Mercury in Sagittarius

Mercury will enter Sagittarius on Tuesday, December 11th and 1:41 in the morning UT/+0 time. That just happens to be as the Moon is moving through Scorpio in preparation for a Sagittarian New Moon on December 13th.

In lunar astrology (yes, it’s a specialty!) having the Moon in the last sign of a lunation – otherwise known as the last sign before the next lunation – is known as the Moon being in its Balsamic Phase.

I know…that sounds like we’re making salad, doesn’t it?

For the purists in the group, yes - technically, the Moon is in its Balsamic phase any time it’s within 45 degrees behind the Sun. It’s all about the difference between solar 12-part astrology…

 
…and lunar astrology’s 8-part lunar phase cycle…

Which isn’t all that hard, math-wise.

SOLAR ASTROLOGY: 360 degrees (of a circle) divided by 12 (signs) equals 30 degrees per sign.

LUNAR ASTROLOGY: 360 degrees of that same circle divided by 8 phases of the Moon equals 45 degrees per phase.

And yes, when you overlay the lunar wheel over the solar wheel you arrive at why the mid-point of each zodiacal quarter (known as the “cross-quarter” point) is considered important.

 
When the Moon enters the Balsamic phase…which is where it will be when Mercury enters Sagittarius, the themes are release, purification, renewal and transformation through knowledge or acquired understanding. And I know this is getting a bit into theory here, but that does sound like an abstract mélange of the last two signs of the zodiac: Aquarius (knowledge) and Pisces (emotional experience of the self).

Which works as a signal to tell us that as Mercury enters Sagittarius, we’ll be trying to finish things up so we can ‘release’ them and to get past various issues, problems, situations and challenges which were Scorpionic in their own right, as Mercury will be leaving Scorpio in entering Sagittarius.

But then we enter into the concept of Mercury in Sagittarius. Mercury rules (read: is most at home in) two signs: Gemini and Virgo. Gemini is the pure ‘mentality’ of it all…how we think, what we think about, decision-making, mental organization (or lack thereof) and getting things done so that we can get them “off” our mind – or our mental lists, if you will. Virgo is more like Mercury-in-Action: the doing of things…how well we do them (efficiency, ability), whether we do them in a timely manner (responsibility) and the ‘health’ or lack of health as that reflects on our mentality (the Gemini thing) when it comes to what we do and how we do it (morality, ethics, standards, etc.).

When a planet is in the sign they are said to ‘rule,’ what we are really saying is that that’s the quadrant of the sky when the energy of planet-and-Earth (and thus our lives and mentality) seem to function most harmoniously and most productively. So it stands to reason (at least in a universe which seems to have a dualistic nature like ours does) that when the planet is in the sign opposite that where it functions well, it functions not as well – which in the case of Mercury would be its two signs of “detriment”: Sagittarius and Pisces.

But here’s the thing…planets in their sign of detriment can still do pretty splendid things. You just have to work at it a little more. The doing of that in the natal chart sense if found by looking at…

1.) The ruler of the sign on the cusp of the house the planet is in,

…and…

2.) The ruler of the sign the planet is in.

These may be the same. Then again, they may not be – in which case the weight goes to the planet ruling the sign on the cusp of the house. (Don’t ask me why, it just works that way!)

Since we’re only talking global transits here, (ONLY?) all we can do is look to the ruler of Sagittarius, which is Jupiter. But wait…! Isn’t Jupiter in Gemini?

Oh by gum it is!

This sets up a situation which astrologers call “mutual reception”…Planet A is in a sign ruled by Planet B, and Planet B is in a sign ruled by Planet A.

The solution lies in thinking of these things as a synthesis.

So we know that Mercury is in a sign where instead of ‘mentally focusing’ it will tend to be more all over the place and to indicate a time when we are prone to taking on more than we can deal with effectively.

(Gee…just what we didn’t need during holiday season, right?)

Mercury in Gemini being known for organization (mental and communication-wise) this would be why Mercury in Sagittarius tends to have a bit of a foot-in-mouth quality…or a tendency to say too much, to have a problem with timing on when to say something, or to speak without listening – which would be why Mercury in Sagittarius (or even the 9th house) tends to display dogmatic tendencies.

So we can expect that just on the face of things, we may be a bit over-involved with ourselves and what we want or what we’re trying to do for the next couple of weeks while Mercury transits Sagittarius.

