FIXED STARS

A Solar Writer Report

for Winston Churchill

Written by Diana K Rosenberg

Compliments of:-

Awakenings, Inc.

PO Box 10672

Prescott, AZ 86304-0672

Email: awake@cableone.net

Web: www.awakereports.com

www.astrologicalsoftware.com

Astrological Summary

Chart Point Positions: Winston Churchill

Planet	Sign	Position	House	Comment
The Moon	Leo	29°Le36'	11th
The Sun	Sagittarius	7°Sg43'	3rd
Mercury	Scorpio	17°Sc35'	2nd
Venus	Sagittarius	22°Sg01'	3rd	read into 4th House
Mars	Libra	16°Li32'	1st
Jupiter	Libra	23°Li34'	1st	read into 2nd House
Saturn	Aquarius	9°Aq35'	5th
Uranus	Leo	15°Le13'	11th
Neptune	Aries	28°Ar26'	8th
Pluto	Taurus	21°Ta25'	8th	read into 9th House
The North Node	Aries	25°Ar51'	8th
The South Node	Libra	25°Li51'	2nd
The Ascendant	Virgo	29°Vi55'	1st
The Midheaven	Gemini	29°Ge53'	10th
The Part of Fortune	Capricorn	8°Cp01'	4th

Chart Point Aspects

Planet	Aspect	Planet	Orb	App/Sep
The Moon	Semisquare	Mars	1°56'	Applying
The Moon	Trine	Neptune	1°10'	Separating
The Moon	Trine	The North Node	3°45'	Separating
The Moon	Sextile	The Midheaven	0°17'	Applying
The Sun	Semisquare	Jupiter	0°50'	Applying
The Sun	Sextile	Saturn	1°52'	Applying
The Sun	Trine	Uranus	7°30'	Applying
Mercury	Square	Uranus	2°21'	Separating
Mercury	Opposition	Pluto	3°49'	Applying
Venus	Sextile	Jupiter	1°32'	Separating
Venus	Trine	Uranus	6°47'	Applying
Venus	Quincunx	Pluto	0°36'	Applying
Venus	Trine	The North Node	3°49'	Separating
Mars	Conjunction	Jupiter	7°01'	Applying
Mars	Sextile	Uranus	1°19'	Separating
Jupiter	Opposition	Neptune	4°51'	Applying
Jupiter	Opposition	The North Node	2°17'	Applying
Jupiter	Conjunction	The South Node	2°17'	Applying
Jupiter	Trine	The Midheaven	6°19'	Applying
Saturn	Opposition	Uranus	5°38'	Applying
Uranus	Semisquare	The Ascendant	0°18'	Applying
Uranus	Semisquare	The Midheaven	0°19'	Applying
Neptune	Conjunction	The North Node	2°34'	Applying
Neptune	Opposition	The South Node	2°34'	Applying
Neptune	Sextile	The Midheaven	1°27'	Separating
The South Node	Trine	The Midheaven	4°02'	Separating
The Ascendant	Square	The Midheaven	0°01'	Applying

Fixed Stars

The heavens declare the glory of god; and the firmament sheweth his handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. -- Psalms, 19: 1-2

Fixed stars, constellations and lunar mansions are the most ancient astrological heritages of humankind. Long before there were horoscopes, aspects, houses or signs (or even systems of writing!) the dedicated priest-astrologers of Sumer, Akkad, Babylon, Greece, Phoenicia, Egypt, China, India, Central America, indeed, of virtually every ancient civilization of which we have record, carefully observed and analyzed sky-patterns, and attempted to relate their observations to the experiences of humankind, under the universally-held doctrine, "as above, so below."

Until recently it was difficult for modern astrologers to research stars; the available star lists were limited, their positions outdated, and new information hard to come by, and by the mid-19th-century astronomers had shifted their focus from the Ecliptic (i.e. Celestial Longitude, easily converted to tropical degrees) to the Equator (Right Ascension), which required complex calculations to convert to tropical degrees. Only in the last two decades of the 20th century did computers, conversion programs and extensive star catalogues make it possible for astrologers to return to basic research on the stars and to the study of their effects. At the same time, knowledge once available only to the most learned priests of the earliest civilizations has at last come into our hands, and we may now benefit from their learning.

The ecliptica is the primary resonating-board or interface for the multidimensional contents of the heavens, seen from our planet. Everything in the sky is brought to this plane which is our path around the Sun, an invisible belt of sensitivity on which all phenomena in the sky can be projected and ordered. This is the astrologers' tool, like the measuring-rod of a carpenter.

-- Sander Littel, 2003

All stars and DSO's (deep space objects - i.e. galaxies, black holes, clusters etc) in this work have been converted from Right Ascension and Declination, projected perpendicularly onto the ecliptic and expressed in celestial longitude, that is, in degrees along the Ecliptic measured from 0 Aries, the Vernal Equinox point. Each individual's chart placements are adjusted for precession (using epoch 2000.0) and then entered, each with its appropriate starset.

Black holes are dying stars collapsed into infinite density. One possibility is that they are collapsed neutron stars pressured into infinite curvature of space and infinite gravity; gravity so intense that nothing - not even light - can escape. X-rays from these (and other) sources reach and are absorbed by Earth's atmosphere, so it is possible that their energies may manifest in our lives. It is now thought that most galaxies may have black holes at their cores. Most bright stars are actually multiples (doubles, trebles, etc), but I have not indicated this in the text.

The Tropical And Sidereal Zodiacs

Because of a phenomenon called "precession of the equinoxes," over more than two thousand years the zodiac of signs, that is, of our familiar tropical degrees, has gradually shifted backward, largely moving away from the ancient sky figures that gave them their original names and identities; each sign of this tropical zodiac now largely overlays the star-figure that once preceded it. Our tropical sign of Aries now overlays most of the original sky-figure of the Pisces fishes, the sign of Taurus overlays the stars of the sky-Ram, tropical Gemini has backed onto the mighty Bull of Heaven, tropical Cancer now overlays the original Gemini Twins, most of tropical Leo covers the Cancer Crab (however, because of the uneven length of the ancient figures, the Lion's head and forepaws are still Leo in both the tropical and sidereal, i.e. constellational, zodiac), tropical Virgo occupies the stars of the body and tail of the Lion, tropical Libra now lies in the midst of the ancient Virgin-goddess, most of tropical Scorpio overlays the Scales of Justice, tropical Sagittarius rides the back of the menacing Scorpion, tropical Capricorn has taken over the original stars of the half-human, half-equine Archer, tropical Aquarius overlays the Sea-Goat's stars, and tropical Pisces largely overlays the figure of the original Water-Pourer.

