Dateblog: March 2013

The better part of March has a whole lotta Pisces going on! As the month starts, the Sun, Mercury, Venus, Mars and Neptune are ALL in Pisces. Mercury is even in retrograde. Oh – and there’s going to be a Pisces New Moon on the 11^th!

Life is fishy indeed. So are you in the swim of things? Or have you been totally swamped by some tsunami?

Since the astrological element of water is emotional, everything and anything which evokes or provokes emotionality is what’s basically at stake. Your physical home is an earthy, tangible thing. But the security you get from having a home and that sense of being settled, or getting cozy with your family – that’s water. Money is often thought of as a ‘water thing’ in astrology terms, most particularly in the sense of ‘wealth’ as it refers to security. Income? Income is Aquarian and airy as it’s a barter, a trade made in ‘theory’ or on a theoretical basis: I do this, you pay me that. I…SPEND this much time or INVEST this much of my knowledge in you or in your project and you give me XYZ.

Just to finish the thought here, people who have a water sign on natively airy houses always think of wealth in theoretical terms. This is why some people understood Mitt Romney (as a man with Pisces on his natively Aquarian 11^th house) when he spoke about economics and his ideas on earning while some people felt like his mental feet weren’t on reality’s ground.

 Mitt Romney at a February campaign stop

(photo credit: Gage Skidmore, February 13, 2012)

Anyway…we’re distinctly in an emotional time here. So those whose natal charts have such overlays will be gravitating towards whatever makes them feel secure: water signs on natively air sign houses (house numbers 3, 7 and 11) will be wanting to put things in a theoretical manner. Those with water signs on natively earthy houses (house numbers 2, 6 or 10) will be in that ‘if I just had ABC, I’d feel better.’  Those with water signs on intrinsically fiery houses (house numbers 1, 5 and 9) will be imagining better times and inclined towards philosophical discussions.

Bottom line, it’s still all about wanting to feel comfortable. But beyond that, this first week or so of March also offers a distinct opportunity to think through why whatever makes us feel uncomfortable makes us feel that way. If you can get to the root of that and solve that issue, you’ll not only feel comfortable in the short run, you’ll have ‘cured’ yourself of a little portion of human insecurity!

Not bad, eh?

One of the earliest items of specific note for March is the New Moon at 21 Pisces - yet another Moon in a series which is at 21 degrees of succeeding signs. Some of us will see this as a time to begin 'letting go' of something. Others of us will remain shy about anything which could expose us to situations which provoke those feelings we so don't want to feel. 

As of March 12^th, Mars moves into Aries: levels of assertiveness rise. We’re all going to feel more motivated (perhaps restless) during the next five-plus weeks of this Aries/Mars transit.

 Mars by Johann Baptist Straub (1772)

(photo credit Rufus46, September 2008)

But then Mercury goes on station (as of March 15^th) to go direct on the 17^th (UT/+0 time). Mercury’s going direct at 5 Pisces suggests actions based on faith and made as ‘offerings’ turn out best. Making this all the more interesting is the fact that March 16^th plays host to a Yod composed of Pluto-in-Capricorn, Saturn-(retrograde)-in-Scorpio and Jupiter-in-Gemini. The knee-jerk response here will be to talk more, scatter our bets or to spread ourselves thin where the successful move now is to do something very considered and responsible. And if you’ve put a lot of work and thought into it before you arrive at this point, so much the better!

Barely has this passed when we reach the Aries ingress – the change of seasons. But since as the Sun moves into Aries, transiting Mars conjuncts transiting Uranus (within orb of the Sun), life gets very unexpected. Maybe even explosive or chaotic. Thinking on your feet is essential, and we all can expect an emotional few days which start in a very ‘universal mode’ but which become far more personal and self-focused as Venus moves into Aries on March 22^nd.

 Known as 'The Venus de Milo,' this Parian marble statue was found

on the Greek island of Melos in 1820 and presented as a gift from the

Marquis de Riviere to King Louis XVIII of Frank in 1821. Thought to have

been carved somewhere in the vicinity of 130-100 BCE, this Venus

(which originally would have been an 'Aphrodite' as that was the Greek

name for the goddess) is now housed at the Louvre in Paris

(photo credit: Jastrow)

But as focused on ourselves as we may be, March’s last astrological ‘act’ is a Libra Full Moon on March 27^th. This is a moment when we will do ourselves a goodly favor by remembering others…and that how we act determines how others re-act.

Mercury’s still in Pisces. So we’re still thinking with our hearts, souls and feelings. That could be a detriment, but let’s hope it serves to make us all more aware of each other and aware that we all need and fear pretty much the same things.

