"Everything in life is somewhere else, and you get there in a car"

Transiting Jupiter, planet of travel, is still hanging around my natal Venus in Sagittarius, and North node of HeWhoKnows. Another adventure coming up! We are off to Columbus, Ohio to see my husband's younger son, who I have yet to meet in person. As E.B. White said,(above) we'll get there in a car.

Bill Bryson's comment about Ohio, in his Book "The Lost Continent", isn't too encouraging but I'll not be disheartnened:

"In the morning I awoke early and experienced that sinking sensation that overcomes you when you first open your eyes and realize that instead of a normal day ahead of you, with its scattering of simple gratifications, you are going to have a day without even the tiniest of pleasures; you are going to drive across Ohio."

Bill Bryson's books are a joy . He's American, his wife is English. They have lived for long periods in both America and the UK. His observations about the two countries always ring bells for me. He's a Sun Sagittarian with Mercury in Capricorn. Mercury (writing planet) is square his Sun's ruler Jupiter(publishing planet and planet of travel). His writing discloses a wry sense of humour combined with shrewd observation and candid commentary, which results in a very readable and entertaining style.

We're bound to discover plenty of interest on the journey, which touches five states. One visit en route is already planned: an Air Museum in Dayton, Ohio, where HeWhoKnows hopes to see a Lockheed SR.71, also known as "Blackbird", a reconnaissance aircraft. My husband has a "thing" about aircraft. Odd really, because he has not a single planet in an Air sign or Air house. Aircraft? I can take 'em or leave 'em - but I'd prefer to be a passenger, rather than gawping at one marooned on the Earth. It'll be an interesting side-stop though, as a trade-off he can accompany me around a few upscale stores.

HeWhoKnows is the first male I've known who actually enjoys shopping. He will even search through rails of bras to help me find my size. Neither my Dad nor my late partner would have dared to venture among rails of bras, or within 100 yards of a lingerie department! I put this characteristic down to his kingly Leo Moon and Leo Rising. He's not imperious in any way, quite the opposite, but he has very few inhibitions. His own wardrobe could be accurately described as "random". On one occasion, last fall, I remember him answering the doorbell, wearing some enormous fluffy slippers which look like lion heads, and a clown wig (he uses it to keep his head warm). The person at the door turned out to be a Republican candidate campaigning in the November 2006 election....who backed off immediately!

Anyway....

ARTY-FARTY FRIDAY #1

"Wordless Wednesday" already appears around the blogosphere, but how about "Arty-Farty Friday"? New Rule (for me): each Friday I'll post a photograph of a piece of artwork from the walls of our abode, then decide to what it relates astrologically. I think that'll be very arty-farty!

Arty-Farty # 1:



This is a large piece,click on it for a bigger view. I bought it at a yard sale 2 years ago, it was propped up under a tree in a front yard, in a very posh district of town. It called to me! The couple who sold it had been in the oil business, and had lived in Burma and Borneo. This is one of several items they brought back. It's called a "kalaga"- a Burmese artform, sometimes incorporating Thai themes. Kalagas are tapestries, individually created from hundreds or thousands of beads, stones and sequins. Mostly they are used as wallhangings, but the couple from whom I bought this had it beautifully framed.

It depicts 5 (Thai?) musicians - we call 'em our Spice Girls.

Astrologically - well, it's got to represent Venus (music and beauty) and Sagittarius (because it came from from a distant land.)

Is there more fun in the early degrees?

Things have been somewhat serious of late. I'd thought of adding a cartoon today, by way of a change, but sidetracked while looking for a suitable "funny", I started to look up the birthdates of a few old favourite cartoonists, then compared charts. There is a common astrological factor - details below. Cartooning also appears to be a predominantly male preserve. Why should I be surprised - they never do grow up!

From the British press of the 1950s and 60s Wally Fawkes aka Trog ("Flook") 21 June 1924, Vancouver, Canada.


The incomparable Carl Giles ("Giles"). 29 September 1916, Islington, London, England. Giles is the odd one out of this group of 5 because he didn't specialise in cartoon strips, he put everything into one big drawing. You had to study it carefully to see all the fun.This example is too small , but the best I could manage.
From the USA, the legendary Walt Kelly ("Pogo"), 25 Aug 1913, Philadelphia PA
Charles Schulz ("Peanuts") 26 Nov 1922, Minneapolis, Minnesota and
Bill Watterson ("Calvin and Hobbes") 5 July 1958 Washington DC
Berkeley Breathed ("Opus", "Bloom County", "Outland") 21 June 1957, Encino, California.
Do they have any astrological factor in common? No birth times are available, so scope is limited.
I noticed, and it's not necessarily astrologically significant - but it might be -they were all born with the Sun or Mercury on the edge of, or in early degrees of the zodiac sign, and often there are other planets in early degrees too.

Wally Fawkes: SUN 00* Cancer
Walt Kelly: SUN 1* Virgo. Pluto 00*Cancer, Uranus 4*Aquarius
Charles Schulz: SUN 3* Sagittarius. Venus 1*Sagittarius, Jupiter 6* Scorpio.
Carl Giles: SUN 5* Libra, Jupiter 3* Taurus, Pluto 4*Cancer
Bill Watterson: (a bit later) SUN 13*Cancer, but Mercury slipped into 1* Leo, Pluto 00*Virgo, Neptune 2* Scorpio.
Berkeley Breathed: SUN 00*Cancer, Mars 00*Leo, Uranus 5*Leo

All this proves nothing, of course, it could be pure coincidence. I chose the 6 cartoonists because I like them, and they are well known. I wonder, though, could the early degrees of all zodiac signs carry some qualities of Aries, first sign of the zodiac.....a childlike, fun-loving flavour, which might lead an artist towards cartooning ?

How could I forget "The Far Side" by Gary Larson, born 14 August 1950, Tacoma, Washington ?
The Sun and Mercury are not in early degrees here though. But Mars is at 2 Scorpio, Jupiter at 3 Pisces, Uranus at 7 Cancer,the Nodes at 00 Aries/Libra. The Moon is more than likely to be in early degrees - 5 Virgo at noon.

American Idol Reaching Out

Was it "As Above, So Below" last night ? American Idol went out to its huge audience with the aim of raising donations, "giving something back" to children living in poverty in Africa, and here in America.

In yesterday's chart there were sextiles between Jupiter/Neptune/Mercury, and trines Jupter/Saturn/Mercury. The Grand Fire Trine which, a couple of weeks ago, included the Sun, last night included Mercury. Dynamic Fire and Air in harmony with Mercury provided a good background for reaching out with help and hope to those in need. Yes, there was an opposition, still, between Saturn and Neptune, and another between Jupiter and Venus, but difficult aspects had related helpful ones. I think yesterday's chart was filled with hope.