These overlays are confusing at first, but they actually become enlightening when we search for the deeper layers of astrology's very ancient sources. For while I believe that the tropical zodiac is the most useful for day to day interpretation of horoscopes, it is the ancient sky-pattern figures that reveal the "fated," totemic level of our lives. Fate is a harsh word, conjuring images of helplessness, passivity, "what's-the-use-of-trying" emotions; but the actuality is that the soul, in each lifetime, has chosen a body, sexual polarity, set of parents, locale, schooling, economic situation, and formative matrix that will best nurture the spirit and carry it forward in the direction it has chosen to explore. It was astonishing to discover, after years of research, that there is nothing casual or coincidental in the constellational sky; the constellations are in no way arbitrary, casual, or even just seasonal markers - each one is an intensely sophisticated icon, designed to express the energies of its sky-space. And it is not only the ecliptic figures that play a part in our lives, but the outlying, non-zodiacal aggregations that seem to fly above or swim below the Sun's eternal path; these areas were once called the "Sphaera Barbarica" and are as vital and important as the twelve familiar ecliptic-dwellers; indeed, each posture, position, length and breadth of every figure, has its reason and message.

It has been my experience that the most meaningful and exciting reactions from clients come when I describe the constellation patterns and individual fixed stars on their charts (usually at the end of a reading). There is often a profoundly personal emotional response that resonates on a "life-myth" level of being. Frequently a client's deepest conflicts are delineated by the difference between the archetypes of the tropical signs and the original constellations: the variance, for instance, between proud, courageous tropical Leo and his underlying sensitive, cautious, vulnerable star-Crab, or the tropical sign of Cancer, home-loving, self-protective, careful, but now fully overlaying the original Gemini siblings, who were rollicking, daring, competitive adventurers! It is the task of each of us to find ways to reconcile these differences and make them work creatively in our lives. Many Cancers, for instance, become actors, writers, or filmmakers, permitting themselves the vicarious experience of danger and adventure while actually remaining quite snug and safe, while others expand Cancer's love of home to love of homeland and become super-patriotic, risk-taking test pilots, astronauts, or Olympic athletes! There is no longer a need to debate whether the tropical or sidereal zodiac is to be preferred. They combine their energies!

It has become apparent to me that the universe is imprinted upon and within us; I strongly take issue with the idea that if a star is not able to rise at a particular location or birthplace, and therefore would never be visible at that place, then it has no influence there and should not be used in the birth chart. The great 1st-magnitude star Canopus (Alpha Argo Navis, the brightest star in the constellation of the great ship) for instance, is never visible from Shelter Island, New York (latitude 41N00), yet its degree of celestial longitude exactly culminates, with the Sun, on a client's chart who was born there; her parents went to great trouble to arrange for her to be born on their boat, and traveling on water has been a major part of her life. Another client, born Jewish in Chicago (41N52) has Venus and Neptune (the latter co-ruler of his 9th house of religion) aligned in celestial longitude with stars of the Southern Cross (56 to 64.5 south declination, 0 - 13.5 Scorpio) in the far southern skies, and although Crux is never visible above 27º north geographic latitude, and thus not visible in the place of his birth, he became a convert to Christianity. After years of research, it has become apparent to me that all of the sky belongs to all of humanity, without strictures or curtailments relating to birth latitudes, longitudes or visual passages. The universe is not "out there" - it is within and a part of all of us, our co-creation with God; each of us resides at the focal center of our personal universe, and the entire cosmos is both within and without each each of us. Each member of the human race, whatever his or her latitude of birth, is heir to, and part of, the entirety of the universe.

It has been suggested that only the brightest stars, and/or those close to the ecliptic, should be used by astrologers. I have not found this to be a useful approach; first, because even more than the stars themselves, the full constellation figures, including those of the Sphaera Barbarica, carry important messages and second, because some rather dim stars (4th-magnitude Omicron Leonis and Mu Cephei, for instance, at 9 Aries 42 and 24 Leo 15 respectively, in 2000) produce powerful effects that belie their pallid visual impacts. For the most part I have kept to the ancient sky-figures and left out the "modern" constellations created in the 17th and 18th centuries. There are a few notable exceptions: Indus, the Indian, for instance, does seem to relate to indigenous peoples. Every named star has been included.

I have described each star's placement within its constellation figure, as far as can be ascertained (some of these placements are open to question; however, they have turned out to be extremely important, and so have been attempted); each constellation figure is described as it is seen from Earth (rather than reversed as in a "god's-eye" view as some old sky maps show them). Left or right means the figure's own left or right; for this approach I have the authority of the 2nd-century BCE astronomer-astrologer Hipparchus, considered the greatest ancient authority on constellation figures; this is from his only surviving work:

"All stars' positions are fixed with reference to our point of view, as if they were turned towards us, except if one or another of them is in profile. Aratus in many examples makes this clear; in all instances where he clearly describes the right or left portion of a constellation his description agrees with this hypothesis." --Hipparchus, Arati et Eudoxi Phaenomena, I, 4, 1-8

It is interesting that this extraordinary scientist (discoverer of precession of the equinoxes) went to the trouble of writing a 2-volume work detailing the exact postures and positions of the constellation figures, correcting errors in Eudoxos and Aratus; it demonstrates the importance he placed on their precise locations and delineations. Roman astrologer Manilius, writing almost 2 centuries later, carried forward this idea:

"You must not divert your attention from the smallest detail; nothing exists without reason or has been uselessly created." -- Manilius, Astronomica, Book II (ca 10 CE)

Far from following these ancient authorities slavishly, when I began my research I discounted their insistence upon the importance of the placements of various arms, legs, heads, hands, eyes; it seemed to me (as it seems to almost everyone) that the constellations are fairly arbitrary, a sort of ancient "connect-the-dots" game, and a not-very-well played one, at that! With only a few exceptions, the stars of constellations do not seem to limn the figures they are said to represent. My early insouciance has had its comeuppance! Hipparchus and Manilius were simply stating facts.

As for the examples given under each starset and planet, I am keenly aware of the distortions that must result from the use of only famous or notorious people - where are the homemakers, social workers, secretaries, farmers, laboratory assistants, the quiet, often unnoticed performers of our daily tasks? For the most part, they were left out, only because if, for instance, I wrote "Jane Jones, secretary," so little could be read of her soul from that description, and the reader none the wiser about the energies of her placements. I can only hope that something can be inferred about the inner lives of the "Jane Jones" from the more prominent sharers of her stars. The descriptions of planetary influences are, of course, generalizations, and it should be noted that each planet can describe a person or persons in the reader's life, rather than the reader him/herself; Venus, for instance, stands for loved ones, and Mercury may represent a sibling, neighbor or co-worker; Jupiter can be an uncle or avuncular person, Saturn a teacher, father or father-figure, the Moon may describe the mother or a childhood nurturer, Mars an aggressive, assertive person in the life. These are never, however, individuals completely apart from ourselves - as souls we draw them into our lives, as they draw us.

