tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82213662024-03-21T13:24:17.997-04:00Modern Vedic Astrologycontemporary reflections on the ancient hindu scienceChristopher Kevillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09563577455947570653noreply@blogger.comBlogger151125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8221366.post-68002594818051438272012-02-21T07:03:00.009-05:002012-02-21T07:17:21.835-05:00Mitt Romney campaign in trouble<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf7_K0yAT52SJvCDPR4nKOKHLlInPb3QD7IqfiApGthfCrWFG4whSKajWxOwuwhbnat-9Rh-DHeuxHfVPq0eT_-_TewqKassn-JEzwHR25x1ci911H-kwwbg1dRA9a6mArO3Dc/s1600/romney1.300px.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 225px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf7_K0yAT52SJvCDPR4nKOKHLlInPb3QD7IqfiApGthfCrWFG4whSKajWxOwuwhbnat-9Rh-DHeuxHfVPq0eT_-_TewqKassn-JEzwHR25x1ci911H-kwwbg1dRA9a6mArO3Dc/s400/romney1.300px.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5711558805484939346" /></a><br />After being on cruise control as the frontrunner in the early stages of the Republican nomination campaign, Mitt Romney is now in trouble. Although he successfully fended off challenges from Rick Perry, Herman Cain, and Newt Gingrich, the GOP establishment pick is now running six points behind conservative Rick Santorum in national polls. Romney's influential insider contacts and deep pockets have got him this far, but there is no doubt that he has failed to connect with the base of the party. His taxes, wealth and business dealings have come under increased scrutiny, as has his Mormon faith and more moderate policy choices while Governor of Massachusetts.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2h2xY8_NKj9-vQe6aPo4Td6t90PzbEgyk6jIE38-DBHGlIZFMlxPmFRVSC7ry0ukyAM6Cia2TnrSRrULsEI-hznOWDmf8v0aKhYoWowLiq7gzm4c5JAC1EKaTQ_Do-ysBFFBx/s1600/Romney.natal.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 359px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2h2xY8_NKj9-vQe6aPo4Td6t90PzbEgyk6jIE38-DBHGlIZFMlxPmFRVSC7ry0ukyAM6Cia2TnrSRrULsEI-hznOWDmf8v0aKhYoWowLiq7gzm4c5JAC1EKaTQ_Do-ysBFFBx/s400/Romney.natal.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5711559312440176914" /></a><br />Romney's chart presents some familiar patterns for success but also contains a number of puzzling placements. First off, his apparently unexciting and cardboard personality. Romney has been widely seen as a dull and somewhat robotic campaigner who finds it difficult to connect with people on an emotional level. Normally, we would expect to see a strong Saturn since the ringed-planet often corresponds to a reserved and cautious approach to the outside world. Romney has Taurus rising, suggesting a steadier approach that inclines him towards a more mainstream approach. But look at the placement of 1st house lord, Venus. Venus is placed in Capricorn, a sign ruled by Saturn. Lagnesh Venus is very well placed in the trikona 9th house suggesting a generally fortunate life and a successful father. Romney is wealthy with a reported net worth of more than $250 million. His father was governor of the state of Michigan.<br /><br />Romney gets another dose of Saturnian reserve through Saturn's close opposition aspect to Venus. This is arguably a stronger influence and makes him more of a rational and pragmatic thinker. It may also make him less willing to display emotions as Saturn's preference for order and structure usually wins out. The other thing to note about his Saturn is that it sits very close to both the equal 3rd house cusp and the IC, or unequal 4th house cusp. Planets that are close to angles or close to aspects to angles tend to be stronger in their effects. Saturn is the lord of the 9th and 10th houses and its placement on the 3rd house cusp creates a strong and indefatigable determination and ambition. Saturn operates in a methodical and methodical way, so Romney likely goes about his business according to a well developed plan. He is less likely to improvise as perhaps his more free-wheeling challenger Newt Gingrich is given to do.<br /><br />Romney has been the front runner since the start of the race with the backing of the Republican establishment. But he has stumbled several times and has failed to capture the imagination of conservatives. Gingrich was the flavor of the month in January for a while, but now it seems that the conservative base has coalesced around Rick Santorum from Pennsylvania. Santorum has vaulted ahead of Romney in national polls and enjoys a five-point lead after his sweep of primaries on February 7. Romney is still well ahead in the delegate count but Santorum can close the gap if he does well on February 28 in Romney's home state of Michigan. A Santorum win there would be humiliating to Romney. It would likely set up a do-or-die scenario for Romney on Super Tuesday, March 6, when ten states hold their primaries.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPzOHZsGkecbu4JxpPG0zMjcqQ0GzaYOe9V7Jq-V0cQjVzgs_5pY3psxqRiG3br3LKJM_h0UJxzLeHY44KMMhd3aQ5A65M9pZLnUyOBQDbALmVxHtPwlkplpwXEhohCltp0RJu/s1600/Romney.sc.jan2012.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 324px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPzOHZsGkecbu4JxpPG0zMjcqQ0GzaYOe9V7Jq-V0cQjVzgs_5pY3psxqRiG3br3LKJM_h0UJxzLeHY44KMMhd3aQ5A65M9pZLnUyOBQDbALmVxHtPwlkplpwXEhohCltp0RJu/s400/Romney.sc.jan2012.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5711559505206570322" /></a><br /><br />Astrologically, we can see that much of Romney's problems are due to Mars' retrograde cycle through Leo. Mars therefore opposes his stellium of planets in Aquarius in his 10th house of status and career. Actually, Mars stationed and turned retrograde in late January at 29 degrees of sidereal Leo -- just one degree from his Sun. Mars is a difficult energy to integrate and it can create many headaches and frustrations. The additional problem with this Mars transit is that Mars rules the 12th house of losses in Romney's horoscope. Its transit therefore more problematic as it undermines his status and makes him more vulnerable to attacks from opponents as his leadership qualities (Sun in 10th) are openly questioned. We can see how its close aspects have thrown Romney back on his heels. Gingrich unexpectedly won South Carolina on January 21. Mars was just about to turn retrograde and was making a close opposition to his Sun. Gingrich won the preceding debates and handily carried the state. Transiting Sun at 7 Capricorn representing Romney's profile and leadership abilities was in mutual aspect with his Saturn. Sun-Saturn aspects are often humbling as Saturn undermines our confidence and forces us to look at our weaknesses. Transiting Jupiter also comes under the square aspect of Romney's Saturn thus making progress more difficult.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJrFvPdTYtfDes5925dg66Fcwoyfgug9gOXCnQEpOF80-5C_ScIsLPWIydKmQqCsIOx0Wg3_Ded1xyp2fASaEuktl_vHHrmOTDSCiZg7hbYiXbfACGGzK35HLKqosNhkNgbe2m/s1600/Romney.fl.jan2012.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 338px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJrFvPdTYtfDes5925dg66Fcwoyfgug9gOXCnQEpOF80-5C_ScIsLPWIydKmQqCsIOx0Wg3_Ded1xyp2fASaEuktl_vHHrmOTDSCiZg7hbYiXbfACGGzK35HLKqosNhkNgbe2m/s400/Romney.fl.jan2012.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5711559855864614418" /></a><br /><br />However, Romney rebounded to win Florida on January 31. He got a boost from both Venus and the Sun as both planets were favorably placed. Transiting Venus was conjunct his natal Sun and transiting Sun was conjunct his natal Venus. Transiting Mercury was also supportive of his efforts by virtue of its conjunction with the unequal 10th house cusp, or MC. While the Jupiter-Saturn and Mars-Sun afflictions were still operating, these positive aspects were sufficient to offset the negativity and produce a much-needed win.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQP8lDsJAMaLh_AhzbMyBEylGN4U7WtVKARnshIkMMqTgw4G7P6l3uVw9FuBQ58kGW9sBu7tNd9IAhdZfdrzqm6qyRLkF5ntWAapUQ1qjP2GtS4yV4XmQ3V8LyN4ow1a56mOaW/s1600/Romney.mn.feb2012.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 328px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQP8lDsJAMaLh_AhzbMyBEylGN4U7WtVKARnshIkMMqTgw4G7P6l3uVw9FuBQ58kGW9sBu7tNd9IAhdZfdrzqm6qyRLkF5ntWAapUQ1qjP2GtS4yV4XmQ3V8LyN4ow1a56mOaW/s400/Romney.mn.feb2012.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5711561210680365650" /></a><br /><br />Once those good aspects moved away, however, Romney's difficulties returned. Santorum's surprising sweep of the three primaries on February 7 in Minnesota, Colorado and Missouri also occurred with transiting Mars still very close to aspecting his Sun. And by this time, the affliction to transiting Jupiter was greater as it had moved into an exact square aspect with natal Saturn. This was another problematic influence which blocked (Saturn) progress and rewards (Jupiter).<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIylJnaZ4lgciEzmUK80Ih8BBpQvk5L5NGt5BL2qu_sVEw1kSdgyeERDeHA2yH24b-syO-oAUuoSIAgyZcsGmDBjXY4vzTo1qPrdUTSM32AO_0GAnYw6BBVxWTeclvoUOdYkIW/s1600/Romney.mi.feb2012.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 338px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIylJnaZ4lgciEzmUK80Ih8BBpQvk5L5NGt5BL2qu_sVEw1kSdgyeERDeHA2yH24b-syO-oAUuoSIAgyZcsGmDBjXY4vzTo1qPrdUTSM32AO_0GAnYw6BBVxWTeclvoUOdYkIW/s400/Romney.mi.feb2012.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5711560501775403650" /></a><br /><br /><br />So what lies in store for Mitt Romney in Michigan on February 28? While Mars has moved away from its affliction to his Sun, it will be very close in its aspect to his Mercury, the lord of 2nd and 5th houses. This is clearly negative, although perhaps less so than the previous transit contacts to the Sun. Transiting Sun will be just past conjunction with natal Mars in the 10th house. This may be more positive as it suggests strong leadership and action. Transiting Mercury will come under the positive influence of the aspect from his natal Jupiter. So it's a somewhat mixed picture. It does not seem bad enough to indicate an outright loss, but given that its his home state, the expectations here are high. Perhaps Romney wins Michigan but not by much so that questions about his candidacy will remain. A narrow Romney win would be a moral victory for Santorum and would be helpful to boost the newcomer's profile nationally. Overall, it does not look very positive for Romney.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ-7Gc3CUGymg8cimiF8wiOxuh8IdwmvUQO7NI3szZkicX8VATC6xux9SPMv0V922AhoGrEO1xNbMSEv7xs3_1MCrLYcePn-MjoftHIzlOomc17vNThyphenhyphenzoBjVMuFcraQvzEdpb/s1600/Romney.supertues.mar2012.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 338px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ-7Gc3CUGymg8cimiF8wiOxuh8IdwmvUQO7NI3szZkicX8VATC6xux9SPMv0V922AhoGrEO1xNbMSEv7xs3_1MCrLYcePn-MjoftHIzlOomc17vNThyphenhyphenzoBjVMuFcraQvzEdpb/s400/Romney.supertues.mar2012.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5711560666831858962" /></a><br /><br /><br />Super Tuesday is up next on March 6 when ten states hold their primaries on the same day. This will either re-affirm Romney's frontrunner status or push him into second place behind Santorum. In terms of transits, we can see that the Mercury-Uranus conjunction will right in the middle of Romney's 11th house of gains. At the same time, both planets will come under the unsettling influence of Romney's Ketu (SN) by 5th house aspect. This throws up the possibility that the gains will be distorted in some way or turn out unexpectedly. Natal Mercury is damaged by the Mars transit, while Ketu may be suffering due to the approaching conjunction from transiting Rahu (NN). This Rahu-Ketu aspect is still three degrees off but it definitely might create problems for Romney in the near term. I tend to think it will undermine his chances eventually, either in March or April. It's not a good transit to have when engaged in a competition. So while Romney could conceivably do well on Super Tuesday, this nodal transit will probably cause him some problems him sometime fairly soon.<br /><br /><br /><br />More generally, Romney's dasha periods do not look favorable for him. He is running Sun-Saturn at the moment. Sun is well placed natally in the 10th, but it suffered from the afflicting Mars transit in January and February. While Mars has moved off the Sun, it's still pretty close. Dasha lords generally produce better results when they are not under pressure from transiting malefic planets. Minor dasha lord Saturn rules the 10th of profile and status and is well placed in the 3rd of ambition. This 3-10 house combination is what one would expect when engaged in an extended campaign for recognition and power. But Romney's natal Saturn is being aspected by transiting Saturn. This is not good, although the aspect is slowly moving off as Saturn continues its retrograde cycle so that offers some hope for improvement for Romney. <br /><br />According to Krishnamurti ayanamsha, Romney ends his Saturn minor period and begins his Mercury period on March 10. According to Lahiri, he switches over to Mercury on April 30. Under both parameters, he will go through Super Tuesday under Sun-Saturn. The Mercury period itself is a bit mixed since it is placed in the 10th house of recognition but between malefics Sun and Mars. It is also retrograde and in a square aspect with destabilizing Uranus. This may make him more subject to sudden twists of fate and he may appear to be less reliable and responsible at that time. Even if Romney survives Saturn's minor dasha, Mercury does not look like it will be very conducive to winning the nomination either. It's possible but not and influence that is clearly positive.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvkG1SAEL-UopkT3y7mwvNACw4iN66sh172WZglFr8Kj51GBfhhDofWrC8VEeAAgWx0wj4RuRO0hWpqpYG6YDRKkL6BvS1Xd0XMKk5u2XM8nAPYr4v9iwunagjh-qzrrA69wL4/s1600/Santorum.mar2012supertues.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 338px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvkG1SAEL-UopkT3y7mwvNACw4iN66sh172WZglFr8Kj51GBfhhDofWrC8VEeAAgWx0wj4RuRO0hWpqpYG6YDRKkL6BvS1Xd0XMKk5u2XM8nAPYr4v9iwunagjh-qzrrA69wL4/s400/Santorum.mar2012supertues.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5711560922856542546" /></a><br /><br />We don't have Rick Santorum's birth time, but his noon horoscope for May 10, 1958 does offer the possibility at least that he could do well in this campaign. Transiting Jupiter is coming up to conjoin his Sun in April while transiting Uranus will conjoin his Venus around the same time. On Super Tuesday, the Mercury-Uranus conjunction will be very close to his Venus. This is a very favorable alignment of benefic planets that should help him continue his campaign. However, transiting Mars will be approaching its difficult opposition aspect to natal Mars so that looks less positive. A little mixed in other words, although on balance positive I should think.<br /><br />We can also note a very strong grand trine pattern in his tertiary progressions involving Jupiter, Pluto and both Mercury and Venus later this summer. The faster moving planets will be just a couple of degrees from exact around the time of the Republican convention in August so that definitely helps his chances for being the nominee or perhaps the GOP ticket's vice-presidential candidate. The bottom line here is that Santorum's approximate horoscope looks quite good. Given that Romney's looks more stressed, I think that Santorum looks like he will continue to gain momentum in the short term. Whether or not Santorum has staying power may have to wait until Santorum's birth time becomes public knowledge. Some observers have noted that if Romney loses Michigan, the Republican establishment will have to draft someone else (Jeb Bush?) to run against Obama in November. So perhaps the race will go through more twists and turns before it's over. Stay tuned.Christopher Kevillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09563577455947570653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8221366.post-44832200084004089882012-01-01T17:46:00.002-05:002012-01-01T17:48:49.422-05:002012 ForecastApologies for not being able to post it in full here. <br /><br />Here's the <a href="http://modernvedicastrology.com/2012-forecast-astrology-prediction">link</a>.Christopher Kevillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09563577455947570653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8221366.post-85057900931382494562011-03-21T12:07:00.004-04:002011-03-21T12:10:33.035-04:00Gaddafi under fire as Libya declared no-fly zone by the West<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg3Ev_5D06AKGpomGZqllsl-6w6qFR78WsntWK1tNvcOyCZUZ3VQAopcBHRIPIbLknh0VqC6pzReSmCJnR9TKFDmSfkA2QqdB2yKTymgQH7kmoKq0lxHxafSk5uiDhyOzxA9mM/s1600/libya.explosion.road.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 192px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg3Ev_5D06AKGpomGZqllsl-6w6qFR78WsntWK1tNvcOyCZUZ3VQAopcBHRIPIbLknh0VqC6pzReSmCJnR9TKFDmSfkA2QqdB2yKTymgQH7kmoKq0lxHxafSk5uiDhyOzxA9mM/s320/libya.explosion.road.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5586565848532772258" /></a><br />After Libyans rebels stood on the verge of defeat in Benghazi at the hands of Gaddfai's army, the West has been compelled to declare a no-fly zone over the strife-torn country. After two days of air strikes from the US-led coalition, most of Libya's air defenses have been taken out and much of Gaddafi's air force has been neutralized. For all intents and purposes, the no-fly zone is essentially a declaration of war on Libya and brings to three the number of Muslim countries that the US is currently fighting.<br /><br />In a previous post from late February, I had suggested that Gaddafi might be driven out of a power fairly soon, with late February and early April as the two most probable times. To be honest, I was starting to wonder if I would be proven wrong in this expectation as Gaddafi began to beat back the rebels into the small base in the eastern part of the country. I hadn't really considered the possibility that the rebels would need outside help to overthrow the Libyan dictator, but that is the case now. It appears as if the opposition between Jupiter and Saturn is now the dominant player in the sky after having usurped the previous Rahu-Uranus square. February's Rahu-Uranus aspect emphasized change and disruption of the status quo and corresponded to the largely peaceful protests demanding democracy across the Middle East. This aspect is now on the wane and we have a more obviously confrontational setup between Jupiter (the future, expansion, gains) and Saturn (the past, contraction, losses). <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt4m7uCfZupY1CkhdEH3cvL53XR2hEZAIVtVOY5YBCNllcAGnACPwQv65e2yfE-9uo_HBQee6HEqIgZumx7qyVO8YuT375MYR1G2zW7txeKYSgKzaQfCl2d_ilKf2re66b8b4p/s1600/libya.transits.march.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 263px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt4m7uCfZupY1CkhdEH3cvL53XR2hEZAIVtVOY5YBCNllcAGnACPwQv65e2yfE-9uo_HBQee6HEqIgZumx7qyVO8YuT375MYR1G2zW7txeKYSgKzaQfCl2d_ilKf2re66b8b4p/s320/libya.transits.march.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5586566068088306258" /></a><br /><br />What is especially interesting is how this intervention shows up in the national chart of Libya (Dec 24 1951). The UN Security Council approved the no-fly zone resolution on Thursday, March 17 at about 7.00 p.m. in New York. We can see how this was tantamount to a declaration of war on Libya: transiting Mars (24 Aquarius) is exactly conjunct the 7th house and therefore aspects the ascendant which represents the country as a whole. Of course, Mars is the planet of war. This position of Mars is doubly important perhaps because Mars casts its 8th house (210 degree) aspect to almost exactly to natal Mars (23 Virgo). Venus is the ruler of the 10th house of government (=Gaddafi) and it is transiting the equal cusp of the 6th house of conflict suggesting that he himself is subject to significant opposition. The afflictions from the slower moving planets are still in play here as transiting Saturn (21 Virgo) is still conjunct its natal position alongside Mars while Uranus (6 Pisces) squares the Sun. Uranus is a planet of sudden changes and its aspect with the Sun (government) is perhaps one of the most fundamental reasons for the undermining of Gaddafi's authority at this time. The Rahu-Sun conjunction was instrumental in the initial uprising but this energy is diminishing now as Rahu moves away.<br /><br />I still think that the time around the Mars-Uranus conjunction on April 4 could be pivotal in the battle for Libya and this should be very damaging to Gaddafi. As I noted in February, this will closely square the natal Sun in this chart and suggests a time on intense pressure on government and leaders. Although this is a powerful affliction, it's unclear if it will be sufficient to correspond with the removal of Gaddafi. I think his defeat is the most probable outcome here, but I'm not as sure as I would like to be. If I'm backtracking a bit here, it's because I wonder if there is now enough time to beat Gaddafi from his stronghold in Tripoli by this April 4th date. Also, I'm looking down the road in this horoscope and the late summer period does not look good. Tr. Uranus will come back to square the Sun again while Saturn will likewise turn retrograde and conjoin the Mars-Saturn conjunction. And by September, transiting Ketu will conjoin the 10th house suggesting unstable situations involving government. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR57OcVhGeZHZlrzehuOjzlLKMcSl5oGd8isjahmoBm_els8HiUorylAt2bkn79v987oMHoimS9S28CxT2zRyCI1lNQb4WMUa0P2_PQZ2nBRQud6qz7hC3kBVyoaGTo-VshwLQ/s1600/libya.transits.april.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 269px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR57OcVhGeZHZlrzehuOjzlLKMcSl5oGd8isjahmoBm_els8HiUorylAt2bkn79v987oMHoimS9S28CxT2zRyCI1lNQb4WMUa0P2_PQZ2nBRQud6qz7hC3kBVyoaGTo-VshwLQ/s320/libya.transits.april.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5586565964967248898" /></a><br /><br />It's also worth noting that the Libya chart will begin its Sun minor dasha period in July. This may serve to underline the importance of the transits to the Sun and put extra emphasis on the situation of the government. Of course, this late summer time period may not have anything to do with Gaddafi if he is chased from power in April; it may simply reflect troubles with any new rebel government. Perhaps it's best if I put it this way: if Gaddafi is somehow not defeated in early April, then there is a significant chance that he will hang on until August. Practically speaking, however, it seems very unlikely that he and his paid mercenaries can hold out that long against the combined might of the air power of the most powerful countries in the world. The astrology of the situation would seem to support that view, so the early April time frame could be a critical turning point in this latest US war effort.Christopher Kevillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09563577455947570653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8221366.post-17465494746356436082011-03-20T11:17:00.007-04:002011-03-20T11:25:41.059-04:00Japan struggles to contain radiation at Fukushima nuclear plant<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDCukEL8wZmeP8qESqdO8UgtzOoPUuiraO5q91sQXiMX0H05T2l8s2VeBS7MXcUKOAaFxkxIwjwyTPcJ7tHo16dQ5_jUJcsC4_j7R_BTKdIItmVwhEIQXT96QF_haEoqUcQJis/s1600/japan.radiation.hazmat.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 227px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDCukEL8wZmeP8qESqdO8UgtzOoPUuiraO5q91sQXiMX0H05T2l8s2VeBS7MXcUKOAaFxkxIwjwyTPcJ7tHo16dQ5_jUJcsC4_j7R_BTKdIItmVwhEIQXT96QF_haEoqUcQJis/s400/japan.radiation.hazmat.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5586182596564583138" border="0" /></a><br />Japan's post-earthquake misery has been compounded by a dangerous radiation leak from its Furushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. In the wake of the 9.0 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, Japanese authorities are now having to cope with a third and potentially more devastating problem of poisonous nuclear radiation leaking from the damaged reactors. Workers have been working around the clock for over a week to pour water on the reactor rods to keep them cool, but thus far they have been unable to bring the situation under control.<br /><br />I noted in my write-up on the initial quake how Japan's 1952 national horoscope was heavily afflicted by Rahu (North Node), Uranus, Saturn and Neptune. Clearly, the mind-boggling scope of these multiple disasters would suggest a very dense pattern of planetary affliction and that is indeed what we see. But I would like to briefly discuss some upcoming transit hits that might correspond with significant developments in this ongoing crisis. While there have been some small signs of progress this weekend, the situation remains somewhat uncertain.<br /><br />One of the astrological keys to this situation was the square aspect between Rahu (North Lunar Node) and Uranus. Both planets are destabilizing energies and seek to change or interrupt the status quo. Currently, the square aspect between Rahu (2 Sagittarius) and Uranus (6 Pisces) is still activating the ascendant of this chart at 7 Sagittarius. While Rahu is gradually moving away from the ascendant (and that's a good thing), Uranus has yet to make its exact square aspect. That suggests that we could see some more sudden developments. Specifically, we can see that Monday's Sun-Uranus conjunction at 6 Pisces will line up almost exactly square the ascendant. The Sun is a fairly generic influence and its combination with Uranus could apply to a wide range of situations. The Sun represents government and leaders, so we might see some unexpected actions from the government in response to the crisis. We could also see some new dimension and surprising development, perhaps related to health or water since Mars will aspect the natal Neptune in this chart. Whatever this event turns out to be (and it could well be quite minor), it seems unlikely to turn the tide one way or the other.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh9jf141G7GY0g5CdHRIwkIdvZkmPxgBAgtkOrfDpWyeuFuTTKeqw8sa2mD1PgwtWrtk_SIC6urxLOP0COza4ST0vCG6mIu8Lwksbbch-imEY-XWdixxGhmsKFz-xrjHe1vTMq/s1600/japan1952.transits.apr2011.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 269px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh9jf141G7GY0g5CdHRIwkIdvZkmPxgBAgtkOrfDpWyeuFuTTKeqw8sa2mD1PgwtWrtk_SIC6urxLOP0COza4ST0vCG6mIu8Lwksbbch-imEY-XWdixxGhmsKFz-xrjHe1vTMq/s320/japan1952.transits.apr2011.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5586182771274000690" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I'm a little more concerned about the upcoming Mars aspects to Rahu and Uranus, however. On Tuesday, March 29, Mars will cast its square aspect to Ketu. Since the nodes are opposite one another, this more or less amounts to an aspect to Rahu and the natal ascendant. Unlike the Sun, Mars is a more volatile, upsetting energy with a capacity for doing harm. Mars isn't all bad of course, and in the right situation, it can signal moments of determined action and triumph. But when it gets together with Rahu/Ketu, it tends to correspond with rapid, out of control situations and frustration. Given the potential risks for further damage and contamination, I am worried that we could see some added stresses here, perhaps in the form of a new explosion at one of the plants. Mars-Rahu often means sudden violent events, so that increases its probability somewhat. In the alternative 1947 Japan horoscope (when Japan adopted its post-war constitution), we can see that this Mars-Rahu aspect aligns with the ascendant almost exactly so that provides additional support for the notion that this period could bring about significant new events that may worsen the situation.