NEWNESS

2020 has begun, for me, with a variety of new stuff. Even as I prepared this post there came a new word to add to my vocabulary. I had to look up this word from the quote on the right: Evanescent definition: vanishing, fading, fleeting. Also new for me this New Year: a new(ish) computer with new operating system, as mentioned in earlier posts. Another newcomer will be a new washing machine, delivered next week. We were reliably (I trust) told that the issue which caused our washer to stop in mid cycle, a few days ago, is not repairable - the major mechanical part involved in the breakdown of our 15-year old machine is no longer manufactured by Maytag. So, off we had to go to the Maytag store to order the 2020 version of our old washer.

What else is new for me, this New Year? A new piece of knitting - a shawl knitted in 'V' shape, up one side and down the other in some pretty but slightly awkward yarn called Homespun, I chose a colour called Tourmaline (a rich dark blue-green) . The photo comes from the online free pattern.






Also, on the knitting front, I forced myself to finish the disliked work of joining together multiple 8" squares I'd knitted during the weeks before Christmas, while playing with a bunch of colours, mixing and matching. It's not big enough for a blanket but will provide a warm throwover for the knees, or a colourful piece to "pop" - somewhere in the bedroom when Okie weather returns once again to sweaty heat.

Astrologically, there's something new too. Pluto and Saturn, planets which I believe have been bugging me for the past 2 years health-wise, moving to-and-fro opposite my ascendant and close to natal Mercury, are at last moving forward. They will soon be out of range (I hope!) It has been uncanny and at times unnerving to note how health-related stuff coincided with the movement of these two planets. Pluto and Saturn have, from time immemorial, been known to have a few unpleasantnesses to dole out when transiting close to personal planets in the natal chart. My own experiences include diagnosis of breast cancer leading to lumpectomy, mastectomy, excision mastectomy, radiation. For the metastatic bone cancer in femur and hip: local procedures and radiation; not to mention a variety of medications - not particularly nasty in themselves, but with nasty side-effects such as joint pain, nausea, hair thinning (not all lost - yet!) Lymphatic colitis emerged in the midst of all this, and led to colonoscopy and various remedies. It does often turn out that the unpleasantness experienced when these planets visit was a necessary development - something which needed to happen in order for the native to move on. Hmmm! It's a great pity that the effects of those two planets' transits are not more... erm.... evanescent!

Weekend Cyclic Wandering

I've not fallen down an internet rabbit-hole for a while, but did so this week, though this rabbit-hole was not as deep as many, and did eventually lead me back via a T-junction to my very own archives!
My stumble really began outside the internet, in reading an article in a February 1974 edition of The Saturday Evening Post I'd bought in an antique/vintage store on our last trip. I'd been attracted by the magazine's cover illustration of an astrological chart, with Henry Kissinger's photograph at its centre. Title of the article heralded by the cover:
Astrology - Who Believes in It?

The article which, oddly, is not credited to any specific author, is a long one - almost receiving the tl:dr from me(too long did not read). It's printed in fairly small, close font. I did skim it initially, going back to special tid-bits at different times. The piece is certainly not as dismissive as a comparable piece in any current national magazine would be, but then the 1970s were still under a fairly "New Age" atmosphere, astrology back then was enjoying a short respite from ridicule.

My tipping point for rabbit-hole entry was the snippet:

What has astrology to say further about mankind's future? The long-term 794-year recurrence of the two giant planets Jupiter and Saturn in the same part of the Tropical Zodiac correlates closely to a cycle found in history by the great British historian Arnold J. Toynbee. During about half of the cycle the component states of a parochial civilisation engage in civil strife and a "time of troubles". Then during the balance of the cycle they combine as a Universal State or Empire. Northern and Western Europe and North America comprise such a civilisation.......

A 794 year cycle, thought I - Saturn/Jupiter, astrological opposites: Saturn the restrictive limiter, Jupiter the excessive expander. When they come together in conjunction I'm not surprised they make a mark of some kind.

I then began my descent, finding the words of several astrologers on internet pages crossing my eyes, jangling my brain.

If Saturn/Jupiter cycles were the only cycles to watch it'd be easy-peasy, but there are numerous other cycles, certain of my archived posts have explored these. I'm thinking, though, that Saturn and Jupiter, though categorised as inner planets, and still far away are much, much nearer to Earth than outer planets Uranus, Neptune and Pluto whose various cycles are discussed over and over again by mundane astrologers. Whether this fact makes Saturn/Jupiter cycles more significant to us here on Earth isn't clear.

From astrologer Mark Lerner:
[It's necessary to read the whole piece, but just a taster -]

It turns out that Jupiter and Saturn – major planets connected to the social realm, religion, philosophy, education, profession, government and economics – keep energizing the same elemental quality (fire, earth, air or water) in a series of 20-year conjunctions for almost 200 years. Then the Jupiter-Saturn unions shift to the next elemental quality for another series of conjunctions for around two centuries. After a long cycle of 794-800 years, the entire Jupiter-Saturn pattern begins over although never exactly energizing the same degrees of the zodiac as during the previous 800-year cycle.

