Foreseeing the Future Update

I’ve just finished the update of my biography of the famous American astrologer Evangeline Adams, Foreseeing the Future. The original was published in 2002, and with more information from newspaper databases and genealogy websites online, I’ve now filled in details on the people in Adams’ life and included more historical context.

I’ve found additional information confirming Evangeline’s forecasts and I also take a look at her sexuality, but basically it’s the same story. There are so many public domain photos now available online so I included a lot more pictures, too.

My main focus in this book has always been to document Adams’ forecasts and provide an objective look at what astrology can do, while also telling her life story. I leave it to readers to make up their own minds. I’m dismayed to see that Wikipedia’s entry on Adams has been edited in recent years. References to any of Evangeline’s substantiated forecasts have been removed. Any mention of my book has been deleted, replaced by skeptics’ opinions, tertiary and inaccurate sources, with no documentary evidence to support any statements made, despite supposed notes and references. I have no appetite to fight them, and hope the book continues to help people better understand how astrology and astrological forecasting work.

Updated print and digital versions are now available. Many thanks, as always, to Bruce Scofield and One Reed Publications for publishing the original.

For more on the book see my webpage.

To order the updated Foreseeing the Future for Kindle, click here. Or order the updated print version on Amazon.com.

Jupiter in Sagittarius

Jupiter is called the greater benefic and Sagittarius is the sign where it’s most at home. Jupiter and Sagittarius think in broad terms and enjoy expansion. The combination also accentuates its meaning, as planet and sign share similar qualities. Jupiter/Sag. people often like to do things in a big way and may at times over-reach or go too far. Though we may feel that some have a lot of “hot air,” they tend to be naturally exuberant and positive people.

Jupiter entered Sagittarius, its own sign, on November 8, 2018, where it will remain until December 2, 2019. My father and two aunts had Jupiter in Sag., each born 12 years apart. They were all warm, optimistic and talkative people, with an openness and candor. They had lots of energy and an upbeat attitude, actively engaging with life and others. I found it easy to enjoy their company, as all of them laughed wholeheartedly and were good story-tellers. They each had strong opinions on certain topics, and although Sagittarius is a mutable sign, they were committed to their ideas and beliefs.

Though all were angular, with very different aspects and house placements, their expressions of Jupiter were varied. My dad worked in the legal system throughout his life. One aunt was bilingual and enjoyed travelling; the other had strong religious convictions. Some of the typical expressions associated with Jupiter and Sagittarius are experiences with the law, foreign cultures or philosophical beliefs.

Let’s look at some celebrity examples for a better idea of the many expressions of Jupiter in Sagittarius. Notice how many of these characters could easily fit into more than one category.

Philosophers: People committed to their beliefs, whether they’re astrologers or in touch with the metaphysical world, share Jupiter in Sagittarius. They may have insight into the cosmos or our connection with the divine: Howard Sasportas, Carroll Righter, Karl Ernst Krafft, Marc Edmund Jones, Antoine de St.-Exupery, Eckhart Tolle, William Blake, Henry David Thoreau, William Butler Yeats.

Like Laughter: It was easy to find comedians with this combination, as many of them have an irrepressible sense of humor, while also offering insight into life: Maya Rudolph, Amy Poehler, Sacha Baron Cohen, Allison Janney, Damon Wayans, Ted Danson, Cameron Diaz, Tracy Ullman, Hugh Grant, Alan Alda, Bernadette Peters, Jim Henson, Billy Crystal, Kevin Kline, Richard Simmons, Phylicia Rashad.

Law and Politics: Government and the legal system are other natural outlets, as many legal experts and politicians share Jupiter in Sag: Justin Trudeau, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Michael Avenatti, Prince Charles, John McCain, George H.W. Bush, Janet Reno, Al Gore, Antonin Scalia.

Striking Voices: Jupiterians come across in a big way or may literally have an exuberant voice: Idina Menzel, Amy Winehouse, Carrie Underwood, Stella McCartney, Buddy Holly, Roy Orbison, Andrew Lloyd Weber, David Mamet, Jackson Pollack, Maria Callas.

