A Few Brief Moments of Planetary Levity, or, a Holiday Gift Guide for Astrologers

From the current issue of Lapham Quarterly, http://www.laphamsquarterly.org/preamble/kingdom-come.php

Let's face it: a Uranus-Pluto square is personally intense no matter how you look at it (horary, natal, etc.). And in astrology, with people so desperate to try to control the unwritten future, things can get taken way too seriously. Sometimes, you just have to come up for air.

I've already written extensively about the upcoming election, the Saturn-Pluto mutual reception, and Uranus-Pluto square, to the point that there's nothing more to say. So in the interest of mirth during these dark times of plutocratic dominion, here's a few unique astrology- and astronomy- themed items to behold just for fun. 

1) Chocolate Planets: Need to give a gift to your favorite astrologer, who has stood by you without fail throughout the tough transits of this past year? Look no further. 

A hotel in Japan has created these confections, but a little more is needed to do the full Solar System right. Going the extra mile to procure an astronomically accurate dessert layout, you would need the following in addition to the chocolate planets:

The Sun: Lemon Meringue Pie. It has to be a large pie for size and scale, and because the Sun is a star and not a planet, it's going to made of different, and less dense material than the chocolate planets.

The Moon: Marzipan dipped in white chocolate. Not sure how you'd make the craters, but I'd bet there's an easy way.

The Asteroids & Centaurs: Chocolate covered seeds and raisins.

Kuiper Belt and Trans-Neptunian Objects: Probably the easiest would be a bag of plain and peanut M&M's mixed together to account for size discrepancies. Haumea can be a mini Cadbury egg.

2) Just when you thought you've seen it all, some artist comes out of nowhere with something hopelessly original.  A Norweigan fine-art photographer named Chris Jonassen has discovered that worn-out cookware, photographed in the proper light, are dead-ringers for planets!  His interview is earnestly down-to-earth and you can check out the full spectrum of PAN-etary images in his book. 

3) Okay, so if chocolate and cookware aren't your cup of tea, then ice cream has to be.

Alan Richman of GQ magazine shows how much the simple childhood treat once acquired by chasing after trucks in your neighborhood blaring xylophone tunes a la pied piper has grown up. Kudos to photographer Levi Brown, and especially stylist Victoria Granof for their originality. The sprinkles of Saturn are priceless.

And since the Moon is ready for its close-up, check out these cake and ice cream-filled orbs by Haagen-Dazs. 

4) No longer available, but interesting to look at nonetheless, these planetary lollipops inaccurately consider Pluto a planet. (No wonder they were discontinued.)

In consolation, the candy maker has astrology lollipops instead. 

So with Ceres currently in Cancer, and less than 30 degrees away from Jupiter, you have astrological permission to play with your food like this. 

(All images are copyright their respective owners and are used here for education purposes only.)

The Saturn in Scorpio-Pluto in Capricorn Mutual Reception: Part II

(Read Part I here.)

By now you've seen (and will continue to see) the harbinger of the next two and half years of Saturn-Pluto mutually recepted courtesy of Mars' current transit of Scorpio.  It's going to magnify what any progressive has known for years: corporations and their profits are more important than people, and you get to live the harsh consequences of that in your own life, whether it's higher taxes, low-wage jobs, debt, etc.

The SuperPACs created by the Citizens United vs FEC decision (basically, corporations are people with free speech rights and can contribute anonymous and unlimited donations to a fund backing a specific candidate), and who are funding the 2012 election, are only the tip of the corruption and democracy-gone-haywire iceberg. Thomas Frank of Harper's magazine describes the process intelligently and intricately in his excellent article, "It's a Rich Man's World: How Billionaire Backers Pick America's Candidates." Saturn in Scorpio mutually recepted with Pluto in Capricorn goes way beyond the November 2012 election, by the way. The election will likely be the first full-scale, formal, gross example of money and power corrupting absolutely.