What is particularly interesting to us, here in mid 2017, is the fact that the 794 year long Saturn/Jupiter cycle will hit a change point in December 2020, when the conjunction will occur in an Air sign, Aquarius, for the first time in around 180 years. Conjunctions have been occurring in Earth signs for the past 180 years. This could reflect the materialistic atmosphere the developed world has experienced during this almost two century time span. Does it indicate that, very gradually (VERY gradually) materialism might recede making way for more a more humanitarian, thoughtful and caring feel? Change of atmosphere will probably be kick-started by an Aquarian revolutionary period, gradually, oh so gradually, morphing into calmer airways during the Gemini and Libra phases.

Whether humans will still be around on planet Earth to encounter these changes is another matter. If climate change proceeds apace, perhaps only the very wealthy who have de-camped to the few safe places Earth will still afford, will be left. How long they could survive without an army of servants and protectors from who knows what, is questionable. So, in the end all speculation is somewhat, as they say, academic.

From my own archives, for any passing reader still interested in this topic, I'd recommend a look at these posts, not missing the comment threads attached too - some interesting stuff there!

http://twilightstarsong.blogspot.com/2010/08/ramblings-on-capitalism-astrology.html

http://twilightstarsong.blogspot.com/2012/09/600-year-arcs-capitalism.html

http://twilightstarsong.blogspot.com/2012/10/600-year-arc-capitalism-astrology-part-2.html

Amalgamating the Jupiter/Saturn pattern with other, outer-planetary cycles is a bit like trying to follow a complex knitting pattern. The full beauty, or otherwise, of the item or garment will not be fully discernible immediately; in the case of planetary cycles, really not fully for centuries, or until, continuing the analogy, we've completed a good few "repeat the above pattern [...] times more". That's a bummer for the average human's less than one century life span!

Astrology's Hints about Women in Power ?

In the interests of fairness and balance I guess I should post something exclusively about Hillary Clinton, rather than forever mentioning her in comparison to Bernie, during this primary season.

Poking around in my blog archives I found this, it was an ever so slightly off-topic snip found in a post about Evita, the woman, Eva Peron and the musical show based on her life. Extract from the post follows:

I came across something loosely linked to the Eva Peron story at British astrologer Marjorie Orr's website in a forum there. [Note: I'm sorry, but the link I posted in 2008 is now defunct].

Under the heading "USA anti-women", Marjorie Orr discusses women in power. I took the liberty of copying an extract. [Sadly the full context, as part of a discussion, is lost due to link being no longer live.]

The extract is interesting on another level - Clinton-wise! But that's another story, still to be told. I wonder if anyone will write a musical about that story, in years to come?

Marjorie Orr:

"What also seems relevant is Saturn Neptune. I was surprised when I did the research for my book the Astrological History of the World to find that Saturn Neptune is significant in women's rise to greater influence - for astrological reasons I still can't quite fathom - but it certainly was around in periods of women coming to power and workers demanding their rights. Perhaps Saturn Neptune's drive in its best aspect for a fairer society - with emotional Neptune eroding the masculine (Saturn) power base. There was a Saturn Neptune conjunction when Elizabeth I was crowned (Taurus) and again when Elizabeth II was crowned (Libra); a Saturn Neptune square when Queen Victoria was crowned and a wide square when Maggie Thatcher was elected PM. Indira Gandhi became the first Indian woman PM on a Saturn Neptune trine and Benazir Bhutto became the first woman to be Pakistan's PM on a Saturn Neptune conjunction (Capricorn).

Looking at the charts of these countries which have produced women rulers they all have strongish Saturn Neptune aspects natally. The UK 1066 has a Saturn Neptune trine; the UK 1801 has a very central Saturn Neptune square. Both the India 1877 and 1947 charts have Saturn Neptune sextiles as does Pakistan. And Argentina which produced Eva Peron has a Saturn Neptune conjunction natally. Israel also has a Saturn Neptune sextile natally and a 10th house Moon. They elected Golda Meir as PM in 1969 though not on a Sat Nep transit.

The USA does not have Saturn Neptune in aspect - and Saturn, the masculine planet, squares the Sun, trines Uranus, picks up Mars and maybe the Moon - so it is afflicted or at least very much in operation. And it's in aspect to both Sun and Moon emphasising the Emperor quality rather than the Empress. Italy has Saturn conjunct the Moon and opposing the Sun which is the same but worse.

The 2012 next Presidential Election has a Saturn Neptune trine; 2016 a square; 2020 a sextile and the next Saturn Neptune conjunction is in 2025 just after the 2024 election. But it may just not be in the nature of the USA to have a woman at the helm".

Interesting, but I feel sure there are arguments to the contrary! As mentioned, at present we have a Neptune-Saturn square going on, Saturn is in Sagittarius, Neptune in Pisces, both signs ruled traditionally by Jupiter, both mutable signs - not sure whether that'd be at all relevant here, but mutable does mean open to change!

Anyway, as far as these observations relate to 2016 - we shall soon see!

