WILL BARACK OBAMA BE ASSASSINATED?

I've said all along that this battle for nomination between Obama and Clinton is too close to call. Sure it may look like Barack's got it all sewn up but we are living in unpredictable times. Jonathan Cainer is sticking by his belief that Hillary's the one. I've been torn, thinking both will be on the ticket but in which order I've found impossible to determine. It's not made any easier by an uncertain birthtime for Hillary and an unknown one for Barack.

Something happened this week however which has made me veer towards Obama winning the Democratic nomination. No, it's not his ten on the trot victories, it's the fact that Hillary has put on weight. Believe me, when a woman like Hillary starts to pile on the pounds it can only mean one thing - she knows she no longer has to keep her weight down to fit into her victory speech suit! Yes, to my eyes our 'Hill' has already given up the fight!.

Having said that she 'hasn't sung' yet and let's address the other issue that everyone is skirting around; is Obama going to be assassinated? Well, with an approaching Mars/Pluto opposition there are underground forces that he would do well to protect himself from*. Mars moving into his Solar 12th next week (the turned 3rd house of his 'authority') and the Sun (Obama) meeting Uranus on the 7/8th March in his solar 8th. All this indicates he's in a period where he'll have to think on his feet and guard against personal and verbal attacks. It's a classic indicator of an angry debate with a woman (or cutting free from a woman). To my mind a character assassination is far more probable than a literal one. Never underestimate the lengths that a Scorpio (acting from their lower nature) will go to in order to win a fight though, even if they might mortally wound themselves in the process.

It is said that with age comes wisdom so one would hope that Hillary (a Scorpio) has grasped that her 'lesson' in life is to rise above negatively driven behaviour, even when it may be her team of advisors who are driving it. Likewise, if we are to be fair, it should be noted that for Barack Obama (a Leo) his lesson is to not let this meteoric rise to power go to his head.

In front of me as I write I have an old allegory. I was given this when I was about twenty or thirty years old - I don't recall - but I have kept it above my desk ever since. It talks of God standing before his 12 children and into each of them he was planting the seed of human life. One by one each child stepped forward to receive his appointed gift.....

To you Leo, I give the job of displaying my creation in all its brilliance to the world. But you must be careful of pride and always remember that it is my creation not yours. For if you forget this, men will scorn you. There is much joy in the job I give to you if you but do it well. For this you are to have the gift of Honour.

and Leo stepped back into place. Later Scorpio moved forward:

To you Scorpio I give a very difficult task. You will have the ability to know the minds of men, but I do not permit you to speak about what you learn. Many times you will be pained by what you see, and in your pain you will turn away from me and forget that it is not I, but the perversion of my idea, that is causing your pain. You will see much of man that you will come to know him as animal and wrestle so much with his animal instincts in yourself that you will lose your way; but when you finally come back to me, Scorpio, I have for you the supreme gift of Purpose...

and Scorpio stepped back into place.

What would you prefer as the number one trait in the next President of the USA, Honour or Purpose?

With regard to an Obama Presidency and threats to his life, my thoughts keep turning to my understanding that, due to the Law of Correspondence, art mirrors life - often with a time lag. It's a well known phenomenon that science fiction (and other) writers often unwittingly tap into the collective consciousness - that place where past, present and future co-exist simultaneously - and write about events that later become reality. The belief is that one pulls thoughts into the brain rather than elicits them independently from within the brain and the writer is tapping into infinite possibilities.

If this is so, what, are we to make of the fact that the writer of the hit TV series 24 decided on a black president, David Palmer, who is the target of an assassination attempt. On 'Day 2' the story line goes; ' He shakes hands with many of the onlookers, one of whom happens to be a woman hired in Day 1 to assassinate Palmer. She slips a deadly virus into his hand, and he collapses to the ground, panting'.

Or, maybe we should consider the 1998 film 'Deep Impact' which had a black president incorporated into its story line; a president who has to deal with a possible extinction level event when a Comet is found to be heading for Earth. Is it just coincidence that the next President of the United States will still be in office in December 2012 when a long- period Comet is expected to make an appearance? For more on the long term comet join my mailing list for my March Equinox edition.

People usually consult astrologers to find out what is going to happen. We have a simple question before us, is Hillary or Barack going to win the nomination and are either going to go on to win the Presidency? Not one of us can answer that question for sure. Skeptics may argue that this proves astrology is a load of rubbish. The truth is that like in Quantum Physics the Uncertainty Principle comes into play. There are probabilities that we can put forth but at this juncture all possibilities still exist. 'We don't know 'till we know' and 'It ain't over till it's over'.

* * * * *

*Some reports say Barack Obama was born at 13.06 (4 Aug 1961 Honolulu) this would give him a 17 Scorpio Ascendant and place the planet Uranus in trine to this point right now. This could bring unexpected and fluctuating conditions with his primary relationships plus his public appeal - up one day, down the next. As it will soon place Uranus in his 8th house from his 10th ( career) and the 8th house relates loosely to death, it is a very real possibility that this could herald a sudden ending of his political life. It has to be stressed though that it could equally be metaphorical of a sudden end and transformation to his way of life i.e. he now rises unexpectedly to a new position of power.

The 8th house is also the area we associate with sex, joint assets, taxes and big financial institutions. It must also therefore be a probability that something in this area, sex, joint assets, death, taxes, could upset the applecart.

Update : birthtime now confirmed as 07.24 so this ascendant does not apply but unfortunately the chart still remains 'difficult' with regard to Obama's safety.

