Monday, November 24, 2008

Sagittarius

As the Sun moves into each sign of the zodiac I make a point of thinking about people I've known who either typify that sign or fly in the face of tradition and remain mavericks to their Sun sign. We've just moved into Sagittarius. This is the sign of the eternal optimist, a sunny, happy-go-lucky individual given to excess of one kind or another, who will philosophise or take off travellin' at the drop of a hat, and can occasionally be found with foot in mouth, due to a tendency to be blunt.

This is a favourite sign of mine, yet Sun Sagittarians I've known well can be counted on less than the fingers of one hand - on one finger, in fact! Maybe for some reason our paths just don't cross, or maybe it is that although I like Sagittarians, the feeling's not mutual and I don't appeal to them. I think I did appeal to this one though:

My mother's sister, my Aunt Lil' (Lilian) was a Sun Sagittarian, with Venus conjunct Sun. Perhaps I inherited my own Venus in Sag. from her. In her youth she had the Sagittarian draw towards adventure, left home as a teenager to join the ATS ( women's army) in World War2. She met and married a man in the forces who hailed from her hometown. Curiously, for reasons I never understood, the marriage wasn't accepted happily by either set of parents. Though a rocky union, it did last until "death did them part" in the late 1990s.

I knew Aunt Lil' best during the early years of my life and the later years of hers, but inbetween we didn't cross paths often. She and my mother had one of those strange sisterly love/hate relationships, which made for long periods of estrangement, with a few affectionate interludes, mainly in their later years. Oddly, my two cousins, Aunt Lil's son and daughter, seem to have the same love/hate relationship going on as their mother and aunt did. Sometimes I'm glad I was an only child- it does at least avoid that kind of heartache.

Aunt Lil's Sagittarius-ness showed in her warmth and sense of fun, but it could often be drowned out by two personal planets in intense Scorpio: Mercury and Jupiter. I never did receive her negative side, because I think she loved me quite a bit. She often said I reminded her of herself! Others in the small towns where she spent all her years often saw her as a little eccentric - probably a reflection of her natal Mars in Aquarius. A Grand Trine in Water signs linked Uranus, Pluto and Jupiter natally. She did suffer, as she used to describe it, "with nerves", throughout her life. Now I can see that her warm Saggitarius Fire was in constant battle with Scorpio and that Watery circuit of the Grand Trine. Stereotypical Sagittarius she was not, yet its qualities shone through, especially in later life. Aunt Lil' died at Christmas, 2005, when thankfully her son and some of her grandkids were around her, but sadly I was 5,000 miles away.

Though my experience of this sign, apart from my own Venus in Sagittarius has been scanty, I do appreciate, from afar, some natives of the sign. The incomparable Frank Sinatra, and Tina Turner. The late lamented comedian, Bill Hicks. Author Bill Bryson. Writer/cartoonist James Thurber, and astrologer Jonathan Cainer populate my personal roll-call of long-time Sagittarius favourites.

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Astrology Without Frightening the Horses

In a seventy year old astrology book I found in a used book store recently: "Home Astrology" written by the father of British newspaper astrology columns, R.H. Naylor, I notice that the author studiously avoided using any astrological terms or jargon. His book was intended for a readership with no former exposure to the subject, so he had obviously decided to tread very delicately.

In the author's preface he writes that he is afraid
"that much that is set down herein will arouse the criticism of astrological purists and pundits. Such a symptom surely shows that all is well with the world, for when astrological experts agree, human nature will have changed, and astrology will have become orthodox! For myself, I find the "general reader", who comes within the first class (with little or no knowledge of astrology) a peculiarly kindly and interested soul. He is extraordinarily generous in his appreciation of one's small efforts and does not hesitate to write giving an amiable exchange of opinions and suggestions....I have written this book for them."
Sweet! But that was before "the astro-skeptic in the street" grew sharp claws.

In this extract, scanned directly from the book, he describes what he terms the "magnetism" of people born during each astrological month (from 21st to 21st). He doesn't mention zodiac signs, probably hoping for the tolerance of readers who might otherwise have fought shy of "all that mumbo-jumbo"!

THE EXTRACT:




Saturday, November 22, 2008

Sprinkles from The Week that Was

It's good to learn that Ben Affleck is using his celebrity to draw attention to the horrendous conditions in the Eastern Congo, Central Africa. (Here)
His natal chart is available at Astrodatabank (Here).

Much written about Ben's astrology up to now has centered on his relationships. This other side of his personality is far more interesting to me. Take a look at the chart, linked above. His ascendant in Cancer with Venus just a degree away reflects a compassionate, kindly nature. But look at the aspects all pointing towards Chiron (looks like a 'k' sitting on an 'o'). Chiron represents The Wounded Healer in astrology. Its astrological label varies, not a planet, bigger than an asteroid, not really a comet. Its orbit lies between Saturn and Uranus, many astrologers see it as playing a significant part in natal charts. Five aspect lines are heading for Chiron, straight as an arrow in Ben's chart! That is astro symbolism - right before your eyes. Ben is doing what he can to raise awareness and give rise to some healing. Good on him!


