Astrology Blog

Sunday, April 30, 2006

Roger McGuinn at the L.A Times Book Festival

Yesterday, I went to the L.A. Times Book Festival at UCLA. There was a musical author group, the Rock Bottom Remainders, that performed for free. The band featured a special guest, Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Famer Roger McGuinn of the Byrds. McGuinn, among other things, paved the way for country rock with his Sweeheart of the Rodeo album in 1968. The performing authors, who were surprisingly good, included Dave Barry, Amy Tan, Mitch Albom, Ridley Pearson, and Scott Turow.

Roger McGuinn pioneered the jangly, chiming guitar notes that still rang out clearly on the quad at UCLA. McGuin treated yesterday’s outdoors crowd to “Mr. Tambourine Man,” “Turn, Turn, Turn,” “My Back Pages,” and “Sweetheart of the Rodeo.” His still-sweet voice and ringing guitar roused memories and nearly brought tears to my eyes.

Born July 13, 1942, in Chicago, he is a Cancer Sun with all his planets in a very tight bundle pattern (see horoscope posted at the end of this blog entry). He was born with a new Moon (although the exact degree of his Moon. lacking a birth time, is not known). The Sun in Cancer, the sign of roots and national identity, is appropriate for a musician who adapted both folk and country music to rock and roll.

With his bundle pattern, Sun in a cardinal sign, and new Moon, McGuinn is still pioneering. Since 1995—shortly after the World Wide Web came into being— he has recorded a new song every month, making it available over the Internet via his Folk Den website. Uranus and Neptune trine each other as the gentle ribbon “knots” of his bundle pattern. His musical creativity harnessed to technical expertise, evidenced in both his guitar playing and mastery of digital platforms, is testimony to the complementary power of Uranus and Neptune enfolding his planets. From Wikipedia:

“During his time with the Byrds, McGuinn developed two innovative and highly influential styles of electric guitar playing: the so-called "jingle-jangle"--generating ringing arpeggios based on banjo fingerpicking styles he learned while at the Old Town School--and a merging of saxophonist John Coltrane's free-jazz atonalities (harmolodics) with the drone of the Indian sitar, a style of playing first heard on the Byrds' 1966 single ‘Eight Miles High.’”

Roger McGuinn, 7/13/1942, Chicago--set for noon

Saturday, April 29, 2006

Photo Exhibit at the Getty

I went this week to the Getty Museum’s exhibition of Robert Adams’ photographs. Adams is a photographer whose work, in the words of the Getty website, “is inspired both by his joy in the inherent beauty of the landscape, and his dismay at its exploitation and degradation for residential and commercial development.”

Unlike movie film, which is ruled by Neptune, still photography is also ruled by Uranus. The technical device (Uranus) of the camera is used to objectify (Uranus) the ephemeral chiaroscuro of light and shadow (Neptune). The first daguerreotype camera was invented (after a twelve year process of refinement) in 1839, near the beginning of the last mutual reception of Uranus and Neptune. A mutual reception is when two planets are in each other’s signs; in this case, Uranus is in Pisces and Neptune is in Aquarius. The influences of two planets in mutual exchange are greatly increased. Uranus and Neptune entered into mutual exchange again starting in 2003, a situation which will continue until 2011.

Robert Adams’ ocean photographs are stunning Uranus-Neptune epiphanies. You can see samples of his photos here. He was attuned to the power of Neptune in nature. In photographing the Columbia River’s emptying into the Pacific Ocean, Adams wrote that, “By the river’s disappearance we are reminded of life’s passing, while by the ocean’s beauty we accept it, in a hope we cannot explain.” The play of light on the ocean water in his photos is divine.

Adams also recorded the boxed tract home world supplanting nature, as well as solitary trees engulfed by man-made sprawl. Adams’ Uranus rebellion against our scarring of the landscape is what comes across in much of the display.

