Heavenly Truth

Eddie Izzard

I just enjoyed watching Believe: the Eddie Izzard Story, and of course, less than half-way through I got curious about his chart. He's got a massive stellium in Aquarius with a Virgo Rising and Pluto right on the Ascendant.

The thing about Eddie that became apparent early on in the docu was not only how relentlessly he worked at his craft (6th house) but also how long it took him to receive any real praise for his work. He knew he wanted to be an actor and performer from age 16 and pressed on, constantly working and refining (Virgo Rising). Clearly it paid off but it was a long time in coming. That Mars/Saturn conjunction in the 5th house (performance) no doubt correlates with that stamina and commitment as well--believing in one's art and oneself.

Eddie Izzard is a transvestite and as that tends to not be the norm in social behavior, one might attribute that as the strongest trait of the 'rebel' Aquarius planets. But so much of Aquarius is being willing to believe in yourself even when no one else does. It's not just about confidence, but about knowing who you are, and Aquarius pursues that by stubbornly (a word many people, including Eddie, use to describe him) sticking to what they know to be true about themselves. They've got to, because so often they encounter situations when they are the only one that does believe in what they know about their true selves.

"It's what I call the madness. If you think you can perform and the whole world is saying that you can't perform then you're obviously mad. If you hold onto that madness and hold onto it and hold onto it and hold onto it for years and then later it comes good and you can actually perform, then it proves that you weren't mad. And you just have to surround that little bit of belief and hold onto it as long as you can."

His south node in Aquarius is conjunct the Sun, which rules his north node and, contrariwise, Uranus, which rules his south node, is in the same sign and house as his north node. With this unofficial 'mutual reception', there seems to be a theme of believing in yourself carried over from the past to the present and future, but moving from the Aquarian way of doing so, which can sometimes fall into the habit of expecting people to think you're a freak and you don't belong and using that as a reason to be on the fringe or not participate in society or show your stuff (except as a way to shock or rebel), to a Leonine way of doing so, which is very celebratory and inclusive, even if it doesn't put one on center stage (or even if it does as in this case!)

His biopic is called "Believe" because of something a friend said to him. During one of his street performances at Covent Garden, someone in the audience had tied him up quite tightly so he could do his escape artist bit, and he couldn't get out; he had to dismiss the audience and have someone else untie him. His friend said: "if you think you can't get out, you will not be able to get out. You have to believe you'll get out; it's psychological."

'You've got to believe you can be a stand up before you can be a stand up, you've got to believe you can be an actor before you can be an actor, you've got to believe you can be an astronaut before you can be an astronaut. You've got to believe; you've got to imagine yourself in that situation,' Eddie says.

Seems like a quintessential statement for a combination of things in his chart: the imagination and faith of a Pisces Moon, and the stubborn dedication of the 6th house planets and Mars/Saturn in Aquarius, surely.

What about his Virgo Ascendant? It certainly echoed the non-stop dedication to work, and it was clear that he was always working to perfecting his act, and he's also not lacking in humility when self-assessing. At one point in the film he's talking about developing his technique for shifting from street/acting performance to stand-up:

"So in the end I decided to just work on one show until it was good and then people would come, as opposed to write shoddy, quick stuff and then shove it in people's faces and say 'look, it's brilliant'. Cuz it wasn't."

With Pluto on the Ascendant in Virgo the dedication can turn into obsession, especially if there's a feeling of not being good enough (and let's face it, there always is when Virgo is present--that's the fuel it burns!). One might chalk his dedication and relentlessness up to the 6th house and Mars conjunct Saturn once again,but other people in his life realize and remark how he always seems to be running from or toward something or both with his relentless schedule (9 in the morning until 3 or 4 am every night, they say!). All of these factors might exhibit these behaviors, but where we find Pluto, we tend to find defense mechanisms and escapist techniques to outrun our fear and our deepest pain. Eddie's mother died when he was young and toward the end of the film when thinking of her, he realizes in an emotional moment: "everything I do in life is trying to get her back ... I think if I do enough things that maybe she'll come back ... yeah, I think that's what I'm doing."

Rethinking Venus: Venus Retrograde in Scorpio

As with any craft, the longer you're in it, the deeper you want to go into its components to get better and better at it overall. Most people understand that after you've been doing something a long time and can do it in your sleep, you can get bored with your craft. I've been doing astrology long enough to fall prey to the boredom, I'm sure, but I never get bored.

Instead, I get confused.

I know all the puzzle pieces in astrology. Insert planet A into sign B and all that. Some people might say I've even gotten pretty good at twisting those pieces around into little pockets of meaning (I did write a book and all, I suppose). While many people spend time trying to figure out the next new puzzle on their horizon such as midpoints or sesquiquadrates or the elusive triple-yod-summersault-dismount trickybob, I like to dig as deeply as I can into the elegance of the core components of astrology: the planets, signs, and houses; to re-enchant myself with the foundations themselves. I know it's time for another excavacation when suddenly everything I seem to know about one of these components simply dissolves when I try to pick it up. File empty. These days, ask me about Venus and I'll search my brain's database, only to find that the files have been stolen and a sticky note left in its place: "I.O.U."

And then, like a good little Virgo with Capricorn Rising, I panic and fret while all the while trying to fake it so I can keep my reputation in good standing. Yes, yes, Venus, yes. Be right with you. Just, um, gathering my thoughts and opening up my programs. Wait, where's my laser pointer and my headset?!

It's not that I've forgotten the keywords. I can recite them just as well as the next good little astrological monkey. Venus: Relationships, Charm, Beauty, Creativity, Art, and so on. But it's not enough to parrot the words inherited from every beginning astrology book one's read. This 8th house girl has to know WHY? What are the roots that have birthed these branches? It's come time for me to dig into the very soil from which our modern understanding of the Venus archetype has grown. So I'm dutifully going about it in Gemini south node fashion: a stack of books and a list of mp3 workshop recordings, and back to the myths themselves to do my own distillation process. Hopefully when I stir them all in the 8th-house pot, the themes, truths, and patterns will rise to the Neptune-in-Sagittarius-conjunct-my-north-node frothy top.

Is it a coincidence that I've got the Venus Research bug as it retrogrades in Scorpio, the sign of research and mysteries, over my Midheaven? Goddess, I hope not!

I hope to have more to offer in the future, but my preliminary findings (one with Cap Rising must talk like that to sound official, you do understand) have drawn my attention to the trouble with the white-washed Venus that has been most celebrated. Venus wants to make everything 'pretty', just like herself, right? She wants us all to get along and play nice, or at least pretend to play nice. I'm not interested in standing on a feminism soapbox here as much as I'm interested in wholeness, as in, don't just show me the pretty parts, show me all of it (even you, Venus). It's not about finding the tabloid dirt on Venus to prove how ugly she really is. What really intrigues me is the definition of beauty itself, beyond the symmetry of faces or the argument of pastels over fluorescents. I found this paragraph from Anne Massey's book Venus: Her Cycles, Symbols & Myths to be particularly provocative:

Our view of Venus has become sanitized over the centuries, removing whatever we as a society are not comfortable accepting. This would naturally account for the fact that we still like to place women on pedestals where we can admire their beauty (and no doubt lament the lack of our own in some way by comparison, I'd like to add). Fashion magazines are a prime example. The faces of women who grace the pages have been airbrushed to the extent that there appear to be no lines, creases, or imperfections, let alone a wrinkle or a laugh line. With each brush stroke, a part of the woman's personality has been erased. (italics mine, bold added)

Venus is retrograding through Scorpio right now (I think I mentioned that!), creating a seemingly perfect time for us all to ask questions about the raw truth that lies beneath any image of beauty or any bonds of love. In marital love, for example, we recognize the lines from the age-old vow: "for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do us part." Well. We can certainly recognize Saturn's stamp on all of that. After all, until death do us part is pretty committed and serious. But we can recognize Venus in it too, I hope (especially in Scorpio). The depth of the passion in a commitment like that has to be profound.

We don't like to think about it, but Scorpio knows the frightening truth of love in the face of poorer, sickness, and death. As Venus retrogrades through this sign, perhaps we are being shown what is terribly beautiful in its power and horror, not just pretty or easy. Singer Lily Allen (May 2 1985) has just lost her baby at 6 months pregnant, while Venus in Scorpio retrograded right over her Pluto. Love meets horror and loss? You betcha.

So what is my point, that Venus, and especially Venus in Scorpio, is actually ugly, frightening, painful and ultimately ends in death? No, it's even worse. That the face of Venus that is love, human love, contains all those things, Scorpio or not. Retrograde or not. It also contains timelessness, ascension, safety through the howling winds that life blows at us sometimes, vulnerability in the best sense, and every love song you've ever heard. Let's honor its raw and provocative power that isn't always pretty, but supersedes prettiness with its elegance and flawed purity.

This is one of the best Venus in Scorpio photos I know, and surprise, surprise, it has nothing to do with leather, vampires, or heavy eye makeup:

photo credit: unknown. Do you know? Please comment and let me in on it!

So how does the chart reveal the similarities but the differences alike? There are a few theories, such as the idea that twins 'split up' the chart's energies and express some traits stronger than their twin or that environmental factors make up the other half of the astrological picture, that external stimulus and life events dictate how each twin uses their chart to respond to life. Or is it the core of modern astrology and the belief in free will: that no one can predict what an individual soul's choices will be, only their lessons, struggles, and strengths?

Project Runway Season 8: Gretchen Jones, Master Manipulator or Misjudged?

Though it is my favorite show on television no matter what the season, season 8 of Project Runway hasn't exactly been the most scintillating of all the seasons (I still miss season 4's Christian Siriano, what can I say!?) but it did get somewhat more interesting when Tim dressed down designer Gretchen Jones for "manipulating, controlling and bullying" her team members in episode 5.

