Arty Farty Friday ~ Photographer Lewis Hine - used the camera less for art more for social reform.

Lewis Hine was an American photographer during the first half of the 20th century - not an arty farty photographer, but one who used his camera as a tool to record social injustices, and child labor abuses, a means to raise awareness of the urgent need for reforms in a country growing so fast it could hardly keep up with itself.

He was born on 26 September 1874 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin (there's that state again!)

He studied sociology in college, became a teacher in New York, had the opportunity of using a camera as a tool in his teaching work, and was inspired by his interest in social welfare to photograph immigrants on Ellis Island.






A few years later he left teaching for the position of investigator and photographer for the National Child Labor Committee (NCLC), and for some 8 years travelled extensively photographing child-labor abuses in sweatshops and factories where children were employed. In order to gain entrance to these workplaces Hine would pose as salesman, insurance agent etc. With an ease of communication gained from his teaching days he was able to obtain information about the children's circumstances at home, requirements at work, etc. If a child's age remained unknown Hines would estimate it from their height against the buttons on his vest.

His photographs helped lead to the passage of child labor laws.

A little spinner in the Mollahan Mills, Newberry, S.C. She was tending her "sides" like a veteran, but after I took the photo, the overseer came up and said in an apologetic tone that was pathetic, "She just happened in." Then a moment later he repeated the information. The mills appear to be full of youngsters that "just happened in," or " are helping sister." Dec. 3, 08. Witness Sara R. Hine. Location: Newberry, South Carolina. Date Created/Published: 1908 December

"Rose Biodo, Philadelphia, 10 years old. Working 3 summers, minds baby and carries berries, two pecks at a time. Whites Bog, Brown Mills, N.J. This is the fourth week of school and the people expect to remain here two weeks more."
By Lewis Hine, September 28, 1910

Boys "linking" bed-springs. 14 and 15 years old. Location: Boston, Massachusetts. 1917.

Callie Campbell, 11 years old, picks 75 to 125 pounds of cotton a day, and totes 50 pounds of it when sack gets full. "No, I don't like it very much." Location: Potawotamie County, Oklahoma.

Flossie Britt, 6 years old has been working several months steadily as spinner in the Lumberton Cotton Mills. Makes 30 cents a day. Lonnie Britt, 7 years old has been working steadily for 1 year as spinner. Makes 40 cents a day. Ages and data given me by their grandmother at home, and I saw them going and coming early and late. 2 smallest in group. 1914.

Adolescent girls from Bibb Mfg. Co. in Macon, Georgia.

A couple of decades later, in 1930/1 Hine was commissioned to photograph the construction of the Empire State building. His photographs of workers in precarious positions while they secured the iron and steel framework of the structure, entailed his taking many of the same risks the workers endured.





During The Great Depression Hine worked for the Red Cross, photographing drought relief in the American South, and was chief photographer for the Works Progress Administration's (WPA) National Research Project, which studied changes in industry and their effect on employment.

His life ended in undeserved poverty, following loss of government and corporate patronage, and public disinterest in his work. He died aged 66 following an operation.

"There are two things I wanted to do. I wanted to show the things that had to be corrected. I wanted to show the things that had to be appreciated" - Lewis Wickes Hine

Sun, Jupiter and Mercury in Libra, sign of balance. Libra's symbol, the scales, is a universal symbol of justice and matches well Hine's aim to aid in the correction of society's injustices.

Natal Saturn (the law, limitation) at 7 Aquarius (social consciousness) harmoniously trines the three Libra planets bringing a pretty strong urge for social reform into Hine's makeup.

Photography is represented by Neptune in astrology. Here Neptune has just moved into Taurus - at 00 degree, with Moon in Aries (without birth time degree cannot be established). If Hine were born late in the day, though, Moon would have been close to Neptune, close enough to be considered conjunct - I'd guess this to be the case.

Saturn in Aquarius, as well as trining the Libra planets, is in opposition to Uranus in Leo. Such Saturn/Uranus oppiositions are always interesting. Symbolically they represent the traditional versus the avant garde, establishment values versus radical values. Here it's another echo of his Libran search for balance and justice.

Collection of Lewis Hine's child labor photographs with original captions and explanations by Hine at The History Place:

http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/childlabor/index.html

THE BROTHERS KOCH

Until the last few months the name Koch was known to me only as that of an astrological house system defined by German astrologer Walter Koch. Recently the surname has been mentioned frequently, but not in relation to astrology.

