Alan Colmes to Move On. (Told ya!)

It's interesting that Alan Colmes is about to leave his 12-year position as co-host with Sean Hannity each weeknight on Fox News Channel's "Hannity & Colmes". This happens just as Saturn transits his cluster of Virgo planets and he approaches a second Saturn Return.

Alan reported the news on his blog Liberaland yesterday. A prediction I tentatively made back in January has materialised

In a post on new year's Day 2008 ("Which One's The Conservative?") I wrote:

"I've had a second Saturn Return, too, and Alan has one due around the time of the November election - I'd be surprised if something that happens around that time doesn't change his career in some way, and mark the start of a new life chapter."

(The above is a chart set for 12 noon in the absence of a birth time, so ascendant sign not accurate though all planetary positions apart from Moon are as shown)

Transiting Saturn is at 20 degrees of Virgo at present, sitting between Alan's natal Mercury, Venus and Saturn, heading for the Saturn Return which won't be exact until late next summer, due to a retrograde period, January to May, then it begins to move direct again. That retro period could well coincide with the time when Alan is preparing his new ventures.

It's time for another chorus of my oft repeated refrain (with apologies to Bob Dylan) "Something is happening here, but we don't know what it is....do we Mr. Jones?" As I intend to keep on saying, ad nauseam: this stuff works!!

Trace Adkins - A Capricorn/Aquarius Mash-up

On Friday evening Bill Maher had Trace Adkins as one of his guests on his show "Real Time". By the way, John Townley recently wrote a brilliant interpretation of Bill's natal chart. HERE).

I'm sworn off country music and its attendant politics, so wasn't too impressed when I saw Trace sitting there complete with black Stetson hat. He didn't have much to say, as it turned out. He did come out with a couple of funny one-liners though which warmed me to him, and he does have a gorgeously deep speaking voice.

Next morning curiosity overcame me and I looked at his natal chart, or a 12 noon version of it. Ahaaa! Another Saturn Hybrid. Born 13 January 1962, Sarepta, Louisiana. Of course, 1962 was the year of the Aquarius pile-up. Garth Brooks and Clint Black, two other country luminaries, came into the world a few weeks later.

All Trace Adkins' personal planets, except the Moon, are in Capricorn or Aquarius. Moon could be in Aries or Taurus depending on birth time, but because of his musical background I'd guess Taurus. Ascendant is unknown.



Via Google links, I found that Trace Adkins has written a book, "A Personal Stand, Observations and Opinions from a Freethinking Roughneck", in which as well as the story of his early life, he gives his views on many things, politics, the state of the world and the USA included. This is probably what gave him credentials enough to appear on Real Time. He had also been interviewed by Hannity and Colmes in December. There's a transcript of that interview HERE. It throws some light on his political views, which do indeed reflect a mix of Capricorn and Aquarius, as does his chart.

A good illustration of what I see as the Capricorn/Aquarius mash-up appears in this extract from his conversation with Alan Colmes. There's a typical conservative view muddled up with a decidedly more Aquarian stance here - and he's not "saying which one's better":

COLMES: You say in the book, you say "liberalism is less moral and more civil and conservatism is more moral and less civil."
ADKINS: Yes.
COLMES: What do you mean by that?
ADKINS: When I wrote that particular line, I was in the context of the way that we deal with the rest of the world is really what I was trying to say. And what I mean by that is I feel like liberals tend to just give everybody a pass, no matter what kind of egregious acts they may be perpetrating on...
COLMES: You really think so?
ADKINS: I do. I do.
COLMES: Have you heard about any of the Republican congressional scandals over the last year or so?
ADKINS: Dealing with international...
COLMES: Just dealing with sexual hijinks, dealing with all kinds of things.
ADKINS: Well, that's not what I was talking — that's not what I was talking about.
COLMES: I wanted to give your audience a chance to know what you're talking about.
ADKINS: Well, I'm trying to say it's in the way that we deal with the rest of the world. And I think that conservatives from time to time will try to force their moral objectives on somebody else, and they will do it sometimes at the point of a gun and be a little less civil about it, is the point that I was trying to make. I'm not saying which one's better. But that was an observation I was making.
COLMES: A lot of people — a lot of people think that going and trying to install, let's say, democracy at the point of a gun or a bayonet doesn't really work that well, as evidenced by some of the fallout we've seen from having done it over the last few years...

