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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!"
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Recent NewsScope Articles
Jan. 5, 2015 - Will Hillary run? Bono's Chiron-Pluto opposition; Angelique Kidjo, Africa's premier diva.
Jan. 12, 2015 - Neptune's anxiety; France under attack; Pope Francis's exciting Venus return.
Jan. 19, 2015 - Court takes up gay marriage; Swiss Bank shocks system; Chris Kyle, American Sniper.
Jan. 26, 2015 - Deflategate: Tom Brady's footballs; February's top 5; Klay Thompson's best quarter.
Feb. 2, 2015 - Greece's Alexis Tsipras; Shake Shack's debut; Katy Perry at the Super Bowl.
Feb. 9, 2015 - Saturn in Sagittarius, Jill Stein's Green New Deal; Elvis meets Nixon.
Feb 16, 2015 - Jeff Jawer, astro-luminary; journalists in transition; Jeff and Scorpio Rising US chart.
Feb. 23, 2015 - Uranus enters the US sixth; Neonicotinoids and bees; Dr. Seuss is back!
March 2, 2015 - The Boris Nemtsov papers; March's top 5; David Tredinnick, the MP favoring astrology.
March 9, 2015 - Ceres into view, AAPL and solar energy; Chai Jing's "Under the Dome" goes viral.
March 16, 2015 - Britain's royal family under the Eclipse; Kate and William; Charles' progressed MC.
March 23, 2015 - Nuclear deal with Iran? April's top 5 astro-events; Krissi Brown remains in a coma.
March 30, 2015 - Andreas Lubitz, unfit for duty; Q&A - Richard III; Bas Lansdorp's Mars One mission.
April 6, 2015 - Obama and the Iran; NJ Senator Menendez indicted; Mad Men's Matthew Weiner.
April 13, 2015 - Hillary makes it official; Bill progressed Venus; Chelsea's prog Mars.
April 20, 2015 - Marco Rubio declares; Hillary and the Inequality bubble; Floyd Mayweather Fight.
Reader feedback
re: the first NewsScope - Your obituary for Jeff Jawer mentioned starting the Weekly NewsScope in 1998. I dug around on my computer and found what I think is the very first NewsScope, from February 1997. It is attached. But it does seem that by January 1998 it had stabilized to its present form.
A. Maybe the first ones were in 1996 - I'm thinking August 1996 is when I started writing it for AOL's AstroNet. I do remember writing just one straight column for a while until I was informed that those who surf the net have short attention spans and three brief articles would be better than one long one. After AstroNet folded, it was syndicated to a few websites, including Astrogram and Astrologyzine, which has the earliest NewsScopes still posted on the net. They go back to December 1996. See http://www.astrologyzine.com
re: Jeff Jawer - I'm very sorry for the loss of your colleague, he will be missed by many. Jeff was the first professional astrologer I consulted, probably about 15 years ago, and his reading was very helpful at the time. I've been a regular StarIQ reader since then, and StarIQ is where I first read your articles.
re: Jeff Jawer - So sorry you and all of us have lost Jeff. The tribute in your column is a way to let so many people know he was here, gave a lot, and appears to be gone. Onward with appreciation
re: Jeff Jawer - Such a nice way of commemorating Jeff Jawer.
re: Jeff Jawer - I too (like so many readers) feel a deep gratitude for StarIQ.com. Your tribute to Jeff is lovely.
re: Brian Williams and Bob Simon - One unwillingly stepped out of the spotlight due to hubris ... while the other left the spotlight of life. Both of these television journalists had exceptional skills and experience. Why did it go so differently for them?
re: Brian Williams - Integrity goes a long way in the news business. It looks like transiting Pluto will oppose Williams' natal Mars over the next couple of years. Do you think he can recover from this self-inflicted crisis?
A. I doubt it. I'd be more confident of this if we had an exact birth time to work with.
re: Bobbi Christina Brown - it would be interesting to see the connections between Bobbi's chart, her mother Whitney Houston's chart, the date of Whitney's death and the recent biopic on Lifetime. What a sad, sad story for that little girl. Too much grown up emotions for her to handle.
re: Iran - What are the chances that the negotiations with Iran regarding its nuclear program will be successfully completed in June? Do the stars favor such an agreement between these two nations? The follow up question is what are the chances if the agreement getting through the Congress? I realized that any answer that you give is highly speculative, but I was just wondering if astrology was leaning towards a more favorable outcome to such an agreement or against it?