JOE VITALE, SEEDS & SECRETS + Quake update

When there's even a whiff of a sex scandal on the road to The White House a candidates chance of getting the nomination can be scuppered overnight. Yet a sitting President can tell a bare faced lie to his country - namely '"I want to say one thing to the American people. I want you to listen to me. I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky," - and still retain his job. Has the World gone mad?

Okay, I know the current questions around John McCain go beyond that, indeed there are now questions as to whether he may have swung some business the way of his 'friend', Vicki Iseman's client, Paxson, but even that is surely nothing more than many other candidates and sitting Presidents have done - they just haven't been caught. Let's be honest too. Don't we all do it in some way, shape or form?. We favour family, friends, people who we admire. We even look after friends of friends - or at least I do. I'd hazard a guess that it would be very difficult to find a politician who hasn't sent contracts, jobs, internships and the like in the direction of those they know. As long as they don't blatantly transgress the rules of basic decency and morality (like an English Member of Parliament did recently when he had his two son's on the payroll when they never lifted a finger) I don't think it constitutes a disgrace. At least it doesn't now that precedents have been set.

At worst McCain's actions may have been down to bad advice, or a temporary lapse of judgement. Unless further details emerge that are much more damning, why don't they cut him some slack? The type of slack they gave 'Couldn't keep it in his pants', Bill.

Actually I grew to quite like Bill. A great orator, a lovable scoundrel and he has done some great humanitarian work, but it wasn't right that, as a Leader, he got clean away with that deceit. Above all else what message did that send to the younger generation about accountability and morality?

Moving back to the topic of favours, the motivational speaker, Joe Vitale and I have just indulged in an act of mutual goodwill. No, nothing of that sort. Something completely without scandal! Joe is an upfront, jolly, likable, Master of marketing and e-commerce, who also happens to have gained a lot of 'spiritual insights' along his, not so easy, path through life. He's the man to know if you want to know some of the secrets of business success. I have long admired his book the Attractor Factor but I also haven't been shy about expressing my personal belief that the film which brought Joe to global prominence, The Secret, turned into a commercial juggernaut; one that has come dangerously close to sending its intrinsically good message over the edge. Some of the film's participants seem to have gone off on an ego trip of gargantuan proportions since their involvement but Joe, well he is-what-he-is and was-what-he-was long before The Secret. He'll never replace Wayne Dyer in my affections but that's another story ;-)

Anyway a friend facilitated an introduction and I ended up doing a video for Joe which you can see here. In return he mentioned me on his blog and some of you reading this now may have arrived via that good turn. Others will now visit his site. If we could all help each other out, as and when we can, I think mutual support can be a force for good. It's called cohesion or pulling together, so don't be too hard on poor 'ol John. Be kind.

By that way, Joe is known these days by the moniker of 'Mr Fire' - Mercury in the fire sign Sagittarius, close to the Galactic Centre. Mercury rules the 3rd. Lots of people with Gemini on the third cusp (hence his gift of the gab) are known by two names, nicknames etc and the sign Mercury occupies, or the aspects it makes, often reveal clues about the name. That's down to the Law of Correspondence. Joe has a Mars Saturn conjunction in the sign of Scorpio and whilst this can sometimes be quite a difficult aspect to deal with it undoubtedly also has associations with the control (Saturn) and transformation (Scorpio) of the will (Mars). This is the central message of the 'change your thoughts to change your life' teachings.

On the topic of the Law of Correspondence I've two things to point out which I'm afraid may only really strike a chord with my fellow astrologers. Firstly my daughter came home with a homework exercise on Volcanoes tonight - very Mars/Pluto. Also in the news, an underground chamber dubbed the Doomsday Vault opened today. Located 620 miles from the North Pole, it has been built to house just under 5 million crop seeds from around the world as an insurance against global catastrophe. The vault built of steel (Mars) and concrete and hidden deep underground (Pluto) can withstand global warming, earthquakes and even nuclear strikes. The fact that this is occurring so close to the opposition of the two World Points of 0 Cancer and 0 Capricorn i.e 2 of the 4 points on the cardinal cross of the zodiacal circle, is a fascinating bit of correspondence too, to those with an eye for these coincidences.

The opening ceremony was at 14.00, 26 February 2008, Svalbard, Norway and you can watch a video about the project here

This is the Geodetic map for the opening. Click to enlarge.

UPDATE

Large earthquake in UK last night I had just turned the light out and although I live in Windsor which is to the west of London and many miles from the epicentre, it was significant shaking. Enough to get me back out of bed. Here's the map. Uranus, planet of the unexpected and very much associated with seismic shocks (in fact shocks of any kind) was aligned with the UK ( see the pink line along bottom) at the time of the quake. The ascendant was square my natal Uranus. The recent Eclipse maps showed transiting Pluto through the UK was another, now obvious, sign of underground movement.

THE JURY IS OUT - A very fishy case

Mars is currently in Gemini (twins/two/dual) opposite Pluto. We can certainly now see some manifestations of this weeks Lunar Eclipse 'pluto line' (see previous post) sweeping up past London and through the Norfolk/Suffolk border of the country.... the papers are full of reports about Steve Wright who was found guilty yesterday of murdering five prostitutes in Ipswich, Suffolk. There's also been a conviction in the Sally Anne Bowman, 'sex-with-a-corpse' case and it doesn't get much more 'Pluto' than that. Two horrific stories of depravity and brutality in the UK.

Of course not all Mars/Pluto aspects will play out horrifically. It entirely depends on a plethora of other factors. Jennifer Lopez giving birth (Pluto) to her twins (Gemini) being a case in point. I guess if you were her husband watching the cesarean procedure you might describe that as pretty gruesome in parts too. The point being that at times of Mars/Pluto oppositions we will always see newspaper stories that somehow reflect the positive and negative natures of the planets involved.

