The Day After - a few pics (no astro)

25 December was a pretty day here in SW Oklahoma, but very cold with a biting wind. We drove to the Wichita Mountains, and to the top of Mount Scott, about an hour from home. (Left: Casey The Dog - we kept an eye on her just before Christmas while husband's son and family went to ski in Colorado. She tried to make friends with Clarence, my Christmas Crinkle, but he was having none of it.)

First 4 photos from top Mt. Scott, and on the way down - I took them from the car window, too wimpish to get out into the even more biting wind up there. We then drove through the Wildlife Refuge, but buffalo and longhorn cattle were hiding from us this time. We saw not one sign of life there, so repaired to a little lake in the nearby town. Ate our sandwiches with ducks, goose and gulls looking on.

Click on photos to see larger versions.













Two pics of wee Serenity at the family get-together on Christmas Eve follow, the second is from camera of husband's daughter. Serenity is my husband's great-grandaughter, born January 2010.




And Casey - again.




AND an inherited flair for hat-wearing: Great-grandad and Serenity

Christmas

"I do like Christmas on the whole.... In its clumsy way, it does approach Peace and Goodwill. But it is clumsier every year."
- E.M. Forster


"To perceive Christmas through its wrapping becomes more difficult with every year."
- E.B. White, "The Second Tree from the Corner" (1954)

Since the times when those two talented writers, one from each side of the Atlantic, one Sun Capricorn, the other Sun Cancer expressed similar views, the internet has helped spread even more clumsiness and wrapping, but it has also afforded us more opportunities to say to more people in more places:

CHARLES DICKENS ~ Socialist? Nobleman? Moody?

An article and string of comments touching on Charles Dickens set me thinking about this famous author the other day. The Spirit of Scrooge by Caroline Hamilton (Article and comments HERE).

One commenter had Dickens down as "a socialist", another as "one of the rich nobility". Both ideas are understandable but in truth way off the mark. Astrodatabank offers an outline biography, highlighting aspects of his personality.

He was certainly not born into a noble family. His father worked in the Navy Pay Office and spent time in debtor's prison. Charles had to do a stint in a shoe-blacking factory at one point in his young life, and found out first-hand what life was like for poor working-class people in 19th century London - and in a newly industrialised England generally. What he experienced and saw must have affected him deeply because reflections of it appear in many of his novels, written decades later.

Dickens became independently wealthy through his writings, and a husband and father of 10 (though 1 child died). He abandoned his wife and family for the company of younger women - so he was not exactly the paragon of socialistic virtue we might like to imagine. Astrodatabank's research led to a picture of him as "a moody man". His moods may have been rooted in an uncertain life as a child, or in an inbuilt weakness of character which led him to abandon his large family and his wife who was also prone to bouts of depression (quite understandable, I'd say, after bearing 10 wee ones!)

Charles Dickens was born on 7 February 1812 at 7:50 PM ("A" rating for birth time at Astrodatabank, so it's reasonably reliable).



His natal Sun in socially-conscious Aquarius lends credence to an underlying concern about the injustices of his time - in spite of his questionable characteristics with regard to wife and family.

Moon in philosophical Sagittarius conjunct creative Neptune is a helpful position for a writer.

Mercury, the writer's planet, is in helpful sextile to Uranus (the rebel) and both planets make quincunx (150*) aspects to Jupiter (publishing) forming a configuration known as a Yod (Finger of Fate). This Yod describes his professional life well - writer with rebellious/socialistic ideas funelling through to millions of readers via (Jupiter) publication, in his lifetime and for long, long after.

If time of birth is near correct, Virgo was rising as Dickens came into the world. Virgo is ruled by Mercury, planet of writing and communication.

Pluto and Venus were both close to the Pisces descendant angle giving them significant strength in his personality, especially with regard to relationships.
Pluto has dark connotations, Venus relates to love and the arts. Perhaps his moodiness stems mainly from Pluto's strong position - or perhaps from the challenging square aspect between Saturn and Mars. These two planets have some negative attributes, and when found in antagonising angle to one another are unlikely to bring forth much comfort and joy.

Speaking of comfort and joy - leading us on to Christmas, Dickens featured the festival in a couple of his best known novels A Christmas Carol and The Pickwick Papers. His Saturn square Mars describes Scrooge from A Christmas Carol quite well, and Mr. Pickwick is, for sure, Jupiter personified (at the apex of that Yod)!

