Astrological Forecasts

When Melody Hall opened  her door at 11:00 AM, Tuesday, the last thing she expected to see was the police.  Before she could invite them in, they asked her if her husband had any tattoos. Answering yes, they quietly asked her to have a seat. They then told her that her husband had been killed in an accident. Melody could not believe her ears. How could this be?  It is not unusual when hearing dreadful news for people to go into denial, before they accept the inevitable.  She understood the words but she just could not accept them. Perhaps, they were wrong. Is there a way to separate fact fact from fiction?

William Lilly developed a system to evaluate whether news was true or false. Maintaining a very successful astrological practice  during England’s arduous Civil War. As the fires moved closer,  Lilly often received dire news, of one side or the other overcoming nearby cities. A lot of these messages were nonsense. A practical Taurus, by nature, Lilly  got into the habit of noting each time, he heard such news. After examining many such charts, he noticed a distinct pattern.  The news proved true, when the luminaries  and planets were placed where they possessed certain qualities, and so placed, that they could withstand the test of time.

A Report Cambridge was taken by the King's Forces 11 April 1643

Most people know that signs are of 4 natures, fiery, earthy, airy and watery. They also have 3 distinct qualities, fixed, moveable, and mutable. The moveable (also known as cardinal signs) are, Aries, Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn. Like the first of them, Aries, these signs like to get things going, and as such, are  the fastest of the signs. Always on the go, when we hear a message, and see a great many moveable signs, in the chart, that the rumor will come and go rather quickly. In other words, the message will not be true.

Mutable, signs (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, and Pisces) are dual in nature. The Gemini twins are two minds, Sagittarius is part man and part beast, and the two opposite swimming fish, of Pisces, are obvious, but the Virgin can seem out of place,  until you notice that she has wings (this is why she can be so grumpy, she belongs in heaven). Also called, double bodied, these signs start out one way, but tend to pull an ‘about face.’ Like the cheating spouse, mutables, want to be loyal, they really do, but they cannot. It’s just not their nature. And so, where we see a chart loaded with mutables the news will prove false.

For the news to be true, Lilly suggests that we find a predominance of fixed signs (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius) in the chart.  There is a dogged determination to these signs.  When faced with opposition, these signs do not buckle under or give up. They have the wherewithal to keep on keeping on, when the going gets rough. Possessing a strong dose of mega strength, fixed signs,  stubbornly stick to their original agenda, often to the bitter end. Never knowing when to say ‘when, can cause trouble to fixed people, but when it comes to news, fixity = truth.

im-sorry-your-husband-is-dead-larger-image2

The chart, above is the time that Melody received the news. “First I would consider the angles.”  Starting with the fiery, Leo ascendant, all four angles are fixed. Fixed signs on angles act like anchors, to the chart. They can be likened to a house built on a rock solid foundation. In this case, it is a cause to lament, because it infers that she is no longer a wife, but now a widow.  However, there is a glimmer of hope, because we have to examine the ruler, too. And in this case, we find the Sun is placed in double bodied sign, Gemini. The twins are often depicted with one laughing, while the other cries.  Maybe there is more to come.  Wherever we see Gemini, we should look at its boss, Mercury. Sadly, Mercury is strong, at home, in it’s own sign, Gemini.

Lilly said that “Ill rumors shall vanish to nothing, and shall be converted to good; if the Lord of the Ascendant be under the beams or combust.” Combustion is the worst condition a planet can be in. Like Icarus, whatever gets too close, is swallowed up in his fiery force. With Leo rising, and Sun the ‘star’ of this chart, this is impossible.  However, if we shift our focus to the 3rd, the house of the news, we see Venus,  ‘star’ of the 3rd,is so close to the deadly  Sun, that she has been burnt to a crisp! This is very positive news, because not only does this burnt out Venus rule the message, it also rules the messenger! With Taurus on the 10th, Venus rules the police!!  Perhaps, just perhaps, the police were wrong.

The Moon is the most important parts of the chart, because being the quickest in the map, she makes happen. Lilly said that it was important to keep a close eye on the Moon, and the planet to whom the Moon applies. “Ill rumors shall vanish to nothing, and shall be converted to good;  Here we see the Moon in a moveable sign, but also heading towards the deadly modern planet, Pluto.

