Ohio Political Fight Club: House District 9

Posted on July 27, 2012 by ohioastrology

Since this is Ohio Astrology, we can spread our wings to all parts of our swing state and check in on the most remote of Ohio Fight Clubs. Today we’ll venture north to Toledo, where Samuel Wurzelbacher (Republican) is running against Marcy Kaptur (Democrat) in Ohio’s House District 9.

Samuel Wurzelbacher

Wurzelbacher has sun conjunct Neptune in Sagittarius and moon in Pisces. I can sum this combination up in one word: DREAMER.

When Wurzelbacher isn’t daydreaming (which is about never), he’s probably busy chasing rainbows. I just went back to Google and learned that Wurzelbacher is “Joe the Plumber” from the 2008 McCain campaign.

Neptune conjunct one’s sun does add an ethereal quality (and beauty) to the personality. It also helps for this type of personality to have a piece of string attached to the ankle to keep it from flying away like a kite. Usually there is someone at ground zero holding the string.

Let’s see if there is any grounding in the personality. We have Pluto and Uranus in Libra – nope, that won’t do it. Saturn is in Cancer – nope. Mars in Aries and Jupiter in Aquarius – naw! Mercury in Scorpio – that’s water.

Oh, here’s a bit of earth with Venus in Capricorn. The one grounded thing about Wurzelbacher is his circle of friends. Since I don’t have time of birth, it’s possible Wurzelbacher has a nice, solid Taurus rising.

While lack of earth indicates that you shouldn’t give Wurzelbacher your extra set of car keys (your chances of finding him when you lock your keys in your car are slim), you can hand him your dreams and he will say, “You can do it.” This is one loving optimist.

How are Sagittarius and Pisces with money? If you are the bank who lent him money, you probably think this combination knows nothing about money. If you are a friend in need, you’ll see Wurzelbacher as quite generous.

Jupiter is currently transiting Gemini opposing Wurzelbacher’s Sagittarius energy. Wurzelbacher is more extreme, more “out there,” more risk taking than usual.

The current transiting T-square of Saturn (in Libra), Uranus (in Aries) and Pluto (in Capricorn) hit Wurzelbacher where it has hit everyone – in the relationships.

Saturn is moving away from the T-square (and by degree moved away a while back), but Pluto and Uranus will continue to create frustrations for Wurzelbacher, especially in the area of love and social relationships.

One thing dreamers hate is detail. When you dream big, you don’t want some Virgo tailing you with an accounting book or some Capricorn to say it doesn’t look good or some Taurus to say that there is no money.

Pluto is currently opposing Wurzelbacher’s Saturn in Cancer which represents a feeling of not belonging. Pluto is breaking down structures which lend to that feeling of insecurity.

Marcy Kaptur

If Wurzelbacher is a dream, Kaptur is the opposite – clear-headed opportunist. Kaptur has sun conjunct Uranus in Gemini and moon in Capricorn or Aquarius.

Whether the moon is in Capricorn or Aquarius, Kaptur is a logical, rational being. Please, no tears because she simply doesn’t care.

This is an interesting race, from a stereotypical point of view. Wurzelbacher is the bleeding heart (associated with liberalism) and Kaptur is the rational being who can make tough decisions (associated with conservatism).

Being rational, Kaptur is probably a mental whiz, possibly mathematical and scientific as well. (Back to Google – she did graduate from MIT).

She does have some Cancer in the chart, which is a cardinal water sign associated with home, family and belonging. The problem is that Saturn is conjunct Venus in Cancer. Most likely Kaptur didn’t have a particularly nurturing early home life and doesn’t have a sense of that type of life.

It’s interesting that Wurzelbacher and Kaptur both have Saturn in Cancer. While that indicates a generation gap (Saturn takes 29 years to cycle), it also indicates they both have a sense of no belonging. For Kaptur, it’s because of lack of emotional involvement and for Wurzelbacher, it’s because he’s not on his home “planet.”

Kaptur has Mars and Pluto in Leo which indicates strength, self-respect and pride. If moon is in Capricorn, double the pride.

Neptune and Jupiter in Libra do suggest ideals in romantic love, but the ideals are probably less emotional and more about intellectual connection. Kaptur’s ideal mate will be her chess partner.

The current transit of Jupiter in Gemini is positive for Kaptur providing needed stimulation and entertainment. Gemini needs stimulation like a presidential candidate needs campaign contributions.

The Saturn/Uranus/Pluto transiting T-square mentioned above affected relationships for Kaptur too which may have included a break with a close female friend, companion or family member.

By degree, it will be awhile before Pluto opposes that Saturn/Venus conjunction in Cancer. Kaptur may want to be careful in her treatment of close females. “Hell hath no fury . . . “

Fated?

When I look at charts, it’s half analytical half intuitive with a splash of what I already know. With these two candidates, I get a strong sense that they are fated to meet.

Why?

They both have Saturn in Cancer so deep down neither really feels part of it all, part of the groups and societies into which they were born.

Rather than running against each other, it would be interesting if these two could find a way to work together. The pragmatist (Kaptur) and the optimist (Wurzelbacher) could create an interesting partnership.

Both are made of air and fire so the stimulation of that type of challenge, getting along with your opposite, would appeal to both of them.

I’m a dreamer too – I know this won’t happen. But it would make a really neat movie.