There are no wholly benefic or wholly malefic stars. Each one proffers energies that may be used for good or ill. As I entered data it became apparent to me that stars and constellations, rather than being "good" or "bad," embody a polarity of issues, concerns and struggles that must be addressed in a lifetime, where the free will of the individual is tasked with the responsibility of choosing, manifesting and actively expressing the positive polarity. While a few may fail to even try, others might overcome great difficulties and achieve success, both spiritual and worldly. In working towards interpretations for each starset, I included as many positives as possible, but did not shrink from negatives; what I actually found in each case were polarities of concerns that were likely to come up in each life, rather than deterministic good-bad, right-wrong delineations. Each polarity really spans one issue - a person may express one side of it or the other: peacemakers and warmongers, for instance; activists for tolerance versus haters and bigots, idealists and cynics, each and all are "sensitive" to the issue at hand, and are making choices about where to stand: the issue will constantly crop up in their lives, and they are not likely to be indifferent or passive about it.

Precession corrections, especially for ancient charts, may appear to cause a chart's position(s) to change signs; Michaelangelo, for instance, was born with the Sun at 24 Pisces 01 in 1475, but because of precession, the stars his Sun aligned with, then in tropical Pisces, are now at the beginning of tropical Aries (the closest is 26 Piscium in the tail of the West Fish, which in 2000 was at 1 Aries 43; his Sun, precession corrected to 2000.0, is 1 Aries 20). Thus, because of precession, a person born under one tropical sign might now appear to be placed in another. Even for some born in the 20th century with a planet in a late degree, precession correction may take the planet into the next sign. The important thing to remember, in this regard, is that the original tropical signs and rulerships hold sway on each chart; precession corrections simply serve to indicate which stars the original placements were aligned with. The longitude spans given for each Starset in this report have been adjusted for the date of birth of the individual.

Because I wanted to wanted to check out all stars, not just the most famous, or brightest, or those nearest the ecliptic, I began with a long list and often added to it as I worked, ending up with about 2,300. The stars included in this study were culled from this "master list."

About this Report

The stars represented on each horoscope mark, I believe, the points where a soul will be most intensely and constantly tested. The tests are acute, the failures (sometimes public) devastating, but while the victories are uplifting, they are usually hidden away from others. There is rarely publicity when a thief quietly decides to turn his or her life around; a person prone to anger and violence who has learned to contain his/her rage will get no medal for it; an accountant who has resisted the impulse to embezzle funds gets no pat on the back - and can't even tell anyone about it! These are victories nonetheless; quiet victories of the soul struggling against darkness, anguish and temptation.

Cirlot's Dictionary of Symbols has, under "star":

"As a light shining in the darkness,

a star is a symbol of the spirit.

It stands for the forces of the spirit

struggling against the forces of darkness"

Abbreviations

WWI, WWII for World War I and II; Gen, Capt, Adm, Brig, Lt, Col, Maj instead of General, Captain, Admiral, Brigadier, Lieutenant, Colonel and Major, Pres for President, Sen for Senator, Gov for Governor, PM for Prime Minister, Prof for professor, CEO for Chief Executive Officer, N for North or Northern, S for South or Southern, W for West or Western, E for East or Eastern.

Sources

General sources:

Hermes, Liber Hermetis. Part II. Translated by Robert Zoller. Project Hindsight: Berkeley Springs, WV, 1993. The Liber Hermetis, attributed to Hermes Trismegistus is a Latin astrological compendium that may contain translations of Hermetic material dating from 2nd century B.C.E., although much of the material is related to the Greek astrologers Vettius Valens and Rhetorius and the Latin writer Firmicus Maternus.

Manilius, Astronomica, trans G P Goold, Loeb Classical Library, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, 1977. Virtually nothing is known of Manilius, a Roman, except what can be gleaned from his "current events" references and encomiums to the two Emperors he was working under - these place his work somewhere between 5 and 15 CE.

Ptolemy, Tetrabiblos, trans F E Robbins, Loeb Classical Library, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, 1971. Claudius Ptolemy's Tetrabiblos or the Quadripartite Mathematical Thesis (2nd Century CE) is considered the seminal text of Western Astrology. He is supposed to have been working from the now-lost star catalogue of Hipparchus (2nd Century BCE).

Robert Brown Jr, Researches into the Origin of the Primitive Constellations of the Greeks, Phoenicians, and Babylonians, Williams & Norgate, London 1899. Brown was a philologist who translated crumbling, fragmentary Euphratean cuneiform texts stored in the British Museum. Although some of his work has been superceded by later scholars, it remains a major source.

Morse, Eric, The Living Stars, Amethyst Books, London and New York, 1988

Kunitzsch, Paul and Smart, Tim, Short Guide to Modern Star Names and their Derivations, Harrassowitz: Wiesbaden, 1986

Allen, Richard Hinckley, Star Names, their Lore and Meaning, Dover Publications, Inc, New York, 1963 (reprint of 1899 original)

Sources for longitudes and other coordinates:

Sky Catalogue 2000.0 (2 Vols), Edited by Alan Hirshfeld and Roger W Sinnott, Sky Publishing Corp, Cambridge, MA and Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1982

NGC 2000.0, Edited by Roger W Sinnott, Sky Publishing Corp, Cambridge, MA and Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1988

List of Black Hole Candidates compiled by Wm. Robert Johnston: http://www.johnstonarchive.net/relativity/bhctable.html (updated 30 January 2004); positions in Right Ascension and Declination translated into Celestial Longitude using conversion option in Mark Pottenger's CCRS Horoscope Program: AGS Software, Orleans, MA 1988

Sources for determinant stars of Lunar Mansions (note: the spans of Hindu Lunar Mansions as currently used no longer completely jibe with their original determinant stars)

H Norman Lockyer: from NATURE, 12 28 1893, No. 1261, Vol 49

Vivian Robson: The Fixed Stars and Constellations in Astrology: Samuel Weiser Inc, NY 1969

Derek Walters: Chinese Astrology, The Aquarian Press, Wellingborough, 1987

Al-Biruni: The Book of Instruction in the Elements of the Art of Astrology (Gaznah, 1029 CE): Luzac & Co, London, 1934, trans. R Ramsay Wright

Valerie J Roebuck: The Circle of Stars, An Introduction to Indian Astrology, Element, Shaftesbury, Dorset/Rockport, MA, 1992

Your Starsets

Starset GREAT ANDROMEDA NEBULA - 25°Ar35' to 26°Ar47'

The North Node is aligned with starset Great Andromeda Nebula

The North Node represents connections, associations and the need for courage to attempt new and untried experiences. In your horoscope, the North Node is the channel through which you receive, experience and express the energies of these stars.

