Today's Festivals

January 14th marks the Indian festival of Makar Sankranti (and variations of spelling). This is a mid-winter Hindu festival in India and Nepal. The festival is celebrated, in different ways in different parts of India. It marks the transition of the Sun from Sagittarius to Capricorn, as calculated sidereally rather than tropically, during the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere (or the beginning of Uttarayana).

Makar Sankranti is a major harvest festival celebrated in various parts of India. According to the lunar calendar, when the sun moves from the Tropic of Cancer to the Tropic of Capricorn or from Dakshinayana to Uttarayana, in the month of Poush in mid-January, it commemorates the beginning of the harvest season and cessation of the northeast monsoon in South India. The movement of the earth from one zodiac sign into another is called Sankranti and as the Sun moves into the Capricorn zodiac known as Makar in Hindi, this occasion is named as Makar Sankranti in the Indian context. It is one of the few Hindu Indian festivals which are celebrated on a fixed date i.e. 14th January every year. (See here).

.January 14th was also.....

The Feast of the Ass (Latin: Festum Asinorum or asinaria festa, French: Fête de l'âne) a medieval, Christian feast celebrating the biblical Flight into Egypt. It was celebrated primarily in France, as a by-product of the Feast of Fools celebrating the donkey-related stories in the Bible, in particular the donkey bearing the Holy Family into Egypt after Jesus's birth. This feast may represent a Christian adaptation of the pagan feast Cervulus/Cervula, held at the Kalends of January, when people dressed in the hides of deer or stags and performed various activities later considered to be profane. By the 16th century the Feast of the Ass had disappeared, as had the Feast of Fools.

An unrelated tidbit I picked up while reading about the above: the origin of the English expression "fortnight" (2 weeks) is from the German. Germans used to count their calendar by nights rather than days, so: "fourteen nights". The expression hasn't reached the shores of the USA, as far as I can tell - at least it hasn't reached Oklahoma, for hereabouts I get a puzzled look if ever I accidentally come out with it.

The Astrology of Blogging

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As I cast around for ideas, drafting outline posts for the next few days, a comment relating to a post from way back in December 2006 arrived for moderation: "The Astrology of Blogging". I skimmed through the old piece, updated and edited it - I reckon it can stand a re-airing. Comments from 2006, as well as the recent one are included.

What astrological factors would incline a person to become a blogger? The words 'blog' and 'blogger' grate on me, I realise they are contractions of 'weblog' and 'weblogger', and we're stuck with them, but I don't like them. For me they have an unattractive vibe, but no doubt I shall learn to love them - in time. (I have learned!)

Mercury has to be the foremost influence in blogging, as in any form of writing, and communication in general. We all have Mercury somewhere in our charts, but those with Mercury aspected by Saturn and/or positioned close to one of the angles would be more inclined to write for the love of it. Mercury will come through loud and clear in Gemini, Virgo, or in 3rd, 11th, or 7th houses where the planet is most "at home". That in itself might not incline a person to writing, especially to writing a blog. There is need for a certain amount of Saturnian discipline to sit at the computer and write on a regular basis, with no incentive other than the love of doing it, or the satisfaction of receiving comments. Carrying adverts might offer monetary gain, but I'd guess this is not substantial, except in the case of a small minority of expert or celebrity bloggers.

All blog topics and styles will have their individual astrological influence, in addition to the parts played by Mercury and Saturn. Politics, the arts and entertainment, religion, travel, pictorial, family, straightforward journal entries about life in general - all will have received a kick-start from some astrological factor in the blogger's chart.

Does this theory work in my own case? I have Mercury in Capricorn (Saturn's influence) and close to the descendant angle giving the planet strength. So far, so good.

I felt most inclined to write about astrology. Sun in 8th house can incline one towards occult interests (astrology is not the occult, but it's in the same ballpark). Mercury in my chart is trine Neptune and Uranus. Neptune inspires creativity, Uranus is said to have links with astrology, so writing about astrology was a good choice for me. I include art, authors, entertainment, politics and travel in my blog from time to time, try to keep topics varied, because my own interests are varied, as befits my "splash" pattern natal chart.

What differentiates the act of writing for one's own amusement, from writing a blog though? Publishing. Only the lucky, rich or very talented are likely to have their words or pictures published for the potential delight (?) of others....unless via blogs.