"External heat and cold had little influence on Scrooge. No warmth could warm, no wintry weather chill him. No wind that blew was bitterer than he, no falling snow was more intent upon its purpose, no pelting rain less open to entreaty......
Darkness is cheap, and Scrooge liked it."
- A Christmas Carol.






"Happy, happy Christmas, that can win us back to the delusions of our childish days; that can recall to the old man the pleasures of his youth; that can transport the sailor and the traveller, thousands of miles away, back to his own fire-side and his quiet home!"
- The Pickwick Papers.

ZODIAC SIGN CAPRICORN

The Sun has now moved into that 30 degree segment of the zodiac circle we call Capricorn: the sign of cardinal Earth. From Ken Ward's website:

In Astrology, the cardinal signs are the first, fourth, seventh and tenth (Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn). These signs are characterised by enterprise, or starting things.

Sometimes Aries and Libra are called equinox signs, and Cancer and Capricorn are called solstice signs. Equinoxes are times of perfect balance between day and night (day and night are 12 hours long). The solstice times are the times of the longest day (Cancer) and the longest night (Capricorn).

Aries and Libra are times of balance, but also times of abrupt change. Cancer and Capricorn are times of extremes.

In an effort to find a slightly new perspective on the sign I consulted Louis MacNeice's book Astrology to see what he'd found from his researches among the work of great and good astrological masters of the past.

MacNeice quotes A.J. Pearce on Capricorn, the sign: "disposition subtle, collected, calm, witty, and yet melancholy". He quotes Ingrid Lind: "action allied with common sense". Now, those five words put Capricorn into the smallest and most accurate nutshell possible - not much more to say really!

MacNeice writes: "If Saturn the ruler of Capricorn is actually in this sign, then everything is cut to the bone." Meaning, I guess, that a person with Sun and Saturn in Capricorn is likely to embody most of the traits traditionally linked to that sign. I'm not so certain. That same person might have Leo Moon and Leo rising, or Pisces rising and Moon and Venus in Pisces - then what? Or Moon and a cluster of personal planets in Aquarius. Horses of very different colours!

Recalling an earlier chapter of MacNeice's book, he quoted Ingrid Lind as describing someone as (for example) "a Capricorn-type", rather than "a Capricorn". This is good practice and I do try to remember to use the expression myself, when appropriate. A Capricorn-type need not have Sun in Capricorn; a Pisces-type could well have Sun in Capricorn.

I re-read my own post on Capricorn from 2008 and, as I can't seem to improve on it much, decided that a spot of copy-and-paste is in order:

Capricorn. What's to say about this sign? On the whole it gets a bad rap, probably only second to Scorpio for negative reporting.

Keywords for Capricorn, the sign ruled by planet Saturn, include: serious, disciplined, careful, cautious, thrifty, cold, organised, solid, old-fashioned, conservative, business-like, and the adjective coined from the sign ruler's name -"saturnine".

Sounds boring, doesn't it?

A handful of well-known Sun Capricorn people who seem to fly against the keyword stereotype: David Bowie, Jim Carrey, Rod Stewart, Janis Joplin, LL CoolJ..........

I draw a blank from personal experience, regarding Sun Capricorn people, but I have this idea at the back of my mind that many of 'em have a wickedly dry sense of humour - I'm not sure from whence that idea springs, its roots are possibly in planets lying in neighbouring signs.

In any case, I suspect that Sun Capricorns do not embody much of the accepted stereotype unless every personal planet lines up in that sign. Sun Capricorns are liable to have two or more personal planets in neighbouring signs Sagittarius and Aquarius, both likely to dilute Capricorn considerably, and bring in a hint of happy-go-lucky Sagittarius flavour, or some whacky Aquarianisms. Conversely, it's quite easy to pick up Capricorn flavour in natives of those two neighbouring signs, where close personal planets are often found doing a turn in Capricorn.

I'd expect to see more typical Capricorn traits in a person with Saturn rising in Capricorn, the ruler rising in its own sign. That's when Capricorn is going to be more easily seen in public, even if that person's natal Sun and Moon are nowhere near the sign of the seagoat. It's unwise to place too much confidence in Sun signs, they are an easy label, a convenient rule of thumb, a fun grouping, but they are liable to be terribly misleading.

