Monthly Archives: April 2008

Out with the Ram, In with the Bull

The Sun finishes its annual path through Aries this week and enters Taurus on Saturday, just in time for the astrological equivalent of a Blue Moon.

The go-go pace of Aries will slow down to a more leisurely gait with the Sun in Taurus, and we may feel somewhat lethargic with Jupiter and Saturn both stationing in earth signs.

The week starts out with plenty of fire, though, with the Moon in Leo and the Sun, Mercury, and Venus in Aries. Get as much done as you can on Monday, because the week will get progressively slower and lazier.

On Thursday, Mercury enters Taurus and the Moon enters Libra. We’re going to feel like starting the weekend early. Mercury’s trine to Pluto and Saturn on Friday is good for being productive, but there will be no mistaking the energy shift, which will be complete when the Sun enters Taurus on Saturday. This will be a great weekend for shopping, if you’re into it. Just make sure you leave plenty of time to linger over a latte with extra whipped cream.

The Full Moon occurs on Sunday at 3:25 a.m. on the West Coast of the United States. Neith beat me to the punch writing about this special Full Moon, which is one of two in Scorpio. It’s not exactly a Blue Moon, which usually means two Full Moons in one month, but it’s the astrological equivalent.

At just over 0 degrees Scorpio, this Full Moon represents powerful energy for establishing projects begun at the New Moon. We’re hopeful that it means the next level of success for Real Astrologers, and I hope it represents success for you, too! If you have planets or chart points near 0 degrees of the fixed signs — Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius — you will feel this Full Moon more than others. (I’ve got a fixed grand cross at 0-3 degrees. I’ll let you know what happens!)

The past week has been thrilling for Neith and me, and we are enormously gratified to see that regular readers of Neith.net, Neith on Synastry, and The Pisces Chronicles have found your way here. But we sure are looking forward to a breather before gearing up for the next wave of activity. We have lots of new ideas for the site, so check back often!

Love and blessings,
Pat

P.S. My comprehensive transit report includes details of which lunations of the year are most significant for you.

Looking for a Sign of Love

Researchers in the UK have just released the results of a study showing that facial features reveal whether someone you’re interested in just wants to have a good time or is looking for a long-term commitment.

“Lots of previous studies have shown that people can judge a lot about a person from their face, including things like health and even some personality traits like introversion,” says Dr. Ben Jones of the University of Aberdeen’s Face Research Lab. “But this really is the first study to show that people are also sensitive to subtle facial signals about the type of romantic relationships that others might enjoy.”

Well, Dr. Jones, a good astrologer could have told you that and a lot more! And we wouldn’t have drawn the same old gender-based conclusion that women look for a lasting relationship, while men just want a good roll in the hay (they actually pay people money for this?).

Your physical appearance is reflected in your birth chart, especially your Ascendant, also called your Rising sign, which can literally represent the face you present to the world. Does that mean that all Rising Leos look alike? Of course not. The interplay between your Sun, Moon, Rising sign, and planets near the Ascendant is complex and very individual. But there are detectable patterns.

I have a friend with a lot of Aries in her chart. Her profile almost resembles a sheep, with a straight, barely protruding nose. I met another Aries at a party once and immediately pegged him as a Ram. He had two spots on either side of his broad forehead where you could almost see the horns sprouting.

You can tell a Scorpio or Rising Scorpio by the eyes. They’re unusual in some way, whether by the size or color or by the intensity of their gaze. Pisces or Rising Pisces often has large eyes and “fish lips.” My all-time favorite example is Liza Minnelli (born March 12, 1946).

According to the University of Aberdeen study, men with more “masculine” looks are out for a good time, while those who are more feminine are more likely to want some type of commitment. They qualify that this applies to young people, implying that at some point, facial features are no longer a consideration. That certainly was true for Charlton Heston, the quintessential Hollywood manly man. As Neith explained in her recent post, his birth chart strongly indicated a preference for commitment.

A research project called Astrofaces is attempting to draw correlations between people’s Sun, Moon, and Rising signs and their facial features. Frankly, I put more stock in this research than in an academic study that attempts to quantify dating behavior and reinforces outdated notions that men want sex while women want love.

Pat

Don’t know your Moon or Rising sign? Get Pat’s Bare Essentials Sun-Moon-Rising report!

