Astro-Observations on Egypt’s Morsi

President Mohamed Morsi of Egypt (right) with the UK's David Cameron

(photo credit: Stefan Rousseau, Open Government License v1)

I was watching the news today, and there was a story on the unrest in Egypt. So, though it took a bit of doing (mostly geographical) but with the fracas going on in Egypt, it seems sensible to look up the chart for Egypt’s President, Mohamed Morsi.

Morsi was born August 20, 1951 in a small town north of Cairo which you’ll find listed some places as El-Adwah, but which is actually Al-Idwah. (Such changes are common when moving from Arabic to English.) There being no birth time available, here is his chart cast as an Aries wheel.

 President Mohamed Morsi

August 20 1951 - Al-Idwah, Egypt

(Time unknown, Aries Wheel)

Morsi came to the Egyptian presidency as of June 30, 2012, just a few days after Venus went direct at 7 Gemini and a month after the solar eclipse at 0 Gemini.

That solar eclipse trines Morsi’s Saturn exactly. It also sextiles his natal Mars (at 1 Leo) within one degree. That – obviously – says these two planets are in aspect, which they are. The aspect is a sextile, and that sextile describes President Morsi as someone capable of understanding others, and equally capable of wanting to, thinking he should and being willing to impose his will on others.

Interestingly, this same eclipse is also in an out-of-sign opposition to President Morsi’s natal Juno. Positioned in late Scorpio (26 Scorpio) and conjunct Tantalus, this would seem to be the trip wire which has now been tripped as Juno/Tantalus in late Scorpio is all about being willing to do what is necessary FOR others, with that you do TO them (or against their wishes) being a fatal sort of error.

This would be emphasized in Morsi’s having taken on the Egyptian Presidency by the Venus station/turnaround. Though there is no planet in Morsi’s chart at this degree, Venus having gone direct at 7 Gemini would be conjunct Aldebaran (integrity) on a global level. And since 7 Gemini is conjunct Morsi’s Moon/Eris in the “I Am” sign of Aries, thus we have a rather perfect demonstration of how Eris functions well when we fight for social causes and not so well when we try to do only for ourselves. Conjunct a strong Aries Moon (which would give Egypt’s President a very self-prepossessed quality anyway) this would of course backfire the minute he announced that he was giving himself additional power.

That trouble has broken out now seems not startling, considering that November’s solar eclipse at 21 Scorpio would have smacked the President’s Juno…and (oh incidentally) his natal Edisona as well.

He had a bright (Edisona) idea? Solar eclipses tend to bring out anywhere in our life where we have strayed from propriety or proper behaviors. One guesses that’s exactly what we’re seeing.

The next act should happen fairly quickly as Uranus will be going direct on December 13th at 4 Aries, conjunct Morsi’s Moon/Eris. 4 Aries is also within the 5-degree standard orb to oppose Morsi’s natal Saturn.

It hardly sounds like a moment for him to be taking a bubble bath.

One other interesting note to add here (this being not a conclusion-loaded blog post, just an observation) is that President Morsi has Chiron (retrograde) natally placed at 26 Sagittarius, a very (very) special degree as that was the degree of the Galactic Center when he was born.

This Chiron of his is in a grand trine with the Sun in Leo and Sedna in late Aries.

 
And that means – in particular the Chiron part of this? – that Mohamed Morsi is a man who tends to see his vulnerabilities (and probably his mistakes) more clearly in retrospect. His Sun, being conjunct Circe (being under the spell), Deucalion (finding the moral path), Lust (over-focus) and Amphitrite tends to say that (Amphitrite) he can persuade himself of many things…and that he is capable of feeling entitled to creating rules for himself. Especially with Sedna involved, this will tend to have him putting himself into situations where he involves others. And given the grand trine, this is not a dynamic (life habit) easily broken.

However…Jupiter opposition Neptune…this is also not a man who can wholly count on others. It’s to be sure that he has been betrayed and lied to, probably to the extent that part of why he does what he does in making up his own mind about what he’s going to do is at some level, a defense mechanism.

