Obama and the Void of Course Moon (again!)

December 31, 2008 By

It appears that Obama, who announced his candidacy when the Moon was void of course (which has been a topic of much discussion in the comments here at this site and elsewhere) is poised to take the oath of office under a void Moon as well.  The Moon is said to be void of course when it has completed aspecting other planets and is on its way to the next zodiacal sign. Some astrologers (me, for instance) do not put much stock in the effects of the void moon.  For others, it’s a sure sign that Obama will drive the country into a disaster.  (Fortunately, the Moon was not void at the time of Obama’s nomination.)

Shelley Ackerman is begging the President-Elect, “PLEASE put off the Oath of Office until 12:30 pm when the Moon goes direct.”  (Thanks Elsa for the link.)

Astrologers all over the Internet have been chatting and posting for months about the alignment of the planets at 12 noon on January 20, 2009. Many, myself included (I’ve been writing about this long before Obama secured the Democratic nomination) strongly feel that delaying the oath for 30 minutes is a very good idea.

Why not wait a half hour, and let the Moon align in a more favorable spot? PLEASE humor the astrologers who care so much about the success of your presidency, Mr. President-Elect, and let the bugles play, the poets read, the dancers dance, the clerics pray and have Aretha sing an encore, but stall in any way you can and say “I do” at 12:30 pm. The Moon will be exalted in Sagittarius in a nice aspect to lucky Jupiterhttp://images.intellitxt.com/ast/adTypes/2_bing.gif on the Midheaven. We cannot eliminate the annoying Venus-approaching Uranus opposite Saturn aspect, meaning that 2010 looks a little dicey, but the better placement of the Moon should help considerably.

I have to say that I think putting a halo behind Obama’s head in the photo that accompanies this article is a bit much, even for me. My concern about all of this hoopla over the void of course Moon is that while people are learning more about astrology, which I think is a wonderful thing, many people are allowing astrology to scare them into a paralyzing fear.  ”I can’t start this job, because Mercury is Retrograde.”  ”I’m terrified of what will happen when Pluto squares my Moon.”  To me, understanding the astrological cycles is the key to calming our fears – it gives us a framework to explain the challenges that we face, and provides a map to navigate the stormy waters.

In any case, I’m going to repeat what I’ve said before - The concept of the void Moon comes from ancient electional techniques which rely on aspects from the Moon as the fastest-moving planetary body.  When the Moon did not make an aspect, it was thought that there was somewhat of a limbo period where nothing was likely to change.

If we have a choice, it is better to take the planetary configurations into consideration when timing an event.  But sometimes these things are not under our control, and then we must forge forward without fear, knowing that the planets “impel, but do not compel.”

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Financial Astrology in the News and a Look at the Renaissance

December 30, 2008 By

I guess Wall Street is realizing their so-called financial expertshttp://images.intellitxt.com/ast/adTypes/2_bing.gif know very little about the ups and downs of our financial system, and astrology is actually gaining more respect in the business world.  It’s about time!

According to the WSJ Market Watch site, Arch Crawford’s newsletter was the top performer in 2008, up by 42%!  Market Watch quotes Mr. Crawford from his December newsletter: “We are looking for some further advancement this week, followed by a decline into the Full Moon square Saturn on Dec. 12, probably marking a pull-back low Dec. 12-17. This pullback is likely to form a Right Shoulder on a potential Reverse Head-and-Shoulder bottom formation. From there, an explosive year-end move could develop in the upward direction, which we expect to be very profitable. Rally should rise well into January.”

I have no idea what a Right Shoulder is, but the Dow did go up between the 1st and the 8th and did decline leading into the Full Moon on the 12th. We haven’t seen that explosive year-end move, and with Saturn turning retrograde on the 31st it’s hard to imagine that we’ll see a rise in investor confidence.

Our favorite Ray Merriman also made the news this week (thanks to David Crook for the link!):

Raymond A. Merriman, a professional market analyst, trader and business astrologer based in Farmington Hills, sees the economy teetering between Camelot and Armageddon in 2009.

“Jupiter is moving into Aquarius, favoring automobiles and technology,” said Merriman, former commodities broker and investment executive who owns an international consulting company, The Merriman Market Analyst, Inc.

