Glen Campbell & Jimmy Webb - Perfect fit

Wandering around the BBC website, I stumbled across an on-line recording of Glen Campbell's recent concert in London.
Link if a passing reader happens to be a fan of his.

I was a lukewarm fan, back in the day, but my fanship really only extended to his versions of Jimmy Webb songs: "Wichita Lineman", "Galveston", "By the Time I Get to Phoenix", and a couple of others. Without these songs, my guess is that he'd have remained a guitar player to the illustrious, which he already was before breaking into vocal stardom. He is said to be one of America's top session guitarists.

What is rather unexpected about his very successful association with Jimmy Webb is that Campbell is described as "a hawkish Republican", while Webb was something of a hippie, and therefore very liberal in his politics.

"It doesn't really matter if Glen Campbell was Jimmy Webb's best interpreter or if Webb gave Campbell his best songs -- in other words, it doesn't matter who helped the other more -- because it doesn't change the essential fact that the duo fit each other so naturally. Webb's intricate, idiosyncratic compositions sounded warm and accessible in Campbell's hands, while... More the songs revealed Campbell's musical range and ambition. Other singers had big hits with Webb's songs and Campbell made tremendous music with other people's songs, but there was something special about their collaboration that was evident on their big hits of the '60s: "By the Time I Get to Phoenix," "Wichita Lineman," "Galveston," "Where's the Playground, Suzie?." These songs provided the background for Reunion, the 1974 album where Campbell and Webb reunited for a set of Webb songs"

(Extract from article here)

I decided to look at the two natal charts to see if I could spot anything in common.

Glen Campbell born on 22 April 1936 in Delight, Arkansas at 8.14pm.

Jimmy Webb born in Elk City, Oklahoma 15 August 1946.


Click on image to enlarge.

I can't find time of birth for Jimmy Webb, so for ease of comparison have shown both charts set for 12 noon. The additional information: Campbell's ascendant is 20.45 Scorpio, Moon at 24.51 Taurus.

Well now! Campbell is a multiple Taurean, Webb a multiple Leo/Libran. Libra and Taurus are both ruled by Venus, planet of the arts including, of course, music, both signs are very strongly featured in these charts. That's one connection: Venus rulership and stelliums in each of Venus's signs.

However, although Venus-ruled signs feature strongly, the two signs are not highly compatible. Taurus is Fixed Earth, Libra Cardinal Air. The signs re quincunx one another, which is astrologese for describing an irritable scratchy relationship with little in common. Personality-wise it's quite likely they have little in common, especially bearing in mind Webb's Leo planets, square to some of Campbell's Taurus group. Their music is the only bond.

Another point worth noting, Jimmy Webb has no planets in Earth in his chart, Glen Campbell has none in Air. Elementally and musically, it could be said that they complete each other. And that pretty much explains it for me!

UNIVERSAL

"The cosmos is a vast living body, of which we are still parts. The sun is a great heart whose tremors run through our smallest veins. The moon is a great nerve center from which we quiver forever. Who knows the power that Saturn has over us, or Venus? But it is a vital power, rippling exquisitely through us all the time."
~D.H. Lawrence

I am part of the sea and stars
And the winds of the South and North
Of mountains and Moon and Mars,
And the ages sent me forth.
Edward H. S. Terry

The spirit of the universe is at once creative and destructive.. it creates while it destroys and destroys while it creates, and therefore it remains to us a riddle. And we must inevitably resign ourselves to this.Albert Schweitzer

A live performance of John Lennon's "Across the Universe" with a starry lineup of performers, at the Grammy awards in (I think) 2006. I love the way they adjust the lyrics near the end, and sing "Something's gonna change my world".....and it did - on November 4th 2008 their prediction came true!!

