In-Person Classes and Online Education
Mercury station today
Fog over UK: Election May 6 -- Brown, Cameron, and/or Clegg?

During the spring there have been no classes because of my attempt to finish my manuscript on astronomy and astrology in Dante’s Divine Comedy.   This project has taken a lot of time and energy but has opened new doors for further learning and teaching. 

Always during the summer we have a program of weeknight astrology groups: we look at nativities of interest and work with some new material.  In the past we have worked with progressions and directions, comparative natal analysis, harmonics, and spirituality in astrology. For the summer of 2010 the tentative title is: “Divinatory and Magical Practice in Astrology.”  For the first half of the course we will focus on astrology as divination, looking at natal analysis applications of horary astrology.  In the second half we’ll look at ritual, remedies, and other interventions that astrologers routinely use. Our practices align in some ways with magical practices of the past – and contain possibilities often not practiced by modern astrologers.  Next month’s newsletter will contain more information about this.   These evenings will be in the Boston area and the lectures and discussion will be available on CD.

For more beginning students we will have a workshop on History and Application of Astrology’s Housesand this follows previous workshops on the signs of the zodiac and the planets.  This will occur in early summer and will be in Providence: stay tuned.  We have CD’s available for the first two and will have another CD for this upcoming workshop.

            Online education is also available and it’s not seasonal.  For a list of courses see http://www.astrologyinstitute.com/Astrology_courses.html.

            Two things to note:

• The courses do not have to be taken sequentially or as a complete package.  If, for example, you have an interest in mythology or harmonics or horary or Hellenistic astrology you can do just that.  However…
• We need to know your level of astrological knowledge and experience and that’s why we have a quiz – although it would be more accurate to call it an “assessment device.”  People who’ve taken the quiz often note that it’s rather demanding on the technical side – and that is deliberate.  Many people know astrology’s basic symbol systems, and often can use them well, but fall short on what it is that signs and houses and the natal chart is actually depicting.  Feel free to take the quiz (or I will send back feedback) and don’t be intimidated by its technical content.  Think of like a stress test.

Mercury Cycle and April Station

As most people know Mercury is currently retrograde.  Those who know a little astrology tend to become fearful of these occasions even though they happen at least four times a year.  If you are going to sign a contract or buy or sell a car or computer, you can find features of the astrological sky that mitigate for anything that might go wrong because of Mercury being retrograde.  This endeavor is called electional astrology, finding the most auspicious time for an occasion.

Now let’s take a look at planetary motion of those planets inside the Earth’s orbit around the Sun (or, if you’re more a medievalist, within the Sun’s sphere around the Earth.)  It’s a good way to understand Mercury retrograde.

We begin with April 1, the High Holiday we usually refer to as April Fool Day.  Here is a chart.

This is a good chart to begin with.  Mercury has risen from the Sun’s beams and is now 16° away and visible in the evening sky – if you can get a clear view of the western horizon.  Mercury’s “magnitude” or visibility is 0.84, the brightness of a first magnitude star.  You might catch sight of it if you’re in the right place at the right time.  Mercury’s elusiveness contributes mightily to its astrological symbolism.  Venus, further away from the Sun and much brighter anyway, has a magnitude of -3.91, somewhat bright.  The Moon itself would dominate the night sky with a magnitude of -12.48: that’s extremely bright.

At this time Mercury is moving 1° 30 a day and so gaining a half degree a day on the Sun, and as it moves further away it becomes more visible in the sky – if you have the right sky.  Mercury begins to slow down from April 3 and by April 8 it is no longer going faster than the Sun.  At this time Mercury is 19° distant from the Sun and the bright luminary now begins to catch up with it. 

Over the following week Mercury slows to a halt like a car on the highway crossing many lanes of a highway to take an exit.  Here is the chart of Mercury’s station.

Now Mercury is 14° from the Sun and will be getting closer.   Venus is now farther away from the Sun and will be brighter in the sky.  It’s daily motion is 1° 13 and expect to see it very brightly in the western evening sky in the late spring and during the summer.