The Great Andromeda Nebula, also called Vertex or M31 (for its position in the Messier Catalogue), is a magnificent galaxy (with a black hole at its center) in the chain above the waist of Andromeda, the Chained Woman. It is actually 2.41 million light years from us (one light year is the distance light travels in a year, at the rate of 186,000 miles per second) - yet it is so huge that on a clear night it can be seen with the naked eye! What is actually seen, of course, is this galaxy as it was almost 21/2 million years ago! It shares these celestial longitudes with Tau Piscium in the head of the northern Fish of Pisces, black hole Cassiopeia A in the throne of Cassiopeia, the Queen, the remnant of a supernova that appeared in 1572, the Cave Nebulae, diffuse nebulae close to the head of Cepheus, the King and Galaxy IC 209 in Cetus, the Sea-Monster's neck. In the lunar mansions of ancient China, Tau Piscium was a determinant star of the lunar mansion Koui, The Sandal, Legs Astride, or The Pig (also called The Great General or General with the Long Muzzle because a wild boar or pig uprooted the earth like a fierce warrior); Koui ruled shoes, planting, harvesting, streams, marshes, harmful insects; and Imperial Arsenal, as well as metal, weapons, war, defense against brigands.

Fiercely determined, ambitious and competitive, you may excel in several endeavors at once, and with King Cepheus' love of the theatrical, you can dazzle others with your versatility and sense of the dramatic, while Queen Cassiopeia's influence adds a love of beauty and craftsmanship. Courageous, pioneering, aggressive and contentious, you tend to be brusquely confrontational and are known for your love of strife. Quite willing to make enemies rather than compromise, you frequently find yourself in opposition to someone or something, and are all-too-ready to make enemies rather than compromise. You love to be the first to do anything, and with the influence of King Cepheus (known in ancient texts as "inflammatus") combined with the fire of tropical Aries, you have the potential to become a torchbearer, lighting the way for others to follow. Both vain, humiliated Queen Cassiopeia and her chained daughter Andromeda generate issues of women's rights; they are represented here by black holes, which offer the possibility of genius but with a tendency to self-absorption. The raging Sea Monster stands in for monsters of the subconscious; for a few here there may be mental instability or even insanity: some may be misanthropic, obsessive, unstable, erratic, subject to nameless fears, caught up in a fight for mental equilibrium. If those born under these stars are, or become, stable, they make excellent healers - many physicians have placements here. Some may attract or commit violence, and there are a few serial killers here. There are issues of sexual dominance-or-submission, war or violence versus peace, tolerance and love, as well as selfishness versus service and guidance to others, "lighting the way" and caring for the fate of mankind. Above all, these stars hold the potential to care for, and illuminate, the conditions and fate of humanity, for here King Cepheus, Queen Cassiopeia and their daughter Andromeda, the "royal family" of the sky, welcome wayfarers to their court, while the sensitive, perceptive North Fish of Pisces intuits their needs. Possible physical and/or psychological manifestations: chronic illnesses, eye, ear or speech problems, incest, possible struggle for life and sanity; also possible danger from transportation disasters, attacks, violence, famine, but also the possibility of celestial visitations

Examples of the NorthNode here include Winston Churchill, UK Prime Minister, cavalryman, author and journalist (Edward R Murrow said "he mobilized the English language and sent it into battle"), Neil Armstrong, US Navy combat aviator (Korea), test pilot, astronaut, 1st human to step on the Moon, professor of aerospace engineering ("quiet, intense, highly controlled"), Captain James Lawrence US naval hero, War of 1812 (mortally wounded, he shouted "Don't give up the ship! Fight her 'til she sinks!"), Robert Burton, 16th-17th-century mathematician, astrologer, minister, humorist and author ("Anatomy of Melancholy") ("an exact mathematician, a curious calculator of nativities, a scholar, philologist, surveyor, devourer of authors, a melancholy and humorous person of great honesty, plain dealing and charity...his company was very merry; no man of his time did surpass him for his dexterous interlarding his common discourses with verses from the poets or sentences from classical authors"), Jean Baptiste Lamarck, 18th-century naturalist, William Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse, astronomer and builder of largest reflecting telescope ("The Leviathan") of the 19th century, Gustave Holst, composer ("The Planets"), Charles Addams, cartoonist ("The Addams Family"), Joan Negus, astrologer, Boris Becker, tennis champion

Starset AL RISCHA - 26°Ar47' to 28°Ar28'

Neptune is aligned with starset Al Rischa

Neptune’s influence is imaginative and boundary-dissolving; it is the power of the mind to create its own reality, thus it can be either a source of inspiration or an area of illusion and/or escapism. In your horoscope, Neptune is the channel through which you receive, experience and express the energies of these stars.

Al Rischa (also called Okda) is Alpha Piscium, the brightest star in the constellation of Pisces, the Fishes and represents the knot that joins their cords together; it is accompanied in these celestial longitudes by Mu Andromedae in the belly of Andromeda, the Chained Woman, Rho Ceti in the breast of Cetus, the Sea-Monster, the Guitar Nebula (a 1,000,000 year old supernova remnant with an "exceptionally fast" proper motion) in the chest of Cepheus, the King, and early, dim stars of Aries, the Ram. In very ancient Euphratean cuneiform texts, Al Rischa was a star in the hilt of a scimitar.

You share these stars with intellectually brilliant scientists, mathematicians and physicists as well as many in the world of music (especially guitarists), leadership, finance and art collecting, and you have an intense response to color. Andromeda, the Chained Woman gives you a keen awareness of the soul's bondage in a human body and an acute, peristent need for freedom. You are, in the domain of the chart placement you have here, entirely self-motivated, single-minded, fanatic, assertive, and capable of remarkable, desperate, even heroic efforts (with results that can be either positive or negative). The very earliest stars of the aggressive Aries Ram start here (this is the only degree that still combines sidereal and tropical Aries), and some born under this influence can become bitter, cynical, brutal and merciless, and a few die violently or cause others to. Stars of Pisces may draw you to the sea, and together with Cetus, the Sea-Monster, representing the monsters of the subconscious mind, they may influence you to study psychology. Andromeda's chains and the knot joining the cords of the Fishes, while imposing bondage on some (there is some connection with cults here), also bind mankind together, producing pioneering inventors of communication devices - making connections, and how people and elements relate and communicate, is important to you. Single-minded, courageous, pragmatic and realistic, you are nevertheless not above conniving to achieve your ends. A positive approach to life, together with kindness and consideration for others, are major challenges. Here openness, sociability and communication will lift and cheer the brooding Sea-Monster, unlock Andromeda's manacles, and untie the knot binding the cords of the Fishes. Possible physical and/or psychological manifestations: injuries to the head and neck, beheading, hanging, sight and hearing problems, self-involved brooding; disabilities, addictions; possible danger from explosions, meltdowns, financial disasters, but also possible participation in technological innovations and revolutions

Neptune's influence is imaginative and boundary-dissolving; it is the power of the mind to create its own reality, thus it can be either a source of inspiration or an area of illusion and/or escapism. In your horoscope, Neptune is the channel through which you receive, experience and express the energies of these stars.