As a researcher of geocosmic conditions and planetary cycles, he predicted a year ago the steep swings in gas and oil priceshttp://images.intellitxt.com/ast/adTypes/2_bing.gif and suggests prices will raise $20 or $30 a barrel, but never to the heights reached this summer. He suggested the oil crisis precipitated the meltdown on Wall Street Sept. 15, a day of a full moon involving Saturn and Uranus, when hope gave way to fear.

What happened? According to Merriman, Saturn and Uranus entered an orb of influence with one another. Saturn rules control, boundaries and tradition, and this collided with Uranus, a breakdown in status quo. When these planets align with Pluto, an economic disaster on the scale of the Great Depressionhttp://images.intellitxt.com/ast/adTypes/2_bing.gif is possible, he says. But it is just as possible that a great surge in creativity could occur, as these planets also aligned in the 15th century Renaissance.

Optimism may have financial and astrological benefits.

“If we believe in Barack Obama’s audacity of hope, we ride the wave of hope with Jupiter and Neptune, a 14-year cycle which comes together for much of 2009,” Merriman said, harkening the Camelot promise. He compares the president-elect to former Chrysler Chairman Lee Iacocca who powered the automaker’s revival in the early 1980s with charisma and strong leadership.

Possibilities abound, especially in environmentally friendly businesses.

Interesting point about the Saturn, Uranus and Pluto combination having occurred during the Renaissance. I found that in 1566 Saturn in Virgo opposed Pluto in Pisces and these two planets were squared by Uranus in Sagittarius.  I would argue that this T-square in mutable signs which are more likely to adapt to each other is less stressful than the upcoming T-square in cardinal signs which tend to promote more crisis (and consequently, greater evolution).  I also feel that Pluto in Pisces would be more likely to stimulate creativity than Pluto in Capricorn.  Still, there’s no point in accelerating the pessimism driving the markets downward – optimism creates positive experiences, so why not look up instead of down!!

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Israel, Palestine, and the Scapegoat Theory

December 29, 2008 By

MIDEAST ISRAEL PALESTINIANSIsrael is continuing its attacks in the Gaza strip for the third day today, striking at a security  compound, a mosque, a university, and a network of smugglers’ tunnels, Israel was apparently reacting to rocket strikes by Hamas forces, but the cycle of violence is all too familiar.  Israel reacts with overwhelming force, attempting to squelch the power of the Palestinian military capabilities and restrict the freedom of the Palestinian people to move about the territory.  The Palestinian military wing, Hamas in the current situation, reacts with calls for more suicide attacks on civilians in Israel.  Israel says there will be no peace talks until attacks by Hamas end, and Israel continues to expand its settlements into Palestinian territories.  Meanwhile, rage against Israel and the West in the surrounding Arab nations continues to grow.

Whatever side of this argument you are on, there is no denying that neither side wants peace.  They are locked in a battle that has no end – a battle where the lines are blurred between victim and perpetrator.

I’m just finishing an interesting book by Liz Greene entitled Dark of the Soul: Psychopathology in the Horoscope There is a chapter on the scapegoat pattern as a psychological complex.  In the story of the scapegoat, the ancient Hebrews sent a goat, designated as the carrier of the sins of the collective, into the wilderness to perish and thereby save the collective from punishment.  The story of the Christ as the sacrificial lamb who perished for the sins of the collective perhaps comes from the original scapegoat tale.  In any case, the scapegoat dynamic depends on the presence of both a victim and the one who represents the collective establishment and inflicts the punishment.  Ms. Greene calls that individual the perpetrator.

So with the scapegoat dynamic we have both a perpetrator and a victim, and that dynamic becomes internalized within the individual.  Some people suffer terrible abuse and never go on to abuse others, but for some the cycle of victim/perpetrator becomes internalized and the one who is abused becomes the perpetrator him/herself.

I see this quite plainly in the Israeli/Palestinian situation.  The modern nation of Israel was established to rescue the victims of the Holocaust, but in order to establish the nation, the fledgling Israeli nation had to fight with the local Arabs in order to expand Israeli territory.  Now the victim (Israel) becomes the perpetrator.  The Palestinians become the victims, not only of Israeli expansion but also in the refusal of neighboring Arab nations to permit them to enter these countries as refugees.  At first, Palestinian violence against Israel was mainly intended to help Palestinians return to their homes, but later as the collective rage against Israel grew, this violence became more generalized.  Now the Palestinians are also the perpetrators.  At the same time, Israel is portrayed as a victim against the aggression of Lebanon and Iran.  So both the Israelis and Palestinians are locked in a cycle of victim/perpetrator that has no end.