Here’s the chart for May 1, Labor Day elsewhere than in the US (we’re too afraid of those “socialists”).

You will notice that Mercury is now in front of the Sun as a morning star but is too close to the luminary to be visible to us.  Because it is still retrograde it will come into visibility – for those lucky enough to get an unobstructed view of the eastern horizon.  You can see that Venus by this time will be 27° from the Sun and higher is the Sun in the west after the Sun goes down and still brighter.  Moon has moved into its waning cycle with the Sun.

Mercury will continue retrograde and become farther away from an advancing Sun until May 12 when Mercury goes direct, finally.  Because it will take Mercury awhile to accelerate to begin to catch up with the Sun, the planet’s distance from the Sun will increase during most of May.  Stay tuned.

Fog over UK: Election May 6 -- Brown, Cameron, and/or Clegg?

Last month we began looking at the UK elections – to be held in but two weeks – by looking at the chart and transits of the current Prime Minister Gordon Brown.  The full article is here: http://www.astrologyinstitute.com/Newsletters/News03_10.html

As of this writing (April 24 2010), the polls are close and volatile.  Gordon Brown has been behind in polls for most of his tenure as PM and they haven’t risen appreciably.  David Cameron is out in front but not by a lot and it appears that voters are having some second thoughts about him and his party.  Nick Clegg of the Liberal Democrats rose dramatically in the polls after the first debate but did not distinguish himself in the second and the media has begun to pick on him after not taking him seriously.  As of a few days ago Gordon Brown has been “making nice” to the Liberal Democrats because he may be forced to include him in a coalition government after May 6; Clegg has, to nobody’s surprise, only turned up the heat on the ruling Labour Party. 

In last month’s newsletter I summarized Brown as competent, bright, and “Mr. Uncongeniality” who is attempting to come across in this election as responsible and also affable.  When you look at his birth chart (see below) you find somebody who’s circumspect, intense, and, looking at his Mercury placement, the smartest guy in any room he walks into – and he knows it.  Americans would find something Nixonian about Brown’s personality – without, hopefully, the desire to trample on the rule of law, secretly invading countries, and the like. 

As we also noted last month, Browns’ current astrological transits feature transiting Pluto right on his Midheaven degree; in itself this does not indicate a losing effort but it does suggest that Brown is in the political fight of his life and he cannot get through this election and remain the same person.  The fact that he’s running for Prime Minister on his own – he took the job when his predecessor Tony Blair stepped down – guarantees your basic Plutonian “transformational” occasion. 

Brown’s solar return for this year is also quite potent this year, with an exalted Moon at the Midheaven and Mars in his (whole sign) first – in Leo, of course.   

However the outcome of the election is not solely up to him or his astrology.  Here’s a major part of the competition, David Cameron.

Much here can be recognized instantly: Cameron has Libra rising with the governing planet right there in Libra.   Moon in Leo, separating from Jupiter, is in a close applying sextile to the same Venus.  (Jupiter is also in its joy in the 11th place of the “Good Spirit”.)   Anybody with such a strong Libra-Leo combination is bound to be affable, gregarious, somewhat buoyant, and vulnerable to being thought as somewhat shallow – or being shallow. 

Cameron is the handsome face of the Conservatives, becoming party leader in 2005.  After the recent difficulties of his party, Cameron is a friendlier face who has tried to make the Conservatives more popular with ordinary people, with some success.  However, his rather aristocratic family and childhood background make him more difficult for “common people” to trust him.  Nor has he real governmental experience.  People wonder whether Cameron would have the drive or the gravitas to be Prime Minister during these difficult times.

Let’s look further at his chart for an answer.  I first note Mercury, an evening star in sect that is governed by Mars in Leo in the 11th.  Mercury also has strong “predominating” squares from Jupiter and Moon and has therefore some heavier artillery to draw upon.  Cameron’s Mercury seems more focused and decisive than one would suppose.

