Adam Lambert ~ Star In The Making.

There's a star waiting to be born on American Idol, whether he wins the contest or not. Name: Adam Lambert.




I've mentioned him in an earlier post here. After watching more of his performances on Idol, it's becoming clearer with each week that this fellow is pure star material. Maybe I'm prejudiced because he's a Sun Aquarius like myself. He might even have Moon in Aries like me, if he was born after 4am. Perhaps this is what drags me onto his wavelength, far apart generationally as we are. I could be his grandmother, but I still "get" what he's doing. What pleases me, too, is that during interviews he comes over as an unaffected, level headed, articulate and charming guy.

I wish his time of birth were available. As yet I've not found the information needed to complete his natal chart. Here, again, is a 12 noon version.




Although he has background of several years in musical theater, there's no Leo planet in his chart. Leo might be rising, of course. In interview he has talked about his work in the theater as mainly a way of paying the bills. Broadway-type music, he says, isn't the kind he listens to from choice, or wants to sing in the hoped for career he's chasing on American Idol. His own idol is David Bowie. Bowie has never appealed to me at all. I sense a distinct difference between the two. Bowie has heavy Capricorn in his natal chart, Adam is more Air-led. Both want to be "diffferent", but the way Adam will become different.... will be different - if you know what I mean!

I do like the grounding of Venus in Capricorn for Adam though. It's a solid foothold on Mother Earth. He has lots of Airy planets, in Aquarius and Libra. Capricorn Venus is an anchor he'll no doubt need in years to come. Neptune, exactly semi-sextile Venus, from Sagittarius adds enough inmagination and creativity to stop Adam's artistry from becoming boring. He may go over the top on stage, but in real life, his innate Aquarian intelligence and that Capricorn foothold will save him from many wrong turns - I'd bet on it.

Sun in Aquarius is in challenging square (90*) to Jupiter in Scorpio. Here's a hint of immoderate attitudes, and more reason to be glad of Venus in Capricorn holding things down a notch or two. Adam will, at many points in his life and career "push his luck". Depending on other circumstances and influences his risks might come off, but probably not in all cases.

Some of his critics say he's talented but too polarizing to win American Idol. I don't see this in him or in his chart. Then again, his ascendant and exact Moon position might illuminate this.


By the time the finale of Idol rolls around (I think it'll be in May), Jupiter will be in the last 5 or 6 degrees of Aquarius, out of range of his Sun/Mercury. Jupiter has been a benign influence thus far. I'm confident he has built impetus enough to reach the final. Whether he'll be 2009's American Idol, I will not guess. I will guess, though, that Adam Lambert will be a familiar name by the time Uranus enters Aries, and transits near his natal Moon in around 2 to 3 years' time.

There's an interview with Adam, on video here.

"I'm like your boy next door who decided that he wanted to be a rebel one day. So - I'm a nice rebel." ~ Adam TV interview

I'd say that sums up Sun in Aquarius pretty well!

It seems FOX has decided to block the sharing and embedding of American Idol videos due to copyright, but all of Adam's performances can still be viewed at The Best Arts.

Here's a demo reel, featuring clips of several non-Idol performances, plus an Idol audition. The range of this lad's abilities can clearly be seen.



UPDATE

Adam has confirmed in interview (27 May) that he was born in Indianapolis. According to a commenter he has said on FaceBook that he has Libra rising. Taking these factors into consideration the above chart is skewed as far as the houses and ascendant/midheaven etc - although it remains accurate for planets in signs.
I WILL POST A CORRECTED CHART (as far as now confirmed) ON 30 MAY IN ANOTHER POST ABOUT ADAM AND QUEEN.

Mumbling Mos Def

Salman Rushdie and Mos Def were guests on Friday's edition of Bill Maher's "Real Time". I've been surprised by Mos Def on a few previous occasions. His film roles in "Be Kind Re-wind", "16 Blocks" and "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" each were pleasantly surprising, in that I'd assumed he was just another hip-hop artist to whom it was useless my trying to relate. Wrong. He's a good actor too.

He's not exactly who I'd had in mind as Ford Prefect when I read "Hitchhiker", but he did a good job with the part.


On "Real Time" Mos Def's opinions were more or less in tune with what I'd been thinking myself a lot of the time. The big problem I, and I'm sure many other viewers had, was having to strain to catch what he was saying. Mos tends to mumble. It's a pity, because he has opinions which need exposure. The other guest, Salman Rushdie, is such a clear and precise speaker that the contrast became even more obvious when Mos spoke - or mumbled.