Jupiter rules publishing, due to the expansive nature of that planet. Publishing = expanding readership. In my own case Jupiter is in Pisces (its traditional home) and very close to the midheaven angle making it strong, and maybe producing an urge to publish?

There are no boundaries, no deadlines in blogging. The blogger is their own boss, editor and censor, which is wonderful for a freedom-lover like myself.

Comments - First two from 2006, third from 2010:

Neat entry! Found you via Jeffrey Kishner's Lunar Tunes blog. I've been blogging away (yes: it's not just an annoying noun, it's also an annoying verb!) for two years now, along with my other writing, and I can support your Mercury / Jupiter thesis. I've got Mercury (in the 9th) opposed Jupiter (in Aquarius) and Saturn, and Aquarius ruling the third house, so I suppose blogging was my destiny. Or my curse. Or something! (April)

April is at http://www.bigskyastrology.com/

Here comes another confirmation!
I blog on astrology and have Saturn in the third house trine Mercury in the 7th. Jupiter is in the 6th house of Gemini(ruled by Mercury). My ascendant is Sagittarius so that comes into the picture as well. Uranus is in Virgo trine Mercury and opposite Saturn. This explains why I keep rewriting my posts, there is a need to be perfect here.
Bye and keep your blog going!
(Have you considered looking at all the air planets, houses and signs to explain weblogging too? I am writing on a piece from that point of view. Talk to you later)
Miriam

(Unfortuntely,Miriam's blog is no longer at the address given in 2006).

(My reply)Yes, I'm sure the air signs and houses play a big part in our pastime of blogging, allied with Jupiter the publishing planet - without which we'd just be scribbling in our notepads! I think the air signs/houses give us the itch to write, and communicate, but Jupiter leads us to communicate WIDELY (or at least the hope that hope we do!) :-)

I am a Gemini rising with retrograde Mercury on my IC, just inside the third house. Love writing, love word play. I reckon the moon in Leo in 3rd also makes me a bit of an attention seeker, lol!
Alex
http://alextrenoweth.blogspot.com/

Hi Alex ~~~ Ha! Thanks for popping in and commenting on this old post.
Yes, you fit the blogging bill well! I'll resurrect an edited version of the post later this week.

TWO MINDS .....

I noticed the name of a well-known American mentalist among today's birthdays : The Amazing Kreskin. I did a little light research which threw up the name of another of the USA's once famous mentalists: Joseph Dunninger. It might be an interesting exercise to compare their natal charts.






Kreskin does not claim to be in any way psychic He claims only that he "perceives and influences people's thoughts, both mentally and through suggestion." He does insist on regularly making predictions about mundane events though, which seems to me to be a bit of a contradiction. Perhaps he's just a showman at heart, an entertainer, willing to make wild guesses for passing effect.

There's a piece about Kreskin at The Leary Letter


Joseph Dunninger, from what I've read, may have relied on a more psychic-type gift, while at the same time being a consummate showman and self-marketer. He was drawn to magic at the young age of 5 years, and was performing, aged 7.

From Cometa Magico Biographies:

He would doodle while he called out names, initials, or numbers thought of by some member of his audience. When somebody identified the information as their own, Dunninger would spell out names, read social security numbers, or serial numbers from dollar bills. He would reveal word for word phrases merely written by a spectator. He usually concluded such a reading by asking "Are you thinking of the word 'amazing'? Is it in reference to me? Thank you very much". It's of note that Dunninger, perhaps because of his war against fraudulent mediums, never claimed supernatural or psychic powers in his thought-reading. He never even claimed to be a mind-reader. In performance, Dunninger referred to his ability as "telesthesia", an impression received by a sense organ, but not a usual sense organ, and sometimes received from a distance. He described the process simply: "You pick up a vivid impression from another mind and others follow or suggest themselves. But it isn't mind-reading; it is thought reading. When a series of such thought impressions come in fairly close in succession, it takes on the semblance of mind reading, though if you check back, you may find that you have added links of your own making, just as you might piece together the fragments of a dream to form a waking continuity" Dunninger was a master of his craft, possessed of a thorough knowledge of his art. When describing the necessary techniques for a successful blindfold drive, Dunninger noted, "Any competent performer should know how to size up a committee and handle them accordingly. Otherwise he shouldn't be posing as a mentalist."