Saturn at the Gates of Sagittarius - again

Astrologer Lynn Koiner has a piece

SATURN IN SAGITTARIUS - 2015 through 2017 - a new energy of Fire
A brief snip from it:

....What I am telling my clients is that early 2015 will be a sense of something new about to happen, a new vision and a new direction, but the timing is not right for bolting out of the starting gate. From June through September 2015, Saturn retreats back into Scorpio in the late degrees.

Many will be drawn to go back and finish up issues and projects from the past. We cannot move forward with a lot of loose ends from the past cycle holding us back.

When Saturn is in the late degrees, it is always an ending cycle, a time to end what no longer works in our lives. Once it returns to Sagittarius, according to Jeanne, it will lift the delusions created by Neptune in Pisces. The lessons of Sagittarius are connected with freedom, open-mindedness and truth. Of course, there is a big difference between the Facts and the Truth!..............

Ms Koiner also writes, about Saturn's last Sagittarius transit, from 1985. Looking back in my own history I find that in November 1985 I had just recovered from a major operation (hysterectomy), several weeks on sick leave, was about to go back to work, just as Saturn entered Sagittarius. So, for me it was good - all in all. Maybe I felt the difference as Saturn changed signs due to my natal Mars being "just behind the gate" at 28.54 Scorpio. Saturn didn't leave Sagittarius until early 1988. I've no other stand-out memories from that time. Anyone else have old Saturn in Sag. memories?

BLUES in the charts?

Dr. Cornel West, in his book Brother West: Living and Loving Out Loud, A Memoir, wrote:

“I'm a bluesman moving through a blues-soaked America, a blues-soaked world, a planet where catastrophe and celebration- joy and pain sit side by side. The blues started off in some field, some plantation, in some mind, in some imagination, in some heart. The blues blew over to the next plantation, and then the next state. The blues went south to north, got electrified and even sanctified. The blues got mixed up with jazz and gospel and rock and roll.”

Iconic blues singer B.B. King died recently. His passing prompted me to seek out a post about some blues singers, including B.B. King, that I wrote in 2008. I've taken parts of that old post, edited, updated them and re-posted below.

Blues music is such a well defined genre, I had wondered if some of its best known stars might have something in common astrologically. As Ed Kopp wrote in "A Brief History of the Blues" :

"When you think of the blues, you think about misfortune, betrayal and regret. You lose your job, you get the blues. Your mate falls out of love with you, you get the blues. Your dog dies, you get the blues.

While blues lyrics often deal with personal adversity, the music itself goes far beyond self-pity. The blues is also about overcoming hard luck, saying what you feel, ridding yourself of frustration, letting your hair down, and simply having fun. The best blues is visceral, cathartic, and starkly emotional. From unbridled joy to deep sadness, no form of music communicates more genuine emotion.

The blues has deep roots in American history, particularly African-American history. The blues originated on Southern plantations in the 19th Century. Its inventors were slaves, ex-slaves and the descendants of slaves - African-American sharecroppers who sang as they toiled in the cotton and vegetable fields. It's generally accepted that the music evolved from African spirituals, African chants, work songs, field hollers, rural fife and drum music, revivalist hymns, and country dance music."

What astrological factors spring to mind? Saturn aspects, mainly with Mercury (communication - which includes singing). Saturn says angst, difficult times, limits, barriers. Next, some emotional depth: Moon and its aspects, Water signs, perhaps a lot of negative (Yin) polarity.
(Wikipedia: "Yin - shady place, cloudy, overcast; the dark element: it is passive, dark, feminine, negative, downward-seeking, consuming and corresponds to the night.")

I picked the first three names my husband suggested as being quintessential blues singers: B.B. King, Robert Johnson, and Muddy Waters. No times of birth are available for any of them, which limits search for Moon aspects and house positions, so I looked at their natal charts mainly for Saturn aspects, Water, and polarity.

B.B. King, born 16 September 1925, Berclair, Mississippi.
astro.com has a rectified time of birth for him but I'll stick with a noon chart for this purpose.

Saturn sextiles Mercury and possibly Moon, (which could be anywhere from 1 to 12 Virgo). Jupiter trines Mercury. There's a loose Grand Trine in Water linking Pluto, Uranus and Saturn. Negative (Yin) polarity dominates 9 to 1!

Robert Johnson, born 8 May, 1911, Hazlehurst, Mississippi.


Saturn conjunct Mercury and 7 degrees from Sun, Saturn opposes Jupiter and sextiles Mars.Moon would be in Virgo and possibly in trine to Sun/Mercury/Saturn if born before 10pm.Grand Trine in Water, Jupiter/Mars/Neptune. Negative (Yin) polarity dominates 8 to 2.

