A Ceremony & An Aquarian Vision

On Friday the Naturalization Ceremony proceeded as planned, though with much unexpected waiting time.

After staying just south of the city center overnight Thursday, we set off downtown around 8am, Friday and found a carpark close to our venue. We listened to the car radio until 9, then wandered up to the Courthouse. A few people had already arrived and were going through the usual "take off your shoes and walk through the archway, empty your pockets, take off your belt, and put your bags here to go through the scanner" routine. We joined them, duly passed through, having been proved pure and without sin.

The Ceremonial Courtroom is on the 3rd floor. Already in the corridor a group of people had gathered and were being informed by an official of proceedings to come. She said that the actual ceremony would not start until 12 noon, there would be a large number of applicants. Paperwork must first be processed. Meanwhile family and friends could wait in an adjoining courtroom, or visit a snack bar on the ground floor.

After a while I moved into the designated courtroom to await arrival of INS officials, my husband waited in the courtroom nextdoor. The paperwork, I eventually found out, entailed waiting to be called up to INS officials at a bank of desks, hand in our greencards, check and sign our Naturalization Certificates, and be handed a form to make the change in our Social Security status. We were also given a seat number for the ceremony. A separate bank of seats for the 140 applicants was arranged to the right of the judges' bench. Paperwork processing seemed interminable, it was well over an hour before my own name was called.

At 11.30 applicants were told to take their seats, according to the number they'd been given (mine was 69 - no sly grins please!) By this time my husband had managed to slide into a seat towards the back of the Ceremonial Courtroom, now filling rapidly with families and friends of applicants. The overflow, and there was a large one, was accommodated in another court equipped with a large screen for viewing the ceremony.

At exactly noon, five judges filed in. Everyone rose as the judges took their places on the bench. The chief judge, a female, welcomed us, said a few words then handed over to a designated INS official to "present" the 140 applicants who came, we were told, from 42 different countries. The official spoke briefly then named, in alphapbetical order, the native countries of all the applicants, asking each to stand when their country was called. I was the only one of the 140 from the UK. Every continent was represented. This, of course, was just one of many similar ceremonies, held monthly in three areas of Oklahoma, and regularly in every one of the other 49 states. I find this a mind-boggling proposition!

Next, we, the applicants, were asked to stand, raise our right hands, and repeat after the Clerk of the Court the words of the Oath of Allegiance. Each of the five judges then spoke briefly, after which the Pledge of Allegiance was recited by all present. The judges then left and a video of President G.W. Bush, welcoming us as new citizens, was shown, followed by another video of scenes of American life, a patriotic song playing in the background.

I hadn't expected to feel as emotional as I did. I joked later that it was the sight of G.W. Bush that made my cry, but I lied. I had an overwhelming sense of the nobility of the original vision for the United States, as I sat there in the midst of 140 people, born in so many different countries. Many of my companions had experienced a far greater struggle than I'd had to reach this point. The thought passed through my mind then that the USA is truly an Aquarian country. Whatever chart is used by astrologers cannot change the fact that, in essence the vision was, and is, pure Aquarius. There have been broken dreams and wrong turnings, but beneath it all, I'm confident that vision remains intact.

Applicants were then asked to file out in seat number order to officially receive their Certificates of Naturalization, and some other paperwork, along with a small US flag - I can be seen waving mine in the photograph immediately below. The second photo, taken in our hotel room, shows the end result of the journey I embarked upon back in 2004 - my Certificate of Naturalization.





Reunited with my husband, I was happy to see that his son, daughter-in-law and grandson had also been present in the adjoining room watching the ceremony. We all went off to enjoy a celebration lunch, by-passing a huge and very slow-moving line of folks waiting to process their Social Security amendments at a desk out in the corridor. We decided to deal with this little matter at our local office early next week, rather than wait for what could be a further hour or two at the court.

A remark of one of the judges has stayed with me. His words: "The United States of America is no longer just your home, now it is your country."

Almost there!

Tomorrow, 25 July 2008, will mark the climax of my immigration journey, UK to USA. After the Oath Ceremony I'll be a fully-fledged naturalized US citizen. It has been a long and winding road, frustrating too - no blood was shed but a lot of sweat and more than a few tears!

I notice that 25 July is the day the Incas dedicated to Illapa, their god of thunder and lightning - their weather god. He was said to keep the Milky Way in a jug and use it to create rain. I hope Illapa doesn't decide to treat us to a display of his prowess, thunder and lightning could lend a somewhat menacing air to the proceedings! According to the weather forecast, however, rain and storms are not on the agenda for Oklahoma City, but remnants of Hurricane Dolly are dumping rain on Texas.

Astrologically the outer planets have been either whipping me on throughout this journey, or holding the carrot - not sure which. Uranus conjoined my natal Jupiter at 6 Pisces for much of the early stages, and Pluto conjoined natal Venus in Sagittarius. These two planets seem to have orchestrated or choreographed the whole show!

It all began at the end of 2003, when my now husband visited me in the UK from the USA. We decided that our future was together, and would need to be in the USA, because I had no remaining close family ties and he had many, back in the United States.

After much research and reading of immigration message boards, I came to the conclusion that, of the 3 methods available to us, one had the potential to be less painful than the other two. This method would involve himself coming to live in the UK, with me, for a while, so that we could qualify to apply for a marriage visa for me via the US Embassy in London. Both the other methods would have involved long spells apart, and having to rely on notoriously slow-moving USCIS Service Centers on the other side of the pond. The route we chose was more expensive, but we considered it worth the extra outlay.

First the husband-to-be had to return home to the USA, from whence he had to apply for a UK Fiance Visa. With this in hand, in the spring of 2004 he returned, and we were wed at the end of April. The husband then had to apply at the nearest immigration office (Liverpool) for an extension to his visa, for what's called "Further Leave To Remain". This stage proceeded rapidly and painlessly.