A brief look at their natal charts then, to focus only on a potential source of their unusual talents.

Joseph Dunninger born New York, New York, 28 April 1892. Astrodatabank, oddly, has no page for him, nor does Astrotheme, so no time of birth is available. A 12 noon chart is shown, rising sign and Moon degree will not be accurate.



Immediately my eye goes to Pluto conjunct Neptune, especially as natal Moon is very likely to be close enough to be conjoined to the rather epic conjunction of these two outer planets, it could be as late as 11 Gemini, or as early as 26 Taurus - but I'd bet heavily on Gemini. Pluto and Neptune conjoin very rarely. Their previous meeting was in 1398/9, also in Gemini, marking the start of The Renaissance. Those born with personal planets hooked up to this conjunction in some way would surely carry something out of the ordinary within them. H.P. Lovecraft, American Gothic author of fantasy, horror and science fiction is another born with personal planets linked to the conjunction by T-square and Grand Trine, both! It's Neptune's mystical influence which comes through strongly in Dunninger's case, aided in the background by Pluto's secretive and incisive traits. If I had to pinpoint just one thing from this chart in relation to Dunninger's profession it would be this. There are several other planets linked by aspect which would be helpful in his stage work, but nothing else as powerful.

The Amazing Kreskin (his birth name was legally changed to be so) was born in Montclair, New Jersey on 12 January 1935 at 7.20pm (Astrodatabank).



We do have an accurate rising sign here- Leo, appropriate too for this guy who spends his professional life in the spotlight. I don't see anything as obvious (to me)as there is in Dunninger's chart to home in on. Moon is in loose conjunction to Uranus, planet of innovation and the unexpected, which could be helpful.

What I do see as significant is a "chain" integrating several planets. Starting with Neptune at 14 Virgo - semi-sextile Mars 14 Libra -semi-sextile Jupiter 18 Scorpio - sextile Sun 21 Capricorn - semi-sextile Saturn 26 Aquarius - sextile Uranus 27 Aries - square Pluto 25 Cancer.
Those links integrate creativity, dynamism, expansion (marketing), self, discipline and business-sense, the unexpected, and secrets. Instead of just one magical link in the chart there's a set of them all related one to the other.

I haven't mentioned Mercury, the mental planet, planet of communication, in either case, which might seem strange when considering the natal charts of mentalists. Mercury itself in either chart though doesn't signify anything terribly unusual. It's opposite Pluto in Kreskins' chart; it's square Mars and sextile Venus in Dunninger's - neither especially unusual. I suspect that in these instances, Mercury does not hold the key to their particular talents.

Music Monday ~ Pat Benatar

Her birthday was yesterday. Pat Benatar, who some have called "Queen of Rock" reigned in the late 1970s to early 1980s, and mainly in the USA. I don't recall her name or her records being well known in the UK at that time - but what do I know? I wasn't a rock fan. She was among the first female artists to break into what had been seen as a male preserve in music : hard rock. Her looks didn't match her style at all. She's pretty and petite - 5 ft tall, but the voice was anything but petite. Her musical training focused on her singing opera, which didn't appeal. She gravitated to cabaret which still didn't satisfy her. She swapped it all for an image and sound closer to current musical taste among the young and became "a rock chick".




She was born in Brooklyn, New York on 10 January 1953. I'm surprised that Astrodatabank has no entry for Pat; Astrotheme has no time of birth for her either. So, a 12 noon chart must suffice. Rising sign and Moon degree will not be accurate.



In her own words: “Most chick singers say 'If you hurt me, I'll die'...I say, 'if you hurt me, I'll kick your ass.” I chuckled after reading that quote of hers and seeing her natal chart.
I see it reflected in Venus (the musical planet) conjunct Mars (planet of aggression) and Neptune (creativity) conjunct hard-ass Saturn. Neptune conjunct Saturn though could also connect to her early opera training. Tradition and anything "classical" links to Saturn too.
Her natal Moon would have been in Scorpio, whatever her time of birth - somewhere between 10 and 23 degrees of the sign. Here's the sexy edge she portrayed in her heyday, such an edge was, and is, a part of all good rock performance.