Gretchen said she was hurt by what Tim said. In her after show video blog, she said she was trying to be a cheerleader, not a leader. She said she didn't try to tell people what to make but just went around making sure people finished what they'd committed to.

Gretchen has a Capricorn Sun, as well as Mercury in Capricorn conjunct her south node, so she comes with a wealth of instinctual knowledge about how to get things done. She is practical and has a good sense of how to manage time and materials in general, but also an inherent ability to strategize. Not only does Capricorn provide that ability, but Mercury so close to her south node means she inherently comes with a strong and logical mind. When she focuses on a goal, she immediately starts working out the steps to get there.

Capricorn has been called the sign of the 'manager' because of these traits of know-how coupled with an ability to see how the bigger picture needs to shape up. When Gretchen was "making sure people finished what they'd committed to," she was in prime Capricorn form. Capricorn is not known for it's compassion or sensitivity, mostly because of another saying that we find in the astrological literature of Capricorn frequently which is the phrase "ends justify the means." Capricorn is more concerned with getting to the goal than how it gets there. A Capricorn ideally wants to live with integrity and be thought of well, but it's often not about being liked rather than being respected. Getting what they set out to do done and being a person of their word is a Capricorn intention.

However, the excesses of Capricorn's fixation on the end goal can end up manipulative. While Capricorn isn't sneaky in the same way that maybe Scorpio or Gemini might be, they can be quite hungry for accomplishment and prestige. Gretchen seemed to suffer from hubris after her first two wins right out of the gate which probably fueled her solar ego and allowed The Boss to come out, steering others, however indirectly or unintentionally, toward the ends she wanted.

Her seeming backpedaling (according to the judges, not her) on her opinion of Team Luxe's collection (first she seems proud of it, then she's calling it garbage that she had to salvage) can be attributed to her Mars in Libra. For Libra, everything is relative, and her desire for approval (Libra) clashes in her chart with her desire for respect (Capricorn) in sometimes incongruous ways, like it did in this example. We defend ourselves with our Mars too, so her style of defending herself (in Libra) is likely to be in almost siding with the opposing opinion to diffuse the confrontation. Once her Capricorn Sun was sure she wasn't aligned with a success, her Mars in Libra took over to agree and diffuse, hence the backpedaling.

Was she truly hurt by Tim's remarks? Her Pisces moon suggests she was. With Pluto conjunct Saturn in Libra, squaring her nodes, her interactions with other people are probably often the trickiest spot in her life. She probably has difficulty trusting others and sharing space with others, not out of a lack of desire, but with Capricorn being more comfortable for her (south node), the challenge of softening and sharing clashes with her independent and self-sufficient nature, so it's easier to just get things done rather than bringing people's feelings and ideas into the mix and letting it complicate things.

Her Pisces moon, though, suggests she does have a very tender heart and doesn't want to hurt others. But even her Venus in detached Aquarius makes it difficult to see her soft side until you've gained her trust. We can probably expect her to keep trooping on and getting the job done on Project Runway.

Ricky Martin's Reveal: Why Now is the Time for him to Come out of the Closet

Ricky Martin 'came out of the closet' today by revealing that he was gay in a blog entry on his website.

The chart has so many indicators about the timing of his reveal.

Progressed Mercury is closing in on a conjunction of his Venus in Aquarius in the 8th house. This is 2 years away or so from becoming exact, but it's warming up. Progressed Mercury: one's evolving voice and truth, coming to Venus, the way we relate and connect to others. In Aquarius, 8th house, there's a desire to be true to oneself, even if it's difficult, vulnerable, or raw truth.

Venus is part of a grand trine to Saturn in Gemini and Pluto in Libra. Transiting Mars in Leo has just stationed direct this month, which would have shaken this entire configuration, triggering each planet in the matrix: Venus in Aquarius in the 8th: one's personal relationship & sexual truth; Pluto in Libra in the 4th house: facing one's fears about the core of oneself; and Saturn in Gemini in the 12th: the 'hard work' of speaking one's spiritual truth but also confronting one's fixed beliefs and having the courage to challenge and rework them. All these planets are in the hidden water houses, which triggers inner work, but Mars in Leo pushes them forward to express as it forms the top of a kite configuration.

One of my favorites, because I'm such a fan of the progressed moon, is the fact that his progressed moon just moved into Virgo last month. The progressed moon is where our emotional attention is, what our heart needs and is ready for. It usually is where a lot of the activity in our lives can be traced back to, since what we put our attention on is what we notice manifesting and what we bring about. In the third house of communication, information, and perception, just entering Virgo, it's about being tired of the B.S., tired of game playing or worrying about what others think of you, and just wanting to cut to the chase and consider the facts. It's also squaring Saturn in Gemini, another trigger for that grand trine to activate.

A few other notables:

• His progressed Venus is within orb of a square to his Ascendant/Descendant - self and other.
• Transiting Uranus is conjuncting his Moon & Mars in the 10th house in Pisces - visible (10th) truth (Pisces)
• Saturn just ran over his Pluto in the 4th house, also part of that grand trine

What do you see?

Astro Vignette: Who Do You Think You Are, Lisa Kudrow?

Lisa Kudrow is the executive producer for the American version of the UK television show Who Do You Think You are? A celebrity stars in each episode, tracing back through their family tree and usually centering on one ancestor as they follow the clues and records to find out who they were. Sarah Jessica Parker starred in the first episode, tracing her ancestor, Esther Elwell, back to the times of the Salem Witch Trials.

In a recent Entertainment Tonight interview, Lisa said:

"The one thing I realize with this show is you see the person that's gonna be taking this journey and then not long after that it's really the story of their long-since-dead relative and then you start getting invested in those people and that story..."

When asked if she sensed a surge of people wanted to go back in time:

"Absolutely... [NBC executives] were logging on to find out about their own family because it's very compelling... you find out even more, that you are actually very connected to some major events in world history that you thought happened to strangers."

Lisa's Chart: Cancer Rising

Lisa's Ascendant is in Cancer, along with her north node and Venus in the first house. This combination produces a desire to know one's self (first house) via an understanding of one's place within the family (Cancer), whether it's the immediate family of one's early childhood upbringing or beyond, such as physical or emotional traits passed down through one's ancestral lineage.

It can be quite eye opening for her to see how her understanding of her origins colors the way she perceives the world (Ascendant). Her south node in Capricorn, although in the 7th house of partnerships, can indicate a tendency toward personal emotional withdrawal even as she takes care of others she feels obligated to. Moving toward her north node in Cancer can mean learning to embrace self-nurture, since Cancer is a sign that's built to nurture whatever it chooses to give its heart to (in this case, it needs to be the self  due to its placement in her first house). However, how we nurture and how we have been nurtured create a full circle, so Lisa is finding out who she is through where she comes from.

Venus plays an interesting role here and speaks the loudest when it comes to understanding Lisa's interest in the show. Venus is about feeling connected by being able to relate to someone, so it's no surprise that the show is not a dry, 'just the facts' kind of show with an impersonal narration, but has a very personal feel and is more about the story of the ancestor. Lisa reveals it above in her interview when she talks about feeling connected to something that you thought happened to a stranger, implying that once you realize your connection to your ancestor, their humanness and what you share between you (albeit over a distance of time), they are no longer a stranger, but truly family.

The Astrology of Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook

Facebook celebrated it's 6th birthday on February 4th and it got me curious about its chart and the chart of its founder, Mark Zuckerberg. I still get a huge thrill when the astrology chart of a person, event, or company so compellingly represents the essence of its owner, especially at first glance. Facebook's chart is seems to be no exception.

Facebook's mission statement is: "Facebook's mission is to give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected." While it's evolved over time, it's always seemed to include the idea of connectivity and people coming together, over the Internet, of course. How perfect, then, that its birth happened under a Sun Neptune conjunction in Aquarius. The Sun in a person's chart represents their core identity, and the sign, house, and planets involved with the Sun show how to keep that core warm and able to sustain the person's life. The Sun in a company's chart is no different.

The core identity of Facebook's natal Sun is about Individuals (Aquarius) uniting (Neptune). Individuals are sharing the things that make them individuals: photos, thoughts, experiences, in a seamless way, with no apparent boundary (Neptune) between them and everyone else in the collective community. The Internet itself is an Aquarian dream, technology enabling community, so it's a perfect medium for this kind of mission. Neptune also adds a fluidity to the identity: constantly evolving and morphing, although Neptune's presence on the Sun can indicate a vulnerability to shifting and adapting to its environment so much that it's hard to tell what it really IS. Neptune can add a nebulous quality that can make it difficult for even Facebook to know itself clearly.

I always look at the chart not as a manufacturer of what is, but a guide to what can be. Like a car's user manual gives tips for best performance and has  a recommended maintenance schedule, a natal chart holds the clues for how a person, or even a company, can live its life to the fullest, by remaining true to itself. Facebook's Aquarius Sun reveals that not only does it need to continue to serve the needs of the individual rather than the status quo, but it also needs to remain true to walking its own path - which will often be off the beaten trail, as is sometimes typical and needful with Aquarius. A great example of this is when Facebook got big enough to start collecting serious offers to purchase it, Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook's creator, turned down the offers. In a 2007 interview with Time Magazine, Zuckerberg said: 

 "We're not really looking to sell the company. We're not looking to IPO anytime soon. It's just not the core focus of the company."

Why didn't he sell? Ideals? Or did he sense he could get more money? Who can say what the motivation was, but if it had anything to do with the reason he gave in the Time interview, it can certainly make that Aquarian Sun happy. Unfortunately, without a time of birth to narrow it down (a common problem with business and mundane charts) we cannot pin down the moon sign, nor the rising sign, and obviously no house placements are available. So my eye wanders next to the Jupiter, Venus, Pluto configuration.