The 6 remaining Idol contestants chose songs which have inspired them. The songs were interspersed with film clips of the judges during their visits to Africa and some American states. Simon Cowell was visibly shocked at what he encountered in both countries. Most people are already aware of the gravely desperate need in Africa. But here, in the fabled "land of plenty", why are so many children living without adequate food and health care ? This has to be a disgrace! As a foreigner here I try not to be too critical, but really and truly American people should demand more from the government they voted into office!

We heard no hard criticisms of the singing last night. It would have been difficult to find fault with good, sincere performances of songs such as "Imagine", "You'll Never Walk Alone" and "There Will Come a Day".

There's a follow-up live 2 hour show tonight when celebrities from show-biz will join the effort to raise money for needy children.

Kucinich v. Cheney

Dennis Kucinich is reported to be about to introduce a bill of impeachment against Vice President Dick Cheney, perhaps on 25 April. Another report HERE.

I have great respect for Dennis Kucinich. This news strengthens my opinion that he is one of the few politicians with true integrity.

I've looked at the natal charts of Kucinich and Cheney, along with current transits.

What stood out, at first glance was that Cheney has natal Uranus at 22 Taurus, Kucinich's natal Uranus is at 21 Gemini - and transiting Neptune is at 21 Aquarius just now, forming a square with Cheney's natal Uranus (possible revelation of secrets) and a trine with Uranus in Kucinich's chart (heightened intuition and idealism).

The recent eclipse at 28 Virgo hit Cheney's natal Neptune. Transiting Neptune forms a square with natal Uranus and is 3* away from natal Mercury. Transiting Jupiter has just passed over natal Mars (possibly has been prone to risk-taking?). Neptune seems to be the significant planet for him just now.
Neptune, planet of illusion, delusion, dreams, perhaps even deception or self deception.

Kucinich has natal Uranus trined by transiting Neptune, sextiled by transiting Saturn at 18 Leo (working for change) and opposed by transiting Jupiter at 19 Sagittarius (arousing a desire to reform even though it may be disruptive). This seems to put his natal Uranus in the spotlight, and not too unfavourably. Uranus represents the reformer, the revolutionary, bringer of unexpected change.

I reckon that, whatever the outcome of Dennis Kucinich's brave proposal, astrological indications currently in the charts of these two men, fit the present news story very well.

Skeptical questions. Sincere answers.

I stumbled upon a website for astronomy students: "Astronomy 10". In Lecture 4, after information about the history of astronomy, 11 questions are posed, following this statement :

"Ptolemy also codified the pseudoscience of astrology into the form which is still in use today. That just goes to show that great genius is no guarantee against being dead wrong."

Using my own knowledge and experience of astrology, which is limited as compared to that of professional astrologers, I've attempted to test myself by answering these :

Skeptical Questions for Astrology:

1. What is the likelihood that 1/12th of the world's population is having the same kind of day?
There is no likelihood at all. This proposition is based purely on Sun sign astrology. Anyone who had bothered to obtain a bare minimum of astrological knowledge would never pose such a question.

2.Why is the moment of birth and not conception critical?

The moment of birth, the first moment that a human being breathes and encounters the Earth independent of his/her mother has been seen over many centuries to be the significant marker upon which a birth chart can be calculated with reasonable accuracy. The moment of conception, if it could ever be acccurately established (very unlikely) may also have some significance, but there is no way to obtain accurate date and time.

3.If the mother's womb can keep out astrological influences until birth, can we do the same with a cubicle of steak?

No. The baby grows, part of its mother, using the mother's system. A cubicle of steak is a cubicle of steak, nothing more. Silly question - this from a university!

4. If astrologers are as good as they claim, why aren't they richer?

Some are quite rich, some are poor, some practice astrology only as a second occupation. As in all walks of life, it depends how well they do their job, how well they promote themselves, where they live, etc. etc. No different from any other profession. This question hints at an idea that astrologers should be able to predict results in gambling or financial dealings - my personal opinion is that they cannot do so, most do not claim to be able to do so.

5.Are all the horoscopes done before the discovery of the three outermost planets incorrect?
No. The outer planets mainly affect generations rather than individuals, due to the planets' slow rate of movement. Including the outer planets in astrological interpretation adds extra information and depth, but does not render astrological work done without them incorrect.

6.Shouldn't we condemn astrology as a form of bigotry?

Bigotry!? No, but the condemning of astrology as useless superstition, without due investigation, might be categorised as bigotry. The definition of bigotry is "being blindly and obstinately devoted to a party or creed." Those who see astrology working are not blind. Those who refuse to learn more about the subject before expressing an opinion are both obstinate and blind, devoted to their creed of skepticism.

7. Why do different schools of astrology disagree so strongly with each other?

They do not "disagree strongly". They use different approaches, the destination of all approaches is the same, different roads are taken

8. If the astrological influence is carried by a known force, why do the planets dominate?
Astrologers do not claim any "known force". Astrologers do not know how and why astrology "works", there are theories. Astrology is a process, or tool which has been designed to try to disentangle and use a natural phenomenon. That phenomenon has been observed over many centuries, without its source being understood. Observation of planetary cycles, over time, has led to astrologers' theory that these movements and cycles are a predominant factor.

9. If astrological influence is carried by an unknown force, why is it independent of distance?
See previous answer.

10. If astrological influences don't depend on distance, why is there no astrology of stars, galaxies, quasars, etc.?
There is astrology of fixed stars, this is used by some astrologers. Maybe some day galaxies and quasars will be studied in relation to astrology. Not enough is known at present.

11.Why can twins have different fates?

For many reasons. Time of birth is always different, by several minutes. Some twins are fraternal rather than identical, and will therefore carry different gene structure. Astrological factors can manifest in subtly different ways. Astrological factors are not the only thing to consider. The way the twins were raised is an important factor, were they treated absolutely equally by parents and others? Were they both influenced by the same external factors throughout life? No two snowflakes are exactly the same - as with snowflakes, so with humans. The general pattern in the life of twins can often be seen to be similar, however.

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

My own general opinion, for what it's worth: astrological factors are one tiny, but important, strand in the whole web of life. Astrologers make heroic attempts to disentangle astrological factors from the myriad of others. Sometimes they succeed, sometimes they don't. The phenomenon involved isn't even partly understood, it's not surprising that efforts of researchers to find indisputable proof can fail.

EARTH DAY

Today, 22 April, is Earth Day. Astrologically this is an appropriate date, in the first degrees of Taurus, fixed Earth sign of the zodiac.. There's stability and comfort in Taurus, appreciation of nature's wonder. Ruled by Venus, planet of love, beauty, relatedness, grace and harmony. Now, more than ever we humans need to appreciate and be aware of what we owe to our planet. Our time here may be in jeopardy.