Next step: the husband had to petition for permission for me, as his wife, to emigrate to the USA. Then I, potential immigrant, was required to apply for a visa on the ground of marriage to a US citizen.

An incredible amount of information and documentation was called for at this stage. The photocopies we had to provide must have caused the downing of large areas of rain forest somewhere in Brazil.

Once submitted there was a long wait for the US Embassy to process our petition and application. During this interval I put my house on the market. I was called for interview and medical examination in London at the end of August 2004. By then we were on tenterhooks, waiting to give a buyer for my house in Yorkshire the go ahead. We dare not risk doing so until I had visa in hand, which I did, on 1st September, (below, left, in front of the US embassy in London).

Next stop Oklahoma, after disposing of most of my worldly goods, packing the rest in several large boxes and shipping 'em to the USA, then finally selling the house.

Once in Oklahoma my visa remained conditional on the marriage remaining intact for 2years, at which point, in the summer of 2006, I had to apply to have conditions removed, and prove that the marriage was, indeed, intact by providing financial and other proof. This was done relatively quickly, my Permanent Resident's Card ("green card") was then made good for a further 10 years.

Another year had to pass before I became eligible to apply for US citizenship, thus ridding myself of the USCIS for ever, becoming eligible to vote and hold a US passport. As it happened, I became eligible to make my citizenship application on 26 July just a few days before a fee increase was to be implemented. A huge frontlog of applications was the result of this, and caused the process to take around twice as long as normal.

After a variety of delays, obstacles and long postponements, I attended my citizenship interview on 19 June 2008, passed muster, passed the civics test and have waited a mercifully brief time for the next available Oath Ceremony to finish the job. That will be tomorrow, 25 July, at 9.30am, just a year after applying for citizenship, and almost 4 years since I obtained my first visa.

I dare not add up the cost in either $$$$ or nervous tension. I'd like to say the process has been fun....but it hasn't! We are near the end of the road now though. We'll spend the night in The City so as to be sure to be at the Federal Courthouse on time in the morning - in "proper attire", as instructed. Perhaps we'll be joined later by some family members for the ceremony, that will help make it even more special.

See y'all later!

Surprise!

Woweee!!!! I had a big surprise yesterday afternoon when the husband brought in the mail - a letter from the United States Immigration & Citizenship Services. I took it without much excitement, thinking it would be confirmation that I'd passed muster at the interview on 19 June. I opened it, saw that it's my notification of Oath Ceremony date.

On 25 July, 9.30AM at the Courthouse in Oklahoma City I shall, at last, acquire my freedom! I let out a loud WHOOP!!!! I had expected having to wait a few weeks for this, maybe a couple of months for the actual ceremony! My lucky star must, eventually, have come out from behind a cloud! The oath ceremony will be just one day short of the anniversary of the day I posted my application: 26 July 2007.

I've compared the chart for 25 July 9.30am with my relocated natal chart. I was confident there'd be some correlation there. The Moon will be at 27 Aries that day/time and my natal Moon is at 24 Aries. Transiting North node will be at 19 Aquarius, my relocated ascendant is 22 Aquarius, and transitng Sun at 2 Leo is close to natal Pluto at 0 Leo. I can't put any kind of intertpretation to that which quite fits, but it's as though a few cogs have clicked together at last, and the whole thing can roll on and roll away. No more being beholden to USCIS, I'll be FREE!!!

At the foot of my appointment letter it says:
"Proper attire should be worn". This kind of thing?

"Put on your high-heel sneakers,
wear your wig hat on your head.
Put on your high-heel sneakers,
Wear your wig hat on your head.
I'm pretty sure now baby
'Cause you know, you're gonna knock 'em dead."

Presumptive US Citizen aided by Jupiter

Transiting Jupiter, hovering around natal Mercury during past months, at last brought me some luck on Thursday. The tale of woe I recounted in my previous post turned out to have a happy ending after all.

We were at our local Sheriff's office by 9am Thursday with a request for a signed and sealed statement of my criminal history (or lack of it) - this was forthcoming in record time - about 10 minutes. Onward to the town's Police Department, where we obtained a similar statement very easily. By 10.30 we were on our way to Oklahoma City, to find the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation to obtain the third required background statement. Finding the building took longer than actually obtaining the document I needed. There was a whole department set up for the purpose of obtaining background statements, so with the exchange of $15 and a short wait I had the third document in my hot sticky hand - hot and sticky because temperatures were already in the nineties.

We headed for a soup and salad bar for a bite of lunch then decided to book in to a motel for the night, in case of unforeseen requirements post-interview. A couple of hours relaxing after the morning's efforts, then off to the USCIS building around 5.10pm My interview was scheduled for 5.30. It appears they are working overtime to deal with their enormous backlog of applications, and I suspect that the lady who interviewed me isn't one of the usual interviewing officers. She was a lovely lady, and the whole interview was relaxed and easy-peasy. I answered the first six civics questions correctly so no need to go to the remaining four. When she came to the part concerning my rejected fingerprints I was was able to wave my three documents trimphantly before her. She laughed and said, "When someone rang me about your application last evening, fortuitously your file was open on my desk and I took the opportunity of mentioning the fingerprint problem, wondering if you'd be able to rectify it." I refrained from asking, or showing any annoyance at all, why the office hadn't written to me about the problem during the past 3 months. I was so relieved to have had things go so well, so far. I wanted to avoid a sour note so bit my tongue - hard!

Here is the luck of transiting Jupiter conjunct natal Mercury: a chain of consequences. My husband's daughter-in-law had been visiting our home each afternoon last week to use our treadmill, as she's recently undergone an operation and needed some gentle exercise as therapy. In normal circumstances I'd probably not have had any opportunity to chat to her about my citizenship application. She happens to know a lady whose friend works in a congressman's office. The chain continues - phone calls via local offices and Washington DC eventually reached the lady who was to interview me, who at the moment of a phone call to her had my file open on her desk. It was evening too, well after office hours. The interviewing lady was a kindly soul, a big lady, Jupiter personified! I strongly suspect that regular staff wouldn't have been anywhere near as accommodating as to give out that information which helped me so much. They would have been likely to inform me of the fingerprint problem at the interview, then put my file back at the bottom of the pile - AGAIN!

