The Astrology of Neil Simon

Posted on July 31, 2011 by ohioastrology

Neil Simon is a playwright of such famous works as “Barefoot in the Park” and “The Odd Couple.” I’m a fan of both works because they have the simple premise of pitting opposites against each other. The results are entertaining and funny.

Barefoot in the Park

In “Barefoot in the Park” a young, newly married couple, madly in love, move into a Greenwich Village apartment to begin married life. All is going well until a night on the town when the extroverted wife (Corie Bratter) is upset that her introverted husband (Paul Bratter) won’t let loose and paint the town red. He’s more worried about getting some sleep and starting his law career.

To counterbalance the young married couple, we have two older folks, one who acts old, and the other who acts young. So we have in terms of “real age” and “acted age” these four combinations:

Young/young (the wife)

Young/old (the husband)

Old/old (the wife’s mother)

Old/young (the eccentric male neighbor)

I see the wife as Aries and the husband as Capricorn. Aries is an impulsive, headstrong cardinal fire sign ruled by Mars, the god of war. Capricorn is a cardinal earth sign, practical, serious and stable. It likes to be authority, such as becoming a lawyer.

After a night on the town, the Aries wife gets angry that the Capricorn husband won’t relax, get drunk and have some fun. He’s so boring and unspontaneous, in fact, that he won’t walk barefoot in the park in winter.

The wife then has a bit of Aries impulsiveness and wants a divorce. It resolves, of course, with a happy ending with the Capricorn husband loosening his tie and the Aries wife realizing that stability has its merits.

The older couple also has some realizations. The stuffy mother realizes she can spend one night without worrying about her ulcer and the eccentric neighbor accepts he’s not 20 years anymore but can still enjoy life in a more mellow way.

The Odd Couple

In the very famous “The Odd Couple,” we have two divorced men trying to live together. Oscar Madison is a relaxed sports writer who is irresponsible and self-indulgent.

Oh, and he’s messy.

Felix Ungar is the opposite – a neat nick, picky, demanding, hypochondriacal and critical.

I see Madison as a Sagittarius, a mutable fire sign and Unger as a Virgo, a mutable earth sign. Virgo Ungar nags Sagittarius Madison about some things in life that Sagittarians rarely worry about – what to have for dinner, cigarette ashes on the floor, mud tracks on the carpet and burnt meatloaf.

Sagittarius is not one to cry over spilled milk or a burnt meatloaf.

Virgo, ever the perfectionist, can’t serve a burnt meatloaf to guests and can’t go out to dinner because money has already been spent on meatloaf.

Of course it all heats up into a big blowout with Madison walking on the drapes and Ungar running away, apron on, ladle in hand. And, of course, they learn a little of each other’s’ ways which betters both men.

As an aside, “Two and a Half Men” is simply “The Odd Couple” with more modern “bad boy” and “good boy” habits inserted. This theme still sells!

Neil Simon

Not surprising, Simon has a few opposites in his chart.

Simon’s sun is in Cancer, a cardinal water sign known for its shyness and extreme sensitivity. His moon is in mutable earth sign Virgo, the Felix Unger sign of perfection which is accompanied by over-concern for health and neatness. Virgo is also shy, being the sign of servitude. Who can have a big ego and be a servant?

Neither Cancer nor Virgo picks a fight in a bar.

Fire signs pick fights in bars (or while you’re driving on vacation or while you’re at the movies or any other inconvenient place).

Simon has a grand fire trine with Jupiter/Uranus in Aries, Mercury in Leo and Saturn in Sagittarius. In addition to this exact trine, Simon has Mars, Neptune and Venus in Leo.

That’s a lot of fire to have inside of a Cancer/Virgo shell. I wonder if all that fire inside creates skin eruptions of some sort.

Clearly the opposites Simon writes so well about exist in his own psyche. His psyche may be dueling as do his characters. And, hopefully, like his characters each side of Simon sees the need of the other side. From the humor of his writings, I suspect Simon can see the humor of his own opposites.

Simon is currently experiencing a Uranus return. This Uranus return triggers the energy of that grand fire trine.

I’m guessing he’s out doing something extroverted.

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When is the Best Time to Challenge Authority?

