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Comments, questions, suggestions? Let us know what you think. Email wolfstar@neptunecafe.com
Reader feedback

re: AthenaHealth - What a fantastic segment. Lovely. And it's very encouraging, which is a refreshing change.

re: Marianne Williamson - Since I recently relocated for good in Rīga, being of dual citizenship and in retirement, I had not heard of Ms Williamson's foray into politics! As always, appreciate your nuanced and yet objective way of doing a reading. Having read a lot of New Age authors, possibly starting with numerous writings by Williamson, I'll be anticipating paying attention to summer developments. It's sort of like a grand experiment, to see if self-actualization translates, somewhat literally, into earthly success...and in politics. Also appreciate the tape with the Oprah interview.
     It might just have hit the right note with me, as I return to the land of my birth. Only 1/3 of those exiled by WWII have done so, I recently heard on a Latvian current events channel. That's more than I presumed would return. And certainly, not growing up in a Latvian-American community, I hardly thought that I'd be returning. That's why Williamson's own vision, as you've captured it, is of such interest to me. Seems to point to a Providence, you know? Thanks for an illuminating article.

re: Amanda Knox - Another great Newscope this week; in particular I appreciate the update, and the previous in-depth analysis, of Amanda Knox as I've been following her story from the evolutionary astrology perspective since the beginning. Such hard lessons to be learned in a big way, and she always looks so wounded and scared. Keep up the awesome work! You're a blessing to many :)

re: Marianne Williamson - What's the source for her birth time?

A. Unless otherwise stated, all data is rated A or AA from AstroDataBank:
http://www.astro.com/astro-databank/Williamson,_Marianne

Winter Olympics - What with all the political unrest in the world, and certainly also around Sochi … how safe will it really be? Some believe that the perimeter is being “sealed/protected” very well, but that just outside this “ring of protection“ is where terrorist activity might take place. What do the stars have to say?

Chiron - I want to thank you for your comments on Jeff Bezos, and Chiron in your January 13th column. My brother was born on November 24, 1963 less than 2 days following JFK's assassination. About 7 days after my brother's 50th birthday, he suddenly and unexpectedly lost his eyesight in both eyes to cataracts. Jeff Bezos and my brother were born seven weeks apart from each other, and both of them had transiting Chiron within one degree of their natal Chirons when they experienced their respective sudden and unexpected health issues! My gratitude for all your fine service.

re: UR-PL square - I have been keeping a diary of the hits of the Uranus Pluto square and especially when it forms a cross with personal planets and during January, July, October, etc. It has indeed been wreaking havoc in millions of people’s lives. As far as our current Economy goes, I think you are right when you say that the Cancer Jupiter and Scorpio Saturn are supporting or upholding our current Markets and Business situation. However, when Jupiter goes into Leo and Squares Scorpio I think Business as usual and the Overinflated Market will begin to DEFLATE like a punctured Balloon. By the end of Obama’s Lame Duck Term, we may indeed go into another unwanted RECESSION. That is my take on all this. What do you think?  

re: your writing - Your work, your writing seems very Virgo: very clear, very precise. You are also a fine writer, such a rare thing. But you feel that magic and it is there in your work if someone is subtle enough to notice it. Astrology is very lucky to have you: someone with so much integrity, precision, professionalism and someone who transmits that magic, although I suspect that is done unwittingly. 

A. Thank-you. My Mercury is in Virgo. Much of the credit for having grammatically correct copy every week goes to my proofreader, Kathie Hornyak. She has four planets in Virgo, including her Sun, which makes her a stickler when it comes to using the right word or phrase.

re: Political Astrology - I recently mentioned your book "Political Astrology" on an astrology e-mail list. Unfortunately, your book is not only out of print, the copies that are available are ridiculously priced, one going for over $2000!

