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January/February 2017 US Election 2016/Uranus/Adele/Obamacare The International Journal of the Astrological Association Contents The Astrological Journal January/February 2017 Volume 59 No.1 Carter Memorial Lecture 2016 16 ChristeenSkinnerexploresourelegantuniverse pg. 30 Uranus’ Flying Circus 30 54 pg. 60 pg. 05 Features Maurice Fernandez on the Jupiter-Uranus cycle Uranusandtheearlyflyingmachines.ByJonathon Clark 05 LeonardCohenrememberedbyJohnEtherington 24 Vedic:SonalSachdevaonSaturn’stransitofDhanu orSagittarius 37 TributetothelateMichaelWackford,BySharon Knight 41 47 53 60 71 JohnSladek’s13th-sign‘spider’hoax.ByKimFarnell TheastrologyofObamacare.ByLizHargreaves Pluto’smethanesnowcaps,courtesyofNASA Hello,it’sAdele.AndrewIfandis’astro-portrait AstroX-Ray:SharonKnightinterview pg. 06 US Presidential Election 2016 08 11 Roy Gillett: Lessonsformundaneastrology 13 Sharon Knight & Steven Birchfield: Traditional mundaneapproach 15 Tim Heyer: TrumpasSaturn Smiljana Gavrančić: The White House and 22° Gemini Columns 02 38 40 46 66 69 Frank C. Clifford: DollyPartonandbirthdata Roy Gillett: AHappyNewYear? Marjorie Orr:TheUSvsRussia(again?) Anne Whitaker: SaturnsquareNeptune Pam Crane: ThinkingabouttheContrascia Sarah Cochrane: TransitsJan-Feb2017 pg. 24 Regulars 03 04 06 29 36 68 70 Editor’sletter Intheastronews Letters AdvertisingratesinJournal Astrologyeventsdiary2017 Bookshelf:ExploringtheFinancialUniverse PamCrane’sAstroCrossword TheAstrologicalJournalJan/Feb20171 The Astrological Journal Volume 59 – Number 1 January/February 2017 EditorVictorOlliver,BA,DMSAstrol,MAPAI email:[email protected] Copy editingIanTonothy Art, Design & Production Director Cat Keane www.creativekeane.com Advertising KarenBrereton [email protected] ThankstoAstrolabeInc–www.alabe.com fortheuseofSolarFiresoftware. ProducedusingScribus.Fonts:GeorgiaandPTSans. AllchartsusePlacidushousecuspsexceptwhereindicated The Astrological Association PresidentRoyGillettB.ED(HonsLdn)ACII Vice-President DrNicholasCampionBA,MA,PhD, DMSAstrol,HonDFAstrolS Chair WendyStaceyBA,MA,DipLSA Treasurer RobertAndersonFMAAT,DMSAstrol,FAPAI,JP Board of TrusteesChristineChalklin;TrudieCharles(Secretary)B.ED (HonsLdn);SueFarebrotherMA,DFAstrolS; SharonKnightMA,QHP,FAPAI;DrFrancesClynes,B.Sc.M.Sc.MA, PhD,DFAstrolS MembershipKarenBrereton The Astrological Association BCM 450, London WC1N 3XX Tel: +44 (0)20 8625 0098 email:[email protected] www.astrologicalassociation.com Registered Charity No: 1152804 The Association’s objectives are the advancement of education of the public by the critical study of astrology in all its branches: to encourage and draw together all students of astrology; to enlarge andintegratetheknowledgeofastrology;tocoordinateandpublish resultsasdesirable;andtogenerallyworkforitsmorewidespread understanding as an art and science. Astrology is the practice of relating heavenly bodies to lives and events on earth, and the traditionsthathavethusbeengenerated. Copyright TheAstrologicalAssociation ISSN-0144-6754 Printed by Lightning Source www.lightningsource.com The Astrological Journal publishes articles of general and specific interest to all serious astrologers. Contributions to the Journal are very welcome. Before sending any material, please see theWriters Guidelines via the Astrological Association website. The Editor’s decision in all matters is final. Copyright of signed articles and correspondenceremainswiththeauthorexceptthattheAstrological Associationretainstherighttorepublishthematerialinfull,once, withoutfurtherpermissionfromtheauthor. Contributors are at liberty to express such opinions or employ or advocate such astrological techniques as they wish for readers to consider and question. Readers are advised to seek qualified professional advice before they act upon the opinions expressed here. Publication does not imply that the author’s views are those heldbytheEditorortheAstrologicalAssociation. 2 Jan/Feb2017 TheAstrologicalJournal Editor’s letter Post-truth politics, strange times and Uranus Supposedly, we’re living in an era of ‘post-truth politics’ and populist rebellion against establishment elites. So, in this issue, what better planet to focus on than rabble-rousing Uranus, associated with rebellion, independence (or crankism), reform and sudden turns? From Maurice Fernandez’s piece on the Jupiter-Uranus cycle, to Jonathon Clark’s essay on 18th century flight at the time of the ‘discovery’ of Uranus, to Andrew Ifandis’ portrait of potty-mouthed singer-songwriter Adele (Aquarius Ascendant with Mars rising), we’re immersed in the zeitgeist of bold, weird and mould-breaking goings-on. “Much of what is significant in human life does not ‘make sense’. Do we choose our homes, food, loves, friends, partners, clothes or our jobs solely because they ‘make sense’?” Andrew Bradbery, A History of Our Emerging Consciousness The outcome of the recent US presidential election is perhaps the most spectacular example of this trend and one that sets the tone as we enter 2017. It’s worth noting that Donald Trump’s natal Uranus (conjunct Sun) is close to the US’s Mars in the 7th house in Gemini (Sibley chart). Seventy years later (and as of election day, 8 November 2016) Trump’s progressed Uranus had covered all of just three degrees or so to make exact this natal conjunction with US Mars on 22° Gemini, harnessing the culminating power of his natal Full Moon on this degree. No wonder his sense of public mission as maverick saviour of America! It just so happens that 22° Gemini is a trigger point in the history of the US presidency (see Smiljana Gavrančić pioneering work on sensitive degrees in nations’ charts on page 11). Also, by election day, Trump’s solar arc Moon was just minutes out of conjunction with US Moon (yes, in Aquarius), joining his heart and the people in a mood for iconoclastic adventure, which is one way of putting it. If only some of us had given more weight to all this pre-8 November. Smiljana’s essay is one of a number of pieces in a US election special showcasing a few successful forecasts. Alas, astrology did not acquit itself universally well on this occasion, judging by the number of calls for Hillary Clinton, a fact addressed by Roy Gillett on page 8. Are we as astrologers too eager to go public with our forecasts in mundane astrology, creating hostages to fortune? And if we are correct in our prediction, do we not encourage a public expectation of prophet-like infallibility that’s bound to disappoint eventually? These are questions at least worth asking as some of us scuttle back to our horoscopes to probe where events went wrong. The 13th sign and more weirdness Against much competition, oddest tale of all in this issue is that told by Kim Farnell. I had no idea that the satirical sci-fi writer John Sladek had created a 13th-sign hoax in 1977 with his book Arachne Rising: The Thirteenth Sign of the Zodiac. His imaginary but much-believed spider sign (in a curious coincidence with the above on the US presidency) encompassed 22° Gemini near its termination. I am sure this cannot be significant at all, but I leave it hanging here to meditate upon. Cover: Cat Keane It cannot be any wonder, then – given the demand for space – that Part 2 of Wade Caves’ collection of memoirs from leading astrologers (on what first drew them to the horoscope) has had to be held over to the March-April 2017 issue. Sorry, Wade! Blame Uranus. Join us on Facebook www.facebook.com/AstrologicalJournal Follow us on Twitter www.twitter.com/AstroJourn Victor Olliver Editor TheAstrologicalJournalJan/Feb20173 In the astro news Latest astrology stories culled from the media and other sources. If you spot an item, email us the link or a write-up: [email protected] Sir Jimmy ‘saved’ by astrologer Sir Jimmy Young was saved from suicide by astrologer Katina Theodossiou after his singing career faded, the Daily Mail reported on 7 November 2016 following the BBC radio star’s passing at the age of 95. Young recounted years ago: “I told her I’m really low and considering suicide. She said there is absolutely no way with your chart you can commit suicide. In actual fact you’re going to be around so long they’re going to have to take you off the field and shoot you”. Ever after, Young credited her with saving his career. She forecast correctly “that my future lay in interviewing people, not singing”. Astrology debunkers are ‘debunked’ Back in 2003, Goeffrey Dean and Ivan W. Kelly published their controversial research paper, ‘Is Astrology Relevant to Consciousness and Psi?’ which appeared to undermine astrology. Nearly fourteen years later, Ken McRitchie has comprehensively refuted their work in his essay, ‘Clearing the Logjam in Astrological Research’, recently published in the magazine which first ran Dean and Kelly’s paper, the highly respected and peer reviewed Journal of Consciousness Studies [Volume 23, No. 9-10 (2016)]. McRitchie says: “With this article it can no longer be safely argued that astrology is a pseudoscience or that there is any definable demarcation between science and astrology. There is no reliable scientific evidence against astrology. In fact there is promising evidence in support of astrology. “In the coming days and months it will be interesting to see how the media and secondary sources respond to [my] article. I expect some scurrying to find any scrap of evidence and any expert voice to attempt to prop up the [case] against astrology. It will be crucial to quickly refute them with the peer reviewed arguments made in the JCS commentary. I am especially curious to see how the Wikipedia articles on astrology will be impacted. Will Wikipedia change the rules again or will it finally turn a corner?” WSJ publishes astrologer’s response The Wall Street Journal has published astrologer-researcher Peter Marko’s response [30 Oct 2016: ‘It’s Lunacy for Physicians to Comment on Moon’s Role]] to a feature in the newspaper which scorned the idea of the Full Moon’s effect 4Jan/Feb2017 TheAstrologicalJournal on hospital admissions. Marko wrote: “Whether the Full Moon has a direct impact on hospital admissions has been hotly debated by scholars, medical professionals, research astrologers, astronomers and sceptics for many decades (‘Doctors Really Do Believe in the Bad Moon Rising,’ page one, Oct. 18). “Readers of this article could infer that the case is settled, but scholarly research on the lunar effect is divided. Without relevant training and experience, professionals in other disciplines cannot be experts in astrology, regardless of their standing. Just as fund managers aren’t consulted on the building architecture of stock exchanges, doctors and astronomers aren’t the source of wisdom on astrology.” David Bowie clarification: Tim Burness writes: “At the end of my essay ‘Life on Mars - the Astrology of David Bowie’ [Nov-Dec 2016], I referred to the conjunction of Venus and Saturn with Bowie’s Sagittarian South Node, just before he died. This observation was based on a chart using True Nodes, rather than the Mean Nodes that were featured in the accompanying Solar Fire chart graphic”. Leonard Cohen (21 September 1934 – 7 November 2016) A personal appreciation John Etherington I first became aware of Leonard Cohen in December 1968, when I bought the CBS Records sampler, ‘The Rock Machine Turns You On’. This compilation included Leonard’s song ‘Sisters of Mercy’ which touched my soul on a deep level, and led me to purchase his first two albums. On these, I found songs such as ‘Suzanne’ and ‘So Long Marianne’ which fused the themes of sexual and spiritual longing that are central to his writing. In Leonard’s birth chart, this is symbolised by the close conjunction of Venus and Neptune (an aspect that also signifies his musical genius). Nonetheless, he started to incorporate a droll humour into some of his songs that previously had only been present in his written works (he has a wide conjunction between Mercury and Jupiter). Throughout the Seventies, Leonard developed an increasing excellence as a live performer, and toured extensively. I attended all of his London concerts in that decade, and also saw him play at the Isle of Wight Festival. On one occasion, I slept outside the Royal Albert Hall to be certain of securing best seats. I finally got to meet Leonard on my 25th birthday, when he was playing at the New Victoria Theatre. He gave me an intense and focused look that seemed to penetrate my very soul, while shaking my hand slowly and firmly. He then signed my For his songs, Leonard drew on images from both Judaism and Christianity. He was seventeen years older than me, and clearly a man of experience. His voice generated calmness, authority and truth. At the time, my progressed Moon and transiting Saturn were close to my Descendant; initiating a relationship with Leonard’s music that has lasted for 48 years. The solemn and serious nature of his early work can be attributed to the trine between his chart ruler Mercury and his natal Saturn. It therefore tends to resonate most with those of a reflective and introspective nature. You can always tell that someone doesn’t understand Leonard if they say that they think his songs are depressing! Having become a ‘devotee’ of Leonard, I began to explore his other artistic endeavours. I bought his book Selected Poems which developed my appreciation of his skilful use of language (he has a mutual reception between his natal Mercury in Libra and Venus in Virgo). I also read his novel Beautiful Losers, published in 1966; an iconoclastic and controversial piece of writing that erupted from the heart of the Uranus-Pluto conjunction. Leonard himself has natal Sun in sextile to Pluto, and the darker elements of his creative output found expression in his album ‘Songs of Love and Hate’ (1971) as well as his book The Energy of Slaves (1972). These works emerged from a period when transiting Pluto had been conjoining his natal Sun in Virgo. Suffering from depression, Leonard sought release through women, drugs, and alcohol (natal Moon in Pisces). TheAstrologicalJournalJan/Feb20175 Cohen/Letters programme in the meticulous way that one might expect from someone who has his natal Sun and Ascendant in Virgo. Our meeting occurred when transiting Uranus was approaching my Ascendant, and it heralded a personal awakening for me which through an indirect route led to my studying astrology. The release of Leonard’s albums seemed to coincide with key moments in my life; and changes in relationships. I formed significant friendships through mutual appreciation of Leonard’s music, and later met ladies who knew him personally. His work in the mid-Seventies was more uneven, but by 1979 he had found his direction again and released the masterful ‘Recent Songs’. This was followed in 1985 by the spiritually motivated ‘Various Positions’ which included ‘Hallelujah’ (both albums were largely overlooked at the time). In 1988, after a period of soul-searching, Leonard re-invented himself with one of his finest albums ‘I’m Your Man’ which had a fuller and more contemporary sound. This was followed by the similarly excellent (and prophetic) album ‘The Future’. Each of these albums was marked by a major tour. Letters In the mid-Nineties Leonard retreated to Mount Baldy near Los Angeles, to spend time with his ageing friend, and Zen master, Roshi. Here, he was ordained as a Buddhist monk. During his time there, I corresponded with him regarding an astrological article that I was writing about him for the CPA’s Apollon journal. He told me that he believed he was born in the early morning, and I calculated a rectified chart. Leaving the monastery, Leonard revived his musical career in the first decade of the new millennium. However he then discovered that most of his savings had been stolen by his manager, and out of necessity, had to find a way of replenishing his finances. First, he sold copies of his art-work, which led to my having a proper meeting with him at an exhibition in Manchester. He then undertook several years of touring, in which he acquired a whole new audience, and gained his deserved recognition as one of the great artists of our time. He released three more studio albums in the last few years, namely ‘Old Ideas’, ‘Popular Problems’ and ‘You Want it Darker’. These dealt with the themes of redemption, ageing and death. After contracting cancer, he sadly died on 7 November 2016. This short piece precedes a full article on Leonard Cohen which I will be writing for a future issue of the Astrological Journal. Comments are very welcome and brevity is appreciated: [email protected] More music of the Zodiac The articles about Debbie Wiseman’s composition ‘The Musical Zodiac’ [November/ December 2016 issue] reminded me that our erstwhile member Geoff Dale of Poole in Dorset, whodiedon29August2011[See Journal November/December 2011] wrote a series of piano pieces in 2005 based on the Zodiacsigns.ThesehadillustrationsbyLorettaProctorandGeoff waskindenoughtosendmeacopyoftheseinSeptember2005. US election: asking the right question ThecomposerConstantLambert[23August1905to21August 1951] wrote music in 1937 to a ballet called ‘Horoscope’ created by Frederick Ashton which is a tale of star-crossed lovers born in the disjoint signs of Leo and Virgo who are reconciledbythembothhavingtheMoon inthesignofGemini.Ithasthefollowing movements: Palindromic Prelude; Dance for the Followers of Leo; Saraband for the Followers of Virgo; Man’s Variation; Woman’s Variation; BacchanalefortheFollowersofLeo;ValsefortheGemini;Pas deDeux;InvocationtotheMoonandFinale. HowmanyoftheastrologerswhopickedHillaryClintontowin wouldhavevotedforherandwerethusinfluenced?Andthesame question to the astrologers who picked Donald Trump: would they have voted for him? But perhaps it is a matter of asking onequestion:“WhowillbethenextPresident?”Andanswering: “Whowillgetthemostvotes?”HillaryClinton:64,156,255votes and Donald Trump: 62,238,425. Or asking, “Who will get the most electoral college votes and thus be President?” Donald Trump 290 and Hillary Clinton 232. I would think that on the electionevening,astheresultscouldbeseen,animmensewave ofdisappointmentshouldbevisibleinHillary’scharts,awave thatisresonatingwithhertodayandgoingforwards. Thomas E. Rookes Tony Waterfall 6Jan/Feb2017 TheAstrologicalJournal TheAstrologicalJournalJan/Feb20177 US election 2016 Lessons for mundane astrology Roy Gillett Despite the billions spent on meteorology, we only expect forecasters to tell us if it will rain tomorrow. Whether we will get wet is up to us. Even a psychologist could not say with certainty that we will go out and risk pneumonia. This is because life can be lived on three main levels of consciousness, which have vastly different consequences: • Mindlessly – experiencing or falling into whatever comes along • Manipulatively – battling to survive and dominate in an unfriendly competitive world. • Mindfully – seeking deep understandings for the benefit of everyone. Using astrology to predict final outcomes is subject to the same above variables. Astrologers knew years ahead that Saturn in Sagittarius would square Neptune and Chiron in Pisces 201516, and then Jupiter in Libra would oppose Uranus in Aries. So, they forecast a period of religious and social confusion, frustration, resentment, brutality, a sense of victimisation, scapegoating, exasperation and thoughtless risk-taking. Nearer the time, the specific issues and personalities became clearer. Mechanical prediction of the level at which people would react was never reliable. What exactly is a successful or beneficial outcome? When it comes to general elections, a good outcome can often be for the worst and a bad one for the better. In the UK 1987 General Election1, Margaret Thatcher won an overwhelming victory. However, the closing of the polls’ chart had transiting Saturn, Moon and Uranus trined her natal Neptune and Moon near Regulus. Due to her hubris, she was ousted by hidden enemies thirty months later. Hillary Clinton on 9 November 2016 [See Clinton triwheel: Hillary Clinton when Donald Trump passed 270 delegates] Hillary Clinton may well be having the opposite experience. On the polling day of the 2016 US Presidential Election, transiting Saturn applied to conjoin her progressed Jupiter. Surely this represented the heavy responsibilities she was about to undertake! At 08:04 EST on 9 November that 270-delegate threshold was passed, just as Mercury was within 32 minutes of arc from an exact conjunction to her progress MC near her natal Ascendant. How could the news be bad? The Sun had just transited her natal Venus and transiting Jupiter [about 8Jan/Feb2017 TheAstrologicalJournal Hillary Clinton Natal Chart Oct 26 1947, Sun 8:00 am CST +6:00 Chicago, Il Middle Wheel Hillary Clinton Event of 9 Nov 2016 Sec.Prog. SA in Long Nov 9 2016, Wed 8:04 am EST +5:00 Washington, DC Outer Wheel Hillary Clinton Transits Chart Nov 9 2016, Wed 8:04 am EST +5:00 Washington, DC to conjoin progressed Moon] in Libra had just trined her progressed Venus in Aquarius. Maybe the outcome was not bad. Bear in mind this natal Venus was is in her 12th house. Consider the hatred Donald Trump had whipped up against her and possible continuing gridlock with Congress. Massive economic upheaval lies ahead for the World, with the ongoing Capricorn stellium and triple conjunction in 2018-20 and the 2022 US Pluto return. Could losing the election be the kindest and happiest thing for her and the Democrats? Beware of what you wish for In May 2015, David Cameron won a surprise General Election victory. In July 2015’s Working with the Planets2, I wrote the following. We know what happened! Lessons for mundane astrology “Pluto retrogrades back behind the square to his 1sthouse Sun and only completes in January 2016. Saturn retrogrades to Scorpio near a square to his Mars in Leo, and then returns to conjoin his progressed Sun and Venus until August 2016. It will not be easy for him, or for us who have chosen him as our leader. Then, after a desperate internal struggle, Jupiter crosses his Ascendant, while Saturn applies to t-square his natal Saturn in Pisces and Pluto-Uranus and progressed Mars in Virgo, while transiting Pluto squares his Sun through the 2017 deadline year. Will the budget be balanced, as promised? Will the UK’s relationship with Europe be decided? Will Scotland still be with us? To carry a unified nation with him through such times ahead would be a true sign of greatness. We shall see if he has the compassionate flexibility to find and follow the way.” At that key triumphant moment for Donald Trump, transiting Moon was exactly trine to his natal Mercury, but it was applying to conjoin Neptune. Will the people get what they voted for? With Jupiter transiting his progressed chart’s 2nd-house stellium in Libra, applying to trine his natal Sun, North Node and Uranus in the 10th house, it was easy for him to speak words of change and to be heard. Delivering all those contradictory promises may be a very different matter. Throughout his Presidency, Pluto in Capricorn continues to square the Libra stellium, being joined by Saturn and then Jupiter just as the 2020 election extravaganza gets underway. Unlike the business world, bankruptcy for a country is not such an easy start-again option. What other answers does he have? Lessons for astrological prediction All of which demonstrates to us in a very public way that mundane astrology can and should be used to describe and grasp underlying circumstances; to guide and enhance strategy. Whatever the motivation, attempts to make simplistic exact predictions are in the end destined to fail. Whether we take this on with the highest idealism or the sad need of selfpromotion, the outcome will be counter-productive. Those with the best of reasons, seeking to prove astrology by getting predictions right, do no more than narrow it into a straightjacket to predict again and again. Gauquelin found that sceptics will go to any lengths to misrepresent astrology and ‘prove’ it wrong. Individual astrologers seeking fame and fortune risk being overwhelmed by selfish clients, pursuing cheap advantage over others. Always (just one bad prediction away from disaster) we trap ourselves in ever-greater intricate investigations to explain why it did not work this time. Inner Wheel Donald Trump Jun 14 1946, Fri 10:54 am EDT +4:00 Queens, New York Middle Wheel Donald Trump Event of 9 Nov 2016 Sec.Prog. SA in Long Nov 9 2016, Wed 8:04 am EST +5:00 Washington, DC Outer Wheel Donald Trump Transits Chart Nov 9 2016, Wed 8:04 am EST +5:00 Washington, DC Donald Trump [See Trump triwheel for Nov 9 2016: when he passed 270 delegates] Far better to rest in the helpful certainty of the general picture. Guide, but always allow choice. See clients and events as working with the energy; not subject to what will happen, like butterflies pinned on a display tray. The great traditional and classical systems, often used as tools of prediction, are at their most valuable when we combine rulerships, dispositors and auspicious and inauspicious placings to create planetary pictures of multi-level meaning. In the foreword to Christian Astrology William Lilly insists: “…be thou humble, and let no natural knowledge, how profound and transcendent soever it be, elate thy mind to neglect that divine Providence…” Astrology offers a wonderfully profound tapestry to enrich and strengthen our paths through life and enable the very best decisions; as when Joan Quigley advised Ronald Reagan on the timing of peace negotiations. It stands tall when great mundane astrologers, such as André Barbault, Alexander TheAstrologicalJournalJan/Feb20179 Lessons for mundane astrology Ruperti and Richard Tarnas, trace and describe the vast framework of World affairs. See the temptation to predict as a minor by-product, a distraction from the great work of understanding the cosmos and making the most of all experience within it. Lessons for the World’s future After the Uranus-Pluto squares earlier in the decade, this year’s Saturn-Neptune square has sired increasing disenchantment with the powers-that-be. Everywhere, rightful protest at unfairness and injustice cry out for and a radical change. Today’s populist movements in the so-called ‘Advanced World’ stir anger against the Establishment. Because they seek to use fear and hate to marginalise and create borders to sustain personal advantage, these populist policies will only make matters worse. There is something wrong with our global system, but what people voted for in the UK and US in 2016 will not answer it. The solution is more fundamental than seeking to blame and protect ourselves from someone else. The real problem is a systemic failure in the World economy and its self-confirming inter-connected economic, legal, educational, media and political power systems. It is intrinsically inefficient to base our dealings with each other upon ruthless competition, 10Jan/Feb2017 TheAstrologicalJournal determined by constant growth in consumption, driven by greed, ignorance and hatred3. Pluto in Capricorn demands a far more efficient solution than this. Perhaps we will find it after suffering and learning from the consequences of following false prophets. Knowing the deep meanings of the astro-events of our times will help us through. It could reveal how to open, not close doors and enable everyone to work together? (Endnotes) 1Pollsclosed22:00BST11 June1987,London,UK 2 The Astrological Journal Vol57,No4:[Pub.TheAstrological AssociationJuly2015] 3Mynewbook,Reversing the Race to Global Destruction exploresthisinsomedepth,seekingkinderandmoresocially cohesivesolutions.Itwillbepublishedinearly2017[www. crucialastrotools.co.uk] In the following pages on the recent US election, we showcase a few astrological forecasts published before the outcome was known. US election 2016 Smiljana Gavrančić associates the winning of the US Presidency with 22° Gemini. This led her to make a forecast on 7 September 2015 that the Republicans were likely to win the US 2016 election. She explains her pioneering approach Important degrees for the White House in US history I started my research by looking at the date of the first laying of the cornerstone of the White House. This was on 13 October 1792 at the behest of George Washington, US first President. But he never actually lived in the mansion. The first President to do so was Washington’s successor, John Adams, who took residence in 1800. George Washington’s secondary progressions for the completion of the White House (1 November 1800) can be still used today because this moment speaks about the destiny of his country, even posthumously. Progressed Venus, the ruler of Washington’s Ascendant, is at 21° Gemini 35’, conjoining Mars (21° Gemini 18’) in the USA horoscope. Mars is ruler of the US horoscope in my reckoning: I use the 8° Scorpio Ascendant chart* because it fits the symbolism appropriate to the US, i.e. a nation created out of war, namely the American War of Independence. [See US chart] D. Roosevelt moved the Oval Office (the official office of the President) into the West Wing. Roosevelt became President on 4 March 1933 - his natal MC is at 22° Gemini 08’. Donald Trump in the USA horoscope The midpoint of Jupiter-Uranus in the US chart is at 22° Gemini 25’. Uranus (gambling, casino) is placed in the 8th house (money), ruling the 4th house (opposition candidate), while Jupiter rules the 2nd house (financial system). In Uranus at 8° Gemini we find the ‘symbol’ for Donald Trump who built his empire in casinos and real estates. It’s interesting that Trump has a pre-natal, Solar Eclipse at 8° Gemini 49’ (Aldebaran – ‘Keeper of East’ – Russia). Trump’s Sun is at 22° Gemini conjunct North Node, i.e. he was born on the day of a Lunar Eclipse at 23° Sagittarius 05’. His Ascendant at 29° Leo 58’ on Regulus is a marker of likely success. Solar arc Sun (29° Leo 07’) was crossing his Ascendant at his nomination, and at 0° Virgo 15’ on 8 November 2016. On 1 September 2016, the Solar Eclipse at 9° Virgo 21’ activated Uranus (our Trump ‘symbol’) by square from 8° Gemini 55’ in the US chart. Left: Republican Party USA, 7 July 1854, 12:00 LMT, Jackson, Michigan US chart, 4 July 1776 14:21 LMT, Philadelphia, PA When John Adams became second US President on 4 March 1797, his solar arc Moon was at 22° Gemini 25’ conjunct MC at 23° Gemini 00’. Republican Theodore Roosevelt’s presidency started on 14 September 1901 as his secondary IC-MC axis lay across 22° Gemini 39’/22° Sagittarius 39’ in the US chart. The modern White House was ‘born’ in 1934 when Franklin Right: Republican Party, 16 Dec 1854, 1:52:31, Jackson, Michigan, LMT, Time Zone: 0 Hours West If we take a look now at the horoscope of the Republican Party [natal and directions charts shown], we find that on the day of the elections, solar arc axis IC-MC lay across 22° Gemini 50’/22° Sagittarius 50’, which enhanced the party’s chances of winning. Note also that the party’s solar arc Sun during the elections was at 23° Gemini 50’, in conjunction with the post-natal Lunar Eclipse of Trump: this puts a great accent on him in the Republican Party. TheAstrologicalJournalJan/Feb201711 US election 2016 8 November 2016 In the chart for the moment that election poll sites open (in this case, 8 November 2016, 06:00 am, Washington D.C. - see chart) the 10th house always represents the ruling candidate – namely, the Democrats; while the 4th house represents the Republican candidate. In this chart, with MC at 13° Leo 34’, the Sun rules this point. Sun transits Scorpio, and Mars (the Sun’s dispositor) transits at 29° Capricorn – the last or anaretic degree, an indicator of the end! As we don’t have Hillary’s correct birth date, I used her husband Bill Clinton’s chart, on the basis that there would be a powerful indication in his horoscope if his wife was destined to be President. I found his solar arc Moon at 29° Cancer (the end) opposed by tr Mars at 29° Capricorn. Not a happy chart for a Hillary victory. Worth noting as an aside, when Bill was first elected President in November 1992, his tertiary Venus (ruler of his Libra rising) was at 22° Gemini (the degree I associate with presidential entry into the White House). Also, nothing in the Democratic Party chart was at 22° Gemini at the time of the recent US elections. Another example: Jacqueline Kennedy had natal Venus (ruler of her 7th house = husband) at 21° Gemini 46’ (almost 22° Gemini). During the November 1960 presidential election, her secondary Moon was crossing over 21°-22° Gemini! In the latest election start-of-polls chart, the 4th house (representing the Republicans) had Aquarius on the cusp. Saturn is therefore primary ruler which is in Sagittarius, and through the dispositor, Jupiter in Libra, it goes into the sign of its exaltation. All this told me that the Republicans were more likely to win. Around 22° Gemini are the stars from the Orion constellation. Here we have the picture of a very big, tall man, with broad shoulders, and emphasised hair (remember the mythological Orion), with big feet and specific gait, and who has problems and affairs with women. Isn’t this the indication of Donald Trump?! November 2020 sees the next presidential election. Then, the secondary Moon of the USA will be at 29° Capricorn, preparing to ingress Aquarius. Perhaps this hints at a woman who will bring something new to the whole world! Remember, on 21 December 2020, there will be the great Jupiter/Saturn conjunction at 0° Aquarius! PS: It’s said, “If he/she gets Florida and Ohio, he/she wins”. I found that Florida’s secondary progressed Sun during the US elections was at 29° Leo, and Trump has Ascendant at 29° Leo. Also, that Ohio’s progressed MC was at 29° Leo. He won Ohio and Florida, the most important swing states. 