But let’s not forget…this is Part 2 of Mercury in Sagittarius for 2012 (aka Mercury in Sag, the Sequel). Remember that Mercury retrograde we just went through? It started with Mercury in Sagittarius. Then Mercury retrograded back into Scorpio. That was all about considering the value of what we were doing and if simply PLUNGING on with our pet projects or positions was going to serve any of us well.

Mercury went retrograde on Election Day in the United States, which was really interestingly displayed by the massive problems with voting lines and getting the vote counts in and all the questioning of provisional ballots and such. That all those events caused Americans to think over what their values really are when it comes to elections is classic, classic Mercury retrograde stuff. And very much what we would expect to see as one of a zillion different variations on the ‘backing from Sagittarius back into Scorpio’ vibe.

Whatever the retrograde does is saying ‘you got here…now how well is that going to work for you in these terms?’

So now – as Mercury re-enters Sagittarius – we will see what America learned. And everybody else – considering that your personal life had personal things going on which for you probably outweighed the US election – everybody else is going to be ‘moving forward’ with ideas they spent Mercury’s retrograde “reconsidering.”

Of course there are those who will have spent the whole of Mercury retrograde avoiding, denying and trying not to deal with stuff, too. That would be very much in keeping with a Sag-back-into-Scorpio Mercury retrograde. So expect that.

And maybe more importantly, at least recognize it if you’ve been doing it. Nobody says you have to change anything of jump through any hoops, but recognition of what you do is a choice to be honest with yourself – and that is a really good Mercury in Sagittarius sort of concept, if nothing else!

Mercury will be in Sagittarius until New Years Eve. And just so we touch on this in advance, that Mercury moves into the sign of law enforcement on New Years Eve should be a warning to some…and a bit of a hint to others.

   New Year's fireworks in Copenhagen's Tivoli Garden

(photo credit Stig Nygaard, January 2009)

We know that as Mercury enters Sagittarius we have this Balsamic Moon effect. That ends on the 13th simply because that’s the next New Moon.

With the 11th is also the opening of Uranus’s station window to go direct, there’s good reason for caution, especially when driving. If you’re planning a holiday trip, this may well be a great day for finding a last-minute deal on the internet, too. Uranus is always associated with things high tech, Mercury is information and communications and Sagittarius is travel and things which broaden the scope of our life, world and experience of how things work.

Hence, travel.

But also business. Those who are looking for hot holiday deals may find something really terrific now. Just beware of false fronts and hype!

The above will hold true from the 11th through the 14th. Then on the 17th, Mercury opposes Jupiter in Gemini, which gets us back to that Jupiter as ruler of Sagittarius concept.

Because this entire Mercury-transiting-Sagittarius is ruled by Jupiter in retrograde, the whole of this (approximately) three week experience is reflective. Jupiter in Gemini is about learning (Jupiter) how we think, why we think as we think, and maybe how we should change what we do or how we think in order to have a more productive, happy, profitable life.

And this isn’t – by subtle definition – just about us. Jupiter rules two signs, Sagittarius and Pisces, both of which are public and ‘visible’ signs. Sagittarius is about learning through experience and Pisces is about life as a series of events and situations which forces us – at an emotional level – to grapple with what we do or don’t know about our own feelings, emotions, faith or faithfulness.

Since Jupiter is Jupiter wherever it goes we are now learning all that Sagittarius and Pisces “Jupiter stuff” through an examination/re-examination of how we think. Or through how well our daily life functions. Or through our siblings. (Siblings are a Gemini thing.) Or through communications or communicating with others. Even through not communicating with others and why what may be.

 Planet Jupiter as photographed by the ESO telescope

Problems, challenges, opportunities which arise now say some about other people, yes. But mostly they are asking us to think things through and to figure out what we really think. Or whether we do think. Or whether we need to think for ourselves or maybe even think of others because in the end we have to live in this world with a lot of people, not just those we choose to deal with.

One of the things we learn most from Jupiter is the importance of tolerance. In its transit of Gemini, Jupiter is teaching us all a big lesson not just about tolerating ‘the other guy’ and their perspectives, but the ambivalence in our own mind about who we are or have been, and what we think we want to be.

Right and wrong are going to be part of the theme being ‘set off’ by Mercury transiting the sign in opposition to Jupiter. With Jupiter in retrograde, we’re being asked to think through our choices and how we have come to be in the position we are in through our choices.

