Don't Beleive The Hype, Part Three: Post-UAC Analysis & Comments

Don't Beleive The Hype, Part Three: Post-UAC Analysis & Comments

3:45 PM 05/24/2008 Sat

And so, the Week that was - the world's largest gathering of astrologers ever, taking place last week at Denver CO; some 1600 astrologers in attendance from accross 45 countries, all gathered in the spirit of comraderie and learning, a good time to be had by all. I've been reading along the various websites, blogs and chatrooms/forums about the week's festivities with great interest, and have already weighed in on what I call the Joni Patry Problem in my last two installments. In this, the final installment on 2008's UAC, I intent to revisit the Patry issue, along with some key things that stuck out at me as an observer watching it all go down from my perch on the World Wide Web.

But first, before I begin with what some would consider a searing critique, let me extend a strong biggups to those who organized the event, and to give congrats to this year's winners of the Regulus Award, chief among them Ms. Bernadette Brady and now we can officially say, Dr. Robert Hand. Additionally, I would like to recognize all the younger folk at this year's events, and Mr. Lutin's apparently quite successful stageplay, "Plutopia". And, I want to just say to my friend Nick Dagan Best, now you see why we brothas like our trucks so much, hmm? LOL!

Now, with all that out of the way, to the good stuff...

Dispatches From The Center Of The Universe
Here's astrologer-reporter Eric Francis' May 16 2008 "dispatch" from the UAC convention floor; he asks a very good rhetorical question...

"Second, there appears to be no serious discussion of sexuality. I have not read the whole catalog, but I have not seen anything even coming close to the topic. This verges on astonishing, given the number of people who come to astrology for sexually-related subject matter, and the even greater number for whom it surfaces as a theme or issue they need to address. How, exactly, are astrologers supposed to help anyone if they are not informed? How are they supposed to keep their composure and objectivity if they have no training or experience with these kinds of very necessary discussions?"

Ahhh, a very good question indeed; but I have to remind my Piscean brother Mr. Francis, that the answer is only an Occam's Razor's arm length away - the astrology business' biggest consumer are women, most over the age of 40. And women as a rule are quite sensitive about having open discussions about sex, especially when the face on the other of said discussion is a male's, which remains the case for the bulk of astrologers of any real consequence (and I've written about this, too, something you will NOT hear discussed in any real way at ANY astrology conference) - hence recourse to roundabout talk about "relationships and synastry" and so forth. And if you're an astrologer whose lifeblood is dependent on that demographic helping you to keep the lights on, well, you adapt to market conditions accordingly.

If anyone doubts this, go and see for yourself. As long as its couched in "romantic" terms, you can get away with it, perhaps moreso if you happen to be a woman astrologer; but in general, given the Sexual Harrassment times in which we live, it would be suicidal for a Hand, or a Brennan, to *really* go there within an astrological analysis of astrology's biggest consumer block. What to do about it, you might ask? Well, talk about why we don't talk about it, would be one. But what's the chance that'll really happen, hmm?

Astrology's Young GunsPerhaps one of the highlights, and indeed, rising stars at this year's UAC, was the emergence of a young and vibrant contingent of astrologers, headed up in the main by Christopher Brennan, a Hellenistic astrologer and scholar. My understanding is that quite an impressive showing was made by Brennan and crew, who was put in at the last minute as presenter after initially being peed on for being too young; as it turns out, he is now UAC's youngest faculty member. Good on him!

But, being the dour man that I am, I gotta raise some questions, difficult ones, I'm afraid before the cheering starts - astrology, at its base, is not about lectures or techniques or fresh faces, but about LIFE itself. And no amount of pyrotechnics will take the place of actual life experience. This is why the Saturn Return is so important, and why in many circles, especially the more Eastern ones, doing astrology "for real" is frowned upon *until* one has had enough life experience.

I'm not just pouring water on the parade either, I speak from my own experience, as a early twentysomething starting out in astrology. As I look back on it now, there's just no way I could have made any real sense helping people, because while I knew the symbols and Signs and whatnot, I didn't know LIFE. No dis to Brennan, but really - what can he tell some over 40, a man let's say, about Love? Loss? Death? A mortage? A divorce? Not saying that he should know all things, certainly not. But without life experience, its hard to really put the symbols we see into proper context for the client. Which is probably why Brennan doesn't lecture much about actually working with clients. It is wholly understandable.

Moreover, the current love affair with the Young Guns papers over other things as well, which I'll save for a future installment. But I'll say for now, that one of them is the tendency not to drill into them the importance of getting life experience along with their astrological education. I wish the Young Guns well, and would exhort them, with all the knowledge they get, that they also get understanding.

The Joni Patry Problem Revisited
In many ways, my critique of the Young Guns trend ties itself intimately into the Joni Patry problem. As is well known world wide by now, on May 16 2008 according to Eric Francis, Patry announced that she had Barack Obama's birthtime - only, the "time" turned out to be little more than a grown up version of what we used to call "Telephone". You know the game - someone whispers something to you, and you pass it on to someone else, and so and so on, and after awhile, no one knows where it came from and the whole thing done got twisted. It's a fun game for kids. It's a disaster for astrologers, who suffer from a huge inferiority complex as it is due to astrology still struggling to process its feelings of being so roundly dissed in the Western world for the past few centuries, and sporadic assaults by Skeptic Tanks like the Amazing Randys.

One of the reasons why I spoke so forcefully and vociferously as I did in relation to Patry was because of several things, her being a highly regarded Vedic astrologer by many, among them - but another reason was because the manner in which she was given carte blanche to do what she did shows a huge gaping problem in the basic mindset and utter lack of critical thinking in the whole of the astrological community - a "name" astrologer makes a grand announcement to the world about the birthtime of a presidential candidate, based on heresay and secondhand information, if one can call it that -

AND NO ONE CHALLENGED HER. AT ALL.

I'm not talkin' 'bout after the lights go off, I'm takin' 'bout right then and there - why didn't somebody, anybody, get off their duff and say, uh, hold up Ms. Patry. Exactly where did you get this time from? Why can't we see the document? Why can't we at least know the names of your client and "campaign manager" he/she claims to have gotten the time from? I mean, why didn't the whole darn production STOP until this was sorted out? What the buck is up with that???

You mean to tell me that we can be suckered that easily? For all of our computer this and young astrologer that and Plutopia the other - it was all for a secondhand account of something that cannot be proven, in any way, at all? Lois Rodden has got to be doing backflips in her grave - and it's my view that we all took a collective dump on it if this is the best we can do. Talk about a regression to the mean.

And then we wonder why we still get chumped by Skeptics?

The Obama Panel - And The 800LB Gorilla In The Middle Of The UAC Living Room
But the Patry Affair was but one of UAC's highlights. Another, that attracted a bit of news coverage, was the star-studded astrologer panel on the 2008 Presidential elections. As you might guess, I have some thoughts to critiques of this as well, but to set things up, please share with me this insight by a colleague and friend of mine, the man known to the astrology world as Astrobarry:

"Another confounding condition, making such 'prediction' a dicier proposition still, is the glaringly blatant bias with which most astrologers come at this question of who'll be our next president. Would you be surprised to hear that the UAC tides were overwhelmingly in favor of Obama? Hardly. From lectures to coffee-break chatter to the official entertainment, no pretenses toward objectivity were made. A leftist/Democratic bent was presumed by virtually everyone in every context… and while that presumption was likely true as far as the participants' personal views were concerned, it isn't an especially open-hearted way in which to approach sociopolitical astrology. (I was admittedly flabbergasted when one of my favorite astrologers quickly glossed over discussing Obama's challenging astro-transits, in order to focus on ripping Clinton's and McCain's charts to shreds.)

