The Trouble with Neptune

People have trouble with Neptune. Why? Because Neptune is the shine on the penny which is but the glint and a rainbow which, though real to our perception, isn't real enough to touch.

Even real live, big grown astrologers have problems with Neptune. I know this because one long ago day I had this funny conversation with Ray Merriman, a well known and highly respected astrologer of the particularly fiscal ilk.

The scene was an astrological convention and Ray had just given one of his usual brilliant lectures. We fell into a chat, and as it wound onto the subject of everybody's foggy nemesis (Neptune), I declared my desire to invent a 'Neptune Extractor.'

His answer? Ray laughed. Then he told me that if I ever came up with such a thing, I'd get very, VERY rich. But since he's no fool, he also asked if he could be second on the appointment list (figuring I'd be first.)


So take it from me, no one's in love with the whole of their Neptune thing. We like the fantasies and the ideals and the dreams...we hate the disappointments, the failures which teach us to be fearful....

...and most of all we dislike not knowing. Oooooh, how we HATE not knowing - right?  

As Neptune goes retrograde, this idea is brought home. There's so much to feel unsure about, and as Neptune goes from direct to retrograde (from which it will not emerge until November) we're all feeling a little washed out. A little less then secure about being enthused. Just a few days ago we were so crispy sure of what we thought and....


...and then we became not so entirely sure.

Which sucks.  The fog of insecurity is just no darn fun. 

The trick is to learn how to walk through that fog by having faith. If you freak out, you'll be tempted to go hide somewhere or somehow - but that won't really help. Until I get around to building that Neptune Extractor, we just have to make do. 


At least we have each other - which may be the point. If Neptune is about anything astrologically, it's about the denial of ego. So we can stop being egotistical, or we can stop needing to feel our ego in play. Easier said than done? Yes. But if you stop to think about why ego seems to be so important, the answer is fear.

That means the real purpose of Neptune is to teach us how to live without fear - most of all of ourselves. 

Okay...so maybe I'll scrap that Extractor.

 

Dennis Hopper: 1936 – 2010

Most people know Dennis Hopper for movies like 'Easy Rider' and 'Blue Velvet' - among many, many others. I’ve heard about his interest in art, and the depth of feeling he had for his community…not just the professional one, but the lives of people rich and poor in and around Venice, California where he lived – and everywhere else.

Dennis Hopper died as his progressed Moon reached the Nadir of his chart. The Nadir (or IC) is the bottom-most point in the chart. Astrology thinks of it in many ways – it’s everything which forms and challenges the ‘foundation’ of our life. It’s our family and our childhood, our nation and our heritage. It’s that thing we rise from and that to which we ultimately return as the IC and 4th house are often referred to as ‘the house of endings’ and death. It is the firmament on which we stand, and the earth to which we return.

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.

The Moon is an image of personal clockwork. As the Sun is the image of life as a whole and the whole of life we are part of, so the Moon represents – in some sense – or individuality. Certainly our individual feelings about our incarnation. It is neither unusual nor unfitting for this symbolism to mark the passing of a person – especially someone as human as Dennis Hopper.

My first memories of Dennis are at the home of a lady named April. She was good friends with the woman my dad was dating at the time – a woman he would eventually go on to marry. 

I liked April, though in general that was a troubled, tumultuous time in my life. So when I snuck into the kitchen and there was this friendly looking man sitting on a straight-backed chair, as shy and mistrusting as I was of most people, I walked over and put my hand in his. I looked up and as his bright eyes met mine his gaze softened. His expression gentled. He seemed to know how lost I certainly felt…and maybe how I hadn’t yet learned I even existed.

He didn’t talk down to me, but he was careful, inquisitive and kind. It took time, but eventually I crawled into his lap and felt protected as he put his arm around me and bounced me on his knee.

Time went by…situations changed. My father married and eventually divorced again, after which I left home. A decade later I was introduced to work in the movie business. It was natural to me as dad had been a producer and I got a job in production accounting.

When the day came to be promoted from assistant to key accountant, the studio of that day sent me off on location. The film was 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2' ...and Dennis Hopper was one of its stars.

As most everyone does, he eventually came by the accounting office to say ‘hi,’ get his per diem and sign paperwork. Thanking him for his cooperation, I gave him regards from the step-mother.

He fixed me with a stare. “What…?" A beat... "NO!” He stood up, plainly horrified, holding his hand out at just under waist-high. “But you’re…you were…” 

He turned around and left.

Days later we came across each other on set. He looked at me with definite pleasure...and maybe even something close to pride. “I just never knew you were going to grow up.” He hugged me and I hugged him back – the years melted away and I was again protected in the warmth of his regard.

The world will miss Dennis Hopper – the actor, the friend, the patron of the arts and the all too human person. Personally, I will miss him for his honesty...and his simple acts of kindness.

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The Stress on our Souls

One of the things I’ve come to realize is that things which go on out in the world are not separate from our lives. And it’s not a matter of the environment or economic entanglement or politics, population or any other thing. Not in isolation. Every one of these things count – but they’re all sort of the same thing.

And that’s what astrology really teaches us. We’re unique, no question. Charts only repeat every 25,920 years even when we limit charts to the common local solar system planets.

But the issues in our lives and life as we know it are all manifestations of the very same Existence. You know, that E=mc2'd thing – the universe as time/space. It doesn’t manifest once as the planets and in some other act as ecology – it all manifests all at once. At every level.

So Uranus just moved into Aries and in the next couple of days, Saturn will go direct and Neptune will go retrograde. And as this all happens, one of the huge issues here in the US of A (where I write) is a mammoth and as-yet uncontrolled oil spill going on in the Gulf of Mexico.

There are a lot of blowouts going on. We’re each feeling it. Some ‘old way’ of doing things isn’t working so well for us anymore. Issues, challenges, needs, questions, insecurities – they’re bubbling up and leaving quite a slick. And the goo isn’t ‘out there’ …it’s mucking up our shallows, the life we find convenient to think about.

Uranus in Aries is all about thinking of ourselves and life in a new way. Evidently it’s time to do just that.

Saturn going direct means we need or should do some (re)building of structures we base our lives on.

Neptune going retrograde says it’s time to stop thinking life is just some dream which happens 'out there' or which will fix itself if you just do what you like doing or find easy. 

The angst – that’s real. But the real message is that we’re all either contributors to our problems or drivers of ultimate solutions. So yeah, you should be stressed. So am I. And there are plenty of good reasons for all of it. But growth is never comfortable – you think crawling out of a chrysalis is fun? Ever heard a mother yell when giving birth?

It’s time to rebirth ourselves as people. And good Uranian luck with that. We need each other more than we know and are more afraid of how self contained (or is that selfish?) other people are than any of us really want to admit. If we were better creatures we wouldn’t need such stress to get us moving but unfortunately, human beings tend to be not just creatures of habit, but creatures of lethargy. And excuses. And emotional greed. 

It's so all bubbling up.

