The astrology of Multiple Sclerosis: Jack Osbourne

June 22, 2012 By

Jack Osbourne MS astrologyJust a few weeks ago I did a reading for a client with MS and wrote about it here in a discussion of the correlation between “warrior energy” and immune system disorders including MS.  Shortly thereafter celebrity Jack Osbourne announced that he has been diagnosed with MS.

Osbourne is known primarily through the television reality show The Osbournes in which he is portrayed as the rebellious and drug addicted son of metal rocker Ozzy Osbourne.  Jack Osbourne was dyslexic as a child and put on Ritalin for an ADD diagnosis as a teenager.  His use of drugs escalated when his mother was diagnosed with cancer in 2002, and in 2003 at the age of 18 he was admitted to a psychiatric ward for an oxycontin addiction. Shortly thereafter he attempted suicide by cutting his wrists after being rejected by a girlfriend (according to his new book; most accounts report that the suicide attempt occurred after his mother’s cancer diagnosis).

Jack Osbourne’s astrological chart reveals some interesting clues.  If the birthtime sourced by Astrotheme is correct he has Leo rising, with the Sun in Scorpio and a Virgo Moon.  Someone with a Scorpio Sun is meant to live life intensely and with emotional fearlessness – to challenge themselves and others in a relentless journey to the ultimate Truth.  But Leo seeks joy and happiness in life, and has a great need to be loved and appreciated.  These two signs conflict with each other, resulting in a challenging inner debate.  Scorpio is secretive and private, and Leo desires publicity and recognition.

His Virgo Moon can be somewhat fearful and security-driven, and while the Leo ascendant seeks the spotlight his Virgo Moon likely worries about the future and his Scorpio Sun shrinks from all of that attention and exposure of his inner world.  I suspect that while Jack’s Leo ascendant would have been quite excited about the reality show with his family, it was likely very difficult for him and created a great deal of inner stress.

Still, when the original show The Osbournes was over Jack signed up for a new reality show called Adrenaline Junkie.   This is interesting astrologically because Jack has a weak Mars – situated in the peace and harmony-loving sign of Libra, the warrior planet is not easily expressed here.  His Mars is squared by Neptune, a quality that was evident in other charts that I examined for the article cited above.  Neptune is the planet of transcendence and spirituality, and when placed in a challenging aspect to Mars we tend to see individuals who seek to transcend their drive and desire nature (Mars) rather than express it.  Consequently that drive and aggressive force tends to build up in the body where it cannot easily find an outlet and this can result in health problems.  Please note that I am not a trained medical professional and any advice given in this column should be confirmed with your doctor.  

A Grand Trine in Jack’s chart links Mars, Jupiter (abundance and good fortune) with Chiron, the planet of wounding and healing.  Jack began to turn his life around in 2004 when a complete physical makeover prepared him for the new program which pushed his physical abilities to the limit, the perfect thing for a Mars-challenged individual.  With this Grand Trine I think it is likely that the MS diagnosis will not create crippling problems for him.

He does have an opposition from Chiron to Uranus (see more details in this article) which can indicate an unbalanced and extremely sensitive nervous system. This would make him more susceptible to the kind of nerve damage found in MS.

Jack has been going through some challenging transits to his natal and progressed Mars over the past year or so involving Saturn (conjunction to progressed Mars beginning last November), Pluto (square natal Mars beginning in January) and Uranus (opposing natal Mars beginning late May).  Transiting planets hitting Mars in our chart can trigger eruptions of some kind, and since Jack is currently without a physical outlet for his adrenaline  (having become engaged in the fall of 2011 and a recent new dad) he is likely more sensitive to the planetary triggers to his nervous system.

