March 2008 Archives

Photo by Jeff Vespa/WireImage.com

Marsha Garces Williams, wife of actor Robin Williams, filed for divorce last week citing "irreconciliable differences". Although Robin is best known for his comedic skills, he has a long history of drug and alcohol addiction and it is rumored that Marsha filed divorce papers after her ultimatum failed to wean him from his addictions.

The astrological chart of Robin Williams shows a fascinating blend of comic genius and tragic emotional pain, the combination of which appears to be essential in all of the great comic minds. Williams, with a Cancer Sun, also has a Pisces Moon and Scorpio rising. This heavy watery influence shows his intensely sensitive emotional nature, and a tendency to lose himself (Pisces Moon) into his environment. Mercury (mental function) in his chart is in the fun-loving sign of Leo, and Leo is the King of Comedy. That Mercury sits prominently on the Midheaven of his chart, demonstrating his ability to connect with the public (Midheaven) through his ability to express his thoughts and ideas (Mercury). Pluto (intensity and drama) conjoins his Mercury which suggests a powerful mind with an obsessive nature.

Williams has a wildly revolutionary conjunction of Mars (aggression) and Uranus (rebellion) which is tightly aspected to both Jupiter (expansion) and Neptune (fantasy), and it is this planetary system in his birthchart which describes his unique methodology when it comes to acting. WIlliams cannot be controlled and rarely sticks to the script. His strong Cancerian influence (with Sun, Mars and Uranus all in Cancer) reveals his intense attachment to family and his strong desire to nurture others; in fact, he has become a surrogate parent to the children of Christopher and Dana Reeve after their recent deaths.

Saturn (challenges and disappointments) in Williams' chart is in an exact challenging aspect (square) to Chiron (wounding and healing), indicating a psyche that is extremely sensitive with a tendency towards experiencing life in a way that brings up painful psychic and emotional wounds. Ideally an individual with this combination of planets will seek healing of these old wounds, but the easiest way to deal with them is to numb them with addictions. Transiting Saturn made a challenging aspect to the ascendant of Williams' chart (his "rising sign") back in late July of 2006 which resulted in his admitting himself to rehab in August of that year.

Williams experienced another difficult cycle when transiting Pluto made a pass over the Saturn/Chiron system in his chart back in January of 2007 and remained within one degree of that painful system throughout the year. Williams' older brother died in August of that year, but I suspect the entire year was extremely difficult for Williams as Pluto applied consistent pressure on any unhealed old wounds that remained in his psyche.

Williams' family-oriented nature has not kept him from infidelity in the past; his first marriage ended after an affair with his current wife who was at the time the nanny to his children and evidently this was not his first adulterous episode. Venus in Williams' chart is in Virgo, which often tends to be rather prudish and perfectionistic, and it opposes that Pisces Moon. Challenging aspects between Venus (love and beauty) and the Moon (nurturing and sensitivity) denote an individual who finds it difficult to reconcile their emotional needs (Moon) in their relationships (Venus), and the archetypes of the sexual goddess (Venus) with the maternal figure (Moon). This is the classic "madonna/whore" complex and while this is not universally true it does sometimes indicate a proclivity in a man's chart to separate the two. In December, transiting Saturn came very close to the Moon/Venus combination in his chart and doubtless intensified his depression.

Williams has a few other astrological things going on as well: in March of 2007 transiting Chiron began squaring Williams' ascendant and bringing up all of his issues around his ability to establish his own identity (ascendant) relative to his marriage (descendant), a cycle that concluded in December. And a transit of Neptune over his nadir (opposing his Midheaven, or career point) has likely created a great deal of confusion over his role in his personal life and family (nadir) relative to his career and public persona (Midheaven). This cycle began in May of 2007 and is just now in the second phase of a cycle that will conclude in January of 2009.

This is a difficult time for Robin Williams, and I hope that he will be able to resolve his demons that are the burden accompanying his tremendous gifts.

When we look around we can see a lot of things to worry about. But deep within is a silent stillness that carries us back to our Selves and transcends all worry and doubt.

Into every corner it unfolds and reaches;
Without choosing between high or low,
Exalted or humble, it touches everywhere.

This was in my inbox today. Those of us who follow astrology will not be surprised to read from the Motley Fool that the corporate culture is collapsing under the influence of Pluto (breakdown and transformation) in Capricorn (business, achievement, capitalism):

Half a decade ago, the entire nation was shocked when award-winning "innovator" Enron turned out to be little more than a cash-shredding pyramid scheme. The crucial failing for investors was Enron's use of opaque, "mark-to-market" accounting. The problem comes when the market is batty (or doesn't exist), so you instead mark your assets to a model, especially one that's wrong, either because you made an error or because you based it on exceedingly generous assumptions.

In the end, we learned that Enron's accounting was pretty much mark-to-fairy-tale, with the company booking enormous gains from assumed future profits on schemes (like bandwidth trading) that sounded great, but had little chance of producing anything besides headlines.