Venus will join Mercury in Sagittarius before too very long. (On the 18th.) At that point the Mercury side of the dynamic will enter into a question of ‘having bought into some belief’ and whether we are living something or just going through the motions.

This is a really interesting time because on the greater level we seem to be being asked to get back to the basics of who we are. And at that level, Mercury in Sagittarius is all about learning more about who we are by recognizing who and what we aren’t – or don’t want to be.

Or maybe simply can’t be. Considering everything else going on, the 2012 edition of Mercury in Sagittarius seems to speak to the difference between the idea of things and the reality.

And how sometimes, they just don’t mix.
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Venus enters Libra

Dawn in Southern California

(photo credit: Jessie Eastland, January 2012)

Venus enters Libra on Sunday, October 28th and 1:05 in the afternoon, UT/+0 time.

And maybe not a moment too soon for many of us! Three-plus weeks of Venus in Virgo has (obviously) led to Venus traversing Virgo’s higher degrees where we’re most apt to encounter challenges and critiques. And nobody likes that part much! Even those of us equipped to use the Venus-Virgo effect for streamlining our effects and getting things done are probably plumb worn down with being patient, checking to-do lists and listening to people announce what else needs doing. (Not to mention all that difficulty with the when such things need doing, right?)

All this is to say that as Venus enters Libra, we may (for reasons we can’t quite place), heave a sigh of relief and begin to relax. Under optimal conditions Venus in Libra drains off ‘focal tension’ which will allow us to complete tasks with less stress…maybe even attract a helping hand.

It’s simply a more generous people-to-people time. Where a couple of weeks ago Michelangelo could have unveiled the Pieta and a few Italians would have grunted as they hurried by on their way to some meeting, now he would whip off the cover and people would ‘ooooh’ and ‘ahhhh.’

The Pieta of Michelangelo Buonarroti as it is housed in the Basilica di San Pietro in Rome, Italy

(photo credit Rsuessbr, September 2004)

But lest you think all done under Venus in Virgo would be for nothing, naught and nuisance value, if what you were doing was part of a greater process, then you did the right thing. Acts of utility (which may have felt like futility) but a couple of weeks ago will now tend to bear fruit.

And so we sigh collectively saying…’so they DID notice…!’ and we cheer.

Libra being the sign of connecting to others, attracting others and ‘exchanges’ of ideas on the abstract plain, the next three-plus weeks of Venus in Libra will be good for finding out what works and what doesn’t work. Venus in Libra tends to evoke whatever charisma we have…and teach us how to be more effective through rewarding that others like.

In other words, it’s not guaranteed they’ll like everything we say or do, but it is more or less guaranteed that they’ll let us know the pluses and minuses OF what we say or do. And that cues us into how we can achieve ever greater success.

That Venus is entering Virgo some twelve-plus hours prior to Mercury entering Sagittarius (and half again that prior to this month’s Full Moon) signals either a ‘piling on’ of responses or things you have ‘set up’ prior to now falling into place.

Think dominoes. If your dominoes are properly lined up, you’re now all set for a spectacular display, much glee and a great Full Moon moment. If your dominoes are not in alignment, or if you have tried to include a few ‘tricks’ that you haven’t yet figured out, between October 28 and 29 life will show up what has gone wrong, derailing some portion of your effort.

 Apparently kittens like to play at dominoes, so why shouldn't we?

Katjesspel by Henriëtte Ronner-Knip

(c 1860, oil on panel, housed at the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam)

After the Full Moon however, what we effectively have is a personal planet ‘line up’ of sorts: Venus will be in Libra, the Sun will be in Scorpio and Mercury and Mars will both be traversing Sagittarius.

Under any estimation this marks the next several weeks as a time when interactions and efforts aimed at creating agreement and a ‘forward path’ will be focal. Not necessarily pleasant or happy making, but focal.
And what’s the issue? Why, with Venus in Libra should there be any flies in our luscious, deliciously unguent ointment of life?

There are actually two flies here. The first is Mercury’s shift into Sagittarius, which often manifests as the tendency to substitute volume for common sense. Undoubtedly there will be more sound and less sense now for a while.

And yet, we won’t get as annoyed as we otherwise might get with such people. We’ll look at them, we’ll give half-a-listen and we’ll decide that we need to do what we know is right. At least right for us in terms of what works for us. That’s Venus in Libra.