(Sir) Anthony Hopkins has Sun and ascendant in Capricorn - perhaps slightly more stereotypical than those people mentioned above. He comes over as fairly serious and disciplined, a little old fashioned. But even here, his Moon in Sagittarius and Jupiter in Aquarius tend to "mix it up and make it nice", added to which, Capricorn's ruler Saturn lay in Pisces as he was born, lightening its heavy influence quite a lot.

















Graham Chapman (of Monty Python- shirtless in the photo), with Sun and ascendant in Capricorn, Moon in Taurus, Saturn in Taurus sounds like someone Earthy and sensible - heading closer to the stereotype - but Venus and Mars lay in Sagittarius, which kind of knocks it all smartly on the head.



(Sir)Sean Connery (aka the original James Bond) is the nearest I can find to matching a typical Capricorn stereotype, yet his Sun and Moon are in Virgo, an Earth sign which doesn't tend to smother Capricorn completely. He has Capricorn rising with Saturn in first house very close to the ascending degree. Saturn is his dominant planet and Capricorn shares sign dominance with Virgo. The ususal culprits for messing up Capricorn's serious reputation, Sagittarius and Aquarius, don't get a look in in Connery's chart, by the way.

Hopkins and Connery both happen to have been knighted by Queen Elizabeth II - that in itself is rather Capricornian! However, Hopkins is unimpressed and says he only accepted it to make his (then) wife happy! Connery describes it as one of the proudest days of his life. He had been denied the honour for several years due to his passionate Scottish nationalism, and support for Scottish Independence.

I have to say that I'm with Hopkins on this!

SOLSTICE ~ YULE

SOLSTICE GREETINGS!

I'll leave it to our astrologers and other bloggers to interpret 2010's Solstice (Winter Solstice in the northern hemisphere, Summer Solstice in the soutern hemisphere). Related planetary doings make this year extraordinarily special, with a lunar eclipse adding more spice to the occasion. I'm going to take a look at some other aspects and motifs of this time of year.

In some ways it's a pity that Christianity got itself tangled up with Yule, instead of making for itself a festival closer to the date of Christ's real birthday, inasmuch as that could have been established. Although the idea of goodwill and peace at what we call Christmas does reflect the true Christian message, even so, the traditions of the season do not necessarily stem from that message - it's a bit like putting the cart before the horse. Traditions of giving, loving and helping others pre-date Christianity by thousands of years.

In Europe, and later in the USA, traditions rooted in the pagan Norse and Celtic Yule, from long before the time of Jesus, have persisted over many thousands of years. Yule represented the moment when the days would again become longer, when light would return to the land, and people had reason to be thankful as spring was on its way, with the birth of new animals, and the softening of the soil for planting. Such winter festivals exist in most other parts of the world too, each with their own motifs and traditions, all rooted in the past.

Our western traditions and their roots:

Giving to the Needy- This tradition may have come from the Saxons who had 2 tables at the door of the banquet hall during their feasts. One was for all to take food, and the other was to leave alms for the poor. This meant to symbolize the unity of all human lives and to remind the Saxons that what one gave was returned 3-fold. Even today it is a Christmas custom to give food to the needy and for this act of kindness we can thank the Saxons.....~Tala~ (Robin Paladino)

Gift Giving- seems to originate from the Winter Solstice holiday, Saturnalia (which honored the God Saturn) which was long established by the Romans before they invaded Britain and was celebrated from December 12-17th. It was a time when Masters waited on servants at mealtime, gifts of light were given, particularly candles. Other traditional gifts included coins, honey, figs, and pastry. Gifts were also given in honor of loved ones who died the previous year. Early Roman explorers carried this tradition throughout Europe.

Feasting- had several purposes: to acknowledge the return of the season of growth, to give physical expression to the hope for abundance in the year to come, and finally to alleviate boredom and depression. As Christianity gradually usurped Pagan ways of worship, the custom of Advent (a month long fast before Christmas) reflected the times when people had to survive on eating very little. It became custom to feast on the 25th and to mark this day with acts of hospitality and generosity. The rich were expected to open their doors for all, and this could well have been the precursor to the tradition of helping those less fortunate.

Yule Log- is a small log of usually oak, with a flattened bottom that is decorated with evergreen and holly, after it is inscribed with symbols that represent wishes and what you want to bring into your life in the coming year. It is than burned on Yule after it is charged, or "wished upon." It is kept in the house all year to protect its inhabitants from illness or any adverse condition, and than it is used on the following year to light the new Yule log. Some Yule logs today are usually the same except for 3 holes drilled down the center, to place candles, as many people today do not have fireplaces. Cakes in the shape of Yule logs are a 20th century nod to this tradition.