Jupiter in Virgo illustrates that their best method for growth is a steady, humble, and accountable one, where it does not rely on anything but it's own willingness to work hard. Opposite Venus in Pisces, they will have to choose partners carefully, and would do well with an even balance of the visionaries (Pisces) and the pencil pushers (Virgo - sorry Virgo, but I love ya!) Oppositions, especially with Venus, are where we often find people outside of us to help us manage an imbalance inside of us. There is a need for balance between practical growth and the vision. This sounds pretty obvious; one could argue that its something every company needs, but its of particular importance in Facebook's chart, not to mention there's Pluto up there, one's potential unconscious agenda, having the potential to drive a wedge in the balance when not managed with integrity (and sometimes even then).

A house placement for Pluto would be greatly helpful, but it looks like difficulties involving the issue of partnership can reveal (and/or create) skeletons in the Facebook closet. The management of existing and potential partners then becomes a more significant issue (and potential source of landmines) than it already would be for any company. In the absence of house placements such as planets in the first house (the face of the company) or the 10th house (the reputation of the company) as well as the very important moon sign which would represent its customers, I would look to Venus primarily for insight on how best to manage public relations. Venus rules connections and Facebook, as a company and a product, is very much invested in connections, so it can be quite relevant here.

When interfacing with the public, again in the absence of other public relation chart clues, Venus in Pisces would indicate the necessity of maintaining the appearance of openness, non-aggression, and always a sense that it's not about a hierarchy of power as much as a collective, participatory effort. As all businesses tend to want to do, painting an optimistic picture of itself will be a good thing in some ways, but tricky. 'Less is more' might be a useful adage here, since overwhelming the public with 'hard core realism' can send a wave of paranoia and backlash, and with 400 million users,¹ that's a wave big enough to drown anything. There's that tricky Neptunian/Piscean influence again; while there is such a thing as vision, optimism, and one's best intention, Venus in Pisces here has a vulnerability to going down the dark road of white-washing and manipulation of the 'spin' it puts on its activities when communicating with the public. Whether it's right, wrong, or simply the best means to an end, Pluto and Jupiter in this configuration say to me that there's huge potential for something to go boom if those skeletons come out of that closet. If they do have any (um, yeah) they'll be very big (Jupiter), very scary (Pluto), and very devious although they may try to appear innocent and have been created out of naivete (Pisces).

Another important issue to manage will be the 'truth-lite' public relations need  (Venus in Pisces) and the fact that Mercury is in Capricorn and conjunct Chiron. Mercury in Capricorn is about direct, down to business type of communication, although it can lean to the side of information being delivered on a "need-to-know" basis in order to get one's message across with the most effective outcome. Chiron feels like an Achilles' heel to me here, where it's vulnerable to shooting itself in the foot (forgive me for the hopefully amusing and playful reference to the Chiron myth). So, communicating as clearly and efficiently as possible, but not without strategy, is needful. Giving the appearance of connecting in an open way (Venus in Pisces) and doing so by communicating matter-of-factly (Mercury in Capricorn) might be a good balance.

Back to the idea of Jupiter and sustainable growth, Mars in Taurus supports the Jupiter agenda of sustainable growth (which so far has not exactly been the case as it's growth is so rapid its head is probably spinning!). However, Mars at 0 degrees Taurus is a double-edged sword: on one hand, it's direct and in stable Taurus, so there's a sense of the possibility of staying power. However, it's in what some consider a critical degree,² which can be an indicator of instability. Again, because I see the chart as a prescription, not a promise of glory or doom, the key would be for Facebook to govern itself with slow, steady growth. It will also need to be especially humble, careful, and vigilant when it reaches the inevitable breaking point that any company does, where the skeletal structure that has supported it is now becoming brittle and needs to be repaired or cave in entirely, usually due to rigid and eventually outdated processes and policies.³

Congratulations, you made it to the end of this very long entry. There is no way this would fit into a Facebook status update!

1 http://blog.facebook.com/blog.php?blog_id=company&blogger=4

2 Critical degrees vary for different signs. In Taurus, it's said to be 9 and 21 degrees, but many astrologers consider 0 and 29 of any sign to be critical because it is on the threshold of the change from one sign to the other and can often indicate instability.

3 The Tower card in the Tarot always comes to mind for me in these cases. It does not necessarily have to be that the tower was flawed and therefore could not stand, but that everything inevitably decays, especially if it is not continually renewed and reinvented. Sustainability has nothing to do with stasis, but with measured growth.

How to Interpret a Natal Chart Using the Evolutionary Astrology Method

When a student begins studying astrology, the basic components can be easily learned from a book and memorized, to a certain extent. Putting puzzle piece A together with piece B can also be done rather efficiently. But when it comes to putting the puzzle of an entire chart (and therefore an entire person) together, it can be easily overwhelming. A natal chart isn't just the sum of its parts, and must be understood on a foundational level to see how all the parts really fit together. Once the foundation is understood, themes start to emerge and you can transcend the parts and understand the whole. This is the holy grail for any student!

There are many ways to start dissecting the puzzle of a natal chart. Many people start to dive into a chart by starting with the Sun, Moon, and Rising sign so as to understand a sort of basic vignette, and then add the rest of the planets in one by one to that foundational understanding. Many people assess the bigger picture by analyzing a sort of hierarchy of planetary 'weight', such as which planets are stronger or weaker because of their dignity or debilitation (fall, exaltation, rulership, or detriment). Still others will look at groupings of planets, to determine which elements or modalities are strongest, or the Jones' patterns such as the Bucket or the See Saw. All of these are fine ways to begin, and all are an attempt to get a sense of the foundation of a chart, an understanding of the primary cornerstones of a chart on top of which everything else in the chart can rest. I'm going to illustrate a different way of discovering the foundation of a chart using the nodes.

The Chart Behind the Chart

I look at the foundation of a chart as well, but because I am an evolutionary astrologer,* I use the nodes of the moon to understand a person and a chart's foundation. I ask two questions of the chart; first, rather than trying to understand or predict what this person will do, how they will behave or what good or bad luck will befall them based on their planetary placements, I ask the chart 'Why is this person here?' Before I try to understand what someone with a Sun in Aries IS, or how they'll behave, I try and understand why that soul needs their Sun in Aries to begin with. To do that, I first start with understanding the north and south nodes of the moon: why they're here, and where they came from - the orientation they entered this life with, respectively.

Second, rather than assuming someone will epitomize all expressions of their natal chart placements as if they were a walking astrological stereotype, I assume that the chart tells me not what that person IS, but what they are becoming. Therefore, I ask the chart, 'What is this person trying to learn?' Having a birth chart represents the tool box they were given when they were born, but they still need to learn to use each tool (planet in sign and house) effectively. Once I understand the nodes, I can look at the rest of the planets in their signs and houses in the chart and understand why this person has the toolbox they do.

Mystery Actress

It's with these two things in mind that I interpret any chart, and I'll demonstrate the resulting techniques here. This is the chart of a mystery actress. I chose a famous person because while a famous person's life is not revealed only through what the public knows about them, it at least gives some ability to place biography with astrology. I will reveal her name at the end of this interpretation. Be good! Don't skip to the end.

First I take stock of the south node, including it's sign and house, and any planets in association with it, through rulership or aspect.  What I try and do is create a metaphor from the symbols that gives a sense of where this soul's orientation was as she entered this life, and so sometimes it can be helpful to think of the south node and it's condition as giving clues to the past life of the soul that show us the attitude they may have been used to as they entered this chart and this life.

The South Node

So in this chart I'm considering Aquarius, 11th house, Saturn conjunct and ruled by Uranus in the 6th house. While many metaphors could be created from this chart's south node situation, this speaks to me of someone who felt like she was under constant restraint, (Saturn) that things were difficult or her outlook always seemed limited. With the ruler of Aquarius in the 6th house in Virgo, that emphasizes a possibility of feeling crushed under a sense of duty or too much responsibility, like the older child having to take care of the younger children if the parents are unable or unwilling to. Because of the Aquarius element, and in the 11th house, there might have also been a feeling of feeling like an odd man out, like she either only fit in with the misfits or didn't fit in at all, probably because of limited resources and maybe even poor social standing.

So this soul enters this world and probably experiences circumstances in early childhood that reinforce this orientation, sort of reliving or recreating what one is used to which lays a foundation for the soul to realize what it wants to grow out of or away from, and into the north node. The qualities of Aquarius can lend a strong sense of individuality and also detachment from others, especially in the 11th house of 'the public' or one's peers, but with Saturn there, it further emphasizes a feeling of being restrained, always having to hold in what one really is perhaps, or feeling limited because of what she is, like how class, race, or education can set one apart from a community that has a majority in a different class, race, or education level, for example.

The North Node

Moving toward the north node, we see that what this woman has come to do is get in touch with Leo, 5th house energy. Since Saturn is conjunct the south node, it is opposite the north node, and for he to be able to bring her Saturn energy forward into good use for this life, she'll need to let go of some of the old ways she may have responded to Saturn, like letting go of a habitual tendency to do things the hard way, or to hold back what she really is out of a misguided sense of individualism or out of a fear of feeling like an outcast. Leo and the 5th house experiences will help her reinforce a sense of it "being ok to be you and me," helping her be present in the moment instead of pulling away from the drama of a moment out of a fear of getting swept up, being exposed, or letting go. People and experiences that help her learn how to play, and how to let go of systematic or objective thought in situations where a more spontaneous and organic response would be better, will help her learn to trust herself and therefore enjoy herself and life more. This soul has come to feel the warmth of those who love her for who she is, and the more she is comfortable with herself, relaxes and trusts life, the more enriched she will feel.