Then there’s the Sun in Scorpio, a far more volatile problem especially since there will be a Solar Eclipse on November 13th. The tension we feel now which will covert on that date to a feeling of having to cope will cause many of us to quail. And yet some of us – notably those who have been too headstrong or too ‘my way or the highway’ may now realize the wisdom in working together.

It all depends where and how you come into this time.

And what you come into this time doing. And how you’re going about doing it.

Considering the Solar Eclipse, there is a shift in social and societal patterns going on which is global, yes. But it’s also personal to you. This is part of the natural ‘breakdown’ process which happens in advance of any solar eclipse. Prior to now, the tendency will have been to ‘judge’ others. But once Venus enters Libra, we may see wisdom in their choices we hadn’t taken into account. We may recognize that even if what they have to say or what they aim to do isn’t our cup of tea that doesn’t mean it isn’t a valid path for them.

We may, in short, learn more about who we want to be with/to others (or maybe who we need to be in order to maintain or improve things) BECAUSE we stop feeling so disappointed that ‘they’ aren’t who we’ve been wanting them to be!

About now…and through the period of the Full Moon and into the first few days of November emotions may well run high. We’re likely to be very concerned about whether we can make things work the way we want them to work.

During this time, Venus in Libra is likely to manifests in two very different ways. Some will try that old ‘power of persuasion’ thing. Or the ‘I’m going to charm your socks right off of you!’ thing. And some will take a step back and think about what works…and WHY it works.

You may think along one theme, you may think along the other. Or maybe you’ll vacillate between both.

As will everybody else, hence feelings of ‘doing a little dance’ which may seem evident – even amusingly so! – during this time.

But since the bottom line is likely to be whether we want to insist on our way OR whether we want to aim for that which will help us build a profitable future…

You get where I’m going with this, right?

And why CAN’T we have our own way? Why CAN’T things be what they’ve always been?

The answer to that is the famous Bob Dylan line: ‘the times, they are a’changing.’

They simply are. We’re moving into a time which is going to be very ‘make it work’ period (that’s for all the Project Runway fans!). Hardly anyone is going to get to continue doing what they’re been doing (or how they’ve been doing it) and most of us are going to face some sort of personal crisis which forces us to take that ‘same set of skills’ and transport it into some new avenue or outlet.

Sunrise in orbit above Earth reveals Venus and Mars

(photo credit: NASA-JPL, August 1995)

 
There are those who aren’t going to be affected directly by this November’s solar eclipse directly. (They wouldn’t be any of my friends, but I’m sure such people exist, she says gallantly…!) But as I look ahead, you know – as the online astrologer – I’m doing calculations and seeing that very, very, VERY few of us (if any of us) are going to get through the next year-and-a-half (or so) without some serious transitioning.

This Venus in Libra time is going to be a boon to those who have already embarked on their purposeful life shifts. Since it spans a set of weeks during which Mercury goes into retrograde, news which comes in during the last part of this Venus transit (in other words, while Venus is transiting that ‘input from others’ 3rd decanate zone)…that’s going to be useful grist for the mill and something you can apply to your ongoing evolution. Against that, those who haven’t let go of the old assumptions, the old assertions, the old ‘I want what I want and I want to do it the way I’ve always done it’ (or ‘how it’s always been done’) folks are going to find themselves stalled during the days between November 14th (ahem – the day after the eclipse…) and early on November 22nd (which would still be November 21st in the Americas) when Venus moves on into Scorpio.

There’s a lot coming down the pike next month: Neptune is going direct, we have a solar and then a lunar eclipse…and nobody’s favorite (Mercury retrograde) will tend to muck up the works.

And then Venus goes into Scorpio, a combination of sign and planet which signals emotionally challenging efforts at the very least!

All that is to say make the most of Venus in Libra…which is sometimes easier said than done. But then again, all depends on your definition of ‘making the most of things’ too, right? Venus in Libra is a great time for socializing. It’s also a great time for networking, making good impressions and working to improve the positives while…well, doing our best to avoid the negatives.

Speaking of that trend, this will be the Venus passage under which the United States goes to the polls to elect not just a President, but a giant chunk of the nation’s Congress. Venus transiting Libra at this point in the campaign promises some glossy last-minute ads and serious outpours of campaign and pac/super pac money.