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BP's Top Kill Attempt

BP announced that it's 'Top Kill' attempt began at 13:00 CDT today.

The chart for this event show fixed star Thuban and asteroid Echo at 7 Virgo, right behind the 8 Virgo Ascendant. Thuban's lore is all about difficult processes which have to be worked through. Echo is about 'echoing' what you've been told. 

The combination of these signals in Virgo's proactive first decanate (degrees 0 through 9) tells us that BP is doing (Ascendant) what they have been told will work (Thuban/Echo).

The foundation of this chart is represented as being 7 Sagittarius - another first decan point (therefore about "doing")...and a degree with an interesting lore as pertains to this attempt. Known as a degree which is 'quite' and 'materialistic' and capable of turning enemies into friends, perhaps the most important note about this degree is that it wants to be 'undisturbed' or 'left alone.'

Given that Sagittarius is ruled by Jupiter, we look to Jupiter in this chart - conjunct Uranus/Scheat (a combination which speaks either to nastiness or innovation) and asteroids Byblis (that 'long known') and Klotho (beginnings) the image seems to be that this is a lesson. BP will learn better about what it does - and like as not (given that Jupiter is in the 7th position of "the audience") the world is going to reconsider the true 'cost' of using oil. 


Is this really - astrologically - about oil? Yes. Oil as a substance is astrologically Piscean - the drilling part? That's Scorpio.

So here we have Uranus, Jupiter (et al) all in Pisces: the matter is clearly about the oil itself and oil as subject. Yet since all Piscean outcomes are Neptunian, we need to look at the Neptune in this chart.

And where is Neptune? Conjunct Athena and (calculated) Lilith (that we didn't want to look at) in the 6th house of employees. It's a cinch we don't know everything that's going on - nor are we ever likely to know all or exactly what actually took place. Or whether BP (Transocean, Halliburton, etc.) are going to find out who did what, or if they discipline anyone even if they do find out. 

At least not at this point. 

There is a whole section of astrological theory which is horary and rather 'progression-oriented' which astrologers routinely use for 'time-telling' when it comes to doing certain kinds of predictions. Using this chart, with the Moon at 20 Scorpio and Uranus (the "last" aspect to be made by said Moon) ... the trine between Moon and Uranus which is eventually to be struck says this is not so simple a problem as everyone is thinking, but it can be solved. At some point in the process signified by the number seven (hours? days? weeks? months? years?) there will be a turn in the process. One tick later (at "eight" after commencement of this process at 1pm CDT) information will surface. Then we'll get to the solution...and maybe a few more actual facts.

A note more on this sort of progressive/horary theory: all such 'time slots' often apply. So while it may be only hours (or maybe days or...) until we know whether this 'top kill' method works to seal the blowout, we can also expect to see repercussions (ecological, financial, legal, etc.) echoing off this event chart in terms of what it says about timing.

Last item for the moment...the Scorpio Moon of this chart is in the 3rd house of communications in a degree which is "public" by nature. But Scorpio as a sign is very controlling. Do we think we're getting the whole story? With this Moon ruling the South Node (the "easy way out") in the publicity/marketplace 11th house and conjunct charismatic dog-star Sirius, BP could probably do itself some long-term good by being totally open about everything going on. 

But will it?  

With Icarus (flights of fancy/reckless actions) conjunct Fomalhaut (dreams and intuitions) just under the 'here's what we're telling you' 7th house cusp with the rather domineering symbol of Hera (the overseeing wife) sitting atop said cusp, it's a pretty good bet we're not getting the whole story. 

Will update this blog saga as soon as something else happens...more soon! 

Uranus and BP's Blowout

For those of you following what seems an interminable series of 'we're getting there' announcements coming out of British Petroleum (BP), when they started delays late last week it occurred to me that it might just be a very good thing if the delay took them all the way to that magical moment when Uranus will leave 29 Pisces and enter Aries.

Adjusting for time (to the site of the oil change), this event will occur on Thursday, May 27 at 8:44 in the evening. What does this mean if the attempt is made prior to this time? Obviously in terms of environmental effects, this leak can't be stopped a moment too soon. But does this timing of the shift into Aries and out of Sheat-occupied critical degree 29 Pisces tell us that anything done prior to this time is doomed not to work.

Pulling transits to the chart for the discovery of Uranus (a move made simply out of curiosity) reveals the transit North Node (propriety of necessity) conjunct Eris (discord) on Wednesday, May 26th at 6:09 in the evening, Deepwater time. 

It will be interesting to see how that manifests. 

Whatever happens at that point, there is a clear sign of 'shifting management' which shows on the BP corporate chart come Saturday morning (UK time). For those of the astro-techy tribe, the transit is Juno conjunct Pluto with Juno being in BP's natal 9th house and Pluto being in BP's natal 11th, just conjunct its North Node - which among other things speaks to corporate income. This may indicate an actual change of management, a shift of management with regards to this blow out or something else which will affect BP's income - and let's face it, if the US decides to send in military assets to fix what BP isn't fixing, that's going to be a very expensive bill hitting BP's bottom line.

Think the US won't do that? They do. Back when I was working in motion pictures, one of the films I worked on got permission to film aboard an aircraft carrier. There's a whole hairy story which goes with this, but the part which applies to this discussion is that when the film crew left, the carrier's captain had a survey done of everywhere the crew had been. The production company was summarily served with a bill covering the cost of repainting not just walls and railings, but a large section of the flight deck... and that's very special (and very expensive) paint they use on those decks, since it has to provide landing and take-off traction for fighter jets. 

Last note here...having secured the actual date of incorporation for BP (from the company itself) somewhere in the next couple of weeks I will undertake to write an article on same. It may get posted here, or it may get posted at Daykeeper Journal  (www.daykeeperjournal.com) ...I will at the very leave a message here to let everyone know.

Minerals Management Service: Digging for Truth

Created by the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act (a name long enough to require refueling) the Minerals Management Service originally came into being on January 19, 1982 charged with three  basic and separate tasks.

One: to grant (or deny) leases to corporate interests wanting to plumb and create gain from various underground assets held by the United States government in trust for its people.

Two: to collect fees on such leases.

Three: to oversee those operating under such leases so that disasters like the current BP-Transocean-Halliburton oil blowout in the Gulf of Mexico don’t happen.

The oily trail of malfeasance here is wide and frankly, sticky. Back in September of 2008, scandalous stories began to surface, including one particularly feisty tale of drugs being snorted off toasters (another way to get toasted, one imagines) and members of the MMS being caught not just figuratively but literally in bed with employees of the oil companies (drillers, et al). Honcho-in-charge at that moment (one Earl E. Devaney) delivered several reports on what was termed “a culture of ethical failure” to a US Congress which responded with outrage.

Outrage - do you hear? OUTRAGE! But then did they DO anything about it? Apparently not much, as questions about ongoing problems with collecting all those pesky royalties continued. A few employees from the MMS were shed, but despite the recession they apparently found new employment rather soon.