Mos Def is, I understand, a shortened slang form of "Most Definitely". The star's real name is Dante Terrell Smith. He was born on 11 December 1973 in Brooklyn, New York.



A 12 noon chart for that day tells us that he has Sun, Neptune and Mercury in ebullient, philosophical Sagittarius, Neptune and Mercury are close enough to be termed conjoined. I don't understand anything about his musical genre, but Neptune conjunct Mercury has to indicate a highly imaginative mental style, very useful in any creative activity, music and acting included. Hey - and it also now strikes me that foggy Neptune so close to Mercury might account for his tendency to mumble, often incoherently.

Venus and Jupiter (ruler of his Sun) are in Aquarius in harmonious sextile to Mercury/Neptune- which relates nicely to his political and social commentary: left-wing liberal. Mars in Aries is in harmonious trine to his Sun, bringing in a little aggressive edge to his otherwise genial, likeable personality. The photograph (right) represents the Mos Def I sense.

Looking at his natal chart along with that of Bill Maher (right), I can easily see why they would get along. Bill's Sun and Mercury at 0 and 12 Aquarius match Mos's Venus and Jupiter at 2 and 10 Aquarius. And Bill's Mars at 4 Sagittarius matches Mos's Mercury at 4 Sagittarius. Their Moons are compatible too, Bill's in Taurus, Mos's in Cancer.

"Last Chance Harvey"

Feeling a bit cabin-feverish this week we made two visits to the cinema. "Last Chance Harvey" was a much easier movie to like than "Knowing". It's one of those tales of romance for the middle-aged, written and played in intelligent mode. Set in London. There aren't too many of the usual annoyingly touristy shots, it's nicely restrained in that department.

Emma Thompson and Dustin Hoffman play the leads, other actors, of older and younger generations flit in and out, but are very much background material for the two heavyweights.

There seemed to be some real life chemistry between the two actors, which isn't surprising when you consider that they both have Fiery Suns (she Aries, he Leo, and reasonably sympathetic Moons, she Cancer, he Virgo.) Their characters in this movie are not at all like the stars' real-life natal charts indicate though.

Hoffman plays Harvey: American, late-middle aged, a divorced semi-failed musician who writes advertising jingles for a living, seems accident prone and bumbling, though kindly and well-meaning. She: Kate, English, works at Heathrow airport, attends evening classes in creative writing, early middle-aged and single. Kate appears awkward in male company, seems not overtly keen to be part of a couple.

I'll take a guess at the characters' astrological Big 3 (Sun/Moon/Ascendant). Harvey could probably have Sun in Libra (ruled by musical Venus) Moon in sensitive Cancer and ascendant hmmm....dreamy forgetful Pisces.

Kate comes over as cool and independent on the surface with an underlying lack of self confidence. She is actually warm and caring, with creative aspriations so: Sun in mutable Sagittarius, Moon in caring, often shy Cancer; ascendant.....cool, independent Aquarius.

Would they "click" with those astro patterns? Not necessarily, but there's more to natal charts than the Big 3, and there's more to love than astrology.


The movie was written and directed by Joel Hopkins - on right in photograph.

From Wikipedia:

When Hopkins was being considered to direct the 2005 children's film Nanny McPhee, for which he was ultimately unsuccessful, he met with Emma Thompson, who had written the script and would star as the title character. After seeing her in a Broadway production opposite Dustin Hoffman, Hopkins decided to write a script to emulate the interpersonal chemistry which he had seen between the two actors. He has said that the story was inspired by one of his parents' friends who was aging but still "finding his feet".

Finding one's feet is a lifetime experience, as Mr. Hopkins might come to understand as years go by!

I had expected echoes of "Bridges of Madison County" from this movie, but no, it's different. More of today, less pathos, and best of all, a happy ending. All in all, a satisfying movie, not a great one. Its memory will probably not last as long with me as "Madison County" has, but nevertheless - it's a good one.