Posted on July 29, 2011 by ohioastrology

I’ve always wished I could have been there when Rosa Parks, in Montgomery, Alabama in 1955 during Jim Crow laws, refused to give up her bus seat to a white passenger.

We all have times in our lives when we forget about our fears, accept the ramifications of our actions and just say, “No.”

What does it take to make that happen?

Parks was 42 when she stubbornly refused to budge. As with others that age, she had both a Saturn and Uranus opposition to their natal positions. In this country, the mid-40s is known as the time of the “mid-life crisis.”

Traditionally a mid-life crisis is seen as the last attempt to capture hopes and dreams that are unfulfilled or break out of a stale pattern.

From an astrological perspective, Uranus relates to sudden awakening and sudden events. Saturn relates to the structure of life and society including laws, codes and authority.

How did Parks feel on that day in 1955?

Wikipedia provides a quote from Parks’ autobiography, My Story:

“People always say that I didn’t give up my seat because I was tired, but that isn’t true. I was not tired physically, or no more tired than I usually was at the end of a working day. I was not old, although some people have an image of me as being old then. I was forty-two. No, the only tired I was, was tired of giving in.”

Parks was tired of giving in.

I believe it’s the Saturn opposition that makes us challenge authority, if we feel the need. Uranus comes into play by having us take sudden action or bringing the realization that something just isn’t right.

We could be challenging our own limiting beliefs or the beliefs of our society. That’s when we leave our family, flee to Tahiti and paint natives for the rest of our lives, which French painter Paul Gauguin did at the age of 43.

Saturn has a 29-year cycle. It returns to its natal position around the age of 28-29. Halfway around the circular horoscope, it is opposed to our natal Saturn. So the first opposition occurs around the age of 14-15 and the second around the age of 42-43 and the third, and probably final around the age of 72-73. The next would be around 101-102.

Sound familiar?

As a teenager you are challenging authority, your parents. At age 42-43, you can take on yourself or society.

Parks was a sun in Aquarius and moon in Capricorn. My vote for most stubborn sign of the zodiac is Aquarius and Parks proves why stubbornness is needed in this complex universe. She needed the force of stubbornness to say “no” and stick with it.

Capricorn, where Parks’ moon and Mars were placed, was also thought of by late astrologer Linda Goodman to be the sign most likely to say “no.”

Incidentally, Capricorn represents authority. That people perceived her as older than her actual age attests to a maturity of personality that Capricorn brings.

Parks was simply one tough cookie. When the time was right, she took on a very big authority – the United States.

We tend to challenge authority most when our Saturn opposes is natal position – in our teens, in our 40s and in our 70s.

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Obama and Boehner: Political Marriage Counseling

Posted on July 28, 2011 by ohioastrology

Let’s say Barack Obama and John Boehner were a couple and came into the astrologer’s office for some marriage counseling. I imagine it would go like this:

John Boehner: We were so attracted to each other when we first met! It was like the 4th of July. Then it all changed and he became cold as ice (Scorpio sun square Leo sun).

Barack Obama: It’s not me that runs hot and cold. It’s you (Leo sun square Scorpio sun).

BO: We have different values about money which is why we argue. I like to spend money on family (Venus in Cancer) and he likes to spend money on things that impress others to earn their respect (Venus in Capricorn).

JB: I believe you should buy the best that’s out there (Venus in Capricorn, moon and Neptune in Libra), that’s all. I’m not trying to impress anyone (moon in Libra denying need to be popular).

BO: Every time I spend money on family (Venus in Cancer) you get so nasty and critical (Saturn conjunct Mars in Virgo).

JB: I’m critical? Didn’t you tell me the other day that my shirt was ugly (Mars in Virgo)?

BO: Yes, because I bought you a new shirt to go with those khaki pants (Venus in Cancer).

JB: I thought you said you hated those khaki pants? One day you say one thing, the next day another (moon in Gemini). Besides, why did you go shopping without me (Scorpio hurt feelings and need to control)?

BO: I wanted to surprise you (Gemini moon lie).

JB: Why didn’t you take me? I love shopping. It’s like you want to have fun without me (BO Saturn on JB Jupiter).

BO: How can I buy you a present if you’re with me (Gemini moon need for freedom)?

JB: Are you seeing someone else (Suspicious Scorpio sun)?