Isn't our job as astrologers—cultural commentators with cosmic consciousness, really—to shed light on how things are and could be? When our egos get intimately woven into the formula, however, it often instead becomes a variation on that theme: an exposition on how we personally want them to be. Which isn't necessarily a 'bad' approach, as it's relatively rare for our egos not to jam their grubby little fingers into every last pot… but if we don't fess up to that upfront, we have the potential to confuse our wishful thinking for reality."

Uh-oh. He ain't supposed to talk about THAT, afterall, such things aren't good for one's career, don't you know. But I deeply thank Astrobarry for his sage insight for it pierces a veil that has long shrouded our community. And that is this:

Why DO we have such a hard Left leaning community groupthink? Is it simply a natural outgrowth of being interested in astrology...or is it a sign of something a bit more, shall we say, political? What happened to all those lectures I'm sure was to be had at UAC, about "professionalism" and "objectivity" on the part of the astrologer? Hmm?

And, why is there so much gushing and love for Obama, in a setting that is for all intents and purposes virtually White? Now, I don't know about anyone else, but my highschool Psych class covered this, it's called Overcompensatory behavior. Don't nobody fall on a sword here, just keepin' it real. Folks who try to get a handle on their stuff often go overboard in the other direction and we all do it to a lesser or greater degree. Maybe that's the other reason astrologers in general are likened to the "on its side" orbit of Uranus, hmm?

I for one was struck by the outpouring of support, obstensibly, for Obama by the panel and the general attendees on one hand, and the virutal absence of people of color, especially African Americans, at UAC overall. Talk about a disconnect. Talk about cognitive dissonance. To say nothing of virtually any talk about the very racial times in which Obama finds himself, now officially dubbed as "the race candidate".

Very, very, interesting, says this astrologer.

I could go on, but I think the above suffices as to just how far we've come as astrologers, and just how far we've yet to go. Here's another quote I found on the internet some months back that I think really gives us all some food for thought as UAC 2008 fades into memory; think it over for yourself, and ask some hard questions:

""White liberals are openly, breathtakingly hypocritical. The appearance of racial rectitude is perhaps America’s most highly-regarded virtue, but it comes at essentially no cost.
You don’t have to have black friends, you don’t have to have Mexican neighbors, you don’t have to send your children to schools where no one speaks English, and you don’t have to invite Hmong refugees to your dinner parties. You can be racially respectable without doing anything. Just gush about the things you, yourself, carefully avoid: integration, multi-culturalism, and diversity.

"This is the Clinton/Kennedy/Bush racket.

"People get away with it because everyone is in on the charade. By any real racial test, by any measure that requires sacrifice, everyone fails, so whites never apply real tests to each other. Mouth the right clichés and you’re on the side of the angels. Racial rectitude is therefore the most cheaply bought virtue in American history— and also the most easily forfeited. Because only words matter, not deeds, a single sentence can wreck a career."

- Jared Taylor, in an online debate he had with Steven Sailer

Here's to UAC 2012.

Salaam
Mu

Don't Believe The Hype: Reconsiderations Of Barack Obama's "New" Birthtime Part Two - Vedic Analysis

Don't Believe The Hype: Reconsiderations Of Barack Obama's "New" Birthtime Part Two - Vedic Analysis

7:53 PM 05/19/2008 Mon

Having laid the groundwork for my argument that the "new" birthtime for Barack Obama is highly suspect, even flatout false, I will now turn to the Vedic astrological evidence supporting my contention. Here I should like to note to those unfamiliar with my writings, that I have, for nearly the past two years, worked intensely with a rectification "test" time of mine which yields a 29 Gemini Asc using the Tropical Zodiac. It has come through again and again with regard to timing measures and captures the symbolism of his life very well. But, because I could never be 100% certain of Obama's birthtime, I have resisted offering a Vedic analysis of his chart.
Until now. Fate it would seem, has forced my hand.

For earlier today, as I was doing a bit of research in preparation for these essays, I ran accross Ms. Joni Patry's (the source of the "new" birthtime for Obama) Vedic analysis of his chart. Of course, per the Sidereal Zodiac, she uses a Capricorn Asc for Obama, placing both Jupiter and Saturn in the 1st house, with the Sun and Mercury in the 7th. And while she finally concludes that should Obama be the nominee of the Democratic Party, he will loose against Republican nominee Sen. John McCain - and while I agree with her that it is my contention that McCain is the likely winner, at least at this point - I most vociferously disagree with her astrological reasoning for Obama, on the basis that the birthtime she uses yields a chart that does not comport in the least with what we know about Obama's life.

So, as I layout my case now, please let me say that a fundamental premise of astrology, any kind of astrology, is simply this: if the planets don't fit, you must aquit. Period. If the chart doesn't match the reality of the native, then you can be pretty certain that you have the wrong chart. This is the core reasoning behind Horary in the Western tradition, and as far as Vedic goes, with its long and strong reputation for getting pinpoint accuracy in predictions, the same thing goes.

Here is the timed data, again, based on my rectification tests, for Barack Obama:

Aug 4 1961 3AM AHST (NOTE: I had previously listed the time as 4AM and used daylight savings time; I have since learned that Hawaii does not and has not used DST for many, many years. It was NOT in effect at the time Obama was born. My bad.) Honolulu HI; Lahiri 7 Gem 41; Mrigshira, rising Naksatra.

I begin.

In the book Light on Life, a must-have introductory, yet comprehensive, text on Vedic astrology, Hart Defouw offers the chart of slain Prime Minister Indira Ghandi, whose birthtime still is a source of great debate and controversy among astrologers in India to this day. Defouw shows how a skillful use of the houses and graha yogas (planetary combinations, or formulas, not unlike midpoints etc.) can aid the astrologer in coming to the right conclusion in the rectification process. The reader is kindly asked to compare and contrast my analysis of Obama using a Gemini Asc and Ms. Patry's using a Capricorn Asc, and see for themselves.

With regard to Obama, let's quickly note some very basic, yet highly signficant facts about his life:

1. He is bi-racial; his mother is White, his father is Black; his mom from Kansas, his dad from Kenya.

2. He is the author of two highly successful, bestselling books, the source of his wealth according to widely published reports. One of his books is an autobiography which at the center, are the longings for his father; the other takes its title from the only father figure he's ever known, the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright's sermons.

3. He came out of nowhere to become a serious Presidential candidate, at this point all but certain to be the Democratic nominee.

4. He has two children, both girls; his marriage to Michelle Robinson Obama is stable and without scandal or incident.

5. Both his parents died at relatively young ages, and when Obama was young himself. His mom died when he was in his early 30s; his dad died while he was still a boy.

6. Both parents remarried; his mom once (two marriages), his dad at least four times.

7. Obama has attended among the best schools IN THE WORLD, from a very early age. He is the first African American ever to be on the Harvard Law Review.

8. A major scandal erupted over the nature of the church Obama attended, to which he was first forced to address in the form of a "race speech" in Mar 2008, only to come back to address the situation again a month later.

OK. I think we have enough bare-bones info on Obama to begin an astrological examination.
First, the Asc - Gemini is the perfect fit - the bi-racial identity, the "two faces" he seems to show the public, especially in light of the Rev. Wright scandal (note 9th lord Saturn in the 8th house of scandal! More in a sec), the book and speech writing, the education and even his *two* daughters, when you take into account Venus, as 5th lord, sits in the Gemini Asc. Its all there. Not so for Capricorn rising.