12Jan/Feb2017 TheAstrologicalJournal 8 Nov 2016, 6:00, Washington DC, Tome Zone: 5 Hours West *The US Scorpio rising natal chart (and charts for Ohio and Florida) taken from Marc H. Penfield’s Horoscopes of the USA and Canada. Smiljana Gavrančić is an ISAR C.A.P. professional astrologer and editor of Infinity Astrological Magazine. Her website: http:// astrologsmiljanagavrancic.blogspot.com. US election 2016 Sharon Knight and Steven Birchfield made this forecast on 29 September 2016, applying traditional techniques to reveal a likely victory to the ‘Challenger’ There is no definitive birth time for the US Republican and Democratic parties. So what could be used to call this election? A traditional mundane method was always to look at the Aries Ingress. If a fixed sign rose, that chart stood for the year. If a mutable sign, the chart was cast for both Aries and Libra Ingresses, and if a Cardinal sign rose, then each quarter a new chart was cast. The Aries Ingress Washington chart for 2016 had Sagittarius Rising. The Lord of the Ascendant, Jupiter, is also in a mutable sign together with the mutable Ascendant, emphasising the need to look at the Libra Ingress. The Libra Ingress chart has Scorpio rising and is valid for the period that includes election and the presidential inauguration on 20 January 2017. Due to the time changes across America, the first area to open its polls was the New Hampshire village of Dixville Notch at 00.00 on 8 November 2016. There are two ways we could look at this chart for Incumbent and Challenger: one way is to take the 1st for the current ruler and the 7th for the Challenger, or the 10th for current King and 4th for Challenger or opposition. We will look at both ways, although the actual significators using whole house signs doesn’t change. Taking Mercury to represent the incumbent party; Mercury has no rulership in 23° Scorpio and cannot see the 10th sign of Gemini from the 3rd sign, which simply means it is blind and cannot effectively manage the affairs of the house Gemini represents. We find Mercury just on the edge of Sunbeams, moving out of the harmful rays. As Mercury leaves the rays of the Sun he applies to his ruler Mars, wanting to give his authority and management of 10th house affairs to Mars which is in its exaltation. However before Mercury can exit from the rays of the Sun, the application is frustrated as Mars leaves Capricorn into Aquarius. This does not bode well for the incumbent party. Jupiter, representing the challenger or opposition party, has authority as participating triplicity ruler in Libra. Jupiter is applying to Saturn giving his power and authority to Saturn to manage Jupiter’s affairs [this is called the committing of his disposition], which Saturn accepts because Jupiter is in the sign of Saturn’s exaltation [reception]. Also, Saturn has authority in Sagittarius as participating triplicity ruler of Fire. Saturn in the 4th is angular and has the strength to carry out the business of Jupiter. Jupiter is operating out of the turned 11th house from the 4th. This is the house of Good Daemon, and Jupiter is said to rejoice in the 11th. Saturn is also indicator of Jupiter’s ‘Seconds’ or helpers. Saturn is bang in the middle of Jupiter’s sign, giving his aid and assistance to Jupiter. The Moon, as indicator of the incumbent’s Seconds, is tucked away in the 6th of sickness and labour. She can’t see her house and is in the sign of Saturn. Her next application is to Mercury, indicator of the current ruler. She perfects this aspect with a square, showing some difficulty. If we take the Moon to represent the people, it shows they are in slavery, sick and not very effective. The Moon takes the light of Mercury to Venus by sextile. Venus in this chart disposes of Jupiter as he disposes of her. So there is some reception between these two planets. Venus cannot see Mercury to give him her aid. The women are turned away from helping the incumbent. Taking the Rising sign of Virgo for the incumbent, and the 7th for the challenger, we have the same planets as significators. All that has changed is their house positions. We shall start with the 10th/4th axis. The 11th is for the supporters of the current King [Democrats] and the 5th for the supporters of the challenger [Republicans]. The 10th is ruled by Mercury, who is under Sun’s beams; his supporters are the Moon (also the common people). The challenger is Jupiter and his supporters are Saturn. Mercury is now in a cadent sign but can see the Ascendant sign. However, his power to act is weak as he is still blinkered by the Sun who rules the 12th of enemies. The Sun is blinding him to what is going on. Jupiter, on the other hand, is in his participating triplicity rulership, oriental and strong. Jupiter can see neither Ascendant nor Descendant, but (through his TheAstrologicalJournalJan/Feb201713 US election 2016 application to Saturn in an angle) Saturn reflects Jupiter’s light to his house, Pisces (called rendering of light). In this changed situation in assigning different houses, Saturn is the means whereby Jupiter can manage the affairs of the 7th. Jupiter can also see his other house, the 10th sign from the Descendant (Sagittarius). The same comments apply to Jupiter’s relationship to Saturn as mentioned in our first scenario (10th/4th axis). If you look at this chart using house divisions, so the 10th cusp is Taurus and the 4th Scorpio, Venus is still in aversion to her sign (can’t manage). Mars can see his sign of Scorpio by sextile. The Sun (reputation, honours) is in the 4th by division. Mars, the ruler of Scorpio, is exalted in Capricorn at the time of this event! No matter how you view this chart for the opening of polls, it appears to give the victory to the opponent [Trump in effect]. Now we turn to the Libra ingress chart: Traditionally the first thing to locate was the Lord of the Year of the Ingress chart. The first consideration is to determine what planet will represent the people of the nation. “You will also look, for the rustics and their condition, from the Lord of the Year and its place,” (From the ‘Revolution of the Years of the World’ by Māshā’allāh translated by Benjamin Dykes PhD) for this choice is that in fact all the rulers including the sect luminary, the Sun, fall cadent of the Ascendant. This very accurately describes the state of the people in America going into this half of the year. ‘Chapter 12: When the Lord of the Year is cadent’ “If the Lord of the Year were cadent from the Ascendant, not aspecting the Ascendant (in the eighth, sixth, second, or twelfth sign), then he will be in need, and therefore weakness will befall him, because he fell in a place removed from the Ascendant.” (From the ‘Revolution of the Years of the World’ by Māshā’allāh translated by Benjamin Dykes PhD). Both Mars and the Moon representing the people are in aversion to the Ascendant. The people feel out of touch and powerless to act. The Martian types are in conflict and also out of touch with their national identity. For both significators there is a sense of helplessness, weakness, division, contention and fear. Note that the Moon’s application to the opposition of Mars further indicates the very obvious division of the nation. The incumbent ruling party is shown by the Sun as ruler of the 10th sign/house. (Note: the Sun would not necessarily always be the significator of the ruling party if another sign were on the MC.) Their opponents are indicated by Saturn as ruler of the 4th sign/house. To discover the successor belonging to the current ruling party, we look to the second triplicity ruler of the Sign on the 10th. This gives us Jupiter as the Nocturnal Sect Ruler of Fire. Jupiter is under Sunbeams, out of sight in the 12th sign. This suggests a weak successor who cannot be seen. To assess the condition of the opposition, we will take both the actual sign ruler (Saturn) and the diurnal triplicity ruler of Air – again Saturn. So Saturn indicates the opposing candidate. There is no other planet to consider as they (the opposition party) have put up their challenger. Neither significator of the people (Moon and Mars) applies to join either candidate, again indicating the disconnectedness and ‘hatred’ by the people for the two candidates. It appears in the history of the American elections that no two contenders for this crown have been so reviled by their countrymen. The Ascendant of the chart always represented the people of the nation as did the Moon. The Lord of the Year was found from one of the lords of the Ascendant (ruler, exalted ruler, triplicity ruler, or term ruler) or even the sect luminary. In this chart we have chosen Mars as Lord of Year since he is the lord of the Ascendant Scorpio. We do this in spite of the fact he is cadent from the Ascendant in the 2nd house. The reason 14Jan/Feb2017 TheAstrologicalJournal So how to discover the outcome? We look at the individual strength of both significators and the actions between them. As noted, Jupiter is combust, in the 12th and applies to Saturn from Saturn’s house of exaltation (Libra) and his house of joy. As we saw in the other charts we looked at, this handing over of power is a very distinct action between the two because it US election 2016 indicates Jupiter handing the management of everything she is and represents, to Saturn who receives her gift! Saturn standing alone is stronger than Jupiter, being free of sunbeams, and able to manage the affairs of his house of Aquarius. The conclusion is that Saturn [the Challenger] is the winner. Sharon Knight is Chair of the APAI and on the AA Board of Trustees: www.astrologersharon.co.uk. Steven Birchfield practises traditional astrology and is a graduate of UCLA with a BA in civil engineering. US election 2016 Tim Heyer explains why Donald Trump was the Saturn-in-Sagittarius candidate and how this played a part in his predicted victory For the astrology of government, I examine the sign of Capricorn for clues. Capricorn ruler Saturn, more than other planets, indicates the dynamics of nations and their fates. While analysis of Saturn is crucial, the symbolism of its first dispositor provides additional relevant detail. Finally, to put these planets in context, I factor in the transiting Moon, which is the traditional indicator of shifting public sentiment. Using this strategy, I identified the three main players of the 2016 United States Presidential election as Saturn, Jupiter, and Moon, and used their symbolism to predict Donald Trump’s victory. Without doubt, Trump was the Saturn-in-Sagittarius candidate. Saturn in this sign demands attention to immigration restrictions, free trade and fairness in the media. Trump dedicated himself to these issues from the beginning of his campaign. Perhaps if the Sagittarian ruler was transiting Scorpio, Clinton (who’s Sun Scorpio) could have found herself on the winning side of these issues. Unfortunately for her, however, Jupiter in Libra showed how these global problems worked against her and led to her defeat. Additionally, tr Jupiter’s difficult conjunction with Clinton’s Neptune, contrasted with its auspicious connections to Trump’s Sun (wide trine) and natal Jupiter (approaching conjunction), corroborated this conclusion. Finally, on election night, the Moon’s shift into Pisces gave additional importance to (co-ruler) Jupiter in Libra. Jupiter directly disposed of the Moon’s energy, drawing the public further from Clinton and closer to Trump, giving him the edge he needed to seal victory. Tim Heyer is a Denver-based astrologer. He can be reached at [email protected]. TheAstrologicalJournalJan/Feb201715 The Carter Memorial Lecture 2016 The Elegant Universe Christeen Skinner At Conference, we revive our love affair with astrology and share our awe of the ‘music of the spheres’. In the wake of the Uranus-Pluto square and across disciplines, mankind is downloading information that draws attention to the elegance of the universe. So are we, as astrologers, ready to ‘up our game’ and improve our understanding of the mathematics at work in the cosmos? It is a great honour to be asked to deliver the Carter Memorial Lecture. But since it is a ‘once in a lifetime’ experience, it requires careful thought before acceptance. The terms are interesting in that the lecture must be given twice: once to the Astrological Association and once to the Astrological Lodge of London. It must also be written up for The Astrological Journal. As someone who makes full use of PowerPoint, the last was always going to be a challenge! Several factors brought me to the decision to accept: firstly, that the very first Charles Carter Memorial Lecture was given on my birthday in 1970: as it happens a day I remember well. The happy events of that day are treasured memories. I noted too that on 9 September (when I would give the lecture at the AA conference) Jupiter would make Libra ingress and that the following day would mark the last quarter-phase of the Saturn-Neptune cycle. My Sun sits exactly on their midpoint. Since the cosmos seemed to be selecting me for the task, I then turned to the list of previous lectures to discover that three of the astrologers I greatly admire had given their Carter Memorial Lectures with Jupiter in Libra. The most recent was André Barbault, who was interviewed about the UranusNeptune cycle and globalisation. Mike Harding centred his lecture on the Saturn-Neptune cycle. A Jupiter cycle earlier, Jeff Mayo, whose Teach Yourself Astrology was the first book that I ever bought on the subject, gave his lecture on the future of astrology. It is interesting that we all have planets in early degrees of Libra. I focused on this to arrive at the title, ‘The Elegant Universe’. At that time of choosing the title, I was captivated by the work of Hartmut Warm – not an astrologer but a master cosmic mathematician whose work on celestial signatures and the mandalas created by the planets is exceptional. The intricate pattern formed by successive Saturn-Neptune cycles as viewed from Jupiter had me enthralled (fig 1). The elegant simplicity of this mandala and the links I sensed between those earlier talks gave me confidence to progress. I knew then that I wanted to focus on potential developments in astrology between now and the next Saturn-Neptune conjunction – in 16Jan/Feb2017 TheAstrologicalJournal Christeen Skinner at AA Conference 2026, which is at 0 Aries and to which Jupiter’s position at 0 Libra on 9 September could be considered pointing. I wish, however, that I had studied the chart for the first delivery more closely. Neptune was rising and despite the fact that several rehearsals took place beforehand, I managed to omit a whole section – a situation put right when I redelivered the lecture to the Lodge in October and inserted into this script. I gave some thought to Charles Carter himself and wondered what he would have thought both of my work and of where we are with astrology today. He was born on 31 January 1887 with a large stellium in Aquarius in which the Sun was at 11° of Aquarius exactly trine my own. He was also born with Uranus The Carter Memorial Lecture 2016 Fig. 1: Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, 8947 years Charles Carter Natal Chart Jan 31 1887 NS, Mon 11:01pm GMT +0:00, Poole, UK at 12 Libra sitting within a degree of my solar position [see Carter chart]. Perhaps one of the things he would have enjoyed hugely would be the advances made by both amateur and professional astrologers with access to computers. I have no doubt that he would have enjoyed getting rid of the tedium of hand-drawn charts and calculations and the exquisite bliss of being able to do very sharp and fast research. Linking his work to my own, I’m certain that we would have enjoyed many conversations both about mundane astrology and the various techniques that can be employed with ease thanks to fast computerised calculations. I think he would have approved too of what I wanted to achieve in this lecture. I see coming to a conference as gaining a fix. I attend many conferences during the course of the year – not all of them astrological. There are many reasons why I attend these: not always to deliver lectures. What I find is that when you are with like-minded people – your tribe – and whether or not that’s with traders, musicians or in this case astrologers, the connections – or re-connections – act as a re-boot: a ‘fix’. Hopefully, at the conclusion of conference we all have renewed enthusiasm and reignited passion. However supportive friends and relatives may be, there is nothing quite like being with those to whom you can speak and enjoy the shorthand of – in this case – astrological language. Charles Carter is likely to have agreed with me that conferences are essential. However wonderful social networking via the Internet is or can be, there is something very special about sharing physical space with those who share our love of astrology. I do wonder, though, if he would have been as exasperated as I am sometimes with the lack of annual cooperation with those from other disciplines. We have so much to offer one another. Far from being ‘repelled’ by astrology, many scientists I suspect would be intrigued by it. This thought led me to reconsider the title. It ought, perhaps, to have been ‘Our Electrical and Elegant Universe’. Kinesiologists and others recognise that we are all bundles of energy with the potential to excite and energise one another. To do this, we need to be together. So, long live conference and thank you for being here and ensuring that the collective astrological energy is re-charged. NASA and a fresh look at astrology No questions are permitted at the conclusion of the Carter Memorial Lecture, which is intended to be thought-provoking. With that in mind I want to share with you information that is altering my astrological thinking and prompting me to question certain long-held thoughts about the interaction of the planets. I would like to begin by focusing on the ‘electrical universe’ and will return to the ‘elegant universe’ later. Charles Carter would surely have delighted in the increasingly valuable information that comes from NASA and other space agencies. We are learning far, far more about our solar system, our galaxy and beyond. Yet this surely must require us to take a fresh look at astrology too. Many of you will know that I have a fascination with the sun. Its output is variable, though, as yet we do not know why this is so. Whatever your age, you haven’t lived through a sunspot cycle like the one we are experiencing today. You probably know that there is an 11.2-year sunspot cycle. In fact, this is the average. Even with all the data collected over the last couple of hundred years, scientists cannot be sure when the present cycle will end and the next begin. TheAstrologicalJournalJan/Feb201717 The Carter Memorial Lecture 2016 Mercury’s magnetic field is definitely increasing whilst the aural brightness on Venus has increased over 2500%. The ice caps on Mars are melting and there is a 200% increase in the brightness of Jupiter’s colours. Apparently there are x-rays now emanating from the centre of Saturn and increased brightness on Uranus. By the way: scientists used to describe the atmosphere on Uranus as calm. That has changed. Neptune is apparently 40% brighter than it once was; and Pluto – whether or not you want to regard it as a planet in our system – has seen a 300% increase in its atmospheric pressure. It is worth while taking a moment to reflect on the developmental changes to our respective ruling planets. Fig. 2: Dr Mike Lockwood in California: magnetic field is stronger by 230% since 1901 These cycles are numbered. We are coming to the end of cycle sunspot 24. The next cycle sunspot 25 ought to start at the end of this decade but whether or not that’s in 2019, 2020 or 2021 we don’t yet know. The point about this is that each one of these cycles is quite different from the last. In any one of these cycles you could have as many as 200 sunspots at solar maximum. This most recent cycle has barely reached 100. In fact, numbers have fallen below 50. This is what helioseismologists call a quiet cycle. It is more than a little worrying that the next cycle (25) might contain no sunspots whatsoever. This has implications for terrestrial weather and thence for crop cycles. Yet for as much as the sunspot activity is quiet, the sun’s energy is not actually diminishing. Indeed, Dr Mike Lockwood in California has been measuring its magnetic power and discovered that it is stronger by about 230% compared to the 1970s (see fig 2). It doesn’t take a huge stretch of the imagination to think that if the sun is emitting this much stronger magnetic pulse, that must affect each and every one of us. Indeed, it has to affect every cell on earth. It seems too that this increase in energy from the core of the Sun is impacting the planets. From this, I have come to the conclusion that some of our definitions (those that we associate with particular planetary line-ups) no longer work quite as they have done in the past. If it is indeed the case that the planets themselves are altered and radiating or emanating a different kind of vibration then all of that can be better understood. Our solar system is changing Consider these facts about our solar system: in the last few decades the moon has been growing an atmosphere. Apparently there is now a layer of natrium about 6000 km wide. 18Jan/Feb2017 TheAstrologicalJournal Fig 3: An area of space with high energy level: plasma now 1000% brighter I also want to talk just for a few minutes about where the solar system is and where it’s headed. Our solar system sits right at the edge of the Milky Way. Apparently not too far from this there is a glowing and growing plasma (see fig. 3). Nobody actually knows exactly what that is, but what we do know is that it’s over 1000 times brighter now than it was. Clearly our solar system is now passing through an area of space that is infinitely more energised than the one that we were passing through when the first Carter Memorial Lecture was delivered. Many of us were born before that lecture, and at least in these physical bodies, arrived when the solar system was moving through an area of space that was significantly quieter to the one experienced today. Colleagues and friends whom I’ve spoken to in the course of the last year have consistently – and without being led – come out with statements such as “there’s a very weird energy around”. They may be correct. Those born post-1989 (the most recent solar retrograde) arrived under very different space conditions. My experience so far suggests that these people are experiencing the arrangements of the planets very differently from the way in which earlier generations have done. From my perspective, this group is set up to cope with a completely different voltage – which is confusing and, at times perhaps even repellent, to some older astrologers. In recent times social, economic and political developments across the world have been put down to the Uranus-Pluto The Carter Memorial Lecture 2016 square – which must surely play its part. It may be that the position of these two planets relative to the sun, and how the sun is impacting on their relationship, is key to the apparently high-voltage energy apparently at work. I think though that conditions in the space through which our system is travelling should also be considered. If you leave with nothing else from today’s lecture then please do research solar activity at your birth. If you were born on a day of low sunspot activity, then perhaps you can cope better with the diminishing sunspots of the present, but if you were born during a period of high activity then you could experience the coming years as more challenging. I know this is all away from the planets and our usual horoscope. But I do think it’s something that we could discuss further and certainly perhaps even get astrophysicists in to discuss this with us. Certainly I am sure that dialogue with those from other disciplines is long overdue. I am confident that we have as much to offer today’s molecular biologists as they do us. If Charles Carter were alive today, he would advocate the same. Certainly his chart suggests a scientific and enquiring mind. The elegant universe The universe may well be super-charged, yet it is also a place of great elegance. The mathematical relationship of the cycles of the planets – and the sun and moon – results in the exquisite precision we can appreciate when looking at the planetary mandalas created by Hartmut Warm. In Mike Harding’s superb work Hymns to Ancient Gods he devotes a chapter to the Saturn-Neptune cycle. Within this he refers to the building of cathedrals whose construction coincided with key phases in this cycle. The architectural elegance of these amazing structures might be described as offering a “frozen music of the spheres”. The geometry of these structures is mesmerising and fantastic and sometimes – as with Chartres Cathedral – pays obvious homage to the cycles of the planets. Long before these structures came into being there must have been an idea: a seed of thought that was eventually celebrated by their consecration. The grandiosity of these designs leads me to wonder if a transiting Jupiter – perhaps at the midpoint of Saturn and Neptune – might have been involved. I wondered next what idea might be planted now – with Jupiter at zero degrees of a cardinal sign, drawing attention to these important degrees and perhaps signalling the SaturnNeptune conjunction of 2026 at 0 Aries (see chart). Between now and then, and at the December solstice in 2020, Jupiter and Saturn align at 0 Aquarius – arguably the sign associated with astrology. Transits Feb 20 2026 Natal Chart Feb 20 2026, Fri 4:52.22pm UT +0:00 London, United Kingdom Where will our astrology be by 2026? Is it possible that, as Charles Carter might have done, we shall have crossed an astrological frontier? Will our interpretations take into account the condition of the solar system and physical changes to our planets? Shall we still be using the same keywords? Will our charts show the condition of the Sun at birth? Is it possible that we might also leave behind the two-dimensional charts with which we are so familiar but which surely, in this high-tech age could be replaced by something offering greater perspective? For example, if you want to purchase a house, you no longer look at just photographs or floor plans. The internet allows a virtual reality: at the very least a 3D version and the ability to walk through the structure at your own pace guiding a video camera as you do. Perhaps we ought to be asking our astroprogrammers to develop something similar? We could then see at a glance whether a planet is truly rising, or owing to declination, is actually nowhere near another planet or angle. We could also experience the relationship of the so-called ‘fixed’ stars with the planets. Is it possible that by 2026 we shall be able to wear glasses that allow us to experience charts quite differently and that might permit us to experience the cosmos as it really was at that special moment: not just revealing the position of the planets but the energy of that part of space through which the solar system was then travelling? Those who know me will know that I am not a fan of Jupiter TheAstrologicalJournalJan/Feb201719 The Carter Memorial Lecture 2016 correlating the various phases of each with recorded history. He reminds us that each cycle has a geometric connection to every other cycle and that the whole is hugely complex yet fantastically organised. The inter-connectedness of these various cycles is shown in the example of the view from Jupiter of sequenced Saturn-Neptune conjunctions. In fact, each of the patterns shown in Hartmut’s