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"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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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.
Aug 8, 2016 - Trump driven by Merc-Pluto; does Hillary have Virgo Rising? Sumner Redstone clings to life.
Aug 15, 2016 - Can Serena Williams bounce back? Macy's reports, Simone Biles, the best gymnast.
Aug 22, 2016 - candidates pivot simultaneously; Kellyanne Conway; Usain Bolt, the fastest man alive.
Aug 29, 2016 - The Great Solar Eclipse of 2017; Sept's top 5; swimmer Ryan Lochte on DWTS.
Sept. 5, 2016 - War and the U.S. Venus; three indicators for war in 2017; the WWW and the U.S. election.
Sept. 12, 2016 - Hillary Clinton overheated ; Kim Jong Un unhinged?; Tom Hanks stars as "Sully".
Sept. 19, 2016 - The UR-PL dynamic continues; Apple shares lead; Edward Snowden makes his case.
Sept. 26, 2016 - U.S. institutions in trouble; October's top five; Angelina Jolie files for divorce.
Oct. 3, 2016 - The Aries Full Moon with UR-ER; astrology at the WSJ; Netflix's take on Amanda Knox.
Oct. 17, 2016 - Mars Out-of-Bounds; Teal Leoni as Madam Secretary; Bob Dylan wins Nobel Prize.
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: 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: U.S. progressed MC - In the September astro-events, #5 mentions what happened during the last two challenging aspects. So what happened when the progressed MC was conjunct Saturn? or semi-square Saturn?
A. I looked at the conjunction. It was in 1837 and for the first time the Senate had to select the Vice President. It was a major test of the constitution.
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.
re: Hillary overheated - As much as I’m a Trump fan, considering him a worthy “messenger” of needed change, I do also appreciate, being from NY state myself, what Hillary did for the state in the 9/11 aftermath. Your take on what was happening with Clinton sounds so “right on!” Also, you never can win trying to out-maneuver someone who’s from the Bronx using his natural tactics. What perfect advice for Clinton’s continuing campaign! I, surely, hope she doesn’t read your column! Thanks once again for such quick and perfected commentary!
re: North Korea - Based on last weeks NewsScope indicating a potential war involving the U.S. in June 2017 and this week's describing the planetary configurations effecting the North Korean leader at that same time it seems those two may match and it would be North Korea the U.S. ends up at war.
re: 2017 war - Always enjoy your insights. The recent article on the forecast of war in 2017 is unsettling. Do any of the indicators point to where the conflict will originate, and then [mostly] take place? Is there a safe space to "hide out" during the conflict? And how long will the war last?
A. Sorry, I don't know the answers to any of your questions.
re: 2017 war - As always I'm appreciative of your regular column. This time, against all logic, I hope you are wrong about war in 2017. Let us pray that we all (collectively) have too much sense and practicality to do this.
A. I hope I'm wrong too.
re: 2017 war - Dear Lord, this has really upset me. I've never been to your country but I owe it and its people a lot. One has received so much from the Americans.
re: 2017 war - Speaking of explosive war indicators, were there explosive indicators occuring around December 7th, 1941?
A. Yes, the progressed Venus cycle was in full play at that time, being conjunct not only Pluto but the progressed Ascendant. Also, progressed mars was making a rare octile to the Midheaven. A transiting Saturn-Uranus conjunction in the U.S. 7th house of "open enemies" was squaring the U.S. Moon. Transiting Mars kicked this configuration off by opposing the U.S. Saturn.
re: NewsScope - Thank you as always for your amazing ability to transform the depths of astrology into something the rest of us can comprehend. Keep up the good work.
re: NewsScope - I really enjoyed your last post !! Thanks so much for your time and thanks for sharing what you do!
re: NewsScope - I look forward to your NeptuneCafe articles each week. I find it fascinating to see the correlation between astrology and world affairs. Scary stuff though.
re: Hillary - You wrote: "she attempts to match Trump’s ability to endlessly insult and criticize. " Are you kidding me?? She started her career on the panel looking into Nixon 30 second missing tape. She was fired for her rhetoric and lying and has been at it ever since. This is long before Trump came on the scene. Your above quote seems like her illness was brought on because she is trying to keep up with the mean old Trump. If she can't keep up with Trump how is she going to keep up with Iran, Iraq, Saudis, N Korea, etc???
re: NewsScope subscription - Do you still take subscriptions to your Newscope page? I should like to subscribe if the answer is in the affirmative.
A. No, I've pretty much done away with the subscription thing. It was a bit hard to manage. But you can always read NewsScope on Mondays, accompanied by the relevant graphics.
NewsScope for October 24, 2016
By Michael Wolfstar
DYN Cyber Attack
Although the U.S. territory isn’t susceptible to a traditional military attack, it is vulnerable to cyberwarfare. The ability to shut down the U.S. infrastructure were demonstrated last Friday when hackers unleashed a nation-wide denial-of-service attack on dozens of popular websites. Cyber security experts confirmed that the attack used botnets infected with the Mirai virus, sent out from millions of wi-fi connected devices.