Returning to the Suffolk murders, Mr Wright (in this case anything but) was born in Erpingham, Norfolk on 24 April 1958. That makes him a Taurus, which if you recall was the sign that came high up the list of birthsigns of violent criminals when astrologer CEO Carter did his famous study back in the 1930's. You can re read that post by scrolling down to February 2nd 2008.

Steve Wright was a fork-lift truck driver but had lived in a pub and worked on the QE2 when he was younger. Both these occupations are ruled by Neptune which was in opposition to his Sun at birth. He was also born under the often, highly volatile* combination of Mars in Aquarius. The fact that his Sun/Neptune opposition forms a square to his natal Uranus is the second marker of a potential for volatility, a temper that knows know bounds or is fuelled by drink or drugs (Neptune). The Sun and Venus are in semi-square (45 degrees) and that means all four planets are in alignment - Sun, Venus, Uranus, Neptune. A planet triggering any one of these has the potential to trigger a chain reaction of a highly unpredictable nature - in this case the thrill of the possibly kinky sex (Venus/Uranus) followed by the asphyxiation (neptunian loss of consciousness). Neptune also denotes his clandestine behaviour as does his Venus in Pisces.

In the chart image above we see transiting Uranus precisely, almost to the minute, aligned to Venus on the day Wright was sentenced to life in Prison. In this case though it also speaks of the huge publicity and unexpected twist in the tale that he may have been involved in the unsolved disappearance of estate agent Suzy Lamplugh in 1986. This suspicion arose after Wright's ex-wife (incidentally she's a double amputee - ruler of solar 7th is Mars Aq opp Pluto and she lost her legs after battling meningitis, an Aquarian ruled disease) said she feared he may have been connected to this mystery.

In addition to all the above Sun, Moon (assuming an a.m. birthtime) Pluto, Neptune, Saturn and Mars are all in sextile aspects in his chart, a highly brutal and controlling set of planets to be linked together. It's also of interest to note in the context of cycles that his Mars/Pluto opposition is currently being mirrored in the sky; we are again at the opposition phase of these two planets this week. In this case his brutality cannot be manifested externally but one can only guess what is in store for him when he arrives at the Prison.

I haven't however, come pen-poised to minutely dissect the character Wright. What I am intrigued to know is if there is any connection between him and the disappearance of Suzy Lamplugh. Unfortunately I don't have Suzy's birthdata or I could have done a Local Space map to see if she had lines through Erpingham. I would also, if I had a birthtime for Wright, have looked to see if he has any through Shorrolds Road Fulham, the location that Suzy met her killer. Without a precise birthtime the maps are virtually useless.

So, instead I have dug out an old article by astrologer Garry Heaton from The Traditional Astrologer Magazine 1994. This carries the chart for the moment Suzy was last seen. This chart is set for 1.15BST 28 Jul 1986 in Fulham, London and Garry cites that this was the time that a man in a neighbouring house saw her.

Suzy had famously gone to meet a client who she had marked in her diary as Mr Kipper. This now sounds highly relevant in view of the fact that the 1986 ID sketch of the man looks very like Mr Wright, plus the revelation from his ex-wife that he called her 'Kipper face' - allied with the fact that he has a natal Sun/Neptune opposition (Neptune=Fish) What virtually clinches it however is that Wright and Suzy definitely knew each other as they both worked on the QE2 (Neptune) at the same time.

Garry Heaton obviously had no knowledge, at the time of composing his article, of the existence of Steve Wright so what are we to make of the fact that he wrote a very compelling article linking her disappearance to a man named John Cannan. A man who was subsequently convicted of the 1987 murder of a girl called Shirley Banks in Bristol. Amazingly - or is it with Mars in Gemini? - John Cannan is said to have used the nickname 'Kipper' and Suzy's mother was certain there was enough other circumstantial evidence to connect Cannan to her daughter's death; Suzy spoke of a boyfriend in Bristol, where Cannan lived, and Cannan claimed to be dating a girl from Fulham.

I personally recall watching a documentary about this in the '90's revealing the incredible synchronicities and the inability of the authorities (caveat - allegedly) to press charges against Cannan on this murder solely due to lack of evidence that would stand up in court. Jailed for life for the murder of Shirley he certainly has no reason to make a late confession to an allegation he always firmly denied.

So where does that leave Suzy's Mother now? Cannan or Wright. Let's have a look at the dual chart of her last disappearance against Wright's solar chart and progressions
Click to enlarge. Here too are Wright's progressions for that date against the disappearance chart.

Both make for a pretty compelling case in favour of Wright having a sixth victim. There are so many contacts here that, in the absence of John Cannan being in the picture, they would probably make most astrologers jump to say 'Wright did it!'

Not so fast though, if astrologers could open the trap door, this is how innocent people get hung. Garry made a great case but in the absence of a birthchart for Suzy it is fairly impossible to be anywhere near sure. Wright may have been up to no good with someone else that day and at that precise time. This chart only really pins Wright to that day and time, not conclusively to Suzy. Therefore I'm unable to agree or disagree with Garry's closing paragraph which read:

"In my view the astrological evidence clearly indicates that John Cannan was connected with the disappearance of Susie (sic) Lamplugh"

The parallels are incredible but I think we'll just have to continue to wait, either for a confession from one of them, or some forensics ruling Wright in or out. Maybe due to the TV program my gut feeling still runs with Cannan too but, in this case, I'm afraid we 'the jury' cannot reach a verdict on the evidence presented!