In an old interview, available at YouTube, Pat tells that she had to invent an alter ego to go on stage and rock as wildly as she did. That didn't surprise me. Sun and Mercury in practical, common sense Capricorn doesn't immediately spell out hard-rock-chick. She acted it, but she wasn't, really, ever that. In real life she's no Janis Joplin - that's for sure! After an early failed marriage she wed guitarist Neil Giraldo and their marriage survives. She abandoned her successful career for some years in order to properly raise their two daughters. More recently she performs, with her husband on guitar, unplugged, in a very different style to that of her former years - and I reckon it's better, and more in line with her true self . Examples of both follow: first an early but brief clip of her performing her hit "Heartbreaker" live, then an unplugged version of "Love Is A Battlefield", performed on TV in 2002, husband Neil on guitar.

Sunday Supplement (Astrology-free)

BACK-TRACKING

Tracing one's family history can become addictive, though at times frustrating.

While organising a narrative and plan, tidy enough to send to a cousin in England yesterday, I noticed a possible error in my work. On checking further I discovered that I had indeed mixed up a couple of people who bore the same name, and who were married to wives also of the same first names, all born around the same dates, in roughly the same area of Yorkshire. Two Jonathans married to two Margarets. Matching exact places of birth and of residence was the only sure way to keep myself moving along the correct line.

Having made the necessary amendments I felt rather disappointed. The incorrect line had led back to a family (with 6 sons, 4 daughters) who emigrated to the USA in 1821, and had letters on the topic, available for interested parties to read at ancestry.com. One letter detailed the cost of setting up a farm in Pennsylvania at that time.

25 acres.... of first-rate land at 24 dollars an acre....... We have built a house on it, and live in it. We sowed 8 acres of buckwheat; it looks well. We have two orchards of apple trees. It grows 300 bushels a year, the best I ever ate. It is a pleasant place, there were 12 acres of rye which fell to me. I bought 2 cows, two oxen, 2 heiffers and a lot of swine. I have bought 160 acres , 8 miles from us, 10 acres cleared, the rest is wood. It is light clearing, a man may chop an acre in 3 days. It is level land and good. We are going to sow 5 acres of wheat, the rest with rye. It is 4 dollars an acre. We intend building next spring there. I intend this for two farms ..... etc.

However, as it turned out, they were not my ancestors. Setting out on the correct track, and with the help of much work done in past years by other researchers, I discovered something else, equally fascinating.

The maiden name of the wife of my correct ancestor (the pair would be my great great great-grandparents) was Vasey, born 1784, and she came from a village called Allerston in Yorkshire. Her great great grandfather was a Matthew Vasey, born around 1600. His life-span included the time of the English Civil Wars, and The Restoration of the Monarchy. After a bit of Googling, not really expecting to find much, I found this: an extract from a book published in 1892, written by John Leyland The Yorkshire Coast and the Cleveland Hills and Dales (page 241):




Hmmmm. Well, the Restoration of the Monarchy, after Oliver Cromwell's time in power, occured in 1660. Prince Charles (King Charles the Second)whose father had been beheaded, had supposedly been in exile until 1660 - but who knows what went on undercover? I guess he could have slipped in from Europe to a quiet port on the Yorkshire coast, for there were many, and made his way inland across the area near Allerston.

So, if that snippet is anything to go by, it would appear that a distant ancestor of mine was a Loyalist. As it happens, King Charles the Second was always my favourite king when studying history at school. On mature reflection though, he was not a Good King - but then, Royals are not my favourite people, none of 'em was a lot of good! I'd doubtless have been supporting t'other side.

Two Authors - What In Common?

CARL SANDBURG & HOWARD SPRING :

From this side of the Atlantic: Carl Sandburg, Pulitzer prize winner for his poetry and for a biography of Abraham Lincoln.

At the age of thirteen he left school. He drove a milk wagon, became a bricklayer, a farm laborer in Kansas, then, after time at Lombard College in Galesburg he became a hotel servant in Denver, a coal-heaver in Omaha. He began his writing career as a journalist for the Chicago Daily News. Later he wrote poetry, history, biographies, novels, children's literature, and film reviews. He was a member of the Social Democratic Party, supporter of the civil rights movement and served as secretary to Mayor Emil Seidel, mayor of Milwaukee from 1910 to 1912 - the first person to be elected mayor of a U.S. city on a socialist platform. (Oh my! Where are they now?)

Born 6 January 1878 in Galesburg Illinois at 12:05am (Astrodatabank).



