photo from BBC News

Burma is a country where the art of astrology is a respected tool in national affairs, and the date and time of the founding of Burma took into consideration the astrological influences at the time. A look at the Burmese chart provides insight into the recent protests in that country which have suddenly erupted into the news.

Jupiter (abundance and opportunity) is ascending in the chart in Sagittarius, the sign which it rules, generally considered a fortunate placement. Mars is featured prominently in the 9th house conjunct the Midheaven, suggesting rule by generals and military might rather than democracy. Pluto (death and rebirth) opposes Venus (partnerships) in the chart which in a national chart could indicate the presence of open enemies and interpersonal conflict within the country as well as from those outside.

The Moon(security) is conjunct Neptune (idealism) in Libra (relationships) and both square exactly the conjunction of the Sun (Self) to Mercury (experience) in Capricorn (hard work). Sun conjunct Mercury often indicates frequent moves or changes of personality and Neptune square to the Sun creates confusion with respect to the identity. We have certainly seen this in the case of Burma’s 1948 chart, and the Moon/Neptune conjunction shows a tendency toward deception in service of the dream. Subsequent to Burma’s independence from the British Empire in 1948, a military coup in 1962 ended democratic rule there. Later it became the Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma in 1974 and then reverted to the Union of Burma in 1988 before becoming the Union of Myanmar in 1989.

In 1962, when the coup d’etat instituted military rule in Burma, Pluto was in exact conjunction to Mars in the Burma chart and it was in a tight opposition to transiting Chiron. At the same time, transiting Mars was conjunct Jupiter and this pair made a square to Chiron in the chart. We call this a “double whammy” with two signatures between Mars and Chiron at the time, signifying war (Mars) and wounding (Chiron). Although Chiron is the wounded healer, in the square or opposition we tend to find that it is usually necessary to experience the wounding before we get to the healing.

In 1974 a new Burmese constitution institutionalized the power of the ruling socialist party just as Neptune (confusion and deception) transited the ascendant in the Burmese chart and squared the Burmese Mars exactly. Resistance was quashed and hundreds of protesting students were killed. Transiting Jupiter at the time opposed Pluto in the Burmese chart, indicating an expansion of the power structure and authority.

In 1988, transiting Pluto began to square Pluto in the Burmese chart, an event popularly known as the “Pluto Square.” In an individual the Pluto Square marks a time of intense reflection and change; often we find we must let go of the past in order to move into a future that more fully empowers us. For Burma, this time marked an increase in resistance to one-party rule and the 1988 Uprising and 3,000 deaths was the result.

Plans for elections to be held in 1990 coincided with a Saturn/Neptune conjunction in Capricorn which was exactly conjunct the Sun/Mercury conjunction in the Burmese chart and therefore square to the idealistic conjunction of Burma’s Moon to Neptune. The Saturn/Neptune conjunction tends to force us (Saturn) to abandon our illusions (Neptune), and is associated with governmental deception, particularly when Saturn is in its own sign of Capricorn as it was at that time.

When free elections were held for the first time on May 27, 1990, Saturn had separated from the conjunction to transiting Neptune which was in tight aspect to the natal square in the Burmese chart between Moon/Neptune and Sun/Mercury. The resulting confusion nullifed the election and the ruling party remained in power, imprisoning the leaders of the duly elected party.

Over the past month, as the Mars/Pluto opposition activated Uranus (radical change) in the Burma chart, a revolutionary fervor gripped that country resulting in the largest protests in that country in over 20 years. The ongoing square of Jupiter to Uranus is at play here as well, as both planets form tight aspects to the ascendant and Jupiter of the national chart, stimulating a sense of revolutionary confidence and visionary fervor that is spreading throughout the country, undeterred by the growing number of deaths as the military leadership attempts to squelch the increasing number of protests.

Meanwhile, transiting Saturn is preparing to conjunct the prominent Mars in the Burmese chart which has marked the success of military rule in that country since its inception. Saturn will retrograde back over Mars and hit that prominent point a total of three times before proceeding to cross the Midheaven, continuing the pressure on the government. The rulers of this country have attempted to utilize astrology to stay in power, but perhaps the vision and revolutionary ideals of the Jupiter/Uranus square can help to unwind that power and create real democracy in that embattled nation.

Over the past week Mercury has been harmonizing with both Pluto and Mars, facilitating resolution of the anger and breakdowns that erupted with the Sun/Pluto/Mars T-square a week ago. Mercury is the messenger and its presence now in the release of the T-square energy makes it easier to process the information that came out of these critical events. This heightened understanding paves the way for the Full Moon in Aries on the 26th.

The Aries Full Moon opposes the Libra Sun and strives for harmony and balance between individuality (Aries) and the need to compromise (Libra), something which will be easier to achieve with the energy offered by trine of Mercury to Mars. Aries is the sign of new beginnings and inspiration while the Full Moon is the time of culmination and release of energy. That makes this a time of power and generation.

There is still a bit of lingering tension between Venus and Neptune that may entice us into a bit of fantasy and expectations that are unrealistic, but overall this is an energetic lunar event that shines a light into any dark corners and inspires an awakening to new ways of interacting with others that leads to a transformation of our personal relationships and our own self-esteem with the upcoming trine of Venus to Pluto that moves into place in October.