-SLash
-Bono
-Stevie Wonder
-Norah Jones
-Brian Wilson
-Alicia Keys
-Scott Weiland
-Billie Joe
-Tim McGraw
-Steven Tyler
-Allison Kraus(violin)
-Dave Kushner(guitAR)
-Matt Sorum(drum)
Duff McKagen(bass)

Kubrick, "2001", Astrology

For reasons which escape me I'd been fancying to see "2001 A Space Odyssey" again, so bought a used version at the ever reliable Amazon. We watched it this week. "2001" is a movie which really needs to be seen a few times in order to appreciate the layers of meaning, possible allegorical slants and hints it contains. Arthur C. Clarke and Stanley Kubrick were a bit ahead of themselves with the title date. "2100" might have been a better guess, but sci-fi specialists back in the '60s did tend to be over-optimistic about rates of progress in this mad, mad world. Between 1968, when the movie was released, and 2008, much has changed, but not nearly as much as they envisioned.



After some interesting conversations with the husband about the meaning of some scenes in the film, I searched Google for other opinions. Oh my! Some folks really plumbed the deeper layers. Most theories seem feasible, if one likes searching for embedded messages, and esoteric links.

I shall keep things as simple as possible and say that, in a mini-nutshell, the movie is a depiction of human evolution, past, present and future.

There are a few astrolgical nods in the movie. I guess Kubrick had some astro knowledge. He was a Sun Leo, very appropriate for someone whose career brought the screen to life for his audiences. His Mercury was conjunct Pluto (no wonder there are said to be hidden messages and motifs in this and other movies of his, Pluto loves secrets). His Natal Moon at 12 noon was at 25* of secretive Scorpio, that would fit nicely with the Pluto conjunct Mercury, but if he was born very late in the day Moon might have moved into philosophical Sagittarius - that's still a good fit.

The book upon which the movie is based was written, in collaboration with Stanley Kubrick by Arthur C. Clarke (Sun in Sagittarius sextile Uranus in Aquarius) sci-fi writer, inventor, futurist. It was loosely based on an earlier short story of Clarke's - "The Sentinel".

As for the astrological nods, they can be noted in an article by Jay Weidner "Alchemical Kubrick 2001", the author writes:

" Bowman (referring to astronaut Dave Bowman) is also a name for the constellation Sagittarius. Which is a man with a bow. This on it's own may appear to be uninteresting but one of the great alchemical secrets concerns the position of the center of the galaxy. This point in the sky is found right next to the constellation of Sagittarius. In fact, the Bow-Man of Sagittarius is shooting his arrow right into the heart of the Milky Way galaxy. Bowman represents Sagittarius' arrow as it passes through the center of the galaxy. This is also echoed later in the 'Beyond the Infinite' sequence where Bowman witnesses an exploding galaxy. "

"Kubrick uses alchemical allegories through out the film. The obvious analogies are the celestial alignments that proceed each of the alchemical transmutations in the film. The second main allegory is that it is a black stone that initiates these transmutations. Again this mirrors the alchemical lore about the black stone causing the transmutation of the alchemist. "

"....... every time the monolith, the magical stone, appears in the film there is also a strange, beautiful, celestial alignment occurring. And one must also remember that every celestial alignment in the film is followed by a visit from the monolith, that is, except for one. That would be the lunar eclipse that occurs at the very beginning of the film."

Celestial alignments preceded man's enlightenment in Kubrick's movie. I wonder if life will imitate art? When's the next beautiful celestial alignment due?

Here's another idea: using astrolgical doctrine and the four Fixed Signs as "monoliths", one could say that the film follows the progression of humans from their dawning, at Taurus, first Fixed Sign (the apes & tools/weapons) through development to their zenith at midheaven, Leo (the astronauts), onward to Scorpio(once the tools took over and had to be discarded), plumbing the depths of doubts... leading to understanding, and finally into Aquarius having gained knowledge, enlightenment. Then... re-birth. Alternatively the life cycle from Aries to Pisces ccan be used to describe the evolution, but it doesn't provide "the monolith", the angles.

We humans are somewhere around midheaven now, not ready to discard our "tools". We've a few long steps to go before the next monolith is due!

Stephen Lewis: Special Man, Special Chart.

