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July 27, 2013

New Royal for the UK - George Alexander Louis


As the Duchess of Cambridge went into labor, astrologers sat by watching to see if her baby would be a Cancer or a Leo. Either way, it’s very appropriate for this baby to be born on the cusp (dividing line) between the sign of family, tribe and nation (Cancer) and royalty and the spotlight (Leo). His father, Prince William, was born on the first day of Cancer in 1982 (on a very rare and special day: a solar eclipse on the summer solstice). His son was born on the last day of Cancer. Both William and Kate have the Moon in Cancer, so we should not have been surprised for this baby to be a Cancer, as was his late grandmamma, Diana. Still, he’s so close to a Leo, that his will undoubtedly be, as Cassandra Vinograd wrote for AP, a “lifetime of fanfare and public glare.”

The UK’s new pride and joy was born, just hours ahead of a Full Moon. Of course, many babies are born at a Full Moon, when the gravitational pull on the mother’s water is strongest. This Full Moon is a little unusual in that it is the first of two in a row that will be in the same sign, Aquarius, the sign of the masses. This royal has a commoner for a mother and is expected to be raised, similar to Prince William, in as everyday a way as is possible for someone likely to wear the crown one day.

When the Moon is full, it is in the sign opposite the Sun. This nearly full moon was in Capricorn, opposite the Sun at the end of Cancer. The Moon in Capricorn is related to traditions, especially family traditions, and these will be important for the Prince of Cambridge. Thus it was no surprise for him to be given a very traditional name. Already there have been six King Georges, the final one being Queen Elizabeth’s father. Capricorn is the sign of responsibility. This prince will take his family responsibilities very seriously. He will probably also be very close to the family of his mother (the Moon rules mothers) and she is a Capricorn by Sun-sign.

A very favorable configuration between slow-moving planets has been strongly in place for at least a week and will remain for another week or so (closest to exact July 17-19). It symbolizes a time to manifest one’s vision and put ideas into concrete form. For any baby born around now, it promises luck and the potential for charisma, particularly if the pattern is strengthened by its positioning at certain times of day. People who have a birthday in this period should have a record-breaking year ahead, more so if the age they are attaining is a multiple (or fraction) of 12 or 28. Even people of these ages who don’t have a July birthday are seeing positive events in their lives this summer. An example is Nairo Quintana (age 23-1/2), who just came in second overall in the 100th Tour de France, also winning the “King of the Mountain” title and the white jersey for best young rider (25 or under).

Looking back and ahead 200 years (scanning a 400-year span), there has not been such a precise occurrence of this special alignment - an equilateral triangle around the zodiac called a Grand Trine - between these three planets, Jupiter, Saturn and Neptune. (There were two very imprecise occurrences, one in 1928 and one in 1966. The next imprecise triangle will be in 2192.) It’s really a magical time for dreams to come true. With Mars, a planet that moves much more quickly through the zodiac, so close to Jupiter now, the triangle is even more powerful, steering its expression into Martian areas: competitions, sports, leadership or the military. (This is another indication of how favorable a time it was for Quintana to be in a sports competition.)

On July 29, the Grand Trine is expanded into a brief, rare (though not as precise) six-pointed star formation (called a Star of David or Grand Sextile) when Pluto is given a little leeway to be counted as being in the right spot. Quick Venus and the rapid Moon fill in the other points. Coming a week after the royal baby’s birth, this has significance for him at the age of six to seven. That’s due to the astrological technique called progressions, which move a birth chart forward to show progress in one’s life based on each day after birth signifying a year of life.

Two other important points in his life related to his progressions will be when the Full Moon that occurred hours after his birth is exact for him (Sept. 4 of this year) and when the next Aquarius Full Moon (occurring on our calendars on Aug. 20) comes due for him Dec. 27, 2042, when he is 29 years old. That is the same year when he will have his Saturn Return (Saturn coming back to where it was at his birth), which happens three times: Jan. 1, March 30 and Sept. 24. Saturn is an important planet for anyone but more so for him because it rules his Moon sign, Capricorn, and it is in that fabulous Grand Trine in his birth chart.

His chart is not without challenges. The current Uranus-Pluto T-square is expanded into a T-square by Jupiter, in effect for several weeks, and intensified by Mars joining Jupiter in that configuration. Mercury is close to Jupiter and Mars, too, bringing a strong tendency to vocalize feelings. He might have quite a temper, particularly when frustrated by the slowness of changes he can envision and wants to see enacted. He might be King but there is a Parliament to contend with and other forces beyond his control. Another T-square in his chart is created by the natural Sun-Moon opposition at a Full Moon, and both were square his Saturn. This adds emotionality to frustration and points to limitations on imposing one’s will or finding comfort and security in one’s family and the world at large. He will in a sense be a prisoner of his position.

The Moon was Void of Course when he was born. That means it was not making any more aspects to other planets in the sign it occupied. This is a condition considered to mean lacking in motivation or specific goals. This might be compensated for, though, since a Capricorn person is very goal-oriented. And he won’t really have to worry about getting a job or pleasing a boss, will he?

At the minute of his birth, 27 degrees of Scorpio was rising on the eastern horizon. This point in the chart depends on the minute and longitude and latitude of birth. It shows a lot about one’s personality. Using a series of images for the zodiac degrees called the Sabian Symbols, the symbol for this degree reads, “The king of the fairies approaching his domain.” This degree would only be rising for about 5 minutes, so he emerged (approached his domain) at just the right minute to be a king (you can ignore the fairies part).