A chain of events - happy happenstances which served to smooth my ruffled feathers of Wednesday evening.

Now, all I need is an Oath Ceremony. The interviewer told me it could be two or three months before I'm called, but they are arranging extra ceremonies because the courthouse can't accomodate a large enough number. They are swearing in an extra 150new citizens at three ceremonies at the USCIS office next week, and may do the same in July. I might get included in the next batch, but no guarantees - it could equally mean a wait until August or September. Sigh.

So now I'm what could be termed "a presumptive citizen". I'd bet my bottom dollar that they know more about my background, from cradle to.....well, not quite grave yet, but near enough, than they do about the presumptive President of the USA !

Since my first application for a marriage visa, in 2004 they have sifted through my life history, medical background and investigated my lack of criminal history both in the UK and USA with a fine tooth comb. They have seen my bank statements, birth, marriage and divorce certificates for both me and the husband, given me a chest x-ray and medical back in London, and generally made me feel like something that crawled out from under a stone. The fact that I still want to be a part of this beautiful country says a lot for the land and its people, and little for its Immigration Depatment.

Oh - and thank you kindly, Jupiter!

Frustration As Mercury Stations

We're not sure whether we'll return home from The City immediately after my citizenship interview at 5.30pm today. Another chapter in my citizenship tale of woe has begun.

My husband's daughter-in-law, who "knows somebody who knows somebody" yesterday very kindly made some enquiries for me after asking how my citizenship application was proceeding. She decided that a couple of phone calls on my behalf were worth a try, to find out whether, provided that I pass the interview today, I might be included in an early Oath Ceremony, this month, or next month at latest. She eventually got responses and has spoken to someone who contacted the person who will interview me. They were told that my fingerprints were still not clear enough for the FBI, I shall therefore be asked to provide three signed police statements from my town, county and state police departments to confirm I have no arrests, convictions etc. since living in the USA.

When she told me this over the phone my head almost exploded. I've waited 10 weeks since being sent away from my original interview due to "staff sickness". Why haven't I been informed of this requirement during that time? I could have obtained the necessary documents very easily.

My fingerprints seemed fine, according to the operative who carried out the procedure for a second time back in February. Perhaps years of typing, doing handwashing in biological detergents, washing dishes, and just simply the passing of many years may have blurred some parts of the prints. I accept that, but what I cannot accept is not having been informed of the problem weeks and weeks ago.

Mercury Retrograde and, I suspect, some other malefic force has been working overtime! I'm beginning to feel seriously worried about all this - really! I've encountered obstacles and long delays at every single stage since applying for citizenship on 26 July 2007.

I pulled up my re-located natal chart and noticed that transiting Neptune is just 2 degrees past my re-located ascendant, transiting Mars is exactly on my re-located descendant and transiting Jupiter has been hovering around natal Mercury for weeks, but not bringing me much luck, it seems.

However, forewarned is a chance to be forearmed and we have a few hours to attempt to gather up the information they apparently need - and have needed for the past 3 months but didn't see fit to tell me!

City and county records might possibly be obtainable quickly here in town before we leave, and later today in The City if we arrive in time, but we'll need some luck. It would be wonderful if I could hand the three documents to the interviewer... "Neener neener neener!" It's unlikely, though, that we'll be able to do it all, or even any of it, in time for 5.30pm.

It's barely dawn as I finish editing this, having been woken by a severe thunderstorm at 4am. I truly feel I don't want to carry on with my application for US citizenship. Quite by chance, reading around the blogs to pass time, I spotted that someone had quoted Winston Churchill, from a speech given to Harrow School in 1941. ".....never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never-in nothing, great or small, large or petty - never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense." That spurred me on! Thanks Winston!

There is a bright side. If I don't get to vote due to yet another delay, I won't have to choose between You-know-who and You-know-who in the General Election on 4 November! Wouldn't that be a relief!

And, as we might not be back by Saturday morn:



SOLSTICE GREETINGS TO ALL!

Turn, Mercury, Turn!

I'll be glad to see the end of this Mercury Retrograde stint - not long to wait now. The communications planet will appear to stop, or station, and turn direct on Thursday 19th June, appropriately enough the re-scheduled date of my US citizenship interview. The 10 weeks since my original interview date, when I was sent away due to staff sickness has dragged dreadfully. I've watched members of immigration forums, who applied many months after I did, reporting back on their interviews and oath ceremonies. Some people who applied as late as March of this year are already being interviewed, and I applied in July 2007! It feels as though something has been deliberately holding me back - but why, I have no clue. Everything happens for a reason, they say.

As well as waiting for the interview, the little matter of a refund for a faulty (brand new) computer I had to return to the manufacturer has dragged also. Countless phone calls, promises, promises, but no refund. Eventually, last week, my call to Customer Service was answered by a person who actually seemed interested in my problem. I felt as though I'd hit the jackpot after experiencing several earlier brush-offs. He reviewed the records and expressed amazement and disgust that I was still waiting, after 4 weeks, to be repaid. He rang the "drop-shipper" while I waited and assured me that he will chase up progress. We'll see. There was such a marked difference in the way he approached my problem and the way the other 3 telephone operatives I'd encountered did, that at last I feel slightly optimistic about seeing my $800 again. To date though, still no sign of it.

As Mercury nears its station, I'll give my Mercury video compilation another airing.
It's a collection portraying everything Mercurial with musical clips to match.

MERCURY

About turn!

It's that pesky Mercury Retrograde time again. That's an inconvenient truth, for me. Mercury will be in apparent retrograde motion from 26 May until 19 June, in addition we are warned to allow several days either side of those dates for "a shadow period" before things return completely to what passes as normal.