This kind of Mars-related immune disorder drains physical energy and makes it feel impossible to get any kind of physical activity, but it is my hypothesis that this is exactly what is helpful to combat these illnesses. And science agrees:

In the 1970s, there was quite strong prevailing medical opinion that people with MS should avoid exercise, that it could somehow be detrimental. There is now good evidence that exercise improves fitness and function in mild MS and maintains function for people moderate to severe disability.4 There is strong evidence that exercise therapy, including aerobic exercise and resistance training, improves muscle power function, exercise tolerance functions and mobility-related activities such as walking in people with significant disability.5-11Exercise also improves mood and general well-being.7,12,13 Walking distance has been shown to be increased with regular treadmill training.14 Interestingly, some of the benefit of exercise in MS seems to be more pronounced in women.15

I’m very encouraged to see mainstream medicine continuing to exhibit more openness to the body/mind/spirit connections to disease.  Meanwhile, my best recommendation for just about everyone is to get as much sensible physical activity as is reasonably possible.  Not only is it healing for the body, the mind AND the spirit, it is the Fountain of Youth!

 

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The astrology of Ellen DeGeneres’ health scare

September 28, 2011 By


ellen degeneres health scareDisclaimer: I am not a medical profession and I have no medical training.  I do, however, have a special interest in the astrological analysis of health effects.

Ellen DeGeneres was treated on Monday for chest pains that began on Sunday.  Although she laughed off the pains on her talk show Monday, she was evidently sufficiently alarmed by them to call 911 during a meeting at the Warner Brothers Lot at 11:53 am on Monday.

Ellen’s astrology chart shows that not only does she have the Sun in Aquarius, but also Venus and Chiron, all connected in a triple conjunction which means all three planets operate as one system.  The Sun combines with Venus to (usually) create a friendly and sociable personality that tends to be well liked by others.  However, the presence of Chiron, often called the “Wounded Healer,” in that system reflects the fact that her relationships have been her greatest wounders as well as healing forces in her life.

This system is opposed by Uranus, which is the planet of radical change and innovation.  Uranus is the revolutionary, and it is also associated with androgyny (hence the term “Uranian” to describe a “third sex” with neutral gender as described in this earlier article).  Uranus also rules electricity and electromagnetic energy.

Uranus is the ruler of the sign Aquarius, so the fact that Ellen’s Aquarius planets are opposed by Uranus (a “double whammy” in technical astrological terms” connects the Sun, Venus and Chiron to Uranian energy even more intensely than it would otherwise.

The Sun rules the physical heart in medical astrology, and the heart requires electricity to continue to pump blood and oxygen through the body, and when Uranus is tied to the Sun in the astrological chart it is often easy for the electromagnetic balance to get out of balance.  This electromagnetic balance is also essential for good neurological health, and Sun/Uranus people often have a certain degree of nervousness or anxiety.

At the time that Ellen’s chest pains began there was a lineup of planets affecting this sensitive neurological area.  In her progressed chart (the evolving chart that helps us to see how our lives are unfolding) her Ascendant has progressed into a conjunction to her Sun, and her progressed Mars is following close behind.  Over the next year as her progressed Ascendant approaches an exact conjunction to her Sun we will see her grow even more into the fullness of who she wants to be – this is a wonderful time of self-acceptance and personal growth.

Mars is the planet of fire and energy, and at the time her chest pains began transiting Mars had just opposed her progressed Mars and was coming up to an opposition to her natal Sun, a double planetary cycle which can stir up some agitation and emotional disruption.  Because Uranus is a part of that system natally (in the birthchart), and because of the strong Aquarian influence, Mars would have stimulated the electrical system in the body which would have required some effort to maintain balance.

Transiting Mars will set off this system again in a year or so when Mars enters Scorpio and forms a square to the Aquarius planets.  Fortunately Ellen is a healthy eater (she became vegan a few years ago) and lives a relatively normal life by Hollywood standards.  That will help her to find equilibrium of body, mind and spirit that will help her to maintain the energetic balance her kind of nervous system requires.

For daily planetary updates please visit my Facebook and Twitter pages.

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Ten things you should know about astrology

September 14, 2011 By

While I’m out of town I’m reposting some older articles you might enjoy.