<br /><br />Transiting Mars then moves forward to its conjunction with Uranus on April 4. This conjunction occurs exactly in square aspect with the ascendant of Japan This is also a volatile mixture of planetary energies that could potentially signify more trouble in this crisis. Uranus is about sudden and explosive energies, and also happens to be a planet that is associated with nuclear power along with Pluto. So we note that the first atomic explosion in Hiroshima in 1945 occurred when Mars was conjunct Uranus. It wasn't a tight conjunction, but it was still there. In any Mars-Uranus conjunction, Mars acts as the fuse and Uranus the power supply. Of course, this is not to suggest that the nuclear plant is going to suffer another explosion when Mars conjoins Uranus in early April. Instead, I look at this conjunction as an indication of a rise of potential energy in that period between, say, March 27 and April 6 that could manifest in several different ways. We might see a setback in the containment efforts from an explosion that releases more radiation into the surrounding area. Or it could be a new development such as evidence of radiation in hitherto unaffected areas, perhaps due to a change in wind. In any event, it does not look as positive in the short term as I would have liked. As US experts have suggested, these repair efforts may well take weeks and my reading of the astrology would tend to agree.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_yqNsSPuqgrLEBDnLph66EEYdlaYR1mJ0sL9iMJ4QtibJhCkJiUw_Px3DgpnNCktY4V82Eqz4A3zdJrlcwL9zha6Z-k5HInCwqH0jyMV6E4uO5w36_q43ChRmNtlrA9Pu4dKv/s1600/japan1947.transits.mar2011.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 263px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_yqNsSPuqgrLEBDnLph66EEYdlaYR1mJ0sL9iMJ4QtibJhCkJiUw_Px3DgpnNCktY4V82Eqz4A3zdJrlcwL9zha6Z-k5HInCwqH0jyMV6E4uO5w36_q43ChRmNtlrA9Pu4dKv/s320/japan1947.transits.mar2011.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5586182887766546322" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Aside from Rahu moving off the ascendant in the coming weeks and Uranus gradually edging past its square aspect, transiting Saturn may also be part of the resolution of this crisis. It's affliction to Mercury in the 4th house speaks directly to the harm and stress that the population are experiencing. Saturn is now retrograde at 20 degrees of sidereal Virgo while natal Mercury sits at 19 Pisces. Saturn will make its exact opposition aspect to Mercury on April 14. So there is some reason to expect that the stresses and strains on the country will persist until that date. We can also see that Mars will conjoin natal Mercury on April 19 so that may also correspond to events that cause suffering or hardship. This general pattern is also duplicated in the 1947 chart where transiting Saturn is conjunct the natal Moon (the people) and opposite Venus and Mars. This three-planet natal pattern will therefore also be hit when transiting Mars comes around to oppose transiting Saturn. It suggests a period of great tension and stress with more damage possible. These planets would suggest that the radiation leak may continue to be source of concern at least until that time. Alternatively, it is possible that some other area of concern may emerge at that time.<br /><br />After April 19, there seems to be a better likelihood for significant improvement and relief as Saturn slips backwards through Virgo while Jupiter prepares to enter Aries where it can support the Sun (vitality). For what it's worth, I'll feel a lot more optimistic about the Japan situation once this mid-April pattern has passed.<br /><br /><br />While the immediate danger may diminish sometime in April, we can still see that Japan will have a tough road for the foreseeable future as Saturn will turn direct exactly conjunct its natal position in June. A very close Saturn return generally means hardship and difficulty, hard work and slow progress. Obviously, we would expect nothing else given the huge rebuilding task that lies ahead. Just to state the obvious: Japan will likely take quite a long time to return to normal. My thoughts and prayers go out to the Japanese people.Christopher Kevillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09563577455947570653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8221366.post-18451871075094041682011-03-12T17:53:00.004-05:002011-03-12T20:19:27.685-05:00Earthquake and tsunami devastate Japan<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZEiB-pMMErBg-wU2m4c_1HtoGBj6oooR27pEjURFkGADlx1SwYxd5wm2OPcQ6cGh2GN_SAHNAx7xkI-eM4ev3Wi92bjotHM3BxpR7xIOe9IES0m5NhS5QufRycakW7f4Gfh0a/s1600/sendai.420.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 307px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZEiB-pMMErBg-wU2m4c_1HtoGBj6oooR27pEjURFkGADlx1SwYxd5wm2OPcQ6cGh2GN_SAHNAx7xkI-eM4ev3Wi92bjotHM3BxpR7xIOe9IES0m5NhS5QufRycakW7f4Gfh0a/s400/sendai.420.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5583330651016140418" /></a><br />Japan's strongest earthquake in recorded history has devastated the northeastern part of the country. The quake hit on Friday, March 11 2011 at 2.46 p.m local time and had a magnitude of 8.9. Its epicentre was under the ocean about 100 kilometers east of the city of Sendai. The death toll from the temblor and resulting tsunami is now likely in the thousands and has caused billions of dollars in damage across a wide area. To make matters worse, the quake also damaged several nuclear power stations and radioactive contamination is now a potential problem.<br /><br />From an astrological perspective, this earthquake seems to be another reflection of the very disturbed nature of the New Year's horoscope. As I have noted previously, the horoscope for midnight January 1, 2011 featured a close aspect between Mars and Saturn, the two most malefic planets. This increases the likelihood of destruction and loss of life through natural disasters or human conflict. The 4th house of this chart contained Mars, Pluto and Rahu -- all malefic planets capable of causing harm. Since the 4th house represents the population as a whole and lands/homes, the presence of these bad planets would tend to increase the number and seriousness of any natural disasters during 2011. As I wrote back on January 1, there will be "a higher than normal number of earthquakes and volcanoes in 2011". At the time, however, I thought it might not be as bad as 2010 which featured the Haitian earthquake that claimed over 200,000 lives. We're only into March so far and already we've seen two major earthquakes in New Zealand and Japan. We shall see if my expectation for a lesser loss of life this year will be correct or not. <br /><br />Some astrologers also understand such natural disasters by analyzing current transits or astronomical patterns such as recent eclipses and lunations. I generally don't follow this approach, if only because I lack the experience to draw up a compelling picture of the situation. However, I would note that the Moon is currently just a few days from an unusually close perigee to the Earth. This 'supermoon' is the closest it has been in 18 years and will be at its closest perigee on March 19. When the Moon is close to the Earth at its perigee, there is an increase in its gravitational pull upon the Earth. This makes tides higher and reportedly makes earthquakes a little more likely than chance would predict. Interestingly, a day before the quake struck some mainstream media outlets in fact ran a story speculating whether natural disasters were more likely, citing the work of astrologer Richard Nolle. Most scientists don't take astrology too seriously, but if I wonder if they will now. Probably not, since astrology does not adhere to the standards of evidence that is demanded by science. <br /><br />What is particularly fascinating to me is how natural events such as this Japanese earthquake can show up in the horoscope of the nations concerned. While one might not that think the rhythms of the natural world would resonate with the man-made world of nation states and politics, I have found that large-scale events do show up fairly clearly in the chart. This earthquake is no exception.<br /><br />There are a few possible horoscopes for Japan. I have previously analyzed and predicted a Japanese earthquake using the 1947 chart which represented the adoption of Japan's post-war constitution. The current quake does show up fairly well in that chart, but it looks clearer in the other common horoscope for modern Japan, the 1952 chart. On April 28, 1952 at 10.30 p.m. Japan regained its full sovereignty ending the post-war occupation by the US. <br /><br />Before we plunge into the chart, here's a primer on mundane astrology for use in earthquake analysis. The 1st house represents the country as a whole and it is often afflicted at times of crisis, whether from natural or military/political events. As noted above, the 4th house is also a sort of catch-all that stands for the population as a whole and specifically for lands/homes. Earthquakes usually coincide with afflictions to the 4th house since the people suffer and the earth and land is shaken and disrupted. The malefic dussthana houses (6,8,12) are sometimes also implicated in disasters such as these, and their planetary rulers may also be a factor in the overall picture. The main planetary culprits in earthquakes are: Saturn (destruction, loss, depression), Uranus (sudden changes, large manifestations of energy), the Moon's Nodes, Rahu and Ketu (disruption of order, chaotic events) and Pluto (transformation, coercion, 'below the surface', death). Neptune is sometimes involved although it usually is more specifically aligned with either diseases or water-related damage. Mars is a fast moving planet that can sometimes act as a trigger to release the energy of the slower, more powerful planets listed above.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXk7_HgB5COPP7XWB3RNnUxm0bzmS4rcrL_xuzbOQkdpfD1mZyyoALhmnwM9C2IxB_ste7muf8xk2JpzZ3TqhXkVIVh9rZAl8onB-AtANKksfFmb9n9B_GPgeKx_vx_EC_LYO2/s1600/sendai.quake.chart.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 316px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXk7_HgB5COPP7XWB3RNnUxm0bzmS4rcrL_xuzbOQkdpfD1mZyyoALhmnwM9C2IxB_ste7muf8xk2JpzZ3TqhXkVIVh9rZAl8onB-AtANKksfFmb9n9B_GPgeKx_vx_EC_LYO2/s400/sendai.quake.chart.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5583330737038800850" /></a><br /><br />We can see how this chart fell victim to the same Uranus-Rahu aspect that caused all those problems in Egypt and Libya. Since the ascendant is 7 degrees of sidereal Sagittarius, transiting Rahu (aka the North Lunar Node) was just three degrees past an exact conjunction with this point. Even more telling was that Uranus (sudden and explosive energy) was almost exactly square the ascendant. Uranus was transiting the equal house cusp (7 Pisces) of the 4th house of the population and lands suggesting major, sudden changes were more likely. While those two factors were important components of the earthquake, they were not in the themselves sufficient conditions. A closer look reveals the chart has an incredibly high level of planetary affliction. Look at Saturn. It was transiting 21 degrees of Virgo almost exactly opposite natal Mercury in the 4th house. An affliction to any planet in the 4th house will tend to increase the likelihood of suffering or dislocation to the population depending on other factors. Saturn had just completed its second Saturn Return conjoining its natal position and this can often be a time of burdens and distress. Transiting Ketu (South Node) was almost exactly conjunct the natal Moon. The Moon is the planetary representation of the people and its affliction here is another indication of chaotic and harmful situations that are in keeping with the effects of an earthquake. <br /><br />Ironically, it is Jupiter which may provide the key to the whole chart. As we know, Jupiter is a good planet that usually brings blessings and favours. In the Japan chart, it is doubly important because it is the ruler of both the 1st (Sagittarius) and 4th houses (Pisces)-- the key houses when analyzing natural events such as this. First, we can see that natal Jupiter (6 Aries) was aspected by transiting Rahu within just two degrees. That is a potentially difficult aspect and suggests uncertain situations that may fall outside of routines. However, it is transiting Jupiter at 16 Pisces that really appears to weaken the whole chart. That's because Jupiter is exactly opposite natal Saturn. Since transiting Jupiter carries its natal imprint with it, when it comes under the aspect of an evil planet like Saturn, it weakens the houses it rules. In this case, it weakens both the 1st and 4th houses, the very foundations of the entire horoscope and thereby opens the door to a much larger situation of disruption and suffering. <br /><br />Neptune's role in this is interesting. As we know, the tsunami may have killed more people than the earthquake itself. In this sense, Neptune should be active in this chart in some obvious way. And it is, through its close trine aspect with Ketu. Since the Ketu conjunction with the Moon (people) generated chaotic and disruptive situations involving the population, the energy from Neptune (liquids, water) may have acted as the planetary agency through which that chaos was channeled. By itself, Neptune's tight trine aspect with the Moon may not have corresponded with damaging situations. The difference here was that Ketu was undermining the ability of the Moon to channel that Neptune energy in a positive and constructive way. As a result, the Ketu-Neptune trine was a key source of instability in the Japan chart and contributed to the extent of the damage from water. I would also note that Neptune may be further implicated in the event of any radioactive contamination since Neptune rules disease.<br /><br />Just wrapping up the transit analysis, I can see that transiting Mars (18 Aquarius) formed a grand trine with natal trine between Mars (conflict, violence) and Uranus (sudden events, high energy). The Mars-Uranus aspect in the natal chart is a signature for sudden and dangerous events and may describe the tendency for Japan to suffer these kinds of natural disasters with a fairly high frequency. Although the grand trine is considered a good aspect in Western astrology, too much Mars is rarely a good thing and in light of all the other afflictions in this chart at the time, it likely acted as a trigger.<br /><br />If anything, the tertiary progressions paint an even clearer picture of destruction. TP Mars was conjunct the ascendant within two degrees and was aspected by TP Saturn and opposite TP Sun. The TP ascendant was also in close aspect and thereby intensified the affliction. This is an extremely troubled chart. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKv9BtY3NRoQoQ8gOLsQm-Ze02VfECSF53-RX_h6BuTv1ld7IMvFMJSoi1DDlUxCCctih_jZM9MY1_TbWdaYXwl8xh9FjNLbrkVt2uAcrHoiHqONvifqkN6Dh5ryz8GQNg5hwI/s1600/sendaiquake.progs.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 316px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKv9BtY3NRoQoQ8gOLsQm-Ze02VfECSF53-RX_h6BuTv1ld7IMvFMJSoi1DDlUxCCctih_jZM9MY1_TbWdaYXwl8xh9FjNLbrkVt2uAcrHoiHqONvifqkN6Dh5ryz8GQNg5hwI/s400/sendaiquake.progs.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5583330826591350594" /></a><br /><br />I should also make a brief mention of the dasha periods that were running. Japan is currently in the Mercury-Venus dasha period. The Mercury major period began in 2005 and the Venus minor period began in 2009. We can see that both dasha lords suffer affliction in the natal and both were under pressure by transits. Mercury is debilitated in Pisces the 4th house and aspected by Saturn within just three degrees. This is a very heavy affliction and bodes poorly for most 4th house indications including lands/homes and general happiness and prosperity of the people. As we saw, Mercury was also coming under the aspect of Saturn at the time of the quake. The minor period lord Venus is in an even more intriguing situation. While it is exalted in Pisces here, it is in the last degree and hence becomes somewhat weak and unpredictable in its results. It's also very close to the IC, or unequal 4th house cusp, and therefore is more closely associated with the land and the people. And here's the clincher: it is in a close opposition with Neptune within just three degrees. Venus minor periods may therefore feature situations and events where liquids and water figure prominently. The damage wrought by the tsunami definitely seems to correlate well with the Neptune influence in this chart, both through its natal aspect with minor period lord Venus and through its trine aspect with the natal Moon. <br /><br />So it was the combination of all these layers of affliction that detailed the extent of this massive earthquake. But if these indications were so clear, then would it be possible to actually predict it? The difficulty there of course is that one has to consult the horoscope beforehand in order to make a prediction. Since I don't make a practice of regularly consulting Japan's horoscope, there was little chance for me to make this prediction. In my previous correct prediction of a Japanese earthquake in 2003, I was fortunate in that I just happened to look at it a few weeks before the fact. I saw that it was heavily afflicted for an upcoming period and then posted the prediction. In any event, the possibility of making correct predictions from these national horoscopes is a promising avenue of analysis that warrants further study.Christopher Kevillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09563577455947570653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8221366.post-37943487004536359172011-02-27T13:31:00.004-05:002011-02-27T13:34:22.195-05:00Revolution spreads in the Middle East: Gaddafi's Libya is next<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUH7nrP79ujkbXHn5FTDx-dflzPyiWD1449ucW1NX5MeQ8oQr7ahIlQjp8ww7ee8wMMqnmwFK2RcfzaqYz8gc8L8TNW31dne8x_yCL14QwpbXkeP1fLX2Umw633kkhpV9eNUWp/s1600/Mideast_Libya.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUH7nrP79ujkbXHn5FTDx-dflzPyiWD1449ucW1NX5MeQ8oQr7ahIlQjp8ww7ee8wMMqnmwFK2RcfzaqYz8gc8L8TNW31dne8x_yCL14QwpbXkeP1fLX2Umw633kkhpV9eNUWp/s400/Mideast_Libya.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5578438901195344258" /></a><br />Revolution is definitely in the air these days in the Middle East. Libya is the latest country to be hit by waves of civil unrest and violence as protesters have taken to the streets and demanded the ouster of long-time ruler Muammar Gaddafi. After the protests turned violent, much of the army and police forces were chased away in the eastern part of the country as opposition groups began to take over cities of Benghazi and Tobruk. While the capital Tripoli remains in Gaddafi's hands for the moment, most commentators expect him to lose this stand-off fairly soon.<br /><br />Why is the entire Middle East seemingly caught up in this revolutionary fervour at this time? Ultimately, the answer to this question lies in the individual horoscopes of the countries in question. After all, why Egypt, Tunisia and Libya, and not, say, Morocco, Syria and Saudi Arabia which have thus far remained quite peaceful and orderly? Logically, there must be something specific to the national horoscopes in the first group that is missing in the second group. My post on the Egyptian uprising showed how specific planetary afflictions to that national chart reflected the overthrow of Mubarak. The same sort of problems can be found in the Libya horoscope, as we will see below. At the same time, we can also suggest some relevant background influences that may have fanned the flames of protest and revolt across the region.<br /><br />First, <a href="http://modernvedicastrology.com/node/333">I noted back on New Year's Day</a> how the horoscope for 2011 looked quite tense and difficult, and made special mention of matters concerning government and leaders While this horoscope applies to the world as a whole, one can see how the placement of malefic Ketu in the 10th house would result in "increased pressure on government and leaders". Also the ruler of the 10th house (Gemini) of government is Mercury, and it is afflicted by Saturn in this chart by its full strength 3rd house aspect. This is a sort of double whammy against government and might create "significant changes" in governments and their policies around the world. The destructive square aspect between Mars and Saturn probably increased the likelihood of violence and confrontation generally, although this also applied to the suffering produced by natural disasters such as earthquakes. Of course, there was nothing in this forecast that applied to the Middle East and merely highlighted possible general trends around the world.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk9QPBxaxY1THcAheixT87D5a2xVIhY9xHlY4FoQhVrJitvSytr9g14Nb_19QltYl4sKTeTTDA79KqfS5NNgwlybmabpSH4LqgXE1-AuZAhHw5fg4AREnt0kLugrQMdzj0r-g9/s1600/eclipse.tripoli.2011.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 380px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk9QPBxaxY1THcAheixT87D5a2xVIhY9xHlY4FoQhVrJitvSytr9g14Nb_19QltYl4sKTeTTDA79KqfS5NNgwlybmabpSH4LqgXE1-AuZAhHw5fg4AREnt0kLugrQMdzj0r-g9/s400/eclipse.tripoli.2011.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5578439212435404738" /></a><br /><br />More specifically, the solar eclipse of January 4, 2011 occurred over Europe and the Middle East. For thousands of years, eclipses have traditionally represented times of change and portent as the light from the Sun disappeared behind the shadow of the Moon. This interruption in the normal order of things was usually received with fear and anxiety as eclipses were regarded as the harbingers of destruction and disease. In this case, the eclipse was visible from all the countries in question, so that may have increased the chances that the region would be witness to some significant changes. <br /><br />The horoscope of the eclipse was actually quite afflicted, and this was another sign that the ensuing period might usher in some substantial change or at least interrupt the status quo in some way. The eclipse point (Sun conjunct Moon) at 19 degrees of sidereal Sagittarius suffered a double affliction: it was conjunct Mars, symbolizing conflict and possible violence and it was square Saturn, representing suffering and oppression from authority. But what's interesting is that this chart isn't all bad. The very tight trine aspect between Jupiter-Uranus (expansion-optimism, independence-rebellion) and Venus (happiness, sociality, wealth) is a very favourable combination of energies that may well reflect the immense hope and promise of these popular uprisings. It seems clear that the winds of change are blowing through the entire region so that the old ways of doing things are no longer acceptable as people are demanding their fair share. The populations are no longer willing to suffer in silence under the iron grip of a repressive leaders that enrich themselves at the expense of their people. The Venus factor may also reflect the role of economic suffering in this revolts. In a significant departure from the stereotype of the region, the uprisings were not at all religious but grew out of frustration over inflation and a declining standard of living. The Venus-Jupiter-Uranus influence also reflects the broadly-based social character of these popular uprisings. We can also hope that these benefic planets may indicate the eventual success of these revolutions. <br /><br />Taking the Libyan case, we can see how problems in the national chart quite clearly reflect the current crisis. Libya gained its independence from Italy on December 24, 1951 at midnight in Tripoli. The resulting chart provides the basic contours of the Libyan state as we know it. The ruler of the 4th house (Scorpio) of resources and mining is Mars and it is placed in the 2nd house of assets and wealth reflecting the importance of Libya's oil wealth to its economy. Moreover, Mars is placed in the sign of Virgo which is ruled by Mercury, hence the ruler of the 2nd and 4th houses are in mutual reception, which strengthens the effect of this contact. Mars is conjunct Neptune (liquids, oil) and Saturn (earth, underground resources). Leaders are seen through the placement of the Sun. The Sun is in Sagittarius but it is closely aspected by malefic Ketu. Since Ketu is often a negative influence that is associated with unusual or unpredictable qualities, it is not too hard to see how this might represent an eccentric and dangerous ruler such as Gaddafi who has ruled the country since 1969. <br /><br />The current transits tell most of the story. Like Egypt's chart, the Sun comes under double affliction from both transiting Rahu and the square aspect from Uranus. The Sun represents government and leaders, so this disruptive Rahu-Uranus square is one reason why there is so much opposition to authority. The Uranus square to the Sun demands change at the top, and the more radical the better. Rahu dislikes order and routine so it may also be behind the urge to change government structures. In addition, this affliction of the Sun may reflect Gaddafi's irrational response to the protests.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwLrNRULveIOy8VNBVEGSYOn8Wt-QfADh7UCYgPv4V3OmgUduEzMsbuatRhsRdkwlXgmOEZCFL7SJSxg08HiFhj7MAblxPgyzUi3JCZQj4YDel12LIihY5tWrot-i9uXhZ-aef/s1600/libya.2011transits.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 329px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwLrNRULveIOy8VNBVEGSYOn8Wt-QfADh7UCYgPv4V3OmgUduEzMsbuatRhsRdkwlXgmOEZCFL7SJSxg08HiFhj7MAblxPgyzUi3JCZQj4YDel12LIihY5tWrot-i9uXhZ-aef/s400/libya.2011transits.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5578439330139747986" /></a><br /><br />The natal Rahu in the Libya horoscope is also clearly activated as we can see that array of Sun, Neptune, Mercury and Mars also conjoining Rahu in Aquarius. This is another source of the chaos and the urge to purge the old ways and bring in a new order.<br /><br />Unlike Egypt, the violence in Libya appears to be a significant feature of the uprising. We can see that transiting Saturn recently stationed and turned retrograde at 23 degrees of Virgo. This was exactly conjunct the natal Mars (23 Virgo). Saturn-Mars combinations are often found in situations of extreme stress and are frequent markers of destruction and suffering. The fact that natal Mars is conjunct Saturn in the Libya horoscope makes this transit worse than it already is. Of course, Saturn has been sitting on that Mars for weeks now due to its very slow retrograde motion, so that is another reason why the violence has been quite bad.