Yesterday rumours circulated on the net that Senator Hillary Clinton is being considered by President-elect Obama for the post of Secretary of State (see here). What a wonderful appointment that would be! Please, Obama - do it! What a message! Following on from the current female Secretary of State - another woman - and a stronger more determined one! The message would reach the dark corners of the world where women are still treated worse than animals - and that segues nicely into my today's post.

After reading about Canadian humanitarian and supporter of women's rights, Stephen Lewis this week on one of my regular blog-stops : Wisewebwoman's "The Other side of Sixty" ( post is dated 11 November) I resolved to look at his natal chart.

We, as a nation, and we, as a group of astrology fans, tend to inspect our own navels a lot of the time, worry about petty inconsequential matters. Some women on this planet do not have such luxury. It's important that an inspired and inspiring individual like Stephen Lewis is prepared to stand up against injustices meted out to women all over the world, but particularly on the African continent. I urge any passing reader to visit Wisewebwoman's blog and read Mr. Lewis's words describing the horrendous atrocities women in parts of Africa have to suffer.

Stephen Lewis was born in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada on 11 November 1937. I can find no indication of time of birth, so below is a chart set for 12 noon. The ascending sign and exact Moon degree will not be accurate, though Moon will remain somewhere in Aquarius whatever time he was born.



Hmmmm this is an extreme "splash pattern" chart - planets scattered throughout the zodiac. What makes this different from some other scattered charts though is regularity. I spotted this even before my software highlighted it among a whole screenful of aspect patterns (diagram on right).
See how the links trip around the signs, in the 20 to 28 degree area, linking via harmonious sextiles, semi sextiles and/or trines ? Some are just into the 00 degree of the next sign, but still within orb to be included. Every sign of the zodiac in this chart contains one or more planets, or a sensitive point (Part of Fortune, Moon's Nodes) within it.

This is truly "A Man for All Seasons"!

That's the overview then, a well integrated, positvely oriented personality, who uses his skills in the most productive way possible.

His Sun and Mercury in intense Scorpio and Moon somewhere in socially conscious Aquarius provide the basic brush strokes depicting a passionate (Scorpio) humanitarian (Aquarius).

The Mars/Jupiter opposition to Pluto, Sun opposition to Uranus, and Saturn opposing Neptune provide dynamic energies to drive the harmonious aspects which surround the chart. This man isn't ever going to sit calmly on the front porch with his dog, staring into the sunset. He is driven, driven through the whole gamut of experience, not as Dorothy Parker once put it in critique of an actress, "from A to B" but in his case, from A to Z.

My blogging buddy Wisewebwoman has commented

"I had the good fortune to meet with him and his good wife (Michele Landsberg, feminist journalist) a few years ago at a dinner commemorating the massacre of the female engineering students in Montreal. There is something magical about him, the capacity for undivided attention to whomever he is speaking (much like Bill Clinton who has that gift also) and a natural humility. One of my brothers met him in Africa and has been shouting about him from the rooftops ever since."

There is something special about the chart - its integration. I doubt there are many like this - just as there are not many men like Stephen Lewis - more's the pity.

A single paragraph from the recent talk featured at Wisewebwoman's blog, linked at the top. Please, do take a few minutes to go read the article in full.

"And in the case of the Congo, you have a war on women. You know, if I may make a somewhat more intellectual observation, rape is no longer a weapon of war. Rape has become a strategy of war. You rape women in such numbers, so savagely that you humiliate entire communities through the women. The women hold the communities together. On the continent of Africa, nothing happens without the engagement of the women, particularly at the grassroots, particularly on the ground. And what happens is that the entire community is subdued, oppressed, overcome by these roving bands of marauding militias, who rape the women, move the community off the extractive resources, which is what they want, or turn the women into sex slaves and the men into the laborers who do extract the resources. And it’s hideous, the consequences, and it’s been going on since 1996. More than a quarter of a million women have been raped. And what is so unfathomable about it is everyone in a position of power knows, and it continues. I’ll never never comprehend."

Tarot Experiment ~ continued.....