Another artist, Stuart Davis, was quoted in one of the text notes for the exhibition. I copied down the quote because it exemplifies my own feeling about astrology: “I am not looking for something newer and greater. Everything new and great already exists—has always existed. We need to make our connection with it.”

Friday, April 28, 2006

The Yod in the New Iraq Horoscope

The horoscope for the “new” Iraq (click here to see horoscope) has a yod, which is a triangle pattern formed by three planets: two planets which are sextile each other. both qunicunxing a third planet at the apex. It is not very common. In the Iraq horoscope, the Sun and Pluto are sextile, and they both quincunx Mars. Bil Tierney wrote a classic book, Dynamics of Aspect Analysis, on basic chart aspects. When simply looking at the energy of a chart aspect, this book is an invaluable guide.

Tierney notes that a true yod has the slowest-moving of the three planets at the apex. This would make the Iraq yod in actuality a double quincunx, although Tierney says that much of the energy of a yod can still be activated even with a faster-moving planet like Mars at the apex. The apex planet of a yod represents a very significant principle in the overall expression of the horoscope.

Pluto is associated with the Iraq 8th house and the upper half of the Iraq horoscope. The Sun is associated with the Iraq 5th house and the lower half of the Iraq horoscope. These two planets quincunxing Mars denote “a special challenge to constructively alter and bring into clearer focus that which hinders or impairs the total functioning of the individual” (p. 146 of Dynamics of Aspect Analysis).

Tierney assigns special significance to the focal point opposite the apex. In the Iraq horoscope, that would be 21° Scorpio. Transits or progressions to this point trigger the energy of the yod. It is especially significant when slower-moving planets transit over this degree. We would look therefore for Jupiter’s transit over this degree in October, 2006, or Saturn’s transit in 2014 to activate the yod, an aspect also known as the “finger of God.” In my Mountain Astrologer article on the Iraq War, I commented on the importance of the Jupiter cycle in Iraq’s national evolution. It is the planet of religious beliefs, strongly held principles, and the law. Jupiter can sometimes point to prosperity and peace. As a triggering planet, however, it is the yod itself and not Jupiter which will be expressed.

Tierney describes the Mars apex yod as being one in which there is “difficulty initiating personal matters in a direct and open manner.” Active efforts may “miss the mark” and have unintended consequences. Does this not sound like the current situation in Iraq, in which it has taken four months to form a new government?

Tierney goes on: “Once this yod is ripe for activation [i.e., once it is transited by a slower-moving planet, like Jupiter], the individual can find himself centered upon a new life course requiring him to mobilize his vital forces in an externally demanding manner…perhaps under an acute crisis situation…As an apex planet, forceful Mars could suggest that this individual might have to sever ties from the past or directly break away from former comforting securities during this appointed time of self-confrontation. (italics added for emphasis)

Thursday, April 27, 2006

New Iraq Government

In previous astrology writing about Iraq, I've noted the possiblity for civil war in Iraq. Since the Bush administration is trumpeting the new Iraqi coalition government, I’d like to spend some time looking at the horoscope for Iraq and what it portends for the future. Is civil war a real possibility, according to the Iraqi horoscope, or will the new government succeed? The first question is: which horoscope? October 15, 2005, the date when Iraqis voted to ratify the new constitution, was a very important date and it is the one I am using for the new national horoscope for Iraq. Click here to see this horoscope.

The main caveat to this horoscope is that it presupposes new Iraqi national sovereignty. However, the birth of a new Iraqi constitution may have been controlled by the United States to such an extent that a true national identity for a unified Iraq is not now possible. I tend to view the constitution horoscope through this skeptical lens. In fact, if one sees Iraq as a puppet of the U.S., we might as well be straight about it and just use the horoscope for March 20, 2003—the date of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. I can’t quite bring myself to be that cynical, though. In addition to the Iraq constitution horoscope, I will also look at synastry and composites with the U.S. horoscope, and maybe horoscopes for other key dates in Iraq’s evolution. I'd also like to take a look at the U.S. horoscope to see if we can find any indicators of civil war in the U.S. chart--we had one, too, but stayed united.