This week's episode of TV's "The Mentalist", with the delectable Simon Baker, afforded me a "neener- neener- neener" to those skeptics who gloated, at the start of the series, that at last TV has given the finger to programmes boosting the validity of psychic abilities. This week's episode featured a lady psychic who shocks the mentalist to his core with some information only he could know. I still predict that he will, in the end, accept his own true psychic abilities. He is currently in denial because he feels he caused the death of his wife and daughter. ( My earlier post about this show, here.)


With Pluto inching towards Capricorn and a slow transformation of many of the ways of life we now take for granted, it seems that a small corner of the distressed motor industry is catching up, at last. The Tesla Car looks good, said to perform well, though possibly not the one you need for long road trips. One big snag for impecunious mortals like us - the price, said to be around $98,000. Come on guys! Please! At that price we'd have to live in it!


Rumors shimmied around blogland all this week as to the possibility of President Elect Obama picking Senator Hillary Clinton as his Secreatry of State. Gripes and grumbles from one camp, elation and calls of "it's about time" from the other. Looking back to a tarot reading I tried in June (here)
I wrote:


"As I tell myself, all the time, "it ain't over 'til it's over". And whatever happens next, Senator Hillary Clinton is not going to walk away, head bowed, disappointed."

I hope this happens, it's been a long time coming. Gossip is that he has offered, she will accept, and an official announcement will follow "after Thanksgiving".

Friday, November 21, 2008

Duffy

At Chez Twilight we have to be dragged kicking and screaming into the contemporary music scene. Saturday Night Live is just about the only time we experience music younger than vintage 1970s.

The latest artist to attract my attention, after a showing on SNL is Duffy. It was good to discover that she's from the UK - from Wales, actually. Most Americans are not aware that Wales is "The Land of Song", and just about all Welsh people can sing, and sing well. Duffy also writes her own songs which is a big, big plus. She already seems to be making a name on this side of the Atlantic, which is no small feat. Even Robbie Williams, so popular in the UK, didn't do too well on this side of the pond.

I suspect that Duffy is going to be one of the big stars of the next decade. Her voice is instantly recognisable, and she has a unique style. Watching her on SNL, for some reason I kept thinking of those pin-up illustrations from the mid 20th century. Oddly, at times, she even brought to mind the legendary Betty Boop - her gestures, poses, and the outfit she was wearing at the time all added to the image.

Anyway, let's have a look at Duffy's natal chart. No birth time available, so a 12 noon chart must suffice to show where personal and outer planets lay as she was born. We can't know her rising sign or exact Moon position, but Moon would have been somewhere in Aries unless she was born in the last few minutes of 23 June.

Born 23 June 1984 in Bangor, Wales, UK.




Hmmmm - here's a "see-saw" pattern chart.

Sun, Mercury and Venus form a tight stellium (cluster of planets) in Cancer, Moon somewhere in Aries, with the rest of the planets on the other side of the chart between Libra and Capricorn. Oppositions thrown up by this pattern possibly indicate a bit of an anomaly - in this context, someone who seeks success but also feels a need to fly from it. Three of the most personal planets in delicate, sensitive Cancer indicate to me that there's going to be an occasional need to withdraw from the pop-star circus. Her tough Aries Moon will stiffen her resolve to stick at her chosen career though. Mars and Saturn conjoined in Scorpio widely trine her Cancer planets and add a sexy and tough edge to emotionally sensitive Cancerian traits. Jupiter, from Capricorn, opposes the Cancer stellium and provides the kind of energy needed to do good business through publishing her undoubted talents.

Transiting Pluto will be opposing Duffy's Cancer stellium towards the end of next year and in early 2010. This isn't a bad transit for her, it'll provide further dynamic energy, but two things might emerge during that period - a power struggle of some kind, perhaps regarding record deals or management, and/or some health problems caused by stress and overwork. This seems even more likely as her career blossoms further. Wikipedia tells us:
"In September of 2008, Duffy mentioned that she was "on the borderline of a nervous breakdown" because of the pressure that fame has brought her. She also said that she had considered becoming a recluse, but eventually decided against the idea for the sake of her fans. Although acknowledging that most people do mean well, she finds it "scary" when people recognise her in the street, and has been fearful of her image possibly changing the person she truly is."
I do hope that her Cancerian instincts to withdraw occasionally from the dazzling spotlight and frazzling publicity will, in future, be heeded and acted upon during what are likely to be even more stressful times to come.

Here's part of her SNL performance:


Thursday, November 20, 2008

12 Inconsequential Things

"Inconsequential things that men don't really care to know, become essential things that women find so appropo"... I'm warbling that rather sexist song "Girl Talk" as I type........

This is what's known in blogland as a "meme", and this one is a me - me - me meme, its object: to make a list of things about oneself. I lifted it from The Other Side of Sixty, and further back along the meme chain, was Conor. Conor chipped in with 200 things about himself, Wisewebwoman reduced her list to 30, I'm going to restrict myself to 12, because we're in a recession, and we ought to practice parsimony, but in any case.... and here comes #13: I'm a wee bit shy!

