"Thank you very much, you answered all of my questions and offered me great insight into my life and any future issues as well as potential issues that may arise. Your reading was phenomenal!"
"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!"
Unless otherwise stated, all data is rated A or AA from AstroDataBank
Reader feedback
Recent NewsScope Articles
Sept. 28, 2015 - Xi and Obama agree; October's top 5 astro-events; Emissions scandal at Volkswagen.
Oct. 5, 2015 - Bernie Sanders and the Debate; the Oregon shooter; Richard Tarnas and Jupiter.
Oct. 12, 2015 - Paul Ryan, next House speaker? Bernie Sanders rectified; Matt Damon as The Martian.
Jan.11, 2016 - The Lilith-Uranus-Pluto configuration activated; El Chapo captured; Beatlemania.
Jan. 18, 2016 - Hillary fading; Oil prices and Standard Oil; BML- paradoxical, clandestine.
Jan. 25, 2016 - Mike Bloomberg considers run; February's top five; Mike Brown and Planet 9.
Feb. 1, 2016 - Primaries begin and best astro indicators, progressed Part of Fortune; Eris Awakens.
Feb. 8, 2016 - Marco Rubio's momentum; Brazil's Zika epidemic; Steven Avery - guilty or innocent?
Feb. 15, 2016 - Volatile global stock markets, Bernie Sanders' birth time; Einstein and gravity.
Feb. 22, 2016 - Donald Trump and Mars; March's top 5 astro-events; Tim Cook vs. the FBI.
Feb. 29, 2016 - Marco Rubio, GOP's last hope? The 12th Amendment? AlphaGo v. Lee Sedol.
March 7, 2016 - The death of the GOP? the Saturn- Pluto cycle; Megyn Kelly, Fox moderator.
March 13, 2016 - Trump and Mussolini - the astro-parallels; Nancy Reagan's astrology; Marla Maples.
March 21, 2016 - Trump and the GOP convention; Election Day chaos; Mel- anie Trump, 1st Lady?
March 28, 2016 - Paul Ryan, the GOP nominee? April's top five; Bernie Sanders' celestial blessing.
April 4, 2016 - Ted Cruz aims to stop Trump; Uranus in the U.S. 6th house, Drew Barrymore and Juno.
April 11, 2016 - Panama Papers; Uranus-Eris in the presidential contest; Nyle Dimarco on DWTS.
April 18, 2016 - Hillary rising; Dilma Rousseff under fire; Modigliani - another penniless artist.
April 25, 2016 - Prince ruled by Pluto; May's top five; Shakespeare and the Stars - a paradigm buster.
May 2, 2016 - Lilith inspires Trump; Economic flashback to 1929; Audra McDonald stars in Shuffle Along.
May 9, 2016 - Why Trump, why now? To Brexit or not to Brexit; Taylor Swift - Queen of the Goddesses
May 16, 2016 - Brazil's epochal shifts; Amazon's disruptive technology; Miss Suzie Jones' longevity.
May 23, 2016 - Hillary v. Trump - who will win? the astrology of Flight MS108; Mars in the night sky.
May 30, 2016 - Gary Johnson of the Libertarian Party, June's top 5 and the Uranus-Eris conjunction.
June 6, 2016 - Hillary's new strategy; pain, fentanyl and Paul Janssen; Muhammad Ali, the Greatest.
June 13, 2016 - Hillary v.s Trump, Part 2; "Dump Trump" fueled by Mars; Christina Grimmie in FL.
June 20, 2016 - Orlando's confluence at 23º, Neptune, the decider? Meryl Streep and Elizabeth Warren.
June 27, 2016 - Brexit and globalization; July's top five; Nicola Sturgeon and Scottish independence.
July 4, 2016 - Bill Clinton - what was he thinking? Nepal's new ally, China; Scarlett Johansson.
July 11, 2016 - Racial tensions intensify; the 2017 Inauguration horoscope; Olivia De Havilland.
July 18, 2016 - Eris as "the Other"; Uranus and Eris de-stabilize Turkey; Trump's VP choice Mike Pence.
