Get Ready for Jupiter/Uranus in Aries

As many stargazers know, we’re preparing for a major planetary shift on June 8, thanks to a powerful Uranus/Jupiter conjunction in Aries.

The last time revolutionary Uranus was in the pioneering sign of Aries was approximately 84 years ago, in April 1927. I did a little surfing on the Web and discovered April 15, 1927 was when Babe Ruth hit the first of 60 home runs in a season.

So what can we expect from Uranus in Aries? Awesome displays of sportsmanship and militarism. April 1927 was also the time of the “Shanghai Massacre,” a purge of Communists from General Chiang Kai-Shek’s Kuomintang Party.

Jupiter didn’t enter Aries to join Uranus until June 7, 1927. About a week later, a ticker tape parade was held for aviator Charles Lindbergh .

Other noteworthy events of 1927 included the founding of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, which bestows the Oscars, and the release of the first “talkie” picture, “The Jazz Singer.” The year 1927 also saw the beginning of federal regulation of radio air waves.

After Jupiter moved into Aries to hook up with Uranus, political unrest continued in China, eventually resulting in a civil war. I haven’t looked at China’s chart to see what’s happening today, but I’ll wonder out loud whether the Jupiter/Uranus conjunction may not spark a political uprising in China.

In any event, I think it’s safe to say that we will see tremendous breakthroughs in travel and entertainment as a result of the Jupiter/Uranus meet-up in Aries. Of course, there are astrological cross-currents, but I’ll deal with them in other posts.

My take on the Jupiter/Uranus conjunction in martial Aries: Fasten your seat belts!

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The Jupiter/Neptune Conjunction and Celebrity Deaths

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.

AstroChatter Radio Breaks News on Natasha Richardson

This week, when Pamela Cucinell and I did our call-in radio show on BlogTalkRadio, we speculated strongly that the reason why Natasha Richardson was brought from Canada to New York on life support was so that her organs could be donated.

Now, the media is reporting that’s exactly what happened. Check out our broadcast here.

I wish I could take credit for the idea, but it actually came from a photographer friend of mine who is a justice-oriented Libra conjunct visionary Neptune. She had photographed Richardson for the movie Haven, a biopic about Ruth Gruber, who saved 1,000 refugees during World War II.

So let it be known that you never know what you might learn on AstroChatter Radio.

If you want to learn more about how you can save someone’s life by donating your organs when you die, click here.

Vanessa Redgrave: A Mother’s Grief

The death of celebrated actress Natasha Richardson after a fall on the Quebec ski slopes has brought incalculable pain to her family and her fans.

Her husband Liam Neeson, her two sons, her sister Joely Richardson, and her aunt Lynn Redgrave have all suffered a tremendous loss.

However, as a Moon/Saturn opposition, my thoughts go to her mother, Aquarian Vanessa Redgrave. According to astro.com, she was born at 6 p.m. and has a 24-degree Leo rising, which is being opposed by Neptune right now.

I will post more about this amazing woman, but I wanted to put her chart up tonight and say, “Our prayers are with you.”

Any comments or analysis are greatly appreciated.

In Defense of Hugh Jackman

The Los Angeles Times hated Academy Awards host Hugh Jackman’s opening number last night. We don’t have a TV here, but I just caught up with Jackman’s vaudeville-like schtick via YouTube.

You know what? I love it. Reminds me of Jackman’s winning performance in The Boy From Oz. Jackman’s a Libra with a sizzling Venus/Juno conjunction in Scorpio. He was born Oct. 12, 1968 in Sydney (time unknown). You can view his chart here.

Best known for his portrayal of comic book superhero Wolverine in the X-Men films, Jackman is a consummate performer. He dances, sings, tells jokes (some at his own expense). And did I mention that he’s drop-dead gorgeous?

I’m sorry if the LA Times thinks you’re not allowed to use the words “pubic hair” in an Oscar send-up. I found Jackman’s opening number a breath of fresh air in a company town that takes itself way too seriously.

And even though Anne Hathaway didn’t get the Oscar for Rachel Getting Married, Jackman made her the star of the show last night when he pulled her out of the audience to play Nixon to his Frost. That’s Libra for you: He needs a partner.

Enter the Ragamuffin

In some earlier posts, I’ve been musing about watching what films and fashions are entering the zeitgeist as Pluto is in the earliest degrees of Capricorn.

Luxe and lifestyles of the rich and famous are dead, thanks to a 40% decline in the stock market last year and fraudsters like former Nasdaq Chairman Bernie Madoff and Satyam Computer Services Chairman B. Ramalinga Raju.

So what’s haute now? The “ragamuffin look.” There’s even a new line called Born as a Raggamuffin that I discovered at the blog I Like Her Style. (The fashion firm spells its name with two g’s, not one, for you sharp-eyed readers out there.)

So who’s everyone’s favorite ragamuffin right now? Jamal, the hero of Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire, the rags-to-riches tale of a Bombay orphan.