* This is patently not a blanket statement about people born with Mars in Aquarius

SATELLITES, USA193 and ECLIPSE ACG

Confession; I have never seen Al Gore's Academy Award winning 2006 film, An Inconvenient Truth. What I have observed is article after article by various scientists, and those who should be in the know, both supporting and discounting his claims in equal measure. Am I back on the conspiracy theory trail here? No, I have little doubt that there are a multitude of nasty side effects from our consumerist society, deforestation and all the rest of it but there's something I need to know and I'm hoping one of you may have the answer.

Did Al Gore make mention of the environmental impact of over 2495 satellites encircling our Earth? Take a look at this NASA applet and prepare to be shocked - and this just shows the American satellites. Here too is a still image that I managed to find. That cloud of orange dots is the satellites:

Although the reality of this is that there are thousands of miles between these pieces of hardware, and they travel on varying orbital planes, I somehow doubt this is what nature intended. Apparently the United States Strategic Command tracks over 8,500 objects of debris in Space! People talk incessantly about greenhouse gases being the cause of global warming but, if there is such a thing - and that is disputed by this Science and Public Policy Group here who cite 35 inconvenient un-truths in Al Gore's film, surely this mass of satellites is a contributing factor to our malfunctioning thermostatic issues.

What, I wonder, is the impact of the Sun's rays having to negotiate this wall of space junk surrounding our planet? Bear in mind too that the first Satellite was only launched in 1957. Fifty years is a comparatively short time to gauge any ensuing problems.

The threat to human life when one of these babies doesn't behave as it should do aside, is anyone doing a study into the carbon footprints left by the launch of all these things? I guess it's considered a drop in the over heating, rapidly diminishing (or rising, depending on which report you read) ocean when compared to the number of metal tubes circling around in the lower reaches of our stratosphere carrying us all from A-B, but still I'm intrigued. Do CME's bounce off these things? What is the effect on the natural electro-magnetic fields and other invisible natural forces that help maintain the homeostatic systems which nature designed to keep our spinning home rock in balance?

USA193 the decaying spy satellite is considered to be carrying such toxic 'cargo' that it has to be shot down as it falls to Earth. Frankly I'm surprised it didn't bump into one of its neighbours along the way!

For the current location of decaying satellite USA 193 go here. Astro data wise, it was launched on Dec 14th 2006 from Vandenberg Air Force Base , Ca. (No time) and is due to be shot down on the eclipse Feb 21st 2008 at 03.30 UT. The nearest eclipse to this launch date was also in the sign of Virgo (dissemination of information). Mars is now opposite the Pluto of its launch.

LUNAR ECLIPSE
A Total Lunar eclipse is fast approaching. For all precise eclipse times and visibility from your location go here. I'll be intrigued to see if there are any major manifestations for Europe and specifically the UK. It should be noted that this eclipse will bring the very unpleasant Mars/Pluto opposition close to the Ascendant/Desc axis for London and Mars is still in Gemini. Gemini is the sign given to the horoscope of The Square Mile otherwise known as The City of London. Click to enlarge to see map.

Intriguingly the Pluto ACG line sweeps across South Eastern England and down to Southern Portugal bringing Pluto close to the ascendant of Praia da Luz, whilst there's a Mars/Uranus paran through Leicester. Mars also hits the Portuguese chart MC and Pluto - depending on which chart you use. Highly likely then we could see the McCann case firmly back in the news, especially in the 2+ weeks after this eclipse.

Back to London (and UK) though the tr Sun hits Saturn in the 0287 chart and Mar conjoins Saturn in the Edgar chart (see Nick Campion chart number 346 and 349). The eclipse also meets the UK 1066 and 1801 Pluto at 2/3 Pisces, reinforcing the Saturn/Pluto theme reinforced by the Saturn/Pluto paran. Hard times ahead. Munkasey says of SA/PL 'secret military forces'. Ebertin; a fanatical adherence to ones values, violence and mass murder. This is overly negative but Mars/Pluto oppositions and Moon/Saturn conjunctions that accompany this eclipse are not exactly joyous.

With the eclipse on the Virgo/Pisces axis expect to hear more Virgo and Pisces ruled matters worldwide. In totality, the light of the Sun is blocked from reaching the Moon by the Earth. Is this the end for Hillary, shown symbolically by the Virgo Moon - or her turning point? Here are some keywords for Virgo/Pisces axis: beaurocracy, trade patterns, stress, drugs, exoneration, rehab, doctors, nurses, kidnapping, parole, secrets, charities, shipping, atonement, clandestine activities, music, film, zoo's, health service, employment and unemployment figures, coast guard, air force, military service, trade unions, oil, petrol, food stores, pharmacies, tradesmen. Difficult to even guess how this one will play out. I've taken a quick look back at past Lunar eclipses on this axis in 1905, 1924, 1943 ( 0 Virgo) they all involve big news from Russia.

At 2 Virgo, Feb 20 1989, Ted Bundy 'the very antithesis of a stereotypical sex attacker' had recently been executed. Satellite (!) TV was launched in Britain. Salman Rushdie was in trouble with Muslims over his Satanic Verses Book and prior to that around the Feb 21 1970 eclipse (2 Virgo) a jury found the 'Chicago Seven' defendants not guilty of conspiring to incite a riot, in charges stemming from the violence at the 1968 Democratic National Convention (something to watch for if it goes to a superdelegate battle) and a Swiss airliner was blown up by Palestinian terrorists.