This Asc position makes even more sense when one considers Mercury, the Asc Lord, is placed in the 2nd house, long known in Jyotishical circles as a house of classical learning. It forms a Budhaditya Yoga with the Sun, amplifying his innate intelligence. Mercury rules the 4th house of formal educational degrees; Venus, as the 5th lord of intelligence and bookwriting (along with the 2nd house!), again is in the Asc. Obama has studied at Occidental College, Columbia and Harvard Universities, and holds a degree in Constitutional Law.

For the parents, we would want to see the 4th and 9th houses, that which represent the mother and father, respectively. Here we can easily see what the problems were. As Mercury is both Lagnesh and 4th lord, it is right to take the karaka, or universal significator, or the mother and use that planet instead of Mercury, leaving it to represent Obama alone (we will employ this method yet again in another key area of Obama's life; stay tuned). The Moon represents the mother in all horoscopes, and in this one we can clearly see that it is damaged by being placed in the 12th house, arguably the singleworst place to be by house for the Moon. Among other things, Obama's mother spent much of her life away from the land/country of her birth, living abroad and mainly in and around Indonesia, where she would meet her second husband and give birth to a second child. The 12 house represents foreign lands. The 12th house also represents sorrow, misery and suffering, even death. But the Moon's exalted! Shouldn't that account for something? Well, not a lot - that's because the Moon itself has just entered its Sign, meaning that its still a beat weak because it's at a junction point between two Signs; this is known as Rasi Sandhi. One thing that I always remind people of, is that an exalted planet may not be all its cracked up to be; one must make a careful inspection of the houses and other planets involved before proclaiming all the promised benefits of such a planet. However, we can tell that Obama was indeed very close to his mother, as Moon Sign Lord Venus is placed in the Asc and very close to the rising degree.

As for father, things don't look so well either - Not only does the 9th lord, Saturn, sits placed in the 8th house - one of the worst houses for a Vedic chart - but Ketu, another first rate malefic, actually sits in the 9th. This is a perfect symbolism for the father, Barack Obama Sr., a man who had many wives (at least two of whom were White - note Rahu in the 7th from the 9th, i.e., the 3rd house), who had a drinking problem, and who eventually died in an automobile crash which severed his legs, and whom Obama the Younger only met ONCE in his entire life! ALL of the themes of the Nodes - Rahu and Ketu - come alive in this chart using the Gemini Asc insofar as the parents are concerned. Saturn is closely conjunct Jupiter; although Saturn is dignified, Jupiter is not, and placed in the radical 8th house will suggest that Obama the Elder may do things he's not too proud of later. Among them were his taking wives unbeknownst to his current ones. The 8th house has long been known as that of disgraceful acts. Jupiter represents one's morality and ethics. Both are heavily involved here in the Gemini chart option. This position does not bode well for the father's health and longevity, as the 8th house is the 12th from the 9th. Loss.

If we no consider the 7th houses away from the 4th (radical 10th) and 9th (radical 3rd) and keep in mind what Parasara said about combinations for multiple spouses, it is easy to see using the Gemini rising chart how Obama's parents could remarry so frequently. Parasara says, that if the 7th lord is conjunct or aspected by a benefic, there will be many spouses; the same will be true if the 7th lord is exalted.

Looking at the 7th house from the 4th, as note that Jupiter is aspected by the "multiple-minded" planet Mercury. For the 9th, we can see that the 7th lord is conjunct this same Mercury, and is now aspected by Jupiter to boot. Hence we see the multiple marriages.

What about Obama's marriage? Surely the Gemini rising chart must give some clues there, right? And indeed it does - Jupiter rules the 7th and is aspected by Mercury, This not only joins the 1st and 7th houses together by rulership, but also brings in some added "benefits" in the form of additional yogas, namely Satkalatra and Bahu Stree, both of whom are highly favorable for happiness in marriage. Also, note Venus' aspect on the 7th house as well, and Venus is Darakaraka (planet of the spouse) in a man's chart.

Lastly, before we move on to Dasas, let's consider Obama's meteoric rise to fame as a politician and serious contender for the White House. To be able to do something like that must indicate some powerful Raj Yogas, or "king making" combinations, yes? And we find them in this map, in this way:

As mentioned many times before, Venus is the 5th lord of political issues, and sits closely conjunct the Geminis Asc point; this accounts for his huge popularity.

Lagnesh Mercury gets the full aspect of Jupiter and Saturn, who both form a Dharma Karma Adipati Yoga, as these planets rule the 10th and 9th houses respectively. Jupiter is no doubt fallen, but Saturn "lifts" him up somewhat by himself being in his own Sign to act.

Note how this combination - Jupiter and Saturn - become strong again in the Chandra Lagna, or Moon Ascendant chart, now sitting in the 9th from the Moon.

And note how strong the Navamsa chart is, lifting the qualities of Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn, Rahu and Ketu! That is very rare to see in Jyotish, a Navamsa that strong. And the exalted Nodes, sitting in the 1-7 house axis in this chart, guarantees that Obama will not only mesmerize the mass media and public at large, but that he will also be "the race candidate". Indeed, he has. On all fronts.

Let us now consider the Dasa scheme of some of the key events in his life. Obama was born at the very end of Mars Dasa, not a good sign for the father sticking around, as Mars lies in the 7th from 9th. Obama himself reports that his father left him and his mother at the age of two - just as Rahu Dasa was getting off the ground (beginning Sep 1961). Obama Sr. would divorce Ann Dunham, Obama's mother, in 1963. Rahu was running both its major and sub periods at this time - and please note again, that the 7th house from the 9th is activated, as both Mars and Rahu are placed there. Both Mars and Rahu represent severing, especially when placed in a Sign like Leo, ruled by the malefic Sun.

Now, if we consider Obama's mother's second marriage, which ran from 1966 or so, till about 1980, we can clearly track the events by way of the Dasas operating in Obama's chart at that time. For the earlier period, we can see that Saturn sub period in the Dasa of Rahu was running. Saturn is conjunct Jupiter, who is 7th lord from the 4th house of mother in Obama's chart per Gemini rising. For the divorice from the second hubbie, we can see that Jupiter Dasa was just beginning. Keep in mind please, that Jupiter is not well placed in the Rasi, or birthchart, for Obama.

Obama's father died in 1982, right in the midst of Jupiter-Saturn Dasa(!); Obama's mother died in Nov 1995, right after the onset of Saturn Dasa began. Please note that, from the 9th, Jupiter and Saturn are in the 12th from the 9th, aspect the 10th which is 2nd from the 9th and aspect the 7th lord - all Marakas. In the case of the mother, please note that Saturn aspects the 7th from the 4th, is conjunct the 7th house (from the 4th) lord, and finally aspects the 2nd house from the 4th as well (radical 5th).

It was during the latter time, that Obama began to get interested in politics. In Jyotisha, there are two major planets that speak to political aims; one is the Sun, and the other is Saturn. And in Obama's case, both impact strongly on his Lagnesh Mercury.

Obama won his US Senate seat in the largest margin ever in Illinois state history, some 70% of the vote. Saturn-Venus was running at the time; please note how both these planets are friends and rule trinal houses for the Senator, per the Gemini rising chart.

It would be under this same combination that Obama would give his riveting address at the Democratic Convention at Boston in 2004. This was when he reached national prominence.

He then decided to run for the Presidency with the Moon running its sub period in early 2007; in Mar 2008, the Rev. Wright scandal broke, as Mars sub period in Saturn Dasa began. Please note two very important things here - Mars sits 8 houses away from Saturn, Bhavat Bhavam; and that when two natural malefics run their major and minor periods at the same time, lookout! We can also add that Mars is an enemy to Mercury. Saturn rules the 9th house of preachers, churches and father figures. That Obama would be forced to cut all ties with Wright only a month after his famed "race speech" is again another testimony of both the Dasa scheme at work, and as well, the Gemini rising chart.