Patrick Swayze & Lisa Niemi – Enduring Love

When I read in the news that Patrick Swayze had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer earlier this year, I was saddened. He has long been a favorite of mine as an actor and as an example of a Hollywood celebrity whose marriage works.

He and Lisa Niemi met when she was 15 and he was 19, and they were married in June 1975. That will be 34 years this coming June – great by any standards and extraordinary by film industry standards.

Of course, being an astrologer, the first thing I did was track down their birth data and look at the synastry between their charts. ::grin::

Patrick has both Sun and Moon in Leo, with Virgo rising and Saturn conjunct Neptune in Libra in the first house. I’ve observed that Saturn in Libra people either spend as little time as possible married or are faithfully married forever. Patrick falls in the latter category and describes himself as loyal almost to a fault. Lisa’s Sun is in Gemini with the Moon likely in Sagittarius. I don’t know for sure, because I couldn’t find a birth time for her.

A look at the personal planets by sign shows solid compatibility between them. His Leo Sun is harmoniously trine her Sagittarius Moon, and her Gemini Sun forms a friendly sextile to his Moon in Leo. Having the luminaries in compatible elements, in this case fire and air, is an excellent basis for understanding. They both have the Moon in a fire signs giving them an intuitive understanding of the other on the emotional level.

His Mercury in Leo (widely conjunct his Sun) is sextile her Mercury in Gemini (closely conjunct her Sun) making communications a snap! Because they both have Sun conjunct Mercury, there is a strong parallel working here, too. They have great chemistry, too, indicated by the harmonious trine between her Venus in Cancer and his Mars in Scorpio.

In synastry, Saturn is the planet we look to for determining durability in relationships. Patrick and Lisa have a set of Sun/Saturn aspects demonstrating how this works. Her Sun is trine his Saturn and his Sun is square her Saturn. They chose to marry (Saturn likes signed documents) rather than live together, and it obviously works for them. A couple more Saturn aspects in their synastry: her Saturn in Scorpio is conjunct his Mars in Scorpio and his Saturn in Libra is square her Venus in Cancer. These aspects both fall in the stabilizing category and show up with great frequency between couples in enduring marriages.

Jupiter graces this pair with a sense of fun and optimism shown by a matched set of Mars/Jupiter squares (a little over the top but who cares) and a powerful conjunction between her Jupiter/Pluto and his Sun/South Node/Pluto in Leo. The second synastry aspect was the first one that caught my eye. There is another nodal aspect – her Mars is conjunct his North Node – yes, her planets conjunct both ends of his nodal axis! Aspects to the lunar nodes in synastry indicate karmic forces at work.

In many ways, these two support and encourage each other (the Saturn and Jupiter aspects) and have a wonderful sounding board in one another (Sun/Mercury aspects). Here is an instance where the astrology of the relationship clearly supports the reality. I wish them well in their current battle with Patrick’s cancer.

posted by Neith . . .

Importance of Birth Time in Compatibility Reports

Astrology for Evolving the Collective Mind

For a good time, call Neith! The Dalai Lama’s visit to Seattle this week has me thinking about astrology’s bad public image and what, if anything, can be done about it.

As an astrologer, I tend to hang around other astrology sites, where we argue about things like the correct application of the lunar nodes and whether Pluto’s entry into Capricorn means another American Revolution. I get a stark dose of reality when I wander to other sites, where discussions of astrology are marred by flames essentially accusing anyone who believes in astrology of being a stupid idiot or worse.

The two groups that seem to have the worst view of astrology are Christian Conservatives and the liberal Left. The first is predictable. The second is more puzzling, especially when intellectual types are so quick to embrace Eastern philosophy. It’s acceptable, if not downright fashionable, to be a Buddhist and to revere the Dalai Lama. Tickets to his appearance are the hottest in town.

But heaven help you if you believe in astrology, a “superstitious pseudoscience.”

This unfortunate view may be largely due to a gross misunderstanding of what astrology is – and what it isn’t – which is perpetuated by the Sun sign horoscopes in newspapers and magazines. I never attempt to “convert” anyone, but I’ve won over a few people simply by explaining what astrology is and how it is best used.

