Election Day Outbursts

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Reflecting on the upcoming election and the placement of planets around the cardinal axis, a.k.a. on the world's stage, I think of the antiscia of Mars Pluto on that day and my mind goes to the notorious tennis hot head John McEnroe. 

In McEnroe's birth chart the closest aspect (less than 20'min of arc) is a Mars Pluto square. I think his outbursts provide a nice illustration of the energy. No doubt we also experience his Mars Jupiter opposition, Jupiter dominating Mercury by square, and Moon Mars separating conjunction - adding to the exaggeration and intensity. 

On Tuesday, Election Day, a day ruled by Mars, the antiscia of Mars Pluto becomes exact at just about the same time both the Sun and Moon come to the cardinal axis (15 Scorpio and 15 Leo). The Sun rules the day, the Moon rules the hour. The Moon is also the public. Between 7:00 and 7:30 pm EST (4:00/4:30 pm PST) all of these points come to precise antiscia & contra-antiscia - we can expect this hour and those leading up to it to be exceptionally intense. (No surprise.)

Another interesting thing to note about the day is the placement of Kronos.

Kronos rules government and authority, things that are grand, tall, and above average. As stated in Alfred Witte's book Rules for Planetary Pictures, Kronos is executive power. Kronos stands at the exact opposition of Pluto and so joins the antiscia to Mars. Mars Kronos and Pluto Kronos according to Arlene Kramer are: "Procedure dictated by the power of the government. Power of the state. Autocratic. Great leader and organizer." and "Great changes. Changes in the form of government. Change of boss." etc. I don't think we should assume this translates to a change in leadership or a win for Romney though. Why? Because Kronos is much more active, activated, and activating in Barack Obama's chart. (This is in addition to many other factors I'm not addressing here.)

Election Day on the 90 degree dial. (No need to be afraid of the dial, it won't bite.) 

Doesn't that just look like the chart of an election? I think so.

In addition to the Mars Pluto Kronos antiscia above you can see the Sun and Moon directly on the cardinal axis. You also see Zeus connecting to Jupiter. I know that sounds redundant (Jupiter|Zeus) and it is sort of. Successful leader, work,fireworks... Zeus and Kronos together makes "a great commander-in-chief".  

In Obama's natal chart the Moon is conjunct Kronos and in a precise square to Zeus (highlighted with the blue circle below). This makes him a Zeus|Kronos type of person since the Moon is an important personal point. Interestingly transiting Pluto|Kronos have moved into the exact midpoint of Obama's Sun and Moon - a highly charged spot! On the dial below you can see transiting Pluto|Kronos circled in red picking up his Sun and Moon. To me this seems like an auspicious signature for the growth and development of great leadership ability and power.

In Romney's chart the transiting Pluto|Kronos is at the precise midpoint of his natal Sun|Hades and Vulcanus|Hades. (Romney also has Hades at the midpoint of his Sun|Moon natally, while Obama has Sun|Moon = Cupido; this says a lot, as Hades has to do with secrets and filth, and Cupido signifies family, community, and society. Just to be clear: having Hades at the midpoint of one's Sun|Moon is not a bad thing, it would be excellent for a psychologist, investigator, astrologer, nurse, or antique collector for instance; however without an outlet like these the potential for a more negative or secretive expression, preying on the hardship and suffering of others for example, does exist. And yes, I'm aware of my bias coming through - I do not think Romney is a morally good person.)

So what does the above Kronos transit mean for Romney? 

From Witte's Rules for Planetary Pictures:

Vulcanus + Hades - Kronos:  "Gigantic crimes and evil deeds. Heavy oppression and suppression by governments and ruling powers."

Sun + Hades - Kronos:  "Physical difficulties or restrictions through the state, officials or superiors. Pursued by misfortune through higher power. Leading among criminals. Crime sanctioned by the government."

Is it just that these things may be coming more into the light? (Like his auto bailout profiteering.) Or is there more to it? I guess we'll have to wait and see.

If Romney were to win, I believe it would be another one of his grand (and/or sanctioned) crimes. But I don't think he will. 

There is so much more to be unpacked within these charts, as I'm sure you're gathering, especially as we begin to look at transits and midpoints. This is not in any way a thorough delineation of the charts or a prediction really. Mostly I wanted to share what I thought the energy of the day might feel like (Mars Pluto: McEnroe) and to use the Election Day chart to show the power and impact of the transneptunian Kronos. 