Astrologers advise that these retrograde weeks are not good times to buy electronic equipment, sign contracts, do deals, or enter into any kind of important contractual arrangement, e.g. marriage, or attempt to organise matters involving communication of any kind. Activity during Mercury retrograde periods in these areas is apt to bring forth results which appear to be influenced by some perversely obtuse celestial manipulator.

That's fairly inconvenient on two fronts for yours truly. As reported over a week ago I had trouble with a brand new computer and had to send it back for refund. UPS returned it to the manufacturer in double-quick time, but I have still not received my refund, 2 weeks later, so I've had to chase 'em up and give 'em the hard word. I'm promised a refund this week. Promises, promises.... It's an inconvenient truth that I'd be unwise to buy or even order a replacement computer during the retrograde period. I'll hope that my old Dell, with a little TLC, stays the course.

It's inconvenient, also, that my re-scheduled US citizenship interview will take place on 19 June, the last day of Mercury's retro-motion, still "under the shadow". It could have been worse, I guess, if the date had been smack dab in the middle of the retrograde. "Be thankful for semi-mercies", I advise myself.

The citizenship debacle has been fraught with delays from beginning to end, and has spanned many retrograde periods of several different planets. First there was a 16 week wait from July 2007 for receipt and acknowledgement of my application and cheque for $400. Then I had to attend twice for fingerprinting because the FBI couldn't read the first batch - which caused at least a further 4 weeks' delay. Then I attended for interview as instructed on 11 April but was sent away, the interview having been postponed due to "staff sickness" - a further 10 weeks' delay has followed. I sometimes wonder why I bothered in the first place, but keep reminding myself that I shall feel much more secure, living in this crazy US world, as a US citizen with a US passport.

(Sigh.) Inconveniences and irritations will be over soon enough.

"You are a child of the universe
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should"
(From Desiderata by Max Ehrmann).

And, as the late great Douglas Adams used to say:

Sunday Soothing

The video below offers a calming influence to soothe the current Jupiter/Mars opposition and the scratchy atmosphere it brings with it. The atmosphere, Chez Twilight, just got a lot scratchier too. Transiting Jupiter is currently sitting on my natal Mercury so I guess it's not surprising the Mars opposition is taking its toll on my blood pressure! As I was preparing this blog a letter arrived from USCIS with a new interview appointment - 19 June @ 5.30pm, this date is 10 weeks from the original appointment, 11 April, when I attended and was sent away because of staff absences. They appear to have ignored my polite letter sent last Monday. Of course, I'm just a number to them, not a flesh and blood person. Those illegal aliens know a thing or two - when you try to do things correctly this is what you get! I'm trying to remain reasonably aloof from it all, but the real fireworks will begin if this unreasonable delay causes me to miss an opportunity to vote in November. I will NOT let that pass.

Maybe this will help soothe my savage breast. It's little piece of history, dating back to 1993 and the inauguration ceremony of President Bill Clinton. Maya Angelou reads her poem "The Pulse of Morning". Whatever a reader's politics might be, the poem offers wisdom and beautiful thoughts. Glimpses of familiar faces, then younger and brighter, reminds us that time is passing rapidly.



Thanks to TaylorMarsh.com (19 April) for a pointer towards the video.

For those who prefer to read poetry, the full text of the poem is HERE
A tiny sample:

"Lift up your faces, you have a piercing need
For this bright morning dawning for you.
History, despite its wrenching pain,
Cannot be unlived, and if faced with courage,
Need not be lived again.
Lift up your eyes upon
The day breaking for you.
Give birth again
To the dream.
Women, children, men,
Take it into the palms of your hands.
Mold it into the shape of your most
Private need. Sculpt it into
The image of your most public self.
Lift up your hearts."

(Small image at top:"Poetry" by Alphonse Mucha - from a set of 4 (Music, Dance, Poetry & Art)

Throwing Light on the Moon

Grant Lewi, in his book "Astrology for the Millions" gives a very helpful description of how the Moon's position is reflected in the personality. I've always found it difficult to disentangle this from the Sun's reflection, and the ascendant sign. I usually think of these three as a kind of cocktail, stirred, not shaken, with Mercury and Venus as a cherry and an olive on the side. Just as you can't possibly extricate one ingredient from another in a cocktail, nor can I quite differentiate my own ingredients, because to me, they are just.....me! Grant Lewi helps me to peer through the swirling stirred cocktail then sip it and identify a particular ingredient.

Grant Lewi's astrological writing has been described as "the most brilliant ever published". He was one of the USA's leading and most popular astrologers in the mid-20th century. These are his words about the Moon, then, from "Astrology for the Millions" :

(Page 132, para.1)

"While the Sun's position by sign determines what motivates and urges dominate your life as it meets the naked eye, the sign position of the Moon tells the desire of your heart which may or may not be expressed or realized in your life. When you "know what you mean but you can't say it", it is your Moon that knows it, and your Sun that can't say it. "Thoughts that do often lie too deep for tears" are the thoughts of your Moon's nature. The wordless ecstasy, the mute sorrw, the secret dream, the esoteric picture of yourself that you can't get across to the world, or which the world doesn't comprehend or value - these are the product of the Moon in your Vitasphere (natal chart). When you are misunderstood, it is your Moon nature expressed imperfectly, through the Sun sign, that you feel is betrayed. When you know what to do, but can't find the right way to do it, it is your Moon that knows and your Sun that refuses to act in harmony. Also, when you "don't know why I said that", it was your Moon expressing despite your Sun..........Things you know without thought - intuitions, hunches, instincts are products of the Moon. Modes of expression that you feel are truly your deepest self belong to the Moon: art, letters, creative work of any kind; sometimes love; sometimes business."

Bad News # 1 and # 2

#1: I had an unexpected and unpleasant surprise in store yesterday which has left me deflated, fed up and downright angry! I hadn't looked carefully enough at my natal chart and transits for Friday otherwise this might not have come as such a shock.

