-- Newsletter --
Volume 6, May 2006
Welcome to May. This is a relatively calm month compared to the stirred-up energies of the past 3 or 4. Now that some time has passed since that Solar Eclipse at the end of March, some people blossomed forth along with Spring while others seem to be more stymied. Hmmm. A major theme this month is what Neptune is doing to the USA’s chart, specifically, dissolving our borders. This precarious theme will be prominent all year and into the next.
May Workshop: Sunday, May 21, 2006 - 1:00pm
Planetary Events (all times are Eastern)
5/3-5 Jupiter trine Uranus 
and Sun opposite Jupiter 
. This is great time to have some fun.
Repair or enhance any of your relationships. It’s time to quit being so careful
and let it fly. Go outdoors! Have a picnic. Ride your bike. Have a picnic on
your bike. Toot your own horn. Toot someone else’s horn. Spontaneity and fun
are the keywords here.
5/6/1856 Happy
Birthday Dr. Freud. Did you know that the “father of psychoanalysis”, Austrian
Sigmund Freud, turns 150 today? Did you know that he was a Neurologist
and not a Psychiatrist or a Psychologist? Or that his middle name was “Schlomo”?
No wonder he developed so many unconscious complexes. Will that be one “Id” or two?
Did you want that Ego “Super-sized”? Certainly his Taurean qualities were
exemplified with his rudimentary work establishing a basis for the future field
of the Psyche.
5/9-10 Sun squares Neptune 
. While the Sun is traveling opposite
Jupiter, it will make a T-square to Neptune. This is the major planetary construct of the
month. Back in January the combination of Jupiter and Neptune brought many of
us new spiritual insights and faith. And I mean an important recognition of a
fresh, new, spiritual source within ourselves. Now, the Sun gets involved.
Meaning? We are now in the heart of activating much of our new-found spiritual
riches and we need to be careful to use these energies wisely. Jupiter can get
out of hand recklessly and Neptune can flat out bring deception – either self-imposed or
from “without”.
The
possible misgivings or (self-)deceptions which are quite common of can come about in many
ways for each sign.
We all need to be sure that we are seeing clearly now:
Aries – It
could come about because of debts and through your friends or group activities.
You can be over-zealous about your involvement with someone financially and end
up finding out that your hopes are tied to a mirage. Don’t let anybody buy your
affections.
Taurus –
Difficulties could arise where your partner isn’t assured of your sense of career
direction. There may also be deception in the work place. Make sure you don’t
mix business with pleasure at this time; it could very well backfire.
Gemini – The
Twins are feeling rather generous and flip right now. You are being swept away by
a carefree (and careless) attitude. Don’t let your overly-enthusiastic mood
sweep you away causing you to wash ashore. Make sure of what you are saying –
think through matters fully. Blind faith isn’t good enough now.
Cancer - You
can be taken advantage of financially right now. Be careful. Yes, go ahead and
give to the Cause, but make sure it’s a valid one. You are vulnerable
right now, so be very careful with your money. As a matter of fact, you may
have a leak in your Piggy-bank – call a plumber.
Leo – Things
are going well now. You’ve achieved a healthy balance of home and workplace.
Now, rightfully so, you need to share some of your hard-earned bounty with your
loved ones. You’re always generous, but this time make sure others are being
straight with you. Remove any rose-colored glasses.
Virgo - A
new, optimistic attitude is coming over you regarding your work. This favorable
trend is making you want to sacrifice and give more to your job. A real good
idea, yet, that’s what you’ve always done. Make sure you’re not the only one
pulling the weight. A great time to rest and enjoy your fruits - if
that’s in your repertoire.
Libra –
You’re feeling confident and satisfied with your relationships now. This makes
you want to give even more. Make sure your kids or significant other isn’t
taking you for granted. Be careful not to spend carelessly or invest without
using your natural assessing abilities.
Scorpio –
You’re being appreciated! Get used to it! Don’t suspect ulterior motives.
Sometimes people do nice things for no hidden reason. Pluto, your ruling
planet, makes you suspicious of your own motivations – therefore others.
It also makes you strong. Sometimes you have to just tell Pluto to get lost.
Enjoy yourself.
