Oprah the Confessor, Lance the Martyr?

Posted on January 12, 2013 by ohioastrology

Is it true that Lance Armstrong is going to confess to doping during an interview with Oprah?

Is Oprah our National Confessor? Can she bestow absolution on us all?

If so, line me up.

The Confessor

According to Dictionary.com, while a confessor can hear confessions and act as a spiritual counselor, the title of Confessor (as in St. Edward the Confessor) represents “one who confesses faith in Christianity in the face of persecution but does not suffer martyrdom.”

Well, Oprah is more of the colloquial confessor who is well rehearsed in performing the sacred act of absolution to authors (Franzen and James), but now has moved into the world of sports.

I wonder how long it will take for Oprah to be the confessor for politicians?

The Martyr

While I don’t know if the Armstrong confession story is true, the counterpart to a confessor (the one who confesses faith) is the martyr.

Will Armstrong play a religious drama by playing the martyr?

Lance and Oprah

When blogging on Armstrong I focused on his sun/moon in Virgo which is a way lot more than hypochondriac. Again, hypochondriacs get ill just like anyone else so this doesn’t diminish or deny one’s fight with illness.

I wonder if this is where the confession will begin for Armstrong – I have this, that and the other illness and/or allergy and I began taking this stuff which led to more stuff.

Neptune transiting Pisces is opposing Armstrong’s Mercury in Virgo so I expect a little of “I didn’t know what was in it,” if there is a confession. Virgo, by the way, is the sign of discrimination and is the picky eater in the family (everyone has one).

If Armstrong claims he didn’t know the details of something, it is difficult to believe astrologically. Virgo is a perfectionist.

Jupiter transiting Gemini is making a T-square with Armstrong’s natal Mercury/moon/sun/Pluto (in Virgo), Neptune/Jupiter (in Sagittarius) and Saturn (in Gemini).

Armstrong is nervous and worried, for sure, because worry is the food and vitamin of the Virgo mind. Worry and anxiety, I believe, are what leads to Virgo’s hypochondria.

Transiting Mars is conjunct Armstrong’s natal Mars in Aquarius. Oprah has sun and Mercury in Aquarius so these two should get along, although an Aquarius-on-Aquarius conversation might be difficult for the rest of us to understand. It’s like hearing two people talk in a foreign tongue. It may also seem disjointed.

Armstrong’s natal Jupiter/Neptune in Sagittarius is conjunct Oprah’s moon. She probably feels a strong attraction and sense of inspiration from Armstrong.

Will she absolve him?

I think she might.

What Oprah might consider, in her role as confessor, is that there was a time when indulgences (a remission of the temporal punishment for sin after its guilt has been forgiven) were, what shall we call it, a revenue generating practice.

We’ll see how it all plays out this Thursday (January 17).

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Che Guevara: Model of the Revolution

Posted on January 8, 2013 by ohioastrology

If Ernesto Guevara, Cuban revolutionary, were alive today, he could be a millionaire. That is if he had embraced the 21st century concept of personal brand identity and charged royalties for all the places where his famous revolutionary silhoutette resides.

In addition to the usual places you’d expect to see the face of a revolutionary – flags, banners, posters, postage stamps, pins and T-shirts, I’ve also seen Guevara on such items as underwear and beads.

I’d like to insert a free image of Guevara here, but I’m a little unclear how that works. Instead I’ll link to this page that describes the iconic photo.

I’ve had a little conspiracy theory about Guevara since I’ve been a teenager (which is even before the prevalence of conspiracy theories). I’m convinced that Fidel (as in Fidel Castro) sent his stunningly handsome right-hand man into harm’s way (Bolivia) to make sure he (Fidel the Leo sun) could enjoy the limelight without a much sexier man (one girl’s opinion) taking the attention.

While in harm’s way trying to ignite revolution in Bolivia in October 1967, Guevara died an untimely death at the age of 39.

And Fidel had a life-long marketing campaign. Guevara is a Revolutionary Marketing Campaign Model. His look defined “revolution.”

Do you know what it normally costs to get a celebrity endorsement?

Fidel stayed at home and is still alive today, thumbing his 86-year-old nose at the US. Fidel has now been in power 54 years.

El Che

Although he fought for Cuban independence, Guevara was from Argentina and had a nickname that referred to the land of his birth – El Che.

Until now, I thought El Che was a Gemini sun. But in searching for his horoscope on Astrotheme, I learned his mother supposedly changed his birthday to hide the fact that he was conceived before his parents were married.

If this is true, Guevara is a Taurus sun / Pisces moon. The original June birthday would be Gemini sun / Taurus moon.

In these types of cases, I assume the birth date and time are approximate. But it’s fun to look and quell some curiosity about a man who left both his country and medical profession to fight “revolutions” in both South America and Africa.

The cigar-smoking Guevara was actually an asthmatic – which is why sun in Gemini, which rules the lungs, was believable. In the Taurus sun chart, Mercury is in Gemini and widely opposing Saturn in Sagittarius.

Beret wearing and cigar smoking evoked images of revolution (beret – France, cigar – Cuba) which led me to believe that Guevara was caught up in ideas and images, as air signs (like Gemini) are wont to do.

If the Astrotheme chart is correct, moon and Mars in Pisces is an impressionable idealist although sun in Taurus is a fixed, steady earth sign. Pisces provides more feeling and compassion than does earth sign Taurus which wants you to clean up your own mess.

Pisces, however, also has this terrible reputation for sacrifice. I’m wondering if El Che believed in the revolution more than its leader, Castro.

We’ll never know, as El Che died suddenly without so much as a blog or memoir or goodbye.

Revolution and Death

As long as we know the approximately month of birth, we can look at some trans-earth planets that would have been in the same sign during the May-June time period in 1928.