A. First, astrology is not a homogenous whole that favors one outcome or another. Astrology is made up of many individual astrologers who often have diametrically opposing views.Now in my opinion, this deal will go forward. Using the Scorpio Rising horoscope, transiting Uranus is exactly trine the Midheaven while transiting Neptune is exactly trine the Ascendant. If you ask those who favor a different chart for the U.S. you won't find these angular hits, and then you might get a totally different forecast.
re: royal family - I don't believe the Kate v Queen stuff either. I think they are very much on the same page as you say, but I do think Kate will be the most powerful royal when the queen goes. She is a very strong woman. Kate is busy breeding right now. Most likely scenario: Phil dies or is too ill to go on, Queen abdicates, Charles crowned. Queen's Mum lived to be more than 100.
re: royal family - This is so significant. Most of the people on the planet have only known one British ruler. Talk about a long-standing institution. Whew. I know that it's all a bunch of pomp and circumstance, but lordy do they know how to do THAT. I also think that in today's society we don't recognize the importance of this kind of ceremony. In any case, We could see two more in our lifetimes. Charles is no spring chicken. If he does get the throne, I could see him dying and passing it along to his son in my lifetime. It's possible....
re: Prince Charles - I know the royal succession comes down to a popularity contest but I am well aware of Charles very deep concerns for the planetary environment and his efforts to promote sustainable practices in agriculture and a general appreciation for Mother Earth. He is under-estimated by many who really don't know him very well.
re: Hillary - According to your post last May, Hillary's Double Whammy, is it possible that:
1) T-Neptune at 8 Pisces squaring natal Uranus (USA chart) at 8 Gemini (communication, correspondence) made HC’s news conference at the UN a much bigger global story?
2) HC’s P2-Mars (in her 10th) opposing T-Neptune has now cast doubt that she may not be ready for prime time (waiting to respond over a week regarding lack of transparency)? Doesn't it highlighting her team as dysfunctional and not inspirational?
A. Yes, the Neptune influence is very clear in this email debacle. The Neptune transits to the U.S. chart being concurrent with events in HC's life are normal for national politicians. They wouldn't be on the national stage without close connections to the U.S. chart.
re: plagiarism - Did I ever tell you that a head honcho of our astrology association here in <deleted>, back about 4 or so years ago, when he was just coming here from <deleted>, wrote at length about some theme that I recognized as yours, with examples and all from your column… except that he turned the result around to fit his hypothesis -- and used all of that as his own material. Of course, I couldn't let that pass without bringing it up and, in the process, embarrassing him. Interestingly that I was then blackballed by "the good ol' guys" of the association. And presently, a bit of that kind of hypocrisy and nastiness is something I'm presently facing, having returned to <deleted> . After I had my say, I just decided to go off on my own.
A. Thank-you for sharing this. And for your courage.
Ceres and the environment - I had my doubts about the influence of dwarf planet Ceres. However, I had an incident on February 19, 2015 where transiting Uranus opposed my natal Neptune in my fourth house and transiting Ceres squared both planets. A falling tree knocked down an electrical transformer and spilled the insulating oil out of the transformer into my front yard. Neptune (oil) was afflicted by Uranus (electrical) and Ceres (environmental) and the local utility was concerned about possible toxins in the oil. Fortunately, a cleanup crew dug up the contaminated soil in part of my yard and restored power promptly. My limited experience would seem to verify the Ceres/environment connection!
re: transits to progressions - I notice that you often refer to transits to progressed planets. I’ve never really looked closely at these, and I wonder how powerful they are. Are they as significant as transits to the natal planets? Or more so?
A. Yes, they can be as significant as transits to natal planets or progressions to natal planets. This is especially true if the transits or progressions are hitting the progressed Sun, progressed angles, or the progressed ruling planet. Outer planet transits moving at relatively the same speed as the progressed moon while aspecting it can mean several months of a major life process unfolding. For example, the progressed Moon aligned with transiting Saturn can mean a lengthy bout of depression at its worst, but certainly a serious phase with deep thoughts. Outer planet transits to the progressed Sun is more about a change of identity.
NewsScope for April 27, 2015
By Michael Wolfstar
Clinton Cash and Clinton Fatigue
A reader asks, “I'd like to look at Hillary's chart some more. I always wonder how much her continued "slog on" in politics has to do with pleasing Bill as much as anything else....“ First, Hillary’s enduring ventures in American politics are due to her own intense ambitions rather than to please Bill. This is astrologically evident in her powerful Mars-Pluto-Saturn triple conjunction.
Hillary’s progressed Midheaven is now at 13º Scorpio, and over the next year it will be squaring her Mars and Pluto. This astrological signature makes her a fighter, and activates her desire to win at all costs. She and Bill share mutual Sun-Saturn exchanges: her Saturn conjoins his Sun, and his Saturn squares her Sun. These connections describe their tight, public bond and their geopolitical teamwork.