Just as the scapegoat for the ancient Hebrews served the purpose of expiating the sins of the collective, the scapegoat psychological complex serves a purpose in a family or a greater collective.  Many dysfunctional families contain a scapegoat such as the black sheep, or the bad child, who carries the “sins” of the family so that the rest of the members can feel that they are the ones who are ok.  Psychologists who work with troubled families report that when the “bad kid” is removed from the family and put in a hospital or reform school, another child in the family “goes bad.”  There must be a goat to carry the sins of the collective, otherwise the collective must face those sins directly and resolve them.

It occurs to me that the unending cycle of violence between the Israelis and the Palestinians provides a scapegoat not only for the nations in the Middle East but for he entire Western world.  The astrology of Israel and Palestine, being virtually identical, ensures that the challenging astrological patterns in each chart is forever locked into the other (see my article for more information on the astrological dynamics of this conflict).

The only way to resolve any destructive psychological pattern is for the individual to recognize that the pattern exists and work with the internal dynamic in a conscious way.  In this situation, both Israel and the Palestinians would have to recognize that they have stepped beyond the role of victim to the role of perpetrator, and work to resolve the cycle internally.  They cannot rely on the world around them that in a subconscious way depends on the scapegoat to carry out the violence for the collective.

With Pluto in Capricorn, perhaps some of this can be brought to light.  The symbol for Capricorn, after all, is the goat.

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The Solstice Chart and its Meaning for the US

December 29, 2008 By

Robert P. Blaschke has written an elegant piece for The Mountain Astrologer website on the chart for the Capricorn Ingress.  The Capricorn Ingress is the Wnter Solstice in the tropical zodiac that occurs when the Sun enters Capricorn and begins a new year.  Robert writes,

Upon viewing the overwhelming preponderance of planets in the first quadrant, one immediately perceives that 2009 will become a year of survival for the United States. As the only Winter Ingress horoscope in American history to have an exact Sun-Pluto conjunction on the Cardinal Point, the depth and extent to which the United States will have to change during the next year is at the present time unfathomable to all but the astrologers who have the techniques and methods to make such a forecast.

This tremendous change to be seen in the US is also reflected, as I’ve written before, in the transiting square of Pluto to the Midheaven in the chart for the United States.  Pluto represents the power for change and transformation, and the Midheaven in a national chart represents the government and leadership of that nation.  Pluto often begins with a breakdown phase, and we are certainly seeing that phase now.  But if we navigate the breakdown phase successfully, there is a regeneration phase on the other side that brings transformation and regeneration that in the end will make it all worthwhile.  When a system is broken, there is sometimes no way to fix it but to begin anew!

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New Moon and Planetary Lineup

December 27, 2008 By

Tfractalhe New Moon today (December 27)  is part of a powerful line up of six planets in the sign of Capricorn, focusing on work and responsibility.  This includes the approaching conjunction of Mars to Pluto, the Sun/Moon conjunction which comprises the New Moon, with Jupiter and Mercury rounding out the stellium, as we call a grouping of planets in a sign.

Venus conjuncts Neptune on the 27th which aligns love for the individual (Venus) with the compassionate love of divine consciousness (Neptune), helping to set the stage for the New Moon in Capricorn. Capricorn is the sign of achievement and a successful life with both feet firmly planted in the material world. This will be an interesting Capricorn New Moon, occurring at a time when the material world is breaking down around us. It’s important to see now that as some aspects of our world break down (under the influence of Pluto in Capricorn), sprigs of new life are taking form – new life forms that will be better suited for the age in which we are living now. We see this with the Big Three automobile manufacturers in the US, which have become tied to an old model of doing business and protectionist thought that has broken down under the influence of globalization.

In this New Moon, Mars has just entered Capricorn and is exactly conjunct Pluto. The combination of Mars and Pluto links the will of the individual self (Mars) to the will of the higher self (Pluto). If the individual will is aligned with the greater Consciousness, this is a powerful planetary dynamic for change and positive growth. If the individual will is resisting the will for complete transformation that Pluto brings to the table, this can be extremely difficult. Six planets/lights are now in Capricorn: Mars, Pluto, Sun and Moon, and the approaching conjunction of Mercury and Jupiter, so practicality and Doing What Must Be Done (a Capricorn theme) is highlighted here.