Examples of Neptune here include Louis XV, 18th-century King of France (Cepheus, the King!), debauched ("Apres moi, le deluge"), became deaf, died at 64 of smallpox, Winston Churchill, cavalryman, author, journalist (Edward R Murrow said "he mobilized the English language and sent it into battle"), First Lord of Admiralty and PM of England, Albert Schweitzer, physician, missionary and musician, Dr Alexis Carrel, 19th-20th-century surgeon, biologist and transplant pioneer (believed "useless, harmful" people in prisons and asylums should be disposed of by euthanasia), D W Griffith, filmmaker, Guglielmo Marconi, inventor of wireless telegraph (but not radio - that was Tesla), Lee De Forest, inventor of the radio tube, Gustave Holst, composer ("The Planets"), Robert Frost, poet, teacher and farmer

Starset CAPULUS - 21°Ta05' to 23°Ta30'

Pluto is aligned with starset Capulus

Pluto represents deep insight, revelation, profound transformation, and bringing-to-consciousness that which has been hidden, buried or forgotten; its effect is deep, intense and obsessive (some deal with Pluto’s obsessive tendencies by reaching for the opposite polarity, i.e. rejection or repudiation); In your horoscope, Pluto is the channel through which you receive, experience and express the energies of these stars.

Capulus (h Persei, NGC 869) is part of a famous double cluster in the sword-hilt in the right hand of Perseus, the Hero or Rescuer. It is accompanied in these celestial longitudes by stars Gorgonia Secunda and Gorgonia Tertia, Pi and Rho Persei in the severed head of Medusa gripped in Perseus' left hand, Segin, Epsilon Cassiopeiae in the legs of Cassiopia, the Queen, Pi Cephei in Cepheus, the King's left thigh, Zaurak (also called Zanrak), Gamma Eridani in Eridanus, the River, Tau Draconis in the lower part of the 1st curve of Draco, the Dragon, 5 Tauri, an early star in the cut-off body of Taurus, the Bull (Taurus is pictured as only half a bull, without hindquarters), 55 Arietis above the tail of Aries, the Ram and Argelander 8 above the feet of Andromeda, the Chained Woman.

You are intensely sensual, imaginative, artistic, musical (with a distinct talent for creating melody), theatrical (with a particular gift for comedy), literary (with a tinge of whimsy), and, with both tropical and sidereal Taurus here, you enjoy a rich Taurean love of nature and the fruits of the earth. Carried in the flow of Eridanus, the river of time (rivers represent the passage from one state to another, unconscious to conscious, life to death, darkness to light, and as such participate in the evolution of mind and soul), you have a keen awareness of history and glories of the past and yearn to be part of them. Under the influence of Perseus, you see yourself as a crusader, anxious to prove yourself, longing to be respected, impatient to achieve greatness. Unfortunately, in your rush to explore the world and conquer every obstacle (including death; in the hope that recognition and fame will live after you), you may fail to take the essential first step, which is to face and conquer your own dark inner demons ("Gorgonia Tertia" is one of the guardians of the fearsome cave of Medusa, where monsters of the subconscious dwell). The danger here is that you may turn your back on idealism, ethics, and morality and be tempted into Draco's realm of deeply sinister hedonism, greed and corruption. Some born under these stars become solitary and introspective, and even though their minds are often remarkable, even brilliant, they may be beset by terror, rage, anguish, melancholy, post-traumatic stress, even insanity and/or suicide. There are some who perpetrate or are victims of violence, with a few even becoming cruel, sadistic and murderous, but through it all there is usually a strong ego that remains intact. Militant and imperious, with a dogged Taurean determination to strive and succeed and dedication to your chosen field of endeavor, you are an activist for any cause that you feel represents the good. Beware, however, for there are some here who become unstable, indulging in extremes, feeling they have a right to utterly destroy any causes, groups or individuals they perceive as enemies, or as evil. Capulus, a nebulous double cluster in Perseus' sword hilt, has been associated with blindness or defective sight, yet I have not found it among the worst in this regard; it does, however, represent the spiritual blindness that often fails to realize that we have a discerning, purifying power to triumph over melancholy and evil (sword) that is in our own hands (hilt). To the Taoists, swords represented penetrating insight and victory over ignorance. Here the Ram ends and the Bull (which is really only the front half of a bull) begins; both were sacrificial animals in early religions. The idea of heroism calls to you; after you have won through, there is the blissful gift for healing others. It is your dharma to emerge from isolation, fear, degradation, sorrow and guilt into the light of the hero's joyous courage. You will, in this lifetime, be forced to choose between ethics and corruption, self-discipline and self-gratification, and between controlling events and forcibly preserving the status quo, or actively working for peaceful revolution, reform and renewal. Here Perseus' bright sword slays the dragons and gorgons of evil, freeing Andromeda from her shackles, guilts and fears. Possible physical and/or psychological manifestations: emotional or mental instability, paranoia, injuries or accidents to the head and neck; possible danger from earth upheavals, air contamination, aggression, persecution, genocide, meteorite falls

Examples of Pluto here include Alexander the Great, 4th-century BCE Macedonian conqueror, Pompey the Great, 1st Century BCE Roman conqueror and statesman (murdered), Cicero, 1st-century BCE Roman statesman and essayist, Winston Churchill, statesman and author, PM of England, Herbert Hoover, US President, Conrad Adenaur, German Chancellor, André Maginot, French statesman (severely wounded, crippled in WWI - sponsor of the Maginot Line), Hiram Bingham, archaeologist, historian, mountaineer (later Connecticut Governor and Senator), discoverer of ancient Inca capital and fortress city Vilcabamba at Machu Picchu, Peru ("steadfast, courageous, often risked his life"), Abbé Henri Breuil, archeologist, paleontologist and authority on paleolithic cave paintings, G H Hardy, mathematician, Mary McLeod Bethune, educator (her parents were former slaves-Andromeda, the Chained Woman!), Manuel de Falla, Gustav Holst, Arnold Schoenberg, composers, Pablo Casals, cellist (self-exiled - refused to return to Spain after the Spanish Civil War in protest against the fascist regime), Jinarajadasa, theosophist, Aleister Crowley, occultist, Edgar Cayce, psychic, seer and photographer, Constantin Brancusi, sculptor, Gertrude V Whitney, sculptor and art patron, Charles Perrault, 17th-century literary activist and author of fairy tales ("Mother Goose"), Rainer Maria Rilke, poet, Jack London, author ("a genius so flaming, so passionate, so sincere that it overwhelmed the limits of prejudice and nationality") (died at 39 of "a variety of ailments," and uremic poisoning - not suicide as often reported), G K Chesterton, Willa Cather, Thomas Mann, authors, Carl Jung, psychiatrist and author, Christiaan Huygens, mathematician, physicist and astronomer, Dr Alexis Carrel, 19th-20th-century surgeon, biologist and transplant pioneer (believed "useless, harmful" people in prisons and asylums should be disposed of by euthanasia), Lee De Forest, inventor of radio tube, Mistinguette, Folies Bergere dancer-entertainer, Harry Tracy, thief and murderer (shot himself in the head rather than be captured)

