Tag Archives: mundane astrology

Weekly Forecast April 25: Venus Opposite Saturn, Mars Conjunct Jupiter

Stargazer lily. © Pat Paquette 2011

What a week it has been! Everyone I know was going through some kind of crisis, many of them relationship-oriented. Here’s an excerpt of an e-mail I received from a client on Friday:

“My plan for Easter brunch has turned into HELL!! SOS! My sister and her partner have been fighting like rabid dogs. She’s been saying for months that she’s leaving him but is STILL living there! She hurt his feelings by not inviting him to service on Friday or Sunday brunch … he’s never even been interested in church or God, he’s simply grasping at straws, at this point. I told them, that given the situation, I was uncomfortable with him coming down for Easter … that I wouldn’t sacrifice my family for his ‘hurt’ feelings. Harsh, but necessary. It looks like my husband and I will just take his mother out to brunch.”

The expensive ham she bought for the occasion is sitting in the refrigerator. I reassured her that things are going to calm down this week, and she can throw a party next weekend.

Amazon and Sony had a rough week, too. Both corporate giants had computer network crashes that affected millions of customers worldwide. Sony said its PlayStation Network was attacked by hackers. Mercury’s station certainly didn’t help. As I’ve noted many times in these pages, some of the worst problems happen when Mercury is at a standstill. I was at an information session on Wednesday that got a late start because the instructor’s assistant hadn’t shown up and there was no one to staff his office. Turns out she had a flat tire on her way to work. And on and on …

Violence in the Middle East is on the rise. What initially seemed like a sweeping revolution has turned into a bloody suppression. In an excellent article on CounterPunch, award-winning journalist Patrick Cockburn writes, “From Libya to Bahrain and Syria to Yemen, leaders are clinging on to power despite intense pressure from pro-democracy protesters.”

The increase in violence is hardly surprising, with Mars dominating the sky. The bigger trend is the approaching square of Uranus to Pluto. Many astrologers, myself included, have predicted rebellion and authoritarian crackdowns. The situation in the Mideast is just the beginning.

Before I get into this week’s forecast, I’d like to note that two greats left us last week, both as a result of multiple organ failure. Internationally renowned guru Sai Baba, whose followers include many celebrities, was 85. The man who invented CDs, former Sony president Norio Ohga, died at 81.

Overall, this week will be less frustrating, and relationships should fare a little better, too. The Sun in placid Taurus will help decrease the noise level, and Mercury’s return direct will go a long way toward repairing misunderstandings. That said, some relationships that ended in the past two weeks are over for good. If this is your situation, you likely are better off, even if it’s too soon to recognize it.

There’s not much going on in the sky on Monday and Tuesday. On Wednesday, Venus squares Pluto. The usual warning with these two in hard aspect is that power struggles can erupt in relationships, especially regarding sex. Using sex as a means of control over another person is a no-no, and it likely will backfire. What goes around comes around. Depending on where Venus and Pluto are transiting your chart, you also may have to be mindful not to get dragged into jealousy and possessiveness.

Working with this aspect should be a little easier, thanks to an easy trine later in the day between the Sun and Pluto. You can express yourself directly and tell the other person what you want and need, rather than resorting to underhanded tactics. The challenge, of course, is that first you have to be honest with yourself. If you’re willing to do that, you’ll have cosmic support.

The only aspect on Friday is a conjunction between the Moon and Uranus in Aries, which might generate some emotional fireworks, but in general lunar transits are mild and fleeting. Good thing, because this is the day that Prince William and Kate Middleton will be married. Even if you’re not into all the hoopla, do check out Helene’s series on the royal couple. I found it surprisingly refreshing.

Another relationship will be in the spotlight on Friday. Gabrielle Giffords, the congresswoman who was shot in the head in Arizona in January, plans to attend the launch of the space shuttle in Florida. Her husband, Mark Kelly, is one of six astronauts who will be on the flight. The presence of Giffords surely will eclipse the event itself, although it’s doubtful she’ll appear in public.

On Saturday, Venus opposes Saturn. Usually this isn’t a happy aspect for love relationships, but it is stabilizing, especially with Saturn in Venus-ruled Libra. Of course, both also are square Pluto, and while the angle is fairly wide, it nevertheless counts as a potent cardinal T-square. You may need to insist on your boundaries, as my client had to do with her sister’s partner. Although it will be difficult, try to do it with love and kindness.

Sunday is exuberant, with a three-way conjunction between the Moon, Mars, and Jupiter. Get out and play! Throw a party. Take a long walk or bike ride in a beautiful natural setting. Taurus is the sign of beauty, including the beauty of nature.

Speaking of the beauty of nature, I leave you with this amazing video by Norwegian photographer Terje Sorgjerd. To me, there is nothing more breathtaking than the night sky. (For a larger version, click on the link below the image.)

Much love and courage to all,
Pat

The Mountain from Terje Sorgjerd on Vimeo.

Weekly Forecast March 21: Sun Conjunct Uranus, Venus Enters Pisces

Grand Coulee Dam. The first concrete was poured on Dec. 6, 1935, with Saturn (structure) in Pisces (water), and Uranus square Mars and Pluto. © Pat Paquette 2011.

This promises to be an exciting week, starting right out with an electrifying conjunction of the Sun and Uranus in Aries. I just hope my circuits can stand it.

If I had to describe this transit in one word, it would be “revolution.” Not that you need astrology to tell you that movements around the world for freedom from oppression will continue to build. I am somewhat concerned about what will happen next week, when Mars enters Aries and Mercury turns retrograde. Mars is the planet of war and conflict, and he’ll be on the side of the revolutionaries. Eventually – by the second week in April – they’ll provoke authoritarian governments and their corporate backers to take extreme action against them. It will be very interesting to see which side the United States supports in individual countries in the Middle East.

