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Astrology Institute Newsletter 05-2007 Hello! This months newsletter has two people as its focus. There is quite a line-up of individuals to examine in the next few months, and this may be a good time to feature one early environmental crusader whose one hundreth anniversary was last week, and one deposed talk radio host. I will save Tony Blair, Jerry Falwell, and Pope Benedict for the summer. Class UpdatesWe are halfway through the course on Astrology's Mythical Foundations. So far we have mostly looked at classical mythology and the relationships between its deities and astrology's planets. Next we look at the astrological Sun and Moon through the eyes of Greek, Babylonian, and Egyptian mythology. The last two classes are on the heroes: first the heroes that have constellations named after them, and finally the twelve labors of Heracles and correspondences to the twelve signs of the zodiac. Several people have expressed an interest in a classical horary program, and one person offered her house in Weymouth, Ma. as a meeting place this summer. If you are interested in some classes, please let me know. This summer also features a new program: Astrology: Numbers, Harmonics, and the Heavens. This course - which will be seven weeks - begins with a discussion of how ancient astrologers thought of astrology and its symbols -- and, after a special presentation on Johann Kepler, we fast forward to the modern era, where we discuss symmetries seen in midpoint configurations and intervals as we would see in harmonic charts. Joseph teaches the summer program, which will also take place in Arlington, Ma. The classes will all be will also be recorded, and if you are out of town or have to miss some classes, you will be provided a copy of the recording and relevant charts and diagrams. Dorian and Joseph updatesAt this moment Dorian is probably on the third floor of Warburg Institute library, toiling away, peering into her little computer in her little cubicle and trying not to gaze outside at the far lovelier trees and flowers and ambience of London. Later she will lug her stuff home, have dinner, do more work (and probably worry about the condition of the New York Yankees.) She will be back home at the end of June and will be home working, still -- through the summer. Her current enterprise will make a strong contribution to our understanding of the development of astrological technique, so I for one am happy she is so hard at work. Joseph is indulging in a new form of entertainment: fantasizing about life when Astrological Roots: The Hellenistic Tradition is actually in print and available. One could count on fingers of one hand the tasks remaining to be done. My first book, A Practical Guide to Traditional Astrology, has been reissued, and its new cover is mostly a picture of me. Gulp. (And I continue to worry about the Red Sox, no matter how well they appear to be playing at the moment.) Otherwise there is plenty to work on: the classes described above, new astrology clients, and a new publicity push. As I am not going to UAC , I have sent packets to different groups and organizations in the United States and England, and the response so far has been very encouraging. If you happen to have contacts within the astrological community and would like to help me make some connections, please contact me: I would be forever grateful. Okay, enough about me (and Dorian): onto our featured notable nativities: Rachel Carson turns 100By the time you read about this, Rachel Carson's name will be briefly prominent in the news. Before she became historically significant, she was a well-known author of popular books on science and nature. Her book the Sea Around Us was on the bestseller lists for over a year and won a National Book Award. This is not, however, what she is known for. As early as 1945 Carson had become concerned about the environmental impact of various chemicals that were being used. This culminated in Silent Spring, which was published in 1962. The subject of this book was the effect of pesticides, especially DDT, on the environment. Although her work was quite controversial when it came out, it lead to further research, eventually confirmation, and the result was a ban on DDT and an increased awareness of environmental impacts of human progress. Her work and its result was a milestone in the history of the environmental movement; its lasting effects are incalculable. Just ask Al Gore. Carson's day job was in government mostly in the Bureau of Fisheries, later the Bureau of Fish and Wildlife. In 1936 she sat for the Civil Service exams -- women did not do that kind of thing then. This gave her a unique vantage point to investigate and report on environmental impact. During the writing of Silent Spring Carson was diagnosed with cancer, from which she died in 1964. Her fame has only increased in modern times with its enhanced sense of environmentalism: she has had bridges and parks and an award named after her, and she is the subject of a one-woman play