Further, Elizabeth Warren, in her DNC speech said the unspeakable truth progressives have also known for years, right there on live, prime-time television: the system is rigged against you. Only the U.K. trails the U.S. in industrialized nations in upward mobility. Lewis Lapham in his May 2012 Harper's article, "Ignorance of Things Past," is far more clear: 

"But, but, but..." you say. "Occupy Wall Street stated all of that long before Saturn and Pluto mutually recepted each other." Yes, but #OWS was a Uranian response to Pluto in Capricorn a la the ongoing Uranus-Pluto square. When Saturn ingresses into Scorpio, it entrenches the power and corruption of the goverment-corporate alliance even deeper and more absolute. Lapham again:

Saturn represents justice (even when it's not in Libra), and so you will see over the next couple of years enormous examples of injustice, where bad behavior gets rewarded repeatedly, and money and power—Saturn and Pluto hallmarks—will be able to do as it pleases without regard to consequence. So the basic Saturn/Pluto mutual reception theme, with apologies to Lord Acton, is that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely, and no institution is going to help you when it's your world that gets stomped on by the heel of the plutocracy.

One microcosm example is an article I came across about a wealthy retirement home (old people vote in substantial numbers, remember) that didn't like their corporate overlords of a holding company bleeding them dry (no, it wasn't Bain Capital), and filed suit to gain their independence. The judge struck it down immediately (a deal's a deal, and we own you, so we can do whatever the hell we want to you, was basically the gist of the decision) and the corporate overlords proceeded to fire most of the board of directors who sympathized with the residents, as well as the executive director. 

So under the Saturn-Pluto mutual reception, the plutocrats will continue their bad behavior of crushing people and property under their boot heel not only unabashed, but with even more backing and complicity by government (this will not by any means be limited to the United States, by the way, nor limited to one specific political party). Their financial orgies and looting and pillaging the country, to your detriment and at your expense, and with the government's ample help, has only just begun to kick into gear. You will be too busy trying to hang onto your home and your job (homelessness and food stamp use has skyrocketed the last four years) to do much about it anyway. And when someone does (Uranus in Aries), the plutocrats will crush it. For awhile.

But in 2.5 years, when Saturn enters Sadge around Christmas of 2014, it will eventually move up to trine the rebel planet Uranus at 12 degrees Aries (with Uranus inching closer to its conjunction to Eris), and as always, the pendulum will swing the other way. As for reform and restitution, well, you'll have to wait for Pluto in Aquarius for that. 

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9/9/12 Update: With the Uranus-Pluto square in the middle of all this, you can only expect the plutocrats to double down on the crazy. It would be funny if it didn't actually, you know, affect people's lives.

9/13/2012 UPDATE: The one year anniversary of #OWS will be #S17. See this flyer for details (http://s17nyc.org/files/2012/08/trifold0911201201.pdf) and the website (http://s17nyc.org/schedule/s17/) and the event chart below:

With the mix of late degrees rising (and on the angles) and a critical cardinal degree significator, the movement is starting Phase II while trying to hang on to some of its former glory.

Mercury ruling the ASC/protestors, is harshly aspected and still combust the Sun, and also moving up to T-square the Uranus-Pluto square, with the outlet leg in the 10th house of government/elections. So the pressure will be on as the candidates won't be able to ignore the movement so easily. The T-square will also coalesce the usual violence and inability to generate concrete change immediately. 

Mercury disposits Venus and the Sun, with Mercury as the final dispositor in the chart, so while better cooperation and organization will work in their favor, the plutocrats, as expected, still hold the upper hand. They are represented by Neptune retrograde with an out of sign trine to Saturn, and sextiling Pluto, so the status quo remains for now and they can sit back and watch with amusement and without consequence.

