Who will win the presidency?

First of all, I want to say that I am not sure why anyone actually wants the job of US Presidency.
But apparently, there are such individuals.    I have not focused too much of my own attention on the election but believe me everyone and their astrological brother slapped their foreheads a few years ago when we all realized Mercury would be turning retrograde this election day in November.   I know I was rushed with memories of hanging chads in Palm Beach all over again.  Sigh. 

Anyway, this week there is a big ol' astrology convention in New Orleans which I actually considered attending but I have too much on my personal plate to make it to NOLA.   I really wanted to see Michael Lutin, darn.  Will have to be next year. 

Anyway, today Reuters reported that the panel of astrologers at the convention are pointing to an Obama win over Mitt.    

Well, who ever wins will have a shit load of lame aspects in their future.   Not necessarily personally but globally.  Good luck.  

    


NEWS ORLEANS, May 29 (Reuters) - The votes are in and it is unanimous: Barack Obama will win re-election to the U.S. presidency in November, according to five astrologers who offered predictions at their convention on Tuesday.

Each of the five astrologers on the presidential panel explained how they came to their assessments, with most relying on studies of celestial charts pertinent to both Obama and presumed Republican nominee Mitt Romney for the date of either the election itself or the next presidential inauguration.

For Chicago astrologist and corporate lawyer Nina Gryphon, it was her study of the Aries ingress - the exact time when the Sun enters the sign of Aries - that clinched the decision. "It's obvious," she said. "Obama stays where he is without a change in status."

Billed as a meeting of the world's top astrologers, the conference in New Orleans drew some 1,500 people who participated in workshops and panel discussions.

Not to be confused with astronomy, the scientific study of the physical universe, astrology uses non-scientific methods to predict how the relative positions of celestial bodies may influence human behavior and future events.

Denver astrologer Chris Brennan said his chart study focused on public profiles of the two presidential candidates, both of whom "are entering into peak periods of eminence in the next few months." But he said there was a key difference: "Obama's peak period stays consistent throughout the election, whereas Romney's seems to falter a few weeks before the election," he said.

Most of the panelists placed a high degree of certainty on their forecast, but a few pointed to potential difficulties Obama may face after his predicted re-election.

"The ingress of Saturn into Scorpio may trouble him," Brennan said. "It won't cost him the election, but it may indicate difficulties in the first half of his second term."

Brennan could not specify the potential problem, but "it pertains to his career and his reputation," he said.

As to the election itself, Brennan raised the possibility of the contested 2000 election being revisited.

"We should all be aware of the Mercury retrograde that will occur on election day," he said, referring to an optical illusion that can make a planet appear to reverse direction temporarily.

"Most astrologers are pretty certain that this could cause problems similar to what happened in the 2000 election," Brennan said, referring to the contested Florida vote that was settled only when the Supreme Court ruled that George W. Bush should be president rather than Al Gore.

The retrograde, Brennan said, "seems to imply that there's something up in the air about the election until sometime later in the month."

"It's possible it won't be finished for Romney until the last week of November," he said.

Two of the panelists participated in a similar session four years ago when the panel also gave a unanimous thumbs-up to Obama. (Reporting By Greg McCune; Editing by Eric Walsh)

Neptune Retrograde

I discussed Neptune's retrograde scheduled for next week in my Gemini New Moon article.  But of course I am always a fan of putting up other people's take on a subject.

Here are a few that might be of interest to you:
Go to link for full article.

From Diana Black's blog.

Neptune entered Pisces, its home sign, in February bringing some much needed optimism to the world’s energy. On June 4^th Pisces will retrograde (appears from the Earth to be going backwards in sky, though this is only an optical illusion its effects play out in our realities). When this phenomenon occurs to the planet Neptune, we usually, and sometimes reluctantly, get a glimpse of what we have overlooked. This occurs right after a full moon and a partial lunar eclipse in Sagittarius (truth). These actions are square (90 degrees) to Neptune in Pisces as it retrogrades so the tension from those aspects will force issues on to the surface and in to the light. What we couldn’t see before stares us in our faces and we are forced to see the world as it really is, often leading to regrets about what we have taken for granted or were “fairy -charmed” into believing. We can be in for some real “hangovers” when we sober up under this retrograde (reduction in Neptunian influence).

There is also a nice write up at Lynn Koiner's site.   Go  to link for full article

NEPTUNE TURNS RETROGRADE – JUNE 4 through NOVEMBER 11 2012 ✭
Similar to the natal retrograde Neptune, the transiting retrograde causes sensitivity and receptivity to be much more acute. Due to this heightened receptivity, we are allowed to see far more than is possible when Neptune is direct. This is possibly a result of augmented intuitive or inner vision that bestows a different and more insightful perspective on matters.
Delusional hits: June 24-29 (Jupiter), September 1-2 (Mercury), October 3-4 (Venus), October 6-8 (Mars), October 29-30 (Mercury), Neptune rules denial!
When Neptune turns retrograde, our feelings are more astute at picking up and perceiving the illusive. It is easier to ascertain information about issues that have eluded us while Neptune was direct. Delphine Jay feels that it is essential that we do something about the problems that we pick up on while Neptune is retrograde because they can worsen when Neptune goes direct. I personally have noticed that, if you do not work on an internal level while Neptune is retrograde, you will be plagued by feelings of disillusion and vague dissatisfaction.

Week Ahead

Gosh, I don't know about you but I am grateful for the three day weekend in the US so I don't have to hear about Facebook.  