Carson's exact birth time is unknown. Astrodatabank gives Carson�s listed time of 2 AM, as the documentation mentions only that she was born in the early hours of the morning. I have taken the liberty of rectifying her chart ten minutes past 2 AM to give her an Aries Ascendant. Using whole sign houses, this places Mars - the lord of the Ascendant - conjunct Uranus in the Tenth place of career. These planets would signify her determined and headstrong nature, but not one of a firebrand. This is also signified by her Lot of Spirit in Virgo, as Sun and its lord Mercury are in a Tenth place relationship to the Lot of Spirit. Keeping it simpler, one notices Sun and Mercury in Gemini, opposed by a Moon in Sagittarius. She was clearly a quick study and a quick mind, with an eye for detail and an awareness of the larger dimensions of her study. Mars, as lord of the Ascendant and exalted in the Tenth,, keeps her professionally focused and successful. We now look at other Hellenistic lots for Carson. Using the arc from Spirit to Fortune, the Lot of Eros falls in her First in Aries and is governed by Mars and Uranus - this Lot is not about erotic but voluntary associations, more with friends than lovers. The Lot of Necessity, however, would fall in the same sign as Saturn in her Twelfth. This can give an indication of the illness that struck her down at the peak of her fame and influence. Using modern planets, it is hard not to notice the close Jupiter/Neptune conjunction that opposes Uranus. Are they important for an understanding of her chart and her life? They do not seem connected to anything of a personal character, as they do not appear to connect with personal planets or the Ascendant or Midheaven. But that's just on the surface. Looking deeper, one might also note that the midpoint of Uranus and Neptune is the Ascendant and these are all conjunct in her Ninth Harmonics: one could call her a visionary agent of change, or simply that she would be part of forces far larger than she would be but could signify the meaning of her life. The midpoint of Jupiter/Pluto and of Neptune/Pluto is her Midheaven. This helps give these a transformative planetary context and a personal one. And there is more. In her fifth harmonic, there is a T-Square connecting Jupiter/Neptune with Sun and Pluto. Carson would appear to be an ordinary person if you met her on the street or in the library, yet the astrology points to an extraordinary talent and connection with history. Now I attempt a predictive overview, using Hellenistic and modern indicators.The innermost wheel represents her natal chart. The wheel outside that are her solar arc directions. The outermost wheel depicts the locations of outer planets for 1963 and so shows us her transits at that time. What were her transits from mid-1962-1963? They form an interesting sequence: Jupiter is prominent at this time: in 1962 Jupiter in Pisces was in square to her Sun in Gemini and her Moon in Sagittarius. These increase her personal effectiveness and her for that time -- unconventional message. Using the 2:10 AM time of birth, Jupiter was on her Ascendant during her most public period, in the spring an unquiet spring of 1963. In the triple wheel below, the outermost wheel represents where the planets were in May1963.
Looking at Carson's solar arc directions, we get very much the same message, but also with its tragic personal outcome for her. To review, solar arc directions move all positions (from Ascendant to Pluto) the same rate as the progressed Sun moves: about one degree per year. Here is where Cason's Jupiter/Neptune opposite Uranus comes into play. In late summer of 1962, solar arc Uranus was in square to her Sun in Gemini; Solar arc Jupiter followed suit late in 1962. Forecasting here physical decline and death from cancer in spring 1964, solar arc Neptune was in square to her natal Sun in the autumn of 1963. Although we sometimes rhapsodize about Neptune's spiritual possibilities, this planet also weakens the body. Now for her Hellenistic indications: Her profections advancements -- beginning at her birthday in 1962 move everything eight signs or zoidia. This brings her Sun and Mercury into the Tenth place, that of career and governed by an exalted Mars in Capricorn. Interestingly, advancing the Midheaven and Mars brings Capricorn into the Fifth and Leo governed by Sun. A planetary period system called zodiacal releasing derives years and months from the numbers of the planets governing the zoidia of and following the Lots of Fortune and Spirit to give predictive indications. This can be a very powerful system. From the Lot of Fortune, Carson was in a Capricorn/Virgo phase from late 1962 until after her death. This sounds innocuous until we realize that Virgo is the place of her Lot of Spirit, so this period of time brings together her career and her individuality. When we get to the zodiacal releasing from the Lot of Spirit, we come to Capricorn-Capricorn for that time, placing all emphasis on matters of career, calling, and fame. Decennials, yielding not signs but planets, give us Mercury/Jupiter for this time. The second planet being more important for predictive purposes, one would note that Jupiter is angular and exalted. When Carson died, Jupiter had given off to Moon, which would emphasize more matters of the body. Rachel Carson died at the peak of her fame and influence, yet both have continued long after her death. This will probable not be the case with our next individual, to whom I now turn. The Demise of Don (Imus) For this segment I am grateful to Joyce Levine for the birth data and her presentation in the May 5 NCGR e-mail newsletter, This article can also be found on her website: http://www.joycelevine.com/Imus.html.My astrological techniques differ from Levine's in some but not all respects. Please feel free to refer to her article for her point of view. I don't have to go into much detail about Mr. Imus. Those of us who never heard his radio show knew of him as a popular radio talk show host known to be very opinionated and direct and also producing many interesting interviews. During April of this year, after an unfortunate remark about players on a women�s college basketball team, there was a popular outcry and he was fired from his radio show. Fortunately here we have a more reliable birth time.