Christmas Trees- were originally Yule trees. The Celts believed they stood for the everlasting life because the trees did not "die" in the winter. They stood for protection, prosperity and were the symbol of renewal and the hope for the sun to make the earth green again. Because of their massive height, they were a symbol of eternity. It was from these beliefs that the decorating of Yule trees, now called Christmas trees by many, evolved. Yule trees were decorated with images they wished the coming year to bring for them: nuts for fertility, love charms for happiness, fruit for a successful harvest, and coins for wealth.

Lights- on houses and Christmas trees is a modern version of the Pagan custom of lighting candles and fires to "lure back the sun." The Saxons may have been the first to put candles on Yule trees.

Red candles- symbolize the fire and heat of the returning sun.

Wreaths- signify the "wheel of the year," a circle with no beginning and no end.

Pine cones are the male aspect of fertility, and the fruit signifies the female aspect. They were initially used by Scandinavian Pagans 4,000 years ago.

Mistletoe- symbolized peace, prosperity, healing, wellness, fertility, protection and rest. It was placed around the fire and helped women to conceive. It was believed to be an aphrodisiac (magickally, not medically, its poison!), and if left hung up all year, it would bring good luck. It was also dubbed the "golden bough" by the Druids. Kissing under the mistletoe was originally a part of hand fasting, and all legal matters were sealed beneath its boughs. Hence a couple who kissed beneath them, were announcing their intent to get married. Then they would kiss under it again after the official ceremony, to further seal their vows.

Holly- symbolizes the old solar year, the waning sun, and good luck.

Jingle bells- were used by the Norse to herald in the dawn after the long dark night. They also used them to ritually frighten away the powers of darkness that they felt reached their peak at Yule.

Santa/Father Christmas has multi-cultural roots with characteristics of Saturn (Roman Agricultural God), Cronos (Greek God known as Father Time), The Holly King (Celtic God of the dying year), Father Ice/Grandfather Frost (Russian Winter God), Thor (Norse Sky God, who rides the sky with a chariot drawn by goats), Odin/Wotan (Scandinavian/Teutonic all-father who rides the sky on an 8-legged horse), Frey (Norse Fertility God), Tomte (a Norse land spirit known for giving gifts to children at this time of year),. Santa's reindeer can be viewed as forms of Herne (the Celtic Horned God), and Frau Holde (a Goddess from Germany that was believed to ride on the wind in a sleigh on Yule eve and give gifts to her followers.




Source
http://community-2.webtv.net/stormlght/YULE/

Music Monday ~ The Snowman ~ Raymond Briggs ~ Howard Blake. ( & Tom Lehrer.)

Christmas music for Music Monday of Christmas week ?

I've had Christmas music up to the ears - played in stores, on the car radio, practically every station, TV, commercials......up to the ears!

Here's something a wee bit different, though still Christmas-ish - and wintry. Walking In The Air from the original TV show based on an illustrated book for children, The Snowman, by English author/illustrator/cartoonist Raymond Briggs. In the UK the book was adapted and animated for a 26 minute-long TV film by Dianne Jackson, who, by the way also did animation for the Beatles' Yellow Submarine movie.

This song, Walking in the Air, was written for the film by well-known English composer Howard Blake.

The TV film first aired in the UK in 1982 on Christmas Eve. It has since been released on DVD on both sides of the Atlantic. Some versions have an introduction by David Bowie, others are introduced by the author of the book.

The song Walking In The Air has been recorded by several different boy sopranos. In 1985 a version by by Aled Jones made it to #5 in the British pop charts and launched the singer on a career which now includes presenting a weekly radio show. In the film, though, (as shown here) the song was sung by Peter Auty.

The song and the music suit the "feel" of the story so well that it'd be interesting to look at the natal charts of The Snowman author, and the composer of the song - there could be a blending link.

As it happens, there is!

Raymond Briggs born in London on 18 January 1934




Howard Blake born London 28 October 1938




Venus (planet of the arts) in Briggs' chart is at 23.27 Aquarius, in Blake's chart Jupiter (planet of publishing) is at 22.32 Aquarius - just a degree apart. Blake's song certainly led to a much wider audience for Briggs' story!

