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:
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.
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!"
"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
Last Friday ousted president Viktor Yanukovich resurfaced in Russia, saying he would fight for his country. “Nobody deposed me” he said. Meanwhile, Russian military forces took control of Crimea, a Russian dominated peninsula technically governed by Ukraine. The rapidly developing crisis brought immediate reactions from the international community as Putin moved to protect Russians threatened by what he called ultra-nationalist forces.
Ukraine declared its independence during some planetary oppositions between Leo and Aquarius (August 24, 1991; 5:31 pm; Kiev, Ukraine), which suggests the national split between the autocratic east and democratic west. The Virgo Sun conjoins Venus and the brilliant star Regulus, an opulent combination showing the leadership’s penchant for the trappings of royalty. All this was illuminated last week when journalists arrived at Yanukovich’s countryside palace filled with luxurious décor and treasures.
The condition of the 12th house planets in mid-Capricorn explains why this country is becoming the epicenter of April’s Cardinal Grand Cross. Juno, the partnership asteroid, is next to some seriously heavy planets (Uranus, Lilith, and Neptune), symbolizing the
secret alliances and hidden power plays over Ukraine’s allegiance. The four planets involved in April’s Grand Cross are all aligned with Ukraine’s 12th house planets, with exact hits to Black Moon Lilith.
What makes the situation a powder keg is that Mars, by secondary progression, is at 9º Libra and heading into a square with natal Uranus at 10º Capricorn. Challenging Mars-Uranus combinations are infamously volatile and violent. This situation is already a major factor and becoming more explosive over the coming year. The most immediate concern is the extent of Russia’s incursion into Crimea. With transiting Pluto in the 12th house and conjunct Black Moon Lilith over the next two weeks, a large-scale invasion becomes a real possibility.
Putin’s Stars
Perhaps one of the best techniques to determine history-making events and people is the use of the fixed stars. Astrologer Bernadette Brady has listed the key stars that can turn what seems to be an ordinary chart into one that produces personalities driven to make an impression on history. Vladimir Putin (October 7, 1952; 9:30 am; Petrograd, Russia) is a case in point.
Heading Brady’s list are the four Royal Stars (Fomalhaut, Aldebaran, Regulus, and Antares), the major stars of Orion (Rigel, Betelgeuse, and Bellatrix), plus Sirius, Spica, and Canopus. Putin was born with his Mercury conjunct Spica where it’s fortified by a network of aspects to other planets. In the 12th house, Putin’s Mercury makes him a master tactician, like a geopolitical chess player. Putin’s progressed Midheaven is nearly conjunct his Mercury, activating this region of his chart.
Currently, Putin’s progressed Ascendant is at 9º Sagittarius, where it conjoins the militant star Antares. During the Winter Olympics, transiting Uranus was trine his progressed Ascendant, when most of the world was favorably impressed by his fulfilled promise to make the Games secure from terrorism. Last week, when the New Moon in Pisces squared his progressed Ascendant, the Russian parliament approved Putin’s request to use the military in Ukraine’s Crimea region.
Adding a militant flavor to his chart’s current conditions is a square between his progressed Mars and Jupiter, while transiting Mars is conjoining his Mercury. More troublesome is that he has a progressed Moon-Lilith conjunction in three months near Regulus, the star associated with royalty. All these planetary connections to some of the most important stars urge the individual into history-making roles and decisions, which Putin is now aggressively fulfilling.
Putin was most recently profiled as "Forbes #1 top dog"; see NewsScope for Nov. 4, 2013.
Sirius, Philip Seymour Hoffman,
and April’s Grand Cross
The brightest star in the heavens is Sirius, which since ancient Egyptian times has been associated with fame, glory and the maker of great deeds. Sirius is an exceptionally strong star that can turn an individual’s small action into a symbol for the collective. Brady refers to this as “the mundane becoming sacred.” However, Sirius does have a downside, and that’s the sense of being burned by fame.
Actor Philip Seymour Hoffman (July 23, 1967; Fairport, NY; time unknown) was born with a Mercury-Pallas conjunction at 13º Cancer where it conjoins Sirius. Pallas, sometimes known as the Goddess of creative intelligence, has this side of her archetype tremendously enhanced by the conjunction with Mercury. With Sirius involved, Seymour created some complex cinematic characterizations that transfixed audiences, making him an Oscar-winning superstar.
Hoffman’s Mercury-Pallas-Sirius forms a square to Saturn and, in this case, his Mercury can be described using the old-fashioned term “afflicted”. He suffered from being in the limelight and found solace in a drug cocktail known as a speedball. When he was found dead with a needle in his arm on February 2, transiting Venus and Pluto were opposing his Mercury and squaring his Saturn.
Sirius is important now because it perfectly aligns with April’s Grand Cross. The U.S., with its Cancer Sun conjunct Sirius, will certainly be playing a major role in global developments. Ukraine, with its Lilith exactly opposite Sirius, also seems to be in play. Putin’s Sun at 13º Libra exactly squares Sirius, and is activated by the looming Grand Cross. The Egyptians referred to Sirius as The Scorcher, and under pressure, this star can make situations too hot with potentially disastrous consequences.