And who hired them? The oil companies, riggers and all those folk. One wonders if they had to bring their own sheets and toasters – or only the bread and jam. 

Obviously, something’s not working here – including safeguards, employees, regulatory laws…and heaven only knows what else. But astrologically – why would this be?

In any given chart, the first place we look for information are to the two ‘lights’ (Sun and Moon) and the horizontal axis (Ascendant and Descendant) of the chart.

The Sun in this chart is at 29 Capricorn. Capricorn being the premier sign of structure, government and commerce is all well and good. Being at 29 degrees – the last degree of the sign? Known as ‘critical’ 29 degrees of any sign is where the sign can either push to ‘complete’ it’s job or totally lose control. How do you know one from the other? This being Capricorn (with a Capricorn Midheaven), the first place we would look to is Saturn, ruler of Capricorn – which in this chart is in Libra but intercepted in the 6th house.

In organizations, the 6th house tells us about the quality of work done and the employees. To have Saturn intercepted (without a “voice”) here is obviously really, really, very problematic. And lest we miss the point, the sign/degree on the cusp of this 6th house is 25 Virgo, a degree known for its ability to promise but well…maybe not deliver. And which looks the part, but doesn’t act the part – and which in this instance may have described a culture where unqualified people were hired for certain jobs.

Just to make this a little more taste-terrible (as if it needs to be), the ruler of Virgo is Mercury, and the Mercury of this chart is at 17 Aquarius (problems which go unnoticed) conjunct Medea – she of Greek Myth lore famous for her love so selfish it became her doom.

Dare we describe employee doings as the work of some slick operators? At the risk of downplaying the disastrous ecological side of current events, yes.

But management seems suspect as well. Whenever the Sun is conjunct another personal planet (Mercury, Mars, Moon or Venus) what’s indicated is a lack of perspective in that particular area – it’s rather like wanting to live it, not worry about it. There’s just too much focus on that thing to see how something else might be equally (or more) important. Spoken of in astrology as being ‘burned up’ (the Sun being obviously very fiery) here we have Venus (the symbol of making things concrete) in Aquarius, the sign of social systems, the marketplace, society and income. Whether this is taken to be that MMS management was so into the oil market, marketplace, oil companies, the well-heeled perks or the excitement of being wooed by lobbyists with wallets filled with fossil fuel money – whichever way you go here it’s plain MMS management became part of the oil pipeline it was supposed to be minding.

Further notes: standing with this 29 Capricorn Sun conjunct a 2 Aquarius Venus we have Mnemosyne (memory), and Atropos (cut-offs). In the sense of management, this astrological picture backs the idea that apart from what employees (qualified or otherwise) were doing, management wasn’t minding its own job. To have the term ‘memory’ and ‘cut off’ conjunct the MMS’s managerial Sun gives us a big ‘fuggeddaboudit’ …the astro-speak equivalent of a management which brushes aside records and proof of breach of conduct, rules, regulations, safety measures and financial commitments in both the running of the agency and granting oil leases. Sometimes charts will project this sort of image with a Pollyanna ‘they’ll do better this/next time’ note attached. Not in this case – the Venus at 2 Aquarius part says that management was for whatever reason willing to assume risk in the name of possible discoveries, networked connections and pure, hard cold profit – probably personal.

Undoubtedly everyone at the MMS will claim they were overwhelmed with and by their work (South Node conjunct Amphitrite and Atlantis deposed by Saturn). It is also likely that there is/was some sort of connection with matters of State – foreign influence, foreign competition, threats on the part of foreign entities…we will probably never know the most of it. And we shouldn’t think that every member of this agency went in to work each day rubbing their hands at the gleeful thought of how they could screw their fellow citizens and help increase world pollution in the process. They didn’t. The 8 Scorpio Jupiter just below the horizon in the 6th house opposition a 6 Taurus Sedna/Scheherazade just behind the Ascendant is the perfect picture of truly passionately intelligent who were all theory and no human reality. In other words, this agency was like as not greatly staffed by people of sufficient intellectual intelligence to fall prey to manipulation and the untrained or inexperienced depths of their own human nature.

Interesting also to note here is the ongoing debate and efforts towards moving towards use of alternative energy sources. As a national credo, President Bush signed The Energy Act of 2005 on August 8 of 2005, with Chiron (the thing which needs doing which no one feels they know how to do) at 29 Capricorn, exactly conjunct the MMS critical degree Sun giving us the picture which suggests that there was some understanding as the bill was being signed nobody really knew how to get the job done and that there would be reluctance to do anything about it until things got critical.

Also in this chart is Juno (protection of household) at 28 Taurus, one degree off trine to the 29 Capricorn Chiron (and the MMS Sun) and perhaps more importantly, only one degree off opposition to the powerful, stubborn and fearful 29 Scorpio Moon.

Scorpio problems often include fear – fear of change or fear being used as a means to drive or inhibit change. So is this a picture of a challenge to make a change or the challenge of interrupting a pipeline which pumps not just oil, but money and stability from country to country, in essence gluing international economies together? Many think of the Bush/Cheney administration as a presidency of ‘oil men.’ But whether or not that’s true, oil has also become a virtual modern currency, which makes any change to use of oil part of an immensely daunting challenge: that of weaning national economies around the world off oil and onto renewable, passive energy sources like wind, wave and solar. It’s not just about supply and demand of oil here – what happens if the world moves to a non-monetary-based source of energy? How do countries which hold a check and balance on each other by holding up supply or not paying off debt maintain a balance of monetary power if wind, waves and sunlight are providing all the energy we need?

Or perhaps even worse – all the energy only some of us need?

So did the Bush administration really dilly dally? Or in some behind-the-scenes conversation did they oppose conversion to renewable energy because it might possibly destabilize the world’s economy?

Apparently it was time for that test to be undertaken by society anyway, as with the 29 Cancer Solar Eclipse of July 2009 the world economy fell out of the sky. Cancer being the sign of real estate, it’s not surprising the central theme was that of mortgage derivatives. Opposing the Sun of the MMS chart, this event also ‘eclipsed’ a chain of symbols at the base of the MMS’s chart: the North Node at 22 Cancer conjunct the Nadir at 24 Cancer, Charybdis (do or die) at 26, Medusa (fearful or fear of knowledge) at 27 Cancer, Polyhymnia (blithe happiness) at 0 Leo and Orcus (dispassionate final judgment) at 2 Leo.

The North Node being what one should do, to have it at the Nadir speaks of a need to do the basics right, lest all you build atop that topple. In this case, that Cancer Nadir is ruled by the Scorpio Moon and since Scorpio is also the sign of joint/invested assets, this clearly points to big trouble in how the MMS is doing business to whatever extent its business is not being conducted in a totally squeaky clean (right – not oily!) above board sort of way.

Scorpio honors angels, but it tends to attract devils. And with a Moon at critical 29, those devils are likely to be really nasty, really secretive, and really, really hard to unearth and eradicate.

