Personal vs Transpersonal Self

Posted on May 18, 2014 by ohioastrology

Reading an entreaty to Ohio Astrology today to cover a news item from Europe, I began to think again about personal vs transpersonal self. Upon reading the email, I wondered why the writer would think an astrology blog from the US Midwest covering global news would mean anything.

Compared to many places one could live on this planet, where I live can be considered peaceful. Peace means that we can live our personal lives without undue threat of violence. We can read a million books for free from the library. If we can find the funds, we can study almost anything we want. We can live with others or alone, we can live in a bustling city or in the remote, quiet countryside.

In places without peace, peace is sought so that the personal life can be lived. People continue to immigrate to the US for this peaceful life.

Yet at the same time we here in the US live a peaceful life, if we examine closely the elements of our peaceful life, we can see energetic threads that lead us to lifestyles very different from our own. For example, a benefit of peace is having consumer goods available. But if I examine where my clothing, my flowers or my coffee originates, I find similar stories that speak to how economies across the globe must work so that a large consumer-goods store can be filled with low-cost items.

My own struggle in understanding the personal vs transpersonal is that we seem biologically wired to live a personal life. Yet our ability to get beyond the personal with technology has made us transpersonal whether we desire it or not, whether we are wired for it or not.

For example, there is radioactive waste that may take 240,000 years to break down. A personal life created waste that will extend to billions upon billions of lives throughout time. We seem to have broken through both matter and time.

Personal vs Transpersonal Planets

Astrological symbolism is just that – symbolism. The evolution of personal to transpersonal lives is symbolized by the planets discovered during that crossover.

Until 1781, astronomers and astrologers (who were often the same people) noted seven heavenly bodies – sun, moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.

As you’d expect, the body closest to the earth, the moon, represents our closest personal experience – our emotional reactions and responses from the push and pull of daily life.

The sun, moon, Mercury, Venus and Mars represent our personal self from how we consciously identify ourselves (my name is, my family is . . .), to how we communicate (Spanish? Italian?), to how we derive pleasure (singing? dancing? sports?) to how we defend our personal environment (gate? guard dog? missiles?).

After the personal planets come Jupiter and Saturn, the first two transpersonal. But they are still within the range of view of your personal self. Jupiter is philosophy, education, religion and any belief system. It’s the story of your life and your community’s life.

Saturn is next and the last of the known planets as of 1780. Saturn is the edge of the world and what protects us from falling off into chaos. Saturn is government, law, rule and standardized anything from currencies to weights and measures. Saturn is the guard dog protecting the personal world.

Uranus

Until 1781, our symbolism was personal and extended to a community that congealed and protected our personal life.

Then in 1781, Uranus was discovered (when it was in the air sign Gemini). This corresponds to the Age of Enlightenment which combined technology and scientific experimentation with ideas of human rights.

Uranus is past the gate of Saturn which created the structure for society. Uranus is a shiny object dangling from a tree outside the gate of your protected community. It calls you to discover what it is. Uranus is freedom to go outside the gate but also entails meeting whatever lies outside of what you’ve known until this moment.

Uranus might sound nice today and Americans liberally use the term “freedom,” but consider that if our sun is the self and Saturn the gate, we’re now straying far from home.

Enlightenment and freedom, as Eric Fromm wrote much about, can be frightening. Life can be much easier when we follow known rules in a structured existence.

Neptune

In Neptunian foggy fashion, its discovery officially occurred in 1846. However, right after Uranus was discovered it was noticed that its orbit had the tug of another object (which was Neptune). When Neptune was finally discovered, it was in the air sign Aquarius.

Neptune is where our personal and transpersonal merge. Did that happen in the mid-1800s? I don’t see it but wonder if this is the connecting link between Uranus and Pluto. Once Uranus and then Pluto hit stage, we had no choice but to be Neptunian. In its revolution around the sun, Neptune sometimes surpasses the orbit of Pluto.

Pluto

Pluto was discovered in 1930 in the water sign Cancer. Soon after its discovery, in 1934, nuclear fission occurred. In Plutonian and unfortunately, human, fashion, it was first used as a weapon. Pluto is the transformer and destroyer.

In 2006, Pluto was “demoted” to a dwarf planet. Like atoms, Pluto may be relegated to the status of tiny but it is more powerful and destructive than ten Jupiters and a hundred suns.

Pluto will be around for a long time to remind your of your nuclear activity. Pluto never forgets.

The Transpersonal Future?

Uranus, since its discovery, has gone through three revolutions around the sun. Neptune just finished its first in 2009 and Pluto is not even half way there although it is now in the opposite sign (Capricorn) from where it was discovered (Cancer).

As the personal and transpersonal merge, like nuclear fusion, I’m wondering if the personal family (Cancer) is merging with the corporate family (Capricorn) as more of our well-being depends upon being attached to a large corporate entity. The rise of the corporation may be our first clue that we’ve transcended the personal self. Even if you don’t work directly for a corporation, a corporation may be guiding your personal life in ways unseen. We no longer can say, “But that’s not me.”

The Internet, too, has changed the nature of the personal environment as an individual in Serbia, far from Ohio, is wondering why astrology blogs aren’t covering the flood situation. The grand water trine formed when Jupiter entered Cancer last June is not over. While Jupiter and Saturn will pass out of water soon, Neptune will remain.

Neptune, that link between personal and transpersonal, will remain in boundary-less water for many more years. While the flooding may subside in Serbia and elsewhere, the water issues facing the planet will not subside as quickly. Water, there’s another transpersonal issue for you.

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Ohio Political Fight Club: Sharen Neuhardt

Posted on May 11, 2014 by ohioastrology

News from the Ohio primary polls in the state capital is more about a failed zoo levy than the exciting news that the 2014 Ohio Governor race is on!

In case you missed the big Ohio news, Ed FitzGerald is now, officially, the Democratic challenger to incumbent governor John Kasich this November. FitzGerald, in January, selected his running mate – Sharen Neuhardt.

It’s never too early to do some background checks (of the astrological kind) on our political contestants. We have only 177 days until the election and often get busy in the summer with cook-outs, pool parties and wild and crazy carousing in the streets. Of course, that will begin when Jupiter enters Leo in July so we still have May and June for political study.