July 25, 2016 - Roger Ailes and the Mercury-Eris connection, August's top five; Hillary's VP Tim Kaine.
Aug 1, 2016 - U.S. Merc turns direct; Trump relocated to Moscow; Luke Aikens, skydiver.
NewsScope has been published continually since 1997. Back copies dating from 2009 through 2015 can be found at NewsScope archives.
For NewsScope blogs dating from October 25, 1999 through March 31, 2009, visit StarIQ/NewsScope.
re: Prince - If you haven't thought to do it, can you do a little tribute to Prince for Monday's column? Love him, would love to know more about his chart.
re: U.S. Gemini Rising chart - It would seem that this coming New Moon of June 5th~6th (along with its mid-degrees Mutable Grand Cross) might be telling then, whether or not the 9* Gemini Asc. chart may be the true chart.
A. And how will it do that? Perhaps you could make a forecast that will be unique to Gemini Rising and not apparent in Scorpio Rising or other US charts. If you say what will happen ahead of time, your chart makes sense. After there fact is not persuasive.
For example, I recently forecast workers strikes when T Uranus entered the US 6th house and conjoined Chiron while opposing Juno. The 6th house is associated with work, and Uranus brings strikes. Last week's strike by Verizon workers was the largest in five years. It's a straightforward interpretation using basic astrology principles. And it only works when Scorpio is Rising. Making accurate forecasts says more about a chart than any backward or retro look.
Of course you realize that the Gemini Rising chart was created by renowned astrologer Luke Broughton in 1861 based on the fact that it was a revolution, and the practice of the time was to put the planet associated with revolution on the Ascendant. In 1861, Uranus was known but not in 1776.
re: Tesla - I have been a fan of your blog; read every very Early Monday morning religiously. Would you kindly comment on Tesla motors; it hardly produces a couple of cars but wallstreet treats them like king while Ford, which produces millions of cars, sells for $15/share. why??
re: Mars retrograde - You mention in your March 28th piece that stationary Mars opposes the U.S. Uranus. I would have noted that it is exact to the minute of arc! I consider exactitude to be important in predictive work.
re: Election Day chaos - About placements on Nov 8: you would know but let me repeat. Neptune in its own sign on South node (let go of the past or confusion about past) and North node sign Virgo ruler Mercury at 23 Scorpio, dispositors Mars and Pluto. Mars last degree of Capricorn and Pluto 15 Capricorn connecting to Aries Point.
In my opinion, the real agenda is a new constitution and electoral system. Neptune South Node – can help dissolve attachment to past forms. North node Virgo, get to work on the details of new systems. Centralised power is alright if add in the necessary checks and balances.
re: Trump - I really enjoyed--if that's the right word--the May 2nd issue. The Lilith in Astro*Carto*Graphy for Trump is particularly unsettling. You may want to emphasize in future NewsScopes that in many ways the President's chart becomes the US chart during his/her term of office. Also, thanks for your piece on Audra McDonald, she is a wonderfully talented singer and actor who is far too under appreciated.
re: Clinton - If memory serves, Geo. W. Bush's Saturn was on his 1st house cusp, headed south, when he ran the second time and won. Of course, his second term is memorable for a host of bad reasons. Campaigns are battles. Governing is a war. It's possible Hillary wins the battle but struggles with the war, yes?
A. Could be! Technically, transiting Saturn was in Bush's 12th house during the 2004 election and didn't reach his Ascendant until September 2005. But yes, it was downhill from there.
re: ACG maps - I'm a regular reader of your column, and having a question for you is an opportunity to say "thanks". My question concerns Lilith (whether oscillating or mean) and Astro*Carto*Graphy* maps. I've been consulting astrodienst's A*C*G* map service for years, but I've never seen an option to add bodies beyond the normal range of bodies and the north node, such as asteroids or Lilith. I'd really like to run a map for myself with Lilith (or the Liliths) included; possibly also to include the "big four" Goddess asteroids. What software or service did you use to obtain Donald Trump's Lilith lines?