The summary here is that this is a month which begins with emotionality and all the indecision or conflicted ideas or confusion which goes with that. But through events and moment large and small, we evolve and get on with things - hopefully for all the right reasons!

 

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Politics, Mars and the Debates

 Planet Mars as photographed by the Hubble Space Telescope

(photo credit: NASA-JPL, 2001)

Oh, what a difference a week makes! In the blog about the Vice-Presidential debate, I said that the conversation between Biden and Ryan might be many things, but dull – that it would not be!

While that commentary might reflect the charts of Biden and Ryan, it was mostly based on Mars having moved into Sagittarius.

Both Vice President Biden and Congressman Ryan have charts where the natal Ascendant is in Sagittarius. There wasn’t a chance that they weren’t going to both be set off.

At the time of the debate, Mars was at 3 Sagittarius. That would be inside Paul Ryan’s first house (and conjunct Echo) and atop Biden’s 3 Sagittarius Ascendant. Love or hate Biden or Ryan, it’s an interesting astrological lesson to see the difference between Mars/Ascendant versus Mars in the first house. Biden was downright feisty; Ryan was assertive. They both spoke quickly with a lot of palpable energy in their speech.

It was very Mars in Sagittarius.

In Joe Biden’s chart, Mars was not only conjunct the Ascendant but also his 12th house Scorpio Venus. And thus we felt his ‘connection’ to an ideal which embraces the masses. That there are many criticisms of Biden isn’t astonishing considering this Mars was also in opposition to his 2 Gemini Uranus – the signature of that which many refer to as Joe Biden as a 'loose cannon.'

 Joseph Biden

November 20, 1942 - 8:30 a.m. (EWT +4) - Scranton, PA

Is he? Some will have been blown out of the water by Biden, absolutely. Others no doubt find him a breath of fresh air.

How do voters feel about someone capable of being a 'loose cannon' as Vice President - the person who would be President if something was to happen to Barack Obama?

That's always the VP question to ask.

As for Paul Ryan, Mars conjuncting Echo at 3 Sagittarius (with Eros and Circe conjunct in one direction and  Neptune/Ascendant conjuncting from the other) we have a picture of someone who is going to 'Echo' someone else's statements no matter what. This quality - here heightened by Mars but native under any circumstance - comes to mind with regards to Paul Ryan's stated affinity for Ayn Rand (among others). He was called down (by some) for that as he will be called down (by some) for anything which isn't his own independent and original thought.

And here's the delineation chain there: the Jupiter which rules Paul Ryan's Neptune-Ascendant-Echo in Sagittarius is in Scorpio - about to be conjuncted by Saturn (which makes this election a serious issue for Congressman Ryan's career as a whole) and the 11th house of economics, social/societal systems and personal income. With Ryan's 11th house cusp set at 17 Libra, we have an emotional view of 11th house matters described by an Aquarian Libra exactly atop the 3rd house cusp: a perfect description of Paul Ryan as a.) self-professed numbers wonk and b.) someone who can in the same breath talk about ideals and realities in a way some find apt and others find completely non-coherent.

Another note on the Congressman's Jupiter: natally in opposition to a 5th (what I want) house Saturn/Sedna in early Taurus, Paul Ryan is not exactly what one would describe as flexible about his societal or economic attitudes.

With that 5th house having an Aries cusp, the 'good or bad' which comes out of it (including the Saturn/Sedna thing) will be ruled by a very (head)strong Aries Mars in the 4th house - a place where Mars represents repression, struggles and feuds within the Self, generally about trying to escape an in-built sense of limitation (which may or may not be real even to the Self, never mind others). Mars conjunct Chiron in the 4th defines a vulnerability to frustration. And with both in trine to a Leo Black Moon Lilith in the 8th, Congressman Ryan will forever find himself denied by people he thinks are being foolish and short-sighted - while those people think Paul Ryan is blind to the realities, needs and rights to personal preference that others have.

Is this a great choice for Vice President?

Going back to Echo - which we saw activated at the debate - Echo is one of those chart commodities which can be hugely useful or very deadly, depending on how it's used. It's great for 'reciting facts' while ignoring others, but particularly when combined with Neptune at the Ascendant the whole can come off as either inspirational or deceptive.

Echo is a 'servant of the gods' (Zeus and Hera) who when questioned by Hera keeps saying exactly what Zeus told her to say. Then comes the day when Hera finds out the truth. Echo is punished - not for obeying Zeus but for not being independent enough, which in Paul Ryan's chart is...(yes)...Echoed by the Congressman's Sedna/Jupiter signature.