Wide Acclaim: People with Jupiter in Sagittarius are often attracted to other cultures and may reflect their ethnic heritage, share something from another culture or become widely known, even internationally: Sofia Coppola, Emma Thompson, Alan Turing, Yves Saint Laurent, Selena, Ricky Martin, Julia Child, Yusuf Islam/Cat Stevens, Florence Griffith-Joyner.

Speak their Minds: Sagittarians have a need to enlighten and educate. They’re sincere truth-seekers, with faith in their ideals. Some celebrities with Jupiter in Sag. speak out on political or educational issues or are simply known for being outspoken themselves: Jada Pinkett Smith, Jane Lynch, Amber Rose, Ben Affleck, Simon Cowell, Truman Capote, Sarah Ferguson, Robert Redford.

Go too Far: The flaw in Sagittarius and Jupiter may be not knowing when to stop. Since they like to see the big picture and may enjoy gambling, some have ideological beliefs or what the Greeks called “hubris” – arrogance towards the gods or excessive pride. We can find both people and situations that typify this trait: Martin Shkreli, Edward Snowden, Lance Armstrong, Kim Jong-Un, statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee placed in Charlottesville, VA park (Lee also surrendered on a Jupiter in Sagittarius), Titanic sailing.

Stacey Abrams and Recounts

Stacey Abrams has been battling entrenched authorities in the Georgia Governor’s race as transit Saturn creates a T-square with her natal Saturn-Pluto square. She’s won a court victory as a judge authorized votes with partial discrepancies. Tr. Saturn will exactly square her Pluto on 11/18/18, the time when the Florida Secretary of State could certify the election. It’s disappointing that we have no birth time, as it seems to me there’s some progressed angularity we’re missing with the noon chart I used.

Abrams is an eclipse person, with a partial lunar eclipse the day after her birthday. She also has a probable Out of Bounds Moon that also attracts attention. She’s a lightning rod and literally the opposite of Donald Trump with her Sun in Sagittarius and Moon in Gemini.

Her progressed Sun, Moon (depending on birth time), Mercury, Venus and Jupiter are all in Aquarius, accentuating Abrams’ Moon-Venus-Jupiter-Pluto grand air trine. Transit Uranus stations near her Mars in Aries from late December to early January 2019, when it will exactly trine her North Node in Sagittarius. Jupiter will also conjoin her Sun in January. While the Governor’s race is hard to call without a birth time, Abrams has gained national recognition and should begin a major new adventure in 2019.

Tom Hanks, Author

I like looking at the charts of creative types to see how they’re reflected in their work. Popular actor Tom Hanks released a book of short stories last year, Uncommon Type, and I listened to his audiobook. I wasn’t sure how good it’d be, but with the Sun in Cancer, I expected Hanks’ warm and accessible, sexually non-threatening style. The stories were wonderful and seemed to reflect even more of the real person than we know from the movies.

Many of the stories concerned family, friends and leisure activities and seemed personal and authentic. Hanks has both the Sun and Mercury in Cancer with the Moon in Leo, all of which favor self-expression. His Sun and Moon are also in mutual reception and dispose of the entire chart, strengthening his ability to connect with emotions and present dramatic situations.

Venus in Gemini creates a grand cross with Mars in Pisces on the Descendant, the MC/IC and Virgo rising. True to Virgo, there is a meticulousness about the writing, but with Mars in Pisces, it’s always emotionally engaging. The stories are accessible and comfortable, the content somewhat “cozy” (PG rated), and nothing is pushed or rushed, with occasionally disturbing situations and satisfying endings.

The actor also has Mercury Out of Bounds in declination. Kt Boehrer thought this placement was associated with considerable imagination, curiosity and talent. And I would add, versatility.

The stories of a divorced mother learning to trust again and the son of a divorced couple getting to know his more successful mom and her new boyfriend seemed so truthful and real that I assumed the writer had experienced these things first-hand. There were also stories about space flight, time travel, star gazing and discovering the exhilaration of piloting an airplane. These all seemed Uranian to me, and Hanks has the Moon conjunct Uranus in the 11th house, probably one reason he’s been so popular in the first place. His bio tells us that he’s experienced divorce and is a big booster of NASA and space exploration.