A. I used the Solar Maps function in SolarFire to generate those maps. You can also get Lilith and the asteroids on ACG maps using Halloran's AstrolDeluxe software.
re: Trump - What software program told you that Lilith is angular on Donald Trump's IC when his chart is relocated to California?
A. My apologies, I made an error on this. What I was looking at was Trump’s progressed A*C*G* map, and on this one the progressed Lilith-IC runs just off the coast of California. I blame Mercury retrograde for this error.
re: Brazil - Sorry, but Nicholas Campion is right! A lot of Brazilian astrologers don´t even know secondary progressions. It´s incredible, but they work only with natal charts and transits! Accuracy, precision, systematization are not the strong points of Brazilian astrologers. They create a lot of fantasies that they call “interpretations”, with no connection with professional practices. And, I don´t guess why, they created a fallacious notion that Brazilian ascendant is in Aquarius! Brazilian mentality and inclinations have nothing to do with Aquarius and all to do with Pisces! This is the carnival paradise! After the carnival, it´s the end of the world, but no problem…Let´s wait for the next year carnival party! Do you follow me? Also, another point, I don´t see any reason to use LMT. Why not BZT +3?
A. Unfortunately, most "astrologers" are not using progressions yet. One doesn't have to be from Brazil to miss out on this valuable technique. To clarify Campion's position, independence was proclained somewhere between 4 and 5 pm LMT. He personally doesn't advocate 4:47 pm but states that many Brazilian astrologers do.
I'm sticking with 4:20 pm. Last week I was researching Petrobras to do a piece on it. President Vargas signed the act that created Petrobras on October 3, 1953 when transiting Pluto was at 24º Leo, precisely opposite the 4:20 pm Aquarius Ascendant. No such connection is evident with the 4:47 pm time.
As for the fantasy-oriented carnival, does not Neptune conjunct Brazil's ruling planet (Uranus) convey this? About LMT, time zones were established in 1884, so any time used before then had no systematic reference point except what the local clocks indicated.
re: Brazil - The progressed Sun+Mars on natal Pluto is a powerful combination never seen before. It seems that a transformation of the Brazil State is coming, or even a military action (due to Mars).
In the 80s there was much discussion about Brazil's Ascendent between astrologers. Through rectification the Aquarius rising became more habitual, though some still prefer the Pisces rising one. The Fixed signs are important when one studies historical events, especially 20º-24º Scorpio. The Discovery of Brazil chart in 1500 and Republic Proclamation in 1889 have important points in those signs and degrees.
Every time Saturn enters Scorpio there's some sort of political crisis in the country. In June 2013 we had massive protests in the streets (something unusual for Brazilians). Since then the country has been in turmoil, and every day the situation just worsens.
Most Brazilian astrologers use a Scorpio MC due to several military coups in Brazil's history and 2 deaths of presidents (one of them killed himself while in office). The most popular times are between 16:08 and 16:20, with Aquarius ascending.
re: Eris - Pertaining to the current Uranus/Eris conjunction, I've been wondering how this would affect me and decided to comment as it may provide insight to others going through a similar transit.
Transiting Uranus and Eris are currently making a conjunction to my natal third house Sun/Mercury conjunction, and squaring my ascendant. (Sun 23º50 Aries, Asc 24º20 Capricorn). I've been wondering how having Eris in the mix would manifest, and haven't been able to find much online to prepare. So far, what's been happening is that I've had to become a very goal-oriented, vocal, warrior advocate for my elderly mother in our broken healthcare system. Lately it seems that I am quite effective at it; it's like something powerful comes over me when I'm fighting for my mother's well-being, and all involved do as I say, and I've stopped caring what they think of me. I wonder if this is Eris' influence.
