Category Archives: cycles

A Presidential Signature?

When George W. Bush spoke out against nationalism, hate speech and isolationism in October, I wondered how his horoscope compared with Donald Trump’s.  I looked at Bush’s chart and realized that the two men were born only three weeks apart! 

In Alan Mayeda’s excellent article in the August ISAR Journal, he discussed solar eclipses and U.S. Presidents, and pointed out that Trump, Bush and Bill Clinton were all born in 1946 with Uranus conjunct the North Node high in the sky and trining Jupiter in Libra.  Mayeda’s analysis of presidents in history and these shared placements seem to be what led him to forecast Trump winning the presidency.

The three men were born in three consecutive months, an extraordinary coincidence when one considers that together they’ll likely serve over a period of at least 20 years.  What is it about this astrological combination that’s so compelling to the U.S.?  The Jupiter-Uranus trine in itself is a very dynamic aspect.  Evangeline Adams described it as “one of the most powerful and favorable aspects known,” and added that, “If you have political leanings, this vibration is an excellent one for activity.” 

But the combination of these two planets in Gemini and Libra also falls right on the U.S. horoscope, with its trine of Mars in Gemini and Saturn in Libra in middle degrees.  With the Gemini rising U.S. chart that I like, natal Mars falls conjunct the Ascendant as part of a grand trine with Saturn in the 5th house and the Moon in Aquarius in the 9th.  So the three presidents’ Uranus and North Node closely conjoin this U.S. Gemini Ascendant and Mars.  And the U.S. Moon at about 19 Aquarius also creates a close grand trine with Jupiter, Uranus and the North Node in all the three presidents’ charts as well.

Startling repeated connections!  Theodore Roosevelt is the only other president with Uranus in Gemini, but his was in an early degree.  Interestingly enough, his Jupiter was at 21 Gemini, conjoining the U.S. Ascendant and Mars and trining its Moon.  Attorney General and former 20-year Senator from Alabama Jeff Sessions was born on December 24, 1946, but his North Node is shy of conjoining the U.S. Mars or Ascendant.

Will it surprise us if the Democrats nominate someone with these astrological credentials for the 2020 election?  Richard Blumenthal, Senator from Connecticut, was born on February 13, 1946, though like Sessions, his North Node is too wide to be conjunct.  But Ed Markey, longtime Congressman and Senator from Massachusetts, was born within the “presidential window” on July 11, 1946.

Alan Mayeda’s article, “Great American Eclipses and Presidents of the United States:  an Astrological Perspective” has more, and appeared in the ISAR International Astrologer of August, 2017, p. 40-44 (unfortunately not available online).

NYC’s Bike Path Attack

Inspired by ISIS, on October 31, 2017, Sayfullo Saipov drove a rented truck into a bike path in lower Manhattan, killing eight. Transiting Uranus conjoining the New York City’s Moon in Aries speaks of unpredictability and potential violence. But Uranus already conjoined the City’s Moon in Aries in May. Why were there no attacks then?

In February, I reviewed the previous Uranus cycle in 1933 and 1934, which reflected political reforms and innovations in housing and transportation. While I searched for any notable violent events, I found none. Earlier this year, NYC did have Uranian developments in technology, transportation and housing.

Setting the stage for the tragic Halloween attack was the Solar Eclipse at 29 Leo, which fell in NY’s 11th house, creating a grand trine with natal Moon, Venus and Mars while also squaring Uranus. And the progressed Moon in Virgo conjoined the eclipse point, then also squared NYC Uranus, exact on October 14. Progressed Mars in Aries would trine the City’s Uranus exactly on November 4, and is an obvious indicator for the possibility of violence. 

Transiting Uranus exactly conjoined the City’s Moon on October 15 and Jupiter sextiled NY’s Venus and Mars in Sagittarius in early October, more of a protective influence than anything else, but perhaps also allowing a foreign-born person (Jupiter) to plan a street attack (3rd house Venus and Mars). Saturn in Sagittarius was near the midpoint of the City’s Venus-Mars-Neptune opposition.

We are looking for a trigger that sets off the heavier influences. Transiting Mars is our usual suspect, and Mars also rules the 7th house of “open enemies” traditionally (and we already have progressed Mars exact to natal Uranus). Transiting Mars had begun to conjoin 1st house Jupiter in Libra, while approaching a sextile to Saturn in Sagittarius in the NYC 3rd house of local transportation. A sextile is generally not as violent as a square, but Mars with Saturn nevertheless retains its potential for crushing when combined. And the violence could very easily have been a lot worse, as the terrorist crashed the car into a school bus, injuring two children.

