If you don’t want 17 Diversity Specialists in the school system, what sign should you be?

Posted on June 10, 2012 by ohioastrology

On today’s “This Week with George Stephanopolous,” just moments ago, panelist Ann Coulter made a comment about funding of schools leading to “17 diversity specialists” – or something similar to this statement. I’m waiting for it to hit the Internet to get the exact quote if this isn’t correct.

My initial search for the quote produced several other Coulter comments against diversity.

What sign does one need to be to be anti-diversity?

Not Sagittarius

Much to my surprise, Coulter’s chart has Venus, Mercury, sun, Mars and possibly moon in Sagittarius.

From her hyper-spastic panel presence and clear need for Xanax, I could believe this woman has five planets in the mutable fire sign.

The planet that rules Sagittarius, Jupiter, is in Aquarius.

Coulter does have a splash of water (Neptune in Scorpio) and a handful of earth (Uranus and Pluto in Virgo, Saturn in Capricorn).

If you asked me which sign is most in love with foreign and differentness, I would say Sagittarius. The planet that rules Sagittarius is in the group-ideal sign of Aquarius in Coulter’s chart. Aquarius is zany and marches to the beat of a different drummer.

So why is a raging Sagittarius raging against diversity?

Diversity for me, not for you

I’m suspecting that Coulter loves diversity, which is defined by Dictionary.com as “Difference. Variety. A point of difference.”

Coulter’s argumentative nature, I suspect, is probably motivated by this very trait – “I want to be different.”

If everyone is promoting diversity, I’ll be diverse by being against diversity. That’s what I think Coulter is doing.

It works for the shows, but I find it irritating – especially because Sagittarius’ love of diversity is one of my favorite things about Sagittarius.

Sagittarius seeks different and foreign the way cats seek a sun beam. Sagittarius is the xenophile who travels to a foreign country and comes back wearing the native dress to both awaken and piss off the people of its own culture.

Sagittarius like its opposite Gemini seeks experience. Sagittarius, I often find, will seek an experience that makes it foreign wherever it is. If my last vacation took me to the country where people have one leg, I might spend a month with one leg in a cast when I return home to see what it’s like.

Seeing what it’s like is not in the way of Cancer which wants to feel the experience. Sagittarius wants to champion and fight for the experience. Cancer would help people with one leg cross the street; Sagittarius would start a petition for appropriate facilities in the university for those with one leg.

Aquarius is like Sagittarius in this way in that it has devised the Perfect Society and Perfect Rules for dealing with a society that contains both one-legged and two-legged people (with room for any other variation).

Could Coulter have moon in Capricorn?

Coulter might have moon in Capricorn, which is less promotional of diversity simply because Capricorn honors the status quo, tradition and things that were done in the 17th century (or earlier).

Capricorn is an emotionally reserved sign which is not emotionally in tune with others. Coulter could be against diversity simply because she can’t emotionally understand an existence beyond her own experience.

With moon in Capricorn, Coulter would still have four planets in Sagittarius and would dream of vacations in exotic ports.

No oppositions

In Coulter’s chart, there are no oppositions. Sounds great, doesn’t it?

As I mature in life, I see the need for external opposition – it reins us in. Without external controls, many of us would be eating Captain Crunch for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Luckily when we were young, we had this external control (called parents) who stopped us from doing this.

Sagittarius energy, which Coulter has in abundance, is not one for self-control and seeing any need for control. The closest to external feedback that Coulter receives is the Uranus/Pluto conjunction in Virgo which squares some of Coulter’s planets in Sagittarius.

The only control that Virgo provides to Sagittarius is to add critical detail and nervousness to a rambunctious and uncontrolled nature.

Devil’s Advocate

I suspect that Coulter could care less about diversity as an issue but is simply trying to play devil’s advocate to stir the pot.

Stirring the pot is good, in our diverse culture.

An individual with four or five planets in Sagittarius is not conservative in the non-political sense of the word. My college roommate always said that with Sagittarius in the chart, there is a bad habit somewhere . . .

Coulter’s current TV political-pundit twin is Chris Matthews, a Sagittarian sun and probably Gemini moon. He is equally combative in his style with the added benefit of a high pitched voice.

I wonder if it’s cruel and unusual punishment to put Coulter and Matthews in a room and let them argue with each other?

Like two fighting cocks, these two would argue despite themselves. They would have no real reason to fight but would probably peck each other into a bloody mess.

Or maybe Coulter and Matthews could take a trip to a foreign land and let that fighting energy soak in the stimulation of a diverse and unusual new world.

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If you want to have Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory, what sign should you be?

Posted on June 8, 2012 by ohioastrology

Taxi TV show actress Marilu Henner purportedly has a memory that can re-live events from the past in extraordinary detail and has written a book on it titled “Total Memory Makeover: Uncover Your Past, Take Charge of Your Future.”

Her extraordinary memory is referred to as “Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory” (HSAM) which has the Greek-ier name of “hyperthymesia.”

In my quick research on the subject to find more than one person with HSAM I discovered this Wikipedia entry for a Jill Price who was the research subject who spawned interest in the topic.

Husbands of the world are probably not surprised that HSAM is found strongly in two women.

Don’t all wives remember every little slight and mistake of their husbands?

Is this truly a disease or Female Gone Mad? Or something else?

Marilu Henner & Jill Price

Marilu Henner is sun in Aries, moon in Virgo and Mercury in Aries. Jill Price has sun in Capricorn and moon in Pisces or Aries and Mercury in Sagittarius.

Are you thinking what I’m thinking?

Virgo and Pisces are opposite signs.