Well, until Uranus (transpersonal changes) gets into the act. Saturn (planet of commerce and regulation, remember?) happened to be retrograding back through 29 Virgo at the time of the Deepwater Horizon blowout. Retrogrades always representing ‘internal’ process, it’s not surprising to hear that all the companies involved (BP, Transocean, Halliburton) were in something of a dispute about what did or didn’t need to be done to get the well capped off safely.

There have been mentions of failing hydraulics, which astrologically would be Neptunian. That this is all happening in very deep water is also Neptunian. Recent reports have spoken of a number of ‘plugs’ which needed to be inserted into the well shaft – that’s structural (Saturn), as are mentions of broken seals. But nothing outranks the Saturn/Capricorn issue of management of the operation as a whole – and that’s an issue which plainly tracks back to the Minerals Management Service, which had a lot of paperwork detailing problems BP (in particular) has had over the years – problems which have cost millions if not billions of dollars, a number of lives and uncalculated costs in terms to damage to the environment and the lives of those who while not killed have been compromised by exposure to toxic chemicals. Oil, while a valuable commodity of our modern age, is plainly toxic.

So along came Saturn and the well blew out. Astrologically, had not Uranus been poised to also move into 29 degrees (this time in Pisces) the astrological picture would not have been as strongly negative for the MMS. But 29 Pisces is the position of fixed star Scheat – a star all about bad publicity. Thus metaphysics say that something was going to happen that was going to put the MMS in a bad light, seeing that we have the following chain of logic describing the placement of Scheat in the MMS


1.    25 Pisces is on the cusp of the 12th house of corporate (passive) income and possible/probable limitations thereof.

2.    Scheat opposes Scylla (monster of the deep)

3.    Jupiter, first ruler of Pisces is positioned in the 6th house of employees and responsibility at 8 Scorpio. Jupiter tends to ‘misbehave’ (act negatively) when in the 6th when not used purposefully for productive control/amelioration of situations. Scorpio is not only a sign of investment (in)/joint assets but compromise through ‘wanton control’ by others or situations.

4.    Neptune, ruler of the Pisces ‘outcome’ is in the 8th house of the MMS chart. When the MMS functions with proper oversight, this represents a proper and ‘rich/enriching’ flow of money into the agency (oil royalties). Because Neptune is in Sagittarius – a Jupiter ruled sign – the positive/negative  is determined by employees and proper efforts to oversee operations.

5.    The 6th house cusp (telling us the nature of the Jupiter) is at 25 Virgo, with Scylla at 24 Virgo. Virgo is ruled by Mercury and the Mercury in this chart is in the 10th (social standing – government – laws and regulations) in Aquarius (corporate income) conjunct Medea (self destructive adoration).


This is plainly a recipe for disaster which was metaphorically/metaphysically and ultimately realistically set off when the MMS allowed drilling ‘in the deep.’ The ironic comment here is that the Energy Act of 2005 (August 8, 2005) which emphasized/empowered the MMS to move into authorization/diversion of energy into wind, wave and solar power has Chiron at 29 Capricorn – exactly conjunct the MMS Sun.

Known colloquially as ‘the wounded healer,’ Chiron is the thing we need to do but which seems so ‘painful’ to do that we all tend to avoid it until we are forced to.

With Uranus at 29 degrees and oil spilling in the Gulf of Mexico, the sextile (opportunity) to this point suggests the MMS may get back on track. This won’t be instantaneous; we already know President Obama has called for an overhaul of the MMS, separating the obvious conflict of interest regarding granting leases versus collecting of royalties.

Equally important here however, is where overseeing of drilling operations occurs – which in this chart would be represented several ways – most of all by the North Node in Moon-ruled Cancer being within 2 degrees of the Nadir or the bottom of the chart, giving us a picture of drilling. Ruled by the critical Moon conjunct Uranus in the 7th, several things are noted clearly from the astrological point of view. Lease holders (whether they be after oil or coal or the conversion of wind, solar or anything else) must be separate as entities but not separated from the MMS in operation. For this agency, there is no such thing as hands off when it comes to OPERATIONS. Hand off the money (and the employees!) and hands on in operations. With caretaker of the harvest Ceres on the Descendant, this is an agency meant to control how others operate and the standards at which they operate. The standards must be for the US people (Cancer at the 4th is also the US population) and not for the corporations – that’s just self-serving convenience, and though it is probably well known within the MMS that certain people should go to prison for what they’ve done, with the Neptune/Jupiter set  up in this chart it’s doubtful anyone will.

The 29 Cancer solar eclipse of July 2009 set cosmic wheels in motion. Solar eclipses run over a period of three years and we never really know the true outcome until the transit period is nearly at its end. So for good and ill, we don’t know what’s going to happen yet. This eclipse set off the MMS Sun, the Midheaven (public reputation, goals) of this chart and its (employee/responsibility)Moon.

The Sun/Midheaven was hit again by the January 2010 solar eclipse at 25 Capricorn and the Nadir (the other end of the vertical “who I am in the world” axis of this chart will again be hit by the 19 Cancer, July 2010 solar eclipse. This is without question, enough energy to bring the MMS to a stunning halt of its current ways.

But we aren’t done yet. The solar eclipse of July 2011 hits the 2nd house of this chart (11 Gemini) exactly. And as it does so, it also opposes the calculated Lilith of this chart – a shadowy side of the MMS we don’t know anything about.

Yet. 

Stand by.





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A personal Uranian moment

As I sit at my desk the sound of frustrated fighting floats across the garden. It’s ‘act 2’ in a drama I found out about just yesterday, when the owner of the building I live in sent someone around to say that effective immediately, the manager of 12 years here is no longer the manager.

Seeing her door standing wide open, as I went out a few hours later, I stopped by to see what was up. One of her grown daughters was standing in the hall weeping as the other was closeted with mother in the bedroom, each prosecuting a verbal Donnybrook on the other.

Violence isn’t the question in my home court, but this is a tell-tale sign of Uranus at 29 Pisces. Scheat, the fixed star which sits at this degree has a reputation for being seen in the worst sort of light, no matter how right the information or good the personal intention. An example I like to use is Galileo; when he said everything revolved around the Sun (not the Earth) in our solar system he got called a heretic and ended up under house arrest.

In this case, my manager is a woman with a soft spot for people in need of care, love and a place to mend their wounds. She fought to get my application accepted in a moment when things were bad for me and has done the same for others. When they’ve pushed or disobeyed the house rules, she’s mitigated the complaints, pointing out to all concerned that this small complex of some forty apartments is its own little community – we should try to get along. Slowly but surely, she’s helped forge a sense of family among us; where I live your cut finger won’t go naked for want of a Band-Aid here – just go outside and pronounce your need. Someone will come running.

On the other side, some matters of maintenance have gone wanting. The flooding of lower floor apartments this past winter is sure example of that. Yes, we got the gutters cleaned out (finally!) and surgery was done to clear out the clod-clotted drain arteries. But with that came a cooperative effort to clean the washer tops, sweep the walks and keep things picked up between visits from the gardeners.