And that brings us to the present time, with both these planets still very much in operation, to last until the Spring of 2009. With both Mars and Saturn aspecting Obama's Piscean 10th house, and with the 10th lord debilitated in the 8th house, it is hard to see eventual victory for him; in this I would agree with Ms. Patry. But the point remains, that until we can actually see a birth record that confirms that which she told the world the other night at Denver, I then maintain that the evidence I have offered in this essay is every bit as valid as anything she or anyone else has said. As I've said earlier, if the Planets don't fit, you must acquit!

Comment and reply, invited.

Salaam,
Mu

Don't Believe The Hype: Reconsiderations Of Barack Obama's "New" Birthtime Part One - Horary Analysis

Don't Believe The Hype: Reconsiderations Of Barack Obama's "New" Birthtime Part One - Horary Analysis

6:48 PM 05/19/2008 Mon

With the 2008 United Astrology Congress, which was held in Denver CO this year, about to go down in the history books, perhaps now is the time to (re)consider this year's Main Event of sorts - the revealing of a "new" birthtime for Democratic Presidential candidate, Illinois Senator Barack Obama. According to noted Vedic astrologer Joni Patry of Dallas TX, Obama's point of entry into this world occured at 7.11PM local time at Honolulu HI. For Western astrologers, this clocktime yields an Asc of 14 Aqr 21.

Although I did not attend the proceedings, I am told that this event was attended with much fanfare and pomp; the local and national news covered the event; and it appears that Ms. Patry is getting quite a bit of press mileage out of it all. But there's just one small problem with all of this:

The time she reported, is not so.

How can I be so sure, you may ask? Of course, if you're as intense an astrology enthusiast as myself, you already know that Ms. Patry's "reveal" sounds quite dubious - she gets wind of the birthtime from a client who got it from a "campaign manager" in the Obama campaign, by way of a "closed-access government website" - meaning, that no one can actually get a hardcopy of the birth record that actually has the birthtime on it.

It reminds me of the "telephone" game we used to play as kids.

According to reporter and astrologer in his own right Eric Francis, who was in attendance at the time of the announcement, the matter is being investigated by Astrodatabank, with Patry assisting. As it now stands, the birthtime is being given a "DD" rating per the late great Lois Rodden's grading system for astrological birthdata. "DD" is considered highly suspect, and until or unless someone can come forward with the goods, rightly so.

But this alone only says that the data is a bit shaky; it does not necessarily mean that it is false.

Or does it?

That's where astrology comes in.

Being the good man that he is, Francis punches up a chart for the exact moment that Patry gives out the "new" birthtime, Fri May 16 2008 at 9.39PM MDT Denver CO. The resulting Asc, using Placidus houses, is 15 Sag 56, and while Francis does give a bit of an analysis of this chart, and opens the door as to whether the time given by Patry is indeed correct, he holds off from giving a definitive judgment, saying that he wants to defer to British Horary Master Geoffrey Cornelius. I can't blame him; Cornelius is the man.

But when one has been doing Horary as long as I have, all that is needed is a trusty copy of Christian Astrology - William Lilly's magnum opus - by one's side. The answers lay therein.
On page 70, Lilly gives clear instructions as to whether a report or rumor be true. Here's what he said, regarding a report he got that the town of Cambridge was taken by the King's army:
"A Report that Cambridge was Taken by the King's Forces; if true?"

Question background: "In the yeer 1643, His Majesties Army being then Rampant, severall Reports were given out, that his Majesty had taken Cambridge, &c. a wel-affected person enquires of me, if the newes were true or false? Whereupon I erected the Figure ensuing, and gave Judgment: All that we heard was untruth, and that the Towne neither was, or should be taken by Him or his Forces."

Horary chart data: April 21, 1643 GC, 4:29 pm GMT, London (00w10, 51n30) Placidus 4 Lib 47

Lilly gives his analysis:

"First, I considered that the Angles were all moveable, and that Mars did vitiate the cusp of the 10th, and Saturn the cusp of the 7th, one argument the Report was false.

Secondly, I found the Moon cadent, and in Gemini, a Signe wherein she nothing delights; a second strong evidence of a false rumor.

Thirdly, I found North Node on the cusp of the Ascendant, a Signe of good to the Parliment, for the 1st house signified that honorable Society: I found Venus Lady of the Ascendant, and our Significatrix, in her Exaltation; but Mars, Lord of our Enemies Ascendant, viz. the 7th, entering his Fall, viz. Cancer, and afflicted by Square of Saturn; I saw the Moon seperating from Jupiter, placed in the 7th and transferring his light and virtue to Venus, which gave me reason to expect, that there would come good to us or our side from this report or Rumour, and no benefit to our Enemies: I saw Mars and Saturn in a Square, which assured me our Enemies were so full of division and treason, and thwarting one anothers Designes, that no good should come unto them upon this Report; and so in short, I judged Cambridge was not taken, and what we heard of its taking were lyes."

If one casts the chart in question they can clearly see that the 7th house, representing the army, is in bad shape, as its ruler, Mars, is fallen in Cancer. The King himself, is represented by the 10th house, ruled by the Moon, Cadent by house and peregrine by Sign. Finally, we can see that another fallen planet, Saturn, is moving toward the 7th cusp. All of these factors do not look good for the rumor to be true, and in fact may be indicative of a lie. At the very least, false.

Hence Lilly gives the astrologer some very strong points and tips as to ascertain whether a rumor or report be true or false. In this case, whether the rumor/report that Barack Obama was indeed born at 7.11PM, is true, or not.

So, let's now consider the moment Ms. Patry annouced her "new" birthtime for Sen. Obama:
Again, as Francis notes, Sagittarius rises, making Jupiter its ruler. The Asc in Horary always represents the "Querent", the one who is asking the question. Since there was no such question in this case, we can take the Asc to represent Patry herself, which seems to fit, given that she has a very "firery" look about her. Jupiter is fallen in Capricorn, and Rx to boot, something that does not bode well for her information being accurate, as she is the source, being the one who is announcing to the world what time Obama was supposedly born. To make matters worse, Pluto, a malefic planet, rises at the Aries Point in Capricorn (opining on matters relating to Politics before the Public) and is also Rx. In a Horary, such a thing to see is not a good augury for a favorable outcome.

Next, the Moon in this chart is at 24 degrees Libra - right in the path of the Via Combustia, held by many to be among the Strictures Before Judgement of a Horary Figure. Moreover, the Moon is Void of Course, having trined Neptune as its last aspect. As Francis rightly points out, Neptune itself is within "striking distance" of the 3rd house cusp itself, and in any event rules the intercepted Sign Pisces in the 3rd. Moon does indeed rule the 8th house of secrets. A VOC Moon is another of the Strictures, and almost always is a signal that what is demanded of the querent will not come to pass - in this case, that Patry's announcement that Obama was born at 7.11PM, is in someway false.

But wait, there's more!

On Mon May 5 2008, at 10.49AM MDT, Moses Siregar III, a prominent astrologer in his own right, announces on the Horscopic Astrology forum, a discussion group on MySpace that boasts upwards of 6,000 members, that he has Obama's birthtime but cannot reveal just what it is yet; it will be revealed soon. Casting a chart for this data, as I did when I first got word of the matter, we again find some interesting things:

1. The Moon, ruler of the Asc, is exalted in Taurus and placed in the 11th house of forums and groups; this shows how important Moses is to the astrology community, that he is a part of its "establishment". This feature alone, suggests that the chart is indeed radical and fit to be judged. It is also interesting that the Moon moves to sextile Uranus, ruler of the 8th house of secrets, holding Neptune there as well.