A. Yes, most astrologers aren't aware of Eris yet as a meaningful archetype since it was only discovered a few years ago. Sounds like you've got a handle on it though, doing what you're doing. It does have that warrior energy. Thank-you for your story.
re: Gary Johnson - Good article on Gary Johnson. I like him. He was Governor here in New Mexico. He did a good, solid job. There was no focus on legalizing drugs then. He only does that in his Presidential bids. He was a Republican back then who ran a successful business.
re: Flight MS804 - It occured to me when the Egyptian plane went down that perhaps it is somehow related to MH370. MH370 remains a mystery and it appears that no one has claimed responsibility for MS804 yet. Is this a long playing serial aviation terrorist?
re: US progressed Mercury - thanks for the encouraging progressed Mercury station aspecting Juno. I'm more hopeful now that Hillary will win
A. In the U.S. chart Juno and Chiron oppose each other. That means progressed Mercury is also sextile Chiron. The Juno in Libra opposite Chiron in Aries represents the candidates' emphasis on "We're in this together " vs. "I'm the only one who can fix the system." Mercury stations right around the time the debates begin, offering a forum for these polarities to play out.
re: Tim Kaine - I have followed your work for many years and especially appreciate your sharing your views on the political scene. Tim Kaine was Virginia’s lieutenant governor and then governor and I have followed his political career for some time too, as I live in Virginia.
I am delighted that Tim is Hillary’s choice for her running mate. Although I don’t know him personally, I have met him and have heard him speak a few times. He is very much who he appears to be – a really nice guy and an excellent political strategist. You would never know that his Eris is conjunct his Ascendant in Aries!
re: MO v/c - Love your articles, always so insightful. Please keep going! With that said, here's another possible article topic for you to explore: How a moon void affects the nominating process of a political convention.
The moon was void on Tuesday 3:56-8:10pm exactly the time Trump was nominated. When he and Pence formally accept the nomination tomorrow night after 6:56pm PST, the moon will be void again.
I'm seeing this as an encouraging sign for us Hillary supporters/Trump despisers. Your thoughts? Inquiring minds want to know!
A. Trump accepted the nomination at 10:20 pm when the Moon was sextile UR and square Mars... In any case, I don't buy the MO v/c thing for event charts. That's a horary technique... Don't forget that Obama took the Oath of office during a MO v/c and he got Obamacare passed.
re: Hillary's Moon - In your May 23, 2016 issue of NewsScope you wrote: "To win the American people over, a candidate must have a strong connection with the U.S. Moon at 25º Aquarius. Hillary’s Uranus at 25º Gemini fits the bill, as does Trump’s Venus at 25º Cancer. Each of these planets describes where the candidate has exceptional influence over public opinion. For Hillary, Uranus describes her drive for equal rights. Trump’s Venus suggests his vast wealth, his economic plans, and his view on women in general." And "Both candidates have Mars in Leo which, historically, American voters have overwhelmingly favored."
Why no mention that Hillary has her Moon in Pisces? As you know, no U.S. President has had their Moon there. I believe the Election will be a lot stranger than you or any other American astrologer is now thinking.
A. Hillary is well aware of the vulnerability of her Pisces Moon, which is why she didn't open up emotionally during her nomination speech, as so many pundits thought she should to overcome the trust issue. And yes, this is a strange election. If terrorism increases dramatically over the next few months, that will certainly help Trump.
NewsScope for August 8, 2016
By Michael Wolfstar
Trump Driven by Mercury-Pluto
A regular reader wonders about Donald Trump’s mental health and forwarded a petition from a California congresswoman that details all his alleged symptoms of Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NSD). Meanwhile, the ex-CIA chief called Trump a “self-aggrandizing agent of Vladimir Putin”. And following Hillary’s surge in poll numbers, Trump warned that the election is rigged against him and he could lose as a result.
Astrologically, the issue of mental health and the conspiracy theories can be clearly seen in Trump’s progressed chart. Two major factors are in play now: his progressed Sun entered Virgo on August 6, and he’s nearing the maximum influence of a progressed Mercury-Pluto conjunction in his 12th house. With the progressed Sun’s entry into Virgo, the conditions around his natal and progressed Mercury suddenly become the central focus.
