Wondering about an astro-culprit...

During the past few weeks I've been struggling, with assistance of our doctor, to get my high blood pressure back in check. It started to spike for no particular reason towards the end of April. New medication has taken its time to become effective, so the intermediate weeks became a wee bit stressful. Things eventually took a turn for the better. I'm hoping that the additional meds have begun to kick-in - the process takes time, it seems.

It's a little spooky to me (though likely not to any proper astrologer) that these problems were happening as transiting Uranus (ruler of my Aquarius Sun) has been conjunct my natal Moon at around 24/25 Aries for a while, and was joined for a spell by transiting Mercury. That "double-dose" might have been the astro-culprit. Mercury has been moving away for a while now, as things have improved. Coincidence? Maybe - maybe not. Uranus will hang around natal Moon for some time yet, including a retrograde phase, prolonging potential for change.

Evidence of equilibrium returning, in the circulation of blood department, inspired a re-hash of a brief piece from a few years ago:-

Something to ponder upon from Ralph Waldo Emerson, poet, essayist, and founder of the Trancendentalist movement in the USA.

He was born on 25 May 1803 at 3:15PM in Boston, Ma. His natal chart is available at Astrodatabank HERE. It's a nicely balanced natal chart element, mode and polarity-wise; it's appropriate that he sensed the equilibrium in nature, as expressed in the following extract.

From CONDUCT OF LIFE by Ralph Waldo Emerson, a collection of lectures first delivered between 1851 and 1852 reiterating Emerson's beliefs about fate, power, wealth, and worship, among other topics.

Beautiful as is the symmetry of any form, if the form can move we seek a more excellent symmetry. The interruption of equilibrium stimulates the eye to desire the restoration of symmetry, and to watch the steps through which it is attained. This is the charm of running water, sea waves, the flight of birds and the locomotion of animals. This is the theory of dancing, to recover continually in changes the lost equilibrium, not by abrupt and angular but by gradual and curving movements....This fact suggests the reason of all mistakes and offence in our own modes. It is necessary in music, when you strike a discord, to let down the ear by an intermediate note or two to the accord again: and many a good experiment, born of good sense and destined to succeed, fails only because it is offensively sudden....To this streaming or flowing belongs the beauty that all circular movement has; as the circulation of waters, the circulation of the blood, the periodical motion of planets, the annual wave of vegetation, the action and reaction of nature; and if we follow it out, this demand in our thought for an ever onward action is the argument for the immortality.

Emerson on Equilibrium

Something to ponder upon from Ralph Waldo Emerson, poet, essayist, and founder of the Trancendentalist movement in the USA.

He was born on 25 May 1803 at 3:15PM in Boston, Ma. (Astrodatabank).

His is a nicely balanced natal chart element, mode and polarity-wise, so it's appropriate that he sensed the equilibrium of nature, as expressed in the following extract. (Click on the chart to enlarge)

His Mercury ruled Sun & Mercury (in Gemini) and Jupiter & Saturn (in Virgo) reflect a deep-thinking writer's credentials. Gemini Sun in trine to Libra Uranus connects to an avant garde (for his times) mode of thinking.

From CONDUCT OF LIFE by Ralph Waldo Emerson, a collection of lectures first delivered between 1851 and 1852 reiterating Emerson's beliefs about fate, power, wealth, and worship, among other topics.

Beautiful as is the symmetry of any form, if the form can move we seek a more excellent symmetry. The interruption of equilibrium stimulates the eye to desire the restoration of symmetry, and to watch the steps through which it is attained. This is the charm of running water, sea waves, the flight of birds and the locomotion of animals. This is the theory of dancing, to recover continually in changes the lost equilibrium, not by abrupt and angular but by gradual and curving movements....This fact suggests the reason of all mistakes and offence in our own modes. It is necessary in music, when you strike a discord, to let down the ear by an intermediate note or two to the accord again: and many a good experiment, born of good sense and destined to succeed, fails only because it is offensively sudden....To this streaming or flowing belongs the beauty that all circular movement has; as the circulation of waters, the circulation of the blood, the periodical motion of planets, the annual wave of vegetation, the action and reaction of nature; and if we follow it out, this demand in our thought for an ever onward action is the argument for the immortality.