book is reminiscent of a crystal. My father – not an astrologer himself, but hugely respectful of those who held the view that there was a link between the stars, planets and human behaviour – held a belief system that ‘we are all one’ but that like radios, we each tune into different frequencies. Christeen Natal Chart 5 Oct 1951, Fri 19:20 BST -1:00, Edinburgh, UK transits. Like the genial host who keeps filling our glass oblivious to rising levels of intoxication, Jupiter offers so much – but not always coherently. At the conference in Wyboston I showed an image of air traffic controllers with hands in the air as two planes looked close to collision from just beyond their window. Closer inspection reveals that on their radar screens is a live baseball match and that they were presumably cheering the score – oblivious to the potential devastation in the skies just beyond. I hope that with Jupiter nearing my Libra stellium (see Christeen’s chart) I am not guilty of diverting energy. Rather, I hope that I may have enthused you to consider the developments that we might make and the ‘astrological cathedral’ that could be celebrated in 2026. In short, I would like to see us ‘up our game’ by improving our understanding of the mathematics at work in the universe. Lastly I would like to refer back to the wonderful work of Hartmut Warm and his book, Signature of the Celestial Signatures: Discovering Order in the Solar System and companion program that can be found at www. www. keplerstern.com. (There are also some superb YouTube videos of his work.) Hartmut explores the rhythms of gravitational interaction and enchants with the quite exquisite and kinetic geometric shapes created by the planets as they orbit the Sun. It is, of course, not uncommon for astrologers to research these same cycles – usually over a period of a few hundred years and 20Jan/Feb2017 TheAstrologicalJournal I don’t find it difficult to imagine each piece of cosmic geometry as a crystal carrying a frequency that resonates with some more than others. Just as my brother and I learnt to tune our first transistor radios, I think it possible for us to tune into these frequencies provided that we know what to listen for. If this is the case, then my hope is that from the present Jupiter Libra ingress, through to the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction at 0 Aquarius, and on to the Saturn-Neptune conjunction of 0 Aries, that we (who share the thought that “as above, so below”) will tune into this resonance and that by February 2026 (by which time Pluto will have made Aquarius ingress) we transform and improve the quality of our work. At this conference [in 2016], I hope we can celebrate our Electrical and Elegant Universe. With thanks Christeen Skinner, October 2016. Christeen Skinner is the author of The Financial Universe (published 2004 and updated in 2009) in which she forecast the banking crisis, and the recently published Exploring the Financial Universe: The Role of the Sun and Planets in the World of Finance. She taught at the Faculty of Astrological Studies for a half-nodal cycle, was Chair of the Astrological Association, is a trustee of the Urania Trust and is on the board of the Alexandria i-Base Project.She is Director of Cityscopes London, a future-casting service with clients from across the world. Website: www.financialuniverse.co.uk. TheAstrologicalJournalJan/Feb201721 Data News by Frank C. Clifford Dolly – and the folly of dogmatism over birth times www.flareuk.com “There’s no way Prince Philip has a Capricorn Ascendant. He’s has to have Leo Rising because he looks just like my Leo father!” I remember hearing an astrologer tell me this many years ago when we discussed the two conflicting birth times for the Duke of Edinburgh. Intuition, technical skill and observations built up over years of study all help us become the astrologers (and chart rectifiers) we are. But there are seemingly endless placement possibilities and combinations in a horoscope – far more than we have discrete descriptions for – and it can be difficult to differentiate between chart factors as well as specific character traits (or physical attributes). Princess Diana’s chart is one that astrologers continue to argue about. Some have rejected the Sagittarius Rising birth time (7:45 p.m.) because Diana appeared so Libran. But does the Libra side stem from her Libra rising (2 p.m.) or would the Sun in the 7th house (7:45 p.m.) suffice? The recent Hillary Clinton data debacle (care of Lois Rodden’s bête noire Marc Penfield) most likely has its roots in rectification and presumption – Clinton’s chart was probably adjusted to fit an astrologer’s perception of her. Some years ago another astrologer said to me, “There’s no way that Hillary’s a 12th-house Sun”. But so many people on the world stage are! And when I mentioned the plethora of world leaders who had Sun in the 12th house to a rather blinkered traditional astrologer, her reply was “Wrong birth time” to each and every one I reeled off. Apparently Lilly wrote that such a placement would be impossible (a quote I also doubt). “He’s a Leo but he’s shy and withdrawn.” What do we know astrologically about these characteristics? Are they automatically non-Leo traits? When faced with a shy, withdrawn Leo, would we attempt to place the Sun in the 12th, or perhaps assign a shy sign on the Ascendant? Would we prefer to blame it on his Mercury, or would we explain it some other way in his chart? Or could it be attributed to early environmental or sociological factors or 101 other things that shape how we express our charts? I think it’s important to remember that someone’s traits, qualities and life events can be seen/explained away in a horoscope in a multitude of ways. Our vocabulary can often feel limited when we’re faced with a limitless planetary lexicon. I’m fond of saying that every chart teaches us something new. We do our best job when observing how it works in a client’s (or public figure’s) life rather than making too many presumptions from the outset. This brings me to the birth data of Dolly Parton. When I published it many years ago, it caught the attention of some students on a data forum on Astrodienst at astro.com. Dolly had given her birth time as 3 a.m. in an interview published in the Sunday Times in June 2001. She apparently told Marc 22 Jan/Feb2017 TheAstrologicalJournal Dolly Parton Jan 19 1946, Sat 8:25 pm CST +6:00 Sevierville, Tennessee Penfield a few months later that her father remembered 3 a.m. – but as Dolly was the fourth child of twelve born to Robert Lee Parton, his recollection might not be 100% reliable. When I contacted a Vital Registry office in Tennessee, they sent back a ‘verification of facts’ form filled in by a registrar that confirmed Parton’s family and birth details along with a recorded time of 8:25 p.m. The astro.com forum ran a discussion on how she was far more the extraverted Leo Moon entertainer and bubbly, friendly Sagittarius Rising (the 3 a.m. chart) than a Virgo Moon and Virgo Ascendant (the chart derived from the birth certificate, filed nine days after her birth). Of course, the certificate (or registrar) could be in error and there are some examples of this in my files. But my reaction to their “What fits best” or “We use it because it works” was: “Do Leo and Sagittarius corner the market on extraversion and friendliness?” I was tempted to go the same way and ask them to look deeper into Parton’s biography – “What of her work ethic, perfectionism and control over her business that seems so Virgoan?” – but that would have simply been playing their game. Sometimes I’m very glad I don’t have a fixed type of mind (or Mercury placement) and that I leave the door open to alternatives. I remain sceptical of birth time sources and try to pull back when I want to jump to conclusions because a chart ‘works’ so well. Data News Dolly Parton birth certificate TheAstrologicalJournalJan/Feb201723 2017-19: Saturn’s transit of Dhanu or Sagittarius Sonal Sachdeva What does Saturn’s January ingress of Jupiter’s sign tell us, according to the ideas and myths of Vedic astrology? On 26 January 2017, Saturn passes into the sign of Dhanu or Sagittarius [sidereal], ruled by the greatest benefic Brihaspati or Jupiter. During this two-and-a-half-year period, themes that we typically associate with Jupiter – expansion, learning, spiritual leanings, raising of human consciousness, spiritual teachers and healers, philosophies and cosmologies, counselling of all kinds – will be prevalent. Despite these positive themes, the Vedic view of Sagittarius is typically that it is a fierce sign of war and the battlefield. The sign has flavours of Mahabharata, the longest epic poem from ancient India, narrating the Kurukshetra War between 100 brothers, Kauravas, and five Brothers, Pandavas, and their fates. Lord Krishna on the battlefield with arjuna, advising him of dharma or his rightful duty to fight for his victory. Bhagwad Gita is this seminal advice Enough about the sign. Saturn is Saturn, and in Vedic it has a significance similar to tropical zodiac interpretation: the Lord of Karma finds parallels in the Grim Reaper, god of time and delays; debt collector, and such-like. Yet, the Vedic perspective on Saturn has a deeper spectrum of meaning, beyond the usual themes of sorrow, obstacles and suffering. Saturn can also deliver amazing forbearance, discipline and the capacity to achieve what are authentically our deepest hopes and wishes. These life-affirming qualities will manifest if, and only if, we do care deeply enough to stay the course and not flounder with our fears – real or imaginary. Yet, we have to look beneath the veil to discover its deeper import. The Vedic myth of Saturn No other planet creates such inordinate anxiety, panic and fear as does Saturn. If we want to get a true idea of Saturn’s core, we must examine the myth. Here is the story: The great epic war of Mahabharata between pandavas (five brothers) and kauravas (100 brothers) Within the colossal epic of Mahabharata, lies the Bhagwad Gita, which alone is the philosophical canon of spiritual and strategic advice given by Lord Krishna to Arjuna, one of the five brothers. In the Vedic myth, Sagittarius is deeply connected with war, religion and dharma or purpose. We certainly are in the thickest of Sagittarian terrain! Its associations with belief systems naturally lead to the question of death – the primary question for all religions. 24Jan/Feb2017 TheAstrologicalJournal Surya (or Sun) was too hot for his wife, Sanjana. Soon after their marriage, she found she could not stand his colossal heat and brightness on a daily basis! Her complexion grew darker, feeling dried and burnt. She needed respite from his intensity, and devised a plan. Sanjana arranged for her lookalike handmaid, Chayya, to replace her, so she could cool off in the woods at her father’s large residence. She entrusted Chayya with her three children: two boys, Yama and Manu, and a girl, Yamuna. Later, Yama came to signify the Lord of Death. Sanjana ordered Chayya to be by Sun’s side at all times until 2017-19: Saturn’s transit of Dhanu or Sagittarius she returned. It is no wonder that ‘Chayya’ in Sanskrit means shadow. How fitting! Surya, being Surya, barely able to see any difference between wife and her lookalike through his powerfully bright rays, took Chayya to be his wife. Chayya conceived and delivered a son called Shani or Saturn. Like his mother, he was born of dark complexion and inherited Chayya’s serious and sombre personality. Vishwakarma, father of Sanjana, heard the news of Shani’s (Saturn’s) birth and was deeply troubled. He confronted Sanjana and demanded the truth. Sanjana confessed to having left behind a ‘clone’. Vishwakarma immediately ordered his daughter to return to her rightful position in Surya’s house. From the start there were difficulties between Shani and his father Surya. Furthermore, Surya became suspicious of his (unbeknown to him) substitute wife, believing her to have been unfaithful. He could not fathom why his son Shani was so different from him and depressively dark; not just in appearance but in temperament as well. Shani was visibly upset by the way his father treated his ‘real’ mother Chayya. Shani’s plight became progressively worse, resulting in the deepest of suffering. Through this, he often went into meditative states looking for solutions and slowly but surely came to be endowed with great powers. One such power was his woeful glance that had the capacity to destroy and turn things to black dust. Just one Dhrishti or glance from him was enough to cast a dark shadow of ill-health and calamity on anyone. Surya searched afresh for Sanjana, disguising himself as a hunter. He succeeded and there was a glorious reunion in the woods. Later, Sanjana gave birth to twins, the Ashwin Kumars, who came to be known as the healing physicians. Sanjana returned to the marital home where she grew livid with Chayya for having violated the scope of her ‘marital’ duties. Even so, slowly, everything returned to normal in the household of Surya, the Sun God. Days passed, and the family were all together under the intense rays of the Sun. Sanjana treated all her kids well, but did not favour Shani. He stood out in appearance and temperament, and was extremely introverted. A lack of love and warmth from his stepmother, as well as a detached father, made Shani quite aloof, depressed; and he sank into deep meditative states, seeking respite. Along the way, he garnered immense powers over the cycle of life and death. Hanuman (the monkey god) as saviour of Saturn Lord Shiva sent his avatar in the form of Lord Hanuman, the monkey god, to relieve Shani of his suffering. Hunuman is also known as Pavan Putra meaning the God of Wind, as he can fly just as swiftly. Shani gave such a glance to his Sun God father resulting in Surya’s beautiful chariots being burnt to a cinder. Surya desperately sought the help of Lord Shiva. Surya or Sun God with his resplendent chariots Lord Shiva helped him to see that Chayya was not his wife at all. So Surya went in search of ‘original’ wife Sanjana at her father’s abode - but she was no longer there. Though her father had ordered her back to Surya’s home, she disobeyed him and transformed herself into a beautiful mare to wander in the coolness of the woods and streams. Shri Hanuman carrying the mountain which had the herb ‘sanjeevni’ for resurrecting the Life of Lord Rama’s brother Laxman Lord Hanuman is one of the principal figures in the epic poem Ramayana by the sage Ved Vyas. The epic has at its centre the tale of Lord Vishnu’s avatar Shri Rama and his battle to rescue his wife Sita from the clutches of the intelligent, yet terrifying King Ravana of Sri Lanka. Ravana possessed mystical occult knowledge, including that of astrology. His desire was that his reign continue through TheAstrologicalJournalJan/Feb201725 2017-19: Saturn’s transit of Dhanu or Sagittarius his son, so he cleverly elected an ‘Auspicious Chart’ for the birth, manipulating timing in such a way that his son had most of his planets in the 11th house, and none in the 12th house of imprisonment, loss and spiritual seeking! To ensure no harmful effects came to his son, he imprisoned the 12th house ruler, Shani or Saturn. Hanuman, the monkey god, was set for the task of freeing Shri Rama’s wife Sita. He had powers of invincibility in warfare. While searching for Sita in Ravana’s kingdom, he heard the weak squeals of Shani imprisoned in a palace cell. Hanuman freed Shani but in the process his gaze caused Hanuman to start to disintegrate and darken. Asked to return the favour, Shani graciously promised Hanuman that devotees of the monkey god would be rescued from his painful glance or ‘Dhristi’. After striking this special relationship with Shani, Hanuman continued on his mission to rescue Sita. An earlier encounter with Ravana’s men had resulted in Hanuman setting fire to most of the buildings in the golden empire. Shani promised Hanuman help in bringing down Ravana’s kingdom. Indeed, Shani’s gaze was sufficient to turn Sri Lanka into a charred piece of black lead and charcoal dust! Hanuman and all the favourite things of Saturn, such as oil, especially black sesame and mustard. Donating black clothing or deep-fried foods on the day of Saturday is another popular remedy. Aspects of Saturn Saturn’s infamous period of Sade-Sati, the seven-and-halfyear period of its transit over the natal Moon, is often feared and revered in India. One day we may live to see the taking of an annual sabbatical from work with Jyotish’s prescription of ‘Sade-Sati’. A year of ‘turn off, and tune and drop out’! In my view, Saturn’s transit of the Sade-Sati does not just influence the natal Moon but also (if not more so) it affects the Ascendant or Lagna. It is akin to re-birth – a massive awakening. Usually, most human beings will face such a pivotal time, twice or maybe thrice in a lifetime. Shani’s aspects are primarily by conjunctions, of course. Natally, houses affected by transit include the 3rd, 7th and 10th placements. In Jyotish, the 3rd house aspect from Shani’s natal position is a sextile, thus, implying the 3rd house is one of ‘Upachaya’ or growth. In the Kalapurusa – with 1st house for Aries – the natural house of Saturn is Capricorn and Aquarius, the 10th and the 11th houses respectively. The 10th house and the tenth aspect of Saturn certainly points to our highest, most authentic vocation that we stand for. It is the highest angular house, and is the place where we are crowned with the achievements of our focus, energy and emotional aspirations. As long as we are able to do our ‘Karma’ and stay on course, without being overwhelmed by crippling fears, Saturn is happy! Left: Hanuman was captured and his tail was dipped in oil and petrol and set fire to by Ravana, King of Sri Lanka. The king with 100 heads! Right: He simply jumped from building to building and set the entire city ablaze These lively exploits left Shani in pain so Hanuman suggested that he massage himself with sesame oil which successfully relieved his suffering. Traditionally in India, to circumvent any effects of an afflicted Saturn, lighting a sesame oil lamp in the temple of Hanuman, on Saturdays, is believed to relieve any suffering. In Hindu mythology, Saturn’s troubles, or its Mahadasha (planetary period), can be managed by appeasing Lord 26Jan/Feb2017 TheAstrologicalJournal Saturn’s transit of the 7th house has great strength. Of course, the 7th house is Venus’s natural house. Saturn is exalted in the sign of Libra, Venus’s sign. In myth, it was Shukracharya (Venus) that helped and taught Shanicharya (Saturn) in the ways of mystical knowledge and occult powers. Hence, they are eternal friends and so their conjunction may not be very (or at all) cumbersome, in contrast to Saturn’s other feared conjunctions. Incomplete Karma from the past The word ‘Karma’ is battered and bruised by overuse. In my view, Saturn’s ability is beyond the karmic reckoning. Even if you do not buy into the Vedic concept of past lives, the idea of our incomplete, unresolved issues with various people, places and situations still looms large. 2017-19: Saturn’s transit of Dhanu or Sagittarius Yet Saturn’s purpose is to ensure that we face our demons or shadows, take responsibility for our feelings and our way of being. A Saturn transit evokes questions of courage. Will we stay the course with dedication and adhere to our ‘Dharma’ with self-love? Moreover, can we achieve this without indulging in the much-loved game of blaming others or the world for our woes? Saturn’s agenda is simple enough: take responsibility not just for our way of being, but also for every thought, word and action. Now it may sound extreme to most, yet it is one of the fundamental principles towards self-realisation. The Vedic concept of ‘Maya’, or the great illusion, is very much Saturn’s terrain, along with Rahu (North Node of the Moon). Maya is the veil we experience in the form of the outside world. That is nothing but a mirror image of how we feel inside of us. Self-awareness is a one of the greatest gifts that Saturn brings to us. When Gautama Buddha sat under the Bodh Gaya tree, he was grappling with his demons, called Mara. In Sanskrit, Mara is derived from the root word Marana (and mrtyu), meaning killing or that which kills. Those demons (or Mara) were precisely what he was trying to conquer. It is fair to say that self-responsibility for our emotions, thoughts and feelings is what Saturn desires most. Shani, the God of Karma, has deep memory of lifetimes. Hence, he will recall every debt, every slight that there is to be repaid, including all acts of charity and generosity. In Indian mythology, thousands of lifetimes fluttered by, seeking self-realisation, in a blink of Lord Vishnu’s eye. Wherever it is found or goes, be it in a natal or mundane chart, Saturn will throw up plenty of lessons in the house it transits and the houses it rules. As noted already, Saturn rules Capricorn and Aquarius. Aquarius has dual rulership, Rahu, or North Node of the Moon. Saturn in the Sagittarius ‘Nakshatras’ In these three long years, starting in 2017, Saturn visits three different Nakshatras or Lunar Constellations that make up the sign of Sagittarius. First, Mula 19th Nakshatra spans 0° to 13°20’ Sagittarius. This is ruled by Ketu, the South Node of the Moon. Saturn is in Mula Nakshatra from 26 January 2017 to 2 March 2018. If you have planets at these degrees, they are guaranteed to be triggered. Briefly, the Gandanta is a very sensitive karmic point, and often planets at these degrees have a do or die quality. Often we feel straitjacketed and there is a feeling of inevitable work to carry out. Karma Lord, Saturn, transiting over these points will bring an enormous amount of upheaval, and we may feel that our backs are up against the wall. There is certainly no escape with Saturn. As Mula Nakshatra is ruled by Ketu, we will have to look to what Ketu is doing in the chart by transit as well as natally. Mula is a ferocious constellation: its Goddess Nrritti is said to have powers of destruction. She is similar to Kali: even her husband, Lord Shiva, cannot control her. Her Shakti has the power to destroy and to prevent destruction. Purvashadha, the 20th Nakshatra, (13°20’ to 26°40’ Sagittarius) is very enterprising and creative, ruled by Venus. Planets here will not feel as ‘fired up’ as in Mula. Its power is to shower the world with creative and nourishing rain. Its power is: ‘Early Victory’. Purvashsdha Nakshatra forms a pair with Uttarashadha, (26°40’ Sagittarius to 10° Capricorn). Its power is: ‘Later Victory’. Sagittarius Nakshatras have a very fierce, piercing and almost cruel quality. Saturn will activate them on the world stage in abundance. After the Gandanta point, Saturn’s transit in Jupiter’s sign is considered to function very well. There is a strong focus on building solid foundations in philosophies and on spiritual ideas that gain momentum. How will it affect Leo and Cancer? Leo Moons will have Saturn transiting through the house of children and creativity. Inevitably, Saturn in trine aspect will invoke all the 5th house agendas. Equally, it also connotes long-distance travel, possible settlement for extended periods abroad. Leo Ascendants, ruled by Sun, have a difficult relationship with Saturn as it rules their 6th house of health, work, enemies, discipline, and the 7th house of partnerships and contracts. Being in the 5th house, Saturn will bring with it all the possible hurdles of the 6th and 7th houses to be resolved. Cancer Moons or Ascendants will have Saturn in the 6th house. There may be slight health issues, expenses may surface, only to find long-lasting solutions. Debts will be cleared. Short trips will be on cards. In some ways, Saturn’s entry into Mula is extremely tricky and full of conflict. This is because Mula Nakshatra is home to the Gandanta point (approximately 26° Scorpio to 6° Sagittarius). TheAstrologicalJournalJan/Feb201727 2017-19: Saturn’s transit of Dhanu or Sagittarius Dwisvabhava or dual signs A full aspect of Saturn will affect all the people with dual rising signs, such as Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, and Pisces. All dual signs aspect one another. Saturn’s dispositor, Jupiter, will also be in the dual sign of Virgo. Saturn will actually be beneficial for dual signs. Mercury-ruled Gemini and Virgo will have Saturn in 10th and 4th houses respectively. So, home developments, renovations, and the buying and selling of houses will be on the cards for a couple of years. These people should feel free to make a career switch if unsure before. Virgo will have the added benefit of Jupiter on its Ascendant. Therefore, that is particularly favourable. People with natal Moon or Lagna, especially in the gandanta point in Sagittarius, will have their life turned upside down. Indeed, Sade-Sati brings in its wake a cycle of closure and huge transformations with the mother or mother figures, as well as one’s home. One may leave a long-term career, perhaps migrate and start something completely new. Pisces will have the pleasure of Saturn in the 10th house, which will usher prosperous results, provided that enough work has been put into career and partnerships. Benefits accrue tremendously with this transit. Needless wasteful expenditure will be curbed and new ventures are on the cards. Mars-ruled signs Either Aries Lagna or Rising: there will be travel for work or short work-related trips abroad. Great strides will be taken in the arena of career and learning of all kinds. Friends and colleagues will be supportive. So, beware self-sabotage and stay focused on what can be achieved, as Saturn travels in the 9th house of good fortune. Scorpio Moons will still be in their final phase of Sade-Sati, picking up the pieces of the past few years of destruction and changes. Scorpio Rising people will give up whatever they have been doing for a good chunk of their adult life and either be leaving partnerships or be in the throes of solidifying new ones. Finances and resources will be focused on. Questions of inheritance or shared resources eventually work out in their favour. Venus- ruled signs These people are just coming out of their Sade-Sati and now with a spring in their step. They can make a lot of things happen over the next few years. Libra Lagna will find their ambitions awakened, and be taking 28Jan/Feb2017 TheAstrologicalJournal Shani Dev / ShanaiShwara (Saturn) risks and chances they never thought they could. Short trips and being ‘in’ with the media will certainly flavour the next few years. Taurus has Saturn transiting 8th house. Career is favoured (aspects 10th house) as well as resources and investments. So, overall, Taurus Ascendants will have a very productive time. Taurus Moons will be slightly more fearful of Saturn in their 8th house. It can create instability in matters of joint resources, investments, etc. Saturn-ruled signs Capricorn (ruled by Saturn) is about to enter Sade-Sati (Saturn’s seven-and-half years), and has entered the 12th house. There will be a lid on unnecessary, unwanted expenditures and losses. Health is highlighted. Work also undergoes a massive change. Selling up business or switching career is all on the table. There will be more travel. Aquarius Moons have Saturn’s aspect from the 11th house. As from the natal Moon, Saturn will be in their 11th house. This will be of enormous benefit. In these two years, their aspirations, dreams and hopes will be fulfilled. Matters of networks, communities and groups will work out in their favour. This is definitely the time to dream big, and push out the boat of ambitions just that little bit more. You may have to 2017-19: Saturn’s transit of Dhanu or Sagittarius take into account Aquarius’s other ruler Rahu, that traverses Leo and Cancer. With Rahu in Cancer, sign of the Moon, with Moon in Aquarius, sign of Rahu, there may be slight difficulties with health, and work, possibly all stress-related. Aquarius Lagna or Ascendant will experience similar wishfulfilment with Saturn in the 11th house. Over this period, they will experience a manifestation of not just personal goals but also deep spiritual aspirations. They will feel a lot more confident as Saturn aspects 1st house. Children, creativity and entertainment are all highlighted. As Saturn rules governments, employees (servants), oil and natural gas industries, dark treasures hidden at the base of the Earth, we may see alternative forms of energy sources coming into being. With the emergence of terrorist organisations such as ISIS (and similar dogmatic groups), we may perhaps acquire skills and expertise to reach a sustainable solution. As highlighted earlier on Sagittarius, it will be anything but diplomatic or peaceful! Yet this will offer a well-learned lesson. As an ancient Tamil proverb says: “There is none who gives so much as Sani and none who ruins as much as Sani”. Sonal Sachdeva is an astrologer, a speaker and filmmaker. She practises what is popularly known as Vedic astrology – a 3000 year-old Jyotisha , an ancient science of light and knowledge, part of Vedas, hailing from ancient India. It remains very much alive today. In 2010 she founded the group Circle of Divine Astrology, which holds events, discussions, talks and multimedia events in London. It has a YouTube channel (Youtube/user/ThedivineCircle) featuring discussions on all aspects of divination with spiritual insights from practitioners all around the world. Some ten years ago, Sonal studied Western astrology under Liz Greene at the Centre of Psychological Astrology (CPA) before focusing on her Vedic practice under the tutelage of celebrated Indian astrologer, Pandit Sanjay Rath. Sonal is also an extremely insightful Tarot card reader. In 2013, she launched Divine Astro Essences. This offers 100% pure Moisturising Oil blends for deep nourishment to the skin, besides promoting emotional well-being. The Blends are uniquely hand-made, high-vibrational and mantrainfused using wisdom of astrology and principles of aromatherapy: https://circleofdivine.com. She is currently a Jyotish Consultant at Watkins Bookshop, one of the oldest esoteric bookshops in the world. www. CircleofDivineAstrology.com. Twitter: @CircleofDivine. Advertising in The Astrological Journal Classified Classifiedadsare£8.00forthefirst20words,20paword thereafter.Uptosixwordsinbold.Emaillinks/website URLscountastwowords. Display Alldimensionsareinmillimetres:heightxwidth.Monoor colour.OnfullpagebleedadsintheJournal,alltypemust bekeptwithina13mmmarginfromtheoutsidetrimsand 16mmfromthegutter.Alladvertisingcanbeprovidedin fullCMYKcolourandshouldbeprovidedasa300dpiJPG/ PDF.Ifyouneedhelptodesignyourad,contactus. Sample