"The natal chart is like a seed and progressions are the unfolding in time of that into the plant it is to become. Transits, are like a daily weather report. In political astrology, these three factors have to be taken into account!"
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NewsScope has been published continually since 1997. Links to NewsScope articles from September 2015 through December 2020 can be found in the Menu. Back copies dating from 2009 through 2015 are at
For NewsScope blogs dating from October 25, 1999 through March 31, 2009, visit StarIQ/NewsScope.
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Recent NewsScopes
Jan. 6, 2020 - Iranian general Qasam Suleimani; Pluto and Global Warming; the U.S. Pluto Return
Jan. 13, 2020 - Iran’s Horoscope Under Stress; The U.S. Pluto Return and the balance of power
Jan. 20, 2020 - Senate Impeachment Trial Officially Begins; The U.S. Pluto Return and Capitalism
Jan. 27, 2020 - The Duke and Duchess of Sussex break protocol; Top Five Astro-Events for February
Feb. 03, 2020- Impeachment Backlash makes Election Day Pivot Point; Lilith Enters China’s Third House
Feb. 10, 2020 - Voting Tallies Don’t Add Up; Pluto Opposite the U.S. Mercury and the power of persuasion
Feb. 17, 2020 - Democratic field narrows; Book Reviewer Chris Lorenz is NeptuneCafe's astrologer
Feb. 24, 2020 - Bloomberg woos superdelegates at a divided DNC convention; March's top 5 astro-events.
March 2, 2020 - Stock Markets Plunge Amidst Coronavirus Threat, Pope Francis has a cold... or?
March 9, 2020 - Biden's surge powered by Saturn on the U.S. Pluto; eBook update, it's coming soon.
March 16, 2020 - Saturn enters Aquarius; Liz Greene's "Saturn, A New Look at an Old Devil"
re: 20-year cycle - Thank you for your insightful NewsScope column. I am not aware of anything else quite like it. Regarding the 20-year American Presidential cycle, I noticed that George W. Bush, elected in 2000, did not die in office. However, during a critical astrological time period of this administration, when I expected the pattern to play out, former President Reagan passed away instead. Sort of a deferred prophecy. Keep up the good work!
re: Trump – You wrote "...the bottom line is that Trump’s days in office are coming to a close just before or, more likely, soon after this Solar Eclipse." This would make Trump's running mate President. Does Pence's chart reflect that? Or will another rabbit be pulled out of the hat? As always, thanks for sharing your passion and gift for interpretations.
re: crash - It has been a previlage to visit every Monday Morning early in the hours every week and has been nothing but an educational experience to read and read to digest what you write; I have to say at my old age your blog and your writings are GOD SENT and exceptionally great to read and learn from.
With that said, as every where now a days you read this coming Capricon stellium of outer planets that is going to happen in 2020 and it is going to crash financial markets and going into recession due to Saturn combining with Jupiter and so on; I realize that we are in the Biggest Bubble created by central banks around the world and it will burst some time. Will you please kindly write on this if and whenever you have to time to do it to see what is your take on economy and financial markets.
re: gender - Apart from whether or not the VP's inclinations extend beyond the normative male-female monogamy, are there astrological signals that may indicate different sexual or gender tendencies in any one particular chart? And with the prominence now of not only homosexuality but also all forms of gender non-conformity and fluidity, as well as transgender, coming to the fore, what are the broader astrological themes that show this cultural/generational change?
And does this tie into the #metoo movement, which calls down the male power privilege with respect to sexual exploitation?
re: astrology - It’s fascinating that astrology, something our present civilization views as fundamental to an individual’s character, is ignored by deeper analysis. Love your column. It’s my first thing to read on Mondays.
re: NewsScope - As always with many many many thanks for your kindness and keeping us interested in Astrology and writings.
re: Pluto Return - Thanks for all you write. Ever since you said Hillary would not be President (in spite of my most fervent wishes and all those polls saying she was ahead) I totally trust your political assessments. Your column on the Pluto return is sobering to be sure. But there is another strain of conservatism that might need to be recognized. That of the government institutions, and the press, which are still doing their jobs, for the most part. One thing for sure, the American Empire (not that I really love that term) is going into eclipse, if not by being outstripped by the likes of China, India, or Europe, but because we haven't gotten our own house in order, and have let our worst characteristics run amok.