It's a wild time. All the world will be watching on Election Day - made very clear by the Sun and Moon on the cardinal axis. 

Oh.. on Election Day in addition to exercising your right to vote, I highly recommend some literal exercise as that Mars Pluto will be felt by all!

Take care and feel free to leave comments, questions, or feedback.  

dark, haunting beauty

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Being artistically-oriented myself, I quite enjoy looking at the charts of artists and musicians. Lately, I've been looking especially at the 360 and 90 degree dials with the TNPs (Transneptunians). I'm looking for recurring themes, threads to follow, something from which I can build my own experiential resource base for how these symbols (specifically the TNPs) speak to me. 

The work of Francesca Woodman is one of my latest obsessions. 

These photos were made by Francesca, a fiercely evocative photographer who died by suicide at a very young age (twenty two). Her work is rich in symbolism, and a theme of impermanence, or breakdown and decay, is portrayed quite literally through all of the imagery.

While I do not have an exact time for her birthchart, it is still valuable to examine the aspects and planetary placements, and by using the dial I can gather even more clues as to what themes are most prominent.  

Placements I note first are Francesca's exalted Sun in Aries in opposition to a bright (full) Moon in, the Venus ruled sign, Libra - will versus feeling; Mercury's opposition to Jupiter, North Node, and Neptune - anabudance of creative ideas; Venus' opposition to Pluto - magnetism, and intensity in relating; And Mars' wide opposition to Uranus - unique, individualistic, sometimes rebellious expression.

This is a large number of oppositions to have in a chart, and it is noteworthy that all of the inner planets are being influenced by the outer transpersonal planets. Oppositions speak to the pull between what is inside vs. what is outside, yours or mine, yin/yang, even black and white (like her photographs). 


Standing on the Cardinal axis, we find Mercury in antiscia to Pluto and Venus antiscion Node/Neptune.

The Node is her only personal point on the axis, and is how she is tied to and connects with the world. This combination can also be viewed as a completed planetary picture:
Mercury + Pluto - Venus = Node/Neptune  or  Me + Pl - Ve = No/Ne.

Reinhold Ebertin says of Mercury Pluto: the art of persuasion, suggestion. This speaks to her ability to powerfully communicate something to the world, but not totally literally. It is the element of suggestion that pervades her work. Pluto, also associated with the Underworld, can bring a darkness to what is [in this case] communicated. And it is known for great growth and development, or great decline. Venus Node is a love-union or pleasant connections with others, and Venus Neptune is creative imagination and can contribute to much idealism or disillusionment in love. Because Ve|No|Ne is on the same axis as Me|Pl they are all rather intensely connected, and being on the cardinal axis (the world's stage) it is for all to see.

Communicating beauty (and the female form) powerfully, and most often with an aspect of disillusionment, darkness, destruction and decay, was certainly her modus operandi.

 Self portrait

With the chart on the 90 degree dial (below), we see Neptune also stands on the Cardinal axis at 11.25 (black dot is indicator).

Among other things, Neptune = Photography.  



When we add the TNPs, things only get more interesting....

Sun Poseidon signifies her use of light (as in photographic images). It is pure energy and spirit, but can also be associated with spirits, as in ghosts. On this midpoint axis also lies Venus Pluto, indicative again of her immense creative power; and Ve|Pl pushes through Sun Poseidon its darker, more annihilative quality. Adding to this force is Mercury Vulcanus also standing on the axis. Many of her images have blurry or moving figures. This is literally what Me + Vu = Su means: a body in motion.

Zeus and Kronos also figure prominently, standing near Pluto. Zeus and Kronos, especially with Pluto and Venus, signify enormous creative inspiration, mastery, and an eagerness to work. Think how young she was when she began working and how many incredibly beautiful images she created in such a short amount of time.

One final important TNP to note on this Sun axis is Hades. Standing at precisely 22.5 from her Sun (see the large black dot), Hades reiterates many of the themes already noted, and additionally signifies old and outworn things, garbage, death, decay, filth, secrets or hidden things, want, and loneliness. Are her images not utterly representative of Hades Poseidon? 

After writing this article, I came across a review and thought it described eloquently the symbols as I saw them. The New York Review of Books writer, Eizabeth Gumport, said of Francesca's work:

Her concealed figures, however, call to mind corpses, or ghosts, as if the wall between our world and the spirit realm had begun to fall. In her images, dust abounds, and there are no new buildings, only ruins, whose disintegrating forms evoke the wrecks admired by the eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Gothic revivalists often cited as major influences. The out-of-focus figures are faint and friable-seeming, and Woodman’s gray tones as powdery as crumbling stone.