There is one other thing to note here: the North Node is currently transiting 26 Scorpio – the degree of Morsi’s Juno. Since the Nodes always represent society or relationships or our relationship to society, what with all the eclipse action it’s not surprising that this would be a time when things are in an uproar. As the North Node counts backwards to 25 Scorpio (which happens about the time Uranus goes direct) that will have the North Node conjunct Tantalus.

The mythic Tantalus was punished – severely – for his acts and bad choices. The crux of that punishment was not about what he did to humans, but what he tried to do to Olympian gods who came to his house for dinner. (No, you don’t want to know what he did!) In astrological terms, what this refers to are the esoteric questions of how others react to us when we take advantage of the opportunities we are given in this life.

 Juno

Juno is about the ability to ‘govern’ one’s ‘home.’ It can be about how we run our real world home, yes. But more often, depending on sign and house of placement, it’s about whether we’re at home in our skin or ‘how clean we keep’ our mental home – our basis for thinking.

This isn’t settled, no. And unfortunately, we have no birth time for this nativity. But it would appear that in the world of being a ‘ship of state,’ President Morsi will right, or sink himself.
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Mercury’s Upcoming Retrograde

 Planet Mercury as photographed by the Mariner 10 spacecraft

(photo credit: NASA-JPL)

As Mercury enters Sagittarius on Monday, October 29th at 6:19 in the morning (UT/+0), life is signaling that this is a time to think things through as we do whatever we do. After passing through the intensity of Scorpio emotional waters where Mercury forces us to think through emotionally provocative situations (or how we feel about things), Mercury tends to rebound into Sagittarius like a spring releasing giant tension.

But from that – often – comes our mistakes. The joy and joie de vivre is great indeed, but with that comes the (ahem…cough, cough) commentary that dancing is swell so long as you don’t dance off a cliff.
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Very few of us are Wile E Coyote, after all – and life is definitely not a Warner Brother’s cartoon, even if sometimes it seems like one!

Sagittarius is a sign all about achieving our aims. Sagittarius ‘reaches’ for the top of the chart – and thus all the symbols you find positioned in Sagittarius or in Sagittarius’ native 9th house of your chart are the things which will challenge you along the way. I know one person with an Aries Mercury in the 9th and this person is notorious for talking, never getting around to doing, and screwing up their plans in the process. I know one man whose Sagittarius Sun represents his life struggle with the questions of assertion, authority and taking hard stands.

Like I say…anything in the 9th, anything positioned natally in Sagittarius – those are the things life will leave on the floor just so that we’re sure to trip over them from time to time.

As important to us here (as the whole world now enters approximately five weeks of Mercury in Sagittarius ‘have you thought it through?’ situations) is that Mercury will go retrograde during these next weeks ahead. (Hence its transit of Sagittarius taking five weeks instead of less than half that.)

A note here for Americans and USA election watchers: the 2012 Presidential Election (read: voting day) falls on Mercury’s date of station/retrograde. That says a lot – which is maybe not so much about the election as about how Americans go about electing, voting and the rest of such matters.

And yes, Mercury goes retrograde on November 6th elsewhere in the world too. It will be in retrograde until November 26th…which again for Americans means you’re going to have a Mercury retrograde-tinged Thanksgiving and Black Friday. (Leave extra time for travel and all that.) But most globally and to the point, because of Mercury retrograde, that ‘five weeks’ of Mercury in Sagittarius is going to be spread over a full two months.

Last but certainly not least here is the fact that the next Solar Eclipse is going to happen while Mercury is in retrograde - in Sagittarius. At the moment of the eclipse, Mercury will be at 0 Sagittarius, a degree filled with the potential to have our opinions (thoughts, ideas) swayed someone else. With Mercury in retrograde, this may indicate a moment when we think about what people say versus what they really mean (or) who they really are.

