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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
Jan 2, 2012 - Obama-Clinton in 2012?, Iran's Revolutionary Guard, Maryl Streep as the Iron Lady
Jan. 9, 2012 - Rick Sant-orum, Eris and the job market, Stephen Hawking's State of the Universe
Jan. 16, 2012 - Corporations are people, Americans Elect hold online nomination, the glamorous Marlene Dietrich
Reader feedback
re: NewsScope - You've got everything in the column this week: Pluto, money, international intrigue, and undersea UFOs. I wonder if the vast UFO coverup folks are going to be at work. Finding a UFO would upset the whole religious kittycart. Or it should. Well, except the scientologists.
re: Antares - Good column this week. Thank you.
I wanted to mention that USA Uranus is not conjunct bloodthirsty Antares but is in opposition to it (8 Sagittarius). It is, however, conjunct Aldebaran, which is associated with honor and integrity but also with warmongering. The USA's Uranus's opposition to Antares in relation to
the growing transiting Uranus-Pluto square (first one exact this June), could signal violence from and against the many who stand with the OCCUPY movement. Uranus can escalate through tactics of anarchy on location as well as through continued hacktivism behind the safety of a computer screen. Adding the election silly season and the brinksmanship of Israel, Iran and Syria to the mix, I believe we're heading for a long hot summer.
re: Gingrich - That was interesting, what you said about how only 3 Presidents had Mars in the 12th House+they were not even elected. Makes sense. I never thought about that before. Thank you.
re: NewsScope - "i so enjoy reading your columns....you are so insightful and astute. keep up the good work."
re: March 4 election for Russia: Is it just a judgment call when one uses the newly formed country of Russia's horoscope, after the dissolution of USSR, or whether one uses still the USSR horoscope that came about after WWI ? We're in a conundrum in Latvia, for example, with varied horoscopes being used, one of them going back to the Republic's first chart in 1918...
A. I think the June 12, 1990 chart is the most relevant, but you might also pay attention to common degree areas between the various charts, as well as planetary combinations to chart cycles.
The Uranus-Pluto square in June aligns with Russia's Mars-UR square, so whatever happens in March is only the beginning of major internal upheaval, it seems to me.
re: corporations - Well, looks like coporations as people will be with us for quite a while. I was kinda hopin' that the broad, legal (over)reach by corporations via the Supremes might have instigated a political backlash that would curb corporate power, but not in the near future, obviously. Thank you once again for fulfilling on a topic I've been curious about!
re: Gingrich - Fox commentator on Newt - arguing he's make a good leader because he talked women into being with him even though he's obviously a jerk. (and to top it, both the first and second wives had gotten a diagnosis of a possibly terminal disease just before he bugs out their marriages):
I want to be coldly analytical, not moralize, here. I want to tell you what Mr. Gingrich’s behavior could mean for the country, not for the future of his current marriage. So, here’s what one interested in making America stronger can reasonably conclude—psychologically—from Mr. Gingrich’s behavior during his three marriages.
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.
Jan. 23, 2012 - Gingrich wins in SC, the Costa Concordia disaster, Eris and Madonna: Chaos as art
Jan. 30, 2012 - Gingrich's 12th house Mars, top five astro-events for february, and the journey of OR-7
February 6, 2012 - Pluto stimulates the U.S. economy, Israel tempts fate, a UFO in the Baltic Sea
Feb.13, 2012 - Santorum and Super Tuesday, Whitney Houston slips away, Linsanity spreading
NewsScope for February 20, 2012
By Michael Wolfstar
Xanax: Dangerous, Addictive, and Profitable
Whitney Houston’s death last week has drawn media attention to the abuse of Xanax, the addictive pharmaceutical designed to treat anxiety and panic attacks. As described in a HuffoPo exposé, Xanax is ranked ninth on the list of the U.S.’s top-earning drugs. It belongs to a class of legal drugs responsible for more ER visits than heroin, cocaine, marijuana and other illegal drugs combined.
Xanax was approved by the FDA on October 16, 1981 (Noon, Washington, D.C.), a date which can be used as its birth chart. The cluster of planets surrounding the Sun in Libra shows how Xanax was meant to ease the way through challenging social situations, reducing mental anxiety (Mercury-Pluto) to make one more outgoing and gregarious (Jupiter in Libra).