 

 Paul Davis Ryan

January 29, 1970 - 2:37 a.m. (CST) - Janesville, WI

Conjunct the Sagittarian Ascendant, Paul Ryan will do well to learn from things but not 'Echo' them. Admittedly this is a difficult thing to do if you're running in the VP slot on a presidential ticket. But there may not be any other option which doesn't end up 'costing' more than the Congressman cares to pay.  

So where will Mars be when President Obama and Governor Romney meet up at their next debate on October 16th? Answer: 6 Sagittarius, a degree which is noted for its great emphasis on service and being ‘one among all’ where vanity doesn’t work worth squat.

As an interesting counterpoint (and further illumination) to writings on 6 Sagittarius as a degree, the Sabian Symbol which will color what we might call the ‘assertiveness factor’ at the next debate is as follows: CUPID KNOCKS AT THE DOOR OF A HUMAN HEART which comes with Marc Edmund Jones’ keynote of ‘A stirring-up of individual longings for romantic love.’

Putting aside the idea that this is a very ‘poetic’ sounding concept, if Cupid (son of Venus) is ‘knocking’ at the door of a human heart, what exactly does that say? Doesn’t that imply that the heart has not yet felt real love?

Cupid with a Butterfly (L'Amour au Papillon) by William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1888)

By extension, being that Cupid is the son of Venus, in this image would also be something which is connected to the (Venus) energy which attracts or repels that which we are aiming to accomplish.

And where will this Mars-at-6-Sagittarius fall in the charts of President Obama and Governor Romney on the appointed night of the debate?

For Romney, Mars will be in his 7th house – a house where Mars tends to act a bit subdued. On one hand this can be useful in the ‘conciliatory’ sense. On the other hand, this can be see (by some) as weakness.

In addition to being in Romney’s 7th house, by degree Mars will be conjuncting Hera, with Romney’s Hera being conjunct his South Node. Speaking off the political record, in a man’s chart this is generally the sign of a man who in a marriage likes a strong wife. Hera alone would be a bit bitchy; Hera conjunct South Node (again, in a man’s chart – though also in some lesbian charts) bespeaks someone who finds it (South Node) easy to do whatever the ruler of that Node describes for the partner.

 Mitt Romney

March 12, 1947 - 9:51 a.m. - Detroit, MI

In Romney’s case, the South Node is in Sagittarius, Sagittarius is ruled by Jupiter, and Romney’s Jupiter is in Scorpio and intercepted in the 6th house. Scorpio being the sign of investments and money and the 6th house being the sign of health, work, service, in one direction this gives us a good 'Jupiter description' of Mitt Romney worked hard in the (Scorpio) financial field to (6th house) provide for his wife, her vision for their life and her health. In the other direction, this is also a classic signature of a man with a submissive streak.

With Mars transiting Romney’s 7th house at the time of the next debate, the candidate may well focus on relationships and marriage (or partnerships) as a vehicle in life. There has been talk about Governor Romney’s need to appeal to women and we may hear or sense his trying to do just that.

(Just as a personal note here: as an unmarried person, sometimes watching politics feels like an exercise in tolerating being told you're invisible. I have news for them - I'm not!) 

Yet then again (back to the subject), with Sagittarius being the sign both on Romney’s 7th and 8th house, if he has a chance he may well also move into matters of foreign affairs, abortion/right to life concerns and the national debt.

Meanwhile, over in President Obama’s chart, Mars will be transiting the President’s 10th house – the house of career, government and leadership. This is a strong position for Mars. With Sagittarius as a sign on Obama’s 11th house, the economy and the income of the people (as distinct from the economy) are likely to be important as a focus in what he says.

Mars at 6 Sagittarius is past the opposition to Obama’s 4th house (of the people/nation) 3 Gemini Moon, but still in aspect. We can thus expect some distinctly opinionated statements from the President, and maybe even feel conviction bordering on heat.

 Barack Obama

August 4, 1961 - 7:24 p.m. - Honolulu, HI

Maybe. Obama is after all, a famously ‘no-drama’ guy. But with the November solar eclipse hitting his philosophic 12th house cusp, maybe that’s going to change. With the eclipse being at 21 Scorpio and thus in a 3rd decanate degree (between 20 and 29 of some sign) which automatically denotes external forces as the prompting factor, it just may be the moment when everyone sees a whole new side to President Obama.

Will people like it? Maybe. Maybe not. 

