Astrological Forecasts with a Traditional Twist

will be appearing on the radio tonight, at 7:00 PM PST (8) *don’t know what that is elsewhere* so please say a little prayer for me at 7pm okay?

Anyway, it will be live streaming so if you can find it, tune us in! I will be trying to explain traditional astrology horary on my Blake Moore’s fabulous ‘Women’s Voices’ on KZYX

Never tried to do horary on the radio before, so don’t know but here are the stats, and the links for those who might want to listen.

KXYX and KXYZ 90.7 Philo, 88.1 Ft. Bragg, 91.5 Ukiah, Mendocino County Public Broadcasting.

http://radioradio7.com/radio/KZYX-Listener-Supported-Community-Radio-for-Mendocino-County-And-Beyond.html

http://www.kzyx.org/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=66&Itemid=27

I am so thrilled to have received such an excellent question from a person who has given so much to the traditional astrology movement by his digging up the many ancient books of William Lilly and other’s, John Ballantrae who asked:

Dear Dorothy: That chart for the ship leaving the harbour can presumably be applied to anyone or anything beginning a journey in that ocation at that moment. However, car journeys didn’t end in disaster; buses leaving the depot at that time didn’t crash. Etc. How is this chart relevant or what is it about this chart that it is valid for showing the outcome of a voyage? The approach reminds me of the charts for when JFK Junior’s fatal flight took off - but it wasn’t the only flight that took off around that time from that location and that reached its destination safely.

A brilliant question, indeed. How do we know that this is not just a random event?
Well, as Ptolemy sayeth,
“Since, then prognotication by astronomical means is divided into two great principal parts, and since the first and more universal is that which relates to whole races, countries and cities, which is called general, and the second more specific has to do with individual men….because matters are swayed by greater and more powerful causes than are particular events And since weaker natures always yield to the stronger…”
Ptolemy also tells us we should always look to the greater charts, i.e., Ingresses, New Moons, and Eclipses, because as smaller beings we are subject to the country we live in. I think had we looked into the charts of John his wife, and her sister at the time, we would have seen that each of their charts were in perilous situation, astrologically. In addition, had we looked to the Ingress chart set for the United States, we would have probably seen the tragedy there, as well, because the entire nation was deeply affected by that crash, even though other planes took off and landed safely at their destination. Perhaps, as time allows we can put up that chart, too.

But getting back to Ptolemy, you most likely recall that he suggests that each country in the world, has a natural sympathy, and that much of Europe responds to the fiery triangle of Aries, Leo and Sagittarius, and that Italy, specifically responds to the sign Leo itself. Therefore, whenever we look to any mundane chart associated with Italy, we should always take special care, to look specifically where the sign Leo is. And because the Sun rules Leo, we then look to where the Sun is located and what planets he is associated with and in aspect with. Armed with this information, the Spring Ingress chart set for 2011, will give us great clues as to what will happen in the coming year. Since we are talking about a Spring that took place some months back I am including here the illustration of the Spring Ingress set for Rome, the capital of Italy in 2011. I always use the capital, as that is the main city (except for USA, where I prefer New York ).

The first clue we have that there will be some event that has to do with travel and voyages (or religion) is that we see that Leo is on the cusp of the 9th house in Italy’s Spring Chart, has Leo on the cusp. This is neither good nor bad. However, where the Sun is placed is problematic for travel. This is because as you recall, William Lilly and several ancients were very clear in in warning that we do not wish to have ruler of the 9th in the 4th house when we have travel charts. After all, just as the 4th sector sits on the bottom of the circle, so too the 4th is symbolic with the bottom of the ocean, or ground. This is a warning to both planes and shipping, after all, who wants to wind up on the bottom of the sea?

In addition, the Sun is the natural ruler of heads of state, and in shipping the captain. When the Sun is placed in Aries, the ego is greatly enhanced. Sun in Aries, is also a sign of great masculinity (sign of Mars) and movement (cardinal fire). So we have aggressive shipping moves led by what might be a rather confident commander. Leaders in Italy in 2011 - to early 2012, will have a very dramatic flare, and obviously, think rather well of themselves (Sun in Exaltation), perhaps too well of themselves (conjunct Jupiter) and this ego may lead to their own demise (Sun in 4th), because not only is the Sun in the bottom of the chart, it is in opposition to the traditional planet who gives us the axe, Saturn! If that were not all, the head of the ship, and the heads of Italy in general, may be prone to making some rather erratic decisions, which might lead to accidents because modern astrologers will notice that the Sun also sits with the ever accidentally prone, Uranus!