The Toolbox

The ruler of her north node can assist her in living the soul's north node intention. The ruler of Leo, of course, is the Sun, and her Sun is in Scorpio in the 8th house. She needs to build a sense of identity which is based on a more whole and deep view of herself - not just the easy or good parts, but taking her to the depth of herself. The 8th house has been called the house of "Sex and Death," which sounds a bit strange but really, 8th house activities are anything that take us to our edges, have us braving the skeletons in our closet or our deepest fears, which is where we can also find our deepest strength and courage. In Scorpio, she does this by embracing intensity and a sort of 'all or nothing' attitude at times, as well as being willing to penetrate the pretty stories that we tell ourselves to escape from life's hard parts and really look what's beneath the surface - of life and herself.

At this point, we can start making our way around the rest of the chart to think about each placement in light of this soul's past and intent. Obviously the stellium of planets in Scorpio and the 8th house we've discussed above with the Sun, but how about the fact that Venus and Neptune and even Mercury are all in a conjunction? Venus conjunct that Sun reveals how relationships and connections with others will help her clarify her identity, and the fact that it's in Scorpio and the 8th house shows the kind of relationship she needs: one that is deep enough to say the true things and reveal the raw truths of ourselves. What an effective urge for this soul to use to break through old patterns of feeling distanced from others. With Neptune conjunct her Sun, also in Scorpio and the 8th, it is also a fundamental desire in her consciousness to open up to spiritual priorities, helping her develop a sense of strength that is based on the softness and opening effect of Neptune rather than the hardening of boundaries and closed habits of Saturn on her south node. Mercury in this house and close to Neptune has her more likely to think with fluidity and on a more intuitive level rather than strictly the objective and factual.

We can simply continue the rest of this way throughout the chart. Mars in Leo in the 5th but bridging into the 6th shows a passion for self-expression and to bring it into her work, to live her daily life with that passion and learn to surrender to the joy of a moment and the drama of a moment by letting creative ecstasy overtake her at times - in fact, much of this chart is in the fire or water element, including the ascendant, which helps to soften and open. Her Taurus Moon is like an anchor that roots her, giving her a steady heart which can help her stay solid in her own values through a basic building of her own self-esteem (2nd house), perhaps helping her let go of any shame she might have left over, perhaps even inexplicably, from the feeling of being an outsider and the more comfortable she gets with herself, the less she'll feel she has something to prove.

Everything I've discussed here can be taken deeper, but this has been an overview of how this technique works. If you're interested in learning more about the nodes in this light or seeing another example, visit my website to purchase a 4 hour video I did on the nodes: "The Chart Behind the Chart." In this video, I go into each step to analyze the nodes in detail and go through another couple of examples more thoroughly than I've done here.

This chart belongs to the actress Demi Moore.

*There are two common 'branches' of evolutionary astrology. While I am familiar with the techniques of both, and often use some of both, I am primarily trained by Steven Forrest and fall more along the lines of his interpretation of the nodes.

Actress and Singer Brittany Murphy Dies at 32: The Astrology of her Death

Most of us were shocked to hear that Brittany Murphy was pronounced dead this morning at the young age of 32 and I was very saddened to hear  it. Her ability to play intense roles and yet light her whole aura up when she smiled was remarkable. While I am no expert on the astrology of death, I took at look at the aspects hitting her chart right now and did find some things that make me speculate about its cause (cardiac arrest - but why?).

This is Brittany's natal chart (alas, without a birth time) in the center, and the transit and progressed wheels have been set for around 8 am pacific time, when the 911 call was made. Several things stand out in this chart immediately: The moon in Aquarius was approaching a sextile to her natal Neptune and was nearly exact, as well as having just passed a square to Uranus. Transiting Mars is about a degree away from a square to her Sun, something that is made more profound by the fact that Mars stations to go retrograde today and its exact time of stand still was around 5:30 am today, not long before the 911 call. Saturn is also approaching a square to her Jupiter in Cancer and Pluto opposing it, but both have been happening for more than a few weeks now. An additional fascinating thing about this chart that is not readily apparent from the image is that her progressed Mars also stationed retrograde, just 10 days ago. This is a rare event, and may not signify anything much on its own, but coupled with transiting Mars doing the same thing makes one wonder. It is unfortunate that we do not know her time of birth, because I wouldn't be surprised to see stressful aspects to her ascendant.

Mars has a great deal to say about how one defends their boundaries, processes anger, and acts on their motivations, but it's significance in the physical realm can have a lot to do with our physical energy and our robustness. According to Eileen Nauman, an astrologer who is an expert at medical astrology, squares between Mars and the Sun can signify issues with the heart, such as heart palpitations, high blood pressure, or anything that causes stress (Mars) to the heart (Sun).* Brittany does not have this aspect natally, so it is less likely that heart trouble was a chronic condition but something that was triggered as transiting Mars' strength squared the Sun, and was then amplified by it standing still (stationing). Was something started 10 days ago (or earlier in the build up) as her progressed Mars also stationed to go retrograde, while squaring her own Moon?

EDIT: Today People.com reported an interview with Brittany's husband Simon and he did indicate that she had a heart condition:

"He added that his wife of three years did suffer from a heart murmur (mitral valve prolapse), which can cause fatigue, dizziness and irregular heartbeats – but is generally not life threatening. Murphy didn't require medication to treat it, says Monjack."

So perhaps the square from Chiron to her natal Mars in Leo is another factor here. I'm not too sure what to make of the sextile from the Moon to Neptune, but I mention it because of the timing of the aspect and Brittany's death, as well as the fact that Neptune is the most basic rulership of drugs and since it's not common for a 32 year old to be vulnerable to going into cardiac arrest, one can speculate if drugs were involved, prescription or otherwise. I wonder if this speaks merely (or additionally) to the mystery surrounding her death, so it will be interesting to note what they find that caused her to enter cardiac arrest.

So sorry to hear the passing of this actress.

*From Eileen Nauman's book Medical Astrology, third edition.

And Then There Were Three: the Astrology of the Season 6 Top Chef Finalists; Third, Michael Voltaggio

Those of you watching Bravo's Season 6 of Top Chef were no doubt holding your breath like I was when the final three were revealed. Now that we know one of these chefs will be crowned the latest 'Top Chef' and we know who we love and who we love to hate, I'll take a look at the astrology of each. Who will win? Who should win? You decide; I just work here! Although I have no time of birth for any of the contestants, a look at their dates of birth still reveals a great deal astrologically. I'm devoting an entire entry to each of them since a paragraph never does any chart justice! Third finalist: Michael Voltaggio.

Michael Voltaggio

Libra is a sign that is most stereotyped as the 'peacekeeping, nice and tactful one,' so it may be quite surprisingly, initially, to find that Michael's Sun and Mercury are in Libra. But Libra is not strictly about niceness, it's really about balance. Libra is Venus-ruled, which gives it an entire creative component, and a Libra's skill in creating it's own art, whatever medium it chooses to use, will be utilizing it's natural understanding of balance and harmony to put components together in a way that is pleasing. Michael clearly has chosen to express his art with food, which emphasizes balance not only in presentation of the food (color, shape, style) but also tastes. Libra is a sign of partnership, which means that it understands that nothing exists in isolation - everything is relative to each other. A dish paired with wine, a spice paired with the right meat, elements from all the food groups, you name it; Michael innately understands how everything fits together and is deepening that understanding as he works with Libra energy.

Michael also has three planets in Scorpio, a sign that is also about extremes, just as Libra is. But while Libra is a sign of learning how to bring extremes into balance and getting them to cooperative harmoniously or at least agree to co-exist, Scorpio is a sign of extremes in the sense that it takes something down to its core and pushes it even further. Michael's Venus and Uranus are conjunct (in the same place as each other) in Scorpio, which means that Venus, the creative extension of his Libra Sun, and his Uranus, the way he expresses his individuality, function together. In Scorpio, he will always wanting to be pushing that creative envelope past it's edges, not only taking risks but working with intense flavors or innovative combinations.

As a side note about Michael's bedside manner (and it's seeming absence on the show): he may have the Sun and Mercury in Libra, but his Venus and Uranus conjunct in Scorpio shows that his relating style (Venus) is less about going the extra mile to fit in or feel understood and more about asserting his independence and being his authentic self in relationships. His personal authenticity demands that he not compromise his individuality for another, but the side effect of that instinct can often be a tendency to push others away. As we'll see below, other factors in his chart have a tendency to make him very single-minded when working, which means that when he's working, don't get in his way! If we knew his birth time, his rising sign, or Ascendant, would be revealed, giving us more insight into the style of social interface that is most comfortable for him to present to the world.

Michael's chart also shows an interesting relationship between Mars in Scorpio, Saturn in Virgo, and Jupiter in Leo, all in a sextile relationship with each other, with Mars and Jupiter on the edges forming a trine to each other. Both sextiles and trines between planets help those components of him to work well with each other. Mars in Scorpio shows his strong desire to take something to its edges. Jupiter in Leo, and its connection to Mars, reveals an innate belief and confidence in himself. Not that he won't ever have a down day, but there is something inside of him that knows if he just pushes it all the way and is willing to go after what he wants (Mars in Scorpio), success is all the more likely (Jupiter in Leo). Confidence, when turned on its side, can look a lot like arrogance, which may be the astrological fingerprint of Michael's cockiness (as some would say he has), but it's likely that a birth time would reveal more fingerprints that add to that story.

Finally, Saturn in Virgo between the two (Mars and Jupiter) is really where he can take anything he does to the next level. If it were just Mars and Jupiter, he may have all the confidence in the world, and a lot of competitiveness, but perhaps no commitment to see things through. Working successfully with Saturn in Virgo means that if he doesn't skip the details, if he follows through with painstaking care, and will accept nothing less than himself than excellence (and take care not to berate himself too much when he doesn't achieve it), then that Mars and Jupiter can take anything he does all the way to the top.