In our individual lives, the Sun-Uranus conjunction brings surprises and a break from our normal routine. At its best, it can help us blast through blocks that are holding us back. That’s the good side of this transit. The danger is that you may feel an urge to do extreme things like telling your boss to go to hell, without considering the consequences. For an idea of how this might manifest in your life, look at where Uranus currently is transiting your chart. Most of you have enough of an understanding of astrology that you probably know this already. If you’re in your early 20s or early 40s, be extra mindful not to act on selfish impulse.

There are no other major planetary aspects until Saturday, when Venus conjoins Neptune at 29 degrees Aquarius. The following day, she enters Pisces, sign of her exaltation. Venus is a lower vibration of Neptune, so her entrance into Pisces right after their conjunction should provide us with some early insight into what will happen when Neptune himself enters Pisces on April 4. Neptune’s counterpart in ancient Greece was Poseidon, who ruled over the sea, fresh water and earthquakes.

Venus is happy in Pisces, the sign of mystical union and merging into the underlying source of all things. She doesn’t seek love for physical gratification, adoration or financial rewards, but to merge into oneness with her partner.

Speaking of which, Mars remains in Pisces until April 1, and he’s being “fed” by planets in Aries, the sign he rules. Although Mars in Pisces can be a warrior for the poor and underprivileged, he also will fight on the behalf of religious beliefs. Let’s hope his energy is channeled into helping the thousands left homeless by the earthquake in Japan and not fanning the flames of religious conflict in the Middle East.

Overall, we’re a step farther into Aries territory and a Brave New World. However, with Mars still in Pisces, one foot remains in the past. This week, we continue to evaluate our past and decide what to keep and what to leave behind. It’s never too late to throw unneeded baggage overboard, especially if it has been weighing you down and preventing you from moving forward.

There is one other interesting astrological event this week that I’d like to discuss, and that’s the conjunction of the lunar North Node and the Galactic Center. Indeed, this may be the most important transit of the week, if not the entire month, as it portends the opening of a portal into higher consciousness. The conjunction isn’t exact until March 31, but the North Node is now at the same degree as the Galactic Center at 27 degrees Sagittarius and will remain there until the end of the month.

What’s really intriguing is that the North Node turns direct for a few hours on Friday, March 25. The lunar nodes normally are retrograde in motion, but every now and then, they turn direct. It’s like the opening of a doorway, and when this occurs in conjunction with the supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy – the source of powerful radio waves – it’s hugely significant.

As if that’s not enough, the Moon conjoins the North Node a few minutes after it turns direct! Keep a notebook with you on Friday, and write down any dreams you have Friday night. The nodes are direct from 1:57 p.m. PDT on Friday to 5:30 a.m. PDT on Saturday.

Finally, I’d like to remind everyone that there’s just one more week to go before Mercury turns retrograde. Even though Mercury is in pre-retrograde shadow, he’s not officially retrograde yet, so there’s still time to sign papers, close accounts, and take care of anything else of that nature. Wrap up as much business as you can this week.

Wishing you all much love and courage,
Pat

Weekly Forecast February 28: Venus Enters Aquarius, New Moon in Pisces

The violent side of Pisces. © Verners Verzbilovskis for Dreamstime.com

We knew we were in for another round of the cardinal T-square this year, but I didn’t think we’d start seeing any real effects until Uranus entered Aries in mid-March.

So, it would seem like all hell is breaking loose again, with a strong pattern of authoritarian rule (Pluto) suppressing rebellion. The Jupiter-Pluto square is implicated, but only if you put it in the context of the ongoing T-square.

We also need to remember the rare lunar eclipse that occurred on December 21, 2010, just hours before the Sun entered Capricorn. With the Sun at 29 degrees Sagittarius, the eclipse was close enough to 0 degrees Capricorn to be included in this power game. Jupiter and Uranus were both back in late Pisces at the time, having dipped briefly into Aries over the summer before turning retrograde. Jupiter is now well beyond his retrograde point, and Uranus is sitting at 29 Pisces, the final degree of the zodiac, ready to enter Aries on March 11. Although he’s not in Aries yet, he is in a near-exact square with the solstice eclipse, so we’re feeling this forceful energy.

Often, earth events correspond to eclipses, although not necessarily at the time. I tied last year’s mega-quake in Chili to an eclipse that hadn’t happened yet. So last week’s tragic earthquake in New Zealand can’t be attributed to the Jupiter-Pluto square.

Other events, however, can. The two that come immediately to mind are the civil war in Libya and the showdown in Madison, Wis., over workers’ rights. In both cases, an authoritarian ruler is suppressing opposition. It doesn’t seem to me that there’s much difference in principle between Moammar Gadhafi’s vow to fight to the last bullet and Gov. Scott Walker’s vow to bust the unions regardless of massive protests at the Wisconsin Capitol and other cities across the country. Tyranny has many faces.

I’m encouraged by the protests, as people finally are willing to fight for their rights. A while back, I lamented in a post that I didn’t know what it would take to get Americans out in the streets, the way citizens in Europe and other countries do. Well, now we know, and I’m gratified the trigger is as substantial as workers’ rights. Unionized labor has a long history in this country. Assaulting these basic rights is a hostile act, the first shot in a class war that has been brewing for years.

In an article for CounterPunch, author Andrew Levine writes, “The problem, in short, is that to survive, capitalism must expand – and, with so few areas left for expansion, the public sphere has become a target too tempting to resist. What is under attack is the public sphere itself. Public unions are its first (and last?) line of defense.”