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1.  Your birthchart is much more than your Sun sign.  You have more than ten different astrological signatures in your chart!!

The astrology that most people know comes from the horoscope in the newspaper.  If you’re an Aries, you’ll meet an interesting person today.  Libra, it’s time to make a decision.  This kind of astrology is called Sun Sign astrology, and while there are some excellent astrologers doing Sun Sign columns, they are not very useful except in getting people interested to dig a little deeper.  Real astrology looks at the position of all of the planets on the day that you were born: each planet represents an aspect of our personality, and each planet falls in one of the signs which helps to describe our personality a little more completely.  The relationships the planets make to each other in our chart describe the way our various impulses and characteristics work together or against each other, which is very helpful in breaking through blocks and challenges.

2.  JP Morgan said, “Millionaires don’t use astrology, billionaires do.”

Because a study of astrological cycles reveal the ebb and flow of the psychology of the masses, these cycles can provide clues that are useful in financial investing.  For example, while Pluto was traveling through Sagittarius, the sign of expansion and optimism, there was a seemingly endless flow of consumer confidence that drove the stock and housing markets in an unending upward direction.  As soon as Pluto entered Capricorn in January of 2008, the reality check that Capricorn requires caused investors to realize that they were standing on a house of cards and with the fall of confidence came the fall of the markets and the rest of the economy.  Short-term planetary cycles can give some clues as to the twists and turns of the markets, but it is difficult to predict specific investments with any precision because of the huge number of variables: the cycles of the individual investor, the particular company, its CEO, etc.  JP Morgan consulted often with noted astrologer Evangeline Adams, who said Morgan “drove the world before him because he has astrology behind him.”

3.  Astrology can help to explain and solve problems in relationships.

The astrological charts of two individuals can be compared, revealing underlying compatibilities and potential problems that can facilitate successful interaction between the two.  This is effective for spouses, business partners, as well as parents, children and siblings.  We can also calculate a chart of the relationship, called the “composite” chart, and track the planetary cycles that the relationship is likely to encounter.

 

4.  Health problems can sometimes be seen in the birthchart.

It is not uncommon for people to suffer chronic health effects as the result of an energy imbalance in the physical body or the nervous system, and this may appear in the birthchart.  If an individual possesses a great deal of fire energy, for example, and that fire energy is blocked from expression by another planet or because it is in “detriment” or afflicted in some way, that fire can, without an outlet, create health problems such as stomach distress or nervous disorders,  Some charts reveal a greater tendency than others to hold emotional pain in the body, and in those cases we can track the timing of episodes so that greater care can be taken during certain times when that area of the chart is stimulated.

5.  Understanding planetary cycles can help us navigate times of emotional difficulty.

As the planets in the sky travel through the solar system, they often make angles to planets in our birthchart, stimulating a variety of different cycles called “transits” that affect us in a variety of ways.  Cycles of Saturn create pressure for success and achievement, and can induce delays and cause disappointment.  Uranus cycles urge us to make changes in our life where we have become stale, creating a sense of restlessness and desire for something new.  Under the influence of Neptune we hear the Siren’s call – stimulating a longing within us to experience the divine, an urge towards the mystic.  These times can bring delusion, confusion and illusion as well as strong creative and romantic impulses.  Understanding the nature of the cycle that is occurring helps us to navigate through difficult waters more easily, and it also lets us know when these cycles will begin and when they will end.

6.  However, astrology cannot reliably predict specific events in a person’s life.

With all due respect to predictive branches of astrology, it is nearly impossible to predict with any accuracy when specific events will occur.  This is primarily because our lives are not predestined; we have been blessed with free will and the power to make certain decisions within the framework of our overall destiny.  If we are not prepared to meet our soulmate during a planetary cycle that would normally encourage our love life, that meeting will be delayed until we are ready.  Often there is psychological and spiritual work that needs to be done before we can manifest the success that we desires.  We can predict cycles that are more conducive to fulfilling our dreams than others, but the unfolding of the details of our life are a magical mystery.