Good luck, Michael!

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If you are an astrologer and would like to work with these charts and make your own observations (please share!), the available birth data of all three contestants is as follows (no birth times available, which is why no houses or rising signs are revealed):

Michael Voltaggio: Sept 29 1978

Bryan Voltaggio: April 15 1976

Kevin Gillespie: Sept 30 1982

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Want to find your inner gifts and learn how to maximize them? Contact me for a personal reading at heavenlytruth.com!

And Then There Were Three: the Astrology of the Season 6 Top Chef Finalists; Second, Bryan Voltaggio

Those of you watching Bravo's Season 6 of Top Chef were no doubt holding your breath like I was when the final three were revealed. Now that we know one of these chefs will be crowned the latest 'Top Chef' and we know who we love and who we love to hate, I'll take a look at the astrology of each. Who will win? Who should win? You decide; I just work here! Although I have no time of birth for any of the contestants, a look at their dates of birth still reveals a great deal astrologically. I'm devoting an entire entry to each of them since a paragraph never does any chart justice! Next up, Bryan.

Bryan Voltaggio

In Bryan's video biography on the Top Chef website, he speaks about some of his earliest memories of his grandfather tugging at his apron and helping him at the stove, real family dinners and "not picking from a refrigerator," and the family's  garden which were worked into the family meals. He started as a busboy in a restaurant in his teens and essentially worked his way up at a steady pace, getting training and experience. He now owns his own restaurant, Volt, in which he is committed to using "ingredients that are local, stable, and organic."

In Bryan's chart, we're limited without a birth time to fill in some of the information a chart can give, just as in Kevin's and Michael's, which will follow shortly. But right away I'm drawn to his Mars and Saturn in the sign of Cancer as well as his south node in Taurus. Cancer and Taurus are the two primary signs that are often linked with a love of food - Taurus because it classically loves to feed it's senses, and Cancer because it loves to nurture (or shall we say nourish, in this case?). Bryan's upbringing, with that sense of stability and nurturing which took on the form of food and family meals, gave him a foundation, but his desire (Mars) to nourish (Cancer) as well as build and continue traditions (Saturn) around that Cancer principle is a continuing motivator in his adult life. I wouldn't be surprised if the full birth chart revealed planets in his 4th house, which would amplify the sense of tradition from his childhood.

His Sun in Aries is squaring Saturn in Cancer pretty tightly however, as well as Mars widely squaring Uranus, which may be a perfect reflection of the way he defines his food, which is "modern American," combining classical techniques with modern ones, which seems like a great way, at least professionally and creatively, to take the tradition one's grown up with (Cancer) and make it their own (Uranus, Sun). Along those same lines, Bryan has this to say (from his bio at his restaurant's website):

"Driven by the love and support of his family, wife Jennifer and son Thacher, Chef Voltaggio seeks to bring historic Frederick a piece of his culinary upbringing to a place that built his foundation."

His restaurant is in his home town and he wants to contribute back to that town, carrying on the traditions forward from his rich past.

But what about his Aries Sun and Scorpio Moon, two very important components of any chart? Leadership and a willingness to take risks are key elements of his personality that he will benefit from developing. The south node reveals an underlying foundation to one's personality, the energy, attitude, and expectations we entered this life with and what we need to take the best from and move forward with, as well as what habits and 'comfort zones' we need to grow beyond to have a satisfying life. The vulnerabilities of a Taurus south node lie in trying to keep things from changing, the love of something timeless becoming simply stagnant and dead, like an anchor around one's neck. His Aries Sun gives him a hunger to identify with someone who is forward thinking, who doesn't rest on his successes and is not afraid to stretch to one's edges. While his brother, Michael, seems to be the competitive one, Bryan's definitely got the streak as well.

His Scorpio Moon reveals a need to nurture himself by learning how to trust and develop his intensity, calling forward the phoenix's strength to recognize cycles - to let go of what's ready to fade and step into what's ready to be born, whether it's in himself or in his life situations. Again, this emphasizes the bridge he must build between the warmth of past traditions and the foundation they provide for him, while stretching beyond it into his own territory.

Good luck, Bryan!

And Then There Were Three: the Astrology of the Season 6 Top Chef Finalists; First, Kevin Gillespie

Those of you watching Bravo's Season 6 of Top Chef were no doubt holding your breath like I was when the final three were revealed. Now that we know one of these chefs will be crowned the latest 'Top Chef' and we know who we love and who we love to hate, I'll take a look at the astrology of each. Who will win? Who should win? You decide; I just work here! Although I have no time of birth for any of the contestants, a look at their dates of birth still reveals a great deal astrologically. I'm devoting an entire entry to each of them since a paragraph never does any chart justice! First up, Kevin.

Kevin Gillespie

Kevin seems to be the sweetest and mildest one of the bunch, and that almost made him seem to come out of nowhere when he started climbing up the ranks of Top Chef's best quickly and steadily. His Jupiter/Moon trine and Mars in Sagittarius emphasizes the easy going quality of his Libra Sun, but there are underlying strengths that show Kevin's definitely a competitor. His Mars in Sagittarius is conjunct Uranus, which reveals a desire to stand apart. Mars in anyone's chart shows how and why we handle our natural competitive natures (even if it's to roll over peacefully), but this configuration is less about a competitive urge to beat out others and more an urge to feel that he has got something special, that he can surprise others as well as himself by utilizing qualities that are uniquely his.

Another way he shows he's not only a big teddy bear is his Capricorn South Node. The South Node reveals an underlying foundation, the energy, attitude, and expectations we entered this life with. It represents what we're trying to take the best from and move forward with as we have the new experiences and develop the new tools the chart reveals for us, while leaving behind some of the growth-stunting patterns that each sign contains. The South Node often reveals itself more strongly in early life, as we reenact our karmic habits and before we've been around the edges of ourselves and life enough to realize we don't want the same old, same old anymore.

Kevin's South Node lies in Capricorn, a sign that emphasizes hard work, integrity, duty, diligence, strategy, tenacity, and ambition. The pitfalls of a Capricorn South Node can make one vulnerable to focusing too much only on what makes logical sense, what is most profitable, and what must be done, sometimes going so overboard on a sense of duty and restraint that the heart is constricted because desire can be seen as irrelevant to what IS and what MUST BE. Listen to what Kevin had to say in his video bio on the Top Chef website: 

"And then as I got older, in school I did really well and so people assumed that I would go to an Ivy League school and in fact that was sort of my route, I was supposed to be an engineer, and at the very end of my high school career I just decided that wasn't where my heart lies."

Kudos to Kevin for recognizing that the best strategy isn't always in alignment with who you are. Kevin's Sun is squaring his nodes, which means embracing the lesson that his Sun reflects in his chart is an important stepping stone in getting from the karmic habit (South Node) to the present and future purpose (North Node). To embrace our Sun means to develop our sense of identity, to take it seriously, to not only have an ego but celebrate it - not to outshine others, but not to hide ourselves out of some pious, misguided attempt to be nice. Simply knowing and accepting who you are and then not being afraid to let it shine out is what Sun work is all about, and Kevin's recognition of who he was no doubt helped him move toward the goal he truly desired. He takes the best of his Capricorn qualities of ambition and hard work, and devotes it to a goal that he loves, which nourishes him (Cancer). Well done! And when he is in alignment with what his heart wants (Moon), that trine from Jupiter (success, luck) can sure have him creating opportunities for himself left and right.

He also revealed that his family was very big on the large family gathering with cooking and sharing, which is such a blessed example for him to learn some of the fundamentals of a Cancer North Node, that which is he is moving toward in this life: love, shelter, and nourishment, both figuratively and literally! He also speaks about using local and seasonal foods which speaks to the integrity of the best of Capricorn as well as the urge to shelter and protect the best sources of nourishment and one's local 'family' that Cancer stands for.

Good luck, Kevin!

Stay tuned all week to my blog; before the Top Chef Season 6 finale, I'll take a look at the Voltaggio brothers' charts as well.

Irina Shabayeva: the Astrology of the Winner of Project Runway

Irina Shabayeva won season 6 of Project Runway with her intense and intricately crafted collection.

Irina is an Aquarius Sun with Mercury not too far behind, so it's important for her to build her identity around a sense of her own individuality, that she's not who she is because she's trying to please someone or trying to imitate someone. All through season 6 it was clear that the thing that frustrated her the most was feeling like she was being imitated by Althea, which to an Aquarius can feel like what makes you you is being stolen and cheapened when copied. Whether or not Althea had any intention to copy her, she was clearly very protective of what makes her unique, something Aquarius values greatly. With Mercury close to her Sun in Aquarius it's especially her opinions and ideas that she is likely to be the most protective about.

Among a few other things, Venus says a lot about a person's aesthetic style, what one finds beautiful and how we translate what inspires us into our creative efforts. Irina's Venus lies in Capricorn, in a tight and tense relationship (square) to Pluto and Saturn in Libra. Capricorn reflects a creative style that's refined, elegant, tailored, and in many ways understated, without so many extras and flash that it takes away from the sophistication of something. Tim always admonishes the designers to bring an editing eye to things and Irina is likely to have the least issue with overdoing it.

Venus in Capricorn with Saturn squaring it might lead to a tendency to hold back too much, to take that understated sophistication and take it to far into simply flat and boring. However, with Pluto in a very tight square to Venus, the darker undercurrents rise to the surface, creating that sort of sophisticated, gothic, almost dominatrix style.