In the case of eclipses I think it can be revealing to look at the previous conjunction of the Sun and Moon at 1 Pisces and the first square at 1 Gemini - which have now symbolically separated to their opposition, so Solar Eclipse at 1 Pisces was Feb 20 1784. See what correlations you can make from that year to this.

In early 1784 there was a General Election in the UK. Thomas Jefferson proposed splitting up the western territories of the USA into States. On February 22nd 1784 the first ship to trade with China left New York and this synchronicity.... In 1784 the Count of St Germain died (read about this fascinating guy here) in Schleswig-Holstein. Just ten minutes before coming to write this post I was reading the reports of yesterday's Diana Inquest. In that report it details how Prince Philips full name is Philippos Andreou of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderberg-Glücksburg!

Finally, the President of The Continental Congress, Richard Henry Lee took over from Thomas Lifflin in 1784 and the one of the former President's quotes was:

“To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them".

And we thought times had changed!

PLATELL vs KAPLINSKY

I received some wonderful comments and observations via e-mail as a result of my last post on the subject of projection. I believed the subject done and dusted and my attention had totally turned to other matters but then, in that synchronistic rhythm that my life seems perpetually attuned to, I opened the daily paper and saw this.

Hopefully you can nip over to that link, but for those of you who really don't have the time let me just say that it is an article written by one of my favourite journalists (she's also a media personality and political commentator) Amanda Platell What is synchronistic about this is that this article was probably written about the same time as my last post and could very well have carried the same title: I Hate That Woman. What is unclear however, is whether Amanda is at all cognizant of the subject of projection!

Amanda and I once had a long lunch together, so I can say with a modicum of insight that she is beautiful, super-smart, witty and warm. Is she self-aware? I can't say for sure, but I certainly thought so at the time. She's a Scorpio, so she possesses that X-ray ability to instantly penetrate right to the heart of someone's being and pierce through any pretence or facade. She regularly uses that talent to great effect in her Saturday column Platell's People in The Daily Mail where she comments on current affairs and writes pithy assessments of celebs and other newsmakers.

Those familiar with her column will know however, that for the past few years Amanda has waged an unrelenting war of acerbic words against the newsreader Natasha Kaplinsky, dubbing her 'Spangles Kaplinsky' in mocking reference to her (perceived) lightweight persona and participation in the sequin laden show 'Strictly Come Dancing'.

Now if you don't live in the UK, the charms of Ms Kaplinsky may have hitherto escaped your attention but I would sincerely doubt if she did enter your orbit she would make you run a mile or reach for the off knob on your telly - and if she did I would ask you to really question why. Personally, I have no problem with Ms Kaplinsky. Okay I admit, I probably wouldn't jump at an invitation to lunch with her and I can see why people may find her irritating - there's a touch of the Miss Prissy about her, something often attributed (unfairly for many) to her Sun sign of Virgo - but overall she only incites good natured jealousy from me because she's just so damn perfect. She is also, quite obviously, supremely confident and believes in herself 100%.

So this is where I start to question Amanda's judgement, and even worry about it, for it must be said her vendetta against Natasha is sadly starting to reflect badly on her. Therefore, in light of my current musings on projection, plus being somewhat baffled and bemused by Amanda's actions, I decided to give this some thought and here's what I think.......

The Law of Polarity not only encompasses the origins of unconscious mirroring, or what we term 'projection' (sometimes known as The Shadow) it speaks of opposite ends of the same spectrum. Whilst one definition of projection may be: 'The individual perceives in others the motive he denies having himself. Thus, for example, the cheat is sure that everyone else is dishonest' within that definition it is implicit that the opposite must also apply. The other end of the projection spectrum is known as Identification. It is in the middle of either end that one would hope to find a balanced viewpoint.

IDENTIFICATION
Natasha Kaplinsky is a vivacious, stunning woman and she's certainly not dumb. She can be precious and appear 'full of artifice' but can't we all? In finding her so objectionable either Amanda is denying this objectionable side in her own nature - even if it's a side she has since overcome - or (as I hope is the case) she is identifying with Natasha's positive traits but, for whatever reason, is unable to accept them.

What this means in plain English is that it is just possible Amanda doesn't recognise her own attractiveness. She may well be in denial about her own ability to arouse jealousy simply because she was at the front of the queue when they doled out beauty, brains and an inbuilt Sat-Nav to negotiate a way to the top of a very competitive industry.

For Amanda to say that her beef about 'Spangles' is that she is being overpaid doesn't hold water as a fundamental reason for the continual, full-on attacks. If it were truly about talent versus money wouldn't the people offering the wages be a better target?

No, it's not about money or even Natasha, it's about how Amanda feels about herself. In the complex world of the psyche I believe Amanda is unwilling to 'own' her feelings about being promoted or put forward for a job because, like Natasha, she is a sexy stunner. She wants to be seen as having achieved her position based solely on merit. Perhaps then we could return to the psycho-babble and postulate that Amanda may be unconsciously railing, not at Natasha per se, but against the 'looks versus talent' issue that must surely have blighted her own life at some juncture.

We all like to read a little gossip and acute observation about people in the public eye - I've contributed my fair share over the years so I'm certainly not suddenly being pious, but when a dislike veers perilously near to appearing like an obsession, it's perhaps time for someone to be brave (because she's quite intimidating) and say, 'Amanda, what's really up?. Would you like to be on the receiving end of what you are meting out? Do unto others as you would have them do to you!

Natasha is one of those lucky 'Princesses'. She's undoubtedly using her God-given gifts to bring herself into the public eye and earn money from it. If a bit of flirtation sits well with her along the way, why should everyone else get their knickers in a twist over it. It's happened and is happening all over the world every day. It's one of those unpalatable facts that we just have to live with like Madonna getting free clothes or Simon Cowell getting the best table in a restaurant. Annoying but not life threatening to the rest of us.