The Koch brothers, Charles and David, billionnaires are funding massive movements against left-wing political aims - even against aims a teensy-weensy bit left of hard-core centre-right, which is where President Obama seems to stand (on a good day). The brothers are known to fund The Tea Party as part of their opposition to any policies which would benefit ordinary Americans. Tea Partiers, who really should think about engaging their brains, are being manipulated - and dangerously so. More HERE touching on their hidden involvement in the current union-stripping attempts going on in Wisconsin.

Background:
A couple of paragraphs from Jane Mayer in her piece "Covert Operations" in the New Yorker, published last summer

With his brother Charles, who is seventy-four, David Koch owns virtually all of Koch Industries, a conglomerate, headquartered in Wichita, Kansas, whose annual revenues are estimated to be a hundred billion dollars. The company has grown spectacularly since their father, Fred, died, in 1967, and the brothers took charge. The Kochs operate oil refineries in Alaska, Texas, and Minnesota, and control some four thousand miles of pipeline. Koch Industries owns Brawny paper towels, Dixie cups, Georgia-Pacific lumber, Stainmaster carpet, and Lycra, among other products. Forbes ranks it as the second-largest private company in the country, after Cargill, and its consistent profitability has made David and Charles Koch—who, years ago, bought out two other brothers—among the richest men in America. Their combined fortune of thirty-five billion dollars is exceeded only by those of Bill Gates and Warren Buffett.

The Kochs are longtime libertarians who believe in drastically lower personal and corporate taxes, minimal social services for the needy, and much less oversight of industry—especially environmental regulation. These views dovetail with the brothers’ corporate interests. In a study released this spring, the University of Massachusetts at Amherst’s Political Economy Research Institute named Koch Industries one of the top ten air polluters in the United States.

A look at the brothers' natal charts might pinpoint a possible source of their destructive power - destructive to ordinary people, constructive, however, to their own fortune and amassing of even more power.

I can find no times of birth, so have set the charts for noon. Ascending signs and Moon positions will not be accurate.






I'm looking only for indications of power/wealth as mentioned, not for general personality traits etc. First thought/guesses: outer planet(s) will be closely linked to personal planets in some way.

David, the younger brother, has Sun wedged between Uranus and Saturn in Taurus.
Taurus is one of the signs I'd expect to see highlighted. It's an Earth sign, thought to embrace luxury, quality, and the good things of life, and is ruled by Venus. Sun conjunct both Uranus and Saturn in this sign is quite something!
Saturn keeps it conservative, while Uranus, the eccentric planet tends toward disruption of some sort.

The elder brother, Charles, has Sun in Scorpio opposed by Uranus in Taurus, bringing the flavour of disruptive Uranus into his chart via the Sun also. Saturn is linked to his Sun too, this time by trine from Pisces.

So both brothers have Saturn and Uranus linking to their natal Suns, and their natal Suns are opposite one another.

Usually, if looking to identify a source of power I'd look at Pluto, but here, I think Uranus allied with Saturn and connected to their Suns seems to be doing the trick. Pluto might have a hand in it all, even so. With regard to current transits: the main connection I notice is that transiting Pluto in early Capricorn will have been close to Charles Koch's natal Mars during past months, and quite likely close to his his Moon, which was at 10 Capricorn at noon. Pluto transiting a personal planet will always leave a mark of transformatory change - in his case, a raising of public profile, for good or ill.

Any thoughts from passing readers will be most welcome.

Across the Great (gender) Divide

A topic at Nourishing Obscurity blog a few days ago caught my interest. "Can Men & Women Ever Be Just Friends?"
I resisted commenting initially, then later found that a commenter had responded much as I'd have done, i.e. (in a nutshell) that the trick is to look on people as people, not sexes. This is a topic I've argued on many times, blogged about on occasion too. However, I'm guilty of slipping into the gender trap myself at times, we all are. The issue rests upon stereotypical ideas which we are reluctant to relinquish, in some ways akin to the stereotypying that can go on (if the astrologer isn't careful) in Sun sign astrology.

While searching for something else yesterday I came across an old post of mine from March 2008 which touches on a related topic. The post: He & She or We was inspired by a conversation with a relative and friend (husband's son-in-law). Because the topic, in various guises, never seems to lose fascination I've decided to re-air the archived post, not because of anything scintillating I had written on the subject, but for the extract from an excellent article by Steven and Jodie Forrest the post contained.

HE & SHE or WE

A brief e-mail exchange at the weekend brought me back to a subject I've argued on more than a few times. Male and female - are they really so different? I've never subscribed to that old "men are from Mars, women are from Venus" rubbish.