But just like our ginzu knife sale, that’s not all! As you probably recall, the ancients said that the Moon was the natural ruler of travel, because of her many changes. Notice the Moon is in the 10th house of leaders (i.e., captains), and she is with the leaden Saturn…. all this does not spell well for journeys in the Italian national Spring chart. Add one part ugly Spring Ingress for travel, to one very unlucky launch and stir, and we have one very senseless catastrophe that could have been avoided, had the Costa Concordia’s Captain Schettino been a little less risk oriented.

Also worth noticing, it was not just Captain Schettino who got into trouble due to erratic actions. With Sun in the 4th conjoined to Uranus, this chart, also implies other leaders may lose their job. And well, as you know, but for some who don’t; not only did Captain Schettino stupidly run his ship aground killing many helpless people, but so did the long time president of Italy, former President Berlusconi!

We are thrilled to announce that  the internationally renowned astrologer, and force behind the ultimate astrological website, http://skyscript.co.uk, Deborah Houlding will be returning to San Francisco, by popular demand, to give a not to be missed workshop on Saturday and Sunday October 23rd and 24th.

We tend to hear a lot about ‘essential dignity’ and dispositors in traditional astrology, but very little is said about that all important piece of our astrological puzzle, the all ‘dasturiya’ which is the planet that rises directly to the east of any given planet. In traditional astrology, we come to take for granted that the disposing planet, that planet which owns the sign the planet or luminary we are examining. The disposing planet is often called the ‘lord’ because the disposer tends to ‘lord’ over said planet.  Let’s take Venus for example. She is said to be soft, and ever sweet and full of ardor. Place her in the sign, Virgo, and Mercury will act as her director.  Since Mercury is neuter, the person with this Venus may be more  drawn to the library, than to the boudoir.

Disposition, of course, is ‘old hat’ to most traditionalists and moderns alike, but what Abu Massar referred to as the dasturiya, seems to have vanished from the traditional lexicon. Hopefully we can remedy this situation, because the dasturiya, (especially of the Sun) is one of the most potent planets in the entire chart, goading the person to achieve. In a sense, the dispositor acts like a lord, while the dasturiya acts like a nagging wife. You just cannot avoid it! The ancients felt that the dasturiya of the Sun, especially important. According to the ancients, the Sun was the fountain of divine fire, which inspired man to find his purpose in life. To get a fire going, we need a spark. We might say that the dasturiya, especially that of the Sun, will act as a  divine  spark, igniting us to find own special greatness. To find the  dasturiya we need only look just east. In the case of the Sun, we look to the planet or luminary which rises directly previous to the Sun.

For instance, we can look at the chart of Abraham Lincoln, who according to the note in his mother’s bible was said to have been born ‘right at sun up.’  Thus, we notice, his Sun is right at the eastern horizon. Having the Sun here, btw, according to the ancients is one of the  the best places for the Sun, and it alone will give young Abraham the vigor to live a long and productive life. It will add to his ability to ‘get ahead’ because so placed it will enhance his sense of purpose, and most importantly, placed on the strongest angle of the chart, gives him the ability to act.

With the Sun rising, Lincoln will have a healthy ego, but placed in Aquarius, the Sun’s detriment, Lincoln will think in terms of the bigger picture. Such a person will not be what one could consider warm and gregarious, because when the Sun is in Aquarius, it is ruled by the grim Saturn. So Abe will be aloof, and considered even a bit cold. Perhaps given his Aquarius Sun, he might be well ahead of his time, and not afraid (to parody the Apple commercials) ‘think different. Given his times, he might have become a reformer, or even an inventor, one who would go far, because the dispositor or ruler of his beautifully placed Sun, the ringed planet, Saturn is also very strongly placed up at the Midheaven, or the noon position. The combination of the Sun in Aquarius disposed by Saturn in Sagittarius, will give him the zeal to push through is goals.  With Abe’s Sun placed at dawn position, and dispositor at noon, we already have confluent indicators that Abe will be an ambitious and mature young man who will take the long view, and have what it takes to go very far in life.