For those of us who have planets near the zero degree of the Cardinal signs (Aries, Libra, Capricorn and Cancer), like me, with my Mars at zero degrees Capricorn, the last few days along with the next few days will apply an intense pressure for change.  Rather like the pressure that a diamond undergoes when being transformed from a lump of coal, this intense Capricorn focus that includes the fire of Mars aligned with the power of Pluto is designed to distill only what is most practical, most real, and most durable from our lives.

The New Moon provides energy for change, and this is really a terrific influence to have manifesting at the end of the year when we are reading to slough off the dead energy of the past and begin anew with the New Year.  Surrender to what is no longer needed, and begin creating the future.  Over the next couple of months the planets now lined up in Capricorn will shift into Aquarius, and Jupiter (abundance and opportunity) will conjoin Neptune (mysticism and creativity) between May and December, giving new ideas an opportunity to flower and take root.

Update: I really liked what Joseph had to say in the comments so I’ll add that here:

One part of this magic I find fascinating is the Saturn – Uranus opposition now occurring. Saturn rules Capricorn and Uranus rules Aquarius. As sign rulers, this dynamic tension will hold great sway over anything moving through their ruling sign. That so many aspects are affected at the same time by these filters bears important significance in the days ahead. Pluto/Mars sure has made its presence known as we unfortunately see renewed violence in the Middle East and Africa, and horrific acts here in the United States on Christmas Eve/Day. Obama has his Venus at 1 degree Cancer. He has been chaffing recently at the tight press bubble around him. No matter where he goes the press pool follows. Pluto’s “authority” in Capricorn is making that Cancer Venus very uncomfortable. And he’s not even sworn in yet. Will be interesting to see how he is able to rebalance this energy.

I’d also like to add that Pluto is about to make the second pass of a square to the Midheaven in the US chart.  The fact that Obama’s Venus is square to the Libra Midheaven in the US chart, and both are being challenged by Pluto right now, speaks to the transformative effect that Obama is having to the US Government as identified by the Midheaven in the national chart.

Is anyone else having an intense experience this week?

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One More Christmas Star Story!

December 24, 2008 By

Star of BethlehemI’ve been reprinting this every year because it’s so fabulous.  Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah, Happy Kwanzaa and have a Cool Yule.

John Charles Webb Jr. left a comment with a link to his site which postulates that the “star” of Bethlehem was not an astronomical event but was in fact an astrological alignment that occurred on March 2, 5 BC (-4). If you run a HELIOCENTRIC (most Western astrologers use a geocentric system that comes down to us from the ancient Greeks) chart for this date you will see this formation of the Seal of Solomon, later called the Star of David. The story of Jesus is of course that he was of the lineage of the Hebrew King David.

This same configuration was present during the planetary alignment in 2003 that was called the“Harmonic Concordance”. This chart was a geocentric chart rather than heliocentric, but still it is a powerful symbol. The Seal of Solomon is known in the three Abrahamic religions, and is called the Star of David by the Jewish people. Astrologically the configuration includes:

· three oppositions

· a mystic rectangle

· two interlocking Grand Trines

· a hexagon of sextiles forming a Grand Sextile

· two “t-square” formations

Although conventional history teaches that the rotation of our planets around the sun didn’t gain acceptance until Copernicus, others believe that this knowledge was taught much earlier. The recently discovered “Antikythera-Mechanism” which is postulated to date from the first century b.c.e., may be based on a heliocentric model. (Scientists admit to being baffled by the age of the mechanism and unable to decipher its inscriptions. In addition, there are no other scientific innovations in Greek culture from that time period that comes even close to this instrument, making it likely that this “mechanism” comes from an ancient advanced society such as Atlantis or perhaps even another world.)

There is an organization called the “Magi Society” that uses the heliocentric model, and that connection interests me although I don’t have time to research it right now. If anyone has information about the Magi Society that you would like to share, please leave it in the comment section or email me!