7.  Astrology has been used by popes and world leaders throughout history, including Benjamin Franklin, Ronald Reagan and Adolf Hitler.

Benjamin Franklin was known to study astrology and often used it in writing his Poor Richard’s Almanac.  In the book The Writings of Benjamin Franklin he extolled the virtues of the “noble and ancient art” at length.  Ronald Reagan’s use of astrologer Joan Quigley is well-documented, as is the use of astrology by Adolf Hitler.  What is less well-known is the use of astrology by various popes.

8.  There are many different types of astrology including Chinese, Vedic/Jyotish (from India), Horary (traditional), and the more modern psychological and transformational astrology.

 

While Chinese astrology is also based on twelve signs, it is a twelve-year cycle with each year being named after the twelve “original” animals., along with the placements of the planets, Sun and Moon.  Vedic or Jyotish astrology originates in India and uses only the seven traditional planets, along with the “sidereal” zodiac which takes into account the precession of the equinoxes, rather than the Western “tropical” zodiac which is based upon the equinoxes occurring at zero degrees Aries and Libra.  Horary and Jyotish are oncerned more with prediction than modern astrology, which uses the outer planets along with Chiron, asteroids, and other points, and looks at the psychological makeup of the individual rather than predicting a future that is thought to be fixed as fate.

9.  While an accurate birthtime is useful for more specific information, a great deal can be learned using only the date of birth.

The birth time sets up the structure of the houses and provides the ascendant, or rising sign and the exact position of the Moon and makes it easier to time events with some specificity.  But even without an exact time the date of birth provides the placements of all other planets and their relationship to each other which offers clues into the inner workings of the personality and allows us to predict major and minor planetary cycles.

10.  Notwithstanding the recent decision by a few silly astronomers, Pluto in astrology is definitely still a planet!

Pluto is tiny and far away, but in astrology it is the most powerful planet of all with the strongest effect.  We can’t really explain why or how it works, but a look into our past at times when we were experiencing a Pluto cycle will remove all doubts about Pluto’s power!

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An interesting astrological history

August 23, 2011 By
Simon Forman

Image from the Royal College of Physicians

I confess I have never heard of Simon Forman, so I found this article about him very informative (it was posted on Facebook by Stephanie Gailling of Planetary Apothecary).  He was an astrologer in the late 16th century, predating William Lilly who is one of the more famous medieval astrologers and evidently inherited a wealth of Forman’s knowledge via Elias Ashmole who collected Forman’s papers after death.

Forman may have been one of the first medical astrologers.  Though he “fancied himself a magus [magician],” he also obtained a degree in “physic” and a license to practice medicine after he had been fined for practicing medicine without a license.  Like today, the practice of healing was steeped in political controversy:

The College of Physicians of London was founded in 1514 (it received a Royal Charter in 1674). Its powers waxed and waned over the coming centuries, depending on support from the Crown and courts. It issued licences to practise physic, inspected the wares of apothecaries and heard cases of malpractice. Physic was defined as medicine that concerns the internal workings of the body. It was rooted in the teachings of Galen, adapted and augmented as it was transmitted through the Arab world and into the universities of medieval and Renaissance Europe. The four humours – blood, phlegm, yellow bile, black bile – had elemental properties (hot, cold, moist, dry) and an imbalance resulted in illness. Physicians advised their clients about how to maintain health through attention to diet, sleep and exercise and prescribed remedies to maintain the correct balance or to moderate a disruption. As directed, barber-surgeons performed blood-letting and apothecaries filled prescriptions for substances to evacuate the body through vomits, purges or sweats. Physicians and a minority of surgeons learned their art at the universities. Apothecaries and most surgeons trained through apprenticeships. These occupations were regulated through urban guilds.