 Franklin D. Roosevelt campainging in Topeka Kansas in September of 1932 (National Archives and Records Administration, Catalogue No. 196072)

The Mars and Mercury in Sagittarius merging with this speaks to the fervency of positions and a fine walk (certainly for the candidates, if maybe others too!) between ‘right’ and ‘righteous.’ One describes a path, the other evidences the nature of a human ego – and the candidate who knows which is which and who is able to manifest the right choice is going to (Venus in Libra) probably get the response they want at the ballot box.

I can well understand if you’re sick of politics by now. Personally, I think an entire tree has given its life for the number of political mailers which have ended up getting stuffed in my box during these past couple of months. But the comments above do have bearing in our individual lives as the “patterns” which lead to success on the ‘big stage’ don’t change just because we’re not running for high political office.

That’s one of the interesting things about astrology – and probably why its kept my interest through more than thirty years now. How this universe manages to manifest so that the same ‘shapes’ of things seem to challenge us…with everything fitting together just so with each person responding to their generation and their family and a nation which was founded when and re-founded at a later date…

It’s just plain ol’ interesting.

And useful – which is why (I am guessing) you come to read this blog!

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Election 2012: Debate #3 – Foreign Policy

 Billed as a foreign policy debate, this is the chart for Presidential Debate #3 which is scheduled to take place on October 22, 2012 at 9 p.m. (EDT) at Florida's Lynn University

The third (and last) 2012 Presidential Debate is scheduled for Monday, October 22nd at 9 p.m. (EDT) at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida.

And the chart? It’s above. And its 9th house Moon in Aquarius is slap-dab on the money.

Foreign money? Maybe. The 9th house is, after all the house of all things ‘foreign.’ And Aquarius is the sign of economics and income.

But in a national chart (or discussion), Aquarius is more the sign of social systems which in the 9th suggests things like foreign students and foreign workers. International trade. Students getting jobs when they graduate with higher degrees. The cost of education and whether a nation should-or-shouldn’t support those educational institutions, particularly as that concerns foreign-born or immigrant students.

Given that Aquarius is also the sign of ‘sticking with the system or rebelling against (aka changing) it’ and how you go about it, the cost of changing or not changing how America functions is bound to come up. It may be an undercurrent, it may be front and center, but it will be there – as will be the spoken or unspoken issue of foreign cultures, religious or state sponsored fanaticism. Religion is a 9th house subject. Fanaticism is Aquarian – as again, so is a ‘social state’ which in combination with the 9th house is easily translated as ‘nations who see things differently than the United States does.’

But there’s a whole other issue which is just as potent as this 9th house Moon. That’s the fact that this chart has 9 Gemini rising and 9 Sagittarius thus at the Descendant. Those two degrees are currently inhabited by Royal Stars Aldebaran (at the Gemini Ascendant) and Antares (at the Sagittarian Descendant).

This is a tricky sort of thing which will have the candidates debating who’s acting (Ascendant) with integrity and who’s obsessed (Antares) with what others do, how they do it, what they don’t do (the way you do, maybe) and what people think of you.

Many an American President has said what they wanted to say, regardless of what others
thought of it.  But when it comes to HOW things have been said,few can hold a candle to
Abraham Lincoln, a man who said more in fewer words while touching more hearts than perhaps
any other President throughout United States history. I'm the first person to say that reading

history can be incredibly dull. But when I sat down to read a collection of Lincoln's writings and
speeches, I came away inspired, gratified and far more aware of history as something current,
not something which exists only in the past.

Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.

(photo credit: Erich Robert Joli Weber, June 2012)

On one hand, this lays out a playing field which tests the sheer communicating skills of both candidates. How much of what we will see and hear will be about policy? How much will reveal the nature of each man? How much will each of them play to the audience?

The ruler of the Aldebaran/Ascendant (the integrity of/in what you do) is framed here in theoretical Gemini terms – which may bring out a bit of the preacher in both men. But the ruler of that Gemini is at 23 Scorpio in the 6th house of necessity and conjunct the North Node.

This brings a focus to what responsibility does a government have versus what responsibilities do people have for their own lives. With Mercury and the North Node in 3rd decanate degrees (degrees between 20 and 29 of a given sign) this signals a response which will definitely come after the debate on this topic, whether it gets discussed or not.

And the signs involved here - on the 6th house cusp and its polarity 12th house cusp – because those are Scorpio (on 6) and Pisces on the cusp of the 12th, plainly that which has so far been summarized as ‘the level playing field’ underlies this whole discussion.