Amanda is patently a far more 'substantial' woman, one who has had more than her (publicly revealed) fair share of knocks and sadness in life, but she has lived well over a decade longer than 'Spangles'. Can she honestly say that if, at her age she had the chance to make TV history by being offered a seven figure salary and her name in the title of a show, that she wouldn't have taken it?

THE ASTROLOGY

Natasha Kaplinsky was born in Brighton but her paternal grandparents originated from Slonim, Belarus. Interestingly, in this ACG map of Europe you can see how Amanda's Jupiter/Pluto parans and Jupiter/Uranus parans run through this latitude and the Hades line passes in that direction - Hades being symbolic of the hidden or shadow. Is there a karmic link between these two?











In the UK map, Amanda's Venus/Pluto paran (jealous feelings/obsession) intersects with Chiron (a psychological wound) through Brighton.



Natasha's birthtime is not known but Amanda's Pluto is bang on her 12 noon Midheaven, pointing to the damage she is doing to Natashas reputation and the power struggle.


My report system also has some interesting observations:

N's Sun Semisquare A's Mars
"Conflict is likely. The problem is that Natasha feels overpowered by the demands of Amanda, and unable to positively express herself in this union. The frustration can build to the point where Natasha's attitude aggravates Amanda. They may need to seek counsel on how to resolve conflict, which at times could be quite fiery."
N's Venus Square A's Mars
"Natasha feels overwhelmed by the force of Amanda's nature, and is in danger of becoming repulsed rather than attracted to Amanda. As a result the relationship becomes a combat zone. Natasha and Amanda start to compete rather than co-operate".
N's Mars Semisquare A's Mars
"Arguments and tension are rife in this relationship. Both Natasha and Amanda have difficulty heading off disagreements. The problem is that their desires are in conflict. This is true for friends and work colleagues. At times Natasha and Amanda feel as though they are competing against each other. They view each other as egotistical and arrogant, whereas in fact they are both exhibiting these traits in the relationship".
N's Mercury Conjunction A's Pluto
"An intense relationship is the result of this combination of the planets Mercury and Pluto, with communication playing a key role. Consequently it is vital that both Natasha and Amanda communicate honestly, keeping all emotions and thoughts out in the open. This helps them to keep the relationship dynamic rather than volcanic. If Natasha and Amanda enjoy penetrating discussions and passionate pastimes then all is well. If they don't then their union could become overwhelming, particularly for Natasha. Together they experience a change of perception which is ultimately rewarding, although initially could be disruptive. Notably Amanda challenges Natasha's way of viewing the world. This can be an excellent combination for personal and spiritual growth".

So, there it is. Maybe, just maybe there is some hope yet in this long running feud. Go on girls it's Valentine's Day - make it up!

I HATE THAT WOMAN - Projection

In astrology the start of the seventh, 30 degree division of the 360 degree circle is the point of projection. This is known as The Descendant. Planets close to that point and indeed anywhere within that 30 degree section have, almost unfailingly, been found to correspond to some attribute we will attract to us i.e., we will find the nature of these planets embodied in others whom we draw towards us. Elsa P recently did a great video talking about this topic, which is known in astrological and psychological parlance as Projection.

As an example of how it works in life, or astrology (but bearing in mind there are a myriad of ways in which this can play out depending on the entire chart) a person with Uranus in the 7th* house may tell an astrologer that they continually seem to attract partners who up and leave the relationship with little or no warning. Some clients may have had repeated divorces and tell you that none were instigated by them. Others may experience on/off patterns in the relationship. It is the job of the psychologically oriented astrologer to somehow bring the client around to the possibility that, at some unconscious level, the client may have contributed to this repetitive pattern due to something within their own psyche. It could be a desire to have more space, a fear of intimacy or simply a manifestation of 'the grass is greener/I get bored easily' syndrome. Again only the whole chart 'picture' can suggest the deeper story.

By tabling this discussion and helping the client to arrive at an appreciation of their own ambivalence to commitment, they will hopefully come to understand why they attract people who mirror these traits. The ultimate aim, whether in astrology or psychology is to facilitate the person's awareness that they are totally responsible for everything that comes to them and happens to them - and to make that the starting point for fulfilment and a life free of unpleasant surprises.

This is where the Law of Attraction dovetails perfectly with the blueprint known as the natal chart. We get back what we put out in life. The more we understand this 'Law' and the more attuned we are to what we are 'putting out there' or projecting (and astrology helps enormously in this regard) the more quickly we get feedback. In fact the in-built barometer we have as to how attuned we are is what we call our 'feelings'. If we do something and immediately have a bad feeling (some people call it gut feeling) we know that particular action was not in our best interests. Likewise if we interact with someone who irritates us we should look at that feeling and quickly ask , 'where might I be like this person?' We may need to look at what we are putting out there and undertake some form of self correction.

This all sounds highly idealistic and indeed it can be. No one can be expected to monitor all their thoughts and self correct each one. If they could they would be a living Saint and besides the true growth and learning experience only comes about when we consciously know we have ignored those gut feelings and then have to confront the fall out.

All this preamble is leading up to my telling you about an experience in this realm I have just had. Last week (previous post) I wrote a comment about Hillary Clinton. As I was writing it I absolutely knew it was wrong to write it. It said:

Ordinarily a woman in the role would be my hands down favourite, if only out of same sex loyalty but something about Hillary seems to be so totally inauthentic that she leaves me cold.