However, what sets Lincoln apart from other men of determination and ambition is because of his dasturiya. Money is a powerful elixir.They say that ‘power corrupts totally.’ There is a reason for this. Let’s face it, when a person gets to a certain stage in life, it is easier to keep the wheel going. Once a person ‘gets to the top’ it is human nature to try to keep on accumulating; to protect ‘whats mine.’   This is where the adage, ‘the rich get richer’ came from, because once most people get to the top of the pyramid, they spend the rest of their born days, grabbing more and fighting off competitors. It is Lincoln’s dasturiya,  the Moon which at sets him apart,  not just from other successful politicians, who ‘make it’ but from all presidents because she forces him to remember his roots. Detrimented in Capricorn, and also disposed by that powerful 10th house Saturn, it becomes the goad that sparks his altruistic zeal that made Lincoln stand up for every one of his subjects, not just the rich and powerful. When he said,  ”that government, of the people, by the people and for the people, will not perish from this earth”   it was his Moon talking. We know from mundane astrology that the represents the common man. Because he did what the Moon forced him to do, take care of everybody in need, black, white and in between. And because of this, Lincoln stands out above all other presidents.

Now mind you, even though the Moon is Lincoln’s royal goad in life, we do not see ‘lunar’ features or temperament outwardly. This is because of ‘accidental’ placement. In charts, when it comes to ‘what you see’ it is the angular planets.  So with Lincoln, we see the overt characteristics like his very dark angular, some would call, Saturnian features (the Sun in Aquarius, angular 1^st with dispositor Saturn in angular 10). And indeed, Lincoln was not what you would call a touch feely kind of a guy. In fact, he was said to have been dumped by his first girlfriend who said he was ‘no gentlemen’ when they had returned from long walk with a pregnant woman, toting sleeping babe in her arms, and had never once offered to carry her load. When confronted with this, he said something to the effect of, ‘well, I figured if she wanted help she woulda asked.”  So instead of seeing a soft and round personage, the lunar dasturiya is placed in the 12^th a cadent, house, and nstead, acts like a subtle voice whispering from the shadows. In addition, like his Sun, Lincoln’s Moon is also detrimented. Since Lincoln is a man, the Moon will represent the women in his life. Mary Todd Lincoln was known to have suffered emotional stress, some said she was unstable. In addition, his mother was considered a ‘lose woman’ because it was said that she cohabited with Lincoln’s dad, prior to marriage.  Thus she was shunned from society, which out in the ‘frontier’ meant company. It was also said that she was a cultured and literate woman, but also a sad woman because of all the isolation. We see this in Lincoln’s placement of the detrimented Moon in Capricorn (the sign opposite its home base of Cancer). I think it in many ways, given that the Moon is his dasturiya, that he was deeply affected by her being an outcast, so that he remembered all the other outcasts and became a president who was ‘of, by and for the people’ not just some of them, but every last one of them.

This post was inspired by the brilliant work of Silva who did an amazing piece on the doryphory at our list Angelicus Merlin. Her astrological work,  each an exquisite lesson in itself, of which I am forever indebted, is not to be missed. Enjoy!

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/angelicusmerlin/

Market Changes Direction

I don’t have much time, so this has to be brief, but for all my friends, clients and readers, but especially my dear trading buddies, who may be a bit overweight in equities, or ‘long’ etfs; the tide has turned.

Since I so want you all to keep your money, so I am asking each of you to please consider reallocating into more secure positions. If your portfolio is under the guidance of somebody else, please make them aware that market forces are changing. For those who have been trading long, if you have been beaten up, waiting for the recovery to return, try not to be sad. Remember the market goes up, and the market goes down. If you try to go long when you should be going short you lose money. We don’t want to lose money, now do we? Of course not, so if you are long, close your positions into any positive news.

For those who are having trouble understanding this, or who have just parked their money elsewhere. Here is your mantra:

70% of market moves with market

70% of the market moves with the market

70% of the market moves with the market.

Say that over and over again until you get it in your head. We have moved into bear country. You don’t go into bear country without proper precautions, so if you are long equities, then its time to think about the much maligned US Dollar. If you are a trader, get your puts in place. Above all, don’t be afraid to stick with them.

And here is your mantra:

Sell on the good news

Sell on the good news

Sell on the good news

Why? Well several reasons first,  all we have to do is take one look at the Spring Ingess Chart set for 2009. What say you, “2009? That’s long gone, its 2010?”