The Iraq constitution ratification horoscope, which I’ve set for 5:00 PM (when the polls closed, according to news reports) in Baghdad, shows a tight fixed square between Mercury and Saturn. Mercury in political astrology rules political speeches, communication, and change. Saturn rules the “formal side of the state…the law from the standpoint of its restraining purposes” (quoting from Charles Carter’s Political Astrology). The square between these two planets in the Iraqi constitution horoscope is going to make the formation of any new unity government very challenging.

One example: The new prime minister, al Maliki (who is so little known that it is only now revealed that his actual first name is not Jawad but Nouri), is described by U.S. government representatives as a coalition builder and someone who will be tough on the insurgents. This may mean that al Maliki will fold the Shiite militias—which have been accused of torturing and killing Sunnis—into the regular Iraqi army. This would have the adverse effect of further empowering the militias, giving them access to more and better weapons, and thus fueling sectarian hatred and resentment.

The most significant pattern in this horoscope, I think, is the yod formed by a sextile of the Sun and Pluto, each planet closely quincunxing Mars. More on this configuration in my next blog.

Tuesday, April 25, 2006

More on Pluto Oriental

I noted in my last blog that I have Pluto Oriental in my horoscope. Moving the planets clockwise around the horoscope, Pluto would rise over my Taurus Ascendant just before the Sun. Pluto Oriental is indicative of someone who “collects” the famous and powerful, or rubs shoulders with them (as I almost literally did with Governor Schwarzenegger), perhaps trying to shine a little brighter in the reflected glory and power of others. Taurus is a sign associated with possessions and is ruled by Venus.

I inherited a signed rare first edition of The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald. It was inscribed by the author to my grandfather, who had been a newspaper reporter and was assigned to interview Fitzgerald when the novel came out in the mid-1920’s. Fitzgerald, a bit drunk during the interview, inscribed the book with his signature, of course, but also with some whimsical cartoon characters and other notations which he drew for my grandfather. I sold the book, just as my progressed Ascendant conjoined my chart-ruling Venus, to help finance my daughter’s college education.

At about this time and also to finance my daughter’s college tuition, I sold much of my collection of rare and valuable spiritual magazines, books, and artifacts associated with Paramahansa Yogananda. I parted with my “Pluto Oriental” collection of personal possessions (Taurus) associated with the famous and powerful (Pluto)—either literary or spiritual. It didn’t hurt that at the time of these sales, Pluto was conjuncting my 8th house Jupiter.

Sunday, April 23, 2006

Pluto Oriental...in Action

My Pluto is conjunct my Sun and is Oriental, which means that Pluto is the planet which would rise before the Sun (going clockwise) over the Ascendant, “announcing” its rise. Pluto Oriental shows someone who (according to Noel Tyl in his wonderful new book Vocations: The New Midheaven Extension Process) often establishes a reputation by rubbing shoulders with important and powerful people and even spends time “collecting” famous people. This has been true for me, in some accurate and surprising ways, which I perhaps can share in a future blog. This was brought home to me today, however, by a fortuitous encounter with a famous person. When I went home and did a chart for the encounter, I discovered that my Pluto and Sun had just risen above the event chart Ascendant and that my Pluto was exactly square the event chart Midheaven.

I almost bumped into California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger--literally. My wife and I drove down to a place in Santa Monica where we sometimes like to eat on Montana Ave., a swank commercial enclave. There was a wait for a table at the restaurant, so my wife and I went for a walk. On the way back, I saw a man on the sidewalk right near the restaurant talking on his cell phone. My first thought was, "Another clueless cell phone user, blocking the sidewalk so no one can walk by. How irritating!" As we approached, he stepped close to the entrance of a jewelry store while still talking on his cell phone so that he was no longer blocking the sidewalk. I was looking down and noticed his cowboy boots. They looked like some sort of snakeskin and I thought, "Boy, those are really unusual!"