2. That 18 Can 30 rises, holding a deeply fallen Mars in the Asc. This represents the impulsive nature of Moses on that day, running forward with the news of this false report. As Moses is now the "source" we can clearly see that the information he brings cannot be relied upon.

3. Please note that Jupiter is again fallen in Capricorn and in the 7th house - Obama. This is the first sign that the birthtime Moses has is not accurate. Also, please note that Jupiter is in a Mutual Reception with Saturn, which is in Virgo - the Sign of Jupiter's detriment - and yet another signal that the birthtime Moses has on Obama is suspect.

In other words, both the Patry Announcement chart and this one above, both have some strong things in common: both have the Moon heavily involved, per Lilly's rule; both have fallen planets associated with their Ascendants at the time of their respective announcements, suggesting that they got the wrong information. In that we now have two such "announcement" charts, one made as a kind a "sneak preview", we can be fairly certain that the data that is now the rage throughout the astrology community, cannot be relied upon as accurate in any way.
But there's one final loose end...what about Mercury in the Patry chart?

Indeed, Francis refers to this winged planet as "the trickster", and that "he's looking right back at us". I take that to mean, as the great George Orwell so elegantly put, that to recognize the truth that is front of one's nose, requires a constant struggle. Mercury is very much dignified on that night Patry made her earthshaking announcement. Mercury, in its own Sign of Gemini, in the house that represents the great man himself, Barack Obama, has to point to only one conclusion -

That he may very well have the Sign of the Twins rising in his chart. And that will be the subject of Part Two of this essay.

I would just like to close out by saying that I for one am quite a bit disturbed, annoyed and disappointed by the actions of both my colleague Moses Siregar, and Ms. Patry, whom I have never met but have heard a great deal about. Both of these people have been around astrology around long enough to know better - they both should have done a much better job of vetting astrological birthdata, especially when its as important as who the next Leader of the Free World is likely to be. We astrologers work so hard - Lois Rodden in particular has worked so hard - to bring exacting standards of competence and precision to our Art. And for it to be put aside in the name of "scoops" is to my mind, the chief reason why astrology has not yet been taken seriously by the public at large. I find then, quite a bit of irony that all this would go down as the world's largest gathering of astrologers takes place; a bit of information that is procured secondhand and that cannot be verified in any way at all for a public figure.

Lilly has got to be rolling over in his grave.

Coming up: If the Planets don't fit, you must acquit!

Salaam
Mu

Attack Of The Crones

Attack Of The Crones

2:24 AM 05/13/2008 Tue

As the Moon Hour approaches, and as the Moon herself occupies the Sign of the Virgin Maiden, I thought it appropriate to opine on an exchange that took place within a wider discussion on the life and times of Senator and former First Lady - to say nothing of current Presidential Candidate - Hillary Rodham Clinton.

About a week ago, next door at the HA Forum, veteran astrologer Robert Blaschke posted up some thoughts on the seeming "inevitability" of Mrs. Clinton's political demise, at least in terms of this year's nomination contest. Mathematically, as the current situation stands, she cannot win, and as of yesterday, her chief rival, the young and charismatic Senator Barack Obama has officially surpassed Clinton in both pledged Delegates AND Superdelegates. Even if Clinton were to win all of the remaining primary contests in the country, it would not be enough, mathematically speaking, to turn back the tide.

But that wasn't Blaschke's focus; instead, he chose to focus on how Clinton has managed to morph herself time and again, into whatever character is needed in order to come out on top in electoral contests; most notably, and most recently, she has successfully transformed herself from a Wellsley grad and Ivy League-educated lawyer, to a whiskey-swilling around-the-way-gal - and it has worked, by any stastical measure. White working class voters - particularly the males - favor her in electoral contests by a factor of at least two to one.

Perhaps most damming of Blaschke's observations however - and which garnered the most howls of derision, which I will get to in a moment - was Clinton's overt shows of "manning up" in terms of Foreign Policy. As we all know, Clinton was an avid supporter of both the Iraq War and the nooks and crannies of the US Military system, as she is a member of the Armed Services Committee in the U.S. Senate. Moreover, her recent "oblierating" comments - said in response to a question as to what her response to an Iranian attack on Israel would be - has won her a solid majority of hawkish Democratic voters, again at a clear margin over Obama. Blaschke observes, that all of this - the constant morphing and changes Clinton has put herself through - has come at the price of her "femininity". This comes as no big whup to junkies of political science - it has always been known that any woman who aspires to the throne, literally or otherwise, has to be as tough *if not tougher* than any man; at least most. The history and facts, speak for themselves: Golda Mier, Indira Ghandi, Queen Elizabeth I and Queen Victoria, Angela Merkl and of course, the Iron Lady herself, Margaret Thatcher. Simply put, it is commonly accepted conventional wisdom that no woman has any real shot at becoming the leader of a major world power *unless* she's proven - or at the very least gives the very strong impression - that she can be a you know what, ala Glenn Close's character on Fox.

Oh no, he didn't. The elder statesmen in the astrology world (Blaschke) let loose a politically incorrect (that's a codeword for "true") comment in an overwhelmingly female - an over 40 years of age female, I might - environment (HA Forum boasts upwards of 6000 members, the majority female). And the ladies of HA where quite keen to let him know it.

Leading the charge was Ann Clancy, a budding professional astrologer in her own right. Her missives, dripping w/disgust, had at their center the proposition that Clinton still labors under the "Patriarchy" as a woman vying for the spot of top dog in a man's world. But worse, Ann contended, was the fact that "society" shows no love for what she called "the Crone". Indeed, to let Ann tell it, society is youth-obsessed, and has value for and interest in, younger gals in various states of undress, such as Brittney Spears or Linsday Lohan. The "wisdom" of an older woman isn't needed or wanted, so contends Ann, and is soon joined by a rousing chorus of others. And while Blaschke rightly and poignantly notes, that once a man has entered into the third and final phase of his life in an ever-changing, ever-increasingly competitive culture like the USA, his value greatly diminishes as well, it is of no consolation one bit to Ann and her forces. Nope, the Crone done got dissed, and there be Hell to pay for it, full stop.

It should be of no small surprise to those who regularly read my musings, why "the crone" is of interest to me.

Although the "crone" - or perhaps better known as the "hag" - has been around in myth and story for hundreds, if not thousands of years, and is pretty much universally deried as a malevolent figure, in our Revisionist, er, Reconstructionist era, she has been transformed into the equivalent of a female Solomon - the Wise Woman who is the keeper of the Mysteries of Life. Part of the Womanhood Cycle if you will, the Crone - the third and final stage - is to act as a kind of teacher and guide to th next generation of women coming along. She can impart hardwon wisdom to the young wife and mother, and general life guidance to the young maidens who have yet to be deflowered. At least, that's how the story, ahh, myth, goes.

And in truth, there is something to be said for all that - midwives were often older women who had been there, done that, and were quite helpful to younger gals have an easier go of it when having babies of their own - or, of disposing of inconvenient surprises. It seems that the "crones" were quite involved in, if not adept at, abortions too.

But that's another essay for another day.

Anyway, the "crones" of the family also had another highly useful function, which only recently seems to have completely disappeared off the landscape - they prepared younger women for not only motherhood but for marriage. Because while the fellas had the bachleor parties, the gals gathered around and shared "old wives tales" with the prospective bride, and cued her in on all that she could expect as a wife and mother. As is often the case in gynocentric concerns, much of this wisdom, real or imagined, isn't codified or written down - rather, it is handed down from mother to daughter through the ages orally, often in the form of andecdotes or stories. And, I have to say, there was much good to be had from those meetings that took place the night before the Big Day.

