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Hello All: Newsletter 06-2007 Our website You can contact our site at www.astrologyinstitute.com. Debra Martelli has updated and simplified our website and you will find a lot of interesting material much easier to find. In our archives, for example, you will easily find many past articles and profiles from previous newsletters. We would like to expand our community and I would like to extend an offer to all our astrologers: if you are interested in links to your website or making your own writings available on our website, please let me know. We would like to have a greater range of literature and services available to the public, and you might gain from the additional exposure. I look forward to hearing from you.
Wednesday Evenings, 7:15-9:15 July 11-August 22 (7 Weeks) This program follows the pattern of Crane's summer offerings over the past several years. Be begin with the ancient tradition, particularly showing the understanding of music and numbers that informed philosophy and astrology. We will look at some ancient music theory and its relationship to psychology and ethics. We will then explore the foundations of astrology: we survey the theory of aspects and a numerical understanding of the planets themselves. We will fast-forward to the late Renaissance and the contribution of Johann Kepler to our understanding of astrology. We fast-forward again for the second half of the course: In modern astrology, we find many of these same ideas among astrologers who work with midpoints, planetary pictures, and harmonic charts. Here we dive into astrological analysis, using Harvey and Harding's Working with Astrology and Ebertin's Combinations of Stellar Influences as source books. Many charts, notable nativities and our own. People interested in exploring some of the fundamental ideas of astrology and enriching their astrological technique will find these summer sessions valuable and worthy of an early return from the beach! (Our classes in Arlington have lately included an early dinner together at one of Arlington Center's many and diverse restaurants. This feature does not come with the price of the course, however.) For more information or to register, contact Joseph at the above address or (401) 527-2035. Other Programs There has been some interest in a presentation on horary astrology, which consist of asking questions and taking down the time of the question. I will be presenting this to the NCGR in Fairfield, Ct. on October 20 of this year and would like to to a preliminary presentation closer to home. We already have a location in Boston's South Shore. If you are interested in partaking of this, the day and times are still being set up and your imput can help us decide. I have been encouraged to begin another astrology certificate group and plan to begin one this autumn. Once again, as this is still in planning stages, days and times are yet open. If this is interesting and appealing to you, please let me know so we can accommodate your needs. In January at the Astrological Society of Connecticut I will be presenting Dante�during an evening program and Hellenistic Astrology as an all-day workshop.Books Updates A Practical Guide to Traditional Astrology, first published in 1998, has been reissued. This is the "celebrity edition" -- once you look at its cover, you will understand why I call it this. It is now easily available from Arhat Publications and also on amazon.com. (Of course if you get it from amazon.com you should feel free to write a glowing review.) Astrological Roots The Hellenistic Tradition is in its present form using up too much memory on a few computers. By the time of our next newsletter, I hope to be able to say it's at the printer. Tony Blair -- Moon-Venus or Mercury-Mars? I present Blair's chart with a little bit of nostalgia: in a few weeks from this writing (6/15/2007) he will no longer be Prime Minister of Great Britian. For good or ill, he has been a very familiar face over the past ten years. I have also explored his birth chart in Astrological Roots over its many years of being written and by the time it is published he will be gone from public view -- for at least awhile. I begin by discussing chart formats in general. Mr. Blair was born in Scotland and has an Ascendant in Gemini, a sign of northern declination. This means that the there is great distance in the zodiac between his Ascendant and Midheaven, so that a quadrant house system can come up with some funny-looking charts.Here is his chart, "American" or "proportional" style. This looks less funny until you look it more closely.
For most astrologers, this chart format may be totally sufficient. I am bothered, however, by the distortion of the sky that is contained here.� There are six signs (and 128 degrees) �in the conventional second and fourth quadrants, and two signs (and 52 degrees) in the first and third.� At least this chart is pleasing to the eye. The alternative is neither pretty nor is it accurate.
Here the astrologer quickly knows the great variance in size between the houses in quadrant 1 & 3, and 2 & 4.