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The Origins of Christmas

December 23, 2008 By

Rob Tillett at Astrology.com has a wonderful article about the origins of the Christmas holiday.  Here is a portion of the article:

In the New Testament, the holy book of the Christians, there is no actual mention of the date of the birth of Jesus and the primitive church did not celebrate it. The shepherds of Luke’s gospel (Luke 2:8) were said to have been minding their sheep in a field when they received the angelic proclamation of his birth. It is therefore unlikely that the birth of Jesus could have happened on December 25, for at that time all would have been wrapped up in a warm barn, the wintry weather being too cold for them to be out in the elements. Why then was December 25 chosen as the day for Christmas? Here we have to look more deeply at the customs, religious practices and celebrations of the time.

The Solstice and the Saturnalia

At the beginning of the Christian Era, the Roman Empire was the dominant force in Europe, the Middle East and the world of the Mediterranean. Rome followed a pagan religion of many gods and goddesses, including Jupiter, Venus, Mercury, Mars, Saturn, the Moon and the Sun. There are many myths and legends that tell the stories of these gods and heroes, really a coded set of narratives that reveal much about the ancient cultures and their approach to life, the universe and everything.

Life in ancient times was far more dependent upon the seasons and the natural cycles than we are in the West today, cocooned as we are in our electronic villages, turning night into an interminable electric day. During times when people could actually see the stars in the night sky, astrology developed as a mode of making sense of these natural cycles and certain times in the year were seen to be especially significant.

The Cardinal Cross Key times for celebration were the cardinal points of the seasons, the solstices in June and December and the equinoxes in March and October. These temporal points were utterly central to the the social mores of the ancients, as they not only measured the seasons, the sowing and reaping of crops, but also symbolised stages in the development of the soul. These calendrical festivities were seen as times when the fabric of the cosmos was loosened and the hand of divine providence could be moved to take a more active part in the lives of those who lived on the body of Mother Earth.

The solstice at Christmas time marks the entry of the Sun into the sign of Capricorn, the sign ruled by Saturn. On this day the Sun appears to halt over the tropic of Capricorn for three days [some take this to be the origin of the resurrection of Jesus after three days, corresponding to the resurrection of the Sun after three days] and then begins his journey North, marking the return of glorious light to the darkness of Winter in the Northern Hemisphere (Capricorn was known to the ancient Greeks as the Augean Stables – so effectively the Sun is born in a stable).

In Ancient Rome, the mythical age of Saturn’s reign was a golden age of happiness, without theft or servitude, and without private property. Saturn, dethroned by his son Jupiter, had joined Janus as ruler in Italy, but when his time as earthly king was up, he disappeared. “It is said that to this day He lies in a magic sleep on a secret island near Britain, and at some future time … He will return to inaugurate another Golden Age.”

Janus is said to have instituted the Saturnalia leading up to the solstice as a yearly tribute to his friend. For mortals, the festival provided a yearly symbolic return to the Golden Age. Thus, it was an offence during this period to punish a criminal or start a war. The meal normally prepared only for the masters was prepared and served first to the slaves by the masters. All people were equal and, because Saturn ruled before the current cosmic order, Misrule with its lord, Saturnalia Princeps was the order of the day.

Read the entire article here…

For more iconoclastic Christmas stories, check out my article entitled Astrotheology: The Sun of God.quotes from a controversial book that compares the story of Jesus the Christ to the actual passage of the Sun through the zodiac.  Interesting reading!

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Caroline Kennedy’s Journey of Healing

December 22, 2008 By

Caroline KennedyThis is not an evaluation of Ms. Kennedy’s qualifications for the New York senator seat, but a look at what motivates a private person to seek a very public office. by Lynn Hayes

Caroline Bouvier Kennedy has led a life that has been at once charmed and full of tragedy. The only survivor of the political era fondly remembered by some as “Camelot” for its beautiful illusion of perfection, she has long shied away from publicity and preferred to work behind the scenes as a writer and as a board member of various nonprofits.

Ms. Kennedy (born 11/27/1957, 8:15 am, NY)  has the Sun in Sagittarius and, if the 8:15 am birthtime is correct, Sagittarius on the ascendant. Normally a Sagittarian Sun and Ascendant denotes an individual of jovial (Sagittarius is ruled by Jupiter/Jove) temperament and character.  But here we also see a 12th House Sun, describing the longing for privacy and a need to be hidden, and Saturn conjunct Mercury, illustrating a serious (Saturn) mind (Mercury) that perhaps leans towards depression despite the naturally buoyant Sagittarian influence.