Mars at 6 Sagittarius is not only in opposition to Obama’s Moon but also conjunct Medusa and Antares. On a personal basis this is a self-focal loop which warns Obama not to get so focused on one thing that he misses the details in things going on around him. And that means he is prone to doing that, even though with this pairing being presented in Sagittarius the ruler is Jupiter and Obama’s Jupiter is strongly placed (in Aquarius and the 12th – a sign of his understanding of people and how to speak to them).

 Situated at/as the head of Scorpio, Antares represents our ability to maintain focus while not getting obsessed by things or feelings, the Self or the Other

As Jupiter makes rounds of the chart we learn. With Jupiter’s orbit being 11.86 years long, we probably can look at the history of both the President and the Governor and see them ‘gaining ground’ on who they want to be, step by step.

But the placements here are interesting: Obama’s Jupiter is in 12, where it learns to broaden its view with every round and Romney’s Jupiter is in the 6th house where it narrows, focuses and hones its single-minded effectiveness with every round. 

A last note here: the Sagittarian house in Obama’s chart – the 11th – is the house of society, the economy, personal income and social systems (physical and business). With Kallisto absolutely conjunct this house he is likely to be blamed for things he hasn’t done and condemned to living through a ‘bear of a time’ before he becomes known as a ‘star.’ With Klotho and Ras Alhague situated just before this 11th house cusp (close enough to affect it) we have him starting (Klotho) healing or starting harm – the two poles of the Ras Alhague effect. Since he didn’t ‘start’ the economic collapse it is unlikely that’s the manifestation of this effect. The famously named “Obamacare” program however? That would be something the President started, something which (with Sagittarius being ruled by Jupiter) points straight at his Aquarius Jupiter in 12…

And if you want to follow the chain of rulership from there, Aquarius is ruled first by Saturn (still in 12) and then by Uranus. President Obama’s Uranus is at 25 Leo conjunct Kassandra (nobody will believe him even when he speaks the truth), Industry/North Node (“this should work to create work,” perhaps?) and Regulus (success achieved if revenge is avoided).

But in the other direction (counting down through the degrees this Uranus is also conjunct Pelion (a mountain to climb) Europa (getting carried away) and Black Moon Lilith – the sign of denying society or having the society deny belief in your aims or understandings of the facts.

This whole last bowlful of commentary has little to do with Mars’ exact placement. But it does very much describe the election, so it seems worth noting.

I’m ready for the next debate.

How about you?
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The Denver Presidential Debate: An Astrological View

(photo credits: President Obama - official file photograph,

Governor Mitt Romney, Gage Skidmore, 2011)

Despite all the other things which need doing at the moment, when I heard that the first (of several) presidential debates was scheduled for October 3rd in Denver, my astrological ears perked up.

Or maybe it was my antenna swiveled – I’m not sure.

Considering that the 4th is when Jupiter goes retrograde…and that the 5th is when Saturn enters Scorpio (meaning Saturn would be at 29 degrees of Libra on October 3rd) it was either ghoulish or gleeful of me to think ‘oh, let’s just give this a look at their charts!’
So we’re going to do just that – together.

As you read just yesterday (or maybe you didn’t, and if so, if you want to you can pause here to read the previous post) that Jupiter is going retrograde at 16 Gemini.

So where does that fall in President Obama’s chart? (Presidents first, sorry Governor…)

President Barack Obama

 August 4, 1961 - 7:24 p.m. AHST/+10 - Honolulu, Hawaii

Jupiter is going retrograde in Barack Obama’s 2nd house of values, self worth, self respect and resources (talents, abilities, personal wealth). Looking around his chart, Jupiter’s station does not aspect much of anything – which astrologically means this station doesn’t (figuratively) “touch him.”

But it does conjunct Obama’s Rigel – the fixed star representing our ability to learn and our obligation to teach others. That’s not unusual, as Rigel is positioned at 16 Gemini in the natal charts of everybody born between late 1940 and October 2011. Apart from that however, this does suggest that this Denver debate is a moment for the President to give us a feeling for his values and – because this debate is happening just before Jupiter goes retrograde – how he sees exercising his values and values in general going forward.

With headstrong Phaethon at 15 Gemini (the degree just behind Jupiter’s station degree) we may hear the President verbally think through some former assertions – maybe some of the things he said during campaign 2008 or along the way?

For Governor Mitt Romney, this Jupiter station falls in his first house and conjunct natal Uranus.

 Governor Mitt Romney

March 12, 1947 - 9:51 a.m. EST/+5 - Detroit, Michigan

With Rigel in Romney’s chart, we’re likely to hear him voicing what he’s learned in life and about life and through his life experiences in more personal terms than with Obama. Some will like Romney’s plain speak first person delivery…and some will prefer what is likely to be a more “philosophical sounding” Obama.