Then again, maybe it’s a moment when we deal/don’t deal with some tendency we have to con ourselves?
That being true, apart from whatever else it may be (which would be plenty), this incoming eclipse may be all about how we allow others to egg, goad, persuade, manipulate or otherwise demand that we do things xyz way…or else?

And is that ‘or else’ real? Or does it really matter?

One of the really good things a Solar Eclipse at 21 Scorpio could do is get us past our fears of what someone else says or thinks about us. At that point we are at least being individuals (though we still may need to clean up our act!).

So that’s on the plus side. Of course, it’s only ten or so hours after the eclipse until Mercury retrogrades back into Scorpio, so it’s likely this is going to be a trying time in some way, shape or form. To have Mercury doing a ‘loop’ back into-and-through Scorpio from Sagittarius – at some level – says to us that it pays to be aware of how important it is to feel secure about ourselves as we move forward in life doing anything. And how it isn’t necessarily about ‘changing’ the other person’s point of view which is important, merely understanding whether your perspective and theirs can coexist in the given dynamic.

Where that works, we go on. We check it out, we have some discussions, we tweak the personal formula and once Mercury goes direct on November 26th, we refocus on getting things in Scorpio gear…
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…to be followed by Life delivering it’s check points and reviews as we swing into Mercury-in-Sagittarius application mode beginning on December 11th.

With Mercury not moving into Capricorn until New Year’s Eve (UT/+0 time), that means the whole holiday season is going to be under the influence of the hustle-and-bustle, try, try again Mercury in Sagittarius which may feel very focused on others, but which is really all about how our life interfaces with others…and our greater world.

So happy Mercury in Sagittarius to all of us! After saying all this I sort of feel like as of October 29th we’re all starting out along some sort of Yellow Brick Road which carries us through the end of 2012.

And maybe that’s just what we’re doing. So get your brains together, have courage, don’t forget the little dog, have a heart…and when in doubt (which yes, alas will happen!) remember that if whatever you’re searching for can’t be found in your own back yard, you never really lost it to begin with.

That last statement is – of course – a paraphrase from the famous ending to MGM’s ‘The Wizard of Oz.’ Most of us tend to think of that ‘back yard’ as being our home, our family.

 A publicity still for MGM's film 'The Wizard of Oz' here features Jack Haley as the Tin Man, Ray Bolger as the Scarecrow, Judy Garland as Dorothy and Bert Lahr as the Cowardly Lion. Evidently the studio still photographs from that era (1939) were not copyrighted as the film was, and are considered to be (more or less) public domain. Early trailers also fall under this provision, though all this changed somewhere along the line.This may mean nothing to you, but it's an interesting manifestation of the shift from the age of trust and emotional universality (the Age of Pisces) into the 'universal worth'/intellectual rights Age of Aquarius we now live in.

But is it really?

What if it’s our life? Then isn’t your ‘back yard’ who you know you should be being…you know, in the back of your brain? In your heart?

Do you have the courage to go there?
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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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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 2012 Vice Presidential Debates

 

Official government photos of Vice President Joseph Biden (left) and Congressman Paul Ryan (right)

One of the things which strikes me as interesting about delving into new areas with astrology (such as politics) is how the obvious is not always so obvious.

Take this image from the Debate-Obama-Romney combined tri-level chart from the first debate:

A 7th house close-up from the tri-ring chart for the October 3rd (Denver, Colorado) debate between President Barack Obama (middle ring) and Governor Mitt Romney.

The 7th house is always the house of the audience, which is why it struck me as interesting thing to look at. How would Obama’s Neptune intersect with Romney’s Chiron?

As it turns out, Neptune’s infamous ‘invisibility’ factor was what seems to have come across in that debate. President Obama talked some about health care (which is what I took his ‘debate Neptune”) to be, but it manifested more…“obviously” as a lack of fiery rhetoric.

How should we have known that would be how Obama’s Neptune manifested? In the wake of the debate telecast, it occurred to me to run Obama’s transits.