And

Briggs has a Uranus opposition: Uranus 23.35 Aries - Jupiter 22.35 Libra
Blake has a Uranus oppposition too : Uranus 16 Taurus - Mercury 15 Scorpio.
Bearing in mind that Uranus rules Aquarius, where the previous link occurs....well...hmmmm!

There could well have been a Sun/Moon blend too, but without birth times it's not possible to be sure. More than likely Blake has Capricorn Moon matching Briggs' Capricorn Sun. While Briggs quite likely has Moon in Watery Pisces, blending with Blake's Watery Scorpio Sun.

Don't ya just love it "when a plan comes together"?




SO...how about another Christmas song for those of us feeling "all Christmas-songed-out" at present - this from Tom Lehrer

TV MOVIES this week

We viewed a few movies shown on TV this week - trying to make our cable subscription worthwhile! Until I got to listing these I hadn't realised they all have some musical content. We must be in a Venus cycle, Chez Twilight. An "astro-rating" is added, just to indicate the movie's general flavour.



The Blues Brothers 2000 (1998)Neither of us had seen this sequal to the famous original movie, it so we gave it a whirl. John Goodman took the place of the late lamented John Belushi, as Dan Ackroyd's bro. There were lots of familiar faces and voices popping up, especially in the last scene: Eric Clapton, B.B.King, Junior Wells, Jonny Lang, Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Sam Brown, Wilson Pickett and others - names to conjure with.
The movie in general is pretty bad, but it's well worth sitting through for the music scenes alone.
ASTRO RATING ~ Uranus conjunct Venus.




A Matter of Time (1976) appeared on TCM -a premiere for this film on Ted Turner's channel - and possibly on TV. Vincente Minnelli directed it, and his daughter Liza starred along with Ingrid Bergman.
Bergman's role as an eccentric Contessa is definitely the gem of the piece, which followed a well-worn rags to riches, star-is-born-type theme. The movie, while not actually bad, tends to be ragged and uneven. It could have been excellent, and Ingrid Bergman was - but things just didn't hang together well.
ASTRO RATING ~ Uranus conjunct Venus in Leo.



My Blueberry Nights (2007) on HBO - Norah Jones' first stab at a dramatic role in a movie, this co-starring Jude Law. It was adapted from a Chinese tale and directed by Chinese director Kar Wai Wong - his first movie in English. Like A Matter of Time this proved to be a bit of an oddity. It was trying to be an arty-farty movie, whilst retaining an easily understood storyline - that kind of worked. I'm not sure that the movie's Chinese director had a true "handle" on the American way of life though. Characters came over as a wee bit phoney, over-exaggerated, comic-book-ish. But what am I saying - that is exactly what America seems like to a foreigner -I should know! We enjoyed this movie though. Norah Jones did a creditable job as a peripatetic and rather naive waitress trying to get over a love betrayal by wandering around the USA, meeting a variety of stereotypical American characters. Jude Law, an English immigrant running a cafe in New York struck a rather false note. He's pretty though, and it was good to hear a Manchester accent again, even one affected by a Londoner. Other characters the heroine meets on her travels are played by Natalie Portman, Rachel Weisz and, best acting of the movie: David Strathairn - an actor who deserves a starring part - SOON!
Soundtrack has Norah Jones doing what she does best.
ASTRO RATING ~ Venus in Sagittarius.



A Diva's Christmas Carol (2000) appeared on Lifetime channel. We routinely avoid Lifetime because of the extra long yawning gaps of commercials they insert in movies they show. I was curious to see a modernised version of Charles Dickens' famous Christmas story, so we braced ourselves and watched. Instead of Victorian England the updated story is set in the USA with a cast of characters from the music business, led by Vanessa Williams as "Ebony" (Ebenezer - get it?) the bitchy, mean and miserly diva who terrorises her road crew, ignores her only remaining family, and walks all over her tour manager, played with a misty eyed down-trodden acquiescence by Brian McNamara, predictably named Bob Cratchett, with a sick son called.....yes, you guessed. Best turn of the movie comes from Kathy Griffin as Spirit of Christmas Past - she has some nice sarky one-liners (at a guess they're self-written). It's an entertaining seasonal movie, with its timeless message set in a context easily recognised in the 21st century. Best watched on DVD though, to avoid Lifetime's commercial breaks of duration long enough to test even the most tolerant viewer.
ASTRO RATING ~ Saturn in Sagittarius.

