Shirley MacLaine: A mommie dearest?

In a few days, a book by Shirley MacLaine’s daughter, Sachi Parker, is going to be released with some bitter comments about her mother, especially the fact that she felt neglected and abandoned. She describes her mother as a very career-driven person that couldn't stand being around her only child for more than four hours, which was very hurtful for her when she was growing up. Shirley has not commented on any of this and perhaps she never will.

Shirley’s chart has an impressive mutual reception by domicile between the two benefics, Venus and Jupiter. Venus is also exalted in Pisces and it is one of those not so frequent occasions that Venus is correctly placed (nocturnally) in a diurnal chart, in the 6^th house but in the same sign as the descendant. This is a wonderful Venus and she is the ruler of her 9^th house of “higher knowledge”. No wonder she is so much interested in this otherworldly stuff. For the lovers of modern astrology, we also have a Moon/Neptune conjunction in the 12^th house.

Her 5^th house is in Aquarius with Saturn there in domicile. A somewhat “austere” 5^th house, not much prone to fun and games and with Saturn there, not many children can be expected. Shirley has had only one child, Sachi, who she sent to live with her father in Japan for a number of years. Shirley mentions in her books that it was wonderful for Sachi to have experienced two different cultures, but it seems that for the daughter, her childhood wasn’t exactly a fairytale. That's what she says at least. Also, this placement (Saturn in the 5^th) seems to corroborate the daughter's story that she was a burden to her mother.

This year’s solar return has the 5^th house ruler (Jupiter) conjunct the MC. The daughter “goes public”. However, it’s Jupiter and in Taurus, which isn’t so bad. This month’s lunar return has the 5^th house ruler (Mars) in the 1^st house and the ruler of the ascendant (Saturn) is in the 9^th house exactly squaring the ascendant. Since we are talking about Mars (daughter) and Saturn (Shirley) here, the two Infortunes, we can expect some difficulty, also considering the square aspects. However, Mars and Saturn are in strong mutual reception by domicile and this is quite encouraging. Yes, Mars and Saturn are in signs that square each other and they are both afflicting the ascendant (Saturn is also in the LR 9^th house, the daughter’s 5^th from the 5^th = the daughter’s baby = her book), so some discomfort is to be expected and perhaps some animosity, but the mutual reception offers them a chance to patch things up eventually.

Which might prove to be a very good idea as next year (from this year's birthday to the next one) may be a very difficult one for Shirley. Next year's solar return has retrograde Saturn conjunct the ascendant with Mars repeating his natal position (combust and in detriment) and opposing the ascendant. We also have the lunar return for 18^th May repeating the SR pattern and we should not leave out the fact that secondary progressed Mars (natal 8^th house ruler) will conjunct the natal MC (if we subtract 5 minutes from her birth time). A difficult year, no doubt, and it would be helpful if mother and daughter were on friendly terms.

Venus in earth signs (Taurus, Capricorn, Virgo)

Earth is an element Venus is quite comfortable with. Earth has a lot to do with the body, which is undoubtedly one of Venus' favourite occupations. Earth loves incarnation and Venus is a deity that doesn't look down on material reality, unlike some other Gods who prefer the world of the Spirit.

Venus in Taurus =  Venus rules Taurus and according to various authors, this is her preferred sign. I am not sure I share the same view, but it cannot be denied that Taurus is a very hospitable place for Venus to be. The best thing (or, for some, the worst) thing about Taurus is that it loves the world of matter. Taurus doesn't view the body as a prison cell and doesn't waste any time trying to escape from it, but instead tries to get the most out of it. So, relationships for Taurus are like food. Yes, food is a necessity, but how wonderful that is! You can cook something delicious and get both nourishment and pleasure at the same time. In this way, Taurus kills two birds with one stone.

Venus in Taurus is not interested in relationships in the same way as Venus in Libra is. Venus in Taurus doesn't want to "relate", doesn't really want to find out what the other person is all about and she is not concetrated on creating a new separate entity called "the relationship". No, no, that's too much effort. It's what the body needs that counts. Does it want shelter and heat? Does it want food and sex? Then it must be done immediately. Who am I to question what my body dictates?

This can cause problems for an Aries Sun or even a Sun in Gemini, but for this Venus the body comes first. The body is like an infant that needs to be fed every time it cries, preferably even before it cries. No wonder the Moon is exalted in Taurus. 