Sun conjunct Jupiter in Capricorn, with Mercury in the same sign, a solid, character, with stability and reliability his trademark, I'd say. Moon in Aquarius though - here's his draw to socialist thinking, and Venus in Pisces, his compassion, softening any hard edges from Capricorn and Aquarius. I notice a "chain" of 15 degree placements here: Sun/Jupiter, Moon, Saturn and Mars all at 15 degrees, linking in either semi-sextile, sextile or square aspect - I interpret this as the mark of a particularly well-integrated personality. Mars in Aries provides a spark of energy and controversy. Venus, planet of the arts in Pisces links by sextile to Neptune, planet of creativity in Taurus - providing what astrologers call mutual reception, each planet lying in the other's domicile and putting extra emphasis on the gifts offered by both.


And from the other side of the Atlantic:

Howard Spring. Born 10 February 1889 in Cardiff, Wales, UK.

Back in the 1960s I eagerly sought out his novels after reading one of his early works Shabby Tiger, first published in 1934, and its sequel Rachel Rosing. Those were later adapted for TV, as was his Fame is the Spur (also a movie) and My Son, My Son. I'm seeking out used copies of his books to read again, and am currently well into My Son, My Son.

Howard Spring wrote in a style I find very easy to read. I'm not easy to please when it comes to books.I don't like wordy writers who seem entranced by their art and their own intellect, but neither can I stand authors who pander to the popular market by writing badly composed rubbishy fiction. I found that Howard Spring's style was just right for me, unaffected but insightful and, above all he was interesting and a brilliant story teller. His loyalty to the working classes and rising labour movement in Britain shows clearly in his books, and further endeared him to me.

He came from a poor family of nine, his Irish father died when Howard was very young and had to cut short his schooling to earn money for the family. He later resumed his education, taking evening classes, and eventually became a reporter on local newspapers in Wales, and later in the north of England. He began to write fiction in the early 1930s.

No time of birth available, so a 12 noon chart is shown.



He was one of the Pluto in Gemini generation - a generation which spawned so many of my favourite writers. There's a lovely Grand Trine in Air in his chart. It links Sun (self), Moon (emotional self) and Uranus (his Aquarius Sun's ruler and planet of invention and rebellion). Uranus being included in this Grand Trine doesn't surprise me. Howard Spring had obvious sympathy with the socialist activists of the time who were fighting the ruling classes under whose heel they had lived for centuries past. Although without his time of birth, I can't be sure of the exact degree of his natal Moon, it would have been somewhere between 14 and 26 degrees Gemini, so in all probablility at a suitable degree to complete this Grand Trine, which signified a free-flowing of Airy attributes - clear thinking, logic, analysis, quick wit with tactful charm. The writer's planet Mercury lay in intuitive Pisces in helpful sextile to Jupiter (Pisces' ruler and planet of publication) in Capricorn : an excellent link-up for a writer, and in Howard Spring's case it's easy to see how well it manifested. At least four of his books, as well as being best-sellers in their day, have been adapted as movies or TV dramas or both, thus extending the reach of his stories beyond just readers.


What had they in common? Their loyalty and support for "the common man" - ordinary people, their socialistic leanings. Their mix of Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces and just a dash of Aries. Carl Sandburg's poem sums it up for me:

I AM THE PEOPLE, THE MOB

I AM the people--the mob--the crowd--the mass.
Do you know that all the great work of the world is
done through me?
I am the workingman, the inventor, the maker of the
world's food and clothes.
I am the audience that witnesses history. The Napoleons
come from me and the Lincolns. They die. And
then I send forth more Napoleons and Lincolns.
I am the seed ground. I am a prairie that will stand
for much plowing. Terrible storms pass over me.
I forget. The best of me is sucked out and wasted.
I forget. Everything but Death comes to me and
makes me work and give up what I have. And I
forget.
Sometimes I growl, shake myself and spatter a few red
drops for history to remember. Then--I forget.
When I, the People, learn to remember, when I, the
People, use the lessons of yesterday and no longer
forget who robbed me last year, who played me for
a fool--then there will be no speaker in all the world
say the name: "The People," with any fleck of a
sneer in his voice or any far-off smile of derision.
The mob--the crowd--the mass--will arrive then.

Arty Farty Friday ~ David Levine

My husband handed me a newspaper article the other day, it reported the death of caricaturist David Levine: "Here's someone for your Arty Farty blog". "Never heard of him", I responded.