So, the question I have for the Anns of the world, who are convinced that Hillary Clinton is getting short shrift because she can't get her groove on, or back, as quick as Paris Hilton can, is this: what really *is* "the crone" worth in our world? What "wisdom" has she imparted to the next generation? If we use Clinton as the measuring stick - and by all accounts, given the number of votes she's garnered, to say nothing of the blockbuster bestseller status of her books, where one can find the oft-repeated African proverb "it takes a village to raise a child" - Clinton would be valid in that regard - what evidence can any of us point to, that "the crone" has proven her value?

Perhaps Kay Hymowitz has the answer. In her article Desperate Grannies, Hymowitz observes that today's "crone" has interests that aren't unlike those of the gals who are young enough to be her daughter, if not moreso. Perhaps that might explain, at least in part, *why* Brittney goes about with no undies on (and lets everyone know it), or why there's so many reports of teenage girls knocking each other out on YouTube. If the Crone sets the Tone (sorry, I couldn't resist) for the rest of the Sisterhood, then perhaps it *is* time that we all take a breath to assess what we're all really in for.

This is an important question and area of concern for Americans in particular. Born with some four planets in the Sign of Cancer, this is a country where its women will have more than the usual amount of say in its national and cultural life, to name just a few. For while the Anns of the world continue to bemoan the kicked-to-the-curbness of the "crone", the sales and social stats beg to differ.

For example, women live on average five to ten years longer than do men - which means, there'll be alot of "crones" around, as medical science continues to find ways to extend not only the duration but the quality of human life.

Here's another - women of all ages, and particularly those over 40, hold a virtual monopoly on the spending budgets of their households. If you don't believe me, consider where the bulk and mass of consumer advertising done on television is actually done. If you said in those hours between morning drive and dinnertime, you'd be right. As a general rule, guys aren't watching TV then.

And women enjoy federal legislation men can only dream of; there is no male VAWA; there is no male Breast, Cervical or Ovarian cancer initiatives, despite the fact that more men die as a direct result of Prostate cancer than women effected by the aforementioned combined. Ever paid a visit to an old folk's home recently? If you did, you'd notice pretty darn quick something that even Stevie Wonder could see - they're more women in residence than a little bit. Being old might not be great, but it's better than being dead, which is where most old guys end up. And there are no male Sexual Harrassment laws, even in the face of growing concerns about female teachers making strong passes at young male students and so on, and that's just for starters.

Finally, and this brings us round robin to the topic of our discussion at the outset, there's the Women's Vote. Or, should I say, there's the *older* Women's Vote - which explains why so many people over 50 support Clinton.

So, in closing, I should like to say, that Clinton is hardly experiencing some throwback timewarp of June Cleaver proportions, and neither are her "sisters" - those women of approximate age. But, as Hilton, Spears, and the female beatdown of the week, to name just a few continually shows us, The Crone's got some splainin' to do, Lucy.

If she's really serious about gettin' some respect.

Here's Hymowitz's article. Enjoy...

Salaam
Mu

Kay S. Hymowitz: Desperate Grannies

Baby boomer feminists say they want sex and self-actualization, new freedoms and 'Second Adulthoods.' They also might want to consider growing up.


03:15 PM CDT on Sunday, August 6, 2006

Time passes, and we get old. Our faces wrinkle, our hair goes gray and MIA, our teeth yellow, our knees ache, we forget the names of people we said hello to just yesterday on the way to pick up the Geritol, and there are days when a nap sounds real nice.

At least that's the way it's been for most of humanity. But rumors that boomers will be joining the great biological stream turn out to have been greatly exaggerated. Boomers – especially feminist-influenced women of a certain class who are now publishing their philosophy of life after 50 – will not be growing old. And it seems equally inaccurate to say that they will mature.

They are going to season, as Gail Sheehy puts it in her most recent book, Sex and the Seasoned Woman. They will "develop"; they will "grow." Ms. Sheehy and her sister scribes have come forward to tell you that today's older women are a new breed. They're busy, busy, busy! They go to the gym! They work in animal shelters! They travel! They get divorced! And, yes, (Yes! Yes!), they have orgasms!

And in their own inimitably modern, American, follow-your-bliss, self-absorbed way, they want to tell you all about it.

Not so long ago, enlightened women of the boomer generation were known for worrying about equal rights, equal pay, Roe vs. Wade, Title IX and the location of the Masters Golf Tournament. Today, not so much. As they shuffle off into their golden years, many appear to be turning inward. As the title of a catalog that arrived in my mailbox recently put it, they want "Time for Me" – time that appears to involve a lot of anti-aging formulas, herbal supplements, figure-shaping undergarments and vibrators.

Don't get me wrong. Boomer fems continue to be enemies of the patriarchy. They still want men to do the laundry. Their tone remains defiant. But their personal is no longer very political; even their political isn't very political. Nobody's putting it this way, but it seems that liberation politics have become irrelevant to what is now their most pressing concern, which – depending on your emphasis – is: how to bring meaning to their dwindling years, or how to avoid being mistaken for their grandmothers.

It probably should have been clear that Second Wave feminism would be changing direction a while ago. In 1992, Gloria Steinem, who just happened to be staring at 60 at the time, published Revolution From Within: A Book of Self-Esteem. With its talk of the inner child and "authentic selves," the book was a noticeable break from Ms. Steinem's usual menu of feminist topics. A year later, Betty Friedan gave us The Fountain of Age, in which she proposed that we consider the years past 50 not as a time to play golf and show off pictures of the grandchildren, but as "an additional stage of development," a time of further emotional, intellectual and spiritual growth.

But despite Ms. Steinem's and Ms. Friedan's legendary history as trendsetters, no one paid much attention at the time, doubtless because boomers, who had yet to receive their AARP cards in the mail, were still in a "what, me worry?" mode.

But now that Newsweek has made it official with a cover story announcing the first boomers' arrival at age 60, the signs of a revolution going inward are unmistakable.

"Our record is impressive," writes Suzanne Braun Levine in Inventing the Rest of Our Lives: Women in Second Adulthood. "We fought discrimination in the workplace and popularized the notion of family leave and flexible work schedules; we forced our way into institutions and professions and levels of leadership that even the most optimistic didn't dare predict. ... But for many, enough activism is enough. They want to stop fighting the system and invest their energies in themselves."

Ms. Levine takes the phrase "Second Adulthood" from Gail Sheehy. Ms. Sheehy, you may remember, mapped the "stages of adult development" in 1970 in her megahit Passages – though she stopped at age 50, because, at the time, the post-50 years didn't seem worth the price of ink. For obvious reasons, she has changed her mind, and in New Passages: Mapping Your Life Across Time, she has announced the discovery of Second Adulthood, a new "frontier" that encompasses the years from 45 to 85+. (Oh, the "passage" evoked by that "+"!)

Now, Second Adulthood does not – repeat not – suggest a decline. It does not bring inevitable loss, nor does it suggest that we should turn to the consolations of philosophy, religion or arthritis medication – because Second Adulthood is nothing like your grandmother's 50 or 60 or 70. According to Ms. Levine, Ms. Sheehy and the numerous coaches, therapists and lifestyle gurus who are banking on the idea, it is a thrilling time of growth and change, an exciting opportunity to redefine our lives and ourselves – "a second chance – to do it better, to do it differently, to do it wiser," in Ms. Levine's words.

The women of the Second Wave already were highly evolved – liberated yet sensitive, strong yet compassionate – but in Second Adulthood they are ascending into goddesshood. So profound are the changes that a woman goes through as she passes into Second Adulthood that she must first pass through what Ms. Sheehy has dubbed "Middlescence," a term that may sound to cynics suspiciously like "obsolescence" but is actually meant to stand for "midlife adolescence." Through the elixir of pop sociology, Ms. Sheehy offers boomers what they have most wished: They now can remain teenagers into old age.