Venus in Capricorn = OK, this Venus goes something like this: "Fine, I have a body and this body has needs. I can accept that. So, I have to find a partner because this is THE RULE. It's the done thing. It's not that I hate relationships, but a relationship has aspects that I do not particularly enjoy. Sometimes people invade too much on your privacy and want to break down your barriers, but I don't like that. I'd much rather we kept a safe distance. Still, not being in a relationship is even worse, because people may start to think that there's something seriously wrong with me. So, I MUST be in  a relationship so as to appear normal, preferably one that lasts for a long time, because I can't live with the constant stress and anxiety of finding a partner. It will also shut people up and I won't have them breathing down my neck, but will leave me well alone".

This Venus is often called a "marriage Venus", but this is not because she likes marriage per se, but because marriage saves you from being an outcast. The best thing about this Venus, however, is that it can help partners with emotional problems, as she can straigthen them out. When she feels in control, she can be very beneficial to others. After all, Venus is not an enemy of Saturn.

Venus in Virgo = Here we have problems. Venus is in fall in Virgo despite ruling the earth triplicity by day. Why is that? Virgo is a Mercury-ruled sign and it's all about logic, common sense and discretion. Which means that Virgo is in search of the factual truth and this search cannot be compromised, not even for love. Love, however, more often than not means allowing someone into our lives DESPITE their faults and weaknesses. Suddenly, something else, even for a short period of time, becomes more important than the truth. Venus in Virgo can't do that, however. When the truth stares her in the face, she can't turn her gaze away. She falls in love, but pretty soon reality creeps in and all the magic is gone. Therefore, she soon realizes that expecting anything more from love than passing pleasure is quite unreal. 

Even if she manages to live with that, there is still another problem. Love can bring chaos in someone's life. Suddenly everything gets disorganized and another person becomes your top priority. Love is a big disruption to our daily routine and Virgo just won't have that. This Venus placement often gives very chaste or very promiscuous people, but with a common denominator: avoidance of commitment. This stems however, not from a desire for freedom, but from a fear of disorder and from a natural dislike for fairytales.

Sylvester Stallone's son dies

This is Sylvester Stallone's natal chart.

Sylvester Stallone has had five kids, three girls from his current wife and two boys from his first wife. One son is autistic and the other one, Sage, died two days ago. Is there something in the natal chart that may indicate problems, difficulties or some unpleasantness regarding children? Yes, Venus, the ruler of the 5th house of children, is peregrine in Leo in the 8th house of death.

Now let's look at the progressions first. This is the secondary progressed chart.

We have progressed Mars in detriment conjunct the MC (an indication of general misfortune) and progressed Venus ( the children) in detriment in Scorpio conjunct the progressed 8th house cusp. These conjunctions are not exact and I'm tempted to rectify his chart and set an earlier birth time by just five minutes, which would make them exact. Still, his mother is an astrologer and this is the time she gave, so let's leave it at that.

Let's have a look at the solar arc progressed chart.

Natally, Stallone has a Uranus/North Node conjunction. This conjunction in the solar arc progressed chart is right on natal Venus, implying something sudden and unexpected (Uranus) and fated (North Node) regarding children (Venus) is on the cards.

The not relocated solar return chart.

This is very graphic. Venus (children) is angular conjunct Jupiter in detriment (ruler of the natal turned 8th house - 8th from the 5th - of the death of children) and also conjunct the South Node. The SR Ascendant is conjunct the natal 12th house cusp (the turned 8th) and the Sun is in the 8th house of death. Mars, the SR 12th house ruler, is in detriment and angular.

The lunar return chart.

The Moon is in the 5th house of children EXACTLY conjunct Saturn. The emphasis is on children for this month. Saturn is the lunar return's 8th house ruler. The Venus/Jupiter conjunction of the SR chart is in the 12th house, the turned 8th house (death of children). Mars is exactly on the 5th house cusp.The sign of Taurus, the natal 5th house sign, is on the cusp of the 12th house (death of children). Venus is co-ruler of the 5th house (the sign of Libra intercepted in the 5th) and it is located in the 12th house. In fact, Venus is both ruler of the 12th house and co-ruler of the 5th. 


Of all the above charts, it is the solar return chart that actually spells out the event, but if we didn't have any concurring testimonies from the other charts, perhaps nothing of the sort would have happened.