I had noticed transiting Jupiter would be exactly conjunct natal Mercury at 21 Capricorn and thought, "What can go wrong ? This has to be a good omen for my citizenship interview!" (See previous post). I should have studied the transits further and noticed that transiting Uranus (planet of the unexpected), my Sun's ruler, at 20 Pisces - sextile Mercury and transiting Jupiter, also transiting Mars (the anger planet)sat exactly on my natal (not re-located), ascendant at 15 Cancer, not a very good omen! Transiting Saturn at 2 Virgo may have something to do with this upset as well. It's opposing natal Jupiter (6 Pisces) and quincunx natal Sun at 6.46 Aquarius. Two inharmonious aspects by
Saturn, a restrictive planet associated with law and government.

I'm not sure how all that astrology ties in, or if it does, but I strongly suspect that it does. In one way I'm glad I didn't notice those aspects, if I had, I'd have thought something even worse might occur!

This is what happened:

We arrived at the USCIS office in Oklahoma City, all geared up for my important citizenship interview scheduled 1.05pm (see Thursday's post), We waited in a room, where the temperature was fit only for chilling meat, for half an hour before, and half an hour after the scheduled time, only to be told that two interviewing officers, of the three available, had had to go home sick that morning and the remaining officer's list was full, she could take no more interviews.

They had telephoned our home earlier with no response. We'd have left early even had we not decided to stay over the previous night, so a morning call after 9am would have made no difference. The journey is around 80 miles, and the weather had been very iffy for a couple of days with floods, tornado watches and violent storms. We did not want to risk missing this appointment for which I'd been waiting since last July.

We saw another applicant, the only other one present, sent away earlier, and because we were not approached at that time, around ten minutes before my appointment, felt that I must be listed with the remaining interviewing officer. It was not until half an hour after my scheduled time that we were given the bad news - by that time we were chilled to the bone, the air copnditioning was running full tilt, yet outside the temperature was only 61*!

Even more deflated was I as we watched two people who arrived long after we did, accompanied by an attorney, ushered in for their interview. Worse, when I asked the bearer of bad tidings, who was very apologetic, when I could expect re-scheduling he said the rest of April and all of May has been scheduled already it will be June or July for me. I had to bite my tongue - very hard. Arguing with DHS officials gets one nowhere, and might well put a black mark on one's application.

I'd already been put to the inconvenience of a second visit and overnight stay for a re-take of fingerprints - probably due to the operative's incompetence the first time around - then there was the 17 week wait I had to even get a receipt for my $400 cheque and acknowledgement of my application. I applied on 26 July 2007.

I am royally p...ed off!! Yeah, I know, worse things happen at sea, but I'm still p...ed!

Thank you to the kind family and friends who left lovely comments on my previous post - I'm sorry not to have happier news to relate.

#2
Material from my blog is being ripped off in more than one place. I haven't worked out what is going on yet, but as well as the wholesale lifting of posts by one blog, without proper linkage back to mine, there are at least three other blogs carrying part of my posts, under fictitious authors' names, but which do actually link back to my blog when one clicks on the fictitious name. Peculiar! There's no indication on any of these rip-off blogs who they belong to, but they are all Wordpress blogs. All but the first mentioned carry Google Ads or some other adverts, so they are collecting money by using the work of other bloggers but not using the bloggers proper identities and using and no work of their own at all. I'm not the only blogger being ripped off.

Clicking on the Technorati logo at the foot of this page then on the "Authority" link on my Technorati rating, will bring up a list of places my material has been used. If anyone else involved knows the best way to tackle this I'd be glad to hear from them.

I'm not sure yet what to do about either Bad News #1 or #2 - but I'm working on it - and fuming!

UPDATE
After doing some research I have reported two of the sites to Google Adsense for violation. This seems the best way to tackle the problem. Will do more in due course if things don't improve.

Interview

Tomorrow I'm to be interviewed and tested by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS), hoping to emerge eligible for US citizenship. I notice that transiting Jupiter, planet of luck, will be exactly conjunct my natal Mercury (mental abilities & communication) in my re-located 11th house of hopes and wishes - a nice omen. My own careful input will be needed before luck can materialise though - so there'll be no counting of chickens!

If I pass muster at the interview, answer at least 6 of their 10 civics and history questions correctly, prove that I can read and write English (ahem!) and have kept my nose clean whilst living in the United States, I'll be shunted forward in a few weeks/months to an Oath Ceremony where, along with other new citizens I shall put my hand on my heart, swear allegiance to the USA, and become a citizen. Citizenship means, among other things, that I'll be eligible to vote (very important), and hold a US passport.

Here's an odd thing: before the recent furore about Senator Obama's pastor, Rev.Jeremiah Wright and his anti-American rantings from the pulpit, I felt somewhat ambivalent about the wording of the Oath of Allegiance, and the tradition of overt patriotism in the USA. Rev. Jeremiah Wright did me a favour. Although I see many flaws in the way the current administration runs the country, and conducts itself overseas, and realise that the country's past history is far from blameless, peddling hatred and sowing its seeds in young minds has to be the wrong way to address problems. Meaningful change can only occur when people work together, in love for each other and for their country.

When the time comes I shall pledge the required Oath with pride, no more qualms. Thanks, Rev. Wright! As the old proverb goes: "it's an ill wind that blows nobody any good"!

Before this can happen I must pass my tests tomorrow. I'm still practicing repeating the names of the 13 original states using my astro-mnemonic (see here). I hope I don't pop in a planet instead of a state...."Maryland, Massachusetts, Venus, Rhode Island, Neptune, North Carolina......Erm.... Sorry, can I try that again?!"