Re: Klobuchar - Have you looked at Amy Klobuchar? She not only has her natal Venus at 26 Taurus, the same as Al Gore who won the 2000 popular vote, her Neptune is conjunct the U.S. ascendant. And her progressed Mars is moving close to 26 Taurus.
Re: Bloomberg - I found a reading you did on Mike Bloomberg back in November. Any updates?
Re: Bloomberg - I love reading your weekly column. Have you looked into Michael Bloomberg's chart for 2020? His Sun is 25 degrees Aquarius, and Uranus at 26 degrees Taurus. What effect might this have if he wins the nomination. None of the other Democrats seem to have the "proper" 25 degree alignments.
Re: Bernie - It would be very informative if you could do an analysis of the day Bernie suffered his first heart attack, and how you think he will fare in the next few years.
A. I wrote about Bernie’s health just after his heart attack. See https://www.neptunecafe.com/nsc100719.html
Re: Book Reviews - Great weekly posts! I am ALL in for a book on the best books. In my humble opinion it would not be complete if Liz Greene and the others are not included :) Thank you for you dedication.
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Re: Book Reviews - I'd recommend an e-book format in addition to, or instead of, a paper book. The e-book will be less limiting in terms of page length and offers other advantages such as the reader can change the font size, and it is easily deliverable to remote locations (such as other countries). I'd like to see you head each section with the top five books. Then list the books in whatever order you think is right.
A. Thanks for your suggestions. I’m leaning the way you describe…
Re: Dell Horoscope - Nooooooooo!!! The worst thing about aging is seeing all my support fade away. My doctors retiring, my vets dying, and so on. How can I survive without Horoscope, which I've read SO long, at least since the '70s. What shall I do?
Re: Book Reviews - My condolences on your life's path change. Is Dell going digital? Would you still be able to contribute to online issues? Or perhaps a different
e-zine? I know the astrology community will greatly miss your reviews and insights.
A. Dell tried going digital, but it didn’t take. It’s folding.
Re: Book Reviews - Since you are in the process of reorganizing a lot of material (to put it mildly!), I hope you can consider republishing your own book via Amazon Kindle.
About your previous book, Political Astrology, I saw a used hardbound copy once on sale at Amazon for more than $1,000 – probably so highly priced because it was the only copy anywhere. And I’m pretty sure that you personally didn’t get a penny of whatever the book brought its owner. Also saddened that the knowledge contained in that book is being lost because copies have become unavailable.
A. Yes, the price for used and new copies of Political Astrology have been all over the map, but generally extraordinarily over-priced. For the current rates, see amazon.com/Political-Astrology.
For those who are interested, I have a few copies available at a reasonable price. Email me at wolfstar3@aol.com to discuss further.
Re: Book Reviews - Thank you for all those reviews, the way you write and for not glorifying every book. Can't The Mountain Astrologer just carry you over?
A. TMA has a good reviewer in Mary Plumb.
NewsScope for March 23, 2020
By Michael O’Reilly
The Wartime President
A common refrain among pundits is that “we’re all in this together”. The social distancing and the self-quarantining are absolutely necessary if we expect our institutional structures to hold up as the infection rates grow exponentially. Those who can are moving their work to the virtual world, while the 80% of Americans who live from month to month on their paycheck must rely on a massive federal payout.
Bernie Ashman’s “How to Survive Mercury Retrograde”
I’m in the process of organizing by topic and sub-topic around 350 book reviews, the ones on astrology books that I wrote for Dell Horoscope magazine as Chris Lorenz. Eventually these will be released in eBook form, but here’s an excerpt from one you might enjoy.
“Among the astrologically savvy, one of the most talked about, troublesome planetary cycles, is when Mercury is retrograde. This three week phase raises all kinds of red flags, generally related to the negative influence of Mercury-related matters. Communications tend to get garbled, items get lost, travel plans go awry, and any contract that you sign will most likely backfire in a horrible, unforeseen way. Three times a year Mercury turns retrograde, and one rarely finds anything positive about it. Astrologer Bernie Ashman begs to differ.