In this case, Mars and Jupiter had changed signs but Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto would have remained in the same sign during those periods.

Maybe that’s telling about El Che’s life – we know him only through the outer planets, planets that define generations. We’ll never really know about his Mercury (true thoughts), Venus (true loves) and Mars (true motivations).

The date of the Cuban revolution is January 1, 1959. At that time Guevara was experiencing the passing of his Saturn return.

Saturn takes about 29 years to orbit the sun and its cycle is associated with the maturation process, the overcoming of our own personal Achilles heel. In the sign of Sagittarius, Guevara lacked meaning in his early upbringing.

This is where the moon makes a difference. In Pisces square Saturn, I could see martyr images being appealing – which is funny because martyrdom stems from religious sentiment. Glancing at Wikipedia it appears Guevara grew up in a “left leaning” household.

I’m not sure what “left leaning” meant to 1928 Argentina, but I’m suspecting that Guevara had religious urges that were suppressed.

When Guevara died in October 1967, the US west coast had completed a “Summer of Love” with Saturn in Pisces opposite Uranus/Pluto conjunct in Virgo. North Americans were sticking it to the man by dropping acid and making love in a park. There was also a Civil Rights Movement in progress.

South Americans were sticking it to the man by wearing camouflage and playing guerrilla warfare.

This “anti establishment” aspect would have created a strong T-square to Guevara’s natal Saturn in Sagittarius. If his birthday was May, Mercury in Gemini would have created a grand cross.

Mercury – that rules communication. Was El Che assassinated because of his revolution-making ways or because he could reveal something confidential?

Just after El Che’s death the US lost some revolutionary leaders – Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy. Here’s an interesting, but not morbid, blog on assassinations in 1968.

Was it an age of killing the messengers?

Wikipedia lists several reasons why Guevara’s Bolivian mission wasn’t successful:

“He had expected to remain in radio contact with Havana. The two shortwave transmitters provided to him by Cuba were faulty; thus the guerrillas were unable to communicate and be resupplied, leaving them isolated and stranded.”

Marketing Model or Revolutionary Model?

According to Wikipedia, Castro ended his eulogy of Guevara with:

“If we wish to express what we want the men of future generations to be, we must say: Let them be like Che! If we wish to say how we want our children to be educated, we must say without hesitation: We want them to be educated in Che’s spirit! If we want the model of a man, who does not belong to our times but to the future, I say from the depths of my heart that such a model, without a single stain on his conduct, without a single stain on his action, is Che!”

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Gérard Depardieu, Ce que vous pensez?

Posted on January 6, 2013 by ohioastrology

Is it true that French film actor Gérard Depardieu is moving from France to Russia to avoid a 75 percent tax rate?

Ce que vous pensez, Gérard Depardieu?

Or, in English, WTF?

Very ironically I’m currently reading a biography of Ivan the Terrible (1530 – 1584), who was truly terrible in a way almost inconceivable. Not only did Ivan the Terrible torture and kill his enemies, he killed his trusted advisors, war heroes and his own son in a fit of rage.

Yeah, yeah, this is common in royalty you say (as my brother did). But in politics, royal or secular, there is usually a reason for killing. Not with Ivan – he killed simply to watch person after person experience the pain and humiliation of a tortuous death.

Right now I fear Novgorod, the metropolis of one of Ivan’s massacres, the way a local community fears the “haunted house” where a man murdered his wife.

While discussing Ivan the Terrible with my brother, he made an interesting point about how the trends of the past can be seen in current politics. “History repeats itself” is something we hear that supports this idea but why is this so? Have we not truly progressed as humans? Are we 16th century creatures with iPhones?

Why Russia?

As you may have sensed, I’m a little afraid for Depardieu. When I think of fleeing to Russia, I think of spymasters, such as Kim Philby, the Cold War British Intelligence officer who was a double agent before fleeing to Russia (then the USSR) where he resided until his death.

What makes a man go to Russia as a double agent or to avoid taxes?

While Philby needed to go to the USSR due to his double-agent hood, Depardieu could have gone to a number of other countries across the globe. He could have made the same statement by moving to the United States (Ohio maybe?) or Brazil or Uruguay or Angola or Nepal or Vanuatu.

Why Russia?

Is it possible that Depardieu is avoiding more than taxes? Why does he need to make such a grand statement in choosing Russia? Aren’t there dozens of silent methods for avoiding taxes?

Gérard Depardieu

Depardieu, according to this Astrotheme chart, is a Capricorn sun and Scorpio moon. Depardieu additionally has Jupiter, Mercury and Mars in Capricorn. As you are aware, Pluto is currently transiting Capricorn and is currently conjunct Depardieu’s sun and Jupiter.

Capricorn and Scorpio certainly keep both money and emotions close to the chest, regardless of tax rate.

Saturn in Virgo also adds earth to the chart and may indicate penny pinching but normally has a deep insecurity about not being perfect which manifests as anxiety and health problems.

There’s a nifty Neptune in Libra square to Capricorn which creates some delusions that one is being diplomatic when really one is being selfish and self-centered (I bought the power drill for you, sweetheart).

Venus in Sagittarius suggests Depardieu’s love of things (especially women) foreign, but the preponderance of earth signs tells me that Depardieu will feel more than a little homesick. Capricorn, being an earth sign, loves its habits.

Depardieu would do best living near mountains (earth) and water (Scorpio). But from the stories, I’m not sure he will truly live in Russia, just pay his taxes there.

My first sense of his motivation in ostentatiously leaving his country is that he’s demanding a respect he doesn’t feel he’s getting. Capricorn is definitely about respect and control and Depardieu’s “tax” problem is really a problem about feeling out of control – he’s going to be the “boss” of his taxes, not you.

