A question was asked a few months ago by someone (a political conservative?) in this [NCGR - ed] forum, who asked why the majority of astrologers seemed to have a Liberal/Progressive political bias. I'm only speaking for myself, but my spiritual path and political leanings correlate in how I view the mandate of the mid-term election results.

An article I had written in an August edition of this newsletter (see below) concentrated on the Saturn/Chiron/Neptune Oppositions, the Mercury retrograde cycle (plus a few other things), and how I thought they'd play out on November 7. There were however three other astrological events I hadn't considered for various reasons. First, the US Sibly Progressed Mars retrograde I had read about, but too readily dismissed. Second, Ceres, the Goddess of Agriculture conjunct Neptune, I had only noticed in an "Isn't that nice" manner, and third, the discovery of "Xena" in 2003.

Mars retrograde in either real-time or in Progression often feels like the exact opposite of Mars' direct motion, as if he's laid down his weapons, and gone off to kick down a few beers. The exact opposite might be Venus direct, as the Goddess of love, harmony, peace, and justice takes over for a while. US voters cited the war in Iraq as a major reason why they voted to change control of both Houses of Congress, as if our collective/evolved Mars (retrograde) "needs" to go nappy-time.

Mars retrograde can also take on the image of a wounded (male) God, and the God of the Evangelical wing of the Republican Party took some major hits from the Mark Foley and Ted Haggard gay-bashing version of their own homosexuality. Isn't it interesting that the word "haggard" has the synonyms careworn, disheveled, gaunt, and emaciated? A Hollywood script writer could not have come up with a more appropriate name for a "Man of God" so full of self-hatred. And Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell had both publicly stated that their God would guarantee a continued Republican majority in both Houses. Oops.

Ceres was given "dwarf planet" status just days after my August article was published. The outer planets were all discovered when the world was ready for their energies, and so it's not too much of a stretch to say that the asteroid is reclassified as a planet when we're ready to have her energies amplified in our collective psyche.

I agree with others who give co-rulership of Virgo to Ceres and Chiron, giving Virgo a new bumper sticker "Growth (Ceres) Through Healing (Chiron)." The old "Work and Service" motto for Virgo still applies, but the two are not mutually exclusive. Many voters said they were displeased by Bush's environmental policies, continuing dependency on oil from the Middle East, and it's resulting effects on global warming. A lot of us Liberal/Progressive types want to heal (Chiron) our planet Earth (Virgo) and things that grow (Ceres) on it, such as human beings.

Ceres' new designation as a planet came as she was conjunct (working with!) spiritual Neptune. Because Saturn was on the other side of our solar system, Neptune's shadow aspect of illusions has been in full sway. The Sabian symbol for Neptune station-direct throughout the election cycle (at 18° Aquarius: "A man's secret motives are being publicly unmasked.") blew up in the Republican Party's face with the aforementioned sex scandals, indictments on corruption charges, and other anti/non Christ-like behavior. But out of this fog came Ceres, as if to say "Here I am boys, the Goddess is back!"

And then there's the previously nicknamed Xena (warrior Goddess), officially renamed for Eris, the Goddess of Discord, and formally classified as another dwarf planet. Pluto was also down-graded to dwarf-dom by astronomers, but these wonderful past and present scientists discovered these objects we've all come to know, love, admire, work with, and respect, so we should all honor their definitions of what a planet really is. The renamed Eris would also qualify with the above statement that we humans are now ready for more feminine energetics, or that we are sadly in need of an appropriate mascot for these discordant geopolitical times, made even more unsettled by Bush's misguided and amoral foreign policies.

So, we have one planet named for a male deity down-graded to dwarf status, and two new planets, dwarf or not, named for feminine deities, bringing about a more balanced gender equality to our solar system. And a good argument can be made to say that Neptune's energies are more feminine than masculine, especially when in opposition to the ultimate father figure Saturn.

All five inner planets have been in Scorpio during the election and since, with Mercury retrograde whacking all of our inner Jupiter and Venus (who were conjunct on Election day '04) on his way by as if to scream "Reconsider!" All five will be moving into Sagittarius over the next couple of months, and just look who is leading the way, Venus. When the Goddess leads, the boys will follow.

It seems to me that the exalted Goddess has spoken to all of us, and will only speak louder now that the "Speaker" of the House will be a woman for the first time in US history. I have no idea what spiritual path Nancy Pelosi is on, but she has said in the past that Bush was incompetent, so I know she at least has a brain.