You might think we'd learned our lessons about fantasy accounting after Enron, but you would be wrong. Things actually got worse. The infection moved to the comfy-sounding "homeownership" market. Against a star-spangled, feel-good backdrop touting the "American Dream," our recent mark-to-model mania tripped up a lot more than one big company. In fact, it swept through the entire banking world. (Bear Stearns (NYSE: BSC) is not the first to choke on lousy, poorly modeled mortgage-backed securities "income," and I'll eat a Miami condo if it's the last.)

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I've been reading articles about the slowdown of big mega retailers, and I'm wondering if the coming transformation of the corporate world might bring about the return of independent business (when Uranus in Aries squares Pluto in Cap 2010-2013). Perhaps it's just wishful thinking, but it seems that this ever-expanding marketplace will have to burst its bubble at some point, leaving local mom and pop shops to fill in the gaps.

The Motley Fool does have some good news for investors, though:

I am certain that systemic failure has steered us into a terrifying run at the ditch, to be followed by a painful, protracted rough patch. It was all spawned by greed gone amok on Wall Street and Main Street. Yet I believe history will prove this to be one of the best times to have invested in stocks, especially attractive-priced small caps. Here's why:

• The market is in panic mode, and when markets panic, no one's thinking.
• Small caps have been crushed more than the rest of the market, as investors seek "safe" large caps.
• Over time, value-priced small caps produce some of the most amazing returns in the market. Really.
• There are loads of small caps out there poised for years, if not decades, of fantastic growth, but the market is pricing them as if they are dead and buried.

Sounds very Saturn in Virgo, but value investing is back, along with cautious spending and thrifty saving, all very nice Virgoan traits!

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Thanks to KT The Astrologer for posting this lovely article on the conjunction right now of Uranus to Mercury and Venus (perhaps that's why most of my day has been spent dealing with malfunctioning telecommunications equipment??):

It can be a very interesting time when a personal planet conjuncts a transpersonal planet in the sky as both are functioning from very different levels.

So when they meet it's like the college student and the 2nd grader working on the same project.

This is what is happening on the 27th and 28th, except the college student is asked to work with two 2nd graders.

The conjunction of Uranus, Mercury and Venus has us dealing with the needs of the personality meshing with the viewpoint from higher consciousness.

Uranus needs things to change, to break free and to disrupt. Its energy is about the greater good and trying to create a better future and it will do this any way it can.

Mercury in entrenched in the mind and serves the personality. Venus with its need for relating and indulging also likes to keep the ego happy.

When they band together we experience a rather radical shift in perception and values.

Our relationships, finances and our take on ourselves aesthetically will undergo a tremor of around 5.5 on the 'astrological Richter scale' Our ideas surrounding these issues may be rocked and a whole new way of thinking will being to crack open.

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This triple conjunction is exactly sextile Jupiter right now, the culmination of a cycle which has taken all month to perfect and would typically bring about an expansion (Jupiter) of innovation and exciting change (Uranus). However, pesky Chiron and Neptune, which are fused now in Aquarius, are inconjunct (30 degrees) both Jupiter and Uranus, squeezing a wedge between their joyous party. Chiron inconjunct Uranus is bringing up all of those things that no one wants to hear but which must be said, and inconjunct Jupiter it helps to facilitate conversation and the healing of ideologies which have lost their luster. The Neptune component adds just enough mist to create some confusion and potential for illusion. A murky road to say the least!

Venus and Mercury break away from the Jupiter/Uranus party by early next week when Mercury will be squared by Pluto and we'll REALLY see some enthusiastic discussions! --------

Last week I commented, "Judging from the chart for the war in Iraq, events are about to make a surprising turn. After two years of a challenging transit (square) from Pluto to the Sun/Mercury conjunction in the chart, which seems to have had the effect of relentless and unending death and destruction (Pluto), Uranus (radical change) is about to transit Pluto (power and transformation) in the invasion chart."

Noting a strong Chiron influence, I was hoping for some healing to take place but sometimes Chiron exerts its healing influence by bringing the simmering conflicts into view so that they can be examined in order hopefully to release them. Now we learn that Moqtada al Sadr's cease fire has suddenly (Uranus) ended in Basra and Sadr City. Much of the success in reducing violence has been attributed to the surge in US troops, but some argue that al-Sadr's ceasefire had as much or more of an influence.

The re-emergence of al-Sadr did seem to be a surprise after such a long time, but Mahdi Army fighters are now saying "The cease-fire is over; we have been told to fight the Americans."

It appears that President Bush will be forced to deal with this problem before the election and that will make for an even more interesting Presidential race.

I apologize in advance to my dear readers who are Clinton supporters. A bit of snark may leak into this post.Most of you are probably aware by now of Senator Clinton's need to backpedal on some of the statements that...