The Pluto transit is the power-struggle exploded. I’m guessing Depardieu is fighting with other authority figures, males and institutions besides France.

Depardieu might want to understand that if what he’s truly doing is fighting external authority, he’s gone to the right place to CONTINUE that struggle. When Pluto finishes its transit of Depardieu’s Capricorn planets, he may have a new idea about money and wealth. The worst will come in about 7-8 years when Pluto transits Depardieu’s natal Mars.

In other words, the fights we have with others are often the fights we have with ourselves. Depardieu might be fighting “taxes” but may have brought on a bigger fight about “who’s in charge here.”

Depardieu might do well to in his studies of Russian history to understand the political machinations that a man like Vladimir Putin has survived versus his own problems with taxes.

Kim Philby

Philby’s Astrotheme chart shows sun in Capricorn with Saturn, moon and Mars in Taurus. Taurus is opposite Scorpio, where Depardieu’s moon resides. Philby’s sun, according to this chart, is in the 8th house, which is ruled by Scorpio.

Again we have issues of control and respect which probably is the motivation that led Philby to double agency in the first place. He could have simply been an anonymous man in the roster of British intelligence but now he is infamous.

Philby’s three planets in Taurus also suggest he simply liked physical wealth. Saturn in Taurus has the feeling of material insecurity – there is never enough. Whether or not there is true material poverty, there is a spirit of poverty with this placement.

With his Neptune in Cancer opposite Uranus in Capricorn and Saturn/moon in the same sign of Taurus, I get the sense that Philby was not nostalgic about early home life. His early home environment seems to have left him feeling he didn’t have enough which is possibly why he could leave that environment for good.

He simply didn’t like England and could have wealth and prestige in Russia.

I’ll have to add Philby’s autobiography to my reading list to understand a little better his motivations.

Is Brigette Bardot Next?

French colleague Brigette Bardot has threatened to follow Depardieu to Russia, for reasons of animal cruelty rather than taxes.

Brigette, I believe, is just blowing smoke. The woman has a lot of air in her chart (sun in Libra, moon in Gemini according to Astrotheme) and is simply coming to the dinner table and jumping into the conversation without really knowing that the table is talking about “Youth in Asia,” not “euthanasia.”

Libra sun Brigette will really dig Libra Putin, if she does pick up her pets and flee to Moscow. Capricorn sun Depardieu will find, if he really gets to know Putin, that Libra squares Capricorn.

Good luck to Gérard and Brigette .

Or as they say it in Russian – Удачи.

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Republican Fight Club: Christie and Boehner

Posted on January 5, 2013 by ohioastrology

The holidays are over so it’s time for a return to “Your Regular Life” which includes resolutions to lose weight and save money, all your co-workers returning to work and wanting the last two weeks of deliverables in one day and, of course, a return to POLITICS.

Ah, I feel some relief because I thought it might be a boring January, not that the sign of Capricorn is ever boring . . .

This round of political fighting is Republican-on-Republican. I haven’t enjoyed Republican hair pulling since the Republican presidential debates when Newt Gingrich accused Mitt Romney of being rich.

Last year a Republican was chided by another Republican for being filthy rich. Now a Republican is in trouble for not handing out the cash to another Republican.

Have the Republicans gone mad?

Will Christie change sides as did Charlie Crist? Has cavorting with Democrats (the president no less!) during a natural disaster created a political dark night of the soul for Christie?

The Fight

After wheeling and dealing to avoid the fiscal cliff earlier this week, the House adjourned without voting on a Superstorm Sandy relief package. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, according to this ABC news story, said the non-vote was “disgusting” and apparently blamed House Speaker John Boehner.

Let me first say that Ohio Astrology does not support attacks on any Ohio politician. Blood is thicker than political water, so Christie needs to be careful. Ohio was so important during the last election that Barack Obama and Mitt Romney crisscrossed the state so much Governor Kasich joked on a radio news story that the candidates ought to pay taxes.

Ok, I feel better. Christie needs to understand that Ohioans can get angry too.

Christie and Boehner

Now let’s do a little synastry, which is the astrological method of determining how well two folks get along.

I’ve blogged about both Christie and Boehner here on OHA. Now let’s imagine Christie and Boehner on a date.

Christie has sun in Virgo (conjunct Pluto) and moon probably in Sagittarius (but could be in Scorpio). The outward exuberance of his fighting and his corpulence suggests Sagittarius.

Boehner is sun in Scorpio and moon (conjunct Neptune) in Libra.

This may come as a bit of a shocker, but Boehner is the one more worried about relationships in general. Boehner is probably very hurt by this attack (or any) although Scorpio will rarely let you know how sensitive it is. At least until there is a chance for a return of that energy (aka revenge or retribution).

Virgo is picky and Scorpio is strategic. Virgo’s first response to most of life’s external stimulus is to find the fault, the gap or the irregularity. Scorpio, being a fixed sign, is more patient in assessing any given situation.

Boehner does have some Virgo in his chart as well – Saturn conjunct Mars. Ouch, that’s Virgo at its most aggressive nastiness. If and when Boehner chooses to return the verbal barbs, Christie is going to hurt.

Boehner’s Saturn/Mars is conjunct Christie’s sun/Pluto. These two will never, ever be friends. I rarely feel 100 percent confident about any horoscope because we can rise above our personalities, but I’d bet the Superstorm Sandy relief package on this one.

The fighting absolutely will continue although Boehner’s Libra moon/Neptune will do it both more gracefully and Scorpio sun will chose behind the scenes.

If Christie’s moon is indeed in Sagittarius, then he is accident prone both in literally and figuratively. Christie may want to be careful of political “accidents” as a result of attacking Boehner in public.