<br /><br />The transit of Mars to the natal Rahu on Sunday February 27 may reflect an upsurge in violence. Even if Gaddafi survives after that, he is unlikely to last many more weeks. Transiting Uranus will exactly square natal Sun in April and the Mars-Uranus conjunction on April 3 looks quite nasty indeed and may correspond with a major eruption of violence, possibly involving Gaddafi himself. Ahead of that date, mid-March could also be quite difficult as transiting Mars aspects natal Mars. The ongoing affliction to Libya's chart strongly indicates major changes in the near future. Most commentators contend that Gaddafi will eventually lose in the end, but it is interesting to see how well the chart reflects this probability.Christopher Kevillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09563577455947570653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8221366.post-80693264234063356662011-01-31T19:31:00.007-05:002011-01-31T20:11:25.422-05:00Egypt in turmoil: protests push Mubarak to the edge<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTqVofFqjI0gkiB8UTCvp75LCsUtld37mqAk055fixDyvhhZL-58Uc4s3Sin5qqmqTcIeqfDDjLyKGfH66qvwq3DVpd1gUsONL3B-9dmAP1V_plMDJAwOg712s6FRJ7ixcjQ8Q/s1600/egypt.protest.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTqVofFqjI0gkiB8UTCvp75LCsUtld37mqAk055fixDyvhhZL-58Uc4s3Sin5qqmqTcIeqfDDjLyKGfH66qvwq3DVpd1gUsONL3B-9dmAP1V_plMDJAwOg712s6FRJ7ixcjQ8Q/s400/egypt.protest.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5568513013765669762" /></a><br /><br /><div class="moz-text-html" lang="x-western"> Egypt is currently in the throes of an almost unprecedented wave of civil unrest as protesters are calling for the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak and the end to his autocratic regime. Starting in Tunisia in November, the Middle East has been the scene of a series of popular uprisings as runaway inflation and high unemployment have exposed the rotten core of a corrupt and undemocratic system of government that prevails in most Arab countries. The situation is quite chaotic at the moment with both sides digging in -- the opposition is organizing a huge rally against the regime while the Mubarak is relying on the army to keep the lid on things.<br /><br />The current astrological circumstance shows an fairly high number of potentially significant coincidences. Just from a transit perspective, it is quite telling that all this upsurge in popular opposition is occurring at the time of the conjunction of the Sun and Mars in sidereal Capricorn. This conjunction takes place about once every two years and often reflects a time of taking initiatives and being in a state of competitiveness. It's worth noting that the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 occurred just a month after another Sun-Mars conjunction. The Sun and Mars are the two fiery planets of the solar system and their combination here suggests a time of courage, assertiveness, and aggressive actions. The Sun is usually seen as a planet of vitality, confidence and leadership while Mars symbolizes the more action-oriented side to the equation as it reacts quickly to stimuli, and is impatient for change. It is also the planet of aggression and violence. The fact that this conjunction occurs in sidereal Capricorn, the constellation that represents government and leadership structures, highlights how all this fiery energy is being directed towards changing the Egyptian government and removing Mubarak from office. Since Mars is exalted in Capricorn, some its more positive qualities are more likely to come to the surface: courage, stamina, and heroism. We can see that these qualities are clearly in evidence over the past week as the unarmed mass of Egyptian citizens are defying curfews and standing up for what they think is right. It's also worth noting that the Egyptian army (Mars) is similarly rising to the occasion by refusing (thus far, at least) to crack down and shoot on unarmed protesters. <br /><br />What makes this Sun-Mars conjunction more unusual and problematic, is that it is occurring this week while in a close trine aspect with Saturn. While the 120 degree trine aspect is not a full strength aspect in Vedic astrology, it nonetheless exerts some influence when it is this close by degree. In the best of circumstances, Saturn represents tradition, routines, structures and prudent constraints on human freedom for a higher purpose. The Sun-Mars desire for change and action is coming in conflict with Saturn's preference for stability and order. More ominously, Saturn's darker side symbolizes loss and destruction, so we cannot be too surprised that there has some loss of life already thus far. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi67xqbkTp-vIJLcGFbRdm-gZhtgben75Y7iGqW_Uls2WKt-bW_kbuo9gogwb-rwZi3MQyN_YFhybiNNg52QtbTiTKC8nq1tcrifkyfrBlTqToMs70FBzkoQKt9Uz4NHX2tFKUt/s1600/Egypt.transits.01.25.2011b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 265px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi67xqbkTp-vIJLcGFbRdm-gZhtgben75Y7iGqW_Uls2WKt-bW_kbuo9gogwb-rwZi3MQyN_YFhybiNNg52QtbTiTKC8nq1tcrifkyfrBlTqToMs70FBzkoQKt9Uz4NHX2tFKUt/s320/Egypt.transits.01.25.2011b.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5568512513748548370" /></a><br /><br />We can see the specifics of the uprising from the horoscope of Egypt. There are several possible candidates for this chart. Britain granted independence in 1922 but it was a conditional sovereignty that was still seen as constraining Egyptian freedom. The July 1952 revolution created an independent state and is commemorated today as a national holiday. However, the final step towards complete autonomy appears to have occurred in the early morning hours of June 19, 1952 when Egypt was declared a sovereign republic. I have to admit a certain level of ignorance of the finer historical points here -- especially on the accuracy of the exact time (1.30 a.m.) of this latter chart -- but for the moment, let's see what the this Republic chart reveals.<br /><br />The protests began on January 25 just as the Sun and Mars were passing over the natal Rahu in the 10th house of government and leaders. Rahu in the 10th house suggests a tendency towards an acquisitive and headstrong approach to government. Rahu does like not constraints on its action and can be materialistic and devious when it is subject to transit affliction. The Sun-Mars conjunction was therefore activating Egypt's 10th house of government and bringing it into focus. But this is only one fairly short-lived and "triggering" transit influence and it cannot explain the occurrence of the whole uprising.<br /><br />The historic importance of the current popular movement is better seen through the dasha periods and the transits of slower moving planets. Egypt entered its Saturn major dasha period in August 2009. Saturn can be a difficult influence symbolic of loss and delays and in the natal chart we can see that rules the 10th house (Capricorn) of government and leaders. Moreover, it is weakly placed in the dussthana 6th house with the withering effects of Neptune. This is quite a difficult placement and suggests weakness or deception (Neptune) and confrontation or "illness" (6th house). Saturn is likely to produce more negative results since its sign dispositor (Virgo) is Mercury and it is with Uranus in a square aspect with Saturn again.<br /><br />Amazingly, Saturn stationed and turned retrograde on the day the protests began -- quite a coincidence. Of course, astrology suggests that such coincidences are not random and planetary positions have a special significance for events on Earth. Here are a few more more coincidences worth pondering: Saturn has turned retrograde while returning to its natal position within just a few degrees -- a so-called Saturn Return that occurs every 29.5 years. It's worth noting that the previous Saturn return corresponded quite closely (just a few months before) with the assassination of President Anwar Sadat in 1981. Saturn Returns seem to be quite unforgiving to government and leaders since Saturn rules the 10th house (govt.) and it is weak in the natal chart. The recent Saturn retrograde station at 23 degrees of Virgo casts its square aspect to the unequal 4th house cusp (25 Gemini) of people and the population and thereby afflicted both Uranus and Mercury. This Saturn influence emphasizes the hardship of the population and underlines the stressful conditions that the country is facing at this juncture.<br /><br />Another key transit influence was the conjunction of transiting Ketu (South Lunar Node) to the natal Sun and Mars in Gemini. Ketu is a natural malefic that symbolizes unpredictable or unwanted change. It erases boundaries and exerts an inimical influence on the material world. Egypt's Sun and Mars are in natal conjunction in Gemini -- an interesting echo of the current transiting conjunction of those two planets -- and is therefore afflicted by this transit of Ketu, so government (Sun) and army (Mars) are being faced with challenges to its authority by the upsetting energy of this shadowy lunar node. Ketu was likely made more malefic in this instance due to the extreme affliction to its sign dispositor, Mercury. Natal Mercury is being aspected by Saturn, while transiting Mercury is also in a square aspect with Saturn. A very bad chain of planetary energy there.<br /><br />Finally, transiting Uranus (3 Pisces) is exactly square to the natal Sun (4 Gemini). Uranus has an energy of independence and rebelliousness while the Sun, of course, represents the government and Mubarak himself. Uranus' square aspect is especially difficult to handle as it creates destabilized situations and can reflect sudden or radical changes. For example, the popular protests in France in May 1968 occurred when Uranus formed a square aspect to the natal Moon in France's horoscope. The Moon represents the people, so it reflected the extremely agitated and rebellious mood of the population as the general strike almost succeeded in toppling de Gaulle's government. We can see much the same story unfolding here on the streets of Cairo.<br /><br />So how will this situation resolve? Since Uranus is not near a station, the maximum intensity of this disruptive transit will not last too long, perhaps just another week or two before it loses some of its power. Transiting Ketu is already past Mars but will still closely afflict the natal Sun for another month or two at least so that suggests the uncertainty of the situation and pressure on authorities may last for a little while longer. It's quite possible that Mubarak could survive this week, but the charts do not suggest that the overall situation will return to normal anytime soon. The Mars aspect to natal Venus over the next couple of days (Feb 1-2) could see intense stresses placed on the country. Then transiting Venus opposes natal Mars on Feb 6-7 so that may be another difficult period where violence could flare up. So Mubarak may well survive in the short term, but he is unlikely to last into next year. Unfortunately, we do yet not have any timed birth data for Hosni Mubarak himself which might have shed additional light on this question.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggjizoUXMKruYu8oK5FAVxYW8yQ0TmmDRaAHqMI9pj4X14cekQomd9L5fQMA_tkonOzNmW7aqvbCG011kg3Yvjyz4e2oNqSu5QVexkzyU9mzyy9xJkLbvdSn88_H95dyKgDfpi/s1600/Egypt.transits.08.10.2011a.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 263px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggjizoUXMKruYu8oK5FAVxYW8yQ0TmmDRaAHqMI9pj4X14cekQomd9L5fQMA_tkonOzNmW7aqvbCG011kg3Yvjyz4e2oNqSu5QVexkzyU9mzyy9xJkLbvdSn88_H95dyKgDfpi/s320/Egypt.transits.08.10.2011a.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5568512592878001570" /></a><br /><br />More troubling is that Uranus will eventually station in exact square to Mars in the summer, on July 10. Since it will form a t-square pattern with Pluto, this marks a very dangerous time for Egypt. Mars symbolizes the army and conflict, so this suggests a likelihood of some kind of violence or explicitly conflictive situation will occur around that time. This may refer to more internal strife, or the army dividing into factions, or it could represent a war with an external enemy. Rahu and Ketu will be squaring the natal Moon (28 Leo) around that time so that may coincide with situations that are disorienting or disturbing to the people. More pointedly, transiting Ketu will be in aspect with dasha lord Saturn in August so that may coincide with disruptions of authority and law and order. Saturn rules the 10th house of leadership, so this does not bode well either for the government in power, whoever it may be. Early August also stands out as quite eventful as transiting Mars conjoins the natal Sun-Mars conjunction in Gemini. In so doing, it will further complete the nasty t-square pattern between Uranus and Pluto. It looks like quite a violent and destructive time for Egypt.<br /><br />So even if Mubarak survives the next week, there are several more difficult patterns in the Egyptian horoscope this year that suggest further unrest and violence. And with the exact Saturn return due in October, it would appear that the clock is winding down on the Mubarak government. Regardless of who is in control, Egypt looks like it will be a very unstable and and, at times, violent place throughout much of 2011.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div>Christopher Kevillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09563577455947570653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8221366.post-34669337574800876062011-01-10T20:12:00.002-05:002011-01-10T20:14:11.606-05:00US Congresswoman Giffords targeted in Arizona shooting<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUAbwbjMfGbv8jUsm6aQ-xSCuPbUOIxzvxXqDI6lhb7ByKUdaZpsxAD5Byq5fvgTilYZdPDi_4zCzQOr8QHBYsSlkZne48TwfqUjXnnBJlXy84lvD0YN_1a2yYp_fKRQedJ95L/s1600/giffords.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 276px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUAbwbjMfGbv8jUsm6aQ-xSCuPbUOIxzvxXqDI6lhb7ByKUdaZpsxAD5Byq5fvgTilYZdPDi_4zCzQOr8QHBYsSlkZne48TwfqUjXnnBJlXy84lvD0YN_1a2yYp_fKRQedJ95L/s320/giffords.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5560730255784016290" border="0" /></a><br />America was witness to yet another mass killing on the weekend, this one involving US Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. Giffords was shot in the head but is apparently going to survive, although six people died in the shooting spree outside a Safeway in Tucson, Arizona on Saturday, January 8. While it seems that the shooter, Jared Loughner, did target the Democrat Ms. Giffords, a picture is emerging that he was mentally unbalanced and did not have ties to any particular political group. It seems the tragic American tradition of the 'lone nut' has once again reared its ugly head.<br /><br />There has been much finger pointing in the aftermath of the shooting, mostly towards the right wing media, the Tea Party and Sarah Palin, who liberals claim have used inflammatory rhetoric that created a climate of intolerance and hate. While that may be true, the desperate actions of the confused Loughner remain his alone. The US is now engaged in a round of soul-searching as it attempts to come to terms with its polarized political culture in which the moderate voices are increasingly marginalized.<br /><br />We can clearly see this outburst of violence in the US horoscope. Violence is the dominion of the planet Mars. Whether it is through war, violent incidents such as these, or natural disasters, the planet Mars will usually be activated by transit whenever there is a significant symbolic injury or loss of life on a national level. Not surprisingly, we find Mars activated both ways: natal Mars is aspected by transiting Mercury while natal Mercury is aspected by transiting Mars. So this assassination attempt and mass shooting had a double dose of Mars. But why Mercury?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdSNEyRBvIFSDjXbe7H1ntbgjQdAVwxGby2PuaNlAUbcRVipdqUAq6F_YWs_3i4088cy6Nzl-EOaeItc_t7mUVnHmyV5s_u4CwrSpAjguwaBG2MsOIBPZ55glcTJydvMlGYQlN/s1600/USA.Giffords.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 304px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdSNEyRBvIFSDjXbe7H1ntbgjQdAVwxGby2PuaNlAUbcRVipdqUAq6F_YWs_3i4088cy6Nzl-EOaeItc_t7mUVnHmyV5s_u4CwrSpAjguwaBG2MsOIBPZ55glcTJydvMlGYQlN/s320/USA.Giffords.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5560730335705054050" /></a><br /><br />One possibility is that Mercury is the ruler of the 10th house of government in the US horoscope. (An aside: while I acknowledge there are dozens of possible charts for the US, I am using the 6.30 p.m chart as popularized by James Kelleher. It is not perfect, but few charts are.) The target of the attack with a member of Congress, and so she may be symbolized by Mercury. The fact that the Mercury-Mars contact was duplicated in both natal and transit planets likely underlined its great importance for the country as a whole.<br /><br />Another major affliction to this chart (and all US charts regardless of birth time) is that the natal Sun was afflicted by a t-square involving transiting Saturn and the Sun. The Sun is the planetary significator of government and its involvement in this difficult t-square no doubt played a role in this unfortunate incident. Saturn symbolizes loss, setbacks, delays, and sadness. Some of the questions being asked about the role of the media, the conservative movement, and the entire US political system likely reflects the impact of this Saturn on the Sun. With Saturn slowing down ahead of its station on January 26, it is extra powerful here, so we may see a protracted debate and a possible further erosion of confidence in the US government as this aspect remains in range well into February. It could be a very tough time for the country and the administration.<br /><br />The other pattern that stands out in this chart is that Rahu and Pluto are currently clustered around the ascendant in this chart. Rahu can be a disruptive influence, as it seeks to interfere with the status quo and bring about change at any cost. In some situations, this can be positive as oppressive traditions are cast off in favour of new ways of doing things. But in this case, Rahu is with Pluto, a planet with a troublesome reputation. Pluto is closely associated with power, and the aggressive pursuit of power. The Rahu-Pluto conjunction can represent a selfish striving to achieve one's own goals, regardless of the consequences. It can bring about change, but it is usually painful and it may not pay sufficient heed to legal or acceptable means. Since the ascendant is the body of the country as a whole, the current climate of mistrust, repulsion, and internal questioning may also be a reflection of this clustering around the ascendant. Fortunately, Rahu will soon move off this point, although Pluto will remain in close proximity to the ascendant for much of 2011. Pluto's square with Uranus in August will highlight the US ascendant once again. The t-square involving Mars, Uranus and Pluto around August 9 also suggests the possibility of more violent and shocking situations. This pattern will be a good test of this particular chart since it will occur right on the angles.Christopher Kevillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09563577455947570653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8221366.post-68260724811630555822011-01-01T12:41:00.001-05:002011-01-01T12:43:47.739-05:00New Year's Chart for 2011<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2PVR81mdERK9bx-dtWdpCXJjr-13kYZelfb56ZHi8F7gWyQGD7Q4WvK2wcbiEcPUEBKVbC-fo4KTFSEFcNa2rbws8GWl28hrNsYONejcs2UsA6QybeGb8jkHJxvdicCl_AgIt/s1600/newyearsday.chart.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 281px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2PVR81mdERK9bx-dtWdpCXJjr-13kYZelfb56ZHi8F7gWyQGD7Q4WvK2wcbiEcPUEBKVbC-fo4KTFSEFcNa2rbws8GWl28hrNsYONejcs2UsA6QybeGb8jkHJxvdicCl_AgIt/s320/newyearsday.chart.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557274356988118594" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center; font-weight: bold;">January 1, 2011 00.00 EST Washington, DC<br /></div><br /><br /><br />With the coming of a new year brings another astrological opportunity to foretell the future. Lord, what fools these mortals be! I don't claim to make a definitive set of 2011 predictions here; that is way beyond my abilities and the scope of a short article on a website. Instead, I offer an analysis of the New Year's Chart and assess its patterns for any clues for the upcoming year. I have found this chart to a useful tool in forecasting, even if it is often fairly general and impressionistic. But what it lacks in comprehensiveness, it more than makes up for in simplicity. It's all there in one convenient chart. Astrological purists may protest that this chart has no astronomical correspondence (e.g. eclipses, lunations, etc) and it also has no specifically Vedic credentials. True enough, but there is an enormous symbolic significance to the stroke of midnight on December 31/January 1 every year, and one that increasingly involves the whole of humanity. If there is any connection between the cosmos and consciousness, it should manifest in charts such as these that bind the calendar to the human spirit.<br /><br />The New Year's chart for 2010 had a tight Saturn-Pluto square aspect across the 1st and 4th houses. At the time, I thought this might pertain more to a reorganizing of social institutions and social structures, especially as it pertained to the economy. While there was some changes in the Eurozone and the EU as the debt crisis claimed some early casualties and spawned the introduction of a bailout fund, most of this aspect appeared to manifest more physically in the form of the unusually large number of natural disasters in 2010. The 4th house represents land in general and its affliction here by Pluto and Saturn suggested destruction and damage. The Haiti earthquake of January 12, 2010 killed over 200,000 people. This occurred when the Saturn-Pluto square was triggered by retrograde Mercury when it conjoined Pluto. The US gulf oil spill in May was another major natural disaster that also reflected this tense Saturn-Pluto energy.<br /><br />In the 2010 write-up I noted the close Mercury-Rahu conjunction that occurred in close aspect with Mars. At the time, I thought this might manifest as technology "that goes awry" in some way, and causes some kind of conflict. I noted how this might be more revelations like the Climategate email scandal at the end of 2009. In retrospect, I think the WikiLeaks story in late 2010 encapsulates these planetary influences quite well. Julian Assange's efforts to release leaked diplomatic cables online (Mercury) caused an enormous amount of embarrassment (Rahu) and conflict (Mars) and revealed how vulnerable large organizations have become in the wired world. The possibility of breaches of security and secrecy is very much in the spirit of Mercury and Rahu since Mercury is concerned with communication and technology and Rahu seeks to upset the existing order of things.<br /><br />With the Moon conjoining malefic Ketu in the 10th house, government was the object of significant opposition and change in 2010. In last year's article, I suggested that this would mean significant change in leadership and policies. While there were some major changes in the US and UK, I'm not quite sure this Ketu influence bore fruit as I thought it might. In the US, the Republicans took control of Congress and forced Obama's Democrats on their heels late in the year. In the UK, the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats swept the ruling Labour Party out of power and began a strict austerity program to deal with a difficult fiscal situation. Meanwhile, many European governments had to cope with the internal contradictions of the EU and the prospect of bailing out its weaker economies in Greece, Ireland, Spain and Portugal.<br /><br />And the economic recovery continued to sputter along in Western countries as the various government stimulus plans have so far prevented the dreaded double dip recession. This was largely in keeping with the optimism of the Jupiter-Neptune conjunction in last year's chart as well as the close proximity of Venus to the Sun. Since both of these combinations are positive, there appeared to be enough good planets to preclude anything too serious on the economic front. And in many countries, especially in Asia, the economy bounced back strongly, albeit with a disturbingly high amount of inflation. That is perhaps a reflection of Neptune's idealism with the irrepressible optimism of Jupiter -- too much of a good thing?<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">2011</span><br /><br />The New Year's chart for 2011 looks less obviously dramatic than last year's, although there are definitely some powerful aspects. Saturn is still in sidereal Virgo in the 1st house and therefore may extend the general state of caution, if not malaise, for much of the year. This is likely to reflect continued uncertainty in the economy and the sense that we are 'just muddling through'. The economy as a whole looks mixed at best. On the plus side, Venus rules the 2nd house of wealth and assets and it is well placed in its own sign of Libra and receives an aspect from benefic Jupiter. That may well prevent any worse case type economic scenarios from taking place. <br /><br />But the other money house, the 11th symbolizing income, tells another story. The 11th house contains the sign of Cancer and is ruled by the Moon. The Moon is debilitated in Scorpio in this chart and what's worse it is in an exact quincunx aspect with Ketu and an exact semisquare aspect with Saturn. While neither are considered full strength Vedic aspects, the lack of orb in both of them is reason enough to expect some economic problems in 2011 that could generate major changes (Ketu) and losses (Saturn). The Moon is also significator for the public in general so this will tend to reflect a sense of dislocation and reserve. More positively, the Moon is aspected by Jupiter in this chart, so<br /><br />In terms of natural phenomena, the 4th house is afflicted by the conjunction of Pluto, Rahu and Mars. This suggests that we may again see a higher than normal number of earthquakes and volcanoes in 2011, although perhaps not as many as we saw in 2010. Mars (violence) is squared by Saturn (destruction) here so there will likely be considerable loss of life as a result of these events. The October-November time frame may be most noteworthy in this respect due to the Sun-Saturn conjunction and Mars-Rahu aspect.<br /><br />The situation of Mercury is interesting in this chart because it receives the fulls strength 3rd house aspect from Saturn and is also in a partial aspect with Mars. That is a very afflicted condition and suggests that communication, technology, and transportation will be areas of suffering and disappointment in the year ahead. We can therefore expect more WikiLeaks-type intrigues or perhaps computer hacking that causes internet shutdowns or even some incidents of cyberwarefare. All are very possible outcomes with Mercury, Mars and Saturn in alignment. April may stand out in some way in this regard as Mercury will retrograde opposition Saturn at that time.<br /><br />And as in 2010, Ketu stays in the 10th house in the 2011 New Year's chart. Ketu is a force for change and discontinuity, so there may be increased pressure on government and leadership for 2011. With the 10th lord Mercury also afflicted by Saturn, there is a good case to be made for more significant changes in government and their policies around the world. This is not an election year in the US, but it still may signify some new approaches to problems, perhaps involving the economy.