On the afternoon (EDT) of Memorial Day we have a First Quarter moon.   This is a good time to take actions that are based on the seeds you planted on New Moon eight days ago.   In particular this first quarter moon is having us get our 'Virgo' on. 

Focus on:   What actions can you take that take care of details?  What needs to be booked and double checked?   What is slipping through the crack?  Can you catch it?  How are you dotting the I’s and t’s?   How does it speak to your ability to communicate?    

Later in the week:
On 5/30: Mercury and Mars are in a tough position.  Expect arguments, fighting words, snark to the tenth degree.   

On Friday, June 1st at 2:17am (EDT) we will go into the gibbous moon.   With gibbous moons we need to refine any informations that we have received in the last twelve days.   We organize ourselves to make sure we have not neglected anything.  We refine our actions.  

This Gibbous Moon is Libra so...

Focus on:    What shifts and pivots can you make in your relationships that will improve your communication?   How are you neglecting balance?  Where do you need to bring in yang?  Or where do you need to bring in more yin?  

Coincidentally on June 1st Mercury and Venus are in a nice aspect which supports gentle conversation, loving thoughts expressed although it is more mentally kind than gooey sentimental.

Facebook troubles

Gosh, I was so hoping that I could skip FB for awhile but nope, it just can't stop making news. 
Morgan Stanley the lead bank on issuing the IPO shares for FB.  "Here's what we are going to do..here's how it is going to play, blah, blah, blah."   Well, we now know that Morgan Stanley on Friday was calling some of their client privately and saying, "The estimates that FB is going to make in the future are lower than the original projections."    That is code for ..."the stocks will probably drop their value soonish."   However, they weren't telling everyone--only their selected clients.   Rut-ro.

So now there are authorities looking into the mess.

Are any of us surprised?   No.  Because we know that the IPO launched on a balsamic moon, close to the eclipse and we are in a highly energetic Gemini lunar cycle that was guaranteeing bumps around communication and little lies.    For a business like FB that relies on people wanting to connect this is a huge disconnect.  If they were smart they would get out in front of this ASAP.   Distancing themselves from MorganStanley ---like I said on the IPO chart, partnerships for FB need to be fully vetted.   Neptune strikes again. 

More Euro Troubles

Stocks Fall as E.U. Leaders Gather in Brussels

By DAVID JOLLY

PARIS — European stocks fell about 2 percent and the euro slipped on Wednesday, as European Union leaders began converging on Brussels for yet more talks on how to address the intensifying Greek crisis and the existential threat to the common currency.

The fear in the market is palpable, leading investors to move euros out of the struggling periphery countries and toward the central economies of Germany and France. In a debt auction Wednesday, Germany sold almost €4.6 billion, or $5.8 billion, of its two-year Schatz notes priced to yield 0.07 percent — the lowest ever; at that yield, investors are essentially handing their euros to Germany for safekeeping, expecting nothing in return.

“There’s a flight to safety inside the euro zone,” Steven Saywell, head of currency strategy for Europe at BNP Paribas in London, said. Beyond that, he added, investors are also buying bonds amid expectations that weakening economic data will soon lead the European Central Bank to cut interest rates again.

The leaders of all 27 E.U. member nations will be present at the early evening meeting, where Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany and proponents of the austerity-first approach to addressing the crisis will hear proposals from the French president, François Hollande, of how economic growth might factor more into the equation. Mr. Hollande has suggested that euro member nations pool financial resources to make funds available for growth.

Officials are meeting at a time when the possibility of a Greek exit from the euro zone has become a real possibility, one to be discussed openly.

The German central bank, the Bundesbank, warned Wednesday that the Greek situation was “extremely worrying,” and that “Greece would have to bear the consequences” of its actions if refused to implement the agreed austerity measures. In such a situation, the bank said in its monthly report, the challenges for the euro zone and for Germany “would be considerable, but manageable given prudent crisis management.”

The Bundesbank warned against easing Greece’s bailout terms, saying that such a move “would damage confidence in all euro-area agreements and treaties and strongly weaken incentives for national reform and consolidation measures.”

The rest of the story can be found HERE

Let's go ahead and name this lookout #3 on our strange road trip.

Hamm Radio Rap Star

I said on Gemini New Moon, dots would be connected. Some that made sense and some that did not. For fans of MadMen you'll find this video of Jon Hamm rapping--timely

It feels like the party is over

Today, Robin Gibb died.  The BeeGees may have not been my number one favorite musical group but it is difficult to imagine a party in the 1970's without their music playing in the background.  God knows I heard 'Staying Alive" about one trillion times.

Earlier this week,  Donna Summer the other predominate voice in the late 70's and early 80's died on Thursday.

As we know earlier in the month Adam Yauch  died and many a party rocked hard in the 80's and 90's thanks to MCA and Beastie Boys.  After all, they said it best, "You gotta fight for your right to party!"

I'm not sure what is going on here but it does feel like the party is over for several generations all within a couple of weeks.  I'm inclined to lean towards Neptune who is in Pisces.  Pisces rules music.   Neptune dissolves and is in square to North Node/in Sag (and South Node in Gemini).   And Sag can't open a door without throwing a party.  Ah, but Gemini is about change.     And that we are feeling.   

And one more Zuckerberg thing

I don't want to take this to Gemini New Moon since this feels more yesterday's news than tonight's new path. So, I'll post it now while we are in the last minutes of balsamic moon. 

But for those who care you can find Mark Zuckerber's chart over HERE.

We don't know the time of his birth so Mary Plumb drafted it for dawn.


And continuing the discussion.   Yesterday MZ married his long time girlfriend who apparently he has dated longer than his relationship with FB.