And lo…there sat Mars square Nodes. The Nodes being our ability to ‘relate’ and Mars (energy, assertiveness) in square, this was the signal that whatever Obama’s intentions, they would go askew. And thus Neptune which could have indicated compassion and poetic oratory became snap, crackle, soggy.

Okay…lesson learned. From now on we look at the chart in question and the politician’s transits.

See? This is how all astrologers learn. So you...me...the presidential candidates - we're all learning together.

(Okay...the candidates? Not so much. But you and me? Sure!)

Now that that’s sorted out, here’s the tri-wheel chart for the Vice Presidential Debate scheduled to be taking place in Danville, Kentucky at 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time. The inner chart is that of the debate’s start, the middle chart is for Vice President Joe Biden and the outer chart is for Congressman Ryan.

 A tri-ring chart for the Vice Presidential debate scheduled to take place on October 11, 2012 in Danville, Kentucky. The inner rung is the chart of the debate's dynamics with Vice President Biden's chart laid around the debate horoscope as the middle ring with the outer level being the chart of Congressman Paul Ryan.

In this chart, several things jump out. No, the first thing is not Congressman Ryan’s Neptune at 0 Sagittarius, though that does come in a close second. (See? I learn quickly.) Before I get to that wee (?) detail, the Ascendant-Descendant line – 29 Taurus/29 Scorpio grabs my attention. I’ve seen this line a couple of times in just this position of various charts and as anything at 29 degrees of any sign would suggest, there’s a note of intensity, maybe even urgency in it.

In terms of the debate’s chart, the Ascendant is Venus ruled. And the Venus in this chart is not happy – it’s at 10 Virgo in opposition to Chiron at 5 Pisces. The debate thus poses a question: what do we want to do and how can we do what we want to do (in the nation, in the world, with regards to our economy) considering the (Venus-Chiron) situation we’re in right now?

The Descendant of this chart – which is the cusp of that all-important 7th house – is at 29 Scorpio. Right away we know the audience expects passion – and let not any politician approach this debate without his passion vibe on ‘high’!

But Scorpio can also be a very…tricky…sign…in that any sort of ‘non-response’ situation (obviously the case with a televised debate since the audience will be sitting out there in audience-land)...that lack of face-to-face interaction can cause a ‘ramping up’ of convictions, an instinctive drive to 'make sure they understand' or to take control at some level...and it can get to the point where people blow themselves right out of the water.

Hmmmm….

Scorpio has two rulers. The first – the “choice” is Mars, and the outcome of those choices is indicated by Scorpio. The Mars of this chart stands in Sagittarius and conjunct Juno, a symbol of protection of hearth and home. And Pluto sits at 7 Capricorn in the 8th house. The Pluto part of this speaks to debt and the military and such…the 7th house Mars/Juno speaks more to supporting the nation rather than dictating to it... (however you define that).

Now we get to Ryan’s Neptune. And a lovely natal Neptune it is…

Congressman Paul Davis Ryan

January 29 1970 - 2:37 CST - Janesville, WI

 
Zero degrees of anything says that you’re prone to ‘starting’ things. Sagittarius rising says you’re willing to try something new. It doesn’t, however, guarantee that you know the right and wrong of it as Sagittarius is a sign in which we learn what works and what doesn’t work.

With this as Congressman Ryan’s Ascendant, he is defined as willing to suggest – but you shouldn’t think he’s thought the whole thing through in realistic terms. Sagittarius on an axis ventures and experiments but differs from Sagittarius as coloration of a planetary symbol which has ‘mass’ and therefore accumulates information and reflects before trying.

More to the point with this particular Ascendant-Neptune, the ruler of Sagittarius in Ryan’s chart is a Jupiter Scorpio conjunct Ixion (doing the same thing over and over until you totally undo yourself), Arachne (entanglements), and Atropos (endings) – all conjunct the 12th house of faith-versus-despair.