I’m taking a few days off so the advice column will be delayed until later in the week, but meanwhile take a look at this coverage of Henry Weingarten’s Astrology Fund on the financial website TheStreet.com:

For instance, earlier this year Weingarten predicted there would be a major downdraft in the stock market on Aug. 28. It was the last total lunar eclipse, a technical and astrological convergence that culminated with the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbling 280 points to test the 13,000 level.

Coincidence? Maybe. But it was enough to make me want to find out what Weingarten was predicting at his conference on Sept. 11, the day of the solar eclipse.

The Astrologer’s Fund isn’t a mutual fund. It’s an institutional fund that manages money for high-net worth individuals and institutions. Weingarten declines to say how much he has under management.

According to the fund’s Website, it returned 17% in July, 26% in August and was up 9.7% for the first two weeks of September. However, these are unaudited results.

Weingarten’s head isn’t solely in the stars. He uses a combination of technical analysis, fundamental analysis and astrological charting to make predictions on the direction of commodities, currencies and stocks. The New York money manager says that when all three converge, a major market move is usually in the works. And most of the time he can determine its direction.

“We use all the standard fundamental and technical tools, but astrology is most important,” says Weingarten. “That’s what makes us unique and allows us to capture market surprises most people don’t see. It’s out-of-the-box thinking.” But he adds that if something is overwhelmingly undervalued on a fundamental basis, “I follow that. It depends on the situation.”

Weingarten is also a gold bug. In ordinary times, that would be another strike against him. But these aren’t ordinary times. Since 2001, when he first recommended that his clients buy gold, the yellow metal’s price has surged more than 250%.

In early June, Weingarten predicted a major move up in the price of gold, but said that it needed to test support first. He said watch June 27. That day the price of gold fell $5.70 to $642.85, its lowest point in three months. It’s been rallying ever since.

What are Weingarten’s current predictions? Saturn and Neptune currently have an astrological configuration last seen during the housing crisis of 1989. The money manager says this is a “reality strikes” configuration. The idea is that most bull markets are based on incorrect assumptions; this configuration is usually a sign that a day of reckoning is at hand.

Weingarten says September and October won’t be nice months for stock market bulls. While the bulls had a field day with the Fed’s rate cut last week, he predicts there will be a “significant repricing of assets around Oct. 16.”

He also predicts recessionary conditions will begin by the next quarter, and he’s bearish on most commodities, with the notable exception of gold.

Not surprisingly, he believes investors should buy more gold. The money manager says $690, which until recently was a ceiling for the price of gold, will soon become its floor; he believes the metal could hit $850 by February. That prediction is based purely technical analysis, but Weingarten says the astrological signs are also very good. His three- to five-year target for gold is $1,200.

Weingarten has a bit of a spotty reputation – he has been sued by clients and has been under investigation by the SEC. And his 2006 predictions were off as I covered in this post. Still, it’s exciting to see astrology being highlighted with respect in these major financial publications.

Thanks to Beth for this beautiful poem.

The End of Summer
by Peter J. Gorham

Turn and take the summer with you to its fall.
Take away its outlook and its need–
the message of the sun at hilltop–
and hand it to the courier, who waits
to run the valleys and the shade
and hand it in good season
to its heir.

It has blessed you, truly once again
but summer goes its way, it must,
and craggy hands of autumn
seduce you fresh with promises
filled in blinding summer light,
unnoticed, not ahead.
Ahead lies cold incrimination
that faults you yet again
for missing twice the splendour.

Do not rush aestival’s cool end,
for behind her is the icy breath of winter.
Hold her hot against your form
and let her breathe her lovefire on you
and make you sweat
beneath her crushing heat.
Hold her as you know
that she’ll be gone soon,
and in her place will be the snow.

Copyright © 2004 Peter J. Gorham
photo by John Lund/Sam Diephuis from Jupiterimages.com

The equinoxes are magical points in time when the day and night are of equal lengths. These are times of balance and correspond roughly to the ascendant/descendant axis in the birthchart. The spring equinox (in the tropical system) takes place with the Sun at 0 degrees Aries, correlating with the ascendant and first house, and the fall equinox occurs at 0 degrees Libra, correlating with the descendant and seventh house.

With Aries and Libra we are dealing with two points of initiation: initiation of the Self (Aries) and initiation of the Other (Libra). The distinction between Self and Other is a little blurry right now with Venus (connecting with others) having just passed an exact opposition to Neptune. We feel creative and inspired now, but the Self is a little more difficult to access. The opposition between Mars and Pluto has been square to the Sun, forming a T-square which has intensified the energies of that dynamic which is still in force for the equinox.

Other influences are at play now as well (see chart): Jupiter is approaching its final square to Uranus which is accelerating the expansion of a new (Uranus) vision (Jupiter) and new ways of living the human experience, and Saturn is approaching a conjunction to the South Node which will test (Saturn) our attachment to the patterns from the past (South Node) that no longer work for us.
This is a time to moving forward, of becoming unstuck from the glue of our ancestral, family and personal histories. Saturn in Virgo helps us to create a plan and a strategy but tends to be overly cautious when exposed to the wildly visionary influence of Jupiter and Uranus.