Good Luck.

Gemini New Moon Round #1 & Eclipse

Sunday May 20,  7:47pm EDT

At least half of the United States will be aware of Sunday's Gemini New Moon and Solar Eclipse because we'll be watching it.    I find that actually seeing something big up there in the sky does a world of good for getting people's attention.   Kind of like a blimp on steroids.

We are about to embark on a wild 28 days.   And just when we think we're done we are going to get another wild 28 days with a second new moon in Gemini at the end of June.  
Are you flexible?  Are you willing to make changes?  How is your communication?  What information is coming to you?  What data are you processing?   You need to be light and breezy, not a time to be emotional.  Let the processing begin!

You will find the whole article HERE.     But here is a snippet.

GEMINI NEW MOON   

New Moon Phase

May 20, 7:47pm

00 Gemini 21

Solar Eclipse

Let’s first talk about the eclipse.  It is an annular eclipse which is not the same as a total eclipse.  A total eclipse shuts off the sun completely.  This one is over 90 percent full which creates something called a ‘ring of fire’.   What is funny about this is that the path of the eclipse goes over the other ‘ring of fire’ the seismic one.   It is an exciting time for those of us in western United States because the eclipse starts in China works its way over Japan, the northern Pacific Ocean, Canada, Washington, Oregon, California (over the Facebook office) then Nevada, and Rocky Mountain States all before sunset.  Around Texas the sun sets before the eclipse so it will not be seen in central and eastern USA .    Here is the map and a description of what you will see. 

http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Solar_Eclipse_to_Sweep_North_America_on_Sunday_May_20th_999.html

All eclipses are either on a new moon which speaks to new beginnings or on a full moon which speaks to emotional adjustments.   In this case, the eclipse is speaking to our intellect, communication, new thoughts and also siblings, neighbors and newspapers (or the 21^st century equivalent).   At its core it speaks to how we connect and what lines we draw between dots.  Sometimes the lines are accurate—and sometimes they are not.  Do you know the difference?

Gemini road ahead

Gemini is our first air sign in the zodiac.  After the firestorm of Aries and the earthen responsibilities of Taurus we are now ready for a breezy Gemini wind filled with new ideas and new thoughts.   

Geminis are great talkers and we hope good communicators.   Wait, what is that?  Aren’t good talkers great communicators?  Nope.    As we know many people can say a lot of things but communicate nothing.   And even Gemini can get stuck.  Especially when they connect dots that have no business being connected. 

But, and this is important, Gemini is also the MOST clever sign of the zodiac and Spirit in his infinite wisdom is trusting that all of us will use this Gemini time to get clever because two weeks after this powerful Gemini Solar Eclipse we get a Lunar eclipse in Sagittarius (Gemini’s opposite sign) then followed by ----drum roll---another Gemini New Moon!   What?  Say it ain’t so.   Yep, the first Gemini New Moon on May 20^th is at one degree of Gemini and the second one on June 19 is at twenty nine Gemini.   Now let’s do the math together; each lunar calendar is 28 days so 28 x 2 means we are going to have 56 days of Gemini energy.  Do you think Spirit is sending us a message about our thinking and our communication and perhaps, just perhaps both need to be fine-tuned or overhauled?    I see you nodding your heads yes.   I feel the same.  

There is so much going on for the next eight weeks that it is impossible to overstate the following:  If you have not changed  your thinking or thinking style or your communication or communication style between May 20 and July 18  then you are not paying attention.     And if you are not paying attention then prepare for possibly the less evolved Gemini stuff to come up in your life.  Such as; mindless gossip, lies, shallow connections, manipulation, nervousness, tension, boredom, ADHD type of restlessness and of course a brain so in overdrive that it MindF***ks itself.   

go to link for the rest of article.

Speaking of FB: Eduardo Saverin

So, while everyone gets rich off FB, one co-founder is enjoying Singapore slings in the light of a Malaysian sunset.   Eduardo Saverin is in the news for renouncing his US citizenship so that he can be spared paying 60 million in taxes when his 4 percent of FB shares goes to the moon tomorrow.

Per Wikipedia Eduardo was born in Sao Paulo on March 13, 1982 and is a Pisces with Moon in Scorpio and probably a Jupiter conjunct the moon (we don't know the time).   Jupiter the biggest planet on top of the Moon makes for big emotions.  The element of crime that was around  him as a youth sort of speaks to this Jupiter/Moon Scorpio.   And with Scorpio it could be big greed.  But also, Jupiter loves to travel and maybe he likes to keep rolling along god's green earth to experience everything first hand.   There are a lot of people pissed at him.   And I must admit I find the idea of bailing on a citizenship because of taxes loathsome.  And not just US but any country.  
However, it is possible that we are misreading his  intentions especially given Pisces are often misinterpreted.    And God knows transiting Saturn is on his Pluto which is never comfortable with his judgmental looks and stares.   But at the same time he is probably doing his own poking back at the world. 
I remember when I saw the movie Social Network I felt sorry for his character because I thought being paired up with Zuckerberg was no day in the park.  But now, I'm wondering perhaps they deserved each other.   I dunno.

Here's an interesting thought on the whole magillah. 

When Eduardo Saverin was 13, his family discovered that his name had turned up on a list of victims to be kidnapped by Brazilian gangs. Saverin’s father was a wealthy businessman in São Paulo, and it was inevitable that he’d attract this kind of unwanted attention. Now the family had to make a permanent decision. They hastily arranged a move out of the country. And of all the places in the world they could move to, the Saverin family saw only one option. They took their talents to Miami.
Would it be too much to say that America saved Eduardo Saverin? Probably.