Virgo is the differentiated mind and Pisces the undifferentiated mind.

Virgo lies awake at night wondering if they locked the front door, ate too many carbs today, calculated correctly cell A183 on that Excel spreadsheet and if that bump on the left side of the big toe of the right foot is a rare jungle disease (because they brushed past a co-worker today who went on a safari last summer).

Pisces lies awake at night wondering if they were too direct to the bus driver, have insomnia because of childhood issues with the father, said they were sorry for moving the neighbor’s doormat out of place and if the people at work really like him/her.

See the similarities? See the differences?

Both signs have strong memory, but for Virgo it is about detail and for Pisces it is about emotion.

Both can be extremely nervous and anxious.

As I’m writing this blog today the font looks funny. Okay, I’ve got some Virgo/Pisces energy so I did confirm that my document usually opens in Calibri 11 point and for some reason part of the document is in Ariel 10 point.

If you’re a Leo, you wonder how I noticed or why I care.

If you’re a Virgo, don’t think too much about it; I figured it out. I cut and pasted from the Internet which changed the font at the top.

Superior Memory or Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder?

The Wikipedia article discusses how Price’s brain scans resembled those with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). In fact, according to Wikipedia, she compulsively writes diary entries.

If Price does have moon in Pisces, she has her moon tied up in the generation with Uranus/Pluto in Virgo opposite Saturn in Pisces. Her Mercury in Sagittarius would then create a mutable T-square.

This was hippie time when structure (Saturn) broke down (in Pisces) and people dropped acid and made love in public.

That type of behavior probably lurks under the skin of Price while she holds it together with excessive memory.

Is the memory a defense against getting lost in daydream or emotional memory? Is she taping together a world that wants to go Pisces? The current Neptune transit of Pisces will be unpleasant for her.

When I get that $1 million grant for astrological study, this is on the list.

I couldn’t find the scoop on Henner to see how this memory affects her life. As an actress, it seems like an awesome trait to have to memorize lines. I’ve never understood how a person could remember so much (I do not have HSAM – in fact, I keep having to look up the words for the HSAM acronymn).

Henner doesn’t seem to be bothered by her HSAM. But no one asked her how many times a day she washes her hands . . .

With Aries sun and Virgo moon, she’s probably aggressive and pushy with her recollection of detail and about the smallest details of your life (“Go back upstairs and floss. I can see bread between your teeth!”).

Sheldon Cooper, a character on the Big Bang Theory, claims to have “eidetic” memory and like Henner can answer what he was doing on a particular day, any day, at almost any point in his past.

The character Sheldon Cooper is excessively brilliant as well and also demonstrates obsessive compulsive traits.

I voted for Aquarius as Sheldon’s sun sign. I could add a Virgo moon to that for his OCD, unusual habits and brilliant mind.

If you want to have Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory, what sign should you be?

Once again the sample is small, but I’m guessing some Virgo-Pisces energy is necessary, with a slant toward Virgo.

Remember this. I’m not telling you twice.

*     *     *

Addendum: Right after posting this blog, I happened upon this article about Muppet order versus chaos. That’s Virgo (order) and Pisces (chaos) spelled out for you!

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Astrological Yin and Yang – Ice Cream and Cars

Posted on June 4, 2012 by ohioastrology

MarketingProfs sent this interesting article in its daily feed on what men and women want. The research, if I understand it correctly, analyzed social media conversations where the phrase “I want [blank]” was stated.

The research then separated the objects of desire by gender.

What did they find?

Men want cars and women want ice cream.

The study does say that both men and women listed cars and ice cream (and pizza) but that the order was different by gender.

Any research study leads to methodological questions such as how men and women were identified, if the sample was large enough, if it was truly random, etc.

Scientific or not, the results are believable in the small universe of my personal existence. It also says something about what makes us (I’m guessing Americans) truly happy. Maybe we should all sit in our cars with pizza and ice cream and leave the world alone.

What I find fascinating as well is how women want a YIN experience and men want a YANG experience.

Yin is internal. Ice cream is put inside the body.

Yang is external. Cars are something we put our body in.

Women want internal pleasure and men want external pleasure.

Women want comfort and men want power.

Astrological Yin and Yang

Each sign of the zodiac is considered feminine or masculine. Yin and yang are related to feminine and masculine respectively. What I think is important about the concept of yin and yang is that it’s not about being a girl or boy. It’s about internal versus external energy patterns.

I think Jung said it best when he said that the penis is itself a phallic symbol. The symbol, or energy, is higher than the object.

Penises are yang and vaginas are yin.

Fun stuff.

The fire and air signs of the zodiac are masculine or yang. They are externally focused and social.

Take Leo energy, for example. Leo is the show-off actor. Can one be an actor without an audience?

Gemini loves to talk. What’s the point of talking if there is no one listening?

The earth and water signs of the zodiac are feminine or yin. They are internally focused and responsible, often shy and self-conscious (especially in youth).

Virgo is often concerned with diet and health, pondering every bite of food and every freckle on the body.

Pisces loves to daydream. Daydreaming is an internal dive into the magical waters of the imagination.

What sign of the zodiac are ice cream and cars?

I’ve already blogged on ice cream. I’m convinced it’s a Cancer, a water (feminine) sign concerned with comfort and belonging.

Cars I’ll give to Aries, the first sign, a masculine fire sign. Cars are about self, drive and power. Need I say more?

In our cars with the windows rolled up, I feel, we are our true selves. You make nasty faces, flip the bird and yell at drivers going 45 mph in the fast lane. But would you do that if you passed them on foot?