BO: Absolutely not (with Gemini moon, we’ll never know). I love you more than a sunflower loves the sun (Mercury in Leo dramatic expression).

JB: Then why, last October 14 at the Anderson’s party, the night with the crab cakes where you wore that gauzy white shirt, did you turn away from me when I offered you a second glass of champagne and tell the handsome man next to you that single people had such freedom (Saturn conjunct Mars in Virgo attention to detail with Scorpio grudge attached)?

BO: What party (Leo sun and Gemini moon lives in the present)?

JB:  Don’t pretend you don’t remember (Scorpio pressure to agree or suffer the pains of a lifetime of revenge and banishment).

BO: Oh that night (Gemini moon lie and ability to adapt and change the situation). I said to him that Swedish people had such freedom. He was an international lawyer, remember (Gemini moon subterfuge)?

Obama then opens his arms for a big hug. Boehner, not able to resist affection and intimacy, leaps right into his arms.

Posted in Politicians - Not Ohio, Politicians - Ohio | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Donald Trump Doesn’t Care About Money

Posted on July 27, 2011 by ohioastrology

You can fool some people, but not your astrologer. Donald Trump has no interest in money. Or business.

He has no earth signs in his chart.

Trump’s rising sign (aka ascendant) might be in an earth sign, but we would need his time of birth to determine rising sign.

Trump has sun in Gemini (conjunct Uranus in Gemini) and moon in Sagittarius. Here’s what Trump does love:

  • People – he likes the stimulation of new and exciting people. After the newness wears off, which could be in 15 minutes, he’s off to the next stimulating person.
  • Talking – both Gemini and Sagittarius love to talk.
  • Risk – Both Gemini and Sagittarius are risk takers.
  • Ideas – Gemini is about facts and Sagittarius about meaning. He’s constantly processing ideas, like a big computer focused assimilating ideas together into a congruent philosophy.

 The hair, I assume, is a Mars in Leo trait. Leo loves, loves, loves its hair.

Neptune and Jupiter are conjunct in partnership-oriented Libra. Trump is a charismatic partner.

Watching TV, I wonder the appeal of Trump. Looking at his chart, I can see he is a VERY lively companion. He’s probably tremendous fun to be around. Spending an evening with Trump is probably an adventure in the unexpected. And if you go out with him more than once, he will probably make sure you do something different this time.

Saturn conjunct Venus in Cancer suggests that for all the fun-loving companions Trump gathers, only a very few select are considered close friends. And if you are a close friend, you are family.

The sense of belonging to family is not strong with Trump. He probably didn’t have a nice early home life so just left the house to find his own people, those he enjoyed being with rather than those who fate called his companions.

This Saturn/Venus also suggests Trump isn’t always what we call “nurturing.” He may be food for the mind, but he’s not going to comfort you just because you had a bad day. If you want his attention, you’d better have an interesting idea to talk about, not a complaint about your boss.

So why is Trump so focused on business?

I don’t know. I can only guess that the world of business and finance provides the kind of intellectual stimulation he needs to survive. If that same intellectual stimulation was involved in stamp collecting, he’d have the biggest stamp collection in the world.

Trump is a man of ideas, not a man of business.

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Amanda Knox – There’s No Place Like Home

Posted on July 26, 2011 by ohioastrology

Amanda Knox is currently in prison in Italy convicted of killing her English roommate in 2007. My usual disclaimer when writing about a sensitive issue is that I don’t believe delineating the horoscope can say whether someone committed a specific act. Any act from watering the garden to murdering someone.

Like others, I definitely get curious and run scenarios through my mind when a high-profile trial hits the airwaves. Maybe these types of events capture our collective attention simply because we have a desire to solve a puzzle. Maybe we should create national crossword puzzles instead of lotteries where we all try to solve a puzzle together and the winner gets millions of dollars.

Curiosity does get the best of me and I had to take a peek at Knox’s chart.

She has three planets in the sensitive water sign of Cancer (Venus, Mercury, sun) and three planets in the fiery Sagittarius (Saturn, moon and Uranus). Mars is in Leo, Jupiter in Aries adding two more fire signs to the chart. Pluto is in watery Scorpio.