New York City has helpful influences for the rest of the year and into January of 2018. In November, transiting Saturn trines the NY Moon while Jupiter sextiles its Sun and trines its Midheaven from the 2nd house. Transiting Saturn conjunct the NYC Venus and Mars in December could potentially be a destructive combination, but now that the City is on greater alert, hopefully it represents greater vigilance and an increased police presence (the City has already installed concrete barriers on the bike path). New York’s progressed Midheaven in Scorpio trining the natal Midheaven in December and progressed Sun in the 8th trining natal Sun in January have similar overtones.

Uranus will conjoin New York City’s Moon for the final time in March of 2018.

See Michelle Young’s website for her in-depth analysis of the chart of the attack, along with Sayfullo Saipov’s noon chart, which has several extraordinary conjunctions with the NYC horoscope.

Jupiter in Scorpio

Jupiter enters Scorpio on October 11, 2017 where it stays until November 8, 2018.  With Jupiter’s expansiveness and Scorpio’s focus, these two aren’t the greatest match.  Might they balance each other’s extremes?  As a fixed sign, Scorpio could dampen the potential flightiness of Jupiter, giving it more tenacity.  And Jupiter can bring the hidden, complex side of Scorpio into the open.

Jupiter shows fame, the best ways to succeed, our philosophy and beliefs. People with this placement can make bold choices or become known for their magnetism, passion or wealth. Sometimes they go too far.  Others with Jupiter in Scorpio can turn inward to explore consciousness.  There may often be an interest in the occult, metaphysical or obscure, or an attraction to the mysteries of life and death.  And while some transcend the physical plane through their philosophy or a sense of mastery, others are deeply attached to it.

The celebrity examples below demonstrate the many expressions of Jupiter in Scorpio.  Notice how many of these people fit into more than one category.

Purposeful, determined, focused (may not be obvious!): Misty Copeland, Meghan Trainor, Mitt Romney, Steven Spielberg, Tim Kaine, Sally Field

Celebrity through marriage or inheritance:  Prince William, Kate Middleton, Camilla Parker-Bowles, Melania Trump, Jackie Onassis, Laura Bush

Investigate or transform nature:  Carl Sagan, Neil DeGrasse Tyson, Padma Lakshmi, Eddie Huang, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers (12 years apart)

Metaphysical philosophy:  Dalai Lama, Deepak Chopra, Bob Zoller, Stephen Arroyo, Leo Tolstoy, Sivananda Saraswati

Share the dark side:  Rachel Weisz, Steven King, Ice-T, Alfred/Alma Hitchcock, Vincent Price, Charlotte Bronte, Kurt Vonnegut

Notorious:  Vladimir Nabokov, Al Capone, Aleister Crowley, Ted Bundy, Charles Manson, Joel Rifkin

Addicted to humor:  Melissa McCarthy, Seth Rogan, Shawn Wayans, Garry Marshall, Lucille Ball

Larger than life, notable death:  Elvis Presley, Ernest Hemingway, David Bowie, Dorothy Dandridge, Farrah Fawcett, Hart Crane

Dynamic personalities:  Ellen Degeneres, Queen Latifah, Ronald Reagan, Joan Jett, Hugh Laurie

Charismatic appeal: Elton John, Kelly Clarkson, Britney Spears, Justin Bieber, Uma Thurman; Susan Sarandon

Communicate deep emotions:  Sade, Sharon Stone, Jessica Biel, Mariah Carey, Andrea Bocelli,

My Most Important Birth Twin

One of the first guys I dated as a teen had the same birthday as my sister.  What are the odds?  Their personalities were similar but their lives couldn’t have been more different.  And he ended up, in an odd way, leading me to astrology. 

They both had the Sun in Aries square Jupiter, along with Mercury, Venus and the Moon in Pisces trine Neptune.  The guy seemed to be much more impulsive than my sister, who has an angular Saturn.  He had an untamed spirit, and despite coming from a nice family, he dropped out of school at 16.  My sister went on to finish college.