<br /><br />On a more positive note, Jupiter is in close aspect with Uranus in Pisces in the 7th house. This conjunction will likely bring forth major technological innovations that will make a significant contribution to the world. These innovations may be disproportionately associated with liquids (Pisces) and social interaction, especially between nations (7th house). The fact that this conjunction occurs in the 7th house may also see new or strengthened international alliances that prove to be successful in their efforts.<br /><br />So the overall picture is very mixed for 2011. The strength of Venus and the Jupiter-Uranus conjunction would appear to provide continuing positive energy to provide hope and optimism for the future. And yet the difficult position of the Moon and Mercury is more worrisome and suggests that there will be major challenges in the economy, communication and transportation.Christopher Kevillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09563577455947570653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8221366.post-30625684822564375382010-12-21T12:22:00.013-05:002010-12-21T20:05:21.238-05:00Testing Sarah Palin's birth time<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLCCmH7dZWau9-FuE4iiTSzq2fqGA1lWNDK-cMZGjOOXklRgJ6wXSHah6WRJqBfmhVt8zv0yAxt-5kqorpXmP_OAlkYSN32m2qO-SVeOgypFZ2ETc4T4-fgwvXTKZ9WySw1epf/s1600/sarah_palin3.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 140px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLCCmH7dZWau9-FuE4iiTSzq2fqGA1lWNDK-cMZGjOOXklRgJ6wXSHah6WRJqBfmhVt8zv0yAxt-5kqorpXmP_OAlkYSN32m2qO-SVeOgypFZ2ETc4T4-fgwvXTKZ9WySw1epf/s200/sarah_palin3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5553288664859182626" border="0" /></a>Sarah Palin continues to be a force to be reckoned with both in the Republican Party and in US politics. Will she run in 2012? It's very possible given her generally favorable horoscope but it's difficult to make a definitive prediction because her birth time is still unknown. There have been a few birth times floating around for Sarah Palin. When she arrived on the national political scene in 2008, two unconfirmed times soon developed their own legion of followers -- 4.40 pm and 9.43 pm. While I tended to favor the 9.43 pm time, I still had my doubts as neither had any supporting documentation. Instead of rectifying the chart, I simply let the whole thing drop. McCain and Palin lost the election and Sarah emerged as her own unique form of celebrity carving out a space somewhere between politics and entertainment. The Washington Post meets TMZ.<br /><br />In late 2009, a new time<a href="http://politicalastrologyblog.com/2009/12/22/sarah-palins-birth-time-discovered/"> surfaced</a> that promised to have a little more going for it. Taken from a <a href="http://www.sandpointonline.com/sandpointmag/smw09/feature2.html">newsletter</a> of the town of her birth, Sandpoint, Idaho, Palin apparently came into the world at 6.00 pm on February 11, 1964. This isn't quite the gold standard for accuracy since there is no birth certificate or hospital record that accompanies this claim. But it is the best of the three because the other two had no evidence at all. While I think we need to treat this time with kid gloves since it is based on some unknown person's memory, it's still worth a look. Here is a very brief rundown on her 6.00 pm chart in terms of its plausibility. What parts of her chart make sense and what parts do not?<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJHptAVLzzyaM8dBQwT89nd4NZoJSr0drFr-vyc7hmx_oxVTgbboRT70LAUu8NOWnEH8gStZNWzx6DQFeop4L_pyMT_CTv7yHkN1Xk9EmBMautW3EEX9snHi0BqTY7KdWJUeI7/s1600/Palin.natal.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 351px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJHptAVLzzyaM8dBQwT89nd4NZoJSr0drFr-vyc7hmx_oxVTgbboRT70LAUu8NOWnEH8gStZNWzx6DQFeop4L_pyMT_CTv7yHkN1Xk9EmBMautW3EEX9snHi0BqTY7KdWJUeI7/s400/Palin.natal.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5553293583317718818" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sarah Palin born February 11, 1964 6.00 pm Sandpoint, Idaho</span><br /></div><br /><br />On the plus side, her Sun-Mars-Saturn conjunction is angular in the 7th house, and hence very powerful. She has enormous energy and willpower and does not back down from a fight. The other bonus about this stellium is that is forms a close square aspect with the MC, the unequal 10th house cusp. The MC (Midheaven) represents status and career and having these planets in tight aspect to this point likely increases both her desire for status and the ability for her to get noticed.<br /><br />Leo is the rising here in the first 1st house and that is certainly a possible ascendant for her given her natural flair for leadership, loyalty and upbeat personality. At the same time, I don't like to put too much stress on the rising sign because we could make plausible arguments for many signs here.<br /><br />Her Moon-Mercury conjunction in Capricorn in the 6th house is interesting because it focuses on her pragmatic, no-nonsense approach to problems, and emphasizes her role as a fighter. The 6th house is all about defending, protecting, and nurturing and we can see that Palin embodies a lot of those qualities in her public projection. She defends the interests of the average person, or silent majority against the various elites that she feels have taken the US in the wrong direction. The 6th house emphasis often makes a person think more strategically as action is tied to careful planning and making the right executive decisions.<br /><br />Again, this is quite plausible although one could make the case that this Moon-Merc conjunction could occur in a number of houses.<br /><br />One thing that troubles me about this chart is that Ketu (South Lunar Node) is in the 5th house of children. This is normally seen as a malefic influence that reduces offspring or causes them some harm. Palin has 5 children and while one has Down's syndrome which would confirm a Ketu placement here, there are simply too many kids here that one would expect. Admittedly, the lord of the 5th is Jupiter and its well placed in Pisces with Venus in the 8th house. So that might improve her fertility somewhat. Also, from the perspective of the Moon, her chart looks much better. Moon is with 9th lord Mercury (very good) and the 5th house is Taurus, which is ruled by Venus, which is exalted in Pisces with fecund Jupiter. So it's conceivable that the strength of her Chandra Lagna chart compensates for some of the weakness from her Rasi natal chart.<br /><br />Another perplexing question concerns her appearance. She won a beauty contest as a young woman and is known for her good looks. This should show up in the horoscope in some fairly obvious way. Very often, people who are known for their appearance have benefic planets like the Moon or Venus involved with the angles, especially in the 1st or 7th houses. In Palin's 6.00 pm chart, however, both Moon and Venus are pushed back to the 6th and 8th houses. This is not what one would expect from a person who is so easily recognizable in the public eye and whose attractiveness is widely discussed and appreciated.<br /><br />One possible explanation of physical attractiveness for this chart might be that the midpoint of the Moon (11 Cp) and Venus (8 Pi) is about 10 degrees of Aquarius -- that's almost exactly opposite the ascendant. This is not as clear an indication as I would like for pleasing appearance but it is worth considering nonetheless.<br /><br />Perhaps the best way to determine the correctness of a chart is to match it against events. I note that McCain offered her the VP spot on Aug 27, 2008 just as the Sun was conjunct her 6.00 pm ascendant. I won't bother going into a thorough recounting of significant life events here, but I do think there is something to be said for this chart.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbVU_WS2IhDt_nhB_A3ZLbr6CCppQ2zpFx_Mw1DF0MENCNPnWHmorJp6YE8s8dMHh-lflKUlP0sEcBLFMJSf6D_e97LQ3YHP5cidmapylmTfQqH1G8xzKRz7o8TooBcDf95nrd/s1600/Sarak.Palin.2011transits.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 380px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbVU_WS2IhDt_nhB_A3ZLbr6CCppQ2zpFx_Mw1DF0MENCNPnWHmorJp6YE8s8dMHh-lflKUlP0sEcBLFMJSf6D_e97LQ3YHP5cidmapylmTfQqH1G8xzKRz7o8TooBcDf95nrd/s400/Sarak.Palin.2011transits.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5553293761839757666" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />The upcoming Jupiter-Uranus conjunction in early January will offer a useful test of this 6.00 pm time. With her MC at 3 Taurus, Jupiter and Uranus will conjoin on Jan 4 while in exact sextile (60 degrees) to this point. This is very often a positive influence on a chart and should correlate with a situation or event that increases her profile and boosts her status and reputation. Transiting Venus will also aspect the MC exactly right around that first week of January, so this arguably should make it even better.<br /><br />If Palin was actually born a little before 6 pm then it's possible that the positive event may be moved up a little, maybe to the last week of December. In any event, this will be an important test of the 6 pm chart. If nothing much happens, then I would lose some confidence in this time.<br /><br />Regardless of whether this 6 pm time is correct, transiting Saturn is opposite her Jupiter for much of January. So while we may gain some boost from the early January pattern, the Saturn opposition looks more problematic, especially since it will station directly opposite her natal Jupiter. On the plus side, this could mean that she will be facing up to her responsibilities and doing what is necessary to move forward. But Saturn stations can he difficult to handle because they tend to drag on for so long. I would therefore expect there to be some downside here in this Jan-Feb period. Saturn is often a very constraining influence and since Jupiter rules the 5th of children, so one possibility of this transit is that Palin may be distracted by some situation involving one of her children.Christopher Kevillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09563577455947570653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8221366.post-30163043644785360202010-12-19T13:33:00.006-05:002010-12-19T19:29:05.447-05:00Obama compromises on tax cuts; health care plan ruled unconstitutional<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6HnZFAAfXCjsrwNb14cf2PJj3MfjwD3tURY8qYQzczAqZT9OjcbERBpTjsQMNiYJMOAxxnYuLx6GPf5UTnO8q3m-Hsxdq7UmkhRrhnys7hyphenhyphenwqsTcO7UOwoaBvVPcuckylf2Lc/s1600/Obama_Tax_Cuts_Thir_s640x641.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 319px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6HnZFAAfXCjsrwNb14cf2PJj3MfjwD3tURY8qYQzczAqZT9OjcbERBpTjsQMNiYJMOAxxnYuLx6GPf5UTnO8q3m-Hsxdq7UmkhRrhnys7hyphenhyphenwqsTcO7UOwoaBvVPcuckylf2Lc/s320/Obama_Tax_Cuts_Thir_s640x641.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5552463607764176450" border="0" /></a><br />It's been a tough couple of months for President Barack Obama. To no one's surprise, Obama's Democrats were trounced in November's midterm elections as the Republicans took over the house and reduced the Democratic majority in the Senate. As I noted in my previous October post, Obama's prevailing planetary influences at that time were generally poor as transiting Ketu was conjunct his Venus and Rahu and Pluto formed a semisquare (45 degree) aspect to his ascendant. Specifically, I noted that this Ketu-Venus aspect might cause some change and disruption while the Rahu-Pluto aspect might make Obama feel "compelled through external circumstance to make adjustments".<br /><br />Well, Obama has definitely had to make adjustments to the new political reality in DC. This was perhaps no more evident than Obama's quick surrender on the tax cut bill where he forged a compromise with the now invigorated Republicans to extend the Bush tax cuts on all income levels, including the very wealthy, in exchange for increased funding for unemployment benefits. While the tax cut compromise is generally popular which may help his re-election chances, it has alienated Obama's Democratic base as many former supporters are now expressing disappointment and questioning their allegiance to him. More troublesome, however, is the recent ruling by a Virginia judge that Obama's landmark health care reform is unconstitutional, thereby throwing open the possibility of long and messy court battles that could embolden Republicans to fight it out politically as well. Nonetheless, this compromise may boost his appeal with independent voters in 2012 so it remains to be seen what its long term effects might be.<br /><br />As the transit chart shows, Obama is still coming under the humbling influence of transiting Ketu to his natal Venus. Using a whole sign house system, Venus rules the 10th house (Libra) of career and status in his chart, so this is one reason why he is coming under attack at this time. Ketu isn't always bad news of course, but it does often correlate with times or reassessment of goals and quickly changing circumstances as they relate to career. Obama may well be losing his liberal outlook here and shifting to the center as Ketu may be encouraging a sense of accommodation and revision of his ideals. Ketu is perhaps more negative here because its dispositor, Mercury, is retrograde and transiting through Obama's 12th house of loss and isolation (Sagittarius).<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKY2wZ9weD6sGx9CJ6RX8XwKX72JFStm7CaZIgOuwPeKJ3IXyWYukRcm4hgOZZnwpvIBeu5vcq14qKzv9jMM73XE73U6sR7S4X7-96_68S6ewsINQMRbbjdTB55HDAVCK7e3tB/s1600/obama.transits.dec14.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 304px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKY2wZ9weD6sGx9CJ6RX8XwKX72JFStm7CaZIgOuwPeKJ3IXyWYukRcm4hgOZZnwpvIBeu5vcq14qKzv9jMM73XE73U6sR7S4X7-96_68S6ewsINQMRbbjdTB55HDAVCK7e3tB/s320/obama.transits.dec14.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5552463687379282418" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Taking a closer look at the transit chart, we can see that Obama's compromise and subsequent criticism came during the quadruple conjunction of Mercury, Mars, Rahu and Pluto in Sagittarius. All of these planets were aligned in opposition to his natal Venus in Gemini within just a few degrees. Transiting Ketu is even closer to his Venus here, suggesting the necessity of more revisions to status and changing circumstances in the workplace. He signed the agreement on December 6, just as Mars (frustration, excess energy) was not only aspecting Venus (status), but also coming to a very close 8th house quincunx aspect (150 degrees) to his natal Mercury. Mercury rules his 9th house of justice and ideals/principles so the Mars affliction to his 9th house lord supports the notion that he altered his beliefs to adjust to the new realities of Congress. The Virginia ruling against Obamacare came down on December 14, when the Mars-Mercury aspect was even closer. This aspect therefore represents conflict or opposition to his ideals for universal medical coverage of all of US citizens. We can also spot that transiting Sun (ego, self) was afflicted by the square aspect from his natal Mars that day, and this symbolizes the setback he suffered since his health care plan is seen as the centerpiece of his whole administration.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuMq3VnlIJfOSHq-PqKlMJO742rpxw63_rgvmXSES89UX8c-ijDDfzTr2GYPn2ZivG4TcCwFb-8IYTwBYLphMQtD4XCUAzNez4YKmcxjkGaLC8DZku_BggKF7U7U3UnkJRjygx/s1600/obama.transits.feb.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 304px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuMq3VnlIJfOSHq-PqKlMJO742rpxw63_rgvmXSES89UX8c-ijDDfzTr2GYPn2ZivG4TcCwFb-8IYTwBYLphMQtD4XCUAzNez4YKmcxjkGaLC8DZku_BggKF7U7U3UnkJRjygx/s320/obama.transits.feb.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5552463838238835634" border="0" /></a><br /><br />What lies ahead for Obama? Transiting Saturn is now close to his equal 9th house cusp and will station just one degree from there in late January. This could also conceivably be implicated in Obama's ongoing woes, although the picture is less than clear. Saturn is a natural malefic, but its role in his natal chart is much more positive due to its rulership of the 1st house and its conjunction with benefic Jupiter. With Saturn transiting close to this house cusp for an extended period, there will likely be more negative fallout for Obama. Transiting Ketu will still be in a close conjunction with Venus for another month so that will likely correspond with a general atmosphere of defensiveness. On the plus side, Jupiter will aspect his MC (unequal 10th house cusp) and then move on to boost Mercury in mid-January and especially early February. There may be some events that improve his reputation as a result of this Jupiter influence. Since Mercury rules his 9th house, he may get some relief on the judicial front, perhaps from a favorable ruling involving an ongoing piece of legislation such as health care.<br /><br />But on balance the next month or two seems like a uphill battle. Retrograde Mercury will station under the square of his natal Mars from just before Christmas to shortly after New Year's so that does not bode well at all. This could involve conflict or violence either at home or abroad that will cause him some worry and frustration. The Sun and Mars will conjoin his ascendant in early February and will thus activate the alignment with Saturn. This may correlate with a significant event that does not look positive. I hope to update the possible impact of this alignment in my next post.Christopher Kevillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09563577455947570653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8221366.post-43995478378199376802010-12-07T21:47:00.015-05:002010-12-09T18:47:28.018-05:00WikiLeaks' Julian Assange surrenders to police<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWnScrK-6j4_2B8iJWz5F4k8TKmkuQ4BK2Yxp6KtY1-jvNtkML2CRgcPi9uI33h9Q_BKjLgftPaDf-hZGjckieC4NWcAuJOKmsM_dSWV8ScACiwPDNYuz3PkZojR0M_86ENWkk/s1600/Wikileaks-founder-julian.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWnScrK-6j4_2B8iJWz5F4k8TKmkuQ4BK2Yxp6KtY1-jvNtkML2CRgcPi9uI33h9Q_BKjLgftPaDf-hZGjckieC4NWcAuJOKmsM_dSWV8ScACiwPDNYuz3PkZojR0M_86ENWkk/s200/Wikileaks-founder-julian.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548138253053611970" border="0" /></a><br />The media storm around WikiLeaks and its controversial founder Julian Assange reached a frenzied pitch yesterday as Assange surrendered to British police. The organization whose stated aim to expose oppressive and corrupt regimes around the world is all over the media these days following an unprecedented release of classified US diplomatic cables. Operating since 2006, WikiLeaks is an organization that publishes leaked or anonymous information on the internet so that journalists and internal whistleblowers do not have to face prosecution by their domestic governments. Wikileaks has been thrust into the media spotlight in the past week due to the compromising and embarrassing nature of the leaked information for the US and many other countries.<br /><br />This latest chapter in the WikiLeaks saga has brought its founder and editor-in-chief Julian Assange into the public limelight. Yesterday, he surrendered to British police as there were international warrants for his arrest from sexual assault charges brought by two Swedish women. Born in Townsville, Australia on July 3, 1971, Assange is a journalist and publisher largely motivated by fervent left wing beliefs-- he refers to the US government as "an authoritarian conspiracy" -- and seeks to hold the wealthy and powerful to account and reveal corruption and other transgressions of power. Although he is using the unregulated internet to his advantage, he sees himself in the same mold as a traditional journalist who seeks to uncover truth wherever it finds it. However, Assange is a hugely polarizing figure with the US right wing accusing him of terrorism or worse and arguing for his immediate capture or even assassination, while the left wing regards him more as a 21-century version of the muckraking journalist folk hero who speaks truth to power. For everybody else in the middle, there is confusion and uncertainty about what the implications might be for the future of world diplomacy.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAOJ7S8iNmI9GpO7Y99Q5cS1PvWoaFRnrwoTHJQ8KnDrFrTK6wTqjpTw5BU9080jUIrr2gMJBio3LIFAfEsb6hkL5MnHncNYUP1VsHb2axKoZKU-J0CGIprpP1M76L2mM6h8iE/s1600/Julian.Assange.natal.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 282px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAOJ7S8iNmI9GpO7Y99Q5cS1PvWoaFRnrwoTHJQ8KnDrFrTK6wTqjpTw5BU9080jUIrr2gMJBio3LIFAfEsb6hkL5MnHncNYUP1VsHb2axKoZKU-J0CGIprpP1M76L2mM6h8iE/s320/Julian.Assange.natal.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548140427723588930" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Natal Chart for Julian Assange, born July 3, 1971<br /><br /></div>Julian Assange's horoscope confirms many of the widely accepted views of his personality. His close Sun-Uranus square reflects his antagonism towards authority and convention and his inherently rebellious nature. He resists routine and normal ways of doing things and prefers novelty to tradition. Certainly, his whole anti-authoritarian philosophy is very much in keeping with this Uranian view of the world. Sun-Uranus squares are often unpredictable and change their directions quickly and without warning. Assange has emerged as an enigmatic figure, as there are many accounts of his itinerant lifestyle and long working hours. Even among his <a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2277096/">admirers on the left</a>, he is seen as a person who thinks too highly of himself and whose unlikeability serves to undermine his aims. Sun-Uranus people can often get caught up in their own unique views of the world, often to their own detriment.<br /><br />Another key chart pattern is his conjunction of Mars and Rahu (aka the North Lunar Node). Actually, it should be noted that Assange's Mars sits in the degree of its highest exaltation at 28 Capricorn. Here Mars' strength and best qualities of assertiveness, leadership and executive power are emphasized. This seems to be in keeping with Assange's reputation as an indefatigable crusader and tireless worker. Some accounts have him working without food or sleep for days on end. The conjunction of Rahu with Mars would tend to exaggerate and further strengthen his martial disposition although it may make him overly combative or even vindictive at times. Rahu tends to magnify and distort the planets it is associated with so its contact with Mars here ramps up Assange's identity of being a fighter, but it may unbalance him in some ways, too. When this conjunction comes under stress through a malefic transit contact, his Mars energy may get the best of him and he will suffer the consequences of his hasty or rash nature. When Mars and Rahu are favourably aspected, however, he is more likely to fight his enemies with courage and find success.<br /><br />His Mercury is aspected nicely by Jupiter so this is one important source of his intelligence and ability to communicate, including working with computers. Jupiter is a planet of wisdom and respect so its influence on Mercury is one reason why he has been successful in his various journalistic efforts. Since his birth time is unknown, I like to use the Chandra Lagna chart that relies on the position of the Moon to mark the1st house and interpret the horoscope from there. His Mercury is in the 10th house (Cancer) from his Libra Moon so that suggests his communication skills will be involved with his career and status in some way since the 10th house is associated with life goals and objectives. Jupiter is in sidereal Scorpio and so it is placed in the 2nd house from the Moon -- a good indication of wealth through speech and overall prosperity.<br /><br />His Sun and 1st lord Venus are placed in the 9th house from the Moon, suggesting that justice and higher principles are very important to him, even if he seeks to blaze a new trail (Sun-Uranus) involving his ethical beliefs. Clearly, he is not a mere attention-seeker and deeply believes in the ideas that are behind his actions. The Sun and Venus are in Gemini here, so that adds to the quickness of his mind and his aptitude dealing with information and communication.<br /><br />For all his apparent Uranian and Rahuvian excess and eccentricity, Assange's Moon may be his saving grace. As the significator of the mind and mental health, the Moon often reveals a person's emotional situation. His Moon is placed in sidereal Libra and does not receive an aspect from any planet. Its dispositor is Venus and it is likewise unafflicted and well-placed in Gemini. Such a strong Libra Moon is no doubt a great help to Assange throughout his many stressful activities. The Libra Moon enamours him to other people and gives him an innate charm that allows him to be quite persuasive in arguing his case and encouraging people to work with him. The fact that he appeals to so many people on the left is perhaps testament to his strong Libra Moon. At the same time, it's worth noting that some of this emotional stability will be undercut by the fact that his Mars-Rahu conjunction is in the 4th house from the Moon. The 4th house is the house that represents the emotions and peace of mind. Having Mars and Rahu in the 4th can bring emotions quickly to the surface, so he may overreact to difficult situations from time to time. Of course, all of this analysis is somewhat limited since his time of birth is unknown.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZD_f_d0zHQ5-pcXksiGqG9aCEZbEIwciMoN7LeusdKifAhkTpLI2cE8YGMzVXRpPS0snHEnToMvCLdz3eT25ifHXSS1LmorhqmhFOB8pGzxYUKpTS650Cgsq70_lg-K6PzbE4/s1600/assange.2010.tr.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 260px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZD_f_d0zHQ5-pcXksiGqG9aCEZbEIwciMoN7LeusdKifAhkTpLI2cE8YGMzVXRpPS0snHEnToMvCLdz3eT25ifHXSS1LmorhqmhFOB8pGzxYUKpTS650Cgsq70_lg-K6PzbE4/s320/assange.2010.tr.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548138628518924370" border="0" /></a><br /><br />His current circumstance may be seen in the positions of transiting Jupiter and Saturn. His sudden fame and notoriety are evidenced through the recent station of Jupiter (29 Aquarius) in November that was in exact trine (120 degree) aspect with his natal Mercury (0 Cancer). Jupiter transits to Mercury often bring positive results pertaining to career matters and the the fact that it was a direct station ramps up the significance of this moment of good fortune considerably. Even now a full two weeks after the station, slow moving Jupiter is just at 0 degrees of Pisces and thus is still boosting his natal Mercury. Assange's natal Mercury is placed in his 10th house of status so his sudden thrust into the limelight was likely coincident with this powerful aspect from Jupiter.<br /><br />But fame apparently has come at a high price as Assange has been facing sexual assault charges for several weeks now. His WikiLeaks site has been blocked while his Paypal and bank accounts have been taken offline by international authorities. By turning himself into British police, Assange appears to be confronting some very Saturnian realities in his horoscope. Transiting Saturn (21 Virgo) is now in exact aspect to his natal Rahu (21 Capricorn). Saturn-Rahu contacts often bring unwelcome interruptions in the status quo that constrains or restricts the individual. What makes this Saturn transit arguable more damaging is that Saturn is in the 12th house from the Moon, the house of loss and isolation. Moreover, Rahu is conjunct Mars in his natal chart and Mars is a planet that symbolizes punishment. So that transiting Saturn aspect to Rahu is actually invoking Mars -- exalted though it is -- and this may be an additional factor in Assange's arrest and imprisonment. As noted above, the Mars-Rahu conjunction will tend to be lead to unpleasant situations when it is involved with a malefic planet by transit, as is the case here with Saturn.