There is only one planet in earth – Neptune in six degrees of Capricorn. Pluto is currently transiting that planet.

The signs of Cancer and Sagittarius are a little at odds. Cancer is about home and belonging while Sagittarius is about exploration and traveling. In traveling, Knox may have been looking for a place she felt at home.

Both signs have a bit of indulgence in appetite – Cancer for food and beverage and Sagittarius for sublime experience.  Self-restraint is not strong. This is the person who eats the last cookie on the plate and may have eaten just one cookie too much.

Cancer is sweet and Sagittarius is gregarious. I haven’t heard Knox speak, but I’m guessing she has a broad sense of humor and an infectious laugh.

Knox may teeter between shy, self-protective Cancer and also shy but expressive Sagittarius. Saturn and Uranus are conjunct that moon in Sagittarius suggesting unexpected events with women and possibly foreign women. Of course, that has happened.

Because that aspect is in the natal chart, Knox may have encountered in the past other unusual or unexpected situations with foreigners. Her quest for foreignness will probably not subside even though this current situation is quite horrible.

The current transit of Saturn in Libra, Uranus in Aries and Pluto in Capricorn creates a T-square. It’s square in your chart and mine and finding where that square resides indicates how these relationship issues (Libra) are manifesting in your life.

For Knox, Pluto in Capricorn in her natal Neptune suggests the lifting of illusion. Because this Neptune in Capricorn is the only earth in her chart, this situation has clearly grounded Knox. She is an emotional and intuitive person. The situation has made her a practical person. She’s had to deal with authority and structure, possibly for the first time in her young life.

Knox was probably a bit in her own bubble, having fun, enjoying life and then wham!, suddenly she had to deal with AUTHORITY – the government of a foreign country. That would ground the most grounded of us.

Transiting Pluto opposes natal Venus and Mercury. Both her values, love interests and communication are undergoing change from their emotional style (Cancer) to a more authoritative style (Capricorn). This situation is probably bringing her closer to her family. If she does get released from prison I suspect she will continue to travel, but will probably bring her family along.

I don’t know what Knox’s life was like before this horrific situation. I suspect she didn’t have to take care of herself the way she does now.

Uranus in Aries will be transiting natal Jupiter in Aries in the next few years. Jupiter just transited Aries. Both transits, according to Robert Hand’s book on transits, seem to involve positive outcomes and turn of events. According to yesterday’s news, there very well may be a turn of events with regard to evidence in the case.

In about a year, Saturn will move onto natal Pluto in Scorpio and square Mars in Leo. At that time, Knox may be releasing some inner anger. This is a very intense aspect that is much like a volcano blowing its top.

I think that after Saturn transits Pluto and Pluto transits Neptune, Knox may return to some enjoyment of life (or maybe has already).  That transit doesn’t affect the Sagittarius energy in her chart; it appears to be something else.

Neptune in Pisces will trine Knox’s Venus, Mercury and then sun. There may be some new spirituality going around. Knox will probably hook onto it.

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Homosexual Indicators in the Horoscope

Posted on July 25, 2011 by ohioastrology

What are the homosexual indicators in the horoscope?

I don’t believe there are any indications of homosexuality in the horoscope any more than there are indications of whether an individual likes green beans.

I could have just tweeted that.

My greatest influence in astrological thought is Liz Greene. Where others write about the same old topics of romance, work and money, probably because that is what gets published, Greene ties astrology to mythology, parental relationships, archetypes and Jungian psychology.

Greene points out in one of her lectures that any given horoscope can be for a man, woman, birth of a nation or chicken. You can’t tell from any horoscope if the person born during those energies is male or female.

The horoscope is androgynous.

We are clearly born with physical gender. The energies in our charts, however, are gender free. That suggests to me that some perceived gender traits such as women liking to shop and men liking sports are learned.

Since we are biologically different as gender, we seem to pick a side on any energy manifestation – subject or object.

For example, a heterosexual woman with moon in Cancer might be very “mothering,” asking you if you’re cold, constantly getting you food. A heterosexual man with the same placement might act motherly as well or may project the mothering onto the females around him and expect any and all women to bring the meatloaf to the table (and wash the dishes afterward).

Whether heterosexual, homosexual or bisexual, the moon in Cancer is the raw energy. The manifestation is based on other aspects in the chart and any external gender roles that are forced upon the individual.