Modern times mean fast times, so fast we  think, ‘here to day, gone tomorrow.’  Ours is is the study of beginnings. Following Hermes/Thoth, astrologers know that what was written above, will be lived out down here on earth.  We must remember that the first day of spring, is just like the first breath a baby takes. And just as the baby’s destiny is marked out by that breath of prana, so too are the 365 days following the Spring Equinox, marked in that all important chart. It is this nano second that the Western Astrological Tradition is based upon.

Spring Equinox 2009

The first thing we notice is that there are cardinal cusps on all the angles (the 4 corners of the chart). Cardinal signs have the ability to act, and it promises a fast market because of it. The next thing we notice is that the ruler of the chart, is Mars, and he is in a watery house. This may not look very bullish, and indeed, it is not. The first house shows the condition of the people and how the citizenry feel. In this case, and with Aries rising, the grumpy Mars tells us how the people are. Mars in Pisces is a sign of worry. The 12th is a house of loss. This is a sign that the natives are restless, but quiet about it. Since the 12th is a cadent or falling house, they feel helpless. The condition of the people in any chart is important, and might be bad, if we were not looking at the spring chart for hints concerning money. Here we leave the house of the people and look to the money houses, the first, our moveable assets, the 11th, the profits from our businesses, the 8th our debts, and the 5th the stock market, but with this caveat, the stock market is the stock market if you are only in it for fun and games. (continue reading…)

Aftermath of the deadly Haitian Earthquake

A devastating 7.0 earthquake has rocked the city of Port Au Prince. This little island nation seems to be a magnet for disaster. It has not been that long since it suffered the ravages of not one but two hurricanes. The mind boggles to think of the pain and suffering that the people of Haiti endure on a daily basis. And now, this.  No building in Port Au Prince has been spared. Experts guess half a million souls have perished.

Sitting in the comfort of my home, it is almost impossible to understand the terror that comes with earthquakes. Looking at the video reminds me of how much I take for granted. I cannot begin to understand the shock and awe that survivors feel.

” I’m going to share my whole experience because I’m hoping it will be therapeutic. In any case I think I’m going to have nightmares for a long time…. When the tremors ceased, a large dust cloud was rising from the building a few doors down. A 3 story school full of teenage girls had collapsed. I stood around looking stupid for longer than I’d like to admit. I looked at the truck from Toyota, tried to call my wife (the service was out) and looked around me at people’s reactions. Virtually everyone reacted in strange ways.  Eventually, I went to the school and started working to pull trapped students from the wreckage.”    More from Chris Rollings

We like to think the ground beneath our feet is always stable as a rock. In a sense, the great strides we have made in science, have fooled us into thinking that we are in control. And that is just how it is - most of the time. Every so often, our great Mother Earth, reminds she is alive and breathing fire. We are forced to face the facts. We are not in charge here, Mother Nature is.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey the earthquake struck at 4:53pm local time. Looking at the chart below several factors of death and destruction jump out at us.

7.1 Earthquake Levels Port Au Prince

Click here for large chart image

When reading any kind of chart, wise astrologers always start with the first house. The Ascending degree marks the ‘go’ point in any astrological map. After all, ours is the study of beginnings, and the Ascendant marks the symbolic  dawn, the first light of the new day. This is because, in order to properly evaluate any given situation,  we are constantly returning to this place. In a sense, it is the alpha and the omega of the charts.  This because it represents the one portion of the body we cannot live without, our head.

Just as a person cannot live without a head, so too, a country can hardly be called a country, were it not for the people who live there. Thus, in their wisdom,  the ancients designated the first house and all planets within its borders, and the Moon to represent the citizenry. Whenever we evaluate charts, especially charts for sorrowful events like this, we try to gauge at the strength of  people represented by first house, its ruler, and celestial markers placed within its borders, and the Moon. We then contrast the strength or weakness of  the people of Haiti, with those things that can kill or maim them. These are the rulers, and tenants of the 8th house, and the 4th.

With ultra sensitive Cancer rising on the cusp of this all important house,  the planet of mothers, Moon will be doubly emphasized. Like a vampire, the Dragon’s Tail in the first, sucks the verve of the people dry.  Placed in  Cancer, it brings helplessness to the people of Port Au Prince. Because the Moon rules the Ascendant, it is doubly emphasized. Placed in what the ancients called a cadent house, she has little or no ability to act on her own. If this were not enough, the  6th house is the place of illness and servitude. In addition to this, the Moon has just separated from a square to the planet of shock, Uranus. Even worse,  the Moon at 27 Sagittarius,   is smack dab on the antiscion of deadly, Pluto at 3 Capricorn. John Frawley says that planets on each others antiscions act as sort of ’shadow’ conjunctions.  It is this combination, that cements the pull of long finger of death, taking the people down into his earthly grave. The Moon does apply to one good planet,  Jupiter. However, the application by sextile is weak. In addition, located in the house of death, and without essential strength, and since Jupiter is in Aquarius, a sign ruled by the deadly Saturn, the benefic Jupiter  turns malefic, magnifying the horrors.