I'll be back on Saturday, all being well. In the meantime -

Paul Simon's "American Tune"
("We come on the ship they call the Mayflower
We come on the ship that sailed the moon
We come in the age's most uncertain hours
and sing an American tune")

A Stately Astro-Mnemonic

I need a mnemonic to help me remember the 13 original states of the USA. This for my civics test, coming up in relation to US citizenship. For luck, I'm going to use astrology in the mnemonic. This astrology is highly suspect, but it might help me remember the first letter of each state, which should kickstart my memory banks.




Venus Mercury & Mars Retrograde Carry No News of Saturn, Neptune's Nervous, Pluto Dominates Gemini

Virginia
Massachusetts
Maryland
Rhode Island
Connecticut
New Hampshire
North Carolina
South Carolina
New York
New Jersey
Pennsylvania
Delaware
GeorgiaNow....how to remember the mnemonic?

From a list of 96 questions applicants are asked 10 and must give correct answers to at least 6 of them. Most are straightforward, it's the few where the answer involves lists I hesitate over. EG: "Name the amendments(to the Constitution) that guarantee or address voting rights". My American husband couldn't answer that one - even HeWhoKnows didn't know! (Answer: 15th, 19th, 24th and 26th amendments. They relate to women's right to vote, the right of all races to vote, making it illegal to prevent someone from voting for not paying poll tax, and lowering voting age to 18.)

No more civics lessons - I promise!

Craig Ferguson, US Citizen.

On his "Late Late Show" this week, Scottish-born Craig Ferguson announced that on Friday 1 February he finally became a US citizen. A short film clip showed him taking the Oath of Allegiance, hand on heart. ("Oh, when will it be my turn?" she whines.) Also this week it was announced that he will host the White House Correspondents' Dinner, and be seated next to President Bush at the top table. Isn't this a classic example of being quick to "get your feet under the table"! (Article here).

John Townley's interpretation of Craig's natal chart can be found HERE. I decided to take a quick look at a sidereal version. This is one case (the first so far) where the tropical chart seems clearly to be a much better match, and there are no good planetary "compensations" here to muddy the water. Mars and Venus are in sidereal Taurus, with the Sun, which remains in Taurus in both zodiac versions, but in sidereal it's earlier, at just 1 degree.

We watch Craig's monlogue, though not his interviews, regularly. He displays strong Gemini traits. Before I knew his birthdate I'd earmarked him as Gemini Sun or ascendant. His tropical Sun is in Taurus, but Mercury and Venus are in Gemini. I just don't see him as triple Taurus with no Gemini present at all.

As an experiment, I used my software to relocate Craig's natal chart (17 May 1962), which is calculated for Glasgow, Scotland, to California where he's lived for many years. If my software is correct his relocated ascendant falls in Cancer, which doesn't strike me as very appropriate. I'm curious as to the source of his birth time. We Brits tend not to be in possession of this important information, unless our parents are astrologers or of a stangely meticulous strain. Both Astrotheme and John Townley have a time of 6.10pm though, so I assume it's valid. His Scorpio Moon and Neptune have moved out of first, into fourth house, better for a more serene inner personality, but troublesome for homelife. He often mentions that he's been divorced twice, but I don't know whether that was in the USA or UK. Relocated Sun, Mercury and Venus are in 11th house, a communicative Air house - excellent position for his profession of comedian, presenter and occasional author. His talent definitely seems to have blossomed since moving to the USA, there's no denying that.

On 1st February, when Craig attended the Oath Ceremony in Pomona, California, Mars was transiting conjunct his natal Venus, Saturn hovered over natal Pluto, and Moon in Sagittarius transited his relocated Vertex - a Moon of destiny!

More interesting though, transiting Uranus, planet of change, in Pisces has been shuffling back and forth over his natal Jupiter (laws and legal matters) since April 2007 - he almost certainly sent in his application for citizenship within that timespan. Craig's natal Jupiter at 9 Pisces is just 3 degrees from my own at 6 Pisces, meaning that transiting Uranus has hovered over both my natal Jupiter and his during the same recent period, and we are two British born individuals who have been, or are still, engaged in applying for US citizenship. Coincidence?

Craig is unlikely to ever cast his eyes over this blog, he has said, more than once, that he has no interest in astrology. I'll add my congratulations anyway, for his managing to successfully navigate the murky waters of USCIS, and come out the other side smiling. No doubt he had a lawyer at the wheel, expertly steering him around and beyond the obstacles and consequent frustrations which are still part of my own trip to the same destination.

May as well try to rope the Moon.....

I read recently about a virus prevalent in Britain which causes "projectile vomiting", well HWK and I have a variation of this - "projectile whingeing". It was brought on by being summoned to travel again to Oklahoma City, in potentially wintry weather, for USCIS to re-take my fingerprints. This is in connection with my application for citizenship. I had fingerprints taken already, on 17 December, but it appears the FBI couldn't read them satisfactorily, so I am to report at 9am, 22nd January for a re-take. They must already have at least three other sets on file from previous visa processes. Sigh.

22 January is the date of Full Moon in Leo, it's a few degrees away from opposing my natal Sun. Mars is still retrograde, Mercury is about to turn retrograde close to my natal Sun. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that things are not progressing smoothly.

Putting whingeing on hold for a moment, trying to be optimistic, I might consider this Full Moon to represent a culmination of the delays I've been experiencing since July, in connection with my citizenship application. From here on, perhaps all will be plain sailing.

I'll be back in blogland on Wednesday, all being well.

Saturnalia - Immigrant Style

Coming up tomorrow -17th December - The Lord of Misrule


The first day of the Roman festival Saturnalia.
It was a period of great feasting and festivity, with a lot of
drinking and eating. Slaves would become masters for the
festival, and everything was turned upside down. This part
of the Roman festival survived into the 17th Century.

Saturnalia in our world will not look quite like this, not unless the finger printing staff at the Immigration and Citizenship Office in Oklahoma City are having an off day (or on-day?) Or unless HeWhoKnows decides to let his hair down.




This'll be our version of it.
Good old Saturn - gotta love him!