The shape of midlife teen turmoil is well on display in Ms. Levine's Inventing the Rest of Our Lives, a book of such stunning banality it makes Ms. Sheehy look like Hannah Arendt. What's striking is that Ms. Levine is actually not only a woman of significant accomplishment but also one who has personified the feminist dream. She was the first editor in chief of Ms. and went on to helm Columbia Journalism Review. She has published in major magazines and serves on boards. She also has been married for decades to the same man, with whom she has raised two sons.

Yet in Inventing the Rest of Our Lives, she trembles like a wallflower. She worries about what to do with her life. She frets about how timid she has been in saying what she really thinks. There is not the remotest hint of the authority or insight that you'd expect to emerge after 35 years of successful struggle in the trenches of the New York publishing world and the post-sexual-revolution marriage culture. More striking, though she does not repudiate the feminism of her First Adulthood, there is no indication that the success it inspired did anything to bring her the satisfaction of a life well lived.

On the contrary. Like other Desperate Grandmas, she now sees careerism as a distraction from finding her "real self." In First Adulthood, say the acolytes of Second Adulthood, women figure out how to please the people who have power over them – parents, teachers, mates and bosses. But when they are in what Ms. Levine labels "The [Expletive] You Fifties," they need "no longer care what other people think, only what I think."

"If our 20s were about our physical peak and our 30s and 40s about work and productivity, after that it is about being and becoming you," Alexandra Mezey, a Second Adulthood life coach, promises on her Web site. Turning in your office keys can be "a chance to shift from work to the self, from responsibility to freedom," say Alice Radosh and Nan Bauer-Maglin in Women Confronting Retirement: A Nontraditional Guide .

Somehow, though, the word "retirement" seems inadequate to the task of describing what happens to Second Adulteers when they cash their last paycheck. The Greatest Generation retired; they took up hobbies, joined book clubs and went to lecture series near their Fort Lauderdale condos. Maybe they volunteered to read to poor kids at nearby schools.

But Desperate Grandmas don't retire. They "pursue the passionate life," in Ms. Sheehy's words. They "follow their dreams." Ms. Levine celebrates a human rights lobbyist who becomes a devotee of "Neuromuscular Integrative Action" (a trendy mishmash of martial arts, yoga and dance), a woman who is volunteering in an animal shelter, "a high-powered corporate executive" who at 55 joins the Peace Corps and goes to the Ivory Coast, and the psychologist Carol Gilligan, who is writing a novel: "Now 68, she has only just begun to explore new aspects of her talents."

The Desperate Grandma who really wants to pursue a passionate life might try something even more dramatic. She might file for divorce. Since the 1970s, Ms. Sheehy has been an enthusiastic promoter of the notion that divorce is not the tragedy once imagined but rather a fabulous opportunity for growth. A 50 percent divorce rate and the heavy damage inflicted on legions of children haven't dampened her enthusiasm.

Ms. Sheehy eagerly cites a study showing two-thirds of divorces among couples over 40 initiated by women. That's because women, like men, "love the freedom that being single brings – citing independence, getting to keep their houses however they want and not having to compromise with another person." Sex is at the center of the passionate life of the Desperate Grandma. When they were young, boomers famously discovered female sexual pleasure. Now they are discovering that the fun never ends. Along with Sex and the Seasoned Woman, we are seeing a slew of books about sex and the 60-something, including Still Doing It, Better Than I Ever Expected, Jane Juska's A Round-Heeled Woman and Erica Jong's latest orgasm dispatch, Seducing the Demon – all of them filled with examples of how today's hip grandmothers are spending their leisure time.

Ms. Jong and Ms. Juska write only about themselves, but the other writers go out hunting for horny females of a certain age interested in discussing their sex lives with a stranger. They find hordes of them.

Part of what is driving all of this early geriatric ink-spilling are the altered demographic realities of Americans living longer and staying healthier. There are 37 million women in their 40s, 50s and 60s living in America today, many of them single and many of them financially independent. With more affluence, better health care and advanced medical technology – Viagra, hip and knee replacements, Viagra, hormone therapy, face lifts, silicone, tummy tucks, hair color, Viagra – it's now a cinch to fool Mother Nature.

Not so long ago, Yankelovich Inc. surveyed baby boomers, asking them when they believe old age begins. The most common answer was 85 – three years after the average American can expect to be dead and buried. In a world where a 60-year-old woman can give birth and the biological narrative – you're born, you reproduce, you get old and you die – has gone haywire, inevitably some people will imagine that old age is history.

And that's not an altogether bad thing. There is something supremely American about these aging boomer women. Freedom, possibility, frontier, change – you see these words over and over again in Second Adulthood tracts. Second Adulthood reflects a zest for experience, for the new, for the personal gumption that is rooted in our national character and that has been the source of many of our blessings.

It also would be curmudgeonly not to admire the energy and young-as-you-feel verve that Ms. Sheehy and her ilk want to bring to growing old. Who can entirely resist such determined optimism in the face of the harshest of realities? Yes, women might lose their memories, but they "gain insight." Yes, their stomachs fold into accordion pleats and their upper arms sag like forgotten balloons, but they know better than any Jennifer Aniston wannabe how to please a man.

No, what grates about the Desperate Grandmas is not their optimism. It's their enthusiastic display of that chronic boomer disease: narcissism. Tom Wolfe once dubbed the 1970s "the Me Decade." Desperate Grandmas seem determined to make every decade a Me Decade.

With its consciousness-raising, its denigration of family life, its rejection of the past, feminism has always flirted with excessive individualism, bordering on mere selfishness. Now, as Second Wavers like Ms. Steinem and Ms. Levine filter out politics, what's left of graying feminism are the dregs of self-actualization, passionate pursuits and sexual self-expression.The memoirs by Ms. Jong and Ms. Juska in particular illustrate how feminism's narcissistic promotion of self-actualization makes it particularly ill-suited for women – no matter what their politics – who are racing toward the day when they will become deeply and humbly dependent on the kindness and love of others. Narcissism is the last thing a society needs from its graying population. Their job is in part to counter youthful egotism, especially in an individualistic society like ours.

No one should understand better than those getting on in years our dependency on one another. And no one should have a stronger intuition of our own fundamental inconsequentiality. We "fill a slot for a time and then move out; that's the decent thing to do: make room," John Updike's Harry Angstrom muses in Rabbit at Rest.

Desperate Grandmas may not need to move out yet. But it would be decent – quaint word! – if they would make some room.

Kay S. Hymowitz is a contributing editor of the Manhattan Institute's City Journal (www.city-journal.org), from whose new issue this article is adapted. Her e-mail address is editor@city-journal.org.

© 2006 The Dallas Morning News Co.

An Astrological Meeting With The Merovingian

An Astrological Meeting With The Merovingian

11:48 PM 05/10/2008 Sat

The Matrix Reloaded, without a doubt one of the most successful films ever made and a pop cultural fixture, contains two of my favorite cinematic scenes: one is the first meeting between Neo and Seraph (which serves as a most compelling metaphor for astrologers and the need to what I like to call "qualify the client" - but that's another lecture for another day), and the other, is the epic meeting between our heroes Neo, Trinity and Morpheous, and a truly interesting character called The Merovingian.

As I'm sure you will recall, Neo is told by the Oracle that he and his friends must find and liberate the Keymaker from the clutches of the Merovingian, and to place the Keymaker into position at a specific location at a specific time; however, as is born out in the meeting with Merovingian, the three do not know *why* they must have the Keymaker. Without knowing *why*, our heroes don't really have any hope of having any power to effect change.