Starset YILDUN - 28°Ge42' to 0°Cn50'

The Midheaven is aligned with starset Yildun

The Midheaven is the degree that culminates at the moment of birth; it represents your highest values, fame, reputation, honor (or notoriety) and ability to shine in the world, as well as your soul’s life path, or dharma. In your horoscope, the Midheaven is the channel through which you receive, experience and express the energies of these stars.

Yildun is Delta Ursae Minoris in the tail of Ursa Minor, the Lesser Bear, a star that is accompanied in these celestial longitudes by 1 Geminorum in the toe of the left foot of Castor (Castor and Pollux are the Gemini Twins), and Open Cluster M35 near Castor's left foot, Chi2 Orionis in the tip of the sword (or club) in the upraised right hand of Orion, the Hunter, 40 Aurigae in the right forearm of Auriga, the Charioteer and Theta Leporis in the rump of Lepus, the Hare. In ancient India 1 Geminorum may have been included in the lunar mansion Ardra, "The Moist One," usually depicted as a teardrop, ruled originally by Vedic storm-god Rudra, "the Howler," "the One who Weeps," presiding over destruction, procreation and transformation; Ardra is "moist" with emotion and sexual passion, and is the mansion of the Sun's rays, heat, and their oppressiveness in a hot climate.

Here at the edge of the great river of stars that is an arm of our "Milky Way" galaxy, Castor's left foot steps into the waters of time, probing its depths for answers to eternal mysteries. The stars of the Gemini Twins start here, as do the Summer Solstices of the 20th and 21st centuries - the first in man's history to attempt the control and limitation of warfare. The overlay of tropical Cancer upon the original sky-figure of the Twins (guardians of those in peril on the sea) presents you with a difficult inner conflict: the tropical sign of Cancer wants safety, security and a sheltered sanctuary; in contrast, the original Twins (as described in the Greek myths) were athletic champions, roistering adventurers, cattle thieves, sea-faring argonauts and military heroes! This divergence often leaves you at war within yourself, setting you the task of finding a way to reconcile these conflicting impulses, and, using the good offices of the Charioteer, learning to take the reins of life in your own hands. Gutsy, unconventional, a no-nonsense realist and a natural skeptic, you are also original, independent, and intensely competitive. You usually ignore authority and think for yourself, while at the same time remaining keenly aware of rank and "pecking order." You love excitement and may either be an "armchair adventurer" who creates, or thrills vicariously to, stories, films, myth and mysticism, art, music and theatre, or you may, like the tropical sign of the Crab combined with the ancient sky-Twins, transmute love of home to love of homeland, and become a superpatriotic military hero, athletic champion, or you may even take on secret missions, working behind the scenes "in harm's way" as a spy or secret agent. Militant, obsessive, aggressive, striving to attain top honors, you can become selfish, cynical and ruthless and there is a danger that you may overreach yourself and/or be drawn into dishonesty. Always, under the Twins, there are sibling issues, and on a larger scale, the great concerns of race, ethnicity, religion, and the brother-and-sisterhood of humankind. Other issues here include control and power over yourself and others, severity versus self-indulgence; personal gratification versus self-denial and self-discipline; honesty and integrity versus expedience, conniving, and deceit, and generosity versus greed. Here the Twin brothers, devoted to each other but fiercely competitive at the same time, learn Auriga the Charioteer's lessons of self-control and self-guidance, reining in their emotions and excesses. Possible physical and/or psychological manifestations: eye problems, mental or emotional instability, injuries, wounds; possible danger from storms, transportation disasters, smog, poisoned air, animal attacks, assassination

Examples of the Midheaven here include Christina, 17th-century Queen of Sweden, patron of the arts (renounced her throne "because of her aversion to marriage and her secret conversion to Roman Catholicism, proscribed in Sweden"), Philleo Nash, anthropologist, professor and presidential assistant ("a genial, persuasive man"), Jud Fine, artist, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, 19th-century poet, Maraquita Platov, anti-war poet, Rudolph Valentino, Derek Jacobi, Helen Bliss, actors, Richard E Horner, business executive, Virgil Akins, champion welterweight boxer, Dave Stockton, champion golfer, James W Carter, champion boxer, David Cowens, basketball center ("unselfish, versatile, consistent"), David Koresh, cult leader and pedophile (suicide by shot to head while his followers burned to death, on his orders)

Starset ACUBENS - 10°Le55' to 15°Le24'

Uranus is aligned with starset Acubens

High-strung Uranus’ influence is unconventional, eccentric, inventive, original, self-willed, erratic, extreme, restless, rebellious, psychic and utopian; it correlates to everything new – especially new technologies, electronics, innovations and inventions. In your horoscope, Uranus is the channel through which you receive, experience and express the energies of these stars.

Acubens (also called Sertan) is Alpha Cancri in Cancer, the Crab's south claw ("Acubens" comes from Al Zubanah, the Claw). There is an overlap of the Crab and the Lion here; Acubens is accompanied in these celestial longitudes by Minchir al Asad, Kappa Leonis, the forelock or nose of Leo (minchir means nose), Dubhe, Alpha Ursae Majoris in the body of Ursa Major, the Greater Bear ("Dubhe" is from al-dubb, the Bear); it is the brightest star in the familiar asterism "The Big Dipper" (also called "The Plough" or "The Wagon"). Dubhe is one of the two "pointer stars" used to find Polaris, the Pole Star. Other stars here are Kochab, Beta Ursae Minoris in the right shoulder of Ursa Minor, the Lesser Bear, Kappa Draconis in the tail of Draco, the Dragon (both Ursa Minor and Draco are high in the north, circling the Pole), Rho Hydrae in the head of Hydra, the Water-Snake, Xi Cancri in the head (or eye) of Cancer, the Crab and minor stars in Puppis, the Stern of Argo Navis, the Great Ship, in the far southern skies. Ancient Orphic and Platonic doctrine held that the stars of Cancer, the Crab formed the "Gate of Mankind" where souls entered Earth's dimension as they took on human form at birth.