My e-mail correspondent (the husband's son-in-law)wrote:
"I do believe, however, that female and male priorities and methods differ, and that the difference is based on physiological and psychological factors that are innate."

That was in reply to my:

"Maybe I'm a feminist with a small f, though I prefer to think there's little difference between male and female when you get past the obvious dangly bits and wobbly bits. We're all just humans, fighting to be thought of as such, irrespective of gender, orientation, nationality, race, colour, ethnicity."

Trying to sort out a reply which covered my own view but didn't entirely disagree with his, I floundered around the internet for clues and happened upon this excellent article by highly respected astrologers Steven and Jodie Forrest.
"Border Wars: Male - Female".

I'll take the liberty of copying a few paragraphs from the long article; reading it in full is highly recommended.

"Many years ago we met a man who impressed us greatly. His name was J. C. Eaglesmith. He was Native American, a holder of the Sacred Pipe, a veteran of the ordeal known as the Sun Dance. A former marine who served in combat in Vietnam, he weighed maybe 250 pounds and most of it looked like muscle. In short, when it came to masculinity, he made the average tough guy look like your grandmother's knitting.

He stood before us at a conference, talking about "male" and "female" and what those words really mean. His eyes steady, his face impassive, he addressed us in his deep baritone. "I am half woman." A moment's pause, a hint of a smile, then: "My mother was one."

We all laughed. So did J. C. But what he said was true. Physically he is a man. But that just diagrams his plumbing. Once we recognize that a human being is far more than a mass of cells and bones, we enter the realm of mystery. And in that realm no one is as simple as a beard or a breast.

Humanity is realizing this, and it's knocking the stilts out from under a picture of the world that's held us in thrall for ten thousand years. "I am half woman." "I am half man." Those words represent a revolution just as profound as the discovery that the Earth is a sphere floating in the void.

Male and female. What do the terms really signify? Apart from anatomy, perhaps no one really knows. Women cry more than men, but why? Are women inherently more emotional or have they been trained that way? Men are more aggressive. Again, why? Testosterone -- or training? No one knows. Nature and nurture are inseparable. What we intrinsically are blends seamlessly with what we have been taught to imagine we are."

Astrology is referenced in this context mainly by the Sun and Moon, signifying "the masculine" and "the feminine" respectively. The Sun and Moon form a very important part of every astrological natal chart, equally important whether the chart belongs to a man or a woman.The authors go on to say:

"Does astrology, arguably the truest mirror in humanity's possession, suggest that there are no psychic or spiritual differences between men and women? The truth is, astrology's rather mum on the subject. But it certainly implies that, whatever those differences might be, we've spent a lot of years and a lot of lives overestimating, exaggerating, and misdefining them. Every man has a Moon. Every woman has a Sun. One of the darkest skeletons in astrology's closet is the fact that astrologers were not the first to point out that awkward fact.

Still, we have that cryptic clue in the sky: the Sun and the Moon shine down on all of us, whether we start the morning with shaving cream or a choice of skirts. And if there's anything to astrology, then the Sun and the Moon resonate somehow in every one of us, unless we collude in the ancient deception.

How did this whole mess start? Let's go way, way back, long before cities, before agriculture, before the peaceful years of the Neolithic; back into the first ninety-nine percent of our species' history."

The authors go on to explain that back in the mists of time male and female were forced by circumstance to deny or, we could say delegate, their "other" side. Males because of their superior strength had to kill to eat and to survive. In the act of killing they needed to supress their compassionate feminine side, which the male, through necessity, thrust on the female. Similarly the female, hamstrung by bearing children and nurturing them, often watching them die in harsh circumstances, had to supress her anger and frustration or all humanity might have died. She thrust the responsibilty for anger and violence upon the male... "let him be the one to have enough pride and illusions of glory to rage against nature's heavy hand".

So, both son-in-law and I may be partially correct. Every one of us is cut from the same cloth, but through evolution and force of circumstance we've been bent out of shape.

A couple more paragraphs:

"Today, many women are rediscovering the Sun. It heals them, makes them whole. They are finding their solar power: their self-reliance, their voice, their creativity, their ability to shape the myths, symbols, and future of society.
Meanwhile, men are beginning to rediscover the Moon. They too are healed and made whole as they reabsorb their own lost lunar capacity to love, to ask for help, to cry, to feel, to nurture.

That's the good news.