Sagittarius moon likes its fun and one of those “accidents” could revolve around what Sagittarius moon does in its spare time.

Christie and Boehner also have interesting Neptune/Mercury synastry with each’s Neptune on or near (conjunct) the other’s Mercury.

According to Café Astrology:

“When Mercury in your chart forms an aspect to your partner’s Neptune, empathetic, spiritual, deceptive, or confusing communications figure strongly in your relationship. What type of interaction depends on the aspect that joins Mercury and Neptune, as well as the individuals involved.”

What do marriage counselors do when the face a couple who have deep-seated power struggles and continually distort and misinterpret each other’s communication?

Does the counselor suggest calling it quits? Do they try to mediate when they see each would be better off and much happier if they just moved on and found more compatible partners?

Christie for President?

I still don’t think Christie will ever do well running for President of the United States. While his outbursts against members of his own party are fun (very fun) to watch, a campaign of critical outbursts will get boring very quickly. Expressing righteous indignation is easy; building a better plan, not so much.

If I were an evil political astrologer (and I swear I’m not), I’d suggest the Republicans stick behind their man Boehner. Boehner is a more solid, strategic individual than Christie, especially in a party that promotes conservative values.

All politicians provide for their constituents and supporters, regardless of party; what’s different is how the payouts occur and how they are labeled. Payouts can arrive as charity, welfare or bailouts.

The person who said “Don’t get mad, get even” probably had a Scorpio sun or moon. Boehner is a Scorpio; he acquiesced, he did not surrender.

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Through Capricorn to Aquarius – The Current Pluto Cycle

Posted on December 31, 2012 by ohioastrology

At the end of the calendar year it’s a good time to talk again about cycles. I hope talking about cycles doesn’t bore you since at some time or another it will come back into conversation again . . .

The idea that we “end” one year and “begin” another is largely in our minds yet does still loosely follow the earth’s natural cycle of seasons. The “end” of the Gregorian calendar year is the start of winter, when much plant life in the northern hemisphere goes dormant until spring. It’s a good time to “end” if you ask me.

My Wikipedia search of the Gregorian calendar states that by the Assyrian calendar it is year 6762. If Assyrians had had computers, programmers might have been busy 4,762 years ago fixing the Year 2000 glitch.

Remember the Year 2000 glitch when computer dates were programmed as 19XX and the switch to 2000 would have produced the result 1900? The fear at that time was that computers would go mad and catastrophe would occur.

Funny, our fears also come and go in cycles and often occur at the “end” of the year.

The Pluto Cycle

A fear occurring now and one that is real to me is the US fiscal “cliff.” We fear “another” recession, as if we were through with the current one. Our economy is stumbling and can’t take another blow so we continue to live on a financial high wire.

Pluto began transiting Capricorn in 2008 (date ring a bell?) and will be in Capricorn until 2024. Pluto is far out there and takes about 248 years to orbit the sun. That’s one long cycle.

Two hundred and forty eight years – people don’t live that long and can’t tell you what it feels like to experience a Pluto cycle.

But nations do.

Guess which nation is about to have a Pluto return, the time when Pluto returns to the same zodiac sign (and degree of that sign) when the nation was “born?”

The United States.

Using the 1776 horoscope as the “birth date” the US will experience its Pluto return in early 2023 in about 27 degrees of Capricorn.

Soon after Pluto will enter Aquarius. The “birth date” of the US Constitution occurred when Pluto was in Aquarius (and it took awhile for certain Aquarian ideals to come to fruition such as the end of slavery and the right of women to vote).

Capricorn and Aquarius

I’ve been wondering how Pluto will evolve from Capricorn to Aquarius this time around for my country. Today while driving to work, I heard a news story that included the word “egalitarian” which piqued my interest as Aquarius is associated with egalitarian.

The news story was about MOOCs – Massive Open Online Courses. According to Wikipedia, MOOCs are “online courses aimed at large-scale participation and open access via the web.” The portion of the news story I heard included concern that professor jobs would be eliminated.

Professors out of work (Capricorn) and egalitarian education (Aquarius) – I heard the Pluto transit here.

Capricorn is ruled by Saturn, the planet of structure and form, which expresses through rules, hierarchy, authority, traffic lights, gravity and an overweening air of seriousness.

Aquarius is ruled by Uranus, the planet of enlightenment, which expresses through inspiration, idealistic forms, rebelliousness, inventiveness, vision and stubborn insistence on one’s eccentric habits.

In reading this critique of MOOCs, I can’t help but see an underlying tension of Capricorn and Aquarius. If I were some alien character on Star Trek who fed on astrological symbolism (and I swear I’m not), I couldn’t ask for a better article than this.

Got MOOC? Blog

First of all, the blog uses the word “prestige” or “prestigious” six times. Prestige is a Capricorn idea as it relates to reputation, status and respect. Prestige tells you where I stand on the social ladder.

An interesting paragraph from the article:

“Now, not surprisingly, comes the news that institutions are looking at ways to “monetize” the MOOC. Knowledge is free, but credits and credentials cost money — and prestige costs even more. That’s how the economics of higher education really work, and the MOOC movement is unlikely to make a prestigious credential more egalitarian despite the current fervor for the “free” part of the online courses.”

The author is correct in that “prestige” and “egalitarian” are not peanut butter and jelly. Prestige involves hierarchy and egalitarian involves dissolution of hierarchy. She’s clearly stated that “prestige” is quantifiable by money. Prestige is not an ideal, but a practical, purchasable reality.