Years later, when the two were experiencing their Saturn returns, my sister was working full-time while completing a Master’s degree.  My former flame was married and his wife was eight months pregnant.  One night he sat in a bar with friends (remember all the Pisces and Neptune) and said, “I’m so depressed I feel like putting a bullet in my head.”  And he did.

The story is so disturbing and dramatic that it’s a shame I’ve never had his birth time.  I’ve wondered if he had Pluto rising, which would put his Aries Sun in the 8th house squaring Jupiter in the 5th.  The Sun’s ruler, Mars, would be widely opposite Uranus in his 12th house, relating to unconscious impulses.  (True to the Martian archetype, my sister went on to a career requiring a firearm, but she always used it with care. )

Though my sister has remained consistent in my life, at 15, my relationship, predictably, hadn’t lasted long.  I had transiting Uranus squaring my Sun, showing excitement and spontaneity, but also the short-term nature of our connection.  Transiting Saturn opposed my Saturn then, too.  And I was upset.  My mom had already been studying astrology for a number of years, and brought out one of her cookbooks, turning to the page for Uranus squaring the Sun.  The description so exactly described my situation that despite being a skeptic before, I was now completely fascinated.  Uranus awakened astrology for me through a person who didn’t remain in my life.  And Saturn put me on a path that would remain constant long after many relationships had run their natural course.

Eclipse Weddings

We’re all looking forward to August’s eclipses, so I posted an article I wrote on Eclipse Weddings.

Prince Charles and Paul McCartney both had two marriages near eclipses! I also consider J.K. Rowling, Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt, Maria Shriver and Arnold Schwarzenegger and some regular folks’ weddings near eclipses.

This piece was originally published in the Spring 2016 NY NCGR’s Ingress newsletter. Thanks to Tracy Allen and the NY NCGR for including it.

In the Shadow of the Moon

At the time of the Uranus-Neptune conjunction in the early 90s, I was thrilled to read some of Professor Anthony Aveni’s books. Conversing with the Planets looked at people’s relationships with the cosmos through history and across cultures, and Empires of Time covered how people consider time, which derives from the cycles of the Sun and Moon. These books both touched on astrology, as the author is both an astronomer and anthropologist. Aveni became one of the first prominent voices on what would now be called cultural astronomy or, at the time, archaeo-astronomy.

Anthony Aveni’s work is refreshing since he accepts people’s beliefs (including astrology) as part of what makes them interesting. His latest book, In the Shadow of the Moon, covers solar eclipse viewing and arrives in time for total solar eclipse to cross the U.S. on 8/21/17.

In the Shadow of the Moon looks at not only eclipses but also the people who study them. The author eloquently shares his own eclipse viewing experiences and presents others who’ve captured the spectacle in words. We learn about predicting eclipses through the centuries, from Stonehenge to Babylon, the ancient Greeks, Chinese and Maya, with detailed accounts of eclipse expeditions in the U.S. and abroad in more recent times.

Full of insight and wit, Anthony Aveni’s eclipse book is part science history, part human interest, and captures the challenges of navigating capricious weather as well as the joys of encountering this rare natural phenomenon.

While this book doesn’t address the astrology of eclipses, it provides an excellent background to studying them and communicates why they’re so compelling, regardless of time and space.

Buy from Amazon.com:  In the Shadow of the Moon: The Science, Magic, and Mystery of Solar Eclipses
Empires of Time: Calendars, Clocks, and Cultures
Conversing with the Planets: How Science and Myth Invented the Cosmos (Kodansha Globe) by Aveni, Anthony published by Kodansha Globe Paperback

Anthony Weiner Faces Saturn

Former Congressman Anthony Weiner pled guilty to Federal obscenity charges on Friday, May 18, 2017 for sexting an underage girl in 2016. Weiner guilty

Weiner was born on September 4, 1964 in Brooklyn according to Wikipedia
(no time available). His Virgo Sun is conjunct Pluto and Uranus, showing his obsession (Pluto) with technology (Uranus). This is also a signature that may indicate ups and downs in the career as well as a need for periodic re-invention. Weiner pleads guilty

Weiner’s retrograde Mercury in Virgo is the final dispositor of his chart, giving him intelligence and pragmatism, but it also opposes Saturn (as does his Sun). Wendell C. Perry on GoodGollyAstrology looked at Weiner’s horoscope and the role transiting Saturn played in his personal and professional problems. Perry accurately forecast a significant turning point for Weiner in October of 2016, when he would “feel the full weight of his past actions” as Saturn squared his Sun and Pluto. At that time, it was revealed that the FBI was investigating Weiner, and had seized computer (leading to the re-opening of their look at Hillary Clinton’s e-mails).

