has moved back in Sagittarius so what is all of that talk about Capricorn? Well, I did say that – but I said it was just retrograding back for a short time. In fact, I believe that dip back into Sagittarius manifested as Gov. Sara Palin being named as VP nominee by John McCain. It was a life line tossed by the McCain campaign to the religious fundamentalist groups who are currently in control of our government. Hopefully the rope will slip from the hands on both sides.

There is no doubt, Pluto will bring change to governmental and societal structure and change is always painful. We are going to have to fasten our seat belts tightly as everything we once believed in and trusted is shaken to the core. This won’t be fun.The choice is ours – in our fear do we follow Saturn back to an even more restrictive and authoritarian government or do we hold on to Uranus and have it guide us to a more open, exciting and humanitarian government?

Second Presidential Debate – Showdown in Nashville

When they met for the first presidential debate, both candidates had so few aspects between their natal charts and the planets transiting over Oxford, Mississippi that it was difficult to figure out if anything would happen. I guess that is why it was sedate. This is not true for Oct. 7 and the Nashville debate. There is A LOT going on overhead!If I were advising the Obama campaign astrologically I would tell them this is the best time to try to get under McCain’s skin and allow America to see that famous McCain temper. Transiting Mars is in McCain’s 12th house and is conjuncting his natal Mercury. He is angry all right – seething with anger – and we will see it escape the confines of the secretive 12th house with barbs and comments directed toward the Democrat. McCain’s Mercury is squaring transiting Pluto at this time which will make him blunt and aggressive. So if Barack can get under his skin we might see a mini explosion of some kind – or at least a grimace or hairy eyeball!

Transiting Mars is also trining McCain’s Sun and his Moon is conjuncting the transiting Moon – there is a lot of emotional power behind what he is going to say – whether he taps into his anger and frustration at being behind in the polls or whether he comes out as the feeling, kinder, gentler McCain he portrayed in the 2000 election is up to him. With his Moon squaring transiting Mars I would preach to his advisers to do everything they can to make him to his “happy place” in his debate prep. If he turns his anger into an expression of caring i,e, I am so dedicated to helping the people of America – see how hard I fight for you —he will have a good debate. If he is rattled or shows his real anger underneath it will be a disaster for him.

Obama was blessed natally with a tight Saturn-Jupiter conjunction in his 3rd house, the house of communication. Saturn and Jupiter together is the placement of manifestation – Obama‘s conjunction is in two different planets – Saturn is in Capricorn and Jupiter just over the line in 0 degrees Aquarius. Thus he possesses the discipline of Saturn to transform the lofty ideals of Aquarius into those magnificent speeches that allow people to understand exactly what he wants to do as President. At the time of the debate, the transiting Moon is conjuncting this Saturn- Jupiter combination in his third house. He will have the ability to turn this town hall debate into a Clintonesque – I feel your pain. He will bear his soul and really connect with the people in the room.

In this area is in everything else during the debate, he is going to have to watch that he doesn’t go over the line. Transiting Uranus is conjuncting his natal Mars and transiting is Mercury is squaring his natal Mars as well – he is going to be willing to get to aggressive and say impulsively the wrong thing at the wrong moment. He might be guilty of the thing everyone was worried his VP candidate Senator Joe Biden would do. Mercury and Mars together is the recipe for aggressive speech – again going over the line is going to be his Achilles Heel. If his Leo rising confidence (which can sometimes translate into arrogance) doesn’t get the better of him he will have a good, aggressive, highly emotional evening and a big night that could close the deal for many Americans.

Both men have a Mercury-Sun conjunction transiting their 11th houses – the house of social outreach and working in groups – so each of their bases will get some satisfaction out of what they hear. This is going to be a highly charged, energetic meeting – where either man can hit a grand slam or fail miserably trying. McCain will need to keep his temper in check and Obama will have to avoid the desire to “go for the kill” and put McCain away and make a uncharacteristic verbal gaffe. Either man can fall victim to alienating a lot of people in the middle if they don’t fight the Mars impulses churning underneath but McCain has much more of a tight rope to walk.