Sharen Neuhardt

Sharen Neuhardt has Saturn, Neptune, sun and Mercury in Libra with moon in Taurus. Mars and Venus are conjunct in Virgo. Pluto and Jupiter are in fire (Leo and Aries respectively) and Uranus is in Cancer.

Taurus and Libra are both ruled by Venus so five of the ten astrological planets have a Venus overtone.

Pluto possibly squares the moon (depending on time of birth), my own mark of a politician. If it weren’t for that mark, I’d see the interest in politics and law in Neuhardt’s chart, but not necessarily the drive or compulsion to run for political office.

The first image that came to mind from her horoscope (without knowing time of birth) is someone both stubborn and scattered, someone who is fiercely protective of ideas but who changes them often, someone who is both influential and, at times, easily influenced.

That Venus/Mars conjunction in Virgo makes for a very discriminating partner whether in the home or at the office. Venus in Virgo is “love me perfect.”

Neuhardt has a natal T-square with Jupiter (in Aries), Uranus (in Cancer) and Saturn (in Libra). The opposition portion of this (Jupiter and Saturn) is quite tight. Often with Jupiter in hard aspect to Saturn, you see a challenging of authority or status quo through partnership or alliance with someone of a different ethnic, racial or religious background. If that doesn’t provide the challenge, sometimes it’s outright rejection of the religious beliefs in the environment.

Neuhardt is lucky to have a Taurus moon; it provides stability and grounding in a personality that would have trouble maintaining equilibrium.

Pluto is currently transiting Capricorn and is directly opposing Neuhardt’s natal Uranus. The Plutonian powers that be are asking her to make changes to some unusual family situation. Uranus doesn’t like to be told what to and often erupts with irregular or disruptive behavior in response. In Cancer, the disruptive occurs in a family or social group.

Meanwhile transiting Uranus in Aries is creating the same need for eruption opposite natal Neptune, sun and Mercury. I’m getting the sense that Uranus, in its many hard aspects here, is eager to bust out of a constricting situation.

The recent transiting cardinal grand cross of Mars (in Libra), Jupiter (in Cancer), Uranus (in Aries) and Pluto (in Capricorn) must have been tough for Neuhardt. It’s like pressure from every angle, no matter where you look. The pressure will continue.

Jupiter will transit Leo beginning mid July. By January 2015, it will be exactly on Neuhardt’s Pluto. At that time she will have a burst of both powerful and righteous energy – whether a political winner or loser.

Ed FitzGerald Partnership

The partner Neuhardt will have for the next 177 days is her governor contender Ed FitzGerald.

Looking at their two charts together is like following the ball in a pinball machine or watching to chefs in a tight space grab for the same ingredients. FitzGerald and Neuhardt are made of much the same stuff – lots of cardinal energy – but I’m not seeing how they balance each other out. I can imagine it’s a stimulating but also frustrating relationship. I hope they don’t argue in public . . .

The missing cardinal energy in Neuhardt’s chart is Capricorn, which her partner supplies in the form of moon in Capricorn. Capricorn, more than other signs, is about ambition and success and the political arena is rife with this energy. FitzGerald has a compulsion for it and Neuhardt has a T-square that needs Capricorn “success” to make it whole.

FitzGerald’s missing cardinal energy is Libra which Neuhardt supplies in abundance. Libra is partnership, charm, social graces and smoothness with others that moon in Capricorn doesn’t possess.

Because both Pluto and FitzGerald are filling in the fourth point of her square, both will represent authority and both will be a challenge. FitzGerald will probably be harder on her than her foes although her Plutonian foes will hit hard.

Neuhardt will be motivating to FitzGerald with Uranus on his Mars and her Mars/Venus on his Jupiter. But he may seem like an anchor when she wants to sail with the wind in her hair as his Saturn in Aries opposes her Neptune/sun/Mercury.

There may also be issues of who’s leading whom. It may be difficult for FitzGerald / Neuhardt to come across as both a balanced and equal relationship.

Neuhardt is about 17 years older than FitzGerald which is manifested through her Saturn in an opposite sign (Libra) to his (Aries). Saturn oppositions, due to the length of time Saturn takes to revolve around the sun (about 30 years), reflect generation gaps.

There’s a generation gap here with Neuhardt focusing on law and equality (Saturn in Libra) and FitzGerald focusing on confidence and self-assertion (Saturn in Aries).

With her Venus and Mars in Virgo, I’m guessing that Neuhardt will do a lot of coaching of her partner, although technically she’s a junior position to his. Moon in Capricorn FitzGerald likes to be the authority so this may not go down well.

Cardinal energy candidates

During the recent cardinal grand cross mentioned above, you read a lot of blogs and stories about what that energy means. Some blogs even scared you, made you feel the sky was falling and the world ending (again). Cardinal signs tend to overreact.

Yet everyday the skies are changing and we astrologers promise love, progress, development, emotional changes, thinking changes, great shifts in consciousness, forgiveness, sudden encounters, monetary loss, monetary gain . . . everything.

Looking in the rear view mirror of our lives, most days are similar and some stand out due to a major event or simply because something was realized. Reading these darn astrological blogs, you’d think every day was a great transformation. Love is around the corner even though you’ve been married for 35 years – of course astrology is dismissed.

To better understand astrology and cardinal energy, tune in to the Ohio governor election and watch two cardinal candidates in their motivations, perceptions and reactions in the middle of a cardinal pool of energy. Watch how cardinal energy reacts as opposed to fixed or mutable energy.

Do we do better when swimming in our own energies or in balancing energies? Will cardinal energy in the astrological skies help or hurt these two candidates with so much cardinal energy in their charts?

Energy is everything and people are part of that energy. Astrology isn’t really about people, it’s about energy patterns. Ohio is attracting the energy of the cardinal grand square, so let’s see what it’s about.

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Jupiter in Leo

Posted on May 4, 2014 by ohioastrology

Have you paid attention to Jupiter lately? Jupiter, my friends, is our Greek God Zeus renamed for Roman palates and he demands attention. For the last year he has been raining and mud sliding his dramatic tears onto the planet while transiting Cancer. For those who have ignored the mold in the basement, the leak in the roof and the muffled sobs of the person lying next to you, he will speak more loudly this July.

