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"The natal chart is like a seed and progressions are the unfolding in time of that into the plant it is to become. Transits, are like a daily weather report. In political astrology, these three factors have to be taken into account!"
Comments, questions, suggestions? Let us know what you think. Email wolfstar@neptunecafe.com
Recent NewsScope columns
June 6, 2011 - Aug 2 debt limit showdown, Saudi Arabia's Pallas, and Kim Kardashian's engagement
June 13, 2011 - Arizona's wildfire, Syria's haves and have-nots, and political aspirant Alec Baldwin
June 20, 2011 Greece's debt problem, Q&A on the U.S. horoscope, and Crystal says "no" to Hugh Hefner
June 27, 2011 - Jon Hunts-man's lucky stars, July's top five astro-events, and Kate Middleton crosses the pond
July 4, 2011 - IMF chief Christine Lagarde, candidate Michele Bachmann, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers
July 11, 2011 - Obama's grand bargain, the UK news scandal, and Michele Bachmann's birth time.
July 18, 2011 - Eric Cantor's conflict of interest, the Merc -Neptune smokscreen, and JLo and Marc Anthony split
July 25, 2011 - Norway's horoscope, August's top five, and Amy Winehouse's progressed Lunar Return
Aug. 1, 2011 - Rick Perry's Mercury, Columbia in the Age of Aquarius, and Daniel Craig in Cowboys & Aliens
Reader feedback
re: North Korea - The varying dates for North Korea's chart have me a more than a bit confused and I would be profoundly grateful for some background on your 8:50 pm time. Yours is the time I found in my old Kepler data base and the chart seems to be working well but a wonderful mundane astrologer friend just mentioned Nick Campion's noon chart, and that made me curious about the origin of yours, particularly since I've just put out a couple of 2012 predictions based on that chart at Time & Cycles, a traders group where I post as a Knowledge Contributor.
A. Thanks for your comments. Campion uses the noon chart when there's no known time, or the time has uncertain sources. I've rectified the time to 8:50 pm based on reports that the independence proclamation was announced on the radio in the late evening of September 10, 1948.
re: Iraq - I was hoping that you would post the chart for the US out of Iraq. From what I could tell it was December 15, 2011 13:00 Bagdad local time. Neptune is at 28 Aquarius 30. Compare to the other big disaster on the US Moon with the BP Oil Spill where Neptune was at 28 Aquarius 50 according to the chart in your archives. I think this
makes a very convincing case for the true position of the US natal moon...at 28 Aquarius and some minutes between 30 and 50 and could be
used to backtime the true Ascendant of the US chart. I always enjoy reading your columns and wish you the best for the next year...no matter what it brings.
A. Currently, as the troops withdraw, transiting Saturn is exactly square the US Pluto, the ruler of the Scorpio Rising chart. Neptune at 28 AQ is perfectly trioctile (sesquisquare) the U.S. Sun. This action - withdrawing from Iraq - was instigated by Obama, ie, American leadership, which is symbolized by the U.S. Sun, not Moon. The invasion began on Mar 19, 2003 when the progressed US Sun was at 28 AQ, so Neptune passing over this point is a significant ending to this Iraq cycle.
When Bush invaded in 2003, transiting Jupiter was in imperial Leo and exactly square the US Scorpio Ascendant from the 9th house of foreign affairs. Transiting Saturn was cnj the US Mars, the co-ruler of the Scorpio Ascendant.
The Moon symbolizes the people, consumers, voters, not leadership. Candidates with close connections to the US Moon at 25 AQ do the best. This is all chronicled and detailed in many articles at my website. What led to Newt's surge, if not his several close connections to the US Moon? He has zero planets or angles at 28 AQ, but his Gemini Sun, Chiron in Leo, and Fortuna in Libra are all in 25 degrees of their respective signs. How do you figure he's a leading GOP candidate if the U.S. Moon is at 28 AQ?