Source of candidate data: Ohio 2012 Election Center

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Ohio Political Fight Club: Mars, Jupiter and Saturn and the Senate Race

Posted on July 25, 2012 by ohioastrology

It’s been awhile since we’ve taken in a round of the Ohio Fight Club. Last time we checked in on the Senate battle in this Midwest “swing” state, Senator Sherrod Brown (Democrat) was duking it out with Josh Mandel (Republican) and eyes were turning black – both for the candidates and the viewers.

Let’s take a look at how the current transits affect this race. Since we last checked in on Brown and Mandel, Jupiter has entered Gemini, Mars entered Libra and Saturn is close to entering Scorpio.

The moon, Mercury and Venus changed signs too as they move quickly as “inner planets.” The moon is how you feel today, Mercury this month and Venus six weeks. Those planets are fun to watch when you’re planning a picnic or date but today we have to look farther to the November election. We need to travel past Venus.

Mars in Libra

Mars in Libra is an excellent placement for Mandel and a mixed blessing for Brown.

Mandel has sun and Pluto in Libra. Mars on Mandel’s Libra sun gives him a hazy glow of charisma. The camera angle is flattering, the wind blowing softly from the north creates the perfect windblown but not harried look.

This energy brings Mandel a sense of power, a sense of self that Libra normally does not have. Mars in Libra squares Mandel’s Mars in Cancer meaning Mandel isn’t at home much (which could become a problem) as he’s enjoying the attention, the cameras and the lights. Libra likes its pleasures as does Mandel’s Taurus moon.

The way to Mandel’s heart is through expensive and fancy labels and he’s probably receiving a lot of name brands right now.

For Brown, Mars in Libra triggers quite a few aspects – it conjuncts his Saturn/Neptune conjunction in Libra, squares Uranus in Cancer, squares Mars in Capricorn (T-square here) but trines moon/Pluto in Leo.

The other day I received an email from Brown’s wife (Caitlin Shultz Gard) on how a conservative blogger accused her, as a journalist, of socializing with her subject (Brown). Shultz Gard happens to be both a journalist and Brown’s wife. The email suggested they suck face regularly.

Brown is feeling romantic (Mars trine Leo moon), drawn to unexpected family matters (Mars square Uranus in Cancer) and a little disappointed in personal relationships (Mars conjunct Saturn/Neptune) all at the same time.

The T-square of Saturn-Neptune, Uranus and Mars creates a rather edgy person in general and Mars kindles this edginess.

Brown is a strong person in general with a cardinal T-square and a fixed T-square in his chart (sun in Scorpio, moon/Pluto in Leo and Jupiter in Taurus).

Brown has endless energy but very little patience. You have to watch the patience when you’ve got too much cardinal. It’s like when someone cuts you off while driving and you give that person the finger only to discover it’s your boss in the car.

Jupiter in Gemini

Jupiter in Gemini is better for Mandel than Brown.

Mandel’s personality is more flexible than Brown’s, even with Mandel’s Taurus moon. Mandel can handle the changes that occur when planets transit mutable signs. Gemini is the twins, back and forth, this side and that, wandering off and seeing what’s down that country road just for the heck of it.

Being a Libra, Mandel probably likes a little Gemini excitement and change. Who wants to go to the same office every day? Who wants to talk to the same people every day? Routine is kind of boring, isn’t it?

Jupiter in Gemini trines Mandel’s sun. Again, he’s having a good time.

For Brown, Jupiter in Gemini is opposing his Mercury and Venus in Sagittarius. Jupiter in Gemini opposing Mercury in Sagittarius is called “mutual reception.”

Why?

Jupiter rules Sagittarius and Mercury rules Gemini. Jupiter is in Mercury’s ruler and Mercury is in Sagittarius’ ruler.

Mercury in Sagittarius is prone to expansive communication and Jupiter opposing brings the fact checks and nitpickers and gossips.

Brown needs to watch the rhetoric because he could be embarrassed by it. Sagittarius and Gemini are light hearted and gossip for the pure fun of it. While Brown has Mercury in Sagittarius, he’s still a serious Scorpio who would be embarrassed by accidentally writing “pubic” instead of “public.” (I use this example because I made this very error in a blog – thank you reader from Australia!).

Saturn in Scorpio

Saturn enters Scorpio at the beginning of October and promises to make the last month of the election and intense, mud wrestling affair for all contests.

Neither candidate will care for this transit. For one, both will probably go broke during this election as Saturn conjuncts Mandel’s moon in Taurus and opposes (in about a year) Brown’s Jupiter in Taurus. When Jupiter was in Taurus (last year), both men gained financially. That is over.

If Brown wins, he’s still going to have to spend money for the next year. Mandel’s tightening of the financial belt may pass soon after the election (need time of birth to know degree of moon).

For Mandel, Saturn will conjunct his Uranus in Scorpio by January. Mandel might find himself intensely drawn to someone around that time. Later when Saturn squares his Saturn in Leo, that relationship will fall apart due to control issues and the person wanting to steal the limelight. Mandel, with Libra and Taurus, isn’t one to see too far beneath the water and won’t understand others’ hidden motivations. He’s got some lessons here.

For Brown, Saturn in Scorpio activates his fixed T-square creating tensions in money, sex and romance – the usual. As I write, I wonder if Brown wants to consider what this election will cost him in all areas of life.

At the same time that Brown’s fixed T-square is being stressed, Pluto continues its transit of Capricorn and Uranus Aries which will ultimately stress the cardinal T-square.