I've tried to give my 12 a flavour of the 12 zodiac signs, keyword for each is highlighted. ~~

1. I walk quickly, companions have been known to complain bitterly! (Aries)

2. I once lost all my possessions in a fire. (Taurus)

3. I'm not good at speaking to groups. At work, I once embarrassingly completely dried up when giving a report to a committee. I'm better one-to-one. And it's more fun. (Gemini)

4. Sensitivity & sentimentality on legs - that's me! Insect bites, pollen and some cosmetics bring out the itches and tingles. Parades, chick flicks and a multitude of other stuff start me blubbing..(Cancer)

5. Once, after an evening of celebratory drinking I elected to sing "Something Stupid" with a professional entertainer who did tributes to Sinatra. My performance was indisputably - something very stupid! (Leo)

6. Health-wise, I was born with only one side of the thyroid gland developed. The existing side enlarged, as luck would have it. Oh -- and I absolutely hate going to the doctor, for anything !(Virgo)

7. I've had three marriages/long-term relationships, all with men of different nationalities from myself: Italian, Northern Irish, American. (Libra)

8. I've tried, experimentally to work a magic spell. Nothing happened. Some years ago I asked a mystical magician for help with a problem - it worked (I think!). (Scorpio)

9. I'm disenchanted with organised religion, but still like hymns and carols with good tunes, and my favourite movie is and will always be "Ben Hur". (Sagittarius)

10. I like lawyers - somebody has to! (Capricorn)

11. The most unexpected thing I've ever done: during a period when alone and lonely I chatted to guys, via the wondrous technology of the internet, in a way I would never, ever, ever chat to anybody in real life. (Aquarius)

12. I'm afaid of looking down into deep, still water, as in swimming pools, yet love the rolling sea - but from the shore. (Pisces)

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Wednesday's "Why?" ~ Elements and Stuff

The building blocks of astrology: the elements - Earth, Water, Fire, Air, and the modes or qualities: Cardinal, Fixed and Mutable, were bequeathed to Western astrology by the Greeks via their illustrious philosophers. The elements, by the way, equate to what modern physics has identified as the four states of matter - building blocks of the Universe: solid, liquid, gas and plasma.

Less serious modern-day wits have other ideas. Author Terry Pratchett has a character in one of his books stipulating that the universe depends for its operation on the balance of four forces which can be identified as "charm, persuasion, uncertainty and bloody-mindedness.” While comedian Dave Barry has it on good authority that "the four building blocks of the universe are fire, water, gravel and vinyl."

Jokes aside, without a basic understanding of how the elements relate to each other, it'd be impossible to "get" astrology. The four elements, each modified by one of the three modes/qualities are the the root of all interpretations.

The circle we use to depict the sky in astrology is split into 12 equal segments, each allocated to an element, modified by a mode (eg. Aries = Cardinal Fire, Taurus = Fixed Earth...) It's possible, with an understanding of each element and mode, to produce a basic interpretation of a chart using only these concepts, ignoring labels placed on signs by ancient astrologers.

The elements and modes progress around the zodiac circle, alternating in regular succession, forming wave-like patterns. If spread out in line the patterns looks like this ~ please excuse the awful diagram! F=Fire. E=Earth. W=Water. A=Air.....C=Cardinal. Fx=Fixed. M=Mutable. Wave above line =Elements. Wave below = Modes. To avoid more confusion I've ignored a third quality - Polarity (positive/negative or masculine/feminine), which would form another wave, alternating between signs, starting at Positive = Aries.



Why? Did those Greeks, long ago, grasp, intuit, or have access to some lost knowledge which led to this particular way of laying out the zodiac? More questions than answers - as usual!

The elements and modes are factors amid a plethora of astrological principles and methods, which remain completely reliable and consistent. They never let you down. As I see it, something somehow connected to these will, one day, explain (partially) why astrology works.

From a book "The Night Sky" by Richard Grossinger, I found a paragraph which may or may not have any relevance in this context, but it caught my eye as I searched for information.

In 1869, the Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev discovered that the chemical properties of the elements (My note: this refers to the non-astrological elements)are periodic functions of their atomic weights, i.e. of the number of protons in their nuclei. When he arranged the then-known elements in a series, he found that there were familial resemblances among elements at regular numerical intervals. For instance, carbon, silicon and tin lie in a series for which the member between silicon and tin was then apparently missing. This was later found to be germanium. Fluourine, chlorine, bromine and iodine constitute another family. Then there's a group of lithium, sodium and potassium; another of nitrogen phosphorus, arsenic and antimony; and so on. Nature contains a hidden periodic function which is basic to form and order in the world. (My note: There are "families" in astrological elements too, at regular numerical intervals - the Fire family Aries, Leo, Sagittarius, the Air family Gemini, Libra, Aquarius etc.) All the other elements are based on the simplest one, hydrogen with its single proton, which is also - we were to find out - the fuel of the stars.