A. A revised edition would be better than a re-print since there's so much to add or rewrite. However, it's not a task I have time for at the moment. You can find copies at amazon for around $520. see amazon.com/Political-Astrology

re: market collapse - Remember that Saturn and Pluto are in mutual reception, so nothing dramatic will happen!!!

re: market collapse - I am a big fan of yours and I'm on your site almost daily...often Sunday nights waiting for midnight so I can read your Newscope articles. Last week I was sent a video by Joni Patry a Vedic Astrologer. Joni Patry is predicting the collapse of the world markets in January and she goes on to predict that 2014 will be the most significant year of our life times filled with wars, disasters, earthquakes etc. So I have always been questioning if Vedic astrologers have insights that are not available to western astrologers. Could you comment on this?

A. In the video, she explains that she's referring to April's Grand Cross between Mars, Jupiter, Uranus and Pluto. She also calls herself a "neo-Vedic astrologer" because she uses the outer planets and Vedic astrologers in general don't use them.So she's more of a western astrologer than Vedic, although she uses the sideral zodiac rather than the western tropical zodiac.
     As for a market collapse, or other calamity, no one knows for sure, but it is indeed a signature for major disruption in one form or another. It's particularly relevant for the U.S. since the Grand Cross aligns with the U.S. Sun. NewsScope has been and will continue to feature the major celebrities, political players and national horoscopes being influenced by this Grand Cross.
     In my view, adding the outer planets is only a small step toward deploying the most effective celestial bodies. The four major asteroids and Black Moon Lilith add gender balance to the horoscope, and reflect the Awakening Goddess archetypes that traditional astrology, and especially Vedic astrology, ignores.

Lilith, anything good? - Thanks for explaining Lilith in a positive, meaningful and useful way.

re: Lilith - I am curious about Lilith in my chart. I was born [.....]

A. Please read item #1 on the FAQ of my Lilith page to find the location of your natal Lilith. You can also use the descriptions on those Lilith pages to interpret what she's doing in your chart. Or email me for a personal reading: wolfstar

re: guns and Lilith - Had a chill go up my spine when the breaking news of the LAX shooting hit today. I had just read the article this morning on Neptunecafe relating BML to guns in the USA Scorpio rising chart. Caused me to check the tri-wheel for the US chart and sure enough the transiting Moon is on the progressed Mean Black Moon Lilith at 15 Libra. Wow!

re: top five - First the 4th U-P square on the 1st, then the eclipse on the 3rd, then Merc going direct trine Neptune: Does this bode well for the ACA (Obamacare) going through a difficult transformation, and coming out much more positively later in the month, much as the administration is saying? I hope so. I know too many people who need reliable health coverage for this to fail. As always, great info on your site.

re: Obamacare - Our President and country are headed for more dysfunction over the next 15 months. Is Affordable Health Care ever going to succeed? Other than being the first black president, will Obama ultimately be considered a great president?

re: Scorpio Rising - The latest development in the embarrassing scandal concerning the close Allies of the USA , has to be a text-book happening between Uranus and Pluto. It also supports your belief , that the USA has a Scorpio Ascendent. Love reading your stuff, you are the Best.
April  2009 - Dec 2011
at NeptuneCafe's 
NewsScope archives
NewsScope Articles for 2013

Jan. 14, 2013 - Chuck Hagel, John Howard's gun control program, Paul Salopek begins his journey.

Jan. 21, 2013 - A brilliant Moon-Jupiter occultation; Natalie Wood's case re-opened; Chelsea Clinton.

Jan. 28, 2013 - Mary Jo White to head SEC, February's Top Five, Apple CEO Tim Cook.

Feb. 4, 2013 - The Dow hits 14,000, immigration reform coming up, Kevin Spacey stars in the House of Cards.

Feb.11, 2013 - CIA nominee John Brennan, Apple shifting gears, and the search for cop killer Chris Dorner.

Feb.18, 2013 - Sequester is coming, the Blade Runner and Beauty Queen, Steve Martin becomes a father.

Feb. 25, 2013 - Lilith upsets the Vatican, March's top five astro-events, racing pioneer Danica Patrick's rising star.