prices: Outside Back Cover£150 Inside Back Cover£140 Inside Front Cover£150 Full page £125 Half page£75 Third page£55 Quarter page£50 Sixth page £40 All prices are subject to VATat20% Series discount: 12.5%for2-5issues15%for6issues FlyersandInsertsSingleSheetA4flyer:£100+VAT.For otherinserts,pleasecontactusforprices. Dimensions: Fullpageoutsidepage:280mmx210mm+3mmbleed. Fullinsidepage:246mmx178mm HalfpageHorizontal:120mmx178mm HalfpageVertical:246mmx86cm ThirdpageHorizontal:78mmx178mm ThirdpageVertical:246mmx56mm QuarterpageHorizontal:57mmx178mm QuarterpageVertical:120mmx86mm SixthpageVertical:120mmx56mm For further details contact Karen Brereton by email: [email protected] A Media Pack for 2017 will be emailed on request TheAstrologicalJournalJan/Feb201729 Jupiter-Uranus cycle The transcendence of boundaries Maurice Fernandez Positively, both Jupiter and Uranus reflect in different ways a motivation to find solutions outside current understanding. So, what can we expect from their cycle based on history, especially during the planets’ Aries-Libra opposition in 2017? The current Jupiter transit, now at [around] 20 Libra, makes the first of three oppositions to Uranus in Aries. This is the ‘Full Moon’ phase of a cycle that initially began on 8 June 2010, when the pair was conjunct at zero degrees Aries, followed by two subsequent conjunctions until January 2011. Among notable events at the time, the controversial organisation WikiLeaks emerged more prominently into the public consciousness and released a series of classified documents. Some of these documents were leaked by US soldier Bradley Manning, and revealed damaging, behind-the-scenes information about the US war in Iraq and Afghanistan. WikiLeaks became a symbol of rebellion against government corruption, so graphically capturing the influence of Jupiter and Uranus, as we will discuss in this article. The conjunction also coincided with the ignition of the Arab Spring, a sweeping cultural and political revolution that resulted in the toppling of authoritarian regimes and leaders in North African and Middle Eastern countries. Albeit incredibly vigorous and far-reaching, the quest for emancipation and progress by this movement was not necessarily met with great success, as the new regimes proved fragile and fragmented; and the burning flames of Syria still refuse to abate to this day. What can we expect from the Jupiter-Uranus cycle? We can look back in time and analyse the effects of previous occurrences, and see how it manifested in the lives of prominent figures born during it. But most importantly, it would be valuable to understand what its evolutionary purpose and core intentions are—its impact on the evolution of our consciousness. With an evolutionary perspective, we can understand not only how but why things would unfold a certain way. Jupiter-Uranus conjunctions occur every 14 years, and are subsequently followed by a first square, an opposition, and a last square. As mentioned earlier, we are now at the opposition phase, which will include three meetings: 30Jan/Feb2017 TheAstrologicalJournal • • • December 27, 2016 @ 20 Libra – Aries (Uranus standing Direct) March 3, 2017 @ 22 Libra – Aries (Jupiter Retrograde) September 28, 2017 @ 27 Libra – Aries (Uranus Retrograde) Interestingly, Saturn transiting in the late degrees of Sagittarius will also interact with the pair during this phase; a noteworthy aspect given that Jupiter is the dispositor of Saturn’s current sign. Jupiter has a 12-year cycle, whereas Uranus has an 84-year cycle, which is 7 x 12 years. Jupiter and Uranus archetypes and associations Jupiter, its ruling sign Sagittarius (and traditionally Pisces) and the 9th house form an archetype. Let us understand the role of this archetype in our consciousness. The transcendence of boundaries Sagittarius follows Libra and Scorpio in the third quadrant of the zodiac, a quadrant associated with the need for personal growth and questioning of the status quo. I like to label the third quadrant the ‘More quadrant’, where a constant sense of lack prompts people to step outside themselves and reach deep and wide for better answers and conditions for their lives. There is a constant need for expansion and redefinition of self through this quadrant. Following psychological introspection, and often deep emotional tremors through the previous sign of Scorpio (where loss and grief are no strangers to the process of transformation), Sagittarius continues this yearning for growth by shifting from a psychological (emotional) approach to a spiritual one. We aspire to give meaning to our lives through Sagittarius, and the triggering of this spiritual quest results from the emotional intensity experienced in Scorpio. There is a need to gain a spiritual perspective from our psychological wounds. This way we can at least know why we suffer, and realise that, despite difficulties, there is a positive reason behind it all and something greater to look forward to. Interestingly, Jupiter (ruling Sagittarius) is the largest planet in the solar system, following modern Scorpio ruler Pluto, now the smallest ‘planet’ (among bodies ruling signs). We can but think of a compensating reaction here. Our quest for meaning is both physical and spiritual. The saying that “There must be more to life than this” inspires us through our Jupiter channels to uncover greater potential in our lives, and this search is deeply personal. Sagittarius is a fire sign known to be essentially subjective and self-directing, and the answers and rationales we find in this process are still within the realm of speculation and faith. Jupiter represents our faith in potential, whether spiritual or material, and faith is a powerful fuel. One of the great rewards of faith is its antidotal effect on fear— through Jupiter and the Sagittarius archetype, we relinquish inhibitions and do not settle for compromises anymore. There is a promise of meaning and freedom that ignites a very deep and primal yearning. It is almost bestial, and it certainly requires animal grunt to gallop into the excitement of uncharted territory. Sagittarius is represented by the merging of the horse and the human force, and in the myth of Jupiter we find an eagle soaring. Interestingly, this is an association also captured in the heavens, as the constellation of Aquila (Jupiter’s eagle) rises together with the constellation of Sagittarius. Jupiter – Sagittarius key concepts Aspiration for More, Greater Promise, the Abstract, Potential, Intuition, Physical and Spiritual Journeys, Personal Meaning Artist’s impression of the Phoenix spacecraft as it lands on Mars and Truth, Belief, Religion, Guiding Principles, Authenticity, Raw and Primal Instincts. Uranus is the modern ruler of Aquarius and the 11th house. There are no fire signs in the fourth quadrant of the zodiac because this is where we transcend the self, neutralise individuality and egocentric control, and become more conscious of the larger forces and cycles of life. We may label this quadrant the ‘not about me’ quadrant, where the impersonal overrides intimate wants. Our strength is in union in this developmental phase, and Truth is no longer a matter of personal preferences—we don’t know it or own it, we align with it. As individuality and separation dissolve, we see that there are common denominators that everyone shares—what is true for me is also true for everyone else. Uranus and the Aquarius archetype represent our higher self, where we tap into our highest creative and conscious potential; and by means of higher awareness, we aim to elevate standards of living for everyone and ourselves. The higher we manage to get, the lesser the density, the faster the speed, the vaster the view. To reach this vantage point requires that we transcend our primal urges—that primitive self that is so concerned with its immediate survival needs that it often loses sight of the big picture. With Uranus and Aquarius, we are inspired to develop not only a more sophisticated version of ourselves, but a more enlightened civilization where limitations, dysfunctions, and suffering are resolved by the means of a holistic and global vision. Solutions are available for every ill, but only if we are not distracted by urges for immediate gratification. Our genius and creativity exalt us to God-like capacities through the Uranus and Aquarius archetype. We develop the faculty to transcend our limitations as mortals, move beyond the average, and attain a greater dimension that bridges matter to spirit. The advantages of this finer expression of the self and TheAstrologicalJournalJan/Feb201731 The transcendence of boundaries Jupiter-Uranus as a unit Both Jupiter’s and Uranus’s influences share the aspiration for greater understanding, higher knowledge, exploration, and the transcendence of boundaries. They both reflect a motivation to find solutions outside current understanding to try to end suffering and overcome limitations. Jupiter’s and Uranus’s influences differ, however, in their qualities and approach. Whereas Jupiter is subjective, passionate, wild, and even crude, Uranus is detached, impersonal, more objective, and refined. Where Jupiter develops intuition, faith, and belief, aiming for positive results, Uranus is scientific and logical, and refrains from projecting personal biases on results. Where Jupiter expands, Uranus elevates. Jupiter and Uranus combined represent an incredible force to expand and accelerate mental creativity and vision. Perhaps it is one of the most fertile combinations for research and development, advancing both individuals and civilization as a whole toward emancipation, betterment, abundance, and higher standards. Original Woodstock Poster more enlightened understanding are obvious. However, this does not come without risk, because the aspiration to reach higher can come at the expense of our instinctive or ‘lower’ nature—the function of our lower chakras; our animal selves. Denying the beast within in order to try to rise above matter as fast as possible has its setbacks. For example, while elevating standards for ourselves, we may develop a sense of elitism and lose touch with our fellow human beings. A common saying about Uranus and Aquarius is that the love of humanity does not necessarily equate to the love of humans. Even more problematic to the internal rupture with our lower selves is the risk of mental and nervous fragmentation. The erudite and sophisticated human we wish to become cannot be denied its primal nature. Instead, we must integrate it in order to find authentic ascension—no part must be left behind. Uranus – Aquarius Key Concepts Highest Expression of the Human Condition, Awakening, Awareness, Trans-personal, Sophistication, High-Minded, Scientific, Elitism, Dissociation, Progress, Solutions, Group Consciousness, Advances of Civilization. 32Jan/Feb2017 TheAstrologicalJournal But for a positive expression, there is an evolutionary need to resolve the tension that they create between religion and science, between the reliance on a large spiritual force versus perceiving the mind as the ultimate and most superior engine of creation. The evolutionary work is also about uniting the animal with the human within. Jupiter Uranus Fire,Subjective Air,Objective Personal,Engaged Impersonal,Detached FaithandBelief FactsandUnderstanding ReligionandaSpiritual Perspective ScienceandaNeutral Perspective ExpandsReach ElevatesStandards Quantity Quality Raw,Primal Mental,Refined Optimism CriticalThinking Positive expression of this combination: ExpansionofMentalCreativity AccessingNewDimensionsofKnowledgeandExistence SolutionstoCreateBetterStandardsofLiving LiberationandProgress–CreatingNewParadigms FusionofScienceandSpirituality,includingInterestand PracticeofAstrology The transcendence of boundaries SocialandCulturalDevelopment–CommunityProjects, Treaties. Multi-CulturalismandSocialDiversity Negative expression of this combination: ClashBetweenPrimitiveandAdvanced,FeralandUrbane AspirationforProgressOverridesNature RhythmBreakdowns,LossofSync,Accidents,NaturalDisasters, particularlyassociatedwithWind Eugenics,SuperiorityofRaceComplex,MindoverNature UtopianEuphoriaandWhimsicalTheories,oftenLeadingto DestructiveCultMovements British Airways Concorde • • • • FirstFlightoftheConcordesupersonicplane. StonewallRiotsforgayrights. WoodstockMusicFestival. CharlesManson’smurders. ConjunctionFebruary 18, 1983 @ 8 Sagittarius Spielberg’s E.T. • • • • • Netherlandsadoptsconstitution. Hinduskill3000MuslimsinAssam,India. MichaelJacksonintroducesmoonwalk. FirstflightofspaceshuttleChallenger. MovieE.TwinsAcademyAwards. Recent Jupiter-Uranus Cycles ConjunctionMay 8, 1941 @ 25 Taurus • FirstphaseofmasskillingunderNaziAktionT4(involuntary euthanasia) operations – eliminating undesirables in a questtocreateasuperiorrace. • CreationofZ3–firstfullyautomatedcomputer(Berlin). ConjunctionOctober 7, 1954 @ 27 Cancer • • • • 348dieinHurricaneHazel(USandCanada). Firsttransistorradio(TexasInstruments,Inc). Britain,France,USSRagreetoendoccupationofGermany. First transcontinental round-trip solo flight – sunrise to sunset. • Argentina Parliament accepts separation of Church and State. • 19 destructive twisters devastate Kansas and Oklahoma cities. ConjunctionDecember 11, 1968 @ 3 Libra • • • Apollo8–FirstmannedMoonvoyage. Apollo8crewreadsBookofGenesis. Apollo11landsontheMoon. ConjunctionFebruary 16, 1997 @ 5 Aquarius • Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above 7000 for the firsttime. • AnnouncementofsuccessfulcloningofDollytheSheep. • USPresidentBillClintonbansFederalfundingforresearch onhumancloning. • Star Alliance Airline merger formed between Air Canada, Lufthanza,SAS,andseveralotherairlines. ConjunctionJune 8, 2010 @ 0 Aries • First24-hoursolar-poweredplaneflightcompleted. • WikiLeaks releases 90,000 confidential reports about the USinvolvementinIraqandAfghanistan. • TheArabSpringbegins. TheAstrologicalJournalJan/Feb201733 The transcendence of boundaries Public Figures Born under the Jupiter/ Uranus Cycle Albert Einstein–March14,1879@11:30aminUlm,Germany (Jupiter/Uranus[outofsign]oppositioninAquarius-Virgo) Bob Dylan – May 24, 1941 @ 9:05pm in Duluth, Minnesota (Jupiter/UranusconjunctinTaurus) Ra Uru Hu–April9,1948@6:56aminMontreal,Canada(Jupiter/ UranusoppositioninSagittarius-Gemini) Steve Jobs–February24,1955@7:15pminSanFrancisco,CA (Jupiter/UranusconjunctinCancer) Edward Snowden–June21,1983@4:42aminElisabethCity, NorthCarolina(Jupiter/UranusconjunctinSagittarius) The various possible outcomes of this uncertain project in no way militate against Adriana’s incredible inspiration and courage to join this extraordinary journey. Her calling to venture into completely uncharted territory and take the risk of possibly never coming back is surely captured in her natal Jupiter-Uranus conjunction in Sagittarius. Interestingly, this year’s activation of the cycle, with Jupiter opposing Uranus in Libra-Aries, will undoubtedly foster important development with this project. Because the opposition lands on her natal Saturn-Pluto in the 9th house, we can expect both setbacks and breakthroughs. Natal SaturnPluto hints at leadership problems and trust issues associated with the management of this project. By late 2017, Jupiter will also square her natal Mars, a configuration describing either a rift or a breakthrough, particularly as Jupiter eventually transits the MC, and then returns to her natal Jupiter in 2019 for a developmental climax—perhaps both a rift and a breakthrough will occur. We send Adriana infinite blessings with this endeavour and her role in advancing the stakes for humanity. The Jupiter-Uranus opposition in Libra-Aries, 2016 to 2017 Jupiter is in Libra from September 2016 to October 2017. This transit reflects a need both to unify a diversity of beliefs and step outside ourselves to understand other people’s lifestyles, beliefs, and points of view. It opens doors to different approaches and invites debate and discussion, which can lead to radical changes of perspective as we take in opposite perspectives to beliefs we cherish. Chart Analysis: Adriana Marais [see chart] Born August 15, 1983 @ 5pm in King William’s Town, South Africa Adriana Marais is one of 100 final contestants in Round 3 for a no-return manned mission to Mars on the Mars One project. The Mission was launched in 2012 by Bas Lansdorp, a Dutch entrepreneur, who has proposed to establish the first permanent colony of humans on planet Mars. The feasibility of this controversial mission was questioned by several scientists and engineers. (Date and Time Source: Adriana Marais in person, collected by South African Astrologer Heidi van Deventer.) Marais was born under a Jupiter-Uranus conjunction in Sagittarius in her 10th house. Uranus is also the ruler of her Ascendant in Aquarius, and Jupiter rules her South Node in Sagittarius in the 11th house. 34Jan/Feb2017 TheAstrologicalJournal To be optimistic, Jupiter in Libra may be an antidote to the racism and fear of foreigners that the transit of Saturn in Sagittarius has exacerbated. Notwithstanding this, as Jupiter in Libra opens doors, it can also engender a backlash and a sense of intimidation resulting from having all borders opening too quickly. In a typical cardinal mode, we go two steps forward and one step back, optimistically reaching out to others, but not without a risk of losing ourselves and subsequently feeling the need to retreat. The transit of Uranus in Aries has been with us longer, since the initial conjunction to Jupiter in 2010. And as many astrologers are well aware, it has also squared Pluto in Capricorn this entire period of time. We have witnessed numerous social movements for emancipation associated with this transit, such as the Arab Spring, the Occupy movement, and the gay marriage liberation. It has been instrumental in inspiring us to change our mode of action (Aries) and elevate our approach to conflict. The meeting of the two planets will likely intensify the collective need for social justice, and prompt more protests and culturally-charged confrontations and debates. The transcendence of boundaries It will be interesting to see if additional themes that were initiated during the 2010 conjunction surface again and climax during this coming season. Perhaps we will witness further important developments, or a rite of passage, for WikiLeaks and its founder, Julian Assange—this opposition eventually squares his Mercury at 23 Cancer (born July 3, 1971 @ 2:05pm in Townsville, Australia). Personal Implications Isn’t it synchronistic and tragic that as the two planets proceed to oppose each other, an incident similar to that which triggered the Arab Spring occurs once again, this time in Morocco. Mouhcine Fikri, a 31-year-old fish seller, was crushed to death inside a garbage truck while trying to retrieve wares allegedly confiscated by police. His gruesome death sparked protests across the country against abuse of power. Back in 2010, when Jupiter and Uranus were conjunct, it was a street merchant named Mohamed Bouazizi, from neighbouring Tunisia, who self-immolated to protest humiliating treatment and the confiscation of his goods—an event that ignited civil unrest and the removal of regimes across North Africa and the Middle East. At time of writing, the Standing Rock protest movement (in North Dakota, USA) to stop the construction of an oil pipeline across sacred Native American land — including their water supply and an ancient burial ground — also captures the essence of this opposition. This speaks about the rift not only between industry and nature, but also between different ethnic groups—the white developers and the Native American landowners. We should expect more activism and social movements on different fronts, particularly around gender issues, given that this occurs in the signs of Aries and Libra. The recent US election has indeed highlighted the battle of genders, with Hillary Clinton standing as the first female presidential candidate in American history contrasted by Donald Trump’s apparent misogynistic character and degrading attitudes towards women. In the wake of Trump’s victory, we can expect strong protest movements against human rights infringement: Jupiter-Uranus reflects a low tolerance threshold for social injustice. We can also expect scientific breakthroughs and new inventions during this time, as well as natural events or accidents related to wind, lightning, or anything occurring in the skies. In our personal charts, the houses where the Jupiter-Uranus opposition meets, from December 2016 to October 2017, will be subject to important developments and a strong aspiration for an upgrade. These will be areas where the calling to develop new perspectives, create new paradigms and free ourselves from obsolete dynamics intensifies. Tremendous restlessness will prompt the need for greater meaning and fulfilment. Since the opposition occurs on the relationship axis of Aries and Libra, we can expect new meaningful meetings and friendships, or more accurately, a revamping of our social and romantic life. As we change our outlook, this will be a time to assess who in our circles resonates with our new perspectives, and overall, who helps us move forward in life, thereby inducing less tolerance for those who hold us back, and for relationships that make us feel stuck. Perhaps this cycle will also support the development of astrology, with new ideas and projects emerging in our community. Astrology’s achievement has already been to unite religion and science by being their shared nemesis. Additionally, the cycle may raise interesting debates about astrology in popular culture. Let us only hope that our critics use this transit effectively by coming up with more original ideas than the tired ‘13th sign’ controversy. Anne Whitaker will further explore Jupiter-Uranus in our MarchApril issue. Maurice Fernandez is the author of Neptune, the 12th House and Pisces (New Edition), and Astrology and the Evolution of Consciousness—Volume One and is a leading Evolutionary Astrology counsellor and teacher, currently based in Hawaii. He also serves as president of The Organization of Professional Astrology (OPA). He directs a correspondence and on-location professional certification program and organises spiritual retreats in sacred places around the world. He has organised several conferences in the US and Europe, notably The River of Stars in Hawaii (2011, 2015). Website: www.mauricefernandez.com. TheAstrologicalJournalJan/Feb201735 Astrological Calendar: Events Diary 2017 Email event details to: [email protected]. Inclusion cannot be guaranteed. 49th Annual Conference of the Astrological Association 2017 ‘TheimportanceofAstrology’ 8-10September2017 WybostonLakes,Bedfordshire,UK http://astrologicalassociation.com/ National Council for Geocosmic Research (NCGR) The Many Faces of Astrology 16-19February,2017 Venue:TheHyattRegencyInnerHarborHotelinBaltimore, Maryland,USA http://ncgrconference2017.com International Astrology Conference ‘SoundingEnergies-EnergiasSonantes’ 24-26February,2017 Venue:FórumMaia,Maia,Portugal http://10times.com/iac-maia Great Lakes Astrology Conference ‘Inspired Astrology for the Future’ 4-8May,2017 Email:[email protected] www.facebook.com/GreatLakesAstrologyConference/ 36Jan/Feb2017 TheAstrologicalJournal 33rd Annual NORWAC 25-29May,2017 http://norwac.net/ London School of Astrology Student Conference ‘Applying astrological tehniques’ 3-4June,2017 Venue:TheRoomsatBrowns,82-84StMartin’sLane, CoventGarden London,WC2N4AG Email: [email protected] www.londonschoolofastrology.co.uk www.astroconference.com/programme.html Faculty of Astrological Studies Summer School 18-25August,2017 Venue: Exeter College, University of Oxford http://www.astrology.org.uk/summer-school/ Obituary: Michael Wackford Sharon Knight remembers a brilliant technical astrologer who excelled as a drummer On 25 October 2016, someone who probably isn’t that well known in today’s astrological community departed to play a big gig in the sky. Mike Wackford was a technical astrologer par excellence. He was self-taught, something of a loner and a bit of a maverick. I first met him at the Astrological Lodge in London back in the ‘80s. He stalked up to me and said, “Where do I know you from?” I looked at this cadaverous figure, dressed in black with the ubiquitous black leather jacket, quite attractive in an unusual Aquarian way, very obviously a musician, and said haughtily, “You don’t know me!” He kept on insisting he did. Eventually, we found out we were both from near Brighton. My father was a musician. Had he played with my father? No. Had I seen him at any gigs in Sussex or elsewhere. No! After some time of him barking questions at me, we discovered he knew my sister through her husband and was seeing her in me. Mystery solved. We agreed to meet up next time I was down in Sussex. Which we did. And so began a friendship through astrology that lasted up until now. Mike could be a difficult man. He was strongly opinionated, with an incisive mind who always wanted you to prove your methods. He was, in spite of his rather forbidding demeanour, a caring man who always made an effort to keep in touch. We would not speak for some time and then would come the call. So? What do you mean so? Well, look at that Saturn doing its business to your Mars? What’s happened? Oh, that was last week. Yeah so! What happened? Well I hit a wall at speed in the car. Thought so! Bye. And that was how he kept in touch via the stars. He was not afraid to air his opinions on any subject and would track down various astrologers who had written something he either did, or did not agree with and which he wanted to take further. One of his ‘opinions’ was on Polar Houses. He had correspondence with Wendel Polich, questioning his theories, and then went on to write a brilliant diagnostic article on Polar Houses that subsequently appeared in the AA research journal, Correlation (19/2/2001). This article can be found on the Skyscript site. His ability to visualise things in 3-D, especially the movement of the sky, led him to experiment with transits which were measured by celestial latitude as well as longitude. The technique had fallen out of astrological practice in the 19th century. As Mike always said, horoscope houses are not slices of cake but segments of an orange, curved rather than straight. His predictions for events corresponding to transits often seemed to be several days before or after the date that the ephemeris might suggest - but they were also astonishingly exact. Michael Wackford with the Starry Eyed And Laughing band He was great friends with the late Dr Margaret Millard and would discuss medical astrology with her. If memory serves me correctly, she even gave him access to her personal papers and research as she valued his input. He really was a brilliant astrologer, ready to share his knowledge if you asked him. He would not push himself forward to air his knowledge and had a short fuse with those he considered ill informed! Outside of the astrology, Mike was a brilliant drummer. The energy he had, the timing, the rhythm, the intensity; he was spellbinding in his heyday. In the ‘70s he was in the band Starry Eyed And Laughing which had considerable commercial success. Some of the band members got together for a gig to celebrate Mike’s 60th birthday a couple of years ago. Despite suffering from pain in his joints, once he got on the skins, the years fell away and we all saw the young drummer behind the arthritic facade. It was a wonderful poignant evening. Bernard Eccles came up from the West Country, Marie brought Mike Edwards along (who happily was in the moment), and I think, for the four of us, the years fell away and we were back to when life was in front of us and astrology was our fix. Today I look at the speculum which Mike drew up for me all those years ago and reflect on how lucky I was to have known him. May he be drumming in peace amongst the stars he knew so well. Mike was born: 6 February 1953, 12:14 pm, Shorehamby-sea, West Sussex, UK. http://www.starryeyedandlaughing.com/ TheAstrologicalJournalJan/Feb201737 Working with the Planets Roy Gillett focuses on January to March 2017 Happy New Year? Although New Year’s Day has no specific astronomical significance, it is celebrated so intensely that its chart is a good indication of the mood of the people in the year ahead. New Year’s Day 2017 builds out of a Christmas week, when Uranus in Aries, about to make a direct station on the 29 December 2016 (the day of the Capricorn New Moon), was trined by Saturn in Sagittarius and opposed by Jupiter in Libra. By New Year, the Moon in Aquarius, applying to trine Jupiter, is a fertile thirty-one degrees into its waxing phase. In London, the Midheaven trines a Mars conjunct Neptune in Pisces. From the very beginning and throughout the year, we will feel an intense need to address difficult circumstances. We will be dominated by a deep need to make some ‘real changes’, alongside equally deep concerns about the consequences of these changes. Jupiter opposition Uranus is in orb until it finally starts to separate late September. Its square to Pluto completes early August. Saturn trine Uranus continues until mid-November. These months will be dominated by radical struggle, amidst an unsettling sense of foreboding; the feeling that things are happening that we cannot control. What exactly are we ‘progressing’ into? Will it address or create far more challenging problems in the years immediately ahead? Attempts to make friends and be sure we stay close and true to each other will be counter-productive, if those friendships involve grouping together against supposed enemies. The President Trump Inauguration Chart [12:00pm EST, 20 January 2017, Washington DC] shouts out this issue, with its Pisces stellium in the 11th house squared by Saturn in Sagittarius, alongside the previously-mentioned outerplanetary transits of the year. Change for whose benefit? The UK’s Brexit negotiations, key elections in France and Germany, continued turmoil throughout the Islamic world, economic uncertainty affecting everyone: step back and see those in power at loggerheads with each other, making policies that are at best irrelevant; more likely counter-productive. November 2016’s ‘Working with the Planets’1 described a world standing at the gateway to a horrific confrontation with reality. We start to avert this and put things right, when wise heads become motivated by goodwill and turn away from fixed positions. We need to look with true unifying depth for ways to dissolve the malaise of division that sours our world. Changing governments will solve little. Only touching the good heart in everyone will trigger a radical change of attitude. At 38Jan/Feb2017 TheAstrologicalJournal