Mendeleev's periodic table, and the reality that lay behind it gave a new basis for understanding the history and evolution of matter. Mathematical relationships determined the seemingly limitless display of forms in nature, from plants and animals to stars and galaxies. It was hauntingly Pythagorean, as Heisenberg would remind us.

I'm not at all sure where that took me! I'm attracted by the echo of astrological elements and modes and the way they were arranged by ancient astrologers, who had no knowledge of periodic tables and suchlike - as far as we know. One place it did take me is to a confidence that astrology is more than mere superstition. It's something rooted in the very nature of the universe. It's rough and ready, imperfect and encumbered with a range of unnecessary accessories, but beneath it all there is a gem. I can't say it better than the wonderful Carl Sagan said it..."Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known."

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Mini-rants: Generationism & Re-makes.

Mini-rant # 1: Erm.....how is it that journalists, authors and politicians are quite happy to define traits of generations, "Baby Boomers" is a popular example, yet decry astrology as superstition or nonsense? Any definition of traits found within a generation of people living in the same general background - in this case a developed country in the West, has to be giving a nod, albeit inadvertently, to astrology. Yes? The outer planets define generations as they move very slowly and gracefully around the zodiac. The mix they provide and how they relate to one another, and the charts of individuals is significant.

Having said that, I am bored, irritated and sick of hearing about how Generation X will do so much better than those terrible Boomers. And what a good thing they are all becoming aged, and good for naught, but they'll drain the Social Security coffers and there'll be nothing left for "us". I don't have an axe to grind here because I'm a War Baby from war-torn Britain, and answer to neither the Silent Generation nor the Boomers. I feel bad though about the adolescent schoolyard nonsense being tossed around about The Boomers. In common with every generation since the dawn of time, there are good, bad and indifferent among them, and as a generation they did stuff which has both helped and hindered, as will Generations X, Y and Z, and whoever comes after.

As most of the relevant offending writings originate in the USA, I look on it as just another way to divide the country, a nation already clearly divided by race, colour, politics, religion. As I've said before on this blog, America has in inbuilt propensity to divide itself. For goodness sake, please not another national division - generationism!


Mini-rant # 2

It'd be unthinkable to take a natal chart and play around with the outer planets.
That thought leads on to another. Why do movie-makers insist on re-making classics? I've probably whinged about this before on my blog, but it's a constant irritant! Now they've re-made "The Day the Earth Stood Still." Yes, I know all the arguments about bringing movies up to date for the younger generation. And I guess that, especially in the case of sci-fi movies, there's a case to be made because today's technology allows for surreal scenes, not available to earlier film-makers. The trouble is, with the extra bells and whistles added, the original intent of the movie can get lost. They wouldn't, I hope, try to re-do works of art such as The Mona Lisa, or the Birth of Venus, just because Photoshop offers opportunity for some interesting additions.

Why can't a young audience be educated to appreciate the original version of a movie, and the atmosphere of its time - which is actually a large part of the plot. You can't lift something out of its original setting without losing something - without losing a lot. It's rather like taking a natal chart and moving the outer planets around into different positions ! A whole different animal would emerge.

The movie medium is supposed to be filled with the cream of our creative individuals, it's a shame they so often choose to re-create rather than create.

End of rants.

Monday, November 17, 2008

Glen Campbell & Jimmy Webb - Perfect fit

Wandering around the BBC website, I stumbled across an on-line recording of Glen Campbell's recent concert in London.
Link if a passing reader happens to be a fan of his.

I was a lukewarm fan, back in the day, but my fanship really only extended to his versions of Jimmy Webb songs: "Wichita Lineman", "Galveston", "By the Time I Get to Phoenix", and a couple of others. Without these songs, my guess is that he'd have remained a guitar player to the illustrious, which he already was before breaking into vocal stardom. He is said to be one of America's top session guitarists.

What is rather unexpected about his very successful association with Jimmy Webb is that Campbell is described as "a hawkish Republican", while Webb was something of a hippie, and therefore very liberal in his politics.

"It doesn't really matter if Glen Campbell was Jimmy Webb's best interpreter or if Webb gave Campbell his best songs -- in other words, it doesn't matter who helped the other more -- because it doesn't change the essential fact that the duo fit each other so naturally. Webb's intricate, idiosyncratic compositions sounded warm and accessible in Campbell's hands, while... More the songs revealed Campbell's musical range and ambition. Other singers had big hits with Webb's songs and Campbell made tremendous music with other people's songs, but there was something special about their collaboration that was evident on their big hits of the '60s: "By the Time I Get to Phoenix," "Wichita Lineman," "Galveston," "Where's the Playground, Suzie?." These songs provided the background for Reunion, the 1974 album where Campbell and Webb reunited for a set of Webb songs"
(Extract from article here)

I decided to look at the two natal charts to see if I could spot anything in common.

Glen Campbell born on 22 April 1936 in Delight, Arkansas at 8.14pm.