Under the puissant Dragon, the Crab's tenacious claw, Ursa Major's alpha star and earliest star of the royal Lion's head, you are a soul with courage to spare! You grab for power and glory and cling to it with stubborn determination, and with your keen awareness of history, you will go to great lengths to be part of it. Vivid, dramatic, infused with tremendous inner energy and a natural physicality, you attack life head-on and make a strong, lasting impression. Willing to gamble, speculate, and take big risks, you are bold, adventurous, resourceful, need excitement, and are likely to become involved in governing and/or leadership positions within your profession. You are a true Lion - Leo in both zodiacs - with a Lion's inclination to be courageous and domineering and the Bear's "I know what's best for you" maternalism, you may "rush in where angels fear to tread" only to find yourself beleagered, even physically endangered. Imperious, bossy, grasping, passionately willful, you will not give in, give up or let go of what you have, and under the influence of the grasping Crab, you could become involved in speculative mania, losing everything in the process. Keenly aware of social problems, you mind is inquisitive, imaginative, image-forming, inventive and geared to problem-solving; besides government, law, the military and sports, some of the fields you may be drawn to include politics, the military, medicine, psychology, astrology, education, hygiene and environmental concerns (you have a great love of nature), as well as technology and invention; you also enjoy a particular feeling for the arts, and are fascinated with anything weird, exotic, strange, even sinister. No stranger to scandal, under pressure, you could become sensual, self-indulgent, manipulative, irritable, even cruel, and if you cannot make your mark in a positive way, you may turn to crime or self-destruction, for this is a contentious, intolerant energy that cannot be repressed, and both lawmakers and lawbreakers are represented under these stars. There is the possiblility of a dramatic mid-life "turn-around," completely converting and transforming your life-path. Issues here include slavery of the flesh and freedom of the spirit; personal cleanliness and health; passivity or despair versus active determination to better yourself, your neighbors and your environment; independence and self-determination versus obeying orders or knuckling under to the will of others, greedy, selfish, careless use of resources versus care of and for the environment; extremism versus temperance; wise use versus misuse of power, and humanitarian action, kindness and helpfulness versus coldness, indifference, intolerance, cruelty, sado-masochism, violence. Lion, Serpent, and Bears, Oh My! With the help of the Crab, these stars combine ferocity, courage and wisdom, stirring the spirit, inspiring the soul. Possible physical and/or psychological manifestations: blindness, eye problems, head and face ailments or injuries (the Lion's nose is here), mental problems, depression, addiction, pedophilia, multiple births, birth defects, danger of accidents, violence, imprisonment, suicide; choking, suffocation, illnesses due to unclean, polluted, or contaminated surroundings and/or epidemics (Hydra's poisonous influence), and issues relating to the destruction or protection of children and animals; possible danger from unusual or extreme weather conditions: storms, floods, shipwrecks, drowning, fires, smoke, fogs, air pollution, epidemics, persecutions, assassination, wild animal attacks

Examples of Uranus here include Winston Churchill, PM of England, statesman, journalist and author (Edward R Murrow said "he mobilized the English language and sent it into battle"), James Buchanan (19th-century), Herbert Hoover (mining engineer), US Presidents, Alphonse de Lamartine, poet and statesman, Arnold Schoenberg, Gustave Holst ("The Planets"), Maurice Ravel, composers, Andrea Bocelli, tenor (visually impaired at birth, completely blind at 12 after soccer accident), Madonna, singer, Michael Jackson, rock star, Irene Cara, dancer-singer, Mistinguette, Folies Bergere dancer and entertainer, D W Griffith, filmmaker, Wendy Makkena, actress, Albert Schweitzer, physician, musician and missionary, Carl Jung, psychiatrist and author, Jean-Francois Champollion, Egyptologist, translator of the Rosetta Stone, Blaise Pascal, philosopher-mathematician, Thomas Mann, Henry Fielding, authors, Carolus Linnaeus, 18th-century "father of modern systematic botany," Leonhard Euler, 18th-century mathematician (became blind), Samuel F B Morse, artist, sculptor and inventor of the telegraph, Mary McLeod Bethune, educator (parents were former slaves), John McEnroe, tennis champion, Jeanne Calment, native of Arles, France who lived to be 122 years old: "a wily, witty, manipulative old lady;" she took up fencing at 85 and still rode a bicycle at 100 (a media star, she enjoyed the steady stream of foreign reporters who traveled to Arles to interview her (at 13 she had met Van Gogh whom she remembered as ''dirty, badly dressed and disagreeable''); though blind, nearly deaf and in a wheelchair, she remained spirited and mentally sharp until the end. Nicole Brown Simpson, O J Simpson's battered wife (murdered), Gregory Godzik, Gacy murder victim, Joel Rifkin, serial killer of prostitutes

Starset MEGREZ - 28°Le26' to 1°Vi26'

The Moon is aligned with starset Megrez

The Moon is sensitive, emotional, nurturing, reactive and instinctual. It represents unconscious attitudes and how one deals with and expresses emotions. In your horoscope, the Moon is the channel through which you receive, experience and express the energies of these stars.

Megrez (from maghriz, root) is Delta Ursae Majoris in the back (near the root of the tail) of Ursa Major, the Greater Bear (it is one of the "bowl" stars of the Big Dipper asterism - also called the Plough, Casserole or Wagon); Megrez is accompanied in these celestial longitudes by Phekda, Gamma Ursae Majoris in the Greater Bear's flank (another Big Dipper bowl star), Al Sharasif, Kappa Hydrae in Hydra, the Water-Snake, Praecipua, 46 Leonis Minoris, in the tail of the modern figure of Leo Minor, the Lesser Lion, Theta Pyxidis, a star of the modern figure of Pyxis, the Compass (a mariner's 2-pronged drawing compass) that was originally (and still should be!) a star of Malus, the Mast of Argo Navis, the Great Ship that sails the southern skies, and the Gum Nebula in Vela, the Sail (of Argo), the largest nebula and one of the brightest extreme ultraviolet sources in the heavens, an ancient supernova remnant that contains a pulsar. In the lunar mansions of ancient China, Al Sharasif was a determinant star of Tschang, Drawn Bow, or Spread Net (used to catch game or birds who fed on crops); it presided over the imperial kitchens, food preparations, feasts, utensils and gifts; if the stars of this mansion could not be seen, it was a sign that the Emperor would fall ill.