With Jupiter not quite hitting Governor Romney’s Jupiter, he’s not quite exploding through the screen. But we may sense an excitation, even a tension in the man.

With Orcus and Medusa at 19 Gemini he’s likely to speak in terms of ‘consequences’ – both his own and those he sees as national choices. In opposition to Eros, his delivery is likely to be really endearing to some and highly off-putting to others. And with this station occurring in square to Romney’s Pisces Ceres and Mercury in the 11th house there are definitely those who are going to think Romney’s logic is ‘squishy’ or coming from a place of denial, lack of understanding or magical thinking (any of which could be seen to be Pisces on the 11th house) when it comes to social/societal resources.

Pisces on 11 is a funny animal. At once you have great faith in other people even as there tends to be a lack of clarity as to who they are or what their values (and economic stances) really are.


After looking at that, then I pulled a chart for the time of the debate, locating said chart to Denver, Colorado. That chart I then located to the middle of a tri-wheel (as it’s called) with the middle ring being President Obama’s chart and the outer rung being Governor Romney’s.

 
The point of these debates being the audience…we look to the 7th house.
 

 The October 3, 2012's 7th house (of the audience) in a tri-wheel. The inner wheel

is that of the debate, the middle wheel is the corresponding area of President

Obama's chart and the outer rung is from Mitt Romney's chart.

Mitt Romney is bringing Chiron at 8 Scorpio to the table: economics. On one hand you can expect to hear a lot about debt (and war – Scorpio often speaks to war in a political chart), on another you should expect what he says to show up his vulnerabilities.

Obama is bringing Neptune to the table. Also at 8 Scorpio his emphasis will is likely to be skewed towards health care, compassion and the ongoing discussion of the difference between what people may have hoped for in his administration (expectations) and real gains on various problems which have (or haven’t) been made.

The difficulty here for Romney is that his Chiron comes from an interception in the 6th house; there is a wall between him and the “common worker” which Governor Romney has never and will never cross. Conjunct natal Klotho and square Pluto-opposition-Venus, one of Mitt Romney’s biggest public challenges is astrologically defined as a t-square.

All t-squares are read counter-clockwise (in zodiacal order). And the rule with a t-square is that if you can’t get past the ‘t’ (in this case the intercepted Chiron) it doesn’t matter how high you hold that ‘goal’ (in this case Venus/Eos in Aquarius), you’re going to get tossed back to ‘Go’ with no collecting $250 (or in Romney’s case, maybe $250,000 dollars).

With Eos (dawning)/Venus in the Aquarian 10th, Governor Romney plainly thinks that everyone can indeed found and build a fortune. The problem – as defined by his chart – is that a.) he doesn’t recognize his own roots in established money (Scorpio here equaling inheritance and support) and his lack of real connection to hard core work.

Pluto/Circe in Leo opposition Venus/Eos in Aquarius is either a total denial of income or the blessings of having been born (Eos) into wealth. IF this configuration wasn’t a t-square…or maybe even more importantly, if it wasn’t pictured as the ‘t’ being intercepted, Governor Romney might have worked his way through the process to proving himself ‘one of the people.’

As it stands, that will probably never happen. A t-square is hard enough. A t-square with the ‘t’ intercepted? That’s an incredibly difficult things to master.
However…looking ahead, there is a solar eclipse at 11 Scorpio coming up in November 2013 – and another solar eclipse at 8 Scorpio during April 2014. If Romney is elected, these eclipses will truly show up his strengths and weaknesses.

And if he isn’t elected?

Let’s just say this is a really, truly challenging set of eclipse transits for Governor Romney. In a sense I would hope he was elected or doing something really truly tough just so that would absorb the energy.

Meanwhile…the audience? The actual audience is represented by Industria-Mercury-Saturn/Pandora. With all this positioned in Libra (and the 7th house) the ruling influence is Venus and Venus has just entered Virgo, putting it in conjunction with Regulus and Achilles.

Woe be to the politician who doesn’t just talk about ethics, but walk an ethical walk. The public isn’t feeling particularly tolerant: they’re ready to (Achilles) slay anyone unwilling to acknowledge the walk all the political talk forces upon others.

One other note here: Regulus/Achilles is also a very plain reference to soldiers and the military. In Virgo, this is both the work of the military, the safety of the military and the care the country owes its military both in terms of benefits and health care and choosing to send the US military into harm’s way.