This classic meeting (and I just LOVED the Merovingian character!) in one of Hollywood's most successful sequels on record, is a deeply profound metaphor and lesson for us astrologers, for in many very real ways, we are not unlike the Merovingian - like him, we too are traffickers in information, and we make it our business to know everything about the heavens that we can. Yet, as I have found in
my travels throughout the astrological landscape, it appears evident that not many astrologers really know *why* their clients come to see them.

And to make matters worse, many people who approach astrologers, seem at best fuzzy on *why* they want to have their horoscope done; when asked, many will respond with vague answers, if any at all, while others will give misleading responses. If the astrologer is not clear on what to look for as to *why* a client approaches him/her, and if the client isn't sure *why* they are sitting in the chair at the astrologer's desk, what are the chances that this "epic" meeting will yield any results which result in real change?

In his immortal work, the Brihat Samhita, the 6th century Indian astrological savant Varamihira gives what he considers are the qualifications of those who would become astrologers; among them is the line "a knower of time and place". The Merovingian, indeed!

Over the years, I have learned that it is of the utmost importance for the astrologer to first, get clear on *why* he or she is doing astrological work; to what end, for what purpose; and then, when taking clients, to not only do their homework in preparation for the consultation, but to ask the client one very simple question:

Why are you here?

This is important, for the answer the client gives can, and often will, determine to what extent the meeting between client and astrologer will yield practical, impactful results in the days, weeks and months ahead. Here the old, tried and true Horary maxim applies: a muddled question will yield a muddled response. Clarity of purpose, intent, of thinking and approach, are key.

But of course, there will be times when the client will not be able to have as clear a head as the astrologer will like, or, indeed, may be covering over concerns that are too sensitive to put out there on the spot in such naked a fashion. It is in these circumstances, that the astrologer must be prepared to clear the clutter so to speak, and to be able to ferret out the *why* that the client is there in front of them.

There are quite a few methods to do this of course - as any astrologer knows by now, get ten astrologers together, get ten astrological approaches! - but here is one that I've found very, very helpful that can get right to the point, in almost every instance.

And that focuses on the shrewd use of a very simple tool - Transits.

As we all know, a transit refers to the ongoing movement in the sky of the planets through the heavens that we call the Zodiac. It is a method that is old as astrology itself yet in many ways, they are applied in what can only be described as sloppy ways. Here is how one astrologer makes use of the transits to great effect on a birthchart, to determine the *why* a person approaches me for my assessment of the events in their life.

The Outer Planets - Uranus, Neptune and Pluto - are so called because they exist beyond the orbit of Saturn, the "end of the line" planet used by astrologers classically. In my Western astrological work, the Outers have proved indispensible in aiding me spot, "with the quickness" the hotspots of the chart, and to determine to what degree of importance the meeting with the client will be. Because these planets move so slowly through the Zodiac, their making contact with significant points in the horoscope represent major life milestones - a once in a lifetime kind of thing - and as such, call the client's attention to whatever planet is making the contact to whatever natal planet or point in the chart.

Here, I focus the Outers in transit in relation to the client's Angles - the Asc, IC, Dsc and MC - as well as to the client's Lights - the Sun and Moon - and if I find any hard aspects being made, I can then tell immediately what's going on and subsequently, *why* the client comes to see me. Almost without any prep at all, I have a very good basis for meaningful conversation with the client - although of course, a Tropical Capricorn Rising individual like myself, would dot all the I's and cross the T's before the client comes for a sitdown!

But the point is made - the Outers in relation to the Lights and/or Angles of the chart, really sets the tone as to how important the client's visit is likely to be. For all of the "pyrotechnics" of today's computer-assisted astrological wizardry, it really is as simple as that. Most of life's profoundities, usually are.

By now, the astrologer should be well acquainted with the meaning symbolically, of the Outers: Uranus, individuation; Neptune, idealization/rationalization; and Pluto, perspective/empowerment. Keeping these simple "pictures" in mind in relation to the Lights or Angles of the chart, intuitively guides the astrologer's hand from there.

The Matrix series of films is a huge hit among the Astrological Set, and rightly so; study the Merovingian scene well, my colleagues and dear readers. It's the gift that keeps on giving!

Salaam
Mu

Quick Post-Primary Clinton/Obama Notes: NC, IN

Quick Post-Primary Clinton/Obama Notes: NC, IN

3:35 AM 05/07/2008 Wed

And so it was: with nearly all of the votes counted, the North Carolina and Indiana Primaries were a "split decision", with Barack Obama winning handily in the former, thanks almost entirely to the formidable Black Vote, by a 56% to 42% margin, while Hillary Clinton wins Indiana by a hair - 51% to 49%.

By all accounts, this is the Final Chapter for Clinton, who had hoped for a big win in Indiana, and to keep the game close in North Carolina, her only remaining legitimate case she can make to the Superdelegates. But with such a poor showing in Indiana tonight, it's hard to see how the remaining Primary contests will be of any real help to her in terms of the popular vote or pledged delegates; surely, tonight's election results will cause yet more Superdelegates to switch sides. The simple mathematical facts don't help Clinton; the momentum is clearly on Obama's side.

Throughout this Campaign Season, interested readers know that I have relied in the main on the birthdata for the candidates that have at their base, a good degree of uncertainty; I have stretched my astrological skills, awareness and experience to the limit in an attempt to capture the symbols and their relevance to their lives, and I have to say, that, so far, so good!

There are two very brief astrological notes, in light of tonight's decisive chapter in this year's campaign, in the following manner:

Hillary Clinton has SA Sun=Uranus/Neptune building now, and will be exact Jul 2008. It is an augury of diminished status, being off-trackpassed over, kicked to the curb. It is partile just after the official end of the campaign, the final stop being in Puerto Rico where Clinton is said to win - but it will be a Pyrric victory. And Sun=Venus/Saturn in Aug 2008, at the same time as the Convention in Denver, does't look good for Hillary and her supporters either. The question at this juncture is - how will Hillary respond to defeat, after such a long, hard fought campaign?

Barack Obama, for his part, has been struggling to come out from under SA Venus=Saturn/Pluto, exact last month, as the "Pastor Disaster" continues to dog him - tonight's voters, roughly half in both states, openly declared their concern over the Rev. Wright issue. In the 1st house, Venus plays a most important role for Obama, in terms of his popularity and ability to appeal to the public. However, this same Venus appears to be strong indeed - at the Aries Point, right up front in the Asc, and in Mutual Reception with the exalted Taurus Moon, who itself has been beseiged by the transit square from Neptune in as many weeks, nevertheless, this Venus position appears to be strong enough to weather the storms of controversy, and indeed, if tonight is any indication, it has.

I should also like to note that word on the wires has it that Obama's birthtime has been confirmed, and is scheduled for release to the general public soon. As my interested readers know well, Obama's birthtime has never been confirmed, the closet thing astrologers having to it being the unclear word of a now deceased fixture of the astrology community, Frances McEvoy. In the weeks and months since her demise, several birthtimes, based on the varied rectification attempts by astrologers, have surfaced, mine among them. To date, so far as I'm aware, I am the only astrologer who advocates for an early morning birth, with a late degree Gemini Asc. All of my writings on Obama to date, have been based on this birth time, and thus far, it has stood up well to the most rigorous of testing. But in light of yesterday's breaking news, the biggest test is yet to come. How close did this astrologer get, to the truth of Obama's moment of entering this world?

The answer, so says one who is close to the source, is due in just about two weeks from now. When it does become available, I will be sure to post it here.

Stay tuned...

Salaam
Mu