The bad news is that both women and men are terribly out of practice with their Suns and Moons. They don't know quite what to do with them yet. As this epochal reintegration takes place, there is a period of awkwardness. Like a blind man whose vision has been restored, the acquisition of these "new" solar and lunar functions causes both genders to spend a while bumping into things."

(Steven and Jodie Forrest's website can be found HERE)

Transcending the Natal Chart??

I recall, from the times I read and contributed to a couple of astrology message boards, a conversation about transcending astrology - or transcending one's natal chart. I'm not into evolutionary astrology, and I suspect it 's from that genre the idea of this type of transcendance originates.

I could never quite grasp how one could, or would wish to, transcend something that is so entirely a part of self as the natal chart, unless one had an unhealthy dose of self-hatred. A person might wish to learn how to deal with a difficult placement or transit, but transcend? I don't see it.

What's the opposite of transcendance?

Immanence, derived from Latin in manere = to remain within.
Transcendance literal meaning (from Latin) = climbing or going beyond.
Can we "go beyond" what we essentially are? We can put it to optimum use, but that's not transcending it.

George Harrison's song Within You Without You talks about another kind of transcendance:

Last verse

When you've seen beyond yourself
then you may find
peace of mind is waiting there
And the time will come
when you see we're all one
and life flows on within you and without you.

I don't accept that any of that involves transcending one's natal chart though. A person can meditate and shift their mind into a different gear, or do something similar by taking drugs of some kind. None of that involves transcending astrology - from my perspective of what astrology actually is, anyway.

Music Monday: Bossa Nova ~ Jobim, Getz, Gilberto, Moraes.

Bossa Nova, described as "a quiet revolution in Brazilian music", was originally built on the samba, a Brazilian dance style which, in turn, originated in Africa.

The "quiet revolution" began in the 1950s, born in the wealthy neighborhoods that sprouted along the beaches of the city of Rio de Janeiro. Music and lyrics were composed by middle and upper-class musicians and marketed to the same economic group. For this reason, Bossa Nova was criticized by some for emphasizing a carefree way of living that little resembled the life of most Brazilians, the great majority of which belonged to the working class. Bossa Nova compositions often spoke of love, the beach, and beautiful women and seemed to be a depiction of the composers' bohemian lifestyle rather than a tale of Brazilians' daily struggles, as usually happened with samba, a music genre popular among the working class.
(More here)


But that was long ago, and it's a pity to get all political about this now. Let's concentrate on the artists who brought Bossa Nova (translation: new trend, new flair) to the North American and European public in the form of songs such as Girl From Ipanema, Desefinado, Meditation, Wave, Corcovado, Dindi, How Insensitive : musicians João Gilberto & Antonio Carlos Jobim, and poet/lyricist (among other things) Vinicius de Moraes .







The musical history of the three is intertwined, Jobim was instrumental in bringing Gilberto's style to a wider public, and Vinicius's beautiful lyrics (as translated) made the music all the more accessible to listeners in the USA and Europe, as did the artistry of saxophonist Stan Getz.



Jobim and Gilberto left and right of Stan Getz.


Jobim and Vinicius

Corcovado ("Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars") - music and original lyrics composed by Antonio Carlos Jobim, lyrics translated by Gene Wells. Male vocals: João Gilberto, saxophone solo: Stan Getz. Lovely photographs of Rio too!

ASTROLOGY

So then, is the astrology of Jobim/Gilberto/Getz/Moraes intertwined too?

Antonio Carlos Jobim (nickname Tom Jobim) born 25 January 1927 at 11:15 PM and (according to Astrodatabank using data from Jobim's Brazilian astrologer) in Capivari, Brazil.
Stan Getz born 2 February 1927 in Philadelphia PA. (No time of birth available - chart set for 12 noon)
João Gilberto born 10 June 1931 at 7:00 AM in Juazeiro, Brazil (Astrodatabank).
Vinicius de Moraes born 19 October 1913 at 5:10 AM in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (Astrodatabank).

Very briefly (each of these really deserves a post of his own!) :

All four guys have Sun in an Air sign, two in Aquarius (Jobim & Getz), Gilberto in Gemini, Moraes in Libra. That is the prime link between all four of them. They'd enjoy an easy understanding of one another.





Jobim and Getz were born around a week apart - both have 3 personal planets in Aquarius, and outer planets are in in same signs for both. Not surprising with a good dose of Aquarius in his chart that Stan Getz had an immediate "feel" for triple Aquarian Jobim's new (nova) music. Aquarius represents all that's new - bossa nova was new.