March 4, 2013 - Seven planets in Pisces, the Keystone XL project, Dorothy Hamill joins DWTS

March 11, 2013 - Energy independence and global warming, Kim Jong Un's Saturn return, Bernadette

March 18, 2013 - Mars activates outer planets,  Pope Francis, Seacrest and Julianne Hough.

March 25, 2013 - Pope Francis, an accurate birth chart; April's top five astro-events, Zendaya on DWTS 

April 1, 2013 - The New Moon's uncharted territory, the Monsanto Protection Act, Amanda Knox's Venus

April 8, 2013 - The coming Lunar Eclipse, North Korea: serious threat?, Jay Leno leaves "The Tonight Show"

April 15, 2013 - politicians make progress, CitiGroup returns to profitablity, Guan Liantang at the Masters.

April 22, 2013 - The Sun-Mars-Pluto dynamic; terrorist Tameran Tsarnaev; Bieber and Selena Gomez.

April 29, 2013 - Syria's crosses "red line", May's Top five astro-events, and Gwyneth Paltrow 's beauty.

May 6, 2013 - The U.S. progressed Moon cycle, Venus and GNH, Warren Buffett on prosperity.

May 13, 2013 - Hillary Clinton as a GOP target; Bangladesh's garment industry, the Great Gatsby.

May 20, 2013 - Jupiter and Big Government, Jupiter and market tops,  Jupiter and Angelina Jolie's life.

May 27, 2013 - The UR-PL  square, the astrology of Tornado Alley, Kellie Pickler's breakthru dance.

June 3, 2013 - Obama's dilemma, June's top five, super-athlete Rich Roll was a couch potato.

June 10, 2013 - Black Moon Lilith news items, NSA's chart, Sweden's Princess Madeleine weds.

June 17, 2013 - Lilith in the Age of Aquarius, Edward Snowden - traitor or hero?, Superman - Man of Steel

June 24, 2013 - The Water Grand Trine, Edward Snowden update, the Queen Anne's Revenge

July 1, 2013 - The astrology of gold prices, July's top five astro-events, and Paula Deen's fall from grace.
"Thank you very much, you answered all of my questions and offered me great insight into my life and any future issues as well as potential issues that may arise. Your reading was phenomenal!"

~ a client's feedback ~

email wolfstar for more info, or visit readings
"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!" 
July 1, 2013 - The astrology of gold prices, July's top five astro-events, and Paula Deen's fall from grace.

July 8, 2013 - Egypt in chaos; U.S. progressed Moon cycle Part 2; Chris Meledandri,Despicable Me

July 15, 2013 - The season of accidents and disasters, Malala Yousafzai at the UN, Randy Travis's demons.

July 22, 2013 - The tech revolution, Iran's president elect Hassan Rouhani, Cory Monteith's other woman

July 29, 2013 - Brtitish succession, August's top five astro-events, Amanda Bynes' troubled Moon

Aug. 5, 2013 - Snowden's chart relocated, Facebook's stunning earnings, Simon Cowell - why so mean?

Aug. 12, 2013 - Jeff Bezos buys the Washington Post, Gov't Shutdown Looms, Major League Baseball.

Aug. 19, 2013 - Sept's top five astro-events, Gov't Shutdown Looms, Major League Baseball.

Aug. 26, 2013 - War and Aldebaran-Antares, Nasdaq halts, Bradley Manning's Sun-Saturn-Uranus.

Sept. 2, 2013 - The Middle East Mandate, Kim Jong Un executes his ex-girlfriend, Miley Cyrus twerks.

Sept. 9, 2013 - Obama pushing Syria, the Golden Age of spying, Dennis Rodman in North Korea.

Sept. 16, 2013 - Diana Nyad's epic swim; the Gates Foundation, Google co-founder Sergey Brin.

Sept. 23, 2013 - Rouhani's charm offensive; October's top five astro-events; hiccup girl Jennifer Mee.

Sept. 30, 2013 - Ted Cruz fights Obamacare, IPCC's wake-up call, Chris Hemsworth stars in Rush.