New Year 2017 Natal Chart Jan 1 2017, Sun 0:00 am GMT +0:00 London, United Kingdom the time of war, whole nations, even international alliances, put aside differences for the greater good. In doing so, they discover pre-conceived enemies can become their greatest helpers. This time the unifying factor need not be a war between nations, but rather the dismantling of dysfunctional economic and political systems. We need to find ways of doing business that do not exploit the many for the benefit of the few. National and international relations must recognise and address the anxieties and social needs of everyone; not leave the powerful to ride roughshod over the weak. Too much to ask? Not so; only by seeking such answers in 2017 can we move with confidence through the rest of the decade and beyond. Major Astro Events January to March 2017 Determination to communicate effectively will grow as Mercury makes its direct station on the 8 January. It returns to Capricorn on 12 January, the sign’s Full Moon day, when Sun squares Jupiter and Venus conjoins Neptune in Pisces. However important they seem to be, give a few more days for the many concerns that need to be addressed. As you struggle amidst intense feelings, remember that seemingly irreconcilable issues have a habit of resolving themselves after the climax of the lunar month. Working with the planets The 19 January is packed with dramatic astro-events. In the morning, Mercury in Capricorn is trine/sextile the nodal axis, followed by Mars in Pisces squared to Saturn in Sagittarius. Then that evening, the Sun and Moon are squared, as they cross the cusps to enter Aquarius2 and Scorpio. The fourth-quarter of the lunar cycle that follows could be most frustrating, as the urge for ongoing changes seems to lack the momentum it needs. Use the energy to pile up resources of knowledge, materials and energy to be ready for easier times that are not that far ahead. The above advice will be validated, when Mars enters Aries five hours after the 28 January New Moon, and Mercury conjoins Pluto the next day. This could well push us fearlessly into new frontiers. Make sure you do not overreach into recklessness. The force is with you, providing you do not over-egg the flow. For on 1 and 2 February. Mercury makes a t-square to the ongoing Jupiter-Uranus opposition. The consequences of what is said or agreed inappropriately these two days remain with us for some time to come. Be prepared to take an opportunity to adjust, move to a more favourable position on the 4/5 February, when the Moon’s last aspect in Taurus, preceding its Gemini ingress, is a trine to Mercury. With Jupiter’s retrograde station the next day3, words and acts of restraint will be generally respected, even appreciated. A Lunar [00:32 UT 11 February] and then Solar Eclipse [14:58 UT 26 February] period are major features for most of the rest of February. The first has the Moon applying to make a grand trine with Saturn and Uranus, while the Sun trines Jupiter. Make the most of the possibilities, but be careful. Throwing caution to the winds may turn out to have been dangerous in the medium term. Lunar eclipses do have this tendency to tempt us into subtle indiscretions that come back to disable us months, even years later. The Solar Eclipse is in 8 degrees of Pisces, just over a degree before the Mars/Neptune conjunction, with which these two months started. Have you put right what was wrong then? There could be a dramatic ending to the month, as on the 27th, Mars conjoins Uranus and opposes Jupiter, Mercury conjoins the North Node and the Moon ingresses Aries the next day. Jupiter applying to conjoin Uranus for a second time on 3 March, quickly followed by a Venus retrograde will carry the tension of this new lunar cycle into the following two months. It may not be easy to transform resentment into sympathy, but that remains and will always remain the solution to all our problems. (Endnotes) 1 The Astrological Journal Vol.58No.6[Pub.2016The AstrologicalAssociation] 2SunentersAquarius21:34UT,19January2017,LondonUK 3JupiterRX06:52,6February2016,London,UK Roy Gillett is the Astrological Association President and has been a full-time astrologer since 1976. Roy advises on astrology software and has spoken at many international conferences. He first published mundane forecasts in 1978 and has written this column since 2002. His astrology books include: Astrology and Compassion the Convenient Truth (2007); Economy, Ecology and Kindness (2009); and The Secret Language of Astrology (2011); and as Editor: André Barbault’s The Value of Astrology and Planetary Cycles: Mundane Astrology. Time to pick up your copy of André Barbault’s new book Planetary Cycles Mundane Astrology This must-have book is for anyone seriously interested in mundane astrology and shows in great detail astrology’s role in the unfolding of macro-history, as well as in regular interactions between nations. Special launch offer, includes a bundle price, when purchased with André’s The Value of Astrology. For full details and to order visit: http://astrologicalassociation.com/barbault.php TheAstrologicalJournalJan/Feb201739 Marjorie Orr’s World Astrology Russia v USA – we’ve been here before As of late 2016, the USA and Russia were in a new standoff over Syria, with the US breaking off talks and recalling its negotiators from Geneva, and Russia suspending an agreement on the destruction of plutonium and insisting on an end to Ukraine-related sanctions. The German Foreign Minister FrankWalter Steinmeier said that strained relations are worse than during the Cold War. However there are less apocalyptic voices saying: not so. They argue that domestic politics are partly to blame for the present tensions. It was important for Obama’s legacy that he did not appear spineless. Putin is struggling to raise national morale in the face of decline in living standards for many Russians. Plus, there is a realisation behind the scenes that the two superpowers alone can’t control the Syria situation. Having said that the relationship charts between the USA 1776 and Russia 1917 and 1991 do indicate deteriorating diplomatic relations especially from mid-May 2017 till late 2018, with tr Saturn opposing the composite SunSaturn on one and opposition Mars on the other. Plus, all manner of other discouraging separating Saturn transits through 2017. Putin’s personal and Presidency charts are looking very confident and pushy over coming months and through 2017/18 with tr Pluto trine Jupiter in both cases, which may prompt him into taking decisive steps that won’t sit well with the West. He’s coping with myriad problems beside so it won’t all be plain sailing for him. But he certainly doesn’t look as if he’s withdrawing within his own borders and bunkering down. The Russia 8 Nov 1917 2:12am chart has a financially worrisome tr Neptune square its Jupiter till early 2017; and a Inner Wheel Russia 1991 Natal Chart Dec 8 1991, Sun 7:45 pm EET -2:00 Moscow, Russia 55°N45’ 037°E35’ Geocentric Tropical Placidus Mean Node Outer Wheel Russia 1991 Directed - Solar Arc Aug 30 2017, Wed 10:22:23 am EET -2:00 Moscow, Russia 55°N45’ 037°E35’ Geocentric Tropical Placidus Mean Node seriously stuck, deprived solar arc Saturn opposition Pluto by 2018. With a good deal of agitation from 2019 with solar arc Uranus square the Russia Mars; and tr Uranus moving to square the Saturn Neptune and then oppose the Sun in the early 2020s – so very unsettled. The Russia 8 Dec 1991 7.45pm chart has a financial- and enthusiasm-denting tr Neptune opposition Jupiter through 2017 into 2018; and tr Neptune then moves onto the undermining square to the Sun in 2018/19; plus a jolting shock from solar arc Sun conjunct Uranus in mid-2017 [see Russia natal/directions biwheel chart]. There’ll be a good many internal problems but that is often when leaders look to stir up trouble on the outside as a distraction and to pull national esprit de corps together. Marjorie Orr’s website: http://star4cast.com 40Jan/Feb2017 TheAstrologicalJournal Amazing ‘spider-man’ and his 13th sign hoax Kim Farnell John Sladek may be largely forgotten now but he was the sci-fi satirist who dreamt up the 13th sign of ‘Arachne the spider’ - in order to debunk astrology. Here the story is told of a joke that has fooled many The zodiac - in the beginning One thing that astrologers, scientists, and people who like to read their horoscopes over a nice cup of coffee agree on is that there are twelve zodiac signs. Although very ancient Babylonians greedily used eighteen, for the last couple of millennia, we’ve been more than satisfied with twelve. So where did we get the idea that there may be thirteen signs in the zodiac? The zodiac signs have a long and rich history. Their early naming and meaning is usually attributed to ancient Babylon. Babylonian boundary stones dating from the 12th century BCE host instantly recognisable pictorial representations of the signs. Over the centuries, different interpretations of the meanings of the pictures have been given. And it’s notable that a thirteenth symbol is occasionally included – that of the raven. So it’s tempting to think that there was a time when Babylonians used thirteen zodiac signs. Tempting – but wrong. The Babylonian calendar had twelve lunar months meaning that their year lasted 354 days. That gave them the problem of tying their calendar in with the solar year, which lasts about 365 days. Our present calendar gets round this issue by removing the tie between the lunar phase and the calendar month. The Babylonians came up with a simple, yet elegant solution. They added leap months to their calendar. The raven was simply a symbol of a leap month. So far as we know, the zodiac consists of twelve signs, and has done so since astrology reached a form we’d recognise. Its antiquity is why Virgil, the Latin poet, could write in his Georgics in 29 BCE about the stars withdrawing to make space for Caesar as a thirteen sign of the zodiac. The idea of a thirteenth sign was a joke over two thousand years ago, the concept of twelve zodiac signs being so firmly embedded. As any astrologer will tell you, although the zodiac signs and constellations share the same names, they aren’t actually the same. The zodiac signs have only ever approximately coincided with the constellations. For example, Cancer is a small constellation, and Pisces is huge, but both are accorded one-twelfth of the Sun’s annual path. The constellation Cancer has never coincided exactly with the sign of Cancer. In the West, we use the tropical zodiac. This is based on a division of the Sun’s apparent path across the sky into twelve equal segments of thirty degrees each. In India, the sidereal zodiac is used, which reflects the actual position of the constellations, rather than their past position as in the West. There are differences between the two systems. But no-one argues that there are more than twelve signs. Contrary to the belief of some scientists, astrologers don’t fall over backwards in shock when it’s pointed out that the zodiac signs don’t match the constellations. They already know this, and they know why. While Earth spins once in twenty-four TheAstrologicalJournalJan/Feb201741 Amazing ‘spider-man’ and his 13th sign hoax hours, it also has other movements. Like a spinning top, the earth has a slow wobble as it spins, taking 26,000 years to do one wobble. This causes the zodiac constellations to drift through the sky, and the process known as precession. Ancient astrologers chose signs that matched the constellations. Because of precession, the moving constellations left the signs behind. Today the tropical zodiac is out of step by about one sign. Astrologers are also aware that planets aren’t actually ‘in’ constellations, they pass in front of them. This is an optical illusion. If you were on a different planet, they would appear to be in front of different constellations as compared to earth viewers. And it doesn’t change the fact that there are twelve zodiac signs. Enter Sladek and his 13th sign There is a small number of astrologers who believe that there should be thirteen signs. They often justify this by saying that there are thirteen lunar months in the year, and therefore there should be thirteen signs. An odd rationalisation considering that the zodiac is based on the Sun’s passage through the heavens and not the Moon’s. The thirteen sign issue is not a tale lost in the mists of history. We actually know why some people believe there to be thirteen zodiac signs and who was responsible. It was the science fiction writer John Sladek. Sladek was an American science fiction author who became known for his satirical and surrealistic novels. He spent the 1960s in London and was part of the New Wave which began in 1964 when Michael Moorcock took over as editor of the science fiction magazine New Worlds. Moorcock had a policy of publishing unusually literary stories, and New Worlds sought to distance itself from traditional science fiction. The content of the New Wave focused on taboobreaking and a more people-focused approach. New Wave writers saw themselves as part of a general literary tradition and openly mocked the traditions of pulp science fiction. The New Wave also had a political subtext with many of its writers coming from Marxist and socialist political traditions. Sladek’s most famous novel, The Müller-Fokker Effect, was published in 1971 and was the story of how an attempt to preserve human personality on tape goes awry – although many readers were simply entranced by its title. Sladek was also known for his parodies of other science fiction writers. 42Jan/Feb2017 TheAstrologicalJournal While science fiction was redefining itself as literature, a new type of writing was becoming popular in the mass market - pseudo-science as scientific fact. And noone was more adept at producing such work, or to be more renowned for it than the Swiss author, Erich von Däniken who produced a number of books about extra-terrestrial influence on human culture since prehistoric times. He is one of the key figures responsible for popularising ancient astronaut theories. In 1967, while von Däniken was spending time in prison on charges of embezzlement, forgery, and tax evasion, his first book Chariots of the Gods was published. He wrote his second book, Gods from Outer Space while still in prison. Sladek wrote a scathing attack on von Däniken and his work in 1969. By this time, Moorcock had published Sladek’s work in New Worlds magazine, and was planning to write a book on irrational beliefs. When Moorcock realised he was never likely to write that book, he turned the title and some of his sources over to Sladek. In no time at all Sladek was hooked, he became a born-again sceptic and wrote The New Apocrypha: A Guide to Strange Sciences and Occult Beliefs (1973). Initially, Sladek had hoped to find something in parapsychology, but all he found was badly conducted experiments and outright fraud. He couldn’t resist poking fun at every topic he covered. The tone of the book can be gleaned from the chapter title on flying saucer cults – “Will U kindly FO?” Apocrypha covered a huge range of material, from Nostradamus to psychic detectives, taking in eternal motion machines, the secret codes that prove that Bacon wrote Shakespeare, Noah’s Ark, and Erich von Däniken. Sympathy for Däniken was in short supply and Sladek continued to parody him, for example in his 1974 short story Space Shoes of the Gods. A ruined edifice in Peru bears a weird inscription: two horizontal lines crossed by two vertical lines. In other words, the figure for tic-tac-toe, a game played by the latest giant computers. Likewise the Ankara Museum displays clay tablets pierced with holes – the same holes as used in IBM cards. Despite the humorous tone, Sladek’s expositions were impressively researched, and he let his subjects speak for, and demolish, themselves. Apocrypha attacked many who Sladek saw as false gurus, including Immanuel Velikovsky Amazing ‘spider-man’ and his 13th sign hoax and L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology. The Church of Scientology threatened legal action as Sladek quoted an article from Queen magazine without knowing they’d already successfully sued for libel over it. In lieu of damages, they had the section on scientology altered in the British paperback edition of Sladek’s book. Responses to Apocrypha mixed approval and anguish, agreeing that most targets were junk science, with one exception, an exception that varied each time. Sladek had developed a fascination with unorthodoxy and the occult, as well as its adherents. The year following Apocrypha’s publication was filled with stories of Uri Geller’s spoon bending antics, Koestler’s coincidence theories, and Charles Berlitz’s Bermuda Triangle. Perhaps there was a more personal reason for Sladek’s astrological spoof? After all, owing to a discrepancy between hospital and state records, Sladek didn’t know whether he was born sometime in October 1937 (as suggested by hospital records) or 15 December 1937 (as according to Iowa State records). He chose to celebrate his birthday on the latter date. The spider cometh Whatever the precise reason, Sladek published Arachne Rising: The Thirteenth Sign of the Zodiac under the name of James Vogh. The temptation for Sladek to devise his own occult system was irresistible, and his detailed research allowed him to convince his readers. Arachne Rising claimed to be an account of a thirteenth sign of the zodiac being suppressed by the scientific establishment. Sladek offered historical, mythical, literary, and numerological evidence for the suppressed sign of Arachne the spider. To fit Arachne into the zodiac, Sladek divided it into thirteen and inserted Arachne between 25° 23’ Taurus and 23° 5’ Gemini. He included statistics that showed that people born under Arachne (13 May to 9 June) were usually psychics, leading to enthusiastic mail from ‘Arachnoid’ readers who claimed they’d known this all along. The symbol of Arachne is a circle with a cross at the centre, a common glyph for Earth. Alert readers noticed that alongside interpretations of charts of people such as Uri Geller, Sladek included astrological case histories for Cassandra Knye, the name under which Sladek and the writer Thomas Disch had published spoof Gothic novels, and James Colvin, a New Worlds house pseudonym often used by Michael Moorcock. Sladek’s thirteenth sign was identified roughly with the constellation Auriga, and supposedly took more account of the influence of the Moon. He argued that Auriga was the John Sladek thirteenth sign in the lunar zodiac used by the Druids amongst others. According to Sladek, Auriga was widely known as a zodiac sign in ancient times but deliberately suppressed after the Middle Ages because of its psychic lunar connections. The Church apparently opposed the use of Arachne due to its Celtic ancestry. Auriga was known as Ariadne by the Minoans and so was connected to the labyrinth and the magic thread that guided Theseus. From the magic thread of Ariadne we take but a short step to the weaver goddess Arachne. Or a short step to Arianrhod, the Celtic Goddess of the Moon and Stars, and of the silver wheel of the heavens. Sladek described how Arianrhod drives her chariot around the heavens, leading us and connecting us to the source, like Theseus in the labyrinth, and like the spider goddess weaving her web of fate. The book read like, and quoted, serious astrological and historical sources. Presumably because not enough astrologers read science fiction, it was accepted as a serious astrological text – if a little peculiar. But any astrologer knows that there is no shortage of peculiar astrological texts. The book was republished in 1979 under the new title of The Thirteenth Zodiac: The Sign of Arachne. Sladek later announced that the whole thing had been a hoax. Unfortunately, that did little to stem the enthusiasm of some astrologers, who continued to use the “new sign”. He claimed to have been surprised that people took the book so seriously. Perhaps it was his surprise that persuaded him to write a follow-up volume The Cosmic Factor in 1978 and, under the name of Richard A. Tilms, Judgment of Jupiter in 1980. In the greater scheme of things, Sladek’s books had caused hardly a ripple. Although the concept of a thirteenth zodiac sign was firmly planted in many people’s heads, it would take another twenty years before an astronomer came into the picture to introduce the idea of a missing zodiac sign. TheAstrologicalJournalJan/Feb201743 Amazing ‘spider-man’ and his 13th sign hoax BBC ‘announces’ 13th sign In 1995, Dr Jacqueline Mitton (Public Relations Officer of the Royal Astronomical Society) acted as a consultant to the BBC and appeared in the third episode of their television series about astronomy, entitled Heavenly Bodies. While filming, she mentioned that the zodiac contained a thirteenth constellation, and pointed out that there was a difference between her astrological Sun sign as usually given and the true position of the Sun on her birthday. The first episode of Heavenly Bodies was scheduled for broadcast on Sunday, 22 January 1995. The BBC sent out their publicity material, and it landed on the desk of Roger Highfield, the science editor of the Daily Telegraph. Stories about astrology make good copy, so Highfield contacted Mitton to talk to her about her views on astrology and the astronomy behind them. These were reported in an article published on Friday, 20 January. The article included a diagram illustrating the difference between the traditional zodiac divided into twelve equal signs, and an “astronomically correct” zodiac based on the true path of the Sun through the sky. The following day the rest of the press followed suit with their own stories and the Royal Astronomical Society began to field calls from all over the world about the new zodiac sign. Between 2,000 and 3,000 years ago the dates on which the sun appeared in the different constellations were worked out by apportioning one twelfth of the sky to each constellation. Those dates are still used by astrologers for their predictions. Because the stars are only visible during the night most people have to take the astrologers’ word for it when they talk about being ‘in’ a particular star sign: that is when the sun is in front of a particular constellation. Unfortunately for astrologers, the constellations cover different sized areas of the sky, according to the International Astronomical Union. “Some constellations cover much bigger areas than others,” said Dr. Mitton. This means that each zodiac sign should, in reality, cover a different number of days. Worse still, in the intervening years the direction of Earth’s axis has been slowly changing. This causes the seasons, and thus our calendar, to shift with respect to the star’s positions. (Daily Telegraph.) Mitton was referring to the International Astronomical Union redrawing the boundaries of the constellations in 1930 and including a thirteenth constellation along the ecliptic. According to the official modern constellation boundaries that astronomers use, the sun now passes through thirteen constellations, and not twelve. This thirteenth constellation is Ophiuchus the Serpent Bearer, and the Sun is in front of its stars during approximately 30 November to 17 December. A thirteenth sign would destroy the principle of the twelve44Jan/Feb2017 TheAstrologicalJournal fold division of the zodiac if astrologers accepted it. And Mitton was perfectly correct in her assertion that the equally sized zodiac signs don’t correspond to the constellations. They never have. (Alert thirteenth sign hunters remembered that Sladek had in fact pointed out the position of Ophiuchus on the zodiac belt in Arachne.) Ophiuchus is an ancient constellation, one of the original Ptolemaic constellations, and appears in the Almagest. In his Tetrabiblos, Ptolemy treats Ophiuchus as a non-zodiac constellation. Ophiuchus also appears on the Farnese Globe, a Roman copy of a second century BCE depiction of Atlas holding the celestial sphere. The Moon and planets can be seen against the stars of Ophiuchus. Astrologers had no choice but to respond to the idea that their zodiac had changed. Articles appeared in astrological publications, and for a short time, there was excited discussion. Most astrologers rubbished the idea saying that the zodiac and the constellations aren’t and had never been the same so there was no reason for any changes. A few astrologers were tempted by the new sign because of the association with the thirteen lunar months. A small minority looked to the myth of Ophiuchus so that they could incorporate its meaning into their work. Ophiuchus was better known in classical times as Asclepius, the God of Medicine. He learnt his art from Chiron, the Centaur. On either side of Ophiuchus in the heavens lie the two parts of the sign of the serpent he holds, Serpens Caput, the serpent’s head and Serpens Cauda, the serpent’s tail. The serpent staff is the badge of the medical profession to this day in the form of the caduceus. It is from the serpent that Ophiuchus learnt the secret of the elixir of life. Plato drew a correspondence between Ophiuchus and the god of the underworld, Pluto. Medieval Christians used an image of Saint Paul holding a viper to represent Ophiuchus before dropping it altogether. (Not the viper.) Ophiuchus is always shown with his foot resting on Scorpius. In ancient Greek legend, the earth Goddess Gaia sends Scorpius to kill Orion, the Hunter, who has threatened to hunt down all the animals of the earth. Scorpius stings Orion, who would have died had it not been for the intervention of Ophiuchus. Ophiuchus gives Orion a sip of the divine elixir and restores him to health. The older Babylonian version is a little different. Here the serpent is Tiamat, the Monster of the Bitter Ocean. Holding Tiamat is Marduk, the Sun God of the Babylonians. They are doing battle together in the eternal fight of good against evil. With almost unseemly haste, Walter Berg’s The Thirteen Signs of the Zodiac was published on 22 May 1995. And then the idea sank into astrological history. Amazing ‘spider-man’ and his 13th sign hoax Today, almost no-one attempts to use anything other than the traditional twelve sign zodiac. There are a few people who continue to take the idea of thirteen zodiac signs seriously – the number of websites on the subject attest to that. However, these sites simply point out that there’s a thirteenth sign and do little to take the idea further. Perhaps there are a few astrologers somewhere, casting horoscopes and interpreting them using a thirteen sign zodiac. If so, they’re doing it extremely quietly. Sladek’s role in creating the idea that the zodiac could contain thirteen signs has been largely forgotten. Extracted from Flirting with the Zodiac by Kim Farnell, published by The Wessex Astrologer. The paperback is available on Amazon. Horoscope columnists barely paused to draw breath. Sun sign columns continued using the same format as they had for decades, and the idea that they may have counted their zodiac signs incorrectly was quietly forgotten. Coda: Unfortunately, I was wrong about the idea of thirteen signs being forgotten. Every autumn there is a media frenzy about how our zodiac signs are wrong and some people should redefine themselves as Ophiucheans. Every year astrologers indignantly complain amongst themselves and send diatribes to media outlets. It makes no difference. And despite the enormous amount of words posted annually, Kim Farnell has been President of the Astrological Lodge of London since 2008 and authored a number of books including The Astral Tramp: A Biography of Sepharial; Mystical Vampire: The Life and Works of Mabel Collins; Leo Rising: The story of the Astrological Lodge of London; and The Taste of Custard. A former Council Member of the Astrological Association, she gained an MA in Cultural Astronomy and Astrology from Bath Spa University College in 2005. Her website: www. kimfarnell.co.uk. TheAstrologicalJournalJan/Feb201745 Not the astrology column By Anne Whitaker A valediction: Saturn square Neptune and the persistence of beauty A great battle between order (Saturn) and chaos (Neptune) raged from the end of 2015 to the end of 2016, as mass migration of peoples – often by sea – who were fleeing wars and persecution at a level not seen since the end of the Second World War, challenged and continues to challenge European nations’ capacity to cope. In both the UK and the USA, we had mass waves of weary and disillusioned populations letting out howls of protest via the UK’s Brexit vote and the hijacking of the USA’s Republican Party by that obnoxious populist, Donald Trump. However, the Saturn/Neptune square is out of orb by the start of this new year of 2017, as the turbulent, violent, purgative Uranus in Aries square Pluto in Capricorn period also winds down. A much less misery-inducing minor Grand Trine of Jupiter sextile Saturn opposite Uranus is shaping up. We can, perhaps, hope for more constructive disruption in the year that lies ahead! At a personal level, many of us will be glad to see the back of that long, three-stage dance of Saturn and Neptune. Confusion, disillusion, debilitation…how often I observed those factors at work that year in my students, clients, colleagues, friends – and myself. I’ve always found Saturn/Neptune aspects especially difficult. Some of us are better than others at dancing on a wobbly board suspended over the long drop into chaos! However, when the great planetary archetypes combine, the level at which we engage with the combination through our individual birth charts always carries a challenge to become more selfaware, more constructive in our engagement with the areas of life highlighted. And – let us never forget that even the most difficult planetary combinations can manifest in startlingly positive experiences which take our breath away. This was certainly what happened on Monday, 13 June 2016, the very day Neptune turned direct, approaching an exact square to Saturn. I have always been susceptible to the seductive beauty of art; sculpture in particular. On that day, I was with my husband in London. Having attended a most enjoyable Astrology Student Conference with two of my students, he and I were intent on time together taking in some culture. We had booked tickets for an exhibition at the British Museum that morning. That exhibition turned out to be the most atmospheric, beautiful, awe-inspiring manifestation of the Saturn/Neptune combination I could possibly have imagined. 