The public is willing to listen to whatever these two men have to say. They ready to size up their choice. Contrary to what some may think, this chart validates the audience as a group of people who care about the facts - and that the candidates are honest and forthright. Saturn/Mercury as the audience against Romney's Chiron says he has to be vulnerable, particularly on subjects he's said he doesn't want to talk about. His whole litany of 'we aren't discussing my taxes, we aren't discussing abortion and contraception, we aren't discussing Bain Capital...' those are all Scorpio subjects, which is another version of an interception in the 'responsibility/obligation' 6th house. Romney has plainly said 'I don't have to talk about those things and I'm not going to.'

That doesn't mean that the audience still doesn't want to know and that on this occasion at least, they are going to judge Romney - in part - by whether he does or doesn't discuss those matters they want to hear discussed.

Obama, on the other hand, has to be his factual self, not his poetic self. His Scorpio Neptune against the audience Mercury/Saturn gives him a chance to own up to successes, failures and human(e) considerations, including a few facts many Americans don't want to hear, but which are nonetheless true.

The question with Obama thus becomes 'will he brave disgruntling some in the name of being honest about where the country is and what it needs to do?'

The big fun in writing a blog like this is in looking at the signatures and trying to see what is going to be clocked in as specific reactions to an event. Astrology gives us a chance to look ahead. This is Obama's 'no drama Obama' Scorpio Neptune against Romney's fractious-yet-veiled (intercepted) Scorpio Chiron.

Saturn is at 29 Libra: this is make or break time for both men - and for public patience. Evidently the number of  people who haven't yet decided who to vote for are few. With Libra being a cardinal sign...with Saturn at 29 degrees of Libra...it seems rather unlikely that things coming out of this debate - at least from the audience perspective - will end up settling the election ahead.

Such are my thoughts of the moment. And now...we wait and see!

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Whatever your political affiliation, if

you're eligible to vote in the upcoming election, 

 go out there and vote! 

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Ixion Continued…the Station Playing Out

 Hurricane Katrina as photographed on August 28, 2005

by one of NASA's satellites

(photo credit: NASA-NOAA)

One of the hardest things to do as an astrologer is to write about something very emotional without sounding hard-hearted or unkind.

Believe me, learning to get the emotions out of the delineation is one of the hardest things in all astrology – as it must be in many things (medicine leaps to mind).

Ixion goes station-direct on Friday, August 31st, making August 29th and 30th its station period.

I’ve written a couple of times about how in time, we (the astrological ‘we’ et al) may have to think of this two-day station as more of a three day station. Even more likely, perhaps that astrological ‘we’ should start staring really closely at the data tables to see when celestial objects come to linger in given seconds of degrees.

What’s gotten my attention about this station – and as I write on August 29th, we’re just moving into the station to go direct – is the fact that New Orleans is being hit by Hurricane Isaac.

Hurricane Isaac is hitting New Orleans on the to-the-day seven year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, arguably one of the most disastrous storms to hit the US Gulf Coast in many a decade.

This is where I’m going to start sounding hard hearted. The basics about New Orleans is that it sits in the middle of a swamp. Founded by long-ago pirates who were looking for a place to hide, it became a city in part because of its position at the mouth of the mighty Mississippi River…and in part because people are just dogged enough to build things like levies.

 An elevation map for the central section of New Orleans

In the United States, New Orleans is something of the ‘test case supreme’ for the question of whether you should be “allowed” to rebuild in a flood zone, and if you do, who should pay for recurring damages.

It’s also a test case for love of a place against human sensibility. When does it just not make sense to live in a place which is going to be so problematic?

The astrological point here would be that Ixion represents all those things which in our lives come around time and time again, testing our ability to endure…maybe even survive our own repeated choices.

There’s a lot of this going around. I live in an apartment building where we have a guy known locally as ‘the den mother.’ If you have a problem, he’s willing to help. At least to listen. He’s a charming fellow. He’s also a hard-core, high functioning alcoholic.

Last year his son – a bright and shiny young adult – no sooner bought his first new car (a truck) than he sideswiped two parked cars, totaling them and his own brand new vehicle. Yes, he was drunk. This led to lawyers, court appearances, a couple of weeks of working in the city’s morgue (as a deterrent) and some severe family hassles.

I went to my neighbor and ask if having this apple of his eye, his son, go through this heinously trying (not to mention expensive) DUI process was enough to get dad to take on his own drinking.

The answer: “I don’t know…I’ll have to think about it.”

I knew right there the answer was ‘no.’

