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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: Obamacare - You wrote: "[Kennedy's] most famous reversal took place on June 29, 1992, when he changed his mind and sided with those supporting Roe v. Wade."
Since Roe v. Wade was decided in January of 1973, I don't understand the reference to June 29, 1992.A. Pennsylvania passed a law called Pennsylvania Abortion Control Act that was being challenged as unconstitutional based on Roe v. Wade. For details, see wikipedia/Planned_Parenthood_v._Casey
Justice Kennedy voted to uphold Roe v. Wade in a 5-4 decision, made public on June 29, 1992. Had he voted the other way, as he initially intended, Roe v. Wade would have been struck down.
RE: Obamacare - You wrote: "Kennedy’s expressed interest is about establishing limits to the individual health insurance mandate. Since his progressed Sun in Libra conjoins the U.S. Saturn (orb 0º02’), he will most likely find the limiting principle and uphold the constitutionality of Obamacare."
If he's concerned about the limiting principle, doesn't that suggest that he'll shoot down the individual mandate, thus applying constitutional limits to government power? Upholding the Obamacare mandate would further advance unlimited government. (If they can force people to buy government-approved insurance plans, what will they force us to buy next?)A. My understanding is that Kennedy has come around to seeing that everyone is essentially already in the medical care system. His reasoning is that when an uninsured individual goes to the ER, the state picks up the bill, which in turn is paid by taxpayers, meaning that everyone is already paying into the medical system. The limiting principle is that it's not establishing a commercial enterprise and then requiring everyone to join, but that everyone is already in this system.
During the hearings, Kennedy at first questioned the government's power to force an individual to act, that is, to buy health insurance. But later, he said this: “I think it is true that, if most questions in life are matters of degree, it could be that in the markets for health insurance and for the health care for which insurance was the method of payment, the young person who is uninsured is uniquely proximately very close to affecting the rates of insurance and the costs of providing medical care in a way that is not true in other industries. That’s my concern in the case.”re: Obamacare - You write that the Supreme Court decision will be made public around June 26.
However, the Justices met on Friday, March 30 to "decide" the case, and to make assignments regarding the writing of opinions. Those opinions will be made public around June 26, as you pointed out. Although a Justice may "change their vote" between the time they meet to decide an issue (in this case, it was March 30, regarding "Obamacare"), and the time the decision & opinions are made public, they seldom do. Does the fact the Justices have already met and "decided" this issue, and are now writing their opinions, does that change anything regarding what was written in the April 2 NewsScope?
A. - Yes, I read that they voted last Friday. From now until late June, they will send notices back and forth to each other, trying to persuade others to change their mind. It rarely changes as you say, but in a critical 5-4 vote, it's worth trying. This is why I mentioned Roe v. Wade, because Kennedy did change his mind on that one. I looked at the astrology very deeply, and there are powerful indicators pointing in both directions. I may be wrong on my forecast, but what I wrote is the way it seems to me.
Trayvon - I would like to see something about Trayvon Martin in your column. This young man's spirit has alerted the whole world...What is your astrological view?
re: My Lai - As a long time reader of your weekly columns, I was struck over the weekend with a comparison of the tragedy in Afghanistan last week, and one nearly exactly 44 years ago...the My Lai massacre. A few media reports have mentioned My Lai, but I wonder if you might include a comparison/discussion of the planetary activity between the two events in a column someday. It is stunning that My Lai happened on March 16th, 1968, so close to this recent event, even though the scale of deaths is quite different.
re: Obama - Psychic Joseph Tittel has the following (below) on his blog and thought you might consider a "peek" at President Obama's chart regarding his health or physical safety, and the comment below might be related to a basketball injury, or something similar.
I see President Obama waving out a hospital window giving thumbs up. So something is going to occur in early 2012 that sends the president to the hospital. Seems to be a big news story with some jokes revolved around it on an SNL skit, which also may cause a little bit of controversy.
re: yoga - "America has become Indianized" - good point!
re: NewsScope - Thank you so much. You do wonderful work, and I consider it an education.
re: Reagan - I thought President Reagan died on June 5, 2004. This week's NewScope column has a different date.
A. "when Ronald Reagan died" was meant to describe a time frame, so a ballpark figure within 3 days of the Venus occultation.
re: Whitney - I thought yours a lovely tribute to Whitney Houston and the title so appropriate. The article didn't condescend; it didn't overextend. But most important, it kept the focus on Whitney, rather than her dire relationship with B. Brown. She was a part of our family, in that we all were so much younger then, listening to this 19 year-old with a wonder voice. Thank you, Sir Michael!
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
Feb. 20, 2012 - Xanax: addictive and profitable; Assad and the Lunar Eclipse; Bobby Brown
Feb. 27, 2012 - Obama's progressed Mars, Top Five Astro-events for March, will Jeb Bush save the GOP?