On the drive to work, it feels like we are all Aries.

Maybe the key to a safe drive to work is to pass out ice cream at intersections. Remember, it’s what everyone wants.

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The Astrology of Awake and Asleep

Posted on June 3, 2012 by ohioastrology

How do you feel when that alarm goes off on Monday morning?

Do you think how wonderful it is to be alive and jump out of bed to greet the new day? Or does your head hurt and make you feel sluggish? Do you wish you could go back to sleep for a few more hours? Do you dread the morning drive to work?

The alarm wakens to you three dimensional reality. In sleep you were somewhere else.

Neither state is inherently pleasant or unpleasant. You could have been having an unpleasant dream and wakened to the start of a new project that excites you. Or you could have been dreaming about winning the lottery and wake to face a long drive to underpaid work.

When we want people to “wake up,” we want them to face reality. When we say someone is “asleep” it means “not there.” When we say we have “a dream,” it usually means an aspiration.

Which planets rule awake and asleep?

Awake

In astrology, Uranus is the great awakener. Uranus awakening is like the alarm clock. It wakes you up, now, because now is the time for you to move from here to there (or there to here).

Like your alarm clock, Uranus jolts. It comes suddenly.

Uranus is the sudden meeting with a person who will be with you the rest of your life. Uranus is an accident that changes you forever. Uranus is finding the long-lost treasure in the basement one rainy Saturday. Uranus is finding the love letters to your husband from someone else . . .

What are you waking up to? You wake to reality, which is Saturn.

Many years ago a chi gong teacher told me that people are rarely in their bodies. After years of meditation, I now get it.

Uranus awakens you to reality. But what we call reality is normally colored by our thoughts and feelings.

You thought your husband was committed but discover he is not. The reality is different than the thought. The reality hurts where the thought was pleasant, in this example. It could be the other way around.

When you wake, your mind is quite clear and you construct the reality around you – I’m in bed, the alarm has gone off, I need to get up, I’m hungry.

Meditation is like that – I’m here, I’m sitting. That’s it.

The way I understand it now, meditation is the opposite of sleep. It’s not about fantasizing or longing for other places or states (such as heaven or nirvana) or losing consciousness – it’s about being here, now.

That’s it.

So why is it so hard to meditate? Why do non-meditators fear and dread sitting still for minutes (or hours or days) at a time?

Many people fear silence. We say we are so busy, but the minute we have unstructured time we try to fill it. What do we really fear?

The busy-ness we complain about is a result of our own inability to have non-busy-ness. We built the buildings, we created the fluorescent lights, we said the hours are nine to five.

Awake takes energy and sleep restores energy.

To be fully present is an energy-draining affair. While you’re sitting in that meeting, are you truly present? Or are you thinking about lunch, how much you hate your job, what you’re going to do later in the evening?

Although we’ve risen from bed, we may not be “awake.”

If you wake to the alarm clock with a sense of dread at having to get up and work, you’ll feel the same way when Uranus comes to wake you up. Uranus is always moving through your chart, waking you up in various areas of your life.

If you don’t like to wake to the day, you won’t like Uranus waking you up to the same day in Blue Ray.

If Uranus in transiting your second house of finances, you may be “waking up” to what your financial history has meant.

Uranus seems to rule “awake” but is tied with Saturn reality. Waking to reality seems to be the true awakening.

Asleep

Dream states and undifferentiated consciousness are ruled by Neptune. Neptune is where we merge with all-that-is and are no longer a self.

While you dream, you actively respond to the images. Upon waking, you wonder why you reacted with such fear to a purple-headed coffee cup.

The problem with being “one” with everything is that like a leaf in the river, you will flow wherever the river is flowing.

“Going with the flow” is seen as a positive trait. But “going with the flow” in Nazi Germany clearly was a bad idea.

That is Neptune’s problem – it doesn’t color the flow, it just rules the flow itself. Individuals with too much Neptune (such as in the first house), tend to follow all leaders, follow all trends.

Fashion, then, is Neptunian (I think it was Liz Greene that presented this idea). Fashion can’t be imposed, like order. Fashion can be presented but what takes hold is organic. Organic trends aren’t logical or differentiated which is why fashion can be destructive (foot binding, waist pinching, pouring chemicals on our faces).

Sleep is clearly important in a human life. Without sleep, we can’t function in reality.

My Internet search found an article from Scientific American. The longest a person can go without sleep, they determined, is about 11 days.

Even though one can go without sleep for 11 days, we are essentially “cognitively dysfunctional.”

No sleep, no awake.

Sleep and awake are intertwined. One can’t exist without the other. Interesting.

We can’t experience three-dimensional reality (Saturn) without a dip into the waters of Neptune. Carlos Castaneda refers to all-that-is as “the dark sea of awareness.” That very description is a description of Neptune.

To Castaneda, reality is simply sharing the same dream. The dream may change over time. Today’s “dream” involves a lot of self-absorption which Castaneda believes is an energy drain.

When Neptune moves through your chart, you might feel confused in that area of your life. If Neptune is transiting your fifth house of creativity, you might find yourself creating art that arises from a deep place in yourself that even you don’t understand.

What is the relationship between awake and asleep?

Sleep feeds awake. With no sleep, there is no awake. Too much sleep, however, also leads to no awake.

Sleep brings us into the world of Neptune which provides energy. Energy allows us to be awake.

Meditation may seem a waste of time to some but energy is used simply to exist which is why it seems to result in a state called “relaxation.”

To some, meditation is self-absorption. I disagree; having thoughts about the self is self-absorption. Sitting and experiencing reality as it is results in detachment from self. If you detach from self, can you be self-absorbed?