Why isn't it accurate? Because it is the Ascendant that goes up and down -- north and south of due east -- and the Midheaven that is always due south. My solution, as most people know, is to use a house system that does not conform to the exact appearance of the sky but keeps the houses of equal size -- this is the famous "whole sign" system or, to totally confuse the newcomer, the "zoidia as places" system.� This does not place the Midheaven at the top of the chart and the Ascendant on the upper side of the left, as it would be with Gemini rising, but it doesn't reference itself to the purported sky but the relationships to the Ascendant -- only. You see that the Midheaven is a place among others -- in this case in the Eighth, but the houses are of equal sizes.� This is because they are the signs or zoidia relative to the sign of the Ascendant.� What becomes important is the relationship between the signs that constitute the houses, their activity and their strength. What do we make of this guy? Let's start with the obvious. Regardless of the house system used, Blair's Mars is on the Ascendant and is in mutual reception -- an exchange of signs -- with Mercury.� Gemini is the sign -- "house", actually, of Mercury and Mars is in Gemini; Aries is the "house" of Mars and Mercury is in Aries.� This strengthens both planets and makes them act more like one another.� The result? -- we could call it forceful intellect or language, decisiveness, an appearance of strength (Mars) bolstered by cleverness (Mercury).� To his staunch supporters, Tony Blair is the intelligent and articulate warrior who will go down fighting. Because Aries and Gemini are intrinsically in aspect by a sextile, I would consider this mutual reception particularly potent. Yet Mr. Blair was also one the British media would call "Mr. Showbiz" -- quotable and interesting, articulate and far better at promotion than forethought or substance.� We Americans have seen his Mars-like qualities, especially with his blustery tone after the World Trade Center towers fell, and in the time before he and Mr. Bush ordered the invasion of Iraq.� We have also him defend that invasion and its aftermath stubbornly and without regret. Aside from the relationship with Mars, what else is there about Mercury? It is oriental to the Sun and in the strong Eleventh, which gives it strength and visibility. More problematically, Mercury is has oppositions from Saturn and Neptune. Saturn invites cynicism, Neptune confusion or glamour. As Saturn is exalted and in sect in Blair's day chart, he is probably a deeper and more contemplative thinker than his political career has thus far shown him to be. Neptune, while possibly adding to his articulateness and ability to catch the right phase for the moment, does not encourage systematic or organized thinking. Mercury is also the lord of his Lot of Spirit, located in Virgo in the angular Fourth.� This further helps give him a mercurial character. I suspect that Blair's political career has utilized some of his intellectual strengths but has not challenged them to the fullest extent -- he can be decisive when he needs instead to be self-critical, flippant when he needs to be reflective.� This is reflected in his response to the many scandals involving people i his administration and maginally -- to our knowledge -- involving him. Instead of taking stock and aiming for transparency, he appears to prefer to stonewall and retaliate. Blair is still young for his position in life, he has plenty of time to show more positive sides of his Mercury. What are Blair's midpoints when they involve Mercury? Sun is the midpoint of Mercury and Ascendant, helps his positive presence and his ability to articulate, as many Americans watching him at press conferences alongside GW Bush have noted. Sun is also the midpoint of Mercury and Mars -- just in case we didn't see the strong connection between these two planets already! Blair's Ascendant is also the midpoint of Mercury and Uranus, bringing him an independent and decisive streak. Blair's backing of Bush's excursion into Iraq was not an isolated phenomenon but from his desire to make a difference to make a better world -- the entire world. On the positive side has been his advocacy of a global intervention with climate change and a strong backing for humanitarian causes.� Unfortunately, his adherence to a "clash of civilizations" between the west and radical Islam was brought about more by his militaristic streak (Mercury-Mars) than his humanitarianism (Moon-Venus, Neptune-Mercury? Also, Moon is the midpoint between Jupiter/Saturn and Jupiter/Neptune. How would one account for Blair's charm? This is where Moon in Aquarius applying to Venus in Aries comes in. Contrast Blair's charm with that of Bill Clinton (Venus in the first). Clinton's charm at its worst is oily and insincere (Venus conjunct Neptune in Libra); at its worst Blair's charm is unsympathetic and full of its own agenda (the Aquarius-Aries combination). What does one make of Blair's Jupiter and Sun in the Twelfth?� Although the two planets are not close by degree, they are "with" each other and may contribute stubbornness (Taurus) and grandiosity (Jupiter) to his basic energy (Sun).� These placements in the Twelfth do not make me think of him as self-serving or self-absorbed but identifying strongly with whatever cause he is espousing. Does Jupiter at 29 Taurus conjunct Mercury in early Gemini? Not according to tradition: planets in two adjacent signs are not conjunct. Let's look at some of the predictive indications for different turning points of his life -- like right now, mid-2007. But first we take on his becoming Prime Minister in 1997. Here is his triple wheel. Here I am curious about his campaign in the spring, which gave his party and him a landslide victory.
