Repost: The astrology of Elena Kagan

June 30, 2010 By

In honor of Elena Kagan’s confirmation hearings, and because I’m busily working on the July Skywatch (please sign up in the sidebar if you’re not already on my mailing list!) I thought I’d repost this profile of Ms. Kagan.

Elena Kagan has been widely acclaimed after President Obama announced her as his choice to be the next Supreme Court justice, garnering support from conservative lawyers and policymakers.  One of the qualities that has gained her widespread affection and respect is her ability to entertain arguments across the political spectrum.  She is a trailblazer, having been the first woman named Dean of the Law School at Harvard University, and isn’t afraid to challenge the sacred cows of American politics.

Kagan’s astrological chart shows that she was born with the Sun in Taurus, indicating a desire for peace and harmony but also a stubborn streak and a fixed nature.  Her Sun is in a harmonious trine to Pluto, which reveals her ability to effect change and to transform (Pluto) the world around her.  Individuals with Sun trine Pluto typically possess a great deal of personal power and can be very magnetic.

The planet of rebellion (Uranus) is in a stressful square to Kagan’s Sun, reflecting her iconoclastic nature and her desire to push the boundaries of conventional rules.  As a child of 12  she challenged her rabbi to institute the bat mitzvah in her Orthodox synagogue, and persuaded him to do it.  She fought Big Tobacco for the Clinton administration, yet worked hard to heal fissures between faculty members while at Harvard.

Kagan’s chart shows a conjunction of Mercury and Venus in the assertive sign of Aries.  Her thought patterns (Mercury) and the way that she expresses her affection and seeks relationships (Venus) operate with Aries characteristics of courage, confidence and directness.  Mercury and Venus are in a harmonious trine to the rebel and innovator Uranus, which gives her the ability to embrace different and unusual (Uranus) ideas and ways of thinking (Mercury).  It also makes it easy for her to understand and forge relationships with people (Venus) who are very different from herself (Uranus).

Like President Obama and Sarah Palin, Kagan has Neptune (mystery and confusion) in a challenging aspect to her Sun.  This is a challenging situation that can make it difficult for one to define one’s personal identity, and it also makes it difficult for others to see one as we really are.  We have seen with both Palin and Obama how easy it is for us to hang our projections of who wethink they are, and how difficult it is to see these people as real humans rather than archetypes.

Kagan also has Mars in Pisces, the sign that is associated with Neptune, so her personality has a strongly Neptunian cast.  Neptune is the planet that encourages us to seek beyond the boundaries of the material world.  It is the planet of spirituality and compassion, but also the planet of deception and illusion.  When Mars is in Pisces it can be more difficult to assert oneself, but for someone with Kagan’s degree of personal power (Sun trine Pluto) Mars in Pisces can soften the blow.  Her Mars is well-aspected, suggesting that she can use the sensitivity of her nature to be able to follow through on her instincts.

Kagan does have a few difficult aspects in her chart though: Pluto is in a challenging square to her Moon and Saturn is square to Venus and Mercury.  The Pluto/Moon square suggests a challenging relationship with the mother and an emotional intensity. This New Yorker article suggests that Kagan’s mother Gloria was demanding and difficult, which bears out the astrological theory.

She also has Saturn in a square to both Mercury and Venus.  Saturn adds gravitas and focus to Mercury but also instills a sense of the importance of rules.  The Saturn/Venus square, however, affects the individual much more personally, suggesting an inner isolation or a lack of confidence about one’s attractiveness.   This Huffington Post blogger reports that upon being told how proud her mother would have been of her, Elena Kagan rolled her eyes and said “My mother only wanted me to get married.”

Overall though, this is a good chart for a Supreme Court Justice – compassionate yet strong, able to embrace new ideas while reaching out to others to forge consensus.

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Facing the dawn through your ascendant

June 29, 2010 By

The ascendant of the birthchart is the cusp of the first house which describes our personality. You will often read that the ascendant describes the personal appearance, but that is not always true although it certainly can affect the appearance. But the ascendant does describe the way we experience our world and the way we face all of our experiences.

I read something interesting in a book by astrologer Melanie Reinhart the other day: that the ascendant describes the way we approach the beginning of a new day. This makes a lot of sense, because the ascendant is the sign that was rising on the horizon at the time we were born (hence the term “rising sign”). I thought about that for myself: I have Gemini rising, the sign of communication, and the first thing that I do when I get up is brew my cup of decaf and sit down to write. My husband Rich has Virgo rising, the sign of routine and order, and he has a set pattern that he follows each morning as he gets ready to leave the house before the crack of dawn.