Oct. 7, 2013 - Government shutdown; The Republican Party Split; Ronn Farrow and Ol' Blue Eyes

Oct. 14, 2013 - The Pallas-Fomalhaut connection, Fomalhaut in presidents' charts, Sandra Bullock

Oct. 21, 2013 - UR-PL scrambles Washington, Nov. top five, Cheryl Strayed's wild walkabout.

Oct. 28, 2013 - Mercury RX and the UR-PL square; JFK Re-Visited; DWTS Elizabeth Berkley's perfect score

Nov. 4, 2013 - The U.S.oil boom, North Dakota's Bakken formation; Vladimir Putin is Forbes #1 top dog.

Nov. 11, 2013 - Christiana Figueres in Poland; Oil in the Lone Star State; Jen Aniston's makeover.

Nov. 18, 2013 - Caroline Kennedy goes to Japan; JFK conspiracy theories; Joe Kennedy III

Nov. 25, 2013 - Obamacare on the ropes, December's top five astro-events, Allie Brosh's new book 

Dec. 2, 2013 - Black Moon Lilith, the good stuff, Janet Yellen to head Fed, Jennifer Lawrence catching fire.

Dec. 9, 2013 - Mars enters Libra for 8 months; Nelson Mandela's rectified chart; Mars in Libra celebrities.

​Dec. 16, 2013 - Mary Barra and GM's glass ceiling; North Korea's generational shift; Michael Redmond

Dec. 23, 2013 - Mikhail Khodorkovsky, what's next? January's top five, Carlos Santana's Corazon.

Dec. 30, 2013 - The UR-PL square and economic collapse; Space exploration; QB Peyton Manning.

January 2012 - May 2013
at NeptuneCafe's 
NewsScope archives
October 1999 - March 2009
at StarIQ's
NewsScopeLibrary

Recent NewsScope Articles

Jan. 6, 2014 - Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio; Colorado legalizes marijuana; Sean Penn's love life.

Jan. 13, 2014 - Jeff Bezos and Chiron-Pluto; is Chris Christie a bully? West Virginia's eco-disaster

Jan. 20, 2014 - Cyber insecurity , Ceres and California's drought, Francois Hollande

Jan 27, 2014 - Market volatility and the Grand Cross; Feb. top five; Russell Wilson and the Seahawks

Feb. 3, 2014 - The politics of Marianne Williamson,  Black Widows, Amanda Knox re-convicted.

Feb. 10, 2014 - Mercury turns retrograde; Viktor Yanukovych at the crossroads; AthenaHealth.

Feb.17, 2014 - Comcast's evil empire; Mercury retrograde brings travel snafus, Kevin Spacey.
NewsScope for February 24, 2014
By Michael Wolfstar

China’s Shadow Banking System

As we head into April’s Grand Cross, mass anti-government demonstrations in Ukraine, Venezuela, and Thailand have had no negative influence on the financial markets. However, a developing crisis in China could change all that. China’s shadow banking system* provides loans to projects that have been rejected by traditional banking institutions, but the system is unregulated and too much cash goes into risky ventures. 
In China’s horoscope, Venus, the natural ruler of money, gains in importance by its elevated position near the Midheaven (October 1, 1949; 3:01 am; Beijing, China). In Scorpio and squaring Pluto, Venus profits by leveraging capital, which is the natural function of China’s government-sanctioned banks. However, Venus forms a tight quincunx to Black Moon Lilith, an archetype that prefers to work outside traditional structures. Venus-Lilith perfectly describes China’s propensity for shadow banking.

In mid-January, as transiting Jupiter and Pluto opposed each other, a struggling coal company nearly defaulted on its $500 million shadowy loan from the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the world’s largest bank by assets. A last-minute bailout avoided what could have undermined the entire shadow banking system, and through contagion, the global economy. The crisis was averted just as Venus turned direct at 
* For a deeper explanation of this developing crisis, see Time magazine’s article: chinas-shadow-banking
13º Capricorn, only one degree from the transiting Jupiter-Pluto dynamic, and exactly square China’s Mercury.