"What a joy it is to feel the soft, springy earth under my feet once more, to follow grassy roads that lead to ferny brooks where I can bathe my fingers in a cataract of rippling notes, or to clamber over a stone wall into green fields that tumble and roll and climb in riotous gladness!" (Helen Keller)

"The whole world is, to me, very much "alive" - all the little growing things, even the rocks. I can't look at a swell bit of grass and earth, for instance, without feeling the essential life - the things going on within them. The same goes for a mountain, or a bit of the ocean, or a magnificent piece of old wood." (Ansel Adams)


"A lake is the landscape's most beautiful and expressive feature. It is earth's eye; looking into which the beholder measures the depth of his own nature."
--Henry David Thoreau


Please, let it not be that "We could have saved the Earth but we were too damned cheap." ~ Kurt Vonnegut

Photgraphs from the Rocky Mountain National Park, taken by my husband..

The Week That Was

A sad week indeed. The same week in recent years also brought tragedy and sorrow to the USA. I don't know if there is an explanation for this. Some perverse "anniversary" syndrome by the perpetrators? A common astrological factor ? Both of those?

The dreadful events at Virginia Tech University on April 16th will stay in our minds for a long time.

We also remember the tragedy at Columbine High School when 12 students and a teacher were killed in a shooting on 20 April 1999, and

The Oklahoma City bombing a terrorist attack on April 19 1995 aimed at a US government office complex in downtown Oklahoma City. The attack claimed 168 lives and left over 800 injured.

74 men, women and children died in the inferno at Waco, Texas on April 19, 1993.

And let us not forget - we must never forget - the too many who have died in Iraq this week, and in every week over the past few years.

I'll not attempt to find astrological correlation. There is correlation enough in the devastation wrought upon the lives of so many. Motive, method, and root cause may differ in each case, but results do not. The result was then, and is now, pain and sorrow.

There's a beautiful and peaceful National Memorial in Oklahoma City, for those who died in the bombing. Above one of The Gates of Time (see above): monumental twin gates which frame the moment of destruction, and mark the formal entrances to the Memorial, are these words:

"We come here to remember those who were killed, those who survived and those changed forever. May all who leave here know the impact of violence. May this memorial offer comfort, strength, peace, hope and serenity"


A couple of lines from the lyrics of a song currently sung by Martina McBride are particularly apt just now:

This world's gone crazy and it's hard to believe
That tomorrow will be better than today -
BELIEVE IT ANYWAY !!

We have to believe it.

Below are two tiny excerpts from a speech entitled "Spirit and Stardust", made almost five years ago by Dennis Kucinich, a current but oft overlooked presidential candidate:

"When death (not life) becomes inevitable, we are presented with an opportunity for great clarity, for a great awakening, to rescue the human spirit from the arms of Morpheus through love, through compassion and through integrating spiritual vision and active citizenship to restore peace to our world. The moment that one world is about to end, a new world is about to begin. We need to remember where we came from. Because the path home is also the way to the future."

"Violence is not inevitable. War is not inevitable. Nonviolence and peace are inevitable. We can make of this world a gift of peace which will confirm the presence of universal spirit in our lives. We can send into the future the gift which will protect our children from fear, from harm, from destruction."

TRANSITS of URANUS and other adventures. Part 2.

Part 2 - Uranus into Pisces, Neptune into Aquarius, Pluto in the wings.

Soon after moving to the bungalow on the coast, my partner's health began to fail, both mentally and physically. He was much older than me, and we'd been together for more than 30 years. From 2000, until he died in the first weeks of 2003, I looked after him, heart breaking, knowing that I'd lose him painfully and slowly. Throughout this time, transiting Pluto was approaching my natal Venus at 19.59 Sagittarius, 6th house.

To help things along (or not) Neptune conjoined my natal Sun exactly from September to December 2001, and wasn't far away for months after that. Looking back, I can see that Neptune acted somewhat like an anaesthetic, or some kind of drug which, along with the computer I'd just bought, helped me through what was, without doubt, the worst period of my life. I'm pretty sure that from time to time I acted as if I were under some kind of intoxication - which WAS purely astrological!

That first home computer of mine arrived along with Neptune in Aquarius. Because I was tied to the house, caring for my partner and unable to go very far for very long, the computer became something of a life-raft. I made a few on-line friends via message boards, and instant message programs, who, bless 'em, along with Neptune's intoxication, kept me afloat through those bad times. I doubt that I could have coped without the computer.

Uranus didn't leave Aquarius until late 2003 and before Pluto left its conjunction with my natal Venus another adventure awaited me. Still reeling from the loss of my partner, I met my (now) husband, aka HeWhoKnows. At first he was an e-mail penfriend, then, during a short holiday in the USA we met in person. He later came over to the UK, spent time there, and we eventually married. I sold the bungalow, went through the rigmarole of visa and immigration hoop-la, arrived in Oklahoma, USA late in 2004. Events seem rapid, with hindsight, but at the time it didn't feel that way. Life seemed to be proceeding in ultra-slow motion.

Uranus conjoined my natal Jupiter at 6.03 Pisces in February 2005, just after we had bought a house in Oklahoma and moved from my husband's previous home. I'd already bought a new computer, soon afterwards astrology software followed, and a boxful of secondhand astrology text books. Much study and experimenting ensued.

As for blogging - last November, Jupiter, the publishing planet, danced around the vertex in my chart (natal Mars conjoins this sensitive point). Last November was when other astrology bloggers were kind enough to notice my blog, and later Elsa added it to Astrology News. I'd been writing the blog previously purely for my own amusement, but around this time I had submitted it to Technorati. Jupiter the publishing planet gave my vertex, and me, a boost.

That's the story so far.

Summing up: the transit of Uranus through Aquarius was a little like a tornado passing through a small town. When that planet first entered Aquarius I had a Mum, a long-standing partner, a home of many years, and a job. When Uranus left, none of those remained.

Amidst the chaos in my life, Uranus, ruler of technology,left something for me to hold on to - the computer, which became my life raft, eventually guiding me across the Atlantic to a new way of being and, incidentally, to blogging.

What shouts "astrology at work" to me in all this is the timing, and the way events dovetail with transits. Skeptics migh respond that there are "ordinary" reasons for these events. Maybe so, but there are no ordinary reasons for such exact timing.

I feel that I must add, in case a passing reader feels nervous about an impending transit, that I'm pretty sure Uranus transits to natal Sun do not usually result in the amount of havoc I experienced. These adventures were the result of multiple astrological events affecting my own individual chart and personal circumstances, in a way peculiar to me. It has been my experience that astrology never acts in exactly the same way twice.

TRANSITS OF URANUS, and other adventures.

Chrispito at Astroturf commented, after one of my earlier posts, that perhaps transits of Uranus are connected with my feeling that the computer has changed my life. Uranus, modern ruler of my natal Aquarius Sun also rules technology, which includes computers. Yes, I believe she's right, but it's a long story. Uranus arrived in my life long before I had a home computer.