Maybe that’s just too overwrought. The Saverins were just another in a long line of immigrants who’d come to America for the opportunity it affords—the opportunity, among other things, to not have to worry that your child will be kidnapped just because you’ve become wealthy.


Just because his parents moved here doesn’t mean Eduardo Saverin owes America anything, right?
Yet if you study the trajectory of Saverin’s life—the path that took him from being an immigrant kid to a Harvard student to an instant billionaire to the subject of an Oscar-winning motion picture—it emerges as a uniquely American story. At just about every step between his landing in Miami and his becoming a co-founder of Facebook, you find American institutions and inventions playing a significant part in his success
 
rest of article HERE

Facebook IPO---REVISED Astrology Chart!

REVISED CHART!
 

I have had to adjust the chart for the Facebook IPO.   I thought it was launching at 9:30am but then I was up early and heard it was going to launch at 11am, then there was a delay with something and it launched at 11:31am EDT.

There are some things in this chart that have not changed at all with last night's posting.    The Moon is still in Taurus but now it is in the 9^th house instead of the 10^th.     As I indicated in the earlier chart the Moon is in balsamic phase not an ideal phase for a new IPO.   Balsamic is when we release and my question was if banks would be releasing the shares more than others buying.   And also more to the point will buyers will see this share as something you hold for a short time because the goal is to release?  Not a buy and hold ‘em placement.     Also, read comments section, Jonathon had an interesting take on the eclipse.

Sun conjunct Jupiter is responsible for the very nice $38 IPO.     I will say this chart is much more sensible for a business given the Sun & Jupiter are in the 10^th.  God knows I would want Sun/Jupiter in 10th for a business chart, either the business itself or the IPO chart.    And Mercury in Taurus in the 10^th house makes sense for Facebook in that Mercury likes to connect people together.  Mercury rules connections and that certainly speaks of Facebook.      The one beef about it is that Mercury can tell a lie or two and always get busted, and Mercury is very fickle.   The word for Mercurial is rooted in this little planet.   Fickleness not good for a public hold company.   Pandering will be noted.    

Instead of a Cancer Ascendant as in the earlier chart we now see it has Leo Rising.   Strong, loud, and bold, we like that.  However, the downside is egotistical actions based on insecurity.   Mars is the 2^nd house so it is fiery and robust and this is a very HARD working placement for Mars but at the core, Mars in Virgo is very insecure.   FB employees will be working  hard to make sure their stock and the company is good all the time.

In the old chart, Uranus was in the 10^th.  Now it is in the 9^th.   Uranus is new technology and the 9^th house is the house of ideas and travel and it is interesting that one of the factors that experts are saying is critical to Facebook’s future is mobile technology.   No, shit with Uranus in the 9^th.    As we all know Uranus is in a building square with Pluto and in this chart Pluto is in the 5^th house of creativity.   

This is a tough aspect, probably internally for FB more than what we the public will see.  Will the technology be there for FB to be forward thinking?   Sure, they will have great ideas but will the product be there?   Will they get the technology to match the ideas?   If you are a computer tech geek and you are highly creative get your butt to Menlo Park because FB will need you—big time.  

Aquarius is on the 7^th house cusp which speaks to partnerships.  Aquarius like his ruling planet Uranus, is all about new technology and innovation and things that are unusual.  It can also shine bright and then fade.   With Neptune in the 7^th, there will undoubtedly be partnerships formed and strengthen the new technology at FB however, Neptune is a deceiver.   The partnerships will not be all that they appear.  Note to FB executives---VET every company you consider purchasing-spend the money the time on a proper vet.  All is not as it seems... and NEVER drink anyone's kool aid. 

Finally, Venus in the 11^th house is a chart where friends LOVE you.  In fact they adore you.   That feels right for how FB works, right?   But, Venus is retrograde so will your friends be there for you when you really need it?     And how will money work with those friends because Venus is a money planet.   I’m not sure how you keep your friends but also make money off of them.  There probably is a way to do it but it is beyond my scope.     

One note is that the North Node in Sag in the 4^th house.   FB’s home is the world, not the USA.  They must keep their vision on the world market and answer to it.   Probably wouldn't hurt if they bought a news agency that is appealing to the world and not just the USA.

I indicated a couple weeks ago that I thought there was probably going to be some bumps with FB during this cycle.     The solar eclipse in Gemini on Sunday, the lunar eclipse, the Venus occultation, Jupiter transition out of Taurus into Gemini, Venus turns direct and then a 2^nd Gemini new moon—that is a whole lot of Gemini energy for a company that speaks to Gemini energy.   Lots of changes and action will happen between now and the end of June and I would say even the end of July we’ll learn more. 

Of course, I hope that they do well because the US needs the taxes and I’m in California so I need a little of that tax dough as well.   As a parent with a child in a public school….. Make it work, Zuckerberg! 

Moon Pluto from TMA

I enjoy my subscription to Mountain Astrologer very much, the articles are thoughtful and rich in detail and very satisfying for people who have a cursory understanding of astrology and very satisfying for those who have a more in depth knowledge.

If you don't have a subscription to the printed magazine you can sign up for their cyber edition and you can also check out bonus articles on their website HERE. 

Currently there is a terrific article written by Alex Miller all about the Pluto Moon relationship that is very  pronounced for the next 19 months.    The moon will pass in front of Pluto which has not happened since 1935.   Very interesting piece.   Give it a read.  You will find the whole article at the link.