Times are rough for all of us with collapsing structures and some individuals will be hit personally harder than others.

The Pluto and Uranus transit are also hitting Mandel’s chart but will feel for him like an outside, external pressure rather than an internal stress of personality. Libra sun is also pretty good at putting on rose-colored glasses so Mandel usually can’t see a problem until it’s in the rearview mirror.

Who will win?

I don’t have the skill to guess at who might win this contest. Looking at the men’s’ charts, I feel like both will suffer a lot at the run for this seat.

First, both will spend the family savings. Second, the election will stress relationships. For Brown the stresses comes sooner than for Mandel.

Looking at their charts, I wonder if the one who doesn’t make it to the Senate seat isn’t the true winner. That’s the one who can experience his T-square in private.

Source of candidate data: Ohio 2012 Election Center

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Tony Robbins has Aries Within

Posted on July 23, 2012 by ohioastrology

It’s time to talk about gurus . . . again. Every so many years a bunch of people play “follow the leader” and do something stupid.

Let’s not forgot that there are many more people playing “follow the leader” that aren’t doing stupid things or at least stupid things that make the national news and embarrass them for life. Luckily for most of us, we do our stupidnesses in private.

With Neptune the planet of guru-hood in its native sign of sacrificial Pisces, expect to hear “follow the religious or spiritual leader” stories more often in the next 15 years.

Since we’re in or just left (who knows which?) the Age of Pisces, stories of sacrifice have been around for the last 2,000 years so I understand if 15 more years of it seems little worth mentioning.

During the Pluto (in Sagittarius) opposition to Saturn (in Gemini), some men sacrificed themselves by flying planes into the World Trade Center and killed thousands.

Sagittarius is fire and Gemini is air. Sagittarius is the crusader and Gemini is the journalist. The sacrifice was more aggressive.

Pisces, in contrast, is a water sign. It’s known for sacrifice because it’s more likely to harm itself than others.

Piscean “harm” comes through manipulation of others. Helping others harm themselves is the dark side of Pisces. Luckily, I don’t meet many of these Pisces. The Pisces I encounter are normally warm and loving and are the people to whom you can tell all your secrets.

There’s no judgment with Pisces, which is why it is easily trusted and trusting. Trust is the water where manipulation likes to form bacteria.

Tony Robbins

Motivational speaker Tony Robbins, according to today’s news stories (like this one), holds a fire walk during his seminar “Unleash the Power Within.” The other day a few feet got burned and made the news.

Robbins, coincidentally, is Pisces sun. Pisces rules the feet.

Robbins’ moon is in Aries, a fire sign.

Fire and feet – what a perfect representation of Robbins’ personality. Pisces is empathetic compassion and Aries is assertion of the self. The “power” within for Robbins is Aries energy.

The opposite of feet on fire is “cold feet” which represents one’s reluctance to do something, especially get married. So if “cold feet” is fear of commitment then “hot feet” must represent commitment and devotion.

According to the story linked above, Robbins conducts the fire walk on a regular basis with no problems. I wonder why so many feet got burned the other day?

Looking at the aspects to Robbins’ chart, I think the burned feet story is probably the beginning of some major power struggles with others and authority (government, taxes, etc).

Neptune has entered Pisces but hasn’t yet conjunct Robbins’ sun. However, it already is opposing Robbins’ Pluto in Virgo.

Pluto in Virgo demands perfection from that imperfect and diffuse Pisces sun. Believe it or not, Robbins’ is probably beating himself up right now.

With moon in Aries, he’s probably verbally lambasting others as well.

Virgo is the discriminating mind and Pisces the intuitive, indiscriminate mind. Robbins bounces back and forth, I’m sure. While Pisces can love others deeply, self-love isn’t always easy and Virgo on the other side of the fence keeps saying, “Here are 21 reasons why they don’t like you.”

Jupiter is in the early degrees of Gemini right now squaring that Pluto in Virgo. The fun has just begun! While Robbins has conducted this seminar and fire walk for years, he’s probably going to get a lot more press about it right now. Expect a bunch of past attendees to show up on Entertainment Tonight in the weeks to come.

But the big aspect Robbins might want to be careful about is the Pluto transit of Capricorn. It will be a few more years before it perfectly conjuncts his Saturn in Capricorn (which squares the moon in Aries) and causes some big trouble with authority.

Saturn in Capricorn has a deep need for success and fear of failure. When Pluto comes a knocking in about three years, Robbins will have major problems with authority.

Capricorn rules the knees so Robbins may also have knee and/or bone problems.

Before transiting Pluto hits Robbins natal Saturn, transiting Saturn will conjunct Robbins’ natal Neptune in Scorpio. First comes a little disappointment with the intimate partners, then the challenge from authority, in that order.

I get the feeling from Robbins’ chart, with that aggressive and competitive moon in Aries, that he will rise to these challenges by pulling out his sword and fighting. Transiting Uranus will be bouncing all over his moon for the next seven years. He will have impulsive outbursts.

He may also move from motivational speaker (Pisces) to more traditional businessman (Capricorn) after Pluto moves past Saturn.

While Pisces can gather a following due to its otherworldly nature, I’m guessing Robbins’ charisma comes from his Mars/Venus conjunction in Aquarius. Aquarius is androgynous so I’m guessing Robbins has his share of both male and female followers. While Neptune was crossing this aspect during the last 15 years, Robbins probably enjoyed the most effortless following he’ll have for years to come.