My neighbor is now in the hospital. Ixion is going station/direct at 17 Sagittarius, atop my neighbor’s Scheherazade – the emblem of ‘telling stories.’ It’s also in direct opposition to fixed star Rigel, and Rigel is at 16 Gemini for anyone born between 1940 and September 2011.

But even if your Rigel is at 15 Gemini (meaning you were born before 1940) or after September 2011 (which would put Rigel at 17 Gemini), Ixion’s station/direct is in opposition.

Rigel is the image of the teacher. So in opposition, Ixion asks have we yet learned?…as well as…do we realize that little choices count?

This last comes not just from Rigel, but from the fact that Ixion is going station-direct in conjunction with Pholus.

(If you missed the post on Pholus,

it can be found HERE.)

Now we hear that there has been some overtopping of levies in New Orleans. With Hurricane (now tropical storm) Isaac having "only" expanded to a category one hurricane, some will ask whether the Army Corp (or others) have ‘done their job’ or ‘chosen right’ in how they repaired levies. Some will ask whether those who thought ‘everything would be okay this time’ were right to shelter this storm in place.

Then we get back to the original question: how smart is it to have a major city sitting in the middle of a swamp?

One other item of rather giant note is happening this week here in the U.S: the Republican convention in Tampa.

I’ve long ago given up thinking that governments and corporations are going to consult with professional astrologers. For one, there are so many variables with elections and the planning of things like political conventions that its not a sensible thought.

So that being true, what we do instead is look at the astrological influences occurring at the time which is chosen and work with that.

I know, I’m sounding hard-hearted again. But I didn’t schedule the Republican convention for the moment when Ixion was going stationary-direct. That wasn’t me – I’m just observing.

And what I’m observing with is the Republican party’s chart. There seem to be two of them (as happens with such things). The first is for that moment when the term “Republican” seems to have been stickered on the party:

  Republican Party

March 20, 1854 - noon LMT +5:55 - Ripon, Wisconsin

(B rating)

The second is for the Republican Party’s 1st ‘official’ convention, an event which happened on July 6, 1854

 Republican Party - First Convention

July 6, 1854 - noon LMT +5:37 - Jackson MI

(B rating)

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In the first chart, Ixion is going station-direct atop the party’s 16 Sagittarius Moon and its 17 Sagittarius Medea…and in opposition to the party’s 14 Gemini Rigel and its 16 Gemini Ixion.

This is Ixion opposition Ixion for the GOP. Positioned from the 12th to the 6th (with Ixion natal in 12 and transiting Ixion in the 6th) this highlights everything the Republicans are talking about…and everything they aren’t thinking about.

As it would – or should, if you’re really looking at this astrologically.

In the ‘First Convention’ chart, Ixion is most involved in opposing Sabine (boxed in, imprisoned) conjunct Edisona (new ideas) from the 3rd (transiting Ixion) to the natal First Convention 9th.

I’d be less than an astrologer if I didn’t point out this is a commentary on education, religion and use of media. Controlling the message would be the obvious cream off the top of this commentary, but it runs far, far deeper than that.

Then of course, there’s the man of the hour: Mitt Romney, for whom we have the following data…

 Mitt Romney

March 12, 1947 - 9:51 EST/+5 - Detroit, Michigan

(B rated)

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In Governor Romney’s chart, Ixion goes direct in the 7th house of interactions with others. Fitting? Yes. And it’s going direct just past Romney’s Eros (passion), which being in Sagittarius is ruled by an intercepted Scorpio Jupiter-conjunct-Moon in the 6th.

The Moon is tenacious – emotionally imbedded, one might say – in Scorpio. Conjunct Jupiter, even the most cursory contemplation of Mitt Romney’s life and times leads us to a diverse list of subjects: his life at Bain Capital, his reticence to discuss money and his life as a Mormon, his wife’s battle with MS and his attitudes towards those who work-for-wages as opposed to working-for-wealth.

Love him or hate him, this interception in Romney’s chart tells us he has no experience of what it means to live paycheck-to-paycheck. Nor will he ever have that experience. I can see many passages and changes which will yet come out of this chart. First person financial struggle and poverty are not on the list.

(I’m sure he’s happy to hear that.)

The point here is this: whether he worked for his money or not, is Mitt Romney capable of understanding the situation and lives of others who may have a very different history? That one concepts asks us to consider Mitt Romney’s natal Ixion - which at 12 Libra, puts it right on the 5th house (my fun) side of his 13 Libra 6th house cusp.

That accounts for what so many see as glibness and the Romney ‘out-of-touch’ thing. And there is a quality of Ixion in 5 conjunct 6 which suggests that if Mitt and those in his 'group' are fine that he's going to have a hard time seeing beyond that.