Arty Farty Friday ~ Zodiac of Christmas Tree Decor

There's little that's more arty-farty than decorating the home for Christmas. Central to the arty farty decor, in most cases, will be "The Tree". Just for fun I've trawled Google Image to find a style of tree to match each zodiac sign's characteristics.








ARIES ~ Always on the run, impatient, no time to do arty-farty!














TAURUS - traditional to the core.













GEMINI ~ symbolised by "the twins" - so...






















CANCER ~ Soft and sentimental.























LEO ~ Expensive!
Jeweler Steve Quick has created the world’s most expensive Christmas tree. On display at Steve Quick Jewelers in Chicago’s Lincoln Park, the tree is made out of five solid pounds of 18k yellow gold and decorated with 250 carats of round brilliant and briolette diamonds. The platinum star on top, set with a 4.52 carat diamond, is detachable so the owner can wear it as a pendant.
















VIRGO~ Practical, non-fussy.












LIBRA ~ Beautifully balanced.





















SCORPIO ~ Gothic





























SAGITTARIUS ~ Wonderfully overdone!





















CAPRICORN ~ Structured.

























AQUARIUS ~ Unusual.
























PISCES~ Whimsical.






















After all that.....We don't have a proper Christmas tree. I left mine back in the UK, and Himself -he has Sun in Aries (see above). Say no more! We have this small, shiny, "pretend" one - it looks pretty when the spotlight catches it though.

A STAND FOR PEACE & HOPE

On 16 December military veterans, along with some high-profile activists: Chris Hedges, Daniel Ellsberg, Medea Benjamin, Ray McGovern and Robert Shetterly and others will Take a Stand for Peace at the White House Fence.

Thank goodness for men of integrity and principle. They shine out among the dross!

Last week Chris Hedges wrote that they will "protest the futile and endless wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Many of us will, after our rally in Lafayette Park, attempt to chain ourselves to the fence outside the White House. It is a pretty good bet we will all spend a night in jail. Hope, from now on, will look like this."

Chris Hedges' full essay is HERE. He went on:

Hope is not trusting in the ultimate goodness of Barack Obama, who, like Herod of old, sold out his people. It is not having a positive attitude or pretending that happy thoughts and false optimism will make the world better. Hope is not about chanting packaged campaign slogans or trusting in the better nature of the Democratic Party. Hope does not mean that our protests will suddenly awaken the dead consciences, the atrophied souls, of the plutocrats running Halliburton, Goldman Sachs, ExxonMobil or the government.

Hope does not mean we will halt the firing in Afghanistan of the next Hellfire missile, whose explosive blast sucks the oxygen out of the air and leaves the dead, including children, scattered like limp rag dolls on the ground. Hope does not mean we will reform Wall Street swindlers and speculators, or halt the pillaging of our economy as we print $600 billion in new money with the desperation of all collapsing states. Hope does not mean that the nation’s ministers and rabbis, who know the words of the great Hebrew prophets, will leave their houses of worship to practice the religious beliefs they preach. Most clerics like fine, abstract words about justice and full collection plates, but know little of real hope.

Hope knows that unless we physically defy government control we are complicit in the violence of the state. All who resist keep hope alive. All who succumb to fear, despair and apathy become enemies of hope. They become, in their passivity, agents of injustice. If the enemies of hope are finally victorious, the poison of violence will become not only the language of power but the language of opposition. And those who resist with nonviolence are in times like these the thin line of defense between a civil society and its disintegration.

"As above, so below" - as the people conjoin to protest, the astrological chart for tomorrow in Washington shows some appropriate planetary conjunctions:



Uranus/Jupiter in Pisces ~ here's the peaceful but rebellious demonstration.

Chiron/Neptune in Aquarius ~ here's the socially conscious and creative attempt to heal the wound of endless war.

Pluto/Mars/Mercury/North node in Capricorn ~ here's anger being communicated via very down to earth means.

Sun in Sagittarius in harmonious trine to Moon in Aries at 10:00 am as the demonstration begins.




UPDATE 16 December

Senator Bernie Sanders, Independent Socialist.

Senator Bernie Sanders took a stand on 10 December. It's time someone did so. Our President appears to have forgotten what the people elected him to do.

In a speech lasting over 8 hours Senator Sanders (Independent-Socialist) from Vermont, made good on his threat to present a kind of "filibuster" against President Barack Obama’s deal with Republicans to extend the Bush Tax Cuts in exchange for an extension on unemployment benefits.