Not only did I know this was wrong because you can't judge someone's politics on their sex but more so because my immediate thought was 'Kathryn, when you feel this antagonised by someone, it can only be projection' but I ignored the inner dialogue. I ignored it even to the point that I came back into that blog to correct a few 'Mercury Rx' errors and problems with the video sizing and still didn't rephrase or delete it - knowing I should.

However here is where it gets really interesting and is my main reason for writing this entire post. I have noticed that the more self-aware (or should I say self correcting to stop it sounding quite so pompous) we are, the more instantaneous is the 'reward' from the Universe. In the case of manifesting using LOA techniques, the more connected to our inner feelings we are, it would seem the more quickly we are able to pull our desire into reality. On the other hand the more we refuse to listen to our inner dialogue when we know we are out of alignment with our higher good, the more quickly and synchronistically arrives the prompt to try and get us back on track.

This part of the 'Law' is unrelenting and I can't therefore say, with all honesty, that I was that amazed when within minutes of my having this internal battle about Hillary, the following horoscope pinged into my mailbox:

SCORPIO (October 24 - November 22) Why do certain people irritate us so? What is it about the folk we don't like that causes us to really dislike them? You are probably not going to like the answer. I might have to point out, though, the reason we can't stand certain individuals, is that they remind us of ourselves. Only in some remote or distant way, of course. They may, for example, manifest traits that we have long since grown out of. They may express things that we prefer to repress. Be gentle on someone this weekend, and the world, in turn, may be gentle on you. Your in-depth week ahead forecast lasts five to six minutes and could be one of the most rewarding phone calls you ever make. Dial 0906 751 7777.

Now if this wasn't the Universe flagging up my outright projection, I don't know what it was. Still I decided to ignore it! So then a message came into my other e-mail address from a reader asking (nicely) if there was any possibility of this comment being projection, followed by another one today showing dismay at my choice of words.

So the message is this; I am contrite. No excuses. It was a projection** - but as the forecast above mentions, my ability to exhibit similar traits to Hillary is (hopefully) something I have grown out of. However I am also delighted. Totally thrilled to have yet more confirmation that when one does turn their eye inwards and resolves to learn from every experience and take responsibility for it, that some invisible force is always there, tapping us on the shoulder and refusing to let us shirk away from what must be faced up to.

We live in an amazing Universe. One that is full of invisible magic. One that guides us, or helps us to guide ourselves, to recognise our inseparability from our fellow human beings. I am thankful for this latest reminder.

* * * * *

* Elsa gives her own example in her video
** It was a projection but I don't have 7th house planets. The astrological explanation for the projection in this instance is because Hillary and I are both Scorpio.

TSUNAMI TUESDAY

Well, owing to the huge wave of voting that took place across the United States, February 5th 2008 was dubbed Tsunami Tuesday. By the time the day was over though Tornado Tuesday would perhaps have been more apt. Quite ominously for Bill and the former First Lady of Arkansas (who incidentally lost that role in 1981 at the time of the last but one Solar eclipse at 16 Aquarius*) devastating storms ripped through their 'marital' state. Hmmm, symbolic?

However the storm also affected Tennessee and in this video I look at the astrocartography of this, with a particular emphasis on midpoints - which coincidentally I stressed in my last post perhaps deserve more respect in astrology.



Some of this video may be slightly too technical for any non-astrologer but my hope is that it will help show more of the Law of Correspondence at work in the World.

POLITICS
I heard a comment on TV this morning, I thought I would share with you. A political pundit was ringing out the tune 'Bush, Clinton, Clinton, Bush, Bush.....Clinton? He was referring to the line of succession of Presidents in The White House to date and he went on to comment 'this seems like dynastic politics taking over America'. I couldn't agree more. If you live in a State that hasn't voted yet you can perhaps help stop this 'dynasty politics' roll and in doing so you'll be unwittingly contributing to Pluto's passage through Capricorn.

Ordinarily a woman in the role would be my hands down favourite, if only out of same sex loyalty but something about Hillary seems to be so totally inauthentic that she leaves me cold. So, I'm not so secretly hoping that the Saturn/Uranus opposition speaks of the old Vietnam veteran (Saturn) opposing the young, slightly rebellious, freedom loving, dynamic new kid on the block (Uranus), Barack Obama. Obama or McCain - America you decide! That sounds like a sound bite from Ryan Seacrest on American Idol.

Have a good week.

* * * * *

*The present eclipse is actually 17 degree Aq but there has been no other at 17 Aq since before the 1700's

Hillary did resume role as First Lady of Arkansas in 1983 but Bill was defeated in the earlier election.

Since making this video the storm worsened across the Southern States and has now claimed a significant number of lives.

UPDATE
In typical Mercury Rx fashion I have had to come back into this blog about four times since posting to try and correct errors in the sizing of the video and other typos. Whilst here this time I might as well add that since posting this video someone has sent me an URL to a video about how the Americans appear to be messing around with the weather in the USA. I had never heard of this before and found this video to be quite fascinating. Try and take a look. There's a number of films on this subject on YouTube.

A COSMIC QUEST - Curse of the trines

Every now and again science has to have a re-think. For example, with the advent of quantum mechanics, the theory of gravitation that we always believed to be true was found to be incomplete. It had to be re-worked in light of new knowledge. To date, it appears that it is only the introduction of string theory that has helped bring some kind of unification in this area, but there is still much about the mysterious forces in the Universe that we don't understand.