[Image from Wikipedia]

jupiter

This July Zeus will have a megaphone, a spotlight and maybe even a TV show. It will be like giving an arsonist a match, like providing a self-absorbed 19-year old affluent a six-figure book contract to write his/her memoirs, like giving executive power to a cop.

American Idol aired its first episode on June 11, 2002 as Jupiter was in the final degrees of Cancer. Jupiter moved into Leo two months later. Jupiter has a 12-year cycle and has returned to bring us to the next expansion cycle of the idol.

Jupiter will bring its expansiveness to the fixed fire Leo in your chart. While expansion can provide extra spotlight for the expressive Leo, the spotlight can also bring into view, for the first time, self-expression that you’d prefer remain private. It’s nice to see your art on the wall, hear your voice on the recording and see your image on screen – if that’s where you wanted it.

Fire

028

Jupiter is going to expand the fixed fire energy. Fire is heat and flame and expect both to grow larger. While I expect the weather to become warmer and drier in July, any flames you do create you might want to take extra caution to contain.

Fixed fire is permanent fire like the J. F. Kennedy eternal flame, like the pilot light on your furnace or stove, like the molten lava beneath a volcano, like the heat from hot springs, like burning sand on a sunny beach.

Fire inspires and survives by the ideas that air creates. Water smothers fire by drowning inspiration in a pool of reactions. Earth can contain fire and make it useful, bring its inspiration into physical form – as long as fire doesn’t burn down the container that holds it.

Fun

Jupiter in Leo is joyful and celebratory. Leo also rules romance and children so we might find that childbirths increase during and after (timing, of course) this transit. Since Jupiter’s transit of Leo crosses two calendar years, I’d expect 2015 to show the increased birth rate.

Leave your calendar open as you might be invited to a few more parties, including children’s birthday parties. You won’t want to plan a Saturday night of cleaning the closet and getting those coupons in order. That can wait until Jupiter moves into Virgo.

Expression

Graffiti and bumper stickers kind of do the same thing – they provide your opinion where others can’t avoid it. I think of graffiti and bumper stickers as more Gemini – Sagittarius as these two mutable communicative signs are ones to not just fight the fight, but to make you aware that there is a fight.

Leo might bring more graffiti which Saturn in Sagittarius will try to remove in 2015. Leo expression is a bit grander than graffiti – it’s like Christo wrapping an island, it’s like putting a message on a blimp, it’s like the Wicked Witch of the West writing “Surrender Dorothy” in black smoke across the sky (with a touch of Pluto).

Leo graffiti will be bolder, louder, and more colorful and will have a touch of humor, or a deep-felt sentiment or recognition of a special person.

Challenger

Jupiter in Leo’s greatest challenger will be Saturn finishing its transit of Scorpio, the fixed water sign. Fixed fire meeting fixed water is like trying to melt a large block of ice with a flame. It’s not the best way to get water – it’s slow and unproductive.

While flames never get tired, they do get bored and dealing with a block of ice will send it to the guest bedroom. When Saturn is in Scorpio, Leo expression may be more hidden or reserved. When Saturn moves into Sagittarius, it will be more open but with some new boundaries.

Fire doesn’t like boundaries but definitely needs them. Saturn in Sagittarius might be the best thing to happen to Jupiter in Leo because while everyone likes a camp fire, no one wants the camp on fire. This is the good part of Saturn – containment.

Enabler

If Saturn in Scorpio is the challenger, Uranus in Aries is the enabler. Uranus has been passing through fire-sign Aries the fighter since mid 2011. Uranus will travel through Aries through 2018.

Aries is the first sign of the zodiac, cardinal and fire which starts most sentences with “I” but can be interested in everyone else’s “I” as well as its own. The person who asks the first question, the person who challenges your notions, the worker who says “that’s not right” when everyone else agrees in fear of losing his job – that’s Aries.

Aries supports Leo and in Uranus adds sudden inspiration, sudden enlightenment and sudden uprising.

Sudden. Now. Me. That’s the energy here.

A Leo President

The US president, Barack Obama, will be feeling all the Jupiter transit having three planets in Leo – Mercury at two degrees, sun at 12 and Uranus at 25. Right after Obama’s Uranus is Pluto in Virgo which Jupiter will visit after his time in Leo.

Obama’s chart has a lot of energy in the houses of health and work (6th) and others (7th). Saturn and Jupiter in the 12th oppose the 6th house energy. Jupiter opposes Mercury and the Jupiter in Leo transit will oppose that natal Jupiter.

Obama is going to be feeling some Jupiter for sure. What does the expansive Jupiter bring to Obama’s chart?

It’s difficult for me not to think, again, there is a health issue undisclosed. Leo rules the heart and Jupiter “expands what it finds” so we may have issues with an enlarged heart and circulatory issues. Natal Jupiter in Aquarius across the chart in the 12th (and Saturn in Capricorn) suggests something hidden or from the distant past.

The Astrologers Handbook says that Jupiter in Aquarius, Obama’s natal placement, “indicates people who know no class, racial or religious distinctions.” Jupiter opposing in Leo may be a drive to express personally which will be in contrast to this lack of distinction.

Right now Jupiter is in the last degrees of Cancer opposing Obama’s natal Saturn in Capricorn. The 12th house Saturn indicates loss of a father and Jupiter opposite suggests depression regarding it.

The triggering of Obama’s natal 12th house Jupiter and Saturn is very intense. The 12th house is the hidden and subconscious, and relates to psychologies and mythologies we’ve acquired from our lineage that we may not be aware of. We don’t normally let others know when we are having 12th house experiences but when in the public eye, these things sometimes get out.

I’ve always called the White House “an aging machine” as the men who enter it come out four or eight years later looking 20 years older. Seeing Obama in a press conference last week, the White House aging effect appears to be taking hold. Jupiter in the house of health and work mean that one is working too much. As president, I think you’ve probably agreed to work overtime every day of your life for eight years.

Idols

Jupiter in Leo will bring idols. Courage will be honored and recognized – children of courage, especially so. While Jupiter in Leo brings fire, it also brings out the rescue energy of those that know fire.