Because I do not know her time of birth, I'm unable to determine Irina's moon sign. It will either be Pisces or Aries, but if I had to guess, I would choose Aries.  Her competitive nature would make a lot of sense for an Aries moon, who simply needs to push through to be the best and doesn't tend to reveal a lot of softness (although every sign has some, especially when we're talking about the moon which is your emotional nature, in a nutshell). The moon represents our most private self and so is not likely to be revealed on television or in a room full of competitors, but it can be revealed when we are stressed and our defenses are low, something I think all the designers went through as the competition got stiffer and they became more tired and their sense of security more challenged. When stress peaked, some of the designers let it show through tears, but when Irina let her stress out it usually more closely resembled anger rather than tears and she stepped more into The Boss role, especially in the finale where she was putting Gordana through her paces with the orders. If her designs are where her heart is, though, her very telling phrase "shielding yourself and just going at it" as the inspiration for her final collection is very Arien.

Irina appeared to be the one who grew to be the 'odd man out', not appearing as friendly with everyone as some were. With her Aquarius Sun and Mars trine to it, and then her Saturn and Pluto square her Venus, these combinations reflect someone who is more used to taking care of themselves and not having a lot of trust for others. To allow someone to support you, you have to allow them to see what might be perceived as weakness. Even if you are not weak, to accept help can make one feel vulnerable, something Irina is not likely to relish. Aquarians are known for their detachment, but it's not out of cruelty or disinterest in others as much as it is a useful defense mechanism to be able to pull away from the kind of obligations that can form when we get enmeshed in relationship with others and forget ourselves. Aquarius is about the pursuit of individuality, so detachment can come in very handy.

With Venus in Capricorn, squaring Pluto and Saturn, she may struggle with letting her defenses down enough to reveal her softness to another even though it's there. Venus is, besides our creativity and sense of beauty, also how we relate to others and reach out to others. Capricorn is often more reserved when it comes to connecting with others and can be much more comfortable running on its own self-sufficiency (they don't call it the sign of the hermit for nothing!) Capricorn also has a vulnerability to looking at any situation as a means to and end rather than seeing the emotional component, so Irina may possibly defend herself from feeling vulnerable to another by relating to others in a 'strictly business' kind of tone, which is not a bad thing, but she can be her own worst enemy if that gets too extreme and she doesn't allow herself to be supported or loved or give that in return. Capricorn gets the undeserved reputation of being cold, however, and it's not. It just knows that sometimes you have to get the job done and you don't have time to whine! It's probably a contributor to her win on Project Runway.

Congrats, Irina!

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I look for the evolutionary potential in an astrology chart, not the empty keywords. For more of my work, visit me at heavenlytruth.com or on Facebook at Heavenly.Truth.

Changing of the Guard: Saturn enters Libra

Saturn entered Libra Thursday, October 29th, and will remain there until October of 2012.

Saturn represents the process of establishing structures that last, through diligence, practice, and maintenance. When we work with Saturn, we are working with what IS, not what we wish it was or what it used to be or what it could be 'if only.' We look at what we realistically have in front of us and what we can do about it.

Sometimes Saturn works through the mechanism of limitation to help us make choices and make something real. Limitations can be very useful (says the Virgo with Capricorn Rising). What's easier? Making a choice out of 18 different options or two? When we know what something is and is not, we know what we're working with and can begin to make plans and progress.

Saturn is about rules and structure but the lamenting about limitation generally comes when we've been putting off the work of maintenance or change when we outgrow a structure. Saturn work is the process of building structure that can support us, not just limit us for it's own twisted amusement. Saturnian structures can either be a cage that holds us or the skeleton that holds us up. Traditions can warm our hearts with their timelessness or prevent our growth out of a desperate fear to cling to what we know, even if we are being invited to know something new now. When structures stop supporting us, they sometimes need to be torn down and rebuilt, re-evaluated.

The Saturn/Pluto square around mid-November (exact on the 15th) is about exactly that. Saturn builds and maintains, and Pluto tears down to REbuild. Where this occurs in your own chart, depending on how dramatically it contacts your chart, will be the area of your life where this dynamic is playing out, and where courage to change the right things might be in order. With Pluto in Libra, the collective will be facing fears about what equality might really mean, and if we share and compromise, what will we lose? Saturn will show us the consequences we've created for ourselves because of that fear, so Saturn's journey through Libra will start off with a bang.

Libra is known as the sign of relationships, but this isn't just relationships between people. It's about the fact that everything is connected, that what's done on one hand affects the other, and this is the heart of the idea of relationship: understanding one thing in relation to another thing. Not only in how they connect, support, and validate each other, but how they balance each other, sometimes through opposition and conflict (need I say that Libra is the sign of the scales?). Saturn will bring into focus the work that must be done to practice and create balance (for it is not a static state), as well as the reality that must be faced to do that work.

The work begins with the sometimes difficult acknowledgment that the other side just might have a valid point. Even if we don't agree with it, Saturn will remind us that we can no longer afford the luxury of simply demonizing the other point of view to justify our own. An opinion that only has the self-righteous conviction of the wrongness of another is simply a luxury that Saturn in Libra will not stand for. "Right side" and "wrong side" are just not going to get the job done. It cannot be the freaks and the normal ones, the conservatives or the democrats, the women and the men, the picked on people and the big bad corporations.

The scales want to balance in several senses: in the sense of both sides being represented 2 half truths=whole truth, so it'll be about recognizing that each extreme, each side, balances the other. In the sense of balance between people where we are invited to see anothers' perspective and honor it. We're invited to build bridges by trying to find common ground even if we agree to disagree. Respect, grace, and fairness without name calling or dirty behavior are the tools for our work. The scales also want to balance in the sense of justice and fairness, so 'traditional' laws must be evaluated during this time. Equality in all senses between people, of race, gender, sexual preferences, and the like must be evaluated, and the laws, written or just socially assumed must reflect what we learn about that equality so that we can create the structure to support it. The scales don't automatically balance; it is the process of weighing that enlightens.

The classic trouble with Libra is that if it does achieve it's goal in understanding both perspectives, making a choice to walk through one door and close another can be difficult. Saturn requires commitment and follow through, otherwise the natural consequences of not doing so build up down the road as the brick wall we'll eventually smack into. At the same time, Saturn work involves facing the brick wall we've made from our past actions that will now be invited to use Libran tools to correct.

Let's practice playing nice, but fair.

(Saturn and Pluto will square three times due to retrograde motion: November 15 2009, Jan 31 2010 and Aug 21 2010).

Here are a few other great blogs about Saturn's entry into Libra:

http://astrotabletalk.blogspot.com/2009/08/saturn-in-libra.html

http://blog.beliefnet.com/astrologicalmusings/2009/10/saturn-moving-into-libra.html

http://www.thecosmicpath.com/2009/11/01/saturn-in-libra/

Note: This article is featured in Saturn in Libra and Relationships, published on Sasstrology as part of the 2010 International Astrology Day Blogathon. The purpose of this web-based event is to create a permanent library of articles about how to deal with the stresses of the Cardinal T-Square of Pluto, Saturn and Uranus. The main page for the Blogathon collections is at The Cardinal T-Square of 2010: Saturn, Uranus, Pluto

Striking a Balance: the Astrology of Positive Thinking

With four planets in Libra in my natal chart, including Uranus and Mercury in my 9th house of philosophy, I often have a 'knee-jerk' reaction to any statement that appears to be an opinion stated as an absolute. Mars leads my Libra planetary pack so perhaps it's no wonder that I often defend anything by starting my argument with "Yes, but on the other hand..."

So when I was introduced to and began reading Barbara Ehrenreich's latest book: Bright-Sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking has Undermined America, I was excited to see that the chronic "flight into light" behaviors that sometimes accompany 'new age' thinking and the (in my opinion) misuse and misunderstanding of the Law of Attraction being argued. But would she do it in an intelligent and even-handed way, I wondered? Or was this going to be a pessimist's manifesto, just as extreme as its opposite argument?

To my surprise and enjoyment, I think she argued intelligently and fairly, with the overall message of grounded optimism, not pessimism and also not empty-headed positive thinking. But this isn't exactly meant to be just a book review, so let's get on with the astrology.

As soon as I saw Barbara's interview on The Daily Show, all kinds of astrological possibilities entered my head. This book's appearance seems to be synchronistic with the ushering in of the Pluto in Capricorn period, particularly coming from the Pluto in Sagittarius period. Pluto has been in Capricorn for a good while now, but it is still in the beginning stages of entry and the effects are not yet fully shaken out. Barbara's subtitle about "undermining America," though I think a tad dramatic (yay, marketing), got me to thinking about the United States' chart and the recognition of Sagittarius, the sign of optimism if there ever was one, is the United States' Ascendant. And then, of course, I wondered about Barbara's own chart.

How Pluto Works in the Collective

The outer planets, usually referring to Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto, are sometimes called 'generational' because they are in the same sign for such a long period of time that they can affect an entire generation collectively. I think the mistake in that perspective is in thinking that the generational effect is their only relevance. These planets matter greatly in a personal natal chart, but they also function on a larger scale. Pluto especially, staying in a sign for at least 10 years but sometimes more than 20, can reflect an entire generation.

Pluto affects the collective in two ways. First, events that take place during any given period, such as when Pluto was in Sagittarius from 1995 to 2008, will reflect what we all are learning about that sign, both it's blind spots and negative qualities as well as its possibilities and positive qualities. Second, the generation that is born during that time not only lives through it but carries the energy of it throughout their life, which then ripens when those children become adults, entering the work force, establishing and changing laws, and shaping culture.