The many connections between this chart and the U.S. chart help explain why it’s been such a hit with the American public. Neptune near the Ascendant is closely aligned with the U.S. Mars-Neptune square, signaling how this drug met the citizens’ need to fuel their actions (Mars) with drugs (Neptune). Mercury is retrograde and squares the Lunar Node axis (activating the U.S. Pluto), which suggests the warnings attached to this Schedule IV Controlled Substance.
Most significantly, Saturn in Xanax’s chart is conjunct the U.S. Saturn, so that it has become an American institution. It’s created enormous profits for the parent corporation Pfizer, which some are accusing of intentionally designing the drug to be addictive. Xanax’s Mars-Uranus square shows that it is inherently dangerous. As noted in the HuffPo article, “a business model with higher margins of addiction is hard to imagine.”
* Read the article: huffingtonpost/xanax
Bashar Assad and the Lunar Eclipse
As the carnage against a popular uprising in Syria continues, Russian diplomats have asserted their support for President Assad, effectively blocking U.N. and Arab efforts to end the escalating crisis. Turkey has warned that Syria is rapidly slipping into civil war, while calls for humanitarian assistance and for Assad to step down have been thwarted by the Syrian regime. The U.S. has ruled out military intervention.
A look at Bashar Assad’s horoscope (September 11, 1965; Damascus, Syria; time unknown) reflects the extreme conflict surrounding him. His Sun-Uranus-Pluto triple conjunction in Virgo opposes his Moon, Saturn and Chiron in Pisces, a configuration which in itself reflects the underlying tension between the ruling elite and the overwhelming Sunni majority of Syria. Assad’s natal Mars in ruthless Scorpio had progressed into a square with his natal Pluto when the mayhem began a year ago.
Assad’s progressed Mars continues to square his natal Sun-Pluto-Uranus, while at some time over the coming months his progressed Moon will conjoin his progressed Mars. It all seems to be coming down to the Lunar Eclipse on June 4, 2012, which happens to activate this entire complex. At the same time, transiting Mars in Virgo will conjoin his Sun-Uranus-Pluto, instilling a powerful urge for ultimate action.
The day after the Lunar Eclipse, Venus will occult the Sun, a rare alignment that often corresponds to the fall of a renowned leader. The last time this happened was on June 8, 2004 when Ronald Reagan died. With the extreme challenges unfolding in his chart, one might take this as a sign that his end is near. The Uranus-Pluto square in June is looking like an epochal shape-shifter for Syria and the rest of our global village.
Bobby Brown and Whitney Houston
When the Sun or Moon closely aspects Saturn in the partner’s chart, the couple is cursed and/or blessed with the prospects of a long relationship. Saturn creates a sense of responsibility and commitment that can grow a relationship, or it can lock into place self-defeating habits, frustration and deep-seated resentment. It can explode into rage and even brutality if Mars is also involved.
Bobby Brown (February 5, 1969; 5:21 am; Boston, MA) and Whitney Houston had this kind of relationship, since her Saturn conjoins his Sun, and his Saturn is conjunct her Moon. With this mutual Saturn influence, the two managed to stay married for 25 years. Unfortunately, his Scorpio Mars squares his Sun, making for some real anger management issues. Since his Mars also squares her Saturn, their togetherness helped foster his periodic outbursts of violence.
For Bobby Brown, what made an easy-going domestic situation uncomfortably dull is his natal Venus-Uranus opposition, which naturally seeks an exciting, edgy social environment. Why did Whitney stay in such an abusive relationship for so long?
For one, the compelling obligations implied by the shared Saturn aspects forced them to try and work things out. Perhaps most significantly, Whitney became increasingly addicted to drugs, and Bobby helped hide this debilitating secret.
Bobby’s Midheaven at 12º Scorpio is exactly conjunct Whitney’s Neptune, so he eventually became known for enabling her habit. Some members of Whitney’s family made news this past week for saying that he caused it. But that ignores her own self-defeating tendencies, as shown by her 12th house Saturn opposing her Sun. Bobby’s Sun activates her Saturn, illuminating and energizing her desire to escape the pressures of being a superstar.
Assad was previously profiled here: April 18, 2011