Sagittarius –
You’re quite busy showing everyone how well off you are because of your
sickeningly positive attitude. Yes, you win again. Ha ha. Your optimism shows
no bounds and your constant “can do” attitude brings you great popularity in
the workplace. Be careful you don’t walk out too far on thin ice though. Even the
luckiest of gamblers lose quite a bit.
Capricorn – You’re
doing all the right things now with people but you keep on wondering as to when
the money is coming. Your riches right now are not material. The sooner you see
that, the better. If your motives for being chummy right now are
financially-based, your wallet will take a hit, and a big one at that.
Aquarius –
Your symbol should be known as the Water-Pourer, not the Water-Bearer.
You constantly give back to the world. Many don’t even notice. It’s not really
like you to sacrifice your rights though. However, right now, it’s exactly the
thing you need to do. Be flexible.
Pisces –
You’re on track and it feels good, i.e., if you notice the current. Others are
finding out what you’ve always known about going with the flow. Take this time
as an affirmation that your faith is your strength and that you’ll be provided
for. You can’t just run on fumes though – get some emotional sustenance at the
next pit-stop.
5/13 2:51am Full Moon 22°
23’
T-square to Neptune 
. This Full Moon in Scorpio is also going
to stir up Neptunian energies. Expect emotions to run high and feelings to be
intense. All of a sudden people are going to ask, where’d the Soap Opera come
from? Be reasonable during these few days. Irrational feelings of jealousy and
possessiveness are likely to surface. Remember, true Scorpio energy is about
fusing, not devouring.
In 1842 Americans were busy chasing the last remnants
of the Seminole Nation out of the Florida Everglades swamps (Neptune) west
to Oklahoma along the Trail of Tears. The feat was so daunting that special
boats had to be used just to navigate the improbable waters. At that time Neptune was
crossing over the Moon in Aquarius in the USA’s natal chart. We are a Cancer country and the Moon,
our ruler, is our second most important planet. The dissolving nature of Neptune led to National
decay and the eventual polarizing Civil War 19 years later. Neptune seems
to focus on how we treat each other on a broad scale. Slavery was a major part
of this picture.
NEPTUNE IS BACK
Now, 164 years later, Neptune has made a complete revolution of the Sun and now returns to sit atop the U.S. Moon again. This is no cake-walk - maybe someone did leave the cake out in the rain. Now, a Trail of Fears has occurred with millions of Mexicans walking across our border. Now we don’t know what to do with them; send them back, hire them, change their classification, or what? Learn to speak Spanish? This is a very confusing problem common to a Neptune transit. I didn’t say they were invited, but it still has to be dealt with before 8/31/06 when Saturn-the-Stern opposes Neptune and we run into a collective brick wall - pun intended.
No one knows exactly what time the U.S. was born, or for that matter, what constitutes it being “born”. I presume it was the moment Mr. Hancock used his quill. Nevertheless, there are at least six charts that Astrologers use for America, but there is one in particular that seems to have stood the test of time: that’s the one where the U.S. was born at 2:17 in the morning on the fourth of July in 1776 in Philadelphia.
The Moon in Aquarius 
in the 10th house (the world
stage) is perfectly represented by the Statue of Liberty. It stands for our
open door to the World. It also symbolizes our compassion, love of freedom and
rights of the individual (
). And she’s surrounded by water (
). Neptune
traditionally dissolves what it touches, and on a very large scale (Katrina). The
Moon represents, among other things, boundaries, property, family, etc. This is
like going home and finding out that your family just isn’t a family anymore.
It is eroding the moral fabric of the country. Well, it isn’t - we are.
Our eroding border with Mexico is just one symptom of spiritual shortcomings. Reactionaries are going to angrily point the finger at Washington and blame them for having a sieve-like border. I am not suggesting what should be done about immigration.
I am not a politician - thank God (
). What I am saying is that
Astrology is showing us why these things are happening. The sooner we
start operating as a global family, as opposed to an over-protective Cancerian
one, the better off we will be. And everyone else too. There are no “others.”
Look at further evidence of current Neptune-related subjects: land erosion, oceans are no longer secure boundaries, gasoline prices, pollution, toxic drinking water, warming trends, drug use, secret government, corporate corruption, and loss of Global standing. Enough already?