That rising degree was in a difficult configuration with the planets of intelligence and communication (Uranus and Mercury). It’s possible he will have an unusual mind or manner of speech, perhaps a stuttering problem like the King George IV in the King’s Speech (great-great-grandfather of this new George). This can express in many ways, such as a tendency to blurt things out before thinking them through, an ability to see things differently than others do, challenges using the latest technology, and difficulties from miscommunication and missed communications.

It will be interesting to see how his chart plays out in the life of this new VIP.

March 26, 2013

Death Knell for DOMA?


The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), signed into law by President Clinton on Sept. 21, 1996, codifies prejudice against a certain class of people, namely homosexuals. In a country that prides itself on “freedom and justice for all,” it’s a big black mark, one which the Supreme Court has the opportunity to erase with the case that comes before it on March 27, 2013. Already two lower courts have found it unconstitutional, so it’s not a stretch to think the Supreme Court will uphold their decisions. Even the current (Obama) administration no longer defends the Defense of Marriage Act and the case in the law’s favor is being argued by a Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group (acronym BLAG) of the House of Representatives.

A couple months ago, I was looking ahead to the Full Moon just after the spring equinox. I was struck by the quadruple conjunction (union of four heavenly bodies) of Venus, the Sun, Uranus, and Mars in Aries opposed by the Moon in Libra. Uranus is the key planet that indicates non-mainstream anything and when linked to Venus, planet of marriage and relationships, together they signify gay marriage. Add Mars, a planet of conflict and battles, and you get the fight over gay marriage. At that time, I knew the Supreme Court had agreed to hear a case challenging DOMA so I looked up their docket and was astounded to see the case listed EXACTLY on the date of the Full Moon in question. How very appropriate because Full Moons are when things come to a head, and sometimes when they have run their course and end. The Moon’s sign, Libra (ruled by Venus), is the sign of marriage as well as equality and justice. The symbols could not be more fitting!

Looking back at the historical roots of the case, we begin with the USA birth chart (July 4, 1776), where we find Mars at the halfway point between Venus and Uranus. The halfway point (called midpoint) represents a blending of two planets’ influences, as if they were paired up (positioned within a few degrees of one another, called conjunct). From the beginning, this poses the potential for conflicts in our nation about fairness for those who are different from the majority. This is an ongoing theme in our country, not just about gay people but about other minorities as well, such as African Americans and women (actually, women are now a majority but treated as a minority). On the day when DOMA was enacted, Mars was approximately 90 degrees from the Venus-Uranus midpoint in an interplanetary relationship called a square, which signifies friction and a potential turning point.

The plaintiff in the case, Edith Windsor, married her lifelong love, Thea Spyer, on May 22, 2007. Mars was at 5 degrees of Aries. This is significant for two reasons. First, it is within one degree of the location at DOMA’s enactment of Saturn, a planet signifying laws, restrictions and judgment, so this pairing indicates a challenge to that law. Second, the marriage Mars is within 3 degrees of the Venus-Uranus-Sun conjunction at March 2013 Full Moon Supreme Court hearing. You could say the seed of this battle was planted at the time of the marriage. Also that day, Mercury (planet of information, news and making a statement) was at the degree of the USA natal Mars and Venus-Uranus midpoint. Their union is an apt one for testing the constitutionality of DOMA.

After Thea Spyer died, Edith Windsor had to pay the IRS for estate inheritance tax - more than $363,000! – due to the value of their joint property, which a heterosexual couple would not have owed. When the case was first filed (Windsor v. US, Nov. 9, 2010), the Venus-Uranus midpoint was square to Saturn at the time and to the USA’s natal Saturn. This filing put the wheels of the challenge to DOMA in motion. Saturn of the moment being very close to the USA’s natal Saturn is a condition called Saturn Return, which occurs about every 29 years and signals a time when “chickens come home to roost.” The tenets of our existence as a nation of liberty and equality were set to be tested. This was also the approximate halfway point of the Saturn cycle begun when DOMA was enacted, about 14 years earlier. A halfway point acts as a culmination in the same way as a Full Moon (which is the halfway point of a lunar cycle).

The Federal District Court in New York found in favor of Edie Windsor on June 6, 2012, declaring DOMA unconstitutional. On appeal, a second court agreed with the first decision on Oct. 18, 2012. At neither time was there a significant involvement of the Venus-Uranus midpoint, but that is not surprising because neither decision was the last word on the subject. The Supreme Court hearing on March 27, 2013 will be the determining factor and we can see that date shows the peak of the challenge to DOMA. If the theory holds of a Full Moon showing a situation has run its course, the outcome should be the death of DOMA.

It is interesting to note that the first decision came close in time to the occurrence of an intense push for big change signaled by two slow-moving planets (Uranus and Pluto) in that abrasive square relationship. They are roughly in this relationship from 2011 to 2016, making an exact square seven times. The first was June 24, 2012. The second decision happened with Uranus at 5 degrees of Aries, the degree where Mars was when Windsor and Spyer married (see above).

The Supreme Court is expected to reveal its decision in June, 2013. The exact date is unknown at this time, but it won’t surprise me if it comes close upon the heels of the June 8 New Moon at 18 degrees of Gemini, which is just two degrees from 20 Gemini, the location of the USA Mars and Venus-Uranus midpoint. The Sun will cross 20 Gemini on Monday, June 10. On Tuesday and Wednesday, Venus will interact with the Uranus-Pluto square, forming a potent pattern called a T-square, which can mean “the end of the line” (like a T intersection is where the road no longer continues in the direction it’s been headed). Venus is close enough in its approach to the T-square to “count” on Monday, when the Moon passes Venus and is also part of the configuration. Furthermore, Mercury (the planet of announcements) makes a square to the USA Saturn that day, too, so the decision is likely to be against the law of the land, DOMA, in effect ending its reign. That’s my prediction, at least, and now we’ll wait to see.