Saturn in Scorpio in the 3rd house trines Uranus, and this also explains Tom Hanks’ somewhat low-key communications style. Saturn rules his 5th house and also squares Pluto in Leo and Jupiter in Virgo in his 12th, showing a great inner drive and intensity. As Jupiter rules his 4th house cusp, this also shows the changes he experienced in his personal life.

One story is about a woman striking out on her own and connecting with a typewriter. With Saturn strongly accented in the 3rd house, it’s no surprise that Tom Hanks collects typewriters and is devoted to writing with them.

Uncommon Type by Tom Hanks on Amazon.com.

Tom Hanks was born on July 9, 1956 at 11:17 AM in Concord Calfornia, rated AA on Astrodatabank (from his birth certificate).

Astrological Birth Control

Sheila Ostrander and Lynn Schroeder’s Astrological Birth Control (1972) is a very odd book. It reports on the theories and work of Eugen Jonas, a Catholic psychiatrist in Czechslovakia, who purportedly developed a system of pinpointing astrological fertility cycles.

Obstetrician and medical astrologer Margaret Millard has told us it can’t work. But astrologers I respect say they’ve used it with success. The basic theory seems intuitively logical, that the repetition of the Sun-Moon angle from a woman’s birth chart indicates fertile times.

For several years in the 1960s, Jonas, along with other physicians and researchers, received grants to study birth control, fertility, sex selection and viability astrologically. The fertility and sex selection cycle was reportedly identified by projected estimates based on the size and length of newborn infants. While this might symbolically produce a meaningful horoscope, it seems far-fetched that it would lead to the their consistently reported 85-98% success rates.

Almost nothing in astrology is this simplistic or constant. I also find it hard to believe that so many couples were able to routinely follow such specific instructions at home. People are not lab animals.

The authors state several times that the theories haven’t been proved and that little documentation was available, but everything about the book suggests a breakthrough. Some time is spent summarizing numerous scientific studies that support astrology but have little to do with the topic at hand.

Several of the few examples reproduced from Jonas’ work have errors. The authors don’t appear to be astrologers (nor does Jonas for that matter), so that the presentation of the actual techniques is also not very compelling. (It may be worthwhile to consider Jonas’ close Moon conjunct Neptune in Virgo, which exactly squares the Nodes, suggesting that publicity and hype may outweigh content.)

Astrological Birth Control is historically intriguing, as it was released by a major publisher, was designed for a wide audience, and influenced many astrologers. But for better books on this topic, I’d recommend Your Fertile Hours (reprinted in 2015) by Emily Faugno, a readable memoir and textbook with horoscope delineations from another Catholic devotee, or The Lunar Cycle (1989) by Francesca Naish, which is a practical guide. The Moon and Childbirth (1999) by Margaret Millard, M.D. is an excellent work that covers many topics (in vitro, predicting sex and the prenatal epoch), but unfortunately it’s difficult to find reasonably-priced copies these days. Fertility Astrology (2018) by Nicola Smits-Allsop provides sophisticated astrological analyses of fertility in the birth chart and presents astrological techniques for in vitro fertilization (see my review of this book here).

Click the links above to see more on these books on Amazon.com

The Moment of Astrology

Geoffrey Cornelius has taken a wonderful look at astrology and skepticism and concludes that horary is a tool for divination in The Moment of Astrology. While somewhat philosophical, this well-researched book is also full of gems from the history and practice of astrology.

Scientific studies of astrology often don’t work, and the author feels that our reliance on quantification “threatens to undermine the whole way of proceeding with symbols.” He shares an often overlooked conclusion by Jung in his analysis of married couples, that the attitudes and desires of the person doing the research will influence the result (kind of a quantum theory point of view).

We’re treated to a survey of the history of astrology, from predestination to inclination and more mystical approaches. He sees his own perspective as originating in Mesopotamian, Greek and Roman models of divination, which necessitated a participatory relationship between the gods and humans. He also addresses the odd circumstance that many practicing astrologers experience, of getting the right answer from the wrong chart.

Geoffrey Cornelius sees horary or electional astrology as seeking a blessing, and that the outcome is not compelled. There is an allegory between planets and events. In his own work, Cornelius tries to answer the question of how to resolve the situation “to the good fortune” by presenting the client with possibilities. He reminds us of Lilly’s admonition to “afflict not the miserable with the terror of a harsh judgment.”