I went to see Slumdog last week with my new BBF (Blog Best Friend) SFMike from Civic Center. Maybe if I’m a very good girl, he’ll introduce me to Princess Sparkle Pony one day!

A Fond Farewell to Eartha Kitt

Eartha Kitt (born Jan. 17, 1927) died today at age 81, as Jupiter was transiting her Sun. Astrologers know that a Jupiter passage often coincides with death, or a long journey to a better place.

I think it’s more than coincidence that the Capricorn was best known for her Christmas ditty, Santa Baby. The day we’ve designated as the birth of Christ falls in the sign of Capricorn, in case you don’t know.

With the prominent hair and sex-kitten persona, I wouldn’t be surprised if Kitt had a Leo rising. (Even Kitt could be read as short for “kitten,” a fellow creature of Leo the Lion. ) I don’t have a birth time right now, but I’ll do a little research after dinner.

Well, Astrotheme shows Kitt with a Sagittarius rising. So much for my theory. You can look at Kitt’s natal chart here.

I’m disappointed. I was sure she was a Leo rising. After all, she played Catwoman on Batman in the 1960s!

Leo and Kate: From Titanic to Revolutionary Road

I’m very excited about the composite I just ran between Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. The two made box-office history with Titanic in 1997, but were snubbed at the Oscars.

Next month, the two actors are reunited in Revolutionary Road, one of my favorite books, a setpiece about suburban angst written by Richard Yates. Based on the DiCaprio-Winslet composite, which has Sun conjunct revolutionary Uranus at 0 degrees of Scorpio, this time they may score with the critics and at the Academy Awards, but bomb at the box office.

Where do I get that? Well, even though the Sun/Uranus conjunction will be sextiling powerful Pluto in Capricorn when the film is released on Dec. 26 to qualify for Oscar consideration, next year Jupiter will be broadly conjuncting Neptune in Aquarius. That squares the Scorpio, so I’m getting disappointment.

I know, some people will say Neptune is good for film, but you can’t escape the challenging square.

We’ll see. If you want to take a peek at that composite, you can see it here, courtesy of Astrodienst.

Orson Welles and the War of the Worlds

Robert Phoenix has an interesting post up about the 70th anniversary of The War of the Worlds. That was when Orson Welles terrified Americans by broadcasting that aliens had landed on earth. The stunt may rate as the best Halloween prank of all time.

I recently posted about Welles because I’m reading Simon Callow’s exhaustive biography, Orson Welles: The Road to Xanadu, which reveals Welles was born at 6 a.m., not 7 a.m., the time recorded by several astrology databases.

Here’s another factoid I discovered in the book, which I unfortunately had to return to the library even though I’m not finished because I’m on the road for awhile: During the 1930s, when Welles was working with John Houseman at the Federal Theater Project, Houseman’s lover was a woman who was born on the same day, the same year, and the same hour as Welles, and Houseman let everybody know the coincidence.

The book doesn’t note whether the woman, who was not named, was also born in Kenosha, Wis., the way that Welles was. As astrologers, we know that for Houseman’s lover to be Welles’ true astrological twin, she would have had to be born someplace near Welles’ birthplace in addition to sharing all the birth data.

Saturn Returns: Get Out Your Handkerchiefs!

I caught a preview performance yesterday of Noah Haidle’s poignant play Saturn Returns at Lincoln Center’s Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater yesterday. I didn’t bring any Kleenex, but I should have.

Directed by Nicholas Martin, Saturn Returns is a triptych of the life of Gustin, a Grand Rapids, Mich., radiologist in 1948, 1978, and 2008, as he experiences his first, second, and third Saturn returns.

Astrology is never mentioned, but the playwright, who appears to be experiencing his own Saturn return, has a keen understanding of the language of loss and loneliness that the planet of restriction speaks so eloquently.

As befitting a play called Saturn Returns, it’s a sparse production, with Gustin at age 88, 58, and 28 played by three actors — John McMartin, James Rebhorn, and Robert Eli, respectively. The women in Gustin’s life are portrayed by the same thespian — the beautiful, versatile Rosie Benton. No other players are on stage and there are no intermissions.

Film buffs may know Rebhorn from his numerous screen and TV roles, including The Talented Mr. Ripley, My Cousin Vinny, and The Scent of a Woman. Throughout his career, Rebhorn has often appeared as the nerd or expert, a guy with a plastic pen holder in the pocket of his starched white shirt. Sure enough, he’s a Virgo born Sept. 1.

I like the fact that Gustin is a radiologist because that embodies the current opposition of Uranus in Pisces and Saturn in Virgo.

I’m no drama critic, but if Saturn Returns is representative of what Haidle is doing at 28, I can only imagine what his future holds. Is he the next Edward Albee? I took a friend who is an accomplished actress, Anney Giobbe, with me and she was also blown away by Haidle’s talent. Like Saturn, Haidle’s not going away.

Hey, this gives me an excuse to reprint my poll, “What Happened During Your Saturn Return?”