When Anthony Weiner pled guilty, transiting Saturn was exactly quincunx his natal Venus, forming a yod with his Venus-Mars-Jupiter sextile. Ed Dearborn, in his excellent article on yods in The Mountain Astrologer, felt that the yod created by transits to the natal chart “…provides a challenge to an individual and an opportunity to exert energies ‘against the current.’ This allows the chart to show where one can make progress and lend assistance to those who wish to see injustices righted or new paths forged in our daily lives.”

Saturn and the authorities have forced Weiner to admit to his crimes and accept the penalties. It may now be easier for him to be able to get some help for his mental and emotional problems.

Saturn and NYC Transit

New York City’s Penn Station experienced two train derailments in less than two weeks – a New Jersey Transit slow-speed derailment on April 3 and an Amtrak partial derailment on 3/24/17. In addition, there was a Long Island Railroad service train derailment on 2/8, and a LIRR morning commuter train crashed into Atlantic Terminal on 1/4. What’s going on?

The horoscope for Greater New York has Venus conjunct Mars in Sagittarius in its 3rd house of transportation, which trines the Moon in the 7th in Aries. These planets in fire signs show the importance of transit to New York and the many different railroad, bus and subway systems that speed through the City each day.Penn Station delays

But with Saturn in Sagittarius stationing near both Venus and Mars this month, transit has been snarled. Saturn takes its time, and may create delays. As it stationed, Saturn remained less than a degree and a half from conjoining Mars. This is one of those aspects that tends to have a definitive effect. It can cause damages, equipment failure and human error. On the plus side, new ferry service from Queens and Brooklyn to Manhattan begins this spring.

New York experienced its Saturn return, also in the 3rd house, in late 2015. The new Hudson River tunnel plan and Penn Station train hall on Eighth Avenue both appear to be stalled. This is the nature of Saturn, which can bring growing pains. When the 3rd house aspects are finished late this year, hopefully plans will be adjusted or solidified. Governors Cuomo and Christie have asked for a review of Penn Station’s infrastructure.

In the meantime, on Good Friday, 4/15, over a thousand New Jersey Transit commuters were trapped in an overheated train for several hours due to a power problem, and frightened crowds surged as a police Taser went off in Penn Station (Mercury retrograde aggravating the situation). Saturn backs away from NYC’s Venus and Mars in April, but will return to complete the aspects in December of 2017. Be cautious. And as the MTA often advises, allow additional travel time.

Greater New York was created on January 1, 1898 at 12:01 AM, New York, NY.

Venus Retrograde in the News II

Venus retrograde ends its six-week trek soon, and I’m looking back on its reflection in the news. I’ve tracked Venus retrograde on Twitter since March 1 and continue to be amazed at the number of major news stories obviously linked to Venus retrograde! Veus Botticelli

Venus rules women, finance and property through its connection with Taurus. Relationships, the law and court decisions are also ruled by Venus through its connection with Libra. And Venus is also a general ruler of the arts, luxury goods, contentment and well-being. The retrograde phenomenon suggests re-evaluation, revision and reversal.

Some major, ongoing stories were related to legislation and its review, including the discussions and appointment of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, various developments in the ongoing Trump campaign-Russia investigations and immigration restrictions, reversal of North Carolina’s transgender bathroom law, and a Planned Parenthood vote in the Senate. Many of these issues addressed the Venusian concept of fairness.

Women continued to be highlighted in the news, with the first female leader of Hong Kong appointed, Angela Merkel’s meeting with President Trump and Theresa May’s beginning the Brexit process. Also featured were the Women’s USA Hockey Team’s threatened boycott and the US Gymnastics sex abuse Congressional hearings. In entertainment, retro-inspired Broadway shows included War Paint about women cosmetics entrepreneurs, a revival of Sunset Boulevard with Glenn Close, and Bette Midler in Hello, Dolly!

An ongoing business story was the continued closing of retail brick-and-mortar stores like Sear’s, Macy’s, Kmart and even Ralph Lauren. Home prices have been rising across the country due to a lack of inventory.

It’s always challenging to separate out astrological influences, but this Venus Retrograde was amazingly clear! Venus will be retrograde until April 15. Follow my coverage on Twitter!