While the author passionately explains that online courses lack human interaction, she also plainly states that when you pay for education, you are paying for the “prestige” of a degree:

“Beyond the question of whether the MOOC movement will actually improve learning, some advocates also see MOOCs as a way to help make higher education more affordable. While affordability is certainly a worthy goal, there is no evidence currently that the offering universities will broadly transcript MOOC credit at vastly reduced rates so that students can earn prestigious degrees more cheaply. While much of the hype about MOOCs has focused on the fact that they are “free” to the general public, in fact, what tuition really pays for is the credit that accumulates to a degree. While a few universities have talked about monetizing MOOC credits, a systematic plan has yet to emerge. Universities who spend tens of millions of dollars on their brand management will hardly give away their credits cheaply — or allow institutions they consider inferior to make money by charging for transcripting credits derived from their “free” MOOC offerings.”

The clash of Capricorn and Aquarius here is that Capricorn wants to have the diamond while you have the cubic zirconium. Diamonds could be cheap, I hear, but they are deliberately controlled to have high value (wait, don’t we have a free market economy?). If diamonds didn’t have high value, they would lose their meaning for many.

Aquarius is saying that we should mine all the diamonds we can and let them be the beautiful and precious stones and affordable at the same time. The low price of the diamond, for Aquarius, does not reduce its intrinsic value as a diamond.

What Capricorn loses with Aquarius is the feeling of being better because I have a diamond and you have cubic zirconium. Snobbery is laundry off the guard rails of hierarchy.

Capricorn and Saturn wouldn’t disappear if diamonds were cheap. Saturn would still identify a diamond as a diamond and cubic zirconium as cubic zirconium. They are still two different chemical compounds.

Likewise, we all want Saturn to tell us if our medical doctor has a degree from a university rather than a degree purchased through the mail.

Through Capricorn to Aquarius

Whether or not education becomes more egalitarian, this current discussion around MOOCs may be the seed of where Pluto through Capricorn is leading us.

Capricorn and Saturn idealize the past where Aquarius idealizes the future. As Pluto drills through the economic stratum, many have a desire to return to the past – the past of high home values and excessive credit (Pluto in Sagittarius).

No sign is good or bad – the zodiac is egalitarian . . .

We’re experiencing a collapsing economy for a reason and Aquarius will pick up the pieces to begin the next 248-year US Pluto cycle. Pluto in Capricorn will mean different things to different countries based on their natal Pluto placement.

Maybe in 2024 diamonds will be so inexpensive that “no finger will be left behind.”

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Shinzo Abe, Where is Your Mars?

Posted on December 26, 2012 by ohioastrology

Japan has elected a new prime minister today – Shinzo Abe – as Mars moves from Capricorn to Aquarius.

Since mid-November, Mars has been in Capricorn, passing over Abe’s natal Mars in Capricorn. Mars enjoys the sign of Capricorn because Mars moves forward in one direction and Capricorn supplies the goals.

Competition and goals go hand in hand.

Lisa Simpson was once was asked by another character what her “ambition du jour” was that particular day. Very Capricorn.

Tracy Flick of the movie Election is also a nice cookie-cutter Capricorn character. Flick is ambition personified and finds friendship only in older, authority figures. She manages to squash all of her opponents.

Back to Abe, who isn’t a Capricorn, just has Mars in that sign. But to survive the role he’s taken, I hope that Mars is in the first or tenth house (we need time of birth to know). Otherwise Mars will be fighting other planets in Abe’s charts as well as his foes.

In other words, Abe, to survive, better bring out his inner Lisa Simpson or Tracy Flick.

Abe has sun in mutable earth sign Virgo but has a loose (very loose) T-square in his horoscope with Mars in Capricorn, moon/Jupiter/Uranus in Cancer and Mercury/Neptune in Libra.

Abe is one picky, picky dude. He’s obsessive-compulsive exacting and can be driven made by simple lack of symmetry. If I were an evil astrologer (and I swear I’m not), I’d suggest his opponents face him wearing mismatched clothes and lopsided haircuts. As Abe shakes off an attack of nerves the opponent can win the battle.

I’m seeing a lot of Cancer moons in world leaders; as with others, there is some sacrifice of family life for the role. With Abe, Uranus and Jupiter conjunct moon in Cancer means that family life has been both a blessing and curse, a source of warmth and a source of confusion, at times steady and at times unpredictable.

There’s not much fire in Abe’s chart unless he has a fire rising sign. Lack of fire is lack of energy and enthusiasm – when the crowd needs inspiration Abe will probably offer homework.

Think Mitt Romney, if you can remember back that far to the recent US election. Romney, with his lack of fire, had an “enthusiasm deficit.” Watch for that deficit to move to Japan (a new export?).

Mercury and Neptune conjunct in Abe’s chart suggest poetic and writing ability which is a nice aspect to have to soften the Virgo fine detail. Neptune on Mercury might be poetic, but if you need to know where someone was last Friday at 10 a.m., you want what’s called a “fact” versus “poetry,” if you get my drift.

And you might want to ask where Abe was last Friday since he has Saturn conjunct Venus in Scorpio. Abe will be having a Saturn return so might have some issues in his love life. Hopefully he wasn’t at a love hotel last Friday.

The personal/family issues crop up so much in political charts I’m guessing that’s part of what drives men to politic – Either a lack of love or belonging in other relationships or to have more opportunities for partners.

This Saturn return for Abe means his tight knit group of friends and supporters will become even tighter, like a noose, in the way of cults. Cults are warm and fuzzy until you step outside of the boundaries. Abe’s commitment to some group, whatever it is, is very serious. It might be beyond the political realm.

Uranus is now transiting Aries creating a grand square with all of Abe’s cardinal signs. I can’t imagine his time in office being anything but constant strife and struggle.

Looking at the Wikipedia article on Abe, it appears he was prime minister once but resigned. I haven’t read up on why he resigned but with the Virgo and cardinal signs in plethora in his horoscope, he might simply be too nervous.