Looking by contrast at the harbingers of death (rulers of the 4th and the 8th) it becomes very clear that  death is much stronger than life.  At the time of Haiti’s Earthquake, the deadly 8th cusp had Aquarius on the cusp, as such, Saturn (for better precision, traditionalists stick to traditional rulerships) owns the death charge.   In this case, Saturn is in Libra, its sign of exaltation. When we think of strength, most revert to sign of rulership, such as Saturn ruling the signs, Capricorn, and Aquarius.  When a planet is in its own sign, we can say it is at home. Its comfortable in its own skin. On the other hand, when a planet is in the sign its exaltation, the function of the planet is charged. Its powers are so exaggerated that they pack a ‘whallop.’ Some ancients like the great, M’ashallah considered exaltations to be stronger than ownership.  Whether exaltation signs are stronger than rulership, is debatable. What we do know for certain, is that when the deadly Saturn, is in Libra and ruling the 8th house, he has a much bigger arsenal, and a more deadly aim. Already we are seeing problems. Death is strong, and the people are weak. If this were not enough, Saturn is stationing, and thus moving very slowly. When a planet moves slowly, for better or worse, the more it imprints upon us. In the case of malefics like Saturn, death becomes that much more deadly.

But it gets even worse, because Saturn is situated within the 5 degrees prior to the 4th of the grave. According to Ptolemy, planets so placed are already doing the work of the next house, in this case, the work of the grim reaper. This gives to death what the people do not have, the power to act.  The 4th house is the house of the ground beneath our feet.  We already mentioned that Saturn owns the 8th house but due to its strength in the sign of Libra, it is also the almuten or the most powerful and dominating influence at the cusp of the ground ruler, the 4th. Add all this together, and you have a formula for disaster of untold proportions.

By contrast, a mere 48 hours and six minutes earlier, another potentially deadly quake of 6.5 on the Richter Scale struck the Northern California cities of Eureka and Ferndale.

6.5 North Coast Earthquake

Click here for large chart image

The San Andreas Fault is just outside my window.  As such, even though last Saturday’s 6.5 Ferndale/Eureka Quake was more than 200 miles away, I felt this earthquake, ever so slightly. I was on the phone with my friend, Helen when I felt this tiny little jag and thought, ‘earthquake.’  A few minutes later, my husband Alex came in and asked me if I felt the shock.

Having stuck at the same time of day, only 2 days apart, both earthquake charts, have striking similarities. Both earthquakes struck on days owned by malefic or nasty planets. This is one of the things I was recently reminded by the great astrologer, Linda Reid,  day of the week counts.  In this case, the 6.5 Ferndale/Eureka took place on  Saturday,  a day ruled by the slow killer, Saturn, while the 7.0 Port Au Prince quake took place on a Tuesday, a day ruled by violent and cruel, Mars.  It is interesting to note that the Great San Francisco Quake  also took place on a Tuesday, while Loma Prieta (with fewer deaths) took place on a Friday (a Venus day).

In both instances, the maternal sign, Cancer rises, thus making the Moon,  as rep. for the good or ill of the people,  doubly important.  Given the magnitude of both earthquakes, it should be no surprise that in both charts, the people (the Moon) is weak, while in both charts, death house, is strong and able to act, and act with awe inspiring force.

The Haitian Earthquake peoples positioning gives us graphic evidence of that environment is everything.  In this we can liken astrology  to  real estate, because so much depends upon,  ’location, location location.’   Poor placement, known to traditional astrologers as ‘accidental debility’ is  the astrological equivalent of growing up in a bad neighborhood. When you grow up in the projects. It is just plain harder for you to make a success in life. The same holds true for planets. When in a rotten house, there is less hope. On the bright side, if a planet or luminary is in a bad house, but associating or in aspect by a good or beneficent planet or luminary there is some hope of ‘pulling oneself up by the bootstrap’ and escaping the celestial ghetto, traditional astrologers call cadency. If on the other hand, the cadent planet or luminary,  is hanging out with a bunch of thugs,  in the form of malefic planets, as it is in Haiti’s Earthquake., the Moon will be able to produce only ill effects. The ancients called this  ’accidental’ placement. There is good placement, which is called ‘accidental dignity’ and there is bad, known as ‘accidental debility.