Federer and Regulus

When I first had a look at Federer’s solar return for this year, what impressed me was that his natal ascendant ruler (Mercury) was conjunct the SR Midheaven in Leo and they were both conjunct Regulus. In fact, Mercury was extremely close at 29o57΄ Leo. So, I thought, that's nice, this could be a year that he returns to the top after falling short to Nadal and Djokovic for the last two years.

However, it didn’t turn out to be so. The first grand slam after his birthday was the US Open, where he lost to Djokovic, after a dramatic semi-final. Then he had a great end of the season, but Federer always plays great indoors, so that was nothing extraordinary. The next grand slam was the Australian Open where he lost to Nadal in the semi-final. He continued to play great though, he won three ATP world tour titles, but still no grand slam, which I would expect from Regulus. Then came the French Open, which is a Nadal thing, so, again, no win there.

I thought that perhaps Regulus has moved into Virgo and the conjunction doesn’t count. Still, Mercury is very, very close. Perhaps all could be explained by Mercury being retrograde. Or perhaps by the SR Ascendant ruler (Mars) in the 8^th house and in fall. But Mars in Cancer is also his natal placement. Anyway, I gave up.

And then came Wimbledon. Before the start of the games, I read an article that said that Federer could regain his No 1 status on three conditions: Federer MUST win the title, Nadal has to lose before the quarter finals AND Djokovic shouldn’t reach the final. I thought, no way, that’s impossible.

Then Nadal lost in the second round by the No 100 in the world. I started to hope, because when Nadal is out, Federer always plays better, but there was still the Djokovic problem. Federer himself would have to beat Djokovic if they both reached the semi-finals. Surprisingly, he did! Federer played a great game and he was much better than Djokovic.

The only obstacle remaining was Murray at the final. Murray started better, won the first set and played better in the second, but, quite unexpectedly, Federer broke him in the last game of the second set and from then on he had the upper hand. Federer won and became World No 1 once again, just before this year’s solar return expires. How fitting. 

Cruise/Holmes divorce



We don't have a birth time for Cruise, so let's focus on Katie Holmes' chart. I've noticed something interesting. This is the chart.

Holmes' 7th house ruler (marriage, relationships) is Saturn on the cusp of the 2nd house. Her solar return chart for the current year (not relocated) has Neptune (dissolution) conjunct the 7th house cusp. What's even more interestong is that SR Mars is exactly on the natal Saturn placement!!! Mars is the traditional ruler of divorce and so we have the ruler of divorce on the ruler of marriage. Note that this is a mundane aspect that I'm talking about and not a regular one (although in this case, it is both).

Even more interesting is that this month's lunar return has the Moon again exactly on the 2nd house cusp, making a mundane conjunction with natal Saturn!!! So, we have a year that divorce is a possibility and a month that this possibility is most likely to materialize. And so it proved.



Robin and Maurice Gibb

Charts of twins (or of time twins) have always been a problem for astrology. Especially in our day and age that, due to the fact that caesarian sections have become very common, twins are very often born perhaps less than 4 minutes apart, the time required for a change of one zodiacal degree. It is one of the arguments people very often use to discredit astrology.

So what do we do wih these charts? Even fixed stars seem unable to solve the issue in many cases, if we allow a small orb. We don't get much help either from twins themselves, who insist (sometimes too much) that they are completely different. There have been some approaches suggested by various astrologers (for example, in a chart with a Moon/Saturn opposition one twin tends to play the part of the Moon and the other the part of Saturn), but the validity of these theories remains to be seen.

In the case of the Gibb brothers we have no such problems as they were born 35 minutes apart. (22 December 1949, Douglas, Isle of Man, 03:15 -Robin and 03:50 -Maurice). Maurice died on January 1st, 2003 and Robin died yesterday. Both brothers died of problems with the intestines. Virgo and the 6th house rule intestines in astrology and in their charts, the 6th house is in Aries and its ruler, Mars, is in Virgo. Mars in Virgo, in general, is also associated with the belly (and legs). The fact that this Mars is at the end of Virgo makes it even more dangerous (see Richard Saunders).

What's even more impressive, is that both brothers - although nine years apart - died at the exact astrological time, when secondary progressed Ascendant was at 12o Sagittarius and progressed MC was conjunct Neptune! We can make an argument out of the Neptune/MC conjunction (Neptune is against material reality), but still it's not very convincing as a stand-alone factor. Even in modern astrology, we would have preferred Pluto, for example, who, by the way is conjunct the natal MC of the two charts.