My previous experiments with tarot have been reasonably accurate, though with no world-shattering revelations. (Access by clicking on "tarot" from the Label Cloud in the sidebar.) Continuing the experiment, now that the election is over and we have a President-elect Obama, I asked a couple of new questions. Last week : "What do I need to know about Barack Obama?". This week: "What do I need to know about the way Obama will govern?"
I find it tricky to formulate the question, and therefore had to take two stabs at it.

# 1~~~ What do I need to know about Barack Obama?
3 cards in the following order: 6 Cups....8 Cups....The Sun.

This was really the wrong question to ask, it's way too broad.

Anyway, 6 Cups indicates nostalgia, something emotional connected to the past, a little melancholic - perhaps this relates to the death of Obama's grandmother and his recollections of her effect on his life.





8 Cups - indicates a turning away, a new direction, an abandoning, or giving something up. When I saw this I was a little worried....until I turned the third card. 8 cups in this context probably relates to the change from Senator to President. A less positive card in third position could have indicated him stepping down for some reason. (I'm a little uneasy about this card.)





The Sun - A Major Arcana card, one of the best, most fortunate cards in the whole deck. It's even more appropriate because it relates to his natal sun sign, Leo. See what learn.tarot.com has to say about The Sun card:

experiencing greatness
achieving prominence
being singled out for notice
having a personal moment of glory
setting an outstanding example
shining forth brilliantly
demonstrating distinction
becoming the center of attention.

Though the three cards I drew from the deck were appropriate enough, they didn't tell me much that we don't already know. That'll teach me not to ask broad questions!

*****************************************

I waited a week, then asked:
#2 ~~~What do I need to know about the way Obama will govern? A more specific query.

6 Wands - Card of victory, success, acclaim. This is an appropriate background atmosphere!








Knight of Cups - This has to represent Obama and the manner in which he will govern. Knight of Cups relates to the element of Water, zodiac sign Cancer or Pisces, and as in astrology, relates to sensitivity, gentleness, vision, perhaps visions too fanciful to bring to reality? The Knight is not yet King, so it's appropriate, for now, to indicate future intention. It fits Obama's graceful, calm persona, his idealistic aims, dreams of unity and peace. These are his current aims, however - as Knight rather than King.




10 Wands Indication of future/outcome. Traditionally the card of oppression, in this case the oppression brought on by success, the burdens of the presidency, uphill struggles, every step made difficult. The "feel", astrologically, is of Saturn. It indicates that President Obama will have to set aside some of his dreamy visions, to "get real". He'll become overburdened with difficulties left behind by the previous administration.



None of the above is news to anyone interested in the current political scene, all of this could have been set out without the help of the tarot. What I still find amazing though is how three cards drawn at random from the deck of 78 turn out to be so appropriate to the question asked.

Maybe my next experiment, in a few weeks, will throw up some unexpected prediction, or perhaps events in the meantime will illuminate a different interpretation of one that I settled on - that 8 of Cups in the first spread for instance. I still find it a little disquieting.

Lenny Bruce - Another Libran Exception?

I'm one of very few people this side of the Atlantic who doesn't think Lenny Bruce was iconic, wonderful, great, funny. Maybe it's one of those situations where "you had to be there", you had to know how it was before him, then how things changed after him. Perhaps, in context, his input to the world of comedy has some value in the history of entertainment and communication. "Saviour of the First Amendment", some call him - for the uninitiated, this relates to freedom of speech. I don't get it! The mildest of profanity, or rude word is routinely blanked out during TV shows on most channels. Someone says "fuck" and not only is the sound eliminated, but the pixels surrounding the speaker's mouth disintegrate, so the delicate sensitivities of the audience are not upset by a little lip-reading. So what did Lenny Bruce achieve?

There's a vein of prudery in America which doesn't exist in Britain to anywhere near the same extent. Perhaps that's why I see Lenny Bruce as a pain in the arse (been there, seen that, didn't want the T-shirt) while many Americans idolise him as some kind of revolutionary icon.

Here's Lenny Bruce's natal chart. Born 13 October 1925, Mineola NY, at 11.24 am.