Jimmy Webb born in Elk City, Oklahoma 15 August 1946.


Click on image to enlarge.

I can't find time of birth for Jimmy Webb, so for ease of comparison have shown both charts set for 12 noon. The additional information: Campbell's ascendant is 20.45 Scorpio, Moon at 24.51 Taurus.

Well now! Campbell is a multiple Taurean, Webb a multiple Leo/Libran. Libra and Taurus are both ruled by Venus, planet of the arts including, of course, music, both signs are very strongly featured in these charts. That's one connection: Venus rulership and stelliums in each of Venus's signs.

However, although Venus-ruled signs feature strongly, the two signs are not highly compatible. Taurus is Fixed Earth, Libra Cardinal Air. The signs re quincunx one another, which is astrologese for describing an irritable scratchy relationship with little in common. Personality-wise it's quite likely they have little in common, especially bearing in mind Webb's Leo planets, square to some of Campbell's Taurus group. Their music is the only bond.

Another point worth noting, Jimmy Webb has no planets in Earth in his chart, Glen Campbell has none in Air. Elementally and musically, it could be said that they complete each other. And that pretty much explains it for me!


Sunday, November 16, 2008

UNIVERSAL

"The cosmos is a vast living body, of which we are still parts. The sun is a great heart whose tremors run through our smallest veins. The moon is a great nerve center from which we quiver forever. Who knows the power that Saturn has over us, or Venus? But it is a vital power, rippling exquisitely through us all the time."
~D.H. Lawrence


I am part of the sea and stars
And the winds of the South and North
Of mountains and Moon and Mars,
And the ages sent me forth.

Edward H. S. Terry





The spirit of the universe is at once creative and destructive.. it creates while it destroys and destroys while it creates, and therefore it remains to us a riddle. And we must inevitably resign ourselves to this.Albert Schweitzer



A live performance of John Lennon's "Across the Universe" with a starry lineup of performers, at the Grammy awards in (I think) 2006. I love the way they adjust the lyrics near the end, and sing "Something's gonna change my world".....and it did - on November 4th 2008 their prediction came true!!

-SLash
-Bono
-Stevie Wonder
-Norah Jones
-Brian Wilson
-Alicia Keys
-Scott Weiland
-Billie Joe
-Tim McGraw
-Steven Tyler
-Allison Kraus(violin)
-Dave Kushner(guitAR)
-Matt Sorum(drum)
Duff McKagen(bass)


Saturday, November 15, 2008

Kubrick, "2001", Astrology

For reasons which escape me I'd been fancying to see "2001 A Space Odyssey" again, so bought a used version at the ever reliable Amazon. We watched it this week. "2001" is a movie which really needs to be seen a few times in order to appreciate the layers of meaning, possible allegorical slants and hints it contains. Arthur C. Clarke and Stanley Kubrick were a bit ahead of themselves with the title date. "2100" might have been a better guess, but sci-fi specialists back in the '60s did tend to be over-optimistic about rates of progress in this mad, mad world. Between 1968, when the movie was released, and 2008, much has changed, but not nearly as much as they envisioned.



After some interesting conversations with the husband about the meaning of some scenes in the film, I searched Google for other opinions. Oh my! Some folks really plumbed the deeper layers. Most theories seem feasible, if one likes searching for embedded messages, and esoteric links.

I shall keep things as simple as possible and say that, in a mini-nutshell, the movie is a depiction of human evolution, past, present and future.

There are a few astrolgical nods in the movie. I guess Kubrick had some astro knowledge. He was a Sun Leo, very appropriate for someone whose career brought the screen to life for his audiences. His Mercury was conjunct Pluto (no wonder there are said to be hidden messages and motifs in this and other movies of his, Pluto loves secrets). His Natal Moon at 12 noon was at 25* of secretive Scorpio, that would fit nicely with the Pluto conjunct Mercury, but if he was born very late in the day Moon might have moved into philosophical Sagittarius - that's still a good fit.

The book upon which the movie is based was written, in collaboration with Stanley Kubrick by Arthur C. Clarke (Sun in Sagittarius sextile Uranus in Aquarius) sci-fi writer, inventor, futurist. It was loosely based on an earlier short story of Clarke's - "The Sentinel".

As for the astrological nods, they can be noted in an article by Jay Weidner "Alchemical Kubrick 2001", the author writes:

" Bowman (referring to astronaut Dave Bowman) is also a name for the constellation Sagittarius. Which is a man with a bow. This on it's own may appear to be uninteresting but one of the great alchemical secrets concerns the position of the center of the galaxy. This point in the sky is found right next to the constellation of Sagittarius. In fact, the Bow-Man of Sagittarius is shooting his arrow right into the heart of the Milky Way galaxy. Bowman represents Sagittarius' arrow as it passes through the center of the galaxy. This is also echoed later in the 'Beyond the Infinite' sequence where Bowman witnesses an exploding galaxy. "

"Kubrick uses alchemical allegories through out the film. The obvious analogies are the celestial alignments that proceed each of the alchemical transmutations in the film. The second main allegory is that it is a black stone that initiates these transmutations. Again this mirrors the alchemical lore about the black stone causing the transmutation of the alchemist. "

"....... every time the monolith, the magical stone, appears in the film there is also a strange, beautiful, celestial alignment occurring. And one must also remember that every celestial alignment in the film is followed by a visit from the monolith, that is, except for one. That would be the lunar eclipse that occurs at the very beginning of the film."