Pluto forms a square (challenging aspect) to Ms. Kennedy’s Sun, a dynamic which often (but not always) denotes a familiarity with either death or abuse at some level.  Pluto’s intensity can exhibit many forms, and while the Pluto/Sun square does sometimes reveal a violent victimhood, it can also describe the death of a parent or a lifetime associated with death.  We have certainly seen this with Ms. Kennedy, whose father was killed when she was only six, and who also lost her uncle at a young age.

Ms. Kennedy also has a tight conjunction of Chiron (the Wounded Healer) to her Moon (emotions), suggesting a life of emotional pain that requires consistent application of conscious healing in order to be resolved.  The Chiron/Moon conjunction is nearly exactly square to Saturn, which deepens the pain of this dynamic but also builds tremendous strength of character through crisis.

Caroline Kennedy was virtually invisible to the public through much of her adult life, and only emerged on the public stage when she spoke to the Democratic Convention in the year 2000 following the death of her brother, John Kennedy Jr.  The death of her brother was certainly a devastating event, and it occurred as transiting Saturn (challenge and disappointment) formed an exact square to the Chiron/Moon square.  Over the next year, however, Pluto began to make a harmonious transit (a sextile) to the Chiron/Moon conjunction at that time which would have helped to facilitate the transformation of her healing process.

n January of 2008, when Ms. Kennedy announced her support for Obama’s presidency, transiting Chiron was completing a transit to her Moon and natal Chiron.  At this moment, Venus in her progressed chart is exactly conjunct her progressed Ascendant, the point at which we become visible to the outer world.  At the same time, transiting Chiron is making a sextile to her natal Ascendant, completing the process of healing and deepening into a personal comfort level.  This has likely been a long journey of healing for her, and her emergence onto the political stage is very likely a part of this personal healing journey.

Over the next year Chiron will continue to work on her chart in harmonious transits to Jupiter in her chart, the point at which we find faith and belief that life has meaning, and also to Mercury in her chart, opening up new levels of understanding.  She will also have a large number of Jupiter opportunity transits, including a trine of Jupiter to her natal Jupiter which is a very positive event.  The New York governor will appoint the next senator of New York, so she will not have to run for the seat.  I cannot predict whether or not she will be appointed, but it does seem clear that her public life is really just beginning.

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Trust the Planets! Update

December 20, 2008 By

tornadophoto taken by Eric Nguyen.

Back in early 2007 I did a reading for a woman whose husband of many years had just left her.  She called me because she wanted some help in figuring out a way to try to get him back. I told her that while I may not be able to help her to get her husband back, we would be able to glean more information about what was going on behind the scenes that caused this to happen.  When we did her reading her transits showed lots of Jupiter events and Uranus influences, indicating liberation and freedom rather than despair and sadness.

In October of that year we did a follow-up session, which I wrote about (rather obliquely) n an article I called “Trust the Planets.” We have done a couple of other sessions since then, and my client told me that she printed out the article and put it right on her desk where she could be constantly reminded that sometimes endings are really new beginnings.

We’ve done a few other follow-up sessions since then to look at the unfolding planetary cycles to see how they might affect the legalities of the divorce and impact on the children, and each time it has been clear that the planets had the wisest advice.  After our most recent session I was so happy to receive this letter.

I am writing to say thank you — your readings have helped me get through an extremely difficult period

When my husband of 27 years walked out unexpectedly, I sought your guidance. My first question was how can you help me bring him back. You read both of our charts and sweetly advised me to move forward. You told me not to look back and you gently encouraged me to start a new life.

A few months later I contacted you again. This time you were more specific, you told me that even though I was feeling devastated and frightened the planets showed that I was about to embark on an incredibly exciting time of change and liberation. You said the planets don’t lie….so I trusted you.

AND YOU WERE RIGHT!!

Now almost 2 years later, my life is better than I could have ever dreamed. My husband’s leaving was a gift to me – the gift of freedom….

Thank you!!