In spite of my ignorance about this particular artist, I'm always a fan of anybody who can draw portraits, either straight or caricature fashion. It takes a very special type of observation and insight to produce a close facial likeness, be it photographic or satirical. David Levine was an American Master of this art. He drew presidents, politicians, the powerful, the celebritous, all with an acute insight and not a little jaundice. He was no lover of the great and the bad. He came from a background of radical left-wing activism. From an excellent article in Vanity Fair, 2008, by David Margolick: Levine in Winter I learned that Mr. Levine

"grew up in a proletarian, politicized world. His father ran a small clothing factory. His mother was a left-wing rabble-rouser, the type to approach the most menacing cop at a protest and say, “Do you know you’re a Cossack?” Levine handed out the Daily Worker by the Brooklyn docks and watched May Day marches around Union Square. "

He considered himself a communist - though I suspect he was of the mildest variety . He began drawing and painting early - but all his work, large oil paintings sketches - all were lost in a fire. He started again, producing smaller works.

"Many are of his favorite subject: Coney Island. What better way to study humanity than observing them half nude on a beach, all posing for him? Many others are of garment workers: pressers and cutters and finishers, muscular and sweaty, beleaguered and dignified. All of the characters, even the women bent over their sewing machines, are really him, he says. Those paintings are as tender and affectionate as his caricatures are withering—Levine reserved all of his respect and pity for common folks—and of all his artwork are clearly what mattered, and matter, to him most. The caricatures, by contrast, were commissions. They paid the bills and, Levine says, gave him a chance to unload. Few of them hang at his house, though he’s fond of them too. “I love my species,” he says. “I love looking at their faces.” "

It was sad that his eyesight seriously declined during his last years.

I'm going to like David Levine!

He was born on 20 December 1926 in Brooklyn, New York. I can find no time of birth for him, so set the chart for 12 noon. Rising sign and Moon degree will not be accurate.



Sun in late Sagittarius, along with Mercury and Saturn close together in earlier degrees of the sign. Mercury conjunct Saturn can equal sarcasm (I know, because the husband has this in his chart!) Sarcasm is a close relative of satire, and satire is a tool of caricaturists! Mercury/Saturn links to Venus, the artists' planet by helpful semi-sextile too.

Sun harmoniously trines Neptune (planet of creativity) in Leo, and helpfully sextiles Jupiter (planet of exaggeration) in rebellious Aquarius, also squares ruler of Aquarius, Uranus. That combination of creativity and exaggeration describes the art of caricature exactly!

Moon would be in Cancer whatever Levine's time of birth, and reflects a sensitivity, so valuable in affording insight which a caricaturist needs to come up with work instantly recognisable to the masses, in spite of its exaggerations and acid satire.

From a selection of his caricatures available at Google Image, I've picked a few examples of the best known characters.

Descent

Hillary

JFK

Amelia Earhart

Nixon

FDR

Groucho



LBJ





Kissinger


Cheney & Bush



McCain & Obama

In the right direction....

Reading around various websites and forums recently, I got the feeling that people, in some perverse way, seem to be at best concentrating on negativity, and at worst almost willing on catastrophe and World War 3. Heading towards yet more war, especially of the World War variety is not the direction in which the world is supposed to be moving. Later I read an article by Stephen Gyllenhaal: Peace On Earth, the last paragraph struck a chord, then led me back to something else. The last para:

I'll take it all and keep right on moving -- one little ant doing his little bit among six billion other ants, because one day, you son's of bitches who talk peace and deliver war, who talk health and deliver illness, who talk good and do bad -- some day, mother f--ckers there will be peace on this planet -- real peace -- because time, real time, is on the side of evolution.

That thought of evolution catapulted me back to this 2007 article which I have mentioned before on this blog, but do not apoligise for re-airing: "A History of Violence" by Steven Pinker is interesting and a little uplifiting, though not without its own warning. As a prelude it states:

"In the decade of Darfur and Iraq, and shortly after the century of Stalin, Hitler, and Mao, the claim that violence has been diminishing may seem somewhere between hallucinatory and obscene. Yet recent studies that seek to quantify the historical ebb and flow of violence point to exactly that conclusion."