Muddy Waters (birth name McKinley Morganfield) born 4 April in Rolling Fork, Mississippi, in either 1913 or 1915...or? (Note: Wikipedia and other websites have his birth year as 1913, some biographies state 1915, as does his gravestone.) From Wikipedia's page:

Although in his later years Muddy usually said that he was born in Rolling Fork, Mississippi, in 1915, he was most likely born at Jug's Corner in neighboring Issaquena County in 1913. Recent research has uncovered documentation showing that in the 1930s and 1940s, before his rise to fame, he reported his birth year as 1913 on his marriage license, recording notes and musicians' union card. A 1955 interview in the Chicago Defender is the earliest claim of 1915 as his year of birth, which he continued to use in interviews from that point onward. The 1920 census lists him as five years old as of March 6, 1920, suggesting that his birth year may have been 1914. The Social Security Death Index, relying on the Social Security card application submitted after his move to Chicago in the mid-1940s, lists him as being born April 4, 1913. Muddy's gravestone gives his birth year as 1915.

Doubt surrounding his year of birth is as muddy as his chosen name! An alternative place of birth, within a short distance, won't make much difference, but the year of birth will. I'll post charts for 1913, 1914 and 1915, maybe a clue will emerge.

4 April 1915
Saturn squares Mercury/Mars. Moon in Sagittarius (degree uncertain) might well be opposed by Saturn in Gemini. Stellium in Watery Pisces. Water predominates, negative (Yin) beats positive polarity 6 to 4.

Alternative chart #1
4 April 1913
Polarity is equally balanced negative with positive here (Yin/Yang), and elements are well balanced also.

Alternative chart #2
4 April 1914
Polarity favours positive (Yang) here, 6 to 4, and elementally Air and Water are balanced.

The chart for 1915 does best fit the pattern of the other two legendary blues singers, and one would expect his gravestone to be correct, but.... We'll never know why 1913 inexplicably changed to 1915 - or even whether either year was the correct year of birth.

Conclusion (if Muddy Waters' year of birth is taken as 1915): Saturn aspects Mercury in all three charts. Negative polarity dominates in all cases. The element of Water is a big factor in all three charts, via Grand Trine or stellium.


The blues these men sang, are traditional in style, blues singers from later years have expanded the range and flavour of the genre a little, but I think the three artists above illustrate the blues genre's very core.

"Altering one's aspect to the Sun"

Father Time, aka Chronos, aka Saturn, depicted left by a 16th century printer:

Printer's device of Simon de Colines (d. 1546). Latin motto TEMPUS (Time) HANC ACIEM SOLA RETUNDIT VIRTUS is translated "virtue alone withstands this blade". Note the forelock on Time--so that one may seize Time by the forelock.
(See HERE)

Father Time pursues us all, virtuous or villainous. We stagger towards the start of another calendar year, some of us still mildly punch-drunk from 2014's vagaries, some contemplating, Saturnine fashion, on the seniority of our years.

2014 began well enough for me, but around its halfway mark, due to a fungal infection of my scalp I was forced to give up my 8-weekly visit to the hairdresser for a colour job. So now, as nature - and Father Time - intended, I have snow on the roof. "Ah yes", I think, as I look in the mirror now - "I remember you!"

2014 had a parting gift for me in its 4th quarter, a gift for the other end of my physical body: a dicky left foot. That alone wouldn't have fazed me too much, been there, done that, but a cocktail of anti-biotics and their side-effects catapulted me into a downward spiral for a couple of weeks, to a place I've never been before, and to which I never wish to return.

Happily, husband has weathered 2014 well, all things considered, and really my own problems have been pretty minor as compared to some suffered by others. Planetary placements in my natal chart mean that astrologers would probably put down my own minor upsets to flak from 2014's Cardinal Grand Cross, and associated aspects. (I have natal Saturn at 13 Aries, and natal ascendant degree in mid-Cancer).

I don't believe in aging. I believe in forever altering one's aspect to the sun.
― Virginia Woolf

Time, age and astrology are, naturally, closely linked. We live our lives against the "wallpaper" of planetary cycles: Jupiter's of 12 years, Saturn's of 29, and that of Uranus, nearest of all to current average life expectancy, 84 years. I'm well along that cycle of cycles, proof is below. Photos span the years from 1939 to Christmas Eve, 2014, covering Transits of Uranus in Taurus to Uranus in Aries - dawn to Twilight!

The great thing about getting older is that you don't lose all the other ages you've been. ~Madeleine L'Engle

Last lines of Longfellow's poem Morituri Salutamus offer a bright thought:

For age is opportunity no less
Than youth itself, though in another dress,
And as the evening twilight fades away
The sky is filled with stars, invisible by day.

I do love that last line! It reminds me of a quote from 2001 a Space Odyssey: "...it goes on forever — and — oh my God! — it's full of stars!"

So...anyone else have thoughts on their personal experiences and the vagaries of 2014?

Saturn versus Saturnalia

17 December, in the Roman calendar, marked the beginning of Saturnalia, a two-week festival celebrating the god Saturn. Because, in traditional astrology, Saturn the planet has been labelled a malefic - the "greatest malefic" in fact, one might find it puzzling that Romans celebrated so enthusiastically the god after whom the planet has been named. Or, conversely, why the farthest visible planet from Earth was so named, and accredited as malefic when its godly namesake had been so obviously revered.

