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Bernadette Brady
on progressions
"The progression will seem to manifest first as a feeling or need and then as an action"
"Progressions are the way the cosmos manifests through us, as compared to a transit, which manifests on us."
"Progressions are a richer source of information than transits. They tap into the realm of the inner, personal world, showing both day-to-day motivations as well as unshakable life statements or desires."
Demetra George
on asteroids
"Astrologers need the asteroids because the tradi-tional planets simply do not and cannot fully explain the issues which are emerging - simply because they are new."
"Before the use of asteroids, the only significators of the feminine in the traditional chart interpretation were the Moon and Venus. The socially acceptable roles for women were the Moon as mother and Venus as mate."
"Ceres, Pallas, June and Vesta represent the new voices of the dormant feminine, recently activated and now demanding power, recognition, justice, and equality in our society."
Richard Tarnas
on the cosmos
Astrology is not concretely predictive, but archetypally predictive."
"The modern dismissal of astrology reflects the virtually universal conviction that the cosmos is disenchanted."
"The universe is a fundamentally and irreducibly interconnected whole, informed by creative intelligence and pervaded by patterns of meaning and order that extend through every level, and that are expressed through a constant correspondence between astronomical events and human events."
Nicholas Campion
on national horoscopes
"Experiment with the charts. Make predictions. And yes, prediction remains a perfectly valid exercise: one successful prediction reveals more about the nature of the universe than a hundred retrospective studies."
" Just as the individual is contained within the collective, so natal astrology can be seen as contained within mundane astrology."
"The modern nation state is largely a creation of the French revolution and is becoming increasingly irrelevant as capitalism becomes global."
Michael O'Reilly
on geopolitics
"Astrology as a worldview shows us that everything is connected, that the individual is an interdependent part of the whole. "
"When Scorpio is rising, the U.S. has four planets in the eighth house, underscoring the national focus on acculating wealth and corporate influence."
"The biggest celebrities have natal planets closely connected to national planets. Their character may personify a specific planet or group of planets, so that they become a national icon or archetype."
"The natal chart is like a seed and progressions are the unfolding in time of that into the plant it is to become. Transits, are like a daily weather report. In political astrology, these three factors have to be taken into account!"
Reader Feedback... re: Egypt...things building there for a long time... I spent 3 week there last year & could easily see it; first part of January hit some hot buttons astrologically and the explosion. My 'big-buck clients' call it the "Yosemite Sam in the dynamite shack" syndrome (remember those scenes from the old Bugs Bunny cartoons?).
What makes Egypt [or what may come hereafter] so significant is its similarity to Russia's invasion of Georgia, circa August of 2008, ahead of the conjunctions that happened in September...and the resulting economic crash of that Fall. That Russian invasion was the 'trigger mechanism' (Sam's torch in the dynamite shack)...it scared the shit out of a lot of Euro-money which created a tipping point on the rotten real estate CDS bubble (the explosives in the shack), et al. Same scenario could be coming up this May, which another 'shack-ful' (rotten muni govt debt & finances) gets a 'torch'...we'll see. Cardinal rule here (of world history): economic action always follows security action.
re: U.S. dollar
"Since so much of our economic power - to both good and bad effect - is having the US Dollar as the world's reserve currency, it might be useful to look at the dollar, distinct from looks you've done on the Federal Reserve. And as the world shed's the dollar as its sole standard - does it happen all at once? little by little? what effect on commodity prices? gold, silver, foodstuffs, oil? Our projected deficit this year - $1.5T. China is already a net seller of dollars. The real economic crunch is still ahead of this "eye of the storm" period we're in. I'd be interested in your perspective on these matters.
NewsScope columns
April 2009 - Dec. 2010
at Neptune Cafe's
Recent NewsScope columns
Nov. 1, 2010 - Election Day and the Scorpio Rising US chart, Silicon Valley, and Frank Sinatra, the Voice
November 8, 2010 - John Boehner's horoscope, Pluto and "Quantitative Easing", and actress Jill Clayburgh
November 15, 2010 - Pluto opposite the U.S. Jupiter, Teddy Roosevelt's gilded age, and Elizabeth Smart
Nov 22, 2010 - the U.S. Saturn Return, plus the Sarah Palin book tour, and Prince William and Kate
Nov. 29, 2010 - Kim Jong' un's horoscope, December's top five astro-events, and Mark Twain's autobiography
December 6, 2010 - Julian Assange's horoscope, Afghainistan's Hamid Karzai, and Tron star Olivia Wilde
Dec. 13, 2010 - Obama's tax cut deal, Ron Paul and the Fed, and besieged Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi
Dec. 20, 2010 - transits to the U.S. horoscope, Amelia Earhart's return, and Julian Assange's chart refined.
Jan. 3, 2011 lBrazil's Dilma Rousseff, super spy Anna Chapman, plus Kelsey Grammer's double Neptune
January 10, 2011 - looks at Gabrielle Giffords' Mars, China's new horoscope, and Rahm Emanuel's residency
January 17, 2011 - Tuni-sia's social network, chess prodigy Hou Youfin, David Arquette and Couteney Cox.