<br /><br />So what does the future hold for Mr. Assange? Without knowing his exact birth time, it is a lot harder than it otherwise would be to make astrological predictions. Nonetheless, we can see that transiting Saturn will remain in fairly close proximity to that aspect with his natal Rahu for the next two or three months. Saturn will turn retrograde in late January at 23 degrees of Virgo at such time it will again fall under the influence of Rahu. The first half of February could be especially tough sledding as transiting Mars will conjoin his natal Rahu and then Mars. The absence of any major Jupiter aspects during this time suggests that he is likely to have more frustrations than victories until February at least. More troubling, however, is that transiting Saturn will end its retrograde cycle in May and June at 16 degrees of Virgo -- almost exactly square Assange's natal Sun. If anything, this is an even worse influence than what he faces at the moment. Transiting Ketu also conjoins his Venus at this time, and this is another probable negative influence that suggests troubles from authorities. I wouldn't want to predict definitively what the outcome of this period might be, but his situation is clearly quite serious given the fact that he's already under arrest. Things look likely to go from bad to worse for this 21st-century anti-authoritarian crusader for the first half of 2011 at least.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY1cTuoNaf5HFkpOGXqJQFGv8_lwVyo0LXQaE3Uw2e-2knd2OqTxMsYql4XCNHzzFWinvLEudqCvZLoy3m9QcsC5MA_wI4pS22ePpn9omcKtgn4-jlkKG7dFN7aTsBH5ypOhyphenhyphent/s1600/assange.2011.tr.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 260px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY1cTuoNaf5HFkpOGXqJQFGv8_lwVyo0LXQaE3Uw2e-2knd2OqTxMsYql4XCNHzzFWinvLEudqCvZLoy3m9QcsC5MA_wI4pS22ePpn9omcKtgn4-jlkKG7dFN7aTsBH5ypOhyphenhyphent/s320/assange.2011.tr.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548138699112748466" border="0" /></a>Christopher Kevillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09563577455947570653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8221366.post-30246031854847768542010-10-16T20:32:00.002-04:002010-10-16T20:34:25.510-04:00The Stars This Week -- October 18th<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9IYPEDdHTmVKKVNurxGuMkW1IGvsjDugImEos6ze4HSuhIdkVa8cAqadZSDp0ALzq7F6dshj6g1h1ozTizfgEB0vyKOxCOIBPPSIMYeWR7v2WjhLBzZEylkSG8sa7cz6zV5Ph/s1600/transits10.18.2010.starsthisweek.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 354px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9IYPEDdHTmVKKVNurxGuMkW1IGvsjDugImEos6ze4HSuhIdkVa8cAqadZSDp0ALzq7F6dshj6g1h1ozTizfgEB0vyKOxCOIBPPSIMYeWR7v2WjhLBzZEylkSG8sa7cz6zV5Ph/s400/transits10.18.2010.starsthisweek.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528806803175673666" border="0" /></a><br /><span><b>Overview<br /><br /></b>The Sun enters sidereal Libra this week alongside the welcome company of Mercury. Since Libra is a sign associated with harmony and reconciling the differences between people, this may be a fortuitous time to forge alliances, settle differences, and break bread with your "frenemies". The simultaneous entry of Mercury into Libra could add an intellectual component to the proceedings as you may discover that the free and open exchange of ideas reveals you may have more in common than you thought. Since Mercury is the geek of the solar system who spends his time evaluating and assessing things, social interaction may have a decidedly rational bent this week as the emphasis will be on learning from each other rather than, say, feeling. <br /><br />Mars enters sidereal Scorpio this week where it will get a helping hand from the aspect of Jupiter. This will prove especially helpful to Aries and Scorpio people who are ruled by Mars, and will generally encourages a supportive atmosphere for the taking of action and launching new ideas. There could be a real "can do" attitude here as problems are resolved quickly. There may be a risk of impatience and frustration here as obstacles may not be well tolerated. Resist the urge to do everything at once and try to channel some of Jupiter's sense of propriety in order to disarm potential opponents by showing that what is in their best interest is also best for all concerned. Scorpio also involves the secret realm of the hidden and therefore speaks to the ideas of seduction, investigation and exploration of the unknown.<br /><br /><b><br /><br />Aries (Apr 13 - May 14) </b>Mars enters sidereal Scorpio this week where it teams up with Jupiter, the wise guru figure, and Neptune, the dream-meister. This is likely to make life congenial, especially in the early part of the week, as opportunities arise from prestigious sources. So if a wealthy professor makes you an offer, it might be a good idea not to refuse it. Some of this happy shine may wear off later in the week, as you become more susceptible to a loss of focus or just feeling spaced out as Neptune takes over. Situations involving water and liquids may also be the source of hassles. <br /><b><br /><br />Taurus (May 15 - June 14) </b>This week looks like a time to roll up your sleeves and attend to your most pressing responsibilities. As Saturn drops in for a visit early in the week, there may some heavy work demands that tax your reserves. Your natural Taurean inclination towards the sensual pleasures will have to be put on hold as you take care of those around you who are in need. The weekend looks like a time of ease when you can kick back and reflect upon the dense web of interconnectedness that binds us all in this life.<br /><b><br /><br />Gemini (June 15 - July 14) </b>You may never feel more intelligent or more in control of your destiny as you do this week. Your ruling planet Mercury is exceptionally strong right now so this is a good time to figure out complex problems and let your views be known. Your natural communicative gifts will likely carry the day and win over many converts. The weekend may feature an unusual situation that benefits from creative problem solving.<br /><br /><br /><b>Cancer (July 15- Aug 14) </b>This has all the makings of a wonderful week. As the Sun and Mercury transit your 4th house for the next while, you may find yourself pleasantly preoccupied with the home front as the nurturing side of shelter and family are in focus this week. At the same time, work life and social standing are likely to get a nice boost as the Moon joins Jupiter here. Remember that Jupiter's generosity is a two-way street -- it brings good luck and favors to us and also engenders our own spirit of giving.<br /><b><br /><br />Leo (Aug 15 - Sep 15) </b>Like the title of the old Charlie Parker tune, now's the time! As the Sun enters your 3rd house this week, you can finally take action on all those marvelous ideas of yours and begin to transform the theory into reality. With a beneficent dose of Jupiter in the mix here, there's a good chance you may see some fruits of your efforts early in the week, especially if they appeal to the realm of higher human values. <br /><br /><br /><b>Virgo (Sep 16 - Oct 15) </b>Life gets pretty interesting this week as Mercury moves into your 2nd house and encounters a whole gamut of planetary aspects. Finances may have a special focus for you at this time as you may be reminded of the central role of money in our society. You could well gain a renewed appreciation for the notion that 'money equals freedom'. The weekend could see you open to a new and transforming experience.<br /><b><br /><br />Libra (Oct 16 - Nov 14) </b>With the Sun and Mercury entering your sign this week, you may be meeting new people and socializing more than usual. This is a great opportunity to show off your Libran charm and display your considerable talents for making people feel comfortable, especially people who may come from a very different background. The early part of the week may have you wishing for some down time as you want to get away from it all, if only for a moment. The weekend will likely see you in the thick of it once again as you appreciate the special rewards that come from human relationships.<br /><b><br /><br />Scorpio (Nov 15 - Dec 14) </b>With Mars entering your sign this week, you will be firing on all cylinders here. This should translate into increased energy and an ability to put your best foot forward. The strong Jupiter influence here should help you realize some dividends to your efforts. The weekend may bring some confusion and miscommunication, especially on the home front. Mars takes about six weeks to complete its transit of Scorpio, so try to make the most of this time of increased vitality and renewed vigor. <br /><b><br /><br />Sagittarius (Dec 15 - Jan 13) </b>As Mars joins with Jupiter this week, you could be more persuasive than usual in getting what you want. Mars is a more assertive executive sort of energy but its combination with Jupiter softens it considerably with the result that you are able to pitch your ideas and desires more effectively and with greater charm. Education or humanitarian concerns may figure prominently, especially pertaining to faraway or isolated places. A reminder of the limits of our desires and the necessity of the spiritual realm may also be forthcoming here.<br /><b><br /><br />Capricorn (Jan 14 - Feb 12) </b>The universe may well be showing up at your door this week with the metaphorical cashier's cheque to present to you for all your hard work. Work matters may be in focus as Sun and Mercury have moved into your 10th house. Generally speaking, things should go your way. You may feel more at one with the world this week as home life improves and this spills over into other areas of life. The weekend looks good for enjoying time with family and friends as the Moon transits your 4th house.<br /><b><br /><br />Aquarius (Feb 13 - Mar 12) </b>With Sun and Mercury moving into Libra this week, this may be a time when you acquire new knowledge. As you take time to appreciate its origins and status in the world, you may find yourself in a better position to understand a little more of the puzzle of this life. As Mars enters your 10th house later in the week, you are more likely to get recognized for past efforts and new potentials. An unexpected person or situation over the weekend may produce a new way of thinking. <b><br /><br /><br />Pisces (Mar 13-Apr 12) </b>You may willingly enter the Twilight Zone this week as the Sun enters your 8th house of mystery and the unknown. You may find an unusual encounter with the spiritual, the esoteric, or just plain weird here. The weekend seems more likely for meetings with remarkable but offbeat people. Money matters may also be in focus as your cup runneth over, if only in a symbolic, subjective and depressingly non-material sort of way.<br /></span>Christopher Kevillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09563577455947570653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8221366.post-14202573792038953612010-10-09T18:23:00.002-04:002010-10-09T18:25:25.677-04:00The Stars This Week -- October 11 - 17<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0SOdQDg578oLxKcK074vPO7vGzctZlIPAYWscca_uP-yuT8MkK88pXg_eeAP1QUE4Q8FCaCepM7av6db1YSXhgIX-bQAxciYo7mDFaSQ3ppc2f3F4vPz-r0hqW3O_rs-AWf7r/s1600/transits.10.11.2010.starsthisweek.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 354px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0SOdQDg578oLxKcK074vPO7vGzctZlIPAYWscca_uP-yuT8MkK88pXg_eeAP1QUE4Q8FCaCepM7av6db1YSXhgIX-bQAxciYo7mDFaSQ3ppc2f3F4vPz-r0hqW3O_rs-AWf7r/s400/transits.10.11.2010.starsthisweek.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5526175734934103666" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><span><b>Week of October 11<br /><br /></b> <span style="font-weight: bold;">Overview</span><br /><br />This week may feature an extra dose of Mars as it aspects both the Sun and Mercury. Mars is a planet with a bit of a nasty reputation given its unfortunate (but not undeserving) historical association with war and violence. More generally, however, Mars involves the notions of action and assertion. Above all, Mars seeks to realize its will and act upon desires. Think Freud. In bad situations, it's a bully. In more civilized environments, it is a responsible executive power that takes initiative by making decisions quickly. So with two Mars aspects in the sky this week, there could be a greater urgency to act and react. The pace of life may feel a little more hectic than usual so be careful not to succumb to impatience. With all this assertive energy flying around this week, it may be tempting to push one's own agenda and disregard the interests of others.<br /><br />By the weekend, the Sun and Mercury will conjoin and simultaneously enter sidereal Libra. Libra is all about connecting with other people, reconciling differences, and recognizing the role of social graces so this may be a nice time to refocus on people instead of tasks. The Sun-Mercury conjunction at the time of this Libra ingress is quite unusual and introduces a more communicative and intellectual flavor to the proceedings. This is a nice combination for the production of art and it may also enhance communications surrounding the aesthetic realm -- art galleries, film festivals, and youtube videos. This is a great time for creativity that builds bridges between people and which reflects the social nature of human life.<br /></span><span><br /><br /><b>Aries (Apr 13 - May 14) </b>As Venus moves away from Mars, you may find yourself shifting gears and getting down to business this week. The concept of authority figures prominently this week, as you find benefits from listening to elders and traditional wisdom. You may feel the greater need to seek recognition but it will be important to temper your expectations since crude displays of ego will generate resistance. By the end of the week, you may be more inclined to think things through. Encounters with young people prove valuable.<br /><b><br /><br />Taurus (May 15 - June 14) </b>Life may be a little less frantic this week as truculent Mars has finally left Venus alone. You may find comfort in a more balanced approach here between enjoying life's pleasures and helping those who are in need of assistance. This is a good time to put your brain power and organizing skills to work and bring some resolution to a situation that needs fixing. A pleasant surprise is possible midweek that could reaffirm what is important to you.<br /><b><br /><br />Gemini (June 15 - July 14) </b>You may feel lighter on your feet this week as Mercury has escaped from Saturn's deep, dark cave of pessimism. The people around you can now once again enjoy your witty banter and stream of consciousness about the world. With the Moon in your 7th house, the first half of the week will be a good time to mix and mingle. The pace may pick up towards the end of the week as demands on your time may get a little out of hand. Of course, in true Geminian form, you will be able to talk your way out of anything. You may get noticed more by "respectable" people on the weekend so don't be afraid to take the lead. <br /><br /><br /><b> Cancer (July 15- Aug 14) </b>This week may be a good time to put some new ideas out into the world. If you've done your homework, it may be time to go live and let the chips fall where they may. The early week could see you focusing on resolving some differences of opinion. Putting yourself in the other person's shoes is usually a good starting point. Your powers of persuasion are in top form here, so present your version of things with a soothing blend of rationality and empathy.<br /> <b><br /><br />Leo (Aug 15 - Sep 15) </b>With the Sun conjoining Mercury this week, you may be sharing your thoughts and ideas with more people than usual. Business is likely to improve here, especially involving education or communication as you impress those in positions of power. Some tangible benefits are possible by the weekend as all sincere efforts will be rewarded. Sometimes all you have to do is buy a ticket.<br /><b><br /><br />Virgo (Sep 16-Oct 15) </b>Activity levels are likely to increase this week as the caution of Saturn is replaced by an injection of the energy of Mars. There may be moments when it gets to be a bit much (especially near Friday) so be careful not to lose sight of your plan and your ultimate goal. With Mercury moving towards a conjunction with the Sun, the week should finish quite nicely as you become a key player. Governments and father figures could play a more prominent role this week.<br /><b><br /><br />Libra (Oct 16-Nov 14) </b>As Mars shuffles off into the sunset, you are in a better position to indulge your Venusian pleasures for people and objets d'art this week. Take the time to get in touch with any neglected friends and family and work your Libra charm on them. A nice midweek surprise is possible here from an unusual source. This may have the unexpected effect of allowing you to understand the plight of others less fortunate than yourself.<br /><b><br /><br />Scorpio (Nov 15 - Dec 14) </b>This is a good week to have your eyes on the prize. Your hard work can pay off handsomely for you here especially if you have enacted a clear, methodical plan of attack. Resist the urge to go it alone and look for sources of support among like-minded people. A little sacrifice can go a long way. You may receive some welcome information at the end of the week that makes your objectives clearer.<br /><br /><br /><b> Sagittarius (Dec 15 - Jan 13) </b>This is a good time to take center stage as you are more likely to have an attentive audience. All your quirks and idiosyncrasies are more likely to go over particularly well this week as friends and colleagues are inclined to see the world through your eyes. This is a good time to channel any restlessness you've been feeling on the home front into creative projects that put your vision out into the world. The weekend looks good for exchanging ideas with workmates.<br /><b><br /><br />Capricorn (Jan 14 - Feb 12) </b>Your ambition may be uppermost in your mind this week as you may spend more time pondering your goals. What do you want and how do you want to go about getting it? The universe should welcome these aspirations as the Moon enters Capricorn towards the end of the week. The goat rules! More mundanely, work matters should go well, especially those involving women.<br /><br /><br /><b> Aquarius (Feb 13 - Mar 12) </b>Money matters are likely to be responsible for some smiles this week as the Moon transits your 11th house of gains. Probably no major lottery wins, but don't be surprised to find a rolled up twenty in your fall jacket. Spouses and partners may also get a lot of your attention this week, as their activities are a focal point for discussion and admiration. By supporting and cheering them on, you can participate in their success.<br /><b><br /><br />Pisces (Mar 13-Apr 12) </b>As Saturn recedes in the distance, you may find a renewed enthusiasm for life, especially in terms of working and relating with others. You may find fulfillment here by attending to the needs of people around you who are in a state of distress. With the Moon transiting your 10th house of status for much of the week, you are likely to be recognized for your good works. The weekend promises to bring some stimulating new people and situations into your life. <b><br /></b><br /><br /><br /></span>Christopher Kevillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09563577455947570653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8221366.post-11250458369768543292010-10-03T20:40:00.005-04:002010-10-03T21:01:41.549-04:00Obama's midterm prospects<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7hAjeOP10Ny4qduooRzbzR0gvUsUThVbMhC7ymIRSs-mLYsbqdDrZrwKqmcpc7t43gL3sUp58BTDHXy9OkAvoOHBi5bx6rqdLlMewjHOd8aT0br9J4R1HGDnIhxxGU9thCF-E/s1600/obama.koran.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 261px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7hAjeOP10Ny4qduooRzbzR0gvUsUThVbMhC7ymIRSs-mLYsbqdDrZrwKqmcpc7t43gL3sUp58BTDHXy9OkAvoOHBi5bx6rqdLlMewjHOd8aT0br9J4R1HGDnIhxxGU9thCF-E/s400/obama.koran.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523989766224613538" /></a><br /><br /><br />Obama and the Democrats face a tough uphill fight in the midterm elections slated for November 2. The Democrats now trail the Republicans in the polls and the rosy glow surrounding Obama has faded as the morning-after realities of governing have undermined the appeal of his soaring rhetoric. The summer has not been kind to President Obama either. First, there was the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that raised questions about his administration's competence and sense of responsibility, then the economy began to show signs of slipping back towards another recession, and then his apparent flip-flop over the building of a mosque near Ground Zero in New York. As the oil spill situation dragged on for week after week, Obama's approval ratings fell below the 50% for the first time since his election. Despite some important legislative victories on the financial reform of Wall Street and the extension of benefits for unemployed workers, Obama's ratings are hovering around 45% while the radical anti-government populism of the Tea Party movement continues to find followers.<br /><br />None of this is especially surprising since his planets weren't looking particularly good when I last took a look at them in early May. At that time, I thought the combined effects of both the transits and his Jupiter-Rahu dasha period would tend to make 2010 an uphill battle for him. I pointed out that his Rahu minor period starting from February 2010 and running until June 2012 would likely not be easy since it was placed in his 8th house and hemmed in between Pluto and Uranus in horoscope.<br /><br />From a transit perspective, I had expected Obama would get more benefit from the Jupiter aspect to his Mercury in July and early August. To be sure, this did coincide with the successful passage of the financial reform bill as I thought it might. But this transit was not strong enough to support the US economy as a whole, as government data continues to show stubbornly high levels of joblessness and no turnaround in sight for the beleaguered housing sector. And the fixing of the Gulf oil spill only came in fits and starts. I was partially correct in expecting some fix of the problem in early June as Jupiter and Uranus conjoined on his Midheaven (unequal 10th house cusp). That roughly coincided with the initial rough capping of the broken well that significantly reduced the flow of leaking oil. But this cap proved to be inadequate and the permanent cap for the well only came in September.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq569lY6B4UOfTWbovzdxw9ecl4hyqgdmqsTAH_mLoqYow98X-UVj_sbYqq55SoVun6Q4Mw_7313VdLN1mAj33XwmdKTVBQZz-zN8mZWvcstyDP6cnbSeSjZ7ZAepE1UratB0M/s1600/Obama.August.transits.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 304px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq569lY6B4UOfTWbovzdxw9ecl4hyqgdmqsTAH_mLoqYow98X-UVj_sbYqq55SoVun6Q4Mw_7313VdLN1mAj33XwmdKTVBQZz-zN8mZWvcstyDP6cnbSeSjZ7ZAepE1UratB0M/s400/Obama.August.transits.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523984364463877810" border="0" /></a><br />The Mercury retrograde cycle that began in mid-August also caused some problems for Obama as he apparently flip-flopped on the building of a mosque at Ground Zero in New York. This was more evidence that he not only lacked a firm sense of leadership, but that he was out of touch with the country as a whole as polls showed that most Americans did not approve of the mosque. Mercury turned retrograde on August 20 at 25 degrees of sidereal Leo -- exactly conjunct his equal 8th house cusp symbolizing embarrassment and scandal. It only made matters worse that this was a few degrees from his natal Mars, a malefic planet representing upset and frustration.<br /><br />So what lies ahead for President Obama and the Democrats as they head into these crucial midterm elections? Most polls show them losing control of the House of Representatives and perhaps retaining control of the Senate. The planets for early November do not seem to favor Obama, although I would acknowledge a certain level of ambiguity here. Transiting Ketu is conjunct his natal Venus and this is often coincident with a time of change and disruption. Ketu is usually malefic planet although we should note that he got married to Michelle at the time of the previous Ketu-Venus conjunction in 1992. Well, that was definitely a change (Ketu) to his love life (Venus)!<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGtcDpKf860d57LCYf60uOtKZ65DapVkwZ7YmCsPEfETMdONHzqXwNjXbtySS79S3abB57OfLgR-2hMJUlaBBh-ikZy9zjVvyPPNk_1MyYGVtd1EvqCDx6GHWIWYZjAN2Vb81a/s1600/Obama.November.transits.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 304px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGtcDpKf860d57LCYf60uOtKZ65DapVkwZ7YmCsPEfETMdONHzqXwNjXbtySS79S3abB57OfLgR-2hMJUlaBBh-ikZy9zjVvyPPNk_1MyYGVtd1EvqCDx6GHWIWYZjAN2Vb81a/s400/Obama.November.transits.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523984464795894978" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Transiting Jupiter will aspect his natal Mars at this time, and that is another influence that could go either way. Jupiter is a benefic planet, and its aspects with Mars often signify times of powerful decision-making, often involving the spending of money. Perhaps the aftermath of the election prompts a new round of stimulus spending? He does look to be energized at this time, as if it may be close and he will be doing his share of cajoling, horse trading, and arm-twisting to get out the Democrat vote.<br /><br />The Mars transit to his Moon also speaks to an intense day of action and reaction, and suggests a close outcome. He will definitely be a busy and anxious man on November 2 as the future of his legislative agenda will hang in the balance from this outcome.<br /><br />More worrying for Obama and the Democrats, however, is the close 45 degree aspect from the Rahu-Pluto conjunction to his ascendant. This does not look positive and may indicate that is will be compelled through external circumstance to make adjustments. While Rahu can sometimes tilt towards the positive, its teaming up with Pluto here makes it more malefic. The aspect to the ascendant creates the sense that Obama will be at the mercy of forces larger than himself. It definitely leans towards a significant change in the status quo. Since the Democrats control both the House and Senate, it seems unlikely that they will control both after this election.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg13a-MAB3g_vHau8e9_FFlr9lpU9wXc2TZFruFnlMvvncEOn-bugj5Z_-8MxA1T-IihY5GlYhZshpMJxfyom-9HV6GxGe-PHCmdt6BYqEdQ7Bfgz82oyXHnsuUiD0GiCPh3PRQ/s1600/Boehner.election.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 304px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg13a-MAB3g_vHau8e9_FFlr9lpU9wXc2TZFruFnlMvvncEOn-bugj5Z_-8MxA1T-IihY5GlYhZshpMJxfyom-9HV6GxGe-PHCmdt6BYqEdQ7Bfgz82oyXHnsuUiD0GiCPh3PRQ/s400/Boehner.election.