TRAILER:

Future, Future Everywhere & H.G. Wells

This week several unconnected items with a common theme: The Future have lined up for my attention. George Friedman's current book "The Next Hundred Years" (Monday's post), the movie "Knowing" (Thursday's post), blog friend Robert Phoenix's piece about a possible New World Order. Then, on Thursday evening, what should appear on TCM but the classic movie from 1936 "Things to Come". The film is based on H.G. Wells' novel "The Shape of Things To Come". The author's ideas of how the world might develop during the hundred years from 1936 to 2036 haven't, so far, come to pass exactly as presented, but there is evidence of sharp insight to be found, watching from our 2009 perspective.


It's odd how these things clustered together this week, unplanned, unlooked for.

In my "Knowing" post I mentioned that Virgo seemed an unlikely sign to bring forth sci-fi, horror and fantasy novelists, or movie directors in those genres(Alex Proyas for example). Then I recalled that Stephen King was born 21 September, with Sun in Virgo. H.G. Wells was also born 21 September. Interesting!

A quick look at Wells' chart to see what else might link to the subjects which most fascinated him, as a writer. Born 21 September 1866 in Bromley, Kent, England. Chart set for 12 noon. Astrotheme and Astrodatabank both give 4.30pm as time of birth and Aquarius rising. Astrodatabank states that this is a rectified time. I feel it's just a teeny bit too convenient, and feel wary of it. I prefer to look at a 12 noon chart, which offers more than enough information for my purposes.



Sun and Mercury in Virgo - Virgo is ruled by Mercury, so writing is second nature to most people with this sign emphasised in their charts. Wells' Moon would have been in Aquarius whatever time of day he was born - here's the first clue as to his avid interest in all things future. Aquarius' modern ruler Uranus is conjunct Mars - symbolically adding energy and further emphasis to all that Uranus signifies: new technology, future development, the unexpected, change. Saturn and Venus are conjunct in Scorpio, and in harmonious trine with Mars/Uranus. Saturn in trine with its symbolic opposite, Uranus, carries a hint that H.G. Wells, though fascinated by future potentialities, had fairly rigid attitudes, believed in structure rather than randomness. This would blend well with his Sun/Mercury in discerning nitpicking Virgo. He was actually a bit of an enigma, certainly a different animal from the much later Aquarius-hippie stereotype. More evidence of Wells' stability and general common sense comes from a Grand Trine in Earth linking Jupiter, Pluto and Sun/Mercury.


Two H.G. Wells' novels, "The Time Machine" and "War of the Worlds" were the first "grown-up" books I read. In those days I probably didn't fully appreciate everything the books contain, but was still absolutely fascinated by them. It turns out that H.G. Wells was a socialist and a pacifist - a guy after my own heart. How could I not enjoy his ideas?

Arty Farty Friday ~ Jasper Johns

Jasper Johns. The name trips off the tongue. It's a name I was previously aware of, without being able to identify any of the artist's work.

The art of Jasper Johns isn't the kind I'd hang on our living room walls, but then, not all art is for purposes of home decor. Jasper Johns' art has another purpose: to make the viewer think, and seek for meaning.

I searched for reports of interviews with Mr. Johns, to try to get a "feel" for the man. A few pointers from this one which originated in UK newspaper, The Guardian:

"Johns does not particularly like talking about his art. He's aware that by explaining what he means, he risks limiting the meanings that can be derived from it by others. His claim to the title of World's Greatest Living Artist is buttressed by his amazing wealth - one piece alone went for £12m........When he emerged on the art scene in the late 1950s, Johns' tightly controlled studies of everyday objects, his sculptures of coffee tins and ale cans, were read as a rebuke to Jackson Pollock and the abstract impressionists and he has since been called the father of pop art. He haughtily rejects both notions.

"I don't think it matters what it evokes as long as it keeps your eyes and mind busy," says Johns of art in general. "You'll come up with your own use for it. And at different times you'll come up with different uses."


Johns is not reclusive, but neither is he forthcoming. He asks me not to use a tape recorder because it makes him tongue-tied. He talks in short, enigmatic sentences, which teasingly deflate all the wind-baggery that has been written about him.



Johns' most important work with signs is Flag, one of his earliest exhibits, which he did in 1955. It is a collage of the Stars and Stripes made out of encaustic, a wax-type substance which Johns dropped scraps of newspaper into and allowed to set. Flag's challenge to the notion that symbols of state are fixed and inviolable - that they are not, under any circumstance, open to interpretation - was received at the time as blasphemous. The bits of newspaper symbolised the conflicting fictions upon which nations are built and the encaustic, an unstable material, was perceived by critics to be a metaphor for the unstable nature of identity. These subtleties have largely been lost through the work's mass reproduction and Flag is now displayed, more often than not, as a straightforward expression of patriotism. "But I wasn't trying to make a patriotic statement," says Johns.
"Many people thought it was subversive and nasty. It's funny how feeling has flipped." ..............