Senator Sanders began as follows, full transcript of the speech is at his website, linked at the top of this post. Some highlights are shown in a video HERE.

Mr. President, there is a war going on in this country, and I am not referring to the war in Iraq or the war in Afghanistan, I am talking about a war being waged by some of the wealthiest and most powerful people in this country against the working families of the United States of America, against the disappearing and shrinking middle class in our country. The reality is that many of the nation’s billionaires are on the war path. They want more, more, more. Their greed has no end and apparently there is very little concern for our country or for the people of this country if it gets in the way of the accumulation of more and more wealth and more and more power....................
(And later) How can I get by on one house? I need five houses, ten houses! I need three jet planes to take me all over the world! Sorry, American people. We've got the money, we've got the power, we've got the lobbyists here and on Wall Street. Tough luck. That's the world, get used to it. Rich get richer. Middle class shrinks

The voice of Senator Sanders is a voice in the wilderness - but it is at least one voice, and from what I've read in articles and comments since Friday he has a lot of appreciative supporters.

Why then, does the very word "socialist" strike fear and loathing into the hearts of so many in the USA? Bernie Sanders presented what are broad socialist ideals in his speech. President Obama, ridiculously labelled "socialist" by some Republicans is so far from matching that label that it'd be funny, if it were not so serious for the majority of the ordinary people of America. And don't forget, "the ordinary people" are the majority, they ARE America.
Update: Yesterday the Senate moved the Bill forward. Only 8 voted against it, including Senator Sanders, of course. Perhaps the House of Representatives will offer more opposition.

What follows comes from a post of mine written in 2008, after Senator Sanders had appeared on the TV show Real Time with Bill Maher.

Socialism. The very word strikes fear in the hearts of too many Americans. However, if a politician is shrewd enough to call it Populism - then it sneaks in by the back door. Bernie Sanders is too straightford a character to mince his words in order to pander to his public.

Socialism. It's impossible to define it in a few words. Researching the internet on the subject only serves to confuse a simple mind like mine. In the smallest of nutshells, and slightly tongue-in-cheek, the "2 Cows Philosophy" defines it thus:

A SOCIALIST:
You have two cows. The government takes one and gives it to your neighbor.
A REPUBLICAN:
You have two cows. Your neighbor has none. So what?

Interestingly, the same list also defines:

A CHRISTIAN: You have two cows. You keep one and give one to your neighbor.

Compare "A Socialist" with "A Christian". It's odd, isn't it, that in a country so proud of its Christian values, socialism is derided and feared ?

Throughout the show (Real Time) Bernie Sanders' responses elicited enthusiastic cheers from the audience. Granted, it was a largely liberal audience, but the fact that a socialist's words were accepted by them so graciously was a baby step forward. In the United States socialism is more often than not equated with communism. It's a serious mistake which has been fed to the public by right-wing pundits.

A quick look at the natal chart of Bernie Sanders then. Perhaps he has the astrological patterning to make a brand of socialism palatable to Americans.

Is there some reflection of his political leanings here? Aquarius planets perhaps, or strong Uranus - both have connections with socialist thinking. Born 8 September 1941, New York NY. No birth time known, so this is a chart set for noon on his date of birth. Ascending sign and exact degree of Moon in Aries not shown.



Hmmmm....no Aquarius (unless it was the rising sign, which we can't know without a birth time). His Sun lay smack-dab in the middle of Virgo indicating a discerning and critical nature, one that can separate the wheat from the chaff with consummate ease.

Mercury (mental processes and communication) is found in an early degree of the more tactful and dipolimatic Libra, and trines Uranus at 00 Gemini - here's that socialist rebel mindset of his! And.... Saturn is conjunct Uranus, albeit in a very late degree of adjacent sign, Taurus.

Saturn and Uranus are opposites in essence. Tradition versus the avant garde, the old versus the new, status quo versus change, capitalist versus socialist. Bernie Sanders has them well-blended in his personality blueprint!

The signs the two planets occupy, Gemini and Taurus, could also be said to represent opposite ideas - free thinking, adaptable (Gemini) and the more traditional fixed mind-set (Taurus). He has an innate understanding of traditional values, but with a yearning to modernise and improve them to fit 21st century needs, and the unusual talent of being able to communicate on both levels. These characteristics have helped him to make his brand of socialism acceptable in Vermont, one of the first 13 states, steeped in tradition, yet willing to step into the 21st century with Senator Sanders.