I guess this will be a 2-day blog job!

Uranus transited Aquarius from mid-1995 to late 2003. Uranus' transit of Pisces commenced March 2003. My natal Sun is at 6.46 Aquarius, natal Jupiter at 6.03 Pisces.

I actually received a "multiple-whammy" during these Uranus transits. My second Saturn return happened within that time span, as well as a transit of Pluto to natal Venus, and Neptune's transit of natal Sun. In addition, as I mentioned HERE in January, Comet Hyakutake, in May 1996 passed close to natal Uranus which conjoins South node of the Moon in my chart. I did tell the first part part of this story briefly, back in January, but it's re-told now with a more astrological detail.

At the time of these adventures, I was unaware of any planetary transits. With hindsight, I'm very glad of that ignorance.

PART 1.

The story begins on 21 April 1996 (11 years ago this week),on a Sunday evening, in a big northern English city, at around 9.20 pm. Uranus on this date was a little past 4* Aquarius, 2* from my natal Sun. A partial solar eclipse had occured on 17/18 April at, I think, 28 Aries. My natal Moon is at 24.40 Aries. Transiting Mars was at 21 Aries.

My long-time partner watched TV in the living room as I prepared to take a bath. A fire, which had started, unknown to us, in an adjoining empty building spread close to our second floor apartment. I heard a strange crackling noise, went to the kitchen to investigate. Flames licked the window. We realised what had happened, grabbed coats (I was only semi-clad), thankfully I grabbed my handbag (purse) as well. We hurried down two flights of stairs, as fire engines drew up outside. As we reached the ground an explosion occurred above, probably from gas boilers in the building. We stood with two other tenants, all thankful to be alive, and watched everything we owned, in our home for the past 23 years, disappear in an horrendous fire. The whole block of buildings later had to be demolished. We still had our car, parked in a nearby garage, the few clothes on our backs and my handbag containing credit card and a little cash.

That was the start of a difficult phase. Three days later my partner, probably still affected by shock, fell in the street and damaged his hand so badly that he needed plastic surgery and was admitted to hospital. I remained in a bed and breakfast place.

My workfriends and my mother were a great help to us, both with contributions, and moral support. Our insurance helped a lot too, as did the result of legal proceedings against the owner of the adjoining building - but not until some years later.

Within a month or so we found another apartment, which proved not ideal. We had one break-in during the year we lived there (those burglars were unlucky, we owned next to nothing!) Then, early spring 1997, as Uranus exactly conjoined my natal Sun, we moved into a rented house in a nice area . The whole episode had come to seem like a nightmare turned adventure.

More changes were to come, however. That summer of 1997, Uranus started its retrograde movement. My mother was diagnosed with terminal illness. This happened very rapidly and unexpectedly, and affected me deeply. My second Saturn return was exact in April 1997. Mum seemed fine when she visited us at Easter, by mid-August she died. She left me a bungalow on the coast where she and my Dad had spent a good part of their retirement. On the day Mum died retrograde Uranus, was at 5.59 Aquarius, one degree from my natal Sun, 8th house.

I was nearing retirement. We didn't want to live on the coast, but after trying unsuccessfully to sell the bungalow, we decided we'd have to move there after all. In March 1999 we moved home, as Mars hovered at 13 Scorpio, Moon's North node in my chart which opposes natal Uranus/South node. Transiting Uranus had moved on now and lay 7* away from natal Sun, but Neptune was inching slowly towards it.

End of PART 1. To be continued.

Surrealism, abstract art, and astrology

At Astro Future Trends, astrologer Philip Brown's interesting article about an artist, Uranus and Saturn had me digging out the blog entry which follows. I compiled it some time ago but abandoned it due to difficulties getting images to stay in place. I've adjusted it somewhat and tried again. I hope it behaves!

Styles of art have always intrigued me, especially surrealism and abstract art, which tend to overlap. These are expressions of the unconscious mind, concepts, emotions and ideas. Some artists who embraced these styles eschewed representational art entirely, in favour of symbolism form and colour, while others retained almost photographic depiction of their subject, but set it in surreal situations.

I wondered whether any indication towards one or other of these styles might be found in the charts of some well known artists. Using the "stand well back" approach I concentrated on two generational planets, Uranus and Neptune, along with Saturn. Reason: Saturn represents the establishment, the status quo, and probably representational art - realism. Uranus represents the new, the avant garde, the inventive. Neptune is involved with the dreamy and imaginative. Although Uranus and Neptune are generational, I think that the way Saturn interacts with them might be significant here in the way the artists gravitated towards two different styles of expression. Next to each birth date below I've listed the sign positions of Uranus, Neptune and Saturn, in that order. Harmonious and inharmonious aspects are within reasonable orb!

Salvador Dali used strange dream-like images in his pictures , yet the figures and objects he used were mainly recognisable and intricately drawn. Likewise in the case of Rene Magritte and Escher.

Dali -11 May 1904 Figueras, Spain. (Sag/Can/Aqua) - Uranus and Saturn in harmony, Neptune not.





Magritte (left) - 21 Nov. 1898, Lessines, Belgium. (Sag/Gem/Sag) - All in harmony.








Escher 18 June 1898, Leeuwarden, Netherlands. (Sag/Gem/Sag)- All in harmony





Dali, Magritte and Escher are what I'd call "representational surrealists", depicting real people, creatures or objects in surreal situations. In their charts Saturn and Uranus are in harmony, perhaps giving these artists the wish, and the ability to express ideas in new ways, but without fully abandoning the traditional.

Artists such as Klee, Miro, and Mondrian used shapes, symbols, balance and colour to convey their message.


Paul Klee 18 Dec. 1879, Munchenbuchsee, Switzerland. (Virg/Tau/Aries) Uranus out of tune with Saturn

Mondrian 7 March 1872, Amersfoort, Netherlands. (Can/Aries/Cap) Uranus opposes Saturn

Miro 20 April 1893, Barcelona, Spain. (Scorp/Gem/Lib) Uranus out of tune with Saturn

Klee, Miro and Mondrian painted in symbols, with forms and colour to get their message across - no hint of realism at all. In the natal charts of these artists Uranus and Saturn are not in harmony. The artists have moved right away from the traditional to new means of expression. There is no merging of old and new.

Thoughts

The post I'd written for today seems inappropriate now. It's difficult to know what is appropriate to write after the tragedy at Virginia Tech University yesterday. All our thoughts remain with those bereaved, and those still in shock after Monday's dreadful events.

Astrologers will analyse yesterday's events, in the hope that anything gleaned thereby might help in the future. Bloggers will discuss the tragedy, as will all branches of media. I don't know enough about it though, except that, to me, it appears to be another display of a sickness which now stalks our planet. Astrologically, perhaps our best hope for better days will be when Saturn and Pluto move from Fire signs of Leo and Sagittarius into Earth signs of Virgo and Capricorn. Perhaps then, for a while at least, a steadier, more caring and careful atmosphere will replace the extremes in all areas that we are now seeing.