Mercury-Pluto aspects are noted for their dual nature. On the positive side, they bring keen insights, are highly persuasive, and can be relentless when pursuing a topic of interest. The 12th house influence tends to bring out the more negative qualities, which include being highly suspicious, speaking with venomous rhetoric, and becoming obsessed with discovering dark truths. Mercury-Pluto tends to be fixated on secrets and lies.
And that’s been the general dialog around Trump’s tweets, interviews and speeches lately. Talk of treason, plots and schemes, and accusations that cut to hidden fears surround Trump like psychic pollution. Trump is tapping into the growing sense of unease among Americans that elections are being stolen and that the economy is run by Wall Street. Is he crazy, or crazy like a fox? Expect that the drama around Trump will only escalate over the next two weeks as this progressed Mercury-Pluto conjunction becomes exact.
Alternative Birth Time for Hillary
A reader notes that “In the July 4, 2016 issue of the AFA bulletin, Nona Gwynn Press presents a time for Hillary of 2:18 am as claimed by one Zayin Cohen who saw her birth certificate on Sept 13, 2007, from the Cook County Clerk of Court Vital Records Division…. Would you comment on it in your column?”
A 2:14 am birth time gives Hillary a Virgo Ascendant and independent Uranus in the 10th house of career. Any major life event would involve the conditions of her angles (natal and progressed) and Mercury, since it becomes the ruler of her chart. When Hillary first came to national attention during the infamous “60 Minutes” interview on January 26, 1992, transiting Jupiter was at 13º Virgo, very near her 2:14 am Virgo Ascendant.
Also her progressed Midheaven was at 25º Cancer and nearly conjunct her natal Vesta. This alignment fits with the “stand by your man” theme of that interview, which arose due to Bill’s alleged transgression with the lounge singer Gennifer Flowers. The interview saved Bill’s campaign, and she became First Lady as this progressed Midheaven-to-Vesta conjunction became exact.
But then, if we look at her 8:02 am birth time for this event, the aspects are much stronger: transiting Pluto was conjunct her Ascendant during this phase, and Pluto is all about reaching the masses. Also her progressed Midheaven was sextile to her elevated Saturn in the 8:02 am chart. Using the 2:14 am chart, her progressed Midheaven is currently conjunct her 12th house Saturn, possibly an indicator for the assumption of power. However, transiting Saturn is at the nadir – not a good sign for victory.
What do you think? Does Hillary have the perfectionist sign of Virgo Rising, or Scorpio Rising with Jupiter in flamboyant Sagittarius nearby?
Sumner Redstone Clings to Life
According to Forbes magazine, Sumner Redstone’s controlling interest in Viacom, CBS and other media giants places his net worth at $5.2 billion. While that may seem like a lot, it’s down 20 percent over the last two years as his daughter, girlfriends, and CEOs of his various companies have become entangled in lawsuits over control issues.* Viacom’s annual profits have turned into dramatic losses.
Sumner Redstone was born with a Sun-Mercury conjunction in the information-hungry sign of Gemini (May 27, 1923; Boston, MA; time unknown). With Venus and Jupiter both closely aspecting his Pluto, dealing with huge wealth is a natural development in the media mogul’s life. And with Ceres also involved with this complex (Ceres quincunx Pluto), life and death issues would become major elements of his life story.
On March 29, 1979, Redstone nearly died in a hotel fire. He tenaciously clung with one arm to a ledge until he was rescued by firemen. At the time, his progressed Jupiter and Ceres were at 9º of their respective signs and in exact aspect to natal Pluto. Following 30 hours of surgery, he managed to recover from severe burns over 45% of his body. Since then, he has felt that he was immortal and would never die.
Over the last few years, the cranky tycoon has become a feeble recluse but still controls his vast media empire. Numerous lawsuits have sprung up as transiting Uranus and Pluto challenged his Saturn. On February 3, 2016, he was forced to resign from his chairmanship of CBS and Viacom due to mental incompetence. Saturn, as the natural ruler of his earthly power, has now progressed to 17º Libra, and is under continuous pressure from transiting Pluto throughout 2016. He still tenaciously clings to life and power, just as he did in 1979.