DANG! Another triple Libran who goes against the grain (Nazi horror-monger Irma Grese struck me this way too - I blogged about her recently (here). A few more charts like these and I shall start doubting traditional interpretations of Libra as the most diplomatic, tactful, indecisive sign of the zodiac. The dark underbelly of Libra is definitely not pretty. The thought led me to a little more research and this is what I discovered:

Lenny Bruce's natal Mars at 9 Libra is conjunct Fixed Star Vindemiatrix designated unfortunate or malefic by ancient astrologers. His natal Saturn is within minutes of arc of Fixed Star South Scale in Scorpio - another malefic, very unfortunate star.

Irma Grese was born with Sun conjunct Algorab ("One who is destructive, malevolent, fiendish and lying")

There are several websites with information on Fixed Stars, I used this one.

Lesson learned: it's worth checking whether Fixed Stars are close to personal planets if things seem discordant with accepted astrological interpretation, especially in the case of Libra Sun people who are supposed to be, in the main, mild mannered, sweet, ruled by Venus.

Something else springs to mind too - Via Combusta, The Burning Road, spans 15 Libra to 15 Scorpio, which takes in Bruce's Sun, Mercury and Saturn. I puzzled over Via Combusta here. .......... Curiouser and curiouser.

Astrologer Bob Marks points out a Funnel Pattern in Bruce's chart, with eccentric Uranus at the business end - see here.

Uranus is also at the business end of a Yod (Finger of Fate) - 2 quincinx aspects linked by a sextile. Sun/Mercury and Neptune form the sextile - so this Yod can be translated as this comedian's personal communication style(Sun/Mercury) linking to Neptune's creativity, and potential for addiction being blended and channelled through eccentric, revolutionary Uranus. It's a similar "feel" to Bob Marks' description of Uranus as the "singleton".

One more thing to point out: Pluto, Saturn and Uranus form a Grand Trine in Water signs - those 3 planets are hard-core, no warm fuzzies there! They link the emotional element (Water) in the chart, providing a kind of circuit of deadly emotional, electric shocks. Not a comfortable Grand Trine by any means.

Lenny Bruce's natal Moon in Virgo reflects a deeply critical inner self. It's a pity he hadn't turned critical focus onto his own shortcomings rather than hurling abuse at all and sundry, he might then still be among us, instead of dying of a drug overdose at age 40.

Uranus-Saturn can be seen working!

Popping back with a second helping today, because I feel the paragraphs below, from an article I've just read, written by someone unconnected with astrology, describe very clearly how the Uranus-Saturn opposition, exact on election day, is playing out. From a piece published at Common Dreams today " 'Obama' For Lefties", by Ira Chernus.

I love to find things like this! "Change" and "steady predictability", "rash, impulsive", "safe, solid"...all classic keywords for Uranus and Saturn, and used
not by an astrology fan with an axe to grind, but by an observer of the political scene:

"That's why Obama is so widely admired. He won, not by offering specific new policy ideas, but by uniting in himself the seemingly opposite images of change and steady predictability. He presented himself as the dynamic leader who could "change the world" while remaining always safe and solid, poised and unflappable, never likely to do anything rash or impulsive. The defining moment of the contest was the second debate, when the "maverick" McCain wandered erratically around the stage while Obama sat or stood, serenely centered, even as the economy of the nation (and perhaps the whole world) was collapsing around us.

It's understandable that images of steadiness now dominate. Obama knows that you can't use the winds of change to move people who are frightened or insecure. Whatever he may hope to accomplish, he has to keep on reassuring the general public and the power elite that he really is the temperate, self-controlled man they saw throughout the campaign. That's the only way he can be free to put across any policy agenda he comes up with.
He won't succeed if he says or does anything that might look unexpected, impulsive, or the least bit radical."

Uranus opposes Saturn in the astrological chart for the present time. But both are otherwise connected - through Aquarius, Obama's rising sign. They are the ancient and modern rulers of that sign. Rather than opposing in a negative manner, they seem able to work easily in tandem, pushing a little way backward to achieve sufficient momentum in order to pull forward.