Waking, to Castaneda, is saving energy from useless pursuits, such as worry about what others think of you. With energy, you can be awake in the dream.

Energy used inefficiently, then, allows us to be in reality only marginally while our thoughts and feelings move us to a state between awake and asleep.

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Hugh Laurie – What’s in House’s First House?

Posted on June 2, 2012 by ohioastrology

British comedian and House actor Hugh Laurie’s chart both surprised and didn’t surprise me.

Laurie is über-hyper talented. Not only is he an actor, but he is a musician, writer and athlete. I bet he also has additional hobbies in which he excels.

Sun in Gemini and moon in Leo is both versatility and energy. Gemini hates boredom and since Laurie is excellent at about 100 things, I’m sure he’s never bored.

Or maybe he is. With Gemini, there is never enough stimulation.

Moon in Leo is dramatic, self-centered, loving and expressive. If all moon in Leo people could be actors, the world would be a calmer place.

Laurie also has Venus, Mars and Uranus in Leo.

What surprises me about Laurie’s chart is that to me he appears to have a serious, reserved demeanor and his chart is almost totally extroverted. Extroverts can be shy, but reserved?

I also recall seeing a TV special on Laurie that revealed he suffers from depression.

Leos don’t often acknowledge depression when they suffer it and are one of the signs I see that engages life so depression appears to be event oriented (after a breakup, for example, rather than for no reason).

Gemini, with its dual nature, seems to contract a bi-polar type of depression rather than an existential angst. When you constantly change personality, you can become a little lost, actor or non-actor.

Oh, but wait, there is Saturn in Capricorn. I wonder where that is in Laurie’s chart? Currently Pluto is transiting Capricorn crossing over that Saturn this very minute.

Chart Rectification

To cast an accurate horoscope, one must know time of birth. I don’t know Laurie’s time of birth. But I’m going to guess that his serious demeanor and vulnerability to depression stem from Saturn in Capricorn in the first house.

That would move Mercury into Cancer (from Gemini). It would also put his sun in the region of sixth/seventh houses. I’m not so sure if that makes sense for an actor, but maybe acting is a way to overcome health issues, which are ruled by the sixth house.

Saturn in the first house I’ve found to be an extremely difficult placement. When I see this placement, usually the person has encountered serious problems at a young age, adult problems, problems that others who have more stereotypical upbringings don’t hear about until they are much older.

Saturn in the first house for an individual with Gemini sun and Leo moon would be like putting a plant in a closet or wanting to lie in the sun but having to wear heavy armor, ready for battle.

Wearing armor is a burden to the self and body. Who put on the armor?

Saturn is a father figure. Some authority or father figure created or imposed a heavy burden of responsibility.

If Laurie had a Saturn-less chart (not possible, talking like a Pisces moon here), he would probably be so impulsive that he couldn’t walk a straight line (moon / Uranus in Leo, sun in Gemini).

Possibly someone or something contained Laurie’s energy because without some external constraint, he might have shot off like a rocket into outer space.

Depression for Laurie, then, might be the effort needed to contain incredible amounts of energy. Sports, then, are an excellent outlet.

Current Transits

Pluto is transiting Capricorn and is conjunct Laurie’s armor, I mean Saturn, right now.

Whatever created in Laurie a sense of restraint is going to be challenged and fought with. Laurie might use this transit to take on something of great responsibility or he might finally shuck off a responsibility that he was given unfairly at an early age.

Mars is finishing its long haul through Virgo. It was conjunct Laurie’s Pluto in Virgo last year.

Lots of Pluto energy, so Laurie is probably fighting with someone.

Maybe the current ending of his show House is the result of some battle or power struggle. With Pluto in the room, I hesitate to believe it was an amicable break up.

Neptune transiting Pisces is opposing Laurie’s Pluto in Virgo. He’s learning something about unconditional love, spirituality and belonging.

Neptune and Pisces are confusing and if you accept you don’t know, it’s a lot (a very, very lot) easier.

Having to know and making a list are not supported by Neptune in Pisces which makes sure you don’t really know and makes you list blow off the counter and into the sink full of dishwater so that it’s soaked beyond recognition.

Sun in Gemini is an analytical mind so Pisces energy is extremely uncomfortable. Gemini likes stimulation and facts and prizes in the cereal box and new coffee shops. Pisces provides stimulation but you don’t always know where it’s coming from.

Why do I feel uncomfortable here? Is it the lights? The person giving me the evil eye?

Gemini is not fond of emotional vagueness. Gemini, like Virgo, needs to tack a label on everything. Vague feelings of uneasiness or spontaneous bursts of love for humanity are not easy to categorize.

Saturn will soon move from Libra to Scorpio and will conjunct Laurie’s Neptune in Scorpio. There will be confusion about the emotional aspects of relationship. As Laurie goes through the Pluto on Saturn (in Capricorn) transit, he may start opening up a little emotionally.

Emotional changes may lead to a different sense of responsibility. He may be learning that bringing home the bacon is one type of responsibility. Giving someone a flower might be all that is needed sometimes so responsibility can be a small “r” and not a capital “R” Responsibility.

What’s after House?

The word “house” represents a structure, which is more evidence for a strong Saturn.

If Laurie is leaving “house,” maybe he’ll go to one of his other placements like “heart” (Leo) or “sibling” (Gemini).

Maybe his next acting effort will have Neptune in Pisces characteristics and he will play a spiritual man.

I’m sure with his many talents, Laurie will have a new creative product soon.