I walked right past him, within about twelve inches, close enough to overhear him talking on his cell phone. It was the unmistakable voice of the governor. I glanced up and it was indeed he. At that point, I took more notice and saw that there were three or four security men hovering nearby. They had earpieces, and were wearing sunglasses and black suits. I hadn't noticed them because people were loitering outside the restaurant while waiting for tables. My wife and I walked past, then turned around to watch. Maria Shriver came out of the jewelry store.

Then the two of them, followed closely by the security detail, sauntered down Montana Avenue, right past us and into another store. It was so low-key that some people seemed not to notice--or, maybe, Arnold visits Montana Avenue a lot. Arnold and Maria were both dressed up, like they'd been to church (it was about 1:30 on Sunday afternoon). Then they walked to a small parking lot, which we could see. Arnold and Maria got into a black Cadillac Escalade, which Arnold drove as they exited the parking lot and drove down Montana Avenue, followed by three more black SUV's. As they drove past us, my wife waved at him. The governor smiled broadly at her and waved back. Arnold's Cadillac had a "Vote for Arnold" bumper sticker.

Saturday, April 23, 2006

Saturn and the Midterm Elections

Looking ahead to the 2006 U.S. midterm elections, the question is: Will the Democrats win a majority in at least one chamber of Congress? Saturn is a lens through which to view the upcoming election. Saturn, at 23° Leo, will be opposing the U.S. Moon at the time of the election. The U.S. Moon is between 22° and 27° Aquarius, depending on which horoscope one uses for the Declaration of Independence. Saturn opposing the Moon does not bode well for the incumbent party, the Republicans. Why? The Aquarian Moon symbolizes that which nurtures the nation—namely freedom to roam, wide open spaces, the big sky, equality, openness, etc. With Saturn casting an oppositional shadow, voters will be restive and anxious to assert the freedom they do have: to vote for a change in direction.

The U.S. experienced a similar astrological situation in the 1976 election, the last time Saturn was in Leo. Building up to the 1976 election, Saturn crossed over the nation’s north lunar node in August of that year, a telling sign and indicative of voters not liking the path the nation was on. Saturn then began to move into opposition to the Moon at the time of the election in November. Saturn will soon be hitting the nation’s lunar nodal axis once again, indicating a dissatisfaction with the direction of the country. This is reflected in current polls.

Going back one more Saturn cycle would bring us to the 1948 election, barely won by Truman. In that election, Saturn had been in the last ten degrees of Leo—and thus opposing the U.S. Moon—throughout most of the election campaign. Truman, the Democratic incumbent, was behind. A newspaper headline famously proclaimed “Dewey Defeats Truman” on the morning after the election. But by the time the election rolled around, Saturn had moved out of Leo and into Virgo.

There are many other astrological factors to consider in forecasting these midterm elections. I don’t mean to over-simplify and just bring it all down to a Saturn transit, but this will be an important consideration in the election.

Friday, April 21

Astrology of the Reborn Sixties

Another Uranus-Neptune sixties sighting: hookahs, those communal smoking pipes which cool the smoke with water. They were big in the 1960’s for marijuana and hashish inhalation. Today, they are popular with college students. Hookah “bars” (strictly for flavored tobacco) have been proliferating near many college campuses. You can read a recent NY Times article on this phenomenon here.

I was recently in an Old Navy store and noticed the sixties style of many young women’s fashions, including a selection of shirts with lace trim, and beads and tiny mirrors on blouses. Take a look at the women’s shirts in this online Old Navy display and see if it doesn’t look like a replay of the 1960’s.

I think it has to be more than Uranus opposing the degree of the mid-1960’s Uranus-Pluto conjunction because that opposition will not last too long. This fashion trend has been “flowering” for awhile now. The mutual reception of Uranus and Neptune is very much behind this clothing trend, indicating it has “legs” and will be with us for awhile (the Uranus-Neptune mutual reception will continue until 2011), although the form of Uranus-Neptune fashions may change.