Makemake right on the ASC with the Sun in the 12th shows the movement is resurgent (Mercury at a 0 Libra is a critical cardinal degree) after a lengthy period of dormancy, ready to re-emerge to prominence (Gemini MC). The regenerated movement is going to have an effect on the U.S. election from here on out, as with the Moon trining Jupiter, people are still connected with the core themes the group stands for, which remain absolutely unaddressed by the Coke-Pepsi candidates running for president. Moon conjuncts Saturn before going void-of-course, so the candidates will have no choice but to listen, even as they quash the movement yet again.

Pluto is stationing direct in the chart as well, so watch the media's tightly controlled message and coverage (ruler of the 3rd in the 4th and intercepted) as they scrutinize the protester's motivation and question their relevancy yet again.

Horary Charts Can Show Much More Than The Specific Question Inquired About

Some horary astrologers claim that a horary chart can only answer the question exactly as asked, and no further information can be gleaned. This is completely untrue. 

In Joan McEvers' horary text, The Only Way to Learn about Horary and Electional Astrology, Vol. 6, she calls several questions asked at the same time about the same matter compounded questions, while describing questions about different subjects gleaned from the same chart as multiple questions. Both types are valid and return reliable answers, and she provides case studies of each in her text.

Always be on the lookout for details in a chart that give information about matters unrelated to what the querent is asking. They will literally jump out at you in spite of the storyline of the main question.

Below is an example of what McEvers would call multiple questions, though technically only one question was asked. The querent asked if her co-worker would take over the legal messenger business they both worked at, as the husband and wife co-owners were dealing with health issues due to advancing age. Since the subject of the question is about the co-worker, not the business, the eleventh house would be used as the co-worker's significator. 

With the Sun/Leo rulership as the co-worker's significator applying to sextile the Mars-Saturn conjunction in the derived 3rd house of contracts, and with Venus ruling the derived 3rd and derived MC, the deal was as good as done. The icing on the cake is the Moon's applying sextile to the Sun, and then its applying trines to the Mars-Saturn conjunction before going void-of-course. The only real complications were that the co-worker did not have the money to buy out the owners at that point in time (Venus-Pluto-Uranus T-square with the outlet leg in the derived 2nd house.) But with the Sun and Moon both in excellent shape, the co-worker would eventually be the business' successor.

Ooops. But wait a minute <sound of vinyl record being violently scratched>. Look at the ASC and the 1st house. The situation of the querent is literally screaming at the astrologer. While all looks well and good and profitable for the co-worker, THE QUERENT IS IN IMMINENT DANGER OF BEING FIRED! So who cares about who is going to run the place when the querent is in trouble!?!?!

The cardinal grand cross between  MC-Venus-Pluto-Uranus-ASC spells immediate trouble, as does Haumea applying to the ASC and on the Mars-ASC midpoint—something is about to be shattered. Makemake in the twelfth shows a time of repose after the damage is done. Eris in the 7th house (opposing Mars/1st) and Uranus retrograde on the 12th house side of the 7th house cusp shows she is likely to be abruptly dismissed by the wife/co-owner. 

So what was the outcome? Two days after the horary question was posed, the querent was fired. Why? Pluto and Venus/Querent in harsh aspect almost always involves triangles. It turns out the wife didn't like a comment (Pluto in the querent's 3rd house) the querent had made while joking (Jupiter-ruled 3rd house cusp) with the co-owner's husband about health issues during a company lunch (Mercury rules the derived 3rd of the wife/7th house, with Mercury in fall in Leo).  But with the Mars-Eris opposition forming a T-square with Varuna, and Jupiter and the Moon in Gemini in the wife/co-owner derived 3rd house, the joke wasn't the real reason given for the dismissal (to avoid a lawsuit, of course). The wife stated that the querent's work was flawless (Virgo ruling the derived sixth of employees), but her personality wasn't a good fit for the small Mom & Pop shop (Mars/7th house ruler/wife in detriment in Libra in the querent's first house.)

Shortly after the termination, the owners began leaving the co-worker inquired about in charge, as medical appointments and subsequent treament increased their absences. 