Regardless of what the planets represent for Robbins, he’s able to walk on fire, so he’s able to deal with external difficulties. Let’s see what the government throws at him – sometimes paperwork and court systems are a worse torture than hot coals.

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Hunters & Gatherers or Hunters & Hunters?

Posted on July 23, 2012 by ohioastrology

Yesterday while at a local farmer’s market pushing and shoving my way to fresh tomatoes, I was reminded of the aggression at Cleveland’s West Side Market. While local farmer’s market shopping evokes images of peaceful pastoral life, sunny skies and green grass, market shopping is an aggressive sport. I knew that from childhood.

Moreover, the most effective, efficient and guileful weapon of the market place is this: The Baby Stroller.

Pushers of strollers use it as an offensive weapon, ramming into your shins and pushing ahead of you to the last ear of fresh-picked corn, the last musk melon and the last loaf of homemade wheat bread.

Baby strollers are the most effective weapon known to man because when you turn around to confront your tormentor, you are faced with an innocent, lovable baby who has no responsibility for your loss of fresh basil and makes you ashamed of your aggression. You are instantly rendered helpless.

Shopping is aggressive. Yesterday at market I pondered, once again, of the idea of hunters and “gatherers” where (male) hunters are aggressive and (female) gatherers are just socializing while carrying baskets and picking berries.

Those that think gathering is not aggressive have not been to the local farmer’s market or Target on December 26 when all the holiday merchandise goes on sale.

Since we’re on the topic, I’ll add that anthropologists might do well to study behavior at Target from Black Friday to New Year’s Day rather studying women picking berries on some remote island in the Pacific. There’s more to learn in your own backyard.

Mars in the Horoscope

The horoscope is a wheel representing the position of the “planets” in the sky at the time you were born.

Our horoscopes are identical – we all have all twelve signs and all ten “planets” in our horoscopes.

What’s different between two charts is where the planet resides in the wheel and in which sign. Then the planets in place in signs have a relationship with each other that describes the personality (to me).

We all (men and women) have Mars, the God of War, in our horoscopes. We all have a point of assertiveness. We may assert in an Aries way, which means pure and aggressively, or we may assert in a Cancer way which means emotionally and through manipulation. Based on the sign in which your Mars resides, you will assert in a certain way.

Mars also may aspect other planets. If your Mars squares your sun, you often feel frustrated. However if you have Mars in the first house in a fire sign trine a sun fire sign, you may find yourself drawn to sports and become an accomplished athlete.

If your Mars is in the first house in a fire sign, you probably will also get the fresh tomatoes before I do at the farmer’s market.

Gathering is just another form of hunting

With that said, I think shopping (aka gathering) is hunting. I think the traditional image of hunting as male and gathering as female comes from another difference between men and women – I believe women are simply better at multi-tasking.

In other words, both men and women are hunters. Men, however, hunt one (1) thing at a time and women hunt many (>1) things at a time.

Women when shopping are hunting in multi-dimensions. They are not simply hunting for a shirt. They are hunting for the best option among a multitude of possibilities represented by 1) all the items in the store; 2) current and future needs; 3) prices in every other store; 4) value of coupons and reward programs; 5) current budget.

Another way to say it is that men hunt for meat.

Women hunt for berries, straw (for baskets), wood (for fires), leaves, beads, hats, shoes, shirts, pants, socks, underwear, couches, desks, pencils, paper, wallets, bracelets, food, storage units, wrapping paper, cups, carpet, irons, ironing boards, lamps, bookcases, flower pots, file cabinets, towels, bath mats, shower curtains, toilet paper, tissues, bed spreads, blankets, sheets, dressers, nightstands and laundry baskets . . . and other stuff.

I think this joke about men and women barbequing says it all.

* * * * * *

Definition of barbecuing … It’s the only type of cooking a “real man” will do.

When a man volunteers to do the ‘BBQ’ the following chain of events are put into motion:

  • The woman goes to the store.
  • The woman fixes the salad, vegetables, and dessert
  • The woman prepares the meat for cooking, places it on a tray along with the necessary cooking utensils, and takes it to the man, who is lounging beside the grill, beer in hand.
  • The man places the meat on the grill.
  • The woman goes inside to set the table and check the vegetables.
  • The woman comes out to tell the man that the meat is burning.
  • The man takes the meat off the grill and hands it to the woman.
  • The woman prepares the plates and brings them to the table.
  • After eating, the woman clears the table and does the dishes.
  • Everyone praises man and thanks him for his cooking efforts.
  • The man asks the woman how she enjoyed “her night off.”
  • And, upon seeing her annoyed reaction, concludes that there’s just no pleasing some women.
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Who is the Gambler of the Zodiac?

Posted on July 22, 2012 by ohioastrology

Until I read this Slate article on financial derivatives, I always assumed gambling was banned or controlled due to moral issues with gambling that arise from gambling’s addictive quality and ability to create financial ruin.

The article describes the difference between hedging and speculation. Hedging reduces risk while speculation (gambling) increases risk. The government control of “gambling” is an effort to reduce risk.

It makes sense that the government would want to prevent catastrophic financial ruin for its country.

But isn’t that what’s occurring right now?

Gambling as Risk

One aspect of gambling is risk. For those not addicted to gambling, risk is controlled by having an entertainment budget one is willing to spend. Often we go over the budget during the excitement of gambling, but enough only to cut into future entertainment budget.