Light Cartoons, Weighty Recollections.

A cartoon or two, a spoonful of poetry, a pertinent photograph - all bring to mind something astrological or something significant.

I raided the husband's bookshelves for the cartoons: "Cartoon Cavalcade" (1943), "Crazy Cartoons" by Vip" (1956), and "Cartoon Treasury" (1955).



(SAGITTARIUS - of course!)

Cartoon by T.S. Sullivant

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Ought to be MERCURY but it's Jupiter, or maybe Zeus - crossed lines again!)
"It's that man from the telephone office."
Cartoon by John Frazer in The Texas Ranger.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(ARIES & LEO ?)


Cartoon by Vip.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And on a very serious note - 11th hour of 11th day of 11th month:

WE REMEMBER

WE SHALL REMEMBER THEM ~ by Sheila Parry

No visit to a gracious Queen,
no presentation honouring the dead.

The day his medal came
her fingers fumbled with the padded envelope;
ribbon and steel dropped from her hand,
another piece rolled out of sight.


When they came home they found her there,
tears falling on the polished floor,
trying to fit the fragments of her son,
to make sense of the scattered jigsaw
of his life.


Home-assembly decoration kits
by order of a grateful Government,
broken like the bodies
they were made to celebrate.


But then he was, at seventeen, hardly a soldier.
Just a name and number in the power game.
Mail-order hero of a battle scene.

Astrology of WPA & Future Works Projects.

There has been suggestion from President-Elect Obama that his administration may initiate some kind of public works project, aiming to improve the country's infrastructure, providing employment for millions of those who have lost jobs as a result of the current economic climate. I learned about a previous project of this nature after our visit to the summit of Mount Scott, last week, it's in the Wichita Mountains, a short drive from our home. The road to the top of the mountain was constructed as part of the Works Project Administration (WPA) - brainchild of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, it was established in May 1935 and ran until 1943.

A plaque at the highest point of Mt. Scott shown below, and yours truly after we drove up the WPA road last Tuesday. It was windy up there!





The WPA offered work to the unemployed on an unprecedented scale by spending money on a wide variety of projects, including construction of highways, bridges and public buildings, slum clearance, reforestation, and rural rehabilitation. In Oklahoma alone 825 schools were built, the most in any state.

Astrologically, only the outer planets would connect to this prodigious enterprise, being long term, and affecting a whole group of the American people. In May 1935 at the establishment of WPA, the outers stood as follows:

Saturn 8 Pisces
Uranus had just entered Taurus - 1 to 3 degrees
Neptune 11 Virgo
Pluto 23 to 24 Cancer.

Because the WPA's establishment date coinicides with Uranus changing signs I think that planet's transit was very significant. Uranus, the radical, bringer of change, entering Taurus, the Fixed Earth sign, concerned with property and practicality. Taurus is ruled by Venus, it also relates to the arts. The WPA, as well as pioneering a wide variety of building and engineering works throughout the states, also provided programmes supporting the arts. Writers produced guide books, indexed archives and newspapers, conducted historical research. Unemployed artists worked decorating post offices, schools and public buildings, produced murals, sculptures, and posters (above & left). Musicians organised orchestras and community singing.

So, in view of the date of its establishment, its novelty and the span of its influence, I see WPA as firmly in the domain of Uranus. Any project along the same lines brought forward in the near future will not be Uranus-led though. Uranus is now in dreamy, spiritual Pisces. It is Pluto's imminent move into Capricorn which will most likely spark a new programme of community work projects. Capricorn is the Cardinal Earth sign of the zodiac, still very practical, but more business-driven than Taurus. Works undertaken may not include any nods to the arts this time around, the project will be more concerned with keeping commerce free-flowing. Roads and bridges connecting urban areas and between states might be a priority.

Saturn, Capricorn's ruler representing structure/infrastructure, is now transiting organised Virgo (Mutable Earth) and will blend easily with Capricornian aims. Meticulous organisation will be a feature of any new works project - count on it! That's something which was lacking in the WPA, when foggy, dreamy Neptune transited Virgo, with Saturn in similarly dreamy Pisces. The WPA had many critics, confusion and waste were said to be a common feature. Our current Saturn in Virgo will not stand for that!