Another headline grabbed my attention this past week, about a landmark decision handed down in a class action suit against Chevron in Ecuador. What struck me most was the name leading the list of plaintiffs. Maria Aguinda is a grandmother, an indigenous villager fighting a giant multinational oil company. I immediately looked for Ceres in the chart. Sure enough, Ceres was in Aries opposite Jupiter when the first version of the lawsuit was filed in November 1993. Ceres was conjunct Pluto in Capricorn at the peak of last year’s T-square.

This week, there are yet more shifts. On Tuesday, Venus enters Aquarius, sign of rebellion and human rights. Just before making her move, she sextiles Uranus, ruler of Aquarius. I’m hopeful that this transit will bring some resolution into conflicts worldwide. It may be too late in Libya, where so much blood has been shed already, but there’s still an opportunity for legislators in Wisconsin to do the right thing by compromising.

On Thursday, the lunar North Node leaves Capricorn and enters Sagittarius. At 29 degrees Sagittarius/Gemini, the nodes will be at the degree of the solstice eclipse, further activating this critical degree. The North Node also will begin approaching conjunction with the Galactic Center, which will be exact at the end of March. I’ll have more on this development, which I believe will create another portal for mass awakening.

Also on Thursday, Mars forms a compatible sextile with Pluto. This pair offers yet another possibility for working hard to reach a compromise or, if that’s not possible, for the losing side to accept defeat and regroup to form a new strategy.

Friday is the New Moon in Pisces. The planets are all bunched on one side of the chart, with Saturn on the other side (view chart here). As the singleton planet, Saturn has a powerful influence, and he’s at an irritating inconjunct with the Sun and Moon. Even though he’s retrograde, Saturn is exalted in Libra, the sign of fairness and balance. As much as we may wish to have things our way or fantasize about how we would like them to be, we’re going to have to get real, act on our own behalf, and do what’s necessary to maintain our integrity.

Speaking of which, I’m still working to catch up with my backlog of consultations, so I won’t have a New Moon post this week. I know many of you have been searching for them, but I’ve had to set priorities, and my first duty is to my paying clients. If I were independently wealthy or won the lottery, there’s nothing I’d love better than to write blog posts every day. Unfortunately, that’s not my reality, and so I will post as I can, between writing reports and meeting life’s demands.

Wishing you all much love and courage,
Pat

Weekly Forecast February 14: Full Moon in Leo, Sun Enters Pisces

Winter light in Seattle. © Pat Paquette, 2011.

It’s a different world this week, in more ways than one.

The big news, of course, is the revolution in Egypt. They have a long way to go – goddess help them – but the event created a “disturbance in the Force,” and it will have ripples into the collective consciousness for years, if not decades.

Whenever something this momentous happens, we have to look at what the outer planets are doing. I’ve written before and continue to believe that this public rebellion against a dictator is a manifestation of the Uranus-Pluto square. The trouble with this theory is that Uranus is still several degrees shy of an active square, so how can we explain this?

I see two possibilities. First, Jupiter in Aries is within striking distance of a square with Pluto, and he’s “carrying forward” the energy of Uranus. The two danced back and forth in conjunction for the second half of 2010. The first pass occurred at 0 degrees Aries on June 8. Then both planets went retrograde. The third and final meeting was on January 4, in Pisces.

What’s more, when Mubarak stepped down last week, Jupiter had just passed the degree at which he went retrograde last summer. In other words, we entered new territory. Jupiter rules Sagittarius, the sign of the explorer, and Aries is the pioneer. We might think of him as the scout for Uranus, who follows him into Aries on March 11. Uranus will pass last year’s station on March 22, and then we’ll be even deeper into new territory, with all of our bridges burned.

Another possible explanation – and the two aren’t mutually exclusive – has to do with the lunar nodes. The nodes, which are mathematical points in space, move retrograde, counter to the movement of the planets. However, they are direct from time to time. There seems to be something special and fated about these periods, which can last a few hours to a few days. At the moment of Mubarak’s resignation, the nodes were direct, at 1 degree Capricorn and Cancer. Again, these degrees are “hot spots” following last summer’s cardinal T-square.

If you think of what was happening in your own life last Friday, you may discover that there were connections to events during the peak of the T-square last July and August.

On to this week, the Moon in cardinal Cancer on Monday sends another little ripple into the early cardinal degrees. At the same time, mentally sharp Mercury in Aquarius trines Saturn in Libra. With both planets in the sign of their exaltation, this is a great day for mental activity. If your job requires a lot of concentration, this should be a nicely productive day for you.

On Thursday, the Sun conjoins Neptune as he moves through the final degrees of Aquarius. Friday is the big day, when Sun and Moon oppose each other in the final degree of Aquarius and Leo. Because of my full schedule, I’m limiting my blogging to one post a week (the weekly forecast), which means I won’t be doing the new and full moon reports until I get caught up. In the meantime, here’s a quote from Stephanie Austin, who sets the standard for interpreting lunations in her column for The Mountain Astrologer:

[callout]The Sun’s placement between the ongoing Neptune-Chiron conjunction highlights the need for a spiritual revolution – a change of heart, as well as a change of mind. Einstein noted that a problem cannot be solved at the level at which it was created. Our current social, economic, and environmental crises cannot be resolved from the mindset that generated them. We are being forced to think and live out of the box, as the centuries-old structures supporting patriarchy, materialism, and “might makes right” topple around us. There is no going back. We have passed the eleventh hour, and this Full Moon, with five planets in the eleventh sign, illuminates where each of us is being called to make a difference.[/callout]

I certainly couldn’t have said it any better myself.

Lost in all that boisterous Aquarius energy on Friday is a quiet Venus-Saturn square. Hard Venus-Saturn aspects usually don’t bode well, and yet I like this one, because the two planets are in mutual reception. Venus is in Capricorn, the sign ruled by Saturn, and Saturn is in Libra, the sign ruled by Venus. Love isn’t always easy. Committed relationships are hard work. Compromises are necessary, and yet it’s hard to judge just how much we can give up without losing our integrity. These two know how to negotiate and to do so fairly. Look at where they fall in your chart for clues about how you might use this energy to so some heavy lifting in your relationships.