His Mars also has some strength.  We’ve noted it being in the 11th but Mars is also oriental to the Sun and in sect in Cameron’s night time chart.  Mars is also symmetrical to his Midheaven degree, as their midpoint is 00u. This certainly gives drive and ambition! We might also note how many of his midpoints highlight Mars or Pluto:

            AS = Mercury/Mars and Sun/Pluto; Uranus + Sun/Mars and Moon/Mercury. 

And these are only a few.

How might Cameron do in the weeks ahead?

 I am impressed – as is his astrologer – that Saturn that had been camping on his Ascendant (along with Pluto) has now moved back into Virgo where it can do less damage.  During the early parts of the campaign transiting Mars – a friend of his certainly – has moved away from transiting his planets in the fixed signs Leo and Scorpio.  Perhaps he has peaked too early.

His Decennials are Mercury/Mercury and will be so until autumn 2010: this is good for him but wouldn’t guarantee that he would change his residence.  However, Saturn takes over as specific lord in October – that could be difficult for him not as Prime Minister or as Prime Minister!

When you look at the Circumambulations (or primary progressions by Ascendant) of Cameron’s Midheaven, the term ruler been Jupiter for the past several years and this summer it goes to Venus as  term ruler; this is very positive for him, more as a celebrity than national leader during difficult times.

Maybe his solar return will give some indications of success.

It is less dynamic than that of Brown, although Sun in the 10th helps, yet it is in fall and is governed by a Venus in Virgo, also in fall.  The Lot of Fortune is conjunct Venus but is also a short distance from Saturn.  Saturn is strong as Ascendant lord and is also conjunct a highly dignified Mercury in Virgo. 

Cameron is 43 years old and this is his 44th year: this makes his profection eight houses (44-36) this year yielding Sun as lord of his year.  That Sun is natally in the first, is in the solar return 10th and this is rather good news for Cameron.  However, I am not sure his indications for success seem any better than do Mr. Brown’s.

Now we look at Nick Clegg, last week’s “rock star” politician with much to prove about himself.  Unfortunately for us we do not presently have a birth time; here is his chart for noon.

We know a few things that might help us with the time: his Moon will be in Sagittarius and, with a Capricorn Sun and a high northern latitude birth location, he has a better chance of being born at night than during the day.  That’s not much but it’s something.

 With Sun and Mercury in Capricorn and Venus in Aquarius there’s a strong Saturnine quality to him, yet the opposition of Jupiter to Venus and Jupiter also ruling the Moon argues for an alternation between Saturnine sternness and Jovial inspiration and (with Venus) attractiveness.   I should also mention the potent square from Mars to his Capricorn Sun, especially since Mars is exalted in Capricorn and can lend the Sun some dignity.  In fact his good performance in the first debate had no small amount of Mars to it.

In some ways he’s a perfect “Third Party” wild card who is handsomer than Brown and carries more gravitas than Cameron and has the advantage of being able to say “a pox on both your houses” and take advantage of voter dissatisfaction with the status quo.

There are many things we cannot use for Clegg’s chart without a birth time.  By progression, sometime this year, Venus trines Jupiter and that has celebrity possibilities for him, but not necessarily an electoral win for his party.  We cannot use a solar return nor can we use Circumambulations.

If Clegg was born at night, his Decennials would give him Saturn/Saturn right now.  Chances are that this is not so good, although we do not know for sure because of no birth time.

However we’re sure about some of his transits: on May 4 he has transiting Jupiter opposite Uranus – a sudden possibility for him – but also transiting Jupiter conjunct Saturn – an imposition of possibility (Jupiter) over harsh reality (Saturn).  Based on very incomplete information, this may indicate Clegg as “Kingmaker”, as they might say in the US.  We would think that Clegg would negotiate not with the Conservatives but Labor, but we’re looking at an active Uranus in his chart – expect surprises!

We’ll see what the UK voters do.