In the American tradition of splitting the world in half to create dualistic opposites (Democrat and Republican, Coke and Pepsi, Colgate and Crest, etc.) historically we’ve had two major print magazines – Time and Newsweek.

While doing research in high school, I often felt they were the same magazine presented as two magazines so that people who thought they didn’t like one would just like the other and the real owner would make money either way.

The other side of the argument is that news is news and if something major happens all media will probably cover it, have similar pictures and learn similar information.

I learned today that Time is ten years older than Newsweek, the first issue released on March 3, 1923. Newsweek’s first issue was February 17, 1933.

While both titles appear so similar to me, the charts are quite different.

Time is Pisces sun and Virgo moon.

Newsweek is Aquarius sun and moon in Scorpio or Sagittarius. I’m going to go with Scorpio because for an issue to be released on particular day, it would be ready in the morning. Also, the first issue of Newsweek is covered in images of Nazi swastikas, photographs of Stalin and Roosevelt and images of war. It’s a dark, Scorpionic cover.

Time’s first cover has a boring, innocuous portrait of then-Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Joseph Gurney Cannon.

Time

Sun in Pisces is opposite moon in Virgo. Virgo is the discriminating mind which looks at details, compares to other details and is critical. Pisces is the non-discriminating mind which looks at the big picture, the feeling behind the façade and is accepting.

Pisces is the forest, Virgo, the trees.

Pisces is the big picture, Virgo, the details.

Pisces is the soup, Virgo, the ingredients.

This Pisces/Virgo combination seems a good one for a magazine that needs to find facts and then make stories.

Neptune has just moved into Pisces and Mars is taking an especially long time (six months) moving through Virgo. Time is probably feeling some anxiety right now. There may be a story or stories that are confusing the detail of Virgo with the feeling of Pisces. Time may be under the spotlight for manipulating a story or stories.

Pluto in Capricorn is opposing natal Pluto in Cancer which means it’s time for a family breakup. The breakup may be forced by government (Capricorn) entities.

From a larger perspective, this Pluto in Capricorn is destroying and transforming many societal structures. Media is just one of the many structures that will continue collapsing in the current restructuring of institutions.

Uranus in Aries will transit Time’s Mars in Aries in about six to seven years. Mars in Aries says “me first.” According to Wikipedia, Time has the world’s largest circulation for a weekly. In seven years, that may change.

Newsweek

With sun in Aquarius and moon in Scorpio, Newsweek is more about investigative journalism. More than Time, Newsweek will include unseemly sources in unseemly stories.

With Uranus in Aries squaring the Pluto in Cancer, this magazine has always challenged the existing family and collective structure. With sun in Aquarius, Newsweek is focused on an idealistic world while being plagued with moon in Scorpio hidden motivations.

Neptune just finished its transit of Newsweek’s sun, so the magazine’s reinvention should last for a while. Neptune will transit in the next year Newsweek’s Mercury in Pisces and oppose Newsweek’s Neptune/Mars/Jupiter in Virgo.

Like Time, this opposition will create issues with what are facts and what is manipulation of facts. Unlike Time, Newsweek’s core business (sun) should not be threatened.

Pisces also rules images and motion pictures, so there may be issues with picture tampering for both Time and Newsweek.

Jupiter’s transit through Taurus opposes Newsweek’s moon in Scorpio. Jupiter in Taurus brings money but opposing the moon means that money needs to be spent. There may be money spent on a new building or other infrastructure.

Republican or Democrat? Coke or Pepsi?

If Time and Newsweek were political parties, which would they be?

Hmm. I’m going to say Time would be more conservative (Republican) and Newsweek more liberal (Democrat). Newsweek, with sun in Aquarius and moon in Scorpio, might be more fixed and stubborn in beliefs but really can’t play by the rules. Time is more conservative in personality and wouldn’t like to rock the boat due to extreme sensitivity.

Following the blog on Coca-Cola being a Republican and Pepsi Democrat, Time would drink Coke and Newsweek would drink Pepsi.

Marketers may not use astrology, but if they did, they might find some useful partnerships and alliances.