But, but, but...what about those lovely Moon aspects co-ruling the querent? And exalted Saturn ruling the 4th house? Wasn't all's well that ends well for the querent? Well, the querent joined some of her friends (Sun/11th) and volunteered for a high school summer program (Gemini/9th; Sun sextile the Moon) that the querent thoroughly enjoyed and wouldn't have been able to do had she not been fired. She also confessed that she didn't like the job or the co-owners, and stated she would have quit anyway if she hadn't been fired. 

So the bottom line here is that if a chart is screaming more information than the question asks for, pay attention and relay the information to the querent, especially if an unpleasant surprise (Uranus/Eris) awaits. 

Quick Answers to a Duo of Employment Horary & Event Charts

Modern horary technique provides a much faster and easier way to arrive at a correct conclusion than traditional astrology techniques can. Below is an employment horary question and job interview event chart that can be accurately assessed at a glance by ignoring traditional rules.

In the first chart, the question "Is there any employment imminent?" was posed.

Chart #1

With Neptune retrograde in rulership in the 12th, and the Moon trine the ASC in 5th, the querent has been happily ensconced at home,working on creative projects. But Venus squaring the ASC as ruler of the 2nd indicates that financial necessity is showing the need for employment to finance the creative projects.

A quick look at prospects shows that there's not a lot of options. The querent will not find a career-worthy position with Jupiter, ruler of the MC, in utter detriment by sign and house, and at the South Node to boot. Looking at the 6th house, ruled by Leo, Orcus is in there squaring MC ruler Jupiter, while the Moon is approaching a conjunction to the Sun after interference via square by intercepted Saturn in the 7th. The querent will clearly have to accept a position beneath her. This is affirmed by retrograde Mercury in the sixth in Fall in Leo, but rulership by house.

But with Quaoar in Sadge exactly conjunct the MC, and sextiling Saturn, she definitely will find employment soon. As far as timing, the Moon is a focal point of action in this chart more than Neptune, because all of the job or career significators in it (Jupiter, Venus, Sun, Quaoar, Saturn) disposit to the Moon in rulership.

So the timing the querent was given was this: within 11 days of the time of question [7/17/2012 was the date of horary question + 11 days (Sun's 26 degrees minus the Moon's 15 degrees leaves a difference of 11, and with both in cardinal Cancer, it would be days) = 7/28/12], a job would show up. This seemed impossible, as she had zero leads.

On 7/20/2012, three days after the time of the question asked in Chart 1, a job lead showed up. She pursued it and was invited to an interview, with the event chart for the interview as follows:

Chart #2

Makemake in late Virgo in the 1st house with Mars shows it's time to return to work after a very long (3+ years) repose without a traditional "day job", while she worked on her creative projects. Right away, three facts stand out in this chart:

1) Moon and Saturn conjunct in the 2nd means the pay will be awful.

2) The job, ruled by the 6th (since it's not a 10th house profession) house and Aquarius/Uranus, trines the querent's significator Mercury, in detriment and retrograde in the house of its exaltation, and combust the Sun.

3) Moon Ptolemaically void-of-course signifies it's a dead-end job, somewhat affirmed by the combustion to the Sun as ruler of the 12th and Mercury's fall/retrograde debilitation, all of which shows the desperation of the querent to be in that position to begin with.

So without a whole lot in this chart looking very good, as in a debilitated significator in Fall and retrograde, and a void-of-course Moon, you have to look to secondary indicators to draw the proper conclusion. This is where modern horary shines.

So, first of all, the Moon is Ptolemaically void-of-course according to traditional astrology. In reality, it's going to make a semi-sextile to Makemake in the 1st before it leaves its sign, signifying the end of the time off. Moon also disposits to Venus in the 10th, meaning the employers like her, since Venus disposits to Mercury, which disposits to the Sun in rulership by sign, but detriment by house. The Moon-Saturn sextile to Quaoar in the 4th house of outcome bodes well, too, to take the edge off the Uranus-Pluto square.