While there is so much more we could learn from this sadly poetic chart, I want to move on to the date of her death: Jan 19, 1981. 


There are many things one can examine in timing and event charts. Here, I look primarily to just one large factor, a theme repeated again and again, because it speaks so loudly: Hades. 

Because Francesca was 22 years old at the time of her death, her Solar Arc would be close to that degree; it was 22 19' 19" to be exact. That would mean any of the natal indicators in her chart standing at that distance to another factor would be coming to fruition - including Hades to her Sun.

You can see in the chart above that not only was Hades due to her Sun by Solar Arc (the green and red bars), but it was also transiting her Sun by exact half square (or semi square). This is something we find because Hades' orbit is about 360 years. It was a Hades time more than ever in her life. Clearly something needed to die and be let go of. It is sad she took her own life and wasn't able to force in entirety the expression in a worldly endeavor. 

Neptune also was due on the Cardinal axis at that time (not visible in chart above). Likely this reiterated a feeling of helplessness, disappointment, and assumably disillusionment and despair or desperation.

But her ethereal, almost supernatural, Neptunian work does live on in the world. Certainly she continues to touch and deeply affect many people with her profound talent --> Communicating depth and beauty and darkness and light - and the transient nature of life. 

 x

What's happening in Japan?!

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I've been writing on facebook this week, since the earthquake, that I thought there would be more in store for Japan. This is because there have been some major planetary energies joining the picture. First, and quite importantly, Mars has been running with Saturn on the cardinal axis--the world's stage--in addition to Uranus. At its worst the energy of Mars Saturn brings interruption and forced separation, sickness, and destruction (which we've already seen), and at its best, discipline and endurance. With Uranus though - added is an element of shock or surprise.

Saturn is also aligned with Zeus (TNP), now through September, and while Mars was meeting up with Saturn he was also having his dance with Zeus. Zeus is a point that represents explosives, fire, even nuclear threat.... especially with a combination like Mars + Saturn = Uranus (!). Saturn Zeus on its own can symbolize a lack of work (as Zeus = machines), the breakdown of machines (or Unions?), loss from fire, oppression, and so on. For this time though I think these particular combos are/were definitely pointing to major nuclear energy issues and explosions. 

Late last week, as I was considering Uranus' ingress into Aries (which only happens every 84 years), I was looking on the 90 degree dial--often used for event oriented astrology--and noted this important Mars Saturn combo. The next day, off the coast of Sendai on March 11, 2011, the earthquake happened. Following that, a terribly destructive tsunami. And now some major nuclear issues. There are many astrological indicators that we can examine for what has occurred. My wish and hope for now and in the future is for astrologers to align (both amongst themselves and also with leaders in science and government), and utilize the many timing indicators astrology has to offer to prevent further damage or to potentially minimize it.  

From the chart of the earthquake there were quite literal expressions or indicators of what might follow. One indicator points specifically to issues with radiation. 

Notice at that moment, Poseidon was running precisely with the MC. Poseidon can represent spirituality and light--as in enlightenment, and people who are high-minded. (Consider how the Japanese are reacting to these catastrophes, with discipline and calm, there has been no looting.) Poseidon however may also indicate radiation here. 

And there are several combinations here that describe an earthquake exactly. Most of them include Uranus, sometimes Zeus or Admetos. Admetos symbolizes the beginning or end of life, things underground or coming from the ground, and raw beginnings. 

One combo: Sun + Uranus - Aries = Sun (which is the timer for the "day")

Another is: Uranus + Zeus - Hades = Moon  (which is the timer for the "hour")

A third: Aries + Zeus - Admetos = AS/Mercury (which is the "minute")

And finally (and powerfully): Uranus + Admetos = Admetos (+ Jupiter)

This last combination is frighteningly descriptive. Alfred Witte's "Rules for Planetary Pictures" states:

"Sudden rupture-like separation. Shock commotion. Destruction through convulsion. Earthquake..".

I don't know what to say or do in the midst of watching events like these transpire, as we are all witness to much difficulty. I hope the energy of that Mars Saturn will compel people to do what's right and act with integrity, strength, and fortitude.

My personal hope is that astrology will be taken more seriously in the world; utilized to prevent or minimize damage in events like these. We could be participating in changing the way we help and serve people all over the planet.