The Reluctant Astrologer

Dramatic Turn for Kurt Browning

Dayel — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 21:29:09 +0000

The premise of this blog has always been to write about those events that make me curious enough to cast a chart. Last week’s fire at the home of figure skating champion, Kurt Browning and his wife, Sonia Rodriguez, a principal dancer with the National Ballet of Canada was one of those events: an ordinary day that suddenly morphs into one that changes lives.

Browning was trying to dry the seats of his convertible with a leaf blower that he propped up against the car — unconventional perhaps, but nothing that would raise red flags. He had stepped away briefly and, when he returned and saw the fire, it was too late to save the house from damage estimated to be around a million dollars.

Before the fire, an astrologer would not have said ‘your house is going to be destroyed by fire’ but rather:

From the Natal chart: nothing happens unless the potential for the event appears in the original birth chart. Browning has Pluto, the ruler of his Fourth house (home, emotional roots) in the First, right next to Uranus, the planet that represents dramatic change. This all means that Browning’s home and emotional roots are an integral and visible part of his personality and that, from time to time, dramatic events would occur that would change everything.
From the Solar Return: Pluto is the most visible planet in the Solar return because it is located at the top of the chart. It is opposite the Sun and square Uranus, Jupiter and Saturn so it was bound to be a year when Browning’s emotional base was dramatically changed.
From the Secondary Progression: this is the chart where the Moon is the element to watch. It moves about a degree a month, taking about 2 1/2 years to go through each sign and about 30 years to go all the way around the chart. At the time of the fire, Browning’s SP Moon was inconjunct Uranus and Pluto, the two planets that promised occasional shake-up in the original birth chart.
From the Solar Arc Progression: this chart is created by moving each of the elements of the birth chart approximately one degree per year. In the chart, the Uranus/Pluto combo is inconjunct Saturn, showing a current need for dramatic adjustment to structures and patterns.
Current Transits: Uranus, the shake-up planet, is square Browning’s two most personal planets, the Sun and the Moon, something that happens once in 42 years and means he is undergoing a personal transformation. Uranus is also next to Saturn, again showing that it is time for structures and patterns that have served their purpose to make way for new patterns.

This is definitely an upsetting and stressful time for Browning and his family but it is one of those situations that he may one day look back on and say ‘ You know, I wouldn’t wish that time on anyone but, if I hadn’t gone through it, I wouldn’t be doing ‘X’ now.

Happy Birthday Mr. Obama

Dayel — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 22:36:09 +0000

It is going to be a challenging year.

By the numbers:

Obama is in the Seventh year of a Nine Year Cycle. This means that he is gearing up for a year of challenge for those things that he began seven years ago.

The year-to-year influence changes on the birthday and Obama’s changes from an Eight (power) to a One (leadership). With the quiet first half of a Seven Year over, he will undoubtedly take a more active role in promoting those things he wants to do.

Barack Obama has a Two Destiny which means he wants to work with others rather than charge ahead on his own.

BTW: In a study of all the US presidents, I was surprised to find that the most common numbers in either Destiny or Personality were the Two (co-operation) and the Nine (altruism) rather than the One (leadership) or the Eight (power).

Obama’s Method of Approach — which is how he uses his Destiny and Personality numbers — is the Three. Not surprisingly, the Three is the number of communication and charisma.

By astrology:

Obama’s Solar Return has 22 degrees Virgo on the Ascendant which is the same degree as his Natal Mars — a sign that he has to be physically careful in the year ahead.

The Sun rules the Solar Return and this year the Sun has no aspects. It is more difficult to connect with others this year.

Mercury, the ruler of the Solar Return, is buried in the Twelfth house so Obama’s communication skills may not work as well for him at this time. There may also be a lot going on behind the scenes, even secret challengers.

Pluto, the most powerful planet, is square Uranus, Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Venus and is inconjunct the Moon. Everything is challenged and everything changes.

The surprising thing about Obama’s current aspects and progressions is that there is a lot of stress regarding his marriage.