In her book Mythic Astrology, astrologer Liz Greene began a chapter on Saturn thus:

The Golden Age is an ancient and indestructible human dream. Not only the bible, but the myths of the Sumerians, Babylonians, Greeks and Romans describe it, each with its own story of a Fall when divine law was transgressed by erring humans. And we conjure up the dream of the Golden Age now, whenever we turn to the past and glimpse the shining vision of a time of law and order, when human beings lived in harmony with the cycles of nature and had not yet degenerated into violence and corruption. In Hesiod's Cosmogony this Golden Age was under benign rule of the stern but just Greek deity, Kronos, whom the Romans called Saturn. He was god of earth, not of heaven, and he governed the orderly cycles of the seasons, the irrevocable passage of time, and the laws by which men and women might live in accordance with nature and their own mortality. As patron of agriculture and lord of the harvest, he symbolized the fertility of the tilled earth and conferred the rewards of honest effort. He was a working god and a wise king, who taught men and women how to press the olive and cultivate the vine. To those who obeyed his laws of discipline, time and mortality, he was a generous ruler who offered peace and abundance. To those who sought to impose their own will on the laws of life itself, he was a merciless and implacable judge. The Romans worshiped his friendly face at the year's end through the two-week carnival of the Saturnalia, which even Rio, in Brazil, has never succeeded in surpassing. It has been suggested that the name Saturn comes from the Latin 'sator', meaning to sow; and on the most profound level this god symbolized the dictum that as we sow, so shall we reap.

In Louis MacNeice's book, Astrology, I found the illustration below - click on it for a sharper image:

15th-century German allegorical picture of Saturn and some of the types of people associated with this planet. Saturn, depicted as aa horseman, rides in the sky above his two Zodiac signs, Capricorn and Aquarius. To astrologers, Saturn's influence is mostly malignant, causing misfortune, disease and death - indicated here by the criminals in the stocks and on the gallows and the hobbling cripple. Some less unfortunate Saturn types portrayed are the farmer (plowing), the gardener (digging), and the tanner (skinning a horse).

Saturnalia was in no way malignant, apart perhaps from a few nasty hangovers after days of carousing. During the long festival all social hierarchies and obligations were temporarily suspended, creating a period of chaos, a world upside down, symbol of renewal.

From Winter Solstice Traditions. Hat tip HERE

The Romans called it Dies Natalis Invicti Solis, the Birthday of the Unconquered Sun. The Roman midwinter holiday, Saturnalia, was both a gigantic fair and a festival of the home. Riotous merry-making took place, and the halls of houses were decked with boughs of laurel and evergreen trees. Lamps were kept burning to ward off the spirits of darkness. Schools were closed, the army rested, and no criminals were executed. Friends visited one another, bringing good-luck gifts of fruit, cakes, candles, dolls, jewellery, and incense. Temples were decorated with evergreens symbolizing life's continuity, and processions of people with masked or blackened faces and fantastic hats danced through the streets...... Roman masters feasted with slaves, who were given the freedom to do and say what they liked (the medieval custom of all the inhabitants of the manor, including servants and lords alike, sitting down together for a great Christmas feast, came from this tradition). A Mock King was appointed to take charge of the revels (the Lord of Misrule of medieval Christmas festivities had his origin here).

So... Saturnalia was a reverse of the Saturnian norm, an annual loosening of daily demands, bonds and customs. Sounds like a good idea! As Mick Jagger is credited as having said though, "It’s okay to let yourself go, just as long as you let yourself back." That is a fairly Saturnian statement to my mind. Hmmm. Well, well, well, whad'ya know? Jagger has Saturn in his first house, could be quite close to his ascending degree. (See astro.com HERE.)

Pesky Grand Cross, plus Bits & Pieces.

First, a wee bit of reporting back, regarding that pesky Grand Cross formation of late April this year. In my post about the formation I mentioned that my own natal Saturn at 12.55 Aries would be hooked up in the Grand Cross pattern which linked planets in cardinal signs at around 13 degrees. At the time I couldn't relate anything personal to me other than having recently changed computer operating system after some 10 years, from Windows XP to Windows 7.

Shortly after those Grand Cross days of late April I began to be aware of a problem with my scalp - itching, scaly, getting gradually worse. I'd experienced a similar condition before, back in the 1990s in the UK. I wasn't unduly alarmed because then it was reasonably quickly cleared up using a particular shampoo (Nizoral 2%), and a mild corticosteroid liquid scalp treatment. This year's version eventually grew more virulent though, possibly it was seborrhoeic dermatitis rather than a simple fungal scalp infection. My hair began falling out in places where the problem was at its worst.

The Grand Cross involved my natal Saturn in Aries being conjoined by Uranus, squared by Pluto and Jupiter and opposed by Mars. Aries in medical astrology rules the head face and eyes; Capricorn rules knees, joints and hair, Saturn, Capricorn's governor rules the skin and bones. (Information from here) So, did the Grand Cross reflect its challenges in my scalp and hair problem? Any ideas?