I prefer Trace Adkins' approach to that of some other flag-waving country singers, he obviously thinks for himself about issues, rather than simply following the herd and pandering to the crowd. But I'm still sworn off country music.

Which one's the conservative?

Politics is likely to be the number one news item throughout 2008. The outcome of November's presidential election will affect more than the United States, it has potential to affect the whole planet in one way or another. I'm going to start the year by looking at natal charts of two men, one from each side of the USA's political spectrum. Which chart belongs to the conservative? I've been unable to find a way to completely hide the chart-owners' names, so that's a silly question for anyone familiar with American TV. (Click on image to enlarge)



Even with names erased, it wouldn't be a difficult choice. The chart (left) with Saturn in its own domain, Capricorn, the most conservative sign of the zodiac, along with Sun, Venus, Mars and Mercury, is almost certain to belong to a person who leans sharply rightward politically, its owner is Sean Hannity, who co-hosts a TV talk show with the owner of the other natal chart, Alan Colmes.

The second chart (on the right) wouldn't, I think, necessarily belong to a politically left-leaning individial, but I'd be surprised if it belonged to someone as dogmatic as Hannity, who was born in New York City, 30 December 1961. (Both charts are calculated for 12 noon as birth times are unknown)

Alan Colmes' natal Sun is in very early Libra, with Venus, Mercury and Saturn in Virgo. A diplomatic, charming and mentally-driven Sun, together with three personal planets in mutable (non-dogmatic), and critically minded Virgo might equally describe someone moderately conservative or moderately liberal politically. If Colmes had Uranus close to his natal ascendant, or Aquarius rising, I'd be reasonably sure he would lean politically left. With another mutable sign rising he'd likely be more of a centrist. He is the left-leaning liberal of the pair, though often not leaning as far left as I'd like to see.
Alan Colmes was born New York City, 24 September 1950.

Both these guys have Jupiter in Aquarius, in Hannity's case it opposes Pluto, in Colmes' chart it lies inconjunct Pluto. Here's a fitting line from Robert Pelletier's interpretation of Jupiter opposition Pluto, from "Planets in Aspect".

"You are disposed to question every ideology and to challenge dogma by asserting your own..............." In Hannity's chart the planets are in Fixed signs Aquarius/Leo which emphasises a dogmatic attitude.

On Jupiter inconjunct Pluto,(Colmes), Robert Pelletier says:

"You need to become fully informed about your surroundings to protect yourself from intimidation (by Hannity and his pals?) When you accept an opportunity, it is your spiritual responsibility to distinguish right from wrong "What's in it for me?" isn't sufficient justification for everything you do."

Of the two, I'd say that Colmes is the more incisive interviewer - his Virgo planets proclaim it. Hannity is more likely to become belligerent (natal Mars conjunct Sun). Unruly Uranus in Virgo trines Hannity's Sun/Mars/Venus in Capricorn - trines are harmonious aspects, yet revolutionary Uranus trining traditional Saturn's domain sounds less than serene.

So much in natal astrology depends on ascendant and house positions, that information is missing without birth times. But even with only planetary positions as guide, it's still easy to see which of these two men is the more conservative.

After drafting this post yesterday, I visited to Alan Colmes' new blog, LiberalLand, and followed a link there to Newshound where there is mention of an astrologer's predictions for the two men. I'm going to add my two cents worth and say that I'd rather be in Alan's shoes than Sean's in the coming two years. I've had a Pluto transit to Venus (coming up for Sean), and....well, it was a very difficult (and life-changing) time to get through. I've had a second Saturn Return, too, and Alan has one due round the time of the November election - I'd be surprised if something that happens around that time doesn't change his career in some way, and mark the start of a new life chapter.

The caption on Alan Colmes' photograph, below, is just right for a Sun Libran!