Monthly Archives: March 2008

Robin Williams to divorce

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Photo by Jeff Vespa/WireImage.com

Marsha Garces Williams, wife of actor Robin Williams, filed for divorce last week citing “irreconciliable differences”. Although Robin is best known for his comedic skills, he has a long history of drug and alcohol addiction and it is rumored that Marsha filed divorce papers after her ultimatum failed to wean him from his addictions.

The astrological chart of Robin Williams shows a fascinating blend of comic genius and tragic emotional pain, the combination of which appears to be essential in all of the great comic minds. Williams, with a Cancer Sun, also has a Pisces Moon and Scorpio rising. This heavy watery influence shows his intensely sensitive emotional nature, and a tendency to lose himself (Pisces Moon) into his environment. Mercury (mental function) in his chart is in the fun-loving sign of Leo, and Leo is the King of Comedy. That Mercury sits prominently on the Midheaven of his chart, demonstrating his ability to connect with the public (Midheaven) through his ability to express his thoughts and ideas (Mercury). Pluto (intensity and drama) conjoins his Mercury which suggests a powerful mind with an obsessive nature.

Williams has a wildly revolutionary conjunction of Mars (aggression) and Uranus (rebellion) which is tightly aspected to both Jupiter (expansion) and Neptune (fantasy), and it is this planetary system in his birthchart which describes his unique methodology when it comes to acting. WIlliams cannot be controlled and rarely sticks to the script. His strong Cancerian influence (with Sun, Mars and Uranus all in Cancer) reveals his intense attachment to family and his strong desire to nurture others; in fact, he has become a surrogate parent to the children of Christopher and Dana Reeve after their recent deaths.

Saturn (challenges and disappointments) in Williams’ chart is in an exact challenging aspect (square) to Chiron (wounding and healing), indicating a psyche that is extremely sensitive with a tendency towards experiencing life in a way that brings up painful psychic and emotional wounds. Ideally an individual with this combination of planets will seek healing of these old wounds, but the easiest way to deal with them is to numb them with addictions. Transiting Saturn made a challenging aspect to the ascendant of Williams’ chart (his “rising sign”) back in late July of 2006 which resulted in his admitting himself to rehab in August of that year.

Williams experienced another difficult cycle when transiting Pluto made a pass over the Saturn/Chiron system in his chart back in January of 2007 and remained within one degree of that painful system throughout the year. Williams’ older brother died in August of that year, but I suspect the entire year was extremely difficult for Williams as Pluto applied consistent pressure on any unhealed old wounds that remained in his psyche.

Williams’ family-oriented nature has not kept him from infidelity in the past; his first marriage ended after an affair with his current wife who was at the time the nanny to his children and evidently this was not his first adulterous episode. Venus in Williams’ chart is in Virgo, which often tends to be rather prudish and perfectionistic, and it opposes that Pisces Moon. Challenging aspects between Venus (love and beauty) and the Moon (nurturing and sensitivity) denote an individual who finds it difficult to reconcile their emotional needs (Moon) in their relationships (Venus), and the archetypes of the sexual goddess (Venus) with the maternal figure (Moon). This is the classic “madonna/whore” complex and while this is not universally true it does sometimes indicate a proclivity in a man’s chart to separate the two. In December, transiting Saturn came very close to the Moon/Venus combination in his chart and doubtless intensified his depression.

Williams has a few other astrological things going on as well: in March of 2007 transiting Chiron began squaring Williams’ ascendant and bringing up all of his issues around his ability to establish his own identity (ascendant) relative to his marriage (descendant), a cycle that concluded in December. And a transit of Neptune over his nadir (opposing his Midheaven, or career point) has likely created a great deal of confusion over his role in his personal life and family (nadir) relative to his career and public persona (Midheaven). This cycle began in May of 2007 and is just now in the second phase of a cycle that will conclude in January of 2009.

This is a difficult time for Robin Williams, and I hope that he will be able to resolve his demons that are the burden accompanying his tremendous gifts.

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Sunday Inspiration for stillness

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When we look around we can see a lot of things to worry about. But deep within is a silent stillness that carries us back to our Selves and transcends all worry and doubt.

The wind is the breath of heaven and earth.

Into every corner it unfolds and reaches;
Without choosing between high or low,
Exalted or humble, it touches everywhere.

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‘A Nation of Enrons”

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This was in my inbox today. Those of us who follow astrology will not be surprised to read from the Motley Fool that the corporate culture is collapsing under the influence of Pluto (breakdown and transformation) in Capricorn (business, achievement, capitalism):

Half a decade ago, the entire nation was shocked when award-winning “innovator” Enron turned out to be little more than a cash-shredding pyramid scheme. The crucial failing for investors was Enron’s use of opaque, “mark-to-market” accounting. The problem comes when the market is batty (or doesn’t exist), so you instead mark your assets to a model, especially one that’s wrong, either because you made an error or because you based it on exceedingly generous assumptions.