There is currently a rare astronomical event that may have dramatic astrological significance, and which has not been receiving as much attention as it should — the series of occultations of Pluto by the Moon. Beginning in April 2012, the Moon will pass directly in front of Pluto, blocking its energy for no less than 19 consecutive months! Given the fact that this occultation hasn’t happened since 1935, it would appear to be a major event, with some cosmic intent or purpose for the world at large.
Occultations are essentially eclipses, with one celestial body passing in front of another, from our perspective on Earth. As such, they act to emphasize the issues and concerns represented by the occulted body, in much the same way a Solar or Lunar Eclipse does. Most commonly, they involve one of the planets of our system passing in front of a star and blotting out its light. More rarely, the Moon will occult another planet, and the occultation of Pluto is among the least common of these phenomena.

Pluto’s orbital plane is inclined more than 17° from the ecliptic, the apparent path along which most of the solar system’s bodies revolve around the Sun. Since the Moon’s orbit is both extremely erratic, extending far north and south of this plane, and also swift, spending barely two hours at each degree of the zodiac, the chances of these two bodies coming together in such a way as to occupy the same space at the same time, are, quite literally, astronomical. But that this should happen over 19 consecutive months? That’s something you’d definitely need a supercomputer to calculate!


There is so much more to the article and I encourage you to read it.  At the very least go over to Alex's dates that he has laid out.    Especially if you have planets in the cardinal signs at those degrees. 

April 12, 2012 9° Cap R
May 9, 2012 9° Cap R
June 6, 2012 8° Cap R
July 3, 2012 8° Cap R
July 30, 2012 7° Cap R
August 27, 2012 7° Cap R
Sept. 23, 2012 6° Cap
October 20, 2012 7° Cap
November 16, 2012 7° Cap
December 14, 2012 8° Cap
January 11 2013 9° Cap
February 7, 2013 10° Cap
March 6, 2013 11° Cap
April 3, 2013 11° Cap
April 30, 2013 11° Cap R
May 27, 2013 11° Cap R
June 24, 2013 10° Cap R
July 21, 2013 9° Cap R
August 17, 2013 9° Cap R

Jamie Diamon and the two billion that got away

If you do not follow financial news, wait a minute, in this crap economy all news is financial news….. Anyway, if you happened to be too busy wondering about who was at George Clooney’s house last night then you may have missed the fact that Jamie Diamon ,CEO of JPMorganChase, quickly put a conference call together with investors where he said, “blah, blah, blah and oh, yeah, we made a bad bet and lost two billion dollars.”       Say what?????

When the financial world was going to hell in a hand basket in 2008, JPMorganChase appeared to have the least amount of damage out of the ‘too-big-to-fail’ banks.   But now is a different story.    I don’t know when they bought these credit default thingys…but like everything else corrupt and yucky it is all coming up for us to behold during the run up of Uranus square Pluto (first round end of June).

I don’t have a time of birth for Jamie but I do have date and place.   March 13, 1956. 

We know he is a late Pisces with Moon in Aries.  Google, “Jamie Diamon heated conversation” and you will get a jillion hits which speaks to that Moon in Aries.   He’s a loud one and one of the more vocal banking CEOs.    And it should come as no surprise that Mr. Diamon is one of the more loud critics of the Volcker rule which is a part of the Dodd-Frank financial reform.    Yes, the Volcker rule which puts rules that the banks and investment firms must follow when they are playing with other people’s money.  Gee, does anyone see the irony that this was something Diamon was against.   Even Mr Moon in Aries couldn’t hold back the irony.

Dimon acknowledged the trading desk's losses, but said they did not change his opposition to Volcker Rule -- though he admitted they did not help his argument.

"It plays right into the hands of a bunch of pundits out there," said Dimon, who only days ago called criticism of banks a form of discrimination and suggested it was anti-American to criticize business at all. "But that's life."

We don’t know his time of birth but my guess is that either Uranus is on top of his moon or this is just Pluto squaring his moon.   I love that I said, “just” as if Pluto squaring Moon is no big deal.

His Sun is at 23 Pisces  and this week he is getting a square from Venus, can everyone say, “No, shit”.

Obviously, losing two billion dollars will keep him in trouble for a while and as we know Venus station and retrograde mean we’ll hit this point again in July.  I anticipate Mr Diamon will be talking to congress and other officials a great deal during this period.   “Wear linen in DC, Jamie, it breathes.”

And not to drive home a point too hard but it is there—His Mars at 5 degrees of Capricorn has got Pluto on top of it exactly this month and will get it again in December.   Pluto on Mars really tests our limits about what it means to be a “Man” or at the very least what it means to be a “Producer”  “Person of Action” and of course Pluto on Mars brings up “Crime and Punishment.”   This is not going away magically. 

Saturn will transit his Neptune in the fall and that will probably put away any illusions that he may be still harboring.      While all this b’slapping is occurring he does have a nice Trine from Pluto to his Venus so something positive is in the mix.   Probably his wife and family are a great source of comfort and again, Venus speaks of values so if he had gotten far afield from what is true and meaningful this aspect will bring everything home. 

There are some Jupiter aspects that cut both ways (negative and positive) this year but as we know with Jupiter he does not move by small measures, he does things big and since Diamon is the same way I’m sure we’ll see it all play out on the news and www. 

Let’s mark this Look out spot  #2 on our six week road trip.

Gay Marriage--seriously, are you surprised?

Last week I spent valuable time lecturing  telling you that I predicted some strange twists and turns in our road for the next six weeks.    