46Jan/Feb2017 TheAstrologicalJournal About 1,300 years ago two Egyptian cities, Thonis-Heracleion and Canopus, sank into the Mediterranean Sea. They’re still there, perfectly preserved. (As yet, only 5% of the vast undersea sites have been excavated.) They were inhabited not only by native Egyptians but also Greeks and Romans, and eventually Byzantine Christians. The cities were known from texts — Egyptian decrees, mythology and the writings of Herodotus — but no one had actually seen them. Then, two decades ago, underwater archaeologists began bringing up objects and artworks from the seabed. Some are enormous and weigh several tons. They included massive representations of human-shaped gods, deities in the form of animals, towering kings and queens, giant bearded heads of Greek gods, enormous pharaoh heads, black stone slabs with intensely intricate lines of hieroglyphs and stone coffins. That exhibition was a truly magnificent, utterly memorable event. But our Saturn/Neptune experience wasn’t yet over! After a visit to London’s wonderful, arty Astrology Shop in Covent Garden run by the redoubtable Barry Street, we dropped by the National Gallery: to revisit some favourite paintings, and to marvel again at the sheer scale and beauty of the building. Wandering with a truly international throng of spellbound artlovers through room after room stocked with eight hundred years of amazing art, we were once again entranced. Botticelli, Leonardo, Rembrandt, Canaletto, El Greco, Rubens, Vermeer, Van Gogh, Monet, Turner, Picasso…all our favourites and thousands more were there. Not reproductions: THE REAL THING. We strolled back to our hotel, heads and hearts full of gratitude for being able to share such wonderful art and sculpture with so many of our fellow citizens from all over the world. The day had been wonderful: a profound reminder that no matter how much ugliness, cruelty, destruction and evil there certainly is in the world, no-one can crush from the human soul our longing to connect with the Divine through meditation, prayer, music and all the Arts – “…beauty is truth, truth beauty…” as poet John Keats put it so memorably. Without Saturn, however, none of that Neptunian longing could ever take form…. Anne Whitaker is an astrologer, counsellor and writer based in Glasgow, Scotland, UK. She is available for astrological consultations and tuition, and short-term counselling, both in person and via skype. Contact: email: [email protected]; and via Facebook and Twitter. Website: www.astrologyquestionsandanswers.com The astrology of ‘Obamacare’ Liz Hargreaves imagines herself as outgoing President Obama’s astrologer. What would she have advised and foreseen if he’d first consulted her on his controversial, now threatened health care reform? Read on… With US President Barack Obama’s departure from office on 20 January 2017, I thought I would take an astrological look at one of the key policies of his administrations, the so-called ‘Obamacare’. One of his guiding principles has been: “A strong nation made up of strong families”. He saw that more accessible and affordable healthcare was key to this end and he was aware of the sensitivities surrounding this issue for voters who were excluded. A nation (see US Sibley/Obama biwheel chart) with Sun, Mercury, Venus and Jupiter in Cancer, along with Chiron in the 4th in Aries, was always going to respond strongly to this and to someone with an all-pervading natal Moon falling in the US’s 6th house which rules health services. Reform came in the shape of the Affordable Care Act (‘Obamacare’) of 2010. The intention was to make quality health insurance more affordable, to expand coverage and reduce healthcare costs. But, at time of writing, it still isn’t fully implemented and there is no doubt that Obamacare has been beset by years of political and legal gridlock and challenges. President Elect Donald Trump indicated in November 2016 that he plans to retain some parts of Obamacare (such as coverage for individuals with pre-existing conditions) despite campaign vows to end it altogether. Inner Wheel US chart Sibley Event Chart Jul 4 1776 NS, Thu 5:10 pm LMT +5:00:39 Philadelphia Outer Wheel Barack Obama Aug 4 1961, Fri 7:24 pm AHST +10:00 Honolulu, Hawaii Imagine that I am Obama’s astrologer I imagined myself in the role of astrologer to President Obama and what I might have said if I had been told about his healthcare reform plans just before first Inauguration Day in early 2009, and asked about the likelihood of success. I would have said something along the lines of: “Mr. Obama, I can completely understand how you are eager to start pushing healthcare reform through right now and set the tone for the future, but the long-term astrological outlook does look to be extremely challenging and it is possible you could be beset with struggles and difficulties for up to a decade due to difficult transits”. My chart analysis follows in italics: I would have seen his progressed Sun in the very late degrees of Virgo, which may have given a sense of urgency to any health-related policy, in the progressed chart 3rd house (which rules administration) and in the natal 8th house (which rules transformation and deeprooted change). Also, his progressed MC was in very early Aries in natal 2nd house, probably auguring an eagerness to be seen to be getting on with things and follow-through on his promises. His progressed Moon, just in natal 1st in Aquarius, was exactly conjunct natal Aquarius Ascendant, so perhaps TheAstrologicalJournalJan/Feb201747 The astrology of ‘Obamacare’ he wanted to set a tone of reform for the years ahead, with family care being a high priority. Transiting Chiron (which may rule Virgo/6th house) in Aquarius was in his natal 1st house and also exactly conjunct Ascendant, which could have encouraged a personal mission to take on reforming healthcare. Inner Wheel Barack Obama Aug 4 1961, Fri 7:24 pm AHST +10:00 Honolulu, Hawaii making him innately sensitive to the needs of his own family. The Moon (in the nation’s 6th) is lead planet in the Locomotive chart shape and in dignity in Gemini, bestowing an instinct to connect families with the care they need. Moon square North Node at apex in Leo in the 7th house indicates a drive to protect families of others: a possible constructive outlet for the t-square is via the Aquarian theme of reform. Moon [out of sign] opposition his Scorpio MC may bring circumstances that enable him to push for changes in care provision, possibly by putting him in a position to make the decisions. To complete the t-square, his Scorpio MC is square North Node in Leo, bringing an innate potential to drive fundamental change as a leader for the benefit of others. T-square 2 (for the purposes of this article) is mutable which brings flexibility, but he could also be overaccommodating in the three chart areas involved. It consists of Chiron (possibly ruling Virgo/6th house) in natal 1st in Pisces, which may point to selfless action for the health of others, square Moon (in nation’s 6th) giving determination to protect the health of his own family and the health of the nation’s families. Gemini Moon at apex suggests a positive outlet for these feelings that could be found via a Sagittarian theme, such as justice. Moon is square Pluto giving a drive to transform family care. And Chiron opposite Pluto (in Virgo/7th) may be viewed as innate willingness to act selflessly, in spite of opposition, to transform health services for the benefit of others. Whenever this t-square is set off by transit, it will be linked to the water Grand Trine via Chiron and heightens any sensitivity. Middle Wheel Barack Obama Sec.Prog. SA in Long Jan 1 2009, Thu 12:00 pm EST +5:00 Washington Natal Moon (in US’s 6th) connects natal t-squares so it is very important when looking at Obamacare. Outer Wheel Barack Obama Transits Chart Jan 1 2009, Thu 12:00 pm EST +5:00 Washington A Mystic Rectangle pattern can indicate the ability to make full use of skills and sustain productive effort in the chart areas involved over a prolonged period of time: For the long-range outlook, I would have looked for outer planet transits (see the Obama tri-wheel chart) to his two natal t-squares (both containing his powerful natal Moon in the nation’s 6th house), Mystic Rectangle and water Grand Trine, which I think are all very relevant to Obamacare. Within the t-squares, the most difficult challenges, obstacles and recurring themes in life can be found. But t-squares can also point to someone’s greatest achievements: T-square 1 (for the purposes of this article) has two fixed points, giving him determination in the relevant chart areas (7th house and MC) and one mutable planet, giving a desire to serve in the chart area the mutable planet falls in. The mutable planet is natal Moon in Cancer-ruled 4th, 48Jan/Feb2017 TheAstrologicalJournal The Mystic Rectangle in Obama’s chart contains Obama’s Moon in the 4th Cancer-themed house (in the nation’s 6th) sextile Mercury in Leo in the natal 6th, so opportunities may be presented to him as a leader to care for the nation’s families through an affordable (a Cancerian theme) healthcare bill. Mercury Leo trines Scorpio (also a fixed sign) MC amplifying determination, as does MC sextile Jupiter in fixed Aquarius in the Neptune-themed 12th which could bring opportunities to see justice done to his ideals through reform, facilitated by high social standing. His Moon (in US’s 6th) trines Aquarius Jupiter, giving him enthusiasm and humanitarian concern for the wellbeing of families. Inside the Rectangle is Moon opposite MC indicating determination, most probably in the face of opposition, to transform the nation’s The astrology of ‘Obamacare’ health services in some way, during the course of his career. Mercury in the 6th opposite Jupiter may give him conviction but possibly also blind optimism about intended health reform. But natal Jupiter conjunct natal Saturn in Capricorn adds some realism. Moon opposite MC links this Mystic Rectangle to t-square 1 which could bring much inner and outer tension into the reform process, when activated by a difficult transit. Mercury trine MC links it to t-square 1 which could be advantageous during transits, or just as easily work quickly against him. As Moon links both t-squares, this pattern could influence their manifestation. With a natal Grand Trine, the ease of flow between the relevant chart areas can work positively or negatively. During transits to a water Grand Trine there is the possibility of giving in too readily to the demands of others (which could be emphasised in Obama’s chart by the connection to the mutable t-square through Chiron) and oversensitivity. But a water Grand Trine can also bring the gift of escaping difficult situations: Starting the analysis with natal Venus in Cancer, I can see that the protection of family relationships is in Obama’s nature (no doubt made easier if the family has access to affordable care), in the 5th (improving childcare has been central to his policies). Venus trines Neptune in the 9th in Scorpio (an idealist having the optimism and belief that he can bring about change through legal channels). Neptune trines Chiron in Pisces in the 1st house which amplifies an innate willingness to act selflessly and champion the cause of transforming healthcare and, through Chiron trine Venus in Cancer, he can protect family relationships. These chart patterns would all, at some time or another over the ten years from 2008, experience many difficult transits, due a large number of retrogrades. I would also have seen that transits to his dignified Sun and in the Virgo-themed 6th had an important role to play. This is emphasised further by Sun square Neptune in the water Grand Trine (which links Sun to t-square 2 via Neptune trine Chiron, and so links Sun to Moon in the nation’s 6th). This brings an even stronger dose of selfless idealism and sensitivity into the picture, but perhaps also more ability to escape problematic events. Natal Virgo Mars, in the 7th that suggests much energy directed towards health and service to others, would also be subject to difficult transits. To begin with, I would have seen the likelihood of serious political gridlock: Tr Saturn Retrograde in Virgo would be in no mood for fun, forming an exact conjunction with natal Mars in Virgo on 29 December 2008 (just before Obama’s first inauguration) and again on 28 August 2009. It wouldn’t move away until mid-September 2009. I would have seen this as setting the tone for his Presidency beset with restrictions, obstructions, limitations and obstacles from a more conservative source. In fact, once he became President, the Republicans vowed to obstruct Obama in making progress on health service reform in any way they could: This could be exacerbated by tr Pluto in early degrees of Capricorn making its first quincunx aspect to natal Moon (in the nation’s 6th) on 2 February 2009, just after his first Inauguration Day. Tr Pluto, agent of transformation (and possibly endings and beginnings), is in natal 11th house of personal ambitions themed by Uranus, the humanitarian and reformer. From the beginning of 2009 to autumn 2010, Pluto would make four exact quincunx aspects to natal Mercury (in the Mystic Rectangle) in the 6th house. I would see during this transit the possibility of being forced by the big boys to let go of some of his reform plans or start again with some from scratch. (There were serious negotiations and political gridlock between the Obama administration and the Senate regarding the health bill throughout 2009 to spring 2010. Obamacare survived, possibly due to the protection of the Mystic Rectangle and, interestingly, became law when his natal Mercury was having a breather from Pluto.): TheAstrologicalJournalJan/Feb201749 The astrology of ‘Obamacare’ Tr Pluto in Capricorn would also make four exact oppositions to natal Venus in Cancer (in the water Grand Trine) in the Natal 5th. This aspect was exact on first Inauguration Day and moved away in September 2010. This could be a politically sensitive time of opposition to unpalatable financial risk, perhaps concerning younger people; and possibly a defensive legal move might become necessary. In fact, there were threats from insurance companies during this time to increase premiums, due in large part to healthier young people choosing to opt out (which seems ever-present). Further legislation limiting long-term hikes in premiums was agreed but this problem didn’t go away (the Grand Trine working against him). Interestingly, on the day Obamacare was signed into law, natal Venus was also getting a break from Pluto. Uranus is Obama’s chart ruler and so is he no doubt sensitive to its transits…. I would have seen tr Uranus the reformer in natal 1st making trouble through its opposition to Obama’s Mars in Virgo in 7th for some time (perhaps unexpected opposition from detractors preventing him moving forward with his health service plans) and that it would form the last of three exact oppositions at the beginning of December 2009, remaining within 2-degree orb until mid-February 2010. This could suggest, in very simple terms, a situation developing where he may be put out on a limb at some point; or perhaps an unexpected manoeuvre from the opposition would occur to obstruct him in acting on health-service reform. (In 2010, opposition came from an unexpected Virgoan politician! In January, just before Uranus moved on for good from natal Mars in Virgo, Republican Senator Scott Brown [a Virgo being somewhat critical of a health policy] came into the fray after winning a special election. Also, in early 2010, the Republican-controlled House voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Both these efforts to scupper reform failed to take hold [Uranus was in Pisces when aspecting natal Mars] and the Affordable Care Act [Obamacare] was signed into law on 23 March 2010, which probably no one could have foreseen in January 2009.) Taking a break from the long-range aspects to consider the astrology for signing day, this is shown in the tri-wheel for 23 March 2010 [see triwheel chart for this date]. There were criticisms that the Affordable Care Act had been rushed through, that the legislation was much too watereddown, unwelcome financial risks (especially involving younger people) were being forced upon the insurers, and an 50Jan/Feb2017 TheAstrologicalJournal Inner Wheel Barack Obama Aug 4 1961, Fri 7:24 pm AHST +10:00 Honolulu, Hawaii Middle Wheel Barack Obama Sec.Prog. SA in Long Mar 23 2010, Tue 12:00 pm EDT +4:00 Washington Outer Wheel Barack Obama Transits Chart Mar 23 2010, Tue 12:00 pm EDT +4:00 Washington unacceptably large amount of taxpayers’ money was being committed. Does the astrology suggest that Obama may have wanted to hurry the bill through the various stages? I think it does: His progressed MC in Aries (being seen as or wanting to be seen as moving quickly) had been trine (speeding things up further) natal Leo Mercury in natal 6th house (with a health service bill in his position as leader) since early June 2009 and was in orb until early October 2010. This progression activated natal Mystic Rectangle via natal Mercury opposition Jupiter in Aquarius (which adds more ‘fire’ energy to the reform process). Also, as his progressed Sun in natal 8th was about to leave healthconscious Virgo, there could have been a deepening sense of urgency about the bill for him. On signing day itself, there was also a lot of ‘fire’ energy around for Obama and healthcare themes were prominent due to an active natal 6th house… The astrology of ‘Obamacare’ Jupiter, co-ruler of Pisces; and rules law) since midDecember 2009. Also, I think the astrology suggests there may have been some ‘watering-down’ on the day: Tr Jupiter in Pisces (lots of ‘water’) in natal 1st house was semi-square (‘swamping’) natal Jupiter in Aquarius (connected to natal t-squares and Moon in the nation’s 6th via the Mystic Rectangle) - his national health service reform law. Mars transited Leo in natal 6th and exactly conjoined natal Mercury. Tr Aries Sun exactly trines natal Mercury (both these aspects set off the Mystic Rectangle which is linked to the t-squares via natal Moon in the US’s 6th) and tr Aries Mercury exactly trines natal Sun in Leo in the 6th (natal Sun squares Neptune in the Grand Trine to speed things up further). So Obama could well have been in a hurry to sign the bill into law, perhaps having to use all the resources available to him. Most legislation is subject to compromise (or being ‘watered down’) as it goes through the various stages, but does the astrology suggest that Obamacare may have been unusually affected? Well, there had been a lot of the ‘water’ element around for Obama in the relevant chart areas for some time, enough I think for this to be significant: Tr Uranus Direct in Pisces had come in for the first of four sesquiquadrates (delaying) to natal Sun (linked to the water Grand Trine) in the 6th house in late June 2009 and was exact again for hit two on signing day. His solar arc Moon in Cancer had been in his natal 6th house since late October 2008, just before he was elected for the first time. His progressed Ascendant in Cancer had moved into natal 6th house in late September 2009 when it was in semi-square aspect (interrupting flow) to natal Moon, lasting till signing day (two t-squares and Mystic Rectangle), in the Cancer-themed 4th (and the nation’s 6th). Obama’s progressed Moon/Chiron in Pisces (Neptunian with Chiron possibly linked to Virgo/6th) had been together in the progressed 9th house (associated with His progressed Moon was in sensitive Pisces in natal 1st, and, on the day, was in very tight opposition to natal Pluto in Virgo (in mutable t-square 2 which involves his natal Moon in the nation’s 6th). Perhaps in the few weeks leading up to signing day, he decided to give more ground to ensure the survival of his bill. This aspect was exact on signing day so, if this was the case, things may have come to a head. Also, tr Moon in Cancer (care, insurance) was sextile natal Pluto in Virgo between 12:40 and 16:40 hours EDT. This gives even more opportunity for the water element to get involved in the survival of the bill if it was signed between these times. Is there any astrology to suggest that there were financial risks regarding younger people that may not have been fully appreciated at the time? I think there is… Tr Moon in Cancer (families and care, insurance) in natal 5th (financial risk, young people) was exactly trine natal Chiron in the 1st, which as I’ve said already, possibly rules Virgo and the 6th house (easily underestimated when championing a cause related to health services), in Pisces (Neptune-ruled) in mutable t-square and water Grand Trine involving Neptune (and the full extent possibly not appreciated at the time) between 10am and 1pm EDT on the day. (What has actually happened is that healthier, wealthier, younger people who were perhaps being relied on to subsidise the scheme by not calling on it, are preferring to opt out, pay the necessary fines and take the risk of staying uninsured.)… Also, tr Saturn exalted in Libra in his natal 8th house (protracted legal problems with government regarding the liberal spending of other people’s money) was exactly square natal Venus in Cancer in natal 5th (forcing them to bear the financial risk involving insurance and younger people) and the natal water Grand Trine (the extent of which could have been under-estimated). TheAstrologicalJournalJan/Feb201751 The astrology of ‘Obamacare’ The bulk of Obamacare provisions went into effect on 1 January 2014 just as Neptune moved away from this aspect. But even now the provisions are still not fully implemented. However, there are signs that Obamacare has made a real difference to the coverage of healthcare provision, which could in part be due to the well-connected and influential natal Moon (in the nation’s 6th) gravitating towards leading (lead planet) the campaign. In May 2016, according to Obamacarefacts. com, the Uninsurance Rate had fallen to an all-time low and an estimated 20 to 30 million more Americans have access to health insurance. Does astrology provide any clues as to the future for Obamacare? I think Neptune will have a big say in this as I think it has done throughout: The President and White House Staff react to the House of Representatives passing the bill on March 21, 2010. (Obamacare is costing the government, i.e. taxpayers, huge sums and causing losses for insurers who are being forced to underwrite older voters and younger people with pre-existing health conditions. This transit moved on in late August 2010 but seems to have set the tone for the future as this issue keeps coming back again and again.) So, now back to January 2009 (with no notion of actual signing day) and the forecast: the ‘water’ element would continue its influence which could mean giving yet more ground in the future and continuing uncertainty… Tr Uranus in Pisces comes in for two more sesquiquadrate aspects with Obama’s Sun, which is connected to natal Moon (in the nation’s 6th), in autumn 2010 and in winter 2010/2011. In early June 2011, a retrograde Neptune in Pisces in natal 1st would be within orb of a first quincunx with natal Mercury in the natal 6th (in the natal Mystic Rectangle involving natal Moon in two t-squares in the nation’s 6th) possibly leading to a far-reaching and difficult-to-contain event which could undermine his administration’s progress. (In 2011, new legal challenges appeared from twenty-six states with the most serious from Florida, and hearings lasted for most of the year. Florida is thought to be ruled by Pisces! Also, Judge Roger Vinson of Florida, who ruled against Obamacare and tried to invalidate the entire law, was born on the day when Sun moved into Pisces.) Tr Neptune in Pisces will make four more exact quincunxes to natal Mercury before moving away on 5 January 2014. 52Jan/Feb2017 TheAstrologicalJournal It has already returned (in Pisces, its own sign, and in natal 1st) to make more waves, and has started to make one of the five exact quincunx aspects to Obama’s natal Sun in natal 6th, the first of which was in early June 2016. This aspect continues on and off all the way forward to mid-November 2018 and will set off the sensitive natal Sun square natal Neptune in the 9th in the water Grand Trine - this last involves Chiron in Pisces (ruled by Neptune), whose relevance to health is noted elsewhere above. The future of Obamacare This suggests that Obama could face deep ideological differences regarding Obamacare for almost two years after leaving office, and possibly that it may not survive in its present form [as appears to be the case under Trump]. If he does take on the role of trying to rescue Obamacare himself (which I think the astrology suggests he might: he sought to persuade Trump not to abandon it at their first meeting at the White House in November 2016), he will probably have to call on absolutely all the resources available to him in order to do so. We probably won’t get any clarity until this quincunx has worked its way through. Obama no doubt wants to leave a legacy of lasting healthcare reform that continues to increase the number of Americans with access to affordable healthcare. His supporters regard Obamacare to be his central legacy, but others still think of it as unfinished business. Tr Uranus, now in Aries in his natal 2nd house, started forming a quincunx with natal Mars in Virgo at the end of April 2016. This may bring in rapid, perhaps unexpected, changes, and possibly a surprising turn of events as his life focus changes on leaving office. This aspect doesn’t move on until mid-March 2017. Astrologically and politically, the future for Obamacare still seems to be very uncertain. But much activity on signing day The astrology of ‘Obamacare’/Pluto involving very tight aspects to his natal North Node in Leo in the 7th house (linked to the all-pervading power of his natal Moon in the nation’s 6th house) from tr Uranus in natal 2nd in Pisces, tr Neptune/ Chiron in Aquarius, both in the natal 1st, suggests this: that although Obamacare was not fully formed on signing day, Barack Obama’s selflessness, courage and strength in initiating healthcare reform (to the benefit of many) could be strongly linked to his life purpose. Liz Hargreaves wanted to be an astrologer ever since seeing an 8-year-old school friend’s project on astrology and feeling an immediate connection with its symbols. A more conventional life awaited but astrology books always provided a doorway to a more familiar world. Liz retired early from her career as an Independent Financial Adviser and started to study for the Mayo School Diploma. She was tutored by Wendy Stacey and passed with distinction in June 2016. Liz enjoys writing and has decided to start her new life as an astrologer contributing articles in an accessible style. Liz’s contact email is [email protected]. Pluto’s methane snowcaps NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft has sent back this intriguing image of Pluto [turn the image sideways so that the northern red features are at the top]. NASA reports that “[this] scene is south of Pluto’s dark equatorial band informally named Cthulhu Regio, and southwest of the vast nitrogen ice plains informally named Sputnik Planum. The chain of bright mountains extends north into Cthulhu Regio and are snowcapped. The ‘snow’ isn’t water, but atmospheric methane that has condensed as frost onto these surfaces at high elevation. Between some mountains are sharply cut valleys, each a few miles across and tens of miles long”. Credits: NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI TheAstrologicalJournalJan/Feb201753 Up, up and away! Part 1 The story of the first identification of Uranus as a planet at the advent of 18th century flying machines Jonathon Clark Late on a spring evening in 1781, in a small garden in Bath, it seems unlikely that the German musician and astronomer, William Herschel, could have had any idea of what he had set in motion as he tracked what he thought was a comet across the skies with his telescope.1 It subsequently became clear that the object he spotted was not a comet but a planet – and a planet whose time had come. In the 235 years since its discovery Uranus has come to symbolise revolution and sudden change on a transpersonal scale, and by its very nature and the manner of its discovery, this is understandable. Almost in an instant the size of the known solar system was doubled – Saturn is 1,400,000,000 kilometres from the sun while Uranus is twice that distance. Uranus is unusual in its physical characteristics, since it is tilted at 98° to its axis so that it orbits the sun almost horizontally rather than vertically. It was also the first planet to be discovered using a scientific instrument rather than the naked eye; and the timing of its discovery lies almost halfway between the Declaration of Independence by the USA in 1776 and the overthrow of the French monarchy in 1789. Saturn) should be the name of the new planet. As Saturn is the next planet out from Jupiter in the solar system, so Uranus is the next planet out from Saturn – a sort of planetary family tree. Uranus, in Greek mythology, was the god of the sky and married to Gaia – mother earth. William Herschel portrait For thousands of years human beings had operated in what might be considered a two- dimensional world – land and water – dimensions which had been explored extensively although not completely. However, the appointment of a mythological god of the skies could not have come at a more appropriate time, as attention was now turning to exploration of the air. Uranus – odd one out again – is the only planet named after a Greek god rather than a Roman god. The first unmanned balloon flights took place in 1783 – just a couple of years after the discovery of Uranus. Travelling in the air may be considered by some to be a different form of travel and therefore subject to the natural rulership of Mercury or Jupiter according to the distance of the journey. Uranus is visible not only through a telescope but also around one-sixth of the time with the naked eye as a dim light – Herschel’s discovery was not the first sighting of the planet but it was the first time that it was identified as a planet. However, viewed in a historical context these first journeys through the air must have appeared truly magical to the 18thcentury observer and of a different order from anything which had preceded it. The orbit of Uranus around the sun takes 84 years, and this is now about the average lifespan in the developed world – Uranus flickers in and out of our view as someone at the age of 84 might flicker between worlds – both reviewing their life on Earth and contemplating what death might bring. As events unfolded over the next two-hundred years, humanity’s fascination with