(To enlarge a chart, click on it.)

WEEKEND WANDER: Matt Damon Speaks Out ~~~ Idol's Top 13 ~~~ Mardi Gras

When I read that movie actor Matt Damon had "called out Obama", criticising recent action, or lack of it, by the President, I immediately looked up Damon's birth data. "There has to be something Uranian or Aquarian in this guy's chart", thought I.

The liberal or mildly leftish bent of most inhabitants of the movie world has been pretty hard to notice recently. The starry ones are keeping their lips buttoned, perhaps because they are doing very well under current circumstances and do not wish to rock the projector. Damon, however, has dared to voice criticism. Good for him!

During the 2008 Presidential campaign, Damon was a vocal Obama supporter, campaigning for the then-candidate at rallies, promoting him through a MoveOn video contest and attending fundraisers for him.

Now, he's not so enthused about Obama. When asked if he was happy with the way the President is running the country, Damon said, point blank, "no."
(From article linked above).

Here's his natal chart, from data at Astrodatabank: born 8 October 1970 in Boston MA, at 3:22 PM.



For a straight ahead interpretation of his natal chart by astrologer Marjorie Orr see HERE.

For confirmation of my expectation that Uranus and/or Aquarius have a hand in Damon's inclination to speak out see Aquarius rising, Sun conjunct Uranus!

QED.

Such things are NOT coincidence. Such things are astrology!




AND IN OTHER NEWS

Back row left to right: James, Naima, Jacob, Thia, Karen, Stefano, Lauren.
Front row left to right: Paul, Ashton, Pia, Casey, Haley, Scotty.

American Idol has at last reached the (relatively) sensible stage with top 13 finalists chosen. They are set to battle it out until late May. This year has thrown up a very respectable bunch of vocalists. There isn't really a weak link in the 13-singer chain. There are two or three absolute stand-outs, who have stood out from their first note in the first audition. These include Casey, a guy who looks like a character from Fraggle Rock, sometimes plays big double bass as accompaniment and has a very identifiable style and voice; Scotty, a 17 year-old guy with a deep voice, and from what we've heard so far, can sing "proper" country better than just about anybody except Merle Haggard; Jacob, a young guy with incredible vocal power and energy; Paul, a "quirky" (yes there's always one) lad with an engaging wide, white smile and raspy voice. There's Ashton, a mini Diana Ross look-alike with emotional power and voice to match picked by judges as a "wild card"; and Naima another wild card pick who also fits the "quirky" category, she picked by Steven Tyler, calling her "my little Porgy and Bess all rolled into one". (No birth dates available yet, so can't investigate contestants' astrology.)

Speaking of Steven Tyler, on Thursday evening he was wearing a gorgeous deep pink shirt with a big ruffle at the front - gotta get me one of those!

Another tid-bit from Thursday's show: a little bit of what I'll call "instant karma" was on display when two guys, both talented singers from the top 24 were voted out by viewers. These two had made a mark in the Group Round some weeks back as being extremely arrogant and selfish. The judges seemed to forgive them and included them in the final 24. The viewers didn't forgive! Or perhaps the judges had privately decided "let's throw 'em to the lions!" Instant karma, and a lesson for the learning.





AND, finally:

Coming up this week, on 8 March, in New Orleans: Mardi Gras!

C'mon take me to the Mardi Gras
Where the people sing and play
Where the dancing is elite
And there's music in the street
Both night and day

Hurry take me to the Mardi Gras
In the city of my dreams
You can legalize your lows
You can wear your summer clothes
In New Orleans

And I will lay my burden down
Rest my head upon that shore
And when I wear that starry crown
I won't be wanting anymore

Take your burdens to the Mardi Gras
Let the music wash your soul
You can mingle in the street
You can jingle to the beat of Jelly Roll
Tumba, tumba, tumba, Mardi Gras
Tumba, tumba, tumba, day

Mm------------

Arty Farty Friday ~ Alexa Meade ~ Illusion

For this Friday I aimed to find a painter or photographer whose work could be said to display at least one facet of what Pisces, and its planetary rulers Neptune and Jupiter are said to represent, astrologically. The subject need not necessarily have Sun in Pisces.

I found this young lady: Alexa Meade.


When a painter decides to paint, say, a portrait of a man sitting on a chair, or a bowl of apples, he/she transfers the likeness of same, as perceived, onto canvas or sketch pad. Alexa Meade, though, having made the same decision: to paint a man sitting on a chair or a bowl of apples - does just that: literally paints the man - and the chair, and the bowl and the apples ! Then she displays her work - and photographs it for posterity.