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523984547645316450" border="0" /></a><br /><br />For an added perspective on this question, take a look at the Republican House Leader John Boehner's horoscope. We don't know his birth time, but just the birth date chart shows a very favorable Jupiter to Mercury aspect. It's hard to reconcile this transit with a Republican disappointment.<br /><br />Overall, I would say there isn't much chance of the Democrats pulling off some miracle win in the race for the House. They could still win the Senate, although perhaps with a much reduced majority. Unfortunately, it is hard to extrapolate from Obama's horoscope what the various planetary influences might mean in terms of electoral races that do not directly involve him. Here I am assuming that a mixed result of a loss of the House and a win in the Senate mirrors the mixed nature of his chart.<br /><br />After a brief look at his horoscope, I expect Democrat Senate Leader Harry Reid will likely lose his seat. Barbara Boxer of California appears to have a stronger chart and will likely win re-election.<br /><br />Looking ahead to 2012, I think President Obama's chances of re-election are quite good. While it is difficult to be definitive without studying the challenger's horoscope, Obama's chart looks quite positive for Fall 2012. Transiting Jupiter aspects his ascendant while Rahu conjoins his Midheaven. These sorts of contacts are usually found in the charts of people who are successful in their efforts.Christopher Kevillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09563577455947570653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8221366.post-71010145683931194302010-10-03T15:15:00.002-04:002010-10-03T15:18:17.419-04:00The Stars This Week -- October 4 - 10<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqsz23OWGV_ucb-sFqgRXEu65aTxmbAZIWIuXCGWzQW2qc63xtwE8FHdpzPoSgC-bg852rMJnczpxHS-GXHKDvAVZq8JhNLwi84DbfuFmUx-xGEwUUG4aaPrGt9cyg6kmLd-Oo/s1600/transits10.04.2010south.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 354px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqsz23OWGV_ucb-sFqgRXEu65aTxmbAZIWIuXCGWzQW2qc63xtwE8FHdpzPoSgC-bg852rMJnczpxHS-GXHKDvAVZq8JhNLwi84DbfuFmUx-xGEwUUG4aaPrGt9cyg6kmLd-Oo/s400/transits10.04.2010south.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523900911064691266" border="0" /></a><br /><b><br /><br />Week of October 4<br /><br />Overview<br /><br /></b>Venus turns retrograde on Friday this week and so begins its six-week backwards journey across the sky. Venus will be in retrograde motion until November 18 and will mark a time when matters of love and beauty may occupy a greater role in our lives. Retrograde cycles are often seen as periods when we review or clarify our relationships as if to prepare for happier and more constructive associations in the future. There certainly may be some of this reflective quality in the retrograde cycle, but the increased brightness and slower velocity of Venus in the night sky simply means that Venus is stronger now and will play a greater role in human affairs for the next little while. Venus represents women and the feminine ideal so we can look forward to a time when we become more conscious of the feminine archetype of beauty, sociality and compassion. Venus is also symbolic of money and pleasure, so we will see a greater importance placed on spending and enjoyment of sensual experiences this week. This will especially be true for Mars-ruled signs of Aries and Scorpio and the Venus-ruled signs of Taurus and Libra, although all the signs of zodiac will partake to some extent in this Venus-fest.<br /><br />While the Venus retrograde cycle is a time to put us in touch with our feminine side, this one will be made more complicated by the close conjunction with Mars. This conjunction is exact on Monday although it will be in close proximity the whole week. Mars is an energy for action and assertion, and its blending with Venus this week may give a spark or edge to relationships and male-female interactions. Some interactions will see the sexual dynamic given a wider role, as the emphasis will be vitality and activity. So this week will be a good time to initiate new social contacts and for taking pleasure (Venus) in any sort of physical activity (Mars).<br /><br />Mercury joins the Sun and Saturn in sidereal Virgo this week. This is likely to accentuate the role of thinking and our discriminatory faculties as they pertain to the upholding of standards and ideals. Criticism of situations that are not living up to expectations may be more likely this week, especially with the Mercury-ruled signs of Gemini and Virgo. Capricorn and Aquarius may also get a dose of this Mercury energy and use their powers of judgment to gain the information necessary to make productive decisions. Thursday's New Moon and the Mercury-Saturn conjunction on Friday may well highlight this penchant for analysis and scrutinizing of standards.<br /><b><br /></b><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Aries (Apr 13 - May 14)</span> This week is looking very good for you as Mars joins Venus in Libra. You are more likely to find new friends and contacts here and relationships generally get a boost. This is a great time to go on a romantic date or enjoy an outing to a place of beauty or relaxation. The weekend looks like your best time to shine. Work and family responsibilities may be more onerous, however, as there are greater demands placed upon you. Take it all in stride and rely on a methodical approach. Slow and steady wins the race.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Taurus (May 15 - Jun 14)</span> As Venus meets Mars this week, you may feel greater vitality and need for action as Mars lights a fire under your feet. You could be busier than usual here and may be distracted by situations that demand repair. Relationships could also be in focus here as you feel the need to clarify some grey areas. Mars can make us overly aggressive at times, so try to avoid overdoing it. Happiness is within your grasp if you take a moment to stand back and see both sides. The weekend looks like a great time to mix relaxation with productive activity, especially involving children.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Gemini (Jun 15 - Jul 14)</span> Some improvement is likely this week if last week's Saturn-Ketu aspect may have weakened your resolve. Saturn is still in the picture here so that heaviness that may weigh on you if you choose to let it. The end of the week will be a time when your duties and responsibilities become clarified, especially on the home front. Relationships may be unsettled and uncertain and they may take up more of your time. It's probably best not to force the issue as the situation will likely move to a better resolution once Mars moves away from Venus next week.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cancer (Jul 15 - Aug 14)</span> As Mercury enters your third house, you will feel a greater need to communicate your ideas and put yourself out into the world. If you were lacking in motivation, this week may give you a boost as your sense about what you want becomes clearer. With Saturn in the picture here, this may not be the best time for back-of-a-napkin type improvised plans. Take the time to plan your next moves and they will pay off handsomely. Working life looks quite positive this week and you may get some recognition for a job well done.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Leo (Aug 15 - Sep 15)</span> There is a nice start to the week as the Sun is in aspect with Venus. This should help you see the joys of life and lighten your load going into midweek. Mercury enters your second house here so money issues could be front and center by Friday. These are more likely to go well if you bring in the viewpoints of friends and partners. Other perspectives can sometimes suggest a new way at looking at things. This may be a better time to leave your Leo charm behind and rely on cold, rational calculation. New initiatives may pay some dividends by the weekend.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Virgo (Sep 16 - Oct 15)</span> All eyes are on you this week. This is a perfect opportunity to impress the world with your sense of propriety and balance in all things, and the importance of "doing the right thing". Thursday's New Moon occurs in Virgo and this may well highlight your best qualities to those who share your life. This could be a time when serving the needs of other makes more sense than looking out for oneself. The benefits of taking the high road will become clear soon enough. Money and finances may be a source of comfort during the weekend.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Libra (Oct 16 - Nov 14)</span> You will gain first hand experience with the Venus-Mars conjunction this week. Relationships and the opposite sex should take prominent place in life here, and you may learn a lot about the role of leadership. While the best relationships involve compromise and give and take, the Mars influence this week might place the emphasis on the "taking" part of the equation. Romance may take on a more purely sexual tone as niceties take a back seat to more essential Freudian urges. There could be an unsteady balance between the demands of others and the desire to escape and be alone.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Scorpio (Nov 15 - Dec 14)</span> You will be surrounded by beautiful things and people this week as Venus casts is luminous glow. Make the most of this time to enjoy the finer things in life. There is a parallel theme of sanctuary and isolation here as if sexual contact can provide sanctuary from the madding crowds of our mundane lives. The allure of utopias and distant shores may be irresistible here and you may be tempted to run away with a lover with a foreign accent. Ah, if only Venus and Mars could be in your 12th house forever! The weekend looks great for a romantic getaway.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sagittarius (Dec 15 - Jan 13)</span> Since the Venus-Mars conjunction falls in your 11th house of gains, it may be useful to think of this as harvest time. If you've been laying the proper groundwork, efforts may bear some significant fruit here, especially going into the weekend. With Mercury entering your 10th house of career, there is a space here for your ideas to reach a wider audience. Work-related situations generally go well, even if the boss is always looking over your shoulder. You may have more social interactions with older or spiritual people here, especially those that are pursuing alternative paths.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Capricorn (Jan 14 - February 12)</span> You could take a greater interest in traveling this week as Mercury enters your 9th house. This would be a good time to plan a vacation or take off to places unknown. You may also be drawn to complex systems of thought as you enjoy parsing the details of all manner of facts, figures, and texts. With the Venus retrograde cycle taking place in your 10th house this week, the universe is making a bigger space for you. Don't be shy about stepping out into the limelight even if it means temporarily surrendering some of your traditional Capricornian defenses.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Aquarius (Feb 13 - Mar 12)</span> With Thursday's New Moon occurring in your 8th house of mystery, you may be distracted by the realm of the offbeat. Conspiracy theories and alternative health information may be particularly salient this week as you weigh the pros and cons of going off the beaten track. The themes of searching and investigating will likely bubble up at different times this week and could also include everything from fact finding missions about office gossip to coming to terms with transcendental knowledge of esoteric realms. Money matters may be a source of unexpected relief this week as you realize you have more than you thought, or at least expenses were less than you remembered.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Pisces (Mar 13 - Apr 12) </span> The urge to reformulate your life continues this week as Jupiter, your ruling planet, receives the aspects of Mercury and the Moon. If things have been unsettled lately, this is likely to amplify that feeling. This may not be a bad thing, however, since Mercury often brings good fortune. But it may take time for any benefits to accrue. Your relationships are likely going to be a source of comfort and happiness here as life's demands are more easily borne in the company of those who care for us. You may find a special sense of joy helping someone in need early in the week. Some intriguing romantic or sexual developments may be more likely over the weekend.Christopher Kevillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09563577455947570653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8221366.post-88603211015031640302010-09-19T14:44:00.004-04:002010-09-19T14:56:23.969-04:00The Stars this Week -- Sep 20 - 27<span style="font-style: italic;">Please note that this chart is cast using the sidereal zodiac and the Krishnamurti ayanamsha. All references to signs are therefore using the sidereal zodiac which is currently about 24 degrees behind the Western tropical zodiac. This is a little less than one sign (30 degrees), so if you are a Libra in Western astrology, there's a good chance you're actually a Virgo according to the sidereal zodiac.<br /><br />Also note that Vedic astrology places greater emphasis on the ascendant and Moon signs in terms of describing the person in addition to the more familiar Sun sign. So if I make mention of planets affecting Libra, for example, this may refer to your sidereal Sun sign in Libra (i.e. you are born between Oct 17 and Nov 15), and also if you were born with the Moon in Libra or your ascendant in Libra. To find out your sidereal Sun sign, check here. To find your sidereal Moon and ascendant sign, you will need to have your chart cast.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhye7Q5XZtWTZys-JhbPzOqQDk0QyXLxT4EI1aqHPzu58AYmvSaLSlHqr0Tz4otDMpl88o17BF5yseZIBf55RfSD0MqK-KEaJdnumWb1DloEP7xLMn0NSulhJ3WOPthbhlCxzpY/s1600/transits09.20.2010.big.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhye7Q5XZtWTZys-JhbPzOqQDk0QyXLxT4EI1aqHPzu58AYmvSaLSlHqr0Tz4otDMpl88o17BF5yseZIBf55RfSD0MqK-KEaJdnumWb1DloEP7xLMn0NSulhJ3WOPthbhlCxzpY/s400/transits09.20.2010.big.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5518697743539394018" border="0" /></a><br />With the completion of the conjunction of Jupiter and Uranus over the weekend, there could be a little less willingness to embark on new projects and take risks this week. The aspect from the Sun to Jupiter-Uranus early in the week may represent a culmination or peaking of this adventurous and optimistic energy. This sense of achievement may be more noticeable for people with prominent Sagittarius, Pisces, Gemini, and to a lesser extent, Virgo. Virgos have to contend with the approaching Sun-Saturn conjunction next week so this mean expending more energy on fulfilling duties and responsibilities.<br /><br />The love planets, Venus and Mars, continue their transit of Libra this week. Mars is slowly catching up to Venus as Venus is slowing down ahead of its retrograde station in early October. What's interesting here is that both Venus and Mars come under the aspect of Ketu. Ketu (the South Lunar Node) is a planet that represents change and reorganization, so relationship issues may be more prominent this week, especially for Aries and Libra. Watch for unusual and unexpected developments involving the opposite sex. Scorpios may have much of this activity take place at a distance or out of public view. Taurus may experience this energy in a more rehabilitative or restoring sort of way. Ketu has carries an undertone of spirituality and renunciation, so there could be a greater willingness to examine love and sex in terms of its higher manifestations and goals.<br /><br />The Moon begins in Aquarius this week with Neptune so this could provide a boost for Aquarian individuals, particularly in terms of researching old or obscure systems of knowledge. Leos may find themselves busier than normal talking, texting, emailing and travelling as quicksilver Mercury projects its influence.<br /><br />As the Moon transits Pisces on Thursday and Friday, that will re-energize Pisces and Virgo, and enhance the profile of Sagittarius and Gemini. Thursday's Full Moon will underline this sense of confidence and attention-seeking. Capricorn may find more get-up-and-go as your determination for action take precedence over all other concerns. Cancer may find life more pleasurable at this time and find solace in youth.<br /><br />The weekend will find the Moon in Aries, so this will bring relationships into sharper relief. If you're Aries or Libra, this could be a great weekend to mix and mingle with the opposite sex. Leo and Sagittarius may be more bookish on the weekend, however, and might prefer the company of words to people.Christopher Kevillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09563577455947570653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8221366.post-28301682908714108222010-05-19T17:59:00.011-04:002010-05-20T08:40:13.175-04:00Thailand in Crisis; army moves in on Red Shirt protest<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgek1-SlsAD_tRPV5w_UgbpO3SR1s8dcFTIU4lCn9pXUfyF14R0ttck0FAs8f-DOOkO_JWtzZg276wb-aP57UciC7vnJw9bVGsRk7EQTrE-aZw5gW3CEgct9k0jdz_1q_iz7V4Y/s1600/bangkok.protest.2010.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 316px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgek1-SlsAD_tRPV5w_UgbpO3SR1s8dcFTIU4lCn9pXUfyF14R0ttck0FAs8f-DOOkO_JWtzZg276wb-aP57UciC7vnJw9bVGsRk7EQTrE-aZw5gW3CEgct9k0jdz_1q_iz7V4Y/s400/bangkok.protest.2010.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5473104448435422658" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The Land of Smiles is now a land of strife. After a months-long protest by anti-government "red shirt" protesters, a violent crackdown by the Thai army on the protesters encampment in Lumpini Park has resulted in a reactionary wave of arson, looting, and rioting throughout Bangkok. Reports now state that the violence has spread to other cities in the Northeast. The once-tolerant and peaceable Buddhist kingdom has been increasingly riven by political and social conflict over the past four years. Much of conflict has centered on the former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who ruled the country from 2001 to 2006 but was found guilty of corruption and left the country to escape justice. Once the richest person in Thailand, Thaksin has been a very polarizing force in Thai politics in the past decade, with many poor people rallying to his defense while more educated, urban classes are generally opposed to his authoritarian and corrupt style of rule. In political terms, the crisis is perhaps the result of the lopsided path to development that Thailand has followed where urban elites are fared disproportionately better compared with the rural and working classes.<br /><br />From an astrological perspective, we can see that Thailand has been caught in the middle of a rare t-square planetary alignment involving Saturn, Pluto, Uranus and Jupiter. Over the past two years or so, these planets have moved into a tense pattern where there are square 90 degree aspects between Saturn (control, loss, hardship), Uranus (freedom, risk-taking, rebellion), Pluto (power, manipulation) and Jupiter (justice, wealth, wisdom). While we can see this rare alignment is implicated in the global upheavals through the economic system since 2008, it has affected Thailand more directly because of where these planets fall in relation to the the location of the planets at the time that Thailand came into being.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsxz75WvTQlMp16Fdz1C-W-HJWczmRLr8ZS1oy1LFi2gkAKWyJk2zjshhUC_DQmMgT5neF9psMZ6IJYURIPi7KajZU2wDXn3cxDVfXu4h5XYI1ArlojpJcDymCccm6FsdvxE0T/s1600/Thailand1932.transits.wheel.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 304px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsxz75WvTQlMp16Fdz1C-W-HJWczmRLr8ZS1oy1LFi2gkAKWyJk2zjshhUC_DQmMgT5neF9psMZ6IJYURIPi7KajZU2wDXn3cxDVfXu4h5XYI1ArlojpJcDymCccm6FsdvxE0T/s400/Thailand1932.transits.wheel.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5473104290285489266" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://modernvedicastrology.blogspot.com/2009/04/thailand-in-crisis.html">As I have previously noted</a>, the horoscope for Thailand is currently under a significant amount of affliction. Using the 1932 chart representing the beginning of constitutional government, we can see that both dashas and transits are contributing to the high level of unrest and anxiety. The chart is running the Venus-Saturn dasha period. As major period lord, Venus ought to have been a fairly positive influence. Certainly, it's a benefic planet by nature and it is well placed in the natal chart in the 1st house with Mercury, although it is retrograde. But major period lords have more of a background influence and given the long duration of the dasha (1994 to 2014), it still allows for a wide range of events to occur, both good and bad. So while Thailand has had its fair share of problems during the Venus period, it has also experienced strong economic growth through most of this period, just as the Venus symbolism suggests. The Saturn (10 Capricorn) minor period (also known as a bhukti) runs from June 2007 to August 2010 and is considered a naturally malefic planet that symbolizes loss and sorrow. Moreover, its placement in the 8th house in Thailand horoscope is quite difficult. The 8th house stands for obstacles and setbacks of all kinds and is often found in situations of civil unrest along with the 6th and 12th houses. Moreover, Saturn forms a close partial "trine" aspect with violent Mars (8 Taurus) so that may be a clue that the Saturn period would see bloodshed and strife of some kind. While some might think that Saturn redeems itself somewhat by virtue of being in its own sign of Capricorn and ruling a good trikona house (the 9th - Aquarius), it is still a planet that will tend to produce negative results, especially when transits are problematic. We may also note that the major and minor period lords Venus (in Gemini) and Saturn (in Capricorn) are in an awkward 8th house relationship with one another and this is another indication of the incompatibility of energies that characterizes the current period.<br /><br />But dashas are only a starting point in the analysis. The quality of dasha periods can be greatly influenced by transits, especially when the dasha lords are impacted. This is part of the situation now in Thailand. Transiting Saturn (4 Virgo) is coming to its direct station very near the 4th house cusp (1 Virgo). The 8th house (representing setbacks) and 8th lord Saturn (losses, sadness) is being brought to bear on the 4th house (population, everyday life). Since the 4th also represents happiness and comfort, Saturn's presence will tend to deny these dimensions while it is in the proximity of the 4th house cusp. The fact that Saturn is stationing very close to this point makes it more likely to do harm. It also means that it will spend a longer time at this point, and thus suggests the disruptive situation may be protracted. Indeed, the protests have already lasted many weeks. Saturn is also casting its full strength aspect onto the ascendant (1 Gemini) which represents the country as a whole. Given the extent of the troubles that are now spreading all over the country, this is not surprising. The violence and protests have hit the tourist industry hard and is now taking its toll on other businesses. So we see how the transit of a malefic dasha lord to a vulnerable point in the Thailand horoscope reflects part of the current situation.<br /><br />Interestingly, the major period lord, Venus, is also involved in some difficult transits. Venus (17 Gemini) is currently conjoined by transiting Ketu (aka the South Lunar Node) at 18 Gemini. Ketu is both a planet of sudden and unpredictable actions as well as symbolizing renunciatory or otherworldly impulses. It is also frequently associated with spirituality. Meanwhile Venus is associated with love, beauty, money, and luxury. We can see how the portfolios of these two planets are diametrically opposed to one another. The red shirt protesters are poor, disadvantaged people originating from the rural Northeast who feel that the political system has shut them out. They feel no love for the educated elites of urban Thailand. While there is evidence that some of the protesters have been financially backed and manipulated by the ousted former Prime Minister Thaksin, there is a legitimate social justice component to this movement. Today several shopping malls were set on fire by the red shirts, this is perhaps a fitting expression of unpredictable and ascetic Ketu confronting the luxury-loving Venus. It is interesting to note that the last time Thailand erupted in violence was exactly 18 years ago in May 1992 against an unpopular military dictatorship. Students of astrology know that the nodal cycles of Ketu and Rahu are 18.6 years in length so Ketu was also conjunct natal Venus the last time that we saw a major outbreak of violent civil unrest. Ketu interrupted the prevailing state of mutual respect and affection (Venus) of Thai people enough to provoke a crisis on the streets.<br /><br />Other short term transits have also contributed the eruption of the crisis at this time. On May 12, Mercury stationed at 8 degrees of Aries, which is in a close square aspect with natal Saturn (10 Capricorn). Since Mercury rules the first house (Gemini), it symbolized the whole country here as it fell under the full brunt of Saturn's negative influence. Mercury has only barely moved since then and now stands at 10 Aries -- in its exact square aspect with Saturn. Transiting Mars (26 Cancer) is another possible triggering planet since it symbolizes violence and conflict and it is conjunct natal Jupiter (27 Cancer). Jupiter rules wealth, the economy and large financial institutions. In the midst of today's violence, protesters set fire to the Bangkok Stock Exchange.<br /><br />But where is the government in all this? The government is symbolized by the Sun (9 Gemini) and it also has come under the influence of transiting Saturn (4 Virgo) by its square aspect. The orb of the aspect is still 5 degrees away so that might offer some reason why the Abhisit government has remained intact thus far. However, the pressure against the government has been long-standing since Pluto (11 Sagittarius) has been aspecting the Sun for the past two years. This is a very slow moving and difficult aspect and reflects the intractability of the poliltical situation in Thailand. Pluto symbolizes power in its most coercive form and when it is in bad aspect to the Sun, it can reflect a time when the government can only function through force or threats . The Abhisit government does not enjoy full legitimacy in the eyes of the red shirts and their supporters around the country. He was not elected but rather put into power after a military coup ousted the Thaksin. This is a reflection of the Sun-Pluto connection where consensus and rational discussion is replaced by cruder forms of power.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVptRYMP-wa5Q9cM2dLFCn76SyKzICS_eEbR3SUp3nAqDwWazdxYLQSa8eKYIwySJKbbFi3rLet3YrLeNNWeteVO4WbZyvls84Qmfa547FS4sBLnFr8w0lHc7MrQEsfvE48GRq/s1600/Thailand.transits.+Dec2010.wheel.