Astrological Forecasts

Heads Up!  

An intense year comes to an end (continue reading…)

Welcome to the stormy, action-packed next-to-the-last month of the year,  November. (continue reading…)

Heads Up!

The Writer’s Astrological Almanac

 August 2013 

Here we are in August! Days are already getting noticeably shorter in the northern hemisphere, and the heart of the Galaxy shines in nighttime sky. (continue reading…)

Heads Up!

The Writer’s Astrological Almanac 

 July 2013 

Welcome to July, the heart of summer (or winter, depending on where you live). (continue reading…)

Heads Up!  October 2010

October begins on a Friday (Venus’s day) with the Moon in Cancer. Despite the relentless tug of the world, this can still be a good month to write (or at least to read) at home. This afternoon Mercury exactly opposes Jupiter. It’s a good day to write a blue streak (always better than talking one), although it might not all be right, which is fine for an early draft.

Sat Oct 02 Mercury opposes Uranus. Turn on the faucet, and the unconventional, even revolutionary thoughts will run like water. Be polite about it all, though (except in fiction). A few hours later, the Moon enters Leo. Hopefully the thought processes will settle down before pride kicks in.

Sun Oct 03 the Moon is in Leo when Mercury changes signs and enters Libra. May thoughts turn to harmony and peace, or at least nice plot resolutions. In the afternoon, Venus conjuncts Mars. This aspect was made to assist artistic works of any sort. Channel all your passion and charm into it and see what comes out.

Mon Oct 04 the Moon is in Virgo when Mercury squares Pluto. It’s always easy to question the need for a major change. Perhaps this is a good day to revise plot outlines (if you use such things, and Virgo would like it if you did).

Wed Oct 06 the Moon enters Libra. Work from a strong, well-centered, even-tempered space. It’s going to be a month of Wednesdays with the Moon in cardinal signs. Be more than prolific; be constructive. Late tonight, the Moon conjuncts Mercury. You can feel what the people feel. Take notes. It’s the day before the New Moon. Take extra precaution when traveling, or when firing off email. Heads Up.

Thu Oct 07 the very dark Moon conjuncts Saturn. It’s the kind of day when you can see to the bottom of the well. Observe fearlessly, but act with circumspection. Then comes the New Moon at 14Libra. I’m hoping that this will feel like recovering from some lingering illness or depression. Be brave, and put your impressions into your art.

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October 2009

Welcome to October!!It’s a challenging month, but also empowering.  Put the final touches on some projects, and explore the skeletal beginnings of others.  It may be a time for caution, but not of hesitation or doubt.  We all have doubts, of course, but we don’t have to reveal them to the world.  Nor does this mean suppression.  It may simply mean tact, and Libra loves tact.

Have a splendid, pumpkin-grinning joyous autumn month of writing.  Heads Up! (continue reading…)

The subject of the famous savant, Michel Nostradamus,  probably one of the greatest astrologers of all time,  recently came up on our traditional astrological mailing list, Angelicus Merlin:

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

As many know, he was one of the greatest physicians of his era. He was said to have healed so many people during the Black Plague that his work was brought to the attention of the king of France, who hired him to become the king’s personal physician. It was no surprise that many know of his predictions, but it was very surprising to find that so few astrologers also knew that like most doctors of his day, he was also an astrologer.

In a case of serendipity, the gifted Australian astrologers,  Silva and Anne Fryer, had only recently suggested we spend more time on missing item horary charts,  I thought it might be fun to share a missing item horary reading from the great astrologer, himself.

I thank Anton Grigoryev for sharing this horary with me, many years, ago. The astute will remember that the late Olivia Barclay shared this horary at UAC some years back. Those who attended my talk at the South Bay Astrological Society, may remember I presented this chart there, in 2007.

Where are the Missing Church Bells?

February 13 1562 (Gregorian)

Feb 3 (OS)

18h30m LMT* (I have changed the time from 18:30 in my copy of this chart so we can arrive at the same house cusps as the original).

Provence 44n00 5e00

scan of the original chart

Provence 44n00 5e00

Nostradamus Missing Church Bells

To my venerable Lords, Messiers, the Canons of the Cathedral Church of the most ancient city of Orange. Venerable Lords, with respect to your inquiry concerning the specificd and enumerated sacrilegious thefts, concerning theft and hoard hidden but not concealed.

“According to the astronomical figure drawn above, you will see fully that it shows that the theft of the sacred objects has been perpetrated with the collusion of two of your brothers of the Church. Indeed, ones who have previously extended to you private counsel on several occasions as to what has befallen your silver. One of them gave his opinion that ith ad been takend to Avignon, the other that it had been taken to some other place. Both were of the opinion that it had been sold, as indeed was their intention.

“Booty to be divided among canons who were at present like soldiers. This opinion was not rendered as good and godly and commendable. Several would not agree with it, although some were pleased, though in the end not agreed on one point or another. But all was halted as the silver was put in the house of one of your people and locked up; which was not done agreeably to some. One opinion held that it was necessary to melt it down into bars and sell it, storing it for the present in the home of one of them.

“Then two or three came forth to say that this could not possibly be for scarcely any length of time, since the Roman Church would be involved in the most sinister events. It was locked up, and although with but tow of them remaining of the opinion that it should be sold and melted down and plotting secretly with one another.

“There were only three, and they brothers of the Church, and they have ravished that which was without fault with the intention of stealing everything and not withouth the collusion of the custodian, for you entrusted the sheep to the wolf. As indeed Jesus Christ for some committed His flock to long plunderings of His Church, wlso under the shadow of faith and probity, as you have committed your silver, sacred and dedicated as it is to the sacred ornamentation of your temple, donated in ages past by Kings and Monarchs, Lordly Sovereigns of the earth as ttrue observers of the faith and religion.

“But note, my Venerable Lords, that unless by those of your company who were not without knowledge of the day and the night when the theft of the sacred objects was perpetrated there be restored and replaced in full what was stolen, not only in its place and into the hands of those entrusted with its custody, but also returned into the temple, remembering the silver chalice, there will full upon them the greatest misfortune that ever befell anyone, on them and their family; and furthermore, pestilence will approach yhour city and within its ramparts as great as ever covered your city or was contained within your walls, and let them not object to the above. Priests are like comrades of propitious gods.

“But they will see, as it is said, that God takes his vengeance on those who have profaned his Holy Temple and who have stolen what has in ages past was donated by the observers of the Christian religion.

“Therefore, let this letter of mine be read in the presence of your people; as if not; opened until all are present, and then without fail the faces of those in collusion will change with great shame and confusion that they will be unable to repress.

“Therefore, keep this my letter as a complete witness of the truth, time to come to bear witness to it, and rest assured, my venerable Lords, if that which was stolen is not brought back one way or another, that they will die the most miserable death, more lingering and more violent and mof more inconceivable intensity than ever before occurred unless everything is restored and replaced in its ancient repository, and thus you will find it to be.

“I am grieved that the sheep has been entrusted to the wolf, as much to take note of it as to devise what message to send about it.

“What I write you is according to astronomical judgment and, I protest lacking in offense to anyone in this world. I am human and can err, be wrong and be deceived; nevertheless, be there anyone in your city familiar with the astronomical doctrine extending to the judicial, by the figure let him judge if he understands not that my saying contains the truth.

“Have no fear whatever, sirs but that shortly all will be found, and that if it be not thus, rest assured that their unhappy destiny approaches for those who have perpetrated sacrilege by their execrable crime.

“Further, I cannot write you for the present. God watch over you and to restore you to your first state. Although there are several who would be displeased if they had to wear again the amice, several of them near you, and one there is who will not want to find himself accompanied by another of the same type. God guard you from evil. From Salon, this February, 1562.”

-M. Nostradamus, Salon de Crau Provence

If nothing else, this reading proves that Nostradamus was not only an astrologer,  but practiced horary astrology. I adjusted the time so that it could agree with the house cusps of Nostradumus. I wonder if it really was 6:50pm, after all, a 5 and a 3 look very similar, and can easily be mistaken for one another, with the fading and ink blurs of ancient documents.

One of the things I found interesting is that it is clear that Nostradamus is following the same tried and true horary principles in his work on the missing church bells.

Here we have 11 Virgo rising, so the querent, will be Mercury. Mercury is in the 5th house on the very last degree of Capricorn, and conjoined to, but separating from Venus. By this, double bodied planets on the cusp of the ASC, and the ruler with Venus, we know that more than one person asked this question, as we can see from Nostradamus’ reference to ‘messieurs/’ The the next thing that we notice is that he said contrary to what some had stated, the missing bells had not been moved but were still there. Notice the ruler of the 1st house, is with the ruler of the 2nd house, Venus. This is a sign that the missing objects were close to the seekers, perhaps so close that one of the querent’s might well have been the guilty party!

One of the things that is interesting is that although both luminaries were below the horizon, Nostradamus said that they would be found. This could be because the Moon is just a hair beyond the Sun, and will trine her dispositor, Saturn, in the Midheaven. Saturn, has a lot of strength in Libra, as the almuten of the 2nd. Another thing we might notice is that Nostradamus ignored this age old warning to the astrologer of a malefic in the 10th and the artist getting no credit for his or her work.

Unlike Lilly, Nostradamus was not afraid to point fingers. He came right out and said that the thieves were the clerics, themselves!! How did he come to this conclusion? Well, if we follow traditional methods, for finding the thief, we rule out Saturn. The first place we are told to look, when trying to catch a thief is peregrine planets in angles. The only planet in an angle is Saturn, and Saturn has strength by triplicity. The next place to look is the ruler of the 7th, and there we see, Pisces at its cusp, with Jupiter, known as the natural ruler of priests, in the house of priests, the 9th house. Albeit the house of far away, that they didn’t go anywhere could be because they are in the fixed and earthy sign Taurus. Notice that the Moon last squared Jupiter, from the 12th house of the 7th, perhaps the theft, itself?

I find it most interesting that Nostradamus said for them to read his letter to the entire populace and the thief will be found. We look and see ruler of the 3rd house of pronouncements, in the 9th house, and fallen, but notice that the Moon will be on its contrantiscion, and that Mars is also approaching a trine to the Part of Fortune in the first. Perhaps this is why Nostradamus suggested the public reading.

We will never know if the bells were found, but I bet they were!

This is one intense month, but it has a lot of built-in advantages.  Use Mercury and Virgo to achieve a lot on the writing front.  The sky changes, and the planets move on.  What some may consider oppression, we can bottle and pour into our work.  Look on the bright side, work hard, and be good to yourself!  Heads Up!

Heads Up!

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Mon Aug 17 the Moon is in Cancer when Mercury conjuncts Saturn in Virgo. It’s a day made for editing, or for nailing down the details in that synopsis or new plot outline. Later, the Sun opposes Neptune retrograde. Critical reading is essential but can be taken to an ugly extreme. Later still, Mars trines Neptune retrograde. Magic is still alive and well, perhaps hiding out in some manuscript of yours. (continue reading…)