This was a hierarchy of knowledge and status. Physicians were the medical elite, though they represent only a fraction of the medical practitioners in early modern London. Between 1580 and 1600 there were 50 licensed physicians in London. During this period the college identified 150 people practising physic in the city without due authority, some of whom were licensed but most of whom represent a larger body of irregular practitioners, many holding multiple occupations. These people ranged from highly educated men with medical degrees from foreign universities to people (mostly men, the occasional woman) who were schooled through experience alone. These practitioners came to the attention of the college through informants, during disputes over contracts or in cases of malpractice. From the perspective of the college, Forman was a quack. They examined him and found that he had little Latin learning and his knowledge of astrology was risible. Other practitioners defied the college’s authority but Forman alone professed the supremacy of his astrological methods and attracted such an extensive clientele.

Forman actively challenged the established hierarchy in the name of astrology, promoting a model of medicine in which a single practitioner managed his patients’ health by reading the stars to judge the cause of the disease, advising on regimen, performing blood-letting and minor surgery as necessary and prescribing his own distillations and drugs. Not only did the astrologer provide a complete service in tune with the cosmos, he alone could judge whether a disease was natural, demonic or divine. He alone could fashion amulets and potions charged with occult forces. …

read more here…

Of course today we generally don’t consider disease as being either demonic or divine, but the dispute between the medical establishment and alternative healing practitioners is still very much with us.

Forman had his enemies and his critics as one would expect, but he was evidently an important link in the chain of astrological knowledge in a time where darkness kept such knowledge hidden.

 

 

 

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New lyme disease research study

May 27, 2011 By

lyme disease astrologyYesterday I did a quickie reading for a new client who has lyme disease. Many of you know that I have an interest in the astrology of health and healing. My interest is not so much the traditional study of medical astrology, although that plays an interesting role, but I am fascinated by the way our emotional makeup affects the energy system in the body, creating changes in our physical health.

I can’t remember ever working with a client with lyme disease, but this is a disease that targets the central nervous system and the joints.  This particular client had issues surrounding an opposition from Chiron to Uranus, which tends to show a highly sensitized energetic system.

In Chatham County North Carolina where I live, ticks are a severe problem, yet not everyone who is bitten by an infected tick will develop lyme disease.  My theory is that certain people are susceptible to infections that affect the nervous system, and I’d like to see if there are astrological correlations that could shed more light on why this occurs.

So if you have been diagnosed by a physician to have lyme disease and are interested in participating in the study, please email me with your name, date, time and place of birth, and the date of onset or any major periods of inflammation.  Analyzing the planetary cycles during significant periods of the disease will help me to understand the innate factors that create the predisposition to the disease, and perhaps provide a clue to healing.

 

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From the Advice Column: Will I Ever Receive a Proper Diagnosis?

November 4, 2009 By
I’ll be on vacation until November 12th so forgive me if I don’t participate in the comments.  I will try to put up a timely post or two during that time, but meanwhile I’ve selected some oldies but goodies for you.

have a particular interest in energy medicine and the underlying causes of illness as they appear in the birthchart. This is particularly true of mysterious symptoms that defy diagnosis. That said, I am not a medical professional and my comments are not to be considered a substitute for regular medical care. Still, I strongly believe that most illnesses originate in an energy imbalance and that correcting this imbalance can improve our health.

Q: Twenty years ago, I had an attack of shingles in my head.. leaving me with vertigo, deafness, no taste or smell on the left side of my head, paralysis there too, and intellectual deficits. Up until this point, I was a journalist. Afterwards ? Well I had days when I couldn’t remember what side of the envelope the stamp went on. The nerves at the lower end of my spine got involved somehow and though I can walk, etc. I’ve lost functions of elimination… I have to use catheters daily to drain my bladder etc. (I know TMI…) this has been for two years now.. I underwent several tests this summer to try to find out the underlying cause of my physical problems.. and got.. No answers. I’m wondering what to do next ? Is there any light at the end of this long and painful tunnel?