Last week, that teamwork came under question with the report* of “Clinton Cash”, a new book being published that investigates foreign donations to the Clinton Foundation in exchange for political favors. This week, transiting Mars enters Hillary’s 7th house of open enemies, and we can bet that Republican challengers will be brimming with the book’s dirty details. And with transiting Jupiter conjoining her own Mars, Hillary will certainly be fighting back.
* The New York Times broke the story about “Clinton Cash”.
However, it could be that Bill is playing out the controlling Saturn archetype within their relationship since his Saturn is only 0º10’ from squaring her Sun. This might suggest that he is masterminding the campaign strategy. After all, transiting Saturn is entering the “obscure sector” in her horoscope, signifying a phase when one normally wants out of the public spotlight. In any case, Mars will be transiting her 7th house over the coming month, which will likely energize her political rivals. And perhaps dosing the public with a case of Clinton fatigue.
Operation Car Wash
Brazil’s state-owned oil company, Petrobras, wrote off $17 billion last week in its first report to shareholders in eight months. The huge financial hit is what accountants figure it will cost to clean up the company in Brazil’s largest corruption case ever. The federal investigation, called Operation Car Wash, uncovered decades of scams linking Petrobras with Brazil’s top politicians.
Petrobras was incorporated when the Sun was in Libra and conjunct Black Moon Lilith (October 3, 1953; noon; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), a combination that naturally gravitates toward shadowy partnerships. The Sun is also sextile a Pallas-Juno conjunction, which suggests politicians (Pallas) as partners (Juno). The tenth house Saturn-Neptune conjunction dominates this chart, and represents the institutionalization (Saturn) of the oil industry (Neptune).
Transiting Pluto was squaring the Petrobras Sun as investigators discovered the depth of the scandal. The head of the company’s refining arm from 2003 to 2012 arranged for a plea bargain. He began naming names and that he had siphoned off 3% of all contracts to provide a slush fund for politicians. When this story broke last September, both progressed Mercury and transiting Saturn were squaring the natal Moon-Pluto conjunction, making headline news around the world.
And this story is just beginning.… Currently, the progressed Sun is nearly square Mars on the 9th house cusp of legal actions, which will lead to more indictments, angry backlash, and intense court cases. Major surprises and shocking developments can be expected over the next few months as transiting Uranus turns retrograde while opposing progressed Mars. Dilma Rousseff, who was on the Petrobras board before she became president, has become the target of public outrage.
Bruce Jenner is a Transgender Woman
With the warrior planets Mars and Pluto ruling his Scorpio Ascendant and placed in the tenth house of public standing, Bruce Jenner naturally made his mark in the world as a superb athlete. After winning Olympic Gold in 1976, he went Hollywood and was considered (along with Christopher Reeve) to star as Superman. Now he identifies as a transgender woman. What happened?
Personal identity is associated with the Sun and in Jenner’s case (October 28, 1949; 6:16 am; Mount Kisco, NY), his Scorpio Sun conjoins his Scorpio Ascendant, so his transition is out there for everyone to see. If “men are from Mars and women are from Venus”, Jenner easily expresses masculinity since his Sun is sextile Mars. But his Sun is also octile (45º) Venus.
Generally, men with this aspect are in touch with their feminine side, but tend to express it with a keen sense of style, a charming, seductive attitude, and perhaps a touch of vanity. Scorpios wake up to sexuality early, and Jenner has been troubled since childhood about his sexual identity. His hidden mental confusion is evident from his Mercury-Neptune conjunction in the 12th house of secrets.
The hidden flirtation with the taboo transgender issue is underscored by the Mercury-Neptune pair opposing Black Moon Lilith. Last week when he said he identified as a woman but also that he was confused, his progressed Midheaven (his evolving status) was exactly conjunct his 12th house Neptune. He was out of the closet. Currently, his progressed Venus is less than one degree from opposing his elevated Pluto as he goes through a very public sex change.
re: Rubio - Your analysis of Senator Rubio certainly seems spot on. It's in tune with what I think I've been seeing---amazing. And I just wondered out loud the other day whether they'd run him for Vice President. (No less annoying for some of us.) I'm still confronted by people near to me, or not, who don't know anything about astrology, but love to dismiss it altogether. But I always find it interesting...
re: Paul Rand - What I’d really like to know is what you see for Rand Paul, whose Sun is being transsited by Pluto through the campaign. He’s likely a long shot, but that Puto-Sun contact got me wondering about his potential. He probably doesn’t have close enough contact with the US Moon though, unless you count the 23Leo Mars.
re: the Royals - Taking a minute to let you know how much I appreciate your columns that give us insight into constellations of people. Looking at several members of Britain's royal family, and then looking at the constellation of Hillary, Bill, and Chelsea Clinton—so often identified as an American Royal Family, affords us perspective on the multi-faceted dynamics of an influential collective. It makes for a more in-depth column that I find innovative in the arena of public astrology.