In the Solar Return (Jupiter, Uranus in the marriage house opposite Venus, Saturn, Mars and square Pluto, North Node.)
Secondary Progression (the chart wherein the Moon is most significant) has the Moon opposite Pluto and the Moon represents emotional matters and women.
Solar Arc Progression – has the fifth degree of Cancer on the Descendant, a point very significant regarding important others especially marriage partners. The Sabian Symbol for this degree is “At A Railroad Crossing, An Automobile is Wrecked By A Train” . Over the years, I have noted this degree many times when are uninvited changes.
Transit – Uranus/Jupiter opposite Saturn/Mars, all square Venus, the traditional ruler of love and relationship and ruler of Obama’s marriage house.

Anderson Cooper

Dayel — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 20:57:01 +0000

Anderson Cooper is a Gemini. He is endlessly curious and a great communicator. The fine-boned, youthful appearance, often associated with Gemini, works very well on television.

Mercury (the planet that rules Gemini) is in Cancer. It is impossible for AC to separate heart from head which makes him such a soulful communicator.

Mercury sits in the Ninth house, which rules those things that expand the mind — other countries, nationalities, religions, higher education — and indicates a perpetual student and explorer. (full chart)

AC’s ascendant is in Libra so he approaches new situations with a desire to be pleasant and diplomatic.

The question raised in the last blog was whether Anderson Cooper is in danger now because of the time spent near the gulf where airborn pollutants are reported to be at dangerous levels.

These pollutants would be represented by Neptune and Pluto.

Neptune, in AC’s Solar return, is conjunct the ascendant and opposite Mars, which is an indication of possible threat. It is six house/twelfth house so it involves that-which-is-hidden and work and health issues.
His secondary progressed Moon is conjunct his natal Neptune. This is a time of extreme sensitivity; both emotionally and to everything in the environment.
His Solar Arc Neptune is opposite his Mercury — a creative, sensitive, inspirational time that may also be confusing.
Solar Arc Saturn opposite his Neptune represents physical reality vs. dreams and illusions.
AC also has Pluto opposite Mercury. In most people, Pluto opposite Mercury in a period of time when what you think and communicate is strongly challenged, often forcing and whole new direction in interests. With AC, it is that and, because Mercury rules his Gemini Sun, it is also a personal challenge. (Any Pluto transit demands that you become stronger than you ever thought you wanted to be!)

All of these current influences are once-in-a-lifetime (except secondary progressed Moon which is once in approximately 30 years). All of them are potentially life-changing and all of them indicate this is a period of vulnerability.

The Dangers in the Gulf —or Sometimes the Wrong Chart Will Give You the Right Information

Dayel — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 21:46:07 +0000

I was listening to a discussion on Coast to Coast between George Noory and Richard C. Hoaland on the situation in the gulf and how perilous it has become:

Dangerous chemicals being released into the air
Danger of a catastrophic methane explosion which could result in massive tsunamis.

The problem is that reliable, timely, data is not being released.

Naturally, I turned to astrology.

Sometimes the wrong chart…

There have been a very small handful of times in the past 30+ years that the wrong chart has produced the right answer.

The first time it happened was back in the days when preparing a chart took an hour or so of math. One evening, I remember wondering about some issue and preparing a chart for clarification. The result was crystal clear and everything fell into place even though it was very clear the next morning that I had made an obvious math mistake and the chart was just simply wrong.

The next time it happened wasn`t my mistake but a client bringing me the wrong time re her birth data. We did a full consultation which seemed to go well. The following week she called me back to say that she realized we had used the wrong time and she wanted to come back to see the few things that would change with the slight change in time.

There was only one thing that changed significantly and that was Mars moving into the Fourth house which, when badly aspected as this was, may be a sign of childhood abuse in the home. It turned out that, in the week between readings, the client had admitted to herself for the first time that she had been abused as a child.

I mention these two situations because every time I have tried in the past couple of days to produce my usual natal and solar return chart for the USA for this article, last year`s solar return would pop up somehow. (Once, instead of USA chart and 2010 solar return, I got two 2009 returns.) At first, I blamed it on the heat and the heavy Neptune influence I am experiencing but I eventually decided that it keeps popping up because it is still very significant.