Monday, April 17, 2006

More on Graphic Novels

I wrote recently about graphic novels, a trend which is part of a larger trend towards the visual, driven in part by the Uranus-Neptune conjunction of 1993 and the current mutual reception between these two outer planets. We are in a more visual world than ever before. Advertising, television, movies, computers, Nintendo, and music videos are part of the same trends as graphic novels. Several graphic novels have been made into recent movies: Sin City, V for Vendetta, and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Last fall, The New Yorker had a very interesting article about graphic novels, in which the critic Peter Schjeldahl mentions the “graphic novel’s new world of the imagination” and how the genre’s cultural ascent has only just begun.

Of course, the Marvel Comics characters like Spiderman have been big for awhile. But graphic novels are different because they are long, book-length comics that have time for fictional elements like character development and sub-plots. They are generally more nuanced than shorter comic books. What makes these notable, aside from the interesting content, is the growing market for graphic novels. Bookstores have installed sections, which are growing steadily larger, for graphic novels. Amazon has a huge catalog of graphic novels. And now Hollywood is discovering graphic novels.

The audience for graphic novels is generally younger, although Chris Ware’s Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth--which came out in paperback just as Uranus went into Pisces-- is all about middle age. The Pluto in Virgo generation, now in midlife, is experiencing the opposition from Uranus in Pisces.

Sunday, April 16, 2006

Starbucks

Starbucks went public in 1992, just a few months before the Uranus-Neptune conjunction. Click here to see a stock chart. Historian Bryant Simon has been studying the culture of Starbucks and, having been in Starbucks all over the world, he has some interesting observations. First, he believes that Starbucks is so popular because it fills "some kind of deep desire for connection with other people" (read the Associated Press article, “Academic Studies Starbucks Cultural Impact”). This search for connection is part of the Uranus-Neptune trend which is also driving online social communities like MySpace. Starbucks customers can maintain their own private “space” while being part of a community. Simon comments that at Starbucks, "You get the feeling you're out in public, but you don't need to talk to anyone." People connect with others by talking or by just sharing the same space.

Uranus is individuality and Neptune is underlying connection, so when the two planets conjoined in 1993, we began to see trends developing that have to do with the merging of individuality and the greater whole. Now, with the mutual reception of Uranus and Neptune (since 2003, Uranus has been in Pisces, while Neptune is in Aquarius), this trend is even more pronounced. The Uranus-Neptune conjunction and mutual reception have introduced an extraordinary amount of uncertainty into our lives. Historian Simon notes that “There's a deep sense of unpredictability in the modern world, and what Starbucks provides a lot of people is predictability."

Saturday, April 15, 2006

Samuel Beckett

Ireland just celebrated Samuel Beckett’s 100th birthday. He was born on Good Friday, April 13, 1906. Samuel Beckett was an existential playwright most famous for Waiting for Godot, a play about two men waiting for a man named Godot—who never shows up. He called it a tragicomedy. I saw the play when I was about ten or eleven years old. My mother, always ahead of her time, took me to see a road production in Boston. I recall laughing uproariously. My Jupiter, which had around that time progressed to stationary direct, was very alive in me and I responded more to the comic elements of the play than to the tragic.

Beckett’s birth time is not known, but he has a powerful T-square in his horoscope. A T-square is two planets opposite each other where the opposition axis is squared by a third planet. In Beckett’s case, he has a close Uranus-Neptune opposition, tightly squared by Mercury. He is remembered as the “master of the bleak” (according to a tribute in the New York Times). If one accepts this characterization, we might expect a prominent Saturn. His Saturn may be strongly placed by house, but we don’t know because we don’t know his birth time. Otherwise, his Saturn is only involved in a wide square (with, what else, Jupiter!) and a trine.