Later on Friday, the Sun enters Pisces and conjoins Chiron the following day. Healing requires shedding light on internal wounds, some of which may be quite old and not even inflicted in this lifetime.

Sunday brings a triple conjunction of Mercury, Mars, and Neptune in Aquarius. If you’re fighting for freedom and higher ideals, go for it. Carry your picket signs and shout slogans: “Down with the Tyrant!” “Workers of the World, Unite!” United, We Stand!” Otherwise, this aspect requires delicate handling. Needless to say, stay away from politics at Sunday dinner … unless you want to end up wearing it.

Much love and courage to all,
Pat

Julian Assange: The Man Behind WikiLeaks, Part II

Having established in Part I that this horoscope describes our man rather well, let’s see what was happening around the times of various WikiLeaks disclosures that rocked the planet.

To start with, WikiLeaks.org was registered on Oct. 4, 2006. This happened at a time when Jupiter and Saturn were forming a square aspect in the sky; the finance-political disaster that is currently holding the globe in its grip was already brewing and about to enter the next stage.

Transiting Jupiter had just crossed Assange’s Ascendant – for him, it was a time to expand and to “come out.” Meanwhile, transiting Saturn was traversing Assange’s tenth house, indicating a time to assume some kind of leadership and to take on great public responsibility. Unfortunately, Saturn in the tenth house can also indicate “falling from a great height.”

In December 2007, WikiLeaks published material pertaining to Guantanamo Bay, the U.S. prison colony that President Obama still hasn’t shut down (to read the analysis of that transit, as well as a more comprehensive timeline, click here). Then, on April 5, 2010, video footage from 2007 was published, showing innocent Iraqi civilians and two Reuter journalists being shot dead from a U.S. Apache helicopter. Photographic images belong to the realm of Neptune, which was forming an active connection to Assange’s Jupiter at the time. Meanwhile, transiting Mars was sitting on his Midheaven, so it’s no wonder Assange gave us images of a war crime.

In the heavens, there was still an opposition between Saturn and Uranus going on, affecting all of us in some way and indicating that the rift between the conservative powers that be (Saturn) and free-spirited, innovative forces of progress (Uranus) was getting wider. On the day of publication, this was highlighted by an explosive Moon/Pluto conjunction in karmic Capricorn. Where the public is concerned, Assange certainly seems to pick his moments.

This trend continued with the publication of the Afghan War Log Files on July 26, 2010. Saturn/Mars and Uranus/Jupiter were opposing each other on the potent equinox axis of 0° Libra/Aries, and all four of them were heated up by Pluto, the planet of extremes.

The real bombshell, however, came on November 28, 2010, with the release of 250,000 cables sent to and from U.S. embassies all over the world. Assange’s chart tells us that he had been sitting on this information for a length of time. Transits suggest that yet another bout of the compelling urge to share bad news with the world had taken place as far back as late September and early October, when Sun, Mercury and Saturn activated Assange’s genial but very uncomfortable and almost compulsively rebellious Sun/Uranus combination.

For once, though, Saturn’s influence may have made him consider the consequences. Going through various possible scenarios, he must have realized that he would create a lot of enmity against himself and his affiliates among a large group of very powerful people. During October, these three planets were moving through Assange’s twelfth house, indicating a time of reflection and of hatching new plans.

On the day of publication, Pluto was exactly conjunct the North Node in Capricorn, the sign of political and financial hierarchy and of karmic debt. The collective was hit by fate big time, and those exposed in the documents may have felt like Judgment Day had arrived.

[headline h=”5″]Sexual Misconduct Charges and Extradition Hearing[/headline]

Meanwhile, Assange was fighting on a different front. Since late August he had a charge of sexual misconduct hanging over his head in Sweden, where he had applied for residency in view of that country’s laws protecting whistleblowers. When he allegedly forced himself on two Swedish women, Venus and Mars were moving across his natal Uranus, indicating the possibility of sudden and short-lived affairs, as well as a compelling drive towards unusual sexual practices. The Sun was traversing his tenth house and opposing his natal Mars; riding on his prominent social status as main speaker at a conference on media and war, his ego was pumped up, and he likely felt unusually strong physical urges as well.

The Swedish authorities on August 21st dropped the charges after one day of investigation. But following a lawyer’s appeal, the case was re-opened on November 18, 2010, an international arrest warrant was issued on November 20th. On that day, the Sun, Assange’s “public status planet,” shed its light on his natal Jupiter, the planet of international affairs and ruler of Assange’s fifth house of romantic involvements.

In giving himself up on December 8, Assange may have succumbed to a fleeting depression, with the Moon opposed his natal Sun. He was released on bail but was put under house arrest. The extradition hearing has been set for February 7 and 8.

As of this writing, the exact time of the hearing hasn’t been published. But assuming that UK courts open at 9 a.m., Uranus, Jupiter and the Moon will be on the Ascendant, which would make the interference of protesters likely (view chart here). The judge, signified by stern Saturn trying to find the correct balance in Libra, will not be stirred by public opinion, as indicated by a Moon/Saturn opposition on the second day of the hearing. We also have a flowing trine aspect between Saturn in Libra and a conjunction of Sun and Mars in Aquarius. The judge will have no problem putting a halt to Assange’s work, blocking his assets, and keeping him under arrest.

No matter what the British judge decides on February 8, with Saturn traversing Assange’s twelfth house, he is shown as Assange’s “secret enemy.” Saturn also indicates that this case, and possibly house arrest and/or incarceration, could drag on until summer 2014.