She, along with other Progressives, shouldn't ignore the upcoming Saturn/Uranus opposition, exact on Election Day 2008, as the history of this similar configuration has involved some revolutionary and unpleasant consequences. If we Progressives expend our energies on inventing a more positive future, we'll all be better off by utilizing Uranus' creativity over Saturn's constrictions, and be well on our way to reducing, and eventually eliminating, our dependence on oil from the Middle East, solving so many other problems in the process. And then we'll all be in the right place at the right time to fully explore the exalted nature of the Neptune/Chiron/Jupiter stellium in the Summer of '09.

Regardless of what I have written about "God" in this article, this has not been an attack on Christianity in general, or Christian practitioners in particular. In my opinion, the Christ Consciousness is alive and well in our world, and embraces all true faiths, especially reaching out to our peace-loving Islamic brothers and sisters who are holding their flames, and to all Christians who follow Christ's true message of healing the sick, feeding clothing and housing the impoverished, blessing the peace-makers, the meek and merciful, and the incorruptible soul of a true seeker pure in heart. What I've heard so little about as a tipping point in these elections is the voters rejection of the oppressive, misogynist, intolerant, and self-hating variety of Christianity the Republican Party has espoused. And in my world-view, the Christ Consciousness is in essence the same as the Goddess Consciousness, now elevated in our collective consciousness by Ceres and Eris.

The upcoming midterm Congressional elections. (Written in late August, 2006.) by Phil

A lot of attention is being paid to the currently forming Saturn/Neptune opposition, and rightly so. The last time these two squared off was in 1971 and 1972, finally separating shortly before the Watergate break-in that eventually led to Nixon's resignation. History is repeating itself in uncanny ways: a corrupt White House, an increasingly unpopular quagmire of a war, unconstitutional wiretappings, a looming gas crisis - all sounding way too familiar. But there are (of course!) other very interesting things happening between now and November 7.

Allowing for six-degree orbs of influence, the recent Saturn/Chiron opposition separated from orb on July 26, while the Saturn/Neptune opposition started a few days earlier. For the sake of argument, if we agree that these three planets are all "outer" planets (and that Chiron is indeed a planet), and that these oppositions therefore have global ramifications, the significance of this shift occurring in such a short span of time is quite remarkable. The Saturn/Chiron opposition can be seen manifesting in terms of "physical health of the planet" issues, while Saturn opposed Neptune can be seen to have a "spiritual health of the planet" focus. Al Gore's movie "An Inconvenient Truth" about global warming was released during this last Saturn/Chiron opposition, and the physical health of our planet has never been shown to be so much in jeopardy. The spiritual health of our planet is now being highlighted, as the children of the "One True God of Abraham" (Christians, Jews, and Moslems) are warring against each other, and tensions in the Middle East are currently at new and unparalleled (and very scary) levels.

Since the discovery of Chiron in 1977, Chiron and Saturn have been opposing each other in the same elemental polarity for seven of the last eleven US midterm election cycles (or, for the past 20 years, including this year's elections). Due to his elliptic orbit, Chiron has been mimicking the orbital speed of Saturn since roughly 1986, for the most part in these opposite polarities, on opposite sides of our solar system. Saturn will continue to slog along at his usual 2.5 years per sign while Chiron will be slowing down, moving through only Aquarius and Pisces for the next thirteen years. So, this Saturn/Chiron opposition in opposing polarities will conclude after this Novembers election-year cycle, ending this twenty year stand-off.

Leo (Saturn) and Aquarius (Chiron) are Fixed elemental signs, and the only other time (since '86) both were in Fixed signs for a Congressional or Federal level election was in 1992 when Bill Clinton was elected to his first term as President. The polarities were switched in '92, with Saturn in Aquarius and Chiron in Leo, so this year's elections might lean toward the Democrats. The 1994 midterm elections swung far to the Right, as Newt Gingrich's "Contract With America" gave the Republicans control of both houses of Congress. Saturn was in Pisces and Chiron in Virgo in '94, a Mutable polarity, and this loose opposition showed an edgy desire to change, as Mutable energies tend to. No other elemental polarities signified any definitive trend toward either side of the aisle from '86 to now.

Jupiter stationed direct (in Scorpio and squared Saturn) exactly on July 5, close enough to be of significance for anyone's idea of a US Solar Return chart. And this Jupiter/Saturn square will continue throughout this Summer and into November (for most of that time, Jupiter will be the focus of the Saturn/Neptune T-square) adding to an intensity that we don't need - unless we need to throw out stuff (or politicians) that no longer serve us - either as individuals or as a society.