In the end, we learned that Enron’s accounting was pretty much mark-to-fairy-tale, with the company booking enormous gains from assumed future profits on schemes (like bandwidth trading) that sounded great, but had little chance of producing anything besides headlines.

You might think we’d learned our lessons about fantasy accounting after Enron, but you would be wrong. Things actually got worse. The infection moved to the comfy-sounding “homeownership” market. Against a star-spangled, feel-good backdrop touting the “American Dream,” our recent mark-to-model mania tripped up a lot more than one big company. In fact, it swept through the entire banking world. (Bear Stearns (NYSE: BSC) is not the first to choke on lousy, poorly modeled mortgage-backed securities “income,” and I’ll eat a Miami condo if it’s the last.)

read more…

I’ve been reading articles about the slowdown of big mega retailers, and I’m wondering if the coming transformation of the corporate world might bring about the return of independent business (when Uranus in Aries squares Pluto in Cap 2010-2013). Perhaps it’s just wishful thinking, but it seems that this ever-expanding marketplace will have to burst its bubble at some point, leaving local mom and pop shops to fill in the gaps.

The Motley Fool does have some good news for investors, though:

I am certain that systemic failure has steered us into a terrifying run at the ditch, to be followed by a painful, protracted rough patch. It was all spawned by greed gone amok on Wall Street and Main Street. Yet I believe history will prove this to be one of the best times to have invested in stocks, especially attractive-priced small caps. Here’s why:
  • The market is in panic mode, and when markets panic, no one’s thinking.
  • Small caps have been crushed more than the rest of the market, as investors seek “safe” large caps.
  • Over time, value-priced small caps produce some of the most amazing returns in the market. Really.
  • There are loads of small caps out there poised for years, if not decades, of fantastic growth, but the market is pricing them as if they are dead and buried.

Sounds very Saturn in Virgo, but value investing is back, along with cautious spending and thrifty saving, all very nice Virgoan traits!

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“The Personals Meet the Transpersonal” and other Planetary news

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Thanks to KT The Astrologer for posting this lovely article on the conjunction right now of Uranus to Mercury and Venus (perhaps that’s why most of my day has been spent dealing with malfunctioning telecommunications equipment??):

It can be a very interesting time when a personal planet conjuncts a transpersonal planet in the sky as both are functioning from very different levels.

So when they meet it’s like the college student and the 2nd grader working on the same project.

This is what is happening on the 27th and 28th, except the college student is asked to work with two 2nd graders.

The conjunction of Uranus, Mercury and Venus has us dealing with the needs of the personality meshing with the viewpoint from higher consciousness.

Uranus needs things to change, to break free and to disrupt. Its energy is about the greater good and trying to create a better future and it will do this any way it can.

Mercury in entrenched in the mind and serves the personality. Venus with its need for relating and indulging also likes to keep the ego happy.

When they band together we experience a rather radical shift in perception and values.

Our relationships, finances and our take on ourselves aesthetically will undergo a tremor of around 5.5 on the ‘astrological Richter scale’ Our ideas surrounding these issues may be rocked and a whole new way of thinking will being to crack open.

read more…

This triple conjunction is exactly sextile Jupiter right now, the culmination of a cycle which has taken all month to perfect and would typically bring about an expansion (Jupiter) of innovation and exciting change (Uranus). However, pesky Chiron and Neptune, which are fused now in Aquarius, are inconjunct (30 degrees) both Jupiter and Uranus, squeezing a wedge between their joyous party. Chiron inconjunct Uranus is bringing up all of those things that no one wants to hear but which must be said, and inconjunct Jupiter it helps to facilitate conversation and the healing of ideologies which have lost their luster. The Neptune component adds just enough mist to create some confusion and potential for illusion. A murky road to say the least!

Venus and Mercury break away from the Jupiter/Uranus party by early next week when Mercury will be squared by Pluto and we’ll REALLY see some enthusiastic discussions!

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“Iraq is exploding”

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Last week I commented, “Judging from the chart for the war in Iraq, events are about to make a surprising turn. After two years of a challenging transit (square) from Pluto to the Sun/Mercury conjunction in the chart, which seems to have had the effect of relentless and unending death and destruction (Pluto), Uranus (radical change) is about to transit Pluto (power and transformation) in the invasion chart.”

Noting a strong Chiron influence, I was hoping for some healing to take place but sometimes Chiron exerts its healing influence by bringing the simmering conflicts into view so that they can be examined in order hopefully to release them. Now we learn that Moqtada al Sadr’s cease fire has suddenly (Uranus) ended in Basra and Sadr City. Much of the success in reducing violence has been attributed to the surge in US troops, but some argue that al-Sadr’s ceasefire had as much or more of an influence.