Meanwhile, the current Jupiter/Saturn cycle of global finances will peak in the last of five oppositions at the end of May 2011. If he hasn’t done so before, I expect Assange to publish the secrets of international banking around that time, or else we might by then be experiencing the global consequences of his revelations.

Helene

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Helene Schnitzer is an astrologer living in Glastonbury, England. Her specialities include Traditional, Horary and Hellenistic Astrology, and Astro*Carto*Graphy. Click HERE to read her full bio.

Julian Assange: The Man Behind WikiLeaks

With his extradition hearing coming up next week, Julian Assange is the subject of today’s guest post by Helene. ~Pat

Julian Assange hardly needs an introduction. Pictures and stories about “The Man behind WikiLeaks” appear on the web, in newspapers, and in national news around the globe.

I will not attempt to unravel his whole life’s story here, like the turmoil of his childhood or his failed marriage. I will concentrate on the context of recent events. Can astrology help us understand what’s happening to him? Are his motives as pure as the snow that Arctic winds are driving past my window right now? Or is Julian Assange an unscrupulous international terrorist? Some interested parties certainly would like us to believe that. I have yet to hear him being called a devil, but then – the label “terrorist” pretty much fits that description, doesn’t it?

Well, let’s start at the beginning. Julian Assange reportedly was born on 3 July 1971, 14:05, in Townsville, Australia (view chart here). This birth time, from a source who contacted The Mountain Astrologer, is only one of several that have been published, but appears to be the most reliable.

Sun and Moon are well connected, which is usually at the basis of a well-integrated personality. The ninth-house Sun points to publishing and foreign countries. This is someone who wants to know what’s going on in the world and who is looking for the bigger picture. Someone like this is usually interested in philosophies, universal belief systems, international relations and politics, to name but a few.

Also – and I bet most of you didn’t know that – in the ninth house the Sun is in its joy, Here, it can happily shine straight from the heart and be the teacher, leader, peacemaker. This area is traditionally called the House of God – read “the Divine” if you wish – and people with this placement often feel their work and their very existence are steered by a higher power meaning to affect large groups of their fellow human beings.

Assange likely wants to share his accumulated knowledge with the family of mankind, a very Cancerian approach. In doing so, he doesn’t mind shocking the recipients of his information, because he is marching to his own drummer and feels driven by a force that is bigger than the individual. The square aspect between Sun and Uranus indicates a multitude of innovative ideas that lead him to act in unexpected, challenging and rebellious ways – and to get himself into trouble doing so.

With Uranus in the eleventh house, these actions likely involve or affect large groups of people, directed at social reform as they are. And last but certainly not least, Uranus is the planet that signifies modern technology, computers and the internet!

Meanwhile, eighth-house Venus in Gemini loves factual knowledge and the power that comes with it, not to mention a good gossip. And if knowledge is power, secret knowledge is even more so! Or, vice versa, secret knowledge revealed may topple unjust powers that be. As we all know by now, Mr. Assange has whole-heartedly embraced that approach.

But that doesn’t mean Assange can’t keep a secret! His Scorpio Moon and the Scorpio Ascendant speak of secrecy and self-sacrifice. Both find secrets interesting and both are capable of keeping them forever. Under this strong influence of highly sensitive Scorpio, we also see a man whose “gut-feelings” may reveal future developments to him long before they actually arrive. Impersonal feelings could be at the basis of his outlook and his actions. This could be the love of truth or compassion for every living being or, conversely, a deep-rooted negativity or fear. Whichever may be the case, the Scorpio Moon forms a tense and active connection with Assange’s Leo Midheaven; there has always been the potential that this man would one day become famous for revealing secret information. This is also a signature for powerful “secret enemies” who can make his public life rather difficult – QED.

Assange’s chart ruler is Mars, situated in the fixed air sign Aquarius in the fourth house. It shows us a man whose actions are determined by carefully applied, logical thinking. The fourth house relates to home and family, and the Ascendant ruler in this position indicates a rather private person. Since Mars also rules the sixth house, this person could be working from home. But here, Mars also forms a tense connection with the Ascendant and indicates an inner controversy between private leanings and public duties, which is further documented by Assange’s first house planets.

With magnanimous Jupiter in the first house, one just isn’t “private,” but often has to fulfill the role of teacher or mentor for others in some way. Jupiter in the first house wants to be seen! Especially with sensitive, compassionate and collective Neptune close by, there is a potential to become a teacher and saviour to the masses. But Neptune often indicates a victim/saviour pattern that can work both ways. One of his biographers recalls from personal experience that Assange “creates an atmosphere around him where the people close to him want to help keep him going” and puts this down to Assange’s charisma. See here first-house Jupiter/Neptune at work!

Interestingly, this latter conjunction is in opposition to natal Saturn. Situated in Gemini and ruling Assange’s third house of communication, this Saturn strongly indicates struggle and conflict around being a “savior” and spreading news. In the seventh house, it promises that Assange’s communications can evoke strong open enmity and even lead to legal consequences – again, QED.

Please note that the Jupiter/Saturn opposition is part of the 30-year cycle between these two planets. Collectively, this cycle describes global economic and political developments. If an individual has one of the pivotal points of this cycle (the conjunction, the square or the opposition) emphasized in their natal horoscope, their life will be strongly affected by it, or he or she will even be involved in shaping related events.

In Part II, we’ll have a look at transits to his natal chart as events unfolded, and I’ll have some predictions for Assange’s extradition hearing scheduled for February 7 and 8.

Helene

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Helene Schnitzer is an astrologer living in Glastonbury, England. Her specialities include Traditional, Horary and Hellenistic Astrology, and Astro*Carto*Graphy. Click HERE to read her full bio.