AND, by way of decor:

Equilibrium by Jia Lu at Visions Fine Art

"Equilibrium" & Christian Bale

We watched the 2002 movie "Equilibrium" on Sci-fi channel the other night. While it's not the best sci-fi movie I've ever seen, I enjoyed it - apart from some of the over-long action sequences involving a fictional martial arts gun skill called "Gun Kata".

The storyline, by Kurt Wimmers, is set in a 21st century world, after a 3rd world war has left utter devastation in its wake. Those who then assumed power had decided that a fourth war would wipe out life on Earth entirely. They determined that the way to avoid that would be to supress all human emotion and passion in humans. A totalitarian-type state emerges. The population is completely controlled, forced to dose regularly on a drug which prevents them from feeling any emotion. A ruling class of "clerics", highly trained in martial arts, with a chief known as "Father" has the job of supressing resistance from the few humans who have managed to escape the drug regime and retained their emotions. These unfortunates, when caught, are ritually incinerated alive.

Finally, it's a fight between good and evil (isn't it always?) An original good intention, to prevent war, had turned into an almost bigger evil than war itself.



I was particularly interested in the basic premise, because I'd had the same fundamental idea in my own, one and only attempt to write a short story, "Regions of the Homewind" (here). In my story's world the banishing of strong emotion to protect the human species had taken on a different, and more kindly, complexion.

A quote from "Equilibrium"

Mary: Let me ask you something.
[Grabs his hand]
Mary: Why are you alive?
John Preston: [Breaks free] I'm alive... I live... to safeguard the continuity of this great society. To serve Libria.
Mary: It's circular. You exist to continue your existence. What's the point?
John Preston: What's the point of your existence?
Mary: To feel. 'Cause you've never done it, you can never know it. But it's as vital as breath. And without it, without love, without anger, without sorrow, breath is just a clock... ticking.

Christian Bale played the leading part of Cleric John Preston with some style, I thought. I took a look at his natal chart. This is a 12 noon version as his time of birth is unknown.

No wonder he was able to play a person with no emotion so well - he has no planets in Water signs (the emotional signs) in his natal chart. He has Sun and two personal planets in Aquarius, a sign said by some astrologers to be cool, aloof, and fairly emotionless. OOOokay, says this Aquarian blogger! Also, I'm noting that the Moon's apogee (Black Moon Lilith) the point at which Moon is farthest from the Earth, falls close to Bale's natal Sun. I don't know how significant that might be, but, bearing in mind that the Moon represents, among other things, our mother and our emotions, a news story involving Bale recently, recorded at Wikipedia might be relevant:

On 22 July 2008, Bale attended a London police station by appointment and was arrested in connection with an alleged assault on his mother, Jenny, and sister, Sharon, who called the authorities. After being held for more than four hours, he was released on bail, pending further investigation. He denied the allegations and on 14 August, 2008 British police declared that they would take no further action against him. The charges were dismissed for lack of evidence.

There have been other angry outbursts on sets of his films too.
Bale himself has said,"If everyone really knew what a jerk I am in real life, I wouldn't be so adored in the slightest."

He has aggressive Mars in Aries (strong in its own sign) and square his natal Sun - a constant challenge to his "self". His natal Moon could be in either late Aries or early Taurus - I'd guess Taurus - it's in conflicting Earthy element to his Airy Sun, whereas Aries would make for a more harmonious inner/outer self (Moon/Sun) . There seems to be some underlying conflict in his nature, if news stories are anything to go by.

There is a nice Grand Trine in Air signs in Bale's chart. It links Uranus, Saturn and Mercury - a harmonious circuit indicating easy intellect, though with unpredictable thought patterns and a hard Saturnian edge to his attitudes.