So here’s an experiment – let me know how this works for you:

Aries rising: Rise and shine: I’m ready to face the world and the exciting adventures of a new day.

Taurus rising: It’s hard to leave those luxurious bed linens behind but the thought of a delicious breakfast will get me out of bed.

Gemini rising: The mind is already alert before the eyes open, then it’s time to see what happened on Facebook while I was asleep.

Cancer rising: As soon as I wake up I check on the family to be sure everyone is ok.

Leo rising: What wonderful thing can I do today that will make me feel even better than I did yesterday?

Virgo rising: Someone moved my favorite coffee cup! How can I start my morning properly?

Libra rising: I like to start my day in my best dressing gown with beautiful music to surround me with peaceful melodies.

Scorpio rising: Let’s see, what do I need to do today to take care of those problems from yesterday that still bug me.

Sagittarius rising: I think I’ll call in sick to work and head to the beach today! I know that things will take care of themselves while I’m gone.

Capricorn rising: Before I’m out of bed I’ve already crafted an extensive to do list so that I can face the day as efficiently as possible.

Aquarius rising: I had an incredible dream last night that was straight out of a science fiction story.

Pisces rising: I prefer the peace of slumber to the harsh reality of the waking world. Turn off the alarm.

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A fascinating video about the Starchild skull

June 28, 2010 By

Could alien-human interbreeding really have happened?  Watch this and decide for yourself.

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Mel Gibson is being sued by everyone

June 27, 2010 By

Mel Gibson suedMel Gibson isn’t having a very good week.  First news reports announced that Gibson and his ex-wife Robyn were being sued for a construction company for over $200,000 in work performed on their Malibu home over the past twenty years.

Then TMZ reported that Gibson’s estranged girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva, with whom he fathered a son last year, obtained a restraining order against Gibson last week after telling a judge that he beat her up last January, despite the fact that the two continued traveling together after the alleged event.  Gossip rags speculate that Grigorieva is attempting to renegotiate the terms of the custody agreement and that Gibson was the first to file a restraining order against Grigorieva to keep her from discussing the terms of their agreement and other details of their relationship.

Mel Gibson has been in and out of the news for a variety of scandals since 2006 when he was arrested for drunk driving in Hollywood and released a torrent of anti-semitic language to the police.  Gibson (1/3/56, 4:45 pm, Peekskill NY) has the Sun in Capricorn which gives him a strong focus on responsibility and hard work.  His Sun is “angular,” sitting right on the descendant (cusp of the seventh house) of his chart, suggesting that he is a person who defines himself though his relationships.  He has the Moon in Libra, which echoes that need to be partnered, and he was married for 28 years which is a rarity in Hollywood.

Gibson has some challenging planetary systems in his chart, including a conjunction of Pluto (power issues) to Jupiter (philosophy and shared values). The combination of these two planets can indicate a person who seeks to impose through power and manipulation (Pluto) their values and ideology (Jupiter) onto others. Mars is conjunct Saturn in Gibson’s chart, both in Scorpio which is ruled by Pluto and deals with issues of power and secrecy. Mars in Scorpio is extremely charismatic and sexy, but conjunct Saturn, which tends to be more repressive, it often doesn’t find its full expression. The combination of Mars with Saturn can indicate a frustrated individual who is unable to activate the assertive urge of Mars, it’s like driving with the brakes on.

These combinations create a huge challenge as they constantly conflict and create a buildup of energy that needs to be released. Gibson’s films have provided this release for him; they have tended to portray characters who are tortured emotionally and face physical abuses in order to attain their noble goals. Evidently Mel Gibson has battled alcoholism throughout his career as he attempted to keep these emotional challenges in check.

Back in 2006 when he was arrested for drunk driving and the subsequent scandal over his anti-semitic remarks, transiting Pluto was in a challenging square to Mars in Gibson’s chart and also to his Midheaven, the point of career and public life.   Pluto is the planet of destruction and regeneration, and his career was certainly never the same after that event.

Uranus, planet of “shock and awe” and surprising new developments started transiting in opposition to his natal Moon last April and May, creating change and disruption in his emotional life (Moon).  But it wasn’t until Jupiter (journalism) joined Uranus in that opposition to his Moon in June that his private life was exposed to the public thanks to TMZ.