In my early days as an astrologer, this subject-object manifestation was difficult for me to understand and explain. For example, I told a woman with Venus in Leo that she was jealous. Her response was, “No, I’m not. But the women I know are.”

Attraction is shown in the chart by the aspects of Venus and Mars and by the 5th and 7th houses. The gender of those you are attracted to is described, but says nothing about your gender or the gender of the beloved.

In the chart, there is no heterosexuality or homosexuality. And you are not a man or a woman. You are just you.

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Thought versus Feeling

Posted on July 24, 2011 by ohioastrology

What’s the difference between and thought and feeling?

In meditation last week, I pondered it more and it became clear. Feeling is just what it implies – physical sensation. Everything else is thought.

Back home, of course, I consulted Dictionary.com which defines thought as “the product of mental activity” while feeling as “ the function or the power of perceiving by touch” or “physical sensation not connected with sight, hearing, taste, or smell or a particular sensation of this kind.”

“Physical sensation not connected with sight, hearing, taste, or smell.” What physical sensation is that?

If I’m angry, I sometimes feel the blood rushing to my head. But when I feel loyalty, what is the physical sensation? Loyalty must be a thought then, not a feeling. I feel a sensation with anger, but the thought generates the feeling. The feeling doesn’t come all by itself, like the wind blowing in my face.

In meditation one thinks a lot about thoughts. Thoughts seem involuntary. Just try to get them to stop and you realize thoughts have a force of their own. We have a thought then react to our thoughts having either more thoughts or actual physical reactions – feelings.

This constant thought-reaction-feeling-thought-reaction-feeling is like a machine and takes constant energy to run. The energy it takes to run is our life force.

The five senses generate feeling and the thoughts generate feeling response.

Carl Jung had the four ego functions as feeling, thinking, sensation and intuition. Feeling and thinking are opposite and sensation and intuition are opposite.

In my astrology Meetup group there is a guy who thinks feeling is actually opposite sensation, thinking opposite intuition. I see his point.

You feel or sense, think or intuit. Sensation comes from the five senses while feeling arises from our thoughts. Generating feelings removes us from sensations.

Now I see that is why when my thoughts calm in meditation, my body begins to bother me. When you sleep, you have no awareness of your body. When you first wake, say after a night of drinking, you awake to sensation – your head throbbing, your mouth dry. Then you realize you’re late for work.

Thinking is cognitive while intuition returns a result without cognition. That’s when you “know” or “realize” something. If you are strong on intuition, thought seems an Amtrak that takes way too long to reach its destination. Thinking is silly string sticking all over in a confused mess. Intuition is like a laser beam focused and illuminating.

In Western astrology, fire and air are compatible as are water and earth. However, your opposite sign is a compatible element but the same mode.

For example, fire Sagittarius gets along with air Libra and air Aquarius but is opposite air Gemini. That’s because Sagittarius and Gemini are both mutable. Sagittarius is intuitive and “knows.” Gemini is thinking, constantly seeking stimulation and data.

In astrology, the sun is the conscious self, the active self. The moon is the emotional self or the reactive self. The sun is like the thoughts we have about ourselves, the moon the reaction to those thoughts.

The more I engage in meditation, the more I understand that it is not about changing your thoughts, reaction or external world. It is about acknowledging and understanding these thoughts and reactions so that you are not ruled by them.

My Chinese qi gong teacher wrote an article saying when you practice meditation and qi gong, you “jump out of the three dimensional world” and are not in the “five elements” (Chinese astrology has five elements).

I believe that to mean you can transcend your horoscope. But you must first be aware of your actions and reactions to do this. Until you do, you are both the horse leading the cart and the cart being led by the horse.

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Rupert Murdoch Transforms

Posted on July 21, 2011 by ohioastrology

Rupert Murdoch is close to his Uranus return. Uranus has an 84-year cycle and is returning to the sign and degree of where it was when Murdoch was born.

Since not everyone lives to 84, this is not an aspect discussed much. I consulted Robert Hand’s “Planets in Transit” and found the description wanting of anything but “hope you had a nice life.”

Astrologers talk a lot about the Saturn return, which occurs around the age of 29 because that age is when people “settle down.” We crystalize into our earthly patterns.