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US Politics – The Rambunctious South and Melancholy North

Posted on May 30, 2012 by ohioastrology

Today I received an email that shocked me. The email announced that next Monday is a state holiday in Alabama. Next Monday, June 4, Alabama is commemorating Jefferson Davis’ birthday. If he were a Biblical character, he would be 204 years old.

Jefferson Finis Davis (born June 3, 1808) was the President of the Confederate States of America during the Civil War.

The “other” President and the one we recognize today in textbooks (at least up north) was Abraham Lincoln (born February 12, 1809).

Both men were born in Kentucky. Some pictures of Davis, if you aren’t familiar with him, could easily be confused for pictures of Lincoln.

The Rambunctious South

Davis had Mars, sun and Mercury in air-sign Gemini with moon in air-sign Libra. That’s a lot of air and creates a social, changeable, quirky and unusual person.

Now I see why Newt Gingrich with Mercury, Uranus, Saturn and sun in Gemini does so well where Jefferson Davis is popular.

Uranus was in Gemini during the Civil War, hopping all over Davis’ Mars, sun and Mercury. Like Gingrich, he probably traveled all over, talked up a storm and said whatever came to mind.

Luckily for Davis, there was no TV or Internet so folks wouldn’t know that he promised moon colonies in Florida and log cabins in Maine. But then again, he would never have gone to Maine.

Like Gingrich, Davis was probably a persuader and charmer. Tossing around crazy ideas, like seceding from the Union, is a lot more fun than talking about how the wood panels in your log cabin are warping from the humidity.

The Melancholy North

Lincoln had sun in air-sign Aquarius and moon in earth-sign Capricorn. Lincoln’s melancholic nature isn’t just from Capricorn moon alone. He also had Mercury, Pluto and Jupiter in Pisces and Neptune conjunct Saturn in Sagittarius.

His Mars was in air-sign Libra.

The north, with dark, gray, cold, sleety, rainy, drizzly, snowy, bleak and icy winters breeds people who like serious, somber politicians.

I know Lincoln had his detractors at the time. But today we north-folk are taught to admire the man who freed the slaves in the south.

We are taught to admire his growing up in a log cabin (cold, cramped like our houses) and his reading of law books by the fire at night (poor and humble).

Mitt Romney and Barack Obama

Romney with sun in Pisces and moon in Scorpio is astrologically a creature of the cold, melancholy north. Scorpio moon loves to hold grudges curled up in a corner like a hurt animal.

Obama with sun in Leo and moon in Gemini is astrologically a creature of the sunny, spontaneous south. Leo likes people and attention like a lizard likes the sun.

Politically, because of our silly two-party system, both Romney and Obama have to swim in waters outside of their natural temperatures.

Romney and Obama are night and day.

Let’s see how our candidates spend their June 4. Not only is it Jefferson’s Birthday holiday in Alabama, but across the world people will commemorate the June 4 protests in China’s Tiananmen Square.

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Saturn in Scorpio for Obama and Romney

Posted on May 28, 2012 by ohioastrology

Saturn in Scorpio may bring contraction of lending, judgment in regard to sexual matters, changes in tax code, changes in inheritance law, more conscious spending of money and more sharing of financial resources in groups.

AIDS became a household word (according to Wikipedia history), just before the last transit of Saturn in Scorpio (December 1982). Because the gay community was hit hardest, I recall there being some judgment from some quarters when the illness was first discovered.

Today HIV isn’t always associated with homosexuality and the news stories seem to report on HIV without discussion of sexual preference.

The last transit of Saturn in Scorpio also brought Reagan Administration tax cuts.

Saturn enters Scorpio on October 5, 2012 and will be in Scorpio through December 2014.

How will this energy affect the presidential candidates?

Barack Obama

Saturn in Scorpio will square Obama’s Mercury and sun in Leo. The square to Mercury will technically begin before Saturn enters Scorpio while it’s in the last degrees of Libra.

Scorpio energy is a big heavy for the fun-loving, gregarious Leo. Obama also has a Gemini moon so Scorpio is the wet blanket at the party for this personality.

Wet blankets will arrive and the first stop is communication. Mercury in Leo communicates in a grandiose, exaggerated, fun and colorful way. Scorpio wants to know if the stories are true and tries to read more into the fanciful tales than exist.

Mercury in Leo tells a story about the time he ate 15 hamburgers on a dare at the family picnic. Saturn in Scorpio sends out a detective, reports that the hamburger patties were in a box of only one dozen and that Obama is seen in photographs eating hot dogs.

Obama better watch what he says these days as even fun-loving banter will be taken out of context and into the court of law.

Later Saturn in Scorpio will square Obama’s sun and Uranus which will be the least fun portion of this two-year trek. The heat will be on. Any slights, especially sexual, will be the focus of attention.

After the Mercury square will be the Neptune conjunction. Neptune in Scorpio already forms a T-square to Mercury in Leo opposing Jupiter in Aquarius which adds a couple extra hamburgers every now and again to the 15-hamburger story.

Saturn on Neptune, especially in Scorpio, can indicate depression. At the end of the Saturn in Scorpio transit, Saturn will sextile natal Saturn in Capricorn indicating Obama will be “sadder but wiser.”

Whether Obama wins the election or not, it will be a rough couple of years.

If Obama wins the election, something will dog him for a good two years.

If Obama does not win the election, it will take him two years to recover from the loss.

Mitt Romney

Romney is a watery, emotional man with Mars, Mercury and sun in Pisces and Jupiter and moon in Scorpio.