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Dick Cheney’s back in the hospital

June 26, 2010 By

Dick Cheney hospitalizedFormer Vice-President (or some would say acting president) Dick Cheney was admitted to a hospital in Washington for tests on Friday night as the powerful Grand Cross eclipse fell right on his progressed Moon.  Cheney’s Moon just progressed into Libra about a week ago where it was challenged by an opposition from both Jupiter and Uranus (you can read how my own Uranus transit caused heart palpitations for me in this earlier post).

Cheney has a long history of heart problems.   You can read my (warning: very biased) profile of Cheney from 2005 here.  Saturn squares Cheney’s Sun natally, and the in medical astrology the Sun often represents the physical heart in the individual.  Saturn creates pressure on the heart that can erupt when the individual is under stress.

Cheney’s Sun is in Aquarius, which is very rational and most comfortable when emotions do not enter the picture, yet his Moon is in the highly sensitive sign of Pisces. Handling emotions is problematic for him, so in his case the Moon may be a more significant indicator of health issues than the Sun.  In February 2010, just after transiting Uranus formed a challenging opposition to his progressed Moon, Cheney was admitted to the hospital with chest pains which were later diagnosed as a heart attack.

It’s no wonder he might have felt unwell under the eclipse influence, with six planets challenging his progressed Moon.  There are some transits coming up that can signify the departure from life, although not always and not reliably.  Cheney’s progressed Midheaven has just completed a challenging square to Jupiter in his chart, signifying a release of some kind, and the progressed MC is just about to square Saturn which can indicate a major life challenge.  Overall, though, his planetary cycles are not all of that difficult so I doubt that we will lose him any time soon.

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Rob Pattinson and the Twilight Eclipse film premiere

June 26, 2010 By

Rob PattinsonI thought it was interesting that the premiere of The Twilight Saga: Eclipse film occurred the night of the actual lunar eclipse.  The Twilight Saga has given new sexiness to the vampire genre, and brought a reluctant Robert Pattinson into the limelight.

Rob Pattinson was born May 13, 1986 in London.  There are rumors of an 8:32 am birthtime, but until I see that time somewhere besides Astrotheme I won’t feel confident using it.   In any case, Pattinson’s astrological chart explains why he is more interested in the craft of acting than the ego-driven business of stardom.

Pattinson’s Sun is in Taurus, which craves comfort and security above all things, and his Moon is in its own sign of Cancer, the sign of extreme sensitivity and emotional depth.  The combination of Taurus and Cancer is oriented very strongly towards security of all kinds – emotional, financial, in business, etc.   His Moon is opposed by Neptune, so he is a dreamer and an artist.  Pattinson has a strong musical background, having played guitar and piano for much of his life.   This also gives him a strong romantic streak which is also reflected in Jupiter in his chart falling in the sign of Pisces, ruled by Neptune and also embodying the archetype of the artist and the creative individual.

Girls will be interested to know that despite Pattinson’s romantic streak relationships will always be complicated for him.  Although his Moon is in Cancer, which is very family-oriented and nurturing, Venus in his chart is in Gemini, a sign that requires a lot of variety of experiences, and Venus is opposed by Uranus which is the planet of change and freedom.  On one level Pattinson will always need to keep his foot in the door, or at least have a sense of independence in any relationship he becomes involved in.

There’s no doubt that Pattinson is serious, and a hard worker.  Mars in his chart is in Capricorn, where it is said to be exalted because the energy of Mars is at its most effective in the disciplined sign of Capricorn.  In addition, Saturn in his chart  is in Sagittarius, suggesting that he has some difficulty (Saturn) with confidence and being able to relax and enjoy life – it is also retrograde, so the negative and critical voice of Saturn is internalized and therefore a bit louder even than usual.   Pattinson is known for being shy and “self-deprecating to a fault.”

And yet he also has a great sense of humor, which could be reflected by his unknown ascendant.

In any case, this is the chart of an actor who is serious about his craft (Mars in Capricorn), and creative and sensitive enough to become a highly skilled actor.

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Capricorn Full Moon eclipse June 26, complete with Grand Cross

June 24, 2010 By


Photo from National Geographic

Saturday’s Full Moon is also a partial lunar eclipse, and includes a powerful alignment of seven planets in a Grand Cross formation.

Let’s first look at the lunation (lunar event) itself.  The Sun in Cancer is opposed by the Moon in Capricorn, and because the lunar nodes are within 15 degrees of the Moon (in this case the nodes are 8 degrees from the Moon) the lunation becomes an eclipse.