Last year`s SR clearly showed the danger with the ruler of the chart, Mars, square Neptune, Chiron, Jupiter. This year`s SR has stresses and danger points but they are not as obvious with the ruler of the chart, the Moon, trine Venus — a very pleasant aspect. The people are happy.

It was clear that I shouldn`t rely on the Solar return as much as I have come to do with other matters — so I looked further:

Current transits – Jupiter squaring Pluto and both of them forming a t-square with USA Venus affecting wealth etc. but also (because of placement and rulerships etc) America`s appearance and position in the world.
Secondary progression – Moon (always the influence to watch as it moves quickly – a degree per month) conjunct Neptune in the natal chart. Neptune rules the ocean as well as oil and gases. It also rules fantasy, deceit and deception.
Solar Arc progression – another t-square as the Pluto-Vertex opposition in the natal chart has moved to square Mars, a volatile influence.

Back to the top…
Anderson Cooper`s name came up several times in the radio conversation that started this train of thought — as in`Anderson Cooper is risking his life by being there and breathing in that stuff`—so the next blog will be about AC …

G20 Aftermath

Dayel — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 20:02:20 +0000

In addition to criminal trials for those who rampaged downtown city streets, the aftermath of the G20 conference in Toronto will unfortunately be months of recriminations and lawsuits as the non-criminal protesters and the police argue about how much enforcement was too much.

‘They Came to Attack Our City’: Blair

In an attempt to bolster support, Toronto Police displayed a range of weapons – from a machete and arrows to gas masks and cans of spray paint – that officers seized from G20 summit protesters…

…The display did not include flammable items, such as Molotov cocktails, several of which were seized by officers during the weekend.

The items, which were laid out on several tables in the lobby of Toronto Police headquarters, include gas masks, cans of spray paint, a replica gun, crowbars, saws, pocket knives, a staple gun, a drill, a baseball bat, a slingshot, chains, bear spray, dog repellent, handcuffs and bows and arrows. Some of the arrows had their pointy ends covered with fabric, which officers said were designed to be dipped in a flammable liquid and lit ablaze. Globe and Mail, June 29, 2010

There were three groups of people on the streets this weekend:

thousands of people exercising their right of free speech and hoping the powerful leaders and international media would notice.
thousands of lookie-loos, with cell phones raised, to photograph broken windows and police cars on fire and capture a youtube moment
hundreds of so-called anarchists who descended from every direction to wreck havoc on the city.

The police knew ahead of time that the technique of the anarchists was to use the marching protesters as camouflage, darting in and out of the crowd, changing clothes as they marched. Perhaps the problem was that the majority of people in the crowds really didn’t know this ahead of time.

Perhaps it is time to bring back the ’sit-in’.

p.s. re The G20 Conference and the Lunar Eclipse (below): there was also a record-setting deluge!

The G20 conference and the Lunar Eclipse

Dayel — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 21:23:58 +0000

Toronto, June 23 – The earthquake we all just felt in Ontario prompts me to mention that the energy represented by this Lunar eclipse is going to manifest in many ways: stormy weather, earthquakes etc. as well as strong emotional expressions in those who are directly affected. The ‘eclipse period’ or intense time precedes the event by ten days and lasts approximately 3 days after and the rumblings will be felt until the next lunar eclipse in December.

With the earthquake, the intensifying protests and strong thunder storms forecast for this evening, I decided to dig out Toronto’s chart to see if the eclipse is hitting any important points. It is. All three ‘legs of the table’ (see below) touch something in the Toronto chart. The heaviest energy is in the Second and Eighth houses which represent ‘What I Value and Own’ vs ‘What We Own’. The Eighth house also represents banks which have already been a target for damage.

The G-20 began in 1999 as a yearly forum for finance ministers and central bank governors. It later evolved into the premier leaders forum for international economic cooperation and it meets this year in Toronto on June 26.