Any planet in any position excites not just the energy of that degree, but the energy of the polarity that degree is only one half of. 29 Pisces/Virgo is efficiency and effectiveness – the ‘takin’ care of buisness’ of the Virgo side against the forgiveness, charity and possible sloppiness of the Pisces side.

And with Scheat on the Pisces side, where we have been so forgiving as to be sloppy, where we have taken too soft a stance where rules really do need minding – there things are happening despite all we can do….and they are likely to be seen in a bad light from all angles. It isn’t just big corporations or the Vatican or the banks and Wall Street…it’s the boss, it’s the friend you’ve had trouble with, it’s the baker, your children, the vet, your honey…it’s whomever.

The solution here is to talk it through, granted. Where things have gone wrong yes – there need to be better checks and balances and some means for correcting things before they go destructively off the rail. Here in my home quad, the owners seem to be finally taking charge. But they could have done things differently. I’m looking across the garden and there are boxes and movers going in and out of my manager’s apartment.

We all need rules. We all need to be held to rules and standards. This isn’t about being nice, this is about being effective. And though Uranus will move out of 29 Pisces come May 27/28 (depending where you are), we have from now until February/early March 2011 - when after its yearly retrograde Uranus will return to this degree – we have until then to clean up our act.

It shouldn’t be all explosions. It shouldn’t take personal disasters for us to get that we need to change our ways. It often does, but it shouldn’t. Yes, people learn far better through bad times than good, but geez…you’d think we would get that though Uranian ideals are really nice, that when we go with the ideal we end up getting undermined by the fact that Pisces fantasies are simply not Virgo functional realities.

Sigh…I’m going to miss my lady manager. She has her flaws, but so do we all. And though I’m sorry to see hers catch up with her, I have faith this is also the moment for her to move on.

The sounds of quarreling have now gone quiet. It’s time to reflect, then get to work - perhaps not so much on who I need to be as how I need to go about being the person I am. I get that will require emotional risks and risking feeling vulnerable - that's a big part of Uranus in Pisces...which is now coming to a head at 29 Pisces.

And no, I won't enjoy that. But what other choice do I have? What other choice to any of us have? We can either do the thing which makes us and our lives work or suffer the consequences of refusing to take on the 'hard stuff.'

As a lesson...it so sucks. As a reality, it's true nonetheless.

Like I said....[sigh].

Arlen Specter: The Parties are Over

The End of a Spect(e)ral Era 

Born on February 12, 1930 in Wichita, Kansas, Senator Arlen Specter first assumed office on January 3, 1981 after a campaign marked astrologically by a solar eclipse at 18 Leo.

Lunar eclipses are emotional times which in highlighting something, present us with some reality. Solar eclipse on the other hand, ‘block out’ some part of reality in order to
reveal some special attribute (the image here being the corona – the halo of solar light we see cast around the Moon when it moves in front of the Sun.).

Neither of these events necessarily good or bad – at least in theory, they’re educational. But when a solar eclipse strikes our chart with any exactitude, it certainly does often perform a blitzkrieg on something we’re used to.

That’s the cosmic point – we get used to things, but life wants us to git growin’.

With this particular 1980 eclipse occurring in exact opposition Senator Specter’s natal Damocles (at 18 Aquarius) and in general opposition to Amor (love, at 19 Aquarius) and Icarus/Sun at 23 Aquarius, this was Specter turning his ego to greater things, as lore suggests we should all do. (And do we?) That aside, he also met up with several other important lessons.

The first would have been colored by Damocles – a symbol that teaches that with power comes responsibilities and exposure, some of which can feel threatening or dangerous, and some of which can actually be threatening. Or yes, even dangerous.

Do we think he was horrified? No. Au contraire…with Damocles so close to Amor in this chart, there’s every reason to suspect Senator Specter has a love of the tough campaign and the good political fight, ego bruises and all. His is a personality which accepts that risks exist and that life isn't supposed to be a platter of cupcakes.

The Icarus/Sun signature also tells us that his is a personality prone to going over the top – which may be a plus in political debates. But this is also a sign of someone capable of taking off on flights of fancy which sometimes come with huge price tags. Still…did he have any real choice? Specter’s Sun and Icarus are both 3rd decanate symbols (degrees 20 through 29) which in social/societal Aquarius tells us that Specter is someone who really can’t know how well something works until it’s put to a real time, real life test. And yes, he has been tested. He's also been testy - go figger.

But that sometimes things work, sometimes they don’t....? Icarus/Sun in late Aquarius marks Senator Specter as someone who would be philosophical about failures but determined to work things through. And while right is optimal, this is a man willing to go with what ultimately works. He gets the distance between ideals and reality. He doesn't always like it (and during this time he got a big heapin' dose of same!) but he gets it. And probably by the time this 3-year solar eclipse transit had run its course, Specter got the clue about how things were going to work. And not work. Or sort of work.

Moving on...as the Senator finished his ‘freshman year’ (evidently a rite of political passage)a lunar eclipse occurred at 19 Cancer conjunct a powerful configuration in his natal chart: Pluto in Cancer opposition Juno/Vega in Capricorn. Juno is a symbol of responsive power. Often seen potently positioned in the charts of matriarchs and those who defend family and home (or in this case, homeland), here united with charismatic Vega and opposition Pluto we have a configuration all about deep beliefs in self, in what one thinks is worth fighting for or against (despite what anyone else will say) and a strong opinion about what’s good for his country and people in general.

And in case we might think Arlen Specter hadn’t found his life’s calling, we have only to look to Jupiter, which at that moment was rolling up on and over 8 Scorpio – the degree of the eclipse prior to Specter’s birth (often a sign of things ‘fated’) .

Just after that lunar eclipse hit, a solar eclipse hit his chart too. Positioned at 4 Aquarius, it focused on Specter’s Aquarian (social/societal) ability to utilize wisdom (Athena), assertion (Mars), image (Photographica) and Atropos – the severing of an ‘old life.’ Say goodbye to Mister Nice Guy – to Senator Specter, getting the job done was always going to be more important than looking good or being liked.

Cut to January 26, 2009 - another solar eclipse (at 6 Aquarius)which set off this Mars-Athena-Photographica-Atropos thing yet again, leading to Senator Specter’s announcement on April 29 that he was changing parties – he was cutting himself loose (Atropos) from the Republicans to join with the Democrats. True to blatant form, as Jupiter was moving in to

roll over Sun/Icarus and natal Venus, he even announced that one of his reasons for making the change was that if he stayed with the Republicans he wouldn’t be able to win another election. Was that crassly crude or a display of honesty and independence seldom like people keep saying they want to see in their politicians?

But some cosmic (not to mention social) die had been cast. A year later, January 2010’s solar eclipse at 25 Capricorn struck the Senator’s Hera (partnering), Mercury (thoughts), calculated Lilith (that I don’t like to see about society) complex: whether or not the Senator wanted to see it (and he probably didn’t see it) the public had witnessed or sensed something they didn’t like.