For those addicted, gambling risk can be risking the rent money and other money essential for physical survival.

Gambling as Excitement

If we are going to risk something, it’s because we see the gain on the other side as outweighing the risk. In the case of gambling, the gain is a big financial payout.

For the recreational gambler, the payout is enough to risk some vacation funds.

For the addicted gambler, I see the gain being the excitement generated by the idea of a big payout. If the payout were enough, the addicted gambler would stop when he/she was ahead. But the addicted gambler puts the big payout back into the risk. So it’s not the payout but the excitement, I believe, that keeps addicted gamblers motivated.

Addicted gamblers are often not rich as they put their winnings back into gambling. This up and down in excitement, luck and lifestyle is a little like manic depression. The extreme excitement caused by the thought of winning can lead to severe depression when the results aren’t positive or the landlord puts a notice on the door that the rent is due tomorrow or else.

Gambling as Inflated Optimism

The excitement generated by gambling leads us to hope for a big payout, a payout based on chance rather than the result of our work, efforts or ideas.

In this way, entrepreneurs are truly not gamblers. Thinking I’ll make money because I have a brilliant idea is way different than thinking I’ll make money because today is my “lucky day.”

Entrepreneurs take risks, but the risk is calculated and possibly hedged. Entrepreneurs believe in themselves, not chance. Entrepreneurs may want money, but they truly want the success that money represents.

Gamblers are optimistic toward the great unknown called “chance.”

Who is the gambler of the zodiac?

Which sign is most associated with risk taking, need for excitement, inflated optimism and luck?

I see that sign as Sagittarius.

I’ve also voted for Sagittarius as most clumsy, freedom-loving and luckiest. The common motivation in these different traits is an openness and quest for meaning (or quest for the sublime as the late Howard Sasportas called it).

The quest for the sublime leads Sagittarius to take risks from falling in love, to climbing a mountain to find a wise monk to obsession with the one-armed bandit.

Taking risks allows us to meet new people and situations we wouldn’t meet while watching TV. In that way, Sagittarius can be “lucky.”

Famous Sagittarian Gamblers

Reading the Enron story, I’m convinced Sagittarius Jeffrey Skilling (former CEO now in prison), was essentially a gambler. If you read carefully what Skilling devised, some of it seems more a form of gambling versus hedging or true growth. It’s clear now that now bankrupt and defunct Enron’s “growth” was all on paper.

I’m a little concerned that the person minding the Federal Reserve (Ben Bernanke) is also a Sagittarius, born just 18 days before Skilling.

While Pluto was in Sagittarius from 1996 to 2008, there were several financial “bubbles” including the dot.com and the housing bubbles.

Abuses in mortgage derivatives, to some, were part of the reason for the global financial crisis of 2007-2008. Pluto was leaving the gambling Sagittarius in 2007-2008 and entering the frugal schoolmarm Capricorn.

Sagittarius moon even more than Sagittarius sun creates a risk-taking personality, ala Charlie Sheen. Sagittarius moon simply has no internal control to say no. Fire signs in general (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius) need external control if they are to have any control at all, but Sagittarius might be the most extreme.

William Bennett, political pundit and high-stakes gambler, is not a Sagittarius but has four-five planets in Leo, depending on the moon (moon, Jupiter, Pluto, sun, Mercury).

Jupiter is the planet that rules Sagittarius and is associated with abundance. Jupiter is conjunct Bennett’s sun. With Pluto tucked in there as well, the gambling provided a sense of power. If Bennett’s moon is in Leo, there’s just no internal control mechanism in his personality.

Now that Pluto has entered Capricorn, it’s time to pay the gambling bills from Pluto in Sagittarius. I think we’ve learned our lessons about gambling. Have fun but don’t gamble the rent or the collateralized mortgage obligation.

Posted in The most . . . sign of the zodiac | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

What Part of the Horoscope Represents Your “Baggage?”

Posted on July 21, 2012 by ohioastrology

I’m planning on moving for the third time in just over two years (Uranus is transiting my 4th house) and have an ever-increasing disdain for all material possessions. As I pack and move, I look at my things and realize that this is my baggage. This is the stuff I’m carrying around.

Do I really need to carry it with me for the rest of my life?

The bane of my moving is books. No matter how many books I get rid of, my books seem to grow cryogenically. The minute I stop moving my addiction has me buying more books (yes, I own a Kindle and buy books on it too).

When we say someone has “baggage,” it refers to emotional baggage, not the physical stuff we carry around. But our physical stuff, I believe, represents our emotional baggage just as our money represents our values and emotions.

The areas of the horoscope that represent our emotional states are the fourth, eighth and twelfth houses. As I went through my books, again, I re-discovered what each of these houses truly represents in terms of emotions and “baggage.”

Fourth House Books

When I moved the first time, I struggled over whether to keep a seven-pound art history book from college. That’s when I first realized that I was carrying a seven-pound book through my life and decided to do it no more (if you want it, you can find it at Half Price Books).

Why was I so attached to this book?

I realized it was nostalgia. The book represented a time in my life when I discovered myself through art and art history. It represented the beginning of my late high school (we used this book there too) and early college life. At that time, Uranus had just begun its transit of my first house. My passing interest in astrology was moving to deep interest and I found myself wondering how I’m made it from “there” to “here.”