The Astrology of the Giffords Shooting

The Tower, from the Haindl Tarot.

When an event is as shocking and tragic as last Saturday’s shooting spree in Arizona, we call it “senseless,” and yet, we try to make some sense of it, to find some meaning.

Astrology is uniquely suited as a code to decipher hidden messages. If there is any meaning to be found at all in a senseless act of violence, the key is to find the “right” charts.

Typically, we start by looking at the charts for the individuals involved. The temptation is to start with Jared Lee Loughner, the perpetrator, and Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, his alleged assassination target. Although I agree that these charts are significant and did look at them, my initial reaction was to wonder why we should assign more importance to a member of Congress than to the six people who died in the attack or the other 13 who were seriously wounded. On that premise, I began my investigation with a simple chart for the event itself.

According to press reports, the shooting occurred at 10:10 a.m. This puts the Moon exactly on the Ascendant, by degree and minute, at 7°06′ Pisces. In mundane charts, the Moon represents the people. It also signifies crowds, women, and what the people focus their attention on. The first house, meanwhile, represents the country. We might call it the “state of the union.”

I really didn’t need this uncanny alignment to tell me what I already suspected intuitively, which was that the message here is about the country in general and not about Giffords or the mental state of the assailant, who by all reports is deranged.

Still, I was curious about what synchronicity brought these two together and was hardly surprised to find the cardinal T-square strongly implicated. Giffords has natal Mars at 4 degrees Cancer, in a square with Uranus at 4 Libra. Loughner, meanwhile, has natal Mars at 10 Aries (retrograde), square Neptune at 7 Capricorn.

As you may recall, the cardinal T-square played out over summer 2010 in the first degrees of Aries, Libra, and Capricorn. In 2011, the T-square will take place a few degrees later, but still in the first decanate of the cardinal signs. That the charts for Loughner and Giffords include all four cardinal signs in a close square, each with an outer planet (broad, social trends) aspecting a personal planet, tells us that they are part of a much bigger story.

Looking further into the chart for the shooting, we find the Sun and Mars in Capricorn in the 11th house, which is associated with elected bodies such as Parliament and Congress, square Saturn on the 8th house cusp. The Sun corresponds to persons of note, while Mars represents events such as terrorist attacks. Saturn signifies high-profile funerals and “public sorrow.” The eighth house, of course, is associated with death.

Perhaps the biggest clue, however, lies in the tight conjunction of Uranus and Jupiter in the first house. Uranus is the rebel and rabble-rouser, and is associated with political protest and riots. Jupiter represents bankers, the national wealth, and the justice system. Among those killed was a federal judge.

Taking the analysis a step further, I compared the chart for the shooting with the natal chart for the United States (Sibly). Essentially, this creates a transit chart for the United States at the exact moment of the event. Those of you who follow the U.S. chart already know what most of those transits are. For example, we’ve known that Neptune currently is transiting the U.S. Moon at 27 degrees Aquarius. We’ve also known that Jupiter and Uranus, which feature large in the shooting chart, are approaching the cusp of the fourth house at 1 degree Aries in the Sibly chart, which also was a key T-square degree last summer.

If we look at it in reverse, the Sibly Uranus at 8 degrees Gemini is on the fourth-house cusp (IC) of the shooting chart, and thus we have a two-way incidence of Uranus on the IC. Not that you need to be an astrologer to know that the public is in a rebellious mood, but what this tells us is that action is about to follow thought. I don’t expect a rash of copycat murders and the sudden targeting of members of Congress, but I’ve written all along that as Uranus reaches a closer square to Pluto, there will be violent rioting, and it likely will be against the government.

As for Loughner, much has been revealed over the past few days about his state of mind. One theory about his motive for targeting Giffords is that she blew off a question he asked at a political event in 2007. The question was nonsensical; Giffords probably had no idea what he was talking about and dismissed it as a crazy rant. But Loughner felt ignored and held a serious grudge.

A growing number of people are angry with their elected representatives for ignoring them. Politicians make all kinds of promises to get elected and then promptly ally themselves with their corporate donors and leave the voters to fend for themselves. When the political uprising begins, how many more people will fire into a crowd? And how many cops will fire back?

My conclusion, looking at these charts, is that the Giffords shooting may be a shot over the bow.

What I find infinitely more disturbing are the reports that Loughner was dabbling in astral travel. In an interview with Mother Jones, a friend speaks of Loughner’s obsession with “lucid dreaming” and his belief that he could fly. It’s hard to pass this off as more evidence of mental illness when it’s exactly the kind of thing we talk about here on RealAstrologers.

As human consciousness evolves, lucid dreaming likely will be a common experience, along with past-life visions and other shifts in our perception of time. Was Loughner truly tapped into this? Or was he just deluded? Maybe both?

Mental illness falls within the twelfth house, which in modern astrology is ruled by Neptune and Pisces – the Ascendant in the chart for the shooting. When we travel on the astral plane, we’re in the realm of Neptune, and it’s not all angels and rainbows – especially not in a time of so much collective fear and anger. How many people are in mental hospitals because they played around with this stuff without being adequately grounded?

In addition to being a bellwether for public unrest, the Giffords shooting may be a warning that the awakening of human consciousness will not be without attendant dangers and that it’s not for the weak-minded.

Pat

Weekly Forecast December 20:Lunar Eclipse, Sun Enters Capricorn

This week is so big astrologically that we started experiencing it before it even got here.

As most of you know by now, we’re in for a lunar eclipse on Tuesday, which also is the Winter Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere. The eclipse, which I covered in last Wednesday’s post, is the first in a new series in Sagittarius and Gemini. As it so happens, it will be on the Midheaven here in the Pacific Northwest, at the exact degree in Vancouver, Canada.