His Uranus-Neptune opposition is part of the Uranus-Neptune cycle that began with the conjunction around 1821. This Uranus-Neptune cycle was characterized by the growth of political ideologies and the depersonalization of the industrial age. Beckett’s Mercury sought to pierce through this with words and badinage. His characters are not so much bleak as deeply human and fighting for the right to exist just as they are in a post-nuclear landscape.

Monday, April 10

The Sixties Redux

The sixties continues to live and breathe in 2006. Why? Some astrologers point to Uranus-in-Pisces opposing the degree where the momentous Uranus-Pluto conjunction in Virgo occurred. However, the ongoing (since 2003) Uranus-Neptune mutual reception is also responsible. The effects of Uranus and Neptune's combined energies could be seen in the sixties--when Uranus was transiting over every flower child’s Neptune. An exchange of energies between Uranus and Neptune excites protest, colorful creativity, and rebellion. Here is a recent sampling of re-born sixties trends:

Sixties popular music is being used in TV commercials. Donovan’s “Catch the Wind” in a Volvo commercial took me by surprise. Alert television viewers may also have caught music by the Yardbirds, the Allman Brothers, the Kinks, Led Zeppelin, the Turtles, , the Lovin’ Spoonful, the Who (“Happy Jack” for a Hummer commercial), Jefferson Airplane, the Rolling Stones, and just recently Iron Butterfly’s “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” for Fidelity Bank.
Also, sixties mod artist Peter Max-style kaleidoscope graphics (think Yellow Submarine) is popular in commercials.
Political protesting is big again, after a long hiatus.
A popular women’s fashion is the lacy, ruffled untucked blouse with hippie-style streamers dangling from the hem and sleeves, as well as Victorian England meets London Underground tops—and, for both sexes, military camouflage (army jackets were popular in the sixties).
The new movie release V for Vendetta is a sixties-type “power to the people” film made, as Astro-Noetics.com astutely points out, by two guys who were born in the mid-sixties.

Sunday, April 9

Pluto in Scorpio, Drugs, and Alcohol

A recent suvery revealed that drug use among teenagers is down and alcohol use is level. This is just a two year comparison. Overall, drug and alcohol use/abuse by teens is way down from its peak in the 1990's (see the National Institute on Drug Abuse for exact statistics on long-term youth trends with drugs and alcohol). In other words, the Pluto in Scorpio generation--those who are now teens--are not becoming addicts at the rate of previous generations. What gives? One would expect this generation--powered by the addictive, obsessive sign of Scorpio--to be awash in drugs and booze. Instead, they are clean and sober. A lot of this has to do with the adult attention with which the Pluto in Scorpio generation has been showered. Just look at No Child Left Behind, Bush's education law, and the degree to which parents are controlling their children well into college--and beyond. The Pluto in Scorpio generation is also the generation of shared resources. They are very prone to march together. As they have been shaped by adults to esteem themselves and their places in the world, the Pluto in Scorpio generation strongly values conformity to adult values. There is a distinct lack of rebelliiousness in this generation. Although they certainly do know how to push the control buttons of the Pluto in Leo generation, the rebellion is surface Uranus-Neptune--i.e., fashion, attitude, music--rather than political. Scratch the surface of almost any shaggy-haired skate boarding youth and you'll find a pretty decent kid. I mildly upbraided a 16 year old recently for using the f-word in conversation next to me in the library. The young man actually apologized and blushed with embarassment! The big question is, What happens to this generation when they finally control the world? What will they be like when they shake off the hovering adult world and become their own?

Thursday, April 6

Graphic Novels

One of the fastest-growing sections in the bookstore lately seems to be the graphic novels section. To the casual observor, graphic novels look like comic books. However, they are richly visual--even artistic--texts. Many go far beyond the comparatively rudimentary comic books of 50 years ago. This is part of the Uranus-Neptune trend toward more pervasive visual media, a trend which has picked up steam with the current mutual reception of Uranus and Neptune. I am currently reading the graphic novel V for Vendetta, but what really got me into these books was The Adventures of Jimmy Corrigan, The Smartest Kid on Earth, by an artist named Chris Ware. And what first exposed me to Chris Ware was, of all things, an art exhibition at the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art. You can read a little about this exhibit--which was in 2005--here.