There is a tradition of large demonstrations and protests held in conjunction with the G20 and most of the billion dollars that the Canadian government is spending to host this event is for security.

In a mundane chart (i.e a chart constructed for an event or a nation etc.), the moon represents the people and the will of the people, so it is especially significant that a Lunar eclipse occurs on June 26, the opening day of the G20.

A Lunar Eclipse has the effect of a ‘full moon times ten’, particularly if it hits something in your chart. This eclipse is at 4 Capricorn, exactly the same degree as Pluto, the planet of transformation and intensity. It is also square to Jupiter and Uranus, both in early Aries, and it is opposite the Sun and Mercury – forming a heavily loaded T-square configuration of volatile energies.

A T-square is like a 3 legged table that is easily knocked off balance — with powerful consequences. There has already been a firebombing of a bank in Ottawa, supposedly a sign of things to come, and banks in Toronto have been spray-painted and vandalized.

Important events always show up in more than one way (ie. in a transit, progression, return etc).

In the July 1, 2009 Solar Return, Pluto is close to the Ascendant, indicating that this is a year of dramatic change for Canada. It’s location, just behind the Ascendant, shows that the events that are part of this transformation will occur just before Canada’s 2010 birthday on July 1.

Al and Tipper Gore – Going their separate ways after forty years

Dayel — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 19:26:40 +0000

How does a couple that has been married for over forty years decide to divorce?

THE BIRTH CHARTS

Both of the Gores are currently experiencing dramatic transits that affect their relationship:

Al Gore has Pluto conjunct his Moon, an influence that occurs once in 248 years. This is a powerful period of emotional rebirth and, since the Moon represents all we are at a core level, many things in Al Gore’s life will change, particularly his relationship with women, his home, and what he needs for emotional comfort.
Tipper Gore’s Seventh or relationship house is ruled by Saturn. This means that there were karmic conditions connected to her choice of marriage partner. Neptune is now opposite Saturn in her chart, a once-in-84-year influence that ‘dissolves’ these conditions. This is ultimately freeing but can be very disorienting as Saturn feels like our realty .

THE RELATIONSHIP

The relationship chart is the chart created for the mid-point in time and space between the two natal charts and can be used for timing events, just as each individual chart can be used.

Before going retrograde, Pluto had moved to oppose Mercury in the relationship. In this case, Mercury not only represents communication, but both rules and occupies the Seventh or relationship house.
The Solar Return for the relationship has Pluto on the Nadir, squaring the ascendant/descendant and opposing the mid-heaven, indicating a transformation of literally everything in the relationship.
Just in case there is any doubt, Uranus, the planet that also represents dramatic transformation is on the descendant of the Solar return, square the mid-heaven/nadir and opposite the ascendant, again changing literally everything in the relationship.
A point of interest that perhaps only astrologers will find fascinating is that the ascendant, descendant, mid-heaven and nadir are all ‘0′ degrees of a cardinal sign. It truly is time for new beginnings!

The relationship that the Gore’s have experienced to this point is over. It needs to re-form, encapsulating all of the new energies in each of them and in the relationship itself.

Two Disasters

Dayel — Tue, 25 May 2010 21:38:10 +0000

The oil rig explosion, fire and sinking is part of Pluto opposite Venus and Jupiter in the USA chart. (see below)

How do I know for sure? In 1989, when the Exxon Valdez spilled millions of gallons of crude oil, Uranus was 5 degrees Capricorn and, in 2010, when the Louisianna off-shore rig exploded, killing 11 men and opening a crude oil geyser that may never be capped, Pluto was the same 5 degrees Capricorn.

That is a pretty big ‘coincidence’ since the Uranus cycle is about 84 years and the Pluto cycle about 248 years.

What does it mean? Uranus is shake-up and Pluto is transformation. Both were in America’s Second (money) house and opposed Jupiter and Venus. America has to decide what she really values and insure her laws and resources reflect those values.

Pluto and the Recession (originally posted in February, 2009

Dayel — Thu, 06 May 2010 22:33:52 +0000

(I am reposting this article now as Pluto is once again opposite America’s Venus and Jupiter, indicating major financial transformation through chaos.)