There are few actual horary charts included, but the interpretations are fascinating. Geoffrey analyzes the horoscope presented with the 1975 Humanist article (where scientists attacked astrology), Charles Carter’s query about horary itself, and perhaps most compelling, his own horary about an exploitative tenant of his aunt’s. These make terrific studies.

The horary revival is seen as beginning with Olivia Barclay’s reprint of William Lilly and Derek Appleby’s book, both in 1985. This surprised me, but I was reminded that in the U.S., Ivy Goldstein-Jacobson’s horary book came out in 1960 and Barbara Watters’ in 1975, so the American revival was actually earlier.

The Moment of Astrology is an in-depth, thorough and thoughtful work. I took my time reading it as there is much to consider and it can be slow going at times. I can’t agree with all of Geoffrey Cornelius’ conclusions, but he is always thought provoking.

Buy The Moment of Astrology on Amazon.com.

Edgar Cayce Brought Me to Astrology

The hair! The eyebrows! This is a picture of me and my mom, Renee, around the time I started studying astrology in the 70s.

My new astrology column is out in Venture Inward magazine. I write about how Renee (and then I) became interested in astrology through an Edgar Cayce study group.

You can download a sample issue of Venture Inward (current ones are available through membership). If you’re interested in psychic phenomenon, mind-body-spirit, reincarnation, ancient civilizations, dreams and meditation, you may want to check it out.

Here’s the start of the column:
“In 1968, my mother, Renée, at age 37, had three children and owned a home in the suburbs. But she was unhappy. My dad commuted to work every day and the kids were all in grade school. Renée was not one to socialize with neighbors and she felt alienated from her Church. She often thought she was “weird” because she wasn’t attracted to the things others enjoyed. And hadn’t life promised something more? She was experiencing a notable transit of Saturn, which may make us feel dejected or uninspired. Cayce often suggested it brought change.”

Astrology helped both of us! And it still does.

Bob Woodward and Neptune

Bob Woodward’s new book Fear: Trump in the White House is the fastest-selling book in Simon & Schuster’s nearly 100 years of publishing, according to the L.A. Times. The veteran journalist has covered eight presidents in his 45 years of reporting. Surprisingly enough, Neptune is one of his most prominent planets!

Neptune closely conjoins the Ascendant and opposes the journalist’s Sun in Aries and Ascendant ruler Mercury in Pisces. This is an unexpected combination and we’d imagine that Woodward might be challenged to tell the truth himself, as Neptune opposite Mercury may present a false view of reality. Certainly in his most significant stories, like Watergate, his long-term analysis lifted a veil or exposed a cover-up. His current book relies on anonymous sources, and one of the most closely guarded secrets of the Watergate story was the identity of Deep Throat, a key informant. So Neptune rising in Libra may show the ability to keep a partner’s secrets as well as tease them out of others.

Neptune and Mercury are ruled by Venus in Taurus and Jupiter in the 10th, which are more open and straightforward. And the rest of the chart is consistent with journalism and sharing information with the public. The Sun in Aries in the 7th house trines Pluto in the 11th and suggests powerful contacts and the ability to tap into key witnesses. The Moon in Sagittarius in the 3rd house is naturally candid in communications and completes a grand trine with the Sun and Pluto. Research and investigative abilities are accentuated by Scorpio on the 3rd house, Pluto’s placement Out of Bounds in declination, and its trine to the Moon in the 3rd.

Jupiter, the planet of ideas and education, is in Woodward’s 10th house of career, exalted in Cancer. His books and articles have focused on the country’s leaders. Jupiter is in mutual reception with the Moon, and the two dispose of all the other planets but Venus.

Saturn conjunct Uranus in Gemini in the 9th house has gained him great acclaim and shows the combination of traditional reporting and unexpected breakthroughs he’s shared with a wide audience. These two planets complete a kite pattern with the Sun, Moon and Pluto, and Uranus trines Neptune and the Ascendant as well. While Bob Woodward’s success has much to do with Jupiter, he also has a wide Star of David (or grand sextile) pattern, one of the most harmonious in astrology, that includes his Ascendant.