The Kalachakra, or Wheel of Time.In light of the current riots in Tibet I was looking online for a chart of Tibet since my Book of World Horoscopes does not contain one, and came across a wealth of material on...

Dharmaruci found this interesting correlation to the Grand Cross at last week's Full Moon: Health officials in the Philippines have issued a warning to people taking part in Easter crucifixion rituals. (Note the Moon and Saturn will be in Virgo.)...

(reprinted from last year)Many people now know that Christian holidays such as Christmas and Easter are tied to pagan celebrations of cosmological events such as the solstices and equinoxes. Easter, a holiday that commemorates the time that Jesus supposedly rose...

Judging from the chart for the war in Iraq, events are about to make a surprising turn. After two years of a challenging transit (square) from Pluto to the Sun/Mercury conjunction in the chart, which seems to have had the...

The United States has a history of valuing money over people. Pluto in the US (Sibley) chart is in the second house of financial wealth and resources, and the compulsive (Pluto) need to acquire could be its undoing. Transiting Pluto...

The Vernal Equinox occurs tomorrow, March 20, at 2 am EST as the Sun enters Aries, marking the re-entry of the fire element into our planetary cycles. The opposition of Mars in Cancer to Pluto in Capricorn has certainly been...

The rising sign, or ascendant, is the sign that was on the horizon at the East at the time that we were born. No matter what house system you use, the ascendant and midheaven (noon point) are always the same,...

This has nothing to do with astrology, but it's wonderful nonetheless and shows the interconnectedness of all life: THEY famously attempted to warn mankind of the Earth's impending destruction in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, only for their behaviour...

Jill will enjoy this, since she's one of the biggest Mets fans of all time. The New York Times has an article highlighting the astrological predictions of a New York astrologer who is also a loyal Mets fan: Mallis was...

Ocean Magic, by Willow ArleneaMercury moved into Pisces a couple of days ago following on the heels of Venus, ending the stellium (grouping) of planets in Aquarius. Where Mercury in Aquarius seeks intelligently reasoned dialogue and, though rather insensitive, is...

The pastor of Barack Obama's church is back in the news after a videotape of the Reverend Jeremiah Wright surfaced yesterday. In the videotape of a fiery sermon delivered Christmas Day, Wright is shown saying: “We bombed Hiroshima, we bombed...

Geraldine Ferraro was the first woman to run as vice president on a major party ticket back in 1984 when she ran with Walter Mondale in an unsuccessful bid for the White House. She is back in the news after...

(Please refrain from scatological jokes here!) On Monday the stock market rose over 400 points, the biggest single day rise since 2002, confirming the predictions of noted astrological money expert Ray Merriman who, noting the falling markets at the New...

Sally McDonald has more: The crusader of Wall Street, the hero of the little guy, the white knight fighting corporate corruption, Eliot Spitzer has been felled. He was felled by his own sword and his enemies piling on top to...

Eliot Spitzer, Governor of New York and former district attorney for the State of New York, is likely about to resign after being associated with a prostitution ring under investigation. As with most situations of this kind, there is a...

Virgo is associated with health because it generally is concerned with matters of hygiene and balance between the mind, body and spirit. With Saturn in Virgo we are likely to see more issues like this in the mainstream news: More...

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As Mars and Pluto opposed each other for the last time in a cycle that began last fall, a student at the University of North Carolina here in Chapel Hill where I live was murdered, the latest in a wave...

Astrodatabank has confirmed that the 1:06 pm birthtime for Obama that is floated around is a myth. Date and place from media sources including Obama’s IL General Assembly webpage. Various times of birth have been circulated or posted. A time...

We are still in the middle of the Aquarius stellium, with Chiron conjunct Mercury which is exacerbating the tendency of Mars in Cancer for hurt feelings. Fortunately, a conjunction of sweet Venus and romantic Neptune will soften the edges of...

I continue to be blown away by the new crop of astrologers who have grown up in the craft with so many tools at their disposal and made good use of them. Chris Brennan, a recent graduate of Kepler College,...

Democratic primary goes even more negative as Mars opposes Pluto....

As a culture-watcher I found it fascinating that in Ohio Republicans were voting for Hillary Clinton in order to shore up a big win for John McCain in November. "I voted for Hillary," said Republican Eric Klieber, 56, of Cleveland...

Secret papers just released tell the story of Louis deWohl, an astrologer and flamboyant character who was hired by the British secret service to cast horoscopes for Hitler and other Nazi leaders under the auspices of the "Psychological Research Bureau."...

Mars, which had retrograded back into Gemini where warfare tends to be more verbal than physical, moves back into Cancer tomorrow. Mars has been in Cancer, where it is typically more hypersensitive and touchy, on and off since last November....

Thanks as always to Elsa's Top Ten for providing a link to this wonderful article: zodiac version 2.0Thousands of years ago, people in primitive cultures looked upwards and imagined patterns and signs in the stars that bespeckled the night sky,...