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 304px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVptRYMP-wa5Q9cM2dLFCn76SyKzICS_eEbR3SUp3nAqDwWazdxYLQSa8eKYIwySJKbbFi3rLet3YrLeNNWeteVO4WbZyvls84Qmfa547FS4sBLnFr8w0lHc7MrQEsfvE48GRq/s400/Thailand.transits.+Dec2010.wheel.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5473109286400649634" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Giving the difficulty implied in these planets, Thailand's future does not look good. Saturn will begin move forward after May 30 so that may improve the living situation for the average person in fairly short order as it reduces its pressure on the 4th house. But it will exactly aspect the Sun in July and August so that is another time when we may see the government and its leaders come under criticism. It is possible the government could be forced to call an election at that time in order to mollify opponents. And yet the extent of planetary affliction looks like it would correspond with something worse than simply giving in and calling an election. I would therefore expect a return to a more unstable political situation at that time. Transiting Pluto will stay in opposition aspect to the Sun for the rest of the year and is likely to continue to undermine the current government. The period in November-December 2010 looks especially difficult for government and leaders as Ketu will conjoin the Sun while Pluto opposes it. The December pattern looks more difficult, so that might be the period of greatest political and social concern. To make matters worse, Saturn will station on 23 Virgo in close square aspect to both Venus (17 Gemini) and Mercury (21 Gemini). This aspect will likely translate into some significant economic disruption and frustration as well as sadness and disappointment.<br /><br />All this planetary stress on the natal Sun does not augur well for Thailand's beloved King Bhumipol, who is now 82 and largely confined to hospital. In previous periods of civil strife, he has been able to reconcile opposing sides and prevent situations from spiraling out of control. However, he has been conspicuously absent this time, and this is one more reason the future of the country seems more at risk than in the past. Given the afflictions to the Sun in this horoscope, he is unlikely to make a positive contribution to this situation or if he does, it will likely not lead to a lasting solution.<br /><br />Overall, Thailand's troubles are likely to continue for some time to come. One hopeful sign is that Saturn's minor period will end in October. At that time, the Mercury minor period will begin and last until June 2013. The Venus-Mercury period definitely looks more positive, although just how fast Thailand returns to a state approaching normal will depend on the transits. 2011 will see Saturn aspecting both Venus and Mercury once more so that suggests another step back.Christopher Kevillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09563577455947570653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8221366.post-13909302060069022292010-05-05T18:05:00.003-04:002010-05-05T18:10:06.145-04:00Obama's triumphs and challenges<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH-fi5_drVeiY2pMLOb-if8lxJcVr8Z5vxPb9xZG3_R0vJ39hJNtKR23jp4yTa_fennWfCEkguavuhOh3uxN0kfz4dTIJNmDIa76H9mueFO_nEoHx95jgHv3fc-VKzYLqK1hEvcg/s1600/obama.oil.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 303px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH-fi5_drVeiY2pMLOb-if8lxJcVr8Z5vxPb9xZG3_R0vJ39hJNtKR23jp4yTa_fennWfCEkguavuhOh3uxN0kfz4dTIJNmDIa76H9mueFO_nEoHx95jgHv3fc-VKzYLqK1hEvcg/s400/obama.oil.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467905076484083538" border="0" /></a><br />After suffering an embarrassing rebuke of his policies and proposed health care reform in January with the election of Senator Scott Brown, President Barack Obama has managed to bounce back, even if his approval ratings remain below 50%. Despite crystallizing popular opposition to health reform, the Scott Brown election on January 19 in Ted Kennedy's old seat marked a real low point for the Obama administration. Nonetheless, Obama and the House Democrats gamely fought back and skillfully cobbled together enough votes to pass the historic reform package on March 21. Despite the big political win on health care, Obama did not receive a significant boost in his popularity, no doubt reflecting the fact that most Americans do not like the proposed reform. He has also come under some criticism in the past week over the dangerous oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico as commentators have suggested that his administration was slow to react to the first news of the accident.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTUuXNFDBGCV_XZpyJeTf-Yo4TpqUAscZZ8aHAMVRtBWeBoFcimZLy18wCQ3EoLQ7fW_-Kta0aNxT-QLJ0HglIjpV8Y_GQToogq_Mj_AXFSmhNn5fsK3o7jd1fr1PUt5CSME06Ag/s1600/Obama.healthreform.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 304px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTUuXNFDBGCV_XZpyJeTf-Yo4TpqUAscZZ8aHAMVRtBWeBoFcimZLy18wCQ3EoLQ7fW_-Kta0aNxT-QLJ0HglIjpV8Y_GQToogq_Mj_AXFSmhNn5fsK3o7jd1fr1PUt5CSME06Ag/s400/Obama.healthreform.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467905183397409650" border="0" /></a><br /><br />In<a href="http://modernvedicastrology.blogspot.com/2010_01_01_archive.html"> my last article on US politics</a>, I thought there might be a shift in Obama's "energy" with the start of his Rahu minor period in February. Rahu is conjunct Uranus in his natal chart, so I thought this might make him more autonomous and independent in pursuing his agenda. That was perhaps reflected in the Democrats dogged determination to push ahead with health care regardless of political opposition. Led by the liberal Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Obama did indeed pursue his goal of health care reform with greater independence. While I did not expect the Democrats to get health care passed so quickly on the heels of the Brown setback, I did note that he would get a boost from a nice Jupiter transit to his Venus in early February when Pelosi urged him to press on without Republican support. I also thought that this Jupiter influence would grow as it moved deeper into his 2nd house which it did in March and April. Obama's equal 2nd house cusp lies at 24 Aquarius and at the time of the successful passage of the bill, Jupiter was transiting 20 degrees of sidereal Aquarius, just four degrees short of the sweet spot of the 2nd house representing wealth, good fortune, and positive announcements.<br /><br />We can also see that Mars (7 Cancer) and Saturn (7 Virgo) were in very close aspect to his natal Jupiter (7 Capricorn). On the face of it, it might seem counterintuitive to have two malefic planets like Mars and Saturn aspecting a natal planet at a time of success. But it is important to remember that under standard Vedic aspecting rules, that Saturn not a full strength aspect to Jupiter; rather Saturn comes under the influence of Jupiter's full strength aspect. With Jupiter as the more active party in this association, the results are more positive, especially when Jupiter itself is strengthened by its nice transit placement. The Jupiter-Saturn combination symbolizes effective executive power, progress with goals, and respected authority -- all things that Obama enjoyed from being the first administration to finally pass a law requiring mandatory health insurance for all its citizens. This Jupiter-Saturn outcome also tipped towards the positive because 1) Jupiter is placed in the first whole sign house in Capricorn and 2) Saturn rules Capricorn, and therefore it rules Obama's first house of prominence. Therefore, this Jupiter-Saturn contact would likely involve a boost for Obama's profile in March, and more likely for the better.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicNZ4MkXMt0wK-69-enn6JhUIWmMYIUd6ZLBpKZ7pyhC-u0aDMSsRZcUOmJssSB8gasL83ifS7gZrF8KO9LYP7ApXE_dcNXe3zeJkvucLDKz-cXnZ57aIRiDK4TV9x2w9nWxJGBg/s1600/Obama.transits.May.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 304px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicNZ4MkXMt0wK-69-enn6JhUIWmMYIUd6ZLBpKZ7pyhC-u0aDMSsRZcUOmJssSB8gasL83ifS7gZrF8KO9LYP7ApXE_dcNXe3zeJkvucLDKz-cXnZ57aIRiDK4TV9x2w9nWxJGBg/s400/Obama.transits.May.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467905272303241154" border="0" /></a><br /><br />But now that transiting Jupiter has entered sidereal Pisces, it is placed in Obama's 3rd house. This is a somewhat less positive place in his horoscope, especially since Jupiter (2 Pisces on May 13-16) will soon come under the influence of his natal Saturn (2 Capricorn) by its full strength 3rd house (sextile) aspect. While Jupiter to Saturn may have corresponded with success, the current scenario of Saturn to Jupiter looks decidedly more problematic and will probably generate some real difficulty for Obama. Jupiter rules the 12th and 3rd houses so we perhaps could see him suffer losses (12th) from an errant or misplaced communication (3rd).<br /><br />More generally, the next few weeks seem quite burdensome for him since Saturn will station at 4 Virgo in close aspect to his minor period lord Rahu at 4 Leo and in a semisquare 45 degree aspect with his Sun (19 Cancer). This double dose of Saturn is likely to mean setbacks for Obama as his agenda will be undermined by circumstances and foes alike. Sun-Saturn contacts often occur in confrontations with authority. Since President Obama IS the authority, this could mean that one of this government departments is found wanting in some way, or perhaps the administration loses a crucial judicial decision. Or maybe this will be a moment when Obama realizes that The People are the real authority. I'm not quite sure that Sun-Saturn contacts work that way, but it will be interesting to see how it plays out. Given the current unresolved situation with the oil spill in the Gulf, it is possible that he and his government could be blamed in some specific way.<br /><br />Besides the multiple transit hits to his Saturn on May 15-16, June 2-3 also looks quite difficult for him as transiting Mars (4 Leo) will conjoin his Rahu (4 Leo). This will be just a few days after Saturn has its direct station and begins to move forward once again. A very slow moving Saturn is something that can cause a lot of damage so that period just before and after the station on May 30 could be quite awkward for the administration.<br /><br />Obama should get some lift from the Jupiter-Uranus conjunction at 5 Pisces around June 9 since it will aspect his Midheaven, or unequal 10th house cusp.<br />This should be a welcome relief from the preceding Saturnian difficulties. Jupiter to the 10th often corresponds with recognition and goals fulfilled so we can expect some important part of the administration's agenda to come to fruition around this time. I would also note that this Jupiter-Uranus conjunction occurs in close sextile aspect to the Sun-Mercury conjunction (6 Capricorn) in the Inauguration chart, so that increases the likelihood that Obama will be riding high around by the second week of June. This is likely to mark the beginning of a period that is more favorable for him as Jupiter will have its retrograde station at 9 Pisces in July, in exact aspect to his natal Mercury (9 Cancer). Mercury often represents trading and business, so it's possible Obama's financial reform bill could pass at that time. With Mercury as the 9th lord in the 7th house of partners, it's also possible that he could successfully conclude a treaty with a foreign country at that time or participate in some other successful interaction with another country. More generally, the economy may be seen as prospering around the time of his positive Mercury transit.<br /><br />A few readers have asked me about the Democrats prospects for the midterm elections on November 2. I haven't looked into it yet in detail, but one interpretive problem is that I don't have any timed birth data for key Republicans like John Boehner and Mitch McConnell. Without seeing the planets for the other side, we only have the charts of Barack Obama and perhaps Joe Biden to see which way it could go. Biden's chart looks fairly good for November, but Obama's is more mixed. Hopefully, I will form a clearer opinion over the coming weeks.Christopher Kevillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09563577455947570653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8221366.post-37893083182743080802010-05-04T13:36:00.003-04:002010-05-04T13:47:28.317-04:00Oil spill wreaks havoc on US Gulf Coast<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO3DpntYJgpFWnjZ8BtF4YtXUE-GQIG51lMXc0r0ow6_YZ3HSKL64eZr0zcIOP-cK-Oh0npBYcyDpc0ATu5aNH8Mr86UBXuRK7AfHvQKJn4fwouydzBuTccZ7lF_LiFUTHJ2Js/s1600/oilspill.pic"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 207px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO3DpntYJgpFWnjZ8BtF4YtXUE-GQIG51lMXc0r0ow6_YZ3HSKL64eZr0zcIOP-cK-Oh0npBYcyDpc0ATu5aNH8Mr86UBXuRK7AfHvQKJn4fwouydzBuTccZ7lF_LiFUTHJ2Js/s320/oilspill.pic" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467470821894130018" /></a><br /><br /><br />As the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico enters its third week, there are no easy or quick solutions for either BP or the Obama administration. With thousands of barrels a day leaking into the water, the resulting giant oil slick is approaching the Gulf coast states of Louisiana, Alabama and Florida. Rough seas and bad weather are further hampering efforts to contain the slick before its hits land and does further damage. The oil spill has the potential to become one of the worst environmental accidents in US history as the entire fishing industry in the Gulf is threatened.<br /><br />What insight can astrology bring to this event? Well, first we may note the current transit situation. Neptune (4 Aquarius), the planet associated with liquids and oil, is in a close alignment with Saturn (4 Virgo) and Uranus (4 Pisces). Saturn symbolizes problems and hardship, while Uranus represents sudden or shocking events and often acts as a kind of amplifier. So we can see how the interaction of these three planets can be seen as reflecting some kind of sudden and unwanted event involving water or liquids that pops up somewhere in the world at this time. We might also go into greater detail trying to examine the horoscope of the exact time of the event on April 20 (if known) and how it may have depicted this unfortunate accident.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidB2D7nNt5dC6nYFOWghet0-7fniXwL7Uiw4uiMnz9dSgRTXJSQWIRsYJ5hovmhEEYyHOPjpwYzGP8t9TNqL2vwjusuPUaRmdNbVOs_e0YkpU3j3IfAwCU7a6s051fiM5R80kK/s1600/oilspill.transits.chart.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 304px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidB2D7nNt5dC6nYFOWghet0-7fniXwL7Uiw4uiMnz9dSgRTXJSQWIRsYJ5hovmhEEYyHOPjpwYzGP8t9TNqL2vwjusuPUaRmdNbVOs_e0YkpU3j3IfAwCU7a6s051fiM5R80kK/s400/oilspill.transits.chart.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467472595488323106" /></a><br /><br />Whatever the value of that transit-centered approach, I find it more interesting to see how this event might also be seen in relevant natal charts. For example, it's quite possible the spill could be seen in the US horoscope, especially with transiting Saturn (4 Virgo) conjunct the natal Neptune (1 Virgo) and transiting Neptune (4 Aquarius) conjunct the natal Moon (7 Aquarius). The Saturn to Neptune contact broadly represents damage (Saturn) involving liquids (Neptune), while the Neptune to Moon contact reinforces the water/oil theme and expands it to the population (Moon) as a whole. I acknowledge that both of these orbs are pretty wide, especially given that these are very slow moving planets. The margin of error can be measured in months, if not longer. And yet these two simultaneous hits involving Neptune still seems interesting, given that they have occurred so close to what may become the worst oil spill in history. We can also see transiting Mars (14 Cancer) closely conjunct natal Rahu (15 Cancer), acting as a kind of short term trigger, often of a violent or harmful event. I should note that I'm using the Kelleher 18.30 chart here for the USA, although charts for other times from July 4, 1776 would also show basically the same planet to planet contacts. I know there is considerable disagreement over the "correct" USA chart and I don't wish to alienate readers who may prefer other US horoscopes. My limited aim here is simply to show that there are a number of basic transit hits that are broadly congruent with this oil spill.<br /><br />However, there is another chart that might reflects this event, and that is the inauguration chart of Barack Obama. President Obama was sworn in as president at 12.05 p.m. on January 20 , 2009. The resulting chart can be seen both as a mirror of his term as president and as the country as a whole. One of the nice things about US inauguration charts is that there is very little uncertainty about them, unlike the birth horoscope of the USA. While few astrologers can agree on the best US chart, everyone knows when the inauguration took place. Using an unequivocal birth chart is a way of minimizing ambiguities and can thereby narrow the range of possible interpretations from the chart itself. Astrology is already so rife with uncertainty and unknowns (both of the known and unknown varieties -- thank you Donald Rumsfeld), the last thing we need are natal charts that astrologers cannot agree on. The other useful thing about inauguration charts is that since they always take place at the same time on the same date every four years, it is possible to look into the future for possible clues about the direction of future administrations. Please note, I'm not saying that the US presidential inauguration chart is an adequate replacement for a USA natal chart. Inauguration charts will not always correspond with major events, but they are usually enough hits there to make them a useful complement to a national natal chart and the chart of President Obama himself.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsDC8QJjz6U9Ai845WIAxxIn9eZwK_KXqPi071AY3SMlPuqb_-4HsOTHIXLslyI_mkJOr_Eb5DFWWkwMZniIp7i8reXgzltVg-7OaO8f-r2G0fwwPOvYq864Y7uqfa9FGL7-BE/s1600/oilspill.inauguration.chart.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 304px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsDC8QJjz6U9Ai845WIAxxIn9eZwK_KXqPi071AY3SMlPuqb_-4HsOTHIXLslyI_mkJOr_Eb5DFWWkwMZniIp7i8reXgzltVg-7OaO8f-r2G0fwwPOvYq864Y7uqfa9FGL7-BE/s400/oilspill.inauguration.chart.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467472778238213714" /></a><br /><br />Here we see that Saturn-Uranus-Neptune alignment in fairly close aspect to the natal Moon (5 Scorpio). Neptune is in a difficult square angle to the Moon, symbolizing trouble and awkward situations involving liquids (Neptune) on the population and resources (Moon). Since the Moon also rules the 4th house in this chart (Cancer), its affliction here further emphasizes unfortunate situations involving the population and resources. Also we note that the Moon is in a water sign (Scorpio) so that gives extra emphasis for some kind of event involving liquids that creates troubles for the population, especially those living near water. Oil is a liquid energy resource, that Scorpio Moon may further symbolize situations involve oil and gasoline. Not to stretch the point, but the Moon can also be the significator for food, so this may also be seen as a possible planetary affliction to the (water-based) food supply. Saturn is also part of the story here since it is in close 3rd house/sextile aspect with the Moon. According to Vedic aspecting rules, the 3rd house/sextile aspect is a full strength aspect and if the chart is otherwise weak, it can coincide with negative events that involve suffering and loss. Interestingly, transiting Mars (14 Cancer) again has a nodal transit hit here, as it is conjunct natal Ketu (15 Cancer). This both acts as a short term event trigger and describes the initially violent quality of the original explosion on the oil rig that killed a dozen workers.<br /><br />Since both Neptune and Saturn will continue to be in close aspect with the Moon for the next several weeks, problems from this leak are likely to continue. Neptune will turn retrograde on May 31, so that may diminish its negative effects somewhat as it begins to move away from its aspect with the Moon. However, Saturn will turn retrograde the day before, on May 30, and therefore may intensify its effect on the Moon through June and July. Perhaps these influences will cancel each other out in some way. More positively, Jupiter will aspect the Moon -- along with Mars -- in the first week of June so that may offer some hope that a permanent solution can be found to this underwater oil leak.<br /><br />Transiting Saturn will be in close aspect to the natal Moon through July so this looks like a time of difficulty for the US generally. What's worse is the Mars-Saturn conjunction at 6 Virgo on July 30 occurs in almost exact aspect to the natal Sun-Mercury conjunction at 6 Capricorn in the Inauguration chart. And this will be just one degree past the Moon. While the aspect to the Sun-Mercury will only be a partial strength 120 degree aspect, it is nonetheless exact and given the doubling of malefic energies from Mars and Saturn, we should see a very troubling situation emerge at that time that puts the government (Sun) and the economy (Mercury) under greater pressure.Christopher Kevillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09563577455947570653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8221366.post-60721100260358697982010-01-25T17:00:00.007-05:002010-01-25T17:21:27.682-05:00Scott Brown shocks Obama and Democrats<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-zVWcCnBtYL7H75Gen_0r060Yl6VXZdsibTRWGIYRXeZhdkcqTL9Fjn3F3Kavfk2gkctw7dfdfk9f-xTYrKoakZmEQWo-FyLSHKHOWWjgSnNpGtcNyAqoF5lKCqGb9Gxkic4h/s1600-h/Obama.tr.01.19.2010.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 304px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-zVWcCnBtYL7H75Gen_0r060Yl6VXZdsibTRWGIYRXeZhdkcqTL9Fjn3F3Kavfk2gkctw7dfdfk9f-xTYrKoakZmEQWo-FyLSHKHOWWjgSnNpGtcNyAqoF5lKCqGb9Gxkic4h/s400/Obama.tr.01.19.2010.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5430800942497702514" border="0" /></a><br />The days of wine and roses appeared to come to an end for Barack Obama last week as the Democrats super-majority got swept away by the election of Republican Scott Brown of Massachusetts in a special Senate election to fill the seat of the late Ted Kennedy. As a result of this stunning defeat, the Democrats have lost their super-majority of 60 seats that had given then extra leeway to pass the more contentious legislation in their program. Now there is a growing realization that much of <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/17/mcconnell-scott-browns-el_n_426337.html">Obama's ambitious agenda for health care and economic reform may go by the boards</a> as greater compromise with the GOP will be sought.<br /><br />While I did not predict this specific turnaround in Obama's political fortunes, <a href="http://modernvedicastrology.com/node/317">I d</a><a href="http://modernvedicastrology.com/node/317">id warn in an October post</a> that Obama would likely suffer a significant setback in the coming months. I had expected some kind of "deepening political conundrum" to manifest sometime between October and December, with December somewhat more noteworthy given the proximity of the Mars retrograde station to some key points in his chart. While Obama failed to pass his crucial health care legislation in December, it turns out that the real blow was delivered a month later on January 19 by the voters of Massachusetts through their support of Scott Brown.<br /><br />The other longer term influences I noted were still in effect for the January setback, namely, transiting Saturn (10 Virgo) was still in close square aspect to Obama's natal Venus (8 Gemini) and Obama was still running his Mars subperiod which will conclude on February 2 according to the Krishnamurti ayanamsha.<br /><br />A closer look at the chart reveals just what planets coincided with this turn of events. In addition to Saturn-Venus, transiting Mars (19 Cancer) was exactly conjunct Obama's Sun (19 Cancer) indicating a one or two day period of intense energy and focus. While this transit does not always indicate problems, we can see that it was more likely to create headaches for Obama. His natal Sun is slightly weakened through its rulership of the dussthana 8th house and Mars is placed in that same troublesome 8th house in Obama's natal chart. So with both the giving and receiving planets in this transit conjunction associated with the 8th house, we can see how it was more likely that it should produce typical 8th house events such as setbacks, obstacles, and embarrassments.<br /><br />Another interesting artifact of this chart is that transiting Jupiter (6 Aquarius) was conjunct natal Ketu (4 Aquarius). Although this was two degrees past exact, it's still fairly close. Jupiter-Ketu contacts are often connected with changes or confusion (Ketu) of one's ideals or philosophies (Jupiter). Certainly, Obama had been in trouble on health care throughout January while this conjunction was exact, but the election of Brown has forced his hand. It now looks as though the health care package will have major revisions to it. His economic program is also rapidly evolving into something more populist as voter anger against Wall St bailouts is forcing the administration to adopt a stronger tone.<br /><br />So what's next for Obama? Given the very slow motion of transiting Saturn, it seems unlikely that the current malaise in his administration will significantly improve over the next year. However, he may exhibit a somewhat different energy since his Mars subperiod will end and his Rahu subperiod will begin in February. Rahu's subperiod will last until June 2012 after which it will be superseded by the Saturn mahadasha. Interestingly, both planets are placed in his 8th house, so there will likely be some degree of continuity perhaps marked by difficult progress and many twist and turns. We can watch for more unusual or sudden events here since Rahu is closely conjunct Uranus. This is a remarkable pairing of the ancient and modern planets that symbolize innovation, rebelliousness and independence. Together, they could mean that Obama himself becomes more autonomous and self-directed in his approach, as he tries to put his own unique stamp on his term in office. It may also mean that he may become more unpredictable or that events come out of the blue that compel him to change course quickly. That has already happened with the Brown election, but this sort of course change may become more frequent during the upcoming Rahu subperiod.<br /><br />More immediately, Obama may get a short term lift in late January and early February as Jupiter aspects his Venus and transiting Sun and Venus conjoin his ascendant. This looks like a time when he is again in the limelight and performing well as his message will resonate with the public at large. After that, we can watch for Obama to stumble somehow in mid-February as Mars will conjoin his Mercury at 9 Cancer. At the same time, the Sun and Neptune will conjoin his Ketu, so we could see something that weakens his authority somehow or is a blow to his ego. This event may be nothing more than a gaffe or passing awkward situation, but given the ongoing medium term transits like Saturn-Pluto-Venus, there is a chance it could be something of greater importance.