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!

Advertisement

All Eyes on the Beijing Olympics

My post “What Will You Be Doing on Aug. 8 at 8:08 p.m.?” is getting a lot of traffic given that the date is approaching. This has prompted me to dig up my astrological analysis of the Beijing Olympics, which I first posted back in May. It’s more timely now.

The opening ceremony of the Beijing Summer Olympics starts at 8:08 local time on Aug. 8, 2008. This time was selected because the Chinese, among others, believe that 8 is a powerful number. In fact, 9,000 Chinese couples are tying the knot on Aug. 8 because they believe it is an auspicious date.

I wonder what astrologer April Elliott Kent would have to say about the stampede to the altar. Let’s hope Aug. 8 is a nice day for a white wedding.

If I had been asked by the mandarins to do an electional chart for the start of the Summer Olympics, this isn’t the time I would have selected, despite the supposed good fortune of 8.

Here’s a link to the opening ceremony chart, courtesy of Astrodienst.

Let’s take a look at the chart. First off, it’s an idealistic Pisces Ascendant, which is ruled by Neptune in Aquarius in the 12th house. Neptune is broadly conjunct Chiron and the North Node. The 12th house governs hidden enemies, self-undoing, hospitals, prisons, and sacrifice.

This group of Aquarius planets, known as a stellium, opposes a theatrical Leo Sun and Mercury, which sit in the sixth house of service. The Aquarius/Leo opposition is part of a T-square with a secretive, power-driven Moon in Scorpio as the center point.

Despite the flamboyant Leo Sun, this show isn’t a labor of love. In fact, it’s a command performance for the government. Given the loss and suffering caused by the recent earthquake in China, I think this opening ceremony has a feeling of “the show must go on.”

Maybe I’m getting carried away here, but it reminds me of how mourners at a funeral go back to the house and entertain guests and relatives because it must be done, but all the time feeling as if they’re sleepwalking.

A loaded sixth house in the chart points to precision and perfectionism. Anyone who has seen a performance of the Cirque du Soleil knows that some of the world’s finest acrobats come from China. Regardless of the political drama surrounding these Olympics, which have become a flashpoint for opposition to China’s continued suppression of Tibet and its tolerance of human rights abuses in Sudan, this will be a performance to remember.

The political controversy is quite evident in the elevated 10th house Pluto in Sagittarius, which is part of a very volatile T-square involving an opposition of Uranus in Pisces and Mars in Virgo, which straddles the first and seventh houses. Translation: This Olympics is unpredictable and fraught with surprising and dangerous eruptions. Indeed, the protests surrounding the Olympic flame’s journey around the globe may be just a hint of what’s to come.

In some cases, the Olympic torch has been carried secretly through different countries to avoid attracting demonstrations. I know that it’s difficult if not impossible to divorce politics from the Olympics, but I find the idea of the flame traveling under wraps heartbreaking.

It makes feel very sad for all the athletes who have worked so hard to compete in this international competition, which is supposed to bring the world together. Perhaps the Olympic organizing committee should have chosen a less controversial venue for the Games.

 Or maybe the number 8 isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

Mars Oppose Uranus: Explosive Times

Angry Mars in Virgo is moving to an opposition with electrical Uranus in Pisces. The explosive aspect won’t be exact until Aug. 6, but we’re already starting to see some of its manifestations.

Today, a terrorist attack by an Islamic separatist group in Western China killed 16 policemen. The Chinese government has stepped up security in and around Beijing in anticipation of the Summer Olympics, which begin Aug. 8, but areas outside of the capital appear to be vulnerable. Here’s an AFP story.

Yesterday, in India, a stampede at a temple set off by rumors of a landslide killed 145, according to Reuters. The blog Aquarian Solutions connects the deaths at the temple to the Mars/Uranus opposition in a post here.

I don’t want to alarm anyone, but over the next two days, watch out for explosions, accidents, broken bones (particularly involving feet, which are ruled by Pisces), destructive storms involving the sea, chemical fires, and earthquakes. Did I forget anything? Oh yeah, shark attacks, like the one that allegedly hurt Ryan Seacrest, since Pisces rules fish. On a less dramatic note, there could be an outbreak of salmonella traced to tainted fish.

Since Virgo rules work, look for labor-related disputes or strikes in the next few days, particularly involving civil servants or health-care workers.

For He’s a Dalai Good Fellow

How can anybody not like the Dalai Lama? He’s a man for all seasons. He can even talk to George W. Bush, which isn’t easy to do since many of the words that Dubya uses aren’t in the dictionary. Perhaps because they are fellow Cancers, His Holiness and Bush are able to commune with each other without many words being exchanged. In the spirit of disclosure, I want to say it’s impossible for me to be objective about the Dalai Lama since his North Node is conjunct my Sun. I feel better just looking at that beatific smile on his Web site: http://www.dalailama.com.

According to our friends at AstroDataBank, the 14th incarnation of the Dalai Lama was born July 6, 1935 at 4:38 a.m. in Takster, Tibet. You can see the chart here: http://www.astrodatabank.com/NM/DalaiLama.htm.

Looking at the chart, it’s easy to see why the Dalai Lama is much beloved in the U.S.: His Cancer Sun is nearly exactly conjunct the U.S. Sun and in the same sign as our Cancer stellium of Venus, Jupiter, and Mercury. We love him so much that on Oct. 17, 2007, he was given the Congressional Medal of Owner and granted GWB an audience (not the other way around, the way it was reported!), much to the annoyance of the Chinese government.

Now, the Chinese are complaining about the Dalai Lama again, blaming violent protests in Tibet on the “Dalai clique.” This charge sounds ridiculous when you consider that His Holiness is one the great leaders of the nonviolence movement. (I wish I was more knowledgeable about his life, but if he ever carried a gun in his youth, I forgive him.) The remainder of the year promises to keep the Dalai Lama in the spotlight and even expose him to danger as Uranus hangs around his Midheaven, where it is opposed by Mars near the time of the Beijing Summer Olympics, which begin Aug. 8.

With a tight opposition of Moon in Virgo and Saturn in Pisces, the Dalai’s natal chart indicates separation from his homeland and family. (He left his home after the Tibetan separatist movement was quashed in 1959 and established a new headquarters in Dharamsala, India when Saturn was in Capricorn, opposing his natal Sun and Ascendant.)

As Saturn comes to conjunct his Virgo Moon the week of Aug. 12, I wonder if he won’t have to move his base of operations again, from Dharamsala, under pressure from the Indian government if the Chinese start rattling their sabers near the border.  Who knows? Maybe all hell will break loose in China and the Dalai Lama will return to Tibet as transiting Saturn conjuncts his Moon. Still, I suspect that whatever comes to pass is going to leave him feeling depressed (Saturn) about his homeland (Moon).

Despite the erratic, upsetting nature of the Mars/Uranus opposition in Virgo/Pisces and followed by the Saturn/Uranus opposition in the same set of signs very close to his MC/IC, I believe His Holiness will be protected by Jupiter moving through Capricorn. This guarantees  him the respect and support of many political and religious leaders around the world, not the least from his buddy and fellow Cancer GWB. I’m a mundane astrologer, not a psychic, so I don’t know what the future holds for the Dalai Lama, but I can tell you that this year promises to be a very exciting one for him. I pray that his entourage is vigilant in protecting their leader, who has done so much to advance the cause of Buddhism and peace in the West.