If we still had posters, I’d say there will be a new face on your bedroom wall soon.

Lions

Leo’s ruler is the lion so you must, of course, be on the lookout for lions in your backyard. Some may get loose from zoos and prowl around the neighborhood.

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Drone Astrology

Posted on April 28, 2014 by ohioastrology

Ok, I’ve noticed.

While reading the news the other day, I noticed a word that I seem, now, to see all the time in the news although it’s not quite made it to the office place or general conversation.

Drone.

What’s a drone?

Here are the Dictionary.com definitions:

  1. The male of the honeybee and other bees, stingless and making no honey.
  2. An unmanned aircraft or ship that can navigate autonomously, without human control or beyond line of sight: the GPS of a U.S. spy drone.
  3. (Loosely) any unmanned aircraft or ship that is guided remotely: a radio-controlled drone.
  4. A person who lives on the labor of others; parasitic loafer.
  5. A drudge.

Call me a dreamer, but I prefer my new words to be more interesting, stimulating and pleasurable. Drone is not the word I’m seeking to brighten my days and inspire wistful poetry.

Unmanned Aircraft

The drone I’ve been reading about involves unmanned (and unwomanned) aerial vehicles (UAV) of the type that spy for the government, drop missiles on people for the government and soon might deliver an Amazon.com copy of The Snowden Files into your backyard.

Drones may one day be like fairies flitting around us, like Tinker Bell. Oh wait, that’s already happening.

In my marketing imagination, I see a table full of experienced marketing and PR men and women with diverse CVs, from military PR to breakfast cereal advertising, discussing how to bring Drone Awareness to the average citizen.

My imagination concocts conversations like this:

“We need to get people comfortable with spacecraft flying around their neighborhood all day.”

“People won’t notice. We now spend 90% of our time looking at our palms.”

“Pretty soon eyesight will deteriorate from computer use and people won’t see them anyway.”

“We need to give drones a new identity, a new image.”

“Let’s associate them with bees and have every drone delivery donate a portion of sales to saving the bees.”

Drone Astrology

What’s the astrology of drones?

It’s difficult to find the birthday of unmanned aircraft because, as I’ve learned, drone technology has had many forms and has led to different types of military technology. This Understanding Empire site lays out the development nicely.

As the site says, drones evolved “from targets, to sensors to weapons.” Early drone concepts created missile technology. The next evolution had drones collecting information. We now have drones as remote-controlled weapons.

According to Understanding Empire, the first drone use was by the Austrians on August 22, 1849 when they “launched some 200 pilotless balloons mounted with bombs against the city of Venice.”

That day saw Uranus and Pluto conjunct in the very late degrees of Aries (Pluto at 28 degrees) trine a regal 29 degree Leo sun. The moon was opposite in balanced, peace-seeking Libra.

Pluto, as the planet of transformation and evolution, is my focus. Pluto has a 240+ year cycle and spends 20+ years in a sign.

Aries is what I’d expect to find with the tools of warfare as Aries is ruled by Mars, god of war. Weapons of war are constantly evolving but in the 20th century they evolved to a breaking point.

The drone cycle began with Pluto in Aries and is now in Capricorn. Pluto will not return to 28 degrees of Aries until 2095. We have a long drone cycle ahead of us.

Drones and Communication

It’s interesting to me that the origins of the modern drone correspond to what I think of as the Great Communication Revolution (I’ve been droning on about it for a while now).

According to Understanding Empire, the “grandfather drone was the rail-launched Kettering Aerial Torpedo ‘Bug’ developed in 1917 by the Dayton-Wright Airplane Company.”

By 1917, Pluto had just moved into Cancer. Prior to that, Pluto had been in Gemini from 1882-1914. Gemini is ruled by Mercury, the planet of communication.

I don’t know who said that all generations think they discover sex. I’d like to extend that saying to include that all generations think they discover sex, technology and progress.

The changes in communication that occurred during 1882-1914 include radio, telephone, mass newspapers, compulsory education and moving film. The leap in consciousness that occurred with these inventions I believe were greater than the leap we are taking today. Today’s technology is like a huge tremor after a massive earthquake.

From a psychological perspective, I think communication represents shared interpretation of reality which manifests through language arising from the senses but is mostly visual and auditory. The other three senses (taste, touch and smell) seem to have less impact on defining reality except for the young (infants putting things in their mouths) and those without sight or hearing.

Beginning in the late 19th century, we greatly expanded visual and auditory perception. I wonder if our brains know the difference between crying over a TV show and crying at a funeral.

I suspect the innovations in visual and auditory input are extremely powerful to some reptilian portion of our brains, even when we think we’re just entertaining ourselves and not taking seriously what we see and hear. The expanded visual and auditory input seems to create a larger shared reality and the ability to affect behavior on a larger scale because of that shared reality.

After the communication revolution came two “world” wars. To have “world” participation in your war, the world must know about it.

The late 20th century leap in communication involves the rise of hand-held technology. Hands, by the way, are ruled by Gemini.

What’s revolutionary about that?

The revolution is that we can connect with so many so easily on a personal level. The communication is now two-way rather than one-way. Yet, ironically, the device has inserted itself between us and our experience of reality.

Drone development is following the pattern of communication. Drones, radio signals, telephone signals and the old television signals all traveled through the air.

The drone, like hand held devices, is the Mercury between our perception and the object of our perception. The drone provides the ability to sense and act without being physically present. Our sight and hearing are affected, but not the other three senses. The acts we commit remotely may produce different moral responses than if we were physically present.

Does our brain respond differently to an image we believe is fake with an image we believe is real? If so, would we cry at the movies?

Are we are living in our Mercury minds?

As you’d expect, there is a Star Trek episode that speaks to this. In A Taste of Armageddon two planets have been at war for over 500 years but instead of launching actual weapons, they simulate attacks on computer, accept the results of the simulations and annihilate those that would have been naturally annihilated.

Our young, but wise, captain Kirk tells the people that without experiencing the true carnage of war, their war will never end.

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Happy Taurus, I Mean Easter

Posted on April 20, 2014 by ohioastrology

This is a rare year when Easter, which normally occurs in the sign of Aries, occurs in the sign of Taurus. Welcome Taurus.