air travel continued and produced, eventually, aeroplanes and space rockets. The astrological charts for the important initial stages in the journeys made by these vehicles are linked by the remarkable closeness of aspects between Uranus and other key planets, as well as by the references which many of these charts show to each other. In this context discussions about whether we should allow five degrees or ten degrees for an aspect are redundant, for everything is in tight aspect with two degrees being the maximum orb. Herschel originally proposed to name the planet “George’s Star” in honour of King George III – something which was understandably unpopular in the newly independent USA and elsewhere. An alternative was proposed by Johann Bode, although his suggestion – Uranus – was not formally accepted in Britain until 1850. Bode’s logic was that, just as Saturn was the mythological father of Jupiter, so Uranus (being the father of 54Jan/Feb2017 TheAstrologicalJournal So, one of Uranus’s roles was to herald the conquering of the skies, as we shall see. In a sense, this is just as much an upset of the established order as it is a political revolution. Up, up and away! We know that Uranus was discovered between 10 and 11 p.m. on 13 March 1781.2 While we can’t get a chart for the exact moment we are fortunate that the Scorpio Ascendant is a sign of long ascension so that there are only eleven degrees of movement in the hour. A chart for 10:30 p.m. is only five degrees out at the most, and more likely perhaps two or three degrees. A replica of the telescope which William Herschel used to observe Uranus. Credit: Wikipedia Commons of a Comet” with no reference to a new planet. It was the Astronomer Royal, Nevil Makselyne, to whom Herschel reported his findings, who suggested that the new body might be a planet. Discovery of Uranus 10:30 p.m. LMT, 13 March 1781, Bath, England, 51N23, 002W22 Perhaps the first thing to note is that Uranus occupies pride of place in the evening skies. All the other planets except Neptune – as yet undiscovered and always invisible to the naked eye – are below the horizon. We don’t have a time of birth for Herschel, but taking a midday chart for his date of birth (15 November 1738, Hanover, Germany),3 we find Mercury at 13°48’ Scorpio. This is just one degree away from the Moon’s position when Uranus was discovered at 14°59’ Scorpio where it lies close to the Ascendant at 11°43’ Scorpio – it could be even closer if the actual moment of discovery was a little after 10:30 p.m. Ten days after Uranus was discovered Mercury went retrograde, and anyone who has observed the lack of clarity during such periods may readily imagine the uncertain atmosphere in which Herschel wrote up his findings. Mercury went direct again on 16 April, and when the paper was presented to the Royal Society on 26 April, it was at 11° Aries – exactly the same degree as it was on the evening Uranus was discovered and as neat a piece of astrological symmetry as you could wish to find. Two years later the balloon flights in 1783 established several landmark (or, rather, airborne) moments in the history of flight. A tight t-square is formed between Sun, Uranus and Mars in mutable signs – the widest of the three aspects is only 1°02’ – and the tension between the planets seems to herald the discovery which is being made. Herschel’s natal Sun at 23° Scorpio lies within one degree of a trine to the Sun, a quincunx to Mars and a semi-sextile to Saturn in the discovery chart. Uranus was discovered during Herschel’s search for double stars – a systematic search had commenced in October 1779 – just a few months after his directed solar arc Sun had appropriately conjoined Uranus. On 13 March 1781 it was not even clear just what had been discovered, and the paper which Herschel presented to the Royal Society with his findings was even entitled “Account Contemporary illustration of the first flight by a hydrogen balloon, 1 Dec 1783 TheAstrologicalJournalJan/Feb201755 Up, up and away! First unmanned untethered flight 1:45 p.m. LMT, 4 June 1783, Annonay, France, 48N52, 002E20 “Animals in flight” 1:15 p.m. LMT5, 19 September 1783, Versailles, France, 48°N48’, 002°E08’ Small hot air balloons made of paper had been in use for hundreds of years in China and elsewhere. The first balloon flight carrying live passengers was made on 19 September 1783 in a balloon resplendent with decorations of the Sun and the signs of the zodiac, although the passengers on this occasion were not human but consisted of a sheep, a rooster and a duck. It was not a long flight, lasting some eight minutes and covering a distance of four kilometres while rising to a height of five hundred metres. The modern era of hot air ballooning using much larger balloons is generally considered to have been inaugurated by the first public display on 4 June 1783 using a balloon constructed by the Montgolfier brothers, Joseph-Michel and Jacques-Etienne. I have been unable to track down an exact time of launch, but we do know that “people began gathering late in the morning”4 at the public square in Annonay in south-eastern France, so I have tentatively set the chart for 1:45 p.m., which places Neptune on the Ascendant and the Mercury-Uranus conjunction (separating by 1°26’) on the Midheaven. Saturn is also square to Neptune, although four degrees away from the exact aspect and five degrees away from an exact opposition to Uranus. As ballooning fever took hold in the second half of 1783 this t-Square between Saturn, Neptune and Uranus intensified as a new era in human history began. The ascending degree of 19°00’ Sagittarius takes us back to the discovery chart, where Saturn is at 19°42’ Sagittarius while Mercury, the natural ruler of transport, is exactly conjunct the Midheaven. The position of the Moon at 7° Cancer marks the position of Uranus in the chart for the first unmanned flight on 4 June 1783, while the square of Mars and Uranus for this airborne version of Noah’s Ark seems wonderfully descriptive – Mars shows the heat of the balloon’s interior and in Aries represents a “first” while the square from Uranus testifies to the unusual nature of the crew. Significantly, Mars is at 11° Aries, linking us back to the same place as Mercury in the discovery chart. It was a day of mixed fortunes for the passengers – after the flight “the sheep was [found to be] feeding quietly in its cage, the duck did not seem to have received any hurt, but the cock had its head broke”.6 The first manned flight took off on the morning of 13 October 1783 when a tethered balloon was launched from the yard of Etienne Montgolfier’s home in Paris in front of thirty people. The first balloon flight with passengers (a sheep, a duck, and a rooster) on 19 Sept 1783. Credit: 2001 National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution 56Jan/Feb2017 TheAstrologicalJournal There had apparently been a number of people willing to take part in this experiment – especially after the King had given an assurance that the sheep which had flown the previous month would be properly looked after in the Royal Menagerie!7 Up, up and away! The flight itself lasted ten minutes and the balloon travelled a distance of two kilometres, reaching a height of around 500 metres – similar to the untethered flight with the animal cargo the previous month. to usher in the new era of air travel than the first degree of the zodiac coming over the horizon? Mercury, as on the day of the first tethered flight in October, is again at 12° Scorpio having been retrograde in the intervening weeks – a curious echo of its cycle of motion at the date Uranus was discovered as described above. The two aviators were travelling in another balloon designed by the Montgolfier brothers and included Pilatres de Roziers, who had launched the balloon carrying the animals in September as well as participating in the tethered flight in October. The flight lasted just over twenty minutes and landed a league and a half away from where it took off (approximately nine kilometres) – the signatories to the statement describing the flight included the American ambassador to France, Benjamin Franklin.9 First manned flight (tethered) 11:15 a.m. LMT, 13 October 1783, Paris, France, 002E20, 48N52 There is some discrepancy regarding the exact date of this flight, with a number of sources quoting 15 October rather than 13 October. However, the news seems to have reached England via a letter from an unnamed source in Paris and the date on this letter is given as 13 October in all but one of the newspapers in which it appeared. I have not been able to find any more accurate time for the flight than “this morning”,8 and have set a chart for 11:15 a.m. with Neptune on the Midheaven and the Descendant at 13° Gemini conjunct the position of the Sun at the time of the first unmanned flight on 4 June 1783. Regardless of the exact time of the flight on 13 October, the important connections to the family of charts in this instance lie in the positions of the planets rather than the angles. In particular, Mercury lies in the thirteenth degree of Scorpio between the Moon in the discovery of Uranus chart and the natal Mercury of William Herschel. Uranus, meanwhile, by 13 October 1783, has moved to the twelfth degree of Cancer – opposite the degree which Saturn occupied on 4 June 1783 – and remains in a tight square with Neptune. During these four months Saturn has turned retrograde and drifted back to 6° Capricorn, so that the t-square is still not at its most exact. First manned balloon flight 1:54 p.m. LMT10, 21 November 1783, Paris, France, 48°N52’, 002°E20’ A sense of the importance of the event is given by the newspaper account which refers to the balloon travelling “a vast length of way in the third region of the air” and the fact that “The Duke of Chartres willing to celebrate the day on which the human race first travelled in the air, and returned to give an account of their journey, has resolved to erect a pyramid upon the spot where the ball alighted and thereon to inscribe the names of Montgolfier, who constructed the airy vehicle, together with those of the two bold travellers, who dared to take a journey to the third region of air”.11 Only three months earlier, when the first small, unmanned hydrogen balloon landed in the village of Gonesse near Paris, it had been destroyed by terrified local residents wielding pitchforks and knives.12 The first manned flight in an untethered balloon took place on 21 November 1783 with an Ascendant of 27°41’ Pisces, and just a couple of minutes later, what could be more appropriate TheAstrologicalJournalJan/Feb201757 Up, up and away! Meanwhile, Mercury, whose only aspect in the chart for the first manned hydrogen flight is a sextile to Jupiter mentioned above, is at 27°14’ Scorpio – just 0°8’ away from the position of Jupiter in the discovery chart – it is as though little Mercury acts as a link between Jupiter in the two charts. In the first chart Jupiter makes its presence felt in the 1st house and in the second it is the ruler of the 9th house of long journeys where Sagittarius is on the cusp. The achievement of Pilatres de Rozier as the first man to travel in the air was eclipsed less than two years later when he became the first fatality of air travel. Attempting to cross the English Channel on 15 June 1785, he took off with his companion, Pierre Romain, from Boulogne but the balloon ran into difficulties shortly afterwards and crashed, killing both crew members. First hydrogen balloon 1:45 p.m. LMT13, 1 December 1783, Paris, France, 002E20, 48N52 The first manned hydrogen balloon flight represents a different order from the manned flights which had preceded it using hot air balloons. This flight lasted around two hours and covered a distance of 36 kilometres. There are some discouraging factors in the chart of the crash shown below – the time of take-off is variously given as 7 a.m. or 7:15 am, but the portents are the same – the Moon in last degree of a sign (Virgo), South Node in the 1st house and Pluto is conjunct the North Node suggesting a sad end to the venture. In the chart for the launch, Mercury, the traditional planet of travel and a key planet in three of the hot air balloon flights, is now reduced to a bit player. Its only major aspect is a sextile to Jupiter, which has now changed sign and soared, untethered, into Aquarius. The big planets have taken over. Saturn, furthest known planet until two years earlier, is opposed by Uranus, the new – and literal – god of the skies with the aspect only 0°9’ away from exact opposition. Perhaps even more interestingly, given its association in modern astrology with gases, Neptune is now within one degree of a perfect square with Uranus – the new method of powering air travel is shown. Mars, the ruler of the crew, is in an exact sextile (bar 0°5’) with Pluto, and although a hot air balloon is hardly an immediate connection with the ruler of the underworld, it seems to sum up the global transformation (Pluto) which began with this flight. Finally, the Moon is exactly conjunct the North Node, describing the way to the future – it is almost a finger pointing at the Moon showing that man will land there one day – while lying exactly trine at 14° Pisces to 14° Scorpio, an important area of the zodiac in the charts previously described. There is a further link from this chart for the flight of the first hydrogen balloon to the moment when Uranus was discovered – the progressed Moon from that chart is now at 22° Sagittarius, contacting the big t-square in the same chart. 58Jan/Feb2017 TheAstrologicalJournal Pilatres de Roziers crash 7:30 a.m. LMT14, 15 June 1785, Boulogne-sur-Mer, France, 001E37, 50N43 Pluto also lies exactly sextile to a very public conjunction of Mars and Jupiter, which are both within one degree of 11° Aries – a zodiac location which has figured prominently in the charts discussed to date and which is prominent in this chart as well. A Mars-Jupiter conjunction in fiery Aries is exactly opposed by Neptune in airy Libra (which seems to be the generic planetary symbol for the newly discovered balloon in all these charts). This is a line-up which clearly shows the balloon overheating – with all three planets close to the MC-IC axis it seems trouble was inevitable. Up, up and away! Close aspects of Uranus in Charts for its Discovery and First Balloon Flights Date Event Uranus 13/3/1781 DiscoveryofUranus 24°27’Gem 4/6/1783 FirstunmannedFlight 6°06’Can 19/9/1783 “3Animal”Flight 11°32’Can 13/10/1783 FirstMannedFlight–Tethered 11°53’Can 12°38’Sco 21/11/1783 FirstmannedUntethered 11°23’Can 12°11’Sco 1/12/1783 Firsthydrogenballoon(manned) 11°04’Can This is the only chart in which the nearest Uranus aspect is greater than 2° – and it is an “ending chart” rather than a “beginning chart”. Even so, by squaring the opposition of Neptune to Mars and Jupiter with a closest aspect of a square of 2°57’ to Mars, the configuration speaks eloquently and tragically of the crash. Despite the popular astrological notion that squares and oppositions are bad news – and that is evident in this crash chart – it was also these hard aspects formed by three planets in a t-square in cardinal signs in the early 1780s – Uranus in Cancer, Saturn in Capricorn and Neptune in Libra – which seem to have provided the energy for the breakthroughs enabling humankind to travel in air for the first time and the new astrological symbol for describing them. The three planets concerned also represented a kind of continuum of astrological symbolism in terms of past, present and future – Saturn, the traditional planet which had been observed for centuries, Neptune, the planet of the future whose discovery was not to be made for another 70 years and which came to symbolise the gas in balloons come together in the present, as Uranus is discovered in 1781. For all the excitement of the 1780s it would take another 120 years – one and a half Uranus cycles – until human beings broke the next major frontier of air travel. On a winter’s morning above a beach in North Carolina, Orville Wright left the ground in the Kitty Hawk and became the first person to fly an aeroplane. In Part 2 (Mar-Apr 2017 issue) of Jonathon Clark’s work on Uranus and flight, he examines the charts of early air and space travel and the connections between these and the charts in Part 1. Mercury Mars Saturn 23°25’Sag 7°31’Can Sun Neptune 23°45’Pis 6°11’Cap 7°31’Lib 11°42’Ari 10°21’Lib 9°53’Cap 10°21’Lib 10°55’Cap 11°54’Lib References 1.ForageneraldiscussionoftheprincipalfactsofHerschel’s life andthediscoveryofUranusseehttps://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/Uranus#Discoveryandhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ William_HerschelaswellastheHerschelMuseumwebsitehttp:// herschelmuseum.org.uk. 2.www.astro.comRoddenRatingA. 3.www.astro.comRoddenRatingX. 4. Montgolfier Brothers and the Invention of Aviation 1783-1784, CharlesCoulstonGillespie,PrincetonUniversityPress,1983,P.1. 5. Hampshire Chronicle,13October1783. 6. Ibid. 7. Hereford Journal,30October1783. 8. Ibid. 9.http://inventors.about.com/od/astartinventions/a/air_balloon. htmandThe Reading Mercury and Oxford Gazette,8December 1783. 10. Ibid. 11. bid. 12. Eccentric Pioneers,PiersLetcher,publishedbyBradtTravel Guides,2003,P.36. 13.FédérationAéronautiqueInternationale–file:///C:/Users/ Jonathon%20Clark/Downloads/rpt%2001%200000-1785.pdf 14.AccounttakenfromtheDerby Mercury,16June1785. © Jonathon Clark 2016 Jonathon Clark became a Registered Life Planner in 2014 (www.alohalifeplanning.com) having qualified as a chartered accountant and worked for many years as an independent financial adviser – more details of his commercial experience can be found on LinkedIn. He has studied and practised astrology since 1987 and has run a monthly astrology group in London since 2005 as well as ad hoc workshops. His website is: www.jonathonclark.com. TheAstrologicalJournalJan/Feb201759 Hello, it’s Adele Andrew Ifandis An astro-portrait of one of the world’s most successful singer-songwriters whose birth chart resonates with musicality Adele has been hailed as a ‘once in a generation’ singer. the anthem would still exist and be invoked mentally. Since her debut album ‘19’, released in 2008, she has broken one music record after another. ‘21’, her second album released in 2011, has sold 31 million copies worldwide, while her last album, ‘25’, broke the first week sales record in the UK and US (album charts), with the lead track ‘Hello’ becoming the first song to sell over one million digital copies within one week of release. Music belongs to the spiritual realm. It is vibrations, waves, something more than a series of notes scribbled on a sheet. Astrology is from the same realm. It is the movement of the planets, vibrating with energies, playing their unique music of the spheres in frequencies that we astrologers hear and listen to. The horoscope depicts their place and movement at a given time, just like a music sheet. The planets are the ‘notes’ pointing to greater meaning beyond the chart detail of symbols and aspect lines. With only three albums out she is already the winner of ten Grammy Awards, four BRITs, an Oscar and a Golden Globe. Time magazine named her one of the most influential people in the world in 2012 and again in 2016. With total sales of more than 100 million records, this extremely talented woman could be a billionaire by her 30th birthday. Her big, captivating voice possesses exceptional emotional depth and range. Notes are held long, she effortlessly jumps octaves, using the very contemporary style of melisma. But it is in those moments when she rolls in the deep, into her more bluesy vocals, her dark and solid lower range, singing with sheer and heartfelt emotion, that she really awes us. The chart as synthesis Douglas Hofstadter, an American professor of cognitive science, whose research focuses on consciousness and artistic creation, has posed a very interesting question on the essence of music and creativity in his Pulitzer Prize-winning book Gödel, Escher, Bach. Singing silently in his mind the US national anthem, he wondered where ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ exists. You cannot find it in space and time, it is something more than the ink trails on a paper kept in the Library of Congress; you could destroy the music sheet but 60Jan/Feb2017 TheAstrologicalJournal We could put similar questions to Mr. Hofstadter. Where is the singing in the chart of Adele? Where does one find her talent within the astrological patterns? Where is the success? Does it exist there in the aspects, transits and progressions? Is it definable in astrological terms? Which are the astrological factors that show it? Can we listen to her horoscope’s synthesis? A major chord in Taurus in tune with the chart The first major chord in Adele’s chart is Sun conjunct Jupiter in Taurus. It sounds happy and optimistic. This is a tight aspect with only a 1°36’ orb, and it plays an important role in the overall melody as we shall see. It gives Adele a warm and enthusiastic nature, a positive outlook, a generous disposition. The Taurus fixed, earth quality tones down the grandeur and excess this same aspect would have had, for example, in a cardinal or fiery sign. Jupiter expands the Taurean qualities in the staying power and loveliness of voice, in the harmonious nature as well as in love of food and the good life, in reliability and the need for stability and security. Hello, it’s Adele Jupiter-Pluto aspects are frequently found in the charts of wealthy people. And even the hard aspects, oppositions or squares can result in tremendous empowerment and achievements if their energy is played correctly by the individual. The aspect is on the 2nd and 8th house axis. The 2nd house is all about values and resources, physical, psychological and emotional; it is about money but also about how one sees oneself. The 8th house is the deep connection we form with others and value we get from them, mainly through trust, emotional or financial. It is money and recognition that this opposition brings, with Adele having balanced well the energies of the opposing planets, as we shall see. Pluto opposition Sun denotes a transformation from outward circumstances that Adele may fear or is not yet ready to accept. This aspect may account for her occasional stage fright. She once said: “I always feel like this is going to turn out to be a hidden-camera show, and someone is going to send me back to Tottenham”2. Positively, this aspect bestows sheer power, the strong sense of identity and self-respect that we see in her. Adele Natal Chart May 5 1988, Thu, 3:02 am BST -1:00, Tottenham Sun in the 2nd house identifies with practical and emotional security that comes easily, and Jupiter in this house gives its favour to financial resources, wealth and self-esteem. “I think no matter what you look like, the key is to first of all be happy with yourself. And then you know, if you want to try to improve things that you don’t like about yourself, then do it after you appreciate yourself.”1 That is Adele speaking, wise words that could be a tagline for the conjunction’s placement. Taurus Sun rules her Leo Descendant, enhancing passionseeking, sharing, stability, loyalty and commitment in relationships, the last exhibited in her long-term relationship with her partner Simon Konecki. Jupiter disposits Adele’s Moon in Sagittarius in the 10th House. There’s an underlying melody here. This Sun-Jupiter conjunction in Taurus, which rules larynx and vocal cords, ties expansion (Jupiter) to singing (Taurus), emotional expression (Moon) and chosen profession (10th). Jupiter also disposits the Midheaven, bringing success and international reputation. So, let’s examine how the chart is ‘tuned’. Five of Adele’s planets are in earth, with four fixed planets: her chart resonates with the Taurus vibration, the sign of her Jupiter and Sun; a backing vocal that is always heard, once more emphasising the conjunction’s harmonious leitmotif. The Pluto Sonata There is one more astrological factor that empowers this key chord. The conjunction of Sun and Jupiter is greatly amplified by its opposition to Pluto in Scorpio. These two Pluto oppositions are greatly aided by Capricorn Neptune that forms a wedge aspect with the three opposing planets. Neptune trines Jupiter (evoking adulation), trines Sun (talent and musicality) and sextiles Pluto (powerful transcendental delivery), and inspires (Neptune) respect (Capricorn) in her peers (11th house), helping Adele channel the oppositional energies in order to bring about the manifestation (Saturn) of creativity (Neptune). The singing of her Moon Adele’s Moon conjoins Midheaven, reflecting her strong emotional impact on the public. Fans and listeners naturally respond to her Sagittarian charisma and emotional power (Moon). This angular 10th house Moon also trines Descendant which accounts for her mass and commercial appeal. Adele’s Sagittarian Moon is the most elevated planet in the chart and is most expressive. She can be comically candid (see her unflattering Twitter photos or recent expletiveheavy Vanity Fair interview) and tearful. This is Sagittarius spontaneity and fun in action. “When I got pregnant, I had so much testosterone in me that I grew a beard. It’s not a joke. I actually do have a beard, and I name it Larry”3. Her words. Moon is sextile her unconventional, rebellious Aquarius Ascendant and it is exactly this fusion of truth and originality that remain “keystones of her persona”.4 Adele’s Moon rules her 5th and 6th houses, linking 10th-house limelight, emotions, creativity and work in an underlying chart melody. Her Moon evokes the idea of music as a memory that spurred her to pursue a singing career. She has said: “So when TheAstrologicalJournalJan/Feb201761 Hello, it’s Adele I listened to the Ettas and the Ellas, it sounds so cheesy, but it was like an awakening. I was so inspired that as a 15-year-old I was listening to music that had been made in the Forties. The idea that people might look back to my music in 50 years’ time was a real spur to doing this”.5 Moon also symbolises her mother, Penny Adkins, whose enthusiastic Sagittarian spirit encouraged Adele “to explore, and not to stick with one thing”.6 Adele as mother falls under Moon, too, ruling the 5th house of children. And in applying aspects with Saturn, Uranus and Venus, these ‘promise’ two siblings for Adele’s son, in my forecast. A slight dissonance Now the melody starts to unfold, but we can hear a small dissonance in Adele’s chart. Opposite her Moon is Venus in Gemini in the 4th. Most of her songs ‘speak’ about being in love, heartbreaks and nostalgia. Venus also rules the SunJupiter conjunction and so she brings her aesthetic values right on this key chord of the chart which, as we have already seen, denotes her successful identity as a singer. Venus in the 4th house seeks harmony in the home and domestic pleasures, values family and tradition, and may relish introversion. Adele seems to have integrated well the opposing 10th house Moon-Venus energies. Exemplifying this, she plans to take “a five-year hiatus from music, following her current world tour, in order to spend quality time with young son Angelo”.7 Helpfully, the opposing planets are trine and sextile the Ascendant-Descendant axis, and in this way they find a way to express themselves and solve the challenge. Venus and Moon are also at the bendings of the nodal axis in 1st and 7th houses. This shows how vital to her success is the theme of “love and soul apart and together” both lyrically and musically. “My last record was a break-up record, and if I had to label this one, I would call it a make-up record”8. It may also hint at life-lessons (relating to her love life and her emotional expression or emotional needs) that are yet to be learned. With Venus in tight conjunction with Chiron, and in opposition to 10th house Saturn-Uranus, it might be that her love life will undergo sudden changes or hardships. But I personally assess that her coping method of employing Sagittarius Moon’s emotional wisdom to communicate Gemini Venus’ likes and dislikes helps maintain the balance of home, love life and career, as she has demonstrated to date. The Mars-Ascendant polyphony Mars trines Venus and squares Sun. The first is an ‘allegro’ aspect. It combines passion with romance, and gives artistic 62Jan/Feb2017 TheAstrologicalJournal ability. Air gives this Mars detachment and a capacity to act indirectly because of its 12th house placement. And this is fortunate in Adele’s case, since it counter-balances the bold, audacious, reckless and loud Sun-Mars square. Mars tells us of the qualities she seeks in a man, and Adele’s Mars is in Aquarius. Her partner Simon Konecki is a charity entrepreneur, an ex-investment banker who became “appalled by the growing distance between rich and poor” and decided to use his connections, knowledge and persuasive personality to make a better impact on the world. He does this by providing access to clean water in countries that need it.9 Adele’s dream man could not be more Aquarian than the idealist, activist Konecki! Adele’s Ascendant, also in Aquarius, gives her the anticelebrity style, the unpredictability. It makes her value her friends a lot10 and to be a true liberal, respecting freedom of other people’s values and choices. She is very respected by the LGBT community of whom she has said that, “they’re like my soul mates since I was really young”;11 and she is open about the possibility of her son having a boyfriend.12 The two melodies in the chart There are two melodic themes in Adele’s horoscope, one in the southern hemisphere and one in the northern, each corresponding with the two planets in rulership in each half of the chart: Saturn and Mercury. Pluto, Mars, Neptune and Uranus are all disposited directly or indirectly by Saturn, ruler in Capricorn in the 10th, and ruler of her Ascendant. This disposition of Saturn practically means that each planet contributes to Adele’s achievement and her climb to the top (Capricorn, 10th house). Pluto empowers Mars; this Mars is determined to succeed. Neptune’s inspiration and artistry are easily manifested and shared publicly. Uranus combines tradition with ingenuity and independence in career decisions: she actually signed with an independent record label. Saturn gives control over musical choices. And most importantly, Saturn rules her 11th house of peers and her Ascendant, bringing her respect as a person, singer and music industry professional. In the southern hemisphere, Mercury is the final dispositor: Jupiter disposes of Moon, Venus disposes Sun and Jupiter, and Mercury disposes Venus. Mercury is also in Gemini and in the 3rd house of writing and articulation. This makes Mercury triple strong and very important. And although it is unaspected it is enhanced through the chain of dispositions. Adele’s being finds harmony through writing music and singing (Sun to Venus to Mercury); emotions are invested in soulful romantic lyrics (Moon to Jupiter to Venus to Mercury); her mind has a strong aptitude for musicality and synthesis (Venus to Mercury). All of these are reflected in the amazing Hello, it’s Adele Adele performing, March 2016 5. Jupiter dispositing MC (international reputation and rewards). 