March 5, 2012 - Obama's Interview, the swing state Ohio, Maria Menounas - something to talk about
March 12, 2012 - Billionaire Sara Blakely, Rush Limbaugh and the feminazis, yoga teacher Kristin McGee
March 19, 2012 - the Goldman Sachs elite, journalist Chris Hedges, George Clooney arrested
March 26, 2012 - Afghan War chart, April's top five astro-events, Hunger Games star Jennifer Lawrence
April 9, 2012 - Ann Romney and Gender Gap, Trayvon Martin and George Zimmer-man, Matt Damon's guru
NewsScope for April 9, 2012
By Michael Wolfstar
Ann Romney Takes On the Gender Gap
Although Mitt Romney sewed up his nomination last week with decisive wins, a new poll indicates that he has a significant gender gap: women favor Obama by 18 percentage points, while men are split evenly. To gain ground with this cohort, Romney consults his wife Ann about what women want, and she in turn touts her husband’s solid family values and economic plans.
Ann Romney was born with an energetic Sun-Venus-Mars conjunction in forthright Aries (April 16, 1949; 1:40 am*; Bloomfield Hills, MI), and a Moon-Chiron conjunction in Sagittarius. The fiery assertiveness is checked by her Capricorn Ascendant, and Mars opposite Neptune can also be inhibitive. Previously, she has stated her distaste for campaigning, but now wants to help as best she can.
With Capricorn Rising, Saturn plays an extra significant role in her life. She married on March 21, 1969 when transiting Saturn was conjunct her Sun. Then, 29 years later, Saturn conjoined her Sun again and she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Also, transiting Pluto had conjoined her Moon-Chiron, and her progressed Venus conjoined her 6th house Uranus, a veritable triple whammy expressing itself as a life-changing health crisis.
The astro-events that brought on her M.S. are important now because similar alignments are shaping up. Transiting Saturn is opposing her Aries planets, her progressed Sun is near her 6th house Uranus, and transiting Chiron is squaring her Moon-Chiron. So far, she has managed her M.S. very well with traditional and holistic methods, but the pressure to bring around women voters must be hard to resist. Her progressed Sun conjoins natal Uranus right on Election Day, which can also be read as a personal peak of excitement and celebrity status.
* Ann Romney‘s birth time is unknown.
The time used here is speculative.
Trayvon Martin (February 5, 1995; Miami, FL; time unknown) and George Zimmerman (October 5, 1983; Manassas, VA; time unknown) both have this aspect. While the circumstances surrounding Trayvon Martin’s death remain uncertain, and many half-truths and outright lies* have emerged under Mercury’s retrograde phase, astrologers can arrive at their own opinions. And one thing is clear: neither of these two was perfectly innocent.
Martin’s Aquarius Sun has a wide opposition to Mars, but by secondary progression, his Mars is only two degrees from opposing his Sun. The Sun-Mars type often puts himself into situations that require boldness and courage. In this way he can prove to himself that he’s not a coward. They tend to see others as being argumentative or aggressive rather than themselves.
Zimmerman’s Mars centers a T-square involving a Jupiter-Uranus conjunction opposite Chiron. This T-square (along with Martin’s progressed Sun) was activated by the transiting Juno-Chiron square that was described here last week. Both Martin and Zimmerman have their natal Sun sextile to Jupiter in Sagittarius, indicating each believed he was in the right. However, Zimmerman’s Mercury-Neptune square tells us that he is perfectly capable of falsifying information or misrepresenting the facts to verify his story.
Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman
Young men with dynamic Mars-Uranus aspects can quickly get involved in dangerous situations. The Mars-Uranus pairing fosters impulsive, sudden action and encourages risk-taking. Those with this combination tend to be hyperactive, spontaneously volatile, and are generally too willful to listen to others’ opinions. Get two people together with this aspect, and you can expect fireworks.
* Here are the facts:
Matt Damon’s Guru
This month, Matt Damon begins filming “The Promised Land”, which features a script he co-wrote about the dangers of hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” to access natural gas. Many environmentalists are excited because the film exposes how fracking can contaminate the water supply with toxic chemicals. Damon has a history of supporting leftist causes, but this one has the oil and gas industry worried.
Matt Damon was born with a progressive Sun-Uranus conjunction in Libra (October 8, 1970; 3:22 pm; Boston, MA) that opposes a Chiron-Eris conjunction in Aries. With this configuration, he’s naturally attracted to situations that stir up trouble, which is apparent in his real life as well as in the movies. A Mars-Pluto conjunction gives him an interest in dangerous, high risk roles, most notably as Jason Bourne in the successful series of action thrillers.
With cause-oriented Aquarius Rising, Uranus is the ruler of his chart. When he was growing up, Damon’s next-door neighbor was the social activist Howard Zinn (August 24, 1922). Zinn’s best-selling “A People’s History of the United States” shaped Damon’s worldview, which is shown by Zinn’s Saturn conjunct Damon’s Uranus.
Their enduring friendship lasted through Zinn’s death in 2010, and is evident by Zinn’s Venus-Jupiter conjunction right on Damon’s Libra Sun.
As the anti-fracking film begins, transiting Pluto is turning retrograde at 9º33’ Capricorn, which forms an exact square to Damon’s Uranus (orb 0º00’). This signature alone suggests a metamorphic project is underway. Over the next three years, transiting Uranus and Pluto will be activating his ruling planet and his Sun. Under this radical influence, Damon is likely to become increasingly vocal about his Zinn-inspired political views.