Was he also aware of its potential use as a metaphor?








"The thing is, if you believe in the unconscious - and I do - there's room for all kinds of possibilities that I don't know how you prove one way or another." "

Asked if he's ever thought of writing his memoirs. He said, "I don't know how to organise thoughts. I don't know how to have thoughts."





(Chart set for 12 noon, in the absence of time of birth).



Born 15 May in Augusta, Georgia. Sun in Taurus, Mercury, Venus and Jupiter in Gemini, with Venus and Jupiter conjoined. Taurus is ruled by Venus, planet of the arts, so no surprise that from a very early age Johns wanted to be an artist. With his Sun sign's ruler in mentally focused Gemini it's also unsurprising that the type of art he favors required its viewers to do some mental work of their own. Jupiter conjunct Venus adds a touch of philosophising to the mix.

Mars conjunct Uranus in Aries: a powerful pair pooling their resources - his radical avant garde style carried out with the confidence and enthusiasm of Aries.





Mercury is tightly square (challenging) Neptune. I'd say the significance of this close aspect is that his art, his method of communication, is not immediately clear to the observer, it's shrouded by Neptunian mist, requiring thought and perception to interpret it.

QUOTE: Sometimes I see it and then paint it. Other times I paint it and then see it. Both are impure situations, and I prefer neither.

Without a time of birth, ascendant sign and Moon position are not known. An early birth would put Moon in Sagittarius, later in the day, Moon would have moved into Capricorn. It's hard to say which is the more likely. Johns doesn't seem the exuberant Sagittarian optimist, but then again, hints of philosophy do peep out from his paintings, and a Sagittarius Moon placement would match Mercury conjunct Jupiter (Sagittarius' ruler).

"Knowing" & Director, Alexander Proyas

We saw "Knowing" on Monday evening. I had mixed feelings about it. The husband didn't enjoy it much, though he thought the initial storyline was interesting. I felt the movie lost much of its attraction around halfway through. For me it seemed almost like two different movies. It's a mish-mosh anyway, I guess: sci-fi, horror, fantasy and adventure; but even so, the atmosphere seemed to change around half-time.

The tale begins in 1959. A class of school kids is asked to draw pictures for burial in a time capsule; pictures showing what life will be like 50 years hence. One little girl's contribution is very strange. Time moves on to 2009, and the opening of the capsule. The strange contribution is opened by Nicholas Cage's son, Caleb. The adventure begins. More I will not say, as it might spoil someone's enjoyment.

Special effects are particularly realistic and quite scary. This isn't a movie for very young children, even though two of the main characters are just 8 years old.



"Knowing" is directed by Alexander Proyas, who also directed "The Crow", "Dark City", and "I, Robot" . He was born in Egypt to Greek parents who moved with him, age 3, to Australia. In adult life he moved to Los Angeles. His natal chart has been through some pretty radical relocations! I don't know the exact place or time he was born in Egypt on 23 September 1963, so have set a chart for 12 noon in Cairo, which will show planets in signs with accuracy, though not rising sign or Moon degree.

I'm wondering whether there's an astrological reason why this director seems so drawn to sci-fi, fantasy and horror themes.



Initial reaction on seeing the chart was surprise. Sun, Mercury, Pluto and Uranus all in Virgo. Though Virgo is ruled by Mercury, communications planet, it doesn't immediately bring to mind an individual who is drawn to sci-fi and fantasy. Having said that though, I recall that Stephen King's birthday is 21 September - also with Sun in Virgo.

Mars and Neptune are quite close together in Scorpio in Proyas' chart - that's more like it! And a dime to a dollar that he was born before Moon had moved out of Scorpio into Sagittarius. Scorpio loves dark subjects, horror, and death-related topics. Neptunian imagination colored by Scorpio is likely to lead in that direction, more particularly if Moon is in this sign as well.

Two chart patterns stand out, calling for my attention. Yods: arrow-like configurations made up of sextile (60*)aspect between two planets which both then link to another planet by quincunx (150*). This configuration is said to show the symbolic "energies" of the sextiled planets being channelled through the planet at the arrow point.