The Top Five Astrology Books about the
Progressed Moon
1. Giselle Terry:
2. Maritha Pottenger
3. Steven Forrest
4. Darby Costello
5. Stephen Arroyo
August 8, 2011 looks at Obama's Solar Returns, the Super Committee and Tiger Woods' rehabilitation
August 15, 2011 - Rick Perry's candidacy, the new global economy, and Rise of the Planet of the Apes
August 22, 2011 - updating the GOP field, and the fear of contagion stemming from Italy's bond market
August 29, 2011 - Rick Perry's soaring poll numbers, September's top five, and Warren Buffet
September 5, 2011 - the double dip recession, marriage and Juno-Saturn, and Chaz Bono on DWTS
Sept.12, 2011- Ceres and the insurance companies, Texas wildfires, and George Clooney and Stacey Keibler
Sept.19, 2011 - Romney and Perry: the Pluto factor, Obama's Nov crisis, and Leila Lopes, Miss Universe
Sept. 26, 2011 - Perry falters as Romney scores, October's top five, and Einstein and the neutrino
Oct. 3, 2011 - Occupy Wall Street, Mahatma Gandhi and non-violent resistance, and gangster Al Capone
October 10, 2011 - Amanda Knox's karmic path, Meredith Kercher's murder, what's next for Amanda
October 17, 2011 - Mitt Romney's growing stength, Gary Christen's lawsuit, entertainer Taylor Swift
Oct. 24, 2011 - the OWS movement, November's top five astro-events, and Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher
Oct. 31, 2011 - Democracy, not Corporatocracy Part 2, Italian prosecutor Giuliano Mignini, and J.R. Martinez
Nov. 7, 2011 - Jon Corzine resigns from MF Global, Jullian Assange vs the U.S., Kim Kardashian's divorce
Nov. 11, 2011 - the EU's challenges, Iran's nuclear program, and Garrett McNamara's surfing record
Nov. 21, 2011 - the Super-committee's failure, Mars and the OWS, Natalie Woods' drowning case
November 28, 2011 - Newt Gingrich surges, Dec.'s top five, and Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe
Dec. 5, 2011 - Mars and the Uranus-Pluto generation; the EU sets limits, and the Dalai Lama goes beyond religion
Dec. 12, 2011 - Russia's Arab Spring, Elizabeth Warren in Massachusetts, Albert Pujols in the zone
Dec. 19, 2011 - Callista Gingrich, Vanessa Bryant files for divorce, and beautiful Hedy Lamarr's invention
Dec. 26, 2011 - Kim Jong-Un takes charge, January's top five astro-events, Jackie Evancho - #1 classical artist
Jan 2, 2012 - Obama-Clinton in 2012?, Iran's Revolutionary Guard, Maryl Streep as the Iron Lady
NewsScope for January 9, 2012
By Michael Wolfstar
Rick Santorum, the Non-Romney
Although Romney is expected to do well in New Hampshire, Christian evangelicals are urging Perry and Gingrich to drop out and back Rick Santorum. The Anybody-but-Romney faction could then solidify behind a surging Santorum in South Carolina and make the GOP primaries a real contest. Santorum could make the case for social conservatives in the great debate between Romney and the non-Romney.
This tri-wheel section shows the U.S. chart on the inner wheel, and the progressions and transits to January 6, 2012 in the middle and outer rings. On this date, transiting Eris turned direct while conjunct progressed Venus and both sextile natal Mars.
Eris
Rick Santorum’s Taurus Sun (May 10, 1958; Winchester, VA; time unknown) is relatively weak: it squares a Moon-Chiron conjunction and is otherwise unaspected. On the other hand, his Mercury in Aries is unusually strong: it forms a Fire Grand Trine with Saturn and Pluto, opposes Jupiter and has several more minor aspects. From this, the astrologer can gather that it’s his message more than a compelling personality that is fueling his surge.
