Friday, May 19, 2006

Welcome to Gemini

Hello one and all,

I’ve had a few technical snafus starting this blog. It seems some browsers are not reading the text correctly, and your comments are not showing up. I’ve done some trouble-shooting myself, but my friend Steve is back in town this weekend and I should be able to figure it out with his help. Until then, thank you so much for your patience!

Like many astrologers, I’m always watching world and national events in relationship to the planets. I’ll soon be writing about some of the big themes I’ve been pondering, but for right now – in deference to Mercury’s entry into Gemini today - I have a short and light comment: I must admit that I am one of the thousands (millions?) who is starting to rely on Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart as my primary source for news. I’ll just consider that a toast and tribute to Gemini as the Sun also enters the sign tomorrow. Gemini is an air sign and expresses with dexterity, wit and a light touch, (albeit swinging to darkness and back again….)

A toast then to the Gemini season! May we honor Mercury by keeping supple in mind and nimble in heart. (Gemini also has a gift for mimicry – I plan to watch someone I admire and see if I can do it too!)

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

Eclipse notes

From what I’ve seen in my circle of clients, friends and family, the dust has settled somewhat from the immediate impact of March’s eclipses, although the themes that emerged with the eclipses continue to develop as the degrees are triggered this summer and fall. The full moon eclipse on March 14 was at 24º Virgo/Pisces and is especially potent because those degrees are ‘tweaked’ a lot in the next months. Some key dates include June 17 – 22, when there is a lot of planetary activity at 9º Leo. Nine degrees of the fixed signs is a ‘critical’, highly sensitive, degree. (The ‘critical degrees’ of the zodiac were originally determined from the average distance the Moon travels in a day.) Nine degrees of Leo is 45º (i.e., semi-square, a stressful aspect) to 24º Pisces. During that week in June: Mars and Saturn are conjunct at 9º Leo on the 17th; Mars squares Jupiter (at 9º Scorpio) on the 18th; Saturn opposes Chiron (at 9º Aquarius) on the 20th, and Jupiter squares Saturn on the 22nd. This is obviously a tremendous focus on the quality of fixity – in part, the instinct or drive to takes things absolutely as far as they can possibly go.
Another significant time for the lunar eclipse’s unfolding is August 29, when transiting Mars (at 24º Virgo) comes to the eclipse degree, and squares Pluto (24º Sagittarius).

The solar eclipse on March 29 was at 8º 35’ Aries. (The horoscope for the Islamic Republic of Iran, 1979)* has the Sun at 11º Aries and Mercury/Mars at 23º – 27º Pisces, so the country has been impacted by both recent eclipses.) Transiting Mars will be at 8º Libra on September 21, marking a time that the events and issues brought forth by the eclipse will be activated again.
You can take note of your own horoscope and see what house, angle or planet was affected by the eclipses. As an example, the new moon eclipse was conjunct the most difficult planetary synastry in the respective charts for a couple I know. The new moon eclipse was opposite his natal Uranus (9º Libra) which is conjunct her natal Pluto (9º Libra), which squares her natal Venus (9º Capricorn). The volatility one often sees with an eclipse was apparent in this case, as the most difficult, previously unspoken dynamics of their relationship was revealed very quickly and immediately (Aries). The Aries motif of self-sufficiency and self-awareness spoke to them and they wisely took a break from intense interaction, individually considered their own responses, and have tentatively come back together with a renewed appreciation of both their separateness and their desire to be together. The eclipse clearly served as a release point, unsteady perhaps, but providing an opening to a new way of being.

*Islamic Republic of Iran; April 1, 1979; 3:00 PM; Tehran Iran (51E26, 35N40). Chart data from Nick Campion’s The Book of Word Horoscopes.

The Grim Reaper: “Poll Gives Bush His Worst Marks Yet”

New York Times/ CBS poll numbers released today find Mr. Bush at the lowest point ever. Adam Nagouney reports the findings suggest “only bad news” for Republicans with concerns about gas prices and the war on Iraq top on the list of the responder’s concerns. June 1 is the third and final last exact conjunction of Saturn to Mr. Bush’s Ascendant (7º06’ Leo). His poll approval numbers have been declining precipitously since August 2005. (Saturn’s earlier exact conjunctions to the president's Ascendant were on September 12, 2005 and on February 5, 2006.) As I noted in an article for TMA’s web site:
“Saturn last crossed Bush's Ascendant on August 2, 1976. One month later, on September 4, 1976, Bush was arrested in Kennebunkport, Maine for driving while under the influence of alcohol. He pleaded guilty, paid a fine, and had his driver's license suspended for a short time.”

He’s got to be feeling especially grim these few days as the transiting Mars/Saturn midpoint is at 26º Cancer, conjunct his natal Saturn in the 12th house….talk about low approval ratings….