There is much to notice here. Scorpio rising gives Mars as the lord of the Ascendant, which falls in his Tenth along with Sun and Pluto. This qualifies Imus as an outward oriented person. Mars takes a square from Jupiter and Saturn, both in the angular Seventh. All this gives his appearance and expression a fixed determined and consistent quality. Before noting seemingly sweeter Mercury in Cancer, we observe that the Sun is also the midpoint of Mercury on one side, Pluto on the other, which reads Sun=Mercury/Pluto. Here we get the no-bullshit-zone that has characterized his radio work. The down side, however, is also a fascination and identification with the sordid, and the prominence of Mars adds aggression to the mix. Hence his potential for what befall in April, 2007. There's more, if one looks at some direct midpoints. The midpoint of Sun and Moon is Uranus, which is also the midpoint of Moon and Mercury. The former tells us about his basic character being prone to excitability, impulsiveness, and unconventionality. Reinholt Ebertin, in Combinations of Stellar Influences, refers to Moon/Mercury=Uranus as Sudden ideas and thoughts, independent thinking, The humanitarian (or sentimental) side of Imus comes through with Moon in Pisces with an application to Venus and being in the same zoidion or sign as the Lot of Spirit. One is tempted to side with or against him, as his record of good work makes him seem less insensitive than he has been portrayed during this spring's controversy. I note, however, that almost all of us are of a mixed character, with heroism and pettiness, compassion and indifference. He is not unique in that respect. His astrological chart, however, gives strong indications of how strong both sides are. This may also fuel our interest in his situation. Levine notes transiting Saturn stationing Imus Midheaven position this past winter, as well as transiting Pluto opposing his Venus. These seem interesting but not determinative. A progression Levine mentions that� does seem quite important is the approaching conjunction between Mars and Neptune, victimizing Imus through his own impulsiveness and aggression.
Imus solar arc directions highlight Uranus, although neither have been exact during this time. Recently Moon had by solar arc been in conjunction with Uranus, and to come is Uranus arcing to a conjunction to his natal Sun. Previously we noted the importance of Uranus natally for Imus. What we have seen recently has been the sudden remark that had become so controversial for him and the quickness in which his professional fate was sealed. Moving to Hellenistic predictive indicators, we get further information. First we look at Imus profections. During this year all positions move seven signs, meaning that his Tenth house indicators go into his Fourth, which is governed by Saturn and also the place of his Lot of Accusation, by the way. Ascendant proceeds to his Seventh, wherein lie Jupiter and Saturn.� Jupiter may point to the fact that in today's America there is no such thing as bad publicity. Saturn depicts how his followers and backers abandoned him. His decennials give us Mercury/Mars for this period, indicating a rather edgy fame. His third order (or particular planetary lord for this period was, in case you wondered, Saturn. For further malefic influence, his Quarters give us Mars/Saturn for this period. His zodiacal releasing by the Lot of Spirit lands him in a Cancer/Aquarius period, and the third order gives us Aquarius again. More Saturn. It is the strong influence of Saturn as a planetary lord that gives Saturn transiting Imus Tenth a particularly potent and negative influence. Here is a triple wheel for Imus during this time. Again, the natal planets are innermost, the solar arc planets outside of that, and the outer circle gives us the planets at this time of difficulty for him.
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