The book survived a transit from my first to my fourth house.

The fourth house is at the bottom of the horoscope and represents our foundation. It’s funny that our foundation would rest on a water sign rather than an earth sign. That shows you that our true foundations are not the house we live in but the “home” we emotionally occupy.

That’s common knowledge, I think.

Uranus transiting my fourth house has made me, on the mundane level, re-assess my book collection. On the emotional level my entire life is being re-evaluated. The constant moving that is being triggered from external events over which I have no control (Uranus) has made me face up to my habits and where nostalgia has me carrying around a useless seven-pound book.

Don’t think I’ve rid myself of all nostalgic books. I’ve just come to realize that nostalgia can weigh seven ounces instead of seven pounds.

Eighth House Books

If the fourth house is our emotional foundation, the eighth house represents our intimate emotions and our emotional connection to others.

I would say that most of my books are fourth and twelfth house driven but I, like others, carry around a lot of eighth house stuff. Parting with eighth house items can be even more difficult than parting with fourth house items.

Why?

Eighth house items are gifts or items shared with others, others with whom we have an emotional attachment.

While I don’t want to carry my eighth house items all over the earth, those that gave them to me may question why a certain item is no longer on a shelf or wall of my new home.

It’s the thought that counts, we always say, but the item reminds our loved ones that we haven’t forgotten the thought.

Some baggage, then, we carry for the sake of others.

Twelfth House Books

The twelfth house is the “hidden” house of the horoscope, the place where we have secrets and hidden enemies. In the colloquial term “baggage,” I think we are talking about the twelfth house.

While the fourth and eighth houses can also represent “baggage,” the fourth relates to family and the eighth to marriage which are both socially-sanctioned states. We’re expected to carry baggage through family and marriage.

Have you noticed that people gain a lot of weight after marriage? While it’s clearly food driven, I believe it also represents the “baggage” we start to carry for others.

The twelfth house, in contrast, houses those weird habits we hide that are driven through unconscious emotional states. The only socially-sanctioned twelfth house activities, to me, are those relating to losing oneself through religion.

Otherwise, the twelfth house is taboo emotional states.

Twelfth house books, in my collection, relate to the topic you are reading now – astrology. The site does not have my name on it because I live in conservative Columbus, Ohio and find it best to keep the topic separate from my daily life (which I do not enjoy doing).

While I don’t like having this “hidden” house, we all have something to hide (even Sagittarius). Maybe, then, the twelfth house is an acknowledgement that we all have to adapt to our surroundings and that some part of us won’t fit so the twelfth house is a place to put this part of ourselves.

The twelfth house might be that extra drawer you have for stuff you don’t want your mom and dad to see when they visit.

Who travels without baggage?

Since “baggage” represents our emotional states, we’re never going to get rid of it entirely. Who would travel without baggage?

While we may not need ten pairs of shoes for our weekend trip, we do need shoes, right? We must carry something.

I sure hope this post doesn’t encourage you to travel without a change of underwear or dental floss . . .

As I’m interested in meditation, I think of how a silent retreat reduces our needs to what is essential. During the retreat you use your toothbrush and forks and towels. The only difference is there is no emphasis of those items or the emotional states that occur with speech turned on.

The silent retreat reduces the excess, unneeded baggage, it doesn’t eliminate the baggage.

Also while going through my baggage (aka “books”), I discovered a few gems that I will continue to take with me on this journey called life.

Sometimes our baggage is just packed too tight and we forget that we have a really nice pair of pants tucked into the corner of the suitcase. When we get rid of the silly vacation souvenirs, we can find the items that truly provide happiness and pleasure.

Posted in Meditation, Planets and signs | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Explaining Retroactive Retirement to Your Cat

Posted on July 16, 2012 by ohioastrology

I often wonder what my cat, Lacy, does in the long hours I’m away at work. Today I had a clue. The minute I walked in the door she purred:

“What’s retroactive retirement?”

Clearly she had been reading the newspaper.

In case you haven’t been keeping up with the news like my cat has, “retroactive retirement” is what the Republican Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney’s team is using to describe his exit from Bain Capital. He left, they say, in 1999 to run the Olympics committee and never came back thereby “retiring retroactively” in 1999.

President Barack Obama’s campaign is claiming Romney worked at Bain in 2002 and outsourced jobs.

How do you explain this to your cat?

Explaining Retroactive Retirement

I cut to the chase. “The campaigns are just trying to find some big ‘issue’ to use for the rest of the campaign. It seems kind of lame to me, but that’s how it goes.”

“You said that Mars in Libra would make them nice,” Lacy reminded me.

“Yes, I got that wrong,” I admitted. “I’ve probably given astrologers across the world a bad reputation,” I added. “But economists are wrong all the time and they still get respect.”

“So Mars in Libra has made them mean?” she asked, ever the astrology student.

“I forgot that Mars in Libra would create a T-square with Uranus in Aries and Pluto in Capricorn. I know they’re fighting, but it all seems kind of lame to me. I think James Carville and Karl Rove are on vacation. If this is the best they can come up with, it’s going to be one urine-filled campaign.”

“But the Washington Post reports that the Bain charge is sticking,” Lacy retorted.

“The Washington Post needs news like you need cat nip. It’s all they have. What else are they going to write about?”

Thinking about it I added, “Maybe the ‘demands for apology’ from Romney are the Mars in Libra manifestation. Pretending to be innocent and offended is very Libra. Libra is nothing if not mannered.”