This image by Willow Arlenea beautifully echoes this theme. The two individuals are separate yet connected by a force of spiraling energy that ascends from matter into spirit. Day and night are equally balanced, with the Sun ruling one half of the painting and the Moon the other. A new being grows in the waters of consciousness that grounds the image, and the higher selves of the two individuals ascend into a multidimensional field of new awareness.

Balance is the keyword for this Equinox experience: not only between the Self and the Other of the Equinox itself, but also a balance between being rooted on the Earth (Saturn/South Node) and ascending into spirit (Jupiter/Uranus).

I love this woman.

Yom Kippur is the holiest day of the Jewish year; the day when God seals the fate of his people for the coming year. It is a day of confession that follows ten days of self-examination and repentance beginning at Rosh Hashana.

I suspect that the common people in most civilizations originating before the common area did not have the time for the luxury of introspection, and perhaps these ten days were provided for them as a time when they could look within themselves and evaluate their progress along their life’s path. On the final day, the day of Yom Kippur, Jews are required to refrain from food and water and any kind of work. It is a day of prayer and fasting and prayer since this is the day when the judgement for the following year is entered into God’s Book.

There is an interesting tradition associated with Yom Kippur that absolves each adherent from any oaths or promises that they have made to themselves over the previous year which they were unable to keep, and to vows made during the following year that cannot be kept. Although this tradition has given fodder to anti-semites who believed that Jews were not to be trusted, some sources say that this tradition dates back to times of persecution of the Jews by early Christians. The release of oaths at Yom Kippur would ease the conscious of Jews who were forced to deny their faith under torture. Modern tradition says that the promises that are released are those between God and his followers only. Releasing the individual from the chains of oaths they had made that could not be kept was a liberation of the spirit as the New Year began.

The concept of confession and repentance appears in virtually every organized religion throughout history. Many of us carry within us a shameful memory of deeds done for which we are unable to forgive ourselves. Facing these memories and the shame that they hold and releasing them is a major part of our spiritual growth, although I confess that I find the word “sin” particularly charged and rather distasteful. Still, I like this quote from the Hindu tradition because it requires attention and personal responsibility, rather than the concept that one is automatically forgiven simply for joining the right religion:

If a man commits sinful acts which he does not expiate in this life, he must pay the penalty in the next life; and great will be his suffering. Therefore, with a self-controlled mind, a man should expiate his sins here on earth.

Expiation and repentance, to a man who continues to commit sinful acts, knowing them to be harmful, are of no avail. Futile is it to bathe an elephant if he is straightway to roll again in the mud. All sinful thoughts and evil deeds are caused by ignorance. True expiation comes from illumination. As fire consumes all things, so does the fire of knowledge consume all evil and ignorance. Complete transformation of the inner life is necessary; and this is accomplished by control of the mind and the senses, by the practice of concentration, and by following and living the Truth.

The great secret of this complete transformation is the development
of love for the Divine One . As when the sun rises the dewdrops vanish away, so when
love grows all sin and ignorance disappear.

–Srimad Bhagavatam 6.1

I watched Alan Greenspan’s interview with Jon Stewart this morning. If you really want to know how fragile our financial system is, watch the video here. The interesting thing from an astrological viewpoint was Greenspan’s admitting that the financial markets are all based on perception:

Greenspan: No, what a sound money system does is to stabilize the elements in it and reduce the uncertainty that people confront, and when people confront uncertainty they withdraw and it reduces economic activity…
Stewart: So it’s all about perception then. It’s about making people believe the system is sound. If the stock market is high, people feel confident in spending, and if it lowers, they feel less confident?
Greenspan: Well…uh…I think you have to realize, there are certain aspects of human nature, which move exactly the way you defined it. The problem is, periodically we all go a little bit euphoric until we are assuming with confidence that everything is terrific, there will be no problems, nothing will ever happen, and then it dawns on us- NO!
Stewart: And then it goes the other way.
Greenspan: Exactly.
Stewart: Huge Fear.
Greenspan: I was telling my colleagues the other day… I’d been dealing with these big mathematical models for forecasting the economy, and I’m looking at what’s going on the last few weeks and I say, “Y’know, if I could figure out a way to determine whether or not people are more fearful, or changing to euphoric… I don’t need any of this other stuff. I could forecast the economy better than any way I know. The trouble is, we can’t figure that out. I’ve been in the forecasting business for 50 years, and I’m no better than I ever was, and nobody else is either.”

Planetary cycles give us a way to forecast general trends, even though it is impossible to pick stocks using astrology as we’ve discussed many times in this column. Still, we know that Pluto in Sagittarius has ruled over the biggest stock market expansion ever, and that with Saturn in Virgo we are going into a more conservative mode. We know that when Pluto enters Capricorn the payment for all of this hilarity will become due and there is likely to be more fear that will cause a market contraction. These are things we’ve always known but it was interesting to hear it coming out of Greenspan’s mouth!