In Alex Proyas' chart there's a Yod with Pluto at its tip (above), Saturn in Aquarius and Jupiter in Aries the sextiled planets; and another, (right), with Pluto and Neptune sextiled, having Jupiter at the tip. Pluto is ruler of Scorpio and connects to darkness, death, horror. Jupiter connects to religion, philosophy, and publication. I like this! It fits! The two Yods are loosely connected too, both of them integrate Pluto and Jupiter.

Without giving away more of the plot of "Knowing", I'll just add that both Pluto and Jupiter (as interpreted above) feature prominently, so Mr. Proyas' Yods are working well.

TRAILER

LADY DAY

Calendars are an essential part of astrology. DUH!! Astrologers, when dealing with very early dates, must be careful to take into consideration changes of calendar calculation in both western and eastern civilisations over the centuries.

Leading from which deep and meaningful observation: Today, March 25th is Lady Day. The name is a reminder that March 25th was honored as the date and festival of The Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary - the date of conception of Jesus Christ, just 9 months from the supposed date of His birth, 25 December. It's now widely accepted that 25 December was not Christ's birthday, however, so Christian festival dates have become symbolic.


(The Annunciation by J.W. Waterhouse)

Lady Day was adopted in Britain and Ireland as one of four Quarter Days. These were days when servants were hired, and rents and rates were due. They fell on four religious festivals roughly three months apart and close to the two solstices and two equinoxes.

Lady Day (25 March)
Midsummer Day (24 June)
Michaelmas (29 September)
Christmas (25 December)

In the UK, the tax year still begins around Lady Day (actually 6 April to 5 April) a relic of those traditional Quarter Days.

Lady Day, 25 March, was also New Year's Day in England until 1752 when a crossover from the Julian to Gregorian calendar took place, moving New Year's Day to first of January. When I worked with a County Archivist long ago, I had to carefully remember, when dealing with documents from before 1752, which were dated January, February or March(up to 25), to catalogue them as, for example, 16 March 1714/5.

(See here - for further detail on the history of calendars).

"Calendar is a word that comes from Latin calendarium, or account book, and is derived from calendae or the calends, the first day of all of the old Roman months. This was the day on which accounts were due and on which the priests of Rome called the people together to proclaim (calare) that the new moon had been sighted.

Calendars generally have been based on some combination of celestial observation and observance of the pattern of human activities and rituals.
Despite all of the astronomical dilemmas (lunar, solar, seasonal, etc.), we have arrived at our present Gregorian calendar because of the astronomical and political skills of many generations. "

To which I'll just add that religion has played a major part in defining calendars throughout the world.




Sidelight: Lady Day is also the nickname of legendary jazz singer Billie Holiday, who, though not born on this day, was born with Sun in Aries (7 April 1915.....chart and biography at Astrodatabank's Wiki, here.)

Records of The Great Depression ~ Dorothea Lange

In the current financial climate, with recession or depression constantly under discussion, a look at the work of a photographer from a previous era reminds us that things could be a lot worse. We will not reach the depths of the depression suffered in the 1930s this time around. We started from a much higher level. Dorothea Lange's photographs offer us perspective, and reason to be grateful that most of us did have a very different starting point.

Born in Hoboken, New Jersey on 26 May 1895, Ms Lange studied photography at Columbia University, then did studio portrait work. She married painter Maynard Dixon and they travelled through the south western states, where she photographed Native Americans.


This photographer's fame comes mainly from her work during the Great Depression when she began documenting the suffering populace, breadlines, and strikes. Her first marriage over, she had re-married a labour economist and together they were employed by the California and Federal Resettlement Administration.
Their job: to record the Dust Bowl exodus when drought and hard times forced thousands of farm families to move west in search of work. Later, during World War
2 she documented the internment of Japanese Americans.



Ms Lange's best known photograph is a portrait titled "Migrant Mother".


This is said to be one of the most reproduced photographs in history. It has its own back story too.
The family of the woman, subject of the portrait, later objected to the way their mother had been depicted. She was, they said, not a true migrant, the family had lived in California for many years, but had fallen on hard times. They had been staying overnight at the camp where Ms Lange found them, on their way elsewhere to new work. Years later, however, when their mother fell ill and in need of expensive care and tratement, a local newspaper covered the story and re-printed the photograph. This jogged the memory of numerous readers who had found comfort from that photograph years earlier during their own bad times. Thousands of dollars rolled in to the newspaper, to aid the former "Migrant Mother".