This in itself is significant, because the lunar nodes are connected to the evolutionary journey of the soul, from past (the South Node) to future (North Node).  Here we have the South Node conjoining the Sun, with the North Node conjunct the Moon.  The Sun represents our conscious awareness, and the Moon reflects the inner yearings of the soul, our emotional interior which rarely makes itself known to the outer world.  With the North Node conjunct the Moon, we are being shifted into an inner experience – the lunar experience rather than the solar.

Here the Moon is in Capricorn, an earth sign of supreme practicality.  Achievement, responsibility, structure – these are not qualities that we normally attribute to the Moon.  In fact, the Moon is said to be in its detriment in Capricorn because its qualities of emotion and fluidity have little room in the structured world in which Capricorn excels.  Yet the North Node is urging us to embrace the gravity of our situation with all of the heart that the Moon can muster as a means to our soul’s evolution during this eclipse of the Sun.

During the eclipse of the Sun the Moon becomes more powerful – even more powerful than it is in an ordinary Full Moon.  Eclipses have been feared for thousands of years, but there’s no reason to fear an eclipse.  Yes – sometimes we do have emotional outbursts, and sometimes our lives are changed forever by a single event that occurs during an eclipse.   Eclipses, especially solar eclipses, have a tendency to unmask that which has been hidden, especially anything hidden in the emotional realm.

The Sun in the eclipse chart is conjunct Mercury, and Mercury is also positioned opposite the Moon.  Mercury is the mind – our mental function and the filter through which the experiences of our lives is processed.  The mind is active now but Mercury has a bigger role to play – it also provides us with the means to move more quickly through the emotional realms of the Moon.

Pluto is tightly conjunct the Moon in the eclipse chart – amping up the intensity and suggesting that something must be released in order for transformation to take place.  Pluto is like the vulture of the zodiac, swooping down to destroy the carrion of anything in our lives that is already dead.  As Pluto is aligned with the Moon in this chart, it opposes the Sun and serves to block the efforts of Mercury to rationalize away the depth of our experiences.   Pluto demands that Mercury offer only the Truth as the emotional realignment of this eclipse unfolds.

Forming the Grand Cross is another opposition:  The conjunction of Jupiter to Uranus in Aries which is opposed by Saturn.   The Jupiter/Uranus combination is volatile and disruptive, but also ingenious and creative.  It breaks down barriers and expands our confidence, forcing us to acknowledge situations and feelings that feel stale or confining.  Saturn provides compression and seeks stability, and the tension between that urge to build a solid foundation (Saturn) and the desire for flight and rebellion (Jupiter/Uranus) is embedded in this eclipse chart.

This eclipse will be felt most powerfully by anyone whose natal planets are in the early degrees of the cardinal signs (Aries, Libra, Capricorn, Cancer).  But there is enough planetary energy locked into this eclipse chart that others may also benefit from its power.  This eclipse is probably the peak of the Cardinal Drama that we’ve been watching unfold over the past year because so many planets are so tightly aligned now.

This is not a time to be afraid – doors are opening now and it’s time to walk through them.  Our world is in a state of terrible dysfunction and a rebalancing is necessary. Any fears and areas of discomfort that arise now are emerging so that they can be seen for the shadows that they are rather than the experiences of reality that we believe them to be.

The planetary events in June will teach us, if we allow them to, what is real and true in our lives and what is illusion. In order to achieve this we need to accelerate our spiritual practice and learn to maintain presence and breathe through any situation that we encounter. The flow of breath through our bodies is the anchor that links us to our higher self and assists in the transition into the higher realms.
In my opinion, this month is the peak of the intensity. Let’s approach it as an opportunity to break through barriers of mind and body, and to allow our higher selves and guides to facilitate real transformation now.
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American healthcare: Business as usual

June 24, 2010 By

I’m going to file this under the category of Saturn concluding its travel through Virgo, the sign of health and the fragile ecosystem that makes up the body/mind/spirit system of the human being.  Saturn forces us to face reality – it’s the cosmic wake-up call.

Last year during the debate on health care, one of the GOP talking point was that the American healthcare system is the “best in the world.”  In fact, Richard Shelby of Alabama said “[the healthcare bill] will be the first steps in destroying the best health care system the world has ever known.”

Unfortunately, talking points do not create reality, and Reuters reports that a new study from the Commonwealth Fund shows that the United States ranks last in quality of health care when compared to Britain, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Australia and New Zealand.  The Commonwealth Fund is a private foundation whose mission statement aims to “promote a high performing health care system” in the United States.  Its Board of Directors includes Medicare experts, physicians, hospital administrators, researchers, and executives at investment firms.

In 2007, health spending was $7,290 per person in the United States, more than double that of any other country in the survey.