Pisces and Scorpio are already serious signs. Romney’s Saturn conjunct (wide) Pluto in Leo suggest lack of confidence and a serious nature.

If you like bitter coffee and someone offers you a dark roast, you probably say yes and enjoy it.

While I wouldn’t say Saturn in Scorpio will be “good” to Romney, he is organically able to deal with this type of energy.

First stop with transiting Saturn in Scorpio is a tight T-square with natal Saturn in Leo opposing Venus in Aquarius. This indicates some issues with the love life, especially sexual issues.

With Romney’s Jupiter/moon in Scorpio, I’ve been wondering if Saturn in Scorpio will bring any skeletons from his closet. I admit as a political junkie that it’s difficult to believe anyone with the ego to run for president hasn’t an egregiously arrogant affair from the past.

The media is digging up boring story upon boring story of Romney being a prankster and beating up kids in high school (which may make him more than less fit for the US presidency).

I’m still wondering if there aren’t any Scorpio stories that will arise – sexual escapades or kinky happenings. Hey, the guy was 19 years old during the summer of love. I’m not judging him; in fact, I hope he did have some fun.

But with Saturn in Scorpio, there will be judgment regarding sexual issues. There may be an “I didn’t inhale” moment in Romney’s future.

About a year into the transit is when Romney will be hit hardest – that is when Saturn will be conjunct his natal Pluto.

Saturn conjunct Pluto is a really unpleasant time, regardless of sign. It’s a time when it feels the world is against you (look for this type of aspect in those with a persecution complex). Everyone is angry with you, everyone is tailgating and pushing you out of the passing lane.

In the sign of Leo, Romney will struggle to maintain self-respect and pride as his personal matters are invaded (Pluto feels like invasion).

When Saturn conjuncts Jupiter and moon at the end of the two-year transit, Romney will feel emotionally spent and may simply retreat emotionally. His emotional retreat will include a financial retreat and may even indicate some financial trouble.

With Jupiter and moon in Scorpio, there is a sexual charisma. Saturn brings contraction and limitation so the old sexual and charm tricks may not be as effective.

While Saturn can be a damper to any energy, it does trine the Pisces energy. Romney is a serious individual to start so he may not feel that Saturn is cramping his style but may rise to the need for more responsibility in projecting sexual energy and in financial matters where he controls the money.

Romney may also (continue to) feel it’s more responsible to hold back money than to give money – the old “Let Detroit go bankrupt” idea.

For Romney, there are challenges in the next couple years, but overall he can handle this type of intensity. Romney can weather very big emotional storms.

If Romney wins the election, he will feel that he is not liked and have to deal with a sense of being lonely at the top.

If he does not win the election, he’ll recover from the loss somewhat quickly but his finances will be unsteady for the next couple years. He will still feel lonely, but possibly from abandonment, as though he doesn’t exist anymore.

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Saturn in Scorpio

Posted on May 26, 2012 by ohioastrology

While I’ve been anxiously counting the minutes until Saturn leaves Libra, and my tenth house, I realized I may be Mars-transiting-Virgo impatient and not thinking about what Saturn in Scorpio will bring.

Saturn has a 29-year cycle so I don’t have to experience tenth house issues for another few decades. Whew!

If Saturn in Libra (with Uranus in Aries and Pluto in Capricorn forming a T-square) brought partnership breakups, then Saturn in sexual, emotional Scorpio will bring highly-charged, long-and-drawn-out divorce proceedings.

Saturn enters Scorpio on October 6, 2012, about one month before the US general election.

Will there be a last-minute sexual scandal in the US election?

Sex and money

Scorpio rules sex, emotional connection, death, inheritance and taxes – fun stuff. Now you know why your Scorpio friends get a little intense sometimes.

Taurus, the opposite sign, rules money one makes. Scorpio rules other people’s money.

I find those with sun or moon in the eighth house (which is ruled by Scorpio) prefer not to be the breadwinner in the family.

To learn more about Saturn in Scorpio, I consulted my favorite astrologer –Liz Greene. In her book “Saturn: A New Look at an Old Devil,” she says “the eighth house [and Scorpio] deals primarily with emotional exchange.”

Other excerpts:

“Here money becomes a symbol of emotional dependence or freedom, for in our society it buys freedom or bondage in marriage, and our sexual values are largely coloured by our finances. So often in the eighth house there exists the enactment of a struggle which appears purely material and which is really emotional in origin.”

“It is common to find the individual with afflicted planets here tied to a difficult financial situation following upon a broken marriage or chronic problems with partners who take advantage of him financially.”

Saturn in Scorpio

As Saturn transits Scorpio, we all will feel this energy in a part of our charts – and lives. Saturn is contraction so there will be contraction of money given to us, especially where there is emotional connection attached.

The last transit of Saturn through Scorpio was December 1982 to November 1985 (it went retrograde in Libra during that time).

At minimum, I’m speculating that lending will contract even more than it has today. And when someone gives you money, expect to provide a lot in return besides interest. Lenders will want to know more about you than ever – and not just your financial history.

The stock market crash of 1929 occurred during sun in Scorpio (October 28). Saturn was at the tail end of Sagittarius, moving into Capricorn (moved into Capricorn December 1929).

The stock market crash of October 1987, which occurred during sun in Libra (October 14) also had Saturn in Sagittarius. Saturn did not move into Capricorn until February 1988.

Sagittarius expansion was followed by Capricorn contraction. Saturn rules Capricorn and is the contraction squared.

It’s important to remember that Capricorn always follows Sagittarius. Astrology teaches that expansion is followed by contraction in an endless cycle. Possibly to remove the “crash” from the contraction, we must expand with some constraint.