Uranus will be in Aries until 2018, quite a ways out from today.

Will Abe’s Mars in Capricorn take over the wheel? Will transiting Pluto in Capricorn ignite all that is ambitious and ruthless in Abe?

How will Abe’s beauty-seeking Libra adjust to lobbing off enemy heads? Will the Virgo sun get an allergic reaction to the dripping blood and retreat to bed? Will that Cancer moon panic and change its mind?

Mars (in Capricorn) opposite moon (in Cancer) gets what it wants. But with so much cardinal energy in his chart, the question really is whether Abe knows what he wants.

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John Kerry, SOS

Posted on December 23, 2012 by ohioastrology

The president has nominated a new Secretary of State (SOS) to replace Hillary Clinton – Senator John Kerry. Sounds like a good job for a man who debated George W. Bush in 2004 and proclaimed that the US should work with other countries to develop and implement foreign policy. That comment did not play well to a psychologically traumatized public (from 9/11) that accepted an almost unilateral US invasion of Iraq.

Now Kerry gets to play with others.

Looking at Kerry’s Astrotheme chart, this Sagittarian sun and way-too-many-planets in Gemini man will love, I mean love, jet setting across the world. What’s more fun for a 7th house full of Gemini than meeting new people everyday? Sagittarius and Gemini will delight in breakfast in one country, lunch on a plane and dinner in a land where you don’t speak the language.

For others, this would be hell. For Sagittarius and Gemini, “routine” is just a word in the dictionary that follows “route” and precedes “rove.”

Kerry appears to be what we call today ADD (attention deficit disorder) but back in his day might have simply been called hyperactive. Kerry’s chart reminds me a little of Newt Gingrich’s chart which is also packed with Sagittarius and Gemini energy.

Both Kerry and Gingrich would do well to become professors.

For Kerry, four planets are in Gemini – Uranus, Mars, moon and Saturn. Kerry’s chart is mostly fire and air with a very little bit of water (Venus in Scorpio) and earth (Mercury in Capricorn).

That Mercury in Capricorn may help Kerry sound like a serious statesman. He may do okay as a statesman, but ultimately Kerry is a philosopher and purveyor of information and ideas. Both Sagittarius and Gemini are mutable (i.e., flexible) signs so the ideas will change over time, as probably ideas should.

That’s nice, but how does that fare in diplomacy?

In this regard I might understand the public’s distaste for Kerry’s lengthy and detailed responses. Studied and informed thought might be great for a professor, but diplomacy really isn’t about education – it’s about politics.

While a man who’s been in office since 1985 should know politics, Sagittarius is a champion of ideals and having to make deals that are real politick and not culturally uplifting may be difficult for Kerry.

Kerry’s chart makes me believe he will like this job more than this job will like him. He may enjoy talking (and talking and talking) but may not be effective in doing more than talking and discussing and understanding the bigger picture.

Kerry will seek to understand each situation in great detail, but others may not care. I bet Kerry is already opening his dusty history books and buying a new atlas. He’s probably memorizing the capitals of foreign countries right now.

The open and blunt Sagittarius may also not care for the current Neptune in Pisces transit (which forms a T-square with Sagittarius and Gemini) which requests he make his information fit into a larger “story” that is being promoted. Kerry wants to raise consciousness more than manipulate consciousness.

Kerry will want information to be presented so the public can understand both friends and enemies and the long cultural history that has brought people to their current mindset and situations. Neptune in Pisces, on the other hand, may request Kerry relegate that information into a fairy tale of witches, and beautiful young girls and poisoned apples.

Kerry will hate this but luckily both Sagittarius and Gemini has this habit of saying what they think so we might get some goodies that the secretive Scorpio sun / Pisces moon Hillary Clinton would relish keeping from others.

For Scorpio, my knowing and you not knowing is a competitive and power advantage. For Kerry, my knowing means I should educate you.

If I were an evil astrologer (I swear I’m not), I’d tell the press to press on Kerry early in the game before he gets taken to the woodshed for slips of the tongue.

If Kerry becomes our SOS, I’m gonna keep my ears tuned. Kerry may be better than WikiLeaks. I’d really love to know what’s going on out there!

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The Day After the End of the World – Reality Awaits

Posted on December 22, 2012 by ohioastrology

Sagittarius truly went out with a bang this year – not only did we have our usual pre-Christmas eating, drinking and shopping celebrations of abundance, we also made grand pronouncements about the world ending.

How does it feel the morning after?

Head hurt? Room spinning?

Wondering how you’re going to pay for that dress you bought impulsively yesterday with your new, super-duper-high interest rate credit card (who’d do that?)?

Welcome to Capricorn!

The sun entered Capricorn yesterday or today, depending on where you live.

Capricorn, like all earth signs, loosely represents a brick falling on your head – the reality check.

So the world didn’t end and you didn’t believe it anyway but today is a little, how shall we say it, anticlimactic?

After the world ends, what do you do? As you look around you see the dishes in the sink and remember that you have to do the same things you did yesterday.

That’s earth.

Capricorn

Capricorn is the cardinal earth sign, represented by a goat climbing rocky mountains to get to the top. Goats eat anything you know so don’t get in the way. Fear those who can digest anything!

Known for its ambition, Capricorn seeks success. Success doesn’t merely exist in those places known for success – businesses; it can exist anywhere. The top of the corporate ladder is just one place to view the world below. Human ventures have structure and therefore ladders. Top of the religious ladder, top of the gang ladder, top of the artistic world ladder – they are all ladders.

Respect is what Capricorn ultimately seeks. Serious is the path to respect.

In the world of structure, earth signs, including Capricorn, have the most drive to accomplish something within the structure. If they don’t, they feel inadequate. Removal from structure makes earth signs feel lost.