The re-emergence of al-Sadr did seem to be a surprise after such a long time, but Mahdi Army fighters are now saying “The cease-fire is over; we have been told to fight the Americans.”

It appears that President Bush will be forced to deal with this problem before the election and that will make for an even more interesting Presidential race.

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Was Hillary Clinton Crucified on Friday’s Grand Cross?

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I apologize in advance to my dear readers who are Clinton supporters. A bit of snark may leak into this post.

Most of you are probably aware by now of Senator Clinton’s need to backpedal on some of the statements that she made about landing in the midst of sniper fire during her trip to Bosnia in 1996 which was first refuted by actor/comic Sinbad, who was along on that trip, and most recently exposed by CBS news who was also there.

While this story started leaking out in the middle of March it didn’t start really erupting until Saturday morning, just hours after the Cardinal Grand Cross that included the Full Moon and the Equinox, the Washington Post confirmed Sinbad’s version of the story that “the “scariest” part was deciding where to eat. As he told Mary Ann Akers of washingtonpost.com, “I think the only ‘red phone’ moment was ‘Do we eat here or at the next place?’ “

Senator Clinton’s progressed Sun is at 3 degrees Capricorn and has been opposed by Mars since the beginning of the month, and since the Full Moon exactly squared Pluto and by reference Mars as well, the entire Grand Cross formed a tight aspect to Clinton’s progressed Sun suggesting a major shift in her life path.

The timing of all of this is quite interesting and it will be even more interesting to see how this event plays out in the long run. Transiting Saturn is trine the progressed Sun which adds an element of stability and strength and Clinton is known for her indefatigability so she will likely weather this storm as she has so many others! I myself lived through the Grand Cross which was in a tight aspect to my Capricorn Mars which is being hit by Pluto at the moment, and things that don’t kill us, as we know, can make us much, much stronger.

Photo is of Mrs. Clinton being greeted in Bosnia.

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Tibetan Astrology and the Planetary Winds

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The Kalachakra, or Wheel of Time.

In light of the current riots in Tibet I was looking online for a chart of Tibet since my Book of World Horoscopes does not contain one, and came across a wealth of material on Tibetan astrology. I confess I never realized that Tibet had its own branch of astrology that evidently is derived from a combination of Indian and Chinese methods and has its roots in Tibetan Tantric Buddhism. A site from the Tibetan Astrology network says:

In the Kalacakra Tantra as a whole, the subject matter is usually divided into three Wheels, or phases, known as the External, Internal and Alternative Wheels. The External wheel is the External Cosmos, with the cycles of the planets, constellations and stars, and this includes a system of astronomy and astrology. The Internal wheel is the internal Cosmos of chakras, channels and energies within the body, and their relation to the cycles of the External Cosmos. This section contains a basis for understanding how the planets effect us through the mechanism of the subtle body. The Alternative wheel is the yogic techniques for purifying and transforming the inner and outer to release our innate awareness and capacities. These are all depicted within the Kalacakra Mandala.

I found myself being particularly interested in this idea of a three-wheel system and found this information on another site:

The Wheel of Time teachings on the universe reveals that our changing consciousness states are due to the changing circulations of these planetary winds though our energy body with its chakras and channels. In syncronicity with the motions of the external universe, the planetary winds cycle through the chakras and channels, and riding upon them is our original awareness, experiencing the multitude of cycles of consciousness states and resultant events. Mind, pranic winds and consciousness are inseparably connected with each other. … This is therefore an astrology that incorporates the concepts of karma and reincarnation as episodes of the souls journey.

These circulations of the internal planetary winds in the chakras are not haphazard, but follow predictable cycles. Periodically, and for every individual, they arrive at points in the cycle where an internal equilibrium is reached, permitting the planetary winds to collect and enter the most important channel in the body, the central channel, the dragon, which runs through the very centre of all the major chakras, stimulating them from within. At these points in the cycle, with the application of yoga practice, an energy basis is created for the arisal of transformative states of consciousness and greatly expanded awareness and insight.

Alternatively, there are points of crisis, under and overactivation of energies, and periods of potential imbalance. The detailed knowledge of these circulations of the planetary winds within the body, what to do with them, and how, is an important function of the Wheel of Time Tantric Astrology. The circulations of planetary winds in the chakras, in the normal flow of time, reaches conscious equilibrium only on rare occasions, and these form the great insights we gain during the course of a normal lifetime. However, these planetary winds do not only move in synchronicity with the external planetary motions, but can be made to move through the highest yoga tantra practices.