Dorothea Lange died of cancer in 1965.

There's no time of birth available, the chart below is set for noon. Rising sign will be inaccurate, as will exact degree of the Moon which would have been in either Gemini or Cancer at the time of her birth.




This is an interesting chart, made up entirely of Air and Water emphasis. Rising sign could add a different element, of course. Gemini and Cancer in a fairly tight large cluster, with a dash of Scorpio added.

"Dorothea Lange’s work reflects insight, compassion and profound empathy for her subjects. Her photographs are reproduced in books and housed in museum collections, most numerously in the Oakland Museum of California. Although she did not consider herself to be an artist, she said of her work: “To live a visual life is an enormous undertaking, practically unattainable…But I have only touched it, just touched it.” "

Insight empathy and compassion come via Water signs Cancer and Scorpio, her inner need to communicate what she saw with the world at large comes from Gemini, the zodiac's main communicator. Without a time of birth which would show us where the angles of the chart lay, it's not easy to say much more! Her two Scorpio planets, Saturn and Uranus harmonize with the Cancer planets by trine aspect, drawing in some extra passion for any job she undertook, and adding a certain sharpness to her insight, which, if coming only from Cancer planets might have produced a maudlin or sentimental set of photographs, instead of the colder, harder but more representative images she left for us.





More at: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92656801
http://www.americanswhotellthetruth.org/pgs/portraits/Dorothea_Lange.html

"The Next Hundred Years"

Astrologers might find George Friedman's new book "The Next Hundred Years: A Forecast for the 21st century" of interest. It's written by an American - and it shows! At least it shows from the reviews and articles I've read so far. It's written from the perspective of geopolitics. Geopolitics according to Wikipedia =

"In academic circles, geopolitics involves the analysis of geography, history and social science with reference to spatial politics and patterns at various scales (ranging from the level of the state to international). It examines the political, economic and strategic significance of geography, where geography is defined in terms of the location, size, function, and relationships of places and resources."

It would be interesting, and instructive, if experts from several other countries were to write similar books. Comparisons could bring surprises.

Excellent assessments of "The Next Hundred Years" and its author's predictions can be found at The Library of Halexandria.
(Other links at end of post.)

Predictions I find particularly surprising involve Mexico and China. The former, according to the author, will rise in status to become a major power, the latter will decline. Astounding predictions relate to the USA, for example: "The United States will experience a golden age in the second half of the century."

According to Mr. Friedman, war will continue to be a part of the global scene through the next century, but, he optimistically predicts, wars will be smaller, less destructive. From our perspective in 2009, that seems highly unlikely. One sizeable nuclear device could blight the planet for many lifetimes. The author must therefore assume that no nuclear device will ever be used. We can hope!

Mr. Friedman thinks that our current financial woes will pale into near insignificance as decades go by. Perhaps so. That is a lot easier to believe than that wars will be less destructive.

Considering what the world - or the USA, or Great Britain was like 100 years ago, in 1909, could a geopolitical expert have foreseen 9/11, or World War2, or how the world has developed?


An expert could probably have predicted World War 1, the rise of the motor vehicle and air travel, but hardly more than that.
What about the difference computers have made in all areas of life, political, geographical and personal? I'd wager that neither geopolitical expert nor astrologer could have predicted this in 1909. Mr. Friedman is predicting from his early 21st century knowledge base. Enormous as that probably is, it's not sufficient. It offers a false perspective. One unexpected, un-dreamed of development could change the world, and its peoples, and their outlook beyond all recognition.


I don't think it's possible to do more than guess; any of us can do that, no expertise needed.

During the next 100 years the outer planets, which signify cycles reflected in wider world events, and for generations rather than individuals, will wend their way slowly through a good slice of the zodiac, forming hundreds of different aspects with each other and with the outermost personal planet, Saturn. I doubt that any astrologer would be unwise enough to predict much at all that far ahead, let alone in the amount of detail that George Friedman has done in this book. He's a brave man. But he has the comforting thought that by the time the 100 years have passed he will be long gone. Who will remember words published in 2009?

Review at Statesman.com HERE.
The book at Amazon.
Video featuring the author HERE.