Ages of Violence

This article "A History of Violence" by Steven Pinker is interesting and a little uplifiting. As a prelude it states:

"In the decade of Darfur and Iraq, and shortly after the century of Stalin, Hitler, and Mao, the claim that violence has been diminishing may seem somewhere between hallucinatory and obscene. Yet recent studies that seek to quantify the historical ebb and flow of violence point to exactly that conclusion."

Steven Pinker goes on to present his theory that, in spite of current world events, in his opinion man has become less violent over the millennia, centuries and decades.

He finishes with this paragraph:

"But the phenomenon does force us to rethink our understanding of violence. Man's inhumanity to man has long been a subject for moralization. With the knowledge that something has driven it dramatically down, we can also treat it as a matter of cause and effect. Instead of asking, "Why is there war?" we might ask, "Why is there peace?" From the likelihood that states will commit genocide to the way that people treat cats, we must have been doing something right. And it would be nice to know what, exactly, it is."

I wanted to shout out "Astrological Ages, sir!!"

Age of Taurus, Age of Aries - two Ages when violence and inhumanity to man flourished. The Bull and The Ram - neither signifies peace and friendship, and the history of those Ages match the symbolism. It wasn't until The Age of Pisces dawned, that there was any sign of a very, very slow movement away from violence - but SO very slowly that unless someone like Steven Pinker outlines the stages, and spells it all out, it's impossible to see. If we could have a magical video of the history of man on Earth, fast-forwarded at lightning speed, then it might become clear that we are indeed heading in the right direction, strange as it seems.

Mr Pinker does add

"It is not a license for complacency: We enjoy the peace we find today because people in past generations were appalled by the violence in their time and worked to end it, and so we should work to end the appalling violence in our time. Nor is it necessarily grounds for optimism about the immediate future, since the world has never before had national leaders who combine pre-modern sensibilities with modern weapons."

We could all name a few of those!

Across the Universe

We went to the cinema last night, saw "Perfect Stranger", it was not bad, not wonderful either. What gave me goosebumps and has remained in my mind, was a trailer shown before the main feature.

A movie called "Across the Universe", due to be released at the end of September is being advertised already. It was this trailer which touched a nerve for me. The movie is set in the 1960s with Beatles music threaded all the way through it.

During the 1960s I wasn't a hippie or a Beatles fan. My own life was in some turmoil, living through and getting rid of a bad marriage, so I had other things on my mind.

Since I met HeWhoKnows and came to live in the USA I've become a "Born Again Beatles Fan". Surprisingly, for such an avid jazz fan, HeWhoKnows practically idolises the Beatles, as do most of his family. I've been indoctrinated, I guess, because as soon as the trailer began last night with deafening strains of "Hey Jude", and a lad with a Liverpool accent, I got goosebumps, even more so as the trailer progressed into the Vietnam war era.

I remembered that in the late Maya del Mar's piece "The Road to 2012", which I linked to the other day, she had said that the years around 2011 will be
a "breakthrough time of the revolution begun with the Uranus-Pluto conjunction in the 60’s. During this period, the seeds planted in the 60’s can break through to expression. Those people born during the 60’s will have special parts to play."

I wonder if this movie will be an overture to the coming years, a "ghost of revolutions past" pointing the way to revolutions to come. I wonder if the producers and director were 1960s babies with the echo of those years imprinted in their very being.

"Words are flowing out like endless rain into a paper cup
They slither wildly as they slip away across the universe
Pools of sorrow waves of joy are drifting through my open mind
Posessing and caressing me ... jai guru deva om
Nothing's gonna change my world" (Lennon-McCartney, "Across the Universe")

Careering along on automatic pilot

Although I've always loved astrology, I never harboured an ambition to be a professional astrologer. In my days of ambition-harbouring, back in the UK, in the 1950s, astrology seemed far out of reach, something enthralling and mysterious. The ambition of my youth was to be a journalist. It still simmers away on a backburner of my subconscious. That may be what led me to the blogosphere. Here I can play at being a journalist of sorts, and talk about astrology at the same time. My blog satisfies two cravings. I've never had much opportunity to discuss astrology, my companions in life haven't shared my enthusiasm for the subject. Computers and astrology software have been my saviours, my gateway to understanding the mystery more clearly. The computer has changed my life in so many ways, it was instrumental in bringing me to the USA !

Thinking back to my early ambitions, my best friend and I (two Sun Aquarians born a week apart)used to pretend to be writers. We invented a magazine - a girls' magazine. In those days, girls' mags were non-existent. We'd prepare "articles" and pictures for inclusion. With the right connections, we thought, one day we would publish our own girls' magazine - first on the market ! We were a couple of young dreamers.

Writing as a profession didn't happen for me, or my friend. She went on to Art School, but never did achieve the career she craved and deserved, in the art world.

I worked with the archivist of our county for some years, then, overcome by itchy feet I left home and worked in hotel offices, moving around the UK season by season.

By my mid-30s I had a stable relationship, and found the job which carried me through to retirement, in the UK's civil service. The department in which I worked, with lawyers and judges, deals with employment disputes (unfair dismissal, redundancy matters, sex and race discrimination, equal pay). I didn't get to do much in the way of writing, other than letters and staff performance reports. The job satisfied my Sun Aquarian idealistic streak though, and that's what kept me there.

I've often studied my chart to see how my career history fits. There is a rhythm, which I've mentioned before in these blogs. The cycle of the Moons' nodes, and the vertex have had a significant part to play in timing the changes. As for planetary "influence", I guess natal Mercury (the communications planet) close to the descendant angle, and Jupiter (the publishing planet) close to midheaven made themselves felt in my wish to be a journalist. Planets close to any of the angles are said to have "strength". Venus in Sagittarius and Jupiter (Sagittarius' ruler) at midheaven gave me itchy feet, and set me on the road, working in hotels for a few years. My longest career stint of 23 years in the civil service might be represented by Saturn in Aries in 10th house of career - and again Jupiter at midheaven (Jupiter also represents legal matters), Saturn represents laws and their enforcement too, I guess.

I didn't ever get the chance to do the job I'd dreamed of, but things worked out fine, on the whole, just by taking the road that opened up naturally. I think that in the absence of clear instructions to the contrary from our free will, our astrology does guide us, whether we know it, believe it, or deny it. Mine guided me, like an automatic pilot.

The Week That Was

As this week progressed, I jotted down a few brief notes of news events in the USA which caught my attention. Occasionally when I do this, I notice a symbolic theme common to a number of the events. I think I found a theme this week, and it could be a matter of "as above, so below".