“His latest book, How to Survive Mercury Retrograde, claims that there’s nothing inherently negative about Mercury retrograde. To the contrary, if one is aware of the cycle and the potential benefits, some of the greatest insights may happen. An example of what can go right during Mercury’s retrograde cycle is a heightening of intuition. Mercury’s focus on logical or linear thinking emphasizes the left brain functions, but intuition is more of a right-brain function. When Mercury is retrograde, the left brain may take a back seat to the right brain – if you let it. Dreams can suddenly become more relevant and clear. Problem solving becomes easier if you can relax and become more open to symbolic messages.
“Each sign deals with Mercury retrograde in its own unique way. Ashman has organized the Sun signs according to element, since the signs in a common element tend to respond similarly. Readers can look up their Sun sign and find out how to benefit from Mercury retrograde. Then, following the sign-by-sign explanations, comes a series of 25 Survival Tips. Each one of these is a tidbit of advice about how to deal with Mercury retrograde in a positive way.
“They can be summarized as re-thinking what you’re trying to say, don’t obsess over details, and be open to changes and new learning. Tip #1 is “Let go of perfection”, and the tendency to be a perfectionist and how to overcome that is explored over the next page. Each tip is a gem in itself. Since no retrograde phase is ever experienced exactly the same, periodically reviewing these survival tips will remind you how to benefit from the challenges you face.”
The accompany graphic is a biwheel section showing the U.S. natal chart in the inside with the current progressions on the outside. Highlighted are the progressed Moon squaring the 6th house Chiron, progressed Venus and Pluto, and natal Pluto and the Descendant. These descriptive measurements of the pandemic are true if and only if one uses the Scorpio Rising U.S. horoscope.
Like it or not, this kind of planet-wide shift into an isolated interdependence is the hallmark of the Age of Aquarius. We are collectively realizing that we are all connected, like individual cells in the human body. This group realization is happening precisely as Saturn enters Aquarius. Everyone on the planet has a common enemy, the coronavirus, which has the effect of unifying the nations to find common ground.
Although China and the U.S. political echelons are pointing fingers at each other, each system’s health officials – the doctors, nurses, and scientists looking for solutions – are cooperating closely. Planet Earth has been invaded by an alien force, and the health personnel are the soldiers on the frontlines. The U.S. horoscope shows very clearly the activation of the health industry, which is associated with the 6th house.
Natally, the U.S. has Chiron in the 6th house, located at 20º Aries. At this writing, the U.S. progressed Moon is at 20º Capricorn, exactly squaring natal Chiron (orb: 0º02’). In addition, progressed Venus is in the 6th house at 0º Taurus, which is being squared by transiting
Saturn as it enters Aquarius. The federal government at both the executive and congressional levels has taken charge with a declaration that we are indeed at war, and has ushered in massive programs that parallel the actions taken during World War I and II. All this as transiting Saturn conjoined the U.S. natal and progressed Pluto (at 27º and 29º Capricorn).
The prospects for long-range disruption are great. This can be seen in transiting Uranus’s approach to the U.S. Descendant at 8º Taurus. Angular planets like this dominate the themes of the day. Uranus will cross the Descendant (oppose the Scorpio Ascendant) at the beginning of June, turn retrograde at 10º Taurus in August, and re-cross the Descendant on Election Day, November 3. This may indicate that the election itself is postponed or otherwise not carried out as usual.
The Uranus station at 10º Taurus squares Trump’s 12th house Pluto, located at 10º Leo. Last week, he fashioned himself as a “wartime President”, saying that he’s fighting an “invisible enemy”. His promise to rally the nation in pursuit of “total victory” fits perfectly with transiting Uranus squaring his 12th house Pluto. Although he signed the Defense Production Act, he declined to invoke it for the time being.
However, as Election Day draws near, he may find it necessary to declare martial law or otherwise make himself the supreme leader in spite of the democratic process. Most Americans approve of his handling of the coronavirus crisis, and the public polls where people vote may necessarily be closed due to the possibility of mass infection. States have it within their power to arrange votes by mail, which would be carried out the three weeks before Election Day – when Mercury is retrograde. What could possibly go wrong?
Watch over the next week or so for NeptuneCafe to morph into a "mobile friendly" website.