I think - hope - that I now have the problem under control, I'm fairly optimistic that the lost hair will grow back in time, in the meantime I can cover the loss by some judicious combing...or by wearing a hat! I cannot, though, risk carrying on with my visits to the hairdresser every 2 months or so for a dye job. It could even be that my scalp, at last, had rebelled against some element of that treatment. I won't mind the white/grey - it's time now. ...some would say past time!

This is clever!

Quick & Animated History of the English Language

"That lucky old sun has nothin' to do
But roll around Heaven all day"

Russell Brand taking on Fox News - perhaps his accent might confuse some US viewers - I'll translate where needed, just ask!

Lastly ~

Ever wondered why, in a universe as vast as we are told it is, we Earthlings have never been contacted by beings from somewhere out there? There's an entertaining and enlightening article titled The Fermi Paradox at an always interesting website:
Wait But Why.

Down the Rabbit-hole with Saturn & Myth

Down the internet rabbit hole, keeping out of the sun and heat, I came across, via an astrology forum, a long video narrated and compiled by David Talbott:
Symbols of an Alien Sky. The video is a hour and 20 minutes long, so not for the faint-hearted. At the link provided, rather than directing straight to YouTube, there's more information and some illustrations. There are, apparently, two further video episodes on the topic, I haven't yet investigated those.

Just watching a few minutes of the video gives some idea of its content. I watched it in full, was as intrigued as I was many, many years ago, when I read Erich von Däniken's first book Chariots of the Gods. With his subsequent books my fascination turned to cynicism though, perhaps the same might happen in this case. Sometimes, when an imaginative author finds a fascinating theme, which might in fact have some ghostlike validity, the author tends to keep flogging the horse with follow-ups until it's....well - dead.

For anyone unable to watch the video, there are articles available on the "Saturn Myth" at its heart - basically it proposes that long, long ago Saturn was Earth's sun, and the configuration of planets was different from the orbits we know today. Three examples of such articles: HERE, HERE, and HERE. Numerous others appear on line, both supporting and rubbishing the theory.

The video mentioned above concentrates on how ancient petroglyphs in many countries of the world can be seen to match proposals put forward, and how world myths might have grown up out of planetary events far back in time, beyond current human knowledge.

David Talbott's ideas, which closely follow theories of Immanuel Velikovsky propose that Saturn, Mars and Earth were once in the far, far distant past in alignment, and outside of the current Sun's heliosphere, probably for millions of years with Earth inside Saturn's plasma sheath. When the Saturnian system entered the Sun's Heliosphere, Saturn began flaring, Venus was ejected from Saturn and the ring system was born and the beginning of the breakup, and much of Human mythology began. Things ripped apart, planets found new orbits by exchanging electrical discharges until it settled into the system of planetary orbits we know today. Our current understandings of physics and cosmology are, apparently not yet advanced enough to fully understand these things. Proposals involve the addition of electrical factors ("The Electric Universe".) The planets, it is thought, were held in alignment electro-statically countering effects of gravity. The breakup left the system electrically "dead", gravity took over as primary system force.

Just as I'd wished to believe what Erich von Däniken proposed about early space travel and visits from other worlds, I'd love to believe what David Talbott and others propose about the origin of certain world mythologies, religions and the formation of our current planetary configuration. I've often pondered about the origin of myths. Was there more to it than, in the case of our best-known Greek variety of myth, sages and philosophers getting together to concoct a set of fictional stories of gods and goddesses for the delectation of listeners and readers, with maybe just a hint of moral or philosophical truth embedded? Were those sages actually carrying on, in different form, more acceptable, accessible and likely to survive as religion or myth, tales of planetary change and catastrophe handed down from...from whom though? Perhaps the origin of such knowledge was lost, along with much else, in the burning of the Ancient Library of Alexandria, but some special knowledge, known to a select few, had been passed on by word of mouth?

Thoughts on Saturnian-Uranian Aqua-Caps

Saturn traditionally ruled both Capricorn and Aquarius, signs which are, unlike any other signs with co-rulers, adjacent in the zodiac. Modern astrology has placed Uranus as ruler of Aquarius, but Saturn's echo remains. The same could be said of other zodiac signs with a modern ruler and second, traditional, co-ruler. Jupiter once ruled Sagittarius and Pisces, but the signs are not adjacent, they are two signs away from one another. Mars used to rule both Aries and Scorpio, signs which are four signs apart. While Pisces retains echoes of Jupiter, and Scorpio retains echoes of Mars, and it's not impossible for personal planets to emphasise those echoes, Mercury will never be found in the co-ruled sign, as often happens in the case of Capricorn and Aquarius. This seems particularly significant.

Astrologer Carl Payne Tobey in his book Astrology Primer for the Millions wrote of similarities and differences between pairs of zodiac signs traditionally ruled by the same planet. Mr. Tobey considered that, in the case of Capricorn and Aquarius, the two signs have similar interests and drives, but approach them from opposite viewpoints. Capricorn is conservative by nature, Aquarius has distinctly progressive inclinations, one would wish to uphold the law, the other to change it.