<br /><br />This may usher in a protracted period of difficulty as the Mars Direct station on March 10 will occur in close opposition to his natal Jupiter. Mars-Jupiter aspects can symbolize conflict (Mars) over beliefs (Jupiter) or perhaps disputes (Mars) over spending and resources (Jupiter).<br /><br />Obama's fortunes may improve somewhat after that as transiting Jupiter will build into the 2nd house of wealth in advance of forming a very nice aspect to his Mercury in July. This could be a high water mark of sorts for him, perhaps reflecting a major policy victory such as health care. Mercury rules his 6th house (Gemini) of health, so that is quite possible.Christopher Kevillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09563577455947570653noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8221366.post-42410717622879052402010-01-21T18:01:00.005-05:002010-01-21T18:13:00.547-05:00Conan O'Brien leaves the Tonight Show<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimZAVVO6Kv6AL7P5Ipuu8ly-EV6rffzJnrxQvxzTZUslM-Kv7KshdGTdWReW04We98nRYVokCvHNn6fgBfj1r23715afyWU-Gk0pG5-69kMYFWRVQpmeVfIf8B7KXvXiua-adX/s1600-h/conan.tonight.show.backdrop.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 280px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimZAVVO6Kv6AL7P5Ipuu8ly-EV6rffzJnrxQvxzTZUslM-Kv7KshdGTdWReW04We98nRYVokCvHNn6fgBfj1r23715afyWU-Gk0pG5-69kMYFWRVQpmeVfIf8B7KXvXiua-adX/s400/conan.tonight.show.backdrop.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429332425810482802" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Conan O'Brien is off to a bad start in 2010. The newly-minted host of NBC's The Tonight Show has seen rumours of a late night shuffle grow over the past two weeks to a point where he is on the verge of relinquishing the coveted host's chair to the long-running late night talk show back to his predecessor, Jay Leno. The dispute between Conan, Leno and NBC has been public and acrimonious and has left the television audience forced to choose sides between supporting the younger, hipper O'Brien and the more established and mainstream Leno. While Leno will likely garner better ratings, at the moment most people believe that Conan has been the victim here. It is a very unfortunate development for Conan in what has been a long and successful career that began in television writing, through 16 years of hosting the popular The Late Show and now his aborted 7-month stint at the helm of prestigious Tonight Show.<br /><br />A quick glimpse at his horoscope shows the source of his woes. The most obvious culprit is Saturn (10 Virgo), which recently stationed exactly opposite his Jupiter (10 Pisces) in the 8th house. Saturn is often a negative influence symbolizing loss and disappointment and the retrograde station of January 13 is extra problematic owing to the unusually long period of time that Saturn would have been in close aspect to his Jupiter. Jupiter is in mixed condition here since it is in its own sign in Pisces but it is also in the 8th house representing embarrassments, obstacles, and setbacks. Transiting Ketu (South Lunar Node) had just conjoined his natal Rahu (North Lunar Node), another sign of stress and change since node-to-node transits are often times of rearrangement and uncertainty. We may also note that the recent Mars retrograde station at 25 degrees of Cancer in December would have exactly opposed Conan's Moon (25 Capricorn) and was still within close range when the brouhaha went public in the first week of January. Mars' energy is often too much to take when in hard aspect -- and doubly so when in a lingering planetary station. Conan may well have first discovered NBC's plans to bring back Jay Leno sometime in late December when this aspect was closest. No doubt he would have been irritated and annoyed as is often the case with Mars-to-Moon contacts.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKUrHM2goxZX8SCr-0VO2BJUqaQJ5S84rYamYvO2BMJhF-or0HxoO87iYFvUX258FvLMdBB6odzLMYC10Zy8SMahb6c5Ybw3rkFiy6WR3_WSbsipFAQTVOn-60iHAxJBYZ_Mkf/s1600-h/conan.transits.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 304px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKUrHM2goxZX8SCr-0VO2BJUqaQJ5S84rYamYvO2BMJhF-or0HxoO87iYFvUX258FvLMdBB6odzLMYC10Zy8SMahb6c5Ybw3rkFiy6WR3_WSbsipFAQTVOn-60iHAxJBYZ_Mkf/s400/conan.transits.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429332342172671186" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The dashas also do not paint a positive picture for him. He started the Saturn dasha in 2003. Saturn dashas can sometimes be tough going, although we should note that Conan's Saturn receives a boost since it is in its own sign of Capricorn and in close conjunction with the Moon, albeit in the dussthana 6th house. The bigger problem concerns the subperiod lord Ketu. Ketu looks more problematic for Conan as it is placed by itself in the 6th house of conflict. Like Saturn, Ketu is a natural malefic and it can produce painful situations and conflict if not redeemed by an association with a benefic planet. While Ketu is in a wide conjunction with Saturn and Moon here in the 6th, neither of them offer much support to Ketu. The 6th house is all about conflict including legal matters, so perhaps it is not a coincidence that Conan would have become embroiled these legal wranglings with NBC during the major and minor periods of two planets that were both placed in his 6th house. Of course, good things can occur in Ketu's period. He did, after all, become host of the Tonight Show during the Saturn-Ketu period. But it is perhaps more telling that he lost that job while still under the predominance of Ketu. In that sense, Ketu's energy required the full completion of its subperiod to become fully manifest. As luck would have it, Ketu's subperiod ends in mid-February according to the Krishnamurti ayanamsha, just after Conan will have been forced off the show.<br /><br />As painful as this turn of events must have been for Conan, the immediate future looks quite good for him. Transiting Uranus is conjunct his exalted Venus in the 8th house of unearned income. I would say that fits pretty nicely with the $32 million buyout of his contact by NBC! Transiting Jupiter will transit his 7th house of business and aspect his first house for the next several months so that will keep his spirits up and boost his public profile. More important perhaps is that Conan's Venus minor period begins in February so that bodes well for the next 3 years. Venus is a benefic planet and it produces good results in Pisces. At the same time, it is not without its peculiarities. While it's exalted in Pisces, it is in the first degree of Pisces, a placement of planetary "infancy" and suggesting it is somewhat weak and placed in the troublesome 8th house. More importantly, it receives a close aspect from Rahu. Rahu governs things that are unconventional and weird -- and what could be more appropriate for the Conebone? -- so Conan is more likely to keep his comic edge in any future endeavor and resist the drift to the mainstream middle. While his career may be recover, the Rahu influence here may indicate that Conan's fortunes will be more up and down, as he may experience periodic problems in both his professional and personal life.<br /><br />On balance, these influences look positive for Conan and point to an upturn in his fortunes over the next three years but there will likely be some unexpected or unusual developments in his career. We could hear positive news about Conan's next job as early as February when Sun, Venus and Jupiter all transit his 7th house. March also seems quite positive as Sun, Venus and Uranus will all conjoin near his subperiod lord Venus. So it looks as though fans of "Coco" won't have to wait much longer before seeing the string dance again. Perhaps a new show will appear in the Fall as transiting Jupiter will station conjunct his Venus in October and November. This certainly looks like a fantastic time for him.<br /><br />End of Part One.Christopher Kevillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09563577455947570653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8221366.post-24151266361760676982010-01-13T22:05:00.013-05:002010-01-13T22:59:07.327-05:00Earthquake in Haiti<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz7qJ4t4RQLaeY7uokFRn4LO1j9Go4X_BlJGOisdu7nL_CqWdKFmOJnZERvY3g6pndTMWCInCJI1xMv-AbMYza0wOi7647EYcO3z9BxZPxD9sMws8cg-QyViilVstFhgDBb-a4/s1600-h/Haiti.earthquake.vedic.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 372px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz7qJ4t4RQLaeY7uokFRn4LO1j9Go4X_BlJGOisdu7nL_CqWdKFmOJnZERvY3g6pndTMWCInCJI1xMv-AbMYza0wOi7647EYcO3z9BxZPxD9sMws8cg-QyViilVstFhgDBb-a4/s400/Haiti.earthquake.vedic.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5426429922318384242" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">January 12, 2010 4.53 p.m EST 18N44 72W45</span><br /></div><br /><br />As a possible indication of what kind of year it will be, all that bad karma for 2010 we saw in the <a href="http://modernvedicastrology.blogspot.com/2010/01/2010-new-year-outlook.html">New Year's chart</a> didn't take very long to manifest. Not even two weeks into the New Year, a powerful earthquake has devastated the small island nation of Haiti. On January 12, 2010 at 4.53 p.m EST, a huge earthquake measuring 7.0 struck just 10 miles from the capital Port-au-Prince. Early reports suggest there has been widespread destruction and countless thousands of deaths as the impoverished country now struggles with the grim task of recovery and rebuilding.<br /><br />The horoscope of the earthquake shows considerable affliction, although the aspects and orbs with angles are not as close as one might expect for a event of this magnitude. It is perhaps no coincidence that the quake occurred just three days before a Solar Eclipse and just one day before Saturn, the planet of loss, turned retrograde. Planets near their retrograde and direct stations greatly increase their potency for do good or ill, depending on their nature and their current condition. Saturn is a natural malefic planet and it is currently in a close square aspect with Pluto, another mostly malefic planet, so that tilts the scales pretty heavily towards the negative. At the moment the quake struck, Saturn was just four degrees from the IC, or unequal 4th house cusp. Students of astrology know that the 4th house is associated with land and earth and afflictions to it are often implicated in earthquakes. The other critical difficulty in this chart is that the 1st and 4th houses (Gemini and Virgo) are ruled by Mercury and it is just three degrees from Pluto and therefore, also resonating with the negative Saturn-Pluto square aspect. If the 4th house represents land, earth and houses, the 1st represents the country as a whole. Both houses therefore come under pressure in this Mercury-Saturn-Pluto configuration, so that picture offers a plausible enough account for the earthquake. In addition, we can see malefic Rahu and Ketu closely straddled the ascendant-descendant axis. The lunar nodes are also frequently seen in sudden events, and when combined with other malefic aspects, it can signal an event of misfortune and hardship.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGid1PP57lEnAWU0U_dnpA_m-EdrkMeRTCRn1bs3Y_kHB6nWmujI1ZHoKLrEo7IzXw5AthXluR66upJfrfzzP3U3S47u9vltqtEYTeFeE1i9LiSZJLFhs3Y_oQOt1jTVqGxJkH/s1600-h/Haiti.earthquake.transits.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 303px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGid1PP57lEnAWU0U_dnpA_m-EdrkMeRTCRn1bs3Y_kHB6nWmujI1ZHoKLrEo7IzXw5AthXluR66upJfrfzzP3U3S47u9vltqtEYTeFeE1i9LiSZJLFhs3Y_oQOt1jTVqGxJkH/s400/Haiti.earthquake.transits.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5426429037566015154" border="0" /></a><br /><br />A chart that paints a more intriguing picture of the earthquake is the national horoscope of Haiti (January 1, 1804 12.00 p.m.). Transiting Saturn had returned to its natal position within three degrees, forming a Saturn Return. The fact that it was about to station intensified its energies considerably. Certainly, Saturn Returns can be difficult periods as Saturn's qualities of loss and limitations are often highlighted, but they are not always the harbinger of difficulty. Much also depends on Saturn's condition both in transit and natally. What was the condition of Saturn at the time of Haitian independence? Here we see that Haiti was "born" at the time of a Mars-Saturn square. While this is not a full-strength Mars aspect according to Vedic aspecting rules, it is a near-exact one so even the partial strength aspect suggests that Haiti's natal Saturn had Mars issues that lay in waiting for the right planet to activate them. These potentials could be released when Saturn was aspected by malefics, including its own transit. We should also note that Haiti was running its Saturn dasha at the time of the earthquake.<br /><br />Transiting Pluto was conjunct natal Mars, a classic combination for violent destruction, with transiting Mercury also there -- itself slowing down ahead of its direct station on Friday -- acting as a presumable trigger for the slower moving planetary afflictions. This was such a negative event for this country that all the natural malefics were involved in this massive earthquake, as Rahu (North Lunar Node) was closely conjunct Mercury. Since the time of the independence chart is unknown, we can't be sure about house rulership here but Mercury's affliction is no less important here because 1) it is dispositor to Saturn in Virgo hence making Saturn more subject to trouble and 2) Mercury is involved with an destabilizing square aspect with Uranus in the natal. As Mercury came under Rahu's disruptive influence through its conjunction, the twin negative energies of Saturn and the Mercury-Uranus aspect were released. The simultaneous multiple afflictions in the chart speak to the enormity of this cataclysmic event.<br /><br />After this shocking loss of life has started the year on such a bleak note, let's hope things will begin improve for the rest of 2010. With some of 2010's bad planetary karma now expended with this event, there may be some basis for optimism. Of course, most things that one can imagine look better than this carnage.Christopher Kevillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09563577455947570653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8221366.post-36896606235607995062010-01-01T15:15:00.006-05:002010-01-01T15:23:06.662-05:002010 New Year Outlook<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqFNmCkuwULv9JXNNe0qZuuFIibbOV8WFCqz9VcQ9g9g2xDl4d7QXg4VvuLu_ZvQYLKgYzyoJD-FlhTLRNqx6PY1sveuohuUbnQleua64gLV2Tk0aR-HNaA0QWJazsy5OXhVWN/s1600-h/2010+New+Year.vedic.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 372px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqFNmCkuwULv9JXNNe0qZuuFIibbOV8WFCqz9VcQ9g9g2xDl4d7QXg4VvuLu_ZvQYLKgYzyoJD-FlhTLRNqx6PY1sveuohuUbnQleua64gLV2Tk0aR-HNaA0QWJazsy5OXhVWN/s400/2010+New+Year.vedic.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421867946159820466" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">January 1, 2010 00.00 EST Washington, DC</span><br /><br /><br /></div>With the start of 2010, here are a few general ideas about what the New Year may bring. For New Year predictions, I like to refer to the New Year's horoscope, that is, the position of the planets at the stroke of midnight on January 1. This is a simple, easy way to get a snapshot on some emerging themes for the year ahead. It will not provide any specifics, but it is a fairly efficient way to get a general overview on the coming twelve months. Some might object to the use of a chart that doesn't reflect any particular astronomical reality in a way that eclipse or conjunction charts might, but the New Year's chart does nevertheless provide interesting insights into the year ahead. For example, the New Year chart for 2008 (See bottom below) showed that trouble was brewing with the close opposition aspect between Mars and Pluto (conflict, power struggles) with Jupiter (wealth, wisdom) also in close proximity. While this combination did not explicitly say "financial crisis", the presence of Jupiter signifying wealth suggested that some disruption of the financial system was possible. Certainly, those planets inclined towards a fairly pessimistic outlook for 2008, especially when considered alongside Saturn in the 12th house of loss in aspect with the Sun. The Mars-Rahu aspect may have suggested a significant new development in leadership as we witnessed in Barack Obama's election given Mars' 10th house occupancy ( the house of government) and Rahu's penchant for breaks with the status quo. By contrast, the 2009 New Year (see middle below) chart seemed much more positive on the Mercury-Jupiter conjunction ("good news") and the happy conjunction of the Moon with Venus. This is pretty much what one would expect to see for a chart that suggested a year of economic recovery and hopefulness that was embodied in the first year of the Obama administration.<br /><br />This year's chart looks more negative, however, as Saturn, the planet of constraint and responsibility, rises in sidereal Virgo. While Saturn has a good side that suggests "doing what is necessary", it is in a close square aspect with Pluto, the planet of large organizations and social structures. This would tend to bring out its more troublesome side so that efforts to re-structure and transform the economy will be accompanied by significant measures of awkwardness and hardship. The close proximity of Venus to Pluto and the aspect of Saturn is not helpful and increases the chances for continued restrictions and limits in economic life. This combination of planets can symbolize asceticism and renunciation so there is a chance that the economy will actually worsen through the year as people will have to make do with less. The positive side to this pattern is that simpler pleasures and self-discipline will be more fully appreciated as consumer society undergoes significant renovation. The worst effects of this combination will likely be muted because Venus is closer to the Sun than it is to Pluto, a possible sign that a base level of social harmony will be maintained regardless of what happens.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu1DUHtwjXq-XahASG_qQfZQajSaPL8MNTccqN7bu1t-FurVavV3cdod2PO8qKdJlnV2iJcoLovxgpVIPWW2IoIOJvQpsbAZEgSfumG9PFrnqwApabS0nOIHRMAM_eAmCfRKL5/s1600-h/2008+New+Year.vedic.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 372px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu1DUHtwjXq-XahASG_qQfZQajSaPL8MNTccqN7bu1t-FurVavV3cdod2PO8qKdJlnV2iJcoLovxgpVIPWW2IoIOJvQpsbAZEgSfumG9PFrnqwApabS0nOIHRMAM_eAmCfRKL5/s400/2008+New+Year.vedic.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421868141973117282" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">January 1, 2008 00.00 EST Washington, DC</span><br /><br /><br /></div>Another potential trouble spot is the close Mercury-Rahu conjunction that occurs in close minor aspect with retrograde Mars. Rahu's effect on Mercury can be energizing in terms of awakening the intellect to unusual and unconventional solutions and this could well be reflected in further technological advances. Predicting more breakthroughs in technology is not much of a prediction these days, but the problem here is that Mercury is retrograde so there may be something that goes awry here, as if the products of the human mind are not moving forward but are focused on questions that were previously considered resolved. Perhaps we will see more controversy on climate change, as the hitherto firm consensus is weakened by the fallout from the "Climategate" e-mails. That is but one possibility of course, as this Mercury-Rahu conjunction could manifest in any number of ways. The close Mars 6th house aspect is not a full strength aspect according to Vedic astrology, but it may still manifest. Mars is the planet of conflict so it's not unreasonable to expect some significant conflict to emerge regarding prevailing ideas or programs (Mercury). Climate change is one possible area of conflict, but so is the economy as the various government stimulus packages are due to be unwound as the economy recovers. Just how governments will guide the next phase of the economic recovery is something of an open question as they will have to walk a fine line between removing stimulus too quickly which could create another recession or maintaining the stimulus too long and sparking a round of inflation.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8ytsch1J3284jTXP0uOKya21pDRdzgRtOx9jSqlbykPxkGcVBPlobhdqankGewKtvaDCKV6-XOZUdtP_0Nx_zirX6mdIo7G7kjZR4BEwTo3ArTZuIUK00GHK67kAHIaNsigqq/s1600-h/2009+New+Year.vedic.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 372px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8ytsch1J3284jTXP0uOKya21pDRdzgRtOx9jSqlbykPxkGcVBPlobhdqankGewKtvaDCKV6-XOZUdtP_0Nx_zirX6mdIo7G7kjZR4BEwTo3ArTZuIUK00GHK67kAHIaNsigqq/s400/2009+New+Year.vedic.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421869177438971730" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">January 1, 2009 00.00 EST Washington, DC</span><br /><br /><br /></div><br />The Moon is conjunct Ketu (South Lunar Node) in the 10th house of government in sidereal Gemini. This combination suggests that spiritual or unusual cerebral experiences will gain the limelight this year. The fact that this occurs in the 10th house may indicate that religious ideas will find increased resonance in governments around the world. More generally, political leaders will undergo sudden and unexpected changes as Ketu's influence on the Moon can make for suprises and fast-changing circumstances. The Ketu influence here means that leaders and governments are more likely to be different or even revolutionary in some way as there may be a sense that conditions demand unorthodox or radical approaches.<br /><br />On a more positive note, Jupiter is conjunct Neptune in this chart and that points to the continued relevance of hope. Jupiter's expansion and Neptune's idealism make a potent pairing in the sky so no matter what happens in 2010, there will be continued reservoir of hope and optimism about the future. This influence should prevent some kind of worse case scenario from unfolding in the economy, although it may not be enough to forestall a "double dip" recession. Both Jupiter and Neptune are also associated with the higher realm of human experience, so there may be greater interest in metaphysical and religious matters. Given the supernatural aspects of the Moon-Ketu conjunction, it seems likely that religion and spirituality is likely to have a higher profile this year.<br /><br />Overall, the best thing one can say about this chart is that it is "mixed", although I think that is being generous. 2010 looks like it will be more difficult than 2009 was in many respects, including perhaps the economy. At the same time, there are enough positive planetary influences there to spur humanity on through the darker periods as challenges will be met with equal portions of resourcefulness, ingenuity, inspired leadership and faith.<br /><br /><br />Addendum:<br /><br />N.B. Given America's continuing dominance in the world -- for now, at least -- I locate the chart for Washington, DC, although one could recast the chart for one's home country for a more specific local reading. It should be noted, however, that the New Year's horoscope doesn't change much no matter it is located. Invariably it will have sidereal Virgo rising, such as in Sydney, Australia where the first degree of Virgo rises to Washington where 14th degree of Virgo rises. The Moon also changes its position a few degrees depending on where the chart is cast, although this variation is fairly small. The rest of the planets do not shift appreciably.Christopher Kevillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09563577455947570653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8221366.post-932754542272290302009-12-20T22:09:00.002-05:002009-12-20T22:10:07.224-05:00Mars turns retrograde<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAJ0BxX9k0Yc3zYdp2YTXTjWX12kvySC_ZmdT3uDLJynOz4dtzKIMDnreY6_yLH-hgmw9iUV-inJ9k669s2gRctWgPMT0n7mekGE4KtiQAWrabl_Xgrfd1kFwCaNIf0siOj5kz/s1600-h/transits.12.18.vedic.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 372px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAJ0BxX9k0Yc3zYdp2YTXTjWX12kvySC_ZmdT3uDLJynOz4dtzKIMDnreY6_yLH-hgmw9iUV-inJ9k669s2gRctWgPMT0n7mekGE4KtiQAWrabl_Xgrfd1kFwCaNIf0siOj5kz/s400/transits.12.18.vedic.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417521416142526178" /></a><br />Despite the Fed's promise of continued low (or no) interest rates for the foreseeable future, the market failed to mount a meaningful rally. Investors appear to be growing uneasy with the yin of a continued weak economy and high employment and the yang of a rising Dollar and the end to the carry trade . Stocks were largely unchanged for the week with the Dow closing at 10,328 and the S&P at 1102. Mumbai fared somewhat worse as inflation fears forced the markets south with the Sensex closing at 16,719 and the Nifty finishing at 4987. I thought we might see more upside on the early week Sun-Jupiter aspect but we saw only modest gains in New York on Monday. As expected, the market turned more negative as the week progressed. Friday brought a small gain in New York which was not too surprising given the fairly close Venus-Jupiter aspect that I noted last week. <br /><br />With the conjunction of Jupiter and Neptune on Monday December 21, the planets may be indicating an important pivot point in the market here. The hope embodied in the Jupiter-Neptune conjunction has underwritten much of the stock rally of 2009. As the conjunction comes exact this week, we are confronted with the very real possibility that the celestial source code for optimism may becoming more scarce. The UN climate conference in Copenhagen was perhaps a reflection of this hopeful idealism and yet it has been heavily criticized for lacking any specifics. For all the good intentions provided by Jupiter and Neptune, the whole conference may have been more of an exercise in public relations. One wonders if the stock rally could fall prey to the same lack of follow up and practical considerations as the limits of Jupiter and Neptune are revealed by the unforgiving light of day.<br /><br />Besides Jupiter-Neptune, Mars turns retrograde on Sunday, December 20. This is another potentially malefic influence that could make it more difficult to sustain current levels. Thomas Reider's statistical study of Mars retrograde periods found they significantly correlate with major market declines of more than 10%. This is not a perfect correlation but one that nonetheless merits attention. Reider also found that declines were more likely to occur when Mars was in hard aspect to two outer planets, where one aspect is a conjunction. This isn't the case here, but we do note that Mars is in a hard semi-square (45 degrees) Saturn while Saturn is squaring Pluto. Venus makes a sextile aspect with Jupiter-Neptune on Monday so there's a possibility for gains in the early going, but exact aspects between benefics can just as much spark sell-offs upon their perfection. The other significant aspect occurs Thursday when Sun is conjunct Pluto. While we will see light trading volumes ahead of the Christmas holiday, this pattern seems to be difficult, especially for gold.Christopher Kevillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09563577455947570653noreply@blogger.com0