Steven Pinker goes on to present his theory that, in spite of current world events, in his opinion man has become less violent over the millennia, centuries and decades. The article is well worth reading in full. He finishes with this paragraph:

"But the phenomenon does force us to rethink our understanding of violence. Man's inhumanity to man has long been a subject for moralization. With the knowledge that something has driven it dramatically down, we can also treat it as a matter of cause and effect. Instead of asking, "Why is there war?" we might ask, "Why is there peace?" From the likelihood that states will commit genocide to the way that people treat cats, we must have been doing something right. And it would be nice to know what, exactly, it is."

I want to shout out "Astrological Ages, sir?"

Age of Taurus, Age of Aries - two previous Ages when, in spite of progress in many other areas, violence and inhumanity to man flourished. The Bull and The Ram - neither signifies peace and fellowship, and the history of those Ages broadly matches the symbolism. It wasn't until The Age of Pisces dawned, that there was any sign of a very, very slow movement away from violence - but SO very slow that unless someone like Steven Pinker outlines the stages, and spells it all out, it's impossible to see. If we could have a magical video of the history of man on Earth, fast-forwarded at lightning speed, then it might become clear that we are indeed heading in the right direction, strange as it seems.

Astrologers cannot agree whether we are still in the Age of Pisces or on the cusp of the Age of Aquarius, or have entered it already. Whichever way one prefers to think, neither Pisces nor Aquarius symbolises violence. We must still be working through the dregs of what was left of the Age of Aries, I guess. Perhaps we are nowhere near as far along the astrological age trail as some suspect. But we are moving in a good direction.

Steven Pinker adds

"It is not a license for complacency: We enjoy the peace we find today because people in past generations were appalled by the violence in their time and worked to end it, and so we should work to end the appalling violence in our time. Nor is it necessarily grounds for optimism about the immediate future, since the world has never before had national leaders who combine pre-modern sensibilities with modern weapons."

We do have to accept that we live in risky times, of course. To continually focus on that fact, as so many tend to do these days, is not going to make things any less risky. All it does is to spread doom and gloom and take the joy from the life we have.

Phew! - That many combinations ?

Among the contents of a box of second-hand astrology books I bought on E-bay years ago was a slim, large format soft cover volume, published in 1951 by the American Federation of Astrologers: The 360 Degrees of the Zodiac by Adriano Carelli. I'm not at all blown away by the content or the author's style, as he puts each of the 360 degrees of the zodiac under a microscope, but I liked one of the rather lengthy footnotes at page 9. It enumerates and calculates the vast variety of combinations available from which a natal chart can be composed. So, being mathematically challenged myself, as well as too lazy to copy-type it all, I scanned it. (Click on images to enlarge).






It's not surprising then, that those silly tests performed by James Randi and others, who try to discredit astrology, are doomed to fail. They are based mainly on one element (Sun sign) from hundreds of thousands of possible combinations.

"The Human Spark"....lit by....?

There's a three-part series starting tomorrow evening on PBS: The Human Spark hosted by the always engaging Alan Alda (Aquarius Sun/Aries Moon/Capricorn rising, Saturn semi-sextile Sun)....who has been involved in TV presentations involving science in the past: Scientific American Frontiers. Saturn connects to science and rules his ascendant sign, co-rules his natal Sun.

The programmes, to be aired on three consecutive Wednesday evenings, are to investigate "How are we different from the other animals, how did we get that way, and where is it in the brain that these things have taken root?” (Here).

We'll be watching, and I'll no doubt be thinking....yes, but how does astrology fit into this? I'm convinced it must fit in - somewhere. I'm sure the subject will not be mentioned in these programmes! I can only assume that astrology's part in this would have to do with the precession of the equinoxes. There's an article by Deborah Houlding at Skyscript: Heavenly Imprints
from whence comes this extract about precession:

"....the Sun does not cross the equator at exactly the same place on the ecliptic each year. It crosses at a point 50 seconds of arc to the east of the previous year. During a lifetime this shifting point of intersection between the ecliptic and equator is so small as to be negligible, but over several centuries it will be noticed that the backdrop of stars that once lay behind the crossing point is moving westwards. This is the phenomenon of precession, caused by the Earth's axis slowly rotating around the celestial poles. Whilst the background of the fixed stars remain more or less constant to each other, the ecliptic's intersection with the equator slides backwards through the zodiac, completing one circuit in approximately 26,000 years - the 'Great Astrological Age'. The movement of the Vernal Equinox from one zodiacal sign to the next - by which we are presently moving from the Age of Pisces to Aquarius - is a subdivision of this cycle that takes approximately 2,160 years. "

There's information scattered around the internet relating to the Astrological Ages and how they relate to the zodiac signs, but much of it needs to be read bearing in mind its author's main interest, which can give varying perspectives. Diagram below comes from Library of Halexandria website.