Or maybe just something didn’t want to deal with…whether in him or in themselves, we’ll never know.

Whatever the case, the politician who had seemed so untouchable suddenly looked vulnerable to challenge. And defeat. The primary of May 18th which finds Senator Specter losing to challenger Sestak proves that.

Interestingly, this summer’s July solar eclipse will be at 19 Cancer, sort of bringing Senator Specter full circle. As if echoing the lunar eclipse which saw him really claiming his place at the heart of American politics, so this 19 Cancer solar eclipse will see the Senator letting go of the reins.But like the song says, he’ll be doing it his way, with personal dignity – as far as he’s concerned – entirely intact.

There are some in both parties who probably dislike Senator Specter intensely. For them, this is the political exorcism of a Specter.

For the rest of us though, it may just be a lesson in how people used to be. Or what we've gained and lost by requiring politicians to play a social image game we not only don’t respect them for playing…but which we probably dislike ourselves even more for falling prey to. Why? Because that would mean we’re the authors of our own disappointment - and how do we 'eclipse' that?

Arizona's Bill 1070: Getting a Grasp on Status

 
Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed Bill 1070 on April 23^rd at 1:32 pm (MST) after weeks of debate public and private.

The bill authorizes Arizona law enforcement to stop people on ‘reasonable suspicion’ and question them on immigration status, opening the door for challenges based on bias, racial profiling, police misconduct and other forms of state and federal infringements, constitutional and jurisdictional (immigration being defined as the job of the federal government).

Question: without looking at the bill per se (beyond this basic description) what can the chart of its signing tell us?

Answer: a lot.

The first and perhaps most obvious thing concerns a bill being a legal document written in text and meant to communicate instructions, boundaries, rules and priorities. As such it plainly falls under the purview of Mercury, symbol of thought, writings and all forms of communication. With this bill being signed under Mercury retrograde, several interesting things are thus suggested.

To understand how this works we may do well to recall the basic rule of all retrogrades: that they are about internal reflection and consideration/reconsideration rather than external prompting and action. Mercury retrograde is known as a good time to discuss and research, but not one when we try to finalize anything. Things undertaken during Mercury retrograde can turn out just fine, but they seldom turn out to be what you thought they were ‘at the moment.’ So it’s not surprising to hear Governor Brewer say in the news conference after the bill’s signing that she has already asked various governmental departments in Arizona to review the new law and make suggestions before year 2010 plays out.

In other words, she’s signing into law something she is thinking might have to be modified. That’s an internal discussion. Or since this is politics, perhaps a ‘back room’ discussion. Whatever it is, this is not the picture of a Governor signing a bill expecting it to be set in concrete at the moment of signing.

Does this mean the Governor signed it in order to get conversation on this subject or action in this very touchy area of immigration moved from simple debate into action mode?

Possibly.

Could this be the Governor angling for press attention for herself? That’s possible too, and even more likely since during the press conference she brought up the idea of media grandstanding. The first rule of psychological pathology is I will accuse you of my own ‘worst faults’ – and whether or not this is a ‘fault’ (or even good or bad), for the Governor to cite and critique what ‘others do’ suggests she may be doing it herself. She may not even know…but she may be doing it: the Saturn (government) of the signing chart is squarely conjunct the midpoint of the Governor’s Libra Sun/Neptune and Lilith – pretty much a double image of what she doesn’t see/doesn’t want to see about herself.

With the Mercury retrograde of this moment being in Taurus, values and resources are plainly on the spot. Being that one of the most obvious ‘symptoms’ of values and resources is money (money being a reflection of how much we do/don’t value ourselves and how willing/able we are to utilize personal resources/talents)…thus we have to ask whether this law can actually do what it’s intended to, given Arizona’s budgetary constraints and manpower?

Alternately, does this bill uphold, violate, compromise or harness the truth nature of the spirit of the people as invested in their government OR the spirit of the government (state and/or federal) as inculcated in whichever constitutional articles? The very fact that this the moment of signing has Mercury at 11 Taurus underscores these ideas, 11 Taurus being a degree all about strong ambitions which because they are an ‘overextension of reach’ may end up being tempered.

Nor is the Mercury operating in a vacuum. Ruled by Venus conjunct fixed star Algol this bill embodies and arouses (Venus) a great deal of passionate intensity (Algol). With this Venus/Algol in the 10^th (most public) house of the signing chart, the action while plainly governmental is also being put out there for everyone to see. It’s not just a bill being signed, in other words – it really is a statement.

Being that this is a statement being made in the 10^th house of goals, life structures and achievements, we look to the Midheaven itself which at 20 Taurus is a third decanate (last third of the sign’s) degree. Any 3^rd decan degree always puts something out there to test its functionality, a concept which works very well with the Mercury retrograde and the Governor’s statement that she wants input and by implication, is willing to consider amending the bill as signed.

As for 20 Taurus, this is a conflicted degree. On one hand it represents being willing to work on a goal. Yet sometimes it carries with it (or incites) envy and jealousy which tears efforts down simply for the sake of destroying them. This can even occur within the Self, opening the door to discussions on what this bill might do which far from protecting Arizona/Arizonans (and by implication, the rest of the United States), might undermine it, creating far more problems than it’s worth. When such charges arise (and they’re likely to) telling the genuine objection from the envious or manipulative one will be difficult.

Into all this comes Sedna at 21 Taurus – the highest substantiated symbol (i.e., object having mass) of any size in this chart. Sedna is all about the power we don’t own until we let go of what we’ve gotten accustomed to and become ‘comfy’ with (nonfunctional though it might be!) and thus the bill is both about saying ‘we need to change the status quo’ and likely to arouse mass protest among those who may know things are bad now but who are unwilling to go through what it takes to make a better future. Sedna is all about the latent immaturity and childishness in us all.

It’s also about literal immaturity: childhood and young (non-adult) people in general – a fact we will get to in a minute or two.

Going back to Mercury however, the Mercury of this chart is in opposition to Pallas (wisdom). And Pallas is conjunct Lachesis (temporal durability). Both these symbols are in Scorpio, a testing sign which asks us to deal with what it takes to take the emotional risk though an investment in attempting to change the status quo. The whole subject of immigration and racial identity and dealing with obvious questions like who doesn’t get that the world ILLEGAL is part of ‘illegal alien’?…this is all part of the Scorpio requirement that we face truth, not simply go with slogans of mental/moral/emotional convenience. Can the people deal with the (Lachesis) process it will take to get there?