In addition to placement, what sign a planet or luminary is in, is very important.  Notice, the Ferndale/Eureka Quake’s ‘people’ designate, the Moon, there is no problem with location. Notice that the Moon is in the benign and bountiful, house of creativity, the 5th house. Just as there are good and bad places for a planet to hang out, there are also good and bad sign for the planet to be in. Looking at the Eureka/Ferndale Quake, we notice that the people are also weak, but this weakness had nothing to do with placement and everything to do with sign. In a nutshell,  certain signs are just plain no good for a planet.  The Ferndale Earthquake chart has the Moon in her fall, Scorpio. This is just about the worst place for the Moon to be.

The Moon can be likened to a celestial mother, who gives everything, including life to her children. When in the sign, Scorpio, the Moon becomes imprinted by the dark side of Mars, becomes like a vampire, sucking the very lifeblood ut of the host. When the Moon is here, she becomes the epitome of  ’essential debility. Thus, on Saturday, the people were weakened by the cruelty of Mars’ deadly force.  However, remember, the people are not in the cadent ghetto, but not just a good neighborhood, but a great one, the trinal and joyous 5th house. Not only that, this Moon has friends to help her out of her rotten sign, in the form of a beautiful grand trine to Uranus,  the planet of all things modern, and the South Node. We also notice that the people’s designate is still under the influence of the light and giver of life, the Sun, and Venus, in the  7th of laws. The Moon all by herself in the happy 5th, seems to indicate that laws in the form of strict building codes, coupled with the sparse population, probably saved the people from what could have been a much greater disaster. In addition, nothing pulls the Moon towards death. In other words, the 6.5  Northern California quake chart has nothing tying the people to death like the antiscion between the Moon and Pluto in the Haitian Earthquake.  As such, despite the violence of the quake, the residents of western Humbolt County, California only suffered minor damage in the way of broken glass, but there was no loss of life.

The people of Haiti need your support and prayers. Please donate to generously to Doctors without Borders http://www.msf.org

 

Sun Aug 09 the Moon conjuncts Uranus retrograde in Pisces, then goes void of course. Whenever the Moon approaches the end of Pisces and the start of Aries, brace for a shift of gears in your daily life. With the planet of surprise in the equation, your personal perspective may experience an even bigger shift. (continue reading…)

Roll with the punches but keep your head high. Even the lowliest flower has its moment in the sun and lives with dignity. Writing can be a brutal way of life, but it has nobleness like none other. Pick up that pen or fire up that computer and write like a Leo, because by the end of this month, you are. Heads Up!

Sun July 26 -28th the Moon is in Libra when Venus trines Jupiter retrograde. Enjoy good luck wherever you can find it.

Wed July 29 the Moon is in Scorpio all day. Retreat to your office and be serious about your work. If you aren’t, why should anyone else?

Thu July 30 the Moon is still in Virgo when Mercury opposes Jupiter retrograde. It’s fine to scrutinize generosity and good luck, but don’t turn it into negative criticism. We’ve all had more than our share of that.

Fri July 31 the Moon is in Sagittarius all day. This is favorable to all things writerly, especially regarding publication. Think acceptance. Mercury opposes Neptune retrograde. Actively resist thinking about rejection. Later, Venus changes signs and enters Cancer. No matter what the outside world thinks of your work, there’s no place like home. Treasure it.

Kathy Watts is a life-long stargazer and writer. Her love of almanacs stems from a deep fascination with the lives and works of Johannes Kepler and Tycho Brahe, and the days when astronomy and astrology were most strongly one. She intermittently appears at San Francisco Astrology Society meetings (for whom she’s given a few presentations over the years). Follow her under the name of kdirewolf on livejournal.com, facebook, and twitter.