Australians spent $3,357, Canadians $3,895, Germans $3,588, the Netherlands $3,837 and Britons spent $2,992 per capita on health in 2007. New Zealand spent the least at $2,454.

This is a big rise from the Fund’s last similar survey, in 2007, which found Americans spent $6,697 per capita on healthcare in 2005, or 16 percent of gross domestic product.

“We rank last on safety and do poorly on several dimensions of quality,” Schoen told reporters. “We do particularly poorly on going without care because of cost. And we also do surprisingly poorly on access to primary care and after-hours care.” …

Britain, whose nationalized healthcare system was widely derided by opponents of U.S. healthcare reform, ranks first in quality while the Netherlands ranked first overall on all scores, the Commonwealth team found.

U.S. patients with chronic conditions were the most likely to say they gotten the wrong drug or had to wait to learn of abnormal test results. …

Critics of reports that show Europeans or Australians are healthier than Americans point to the U.S. lifestyle as a bigger factor than healthcare. Americans have higher rates of obesity than other developed countries, for instance.

“On the other hand, the other countries have higher rates of smoking,” Davis countered. And German, for instance, has a much older population more prone to chronic disease.

You can read the whole report here.

The (Sibley) chart for the United States includes a challenging square from Pluto to Chiron suggests a predisposition in the country to health challenges.  But Pluto in the second house, creating an obsession (Pluto) with money (second house) means that everything is tied to the need for wealth.  As long as lobbies run the healthcare industry in the US, the healthcare system will suffer.

With Pluto traveling through Capricorn, the sign of corporations and other societal institutions, transformation is possible.  But first there needs to be a breakdown phase.  Just as in our individual lives, if the breakdown phase cannot occur with conscious intention, the breakdown will be imposed on us from the outside so that the system can be rebuilt with integrity and balance.

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The Music of the Sun

June 23, 2010 By

Astronomers in the UK have recorded the “musical harmonies produced by the magnetic field in the outer atmosphere of the Sun.”   The scientists converted visible vibrations into sound and sped up the frequency so that it was audible to the human ear.

Gustav Holst wrote a series of musical interpretations for each of the planets, taking into account their astrological meaning.  Perhaps all of the planets resonate to an audible frequency that can be translated into music!

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Chiron pays Matthew a visit

June 22, 2010 By

For the most astrological fun you can have with your clothes on, you owe it to yourself to visit Matthew Currie’s blog where he takes on astrological issues with humor AND astro-intelligence.  Today he sits down with Chiron over a bottle of vodka:

I was sitting around last night contemplating my Solar Return chart in the traditional manner — over a bottle of cheap vodka — when the door bell rang. A pizza delivery car was idling outside. Not having ordered a pizza, but with a professional astrologer’s keen instincts for a free meal, I answered the door. Much to my surprise, the pizza was being delivered by no less than Chiron the Centaur himself.

“This must be an awkward moment for you” Chiron said.

“You’re telling me,” I replied. “I didn’t order a pizza, and I’m broke.”

“I didn’t mean that. I mean, you’ve never written about me, ever. And I rarely hear you mention me in your consultations.”

I felt myself blush a little, something that doesn’t happen much any more. “Well, you know I prefer a more mechanistic approach to my astrology. You know –”

Chiron interrupted. ” ‘I’ll tell you when you get hit by the truck, you figure out how youfeel about it.’ I know. It’s one of your favourite lines.”

I set the pizza down on the coffee table. “Look, I realize that the functions you represent are vital to the counselling process. Really, I do. I just have a hard time seeing the practical use of you in a reading. It’s not like a nice solid Uranus transit squaring natal Mars screwing up your blood pressure.”

“Isn’t Sun square Chiron on the Midheaven one of the tighter aspects in your chart?” Chiron asked.

“Yes,” I replied. “And that should make me some kind of expert if there was any sort of observable –”

“And aren’t you sitting around in the dark, drinking for no obvious reason, feeling all bad about your existence, right before your Solar Return?”

I glanced around. “I just haven’t changed the light bulb yet. Honest. So is this what you do now: go around handing out meals people can’t afford and didn’t ask for?”

Chiron trotted over to the pizza box and opened it. It had extra cheese, which almost managed to obscure the Brussels Sprouts, parsnips, and liverwurst toppings. I cringed.

“No.” Chiron replied. “I go around handing out what people really need, emotionally, whether they know it or not. And it’s free.”

To find out what happens next, follow this link. And for a good primer on planetary aspects, check out Matthew’s post here.

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