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REMEMBRANCE

If I were still living in the UK, I'd have been wearing a poppy in my lapel for the last few days. It's a custom not widely followed in the USA, though the UK's Remembrance Day and USA's Veterans' Day share the date: 11 November.
I can't get a poppy for my lapel, so attach one to my blog instead....

LEST WE FORGET

Drive-by Astrology: Cory Booker

Drive-by posts are supposed to be brief - this one's a slow, Sunday drive-by!

Bill Maher, on "Real Time" last Friday night interviewed Cory Booker, Mayor of Newark, New Jersey. Now, I know absolutely nothing about New Jersey, except that when, from my UK home, I first started US immigration procedures I used to read a British Expat's help forum. One of the contributors, an ex-pat who already lived in New Jersey had a motto, beneath his avatar which made me grin: "New Jersey, where strangers are killed and eaten". Having read a few articles about Cory Booker and his city, I realise it wasn't that far from the truth!

A description of the city of Newark, population 275,000, from Scot Raab's article in "Esquire" (link below):

"Lousy housing? Check. Rampant unemployment? You bet. Shitty schools? Bingo. Gang warfare? My, yes. Newark may have only one movie house -- and zero new-car dealerships and big-box stores -- but it has what might be the world's only Toys "R" Us knockoff Ebonically named Wee Bee Kids, close to City Hall. Everybody with the means to flee fled long ago -- and by "everybody" I mean the white folk and nearly all the middle-class blacks -- and what was surrendered on the way out of town was any sense that the people left behind truly matter"

Mayor Booker was impressive in Friday night's interview. He clearly impressed Bill Maher, and he definitely impressed me. Bill commented to the effect that, if a new President Obama does a good job, Americans might think "Wow, African Americans are good at this - let's have another!" Cory Booker would be a shoo-in in those circumstances! He lit up the screen with his smile and his enthusiasm. This is definitely one to watch, I think we'll be seeing a lot more of him in coming years.

Born 27 April 1969 in Washington DC. No time of birth available. 12 noon chart below, so ascendant and exact Moon position not accurately shown.



His natal Sun and Mercury are in Taurus - fixed sign, determined, solid, dependable, pragmatic.

Saturn, in the last degree of Aries (the anaretic degree, thought to be particularly strong) is conjunct Taurus Sun, although in different sign. Aries brings in energy, impulsive brightness, and extra enthusiasm to that somewhat staid Sun. This came across very clearly in the TV interview. He's a law-maker (Saturn) of sorts in his own realm of Newark, but staid and stodgy, as Saturn can be, he definitely is not - thanks to Aries. Venus is also in Aries, intensifying a go-ahead, get-ahead enthusiastic approach to life.

Bringing things back down to Earth, and adding organisation, discernment and critical thinking: Virgo. Moon will be somewhere in Virgo, with Jupiter and Pluto, Uranus had just moved to 00 Libra, here again two planets conjoin from different signs, this conjunction with Jupiter draws in the social reform and rebellious nature of Uranus to somewhat shake up Virgo's tendency to nitpick.

I like this quote (from New Yorker article linked below)

"His earnestness can at times be confounding. Upbeat, chatty and competitive, he drops quotations into conversations like a professor seeking tenure. Even when campaigning, he occasionally corrects people over minor mistakes." (that last sentence - very Virgo!)

Mars is in ebullient, optimistic Sagittarius in harmonious trine to Venus in energetic Aries, more reflection of this almost pulsating character who comes across to spectators.

Two more things I'll note in this chart~~
1. A Yod (finger of God, or Fate) - an arrow-like pattern formed by two quincunx aspects and a sextile.