Others view work as something that funds the other portions of their lives. Not earth signs. These are the signs most spiritually hurt by unemployment because they have not simply lost their jobs, they have lost their identities. They have lost the reason to “be.”

Capricorn 2012-2013

Capricorn is going to be a little different this year. Not only is the sun in this worldly sign, it’s bringing a friend – Pluto. Pluto will be hanging out in Capricorn for quite a few years. Our serious Januarys will be increasingly serious.

The world hasn’t ended but Pluto in Capricorn may very well end a structure we find near and dear to our hearts – the economy.

During Sagittarius this year we worried about the world ending while the fiscal cliff (cliff and goats – I see a connection here) looms real.

Sagittarius energy isn’t completely gone – Venus entered Sagittarius December 17 where it stays until January 10, 2013 when it enters Capricorn. We’ll still have a little fun during Christmas and New Years.

On January 10, Mercury, Venus, sun and Pluto will all be in Capricorn. Expect major economic news at that time. Saturn continues its two-year transit of Scorpio, a sign that traditionally rules some areas of finance – those in which you have no control – shared money, taxes, insurance (I think) and inheritance.

Capricorn and Scorpio are serious bedfellows. You want to talk about the game last night and they want to talk about how you are going to pay the bills.

Mars will be in Aquarius by then indicating some unusual responses to economic changes. Aquarius is group expression, normally around an intellectual idea more than a practical reality. This transit is only a month long but in the future I’m expecting to see more Aquarian response to economic changes such as sharing in groups, group ownership and equal ownership and equal pay.

Don’t forget that Neptune in Pisces still puts a shellac glaze on the ceramic so make sure you touch, feel and smell your news to make sure it’s real. A picture is worth a thousand words but how many of those words reflect the reality as you experience it? Touch it to see if it feels like earth.

Start Your Own Worldly Venture

Oh, and if you’re thinking that end of the world prophecy shouldn’t be followed by end of the economy prophecy, remember that astrology and Mayan calendars are both about cycles – nothing “ends.”

Pluto is telling us that the current structure doesn’t work. As things collapse, remember all the things you didn’t like about it anyway. A break in structure and routine means you can take that leap into the worldly venture you’ve dreamed about for years.

The rules are changing and earth signs (Capricorn, Taurus, Virgo) get confused when they don’t know the rules. The other elements (air, water and fire) deal with change more easily and can find those cracks in the structure that lead to new worlds.

This time of changing structure brings to mind an image of Tiwanaku in Bolivia. At the top of the world (altitude around 12,000 feet) a people built a big stone gate.

A gate from where to where?

Image from Wikipedia

tiwanaku

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Death, Taxes and Facebook

Posted on December 16, 2012 by ohioastrology

Benjamin Franklin famously spoke that there were no certainties in life but death and taxes. Two hundred and fifteen years later there is one more certainty – your Facebook profile.

While talking to a friend about a recent fight I had with Facebook privacy settings, he told me of his brother who tried to remove his profile. Guess what folks, your profile isn’t removed it’s made dormant and re-ignited with a simple login.

Facebook is forever.

The interesting thing about the certainties that Franklin spoke of – death and taxes – is that in your horoscope those two seemingly unrelated items are ruled by one house – the 8th house.

The natural ruler of the 8th house – in other words, the sign that represents the playing ground of that area of the horoscope – is Scorpio. This house also rules sex.

What’s the commonality between death, taxes and sex . . . and Facebook?

The 8th house has always been confusing for me so I slept on it for several days and, of course, consulted my favorite astrologers.

My favorite astrologer, Liz Greene, writes of the 8th house in “Saturn: A New Look at an Old Devil” that the 8th house is: “primarily a house of crisis and refers to those points in life where the emotional ties to others force a man to the realization of some vital area of his own feeling nature which must be recognized, examined and purified.”

Isabel Hickey in “Astrology: A Cosmic Science” writes it’s the house of “generation (sex), degeneration or regeneration.”

“The Astrologers Handbook” decided to play it safe and confine the 8th house to “joint resources.” Wait, a paragraph later I read that the 8th house “deals with the dissolution of material structures back into energy.”

Oh my.

I used to think Pisces was the most misunderstood sign of the zodiac. Now I’m wondering if it’s Scorpio.

The 8th House

As is my blogging wont, I threw out the idea of Facebook as a compatriot to death and taxes then gave it some thought to see if it jelled. It jelled for me.

Reading about the 8th house I think this is what all these intense, disparate ideas are leading to – in the 8th house we give up a part of ourselves.

While the 7th house is partnership, it is Libra partnership, Libra being an air sign. When you get to the depth of your air signs you find ideas, not emotions.

Seventh house partnership brings us into the reflection of ourselves so that we can see ourselves. Romance is makes us feel good and brings out the best in our selves.

The 7th house is the kindergarten love who offers to sharpen your pencils. It is the friend you call to see a movie. It is the muse who inspires your poetry. It is the drinking buddy.

The 8th house is where “the other” penetrates you, enters both your body and energy. When people enter you, they sometimes leave with some of your energy and you feel different, sometimes good and sometimes bad and sometimes in between.

In sex, there is the penetrator and the penetrated, in many variations between male and female, the most organic that of male penetrating female.

Sex is way different than holding hands at the movies. Sex changes you.

Sex can produce a baby and if you are female, another life feeds on your life before entering the world. Women physically give up a part of themselves to produce a baby.

That is why rape is so destructive to the soul – someone has literally come inside and taken your energy, energy you haven’t willingly shared.

Prostitution, then, is selling your energy to many, which is highly destructive to your energetic being. It’s a sad state for a human to be reduced to selling his/her fundamental energy source.