Mercury, on his retrograde path, passed over the degree of the eclipse on Saturday. Close to that exact moment, I accidentally let in a malware program that turned my very smart new laptop into a slobbering idiot. Adding insult to injury, I fell prey to an ad promising a solution with a free trial of anti-spyware software. Three hours later, after downloading the program onto my computer and following the surgical instructions, I arrived at a page telling me that the “free trial” found the problem, but if I wanted it fixed, I had to buy the program. I fired off an impolite note to the company, PC Tools, only to have it bounce back with a message that they don’t answer e-mail from nonpaying customers.

Ah, Mercury retrograde at his finest.

The bigger message, as I see it, is about moving toward a “circle of trust” model. Rather than giving my money to a faceless corporation that tried to trick me out of my money when I was in a vulnerable position, I took my computer to our IT shop on the island. It’s a bit more expensive, but they are professional and guarantee their work, and if I have a problem, there’s a real person to talk to.

I’ve written before about the need to choose our friends and allies carefully as we head into the rocky terrain of 2011 and 2012. Who we do business with is part of this process — a fitting message for an eclipse ruled by Mercury, planet of commerce and contracts.

But we may be tempted to shoot the Messenger plenty this week. On Monday and Tuesday, he aspects Chiron, Uranus, Neptune, and Jupiter, repeating the same aspects he made in late November. He’ll make a third and final pass January 10-11. If nothing else, there will be a lot of gift returns after the holidays. The good news is that what you really wanted and didn’t get may be on sale in January.

Otherwise, think of what kind of Mercury ruled activities were going on in your life in late November. They may erupt in a crisis this week. If so, don’t worry, because it will all work out by the middle of January. For me, this is clearly the backlog of consultations I’m still struggling to catch up with. The infected computer set me back another couple of days. To new clients waiting to get on my list, hopefully I’ll have my current workload cleared by the first week of January.

If you’re trying to repair a dinged relationship, Tuesday is a good time to make overtures. However, don’t have the conversation until New Year’s or after, by which time Mercury will be direct.

Right after Tuesday’s eclipse, Venus passes the degree at which she went retrograde on October 8. Romantic relationships can progress to the next level now. Money issues may start to clear up, too. However, with Mercury retrograde, solutions may be delayed until the end of the month.

With the Sun’s entry into Capricorn on Tuesday, we’ll get yet another blast of the summer’s T-square as the Sun crosses the early degrees of Capricorn and conjoins Pluto on Sunday. I ran across an AP news article this morning about the unprecedented number of earth events in 2010. It’s not enough to convince astrology debunkers, but those with an open mind may stop and think about the connection.

As you’ll recall, Ceres was a vital part of the T-square. This week, she forms a sextile to Jupiter and Uranus, and she’s on the Descendant in Washington, D.C., in the Capricorn ingress chart. Last week, the U.S. Justice Department sued BP and eight other companies involved in the Gulf oil disaster. Dare we hope that the United States in the coming months will join in global initiatives to protect the environment, perhaps under the leadership of President Obama?

Friday’s Leo Moon should make for a festive Christmas Eve, for those who celebrate the holiday. The Moon in Virgo on Christmas Day favors healthy feasting and moderation in food and drink. Hopefully, it signifies restraint and good taste in gift-giving, as well. Like many people, I love the festivity of the season but am saddened by the crass commercialism that has overtaken the spirit of Christmas. The winter holidays are so much more meaningful when we celebrate with those we love and trust, exchange gifts from the heart, and create abundance through our soul connections.

Wishing you all much love, joy, and abundance,
Pat

Weekly Forecast December 6:Mars Enters Capricorn, Mercury Retrograde

If you haven’t finished your holiday shopping and especially if you haven’t mailed packages yet, don’t read this post.

Stop reading right now, get out of your chair and get busy. Or, if you like ordering online, just do it! Same goes for handmade gifts. If you don’t have all of your supplies, don’t waste another minute. Stock up, and then you can relax and finish reading about what’s happening this week. Even if you’re giving homemade goodies, get everything now, or you may find an empty spot on the supermarket shelf where you expected your key ingredient to be.

You probably know already why I’m writing this. That’s right, Mercury turns retrograde this week, and he already has started creating a little mischief. I’ve had several miscommunications, a Facebook snafu, and a billing error. Important e-mail is ending up in my spam folder. These are small problems and easily rectified. But it’s going to get a lot worse in the next few weeks – right up until New Year’s Eve.

Now, I know that holiday shopping may be the last thing on your mind as the week begins. We’re all hellaciously busy and preoccupied. The New Moon on Sunday is still unfolding, and Uranus is now direct. Although he’s not moving much yet, he’s no longer holding up the show. What’s more, all the planets will be direct until Mercury turns retrograde on Friday. These are very short windows when we can sail with a strong tailwind, so make the most of it!

As I mentioned in last week’s forecast, we’re feeling rumblings of the cardinal T-square again this week, thanks to activation of the early degrees of Capricorn by Mercury, Mars, the Moon, and the lunar North Node.

The Moon is in Cap on Tuesday and Wednesday. Her first order of business is a sextile to Venus in Scorpio, followed shortly by an intense conjunction with Pluto. On Wednesday, Venus and Pluto make direct contact. Hidden things continue to come to the surface, whether we’re talking about explosive revelations by WikiLeaks or implosive revelations from the individual subconscious. There’s an old song from the Broadway musical, The King and I, called “Getting to Know You.” Sing it to your shadow side.

Also on Tuesday, the Sun sextiles Saturn, and Mars enters Capricorn, sign of his exaltation. I wrote about the Sun-Saturn contact in my post on the New Moon. It’s very positive and provides good energy for manifesting your thoughts into reality – provided that what you’re trying to manifest conforms to your highest truth.