Pluto in Sagittarius: Bigger is Better

In a nutshell, Sagittarius rules things like expanding one's reach through travel, crossing boundaries of race and country for multi-cultural experiences, adventure, the quest for knowledge and discovery through (sometimes naive) experimentation, faith and optimism. Here are a handful of things that happened during Pluto's journey through Sagittarius:

• The Euro began circulating, making travel through Europe easier through standardized currency
• Dolly the Sheep was cloned
• Construction started on the International Space Station
• Internet use ballooned, as well as development of faster ways to access it and it became easier to purchase things from other countries through e-commerce
  
• GPS (Global Positioning System) became fully operational
• Nelson Mandela was elected president of South Africa
• Terrorist attacks on September 11th in New York
• Credit over-extension grows as do examples of economic balloon and collapse, such as the 'dot-com' cave in

The new age movement did not start during Pluto in Sagittarius by any means, but it continued to grow. The idea of the Law of Attraction regained popularity through the introduction of The Secret book and movie, and while the idea of visualizing what you want is a great one, since thoughts can lead to actions, the way it was popularly received seemed to be not "you can become what you imagine" but "you are what you think."

Pluto in Capricorn: Bursting the Bubble

It is during the shifts from one sign to another that the contrast between them can so easily be seen. One of the most obvious differences is the increasing realization of the need to live within one's limits: especially financial and environmental - the management of one's resources. As Pluto has entered Capricorn, the over-extension behaviors, especially financially, of the previous years has collapsed on itself, and a majority of people are dealing with the reality of this cave-in. Moving from Capricorn to Sagittarius feels like everything is being condensed, refined, and pressed into a much smaller but more solid form. Sagittarius was about possibility, Capricorn is about reality.

When we pass from spending a lot of time in one sign to another, there seems to be a readiness to move into the new energy, often showing up as a backlash from the negative qualities that permeated culture in the previous sign. No doubt we will be fed up of being ruled and regulated to death once Pluto enters Aquarius, but for now, many of us feel ready to 'come down to earth' and get a handle on things that have run away from us (or at least, the necessity is certainly presenting itself).

Capricorn is no better than Sagittarius, just different and with a different purpose.  Perhaps we must take the "anything is possible if you only believe" optimism of Sagittarius and push it through the translation process of "everything is possible just not all at once and with no money or time or plan" ideology of Capricorn. I think this book is a great example of this process, moving from Sagittarius to Capricorn specifically. Barbara is expressing something I've heard from a lot of clients, disappointed that the thinking of The Secret and similar philosophies did not work like the magic trick it seemed to be.

Striking a Balance

My interpretation of Barbara's argument is that it's not that one shouldn't be hopeful or positive at all, only that in overdoing it as a philosophy, it has become its own oppressive 'religion'. I don't feel that thinking positively is a bad thing, and in fact my own philosophy with my clients is geared toward empowering them to respond to their situations in a way that helps them participate in intentionally crafting their life rather than feeling powerless or victimized. I do think, though, that there is a huge difference between that and telling ourselves that "Happy feelings will attract more happy circumstances" and expecting that our thoughts alone are all that are required. Interestingly, Barbara pointed out that when measured, Americans don't seem to be any happier, despite our "vaunted positivity." One can see how the Sagittarian shadow of more, more, more might leave one never satisfied.

In my attempt to show the Sagittarian shadow, I am not trying to ridicule it's purpose nor am I making an argument against the power of our own willingness to risk and have the faith and confidence in ourselves to step into our potential. I'm also a huge fan of humility in the face of the Unknown, and am not a fan of those who would assume that nothing unseen or unproven is real (I'm an Astrologer for goodness' sake!) But my early experiences with religion left me with a bad taste in mouth, specifically the tendency to attribute all good things with God, and all bad things with our weakness in succumbing to the Devil, which I think leaves us with the 'catch 22' of blaming ourselves only for the bad things we do and never being able to take pride in or credit for the good things we do. This is more an interpretation by those who practice religion rather than the fault of the system itself, but nonetheless, it was a cultural perspective I could never swallow.

Sometimes our misuse of positive thinking can show up as merely suppression of negative thoughts, not the successful management of them. Anger, fear, and sorrow are just as natural, though not nearly as comfortable, as joy, excitement, and contentment. I think it's important that in our attempts to empower ourselves with one hand, we not disempower ourselves with the other hand by shutting down the parts of ourselves and our responses to life that are uncomfortable (is my 8th house stellium showing?) Hiding our darkness behind "love and light" can be almost as damaging as drinking ourselves to death in order to numb the pain, and our growing chronic use of anti-depressants, while beneficial to many, can also be (and in many cases has been).

It's probably not a very good idea to quote someone who was paraphrasing another someone, but it was such a striking example of this that I'm going to allow myself this faux pas. Several years ago I was in a class and one of the participants in the class was a licensed psychotherapist. She related a story to the group about a recent event she'd been to where the speaker was discussing the benefits anti-depressants and the like, and at one point he apparently stated that with these drugs, 'no one would ever have to have a bad day again.' Of course, we all gasped in horror, but when we are responding in an unconscious way to the philosophy of positive thinking, I think we can be quite vulnerable to living and acting in a way that attempts to prevent ever a 'bad day' from happening, even if consciously we would never claim that as our philosophy.

I think the concept of responsibility is woven in to these positive thinking philosophies, but can be skewed in a poisonous way in much the same manner as I described above while discussing religion. In a well meaning attempt to empower ourselves and not respond to life as a victim, we are also vulnerable to inflating our own sense of power, which not only leads to a let down when reality doesn't reflect that, but can be an insidious way to punish ourselves and others. One example I've heard, unfortunately much too often, is the idea that any disaster or upsetting circumstance in someone's life, from a business failure to a car crash to a health concern, has been brought on by the person themselves. Sometimes the more gentle theory is proposed: "because they needed its lessons." However, all too often there is the judgment projected that the person somehow failed the Law of Attraction test and this is their result or even their punishment. This perspective does nothing to empower someone to respond positively, but  simply to suppress natural feelings of fear, anxiety, or sorrow out of a sense of shame that  they would even be feeling them in the first place, and allowing themselves to behave like a, gasp, victim!

Sagittarius does not like to feel trapped, and feeling a victim is certainly a  way one can feel trapped, but Capricorn doesn't like to play victim either. They both combat that thinking through very different methods. I think it is the Pluto in Capricorn period and the children that carry the stamp of that period forward that can marry the idea of positive thinking with the actual setting of realistic but ambitious goals. During Pluto in Capricorn, we'll see plenty of Capricorn's dark side, such as examples of the cruelty that can come with "ends justify the means" thinking, often in the name of trying to respond to the realistic limitations in resources we find ourselves dealing with, and possibly a lot of examples where value is placed on justice, but perhaps not balanced with mercy.

Barbara's Natal Chart

I won't spend too much time here because more than one blog entry can always be written about the fascinating world of one person's natal chart. However, I did find it personally amusing when I saw that the planet Jupiter was squaring her nodes, indicating, among other things, that the attitude of hope, confidence, potential, and, gasp, even positive thinking, represent an evolutionary rite of passage in getting from her south node to her north node (although it's in Gemini, which certainly speaks to clear thinking and using one's voice and mind to communicate a message  - something she clearly seems to be doing vigorously and successfully in her life).

Her north node lies in Virgo, along with her Sun and Mercury and Neptune. Speaking from an Evolutionary Astrology perspective, Neptune opposed her south node and yet it's ruler, would seem to reflect a feeling of being oppressed/opposed by the things Neptune in Virgo represents, such as spirituality delivered in strict rule and ritual, right and wrong fashion (among other things). In working toward her north node, I would imagine she would need to learn to make peace with that oppression and move beyond it, to embrace her own truth. Is this book accomplishing that for her? Who can say, but as it is a book that was, in part, born out of her struggle with breast cancer and the frustration she felt with the positive thinking overload which left no room for sorting through anger or fear, I would speculate that it's an excellent step in clearing the debris.

Carl Jung's "Red Book": The Astrology Behind the Publication of Jung's Most Personal Work

Carl Jung was a Swiss psychologist and psychiatrist that helped bring forth the birth and development of psychology. In 1914 he began a journal in which he described his personal journey, his "confrontation with the unconscious," as he called it. From 1914 to 1930 he wrote in this Liber Novus (new book) with a red binding and cover, which he simply called his "Red Book." It has remained mostly unseen, even during his life and certainly after his death, until it was taken from a safe deposit box in Zurich in November of 2007. It's long-awaited publication date is October 7th, 2009.

The astrological signatures, both on their own in the sky as well as impacting Carl Jung's natal chart, do not disappoint. I'll discuss a few of them here and welcome comments and further insights from your own research and observations.

1913-1914: the Red Book's Beginning

Certainly the time period of 1914-1930 is vast and yields many powerful transits and progressions impacting Jung's natal chart. However, it was interesting to note that in 1914, the year he began the journal, Jupiter crossed his ascendant early in the year, transiting his first house for the remainder of that year. Jupiter, a planet associated with growth and realizing one's potential, correlates with Jung's desire for personal growth, as it traveled through his first house of Self. Jupiter is also traditionally associated with one's philosophy and the pursuit of truth, something that signified the initiation into Jung's dive into his pursuit of the truth in and of himself. This period of time also encompassed the classic Uranus opposition, which brings a confrontation with what one truly is and a course correction if one feels they are not on their true path.

In 1913, Jung appeared to begin coming apart, experiencing inner visions that were disturbing. This was during the period that found his progressed moon in the 8th house and Uranus crossing his Ascendant. The progressed moon shows where one's emotional attention is, and often correlates with internal and external changes that drive a person to deal with new emotional experiences that are coming up. In the 8th house, we confront our fears and often find ourselves dealing with our own darkness, as Jung did. It would have been especially powerful for Jung as his south node and Jupiter also reside in his natal 8th house, so as his progressed moon moved over each, he would have to confront any old soul patterns of security and let them go. Even though his progressed moon was in Libra, a sign of partnership, confronting demons having to do with habitual ways of hiding himself in partnership would have been up to deal with during this time, possibly having him feeling paradoxically alone as he made his descent into his own madness. See my assessment of his natal chart in part 2 for more about his south node.