With Sedna, the South Node and Algol in the 12th (all in Taurus) we’re likely to hear the ‘out of touch’ conversational touchstone being evoked. Heck, one or both of the candidates may verbally throw it at the other guy!

But the thing to watch out for is probably denoted by  Black Moon Lilith at 4 Gemini conjuncting (take a deep breath) Hybris…arrogance…conjuncting Aldebaran (integrity) at the Ascendant.

This becomes sort of a conversational “he who sounds most arrogant loses” signal. And since the Gemini Ascendant leads through Mercury in Scorpio to (Scorpio’s two rulers) Mars in the 7th house and Pluto in the 8th house, that’s were the emotional cord doth lead.

About the only question is whether that cord is long enough for either candidate to trip over…or hang themselves with.

Mars is not strong in the 7th house. Conjunct defender of the household Juno, this would be a conversation about Leadership. Throw in Hidalgo (manners, protocol) and we have a conversation about the many (Sagittarius) things a national leader (Juno) has to deal with with and manage through governmental channels (Hidalgo) before they go pronouncing their opinions or ‘facts’ not yet in evidence.

This last is very Mars in Sagittarius. Sagittarius is a sign known for ‘pronouncements’ (and rhetoric, and dictates) which may have a place in national leadership but probably isn’t the default position for any successful  President.

As for Pluto, Pluto in the 8th in Capricorn suggests two topics at least: the national debt and war. With Pluto still working over the ‘many tangled threads’ symbol we know as Facies, the combination of Mars and Pluto sounds a bit like ‘haste makes waste’ which on the world/national/governmental/military stage could be seriously deadly.

A yellow-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax violaceus) enjoys the beach in Boca Raton. It's not likely

any of them will attend the Presidential Debate, but you never know!

(Ianare Sevi, June 2009)

One more item well worth noting here before turning to individual charts…Vesta is going retrograde on the very date of this debate: October 22nd. Which means Vesta is going on station as of the 20th - which is why this post is hitting the digital airwaves now.

You know...it's that old 'station allowance' thing. Two days (maybe a bit more) before and the same after the date of station? That means Vesta's station effects begin on the 20th and run through the 24th.

We also know that Vesta is doing its ‘turnabout’ at 25 Gemini. And since 25 is a 3rd decanate degree, we know that other people are going to get input and say on the  standard Vesta question of ‘promises.’

But to equate Vesta just with the word 'promises' is to short-change the subject. Yes, Vesta does sometimes surface in someone getting all miffed because ’you promised that…’

So this would not be the moment to go and break your word. Not even for cutting corners on your word!

Although...well, this might be the moment for thinking over corner cutting you've already done. Or how you can explain that promise you didn't mean to break but...

You know, that stuff.

So Vesta is promises, plain and simple. but Vesta is also all about what it takes to keep a promise. All those comments you make to yourself about what you need to do or get done. All the feelings and working out of schedules to meet that schedule.

With Vesta in Gemini, and with Gemini being ruled by Mercury, that does leads us right back to that Mars and Pluto as rulers of Scorpio conversation.

But it also indicates a choice. And that combination of 'promise' plus 'choice' is both the choosing to promise and the hard-nosed concept that nine times out of ten when we do break a promise (if we do) we choose to do so knowing what we're doing.

Oh, what a nuance to add to a political debate!

But that Mercury quality...considering that the Mercury of the debate chart is in the 6th house that points to one's 'functionaries.' And when it comes to a President or a presidential candidate, there are functionaries a-plenty.

Let's see...foreign affairs...functionaries...matters to be debated...one could guess we will hear more about recent tragic doings in the Middle East.

 Who will spend the next four years living here?

The White House (south side) in Washington, DC

(photo credit Cezary p, July 2008)

Back to the 6th house. The 6th house of a national chart is, among other things its military, health care and the  civil service - which in the case of the United States includes Congress.

Oh, gosh oh golly gee...such things could get said! All of the above (health care, the military, Congress) are hot-button subjects. But with the Moon and Mercury in square by house? Part one: whoever talks about any of these topics had better know their facts. Part two, they had best have both a problem and solution on tap, lest they look petulant. Because Mercury rules that Ascedant-conjunct-Aldebaran, their statements must reek of integrity...the 'winning' attitude with this combo will be the guy who knows how to pose their statements as implied questions - not accusations.