That this Pallas/Lachesis is positioned at the bottom of the chart (the Nadir) tells us that this Scorpio issue is literally and figuratively foundational. The bill is attempting to talk about the foundation upon which Arizona is built and exists. The Nadir being the cusp of the 4^th house of the people, this is about the citizenry and as distinct from that, the population. With this Nadir being at 20 Scorpio (the polarity degree to the Midheaven) the foundation of this chart is empowered and tested by tenacity of emotional focus which is affected and perhaps afflicted by passion. We’ve already seen this question of passion expressed by Venus/Algol – now we see it positioned at the Nadir and in Scorpio where it calls upon not the concrete recognition of Taurus but the emotional depths and those tests of spirit which allow us to plumb our feeling depths so associated with Scorpio.

Being that Scorpio is ruled first by Mars and then by Pluto, with the Mars of this chart being in Leo and the 12^th house, we can expect to hear a lot about the ‘fate of children,’ plus and minus – children who are at threat perhaps by resources being drained if the status quo is left in place and children who may be at risk if resources are diverted to implementation of this bill. With Mars in the 12^th religion may also be brought into the mix whether seen or unseen (meaning people may site scripture, clergy may speak directly to the media or congregants who have been spoken to by clergy during services may feel they need to speak out).

The other side of this is more Plutonic: Pluto being in the 5^th house of this chart (conjunct Ceres, a symbol of nurturing and providing for one’s needs), this bill plainly echoes’ the Governor’s stated concerns that Mexican drug cartels are having an ever-expanding influence in Arizona which has an effect on overall quality of life. Who controls what Arizona is like? That is part of what is being spoken to in this bill. With the 5^th house of this chart being Sagittarian (and thus ruled by the 8^th house Jupiter) the Governor is plainly saying that it is up to Arizona to use its resources to create the life/lifestyle Arizonans want. She is also saying that Arizonans should want to do that it takes to get to that quality of life.

Given that the Scorpio Pallas/Nadir is just opposite the Midheaven/Sedna, this bill is meant to face uncomfortable problems. It expresses a conviction that the status quo doesn’t work anymore and that the people and the government need to get it together and grow up!

Apart from that, it also represents the Governor’s desire to act (and to be seen as acting) responsibly for the benefit of her state. And in this regard, the Midheaven/Nadir formulation is very reflective of an Arizona government expressing concerns of both a security and fiscal nature. With Sedna in the mix and Venus/Algol being widely conjunct June (parental leadership) this is not only the Governor acting as ‘parental-head-of-state’ (which is not a slight) ….but also as an image in which Arizona may be seen as a ‘child’ of the United States as a nation. Thus we could even ask whether some of these concerns the Governor is dealing with are fuled/supported/fed by the federal Department of Homeland Security.

The flip side of this is that given how Sedna as an individual symbol is not specifically in standard opposition to Pallas, there may be no specific knowledge (i.e., a known ‘plan’ of attack or compromise) but merely a serious and ongoing concern in this regard based on history. With Pallas at 16 Scorpio there is an aura here of ‘defending with strength’…and that there’s a good probability that some kind of fiscal concerns AND financial tracking has participated in the mounting and signing of this bill. So what Washington says to Arizona about financial support counts. What Washington and/or Arizona may understand about money flowing back and forth across the border (or how it’s being otherwise siphoned off) – that counts too.

Yet the Pallas-opposition-Mercury with Mercury (thought) in the legal/application-oriented 9^th house of the chart indicates haste. What would be the result there? One would be that which is reflected in the concerns of those protesting – that law enforcement may (as it were!) jump their own gun in who they stop. More to the general point, it’s likely that all the legal ducks and means/methods through which this law would be applied are not yet in a row. Certainly the Sun/Mercury in Taurus plus all four axis points also in slow-to-move fixed signs suggests this law is not ready to go right out of the signing box.

Another interesting figure in this chart is the Ascendant/Descendant line – the horizontal axis which here represents the ‘reaching out’ to the people and media on this subject. Electronic media being signified by Aquarius, with 24 Aquarius on the Descendant conjunct asteroid Lilith (the shadow self) potently positioned at 22 Aquarius, the media as individual corporations may or may not take a direct position attacking this bill. But as a mass collective, it’s to be expected that media in every form (with an emphasis on those which are electronic) will act as a vehicle through which attacks are made.

Given that 24 Aquarius is associated with ‘unsuspected harm’ and ‘intelligence which lacks common sense’ we can also expect a variety of opinions – some of which are more reasonable/well informed than others. This is particularly likely as there are two groupings of celestial objects above and below the Descendant line, a literal ‘horizon’ which in any chart separates the visible (above the horizon) from the unseen (below the horizon). Here we have Damocles (danger through assumptions) and Nessus (self-serving interests which incite destructive action) just below the horizon. This suggests a need to be careful when listening to the discussion as it’s going to be hard to know who among the many are speaking out of their own conviction and who is serving some ‘other master’ (Drug lords? Power politic players?)

Not that the asteroids presented above the horizon are so much better: Icarus exactlyexactly conjunct Neptune gives us patriotic idealism, idyllic ideas of what ‘protection’ means and well meant ideas which in reality are either totally untrue or nonfunctional. Merely to have Neptune lingering here just above the horizontal axis in a bill being signed during Mercury retrograde is not the most helpful signal; Mercury retrograde is famous for misunderstandings and Neptune is ‘the fogging of the situation’ personified. conjunct Tantalus amounts to ‘hasty presumption that someone’s out to get you’ and Hera exactly conjunct Neptune gives us patriotic idealism, idyllic ideas of what 'protection' means and well meant ideas which in reality are either totally untrue or non-functional. Merely to have Neptune lingering here just above the horizontal axis in a bill being signed under Mercury retrograde is not the most helpful signal; Mercury retrograde is famous for misunderstandings, and Neptune is 'the fogging of the situation' personified.

So this law may take time to sort out…and it should be sorted out thoroughly. Neither side has the ‘might of right’ here: in the end this bill is going to be all about the planetary symbols which are numerically highest in this chart. Those are the Virgo Saturn in the 2^nd (the need to care for one’s responsibilities in a responsible manner), the Aquarius Neptune (altruism versus economic realities) and the Taurus Venus in the 10^th (we need to do what we can do, but only what we can do).

But before that we are likely to experience much tra-la. On the Ascendant side of this horizontal horizon line we have Vesta. Vesta is a signature of service, and that it’s sitting behind the 24 Leo Ascendant with both conjunct the Governor’s personal Deucalion (the moral path), Sphinx (willing to ask questions and wait it out) and Pallas (wisdom) tells us that Governor Brewer (b. September 26, 1944 – Hollywood, CA) absolutely believes she is acting for the best even if this bill sparks controversy and challenges. With a Libra Sun conjunct Neptune in her personal chart, Governor Brewer is willing to make sacrifices not merely as a definition as a civil servant (personal exposure, loss of personal time) but in taking on the fight against those who may oppose her. With the planets of highest degree in her chart (her “outcome”) being a strong Libra Venus trine a Gemini Juno (head of household) conjunct Betelgeuse (uncomplicated success) however…we can suspect in the end Governor Brewer will be respected for her efforts even should this bill be struck down.

Against all this we have several other axes of astrological statements in the signing chart.