A chart set for the beginning of the cyber-attack (October 21, 2016; 7:10 am; Manchester, NH) can tell us more about who the perpetrators are. The 1st house represents the sites that were brought down, while the seventh house represents the attacker. With the Sun and Mercury conjunct the Venus-ruled Libra Ascendant, most of the affected sites were associated with popular social media, such as Twitter, Netflix, Amazon, and Spotify.
Ceres conjunct the Descendant describes the agent used for the attacks, which symbolizes the useful, internet-connected devices such as web cams, printers and routers. Collectively, these devices are known as “The Internet of Things” (IoT). They are mass produced, escalating in number and, since the release of the Mirai code a month ago, easily hacked by cyber criminals. The ruler of the 7th house is Mars, which conjoins Pluto in the 3rd house of communication.
Experts tell us that any persistent cybercriminal could have carried out the attack. However, Mars in Capricorn conjoined by Pluto suggests that a much larger organization (perhaps a nation-state) was behind the incident. (note: Russia’s progressed Mars at 27º Aries is closely squaring the U.S. Pluto.) This event-chart can be progressed: from mid-January to early May, the progressed Moon opposes the Mars-Pluto conjunction, indicating when the next major attack might unfold. Another possibility arrives on November 8 when transiting Mars opposes Vesta at the Midheaven.
Vesta is generally found to be prominently placed in the horoscopes of financial analysts and companies’ First Trade charts – at least, those favored by investors. Arch Crawford has noted that trading according to the Mars-Vesta cycle outperforms the buy-and-hold strategy by two to one.* And Christine Skinner, in her new book on financial astrology, refers to Vesta as “the trading asteroid.”
Consider the FANG stocks (Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, and Google) which have achieved notoriety as a group since they’ve soared in value in recent years. Facebook and Amazon both have Vesta conjunct the Midheaven, while Netflix has Vesta sextile the Midheaven. Google’s chart features the Sun quincunx Vesta. Netflix’s First Trade chart (May 23, 2002; 11:00 am; New York, NY) makes a great case study since it just reported better than expected earnings last week, and the stock shot up 20 percent.
At first glance, the financial astrologer might be wary of investing in NFLX since its chart is showing a cluster of alignments around the natal Saturn-Pluto opposition. The progressed Sun, now at 16º Gemini, is conjunct natal Saturn, while transiting Saturn at 13º Sagittarius also falls into this polarity. And in fact, NFLX is leveraging its financial resources to the hilt in order to create original content and expand its global subscriber base.
Dr. Strange’s romantic interest is played by the lovely Rachel McAdams (November 17, 1978) who was born with Saturn harmoniously sextile Uranus. Her character knows the “before” and “after” Dr. Strange, so she helps to ground him. The two have mutual and harmonious Venus-Mars intra-aspects, giving the film sexual chemistry along with its visually stunning action scenes. Cumberbatch has been filming and promoting Dr. Strange over the last two years as his progressed Lilith opposes natal Uranus, highlighting the psychedelic, mystical nature of Marvel’s latest superhero.
Cumberbatch’s Cancer Sun is in an out-of-sign conjunction with the stellium in dramatic Leo (July 19, 1976; Hammersmith, UK; time unknown), indicating a family background in acting. His Sun’s closest aspect is a trioctile (135º) to Neptune, which naturally gravitates toward film. And for his role as Dr. Strange, the actor’s Sun squares Black Moon Lilith, giving him a knack for feeling what is behind surface reality.
Those with challenging Saturn-Uranus aspects tend to go through a process of “before” and “after” life phases. Cumberbatch’s Mercury-Venus-Saturn conjunction shows the discipline behind his successful acting career. His global fame was launched in July 2010 when he was selected to play an updated version of Sherlock Holmes. At the time, transiting Saturn and Uranus opposed each other, which resonated with his natal Saturn-Uranus square.
Dr. Strange Coming on Nov. 4
First coming to global attention for his quirky portrayal of Sherlock Holmes, British actor Benedict Cumberbatch became the perfect choice to play the lead in the much anticipated Marvel film, Dr. Strange. The superhero begins as an extraordinary surgeon, but an accident leaves his hands useless. In his mystical quest to heal his hands, he eventually becomes a super-sorcerer, leaving a distinctive “before” and “after” worldview.
NFLX stumbled badly when it reported its first and second quarter earnings, but last week’s third quarter report stunned investors with an unexpected surge in profits and subscriber growth. In short, it’s investment in quality entertainment is now paying off, as shown by the conjunction between the progressed Part of Fortune and Vesta at 9º Cancer. This beneficial pairing is being favorably activated by close aspects from transiting Jupiter and Neptune. And with the progressed Fortuna-Vesta hit not due until November 10, this stock is still trending higher.