Easter imagery is very much Aries with re-birth, opening the windows to allow fresh air in, hyperactive hopping bunnies (very Aries), sugar overdoses and a clear shutting of the door on old man winter.

In Taurus, the energy has calmed down, has been grounded and many of our spring ideas (like New Year’s Resolutions) forgotten while those realistic ones are deeply and firmly in the ground waiting for nourishment.

Like New Year’s Day, this Easter comes with moon in Capricorn. While our sun conscious minds are moving through the seasons, our reactive moons are carrying some heavy responsibilities from the harsh winter and energy of the new year.

Chinese New Year, in contrast, came with Aquarius sun and moon while January 1 New Year came with Capricorn sun and moon. Saturn traditionally rules both Capricorn and Aquarius so there is a collective speed bump that we are trying to overcome through both hard work (Capricorn) and innovation (Aquarius).

In religious terms, we may collectively feel a cross to bear. Continuing with that imagery, this week we will experience an astrological grand cross (or grand square) with cardinal energy (Uranus in Aries, Jupiter in Cancer, Mars in Libra and Pluto in Capricorn).

The gods have provided Taurus to us to manage the otherwise overwhelming cardinal energy. If you have disparate voices in your inner ear, they will be having a family fight this week. Taurus, in the center, helps you calm the voices and discern what is real and what is not. It’s a good time to stick to Taurus earthly sensations and not to be lead astray through cardinal fire drills. Taurus knows the difference between a true fire and a drill.

I’ve enjoyed the varied takes on the grand cross energy. If you are a reader of astrology blogs, you were born at the right time! I’m impressed, too, by how in our individual development we interpret and explain energies to others.

Like a basket of colored and decorated Easter eggs, here are some of the interesting blogs on the extant and tightening grand cross:

Planet Waves (Some of the best writing around, astrological or otherwise)

Ruby Slipper (I have a soft spot for this blog)

Joyce Hopewell Astrological Psychology

Cosmic Potential

Living Astrology

Yours Truly (OHA)

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Hitchcock’s Blondes

Posted on April 13, 2014 by ohioastrology

If you are a fan of Alfred Hitchcock movies, you are aware that he preferred his leading ladies to be blonde.

At the beginning of the HBO movie The Girl which portrays the relationship between Hitchcock and leading-lady Tippi Hedren while filming The Birds and Marnie, this Hitchcock quote is shown:

Blondes make the best victims. They’re like virgin snow that shows up the bloody footprints.

While we know that Hitchcock liked his leading ladies and his victims to have white or yellow hair, was there any other connection between Hitchcock and his leading ladies?

You’ve probably been wondering about the astrology behind the blonde hair . . .

Alfred Hitchcock

Hitchcock was a royal Leo sun with Jupiter and moon conjunct in intense Scorpio. Scorpio moon is known for its emotions and passions. Leo is also passionate so there is not much self-control and an awful lot of fixed sign determination.

As the moon represents females, Jupiter on the moon does suggest some “good luck” with the women. Hitchcock did have good luck landing beautiful ladies, even if it took making movies to have that “good luck.” (Maybe Woody Allen has this same luck?)

In looking at famous directors, Scorpio energy stands out for its understanding of emotional undercurrents and ability to express those emotions in a distinct and powerful manner.

Leo and Scorpio energy combined are extremely forceful and the stuff of powerful leaders whether in a big pond, small pond or across the pond.

A less focused portion of Hitchcock’s horoscope is the placement of Mars in Libra. Mars is out outward directed energy. In Libra is considered in its detriment – a placement not comfortable for Mars. If Mars is directing outward, Libra splits it in half before it can hit its target. Mars is aggressive while Libra wants to maintain fairness. Aggression and fairness are not good bedfellows.

Mars is where Hitchcock and his leading ladies interact.

The Leading Ladies

Synastry is where you see how the planets of two individuals interact and how they influence each other. We’ll do some quick synastry of Hitchcock’s chart and the charts of his leading ladies.

These are five of Hitchcock’s leading ladies:

1. Tippi Hedren (The Birds, Marnie) – chart
2. Grace Kelly (Rear Window, Dial M for Murder, To Catch a Thief) – chart
3. Janet Leigh (Pyscho) – chart
4. Kim Novak (Vertigo) – chart
5. Eva Marie Saint (North by Northwest) – chart

Of the five, three (Hedren, Leigh, Novak) have moon in Libra which was opposite Hitchcock’s Mars in Libra.

Kelly has Mars in Scorpio which opposed Hitchcock’s moon.

Saint is the only one without this moon-Mars connection. Her moon is conjunct Hitchcock’s Venus. He may have been nicer to Saint than some of his other leading ladies.

What does this moon – Mars opposition mean?

Moon – Mars conjunction in synastry

Café Astrology has a nice write up on the moon-Mars conjunction synastry. In part:

When the Moon conjuncts Mars in synastry, there is a strong attraction that is both physical and emotional. We are combining yin and yang planets here, and these tend to generate much fascination and attraction. Over time, the Moon person might find the Mars person both insensitive to his or her needs and feelings, and overreactive to his or her needs and feelings! The Moon person might find that Mars comes on a little too strong when times call for more sensitivity or moderation. The relationship is sure to be an emotional one, with plenty of hurt feelings now and again, and joyful moments when the two come together again after an argument. The two people are very involved in each other’s lives, and have a hard time being objective. Decisions they make as a couple tend to be very subjective and personal. A lot of touchiness from both parties generally characterizes the partnership.

Libra is associated with beauty and pleasure and it’s no wonder these moon in Libra gals were beautiful not just to Hitchcock but to a wider audience. Libra appears to be bestowed beauty by the gods so that it has the weapon of charm. Beauty and charm, like generosity, are difficult to resist.

Libra is not, however, associated with strong drive to action although it is driven by strong drive for partnership and justice.

Hitchcock’s Mars created the demand that the Libra moons were trying to please. Libra is highly motivated in regard to the partner or love interest. Hitchcock was “the other” pressing buttons.