Or maybe we shouldn’t. Maybe wild expansion is necessary to learn and grow and contraction says, “Good job with all those ideas. Now I’m tossing out the ones that aren’t realistic.”

I bring up Sagittarius and Capricorn because another planet – Pluto – has recently moved from Sagittarius to Capricorn (early 2008).

Our lessons on expansion and contraction are now way beyond Saturn and they will last for years. Saturn in Scorpio is just another two-year mini-message about a larger message as the world rebuilds its economies.

I believe the Saturn in Libra period broke up marriages and partnerships because those partnerships had underlying unfairness or were not truly balanced. Both sides were able to say, “This just isn’t working.”

Now Saturn in Scorpio will ask, “If I take your money (for work or whatever), what do I really owe you?”

The other side says, “If I lend you money or resources, I want more than a material payback. I want you to share my values and truly care about me.”

It’s going to be a tense time. I do imagine there will be more contraction of banking, lending and financial speculation. I really don’t like being an astrologer-naysayer so I want to emphasize that the energy doesn’t just visit us willy-nilly – it’s a pattern and the effects vary based on how we dealt with the energy patterns up to this point.

I personally believe the Pluto in Capricorn contraction hits Americans so hard because we didn’t save. Wild lending convinced us we didn’t need to. But other countries, such as some Asian countries, save much more and might weather a financial storm better.

A positive manifestation of Saturn in Scorpio is 100 percent emotional honesty about how, why and where we spend or accept money.

I think of the “think global, act local” movement as bringing awareness of what our purchasing behavior means to people all across the globe. Saying I’m going to spend my money supporting my local community is saying I understand that my money projects my values and so I’m not going to put money into businesses that don’t support those values.

Deciding not to buy a shirt because we believe it was made using unethical practices I see as a manifestation of Saturn in Scorpio.

Saturn contraction – why?

I’m learning now that my Saturn tenth house transit is almost over that some of my work issues were a result of not rising to a certain responsibility.

Saturn brings responsibility. Saturn’s contraction seems to remove what is unnecessary (but may be fun and interesting) to get us to focus on what truly matters.

Saturn in Scorpio will force responsibility in sexual activity, shared money and probably the government’s role in using our money.

Hopefully we’ll have some Saturnian contraction of taxes – like paying a smaller tax rate. That’s a Saturn contraction I could live with.

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Angela Merkel’s New Playmates

Posted on May 22, 2012 by ohioastrology

Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany, has some new playmates. The Arab Spring seems to be moving to Europe to become the Caucasian Summer Solstice.

The Western World loves revolution in the Middle East but generally hates it in other places – China, Central & South America, Greece, France, Los Angeles . . .

Merkel has Mercury, Jupiter, Uranus and sun in Cancer, moon in Aquarius, Mars in Sagittarius, Saturn in Scorpio, Neptune in Libra, Venus in Virgo and Pluto in Leo.

Let’s see who’s now in the European sandbox with Merkel and whether they will play nicely, throw sand or steal all the plastic shovels.

Francois Hollande, France

Merkel is about one month older than French President Hollande. While they share generation, they share little in terms of personality.

Hollande’s sun (Leo) is opposite Merkel’s moon (Aquarius) and Hollande’s moon (Capricorn) is opposite Merkel’s sun (Cancer).

Hollande will be throwing sand at Merkel, not building sand castles with her.

Moon in Capricorn is cold and sun in Leo is proud, so Hollande will be beating his fists against his chest while the Merkel tries to relate emotionally (Cancer) and intellectually (Aquarius).

Merkel’s Cancer and Aquarian energy is about pleasing and incorporating others while Hollande’s Leo and Capricorn energy is about number one.

Hollande is in the corner of the sandbox alone making his own castle. When it’s done, he does want Merkel to look at it.

Alexis Tsipras, Greece

The news stories currently say that Tsipras, leader of the Syriza coalition, is not meeting Merkel but I would not be surprised if she extends an offer.

Merkel’s Mars in Sagittarius is conjunct Tsipras’ moon and Neptune in Sagittarius. Merkel can support and energize Tsipras’ vision, even in its wackier Sagittarian-idealistic moments.

Tsipras will probably continue to reject Merkel as his Venus/Saturn/Mercury in Cancer means he lacks a sense of belonging. He can dream and lead, but rarely feels at one with a group.

Merkel ‘s attempt to bring Tsipras into the “family” will fail because Tsipras has an inner insecurity about being accepted. He doesn’t feel good enough and yearns for something more transcendental (moon/Neptune in Sagittarius) than simply being part of a family. He wants to wander the universe.

Merkel is willing to share the sand pail with Tsipras, but he wants to build sand monsters and dragons and fanciful creatures which will make Merkel wander off to build something more realistic.

Hannelore Kraft, Germany

Kraft is Governor of Germany’s North Rhine-Westphalia which recently voted and strengthened her party, the Social Democrats.

Kraft and Merkel have little in common. Kraft is a Gemini sun and moon.

In US politics, Gemini doesn’t fare well. The last double Gemini in presidential politics was John Edwards who is now on trial for activities from his not-public life.

I can’t look double Gemini in the face without thinking that there is a hidden second life.

Merkel’s Cancer sun and Aquarius moon wants to include everyone in structured, group activity. Kraft’s double Gemini-ness loves people and fun and stimulation, but does not do well with structure, habit or consistency.

Merkel’s Pluto is conjunct Kraft’s Mars/Uranus in Leo so expect some dramatic, hair-pulling fights.