A close-up of Paul Ryan's 11th house and 12th house cusp

Taken together, especially with Scorpio being the sign of debt and passive income (which would include pensions, royalties, Social Security, Medicare, etc.) its clear where Congressman Ryan’s thinking comes from.

But does this accurately reflect his life of the United States as a nation? That would be my question. The 12th house of someone's chart can represent their understanding (intuitive or otherwise) of a complicated situation. Then again, the 12th (and Scorpio, for that matter) can represent where we face, feel and can't deal with our fears, real or not.

So this becomes one of those 'is it real, or is it mental Memorex?' sort of questions. Considering Ryan's chart, the Aries Mars in the 4th asserts for the people (and his family. And in areas of real estate, most likely.). But with Mars ruling itself (Mars rules Aries) there is something like an 'echo chamber' effect which in the 4th house can have Mars assertion focused for the sake of being focused.

And Uranus is in the area of this natal Mars. Do you call it insight - or do you call it contrarian rebelliousness? Mars is not all that graceful in the 4th - this needs to be a personal call...echo and all!

As for Congressman Ryan’s transits on the day of the debate, he has Mars trine Mars (good energy), Mars trine Chiron (will he aim at the nation’s vulnerabilities or show his own?), Ceres (the planner) entering the 8th house (he’s got a plan!) and Sun opposition Chaos – the wildcard which with everything else says he’s likely to be quick on his mental feet and willing to come up with answers on the spot.

HOWEVER…barely 24 hours later we have transiting Neptune (retrograde) square natal Neptune. Neptune being Neptune, it’s hard to say that the day before and after aren’t affected, though the real ‘what am I doing?’ questions which generally go with this – one of the famous “mid life crisis” transits won’t happen on the day of the debate.

But what does it say that it does happen the day after?

Hmmmm…

Meanwhile, Vice President Biden is bringing Juno to the 7th house party (she’s a bit of a demanding date, but…) Anyway – interestingly, Vice President’s natal Juno is also not all cupcakes and roses.

And yes, Vice President Biden also has a Sagittarius rising.

Vice President Joseph Biden

 November 20 1942 - 8:30 EWT (+4) - Scranton PA 

So if nothing else, I'm thinking we shouldn’t expect a quiet debate. No library hush is likely here!

Biden’s natal Juno is in exact opposition to his natal Saturn, which I would take to be part of the ‘bull in the china shop’ quality Biden is so well known for.
As for Vice President Biden’s transits on the day, he has Venus square Juno (the desire to please in spite of difficulties), Mercury semi-sextile Ixion (either the tendency for foot-in-mouth or receiving stern warnings against same) and (of all things) Mars conjunct Ascendant – the ‘bringing it all to bear’ on the situation.
He also has the Sun in a nice sextile to Deucalion, indicating a desire to operate with decorum (which is probably good if you’re going to be on live TV!), Venus square Saturn (conservative values or valuing conservative plans of action), Mercury trine Black Moon Lilith (the ability to block out what you don’t want to deal with/think about) and Mercury semi-sextile that audience-7th-house-Juno…a sign of some difficulty connecting with others present at the time.

A day later, Vice President Biden has a major transit too: Saturn opposition Moon. Saturn opposition Moon is seldom an emotionally peaceful transit. Regret is common and anger not unheard of.

But as with Ryan’s Neptune square, we can’t know that either of these transits have to do directly with the debate.

Still...they might - either directly or otherwise.

And there is one other fact to consider here - namely that October 11th is the date of a transiting Saturn/Neptune trine. One one hand, this could well represent the dissolution of decorum. A little taking off of the masks, perhaps?

But there is that other side of Saturn-Neptune contacts. Though they can represent artistry of high order, they can simply expose the kind of self-delusion which we associate with 'addictions' mental, emotional, physical or otherwise.

It's going to be interesting, this debate. And just a heads up on the next one - in being scheduled for Tuesday, October 16th, that coincides with the stationing of Hybris, an asteroid very much known for arrogance.

Who will be calling who out on what when? 
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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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