Hitchcock’s Mars triggered and instigated reaction in the Libra moons. If someone’s Mars is triggering your moon you might not always like the antagonism yet for a director that very push and reaction seems necessary.

In the HBO movie The Girl, the story suggests Hitchcock made more than one pass at Hedren. It’s no surprise that Hitchcock’s Mars conjunct Hedren’s moon, especially in Libra, would create attraction. If the Libra moons didn’t feel physical attraction to the bulky and forlorn looking Hitchcock, they might have at least been attracted to his position and power.

Attraction isn’t always physical.

While the leading ladies were both beautiful and blonde, it wasn’t necessarily the blonde that attracted but the Libra grace and charm.

Kelly, although blonde and beautiful, was different from the rest. Her Mars would have provoked Hitchcock’s moon. I’m guessing this actress turned the tables on Hitchcock and had him doing the reacting. With moon in Pisces, sun and Mars in Scorpio, Kelly was also emotionally perceptive in the extreme which can bring with it the ability to manipulate.

Saint is the the actress without the Mars/moon conjunction or opposition. Instead her Mars is on Hitchcock’s Venus meaning she might be the one who found him most attractive. Of all the actresses, she may have had the easiest time with her director and he may not have felt the need to provoke Saint the way he provoked some of his other leading ladies.

Alma Reville

What about Hitchcock’s wife – Alma Reville? What’s the astrology here?

The Girl and this Telegraph article portray Hitchcock and Reville extremely close both in domestic life and creative life.

I did a double take and double check when I saw that Reville was born one day after her husband. She was one day older.

This is like having the charts of twins – we definitely need time of birth to understand the differences. None of the planets, including moon, appear to have changed signs. Mercury, however, is perilously close to moving (retrograde) into Leo from Virgo.

Finding someone born on the exact same day as ourselves is finding someone with the same energy patterns but, possibly, directed in different areas. The same energy doesn’t mean the same result as motivation from the part of us not our personality may direct the energy differently along its continuum of expression.

Was Hitchcock’s obsession with his wife on par with his supposed obsession with his leading ladies?

This brings to mind two ideas: one, that positive aspects can be pleasant but ultimately not motivating and two, that opposites or opposing energy attracts.

Libra is about partnership and also about balance. The very sign suggests that we find in our attractions a balance to our own personality. If you are a balanced person, then, you might find balance “out there.” The more imbalanced one is, the more the balance comes from without and we find ourselves in bed with “an opposite.”

Possibly Reville represented what Hitchcock was and the leading ladies what he was not. Possibly by finding someone so much like himself to marry, a twin perhaps, Hitchcock was still driven by the need for balance in these charming, seductive Libra moons.

Hitchcock and Reville both appear to have had Scorpio moons – charismatic, elegant and also charming but with intensity and obsessive qualities that Libra lacks. Libra (in pure form) is lighter, more fun, not threatening to burn your house and slash your ties should you look at another person with lust.

As with each of us, Hitchcock’s leading ladies had charts full of planets and aspects. There are probably many reasons he was attracted to each woman beyond her blonde hair and apparent effortless charm.

On the other hand, watching this You Tube video of an old interview with Hitchcock, he mentions fear starts with one’s mother saying “Boo” to us when we are young. While I’m sure Hitchcock was in jest, claiming his mother did this to him when he was three months old, an age beyond recall.

Yet maybe this is the answer. Maybe mother said “Boo” and Hitchcock then decided to say “boo” back to a audience of females.

Was Hitchcock’s mother blonde?

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April 12: Peace, Love and a Shot of Whisky

Posted on April 4, 2014 by ohioastrology

The eye of a hurricane is calm – the eye being the circular area upon which the storm rotates.

If April with its tightening grand cardinal square is an astrological hurricane of energy, then April 12 might be said to be the eye.

The cardinal grand square is closest on April 22 with Pluto (in Capricorn), Uranus (in Aries), Jupiter (in Cancer) and Mars (in Libra). Jupiter is doing double-duty in a grand water trine with Saturn (in Scorpio) and Neptune (in Pisces).

Neptune rules Pisces so is buoyantly content traversing the open sea for 15 years without a map. On April 12, Venus will join Neptune for a day of drifting through calm and soothing waters.

Venus moves fast and will hook up with Neptune annually for a few days in the month of March or April.

Imagine drifting on the open sea, no land in sight, sun high in the cloudless sky.

How does that make you feel?

Drifting is relaxing but those with even a drop of Virgo energy might have a panic attack upon losing sight of land.

For those folks, April 12 might be a day they want to drift, but don’t know how. Instead, these folk may steal a shot of whisky in the night when the children are sleeping for an on-land moment of Neptunian escape.

Five things to do with Venus conjunct Neptune in Pisces

If you decide not to drift in the open sea or drink whisky, here are a few other things you can do:

  1. Go to the water – Swimming, boating, bathing, mineral bath, water therapy – it’s a day to have extra water in your life.
  2. Research and develop your own theory about the Bermuda Triangle – We’re in the midst of an astrological grand water trine which seems a perfect time to see if this physical “water triangle” mystery has any merit.
  3. Educate on water issues – We have many more years of Neptune in Pisces so water issues will continue to arise from availability to contamination.
  4. Read The Rime of the Ancient Mariner – Have you invited your friends over for a poetry reading lately? Poetry is the perfect entertainment for a Venus/Neptune in Pisces conjunction.
  5. Remove a collective unconscious item from your psyche – It’s the perfect time to look deep inside the psyche to find “stowaway” ideas that you’ve carried since childhood that aren’t really yours. If you toss them into the sea, they will dissolve and return to the source.
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Venus Because

Posted on March 24, 2014 by ohioastrology

An astrologer friend of mine keeps talking about my Venus. Natal Venus, progressed Venus, transiting Venus. Venus, Venus, Venus.

Oh my, is it okay to talk about a girl’s Venus?

Are women truly from Venus and men from Mars?

What about a girls’ Mars and a guys’ Venus? What part of a girl lives on Mars and what part of a guy lives on Venus?

Hey, I think I’m having a Venus return. Is that why Venus is calling for a blog?

I’m just gonna blog on Venus because.

Venus and Mars

I take a very simple, Eastern, view of men and women. Biological men are yang energy and biological women yin energy.