The Adventures of Jimmy Corrigan is an amazing book about four generations of men and their inabilities to connect with each other--and with others. The story travels back and forth over time with little or no transition, not unlike a William Faulkner novel. The art is extremely precise and linear, almost like an architectural blueprint. This gives it a very Capricorn feel and adds to the tone of loneliness and emotional isolation. The story begins (although this is not revealed until the reader is well into the book) during the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. This fair happened to coincide exactly with the momentous Neptune-Pluto conjunction, so one way to read the book is as an extended metaphor of the Neptune-Pluto conjunction and its after-effects (although this was probably not the artist's intent). I'll write more on these graphic novels, including V for Vendetta since it is also a popular movie, in some upcoming blogs.

Wednesday, April 5

Sideways Baseball Hats

Neptune is fashion. Because Aquarius is the sign of nonconformity, Neptune's current transit through Aquarius has given us some very eccentric fashions. A case in point is the hip-hop sideways baseball hat. These baseball hats are not really baseball hats in the traditional sense. The visor of the hat is completely flattened and it is worn sideways, fitting loosely on the head. The hat logo is usually related to hip-hop. Normally, the visor serves a functional purpose of shielding the hat wearer's face and eyes from the sun. When it is turned 90 degrees, perhaps it is intended to shield the ears or protect the iPod ear bud which is usually inserted in the wearer's ear. Just kidding on that one, but these Aqaurian fashions are fun to spot.

Tuesday, April 4

John McCain--Bush II or the Un-Bush?

I have written quite a bit about John McCain elsewhere on my website, although I am not a John McCain supporter (I'm a Democrat). However, he is very interesting to watch as he tries to position himself for the 2008 primaries. He will almost certainly run for president. What is interesting is observing him pull close enough to Bush to keep Bush's loyal conservative base and at the same time try to be the un-Bush to win over enough other voters to get elected. It's a complicated balancing act. See McCain's horoscope and an article I wrote about Saturn and Neptune in the horoscopes of presidential candidates, including McCain's (if you scroll to the end of the article, you will find some interesting observations about McCain and the 2008 election).

One of the things to look for in an electable 2008 candidate is openness (see my article which explores some of the astrological traits the country will be looking for in a presidential candidate in 2008). Openness is what the nation will want after 8 years of Bush's secrecy, wherein benign documents already in the public domain are being withdrawn and classified as secret. The nation will still want security, of course, but they will also want a president who is more of an open book and willing to have a dialog with others.

Today, McCain spoke to a an audience of AFL-CIO union leaders who do not like his stance on immigration or Iraq (read the story). According to MSNBC, "It was a contentious session that tested McCain’s commitment to the straight-talking image he honed during his failed 2000 presidential bid. An underdog six years ago, the Arizona Republican is expected to seek the 2008 GOP nomination as a front-runner." McCain attempted, with mixed success, to defuse some of the rancor with humor. It reminded me of the calculated confrontation Bill Clinton had with Sister Souljah during the 1992 campaign.

McCain's Virgo Sun is in the 11th house, a political house asociated with the air sign Aquarius. Virgo is ruled by Mercury, a communication planet. McCain's rising sign is Libra, an air sign. However, both his Sun and Moon are in earth signs (his Moon's in Capricorn), so in a lot of ways McCain is more into what works than what's open. He's very grounded and smart about political strategy. Mercury is his only planet in an air sign (Libra). Mercury being a singleton in an air sign would ordinarily indicate difficulty in getting perspective with communication, but McCain has a Libra rising sign to support his Mercury. He does seem to enjoy communicating in an open give-and-take forum much more than Bush (Bush's Mercury is in Leo) and this came out in his speech to union members, despite the natural antagonism of his audience.