Is there such a thing as coincidence? For as I try to make sense of, Algol, the always impeccable Thomas Decker has already done a magnificent job of the emotions simmering under the cool reserve our binary eclipsing, Algol:

“Algol is described by Ptolemy as having the nature of Saturn and Jupiter.
It is associated with uncontrolled emotion and violence through which the
native literally or figuratively loses his head. At first it seems curious that it
should be of the nature of Jupiter and Saturn. But if you meld the warmth
and expansiveness of Jupiter with the coldness and brittleness of Saturn you
have a noxious combination. You can imagine it this way:

” Suppose someone falls deeply in love, their heart expands and enfolds the
beloved with warmth and joy. But what happens if this love isn’t returned in
the way expected, or worse, appears to have been given to another? Then all
the joy and generosity bestowed upon the beloved becomes poisoned. The
bitter cold and above all jealous voice of Saturn turns the beloved into a
calculating and heartless creature full of deceit. Love becomes hatred and
fury and vindictiveness are now directed towards the ‘beloved directed
towards the ‘beloved’. All rational thought is put aside, one loses one’s head
with an emotional surge that strives to damage and hurt, cost what it will.
This is the stuff of tragedy and Shakespeare’s “Othello” comes to mind.”
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I only wish that some day, I may learn to write with half the verve and just plain raw talent that Thomas Decker can summon. Thanks to his astute observations, we are reminded that Algol is not just a bloody killer, but also expansive and forgiving, ruled as she is by the magnanimous, Jupiter. It is this all inclusive, nature of Algol, before being ‘jilted’ that Thomas so exquisitely describes in his recent piece, that made me sit up and take notice. Here we see that our binary eclipsing star, is not just a shrew, out to kill, but also has an intriguing and magnetic side, a welcome side, that until Thomas’s apt description, I have never seen discussed, but in all the Algol personalities, I have had the good fortune to meet, I have seen this, what can I call it, but a gentleness, that is always magnetic, and sometimes, even charismatic.

It was Thomas’ recent piece on Algol that reminded me how differently the very same constellational degree of Taurus is treated in western tradition, as opposed to eastern. In the west, we tend to focus rather heavily upon the bloody severed head, in Perseus’ hand - in other words, here in our western paternalistic society, we only concentrate on Medussa’s negative qualities. Yet, had we grown up in the astrological tradition of the east, Jyotisa, if we saw this very same exact same place in for the Moon, we would rejoice! Indeed, where we in the west place a severed head, is the very same spot that the Indian Seers placed the most revered degree for the Moon, that of her exaltation. Since traditional Jyotisa is star based, Algol stays on this very spot through time.

Now how can this be? How can the two systems be so alike, yet so different when it comes to this spot in the zodiac? I can only offer my humble explanation.

Consider for a moment, just how mesmerizing beauty really is.

For example, when we see a beautiful woman go by, so often, a portion of our rational brain is stopped dead in its tracks as we stretch our necks to take in the sight. Maybe, before being cast into the heavens, Medusa was not ugly, but instead, was perhaps, extremely beautiful and alluring. Never forget, it was not the intelligence that launched 1000 ships. It was Helen’s beauty. What we might be forgetting in the west, what our paternalistic forefathers were intimidated by was this very powerful female magnetism that is so imbued in this portion of Taurus, that makes us lose our heads when those possessing this fixed star strongly in their chart cross our path.

Next, let’s ponder how rumors grow, over time, until eventually they give way to myth.

First there is the truth, that is, what ‘really happened. Then as time goes by, rumors foment, and truth becomes muddled in the pain and torment of rejection that Thomas Decker so aptly describes. Each time the story is told, it is dramatized, perhaps to engage the listener or to win a supporter, perhaps just to tell a good yarn. Eventually, instead of hearing what ‘really happened, as time goes on, reality becomes twisted and magnified into something hardly even resembling the actual course of events. What I am trying to say is a millennia or two is a very long time.

Maybe, just maybe, when our Algol myth was first born, instead being the ugliest of three horrid sisters, perhaps Medusa was, the both the most beautiful and the brightest woman of the realm. Perhaps it was this heady combination that intimidated the egocentric Perseus or perhaps she spurned his advances, and so he offered Medusa’s skull to his king as a wedding present? We shall never know, but one thing we do know is how drastically a story can veer from the truth in but a few short months. We can only imagine how much a story can change over the course of several thousand years.

With this in mind, I thought it would be interesting to present some charts of some Algol folks, we all know and love……

Our first example of the Medusa/Lunar Exaltation Degree in action (MLED), is in the chart of a woman who was not only known for both her beauty and brains, but one who was also a legend in her own time…..but alas, you will have to wait until morning, for Morpheus is calling me……