One also notices a set of strong Jupiter transits -- a conjunction to his Moon in Aquarius and a square to Sun in Taurus. This is a good indication of his ability to project himself as grander than actually was. Interestingly, his decennials reveal a Moon-Moon period, which only magnified the power of the Jupiter transit onto Moon. After his birthday and his election victory, Blair's profection from the Ascendant went into his Ninth, where we find Moon with that Jupiter transit. Blair would have begun in office with the flutter of great possibility and vision. His secondary progressions are striking. He had a progressed quarter Moon and Uranus was conjunct his progressed Ascendant, indicating him being a man of the moment and being a strong departure from the long-term hold on power by the Conservative Party.Now we find ourselves in 2003, the year of the Iraq invasion, the ensuing controversy -- especially about his using "sexed-up" intelligence -- I think that was the phrase.� From the role of military co-victor, Blair was now playing defensively, which he would do over the remainder of his time in office.
During the build-up to the invasion of Iraq, Blair's decennials featured Moon-Mars; beginning in November 2003, Saturn took over from Mars. In this case, reality had taken over from aggressive self-justification. Yet Blair has been unrepentant to this day for the invasion of Iraq. The following year 2005 featured more difficulties for Blair. In the spring, Labour and he was returned to power but by a very reduced majority, reflecting his declining popularity. With a progressed full Moon at that time, Blair could have stepped down before that election and come out of office with much of his reputation intact. Problems only continued: tragically, on July 5, 52 people were killed in London as a result of subway bombings. Blair's transits at that time were unremarkable, but afterwards Neptune -- truly the greater malefic -- was in square to his Sun in Taurus. As time has gone on he has had a steady slide in popularity and effectiveness. In 2006, Venus took over from Moon as his general time lord for decennials, which has forced him to contend with both Saturn and Neptune opposing that planet. Late in the year, Mercury took over as specific time lord, giving him a Venus-Mercury period. This has brought things to a head for him. He had promised that he would step down sometime during this third term of office, and on May 10 he made the announcement that he would leave office at the end of June. Which brings up to the present moment. I noted yesterday to a friend that Blair is having a Mars-in-Aries time and the facts support that.
However, his Ascendant and Mars advance to Sagittarius, governed by Jupiter and transited to by Jupiter. I would have thought that his friend and partner across the continent would have nominated him to be president of the World Bank. However, other opportunities await Mr. Blair. What will become of him over time? In the short term, with Mars proceeding through Taurus and Gemini, he may be rather difficult to live with. I would advise long stays at the beach or in mountain solitudes away from journalists and politicians. The longer run seem more to Mr. Blair's liking. Like Bill Clinton, Mr. Blair will be in the global public eye for some time now. Hopefully his experiences will have taught him to tame the Mars-Mercury a bit and instead act from his Moon-Venus application. In that way he may be able to continue fighting the good fight -- for hopefully it will be for better purposes.
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