There are lots of reasons for the road show attractions but not the least of them is Venus.   I spoke a great deal about Venus being the planet of values.  Money and Love are two huge value holders and with Venus about to station and turn retrograde we are on a goofy path that will bring up our values.  And with the topic of Same Sex Marriages is there anything more Venus about it?  Oh, yeah, Saturn in Libra which I also discussed.    

Less than two days after my post I was watching Meet The Press  on Sunday morning and I heard Joe Biden say that he supported same sex marriages.  He didn't just come on the show and say it, actually he was prodded into it by David Gregory.   I remember thinking, "Rut-Ro, someone better get Obama an antacid."   Curiously, I ended up seeing this twice because because my son interrupted me and so I watched it again and I noticed something about the way Biden answered it.  It just looked like he felt good saying it.  As if he was finally getting something off his chest.

There were rumors that his staff got their asses kicked by oval office staff and he did have a private meeting with The President.  But I doubt there were raised voices between those two.   

Anyway, as we know the ball went down the hill and by Wednesday The President also came out and supported same sex marriages.   And it was funny I saw that interview and afterwards one of the pundits I was watching said the same thing I thought about Biden.  "It seemed like The President was relieved to say it."  Like it was a long time coming.  

It could be a galvanizing point for both liberals and conservatives.   I imagine "Pro or Against" will be used to feather their bed.   Did someone say bed?  No pun intended.  

Please mark this as Lookout Point #1 on our strange six week road trip. 

What’s going on now and next week?

We are in the final ten days of our Taurus stuff.....

Tomorrow, May 12 5:46pm EDT will begin the last quarter phase of the Taurus Lunar cycle. 

At this quarter I like to remind everyone of the Serenity prayer.

God, grant me the Serenity
to accept the things
I cannot change Courage to change the
things I can, and the
Wisdom to know the difference.

The moon is in Aquarius which puts emphasis on our friends and groups.   Therefore, Focus on:   What actions are you taking that support your friends?  What actions are they taking that support you?   How would your resources benefit if you were with like-minded individuals?   

Looking ahead....

5/13 Sun will conjunct Jupiter: Big money day.   Big resource day.  Look at your life and ask what do you have that is working?    Stay focused on it.

And of course on

5/15 Venus turns stations for aretrograde period at 10:33am.  Our values are about to get an overhaul.   Money will probably get weird.  God, knows since it crossed the shadow point the Euro has gotten slapped.  And oil and gold are down.   Let’s see what happens between now and the end of July when it crosses the shadow again.

5/16 Mars/Pluto.  Great day for productive actions.  Great day to let go of stuff that is no longer working and make movements on areas that are hopeful and where you are heading.  

Balsamic Moon Phase

May 16 4:23 pm EDT  

Balsamic:   We let go.  By releasing we can prepare for the new. 

Focus on   

We release our anger.  We release our snark.  We release our selfish side.  We release being the center of the universe.  We release the need to do things by ourselves.   

 

 

An Effort to Bury a Throwaway Culture One Repair at a Time

A special thank you to my friend Rev. Kac for sending me a fantastic article from yesterday's NY Times.   I'm so glad to see the NY Times put out this article during Taurus lunar cycle.  After all, working on something with your hands is so tangible and very Taurus.


The article is all about something wonderful going on in Amsterdam.  They are called "Repair Cafes" and they happen every few months in different locations.   People bring in items that need to be repaired and volunteers who like to fix things will fix them right there on the spot.    Either for free or nominal charge.

A person has something broken, a person has a skill that they enjoy doing and presto, something is working again and not in a land fill.    Is there anything that speaks more to Pluto in Capricorn?

Look at this comment and see if you can feel the Pluto.

That was certainly true for the woman who brought her 40-year-old vacuum, bought when she was a newlywed, to a Tuesday night Repair Cafe. “I am very glad, very glad,” she said as John Zuidema, 70, sawed off the vacuum’s broken nozzle. “My husband died, and there are all these little things around the house that he used to fix.”       

It started about two and half years ago which was when we were building towards the cardinal climax.

Now here we are in the build up for Uranus Square Pluto and I say--- "We need more Repair Cafes!"  Bring them to the US.  Soon, please!

Here's the beginning of the article--go to link for full piece.



AMSTERDAM — An unemployed man, a retired pharmacist and an upholsterer took their stations, behind tables covered in red gingham. Screwdrivers and sewing machines stood at the ready. Coffee, tea and cookies circulated. Hilij Held, a neighbor, wheeled in a zebra-striped suitcase and extracted a well-used iron. “It doesn’t work anymore,” she said. “No steam.”

Ms. Held had come to the right place. At Amsterdam’s first Repair Cafe, an event originally held in a theater’s foyer, then in a rented room in a former hotel and now in a community center a couple of times a month, people can bring in whatever they want to have repaired, at no cost, by volunteers who just like to fix things.

Conceived of as a way to help people reduce waste, the Repair Cafe concept has taken off since its debut two and a half years ago. The Repair Cafe Foundation has raised about $525,000 through a grant from the Dutch government, support from foundations and small donations, all of which pay for staffing, marketing and even a Repair Cafe bus.

Thirty groups have started Repair Cafes across the Netherlands, where neighbors pool their skills and labor for a few hours a month to mend holey clothing and revivify old coffee makers, broken lamps, vacuum cleaners and toasters, as well as at least one electric organ, a washing machine and an orange juice press.

“In Europe, we throw out so many things,” said Martine Postma, a former journalist who came up with the concept after the birth of her second child led her to think more about the environment. “It’s a shame, because the things we throw away are usually not that broken. There are more and more people in the world, and we can’t keep handling things the way we do.