How is this playing out? This past Tuesday (Aug 8), Connecticut voters rejected the war (and Bush) supporter, sitting Senator Joe Leiberman, in their Democratic primary. Interestingly, the waxing-to-Full Moon was passing between Chiron (7°) and Neptune (19°) in Aquarius as the polls closed in Connecticut, illuminating a "kick out the bums" zeitgeist. This stunner will be remembered well into November, especially as the full Moon (exact ten or so hours after the polls closed) saw the Moon conjunct Neptune, opposed Sun conjunct Saturn, all squared Jupiter. And last month, Religious Right icon Ralph Reed lost his bid for Lieutenant Governor in Georgia while Jupiter was the focus of the Saturn/Chiron T-square.

Next issue: more "fun" things happening up there between now and November 7.

Predictions for 2006

by Randy Ruyle pittss479@msn.com

See Randy's 2005 predictions

I have been focused on commodities more than the plight of mankind lately, so here goes.

2006: A year of natural gas shortages and rising silver prices. Oil prices will drop while natural gas remains high. Silver and silver stocks will out perform gold for the year. Copper prices will drop from their highs as the housing market and new construction declines. Business in general will decline as interest rates increase and international trade slows. The US budget deficit will continue to increase, but the US Dollar will remain fairly stable in light of deficits.

Canada will continue to be a hot spot for exploration of natural resources as uranium is sought in the Athabasca Basin in Saskatchewan and oil sands are developed in Alberta.

Cobalt mining concerns will see early interest as military and hybrid auto needs continue to expand.

Of the publicly traded companies in the commodities sectors available, I would suggest you consider for silver, “Silver Standard” (SSRI), “Western Silver” (WIZ) and “Silver Wheaton” (SLW). Uranium companies are, “Uranium Exploration Corporation” (UEX.T), “Strathmore Minerals” (STM.T) and Cameco (CCJ). For a cobalt and potential uranium mining concern, “Formation Capital Corporation” (FCO.T). (Disclosure; I own many of these companies shares now or intend to purchase them in the future. Do your own research and make your own decision before investing in any stock.)

In general trends for the world, the bird flu will continue to develop but not become a pandemic yet.
Individual freedoms will continue to be curtailed as more laws and actions taken by governments restrict movement and exchange of geopolitical ideologies.

Iran will continue to develop nuclear and political troubles side by side bring the Middle East closer to all an out “Oil” war.

Canada, especially Western Canada, will witness a warming trend that will beat all records next year and throughout the coming years. Places like “Summerland” will live up to their namesake. This weather change will eventually create a housing boom in the Western regions of Canada.

I hope you have a healthy, happy and prosperous New Year... Best wishes,

Randy Ruyle

Copyright 2006, by Randy Ruyle pittss479@msn.com

2006 - a Year of Awakening

by Jody

I'm being pulled towards the month of July of the coming year for a couple reasons. I feel that this month will be a great awakening for many spiritually. People are now seeking out different aspects of religions and I'm feeling that many will awake to the Angels, Guides and Masters around them. I feel a lot will come into the spiritual aspect of religion in this month and that many will turn away from the organized religions they now know.
I also am being made to feel there will be some sort of weather patterns to look out for in this month. Where some should have hot dry temperatures they will experience cold and abnormal weather patterns. I feel the earth will make a major shift in this month and that a lot of the weather patterns will be out of the normal range. I also feel this will be the start of some severe weather to watch out for especially in the southern states.

Don't take warnings as light as you have from the past during this month for I feel there will be some major storms in these areas.

Blessings, Jody

A Rough Year Ahead?

by Victoria

Strange weather patterns and more disasters associated with weather.
Bush continues in sharp decline and the war in Iraq still drains the USA and no let up. The war accelerates.

Suicide bombings come to North America.

Large shipping disaster seems to be on the high seas.

Iran becomes the subject of USA wrath.

The pandemic does not happen but the making of the populations fearful of one does.

USA talks of more terrorism and more fear mongering. To me looks like more control of the population. Bush caught in major scandal.

Major earthquake in North America.

Fires burn on all the continents causing death and and dramatic damage these caused by weather instability.

Global Psychics' 2006 Predictions

Year of the Red Fire Dog

Gaia on 2006

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