What about the progressed Ascendant degree? What's so special about it? It's still quite far from squaring Saturn and it sextiles natal Venus, Robin's 8th house ruler, but not Maurice's, whose 8th hosue ruler is Mercury. Even if that were the case, a simple sextile isn't much of a testimony.

The interesting thing about that degree is that it's the degree of the Nodes. The natal Nodes are on the Aries/Libra axis and there's a theory that says that the degree of the Nodes is generally critical/important in all of the signs.  I haven't tested this theory and I cannot vouch for its validity. The twins' progressed Ascendant trines/sextiles the natal nodal axis.Wouldn't a conjunction be preferable? Probably.

Still, it's pretty impressive isn't it? The "coincidence" of it!

Venus in Gemini, Libra, Aquarius - the air signs

Venus is not averse to air. The element of air contains moisture - hence a desire and an ability to connect - and the goddess of love is all about connection, bringing people or things together. Venus is not in detriment or fall in any of the air signs, but, in fact, rules one of them, the sign of Libra. So, is this not a bad Venus to have? It depends on what your views are about love.

Venus in Libra: This is what relationships are, at least that's what astrology tells us they are. I know many of you don't like it, but this it. Suck it up. A relationship has nothing to do with passionate love either of the firey excitement kind or the watery emotional kind. A relationship is about two people who are attracted to each other and decide to sit down and talk about their separate needs and wants, trying to meet halfway. Excitement quickly passes and so does grand passion, which leaves you no option but to walk out on the other person when all this is spent. No, Venus in Libra doesn't want that. "Can I make a relationship last?" That's what she asks herself. "Why should I go from person to person having the same result every time?" Excitement doesn't work, neither does passion. What does work? Rules. Libra is the sign where Saturn is exalted and loves the laying-down of rules, which, if respected, can make sure a relationship lasts. And the two most fundamental rules of all are communication and compromise, because this means that you love the other person enough to want to know how they feel and to be willing to make some sacrifices for their sake. Passionate love is very self-centred and equals ignorance, because you are not really in love with the other person, but instead you are in love with how they make you feel. According to Venus in Libra, that's not love.

Venus is Aquarius: Here communication and compromise take precedence while attraction is not that important. In Aquarius, Venus becomes much more impersonal. Both Libra and Aquarius have a problem with the Sun. The Sun is in fall in Libra and in detriment in Aquarius. So there are no "special people" for these two signs. However, Libra is ruled by Venus and at least Venus there says "You may not be someone special, but I"m attracted to you specifically", Venus in Aquarius can't say even that. The problem with this Venus is that for quite a lot of people love requires a consious choice of another human being and this is very rarely the case with Venus in Aquarius. It may be objective in a sense (What's so special about any of us, after all?), but when you get involved with this Venus, after a while you start resenting the fact that you are just "any other person" and that you don't seem to be high on your loved one's list of preferences. If he/she has one, that is. The problem quite often is that other people feel duped. Venus in Aquarius wants to connect (Aquarius is a moist sign) and it's a fixed sign, which means that she's not against lasting relationships. So, there is indeed a willigness to form relationships. Still, this very annoying air of detachment that this Venus carries, make other people wonder: "What the hell do you want a relationship for?"  

Venus in Gemini: Of the three airy Venuses, this is perhaps the most problematic. Venus can become friends with Saturn, but not so with Mercury, Gemini's ruler. It's a "better" Venus than the one in Virgo, where Mercury is particularly strong, but still, she doesn't feel at ease in Gemini. Gemini is about communication, but without the rules. Mercury is famous for his lack of morality, which is a valuable asset when it comes to knowledge (there is no right or wrong in knowledge and everything should be accessible to everyone), but in relationships this can be a problem, because there is no sense of commitment. Venus in Gemini is curious about love. Not in the same way as Venus in Sagittarius wants to experience love (as part of a greater scheme of things), but knowledge for knowledge's sake. Gemini is famous for wanting to learn as many things as possible, but doesn't want to do anything with them afterwards. Unlike Virgo, Gemini doesn't want quality, but quantity. So, Venus in Gemini often finds it difficult to stay faithful, because there are so many other people out there! Which also means that she 's not interested in learning everything there is to know about the other person. Knowing something in depth requires so much time and effort that Geminis prefer to spend it somewhere new.