“I had the feeling I wanted to do something, not just write about it,” she said. But she was troubled by the question: “How do you try to do this as a normal person in your daily life?

This week

Just a reminder --a couple highlights this week. 

Special focus:

5/9:  Mercury enters Taurus: http://astrology.about.com/od/mercury/p/MercuryTaurus.htm

Disseminating Moon Phase

May 9 4:50am EDT

Focus on:      How are you sharing your executive abilities?  How are you showing others how to be a leader by example?   What advise can you share that speaks of resources and values and how to achieve them?   Did you know people see you as a CEO?  Watch what advice people come to you about and then you will know more about your valuable skills.    

5/10: Mercury/Neptune.   Inspired thinking.   A whimsical moment with someone is highlighted.

I'll come in later in the week to talk about the weekend.   Needs its own post. 

Solar Weather

I posted a rather long article on Friday about the next six weeks where I briefly mentioned solar flares.  Later I saw in my home paper (LA Times) an article that seemed timely. 

The article continues HERE. 

Space weather expert has ominous forecast

Mike Hapgood, who studies solar events, says the world isn't prepared for a truly damaging storm. And one could happen soon.

May 04, 2012|By Amina Khan, Los Angeles Time

A stream of highly charged particles from the sun is headed straight toward Earth, threatening to plunge cities around the world into darkness and bring the global economy screeching to a halt.
This isn't the premise of the latest doomsday thriller. Massive solar storms have happened before — and another one is likely to occur soon, according to Mike Hapgood, a space weather scientist at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory near Oxford, England.

Much of the planet's electronic equipment, as well as orbiting satellites, have been built to withstand these periodic geomagnetic storms. But the world is still not prepared for a truly damaging solar storm, Hapgood argues in a recent commentary published in the journal Nature.
Hapgood talked with The Times about the potential effects of such a storm and how the world should prepare for it.
What exactly is a solar storm?
I find that's hard to answer. The term "solar storm" has crept into our usage, but nobody has defined what it means. Whether a "solar storm" is happening on the sun or is referring to the effect on the Earth depends on who's talking.
I prefer "space weather," because it focuses our attention on the phenomena in space that travel from the sun to the Earth.
People often talk about solar flares and solar storms in the same breath. What's the difference?
Solar flares mainly emit X-rays — we also get radio waves from these things, and white light in the brightest of flares. They all travel at the same speed as light, so it takes eight minutes to arrive. There are some effects from flares, such as radio interference from the radio bursts.

Ray Merriman

As Venus prepares to retrograde, it would be smart to check in with Ray Merriman.

Here is a snippet.  Go HERE for the whole article.

Let’s take a couple of examples from last week’s market activity. On Tuesday, May 1, the Dow Jones Industrial Average soared to its highest price in 4 years. After making a 3-month low just three weeks earlier on April 10 (nearby to Mars turning direct), this would appear to be a bullish chart pattern to most market watchers. But also on May 1, neither the S&P nor NASDAQ futures were able to take out their recent highs of late March and early April, which created a case of intermarket bearish divergence. Still, they looked healthy and as if they would make new highs – until Friday. And then everything changed as the NASDAQ fell to its lowest price since early March. The DJIA plunged 168 points and the S&P futures fell 23-1/2 points. The decline in the DJIA is within a normal 38-62% corrective pullback of the move up from April 10, which would seem bullish. But in the NASDAQ, the pullback was closer to 100%. Those with a bearish bias would see the NASDAQ as bearish and those who with a bullish bias would see the DJIA as undergoing a normal corrective decline. Financial astrologers would be wondering: what is Neptune doing? Neptune is not doing much, but Mercury is in opposition to Saturn as we head into the weekend of a Taurus-Scorpio full moon. Monday and Tuesday finds the Moon in Sagittarius too (the “Sagittarius Factor,” and maybe big range days). This can be stressful and a sign of worry and apprehension. But the “magnet” pulling prices down is Venus about to turn retrograde on May 15. We are within days of that cosmic event now, which is close enough for it to have an impact on market behavior. Once this energy reaches its climax that is due within two weeks of May 15, history says there is an approximately 75% probability of a big reversal

 

Dust Storm 1935

When my husband and son are busy doing stuff that I don't have to do with them (thank you, lord) I sometimes find myself poking around in places that I might not normally end up.   Case in point, American Experience: Surviving the Dust Bowl   was in my DVR and since I had a little free time (no "mommy do this, mommy do that") I decided to watch it.    Wow.  It was impressive.   Just when I think we 21st century Americans are having tough times now, well we have got nothing on those people in the plains states during the dust bowl.

If you don't know about the Dust Bowl, it basically was Texas, Oklahoma, Eastern Colorado and Eastern New Mexico.   Around the turn of the last century railroad speculators joined up with land speculators and promoted these states to immigrants and farmers from other states.   The plains had never been farmed until then and  the people arrived and did as the land speculators said, "turn the soil over and farm."  During World War 1 it was a ocean of wheat everywhere.  Beautiful.   
Unfortunately, the farmers were not educated in soil conservation they were turning over land that had not been tilled in a thousand years.   And then in 1930, the climate changed.  Drought hit. 
And all that land that has been tilled for the last handful of years was now parched.   Winds picked it up and turned the dirt into dust clouds.  Hideous black dust storms over took small towns and even cities.   People in Chicago, NY and Washington DC had the dirt of Colorado flying in their eyes.

And so this went on  for 10 years. 

In that ten years of misery there was one day worst than the others,  Black Sunday April 14, 1935. 
On that day the black storm took over and didn't let up for hours. It removed over 300,000 tons of topsoil in one storm!     For sport, I drafted a chart for when the black storm took over Amarillo, Texas.  
Here is a write up the day.