Pluto is in Capricorn until 2024 and, in that time, many things that we thought were permanent will be transformed.

THE US
Pluto is opposite America’s Venus and Jupiter until late 2011. This means that those things ruled by Venus and Jupiter will go through a dramatic transformation.

Venus — women’s issues, marriage, the arts, peace, diplomacy, what we value and possess.
Jupiter — religion, law, national justice system, national inquests, nation’s wealth, banks and bankers.

Pluto has been travelling through the First house of America’s birth chart since September 11, 2001 and will be until 2016. The First House represents the ‘personality’ and America has already gone through a few personal transformations. To intensify this, Jupiter is America’s ‘ruling planet’. So, Pluto is in the House that represents the personality of the country and is opposite the planet that also represents personality.

Part of the US personality going through a major transformation is the part that is free enterprise, unbridled capitalism and profit-centered.

CANADA

Like the US, Canada is a Cancer nation and Pluto, in the opposite sign of Capricorn, indicates huge changes are in store.

So far, Canada’s banking system has not been as badly hit by the recession as the American banks. Yesterday, the Royal Bank reported earnings of $1 billion for the quarter, a slide of 15 % but still a profit.

The planets hit by Pluto in Canada’s chart for the next couple of years are:

Moon — the people
Uranus — freedom issues, rebellion, separation, individualism
Sun — the Prime minister, national leaders and heroes

Right now, Pluto’s current location shows the powerful effect of the US. (Pluto in Third house)

For the next several years, land, land changes, territorial issues, natural resources will be major transformative issues for Canada.

Pluto moves into Capricorn on November 26 (published November 24, 2008)
The transit of Pluto from one sign to another is very significant. Pluto is the planet that brings dramatic transformation to the areas that it ‘rules’.

Individuals born with Pluto in each sign grow up to continue the transformation process:

Pluto in Leo: 1939 to 1956

children – inner child, child abuse, children’s rights

individual – civil rights, women’s liberation

ego – paradigm shift from ‘you’re getting too big for your britches’ to ‘be all that you can be’.

teenagers

Pluto in Virgo: 1956 to 1972

analytical ability – computers

health and healing – health foods, new age healing, drugs

Common market, free market

‘Nanny state’, ‘for your own good’

Pluto in Libra: 1972 to 1984

relationships – focus away from the individual to shared goals, responsibities and methods of relatin

marriage and divorce

paradgm shift from ‘living in sin’ to ‘common-law’

Pluto in Scorpio: 1984 to 1995

Looking Back at Pluto in Scorpio

Pluto in Sagittarius: 1995 to 2008

Pluto, 911 and the USA

Pluto and Sports

Pluto and Truth

Pluto in Capricorn (first published December, 2007)

…..On January 25, 2008, Pluto enters Capricorn for the first time in 245 years. It will slip back into Sagittarius from June to November, 2008 and then remain in Capricorn until 2024.

…..Capricorn represents the physical manifestation of the dreams, philosophies, creativity, and ambitions of the other 11 signs.

…..Capricorn represents structure, those things that appear permanent and what we understand our physical world to be.

…..Capricorn is mountains, concrete, land masses, national governments, monuments, large corporations, banks, prisons, economic systems.

…..The last Capricorn in Pluto period (1762 – 1778) included the American Revolution, the beginning of the Industrial revolution, the perfection of the steam engine,the discovery that air consists mainly of oxygen and nitrogen and the *discovery* of Tahiti, Hawaii, New Zealand and Australia by James Cook.

The Transformation of Greece

Dayel — Thu, 06 May 2010 22:10:37 +0000

To confirm the astrological maxim that any important transit will show up in more than one way, Greece’s Aries stellium square to Uranus/Neptune is not only being activated by Pluto (currently retrograde at 5 Capricorn) but also by Solar Arc progression.

Nine out of fourteen of the significant points in Greece’s natal chart are involved in one way or another. The stress aspects will continue for years and a new Greece will eventually form from powerful confrontations and conflict.