Saturn rules time.

Placed in the news house, the ringed planet casts a shadow on the message. As details of the deadly 1:a.m., crash emerged, Melody grew suspicious.  “As soon as he said that, I knew something was wrong. I had seen my husband at 7:00 a.m.” she said.

“It was instant disbelief because it’s the worst thing anybody can say to you – that your husband has been killed, this morning.” She then got up and took the officers to the garage.

“Sure enough, the door to our shed was open, and the lock was missing off of it.” Her husband’s motorcycle and helmet were no where to be seen.

Piecing the puzzle, together, a neighbor decided to go for a midnight joy ride, stealing the bike as the couple slept, running headlong to his end. Evidence of the theft is shown by Uranus exactly opposite the 3rd cusp, and at the same time, the activity ruler, the Moon applies by square.

“Police determined the motorcycle had been stolen, and the thief — whom police have not yet named, but Halls said was a neighbor — died in the accident. ‘ “Although efforts were made to identify the victim of the collision based on the information available at the time, the Medicine Hat Police Service sincerely apologizes for the distress that was caused to the family of the motorcycle owner, when they were incorrectly notified,” ‘ Medicine Hat Police Service Deputy Chief Richard Wigle said in a news release.” more info http://abcnews.go.com/US/police-wrong-family-motorcycle-death/story?id=16511897

June 5, 2012  *   The Transit of Venus

by Kathy Watts

When you stargaze in the daytime, you can see only one star — the Sun.  On June 5, 2012, though, you can see something extra special.  You can watch the planet Venus move between the Earth and the Sun as it drifts right across the face of our star.

Transits of Venus only happen when the orbits of the Earth and Venus are lined up exactly right. The orbit of Venus has to cross the ecliptic (the Sun’s path in the sky) and Venus must be exactly between the Sun and Earth (astronomers call this an inferior conjunction) at exactly the same time.

Since the disk of Venus is only 1/30th the size of the disk of the Sun, the planet doesn’t cover much. It looks like a large perfectly round sunspot drifting from one side of the Sun to the other. Basically, Venus is creating an annular eclipse of the Sun. It’s still exciting to actually see it happen.

These transits occur very rarely. Two transits will happen within eight years, then the next two transits won’t happen for another 100-plus years.  After this 2012 transit, it won’t happen again until December 11, 2117.

In 1769, Captain James Cook sailed to Tahiti in the HMS Endeavour to observe the transit of Venus.  People all over the world observed and carefully timed this transit. From their observations, the distance from the Sun to the Earth was first accurately calculated, giving us the real scale of the whole solar system. The distance from Sun to Earth is a very important number, with its own name, the astronomical unit (AU).

Only the inner planets Mercury and Venus can transit the Sun, as seen from Earth.  If we were on Saturn, then Earth, Mars, and Jupiter would be able to transit the Sun, too.

Here in the East Bay, Venus will first touch the limb of the Sun at 3:06 pm. The Sun will set before Venus comes out the other side. Of all the United States, only Alaska and Hawaii will get to see the entire event.

To watch the transit of Venus, you need a safe way to look directly at the Sun. Filtered glasses (not ordinary sunglasses) or a projection screen can work.  Check out Sunearthday.nasa.gov, or Transitofvenus.org, or even SkyandTelescope.com for observing tips on what you need to protect your eyes.

Easier maybe, you can go to UC Berkeley’s Lawrence Hall of Science. In the plaza they will have a full display and you can watch the whole thing.

Or, easier still, there’s going to be live webcast from the Mauna Kea Observatory atop the Mauna Kea volcano in Hawaii. Aloha, Venus!*

*We wish to thank Ella Levine, and the very generous people at http://firecrackerweekly.com for allowing us to reproduce Kathy Watts’ brilliant work on this very, rare astronomical event! Thank you!!

Heads Up!

The Writer’s Astrological Almanac

by Kathy Watts

June 2012

Spring is turning into Summer! We start June on Friday (the day of the week for Venus) with the Moon entering the sign of Scorpio. Take people seriously, especially friends and loved ones,  this month. Work on relationships, and then let them help you. Midday, Mercury conjuncts Venus retrograde at 17Gem. Let your words (written, spoken or even just thought) come from the heart.  (continue reading…)