Alexa Meade's artwork is a mixture of painterly skills, clever trompe l'oeil , installation art and photography. To be as successful, as she is rapidly becoming, is no small achievement for someone not formally trained in art. Ms Meade graduated from Vassar College with a bachelor’s degree in political science. I'm tempted to say that the optical illusions in her art connect quite clearly to the optical illusions created by political conduct and practices in the USA! Perhaps her political studies lay embedded somewhere beneath this fresh perspective in art she has created!

Here the real becomes the art - and therefore the art becomes real!
In this brief video presentation Ms Meade explains:




Astrologically one would expect some predominant Pisces, or its rulers Neptune/Jupiter (illusion, photograpahy, creativity) to show up natally, as well as, perhaps, Uranus/Aquarius (inventive, avant garde, new) for what she is doing is inventing a new style of art.

Let's see:

She was born in Washington DC on 3 September 1986. Her time of birth isn't known, so Moon sign/degree and rising sign as shown will not be accurate.



Keeping it brief this time, because all I'm looking to identify is a reflection of Ms Meade's gravitation towards a blend of illusion and reality - key to her artwork.
I see it in the positions of Neptune (@ 3* Capricorn) and Saturn (@ 3* Sagittarius).
These are in semi-sextile (30 degree) aspect to one another, astrologically a mildly helpful aspect. More importantly, though Neptune, planet of illusion is in Capricorn, sign of reality/practicality, and Saturn, planet of reality/practicality is in Sagittarius, sign of exaggeration. See how that works? It's an an astrological reflection, almost exact in fact, of the artist's chosen style.

NEPTUNE

Modern ruler of zodiac sign Pisces is Neptune. Before 1846, and the discovery of Neptune, both Pisces and Sagittarius had been ruled by Jupiter.

Enquiring minds would like to know exactly why Neptune was so called, who decided on that name for the new planet, who defined the characteristics allocated to it, and why it was decided to assign to it rulership of Pisces. Skyscript offers some information on the question of naming this planet, but it doesn't completely satisfy my annoying need for clarity. Partial answer, acording to Wikipedia:

After Neptune was discovered, the Bureau des Longitudes proposed the name Neptune and the familiar trident for the planet's symbol.

Another source (here) offers this:

The naming of Neptune couldn’t follow the cosmogony of Greco-Roman myth because Uranus, the planet inside Neptune’s orbit, was named after the father of creation so astronomers chose to name this newest member of Sol’s planetary family after the ruler of the sea.

Elsewhere we are told that Neptune's symbol, or glyph, represents, rather than Neptune's trident, "the crescent of personality pierced by the cross of matter".

I'm tempted to respond petulantly: "Whatever!"

How Neptune came to represent the list of characteristics/keywords we regularly trot out remains just another of astrology's little mysteries - appropriately Neptunian. For the most part it works out quite well.

"Ours not to reason why".

Neptune takes around 165 years to circle the Sun, and will remain in each zodiac sign for around 14 years. Its significance, then, is generational rather than individual. How Neptune links to the faster-moving personal planets (or not) is key to whether Neptunian characteristics will manifest clearly in a personality.


Ingrid Lind in her little book Astrology and Commonsense, long out of print, had this to say about Neptune's role in a natal chart:

Like Uranus, this planet has no traditional sign rulership but has affinity with the sign Pisces.

Keywords: nebulousness, impressionability.

As keywords suggest, Neptune is unreliable and elusive. In a strong chart, where its contribution is disposed of by an otherwise steady and forceful personality, much benefit may be derived through the prominence of the Neptunian quality in such matters as charm, personal magnetism, poetry, inspiration or spirituality. In anotherwise weak chart, or one lacking in "roots" or commonsense, even a well-aspected Neptune must be read with distrust as it will tend to manifest in sensationalism or escapism. It really takes a strong and sane man to control the Neptune in him. Where people of genius are excused the uncontrolled exhibition of artistic temperament, in the lesser men it is usually regarded at least as a bore.

Neptunian qualities show clearly in musician or actor as sensitivity of interpretation and sense of audience. In fact, the subtle difference between genius and technician lies in the former's power to use this elusive element in his makeup.

Not all, of course, who have Neptune strong show artistic or literary talent, let alone genius; but occupations to do with the sea, liquids, drugs, anaesthetics and entertainment (providing sensation for others) offer the Neptune quality a wide range. It is interesting to note that all these occupations involve danger or harmfulness in excess.