Tomorrow, 17 December, Saturnalia for us will be spent acknowledging a different side of Saturn - laws, government, red tape. It's the date I've been summoned for fingerprinting at the "local" office of the Immigration and Citizenship Service, 80 miles distant. There'll be a gaggle of planets in Sagittarius quite close to my natal Venus (19.59 Sagittarius), so I'm thinking that I'll adopt Sagittarius as "the immigrant's sign".

This will be the third, or maybe fourth time they've taken my prints. This time, I understand they are to assist in a background check to be carried out by the FBI. Yet another background check. (All very Saturnian!) They've done it all before, too, when they first allowed me into these shores, as Mrs.HeWhoKnows. They are insatiable!

I'm told, also, that notification of a date for my main interview and test on civics may be expected "within 365 days". No voting for me in 2008 then. Yet more Saturnian limitations.

Due to wintery weather here, lots of ice, we're going off to the City later today and hope to find a nice warm motel where the power has been restored after last week's ice storm. Blogging will probably be suspended until Tuesday. Brrrrrr!

A Triple Sagittarian Good Guy

Thousands of legal immigrants to America, would-be US citizens (myself included) are stuck in the quagmire that is USCIS. We now have a champion - New York Senator Charles (Chuck) Schumer.

A press release last week revealed that he is to introduce legislation making it easier for USCIS to re-hire retirees to help deal with the backlogs.

"Schumer said immigrants who have followed the law and waited their turn should not have to sit in bureaucratic limbo because Citizenship and Immigration Services, part of the Homeland Security Department, was not prepared for the spike in applications before fees increased."

"For waves of would-be citizens, bureaucratic incompetence is turning the American Dream into a dream deferred," Schumer said in a news release."

"Indeed, believes Schumer, it could work so satisfactorily that he wants a CIS commitment to get the applications processed by July 4, just in time for national swearing-in ceremonies. That's eight months from now, not 18 - and he has called upon director Gonzalez to show cause why this goal cannot be met."

Extracts from HERE and HERE

I hope something comes of this, then I might be in with a chance of voting in 2008 after all!

I've taken a look at the Senator's natal chart. I'd like to know more about the man we immigrants have to thank for his support.

Senator Charles Schumer was born in Brooklyn, New York on 23 November 1950. (No time of birth available, so below is a 12 noon chart for his day of birth)


I should've known! A triple Sagittarius!!! Sagittarius understands immigrants - it being the vagabond of the zodiac.

Saturn at 00 Libra exactly sextiles Sun at 00 Sagittarius, and and Venus at 3 Sagittarius. Saturn relates to the law - which makes up a large part of the Senator's life's work, and it is here closely connected with his Sun(essence of self).

Mars in Capricorn semi-sextiles Mercury, Capricorn links back to Saturn (its ruling sign). The semi-sextile is a semi-harmonious connection to planet of communication, Mercury. Capricorn and Sagittarius are not highly compatible, but because of the link between Saturn and Sun, I suspect in this case it works rather well, Mars adding energy and drive to all his legal doings.

Jupiter, natal Sun's ruler lies in Aquarius, in the last degree, not making a close aspect with anything as far as I can tell, without time of birth. I wouldn't be a bit surprised to find humanitarian and foward-looking Aquarius rising, having looked quickly at a few articles about the Senator's work.

I should add that Hillary Clinton has also come out on our side. She has written to Michael Chertoff, Secretary of Homeland Security, telling him to "get his finger out" (as we used to say in Yorkshire). Report is on her website.

Our two champions will not see this blog, but it's in the nature of a loud yell into the ethers:
"Thank you Senators!"

Things are lookin' up!

Astro-sleuthing

I'm going to try a little astrological
Sherlock Holmes-ing.

The past week has been a case of "first the good news, then the bad news", for me. I was relieved on Monday to find that the authorities had, after more than 16 weeks, cashed the cheque which accompanied my US citizenship application. Later in the week came an announcement that processing times for the applications of people in the citizenship backlog will be 15 to 18 months(the norm is 7 months or less). This means it will be too late for new citizens to vote in the 2008 presidential election. I was half-expecting something of the sort, but seeing it in print was like a slap in the face.

The press have latched onto the situation. Washington Post, Boston Globe, Fox News and others have carried articles about the citizenship backlog which is likely to deny would-be new citizens the right to vote in 2008. Even the BBC picked it up.

Hints of political fingers twiddling the knobs have been put forward, most clearly in The Daily Kos, here.

This debacle might well be nothing more than evidence of incompetence and bad organisation, of which those currently in power are able to take advantage. On the other hand, was there some sinister planning going on long before the fee increase? It seems to have been timed "just right" to eliminate millions of new voters from the coming election.

A good astrologer could ferret out the answer. I'm not an astrologer, let alone a good one - but I'm closely involved in the situation, so I'll wade in and take a look.

Government proposals for increased fees were made public in February 2007 and the new fee structure announced in May, to take effect from 30 July 2007. The fee increase was the catalyst which brought forth a huge surge of citizenship applications. It's reported that the majority of these came from Mexicans and other Latinos. How was that information accessed ? It is probably a guess. Action organisations targeting those groups, were encouraging them to become citizens and vote. This, probably with an eye to getting fair outcome to the illegal immigrant situation here in the US.

The slower moving planets are involved in matters such as this, which affect large groups of people. The situation has developed with the following background: Pluto and Jupiter in Sagittarius. Sagittarius is connected with travel and foreign lands, so it figures that immigration will also come under its "umbrella". Jupiter relates to expansion (increase of fees). Pluto relates to transformation - the timelines for all kinds of immigration visas, and citizenship applications have certainly been transformed ! The astrological background fits!

Saturn (planet of rules, restrictions, limitations) was in the last third of Leo until the beginning of September. When it then moved into Virgo, the effects of the huge backlog, and restrictions it would impose upon applicants, started to become apparent.

BUT - had there been any political manipulation?