Celestial alignments preceded man's enlightenment in Kubrick's movie. I wonder if life will imitate art? When's the next beautiful celestial alignment due?

Here's another idea: using astrolgical doctrine and the four Fixed Signs as "monoliths", one could say that the film follows the progression of humans from their dawning, at Taurus, first Fixed Sign (the apes & tools/weapons) through development to their zenith at midheaven, Leo (the astronauts), onward to Scorpio(once the tools took over and had to be discarded), plumbing the depths of doubts... leading to understanding, and finally into Aquarius having gained knowledge, enlightenment. Then... re-birth. Alternatively the life cycle from Aries to Pisces ccan be used to describe the evolution, but it doesn't provide "the monolith", the angles.

We humans are somewhere around midheaven now, not ready to discard our "tools". We've a few long steps to go before the next monolith is due!

Friday, November 14, 2008

Stephen Lewis: Special Man, Special Chart.

Yesterday rumours circulated on the net that Senator Hillary Clinton is being considered by President-elect Obama for the post of Secretary of State (see here). What a wonderful appointment that would be! Please, Obama - do it! What a message! Following on from the current female Secretary of State - another woman - and a stronger more determined one! The message would reach the dark corners of the world where women are still treated worse than animals - and that segues nicely into my today's post.

After reading about Canadian humanitarian and supporter of women's rights, Stephen Lewis this week on one of my regular blog-stops : Wisewebwoman's "The Other side of Sixty" ( post is dated 11 November) I resolved to look at his natal chart.

We, as a nation, and we, as a group of astrology fans, tend to inspect our own navels a lot of the time, worry about petty inconsequential matters. Some women on this planet do not have such luxury. It's important that an inspired and inspiring individual like Stephen Lewis is prepared to stand up against injustices meted out to women all over the world, but particularly on the African continent. I urge any passing reader to visit Wisewebwoman's blog and read Mr. Lewis's words describing the horrendous atrocities women in parts of Africa have to suffer.

Stephen Lewis was born in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada on 11 November 1937. I can find no indication of time of birth, so below is a chart set for 12 noon. The ascending sign and exact Moon degree will not be accurate, though Moon will remain somewhere in Aquarius whatever time he was born.



Hmmmm this is an extreme "splash pattern" chart - planets scattered throughout the zodiac. What makes this different from some other scattered charts though is regularity. I spotted this even before my software highlighted it among a whole screenful of aspect patterns (diagram on right).
See how the links trip around the signs, in the 20 to 28 degree area, linking via harmonious sextiles, semi sextiles and/or trines ? Some are just into the 00 degree of the next sign, but still within orb to be included. Every sign of the zodiac in this chart contains one or more planets, or a sensitive point (Part of Fortune, Moon's Nodes) within it.

This is truly "A Man for All Seasons"!

That's the overview then, a well integrated, positvely oriented personality, who uses his skills in the most productive way possible.

His Sun and Mercury in intense Scorpio and Moon somewhere in socially conscious Aquarius provide the basic brush strokes depicting a passionate (Scorpio) humanitarian (Aquarius).

The Mars/Jupiter opposition to Pluto, Sun opposition to Uranus, and Saturn opposing Neptune provide dynamic energies to drive the harmonious aspects which surround the chart. This man isn't ever going to sit calmly on the front porch with his dog, staring into the sunset. He is driven, driven through the whole gamut of experience, not as Dorothy Parker once put it in critique of an actress, "from A to B" but in his case, from A to Z.

My blogging buddy Wisewebwoman has commented
"I had the good fortune to meet with him and his good wife (Michele Landsberg, feminist journalist) a few years ago at a dinner commemorating the massacre of the female engineering students in Montreal. There is something magical about him, the capacity for undivided attention to whomever he is speaking (much like Bill Clinton who has that gift also) and a natural humility. One of my brothers met him in Africa and has been shouting about him from the rooftops ever since."

There is something special about the chart - its integration. I doubt there are many like this - just as there are not many men like Stephen Lewis - more's the pity.

A single paragraph from the recent talk featured at Wisewebwoman's blog, linked at the top. Please, do take a few minutes to go read the article in full.