6. Moon on the MC (popularity and ability to win audiences). 7. Moon in the limelight (10th house), ruling 5th and 6th (emotional expression is creative and what one does for a living). 8. Summary of chart factors of Adele’s talent and success Moon opposition Venus (song themes and overall mood of songs and lyrics). 9. Our analysis of Adele’s horoscope reveals the following astrological factors, present in her natal chart, that contribute to her talent, singing and success: Moon Venus at the bendings (the importance of romantic expression towards soul fulfilment). 10. Mars trine Venus (passion in her singing). fact that it took Adele only ten minutes to write ‘Hometown Glory’, her first great hit.13 She writes or co-writes the music for most of her songs, and writes all the lyrics. All these writing and synthesis themes are found here, in this rulership of Mercury. Something of her voice is found here also, with Mercury revealing “how we compose and arrange both words and sounds”, and is linked to a singer’s physical, technical voice, as Frank Clifford has described in his excellent article, ‘Iconic Vocalists of the 20th Century’.14 11. Dispositor ‘clusters’* in the two hemispheres (creative abilities, professionalism, aesthetic expression and ‘voicing’ of her identity). 1. Sun-Jupiter conjunction in Taurus (singing, melody and harmony, favour in financial matters). 2. Pluto’s opposition to the Sun-Jupiter conjunction, empowering the 2nd-8th house axis (success, achievements, self-worth and money from others). 12. Mercury placement and dispositions (musicality, voice, lyrics, ability for synthesis). 3. Sun-Jupiter conjunction dispositions bring together the 2nd and 10th house for wealth, public recognition; and establish her professional identity as a singer. 4. Jupiter dispositing the Moon in the 10th (expansion with singing as the soul’s expression). * The term ‘clusters’ is mine and refers to the existence of (usually) two different sets of disposition chains between planets in a chart. Such clusters are formed when a horoscope has more than one ruling planet and the term is used only when there is not a mutual reception in the chart. TheAstrologicalJournalJan/Feb201763 Hello, it’s Adele The movements Although musical ability and creative talent can be inherent in the chart, success is never guaranteed and requires hard work and being in the right place at the right time. Adele has benefited from talent, hard work and ‘luck’, judged by transits, progressions and other indicators: From home town to glory (Sun and Mercury key notes) Adele wrote her first song ‘Hometown Glory’ in 2004 when her progressed Sun was conjunct natal Mercury, a planet that, as we have seen, is a powerful astrological factor for her music writing talent. March to September 2006: signing to XL Recordings (Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto are the key notes) In March 2006 her progressed Moon entered the 7th house, time to go public and be recognised. She’s introduced to Jonathan Dickins, her manager. “She was 18, just out of college, and wanted to make a career in music. We started working together in early June 2006 and eventually we signed her to XL in the end of September 2006.” In the midst of all this, in August 2016, tr Jupiter conjoins natal Pluto in the 8th house and opposes the Sun-Jupiter conjunction, triggering the important natal opposition, while Saturn squares all planets from the 6th house of work, linking success with hard work. On 22 September, progressed Moon ingresses Virgo. This marks the birth of a new period in her work and a change in daily habits that is just about to come. Her contract is signed at the end of the month. 22 October, right on the date ‘Hometown Glory’ is released in the UK! 18 October 2008 - Adele wins over America (Jupiter and Saturn as the key notes) Adele’s break in America came when she was booked as the musical guest on the 18 October 2008 episode of NBC’s Saturday Night Live. The episode, which included an expected appearance by then US vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin, earned the programme its best ratings in 14 years with 17 million viewers.15 On this day: a) Tr Jupiter is trine tr Saturn, and both planets are trine natal Sun-Jupiter conjunction. b) Tr Saturn is trine her progressed Jupiter. May 2011 to June 2012 – the second album’s numerous awards (Jupiter in Taurus and Jupiter Return as the key notes) On 24 January 2011 she released her second album ‘21’. May 2011 to June 2012, Jupiter was in Taurus, and Adele had her Jupiter Return with Jupiter transiting her 2nd house. It was this second album that earned her numerous awards, mentions in the Guinness Book of Records and made her Billboard’s ‘artist of the Year’ for both 2011 and 2012. 19 October 2012 – Her son Angelo James Konecki is born Progressed Moon opposition natal Sun, motherhood is expressed with her progressed Full Moon fulfilment! June to October 2007 - breakthrough 20 November 2015 – release of third album ‘25’ and immense success (Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto are again the key notes) (Jupiter as the key note) On 8 June 2007, Adele made her first television appearance, performing ‘Daydreamer’ on the BBC’s Later...with Jools Holland. Adele’s breakthrough song, ‘Hometown Glory’, was released in October 2007. Jupiter transits Adele’s 7th house and forms an exact trine to her secondary progressed Jupiter in Taurus while simultaneously conjoining secondary progressed South Node and her solar arc Descendant (how she is received publicly). January to October of 2007, tr Jupiter is on her Midheaven, crossing it for the first time on 7 February and (retrograde) on 6 June, two days prior to her TV debut! What happens next? Where is the song? At this time her solar arc Pluto opposes her solar arc Jupiter, and tr Saturn is forming a wedge pattern with her progressed Nodes. Jupiter crosses over the Midheaven for the third time on 5 October, making an exact trine to her progressed Jupiter on 64Jan/Feb2017 TheAstrologicalJournal So, where is the singing in the chart of Adele? Where does one find her talent within the astrological patterns? Where is the success? Does it exist there in the aspects, transits and progressions? Is it definable in astrological terms? Which are the astrological factors that show it? Yes, the success and the singing are there in the chart. Jupiter, Pluto and Saturn all play a very important role in the manifestation of the natal chart’s ‘promise’, contributing to Hello, it’s Adele reveals-shes-grown-beard-7639289 4. http://www.vogue.com/13393643/adele-march-2016cover/ 5. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/3672957/ Adele-young-soul-rebel.html 6. http://www.biography.com/people/adele-20694679#earlyyears 7. http://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/adele-setquit-music-five-7633660 8. Adeleonheralbumslyricalcontent,“Adeleconfirmsnew albumiscalled25”. BBC News. 21 October 2015. 9. http://adele.wikia.com/wiki/Simon_Konecki&http:// drop4drop.org/ Adele album covers 10. ‘’ItwastypicalAdele.Herpalsweremoreimportant.’’ http://www.contactmusic.com/adele/news/adele-choseparty-over-record-deal_1304288 11. http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/la-et-msadele-orlando-antwerp-20160613-snap-story.html Adele’s transformation, immense success and maturity as a person and professional. The Saturn-Jupiter cycle is triggering her natal Jupiter opposition with Pluto, and the two planets’ movements are aligned with her fame, success and rewards. It is a process that started with the planets’ closing square in 2006; and I forecast that this will culminate at the end of 2020/start of 2021, when the two planets conjoin upon Jupiter’s ingress of Aquarius and trine her natal Mercury. One last question remains to be answered. Where is the song? Adele is the song. She. A melody made of all of her songs which we silently hum in our heads. Inspiring...uplifting...moving.... (Endnotes) 1. 9AdeleQuotesAboutBodyPositivityThatProve HerPhilosophyIs Golden,http://www.bustle.com/ articles/119700-9-adele-quotes-about-body-positivitythat-prove-her-philosophy-is-golden 2. http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/adele-insideher-private-life-and-triumphant-return-20151103 3. http://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/adele- 12. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/adeleaddresses-how-she-would-respond-to-her-son-beinggay-a6783991.html 13. Adele - The Biography:updatedtoincludethemakingof 25,ByChasNewkey-Burden 14. ‘IconicVocalistsofthe20thCentury,TheirMusic,Their Lives,TheirCharts’, TMA,April/May2014FrankClifford 15. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adele#cite_note-54 Andrew Ifandis is an astrologer based in Athens and travelling the cosmos. His analysis of the nativity of the celebrated Swedish film director Ingmar Bergman was published in 2016 in The Astrological Journal and republished by Astrodienst at www.astro.com. Andrew approaches the horoscope as a portrait of the person’s inherent potential. His readings reveal the chart’s vibrant dynamics and constructively help towards awareness, self-realisation and externalisation of the creative within ourselves. He contributes to renowned astrological publications and is expanding his astrological skills at the Kepler College of Astrological Studies in Washington. To learn more, visit Andrew’s site, www.cosmosofastrology.com, or contact him at [email protected]. TheAstrologicalJournalJan/Feb201765 Pam Crane’s Sign Language Me and My Shadow Thinking about the Contrascia (which I call Reflexes, as they reflect across the 0° Aries-Libra axis) I was wondering why I hadn’t tried Dwads of these long-valued points. Dwads cast such a brilliant light on the real inner identity of everyone and everything: it was time to do some fine-tuning. You will need to know how to do this in Solar Fire - and only ever with an exactly timed chart! Put up the Contrascion chart of your subject (in Chart, Harmonic) and leave it selected; then go to Chart, Locality. Enter the same location as in the chosen nativity and click OK. This turns the Reflex chart into a ‘radix’ chart that you can now manipulate. Select this, go to Chart, Vedic, Vedic D12 Dwadashamsha, and click OK. Here is the Dwad of the Reflex. Regrettably, SF still maps Reflexes onto the radix angles, so in this Dwad you only see the Dwad angles from the radix chart. Like me, you’ll have to calculate and input the Reflex Dwad angles by hand. stretched over the Asc-Desc! If we simply take the radix Dwad chart and do its straightforward Contrascion, the pattern is quite different - though also very descriptive. This time on the horizon is a real trouble-maker pulling the wool over his eyes - a tight Reflexing of Eris and Neptune to the Descendant, the partner, and also Ceres/Saturn to Asc…a controlling and material eye to the main chance? The direct contacts formed between these two charts are intriguing: not only do we have the mirror degrees of the Reflex but their refinement, and it rather looks as though we are getting a glimpse of a ‘Shadow’ self (not necessarily negative, of course). However, the SF charting problem actually highlights a crucial area to explore, as time after time angles in the radix Dwad are found lining up closely with planets in the Reflex Dwad and vice versa...planets which are absolutely key to understanding the known characteristics and history of the individual. A great example is Edward, Duke of Windsor, who abdicated kingship to marry the woman with whom he was obsessed, Wallis Simpson. Nowhere in Edward, Duke of Windsor his radix/Reflex, radix/Dwad or even Reflex/Dwad biwheels is there any sign of that dominant woman. But!...put the radix and Reflex Dwads together, and twice we find a Moon-Pluto opposition 66Jan/Feb2017 TheAstrologicalJournal Edward’s brother, already enjoying a strong marriage to Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, consequently became George VI of England and endured the rigours and horror of the 2nd World War alongside his people. In his case the radix Dwad and its Reflex tell the whole story - lovely Sun-Moon conjunction shining royally on the Leo Ascendant, reflexing to Ceres and Eris; the privations of Saturn (and a harsh upbringing) at Pam Crane’s Sign Language King George VI the IC, the massive challenges of Pluto on the MC. And there, just where it should be, is Mercury reflexing with Neptune, the nervous sensitivity that led to his disabling stammer. Let’s look at a man who completely deceived people. Ted Bundy was handsome, intelligent, friendly. Lots of Sagittarius, Leo rising. Women were utterly taken in. And he murdered nearly forty of them. The first warning sign is in the radix Dwad in which Eris and Ceres join the Ascendant, and Saturn/MC meets radix Venus/IC. Then we come to that double Dwad chart, radix and Reflex. Eris is so strong, she becomes vicious: she is conjoined in the Reflex Dwad by both Ascendant and MC, with bereaved Ceres close by, aligning with an abusive, uncontrolled radix Dwad Sun/Sedna. This pattern also reverses. Mars conjoins IC. He is evil through and through. Which self is the shadow? Data: Edward VIII, King of England, 23 June 1894at21:55GMT,Richmond,Surrey,UK, 51n10,0w20-BC/BR,RoddenRatingAA George VI, King of England,14December 1895 at 03:05 GMT, Sandringham, UK, 52n50,0e30-BC/BR,RoddenRatingAA Bundy, Ted, 24 November 1946 at 22:35 EST,Burlington,Vermont,44n29,73w13- BC/BR,RoddenRatingAA TheAstrologicalJournalJan/Feb201767 Bookshelf Latest releases Descriptions and reviews welcome. Email: [email protected] Exploring the Financial Universe: The Role of the Sun and Planets in the World of Finance Christeen Skinner Ibis Press, pb £18.48; kindle £17.56 (Amazon prices) Ibispress.net Description: The role of the Sun, planets and stars and their influence on global markets is intriguing to tradersandinvestorsalike.Christeen Skinner’sresearchshowsverydefinite links between major stock market movements and the position of the planets.Thisbookwillbeofinteresttothosewithlittleunderstanding of astrology as well as those well-versed in the subject. The work includescharts,graphsandhoroscopesandexplanationofsomeof thetechniquesusedforastro-financialforecasting. Topicscoveredincludesolarrhythmsandtheintricaciesofcommodity, propertyandcurrencypricemovementswithplanetcycles.Therole oftheplanetsinmasteringtherelationshipbetweentimeandprice isconsidered.Thereisachapteronthenatalhoroscopeandfinancial rhythms set from birth. And it concludes with forecasts covering 2017-2024. Othertopics:solaractivityandthemarkets;stockmarketcrashesof the20thCentury;onedaygainsversuslosses;currenciesandmajor planetaryconfigurations;commoditypricemovements;propertyprice cyclesandtheroleoftheMoonandplanets;thelinkbetweenplanet cycles, time and price; and financial timing indicators in your own chart. Casestudiesarepresentedinbusinessastrology,andanexplanation of some astro-finance trading techniques and uses financial charts takenfromtheMarketAnalystsoftwareprogramforastro-traders. This is an excellent addition to the Skinner library which includes Money Signs: Beginners Guide and The Financial Universe: Planning Your Investments using Astrological Forecasting. A History of Our Emerging Consciousness: A Process of Becoming Andrew Bradbery Historic Milestone Ltd; 2016 Enhanced 2nd in Hardback ed. Edition, hb £18.99 Description: As science and technology have advanced, each generation continues to accelerate the rate at which the modern world is being reinvented. This quest for knowledge,oftenfosteredbythebestideasfromyoungminds,feeds the numerous industries created to develop our consumer culture. Environmentaldamagefromtailoringthenaturalenvironmenttosuit 68Jan/Feb2017 TheAstrologicalJournal newconsumerfashionscontinueswiththeexpansionofagriculture’s attempts to feed the growing global population. Alongside the continuingdestructionoftheenvironment,globalwarminghasthe potentialtoderailtherunawaytrainofintelligentdesign. Considering these looming disasters, it is clear our collective intelligenceneedstofocusonprioritiesotherthaneconomicgrowth. Cluestounderstandcurrentagendasbetterarisefromexploringthe legacies past cultures contributed to human intelligence. History and archaeology tell us when new ideas first led to the spread of culturaladvances.Likethreads,theyhavebeenspunandwoveninto thetapestriesofourconsciousness,redefiningwhatitcanmeanto behuman.AHistoryofOurEmergingConsciousnesstraceshowthis resultenrichedthelivesofourancestors.Lookingatthecontinuumof progressmadeduringpastmillennia,itsphysical,emotional,mental and spiritual stages introduce us to a process in which we are all participants. Thetimeswhenthesenewideaswereintroducedareseentorelateto anaturalcycle.Theearlyuseofthescientificsymbolsdescribingthis cycleintroducedanaccurateannualcalendar.Thisclockwasinvented by projecting onto our annual cycle of starry patterns many of the qualitiesthatdescribethecycleoftheseasons.Acalendarbecame available to all farmers. Our emerging consciousness is discovered tofollowthesesamesymbols.Thisisshownbytheircorrelationwith thesurvivalstrategiesthathavecomedowntousthroughtheages. Some still serve us well while others have inextricably led to the manyglobalcrisesfacingusandfuturegenerations. The idea of “as above so below” introduces the principle of correspondence, often identified as the law of correspondences. Oneofthecountlessnaturalexamplesofthisisthecorrespondence betweenthestructureofoursolarsystemandtheatomicstructureof atoms.ThisprincipleushersintheideathattheUniverseemanates from one source with common laws and characteristics.These may applytoeachaspectofcreationmanifestinginitsappropriateplane ofexpression. Mythology,archaeologyandhistoryrevealhowhumandevelopments mirror this correspondence.This book first considers the growth of physical,emotional,mentalandspiritualdimensionsofintelligence sincethelastIceAge.Itdescribeshowotherqualitiesofconsciousness emergedalongsidethesefourphasesofgrowingintelligence.From these, a model describing our emerging consciousness during the last10,000yearsisdeveloped.Totestitsvalidityamoreextensive study of the emergence of all other qualities of consciousness is successfullyundertaken. Palaeontologistsarguethatthemostdistantperiodinthepastfrom which we can begin this test is the Upper Palaeolithic Revolution, c 38,000 BC. It was around this time that it is believed the human imaginationwasfirstexpressed.Thepathourspecieshasfollowed sincethisbirthistraced.Itdescribesthebackdropofthemanyages during which a process has been endlessly inspiring and informing the self-awareness, imagination and endeavour upon which we all depend.Agreaterawarenessofthisprocessmayinfluencetheway weviewthechallengesfacingthemodernworld. Transits for January - February 2017 By Sarah Cochrane http://sarahsastrology.com January 2017 February 2017 MarsconjunctionNeptuneinPiscesonthe1stfocusesonputting dreamsintoaction.VenusentersPiscesonthe3rd;toenhance emotional responses and sensitivity in social situations and romanticinvolvement.RetrogradeMercuryinCapricornsextile Venusencouragestheabilitytothinktwicebeforeseekingyour heart’sdesire,justincaseallisnotwhatitseems.Retrograde Mercuryre-entersSagittariusonthe4thtorevitaliseoptimism afterperiodsofpessimism,whetherthey’regreatorsmall. MercurysquareUranusonthe1sthasanerraticandpotentially unexpectedeffectoncommunicationandtechnology.Inventive ideasareindemandtoovercomedifficultiesthatoccur.Mercury squareJupiteronthe2ndshowstherewillbeproblemsobtaining theinformationsoughttomakebigplansorforagrandvision. SunconjunctionPlutoinCapricornonthe7thintensifieswhatis takenmostseriouslyandwhattoeliminateintheformofselfdiscipline.Mercuryturnsdirectonthe8thtokick-startpositive thinking. SunsquareUranusinAriesonthe10thbringsdisruptionwhen andwhereit’sleastexpectedtoupsetwhathasbeenorganised; challengesteststrengthandperseverance.MarssextilePlutoon the11thstimulatesactionbasedonintuitionthatcanbeused toachievewhathasneededtobechangedandimprovedinthe long-term. Sun square Jupiter on the 12th causes problems due to overconfidenceandpoorjudgementinwhatcanbedone.The Full Moon in Cancer increases emotional vulnerability and anurgetoprotectwhathastobekeptsecure.Mercuryenters Capricorn which assists constructive planning and discussions about responsibilities. Venus conjunction Neptune reveals idealism strongly influences romantic relationships. Beauty inspirescreativityandtheimagination. MarssquareSaturnonthe19thblocksthepathofactionwith obligations that demand a quick response. The Sun enters Aquariustoaddstrengthandcouragetorevealpersonalquirks andeccentricities. Venus sextile Pluto on the 20th has the power to transform relationships for the better. There could be a compulsive fascinationwithwhateverattractsyourattention. MercurysextileNeptuneonthe23rdisbeneficialforideasthat are sensible but still stimulate the imagination. There is an increasedsensitivitytominorpiecesofinformationthatcanbe usedtoyouradvantage. Venus enters Aries on the 3rd to encourage assertiveness in socialinteractionandtoattractwhatismaterialisticallydesired byusingcharmandflattery. Jupiter turns retrograde on the 6th to gradually pull the reins on expansion and optimism about what opportunity can offer. MercuryentersAquariusonthe7thenhancingalternativeideas andtobringforthinformationwhenit’sleastexpected.Eureka momentsmayhappen. Sun sextile Uranus on the 9th stimulates courage to express quirky personality traits that will be favourably received. MercurysextileVenusonthe10thhasapositiveinfluenceon verbalinteraction,especiallyatsocialgatheringswhereyou’re expectedtobeonyourbestbehaviour. TheLunarEclipseinLeoonthe11thisatimetoassesswhat recognition you have received, and what can be done to take charge over elements of your life that you want to dominate. Sun trine retrograde Jupiter boosts confidence and optimism; butnottotheextentofbeingcarriedawaybyadoseofgood fortune. SunsextileSaturnonthe14thisconstructiveandstrengthens self-discipline, it’s great for getting things done. Mercury sextile Mars on the 16th supplies energy to have discussions aboutissuesyouareenthusiasticorpassionateabout.TheSun entersPiscesonthe18thwhichmeansencouragementmaybe necessarytodealwithself-esteemissuesorvulnerabilitiesthat areseenasaweakness. Mercury sextile Uranus on the 21st offers potential new discoveries and chances to learn something new. Mars square Plutoonthe22ndmarksthearrivalofintensepowerstruggles thatdemandalotofenergytoovercome.MercurysextileSaturn onthe23rdenablesconstructivethinkingandprovidesuseful information. VenussquareSaturnonthe27thputsdutybeforepleasure.Work gets in the way of whatyou want to do, but when completed therewillbeasenseofrelief. Mercury enters Pisces on the 25th; intuition dominates logic, creativityisstimulatedbutrationalityisnotaseasytocomeby. TheNewMooninPiscesonthe26thishelpfulforstartingnew projectsthatcanbeadaptedandarenotonafixedroute. TheNewMooninAquariusonthe28thistobeusedtostartnew andradicalchange.It’sfollowedbyMarsenteringAriestofireup enthusiasmandpassion.MercuryconjunctionPlutoonthe29th intensifies mental activity and is suitable for psychoanalysis. Theremaybepeoplewhoareverballyforcefulandpersuasive. Mars conjunction Uranus on the 27th has an erratic effect on how energy is used; a lot can happen with little warning so be prepared to act quickly. Mars opposition retrograde Jupiter meansyoushouldbeonyourguardagainsttakingactionthatis consideredtobefoolishlyover-optimistic. TheAstrologicalJournalJan/Feb201769 Astrology crossword 12 by Pam Crane http://revpamcrane.weebly.com This crossword is for the smartest set in the astrology world; it’s the one to beat. Could you be the next reader to carry off the goody-bag prize? The winning solution is chosen by draw on 28 February 2017. Answers to Crossword 12 will be published in our May-June 2017 issue. Answers to Crossword 10 are on this page below the puzzle. Complete the puzzle and send us a scanned copy as a pdf – or just email your answers to: [email protected]. Crossword 10: Sep-Oct 2016 issue: No winners. Answers to 10 (Sep-Oct 2016 issue) puzzle: Across: 6 Delta, 7 Occulted, 10 Cast-off, 11 Our Lady, 12 Daystar, 13 Tallith, 14 Equinoctial, 19 Perigee, 21 Orbital, 23 Anareta, 25 Rooster, 26 Goatfish, 27 India. Down: 1 Old Style, 2 Way-out, 3 Conference, 4 Echo, 5 Nepali, 6 Decade, 8 Lorelei, 9 Myths, 13 Tycho Brahe, 15 Unguent, 16 Latitude, 17 Splay, 18 Gloria, 20 Reason, 22 Biopic, 24 Axis. 70Jan/Feb2017 TheAstrologicalJournal Across 8 BiggerthanPegasus,smaller thanSirius!(6) 9 TheNaveloftheWorld(8) 10TopCat?(4) 11Aflyingcartransportsstar astrologer(5,5) 12Agreatageforaguytochange direction(4) 13 Undisciplined fat cops set for relaxedrelationship(4,6) 17Alien-huntersfindEgyptian god(4) 18OnceBabylonian(5) 19Horoscopessetupwithout epochs-justabout!(2,2) 21So,nodemonsdisturbthe celestialdragon(5,5) 23Defaultforun-timedchart(4) 24Threetimesthiscluepointsto aninch(10) 28Clumsystepleadstosmall fall(4) 29TheManInTheMirror?...(8) 30EarlyGermanastrologer-work andbio(6) Down 1 Athousanduterinechanges... result?Nativity!(8) 2 UnhappyLeoatoningfor distancefromSun(10) 3 Slowlyspringbackfromquiet economicdecline(10) 4 Righthere,lookinglike Jupiter!(4) 5 HopalongCassidy’shidden gem(4) 6 TheGreatIllusion(4) 7 PatternofJewishLaw?(6) 14 Pretender led out of dreadful mayhem(5) 15Ipatronisedesigner’sspring debut(5,5) 16Signfavouringspiritual adept(10) 20Survivorsconstantlyinhot water?(8) 22Wherecanoesbobabout(6) 25Riseup,vindictivegoddess!(4) 26Secondcheckfordeferred payment(4) 27 ‘WeareSiamese,ifyouplease...’ (4) Astro-X-Ray: Sharon Knight Chair of the Association of Professional Astrologers International and on the Board of Trustees of the Astrological Association, Sharon teaches and practises traditional astrology, and in 2016 was voted ‘International Astrologer of the Year’ in India. She lives in a rural idyll in East Sussex, UK Q: Hello Sharon! Do people try to befriend you to get a free reading? At parties, say? SK:Inthepastsomedid,butthatdoesn’thappennow. Q: When did you first realise astrology had completely taken possession of you – if indeed it has? SK: I think I was about 28 and possession is now complete! I cannotescape!! Q: Briefly describe your office and the view from the principal window, if any. SK:FrommymainwindowIhaveabeautifulviewofmygarden, whereIcanwatchthebirds,rabbits,catsandtheoddfox,badger or weasel crossing the lawns. I also get to watch the seasons change.Atnight,IseethestarsoverheadbecauseIliveabout4 milesawayfromanystreetlightssoamdoublylucky. Q: Which one aspect in your birth chart sums up a key trait known to loved ones? SK:Idon’tknow,Iguesshoof in mouthsyndrome–Sagrising. Q: Do you support professionalisation of astrology, y’know, the diplomas and whatnot? Or do you foresee homogenised astrosausages, like lawyers and doctors? SK:WellasChairoftheAPAI,Ihavetosayyes.Althoughgetting adiplomadoesn’tnecessarilymakeforagoodastrologer!There are many fantastic astrologers who don’t have a diploma, but theirlevelofknowledgeandexpertiseisawesome. Q: How did you learn the astro art? SK:MostlyateveningclassinLondon.Iwassofortunatetohave had Mike Edwards as my principal tutor, then Bernard Eccles, Rob Zoller, and of course the wonderful Olivia Barclay. I also studiedwiththeFacultyuptoDiplomalevel. Q: Which flower persistently fails your sniff test? If not a flower then anything which promises an attractive pheromone – but disappoints. Q: Traditional techniques are your forte - do you find them superior to modern methods? And/or would you say they appeal to a certain type of temperament? SK:Thereissomethinginallaspectsandtypesofastrologyfor everyone.Idoconsidertheoutersingenerationalinfluences,and, I have had an interesting reading from an asteroid astrologer although she could not predict events. But for me, I love the structure,historyandsimplicityofthetraditionalmethods.They alsogiveconcreteresultswheninterpretedcorrectly.Iwouldn’t liketonarrowthe‘temperament’type,Iteachseveralastrologers who were‘diehard moderns’ but find they love traditional and nowuseitintheirclientworkbecauseitgivesthemdescriptions ofpeople,placesandthings. Q: You were crowned ‘International Astrologer of the Year 2016’ from the 26th International Astrological Conference in Kolkata, India. How’s the reign been? What happens to the crown? SK:Well,apartfromhavingmylegpulledbyfamilyandfriends, lifehascontinuedasnormal!Itwasagreathonourandhuge surprisewhenIsawthewholeauditoriumgivingmeastanding ovation.Ittookmybreathaway.ThecrownIhavestaysfirmlyon myhead.Theygetanewcrownforeachwinner.Evenifitisa manwinning,hetoowearstheTiara. Q: Which computer software programme do you use? Do you ever cast a chart on paper? SK: I use Solar Fire and Morinus which is a brilliant software program for traditional astrology. If I have a‘tricky’ chart, I do drawitupbyhandasithelpsgetmymindingear.Alsoitisgood practiceifalltheelectricitywentdown! Q: Have you ever seen a ghost? If so, please tell us all. SK:Ihave.Shelivesinthehouse.Itisdifficulttoplaceherera. Shemaybefromthe17th-19thcentury.Myhousegoesbackto theearly1600ssothereisprobablymorethanonepersonality onthepremises.Sheisverynice. Q: And finally, Sharon, would you say you are powerful? SK:Bunchedrosesboughtfromasupermarket.Theyshouldbe bannedastheydo‘proper’old-fashionedrosesadisservice! SK:WellI’velivedafewyearslongerthanthedoctorsgaveme, soIguessmywilltoliveispowerful,butotherthanthat,NO! Q: You’re Chair of the Association of Professional Astrologers International - would you say there’s a growing appetite among astrologers for professional representation? Sharon’s website: www.astrologersharon.co.uk. She is the Convenor and a Tutor for the QHP course. She also teaches traditional natal and mundane astrology that is not covered by the QHP course. Of the APAI she writes: “If you are a Diploma Holder from a recognised school, please do join our merry band and help raise the profile of astrology around the world.” SK:Notreally.Bytheverynatureofastrology,peoplewhotake uptheworkdon’twanttobepigeon-holedormoulded. TheAstrologicalJournalJan/Feb201771 January/February 2017 US Election 2016/Uranus/Adele/Obamacare The International Journal of the Astrological Association