Attributes of these two zodiac signs are well known among astrology fans, but just a mention here of one or two points from Carl Payne Tobey's assessment:

Capricorn will tolerate frustrations, is very practical in outlook, insecure about material things, will not take unnecessary chances and will put up with a great deal for the sake of material security. Doesn't like change - makes them feel insecure. A true Capricorn wouldn't be likely to go into politics except perhaps locally, usually those who do enter this arena are mixed Capricorn/Aquarian types.

Aquarius sees into the future because the future and not the past is of interest. Divorce is more common in Aquarians than Capricorns - Capricorn is more likely "stick it out", for economic or other reasons. Aquarius has great curiosity, and inventive ability. Likes change and progress, doesn't fear the future in the way Capricorn does. Assumes and hopes that the future will be a surprise and when it is, Aquarius reacts automatically and knows what to do about it, while Capricorn must first get over the shock. Aquarius is open minded and something of a hobo by nature. A true Capricorn man would find it difficult to keep up with a true Aquarian wife - she likes freedom, isn't keen on routine.

I've pondered on an idea that some natives of these two adjacent signs with a common traditional ruler can turn out as a curious type of hybrid personality. Individuals with Sun in either Capricorn or Aquarius frequently have planet(s) in the other sign. I have Sun in Aquarius, Mercury in Capricorn, for instance. Whilst I would never describe myself as in any way conservative, I do appreciate tradition as well as visions of a fairer future for all. Even so, I'm not what I'd call a true Saturn hybrid.

Distinct hybrid Aqua/Cap and Cap/Aqua personalities could partly account for the reason Sun in Aquarius types have mixed reputations. I've heard people comment that "there are two kinds of Aquarians". Previously I had put this down mainly to generational traits. We're all astro-hybrids of one sort or another, but due to the zodiacal juxtaposition of Capricorn and Aquarius, Saturn hybrids are of particular interest in view of their common ruler.

Paul Newman, Neil Diamond, Tom Selleck - are all Sun Aquarians with more Capricorn than Aquarius in their astrological makeup. Saturn hybrids?

Astrotheme states: (rounded up/down)
Newman - 43% Cap, 6% Aqua, 16%Scorpio.

Diamond - 30%Cap, 10%Aqua, & 22% Taurus.

Selleck - 30% Cap. 13% Aqua & 19% Leo.

Capricorn content outweighs Aquarius in all three cases. There are lots of other, similar examples, Aqua/Cap and Cap/Aqua, but this post would become even more tiresomely long quoting them all.

Another well-known Aquarius Sun person, Dick Cheney, is not a Saturn hybrid. He = 30% Taurus, 22%Aquarius. His dominant planet is Uranus, which I find a little surprising.

As for astrologers with Sun in Aquarius, the late Maya del Mar was a Saturn hybrid: 23% Capricorn, 17% Aquarius. C.E.O.Carter was not a Saturn hybrid: 31% Aquarius but no Capricorn at all, Saturn comes in 4th in dominance among his planets. Evangeline Adams wasn't a Saturn hybrid either. She had Sun in Aquarius, but her dominant sign by a wide margin was Pisces @ 46%, with Aquarius 17%.
(Details of sign and planet percentages obtained from lists at Astrotheme.)

All of which underlines that those who have Sun in Aquarius or Sun in Capricorn could sometimes surprise us by displaying either a muddied mix of the two signs' traits, or an unexpectedly heavy dose of the traits of the adjacent Saturn-ruled sign.

The Up Series Continues : 56 Up

I had an unexpected treat from Monday evening's TV - PBS showed, in full, the most recent episode of what I've often described as "the best thing ever on TV": The Up Series. I wrote about the series in 2010 after having purchased a DVD set of all the programmes in the series to that point. The best way to explain is to copy my 2010 post below, and say that the latest episode, 56 Up shown on PBS this week, brings the original group of 7 Up kids well into middle age.

I was happy to see that no dreadful calamities had befallen any of the group, and though circumstances weren't vastly different from those in the previous, 49 Up, episode it was good to see that the group was each coping well with any difficulties brought about by financial meltdowns, austerity and suchlike.

A couple of the original group members who had declined to appear in some of the previous episodes returned for reasons of their own - to promote an album of their music in one case, and to publicise a charitable organisation aiding the people of Bulgaria in another.

Evidence of the dreaded British class system, so apparent in the early episodes has weakened but still remains. Several of the group complained that the shows had not portrayed them in full - but really, how could it ever have been possible to do so? Those complaints annoyed me, more than anything else in any of the shows. Possibly prima-donna mode is now creeping in? Michael Apted, the show's producer says that he intends, God willing, to do a 63 Up episode, in due course. I hope I shall still be around to witness that.

I'd still love to have some of the birth dates of the group members.

