I haven’t been tending my blog quite as well as I should be, but I wanted to put up a quick post about how today’s celebrity deaths of Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson are triggering a period of national mourning of sorts, fueled by the Internet and social networking.

Depending on what time you use for the U.S. chart, the current Jupiter/Neptune conjunction is either conjunct or quite close to the U.S. Moon, which signifies the people of the nation.

Today, the Moon is in Leo, which often coincides with accidents and surprises, and this is opposing the Jupiter/Neptune conjunction in the collectively-oriented sign of Aquarius. We’re getting upsetting news about celebrities (Leo), who are the closest thing the U.S. has to royalty.

I’d be happy for any other astrological-based comments on the situation.

Just as the Moon moved into Capricorn at 3:59 p.m. Eastern time today, where it’s close to a conjunction with Pluto and a trine with Venus and Mars in Taurus, investors got a bouquet from Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

What’s interesting is that Justice Ginsburg only had until 4 p.m. to make her ruling.

I won’t bore you with all the details, but I’m not surprised that Ginsburg ruled to delay the sale of Chrysler to Fiat, a deal that put unsecred creditors ahead of secured creditors.

Justice Ginsburg obviously doesn’t take the sanctity of contracts lightly. Her ruling came in response to an appeal by Indiana teachers, police officers, and other civil servants. Let’s hear it for the Hoosiers!

This is not a final ruling, however. The ultimate decision on the deal can be made either by Ginsburg alone or the full court.

Just remember folks, it’s not astrology that gets it wrong; it’s the astrologer. This is an art, not a science.

As readers of this blog know, I’ve got a mixed record as a forecaster. Who doesn’t? However, I’ve been lucky with my NCAA basketball picks in the past. Now, I’m going to try my hand at the NBA.

I’m going to make this short and sweet. Here’s why I think the Denver Nuggets are going to beat the Los Angeles Lakers to win the NBA championship. The New Moon in Gemini made some fabulous aspects to Nugget Carmelo Anthony’s natal chart, including lighting up a Sun/Node/Venus conjunction.

O.K., Carmelo’s just one player but he’s going to be pretty happy over the next few days and I’m going to guess it’s because his team wins.

Also, Saturn is sitting on the sun of the California state incorporation chart and I can’t imagine there’s going to be much joy in the Golden State over the next few months.

I joined Pamela Cucinell for her AstroChatter Radio show today at noon ET, and accurately predicted that the California Supreme Court would uphold Proposition 8, which bans gay marriage. The decision was handed down about an hour after we ended the “broadcast” on BlogTalkRadio.

What was the thinking behind the analysis? Transiting Saturn (restriction) is hanging around California’s Virgo Sun, which promised a conservative decision by the court, despite a broad opposition from transiting Uranus (surprise, revolution).

Lest I sound too chipper about getting it right, let me reiterate that I’m a big proponent of equal rights for gays and lesbians, and this issue isn’t going away anytime soon.

During today’s show, Pamela also analyzed the chart of U.S. Supreme Court Justice nominee Sonia Sotomayor, and we took calls, including one from our old friend ColoradoDeb. You can listen to this week’s broadcast here.

I would assume that Gian Paul, our Brazil bureau chief, would have better things to look at down in Brazil than the stats on Astrology Mundo. But perhaps it isn’t bathing suit season right now.

In any event, Gian Paul has correctly observed that about 12,000 of my “hits” have disappeared from the site meter. I was getting pretty excited about hitting 150,000, but now it appears that will take a little longer than I expected.

Who knows? Maybe I’ll go back up to 148,000 and change after Mercury goes direct. I don’t have the energy to complain to WordPress about this, that’s for sure.

Thanks, as always, Gian Paul, for your observations.

As predicted by Astrology Mundo, California voters were not in the mood to close the state’s massive budget deficit yesterday. Of six propositions on the special election ballot on May 19, just one was approved: Proposition 1F, which prohibits salary hikes for state politicians during deficit years.

The rejection was to be expected, as Saturn, the planet of restriction, just stationed quite close to the Sun in California’s state incorporation chart. Saturn is opposing erratic Uranus in the sky, and we’ve seen a couple of small earthquakes in Los Angeles over the past few days.

Beverly at Lavender Moon has an insightful post on the Saturn station. Take a look and learn! I did.

I haven’t been living in California long enough to figure out the complicated referendum process that allows the state’s citizens to vote directly on propositions.

In November, Proposition 8 was in the headlines, as California residents overturned gay marriage. But most of the referendums facing California voters have to do with budgetary matters, not lifestyle issues.

My observation is that the referendum process, laudable though it appears to be, leads to some contradictory situations. Most people my age remember Howard Jarvis and Proposition 13, which dramatically cut property taxes in the Golden State, in 1978.

But after cutting property taxes, California’s idealistic residents have over the years approved a raft of propositions that require increased spending. I’ll name a few later, but you get the gist. Maybe SFMike at Civic Center will weigh in with a comment on California’s system of direct democracy.

From what I gather, several of the six propositions on the ballot for the May 19 special election are designed to help the Golden State avert budgetary disaster.

Well, if you’re using astrology as a guide, don’t count on it. Here’s why: The Saturn station of May 17, at 14 degrees of Virgo, is just two degrees away from the 16-degree Virgo Sun in the California incorporation chart.

Saturn close to the Sun suggests deprivation, hardship, and cutbacks for the state. A small earthquake or two is also possible, since the Saturn station broadly opposes Uranus. However, I don’t think this is the “big one.”

For good California earthquake stuff, please go to Out the Comet’s you-know-what. Comet lives in California and has done some amazing analysis on the history of the state’s major quakes.

When I predicted a comeback for hats, I got some flak. But I think I’m right about this one. Here’s a column from London’s Guardian about hats.