Uranus opposing its natal position, which occurs about the age of 42, is also written about extensively. It is the old “mid-life crisis.”

Uranus transits through each sign of its 84-year cycle in seven years – the old “seven year itch.”

So Uranus is an itch and a crisis. What is Uranus at 84?

Enlightenment, hopefully. Uranus is ultimately about enlightenment. The itches and crises (and anxiety) move us there.

While Murdoch is in the press (his very domain) for being a nosey scoundrel, his inner psyche may be going through some very, very intense experiences.

Neptune has just entered Pisces, the sign of Murdoch’s natal sun. Transiting Neptune will take years to conjunct Murdoch’s natal sun (around 2019). However, transiting Neptune is currently opposing his natal Neptune in Virgo.

Let’s start with the Uranus transit. Murdoch’s natal Uranus is in Aries, the sign of self. Remember, outer planets are generations. At age 80, many of your generation are no longer walking the earth so the issues that drove you as a youth are irrelevant to today’s youth. Until, of course, you are old enough to see those issues (like clothing) cycle back around.

Murdoch’s crisis of today is one that probably existed very strongly in his youth. In 1931, newspapers were the only source of timely information.

In 1931, William Randolph Hearst was the newspaper magnate. The movie Citizen Kane is based on his life. This year was just two years after the Wall Street Crash of 1929. In Europe and old war finished and a new war was on the horizon. In the Middle East, the Ottoman Empire had just fallen. Asian was in the midst of defining itself.

Murdoch grew up in times of uncertainty so he can deal with unusual circumstances. His sun is in Pisces and his moon in Sagittarius, so he’s flexible and adaptable to the point of being irresponsible. Change he can deal with.

Uranus in Aries back in 1931 drove nations to define themselves differently. Uranus in Aries today may do the same. Aries is the headstrong self, the “me first” attitude.

While individual self-determination was needed back in 1931, in today’s global economy that same self-determination creates ripple effects across the planet that it might not have back in the early 20th century.

Back then I built a factory on Lake Erie and polluted the folks in Northern Ohio. Today I build an oil rig in the Gulf and pollute even larger regions and ecosystems.

Murdoch is learning about self-determination. He’s learning about the effects of his Arian drive on others.

The crisis is “But this is who I am!”

On to Neptune. Neptune in Pisces means we’re going to be feeling each other’s pain a little more. Lynn Hayes in her Astrological Musings talks about the times as having the potential for “tremendous spiritual transformation” or “mass delusion.” Or both, I assume.

Neptune has the ability to spiritualize or delude in the sign in which it’s placed. In Murdoch’s early years, Neptune spiritualized and deluded ideas of work and health. This Neptune opposition is telling him that maybe those weren’t the correct values. Or maybe they were. Neptune is undifferentiated and confusing.

Today Neptune will spiritualize and delude about spirituality itself. Murdoch might be thinking, “People don’t work hard today like they used to.” In his early years, factory life was the life. Today it still is in some parts of the world (like China) but a service industry is taking over some parts of the world (US, India).

Neptune in Pisces focuses on spirituality and the needs of the whole without regard to the contribution (work) provided. Last time Neptune was in Pisces, astrologer Hayes points out, the Communist Manifesto was written.

In one’s 80s, it appears, there is a lot of psychological transformation. In American culture, we don’t focus much on this in our movies and books. It must feel lonely to go through these transformations that are part of your generation when much of your generation isn’t around to share it.

Murdoch’s sun in Pisces and moon in Sagittarius is a drifter, both physically and emotionally. I can see why he would love gossip – Pisces loves secrets. I’m sure Murdoch has many secrets of his own. The current transformations he is experiencing are probably enjoyable to him, as Sagittarius loves risk and excitement.

Because so many of Murdoch’s transits relate to the year he was born, today’s events may reflect a return to a time he enjoyed.

These are “interesting times” for Murdoch. Maybe instead of snooping into other’s unimportant gossip, he could share a little of what’s going on in his own emotional and spiritual world.

That would be interesting.

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Dominion

Posted on July 20, 2011 by ohioastrology

Reading historical first-person narratives is a hobby of mine. Reading these works reveals words that have gone out of style such as economy (meaning “thrifty management”), industriousness and handsome (with regard to females).