Yang is external and yin internal. Yang points out, yin points in.

Aggression, for example, sometimes considered a “male” quality, is just the external form of aggressive energy which is to make war with perceived enemies in other places. Internal aggression is more like self-hatred and internal aggression might fight with friends and family more than an “external” enemy in a far-off land.

As a friend once said flippantly, when men have low self-esteem they are violent; women with low self-esteem eat chocolate. Her brilliant detective mind saw the same energy in these very diverse behaviors. One is external, one internal.

The chart is not “male” or “female.” While some qualities such as aggression and nurturing have been associated with gender (and women do nurse babies, a biological fact), think of all the characteristics that aren’t gender stereotyped like frugality, discretion, beauty, honesty, loyalty, economy and happiness.

If men and women alike are free to be seen as fastidious, why not aggressive?

Venus

Venus is the planet that describes what we like, our values and how we spend money (which reflects our values). It is different from the moon where we derive comfort from response to stimuli. Comfort while a smooth and warmth-evoking word can take on some ugly forms.

Venus is pleasure, not comfort, although they can be related.

Venus is currently transiting Aquarius. Aquarius, the water bearer, is not a water sign but an air sign. The “water” it bears is more like electrical energy from the source. Aquarius is ultimately about ideas and if your Venus is in Aquarius, pleasure may involve talking about life on other planets rather than shopping or sports.

If I were an evil astrologer (and I swear I’m not), I’d suggest Venus in Aquarius transits (which last about a month and are in January, February or March) are a time to sell ideas and technology.

It’s also a good time to sell the opposite of what you really want to sell as Aquarius is more than a mild rebel.

When I Google rebellious activities, tattooing oneself ranks at the top of the searches. Maybe Venus in Aquarius is a good time to have a tattoo sale.

If you’re looking to dance with the astronomical stars, jive with the universe and go with the Venus-in-Aquarius flow, here are some things you can do until April 6 when Venus moves into watery (and whiny) Pisces.

  • Walk backwards
  • Say the opposite of what someone expects you to say
  • Reject ideas of what is considered breakfast/lunch/dinner food
  • Change from diurnal to nocturnal (or the opposite)
  • Use the other gender’s bathroom
  • Share your new idea/invention even if no one understands it
  • Get a tattoo
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The April 22 Grand Square

Posted on March 22, 2014 by ohioastrology

On April 22, there will be an astrological grand square in the skies at 13 degrees. The planets involved are Mars (in Libra), Jupiter (in Cancer), Uranus (in Aries) and Pluto (in Capricorn).

The signs are the cardinal signs of the four elements. Cardinal is one of the three modes – the other two are fixed and mutable. Four elements times three modes equal the twelve signs of the zodiac.

When planets are in the same mode (cardinal, fixed, mutable) they are in 90 degree aspect called a square. The square is representative of friction. The cardinal signs have much in common – all initiate and are self-motivated – and much different – they are all different elements:

  1. Libra – air
  2. Cancer – water
  3. Aries – fire
  4. Capricorn – earth

While squares are seen as a difficult aspect, it is also acknowledged that without some sort of friction in the personality, the personality is reluctant to act or grow. Think of that super-talented person you know who is content to watch television all day. They could win American Idol, have pictures hang in the National Gallery, could write a novel in ten days or could wipe Fred Astaire from the annals of dancing history.

But they don’t do anything.

That is a person without squares or oppositions.

Jupiter

In 2008, Pluto entered the sign of Capricorn (does that year ring a bell for any reason?). In 2011, Uranus entered Aries and began and on-again, off-again square with Pluto.

Pluto and Uranus move slowly so they will do the “square dance” for several years, sometimes moving close, sometimes moving far away (to swing with another planet).

The inner planets (moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars) move more quickly and sometimes join the dance.

Jupiter and Saturn move more slowly than the inner planets but more quickly than the outer. When they join the Pluto-Uranus square dance, they stay for a year (Jupiter) or two (Saturn).

Jupiter is currently involved in the square dance and is also involved in another aspect called a Grand Trine. This occurs when planets occupy the three signs of an element. In this case, Jupiter in Cancer is making a trine (or triangle) with Saturn in Scorpio and Neptune in Pisces.

Jupiter is key here, being one point of a square and one point of a trine. It actually makes a nice astrological kite pattern.

This SkyScript site shows the aspects well.

The trine, unlike the square, is considered an aspect beneficial and comforting. When you meet folks like yourself, you naturally fall into conversation and friendship. They know what it means to work in the same industry, share the same religion, shop at the same grocery store and speak the same language.

Jupiter is expansive and interested in teaching through gain, not pain (unlike Saturn). This is a diet where you can still eat some pudding. Jupiter wants to help by opening its door to you, not by closing you out.

Geometry and Personality

Because squares are viewed as friction, astrologers are making some dire warnings about the April 22 timeframe. Intense energy will do that – create extremes of negative and positive manifestation.

Imagine standing on the beach looking at the ocean and seeing a huge wave approaching. Some of us (like me) run to the hotel restaurant for tea and a nice view and others grab the nearest surfboard for the ride of their lives.

What will you do mid April?

While astrological squares have negative connotations, I keep thinking about the stability of a geometric square. In astrology, we say “square” even when the square is not fully formed. On April 22, the square will be fully formed.

Here’s a personality test based on geometric shapes.

The square, you will note, suggests a person of hard work, perseverance and diligence. “Squares” are methodical and patient, the site says.

The circle is a symbol of harmony. Your entire horoscope, and everyone else’s, is a circle. If we stay within ourselves, harmony prevails.

Triangles symbolize leadership and confidence. An astrological trine is quite confident in its element, having no idea why others struggle. Trines assume everyone knows what it’s like to feel, to think, to plan or to become excited about life.

Zigzags are creative. I’d say in your chart if you were to map all the aspects at once, you’d see a combination of squares, triangles and lots of zigzags. Those are the pieces of personality that dangle from the bottom of your sweater threatening the sweater in search of freedom from the weave.

Zigzags are all over the place. Most of your clothing has a zigzag in it.

Rectangles, according to the site, are the least happy, most confused. So a square off balance is what creates the confusion.