Want to read more political astrology? Subscribe to my newsletter (it’s free) to read about the astrology of Senators Hillary Clinton, John McCain, and Russell Feingold. Do any of these politicians have the horoscope which can carry him or her all the way to the White House? I will discuss this and more in my next e-newsletter, due out in early April. Don’t miss out. Subscribe now. Return to the home page, put your e-mail address in the little box near the orange arrow, and click “Go.”

Monday, April 3

Don't Count Gore Out

Don't count Al Gore out of the 2008 presidential race just yet. Late last month, Gore stated he would not run for president in 2008, but did not rule out a "future in politics." He made this pronouncement as Saturn was retrograding back over his Leo Ascendant (I've posted Gore's horoscope along with other potential presidential candidates). Gore also has a powerful Leo 1st house conjunction of Mars-Saturn-Pluto, which will be hit by Saturn in the coming months. So maybe he was feeling a bit down, unready to enter the fray, perhaps lacking in full confidence. Or maybe he really was honestly assessing his life and making a values-based decision. At any rate, I think he may re-think things once Saturn finishes its passage through Leo--just in time to get back into presidential politics. Here's a candidate who was twenty years ahead of his time on global warming and climate change, and--unlike every Democratic senator who now wants to be president--he did not vote to authorize the Iraq War. In fact, he has been oustpoken in his oppositon to it.

In 2008, throughout much of the primary and national election season, transiting Pluto will be exactly conjoining his Sagittarian Jupiter . By that time, he may be back in the race, having shaken off the "yoke of inauspicious stars."

Sunday, April 2

Russell Feingold

Senator Russell Feingold of Wisconsin has called on the Senate to pass a resolution censuring President Bush for, according to Feingold’s website, “authorizing the illegal wiretapping program and then misleading the country about the existence and legality of the program.” He is a likely candidate for president in 2008. Feingold’s resolution attempt seems to have fallen on deaf ears in the Senate, but it has energized the liberal Democratic base.

Feingold is another in a long list of potential 2008 presidential candidates with a strong Saturn-Neptune aspect (see my article on “Saturn, Neptune, and U.S. Presidential Candidates”). In his horoscope, Saturn and Neptune are conjunct. He is a Pisces Sun with the Moon in either Libra or Scorpio, depending on his birth time (which is currently unknown). The Jupiter-ruled side of his Pisces Sun can be seen in his emphasis on moral Constitutional principles. Venus opposes Feingold’s Saturn-Neptune conjunction. In fact, the Venus-Neptune opposition is his closest major aspect, adding to the idealistic, principled tone of his horoscope. Feingold has a “sudden action” Mars-Uranus square.

Significantly, his Uranus conjuncts the U.S. Cancer Sun, while his Sun squares the U.S. Uranus. He's a politician who does not conform, and he will continue to try to upset the status quo.

Saturday, April 1

The Surging Robotics Trend

In Llewellyn’s 2006 Starview Almanac, I wrote an article predicting a surge this year in domestic robots in the United States due mainly to the positions of Uranus and Neptune and Uranus aspects to the U.S. horoscope. According to an article in PC World, as just reported on Yahoo News,

“If there's not a robot in your home already, there will be one soon. Odds are pretty good there's one living on your block right now. They move, they think, they clean, they entertain. And they do it all (mostly) without your help. But we've just scratched the surface of what these intelligent devices can do. Newer, cooler choices are on the way.”

Yahoo’s full coverage news on robots and robotics gives an overview of how widespread this phenomenon is becoming. With more affordable robots, more and more people will purchase a robot for the home.

Development of human-type robots also continues to accelerate. The RoboCup, for example, is a soccer contest featuring robots versus humans, much like the early computer vs. human chess games. The RoboCup, however, is not just a publicity gimmick. It is designed to spur innovation in the development of humanoid robots. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and robotics are revolutions that will change us in much the same way that computers have transformed our world.