Three celestial bodies, the Sun, Jupiter and Saturn in the signs of Aries, Sagittarius and Leo respectively, were forming what astrologers call a Grand Trine, in Fire signs. In the astrological chart of the sky these bodies aspected each other at angles of close to 120* making up a gigantic triangle. While planets remain in such a configuration astrologically, it's said that the properties of the planets and signs involved (in this case the dynamic, expansive, impulsive, energetic Fire signs) can harmoniously flow and work together. So, was it "as above, so below" this week ? With Jupiter, planet of extremes, and the Sun, giver of life itself involved in the free flowing Grand Trine, I'd guess that some forms of excess or of going too far might emerge. Saturn's sterner discipline would be involved too.

Before I move on to the news stories, I feel compelled to say that I may have "gone too far" myself on occasion, when writing about people in the news. Jeffrey Kishner at Lunar Tunes is talking about "The Ethics of Celebrity Profiles" today. His blog entry caused me to search my soul! I shall need to discipline my own writing a little more strictly in future, I think. I can't really blame the Grand Fire Trine for my sins, but the symbolism fits.

Let's see about this week's news and the theme:

News of an entrepreneur in Nevada who is trying to sell bits of land on the Moon. (Echoes of a book by Robert Heinlein, written in 1949!) See the news HERE. That IS going too far - much too far! The Earth does not belong to us, still less the Moon!

Don Imus, American radio host/presenter once again shot a crude and offensive remark across the airwaves. I don't feel inclined to post a link to reports of this. It's worrying that over the years he has kept a large audience, bearing in mind his reputation for being coarse and offensive on a regular basis. Why do people enjoy this? Saturn's discipline moved in when he was fired from his jobs in radio and TV this week after going too far, once too often.

Al Gore was refused permission for the American concert in the Live Earth series, planned for July to be staged in Washington. Opposing factions led by Senator James Inhofe forced him to look elsewhere. The concert will be staged in New Jersey. More interesting stuff about the series of concerts HERE . Was Al Gore going too far (purposely?) expecting that his concert would be welcome in Washington, and is Sen.Inhofe going too far with his extreme anti-global warming stance ? (The Grand Trine touched Al Gore's Pluto/Saturn/Mars conjunction in Leo, by the way.)

Blogger Tim O'Reilly put forward suggestions for a Code of Conduct for bloggers. It's a well meaning proposition, but seems a bit like going too far, in an attempt to stop others from going too far.

And

The late Johnny Cash's former home was destroyed by fire. Not a "Ring of Fire" as in the famous song he sang, but maybe the blaze flourished under that fiery astrological triangle

Lastly:
Famous American author Kurt Vonnegut died this week. His wisdom will be sorely missed. He frequently made it clear in his writings that he thought humans have gone, and are going too far, in war, in the way we treat the environment, and in our attitudes towards each other.
A sweet quote from his book "God Bless You Mr. Rosewater"
"Hello, babies. Welcome to Earth. It’s hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It’s round and wet and crowded. At the outside, babies, you’ve got about a hundred years here. There’s only one rule that I know of, babies - ‘God damn it, you’ve got to be kind.’ ”

Letterman, and guess who!

It's his 60th birthday today. When looking at his chart a couple of things rang a bell. He has some placements which are very similar to Al Gore's. They were born a year and 12 days apart, so it's not too surprising, with regard to the slow moving planets. Moon and Mercury aren't slow-movers though, and they are in the same signs for both men.

Both have Sun Aries, Mercury Pisces, Moon Capricorn, Pluto and Saturn in Leo. But Al Gore's Pluto, Saturn and Mars in Leo are close together in first house, whereas Letterman's Mars at 00 Aries and Saturn at 02 Leo are in trine, 6 and 10th houses(if birth time is accurate). Al Gore's Sun is not as closely sextile Uranus as is Letterman's. Al Gore was born into a political family. His father was a Senator mother qualified in law. David Letterman's father was a florist, mother a church secretary. Letterman has made humour and communication with the public his path to fame, Al Gore's path was public service and leadership - but I think he has a closet yearning to be funny - as evidenced by his little turn on Saturday Night Live. Needless to say, both men are rich and famous!

David Letterman was born 12 April 1947 in Indianapolis, Indiana, one source (e-tarocci.com) has what appears to be a computer produced horoscope for him, giving 6pm as a birth time. I don't feel too confident that this is reliable, but it fits. I haven't read the rest of the horoscope interpretation, I prefer to sort out my own take on it.

If Letterman's ascendant is 19.19 Libra, then his natal Sun at 22.14 Aries would be close to the descendant angle and his natal Moon at 15.42 Capricorn would be within 7 degrees of the IC angle (nadir) - both strong positions in any chart. Mars at 00.49 Aries is powerful too, in its own sign in a strong degree. Mercury and Venus are both in Pisces. In a nutshell, those placements describe the Letterman I see. A strong but sensitive character, a blend of Aries and Pisces.

His humour is an odd mix of absurdity, intended lameness, and wit. He seems to enjoy that childish kind of humour which often comes with Aries, I've found (I have an example here at home) - though is capable of more sophisticated and subtle stuff if circumstances demand. Natal Uranus is sextile Sun in Aries - I'm told (by HeWhoKnows) that Letterman is rather less unpredictable than he used to be. I guess this comes with maturity.

Early in his career he was a news anchor and weatherman. His bosses were often nervous about what he'd do next. It's said in Wikipedia "He received recognition for his unpredictable on-air behavior, which included erasing state borders from the weather map and predicting hail stones "the size of canned hams." One night he reportedly upset his bosses when he congratulated a tropical storm on being upgraded to a hurricane. He had a nervous habit of clapping his hands together."

He's kind, I'm pretty sure of that. There's a softness about him that isn't Aries, it'll come from his Pisces bits. I've read that he is co-owner of an auto-racing team - that's a bit of Aries! His Capricorn Moon indicates innate business sense to me. He has his own production company "Worldwide Pants" and is probably a multi-millionnaire - you don't get that rich by just being funny, you need business sense too.

Letterman doesn't make his politcal leanings terribly clear, I suspect this is a tactical decision, although I don't think Bill O'Reilly is one of his heroes - a clue? He's no Bill Maher, (or Al Gore) that's not his thing. It would be unwise to alienate half his audience and scare away some potential guests from the world of politics - that would be bad business.

I like finding coincidences like this one between Al Gore and David Letterman. We can't know how alike, or otherwise, they are in real life, but it's interesting to compare what we do know of them.

Sanjaya - a new Julio?

After spending most of yesterday with a hot pad clutched to my afflicted head, it seems a tad better today. We braved American Idol last night. Sanjaya's performance surprised me - I liked it! Maybe all that heat to my brain cells had sent them askew. Week after week, we've expected Sanjaya to be voted off. He has managed to hang on, the reason for this is a little foggy, but perhaps fate had a hand in it!