The Grand Square

What can we expect, then, around April 22?

I expect the square to re-balance what is imbalanced in the cardinal energy.

In English (or Google translation), if we choose, we can rebalance our relationship to self, others and planet. That covers family relationships, marriage relationships, and the structures we’ve created to manage how to live together.

When Pluto entered Capricorn in 2008, the housing market collapsed in many countries. Banking would have fallen with it had not governments intervened.

Pluto has not left Capricorn. The levee (government) is still there. We have time to balance the situation before Pluto leaves Capricorn in a decade and the levee goes with it.

While this may sound abstract, keep in mind that the world deliberately, though not always maliciously, keeps you in imbalance.

How much marketing do you see daily? All of it says you need something, that you are not balanced and whole, that you are not perfect the way you are.

If friction is not created, action does not occur. All marketing is friction, impetus to affect your behavior through personality and identity (Aries).

Because the world motivates through friction, it is also possible that when balance is near, friction is deliberately created.

Like other astrologers, I do fret a bit about possibilities during this time frame. Yet, what may occur around April 22 is occurring now, just not on the grand scale that will occur around that time.

What to do?

If the circle is harmony, staying centered will help us in the face of the square. The circle is our self, our entire horoscope.

Can we resist deliberate friction? Can we watch a stock market fall and not panic? Can we be told we’re ugly and not run to the makeup store? Can we be told there is a robber in the neighborhood and still manage to sleep peacefully?

It’s tough.

This reminds me of a scene in the The Way of the Peaceful Warrior where the protagonist finds himself standing on the image of a pentacle as images of past, present, future, good and bad lure him to move in response. The message he receives is this:

Stay where you are. The pentacle is the present moment. There, you’re safe. The demon and his attendants are the past. The door is the future. Beware.

Staying present doesn’t negate action; it negates reaction.

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March 16: The Day Between

Posted on March 15, 2014 by ohioastrology

Today is the infamous Ides of March (March 15). Ides merely is a calendar designation that means the middle of the month. On this day in March some odd thousand years ago, Roman emperor Julius Caesar was assassinated.

Two days from now, as you have marked on your calendar, is St. Patrick’s Day (March 17). It is no surprise to astrologers that St. Patrick’s Day, falling in the water sign Pisces, is celebrated with drinking.

The good news, my friends, is that as Neptune transits Pisces for the next decade, St. Patrick’s Day celebrations will get better and better. The culmination is March 2023 when Neptune will be conjunct the sun on St. Patrick’s Day. You mark it on your calendar and if it isn’t the blowout promised here, you will get a full refund of the time you spent reading this blog.

In 2024, Neptune will also be conjunct the sun on St. Patrick’s Day but the old stick-in-the-mud Saturn will also be in Pisces saying, “Don’t do what you did last year or I’m calling the cops.”

So March 15 is infamous and March 17 is famous, what about March 16?

Is March 16 the “middle sibling” of a clearly remarkable week of unusual and intoxicating energy?

Pat Nixon

Pat-Nixon-9424065-1-402

Pat Nixon, the late First Lady to President Richard Nixon, was born on March 16, 1912. Nixon had both sun and moon in Pisces.

[Photo from Biography.com]

Pisces is the last sign of the zodiac, the mutable water sign. It is essentially receptive to all input from life from mental, spiritual and emotional planes. Pisces is a sponge. As such, it is considered emotional.

Pisces and its opposite Virgo tend to be the caretakers and servants of the zodiac. Why?

Ego and service don’t work well together and both Pisces and Virgo often take to the spiritual side of life due to a lack of ego carried by the other ten signs. In the negative sense, these two signs struggle with self-esteem and often see others as having qualities they lack.

Yet which signs of the zodiac are more talented than Pisces and Virgo?

The role of First Lady is quite Piscean. If the President is the center of attention, the First Lady is the shadow, behind the scenes, staring at her husband with awe and admiration as the cameras pan to her every so often to show that she stands by her man.

Yes, we’ve had a couple First Ladies (or maybe just one) who dared do more than stand and stare. And she was duly punished.

Reading Nixon’s biography, she appears to have nursed both her dying mother and later dying father before reaching adulthood. That’s a double Pisces load and extremely emotionally taxing.

Later Nixon married a man who became President and later resigned in disgrace. My guess is she nursed him as well as they remained together for the rest of their lives, which was more common in those times than today.

During her tenure as First Lady, she focused on education and volunteerism. Volunteerism is the energy of Pisces-Virgo which gives and doesn’t expect anything in return.

Because Pisces-Virgo will do much for others in the way of service, those of lower energy often send abuse in return. Sometimes Pisces-Virgo has trouble distinguishing between helping and rescuing, nurturing and enabling.

Pisces-Virgo takes on the color of the surrounding environment which may be why they both are prone to illness, need time alone and seek spiritual refuge.

While Nixon had a lot of Pisces, she also had a Pluto in Gemini square sun. Mars was also in Gemini but not forming a tight square with the sun or moon.

The Pluto square for me is the mark of a politician so it’s interesting that Pat Nixon was drawn to the cantankerous and edgy Richard Nixon.

Nixon may have accepted her Piscean energy to some extent, but Pluto suggests she was also looking for more than a bit of power herself and carried a lot of inner drive.

Nixon’s bio says she drove across the US, worked her way through college, and graduated cum laude. All that is simple for a woman in the US to do today (except for the fact that college has become much more expensive), but imagine doing this in 1932.

What a woman! I’d like to transplant her to this century to see what she would do with that energy. As her photos suggest, she was also a beauty. Pisces and Neptune bring an alluring, other-worldly beauty.

Yet for all this power and beauty, Pat Nixon’s bio is short, her legacy attached to a grouchy Capricorn.

March 16, 2014

March 16 this year brings us sun in Pisces and moon in opposite Virgo. When the sun and moon are opposite we have a full moon.

In between death and drunkenness, we have a day of extraordinary sensitivity to the environment. It will be an interesting day to simply feel what’s occurring around us – feel without a media portal (television, computer, phone) telling us what others feel, without a media portal defining the story for us.

You’re in the middle of Pisces – go ahead and feel what’s out there.

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