Pluto rules Scorpio and when Pluto is involved in your interaction with others there is some sense of intrusion or violation. Pluto doesn’t knock first.

Sex is the most intense of this experience but don’t forget taxes.

Taxes are the part of your hard work you give away. Not too far in the distant past, most of us worked the land. Imaging cultivating the land, planting the seeds and reaping the harvest only to – give some of that away to a king, queen or governmental being in some distant place.

The 8th house also rules inheritance – this is when the money comes to you through someone’s loss of life.

In Hamlet we hear, “Neither a borrower nor a lender be; For loan oft loses both itself and friend; And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.”

You lend, you lose something.

Facebook

Is Facebook really so intense, you might now be asking?

Yes, I argue. I willingly entered my personal profile on Facebook and no longer “own” it. A part of my virtual being has been given away, just like energy given through sex.

Facebook also constantly and consistently changes my privacy settings so that others can intrude upon my virtual self. Facebook’s founder, Mark Zuckerberg, has Pluto, Saturn, moon and Mars in Scorpio.

Zuckerberg not only invades, he probably has been invaded. I’m guessing the man who changes the privacy rules for us has a fortress around his own personal and intellectual property. Those invaded learn to have better defenses.

Regeneration

Lastly, the 8th house rules “regeneration.” This is the other side of Scorpio, which is also represented by the Phoenix which rises from the ashes.

Life will feed on us (as we feed on it) so we do give away parts ourselves everyday. Regeneration is the reclamation of that energy.

In the Carlos Castaneda books, there is constant reference to a purported ancient Mesoamerican practice called a “recapitulation,” where one reviews one’s life in an energetic, not psychological way. In revisiting encounters with others, a sweeping breath is meant to both return energy we took from others and in turn take back lost energy.

It’s a reconciling of the energetic checkbook.

I’m still in awe of two year olds who are seen as “terrible” (as in “Terrible Twos”) because they are filled with energy, so much that they run in circles, dancing, laughing, shouting and spinning.

The twos aren’t terrible – they are a time when you enjoy your natural energetic state (hopefully) before you learn to share your toys and, ultimately, your energy with others.

Regeneration doesn’t make us two again, but it makes us more whole and hopefully more frugal not only with how we spend our energy (lender) but also how much we ask of others (borrow).

We could all be more energetically fit if we treated others’ energy as a precious resource not to be wasted.

As for Facebook, I have to accept that I’ve given a piece of myself to the cyber world and will continue to do so as I do with this blog (which feeds to Facebook).

As with sex, we must chose our virtual partners wisely.

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The Santa Story’s Missing Character

Posted on December 8, 2012 by ohioastrology

Last year I pondered deeply, very deeply, about Santa’s sign of the zodiac, and this year I gave more consideration to Mrs. Claus and the elves.

Santa, to me, is a Sagittarius as I wrote about at length here.

Sagittarius is the mutable fire sign.

The elves I believe are pure Virgo as Virgo is the sign of work. Santa’s elves are helpers, content to work in the cold North Pole (don’t call it a sweat shop – no one is sweating) while Santa gets all the credit due to his exuberant jolly nature, corpulent physique and bright red outfit.

Traditional images of Santa’s realm lead me to believe that his elves are male – something I need to continue pondering. If there are no female elves, then where do little elves come from? That too is a bit Virgo in that sexuality isn’t present – elves are simple anonymous, tiny but happy workers (no political commentary here).

Virgo is the mutable earth sign.

Mrs. Claus, now she’s also a bit anonymous behind Santa’s stealing-of-the-thunder. I don’t hear much about her in the story – she’s just anonymously kind and warm.

Mothering as a whole evokes images of Cancer. But Cancer is more involved – she’d at least nag, I mean tell, Santa to wear a warmer jacket and would definitely pack him food for the trip not allowing him to feast on cookies and cocoa at every house in the world.

But then again, Mrs. Claus isn’t a mother. Unless those elves are . . .

Mrs. Claus is essentially a spiritual partner, the jolly Santa’s female side. Mrs. Claus has no identity, no first name and is enveloped in her husband’s story, but exudes warmth and love. That’s a little bit like Pisces.

Pisces is the mutable water sign.

Astrologers in the room see where I’m going here. Mutable signs are the adaptable signs of each element. There are four elements and three “modes” (cardinal, fixed and mutable) which makes the twelve signs.

If the Santa story contains Sagittarius (fire), Virgo (earth) and Pisces (water), it is missing the mutable air sign.

The mutable air sign is Gemini.

Gemini is ruled by Mercury, the messenger of the zodiac and as such relates to communication, messages, gossip, journalism and the exchange of information.

Regardless of advances in technology, Santa appears to get his information the old-fashioned way – through the post. Santa apparently knows if you’re naughty or nice so there are informants out there channeling information to the old chap.

The Santa Story, then, is missing the mailman, the deliverer of news, information and letters about the behavior of children around the world.

Following the story, the name “Claus” is German or Dutch. Looking up the word “Gemini” in Dutch brought up “Tweelingen,” which appears to be the word “twins” because Gemini is represented by the twins.

As time flows, cultures gradually shift like glaciers over the terrain so someday in the future we may have an addition to the story: Santa Claus, Mrs. Claus, the elves and Tweelingen, the loving and kind messenger, deliverer of letters and ever-watchful eye of the behavior of children across the world, or at least in the parts of the world that know Santa.

How will Tweelingen manage so much information? Will Tweelingen develop a global database of Naughty Behaviors? Will Tweelingen gather his information through gossip or through trusted, authoritative sources?

As Santa learns Sagittarian lessons of abundance, Mrs. Claus learns lessons of separation and identity and the elves learn lessons of work and perfection, Tweelingen can learn Gemini lessons of information and communication.

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