The theme of last night's show was Latin songs, with Jennifer Lopez mentoring the hopefuls. Sanjaya sang last. He'd had a haircut and grown a seminal moustache and goatee beard. He sang Besame Mucho, a favourite of mine. He was good! For the first time! This is the kind of song he should go for. Could he be a very young Julio Iglesias? Julio is another Virgo Sun (just), and the definitive smouldering Latin singer, though I guess that his smoulder comes from a Scorpio ascendant rather than a Virgo Sun.

Sanjaya is only 17. He was born 10 September 1989 near Seattle, according to Wikipedia. Sun and Mars in Virgo, with three planets and possibly the Moon in Capricorn. Mercury and Venus in Libra. Jupiter in Cancer is exactly opposite Saturn in Capricorn. There's something about a Cancer Capricorn opposition - I've noticed it in a lot of charts of people who are famous or in the news as I've been blogging along.

The main transit which might be significant for Sanjaya just now is transiting Uranus coming up to opposition with his Sun. Some big changes on the horizon for him? That seems likely, even if he doesn't reach the final. With a few more performances like last night's, he might even do that.

Aquarian (and other) confusions

Is something going on in the sky just now which might affect Sun Aquarians' health? I read that Dharmarucci, at Astrotabletalk, whose birthday is in the first half of February, has been fighting bugs lately, my husband's second daughter (26 January) started a severe course of treatment for a potenetially serious illness yesterday, and I (27 January) have little sinus wreckers with pointed sticks marching around the right side of my head, poking my ear, eye and gums and giving me a very nasty one-sided headache, and stuffed-up right nostril, combining to keep me awake for two nights. What planetary aspects might be generally involved here? Saturn, traditional ruler of Aquarius opposing Neptune? We'll each have very different charts, but maybe that's the common factor.

I currently have transiting Jupiter conjunct natal Venus - shouldn't I be in the midst of an extreme love affair? I mentioned this to HeWhoKnows. He says he'll see about it when he's finished his blogging.

Yesterday, as a distraction from my woes we channel surfed through the evening's TV. After a while I began to wonder what an alien landing here, or a time traveller from the future might make of these programmes. There was Larry King interviewing a trio of health gurus including Deepak Chopra. In an hour long show,they discussed how to make sure one can live longer. Flicking over to the History Channel, re-named by me The Karma-kazi Channel (spelling intended), we were treated to a programme about the Mayan prophecy of doom, this interlaced with a commercial advertising an upcoming programme telling of a potential asteroid hit to the Earth. Later, David Letterman interviewed Barrack Obama, they talked of a future under a Democratic administration.

Confused? Yes, siree-bob!

I guess you pay your money and take your choice of future scenarios. A world where we all live to 110 years of age, perky and bright, under an administration who loves its fellow-humans. Or one in which we shall all soon be specks of dust in the sands of time, as described wonderfully by Tom Lehrer,

"And we will all go together when we go.
Every Hottentot and every Eskimo.
When the air becomes Uranious,
We will all go simultaneous.
Yes, we all will go together
When we all go together,
Yes we all will go together when we go."

In the meantime, I hope that Sun Aquarians everywhere, if under the weather now, soon feel much better.

Future Uncertain

The future seems to me the most uncertain it has been since I was a young child in Hull, England during World War 2, when that city suffered horrendous bombing. The morrow was uncertain for many at that time, never mind the future.

Most astrologers now foresee chaos of one kind or another on the horizon, due to Pluto's move into Capricorn in 2008 and subsequent aspects of other outer planets, not to mention the dreaded 2012, end of the Mayans' long count calendar. For a concise and clear rundown on the astrology the late Maya del Mar's article "The Road to 2012" is as good as any I've seen. It was written a year ago.

It's not hard to guess the source of potential chaos in the world. Yesterday my husband's daughter e-mailed me an article about global warming. I've found a copy on-line HERE. It tells of experiences of mountaineers who've come face to face with the effects of global warming. For me, reports of real experiences such as these bring the situation more sharply into focus.

A blog called Earth Meanders written by Dr. Glen Barry is well worth reading. It's serious stuff. He pulls no punches about global warming. George W. Bush should be required to read that blog once a day, every day! My only minor argument with Dr. Barry's writings is his view that Al Gore and his "celebrity" helpers are not doing much good. Dr. Barry is probably so far ahead of the average American in knowledge of what's going on in the climate, that he doesn't realise the good Al Gore and co. have done in the past year or so. As something of an outsider, I can see it quite clearly.

When I first arrived in the USA at the end of 2004, global warming was looked on as something of a joke here. I despaired. I can see, now, the enormous difference Al Gore has singlehandedly made, in a short time. When "An Inconvenient Truth" first arrived in cinemas in Oklahoma, it was shown only in Oklahoma City and Tulsa. We travelled to Oklahoma City, about 75 miles away, to see it. The number of people in the theatre could have been counted on two hands, but that sparse audience rose to their feet as one at the end of the film, applauded, and uplifted my hopes.

Since then, global warming and climate change have been in the news on a regular basis. The American government is still dragging its feet, and appears to be lagging well behind public opinion, but in 2008 that government is guaranteed to change. I hope that its successor will be strong enough to do what's needed, however unpopular it makes them.

We may not get to the stage of being uncertain about the morrow in the next few years, but those who come after will have that to face, if we don't insist that something is done by world governments soon.

Thoughts about astrology

Astrology is the language devised, over centuries, to "harness" or make use of a natural phenomenon. As yet the phenomenon itself is not understood, perhaps it never will be. Some humans may have a natural built-in astrological sensitivity which enables them to "see" astrology working, while others have a blindness in this area.

Things can turn out contrary to that which astrologers and the text books indicate. This doesn't mean that astrology doesn't work. It works in accordance with an individual's unique circumstances, background, environment, genetics. Astrological effects are not the only things going on in life. In addition, individuals are bound to each other in a multitude of ways, so there's a whole network of effects happening concurrently, via others' astrology, modified by external circumstances, at any given time.

Is it surprising then that, so far, there is no way to prove astrological effects to skeptical enquirers ?

Two on-line discussions on science and astrology

I gave up contributing to message boards when I began to write my blog regularly, but yesterday wandered into an old favourite forum and found a very interesting discussion, so I lurked. Later, a couple of links led me on to another discussion in a second, unrelated forum. Both discussions were on the topic of science and astrology, they impressed me so much that I decided to link to them here. Perhaps a passing reader might be interested.

The first discussion is at "TRIBE" on the Astronuts astrology section, in a thread called "Scientific Astrology". There's a follow-up thread called "Astrological Research". Of particular note are contributions by poster nicknamed Spock, who later reveals himself as astrologer Dale Huckeby. I'd read some of his articles before, but most are at least 10 years old. It's nice to see him still in action, I admire his ideas.