Neptune erodes the illusion of separateness proportional to
the degree that the entity has been using it for one-upmanship. The
harder they fall. Neptune has awesome power yet its refined spiritual energies
are seldom recognized in the West. Its function is simple even though its manifestations
are widespread and unpredictable. Some may say, “Look how generous the U.S. is. We
give and we give.” However we must ask, “Is the current immigration problem due
to us giving too much or actually because of apathy?” “Have we been giving
others a chance for the “American Dream” (talk about 
) or simply taking advantage of cheap
labor?” Or has it been, “Well, it doesn’t affect my family (
).” --Till now-- That’s
the problem… Neptune says the World is our family. We can ignore this
obvious truth no longer. That does not mean to open the doors wider to our
South. It does mean starting to play it straight with other nations.
True
giving of ourselves and sharing of the planet is what so many of our spiritual
masters have preached for hundreds of years. We know what we have to do
to fix things in this country and on this planet. If we keep Materialism as our
goal, we will continue to lose out. The solution to “Neptune eras”
is to act for the good of all. Hopefully we are ready to turn the corner with
the Spiritual Renaissance (
) that is growing at a very rapid pace (
& 
).
What is happening is this: The U.S. “family” is no more. We are awakening to the fact that, like it or not, we are living in a world much bigger than our former comfortable and safe Cancerian nest.
The Trail of Tears, 9/11, and Katrina were all terrible moments in U.S. History. Let’s hope that we can find the courage and not only minimize the erosive effects of Neptune but rather ride its powerful tidal forces into a new Enlightened Age and join the Global Family.
When the Nation is Duped
Now, on a much lighter note…
5/21 12:32am Sun into Gemini 
. Typically as we enter the sign of Gemini
each year, things get lighter. We don’t take things so seriously and get very
busy running errands. Does anyone have any idea how the sign of Gemini got
associated with the symbol of “The Twins”? I don’t. I’ve never seen a
satisfactory explanation as to why. Some say it’s because of the Jekyll and
Hyde nature of Gemini. What does that mean? I’ve certainly seen the two sides,
but why are they there? Please drop me a line if you have a clue. No, those
aren’t stickmen. That’s Castor and Pollux, the very, very first Vaudeville act.
5/22
9:06am
stops in order to
go retrograde (Rx). Well, it just appears to go backwards against the backdrop
of stars. When major planets (Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, & Pluto) go
backwards, things intensify and get internalized. This is a very difficult
shift to notice. It largely affects the collective unconscious, challenging us
all to align more spiritually. On an individualized level, we may experience
hypersensitivity, allergic reactions, and in general psychosomatic illnesses.
We will become more sensitive – hopefully in a good way.
5/27 1:26am New Moon 5°48’. This lunation is going to
make us want to get on with things. It’s a time of inventiveness and new
expression. You will be challenged at work to be innovative. Try on new ideas.
Explore. Feel what it feels like to be a Gemini FlutterBy. Change your
furniture around just for the view. Change other people’s office furniture
around.
Dear Kid Astro, “How do
we know what Sun-signs are ‘best for us’?”
What a difficult question – one I’ve never heard before. Just kidding.
The most common questions I get are
(not necessarily in this order are):
Love . career . money . health
Getting back to the question of
Cupid. There is no easy answer. Period. In general Fire signs get along
best with fellow Aries, Leos, & Sagittarians. Earth signs get along best
with fellow Taureans, Virgos, & Capricorns. Air signs get along best with
fellow Geminis, Librans, and Aquarians. And finally, Water signs get along best
with Cancers, Scorpions, & Pisces. Fire signs combine best with Air signs.
Earth signs do best with Water. No one should ever be discouraged by a Sun-sign
pairing other than these. A careful examination of a person’s chart shows many,
often times conflicting, energies. For example, a fiery Leo may have many
planets in Cancer, thereby making the Lion more compatible with Watery signs.
Also in a natal chart the Moon 
(your emotions), Mercury 
(your mind), Venus 
(what you are attracted
to), and Mars 
(what
you want) give much more definition as to what type of energies you need from
your partner. Matching one another by Sun signs is like trying to match people
by nationalities - it’s just too vague. A complete chart needs to be analyzed. Unfortunately,
many pseudo-Astrologers get very rich giving bad advice in this area and taking
advantage of the lonely.
Next month we ask Kid Astro,
“I was born on the cusp.
Which sign am I? Both?”