I don’t think in today’s American culture we value handsome women who are industrious and economical. We sure did back in the 17th and early 18th centuries when women were hauled out to wild Ohio by their husbands to set up home and hearth in Indian territory.

Another word we hear little today is “dominion.”

According to my Random House College Dictionary, dominion is “The power or right of governing and controlling. Sovereign authority.”

When I hear the word “dominion” I immediately think of the Emperor in the Tarot deck. Some balk at the fact the emperor in the Tarot deck is portrayed as a male. I believe it’s an accurate archetype not because emperors or those with dominion must be male, but because dominion is a yang quality, as in yin and yang. Maleness itself is a yang quality. Yang produces maleness.

I believe dominion is yang because it is active as opposed to reactive. In today’s lingo we might say you should “own” a particular behavior. That is dominion. “Owning” your actions and taking responsibility for your life.

For me, astrology itself is about dominion. Not dominion over others, but dominion over the self. Because I see horoscopes as accurately reflecting behavior and personality, it suggests that we come into the world with a set of glasses we wear to view the world and a particular way of being. You might say astrology describes your DNA.

Dominion is the placement of the sun in the horoscope. The sun is the self, the head honcho in our horoscope. The sun is our own internal emperor who sits on the throne and governs our personality.

The sun rules.

The sun can be placed in one of 12 different signs. The characteristic of that sign in the area of your life where you seek dominion and where you can learn dominion of the self.

Your chart is you. Be you.

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Mine!

Posted on July 19, 2011 by ohioastrology

When I read about Native Americans, which I often do during Ohio summers, I begin to think about what it means to “own” something. Prior to contact, tribes had territories and fought over hunting and living ground, but no one “owned” the land.

Among many factors decimating the Native Americans (such as illness, sheer numbers of immigrants, weapons), this one may have contained a crazy element of surprise. Here’s where I hunt and now you call it “yours” and put a big building on it (and later housing developments,  freeways and a Walmart). The shock of someone simply saying they “owned” the land may have made the Native American response quizzically slow.

When children are in their “terrible twos” they are often known to grab things and yell “Mine!” Funny how we tell those children that sharing is good and not to yell “Mine!” But we yell “Mine!” all the time in this world.

The people who came to what is now the United States not only set foot on land and yelled “Mine!” they also captured other humans and yelled “Mine!”

Today multi-nationals are grabbing the water and food and yelling “Mine!”

What is “mine?”

From an astrological perspective, I believe Saturn and Capricorn are about defining societal structures, including this idea of owning property. If we didn’t own property, the result would be Neptune and Pisces – a boundary-less, undefined world. The owning creates the structure, not the other way around.

The structured Saturn fears the diffuse Neptune and calls Neptune “chaos” and “anarchy.”

How would you feel if you didn’t know that you lived in a place called the “United States?” How would you feel if you only knew that you lived on the earth? How would you feel if nothing was “yours?”

With Neptune transiting Pisces, you may begin to have these feelings.

While Neptune is transiting ethereal Pisces, Pluto is transiting rigid Capricorn. These outer planets take years to move through a sign and reflect the “times” and societal changes.

If Capricorn protects “mine” then Pisces promotes “ours.” It looks like we’ll be having some shift in ideas of mine and yours, yours and ours. (And Uranus in Aries assures we will fight for it.)

One reason to have something that is mine, such as my house, is protection. Mine protects me. I think we create “mine” to have a sense of security in a world that is not really secure. Saturn and Capricorn represent the “house” we build around ourselves for protection. This is often called a façade or shield or defense.

When reading about defenses in psychology books, I sometimes get the feeling defenses are seen as bad. I think defenses are a natural part of living in this world. Defenses gone extreme, like the US defense budget, is when we need to examine where our defenses are crippling our growth.

Neptune and Pisces are like wading in the water in the middle of the ocean. There is nothing to stand on. There is no boundary. There are no clear lines of demarcation and to survive in the middle of the ocean, you have to be in constant motion.

As it’s said, you’re born naked and die naked. You own nothing coming in and you own nothing going out. With Neptune in Pisces and Pluto in Capricorn, I think we are going to have global lessons about “mine.”

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