The first is Saturn (retrograde) opposition Uranus/Jupiter in Pisces. Saturn is in the 2^ndth is willing to risk all and Saturn/Uranus in opposition (which is here pictured with exactitude) is very much the superhero effort to save a broken situation being ever-threatened by evil bad guys. Jupiter in the 8^th speaks to what it will take to clean things up; not hooked into the Saturn/Uranus but exactly inconjunct Vesta and exactly semi-sextile Lilith, this bill is all about getting people to look at a reality they really don’t want to face. Can a state (or nation) battling recession afford and to give non-citizens what it gives citizens? Where does the need for caution come into conflict with the idea of stereo-typing? That this bill is being signed scant days after the anniversary of the bombing of the Federal Building in Oklahoma City is a clear reminder that not all the terrorists are identifiable by ethnicity. Saturn is in the 2nd house of values and resources – a clear sign that says we need to use what we have properly so as to insure a good future and we only have so much. Uranus in the 8th is willing to risk all and Saturn/Uranus in opposition (here pictured with exactitude) is very much the superhero effort to save a broken situation being ever-threatened by evil bad guys.

Jupiter in the 8th speaks to what it will take to clean things up; not hooked into the Saturn/Uranus but exactly inconjunct Vesta (indicating an adjustment in service) and an exact semi-sextile to Lilith (a disturbance of all we don't want to deal with) makes this bill one which forces people to look at realities they really don't want to face. Can a state (or nation) battling recession afford to give non-citizens what it gives its own legal citizens? Where does the need for caution come into conflict with the idea of stereo-typing? That this bill is being signed scant days after the anniversary of the bombing of the Federal Building in Oklahoma City is a clear reminder that not all the terrorists are identifiable by ethnicity.

And yet if you’re Arizona and you’re sitting right there on the border with the violence of the drug trade right there, a certain amount of realism has to be faced. Until Mexican cartels go gringo (or something else) the tendency to look at Latinos a little harder – isn’t that reasonable if who you’re looking for are members of some Mexican cartel?

This chart also displays things which though not specified in the bill have probably been discussed in political back rooms in Arizona (and elsewhere) as concerns immigration in general. This starts with an image known astrologically as a grand trine. Single trines signifying ‘ongoing’ energy (matters which are implicitly tied together) when three trines link together (think: equilateral triangle) what results is a nearly inextricable connection: one thing affects the other which affects the other – they all flow together, they support and hinder each other and everything changes…or nothing changes.

The first part of this grand trine is a Virgo Moon in the 1^st house of this chart. This is about healthy functionality as primal essence (or rationale) and the need for skill in methodical achieving of the goal, monetary practicality and serving the primary need – in this case of a state or state society.

The second part of this trine is a Capricorn Ceres-Pluto-Charybdis in 5^th house. With Capricorn being ruled by the Saturn we saw pictured in the house of values and resources, there is a concern expressed here of having limited resources which need to be used to best effect. More conservative than liberal, this 2^nd house Saturn rulership of 5^th house is also structural and aimed towards providing for a better future – which in societal terms is an automatic reference to children. Resources are thus to be aimed at children, asking the vital question of how many children can be taken care of properly; the late Virgo Saturn in the 2^nd house would pose this question as ‘quality or quality?’ and opt for quality).

Being that Charybdis carries with it a ‘flavor’ of “continuing action” this 5^th house problem which could affect children needs continuous monitoring and/or attention ad infinitum, suggesting that the question is not just one of needing to keep on something and keep after it but that the growth in the number of children here is part of the ‘future equation’ – an idea which incorporates Pluto’s obsessive fixation and Ceres distinct aura of ‘nurturing’ as a combination which speaks to ‘lots of kids’ or ‘big families.’

The third part of this grand trine is the Taurus Sun in the 9^th conjunct Pandora (many difficulties which have to be sorted through before one has hope)…Pandora of evils-in-the-box fame seen here in the 9^th house of things foreign, as-yet unassimiliated and certainly unknown is easily seen as the drug trade – specifically the importation of violence and trouble (echoed by Eris Discord being also present in this 9^th house).

Taken all together, this is a formidable grand trine in earth signs, earth being the symbol of ‘things tangible.’ So this is a tangible issue – it’s one which actually affects people. Notorious for being ‘ongoing issues’ and thus a status quo coming into the moment of the bill’s signing, that this grand trine is affected through the Saturn/Uranus-Jupiter opposition is the very indication of something changing. Grand trines (even single “regular” trines) are only interrupted or dynamically changed for better or worse when set off by hard aspects. Here we have Saturn/Uranus squaring Ceres/Pluto plus Jupiter semi-sextile Eris as a very interesting image of law enforcement in action; Jupiter rules law and coming from the 8^th house represents the will of those empowered to control resources.

Again, with a Virgo Saturn in the 2^nd there is righteous need to prioritize. Prioritize what? With Jupiter ruling the 8^th and the 5^th and the Sun in the 9^th, the values and rights of one’s own citizens (this is a political chart, remember) with particular emphasis on children and the need for proper education of legally residents seems implicit, lest the United States undermine its own future.

There’s another issue pictured here too – one probably no politician or pundit wants to touch with a twenty-foot pole. That’s the continuing anomaly of “anchor babies”: the United States is greatly unique in granting citizen status to children born to non-nationals who just happen to be on US soil when their baby is born. Nevermind the simple questions - can anyone envision interviewing pregnant women during the visa process or at customs, barring entry to those beyond ‘x’ number of months?

So what’s going to happen here? Considering that the upcoming June 26, 2010 lunar eclipse at 4 Capricorn is going to activate the Ceres-Pluto-Charybdis of this chart and the solar eclipse to follow on July 11^th will highlight the South Node of this chart we, can expect some emotional fracas around that time. It may be legal – but it may not be; neither of these images are directly indicative of court challenges – they are populace and fiscally oriented to this chart.

If there is to be a court challenge or a bill amending this one, it will likely be connected with the January 4, 2011 solar eclipse at 13 Capricorn which in activating the North Node of the bill signing chart speaks more to what one ‘has to do to, even if they don’t want to.’ Prior to that, expect a lot of discussion and slow moves towards consideration of how to implement this law; once Saturn moves into the third house of this chart (in late September 2011) we are likely to see the reality of this discussion take shape.

And in all this, let us also remember that solar eclipses take a full three years to evolve. They begin with a ‘breakdown phase’ and in most cases lead somewhere you couldn’t have suspected starting out.

As for Governor Brewer, without an exact time of birth we don’t know whether this summer’s solar eclipse or that of January 2011 will oppose then conjunct her natal Moon (though it is a distinct possibility) – but what we do know is that this summer’s solar eclipse at 19 Cancer will conjunct her North Node and the January 2011 solar eclipse at 13 Capricorn will oppose her Saturn. The Governor thus has miles to go before she can rest on this laurel, lest it turn into a bed of thorns only delicately scented with the perfume of rose petals as they prick.