The configuration that best explains Santorum’s sudden rise in Iowa and beyond is a Finger of God formation involving natal Uranus (7º Leo), transiting Pluto (7º Capricorn), and his progressed Venus (7º Gemini). The Venus-Uranus link describes his unexpected popularity, while the Pluto link adds the financial support from super-PACs and political power
brokers. Santorum’s Vesta in Gemini is also strongly activated, perhaps indicating his voicing (Gemini) of conservative principles (Vesta).
In the long run, Santorum will fall by the wayside because he has no connections to the U.S. Moon (at 25º Aquarius). No matter how many backroom deals he can swing, the voters are the ultimate deciders, and a politician’s connections to the U.S. Moon are what bring them on board. Transiting Jupiter turned direct in Taurus two weeks ago when Santorum began rising in the Iowa polls. Jupiter is heading for Santorum’s Taurus Sun in April, which may politically sustain him through then.
Eris and Job Growth
Last Friday, the U.S. Labor Department reported that the unemployment rate for December had dropped to 8.5%, capping a four-month decline in the rate and marking the sixth straight month of job gains of 100,000 or more. Previously, the unemployment numbers were written off as too little or random spikes. But now a clear trend is showing that the job market is gaining momentum.
Astrologically, the transits and progressions to the U.S. sixth house underscore the viability of this trend. The good news arrived on the day that the transiting Sun (in the 3rd house of reports) opposed the U.S. progressed Jupiter. Undoubtedly, Jupiter turning direct in the U.S. sixth house of jobs was also a major factor.
A favorable aspect between a planet in a house to the ruler of the house is always favorable. The longer-term trend is indicated by progressed Venus, which is in the U.S. sixth house. Several months ago, when the favorable job market trend began, progressed Venus was sextile natal Mars, the ruler of the sixth house. Last Friday’s report was issued when the outer planet Eris turned direct while exactly conjunct progressed Venus (orb: 0º03’).
From this, one can see that Eris is a major player in larger economic, political and social trends. In the U.S. horoscope, Eris is located at 8º Capricorn, where it’s harmoniously linked to the U.S. Ascendant (8º Scorpio) and Ceres (8º Pisces), while quincunx Uranus (8º Gemini). Eris has a reputation as a “troublemaker”, but the growth-oriented sextiles in the U.S. chart offer a more favorable interpretation. Watch for an upbeat State of the Union speech when transiting Pluto conjoins the U.S. Eris on January 24.
Stephen Hawking and the State of the Universe
In honor of Stephen Hawking’s 70th birthday, the world’s top cosmologists met at Cambridge University at a symposium called “The State of the Universe”. Hawking has become famous for his thoughts about black holes despite his crippling motor neuron disease. His book "A Brief History of Time" has sold 10 million copies, and introduced theoretical physics to an audience beyond academic circles.
Stephen Hawking was born with his Capricorn Sun conjunct Pallas, the asteroid associated with creative intelligence (January 8, 1942; 7:15 pm*; Oxford, England). Mercury participates in an Earth Grand Trine, connecting to a Saturn-Uranus conjunction in Taurus, and an imaginative Moon-Neptune conjunction in analytical Virgo. These outer planet links to his Mercury tune his mind to extraordinary ideas, helping him form original conjectures about our universe.
With Chiron on his Leo Ascendant, Hawking assumes a dramatic presence as a brilliant wheelchair-bound paraplegic. He was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s Disease when he was 21, as his progressed Sun and Mars squared each other and were activated by transiting Saturn – all while aligning with his Chiron/
Ascendant. Natal Jupiter sextile his Ascendant has kept him in good spirits throughout his life, undoubtedly contributing to his extremely rare longevity.
On April 26, 2007, Hawking became the first (and only) paraplegic to achieve weightlessness while onboard a sub-orbital spaceflight. During this time, his progressed Ascendant (representing his evolving physical body) and boundless Neptune were perfectly conjunct while being squared by transformative Pluto. Also, a liberating Mars-Uranus conjunction was sextile his Sun, allowing him to move about freely without a wheelchair for the first time in 40 years.
* Hawking’s birth time is unknown. The time used here is speculative.