Neith and I made a conscious decision that, no matter how much traffic our site would generate if we offered Sun sign horoscopes, we will not do it. Yes, we are commercial, but we also believe strongly that astrology is an important tool for self-discovery, which in turn leads to evolution of the human mind. Sun sign horoscopes are not consistent with our mission.

Sun sign horoscopes are a relatively new invention, having been created in the 1930s as a marketing tool to sell newspapers. As a result, millions of people now identify with their Sun signs, and most people don’t know what a Rising sign is or why it’s a better forecasting tool. We may offer Rising sign horoscopes in the future, so stay tuned…

Meanwhile, millions of people who ridicule astrology do so with foregone conclusions more appropriate for a Baptist revival than for a gathering of rational, intelligent beings. These are people who pride themselves on being “open-minded,” and yet on this topic, their minds are slammed shut with frightening finality. Although we don’t want to be so open-minded that our brains fall out, expanding the mind does require additional space.

If any of you have any thoughts about why this apparent paradox exists, we would love to hear from you. (For those of you who haven’t registered, it’s quick and easy!).

Love and blessings to all,
~Pat

Charlton Heston: The Death of an Iconic Figure

Charlton Heston died the night of April 5, 2008, in his home in Beverly Hills, very close to the New Moon in Aries and, ironically, around the time we launched this website.

A fellow Libra, I realized when I saw his chart that he and I shared Scorpio rising and 12^th house Sun, too. However, his mid-heaven is Leo with the North Node conjunct Neptune and Venus located in his 10^th house, very fitting for a man who enjoyed a great deal of success on the silver screen.

His best-known role was in Ben Hur. I saw the film when it was released in theaters far too many years ago. My grandmother took all of us kids to see it and I still recall how long three hours of movie was for a small child. ::grin::

Having Saturn conjunct his Ascendant in Scorpio played well for him on screen and lent a stern, authoritarian quality that blended well with the regal beauty of Venus conjunct Neptune in Leo. With his Libra Sun hidden in his 12^th house, it comes as no surprise that the influence of Libra’s ruler, Venus, dominates.

The ruler of his Ascendant, Mars, is conjunct the South Node in Aquarius, opposite Venus. He was also well-known for his strong stand on gun control and his involvement in the NRA.

His Moon in Sagittarius (the hunter) is the apex of a T-square with Mercury in Virgo opposing Uranus in Pisces, reflecting a willingness to speak out in no uncertain terms, dispensing with any vestige of Libra diplomacy on issues he felt strongly about. Pluto in Cancer squared his Libra Sun adding to the tendency to take a position and “stay the course.” With Neptune and Pluto the elevated planets in his chart, I believe there is little question he was a spokesperson for his generation.

This is my first post of a planned series on celebrities and celebrity couples. Just check the celebrity category for the latest.

Charlton Heston, born October 4, 1924, at 7:55 AM in Evanston, IL (USA)

posted by Neith . . .

Announcing the birth of RealAstrologers.com

Welcome you to our new website, RealAstrologers.com!

In astrology, timing is everything, which is why we chose the New Moon in Aries to unveil our project. Aries is the first sign of the Zodiac, and this New Moon is teeming with energy to begin new ventures and embark on new journeys.

We’ve been working like crazy people since the Full Moon in Libra in March to get this project up and running. However, the seeds were planted during the shadow phase of the Mars retrograde last fall. The shadow phase finally was over yesterday, and Mars rules this New Moon, so it’s no coincidence that we are launching our endeavor now.

It has been a joint enterprise all the way, with both of us working on all aspects of site design and content development. We both love the results of our labors, and we are eager to share it with all of you.

As we have discovered over the past couple of years posting comments on each other’s blogs, we bring different but complementary perspectives to the table. Although we hope to engage a broader readership here, we also want to encourage everyone who visits this site to stop by Neith.net, Neith on Synastry, and The Pisces Chronicles. We’ll be doing a lot of cross-posting, and we’ll be responding to comments and questions there.

We’re thrilled about this opportunity to work with each other, and we’re sure that all who step into our new home will enjoy the dialogue among our community of friends and neighbors. Yup, astro-lessons for everyone!! :-D

So come by, wander around, leave us a comment or two, and be prepared for new and interesting changes . . . after all, we’re both Uranian types!