When Neptune conjoins or closely aspects a personal planet in a natal chart I like to interpret this in much the same way as in transits of the other two outer planets. As I remarked in a comment yesterday:

The outer planets have gathered individual and specific interpretations as a stone gathers moss. Most seem to fit pretty well. However, I often think that, because outer planet cycles are so long, and humans or other entities (eg. national charts) receive a "visit" from each very infrequently, if at all in recorded history, when such a visit (transit) does occur it will inevitably be a flag for something special, something noticeable. This could also be expressed simply, and possibly more accurately, as indicating "a change of some sort", without recourse to the specific interpretations the outer in question has gathered.

REFLECTIONS of 1968

There have been some clear "tipping points" throughout the world's history. Whether we're presently living through another of these remains to be seen....it's starting to have that smell about it though. Yesterday's guest post by Gian Paul reminded me of one year that has since become known as a "tipping point", and led me to dig around in the 2007 archives for a post about the year 1968. It was originally sparked by a reference to journalist Dahr Jamail, author of Beyond the Green Zone. I discovered that Dahr Jamail was born in 1968, into the atmosphere of tumult, unrest and change that year brought with it. From a book review (now disappeared) of Beyond the Green Zone:

"Soon after the US invasion of Iraq in March 2003, Jamail emptied his savings, bought a plane ticket to Iraq, and began writing about what he saw as an independent reporter from the war zone. His missives were sorely needed by those people looking for a side of the story not being told by the so-called embedded media and soon his stories were being published in multiple internet outlets, radio programs and even some newspapers....... the book is a riveting and clearly written piece of journalism that puts the pap most US residents consider as news to shame."

A re-airing the rest of my 2007 post:

Without much astrological knowledge, it is possible to see astrology at work. Here's an example of how the qualities of a single year can be crystalised and reflected back many years later by some of those born within that time frame.

How about that year, 1968? Anything special about it? A synopsis of Mark Kurlansky's book 1968, The Year that Rocked the World threw some light on this.

"1968 was a year of political upheaval and protest around the world. In the U.S., there were the assassinations of Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King, the antiwar protests, the Chicago riot at the Democratic National Convention, and the Apollo 8 mission around the Moon. In Vietnam, the Tet offensive was underway. Protests in France began the downfall of Charles de Gaulle's government. Soviet tanks rolled into Prague to quell the rebellion there. Mexico City police opened fire on university protesters. Mark Kurlansky documents these events and more that occurred in 1968, and examines the cultural forces that drew them altogether across the world."

An exceptional year! 1968 is described elsewhere as "a benchmark of unrest, tumult, and change."

Astrology tells us that those born during that time are bound to bear its imprint - some more clearly than others.

From a list of birthdays in 1968 , among the usual gaggle of actors, musicians, sportsmen, three names leapt off the screen: Mohammed Atta (said to have masterminded 9/11 attacks, and died in them), Timothy McVeigh, (the notorious Oklahoma City Bomber), and Ramzi Yousef (mastermind of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing). The astrology of that tumultuous year had certainly left its imprint on those three characters, and in the worst possible way! Dahr Jamail, however, carries the positive side of the same imprint.

It's necessary, for a moment, to blank one's mind to the horror and tragedy that Atta, McVeigh and Yousef individually caused, and look at their motives. They each had what they saw as "a cause" which they sought to further. They chose the wrong route - a route of destruction and death. Dahr Jamail too has a cause, but in him it is manifested in a noble and more enlightened way. His "cause" is to let the public see the truth. He furthers it in a way dangerous only to himself. The causes of these four men spookily reflect qualities of the year of their birth, 1968, when numerous events, both tragic and noble occurred, all in pursuit of "causes".

Pluto's transit during 1968 took in 22 to 25 degrees Virgo, with Uranus retrograding from 29 to 25 Virgo then proceeding into Libra by October. Neptune started the year at 25 Scorpio and after some retrograde motion finished in December at 27 Scorpio.

All the outer planets, then, were in the last ten degrees of Virgo or Scorpio for most of the year, often within conjunction (same degree or near) and/or sextile (60*). In the summer months Saturn at between 21 and 25 Aries would have been inconjunct (150*) some of the outer planets.