And no matter the format, things may get feisty! Even a touch testy. Scorpio and Aquarius are both fixed signs: feelings and convictions will be there under the skin. With the Moon in Aquarius, taking the high road is a good idea, though getting haughty or arrogant (which tend to be the negative side of the Scorpio Moon) is not a good idea. Whatever sign the Moon is in, that spells out (among other things) what qualities the audience is going to be sensitive to. With an Aquarian Moon, care is advised...but evasion isn't. The job of Aquarius is to take the job on: to show what you can do and prove you deserve approval.

One other note to this square-by-sign: treating people like numbers...or using difficulties, challenges or tragedies merely for a political goad isn't going to wash. Making the point while showing that they know real people are involved (Americans or otherwise) is important to both candidates. The 'business' of war is about people, not commerce or personal power. Anyone who gets near those negatives is going to blow themselves out of the water (pardon the pun!).

Another point about this chart: it contains a Ceres-Saturn-Neptune grand trine. Among other things, one can bet there are many non-Americans listening to this debate. It's also more likely than usual that something will get said which is particularly telling...or maybe just entirely memorable.

Debates are funny that way. Get people talking and even the most schooled of politicians will sometimes go and say the gob-stopping-est things!

For Governor Romney on a personal basis, that his native Pluto (at 22 Leo) exactly opposite the Moon of this debate puts him on a tightrope between his desire to get people to think his way and an inborn instinct to be the private sort of person his personality…or his Mormonism (or maybe both) have created him to be.

Governor Mitt Romney

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

That Governor Romney’s personal Asc-Dsc line lies at 1 Gemini/1 Sagittarius suggests he will go into this debate feeling somewhat at home. With his native Ascendant conjunct the debate’s Black Moon Lilith (at 4 Gemini)…is that a good idea? The Black Moon is always some sort of ‘externalized’ denial – as opposed to asteroid Lilith, which is about our internal issues with emotional denial. But on the outside? This is either Romney wanting to deny something that he’s done or said, wanting to deny some portion of society something, or being denied a (Gemini) hearing no matter what he does.

Romney’s Gemini Ascendant is ruled by his Pisces Mercury. This is an emotional Mercury which can charm or inspire, but which isn’t always strong. In square to Romney’s natal Uranus in the 1st house, this also the very description of the fact that Romney appears to contradict himself (or change positions on the proverbial dime) …but also why: a Gemini Uranus in the 1st ruled by a Pisces Mercury in the 11th is ‘built’ to get what is wanted in the moment. It’s not the same as lying; with both planets in emotional degrees what underpins this tendency is a genuine desire to be liked and – at some level – an insecurity with/about Self.

As for President Obama, his Ascendant is 10 Aquarius and his Descendant is 10 Leo (the later ruled by a 12 Leo Sun which makes him very adept at being in front of the public). With his Ascendant one degree off the debate’s 11 Aquarius Moon, he could be overly professorial again. Then again, he could come off as divisive.

President Barack Obama

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

With his natal Moon at 3 Gemini, he too has Black Moon Lilith problems, though since Obama’s Moon is natively well placed (particularly for a President) in the 4th house, he may use this Moon/Lilith dynamic to emphasize what people don’t have but need if they’re going to get ahead. Or if the US is going to be built (modernized?) to compete on the international stage.

(Mitt Romney’s Moon being intercepted in the 6th house has helped make him rich via Bain Capital, but it isn’t as likely to connect to everyday people. While streamlining companies has its pluses, right now all people are going to hear is ‘you’re getting wealthy by firing people’ and that’s not a big vote-getter!)

The Nodal axis in Obama’s chart runs from 27 Aquarius (South Node) to 27 Leo (North Node) – and in that aligns rather well with the ‘where this is going’ Midheaven-Nadir of the debate chart. With his Uranus conjunct his North Node he may get distracted and off conversation and if he does, that will hurt him. Obama’s tendency to be a ‘big picture’ thinker isn’t exactly compatible with people wanting him to talk to them.

We’ll have to see if he remembers.

Whatever happens and however the President and Governor Romney go about saying whatever they’re going to say, it’s pretty sure everyone out here in audience-land will remember what gets said.

And then…finally!…the nation will go to the polls and all the votes will get counted.

WHOEVER YOUR CANDIDATE IS,

ELECTION DAY IS NOVEMBER 6TH!

BE SURE TO VOTE!

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