A: Your chart shows difficulty expressing the energy of Mars, something I like to call a “Mars problem.” Mars, being the god of War, is the planet that urges us to defend our borders, to respond appropriately when attacked, and gives us the drive to get what we want. Mars is our desires and often is tied into our physical energy (although the Sun is also an important piece of the vitality puzzle). This is a very complex issue and situation but I will try to shorten and simplify it to fit into this format.

Your Sun is conjunct Neptune, both in Libra – a lovely and creative placement for imagination and beauty, but Neptune does tend to drown out our physical energy at times. This Sun/Neptune conjunction is the apex of what we call a “T-square”, meaning the Sun and Neptune are square to a tight conjunction of Jupiter and Uranus in Cancer on one end and Mars and Chiron in Capricorn on the other. This is a powerhouse of a dynamic that when balanced properly can give you a great deal of power for change and evolution. But when it gets blocked that powerful energy can implode within us.

Let’s break this dynamic down: The conjunction of Jupiter and Uranus in the first house seeks a an independent, innovative and exciting approach to life. However, their placement in the sign of Cancer combined with your Cancer ascendant makes it difficult to do things that are truly for you. You are geared towards taking care of others, and hope that this will serve you in the end.

This combination of Mars and Chiron in Capricorn show that you are a hard worker and very disciplined with a tremendous focus on what needs to be done. You are able to push through most obstacles and keep your eye on the goal. This can lead you to ignore signals your body is sending you to warn you of impending health crisis until it is too late. The conjunction of Mars and Chiron often signifies a difficulty expressing ones own needs which is reflected in several places in your chart. The Sun conjunct Neptune also can be a signifier of one who is sacrificed or made a scapegoat. And in Libra, the Sun strives to achieve balance and often gives up one’s own self in the process.

The opposition between Jupiter/Uranus and Mars/Chiron can be explosive. Jupiter opposite Mars expands the aggressive instinct and requires an outlet for this increased energy. Uranus opposite Mars evokes rebellion and resistance to control. Chiron opposite Uranus heightens the flow of energy through the body and in itself can create energy imbalances if not grounded properly, and the opposition of Jupiter to Chiron, while it provides an enhanced perception of multidimensional reality, can also increase health problems should they occur.

The picture I am getting here is of a person who has a tremendous amount of energy and spark of life, but who gets bogged down with the day to day responsibilities of watching out for others. Aries is on your midheaven, revealing the key to achieving your highest goals and aspirations is through aggressively asserting your needs and independence.

At the time that your first shingles attack occurred you were undergoing quite a few transits of Mars which were stimulating your need to express yourself in a more powerful way. Perhaps there were things you were angry about that were buried in the need to do what needed to be done. This was exacerbated by a transit of Jupiter across your Aries Midheaven that opposed the conjunction of the Sun and Neptune and set off the whole six-planet T-square combination. Without an outlet, all of this energy just imploded into the shingles attack (shingles are an immune system disorder that is commonly associated with stress).

About three years ago your Moon progressed into Aries (the last time this happened was 30 years before if you can remember back that far) which enhanced your need to have that Aries experience of independence and asserting one’s own needs. Xena the warrior princess is the Aries archetype of women: she is noble and kind but doesn’t take any s*&t from anyone! This would have been an excellent time to take up kickboxing or some other kind of aggressive activity that would help to release some of this energy and increase your sense of empowerment. If you had no such outlet again the energy would have imploded into your nervous system.

At the same time you began your Chiron return, when transiting Chiron was conjunct Chiron in your own chart and again set off the T-square dynamic. Chiron brings to the surface all of our hidden painful wounds from the past, demanding that these wounds be brought into conscious awareness where that can be healed. Resistance to this process can lead to health problems.

I want to emphasize that the opposition of Chiron and Uranus, which is very common in the charts of people born between 1953 and 1985, shows a particularly sensitive nervous system.

Without doing a full reading on this individual I am reluctant to make specific recommendations, but understanding what is needed to regain the balance of appropriate aggression and expression of one’s own needs and desires (Mars) is the first step to recovery.

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