Jan. 24, 2011 - Ophiuchus' delineation by the IAU, February's top five, Steve Jobs progressed New Moon
January 31, 2011 - Egypt's horoscope, Ophiuchus, the 13th constellation, Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul
NewsScope for February 7, 2011
By Michael Wolfstar
Mubarak, the Last Pharaoh
Hosni Mubarak’s horoscope (May 4 1928; Kaf’r-El Meselha, Egypt; time unknown) has a number of astrological signatures that give him the semblance of a modern-day pharaoh. First, his political longevity is suggested by the fixed T-square: his Sun in determined Taurus opposes the crafty Scorpio Moon, with both squaring the political asteroid Pallas in Aquarius. The Sun is militarily fortified by sextiles to Mars on one side and Pluto on the other.
Mubarak’s tremendous wealth ($40-$70 billion) elevates him far above the common man. A Venus-Jupiter conjunction often suggests wealth, and in Mubarak’s case, this combination is found in the militant sign of Aries: he made his billions through military contracts. Venus and Jupiter are much enhanced by trines to Neptune and Saturn, a Fire Grand Trine which likely helped him escape at least six assassination attempts since he’s been president.
In many parts of Africa, such apparent invulnerability suggests supernatural powers. Astrologically, Neptune in Leo underscores this kind of divine rulership and evokes the ancient image of the pharaoh, especially since Jupiter trines Neptune, which gives the impression of royalty sanctioned by higher powers. Mubarak became president on July 14, 1981, when transiting Mars was conjunct his Neptune and all three of the outer planets were aspecting his Neptune.
While Mubarak’s Neptune in Leo gives the semblance of divinely sanctified leadership, transiting Neptune in Aquarius is fostering democratic ideals. A good bet is that a transitional arrangement for Mubarak’s departure may be found when the Sun and Mars conjoin Neptune in Aquarius while opposing his natal Neptune. This
happens around February 16th to 21st. But with protective Jupiter entering Mubarak’s Sun sign in June, he will probably keep some measure of authority until the September election.
The NFL Horoscope
Originally organized in 1920, today’s NFL is a hybrid of the older league and the AFL, created in 1960 by Texas billionaire Lamar Hunt. When the AFL became truly competitive, the two leagues began merger talks, which included the creation of a “superbowl”. The deal was sealed when President Johnson signed a unique exemption to the anti-monopoly laws on November 8, 1966 (noon*; Washington, D.C.).
The tremendous popularity of the American professional football league is evident in the Sun-Venus-Neptune triple conjunction in the warrior sign of Scorpio. Mars is found in orderly Virgo, where it represents the players as disciplined soldiers. Mars is much intensified by the conjunction with Pluto, and together, these two provide the defining element of the league’s identity by the sextile to the Sun.
The NFL Lockout
The stellium of planets in the NFL’s 8th house opposes a Saturn-Chiron conjunction in the 2nd house, reflecting the intense competition the game fosters at all levels of interaction. Mars-Pluto opposite Saturn is a particularly brutal combination, and describes the many injuries and pseudo-warfare quality of the games. Because these planets occupy the money houses, one can see how challenging negotiations can get that involve players’ salaries, benefits, and other financial arrangements.
Now that the Superbowl is behind us, the next big question is whether the March 3 deadline will pass without a renewal of the collective bargaining agreement (CBA). The original CBA was court-approved on August 20, 1993*, and has been renewed regularly since then. At the time of the 1993 decision, the rulers of the NFL’s 2nd and 8th houses, Mercury and Neptune, had progressed into a conjunction, and made into a lasting agreement by an exact conjunction from transiting Pluto – all in the 10th house of judgments.
In terms of benefits and unions, Ceres is the key celestial player. Ceres is associated with the harvest, the fruits of labor, and this is especially true in the NFL’s chart since she is located in the 6th house of work. The last time there was a major players’ strike was on September 22, 1987 and lasted for three weeks. Transiting Neptune opposed Ceres, while the progressed Sun was quincunx Ceres (orb 0º02’).
Transiting Pluto is currently heading into the first of three oppositions to Ceres, and will become exact on February 17. Pluto brings intensifying opposition and complex unresolved issues. Transiting Jupiter will square Ceres on February 24, which may indicate some movement toward resolution. However, transiting Uranus is adversely squaring progressed Ceres, and the New Moon on March 4 opposes the NFL Mars, indicating ongoing disagreements.
* LBJ signed at least five bills that day, with the NFL exemption added as a rider to an economic incentive bill. Until we know exactly what time he signed the bill, noon can be used, and actually works quite well in practice.
The great wealth generated by the NFL can be seen in Saturn, the ruler of the chart, in the 2nd house of money, where it’s trine glitzy Neptune near the Midheaven. A new era of innovative and extremely profitable advertising began during Superbowl XVIII on January 23, 1984 when Apple aired one of the most famous ads in television history. At the time, transiting Saturn (representing corporate money) was right on the NFL’s Sun-Venus.
This chart works at many levels. For example, on November 20, 1977 Walter Payton rushed for a single-game record of 275 yards. At the time, a Venus-Uranus conjunction conjoined the NFL Sun, while progressed Mercury was exactly (to-the-minute) conjunct Neptune in the 10th house of fame and glory. Using horary rules for the playoffs, the first house can represent the favorite and the 7th house is the underdog. The undefeated Miami Dolphins won Superbowl VII on January 14, 1973 during a Sun-Jupiter conjunction right on the NFL’s Ascendant.