Libra being ruled by Venus, and Venus being in Aquarius reinforces this ‘airy’ quality in Governor Romney. That his Venus is the most highly placed planet in his chart and conjunct his Part of Fortune and MC supports his claim that he wants to be of service. But with Tantalus/Icarus conjunct that MC, he both is and will be seen as someone quick to ‘throw others under the bus’ for his own ends.

Aquarius’ first ruler is Saturn. Romney’s Leo Saturn is in the third house of thought and communication and conjunct Eurydike/Atropos, which I would take to be the cost (Eurydike) of ending (Atropos) or cutting things off. Saturn in Leo being notorious for self-entitlement and the appearance thereof, we get both a descriptor of the ‘cutting off’ of communication (that which some call Romney’s ‘robotic’ quality) and his ability to be a cost (Eurydike) cutter (Atropos).

To see how this works, we look to the ruler of the 3rd house cusp (Saturn being in the 3rd house). That sign is Cancer, which points us back to Romney’s Moon. This tells us that this is not a man who is going to (or maybe even equipped to) deal with solutions which center on the conditions of the everyday working person. Put simply, Romney is a manager. But is that good or bad? There are probably arguments on both sides. Certainly his Aquarian 10th and heavily populated Pisces 11th house tells us he has strong feelings about the world, absolutely. It's also very faith-based. Mitt Romney sees life through a faith-based lens, most of all because he doesn't want to feel himself as part of the bigger picture.

Does that make him a good or bad candidate?

Governor Mitt Romney of Massachusetts

I happen to be one of those astrologers who thinks presidential elections are relatively easy to predict. My ‘take’ on same is that becoming President of the US (or being re-elected) is a red-letter day in anyone’s life. So you should be able to clearly see who is going to win any election by the transits to their chart and to the ‘ticket’s’ chart on the date of the election…and/or….by transits to said charts on Inauguration Day.

In the last election (2008) there were no clear transits on the date of the election. There were, however, clear differences on Inauguration Day. That President Obama’s chart favored the one (inauguration) and not the other (election) tells us that he was a man looking to do the job and not into the glory or fun of the election. (If it is fun – I have no idea, actually.)

Does this mean I’m going to tell you who will win this year?

No. Why spoil the fun?

But yes, I have looked.

Meanwhile, it’s worth thinking over that the GOP have nominated their man (Romney) at a moment when Ixion is going direct. Next week the Democrats will re-nominate President Obama as Venus moves into Leo. Showy? You bet. Will it be a party? One can guess so.

It could be fiddling while Rome burns, as the saying goes...though this week it would seem more like Rome might be drowning.

But probably the big lessons about Ixion – as a point to use in your own life – are to be drawn from the hurricane. As Ixion goes direct, the impetus which forces us to recognize whether we have learned our lesson about how life really works will come from outside us. With New Orleans and Isaac’s occurrence seven years after Katrina we are reminded of Saturn, as 7 years is a quarter-of-a-Saturn cycle.

It’s the challenge point. So it’s astrologically apt that in this moment, as Ixion goes direct, the ‘solidity’ of the choice and the ‘solid structures’ which remain or which have been built in the wake of Katrina are being tested. Some will stand, some will be found wanting, as will the choices of many who live in the New Orleans area and beyond.

Ixion went retrograde back on March 18th. So we’ve had a couple of months to self-question, and many of us have done well.

Others have simply denied culpability, rationalized their decisions, justified the choices and otherwise, not lived up to what they know is true, just and right.

So it’s a moment in time. Now…and going forward…we get to find out where we’re just kidding ourselves, if we're kidding ourselves, and what the cost of kidding ourselves really is.

I think of my nation, it's people, the folks in New Orleans, my neighbor...and countless others.

Will we get the cost of kidding ourselves? Will we even get the chance to outlive whatever it is...our immaturity, our stubbornness, our arrogant, desperate desires to have things be as we've been told lest we have to be disappointed in that person...or in ourselves for believing them...

Oh, how we do cling to wanting to get our own way.

Does life listen? Seldom.

And that's what the myth of Ixion is about. We get little warnings and lesser reminders. We hear the 'should's' and ignore them.

Then comes the storm and all getting washed away precisely because we got gotten carried away with some airy idea...by some internally isolated belief.

For more information on this Ixion station, please

read the prior post. If you're looking for information on

Ixion as an astrological point, there's a feature length

article posted HERE on astroPPM - or you can

find it in the sidebar.