"And in the case of the Congo, you have a war on women. You know, if I may make a somewhat more intellectual observation, rape is no longer a weapon of war. Rape has become a strategy of war. You rape women in such numbers, so savagely that you humiliate entire communities through the women. The women hold the communities together. On the continent of Africa, nothing happens without the engagement of the women, particularly at the grassroots, particularly on the ground. And what happens is that the entire community is subdued, oppressed, overcome by these roving bands of marauding militias, who rape the women, move the community off the extractive resources, which is what they want, or turn the women into sex slaves and the men into the laborers who do extract the resources. And it’s hideous, the consequences, and it’s been going on since 1996. More than a quarter of a million women have been raped. And what is so unfathomable about it is everyone in a position of power knows, and it continues. I’ll never never comprehend."




Thursday, November 13, 2008

Tarot Experiment ~ continued.....

My previous experiments with tarot have been reasonably accurate, though with no world-shattering revelations. (Access by clicking on "tarot" from the Label Cloud in the sidebar.) Continuing the experiment, now that the election is over and we have a President-elect Obama, I asked a couple of new questions. Last week : "What do I need to know about Barack Obama?". This week: "What do I need to know about the way Obama will govern?"
I find it tricky to formulate the question, and therefore had to take two stabs at it.

# 1~~~ What do I need to know about Barack Obama?
3 cards in the following order: 6 Cups....8 Cups....The Sun.

This was really the wrong question to ask, it's way too broad.

Anyway, 6 Cups indicates nostalgia, something emotional connected to the past, a little melancholic - perhaps this relates to the death of Obama's grandmother and his recollections of her effect on his life.





8 Cups - indicates a turning away, a new direction, an abandoning, or giving something up. When I saw this I was a little worried....until I turned the third card. 8 cups in this context probably relates to the change from Senator to President. A less positive card in third position could have indicated him stepping down for some reason. (I'm a little uneasy about this card.)





The Sun - A Major Arcana card, one of the best, most fortunate cards in the whole deck. It's even more appropriate because it relates to his natal sun sign, Leo. See what learn.tarot.com has to say about The Sun card:
experiencing greatness
achieving prominence
being singled out for notice
having a personal moment of glory
setting an outstanding example
shining forth brilliantly
demonstrating distinction
becoming the center of attention.

Though the three cards I drew from the deck were appropriate enough, they didn't tell me much that we don't already know. That'll teach me not to ask broad questions!

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I waited a week, then asked:
#2 ~~~What do I need to know about the way Obama will govern? A more specific query.

6 Wands - Card of victory, success, acclaim. This is an appropriate background atmosphere!








Knight of Cups - This has to represent Obama and the manner in which he will govern. Knight of Cups relates to the element of Water, zodiac sign Cancer or Pisces, and as in astrology, relates to sensitivity, gentleness, vision, perhaps visions too fanciful to bring to reality? The Knight is not yet King, so it's appropriate, for now, to indicate future intention. It fits Obama's graceful, calm persona, his idealistic aims, dreams of unity and peace. These are his current aims, however - as Knight rather than King.




10 Wands Indication of future/outcome. Traditionally the card of oppression, in this case the oppression brought on by success, the burdens of the presidency, uphill struggles, every step made difficult. The "feel", astrologically, is of Saturn. It indicates that President Obama will have to set aside some of his dreamy visions, to "get real". He'll become overburdened with difficulties left behind by the previous administration.



None of the above is news to anyone interested in the current political scene, all of this could have been set out without the help of the tarot. What I still find amazing though is how three cards drawn at random from the deck of 78 turn out to be so appropriate to the question asked.

Maybe my next experiment, in a few weeks, will throw up some unexpected prediction, or perhaps events in the meantime will illuminate a different interpretation of one that I settled on - that 8 of Cups in the first spread for instance. I still find it a little disquieting.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Lenny Bruce - Another Libran Exception?

I'm one of very few people this side of the Atlantic who doesn't think Lenny Bruce was iconic, wonderful, great, funny. Maybe it's one of those situations where "you had to be there", you had to know how it was before him, then how things changed after him. Perhaps, in context, his input to the world of comedy has some value in the history of entertainment and communication. "Saviour of the First Amendment", some call him - for the uninitiated, this relates to freedom of speech. I don't get it! The mildest of profanity, or rude word is routinely blanked out during TV shows on most channels. Someone says "fuck" and not only is the sound eliminated, but the pixels surrounding the speaker's mouth disintegrate, so the delicate sensitivities of the audience are not upset by a little lip-reading. So what did Lenny Bruce achieve?

There's a vein of prudery in America which doesn't exist in Britain to anywhere near the same extent. Perhaps that's why I see Lenny Bruce as a pain in the arse (been there, seen that, didn't want the T-shirt) while many Americans idolise him as some kind of revolutionary icon.

Here's Lenny Bruce's natal chart. Born 13 October 1925, Mineola NY, at 11.24 am.



DANG! Another triple Libran who goes against the grain (Nazi horror-monger Irma Grese struck me this way too - I blogged about her recently (here). A few more charts like these and I shall start doubting traditional interpretations of Libra as the most diplomatic, tactful, indecisive sign of the zodiac. The dark underbelly of Libra is definitely not pretty. The thought led me to a little more research and this is what I discovered:

Lenny Bruce's natal Mars at 9 Libra is conjunct Fixed Star Vindemiatrix designated unfortunate or malefic by ancient astrologers. His natal Saturn is within minutes of arc of Fixed Star South Scale in Scorpio - another malefic, very unfortunate star.