“You don’t think Romney is truly offended?” Lacy asked.

“I bet he is,” I answered. “He’s got sun in Pisces and moon in Scorpio, both highly sensitive. The Obama campaign has followed up the Bain Capital charge with an entreaty for Romney to ‘stop whining.’ Someone in that campaign has read up about sensitive Pisces.”

“Maybe the charges aren’t so lame, then,” Lacy meowed. “Maybe they are setting up the strong Leo against the weak Pisces.”

“You’re too cynical for me,” Lacy. “I’d like to retroactively end this conversation. Tomorrow, no Washington Post for you. Be a cat and sleep through the election.”

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What Sign of the Zodiac is Coffee?

Posted on July 15, 2012 by ohioastrology

Today I rode my bike to meet a friend for breakfast. At the fancy restaurant, I had two cups of rather strong coffee. I’m normally a tea drinker.

My ride home was much faster.

As I passed some walkers a biker speeding in the opposite direction gave a nasty response and I almost swore at him.

That was the coffee trying to talk. I’ve learned to keep the coffee inside.

This is why I limit my coffee intake.

As I continued my ride I considered morning rush hour and had the image of masses of people, pumped on aggression-fueling coffee, controlling 4,000 pounds of steel each.

Is there really road rage or is it simply coffee rage?

What sign is coffee?

Coffee may not produce rage but it certainly can be said to provide energy, although of the nervous, edgy sort.

What sign is energy?

The planet that rules assertive, directed energy is Mars.

Mars is also the God of War, in case you haven’t been keeping up on your pantheon of gods.

Coffee, to me, is an injection of Mars into the horoscope.

Mars is ruled by Aries. So I’ll brand coffee an Aries.

Mars

If we didn’t have Mars in our charts, we might not get out of our comfy beds. Mars gets us to move forward, to press on, to compete, to succeed.

Mars, like all planets, is in a particular sign in your chart. And it aspects the other planets in a unique way based on your time of birth.

So if you have a nice Mars in Aries trine sun in Leo, you are open and assertive, sometimes forceful, but never shy about communicating your needs.

If your Mars is in Cancer and square your sun in Libra, then you will still try to get what you need (which in Cancer, is comfort) but will do it in a subtle, manipulative way.

For example, Mars in Aries will say, “I’m not going outside, it’s too cold.”

Mars in Cancer, on the other hand, might say, “I’d love to go outside, but I know that it will irritate your sinuses so I will stay inside with you. It’s really best you stay inside.”

Coffee seems to active the Mars in our charts.

Drive to work

Thinking about the drive to work as a drive through an enemy territory faced with coffee-fueled hostile combatants is one of those images I have to toss aside. It’s kind of like realizing that the earth is careening through space and could hit an object at any time.

You just can’t think about it.

Maybe there is no “road” rage but coffee and caffeinated drink rage.

You rarely hear about an accident being caused by someone drinking chamomile, now do you?

Speaking of chamomile, I’d better go make a cup or I’ll never get to sleep tonight. Two cups of coffee takes a long time to wear off.

Posted in The most . . . sign of the zodiac | Tagged , | 1 Comment

The Fight Against Abundance

Posted on July 15, 2012 by ohioastrology

We’ve heard the phrases “fight against poverty” and “fight against hunger.” Often our fight is to help those with not enough have enough or those with less have more.

While the US has both poverty and hunger, often Americans are fighting the opposite – abundance.

What percent of your friends and family are currently trying to lose weight or constantly watch their weight?

Rather than not enough food, many of us have too much food (which doesn’t necessarily mean, I hear, that we have adequate nutrition).

Our banks have gained weight as well.

In this article “U.S. Banks Too Big to Get Bigger?” there is a quote from Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher on the large size of US banks:

“Perhaps the financial equivalent of irreversible lap-band or gastric bypass surgery is the only way to treat the pathology of financial obesity, contain the relentless expansion of these banks, and downsize them to manageable proportions,” he said.

Fischer calls the mega banking system “financial obesity.”

Why isn’t abundance always a good thing?

Abundance versus Scarcity

Abundance, according to Dictionary.com is “an extremely plentiful or oversufficient quantity or supply.” The opposite of abundance is scarcity which is “insufficiency or shortness of supply.”

The planet in astrology associated with abundance is Jupiter. The planet associated with scarcity is Saturn.

We all want abundance and none of us wants scarcity, right?

At an AFA convention back in 1992, I saw astrologer Jan Snodgrass who explained to the class that Jupiter isn’t a simple benefic planet. What Jupiter does, she explained, is “expands what it finds.”

While all of us would love an expansion of money, few of us want an expansion of the waistline. Expansion like all energies is neutral it’s what it “finds” that can be the problem.

One common chart of the US has a Sagittarius rising. Sagittarius is ruled by Jupiter. If you meet a person with a Sagittarius rising, that person may be corpulent because Sagittarius is about abundance and exuberance and is clinically unable to say “no” to an additional goodie (a goodie being anything from a slice of cake to a bottle of wine to an extra quarter in the slot machine).

Scarcity, on the other hand, is generally seen as bad but a scarcity of termites and rodents in your basement is a good thing. Restriction and limitation, ruled by Saturn, are also neutral qualities.

A ballet dance needs to restrict certain foods to have a lean body for optimal performance. Saturn, then, provides discipline.