The second discussion is at the Bad Astronomy and Universe Today forum (BAUT) - most members there there are no allies of astrology! The thread is called "Science and Astrology". Poster, Robert Tulip, who originated the discussion, gallantly puts forward his views of, and support for, some areas of astrological doctrine. His steady, polite, extremely well-informed and painstaking replies are a joy to behold, some sneering on-line retorts are not. Eventually, by the end of the thread, which runs from last December to March, one or two other participants express grudging admiration for the way he has handled the argument, if not agreement with his views. It's a long read, but I found it well worthwhile.

Graces and Furies

Good Friday is here - I hope everyone has a pleasant Easter weekend. It'll be business (or lack of it) as usual for me, so I'll continue to natter on into cyber space.

Here's a Google trail I've wandered along:

The artist Raphael was born this day, 6 April, in 1483, in Urbino, Italy. One of his famous paintings depicts The Three Graces. The three graces in mythology were goddesses, daughters of Zeus and Eurynome, said to rule beauty and charm in nature and humanity. Other artists and sculptors have painted the three sisters. One, damaged, sculpture in The Louvre, Paris dates from around 2 centuries before Christ.

Aglaia represents radiance or splendor. Euphrosyne represents joy. Thalia represents fruitfulness or good cheer.

Which planets might the three sisters personify ? I'd guess at The Sun for radiance and splendor, with Venus and Jupiter for the other two, not sure which is which though.


Raphael's painting led me to think about another set of three - The Three Furies, the Greek Erinyes, daughters of Gaia (Earth) sprung from the blood of Uranus. This painting is by W. Bouguereau "Orestes and the Furies".

Tisiphone (avenger of blood) Alecto (the implacable) and Megaera (the jealous one). Said to be merciless goddesses of vengance whose punishments continued after death. So which planets might carry the attributes of these three lovelies? Mars, Saturn, and what about "the jealous one"? The Moon, perhaps? I tend to give the Moon a positive interpretation, but in tarot,the Moon card isn't one of the true "goodies". The Moon is changeable, temperamental, could easily be jealous. Yes, I'll go for the Moon to represent "the jealous one".

So each planet except Mercury could have a Grace or a Fury to its name. Mercury has the job of bouncing around between them all.

Graces and Furies - we've got 'em all within us - somewhere !

Inhofe the Intransigent

Senator James Inhofe, who the good but misguided folk of Oklahoma voted into office, is to global warming what Richard Dawkins and James Randi are to astrology. Thorns in its side, pains in the arse - and I make no apology for language - it is a fact!

Senator Inhofe, who continues to tell us that global warming is nothing but a hoax, is currently trying to block Al Gore's proposal that the steps of The U.S. Capitol should be the venue for the American concert in his worldwide "Live Earth" series planned for this summer. There's a good summary of related events and links at a blog called Retrospectacle.

Senator Inhofe is either the consummate skeptic, or in the pay of the oil industry - possibly both. A look at his chart calculated for 12 noon ( he was born 17 November 1934 in Des Moines, Iowa) reveals 4 personal planets in Scorpio. Sun and Venus both at 24*, Jupiter and Mercury at 8* and 5* respectively. Saturn, strongly placed in Aquarius is square his Sun/Venus conjunction. Uranus in Aries is inconjunct Sun/Venus, and square Pluto. Pluto in Cancer trines Sun/Venus. Mars and Neptune in Virgo are inconjunct Saturn in Aquarius. Moon at 12 noon was at 11* Aries, I think it would remain somewhere in that sign irrespective of his time of birth.
I get a quite disagreeable and uncomfortable feel from this chart - of course I could be strongly prejudiced! He's not a person with whom I'd find much in common. His strong, fixed Aquarian( humanitarian) Saturn challenges four fixed passionate Scorpio planets, which probably win through sheer force of numbers to show through in his personality. Had those planets been reversed - 4 in Aquarius and 1 in Scorpio, perhaps Al Gore would have had a staunch ally instead of an enemy.

I think there's a "Yod" configuration here too, it's perhaps too loose to be indicated on the chart above though. Mars and Pluto are sextile and both inconjunct Saturn, forming an arrow-like pattern with Saturn at its tip. Pluto, Mars and Saturn - Yikes!!! That's a strong formation. But I'd have thought Saturn in Aquarius, Mars in Virgo and Pluto in Cancer would be considerably more benign, and sensible than it turns out! But I suppose it depends on which side of the argument one stands. It's difficult to be objective.

Comparing the charts of Inhofe and Gore, it's interesting to see that Inhofe has Neptune and Mars conjoined within 3 degrees (Neptune rules oil). Al Gore has Mars, Saturn and Pluto within a few degrees of each other. So both men have Mars close to an outer planet, I wonder if this is significant. If so, Al Gore's line up wins in strength, especially as those planets are in his first house. It's a pity there's no birth time for Sen. Inhofe.

Transiting Neptune is currently conjoining Inhofe's Saturn (21* Aquarius), and transiting Saturn is coming up to opposition, it's now at 18* Leo. What might that indicate? Saturn is probably one of his stronger planets, and it'll be under pressure, perhaps its influence becoming more illusional/delusional through Neptune's fogginess. As transiting Saturn comes into opposition with natal Saturn there could be an uncomfortable time in store for the Senator! I'll watch coming events with interest.

Aries-driven Reformers

I'm on a C.E.O. Carter kick just now. His comment below set me thinking: fromhis discourse on the zodiac sign of Aries .

"Yes, Aries is a reformer; the trouble is, his reforms seem so often to be aimed at making people more uncomfortable than they need be."

Until I read his piece I hadn't considered the sign of Aries in this light. As I read, Al Gore sprang to mind (Sun and midheaven in Aries), and Tony Benn former British member of parliament , socialist, and scourge of the rabid right wing - I love him (Sun and Venus in Aries). Both these men also have Leo ascending and some Leo planets in their first house, Pluto, Saturn and Mars for Gore; Neptune and Moon for Benn. They both therefore have Aquarius on the descendant, which, going back to yesterday's blog entry, fits! Both these men come across, to me, as quite Aquarian. This combination makes for two forces to be reckoned with, yet neither politician has been allowed to rise to heights of which he was more than capable.

There's still time for Al Gore, in spite of the fact that his proposed reforms may be very unpopular with the masses. Tony Benn, though was 82 this week - his time for reforming his country, or the world is well past, but we could still gain from his wisdom. He was a founder member of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.

Several commentators in the US have been asking us recently to imagine what America would be like today had Al Gore been declared president in 2000. I've often wondered what today's Britain would be like had Tony Benn been Prime Minister instead of Margaret Thatcher. Those are two inspiring visions, the first far more likely to have come to pass that the second.

Perhaps the time for Aries-driven reformers is not yet at hand - but it soon will be - mark my words!