Here the point of the arrow hits Saturn - law maker. Astrologers say that the planet at the arrow point indicates a compelling focus on the energies of that planet, driven by the combined energies of the two in sextile, here it's Uranus/Jupiter and Neptune. So this Yod can be translated thus: optimistic dreams of social reform brought into focus via laws and hard work. Another quote, which illustrates the above quite well ~~
Cory Booker's current aim in life is to heal Newark and make it "a national model of urban governing by employing a mix of discipline and openness to new ideas."

And

2. This one I don't much like: Mercury on the degree of Fixed Star Algol.
I wrote in a recent post, (here), that Algol's very bad reputation doesn't always manifest in a life. Sometimes it's negligible or non-existent. Sometimes though in the lives of those with this traditionally malefic star prominent in their natal chart, some kind of disaster occurs. It's a potential, no more.

More reflections of his style from links below:

(Booker)"For me, it's a leadership issue -- and if I have to stay out on the streets till four o'clock every morning, I'll do it. I know we can do this. The city as a whole, I know we can solve our problems -- they're not bigger than we are. I believe in my heart -- and I have no right to believe otherwise, because human history is a testimony to it -- that we can change things. The question is, can we muster the collective will? King said it more eloquently: The problems today are not the vitriolic words and the evil actions of the bad people, but the appalling silence and inaction of the good people."

The author describes how Cory Booker and two security guys travel the streets of Newark in an SUV, talking to gang members, down-and-outs, a cross-section of Newark's night people:

"Booker powers down his window, and the man -- small, red-eyed, ageless, shriveled with cold -- squints at him and says, "CoryBooker," a single word, like Tinkerbell, with gravel and wonder in his voice.

"How ya doin', man?" Booker says. "Why are you out here in the freezin' cold in the middle of the night?"(He gets out of the vehicle talks to the man, hands him a card with an address to contact.)

When he gets back in, I ask if he ever felt called to preach.

"Yeah. I debated between law school and divinity."

How long was the debate?

"It was long in the sense that I think I've always wanted to be a part of a spiritual revolution. You can't have a physical transformation until you have a spiritual transformation. But my views of religion are very expansive, so I still feel like I'm -- hopefully -- living a life of spirit."

Preachers wear better suits.

"I've ripped a lot of suits recently," he laughs. "And in ignominious ways. I caught one on a door and ripped the pocket. This one, the crotch wore out, so we had to send it out to put a patch on. The truth of this is, it's just not high on my priority list."

Links:

From New York Times, 2006, by Damien Cave.

Scott Raab at "Esquire" wrote a very engaging article following an interview with Cory Booker, back in July. "The Battle of Newark, Starring Cory Booker". It's a long but rewarding read, Mr Raab has great, energetic writing style.

Music, music, music...

We've a date at our local theater tonight to see Tumbao Bravo - a 7-piece group who play Cuban Jazz, with the rhythms of mambo, cha cha cha, rumba, bolero, pachanga etc. Not much scope for astrology blogging there then. Or is there? Reading the blurb about Tumbao Bravo got me thinking about different musical genres and how their qualities are reflected in signs of the zodiac. Here's what I've come up with, and why:


Classical ~~ Capricorn & Virgo - tradition, rigid structure, meticulous performance





Jazz ~~~ Aries & Aquarius - energetic, spontaneous, modern, unpredictable






Easy Listening ~~~ Libra & Pisces - undemanding, pleasant, non-controversial, dreamy





Country ~~~ Taurus & Cancer - old fashioned, earthy, conservative, homely



Folk & Bluegrass~~~ Cancer, Capricorn & Aquarius - sensitive, homely, traditional and often socially aware






Rock~~~ Aries & Scorpio - energetic, can be passionate and/or menacing





Pop ~~~ Gemini & Aquarius - an eclectic mix of themes all communicating to "the people" - all the people




Opera & Stage ~~Leo, Sagittarius - dramatic, exaggerated,






Soul & Blues~~~Pisces, Scorpio - deep, powerful and passionate








Latin ~~~ Scorpio & Sagittarus - passionate and "foreign"









Big Band & Swing ~~~ Aries and Sagittarius - energetic, big, happy sound.







Religious/Sacred ~~~ Sagittarius, Pisces & Capricorn - spiritual, devout, traditional