I'm not going to attempt to interpret those configurations, except to describe the qualities of the three planets involved. Pluto is known as the planet of transformation (sometimes involving death). Uranus is planet of change and revolution. Saturn is planet of laws, rules, structure, representing the establishment and "status quo". Neptune is planet of illusion, delusion, and dreams. The fact that these astrologically powerful planets were so closely aligned during 1968 has to have a very significant connection to the world changing events happening then, as well as to the qualities born into some of the year's natives.

WILL ASTROLOGY ONE DAY BE DECLARED A SCIENCE?

GUEST POST BY GIAN PAUL, IN BRAZIL

To be exact, one should say "re-declared a science" as astrology was considered to have been so in ancient, Babylonian times (the Sumer civilization of which we know very little).

But why is the question again permitted today? Last week I discovered that the ongoing intensive sunspot eruptions had reached Brazil (and not just the North- and South poles). This was amply announced by the press, and in particular a NASA sponsored publication on the internet: Spaceweather.com (very recommendable).

The possibility of electrical black-outs at this time, given the intensity of the sun's activity at any place in the world, was recently being indicated as probable. Last time this happened was some years ago in Quebec when the power grid there went down for several days and left some millions of Canadians without power. So while I was looking at the eerie spectacle of various lights (both 220 and 110 volt) in my house dancing and flashing and even the sounds and alarms of my computer changing from normal, I thought that probably it was better to shut down everything before there could be some damage.

I also feared that we might be without power for some days. And on one day the power went down indeed, fortunately for only about 2 hours. Then the lights came back, but with some flickering still going on in the stabilizer I use to protect computer and stereo equipement around here.

At the same time in recent days, as well as the news story about unusual sun-flare activity, there were also scientific reports coming out that cell-phones are accelerating the functioning of the human brain. No word about possibly causing cancer of course, as that would be disastrous for the Motorolas, Blueberries etc. of this modern world.




Now where is the "Astrology" in all that?

The sun-spot cycle is known since almost 200 years now to have a duration of around 11-12 years. The University of Zurich has kept these records. I used to observe the stockmarket and commodity cycles (Kondratieff's theory) and had found an interesting book in New York (where else?) written by a former director of CON - ED, (Continental Edison), David Williams was the author's name. This man had observed a correlation between the stockmarket, commodities and the blackouts his utility was periodically suffering (and the New Yorkers with it) - and the sun spot cycles. He also was a very competent astrologer, born in Leeds, England on September 20, 1897, Sun in Virgo, Moon in Cancer and Leo rising. He was a past President of the Astrologers' Guild of America and past President of the American Federation of Astrologers as well as a member of the N.Y. Academy of Sciences. Briefly, an interesting man...

Just one more non-astrological detail: Williams mentions in his book Financial Astrology (Library of Congress No. 82-073126) the correlation between El Ninho, that 12 year weather cycle observed by the Peruvians and which affects all sorts of things: fertilizer, formerly mostly fishmeal, hence the role of Peruvian fishermen, influencing commodities. In some years, when there are few anchovies, it's too expensive for generous application, crop yields consequently drop, prices go up etc.

The correlation for El Ninho and many other observable phenomena is the 11-12 years sun-spot cycle. And here comes now the astrological element:

Jupiter needs 11-12 years to rotate around the Sun. Could it be him who influences the Sun's radioactive and magnetic emissions? I firmly think so.

But there are other planets. Why, if Jupiter has an influence, would the other planets not have some influence of their own as well? Probably they do have, only the influence Jupiter has is likely predominant, given his weight and size and relative proximity to the Sun. To my knowledge no human so far has observed what influence on the Sun the other planets may have - or most probably do have.

One more step, for whom still has the patience to continue:

If cell-phones (emiting electromagnetic radiation similar to the sun's) are accelerating (and we do not yet know what else) the human brain, the sun's activity must do the same, and more intensely at, or close to, the peak of sunspot eruptions.

Is Jupiter's influence on humans therefore coming to us indirectly via the Sun, i.e. in the form of some cyclical 11-12 year extra, Jupiterian/solar stimulation?

If that is so, what about the other planets? They may as well "use" the Sun by imprinting some cyclicality onto the Sun's radiation and quantic emissions.

It sounds very complex. Maybe that's why so far nobody may have been able to scientifically observe and examine what I am intuitively proposing here. But if there is some truth to what is a bit summarily exposed here, one could well understand why periodically people "start revolutions" or even go to war. Even before Twitter, Facebook etc. existed, these events tended to be well coordinated, all over the world (e.g.May 1968).

And for the skeptics, that's where astrology, at least in some of it's parts, may again be proven to be a science, or not less of a science than so many other human endevours.