Anyway, here's my 2010 post, again. For any passing reader who'd like to read the few comments to it, here's the link: Seven Up & The Up Series: Saturn Cycles

Seven Up & The Up Series: Saturn Cycles

A fascinating example of what is now known as "reality TV" began as a single documentary during early years of television in Britain. In 1964 Granada Television produced 7 Up. It has slowly grown into The Up Series. The original programme was followed, at intervals, by 7 Plus Seven, 21 Up, 28 Up, 35 Up 42 Up and 49 UP. From which list the mathematically inclined reader will deduce that the programmes had some connection with 7-year cycles. Sure enough. The programmes followed the lives of a group of British children, all born in or near 1957, from age 7 onward into adulthood, at 7-year intervals. The children came from very different backgrounds, wealthy upper-class, local authority children's home, urban, rural, and much inbetween.

The "Up" series was based on the Jesuit motto "Give me a child until he is seven and I will give you the man." In tandem with that premise, the shows aimed to show that, like it or not, the British class system remained largely in place.



I recently bought the DVD set of the full series to date. I have thoroughly enjoyed seeing some episodes again after many years, and discovering, at last, what has happened to the group during later, unseen, episodes. My American husband has found the films fascinating in their Britishness, yet not completely unrelatable to life in the USA. People are people are people!

Astrologically inclined readers will already be thinking: Saturn! For a rundown on the 7-year cycles of Saturn see Jim D'Amato's article The Saturn Cycles. It has been a source of mild frustration to me that I can't know the birth data of those involved in the series, for this would be a wonderful opportunity to study natal charts with life patterns. However, these people have probably been exposed to enough already without a nosey blogger like myself adding to their discomfort. Even so - it'd be such an interesting exercise.

Respected movie critic Roger Ebert wrote in his review of the DVD set:

They (the programmes) also strike me as an inspired, even noble, use of the film medium. No other art form can capture so well the look in an eye, the feeling in an expression, the thoughts that go unspoken between the words. To look at these films, as I have every seven years, is to meditate on the astonishing fact that man is the only animal that knows it lives in time.

Paul Almond, a Canadian television and motion picture screenwriter, director and producer was 7 Up's creator. His English assistant and researcher Michael Apted (Sun in Aquarius)soon took over from him and has continued directing the programmes. He was involved in the original selection of the children. The kids were chosen, often with advice from their schools, on ability to express themselves well and be reasonably outgoing. It's remarkable that the group chosen has provided such varied and fascinating life stories. One of the group has emigrated to Australia, one to the USA, one likely to move to Spain. Most have married and have families, some have divorced - some re-married. Two teach, one dropped out of society completely but later found a way back, two practice law, one is a taxi driver, one is a fork-lift truck driver, one works in the construction industry, one for the BBC, one is a children's librarian, one a secretary.....and so on.



Class - the curse of the British - raises its ugly head often in the series. Some of the most amusing interviews, early on, are with priggish and pretentious little 7-year old boys and a girl from upper-class, wealthy backgrounds and expensive private schools. Some of these kids mature and develop rather more compassionately than others, and here lies much of the programme's fascination. Watching early episodes, it was easy to make assumptions about the futures of the boys and girls. Those assumptions often turned out to be very wide of the mark. The gorgeously bright and lively 7-year old Liverpudlian who seemed like the star of the first show, but in adulthood became an anti-social depressive. A development that shocked many viewers. The shy country lad brought up on an isolated farm in the Yorkshire Dales became a nuclear physicist and Professor at a university in the USA.

It's a sobering experiment to look at one's own life in 7-year slices. In my own case, until my 28-Up, or even 35-Up years, I hadn't got into a groove at all. My life didn't properly fit me before then. I'd have made a very boring subject.

One of the best reviews of the DVD set, other than Roger Ebert's, linked above is this one by Bill Gibron at DVD Talk. In his last paragraph he says:

All plaudits and platitudes aside, The Up Series is phenomenal. There is nothing else like it in the history of cinema, both in the documentary and straight narrative format. It proves the age-old adage that truth is stranger and more dramatic than fiction, and as a film series, it never once fails to move and manipulate you. Apted has plans in place to keep the series going on indefinitely – or as long as there are enough participants willing and brave enough to open up their lives to the invasive invitation over the next few decades – and the possibilities seem endless. Just like life. Indeed, The Up Series is really a devastating portrait of life as it is lived.

In the last episode of the series so far, 49Up, some of the participants began to air their grievances about the programmes. One indicated that this would be her last: "This is me - I'm done!" she said candidly, but without rancour. Others hinted that the intrusion into their privacy every 7 years was becoming unwelcome. One was very vocal about her lack of control. One, rather scathingly, likened the programmes to Big Brother or I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here (the same one who "couldn't see the point of it all" at age 7.) He had only taken part in some of the later episodes to publicise his charity though - so actually the programmes had a point for him, if he could manage the humility to see it! Only one participant said the programmes were "important", even though he found the early ones painful, reminding him of his roots and homeland, which he misses. Two of the original group dropped out completely in their 20s, for their own reasons. Others of the group seem accepting and have taken it all in their stride.

It'll be interesting to see whether a 56Up does emerge in the next few years, and how many of the original group are still willing to take part.