But most importantly, the querent was told that she was the first interview, and that interviews would also be held the following day, and a decision would be made at the end of that day. Talk about a quick turnaround! A quick look in the ephemeris shows the Moon void of course in its fall in Scorpio for most of the next day, when the other candidates would be interviewing. None of the other candidates would come close to touching the querent from a qualifications or experience standpoint (Moon-Saturn conjunction with Saturn exalted).

So what was the outcome? The querent was offered the job (and she accepted) on July 26 — nine days after the time the horary question in Chart 1 was asked, and one day after the interview event shown in Chart 2 — even though it's not a perfect situation or position. Interestingly, the Sun squared the querent's natal Jupiter (ruler of her natal 10th house) while simultaneously conjoining her 6th house cusp on the day the offer was extended. Sometimes the parallels of horary and natal charts are simply sublime, so never let any astrologer tell you that one type is better than or supersede's the other. A skilled astrologer can correctly predict an outcome with either.

Neptune in Pisces Points to the Solution of the Uranus-Pluto Square

When slow-moving planets (or other slow-moving bodies for that matter, such as KBOs) enter a new sign, it takes awhile for them to get their footing and establish the core paradigm that will play out during the era they are transiting that sign. Between 0 and 5 degrees, the planet is still laying the ground work and "introduction" for the drama yet to unfold in later degrees and years of the transit. 

With a lot of astrological attention currently focused on the seven partile Uranus-Pluto squares over the next few years, along with Saturn and Pluto's mutual reception beginning in October (remember, Pluto is not a planet, but does rule Scorpio in modern astrology), Neptune's transit through its home sign of Pisces can disappear into the background and therefore be seriously overlooked. 

Big mistake. It's front-and-center by hiding in plain sight in the intense outer solar system drama currently unfolding. Neptune in Pisces is pointing to the core issue that needs to be addressed in order to RESOLVE the turmoil of its more malefic neighbors on either side. Namely:

“Imagine the problem is not physical. Imagine the problem has never been physical, that it is not biodiversity, it is not the ozone layer, it is not the greenhouse effect, the whales, the old-growth forest, the loss of jobs, the crack in the ghetto, the abortions, the tongue in the mouth, the disease stalking everywhere as love goes on unconcerned.

Imagine the problem is not some syndrome of our society that can be solved by commissions or laws or a redistribution of what we call wealth. Imagine that it goes deeper, right to the core of what we call our civilization and that no one outside of ourselves can effect real change, that our civilization, our government are sick and that we are mentally ill and spiritually dead — that all our issues are crises are symptoms of this deeper sickness.

The problem is that we cannot imagine a future where we possess less but are more.”

                — ©1995 Charles Bowden, from his book Blood Orchid, as reprinted in Adbusters "Big Ideas of 2011" issue.

 Or, another way to put Uranus square Pluto, Neptune in Pisces artistically/visually:

Image of police battling Greek rioters courtesy of and © Crimethinc.com

Transiting Neptune in Pisces is beginning its Orcus opposition in the U.S. Sibly chart (below) in the 3rd-9th house axis. This will ultimately form a grand cross with the U.S. natal Orcus-Uranus-Haumea T-square, which shows that the themes of Uranus-Pluto (economic exploitation, oppression, and plutocracy) aren't even new or recent, but INHERENT in the lifeblood of the country with roots in the days of slavery! In cadent houses, they swirl like a mist in the background until harsh transits blow an ill wind through the country's history. Or present and future.

So the outer solar system is going to be calling the (heavy) shots astrologically for a long time to come. (Talk about having to give up the illusion of having immense personal control in life!) Fear not, though, as oases will spring up in everyone's lives as the inner solar system planets fleetingly come to the rescue periodically with their transits. It's already starting to spark as a potential solution to the foreclosure situation that bypasses Wall Street entirely is gaining momentum.

More to come...