When the planet Mercury is in retrograde motion, astrologers have noted that it is a good time to look at things with a more critical eye. Use the suffix re in front of any word corresponding to the nature of Mercury i.e., re-vise, re-view, re-think, re-visit, re-scind, re-tract and you'll have the jist of it.

Just as science has to admit to incomplete and ever changing knowledge, it occurred to me that perhaps astrology could occasionally do with a re-view of some of the more commonly accepted theories that were once thought to be unassailable. Saturn Rx is perhaps also a cyclical prompt to look at what we once thought was set in stone.

The trigger for this particular train of thought was the current Venus/Jupiter conjunction. All last week I was reading various astrology forecasts waxing lyrical about the wonderful effects of the meeting of the two benefics - and if I had been making any forecasts I perhaps would have done so too - but was it totally correct to dole out this advice?

I have a Venus/Jupiter conjunction in my chart, but this weekend has already taken far more from me financially and in other 'venusian' ways than it has yet bestowed. I noticed too that David Beckham is a Taurean (Venus) and he was waiting to hear if he was to be included in the England football team (Jupiter) to gain his 100th cap. I'm sure most of us would have thought there was a higher than normal chance of success, given the nature and rulerships of the Venus/Jupiter conjunction, but the decision went against him.

Of course we all know it is much more complicated than that - one has to look at David's personal chart and progressions etc and also to look at the sign that Venus and Jupiter are currently in and what disposits their sign and so on. Venus and Jupiter in Capricorn disposited by a retrograde Saturn in Virgo and Mercury (ball games) ruler of Virgo is also retrograde. So, yes, on closer examination our Venus/Jupiter is not looking so 'benefical'.

The point I would like to explore is not so much the necessity of always looking carefully at the bigger picture in our interpretations, but something else... I want to ask if it is perhaps time, as a community, to re-work the way we generically describe aspects as good or bad and to incorporate the 'Kosmobiologie' viewpoint of Ebertin, who believed that the traditional divisions and interpretations that we are still being taught in astrology lessons have not always proved correct.

The observation was very often made that squares bring auspicious moments and there is the well known "curse of the trines"- Ebertin

It would appear that, like scientific theories, as a result of numerous experiments putting astrological theory into practice, some are not proving accurate. Whatever terminology we use - the politically correct beneficial or challenging, or the archaic, good and evil, these terms may all have to be re-tracted and re-placed, for it is becoming clearer with the passing of time that aspects, whatever the planets involved, are neither good nor bad, they just are. Any interpretation cannot be separated from the whole picture or 'Cosmogram'.

Interestingly in the 1930's astrologer CEO Carter was noting, that, when studying the aspects and sign positions in the charts of violent criminals they were not yielding the results expected by 'traditional' interpretation techniques. He goes as far as to note that the results...." represent a powerful criticism of many of our traditional conceptions." His research showed there was little difference between the preponderance of traditionally 'good' (trine, sextile etc) and 'bad' (square, opposition etc) aspects in the charts of violent criminals and the conjunction could always go either way. The same applied to the planets; Mars was no more prevalent than Venus or Jupiter, even in the most heinous crimes.

Surprisingly Mars in Scorpio came particularly low down in the charts of violent criminals whilst Mars in Taurus scored highly. Be honest - would you have thought that would be the result? There was however a slight bias towards the Mercury/Mars aspects and Mars/Uranus ones. Additionally the first three signs of the zodiac appeared with regularity**.

Carter was an astrologer whose early work didn't include the Harmonic theory. His colleague Addey was its main, early proponent but at the time of this research into the charts of criminals, Addey was still a young boy. So to my mind it would be an interesting experiment to take Carter's original data and run those charts past the midpoint test. For example, where a trine of the benefics shows up in the chart of a murderer, can we now determine that the planets were being brought into resonance via a third planet? A Venus/Jupiter trine can act very differently when Neptune* or Saturn lies at its midpoint.

My own astrological knowledge took a quantum leap when I had to study Harmonics as part of my training curriculum and the book COSI is now my constant companion. If you are an astrologer and have not yet incorporated harmonics into your repertoire I'd urge you to do so. I'd go so far as to say anyone looking for an in-depth analysis without noting, at the very least, alignments to the SO/MO midpoint is like watching a movie at an IMAX theatre without the 3D glasses on.

With regard to Venus/Jupiter conjunctions too, I'd just like to add before I leave this subject that each cycle can only be looked at with knowledge of what has unfolded in previous cycles. Those with a natal Venus/Jupiter aspect will respond more readily to this cycle than someone with no natal connection but all cycles are continuums. This cycle began on 15 Nov 2006. It came to square on 9 Feb 2007, opposition on 28 April 2007 and final square on 29 Oct 2007 and back to conjunction on 1 Feb 2008. The 4th harmonic pattern (i.e., division of the 360 chart by 4) is said to manifest events at each of these junctures. It's now clear that whether these events are perceived by the individual as good or bad is subject to a whole host of other contributing factors.

In conclusion then; as our consciousness expands, so too does our knowledge of the Universe and the matrix we inhabit. Factors (new planets, points, asteroids, etc) that we might not previously have incorporated into our astrological analysis may need re-viewing or re-adjustment in light of current knowledge.

* * * * *

*Carter notes that whilst the Jupiter/Neptune good aspect do not favour violent crime, they certainly don't deny it either.
**Carter's theory about this latter result was, in essence, that the first three signs were common in 'less evolved' personalities.
Carter also advocated that we look at the heliocentric chart to 'pad out' our overall analysis. A link that many astrologers have since realised is vital in a complete interpretation.
Charles Ernest Owen Carter was born at Parkstone, Dorset on 31 January 1887 at 10:55 p.m.