Saturn gone bad becomes a person who allows him/herself no pleasure and fears being “bad” for having an extra slice of pie. Saturn gone extreme is controlling and rather than restricting diet for optimal performance, in the case of the ballet dancer, the person may restrict food to be “perfect” and threaten the health of the physical body by shedding too much weight.

Jupiter (abundance) and Saturn (restriction) are energies needed at different times and at different places. Balance is the key.

As I get older I see balance as the key to all energies. To me, the US is a dualistic society that constantly splits the world in half and forces us to take sides. So we become Jupiter or Saturn (and a host of other dualities).

Pluto in Sagittarius and Capricorn

Pluto transited Sagittarius from the mid-1990s until 2008. Remember that time? The roaring 1990s of dot.coms, sign-on bonuses, escalating house values and ping pong at work?

Sagittarius is ruled by Jupiter. The transit of Jupiter brought financial and physical expansion. The Center for Disease Control writes:

“During the past 20 years, there has been a dramatic increase in obesity in the United States and rates remain high.”

Pluto entered Capricorn in 2008. Capricorn is ruled by Saturn. Remember anything that occurred about that time? Like maybe a housing crisis?

Our house values “lost weight.” I’m guessing that Americans will also be slimmer by the time Pluto enters Aquarius in 2023.

I’m guessing that by 2023 our banks will also be slimmer. They got huge during Pluto in Sagittarius and will probably slim down during Pluto in Capricorn.

After abundance and scarcity cycles

If Pluto is creating the abundance / scarcity extremes, we can look to its next stop to see where this leads.

After Capricorn comes Aquarius, the fixed air sign ruling ideals and humanitarian goals. I’m expecting a more deliberately egalitarian financial system when Pluto moves into Aquarius.

I’m wondering if we will have more sharing of property and financial systems.

Aquarius is a fixed sign, so there is a rigidity to belief. The downside of brotherhood is that if you don’t consider me a brother, I’m banished.

While Aquarius relates to individuality, it can also devolve into tribalism. We may see more shared assets in groups, but dueling groups.

Pluto in Capricorn may be a good time to start a small bank. And maybe you can do something crazy – like only lend money on actual deposits. You won’t be as huge as J.P. Morgan Chase, but you will be solvent.

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Mohamed Morsi – The Human Firecracker

Posted on July 14, 2012 by ohioastrology

Mohamed Morsi, the new President of Egypt, has sun conjunct Pluto in Leo, Mars in Leo and Jupiter conjunct moon in Aries.

What does Morsi have in abundance?

Fire and energy.

What does Morsi lack completely?

Self-control.

The good news to me is that no matter what role exists in this world, there is someone to fill it. Some of us shake in fear at the idea of ruling a country that is still highly explosive emotionally and politically. We (water and earth signs) are hiding under the bed during the uprisings.

The air signs join in and send newspaper stories and blogs.

The fire signs say, “How can I lead this?”

The Jupiter / moon conjunction is opposed by Neptune in Libra which says, “Do it for your partner.”

Neptune adds idealism to the Aries aggressive pursuit of the goal.

Delusion is high in this chart.

Delusion, again, can be a good thing when you want to do something extraordinary. I find confidence and delusion to be close cousins.

An ideal or goal drives us forward and if we don’t truly believe in it, we couldn’t take a step. That’s why earth is so slow to move. Earth puts its foot down only as long as it can see where it will step.

Fire, if you’ve watched it lately, doesn’t have boundaries and moves rapidly and unpredictably.

If you need a fire to watch there is one in Colorado and a train derailment in Columbus, Ohio. The train fire is out at this time, but you can check out the pictures.

Some astrologers look to the current Pluto (in Capricorn) and Uranus (in Aries) square as the extreme friction that is creating these fiery situations.

Speaking of this nasty square, Uranus (in Aries) will conjunct Morsi’s Jupiter/moon conjunction at the end of 2013. Morsi will be a very lit firecracker. Whatever will be occurring at that time, Morsi is not a man to go down without a fight.

In fact, Aries and Leo look for a fight, enjoy the energy of competition and combat. That’s good if you are attacked but somewhat of a problem if you are seeking peace.

As Saturn enters Scorpio at the beginning of October, it will begin squaring Morsi’s abundant Leo energy. It’s going to be a rough two years.

Morsi wants to keep a flame alive and Scorpio wants to play in the mud. Not good bedfellows.

But who said politics was easy?

If you rule after a revolt, you need to manage the capricious energy. If you have a bunch of Leo and Aries in your chart you probably don’t want that exciting energy to end which can be a problem in itself.

Ohio Astrology has a suggestion to Morsi on the financial sphere. There’s another man in the news who was born just a month before Morsi – former Barclays Chief Executive Robert Diamond.

Diamond is probably looking for work right now. His Leo sun will get along with Leo sun Morsi. Diamond may have moon in Taurus which would probably stability and perseverance.

There’s a Chinese quote I can’t find in the cyber sphere right now but goes something like this. “If you are fated to meet someone, you can find each other from 10,000 miles away. But if you aren’t fated to meet someone, you could be standing back to back and not see each other.”

A man like Morsi with too much fire in the chart should seek stable, earth-sign folks to implement the huge, ostentatious Leoine ideas.

We all need balance in some way. If we don’t achieve balance, the world often provides external controls. Hopefully Morsi will find his own controls.

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