Irma Grese was born with Sun conjunct Algorab ("One who is destructive, malevolent, fiendish and lying")


There are several websites with information on Fixed Stars, I used this one.

Lesson learned: it's worth checking whether Fixed Stars are close to personal planets if things seem discordant with accepted astrological interpretation, especially in the case of Libra Sun people who are supposed to be, in the main, mild mannered, sweet, ruled by Venus.

Something else springs to mind too - Via Combusta, The Burning Road, spans 15 Libra to 15 Scorpio, which takes in Bruce's Sun, Mercury and Saturn. I puzzled over Via Combusta here. .......... Curiouser and curiouser.

Astrologer Bob Marks points out a Funnel Pattern in Bruce's chart, with eccentric Uranus at the business end - see here.

Uranus is also at the business end of a Yod (Finger of Fate) - 2 quincinx aspects linked by a sextile. Sun/Mercury and Neptune form the sextile - so this Yod can be translated as this comedian's personal communication style(Sun/Mercury) linking to Neptune's creativity, and potential for addiction being blended and channelled through eccentric, revolutionary Uranus. It's a similar "feel" to Bob Marks' description of Uranus as the "singleton".

One more thing to point out: Pluto, Saturn and Uranus form a Grand Trine in Water signs - those 3 planets are hard-core, no warm fuzzies there! They link the emotional element (Water) in the chart, providing a kind of circuit of deadly emotional, electric shocks. Not a comfortable Grand Trine by any means.

Lenny Bruce's natal Moon in Virgo reflects a deeply critical inner self. It's a pity he hadn't turned critical focus onto his own shortcomings rather than hurling abuse at all and sundry, he might then still be among us, instead of dying of a drug overdose at age 40.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Uranus-Saturn can be seen working!

Popping back with a second helping today, because I feel the paragraphs below, from an article I've just read, written by someone unconnected with astrology, describe very clearly how the Uranus-Saturn opposition, exact on election day, is playing out. From a piece published at Common Dreams today " 'Obama' For Lefties", by Ira Chernus.

I love to find things like this! "Change" and "steady predictability", "rash, impulsive", "safe, solid"...all classic keywords for Uranus and Saturn, and used
not by an astrology fan with an axe to grind, but by an observer of the political scene:

"That's why Obama is so widely admired. He won, not by offering specific new policy ideas, but by uniting in himself the seemingly opposite images of change and steady predictability. He presented himself as the dynamic leader who could "change the world" while remaining always safe and solid, poised and unflappable, never likely to do anything rash or impulsive. The defining moment of the contest was the second debate, when the "maverick" McCain wandered erratically around the stage while Obama sat or stood, serenely centered, even as the economy of the nation (and perhaps the whole world) was collapsing around us.

It's understandable that images of steadiness now dominate. Obama knows that you can't use the winds of change to move people who are frightened or insecure. Whatever he may hope to accomplish, he has to keep on reassuring the general public and the power elite that he really is the temperate, self-controlled man they saw throughout the campaign. That's the only way he can be free to put across any policy agenda he comes up with.
He won't succeed if he says or does anything that might look unexpected, impulsive, or the least bit radical."


Uranus opposes Saturn in the astrological chart for the present time. But both are otherwise connected - through Aquarius, Obama's rising sign. They are the ancient and modern rulers of that sign. Rather than opposing in a negative manner, they seem able to work easily in tandem, pushing a little way backward to achieve sufficient momentum in order to pull forward.

Light Cartoons, Weighty Recollections.

A cartoon or two, a spoonful of poetry, a pertinent photograph - all bring to mind something astrological or something significant.

I raided the husband's bookshelves for the cartoons: "Cartoon Cavalcade" (1943), "Crazy Cartoons" by Vip" (1956), and "Cartoon Treasury" (1955).



(SAGITTARIUS - of course!)

Cartoon by T.S. Sullivant

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(Ought to be MERCURY but it's Jupiter, or maybe Zeus - crossed lines again!)
"It's that man from the telephone office."
Cartoon by John Frazer in The Texas Ranger.

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(ARIES & LEO ?)


Cartoon by Vip.

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And on a very serious note - 11th hour of 11th day of 11th month:

WE REMEMBER



WE SHALL REMEMBER THEM ~ by Sheila Parry

No visit to a gracious Queen,
no presentation honouring the dead.

The day his medal came
her fingers fumbled with the padded envelope;
ribbon and steel dropped from her hand,
another piece rolled out of sight.


When they came home they found her there,
tears falling on the polished floor,
trying to fit the fragments of her son,
to make sense of the scattered jigsaw
of his life.


Home-assembly decoration kits
by order of a grateful Government,
broken like the bodies
they were made to celebrate.


But then he was, at seventeen, hardly a soldier.
Just a name and number in the power game.
Mail-order hero of a battle scene.