The impact is like a shovelful of fine sand flung against the face,” Avis D. Carlson wrote in a New Republic article. “People caught in their own yards grope for the doorstep. Cars come to a standstill, for no light in the world can penetrate that swirling murk…. The nightmare is deepest during the storms. But on the occasional bright day and the usual gray day we cannot shake from it. We live with the dust, eat it, sleep with it, watch it strip us of possessions and the hope of possessions. It is becoming Real. The poetic uplift of spring fades into a phantom of the storied past. The nightmare is becoming life.”

In the chart,
Moon conjunct Neptune in Virgo in 11th.   A community of farmers nightmare for sure.  
Mars in Libra in the 12th house oppose Mercury in Aries in 6th.  It clearly felt like the end of the world. 
Sun in Aries conjunct Uranus 6th/7th  Aries Square Pluto in Cancer 9th:  Hot, dry, black, the worst day of all
All that 6th house energy speaks of land and soil. 
Curiously, Jupiter in the 1st house in Scorpio trined Pluto in Cancer in the 9th, a positive aspect.  What?  Where is the positive? 

That was the storm that broke people.  After five years they had enough.  After that Sunday many people packed up the jalopy and headed West.    They moved their families to a new life in California filled with hope and promise.      John Steinbeck would write about that move several years later in Grapes of Wrath.

And even more important, that storm reached Washington DC.

When the Black Sunday cloud reached the east coast, it made the American government more aware of the soil erosion problem. As a result, the Soil Conservation Act was passed the same year, 1935.
Read more at Suite101: Black Sunday Dust Storm on April 14, 1935: The Worst Black Blizzard to Strike the Great Plains | Suite101.com http://maureen-k-fleury.suite101.com/black-sunday-dust-storm-on-april-14-1935-a120873#ixzz1u6dLEQOb

That soil conversation act sent government officials to the dust bowl and showed the farmers new way to farm which saved the soil.  It took a few years but it was that effort along with the rains that finally ended ten years of dust. 

Adam Yauch -Beastie Boy slash Renaissance Man

I don't know about you but I think I heard "You've got to fight for your right to Party!"  about a hundred times  yesterday.   What makes this profound is that I do not listen to pop or rock stations, I listen to my local NPR which has a lot of news and more  eclectic music than mainstream.   That should tell you something about the power of Adam Yauch and his iconic band The Beastie Boys.  

I really only had a cursory knowledge of him or the BB's since I was never a huge rap fan.  I mean I liked them and other rappers but I didn't dig in like I did for other styles.  But even I who was out of the knowledge pool on all things Beasties, knew there was something interesting going on with one of the guys.  I knew one of them  had something with Tibet and I heard that they were also producing  some kind of films.    Well,  I got my education yesterday---this was all Adam Yauch.   He was a huge supporter of issues involving human rights in Tibet,  (will they be playing License to Ill in Beijing this weekend?) and in terms of   film making---wow, there are dedicated filmmakers who have  had no other career with less visionary accomplishments than Adam's film company.

 Mr. Yauch moved into film distribution and production with Oscilloscope Laboratories, operating it like an independent record label where everything was done in-house. Oscilloscope’s first releases, small indie films and documentaries, were modest in critical reception and box office, but the company quickly scaled up.

In 2009 Oscilloscope drew recognition for Oren Moverman’s military drama “The Messenger,” including Oscar nominations for best original screenplay and best supporting actor (Woody Harrelson). Another Oscar nomination, for the documentary “Exit Through the Gift Shop,” followed.

Oscilloscope has continued to release films that often do not shy away from difficult topics, like a Columbine-style killing in “We Need to Talk About Kevin” and the documentary “If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front.”

This is one very impressive man, in my mind a Renaissance Man.

Anyway, I found his chart on astrotheme but no one had a birth time for him.  I am a little surprised by this given his Tibet interests and his devotion to Buddhism.  I would have thought it might have come up.   But anyway, he was a Leo with Moon in Cancer and he had a powerful stellium of Pluto, Uranus and Mercury.   His mind was full of electricity and he empowered others with it.   I believe  his well known sense of humor is connected to his Cancer Moon which is probably connected to Venus and Mars (can't say for sure without exact time).    

I found a very nice write up by Louise at Astrological Journaling.  who points out some of the same stuff I was thinking when I looked at his chart.   



It does feel a little to me as though a piece of my 'rebellious' youth has suddenly gone. Not that I was hugely rebellious :) It certainly feels wrong that cancer should claim one of these guys though, and at such a young age (47). According to the news he'd been fighting the disease for the last three years, and it was announced publicly in July 2009.


Astrologically, the performer stands out in his Leo Sun (square to Neptune - through music) and the Mars/Venus conjunction. His natal Mercury is sandwiched between the generational Pluto-Uranus conjunction of his time. He thought (Mercury) unconventionally, rebelliously, brilliantly, unpredictably, and 'outside the box' (Uranus) and communicated in the same manner. Not to mention the offbeat comedy genius :) This was empowered and intensified by Pluto being in the mix too. Saturn, opposing this conjunction, correlates to the conventional that was being fought against, the status quo, society, authority. This seems appropriate not only as expressed through his punk and rap music, but also as the voice of protest in his work in support of Tibet. He was also a practising Buddhist, which perhaps reflects the Sun-Neptune square too.

Transit-wise, it was his Jupiter return when he died, and those......

Go to the link to read the whole thoughtful piece. Adam deserves it.