Kraft’s Saturn in Capricorn means that she feels a compulsion to be successful. Gemini lacks the consistency that drives Capricorn. I see some trip ups in the future for Kraft.

Merkel and Kraft may try to build a castle (with moat) in the sandbox, but then Kraft will change her mind and want to build an igloo instead, then a dressing table and then a road. Merkel will take her pail and finish the castle by herself.

Tomislav Nikolić, Serbia

President-elect Nikolic of Serbia has sun and Mercury in Aquarius and Saturn/moon/Neptune in Libra.

Aquarius and Libra are air so Nikolic is a social being with a love of beauty who likes to play the rebel but has an emotional need (moon in Libra) for you to like him.

Wanting to be liked is a weakness in politics.

Merkel, with moon in Aquarius, will like Nikolic in the same way she liked Nicolas Sarkozy.

Nikolic’s Uranus in Cancer stimulates Merkel’s stellium in Cancer. These two have a spark and will get along well. There will be chemistry.

Cardinal signs are bossy and like to fight (Cancer, Libra) but the fighting is more like bantering than hatred.

Merkel’s Saturn (in Scorpio) is conjunct Nikolic’s Mars. Merkel may not approve of Nikolic’s extracurricular activities. There may be a little judgment on her part.

Merkel likes to play in the sandbox with Nikolic but is jealous when other kids come along and Nikolic’s interest moves to the new playmates.

Pluto, in Capricorn

Pluto is transiting Capricorn and opposing Merkel’s Mercury in Cancer. That means while playing in the sandbox, the earth is shifting below.

While Merkel might want to critically assess the playmates in her sandbox, she also must look at the ground on which the sandbox resides.

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What sign is Harold (of the Purple Crayon)?

Posted on May 21, 2012 by ohioastrology

In “Harold and the Purple Crayon,” Harold creates a world for himself with his purple crayon.

The Amazon.com review describes the story:

“’One night, after thinking it over for some time, Harold decided to go for a walk in the moonlight.’ So begins this gentle story that shows just how far your imagination can take you. Armed only with an oversized purple crayon, young Harold draws himself a landscape full of beauty and excitement.

But this is no hare-brained, impulsive flight of fantasy. Cherubic, round-headed Harold conducts his adventure with the utmost prudence, letting his imagination run free, but keeping his wits about him all the while.

He takes the necessary purple-crayon precautions: drawing landmarks to ensure he won’t get lost; sketching a boat when he finds himself in deep water; and creating a purple pie picnic when he feels the first pangs of hunger.”

What sign of the zodiac is Harold?

Imagination

Harold creates an entire world with his imagination – this is Pure Pisces.

Not only does Harold create his world, but he reacts to it. Harold is providing a message that takes years of meditation to understand.

We create stories, react to those stories, then create more stories in response.

At the end of the tale, Harold goes to sleep, turning off his stories. Or were the stories part of his sleep?

What is reality?

Pisces, more than any other sign, lives in its imagination. Pisces has an “otherworldly” quality and sometimes just isn’t in the room with you (or on planet earth with you).

Purple

Purple is the color of the crown chakra, which, according to this site, “represents that part of our consciousness concerned with perceptions of unity or separation.”

That’s Pisces.

Pisces, being the last sign of the zodiac, is about merging in contrast to Aries, the first sign, which is about assertion of self.

I find that both the first (Aries) and last (Pisces) signs of the zodiac have a certain naïveté. At the beginning and end of the zodiacal cycle, it appears innocence is needed.

Harold casts no judgment on his creations. He organically and impulsively creates them then creates a way out of them into the next imaginative sequence. But he doesn’t judge. In fact, he doesn’t talk at all.

When your Pisces is quiet, he/she has retreated to the world of the “purple crayon.”

Crockett Johnson

The writer of “Harold and the Purple Crayon,” Crockett Johnson, was a Libra sun and probably Sagittarius moon.

Sagittarius is the great wanderer of the zodiac. No wonder Harold wanders in his imagination.

Johnson had Saturn in Pisces squaring that moon (and Venus) in Sagittarius. Saturn is where we lack or feel restriction (and subsequent insecurity). Crockett felt insecurity in a Pisces way, about his imagination and merging with others.

Johnson the Libra probably mated early, as Libras do, but had a desire to wander off into the void, alone, like Harold, with only his imagination.

I almost added Harold in the blog on nomadism as Harold is clearly not restricted by physical reality. While it isn’t easy to be a physical nomad in our society, we can still be an imaginative “nomad.”

Johnson probably had a little nomad in him, wandering off physically (Sagittarius moon) and imaginatively (Saturn in Pisces).

The desire for more imaginative worlds than three-dimensional reality can lead some to drugs. I don’t know if Johnson had this desire.

Pisces

Harold is an undifferentiated Pisces. While Harold walks, he has an infant-toddler look. He’s at the age when differentiated reality (Virgo) is being just being learned.

Virgo says “This is a sidewalk. It is where we walk. This is a dog. This is a cat.”

Sound familiar?

Pisces says the teacher is really an alien being and the classroom is a spaceship. Calvin of Calvin and Hobbes was also a Pisces. Calvin’s tiger was real, but no one could see it but Calvin.

We’re encouraged as children to use our imaginations. We read books where Harold and others imagine beautiful, ugly and magical realities.

And somewhere it stops. We are then told our imaginations are fantasy.

Harold is special because he uses imagination to create reality. Imagination and reality are not separate in his purple-crayon world. He flows in and out of his self-created images like water flowing downstream between rocks.

Harold teaches us that when we are in the unknown alone, we have only our imagination.

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