Neptune, planet of the hidden and mysterious, was in Aquarius throughout, and in sextile (harmony) with Saturn (limitation, restriction). Could this facilitate hidden agendas, and an atmosphere conducive to manipulation?

Proposals for fee increases -
February 2007 - Neptune 19 Aquarius. Saturn 22/21 Leo retro (SEXTILE)

Announcement of new fee structure -
May 2007 Neptune 21-22 Aquarius. Saturn 18-19 Leo (SEXTILE)

Increases implemented July 30 2007 -
Neptune 21 Aquarius. Saturn 25 Leo. (SEXTILE)

It would seem to be an easy matter for the government to allocate extra money to the department's budget to ensure processing in, at most, 12 months. After all, the fee increases were supposed to be for the purpose of improving or maintaining levels of service. There's no hint that help will be forthcoming. An opportunity to eliminate millions of potential Democratic votes from the equation in November 2008 must present a temptation to a Republican government whose popularity appears to be declining rapidly.

We must draw our own conclusions.

No end in sight, but a scenic horizon.

The saga of my application for US citizenship trundles on.....and on....and... Venus retrograde, Mercury retrograde periods have both come and gone, still no progress, now it's the turn of Mars!

My cheque sent on 26 July has still not been cashed, in common with those of many others who applied via the Texas Service Center around the same few weeks in July/August. Eventually, even after they've condescended to cash my cheque and enter my application into their systems, there'll still be a series of long waits, as frontlogs turn to backlogs. Compared to the obstacles and difficulties some people have to live with, this is very minor stuff - but frustrating nevertheless.

Transiting Jupiter is, as I type, conjoining my natal Venus in Sagittarius (bring on the wanderlust!)

Something nice is in order - as an antidote to frustration. We're taking ourselves off, right now (just for a couple of days), to see the fall foliage on Talimena Scenic Drive, which follows the tops of the Kiamichi Mountains in the Ouachita National Forest, between Oklahoma and Arkansas. The name Talimena Drive comes from the towns nearest each end of the 54-mile stretch of road. On the Oklahoma side is Talihina. On the Arkansas side is Mena, the purported hub of the Arkansas mafia’s drug flights, I'm told. (Arkansas has a mafia!!??)

Maybe I'll have a chance to upload posts from the road - maybe not. It'll depend on how civilised is the motel where we hole up.

Do your worst, Mercury retrograde!

Borrowing a line from Charles Dickens: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times". Yesterday's good news about Al Gore was smartly followed by bad news about my citizenship application. News with a typically Mercury retrograde flavour emerged from a USCIS conference call, implying that I'm likely to be waiting even longer to become a US citizen than I'd expected in my worst imaginings.

The total of all applications the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service received between July/August this year was 1.2 million. 480,000 of these (my own included) are still awaiting receipt. There were 500,000 citizenship applications (like my own) among the total number. All this because they increased fees? There must be more to it. USCIS indicated that they hope to be able to receipt all by the end of October, but warn that processing delays will get worse before they get better, as frontlogs become backlogs.

Oh joy!

I sent my application more than eleven weeks ago, on 26 July, full of hope and confidence that things would roll along slowly but surely and the process would take anything between 6 months and a year. I'd be able to vote in November 2008. Wrong! If I live long enough I might be eligible to vote in the 2012 election - and I do mean might!

This is Mercury retrograde with a vengance. It followed hard on the heels of a Venus retrograde period too.

"I don't know whether to yell "I just don't care anymore, I'm outta here - when's the next plane back to the UK?" or just think...well, what does it matter, your vote wouldn't make much difference anyway, forget about politics, forget about it all. what's the use?

"San fairy Ann" - or as the French say "ca ne fait rien" - it doesn't matter. Do your worst Mercury retrograde - see if I care!

What good is a blog if you can't let off steam? I wonder what the French for that is? Quel bon est un blog si vous ne pouvez pas laisser outre de la vapeur. Ain't Babel Fish wonderful!

Impatient

Astrologer C.E.O. Carter says in his Encyclopedia of Psychological Astrology, "Patience is a Saturn virtue. If this planet is afflicted by Mars or Uranus, or indeed, if these are more prominent than Saturn, there is usually impatience. Mercury can also be considered in this respect."

I'm impatient by nature, and have always put this down to natal Moon in Aries (ruled by Mars). My natal Saturn is in Aries too, 12 degrees from Moon, this probably adds to the problem. Natal Mercury is in Saturn's home sign of Capricorn, not an impatient Mercury, but with Capricorn's ruler in Aries - who knows?

I'm needing to curb my impatience currently. To date the cheque which accompanied my application for US citizenship, sent to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service on 26 July, almost 8 weeks ago, has still not been cashed. USCIS has issued notices on-line indicating that they have what they call a "front-log" of cases. In normal circumstances cheques are cashed and applications get underway within a week to 10 days of receipt. We've now been told that it's taking up to 90 days to issue receipts due to this front-log.

It'll be interesting to see whether things start to move around the time when Venus reaches 2* Virgo again, the point at which the recent retrograde started, but I shall not hold my breath - even that is far too optimistic an expectation as things are turning out. I must also bear in mind that Mercury will turn retrograde on 12 October, almost dovetailing Venus. Nice! Citizenship in time for the 2008 presidential election is looking ever more unlikely. I'm beginning to wonder why I bothered to apply in the first place. Grumble....grumble.

A man watches his pear tree day after day, impatient for the ripening of the fruit. Let him attempt to force the process, and he may spoil both fruit and tree. But let him patiently wait, and the ripe fruit at length falls into his lap. Abraham Lincoln 1809-1865.

That was easy for you to say, Abe - you had Aquarian Sun like me, but you didn't have my impatient Moon in Aries - in fact, Moon would have been in much more patient Capricorn if you were born before noon. Your Mercury lay in Pisces, with Saturn/Neptune in Sagittarius trining Venus in Aries. That lineup delivered some amazing things, but it seems that impatience wasn't among them.