The normal evolution of consciousness is said to take eons and eons of lives to effect the full awakening of the human awareness through the intermittent moments of insight produced through the cycle of externally effected equilibriums. … Thus, this path can be considered to be an accelerated pathway through time, where states of expanded and clarified awareness and insight are induced in quicker succession, awakening all the chakras to their highest potentials. The highest insight said to be produced through these practices is the awakening to the interdependent nature of all manifestation, the interconnectedness of all that exists, and the union of Insight and Compassion. [ Paragraphs added for ease of reading.]

This is exactly how I see the ultimate use of Western astrology as well, but without the use of specified tantric yoga methods and special amulets. In my view the power of the human soul to awaken transcends any specific path or religion and can be accomplished through the use of will and attention to the planetary cycles in which we find ourselves. Each planet vibrates at a different frequency, and as we go through a planetary cycle we ourselves become tuned to that frequency. I love this idea of an “accelerated pathway through time” and also the wisdom of this system that irrevocably intertwines astrology and medicine.

This will be cross-posted on Dharmaruci’s site where I’m guest blogging, and perhaps some in his Buddhist community will add some wisdom on this fascinating system.

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Crucifixions and the Full Moon Grand Cross

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Dharmaruci found this interesting correlation to the Grand Cross at last week’s Full Moon:

Health officials in the Philippines have issued a warning to people taking part in Easter crucifixion rituals. (Note the Moon and Saturn will be in Virgo.) They have urged them to get tetanus vaccinations [they probably won't - Neptune is unaspected] before they flagellate themselves and are nailed to crosses, and to practise good hygiene.

On Good Friday dozens of very devout Catholics in the Philippines re-enact the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. It is something that has become a huge tourist attraction, although the Church frowns on the practice.

The health department has strongly advised penitents to check the condition of the whips they plan to use to lash their backs, the Manila Times newspaper reports. They want people to have what they call “well-maintained” whips [Now that's Pluto in Capricorn for you.]

read more here…

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Easter and the Equinox

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(reprinted from last year)

Many people now know that Christian holidays such as Christmas and Easter are tied to pagan celebrations of cosmological events such as the solstices and equinoxes. Easter, a holiday that commemorates the time that Jesus supposedly rose from the tomb, was originally connected to both the Equinox and the full moon since it originally occurred on the first Sunday after the first Full Moon following the Vernal Equinox.

This was likely calculated from observation of the full moon at first, but because the date derived from the actual full moon coincided with the Jewish celebration of Passover. For centuries the early Church leaders squabbled over a method to determine the date for Easter and ultimately created a table of “ecclesiastical” full moons for which to calculate a date for Easter in an unbelievably complex method.

I personally believe that the practice of dating Christian “feast days” to coincide with pagan magical points such as the solstices and equinoxes and moons goes beyond a simple desire to convert the pagans; it is quite likely that the early church fathers were aware of the power of these planetary events that connect us to a greater sense of cosmological wonder and utilized them to their advantage. At the Vernal Equinox we celebrate the resurrection of Spring, and for centuries preChristian peoples celebrated the resurrection of their dying gods at the Equinox. Dionysos, Tammuz, Adonis and Attis were all gods whose rebirth was celebrated as the Spring brought the return of fertility to the land. It is this fertility connection to Easter that brings us the Easter bunny, whose capacity to become impregnated with a second litter while bearing the first makes it a perfect symbol for fertility.

And the name Easter? This name comes directly from the Saxon fertility goddess Eostre or Ostara, who was depicted with hares and whose festival was celebrated at the spring Full Moon.

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Five years later: The War in Iraq

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Judging from the chart for the war in Iraq, events are about to make a surprising turn. After two years of a challenging transit (square) from Pluto to the Sun/Mercury conjunction in the chart, which seems to have had the effect of relentless and unending death and destruction (Pluto), Uranus (radical change) is about to transit Pluto (power and transformation) in the invasion chart.

Pluto sits prominently on the Midheaven of the chart which seems appropriate for the chart of a war, but it also opposes Saturn exactly on the IC (nadir) which suggests a terrible challenge for the families of war who have lost their homes (fourth house) and connection to their country. The fourth house deals not only with the personal and individual home, but also with tribal affiliations and Saturn at the cusp of the fourth house can show rigid delineations of those affiliations as well as tests and disappointments. This angular Saturn/Pluto opposition describes an endless war that rips families and tribes apart. The transit of Pluto across the angles and opposing Saturn in the invasion chart continued into the end of 2005.

Uranus will be square to the Saturn/Pluto MC/IC opposition for the next two years which is likely to bring about an increase in internal rebellion that breaks up the status quo (Uranus) and shifts the course of the war. A harmonious transit (sextile) of Chiron to these points has also just begun and this could bring about some internal healing to facilitate change.

Uranus is the awakener, and until the people of the world wake up to what is transpiring in the name of the so-called War on Terror, the travesty will continue. In the 1960s, we turned on and dropped out. Now it’s time to turn off the tvs, and tune back in.

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