As his progressed moon passed over Jupiter, well into 1914 at that point, he would be prompted to free fall into his own beliefs and let go of beliefs that no longer served him, even if they were comfortable and had worked in the past. He was birthing new truth from the fires of his own psyche. Uranus also crossed his ascendant in 1913, liberating and even divorcing him from the persona he'd adopted up until that point, the face he presented to the world as well as how he acted upon it, and he was set adrift to find his own path back (Uranus often shocks us by separating us from something that does not serve our highest individual truth).

November 26th, 2007: the Red Book is Removed from the Safe Deposit Box

An article was published on September 16th in the New York Times by Sara Corbett. She tells the story of Jung and the Red Book's removal from it's safe deposit box, as well as its journey toward publication. I had the pleasure of communicating with Sara and she generously provided me with the exact date of its removal, which was November 26th in the morning in Zurich, Switzerland. That day, Jupiter (a planet of truth and philosophy) was approaching Pluto (in this case, representing that which is hidden). A conjunction of Jupiter and Pluto in Sagittarius signals Jung's truth coming to light in a powerful way - truth emerging from it's hiding place, often in a way that is challenging to hear because Pluto represents things that are hidden often for a reason, such as a fear of facing something that may shake us to our core.

True Black Moon Lilith had just passed over Mercury in Scorpio the day before. The symbolism of Lilith goes back to Christianity's Adam whose first wife was Lilith. She has been demonized but like many things that have suffered bad publicity, it is often out of fear and misunderstanding. Lilith represents the true wild, that which is untamed and is not about being appropriate or palatable to fit into polite and careful society. It is about a reunion with part of the natural self. Mercury represents communication, quite directly writing in this case, and in Scorpio the theme of the dark and hidden coming to light continues. The fact that Lilith was the trigger indicates to me that what will be revealed in the Red Book is certainly not going to be comfortable, tidy, and polite information. It is howling from the depths, Lilith representing the wild being released and Mercury giving it voice. (For more on Lilith, see the work of Tom Jacobs).

The asteroid Pallas was conjunct the north node in Pisces, which is an asteroid that can represent the joining of both the female and male, the intellect and the intuition. The Sun was in Sagittarius, and the Moon in Gemini, both signs representing the pursuit of knowledge.

Jung's resurgence in the collective awareness seems to be highlighted in the transiting and progressed planets interacting with his own natal chart. The Sun had just crossed his Midheaven and was squaring his Ascendant. The Midheaven is the point in the chart that represents how we shine in the world in a larger sense, something that's often explored in terms of one's career but not exclusively. Steven Forrest calls it not just your job, but your "cosmic job description;" it's the work that you're meant to do in the world. When the Midheaven is triggered by a moving planet, it can often signal a development that pushes that person into the public's eye, calling attention to a role we play in the world. That certainly seems to be the case here, but with the Sun squaring his ascendant at the same time, and Mercury (the information planet) opposing Jung's own natal Pluto (one's own unconscious mind), the revelation seems certain to challenge what we knew of Jung and our public impression of him as opposed to the private truth of him as a human. Were he alive he might feel a bit exposed!

Mars has just recently crossed his own Mercury in his 6th house and squared his nodes, indicating the push to Get His Voice Out There and reveal the 'grunt work' (6th house) and emotional effort he'd poured into the book's creation. His progressed Mercury had just crossed his Midheaven, illustrating how it's time for his evolving voice to become public and contribute to his great work, his legacy. Apparently Jung still has something to say! His progressed Midheaven was also forming a conjunction to his north node in Aries in the 2nd house; his evolving role in the world has caught up with the work his soul originally came here to do: claim his power as his own resource, without standing in anyone's shadow but having the courage to stand on his own.

Stay tuned for part 2 where I'll discuss the astrological conditions surrounding the October 7th publication date of the Red Book, and a natal analysis of Carl Jung himself.

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For those who want to work directly with the chart data:

Jung's birth data is given as July 26, 1875 at 7:32 pm in Kesswil, Switzerland. Astro.com gives Kesswil a time zone of -00:30, which yields a chart with 1-1/2 degrees Aquarius Rising according to their calculations, but according to WinStar yields 4 degrees Aquarius Rising, which is used here. AstroDataBank verifies the birth time with an "A" rating (birth time from memory).

All progressed charts have been calculated with the location of Kusnacht, Switzerland, since that is Jung's earthly resting place.

Patrick Swayze 1952-2009

Patrick Swayze was an actor who was best known for his roles in the movies Dirty Dancing and Ghost. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2008 and died September 14th, 2009.

Nobody puts Patrick in a corner! His chart shows a wealth of Leo in the 11th house, including his Sun and Moon, as well as Mercury, Pluto, and the South Node of the Moon. With the wealth of Leo in the 11th house in his chart, it seems clear that he intended to express himself in this life in a very visible and dramatic way. Acting is not the only option here, but is quite a likely one. However, with his south node conjunct Pluto also in the 11th house in Leo, it seems he came into this life with a deep wound surrounding the idea of fame, yet a karmic tendency to repeat it. With his Sun conjunct his South Node as well as Pluto, it's likely that he has a karmic pattern of getting into situations where he seems to shine so brightly to the public that it's easy for him to lose himself and for others not to see him, only to see what he does for them and the warmth they feel when he shines. But what of the 'off-stage' persona of Patrick? Pluto can represent a place in the chart of fear and wounding but also of great attachment and security, which can create a sort of attraction-repulsion dynamic. In this life he likely found himself very attracted to fame, and very easily finding himself in the spotlight, yet repulsed by it and even haunted by it. Leo can bring with it the lessons of true self-expression vs. becoming the performing monkey. If one can find what 'lights them up' and uses that to shine, then one has a constantly renewable source of energy and joy. However, if one uses the adoration of others as what dictates how one shines, one is constantly dependent on the adoration of others to find that joy.

This is the source of the Leo stereotype of being the center of attention. No one adores being the center of attention at every moment, but with a wounded Leo energy, it is the displacement of one's 'shine' that can lead one to constantly seeking around themselves externally for what should be found within. This is what Patrick needed to work with has he grew into his soul's purpose: the North Node in Aquarius in the 5th house, which calls for authentic self-expression based on his true self, even if no one else is applauding or can even understand. Looking at the rest of his chart, Mars in Scorpio in the 3rd house opposed Jupiter in Taurus in the 8th house suggests needing to find the balance between the simple joys inside oneself yet not allowing himself to fall into sleepy passive acceptance - needing to keep his eyes open about the truth of what he sees around him, no matter how complex or frightening. Mars and Jupiter is a dynamic combo - he may have found himself going to extremes of withdrawing into one's own idyllic world and acting out upon it with a sharp and penetrating perception.

Saturn in the 1st along with Neptune in the 1st suggests the biggest challenge in this life was to recover his identity and let himself be known for it with Uranus in the 10th house (not to mention his north node ruler - which aids his soul's progress). To do this, he was given the gift of Virgo rising trine Jupiter in Taurus and Saturn in the 1st to help him learn to work with a down to earth and sort of serious but not somber quality that could help him approach the world with his feet on the ground yet maintaining that dramatic creativity. Venus in Virgo in the 12th suggests that his long time love of his life probably helped him stay humble as well and not forget who he was underneath it all when he was away from Hollywood.

Here are some interesting facts about Patrick and their astrological reflections:

• His father died, also at age 57, in 1982. Astrologically, his progressed moon had just entered the 12th house as the year began, a time often associated with loss (although not always literal death-no one panic!) His progressed sun was also crossing over his ascendant, suggesting a new self coming out into view. Neptune entered his 4th house at this time as it trined his Sun, perhaps reflecting the ease in which he slid into a sort of disappearing through alcohol.

• His sister committed suicide in 1994. "Her death changed my life," says Swayze. "It was hard not to feel responsible, that I could have done something to prevent it. The longer your life goes on, the more death you face. After my father, my manager, and then my sister died, I started to feel like I was cursed. The only thing you can do in those circumstances is to find some kind of meaning. You have to take that moment and make a promise to yourself that you will honour the spirit of the person you have lost for as long as you live. I have made my life better so Vicky's death doesn't seem quite so pointless." Astrologically, in 1994 Pluto conjuncted his Mars in Scorpio in the 3rd house, suggesting the deepest transformation through loss (Pluto) under dark circumstances (Scorpio) which ultimately transformed his perception and the way he saw reality (3rd house). The 3rd house also represents one's siblings. Perhaps even more importantly, Pluto was in a tighter square with his Sun, the essence of his core self.

• Patrick was thrown from a horse in 1998 and suffered serious injuries to his legs (broken) and shoulder (torn tendons). Astrologically, his progressed Sun was applying to conjunct Saturn in the 1st house, while his progressed Moon was in Aries, possibly opposing Saturn although knowing the exact date would narrow down this possibility. With Saturn triggered by his Sun, there is a need to learn strength, endurance, and dedication to effort, appropriately to his own body (1st house) and bones (Saturn). The Aries progressed moon adds the experience of learning to harness the fire in one's own belly to keep fighting with courage. The fact that his progressed moon was moving through his 7th house, and Saturn is in Libra may also suggest that he learned some significant lessons about partnership given that he would probably have needed a great deal of assistance at that time from his wife and loved ones. He also happened to meet his wife to be in 1970, also when his progressed moon was moving through the 7th house of partnership.

• He was diagnosed with cancer in late January of 2008, while Neptune opposed his Pluto/South Node conjunction (therefore conjuncting his North Node) and his progressed Sun was conjuncting his own Neptune. No doubt a soul's lesson in surrender and a need to look toward the spiritual elements of life to sustain him. He died late on September 14th as Saturn conjuncted his Ascendant and Uranus opposed it, when his body met its limit (Saturn) and was liberated from it (Uranus).
  

We will miss you, Patrick.