April’s Grand Cross perfectly aligns with China’s natal Mercury, which in the 8th house, is associated with financial agreements and contracts. It’s a celestial signature for defaulting on high-risk loans. Most likely, we won’t have to wait until April to see signs of trouble: transiting Saturn is turning retrograde on March 2, right on China’s Midheaven. Saturn brings financial authority into play, but there’s little chance it can control the wild, unregulated Venus-Lilith aspect that manifests as an over-leveraged shadow banking system under severe stress. 
Top Five Astro-Events for March

1. Mars turns retrograde on the 1st and Saturn turns retrograde on the 2nd, bringing a celestial one-two punch to many careers, financial affairs and relationship patterns. Under this dynamic (which includes Mercury turning direct on 2/28), look for the “changing of the guard” scenario, with the older or more established player leaving or being dismissed, while the younger or more socially adept player enters. 

2. Jupiter turns direct in Cancer on the 6th and then heads into April’s Grand Cross when Jupiter opposes Pluto in Capricorn, squares Uranus in Aries, and squares Mars in Libra. Those with prominent natal planets in 10º - 14º of the cardinal signs are most likely undergoing life-changing events now, affecting personal well-being, family life, relationships, and professional expression. Synchronizing personal evolution with the needs of the collective facilitates the process.
3. Pluto opposes the U.S. Sun on the 6th, but is in effect all month. Pluto gives American leaders the sense that they can make unilateral decisions for the greater good, bypassing the usual democratic process. Look for intense developing political situations that challenge the U.S. to take action. In the corporate world, buy-outs and mega-mergers increase. Expect the passing of several great Americans.

4. The Aries Ingress on the 20th (12:58 pm; Washington DC) features the Sun near the Midheaven and Jupiter rising, marking a celestial set-up for U.S. leadership amidst a series of global crises. Pluto near the Descendant is the sign of a troublemaker or the beginning of intense, extremely complex geopolitical problems. With the brilliant star Sirius exactly conjunct the Cancer Ascendant, the looming dangers offer major opportunities for American leadership and resolution.
5. Juno conjoins Uranus in Aries on the 25th, but is effectively in the developing Grand Cross from the 20th through the end of the month. Longstanding relationships are due for some shake-ups, and for some, separation and divorce. Juno, representing traditional concepts of marriage, is radicalized by Uranus to redefine marriage as being more open and inclusive, or emphasizing friendship over intimacy. Expect numerous legislative developments regarding the legal status of gay couples.
Yulia Tymoshenko, Ukraine’s Next President?

The Ukranian parliament took decisive action last week, impeaching the pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovich, freeing his pro-European political rival Yulia Tymoshenko, and setting the date for a new presidential election on May 25. Tymenshenko has spent the last two years in prison for alleged abuse of office, but her supporters and much of the European Union say that the trial was politically motivated.
Yulia Tymoshenko was born with her Sagittarius Sun square Pluto (November 27, 1960; Driepropetrovsk, Ukraine; time unknown), a formidable combination that brought her wealth and influence as one of Ukraine’s first and most powerful oligarchs. However, as transiting Pluto conjoined her Sun in 1998, her fledgling political career took on a new direction: her attitude changed from being a corporate predator to a passionate reformer.

Tymoshenko’s Venus in ambitious Capricorn is deepened and intensified by a conjunction with Saturn, a combination that pushed her to make a name for herself. Venus-Saturn opposes Mars, so she naturally assumed the most challenging, polarizing route to the top. Her fearless opposition to her former political partner Yanukovich landed her in 
prison on trumped-up charges as her progressed Sun and Black Moon Lilith opposed each other.

Now, as the Grand Cross is shaping up and aligning with her Venus, she’s staging a comeback. However, May 25 is a long way off considering that transiting Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, and Pluto will all be activating her natal Venus-Saturn conjunction over the next two months. If Ukraine doesn’t disintegrate into regional factions before May 25, Tymoshenko is well placed to be the next president. Transiting Saturn in Scorpio makes harmonious aspects to her Venus-Saturn-Mars configuration on May 25, suggesting she can bridge intense political rivalries and keep Ukraine whole.