Mars, meanwhile, is very powerful in Capricorn, and as he crosses the T-square degrees over the next couple of weeks, springs will be sproinging all over. Mercury retrograde actually may help in this regard, as we’re going to be revisiting issues that came up in July and August but that didn’t seem to have a resolution back then. In other words, we may have another chance to go back and do things right. Or, we simply may have a chance this time, when before we couldn’t get a break to save our lives.

There’s no doubt, though, that things are going to get very messy, and all of the pieces likely won’t fall into place until next spring and summer, when Jupiter and Uranus re-enter Aries. For many of us, the seed we planted during the cardinal T-square is sprouting one tiny little shoot at a time, and the new growth has yet to poke its head above ground. Just have faith that once it does, it will grow like a veritable weed!

On Wednesday, the Moon makes aspects with Ceres, Jupiter, and Uranus, all of which were major players at the height of the T-square. Ceres seems to have made her presence felt mostly through environmental issues. I just read that BP is in the news again as it tries to downplay the amount of oil spilled in the Gulf of Mexico. The difference could translate to billions of dollars in fines.

Mercury turns retrograde on Friday at 4:04 a.m. Pacific Standard Time. Aside from the usual Mercury retrograde shenanigans, we’ll almost certainly be going back over old ground. Chances are, you already know what it’s going to involve, although the outcome could be a big surprise.

The Moon will be in Pisces on Saturday and Sunday. I recommend that you spend the weekend inside, sleeping or watching your favorite film on Blu-ray (my all-time favorite film, 2001: A Space Odyssey, just came out on Blu-ray; I’ll have a review soon). Hopefully, you’ll get your DVD player to work without any problem.

Wishing you all much love and joy in this holiday season,
Pat

Weekly Forecast November 29:Venus Enters Scorpio, Uranus Direct

So much for merry Sagittarius.

Some kind of chaos has been unleashed in the past week, and I’d place my bets on Mercury crossing the final degrees of Sagittarius, which he’ll visit twice more in December as he moves through a retrograde phase. At the same time, troublemaker Mars is moving through these same degrees.

The last few degrees of the mutable signs and first few degrees of the cardinal signs have been activated by the T-square over the past year, and it’s as though Mercury and Mars have been moving through a minefield as they head toward a fateful conjunction with Pluto. How many degrees should be included is anybody’s guess, but for sure, I’d say from the Galactic Center at 27 degrees Sagittarius to about 5 degrees Capricorn, where we had an intense lunar eclipse in late June.

Meanwhile, the lunar North Node is moving backward across the degrees that Pluto occupied during the height of the cardinal T-square this summer.

So what has happened in the past week? Ireland went bankrupt, United States warships are off the coast of North Korea, and WikiLeaks released hundreds of thousands more confidential documents that, at the very least, will complicate international diplomacy. Protests and police crackdowns marred elections in Haiti and Egypt. Full body scanners in U.S. airports almost set off a riot among holiday travelers, emphasis on almost. It’s hard to know what would get U.S. citizens to rebel against ever-increasing encroachment on our constitutional rights.

It’s all got the fingerprints of Pluto on it. Oh … and as if all of that weren’t bad enough, Sarah Palin and Barbara Bush are insulting each other’s ancestry.

The next few weeks are going to be like this, so you might want to put up the deflector shields. Of course, that means you won’t be able to use the transporter.

This week starts out with a square from Mars to Jupiter in Pisces on Monday. You’ll recall that the T-square was in all cardinal signs for a limited time, because Jupiter, Uranus, and Saturn went back and forth between cardinal (Aries and Libra) and mutable signs (Pisces and Virgo). On Friday, Mars squares Uranus, which is stationed and about to return direct at the New Moon. Mars often acts as a trigger to set off the energies of major transits. It’s a fair bet that we’ll experience more “T-square events” in the next three weeks.

Also on Monday, Venus re-enters Scorpio. Between now and December 21, the end of her post-retrograde shadow period, we’ll be processing our experience during her retrograde, from October 8 to November 18. Expect developments in relationships and, to some extent, finances and social situations. Venus also is the planet of diplomacy, so it’s interesting that the WikiLeaks release occurred as Venus is about to return to Scorpio, the sign of secrecy and backroom power brokering.

The Moon enters Libra on Tuesday and immediately forms a square with Pluto, just as Mercury enters Capricorn. Together, these transits add to the energy activating the cardinal T-square degrees. Serious Capricorn isn’t the most fun sign for Mercury, but given other developments, some careful, critical thinking wouldn’t be a bad thing.

Mercury sextiles Venus on Wednesday. If you need to have a serious discussion with a romantic partner or a good friend, this is a good time to do it, and you can rely on any promises or commitments you get.

Mars sextiles Neptune and Chiron on Thursday and Friday. The truth can hurt, or it can set you free. On this day, it should be healing. That won’t be the case later on Friday, when Mars squares Uranus. This combination is volatile, and depending where they are in your chart, you may need to keep yourself surrounded with the deflector shields for a couple of days on either side of this transit. Mars in Sagittarius is speedy and corresponds to traffic. With Uranus about to go direct, this pent-up energy could release so fast that it manifests as a serious accident. Do be careful if you’re driving and observe the posted speed limits. Watch for deer and other wildlife, too (wild critters fall under the provenance of Sagittarius).

The week culminates in Sunday’s New Moon at 13 degrees Sagittarius. It promises to be another whopper. I’ve started my analysis and will post a complete article in a day or two, so watch this space. A few hours after the New Moon, Mercury conjoins Pluto and Uranus returns direct. “Chaos” doesn’t even begin to describe it…

I leave you with a video of our winter storm in Seattle earlier this week. Some people managed to find the silver lining.

Sliding on Kite Hill

Wishing you all much love and courage,
Pat