From a 50-something lady who Trusts the Planets

Even for those of us who are not traditionally religious, when we study the movement of the planets and their effect on our lives, we see there is an irrefutable plan to our lives that carries us through all of life’s situations into positive growth and change, if we allow ourselves to believe that such a thing is possible. Each of us has the choice at every moment whether to sink into the morass of despair during difficult times, or to trust in the power of Life to carry us through to greater wisdom and understanding.

It’s true that not every terrible thing occurs during a transit of Jupiter, where liberation and new possibilities await us.  Sometimes we are faced with the devastation of a difficult Pluto cycle, where we are forced to let go of a life that we relied on for stability and comfort.  Even in those times, there is a glimmer of light at the horizon and a new day preparing to begin.  At those times in particular, trust and faith in the wisdom of the Universe will help us to understand the purpose of the challenge and help us to make our way through the darkness toward the light.  It is perhaps no coincidence that rainbows appear after a storm, and not before.

This quote from William Newton Clarke says it beautifully:  ”Faith is the daring of the soul to go father than it can see.”

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Jeremy Piven, Mercury Poisoning, and the Saturn Effect

December 19, 2008 By

Jeremy PivenJeremy Piven has left the Broadway production of Speed the Plow after being diagnosed with mercury poisoning.  Piven, who apparently eats lots of sushi and eats some kind of fish twice a day, sought medical treatment for exhaustion and excessive fatigue.  He was found to have elevated mercury levels that were five to six times the normal level.

Clearly, this is a medical condition rather than a psychosomatic one.  But the timing of it is interesting in light of Saturn transits that Piven is going through right now.  Jeremy Piven (born 7/26/1965, time unknown, NY), like others of his generation, has Uranus and Pluto conjunct in his birthchart.  The conjunction of Uranus (revolutionary change) and Pluto (death and transformation) in the mid-1960s was a time of tremendous cultural transformation and radical change, and those individuals born between 1963 and 1968 carry this archetype in their chart.  In Piven’s case, the planet Saturn is opposite Uranus and Pluto in his chart, signifying an inner battle between that force for transformation (Uranus/Pluto) and the need for conservative application of diligence and effort (Saturn).

When we have a major planetary system like this in our birthchart, a transiting planet affecting one of the planets in the system has a longer-lasting effect on the entire system.  In Piven’s case, transiting Saturn made a pass over Uranus and Pluto in his chart in September as he was preparing for the opening of the play, and by October when the play opened Saturn had moved to a point exactly opposite Saturn in his birthchart.  A transit of Saturn to Saturn’s place in the natal chart occurs every seven years and generally stimulates a challenge of some kind.  Very little biographical information is available about him, but in 2001, at the beginning of his last Saturn cycle, he left the comedy “Bad News Mr. Swenson” due to family issues and his father died during the second phase of that cycle.

Transiting Saturn is making a square to Jupiter in Piven’s chart now, coinciding with his release (Jupiter = liberation) from the play.  Saturn will retrograde back over Pluto in Piven’s chart and oppose his Saturn again in late March and early April, and then again in late May and late June.

The astrological timing of medical events is an interesting question for me.  Clearly, Saturn did not cause the elevated Mercury levels in Piven’s blood.  But Saturn, with its sense of restriction and heaviness, is well known for causing periods of exhaustion and fatigue.  I like to describe Saturn as feeling like the lead blanket the dentist will lay over you as he takes an X-ray.

At the same time Saturn is putting pressure on these planets, Uranus (ruling radical change and rebellion) is in the second phase of a square to Jupiter in Piven’s chart.  Under Saturn’s influence we work hard and want to be successful, and under the influence of Uranus we rebel against restriction and desire freedom.  This is a very stressful combination of events to collide at one time in one individual.

Another interesting astrological coincidence relating to the timing of this medical issue is the passage of Chiron (the wounded healer) making a square to Neptune (mystery and illusion) in Piven’s chart.  It’s not unusual to see mysterious illnesses occuring when Chiron and Neptune combine.

The stressful planetary aspects are designed to inspire us to look at our lives and make internal changes that are necessary in order to better adapt to the changing world around us. I don’t believe that the planetary transits CAUSE illness and disease, but it does seem as though the internal stress of a necessary adaptation may weaken our immune system to the point that we are more prone to illness and medical reactions that may not affect us at other times.

In any event, this may be just the beginning of a challenging period for Jeremy Piven.

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