Most agree that The Age of Gemini brought forth more travel and movement, leading to wider communication; and that the Age of Taurus saw farming flourish using tools and the wheel which had come out of the previous age. The Age of Aries - the expansion of ancient empires through force. The Age of Pisces spanning a few centuries BC until the present brought the dominance of three main religions Buddhism, Christianity and Islam - for good or ill.

Another common theme is that ancient Egyptians looked upon the Age of Leo as the beginning of their own history; that was around 10,950 BC. However, they already had "the human spark", so we need to travel further back to seek the likely time of its illumination. Age of Virgo, Age of Libra, Age of Scorpio? Age of Saggitarius, Age of Capricorn, Age of Aquarius ? And would we find our own, reversed, counterparts at the gateway to Age of Pisces ?

26,000 years for one go around - one Great Age. Was our human spark lit somewhere during this go around, or was it lying dormant from the previous one, or the one before that? Or is there a point in each Great Age when that special spark is lit? I wouldn't dare to guess at which point that might occur.

There are probably even Greater Ages beyond that which we call The Great Age, outside of our meagre comprehension. Lines from a hymn we used to sing at school come to mind. They always fascinated me then - it's only now I completely comprehend their significance. In the Great Scheme of Things 26,000 years is the blink of an eye to the universe as a whole.

A thousand ages in Thy sight
Are like an evening gone;
Short as the watch that ends the night
Before the rising sun.

Music Monday ~ Diva....Diva !

Featured today, a pair of "divas" (or is it divae?) born within days of each other -4 January and 8 January 1937: Grace Bumbry, American opera singer, Kennedy Center honoree for 2009; and the UK's famous Welsh vocalist, Dame Shirley Bassey.

A similar natal chart isn't all these two ladies have in common. Both have African roots, Dame Shirley's from her Nigerian father; Ms Bumbry's background is African-American. Both have risen from modest circumstances to wealth, international fame and national honor.

Both charts are set for 12 noon as times of birth are unknown:

Grace Bumbry born 4 January 1937 in St. Louis, Missouri






















Dame Shirley Bassey born on 8 January in Cardiff, Wales, UK.



















What can I detect from their charts which might have set these ladies on a dizzying route to fame and fortune?

Both have Sun and Jupiter in Capricorn, close enough to be termed conjoined. Jupiter adds a lot of ooomph to staid and business-like Capricorn, with Mercury in Aquarius in both cases a lot of that "old-fashioned gal" Capricorn might reflect is wiped out and replaced by a forward thinking, somewhat rebellious side. Venus planet of music and the arts is in Aquarius too in Ms Bumbry's chart, but in Pisces for Dame Shirley, giving her a rather softer, less intellectual musical nature.

In both charts Saturn (ruler of their natal Sun) in Pisces sextiles Sun, a harmonious link which reflects good business sense, but with a compassionate edge. Planet of creativity, Neptune trines their natal Suns from meticulous Virgo - Capricorn and Virgo linked signify dedication to work and perfection.

There are several square and opposition aspects in both charts, representing the challenges these ladies faced in their early days.

The main differences in their natal charts will be Moon position and rising sign, neither of which we can be sure of without a time of birth. Dame Shirley's Moon at 12noon was in the first degree of Sagittarius - if born earlier than noon it would be in Scorpio, which I think is likely - she was always a very sexy singer!
Ms Bumbry's Moon will be somewhere in Libra - ruled by Venus, planet of music, very appropriate for her.

Grace Bumbry's natal Sun is, according to my software, conjunct Fixed Star Vega.
Vega is said to give artistic talents, especially in music and acting. That's the cherry on top for Ms Bumbry then!



For Shirley, made Dame Shirley by Queen Elizabeth in 1999, perhaps her cherry on top is Royal Star Fomalhaut conjunct her natal Venus.



A diva-worthy performance from each of the ladies: