Capricorn and self-punishment

It never ceases to amaze me how prone Capricorns or strongly saturnian people are to self-flagellation. They have a strong sense of what they should do and they never question it. They seem to be completely focused on their goals and they always get up, no matter how many times they fall. That may be an admirable thing in some cases, but what happens when that particular "thing" they are aiming at, isn't what they are supposed to do with their lives? What happens if they got it wrong? They keep pushing and pushing themselves to achieve something that has absolutely no relation to their inner truth. In short, they spend their whole lives chasing a lie.
Capricorns don't believe that people are meant to be happy. Perhaps that's true, but they are not meant to be constantly unhappy and miserable either. No, say the Capricorns of this world. There is only one truth, only one right behaviour (usually the one of the majority) and we all have to conform to this rule. If it makes us unhappy, so be it. We have to ask ourselves all the time if whatever we want abides to this supreme law. If it doesn't, we have to abandon it, no matter how precious or necessary it is to our well-being. Fine, but what if this ultimate law is completely and utterly wrong? Or rather, what if there is not only ONE law? The possibility of there existing numerous equally valid laws never occurs to Capricorns.
Instead we witness Capricorns deny themselves life's simplest pleasures because they fill them with enormous guilt. Whatever makes them happy is not to be trusted. "If it makes me happy, there must be something wrong with it", they think. They certainly know it's wrong when other people look down on it. The horrible realization that they are not "normal" suddenly dawns on them and they consider themselves aberrations of nature. There is only one way to deal with this: Change or die.
The result of all this is that they end up with such a severe case of depression that they are practically incurable. Imagine living in a continuous state of suppression of your most basic instincts, never giving yourself a pat on the back, never allowing yourself a moment to breathe freely and express your true self, because that would be considered weak and there is a chance of being rejected, of being an outcast.
One more or less safe way for Capricorns to check whether they've got it right or not, is to have a look at their Saturn. If it is dignified and well-placed, then this sort of behaviour may simply be a form of discipline and an adaptation to healthy ideals. But if Saturn is in, say, Aries, Leo or Cancer, then they have to think twice before they embark on a crusade to wipe out all the "disgusting" things of their personality. They need to start questioning the religion they are practicing, and, if necessary, convert to a different one.

Pluto and the natural selection process

In modern astrology we are very fond of Pluto. We use words like profound change and transformation, we marvel at the intense love affairs that Pluto can bring about, we even talk about parts of ourselves that have to die in order for us to move on, but we conveniently keep things at a psychological level, because we are afraid to face one basic plutonian truth. Truth is always painful and the painful truth of Pluto is that it is unbelievably CRUEL.
I've already talked about in another post how Pluto makes you live in fear and suspicion and how it is all about life in the jungle. And the main thing about living in the jungle is that you have to accept one basic principle. The principle of the survival of the fittest. If you can't survive in this world, no matter what the reason, no matter whether it's your fault or not, then you have to die. It's as simple as that. Because if you don't die, then you become a burden for the rest of the humanity and you are personally responsible for slowing down the evolution of our species.
This is a very difficult concept for us to understand, practically impossible. In the Age of Aquarius, perhaps the most humane of signs, we believe that everyone has a right to live, we believe in a welfare state where we must take care of the weak among us and we believe in a society where each and every member should be integrated and accepted. We fear death even when it's supposed to happen. We keep people alive with the help of modern medicine, even when they want to die. Isn't it strange that it's considered humane to kill animals to spare them suffering, but a crime when it comes to people?
But the plutonian truth goes way beyond euthanasia. In the jungle, when you are born, you have to quickly adapt to your new environment. You have to find the strength to walk on your own feet, otherwise you'll be left behind and get devoured by other animals. No one is going to carry you on their backs. Is it unfair? Yes. Is it cruel? Yes. But it is what it is.
Do we follow this principle in our modern societies? No. We carry people on our backs. We believe this is the right thing to do and we don't question it. We believe that everybody should get an education, for example. Does everybody deserve one? I wonder. When you make education compulsory up to a certain level, the sad truth is that you have to lower your standards. You have to keep a certain pace in order for every child to follow, to the detriment of those children who are capable of moving on more quickly. You sacrifice your good students for the benefit of the bad ones. Is that justifiable and humane? Perhaps. Who am I to say? But you have to accept the fact that what you end up with is mediocrity.
Can all dangerous criminals be rehabilitated? Perhaps. Or is there a point, which, if you cross it , there is no going back? I don't know. But what's the purpose of life sentences? If we believe that even the most hideous criminal can turn over a new leaf, then why not reinstate them after a while? Why is it more humane to keep someone locked up for the rest of their lives, than killing them and save them from their misery? Why is death such a bad thing?
And finally, whether we like it or not, there are many among us who are simply parasites. We may accept this term for people who have everything going on for them but refuse to get involved in life, but what about handicapped people? Are they not parasites as well? Yes, I can sense your resentment. I resent myself for writing this. But then I think of their families who have to sacrifice so much just to keep them alive, of all the taxpayer's money spent on asylums, of all the facilities we provide in order for them to be able to function and I think of ancient Spartans who threw their crippled children in Keadas and even though it is historically debatable whether they actually did it or not, from the plutonian point of view, they were justified in doing so. Pluto, unfortunately, is not sentimental and has no time for sensitivity. On the other hand, it's not racist as well. It doesn't care about the colour of your skin, if you are beautiful or ugly and doesn't look down on you because of your handicap. It only asks you some simple questions: "Can you survive? Are you fit enough to stand life's adversities or are you going to be a burden?"
Yes, Pluto's truth is terrible. TERRIBLE. Unthinkable even. I can quite understand why we want to do away with Pluto completely. I myself watch sometimes wildlife documentaries and I think they are such horrendous thrillers that no film can ever come close. But as it happens with every planet, should we choose to ignore it, we have to pay the price.

Saturn in Libra - Sign predictions

I must stress from the beginning that I do not believe that transits is a very reliable predictive method. I see transits primarily as triggers that can bring about an event only if there is supporting testimony from other predictive methods, such as progressions and solar returns. If, for example, I have a progressed Sun/Saturn conjunction and Saturn is angular in the solar return chart, then, a Saturn transit on that same sensitive point can mean that the time is right for me to experience some sort of a saturnian event. A lot of transits pass by harmlessly, even outer planet ones, causing only a change of mood and not earth-shattering events.
With that in mind, what does Saturn in Libra mean? Libra is the sign of Saturn's exaltation, which tells us that Saturn is quite comfortable there. According to traditional sources, a planet in the sign of its exaltation is like an honoured guest. It is not at home, which means it cannot be entirely comfortable, but it finds itself at a place where its needs are met, where it is respected and loved. I suspect that Saturn and Mars, being natural malefics, behave better in the signs of their exaltation. Saturn and Mars in their own signs may be able to show all their wonderful qualities, but at the same time be so powerful that they don't care about the havoc they can wreak. Saturn in Libra, however, will put on its best behaviour.
What does Libra want? Harmony, fairness, justice. These are the three principles that we will all like to see them reign during this Saturn transit. Particularly since Saturn will first square Pluto in Capricorn and we will likely see corrupted people, especially government officials, get what they deserve. On a more personal level, we will be offered a great opportunity to view ourselves realistically, without emotional interferences and weigh our pros and cons in a more detached manner.
Which signs are going to have the hardest time? First of all, the signs that are antithetical to Saturn's nature, Aries, Cancer and Leo. Leos may think that this will be an easy time for them, but I doubt it. Libra is the sign of the Sun's fall. Libra is not a sign of individuality and even though it sextiles Leo, its nature doesn't agree with that of Leo. But since we are talking about a sextile, it will probably be a great opportunity for Leos to incorporate some saturnian aspects into their personality much more easily than if, say, Saturn were in Aquarius. For Aries and Cancer, however, this Saturn is going to be a much greater problem. For those two signs, Saturn represents everything that is bad about life. Aries wants action without limits and Cancer wants love without limits. But as we all know, Saturn is ALL about limits. For Aries, this is a time when they will find it difficult to initiate any action and some of them are going to fall flat on their faces. They will have to start thinking about other people and realize that their behaviour is often extremely self-centered and that they only form relationships when they are sure the other person will never raise an objection. But now Saturn will not let them off so easily. It may present them with responsibilities that they won't be able to shake off and some sort of compromise will be needed. For Cancer, this is another opportunity to grow up. No more crying on other people's shoulders about the unfairness of life, but time to stand on their own feet and become responsible for their own destiny.
The other two signs that are going to receive a hard aspect from Saturn are Libra and Capricorn. These two signs, however, love Saturn and they are not going to have such a hard time, provided that in their lives so far, they have respected and incorporated saturnian values. The sign which is, by far, the most - favoured sign by this transit is Aquarius. Saturn is their traditional ruler, it's going to put on its model behaviour in Libra and it is going to trine their Sun. An excellent opportunity for Aquarians, therefore, to reap what they have sown.
For the six remaining signs, this is not going to be the most important Saturn transit they will ever experience, unless they have cardinal signs on the angles of their natal chart, a lot of planets in cardinal signs or will go through their Saturn return.
To sum up, I have a lot of confidence in this transit and with our faith restored, starting from next year with Jupiter in Pisces, a lot of good can come out of it. Provided that we are prudent and careful.

Manila flood - Astrometeorology

Although I am not an expert in astrometeorology, the basic techniques used are the following: First you cast the season ingress chart, that is the exact moment the Sun enters the signs of Aries (spring), Cancer (summer), Libra (autumn) and Capricorn (winter), which gives you a general overview of the weather of each season. Then, if you want a forecast for a more specific period of time, you cast a chart for every phase of the Moon, that is the New and Full Moons and the charts for every Sun/Moon square, which will give you a forecast for 7 days approximately. However, these are not stand-alone charts and must always be interpreted with the season ingress chart in mind and, of course, the general climate of your area and the season you are in. If the summers of your area are hot and humid, no matter what configuration is there in the charts, you will not predict a snow blizzard and temperatures below zero. What you can say is that this will probably be an unusually cool summer.
I don't want to go into details, because, as is the case with all the other branches of astrology, there are conflicting views. There are some astrologers who use every aspect between all the planets, even semi-sextiles and quintiles, before they make a forecast and there is disagreement regarding which house is the most important one, the 1st or the 4th. My personal preference is the 1st, because in every other branch of astrology this is the most important house and I don't see the reason for changing that in astrometeorology. However, since I haven't tested these techniques extensively, I can't say who is right and who is wrong with any degree of certainty.
This is the Libra ingress chart for Manila:



We immediately see the Saturn/Uranus opposition on the Ascendant/Descendant axis. Uranus, as you might expect, is accused of producing freak weather. That should be enough, but it gets worse. The ruler of the chart, Mercury, natural ruler of wind, is retrograde and conjunct the Saturn/Uranus opposition. We also have a tight Sun/Pluto square, but I think this is much less important, since this is the same for everywhere around the world and what's more, it's not angular. We can predict, therefore, possible extreme weather in Manila at some point in the next three months, or, at least, weather that cannot be described as "normal" for the area and season. If we need to be more specific we can cast the chart for the previous Moon phase, which in this case was a New Moon in Virgo. This is the chart:


Here, the ruler of the chart is the Sun, which is exactly conjunct the Saturn/Uranus opposition and closely conjunct Mercury! So, no doubt about this being a week of danger.

This doesn't mean of course that every day in Manila for the next three months is going to be like that. But, should there be an equally "dangerous" moon phase chart, we should take notice. It doesn't seem very likely, however, as Saturn and Uranus are separating and the influence of their opposition is weakening.

Mika - The boy who knew too much (about fun)

Mika is back with a new album entitled "The boy who knew too much". I think he is one of the most interesting - to say the least - young artists of today. The much-maligned pop music has found a new icon who is not a ready-made X-factor or American Idol finalist, who writes his own songs and has a personal style. What more can anyone ask? Already the accusations have started, that he rips off other artists shamelessly. Which can only mean one thing. That he is a true artist.

Who doesn't rip off others anyway? Everybody has been influenced by somebody else. Actually, that was always the magic of pop. Pop is the place where all the other music genres can meet and come up with songs that everybody wants to sing. And that's what Mika does and he does it beautifully.

What first strikes you about Mika and his music is that he knows very well that pop music, above everything else, is about fun. The astrological element that is connected with a true sense of fun is the element of fire. Some of you may disagree, but, in my opinion, it is only the fire signs that carry this childlike enthusiasm into adulthood. We can therefore expect to see fire in Mika's chart. Oh, dear me, yes.



Sun in Leo, Mars in Leo, Jupiter in Sag, Uranus in Sag, Neptune in Sag and possibly Moon in Sag as well. I say "possibly" because we don't have his birth time and this is a noon chart. Nonetheless, that's still a lot of fire. Mars trines the Jupiter/Uranus conjunction and the Sun trines Neptune. Really impressive, and this may explain how easily he became successful. The Sun and Jupiter are in rulership, Mercury in Virgo, in the sign of its rulership and exaltation and Saturn is in Libra, the sign of its exaltation. People would kill for a chart like this.

Two planets can potentially cause problems for him. The Moon, only if it is in Capricorn, the sign of its detriment (provided he was born after 4 pm approximately) and Venus, which is retrograde and in the sign of its fall. We don't know which houses Venus rules, but if we only consider her as the natural ruler of love matters, his love life may present him with problems. What's more it squares the Jupiter/Uranus conjunction and the square with Uranus is partile, that is, within the same degree. According to Bernadette Brady, a modern interpretation of a planet in detriment or fall would be that this planet has a tendency to act in a way different from the norm, which would be disastrous in the more black and white societies of the past. Nowadays, however, this is not such a tragedy, considering that we have supposedly grown to be more tolerant to all sorts of deviations. Mika is very secretive about his love life and rumour has it he is gay. According to a recent interview, he came out as bisexual. Quoted form wikipedia : "I've never ever labeled myself. But having said that, I've never limited my life, I've never limited who I sleep with. (…) Call me whatever you want. Call me bisexual, if you need a term for me." Leaving the question open ended with, "you should be as free as you want". Who cares, anyway?

We may attribute his sexual behaviour but especially the above statement to the aspects Uranus makes to both Mars and Venus, with Venus being in fall and retrograde. The Sun/Neptune trine is also averse to saturnian labels. However, Saturn, being in Libra, is strong in his chart. We don't know his Ascendant sign, but in the few interviews that I've seen, I've noticed that he is quite reserved, very well-behaved and quite possibly a bit shy, a complete contrast to his stage persona. In a nutshell, he seems to be good-mannered, which indicates Saturn is also functioning well in his chart. Not surprisingly, since it is in Libra. Could it be that his Moon is also in Capricorn? Perhaps.

*Mika's photo was taken from here

US Open ladies final - contest horary

This is the horary chart that I cast for the US Open Ladies final that takes place today. The opponents are: Kim Clijsters, a former World No 1, who has recently made a very successful comeback, and World No 8, Caroline Wozniacki, in her first Gran Slam final.

Following the John Frawley method, Clijsters gets the first house, since she is the player I support and Wozniacki the 7th. Let's begin.

Planets in the above houses: None.

Essential dignity (although much less important than accidental dignity in this sort of questions): Mars (Clijsters) is in Cancer, the sign of its' fall, but also it's own triplicity. Not good, but could be worse. Venus (Wozniacki) in Leo, peregrine. Not good.

Receptions: This can help us decide who has power over whom. Mars is in no dignities of Venus and Venus is only in the face of Mars. Mars seems to have a very slight advantage over Venus, but nothing as important as to determine the winner.

Accidental dignity: Wow! Venus (Wozniacki) is conjunct the MC! Mars (Clijsters) is in the 9th house. A definite, very clear advantage for Wozniacki!

Aspects: Mars makes no significant aspects, just a trine to the Ascendant. Does this strengthen him? Hardly. He would have fared much better had he been in an angular house. Venus makes an opposition to the triple Jupiter/Chiron/Neptune conjunction in Aquarius. If we decide to use the outer planets, this could be somewhat weakening. If not, the only opposition that counts is the one with Jupiter, who is retrograde, but not completely averse to Venus, since he is in her terms and therefore not much debilitating to her.

Antiscia: Mars' antiscion is in Gemini, trine Jupiter. However, we do not use aspects to antiscia and contrantiscia, only conjunctions. Venus' antiscion is right on the cusp of the 7th house, her house. Another point for Wozniacki.

Conclusion: Even though I didn't think it was likely before casting this chart (Clijsters, after all, ousted Serena Williams in the semis), Wozniacki should win, judging by her significator's placement on the MC. Any testimonies in favour of Clijsters pale in comparison.

Let's see how this turns out.

The trouble with Chiron

One of the most annoying planetary energies is that of Chiron. The annoying part is that astrologers talk about a wound that can't be healed. In a world full of self-help books, where we are told that "Anything is possible" if we just turn a switch in our heads and change our mentalities, the meaning of Chiron seems completely outdated. We don't want to be told that all that psychotherapy, all that astrology, all those metaphysical studies actually amount to nothing. What's more, what is the nature of that wound? Astrologers talk about a collective wound, but since Chiron is supposed to be a mediator between Saturn and Uranus and Saturn is not an outer planet, how does this wound become personal?
I think the term "collective" really means that we are born in a world that it's just the way it is. It may be that, at a deeper level, we are all responsible for everything that's going on in the world, but from a personal viewpoint it's not our fault that evil, misery and sadness exist. Yet, we are thrown into a world where what other people think or do has a profound effect on us. And because of this interaction we become the people we are with all our strengths and weaknesses. Chiron is interested in exactly these weaknesses. And what he's telling us is that these weaknesses never actually go away. We are stuck with them and there is nothing we can do to change that.
What can we do? We can become conscious of them. We can shed light to them (Uranus) and try to keep them in check (Saturn). But they don't disappear. If we are proud and arrogant, we will always be proud and arrogant. We will always be susceptible, that is, to our personal "sins". But if we realize what we are doing (Uranus), then our weaknesses cease to have such an enormous power over us and we can stop them from harming us and other people. But this is an ongoing struggle (Saturn) and we can never claim that we are cured. The moment we become too sure of ourselves, this is the time that they take over our personalities and cause havoc. Our personal demons cannot be vanquished. They can simply be controlled.
This becomes clearer when we think about alcoholics or drug users or smokers even. Once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic. You may give up drinking completely, but in moments of crisis, when you desperately want something to cheer you up, you will always feel the urge to reach for the closest bottle. You can never become a social drinker or the sort of person who just drinks a glass of wine during meals. That's not your reality. Even if you do manage to become a social drinker, you know instinctively that you always stand in great danger of relapsing, unlike other people. Drink is always going to be your weakness, even if you never have another drink for the rest of your life.
The benefit of all this is knowledge and consciousness. It's infinitely better to know where your weaknesses lie than to remain ignorant of them throughout your life. You learn to avoid whatever threatens your well-being. You learn humility. You learn to forgive yourself and others, because everybody's going through a similar hell. You become a healer, not by waving a magic wand, but by understanding and showing empathy. You can't truly heal them after all, since you can't heal yourself. But you can be there for them and share their pain. Most of the time, that's enough.