The 9/11 release date of Bob Woodward’s book has tremendous resonance for the country, but at the time, the transiting Sun and Mercury were also conjunct his Ascendant and activating his grand trine/grand sextile pattern. Progressed Mercury in Taurus was also trining the Ascendant and nearing a conjunction with 9th house Uranus to make for great excitement about his work.

Bob Woodward’s birth data is from his birth record and rated AA on Astrodatabank.

The Modern West is Linear

Horoscopes have survived for over 2,000 years and represent a unique remnant of the ancient world. There is absolutely nothing else like them, as they symbolically represent the sky and are able to convey the events and experiences of a life. While we can use various techniques to progress or direct the chart into the future, the horoscope itself conveys the entire life.

In the contemporary west, we live in a world of linear time, where we adhere to schedules and see ourselves evolving into the future. Others in the past and elsewhere are different. In polychronic cultures, time is cyclic, and deadlines are unimportant. People from India that I’ve known seem to have a more polychronic attitude, for example, and interestingly enough many in India also value astrology.

Astronomer and anthropologist Anthony Aveni gave an excellent example of polychronic works of art in his book, Conversing with the Planets. In a museum in Mexico City, he observed Aztec plant sculptures that contained both the mature fruit and blooming flowers – which cannot co-exist at the same time. “Each half of the calabash and maize sculptures seemed totally faithful to what I have actually seen in my garden at the beginning and the end of the season… But the artists who made these carvings just a few generations before Cortés landed on Mexico’s shore… had conflated different stages of plant metamorphosis into a single coherent image… for reasons that escape us, the polychromic image – the combination of realities pulled from different time frames and brought together by the human imagination into a composite whole – seems to have held greater significance.”

A horoscope can also be seen as a “composite whole.” And it’s worth noting that the Maya, who predated the Aztecs by at least 1,000 years, were keen sky observers who also had their own elaborate system of astrology.

One reason that astrology is commonly criticized today may be that mainstream western society is so time-driven, ordered and quantitative, while horoscopes and astrology are qualitative and cyclic. Those of us who value them are able to do so despite the linear culture that surrounds us.

Aveni’s Conversing with the Planets is a wonderful book that looks at the many cultures through history that developed astrology. It was published in 1992 as the Uranus-Neptune conjunction in Capricorn approached, and is one of the first books to seriously address the cultural history of astrology for a wider audience. Buy on Amazon.com:
Conversing with the Planets: How Science and Myth Invented the Cosmos

Malaysia Air Flight 370: a Look Back

Over four years after the disappearance of Malaysia Air Flight 370, the investigation team issued its report. They couldn’t identify what went wrong and ruled out mechanical or computer failure. Air traffic controllers didn’t follow standard procedures when the plane missed its next expected contact. They also confirmed a turn-back under manual control and could not rule out “unlawful interference.”

The horoscope for the flight’s take-off shows the difficult issues ahead. The Midheaven, which represents the pilot (authority), closely squares the Moon in Gemini conjunct the descendant and opposes Neptune in Pisces on the IC. With the Ascendant, this T-square becomes a tight grand cross with Neptune dominating. If we analyze the event chart as a horary, the IC indicates the “end of the matter,” and with Neptune we are left with a watery disappearance and a mystery.

See the keywords for Neptune that I noticed in this chart in 2014.

The Ascendant is Sagittarius, ruled by Jupiter in its exaltation (greatest strength) in Cancer in the 8th house, shows the possibility of danger and death, especially as Jupiter opposes Pluto. Jupiter is ruled by the Moon conjunct the 7th house, which also suggests the involvement of someone in the tragedy and confirms the use of the manual controls.

Mercury rules the Virgo Midheaven and indicates the pilot (the authority figure). Falling in the third house in Aquarius, Mercury squares its ruler Saturn in Scorpio in the 12th, pointing toward the flight’s undoing. As Mercury also rules the Moon in Gemini, it’s associated with the pilot. If we consider Uranus to rule Mercury in Aquarius, it forms another close T-square with Jupiter and Pluto and may suggest that the pilot was unbalanced or overcome. Experts on 60 Minutes in Australia presented a theory involving the pilot, though the official investigation team cleared him of a suicide attempt.

Coverage of the Investigative Report is here.