These stars follow just after Regulus, the great royal star that marks the Lion's proud heart at the very end of tropical Leo, but after 2,150 years in that sign, Regulus will edge over into this area at the beginning of Virgo in 2012, and its effect is already being felt here! Alpha Leonis' power, influence and compelling need for respect and admiration extends its effect to these stars, and combines with Argo's restlessness and need for adventure, but here tropical Virgo's overlay brings in a moderating influence, tempering the Lion's wild, untamed fierceness. You are intensely curious (Albert Einstein, who was born with Uranus here, said "I just want to know what God knows!"), and whatever field you choose will benefit from your patient penetration ("megrez" = maghriz, root), insightful intelligence and perseverance. Innovative and eloquent, you are a cultured and cultural warrior who works for the benefit of future generations. Verbally expressive, you are a keen, incisive debater with a willingness to fight militantly for human rights, freedoms, and self-expression, and you quietly, stubbornly refuse to give in to persecution. Often ahead of your time in your clear-minded assessments of facts, you hold as an important principle honesty and idealism in the face of criticism, condemnation, prejudice and persecution. There are strong themes in your life of law, authority, leadership and guidance, as well as medicine and the arts. Dance, art (especially murals), literature, music, astrology, earth sciences (especially geology and geography), religion and the study of ancient artifacts are possible areas of excellence, as well as sports, especially boxing. You love, and have a concern for, animals. The issues that pervade your life are personal responsibility and living up to ideals versus physical and moral laxity, concerns relating to race and genetics, choices to be made about defending and prosecuting laws or breaking them, and sexual extremes and/or sexual abstinence. Here the Great Bear guards and defends all who come under her motherly protection, while the Mast of Argo Navis, as the cosmic axis of communication between heaven and earth, braces Vela, the great celestial ship's billowing sail, filled with the wind of the Holy Spirit. Possible physical and/or psychological manifestations: accidents, injuries, hearing problems, suicide, violence, assassination; possible danger from fires, explosions, storms, fog, earthquakes, eruptions, epidemics, collisions and transportation disasters caused by negligence, confusion, terrorism and/or severe weather conditions

Examples of the Moon here include Winston Churchill, PM of England, journalist and writer (Edward R Murrow said "he mobilized the English language and sent it into battle"), Dag Hammarskjold, UN Secretary General and poet, "the apotheosis of the practical peacemaker" (killed in a plane crash at 56 - may have been shot down or sabotaged), Jack J Catton, USAF Brigadier General, Director, Operational Plans and Joint Force Development, Edwin J Zimmerman, US Rear Admiral (Argo!), Robert W Kastenmeier of Wisconsin, US Representative (and judge) "a maverick, easy-going but tough under fire"), Arthur Larkin, business executive, Walt Whitman, 19th-century poet, John Irving, author, Aimee Semple McPherson, evangelist (discredited in sex scandal), Eugene M Shoemaker, geologist, self-designated "scientific historian" and planetary geologist who invented the branch of Astrogeology within the US Geological Survey (co-discoverer of Comet Shoemaker-Levy which impacted Jupiter in 1994) (died in car accident at 69), Vivian Robson (male), geologist, paleontologist, mathematician and astrologer, Terence McKenna, explorer, shaman, ethno-pharmacologist (died at 54 of brain tumor), Susan Hall, artist, David Gilhooly, sculptor and ceramicist, Charles Addams, cartoonist of cheerfully ghoulish characters ("The Addams Family"), Ronald Cowen, playwright, screenwriter and producer, Logan Ramsey, actor, k.d. lang, singer, Bobby Riggs ("steady under pressure"), tennis player, hustler (a deducated male chauvinist), Jack Goldfein, diabetic, became blind at 52

Starset M87, VIRGO A - 28°Vi16' to 1°Li06'

The Ascendant is aligned with starset M87, Virgo A

The Ascendant is the degree that is rising at the moment of birth; it is a place of emergence, initiatives, and new beginnings; it can also describe the immediate environment and is the face you present to the world. In your horoscope, the Ascendant is the channel through which you receive, experience and express the energies of these stars.

M87 or Virgo A (NGC 4486), a giant elliptical galaxy in the heart of the Virgo Cluster of galaxies, is a powerful x-ray and radio source 50 million light-years from Earth, harboring at its center a monstrous black hole that has swallowed up matter equal to 2 billion times our Sun's mass (a black hole is an object that is so massive yet compact that nothing can escape its gravitational pull, not even light); this supermassive "mother of all black holes" lies in the north, or right wing of Virgo, the Virgin. According to astronomers, streaming out from the center of M87, "like a cosmic searchlight," is one of nature's most amazing phenomena, a black-hole-powered jet of electrons and other sub-atomic particles traveling at nearly the speed of light. M87 is accompanied in these celestial longitudes by Iota Crateris, a star in the bowl of Crater, the Cup, Theta Boötis in the upraised left hand of Boötes, the Herdsman, the Coma Supercluster of galaxies (NGC 4889) at the northern edge of the figure known as Coma Berenices, Berenice's Hair (Berenice was a queen who cut off her hair and laid it upon an altar as a sacrifice, that the gods might bring her soldier-husband safely home), the North Pole of the Galaxy, also in Coma Berenices, and the Local Supergalactic Center above the north wing of Virgo, the Virgin. Iota Crateris was a star of ancient China's lunar mansion Yi, The Wing (of the ancient Great Red Bird), associated with the end-of-summer Feast of Pleasure and Great Concert of Music, a gathering of feudal princes bringing tributes of rare regional treasures. The stars resembled a long flag, so it was also called The Celestial Banner. Astrologers held that if these stars could be seen clearly it meant good fortune to the state and its leaders. Yi was surrounded by 26 paranatellons, each representing participating dignitaries.

Here the Autumnal Equinox, where the Sun meets Earth's extended Equator, shares its longitude with the Galactic North Pole and the cosmic Center of the Local Supergalaxy. Heaven's vast intersecting structures produce visionary voyagers of interdimensional time and space, and whether honest or mountebanks, sane or psychotic, they share an instinct to seek beyond the local world of appearances and the will to follow their visions. Some do not come to spiritual realizations until they are well along in their lives, but when they "get the call," their beliefs, whether religious or secular, become fundamental to their existence; all else takes second place. With M87 and several other light-devouring black holes here, you have a unique, original way of seeing and perceiving, and, with the overlay of tropical Libra, are personally charismatic, able to "play God" with utter conviction, drawing to you other souls longing, like yourself, to comprehend the mysteries of life and the universe. While sometimes angry, embattled and at odds with others in your community, you are also freedom-loving, physical, athletic, daring, hard-working, ambitious, contentious, intensely perceptive, a good strategist (in both the military and business) with a strong sense of duty, mission, and destiny, and under the aegis of Boötes the Herdsman, you are able to attract followers. M87 is in the Virgin's wing, Iota Crateris is a determinant of ancient China's lunar mansion Yi, The Wing (of their huge, extremely ancient figure of a Great Red Bird), and many here yearn to fly. Structurally inclined, you may also be drawn to architecture, archaeology, mining, engineering, science, aeronautics, mathematics and music: your approach is cool, detached, intellectual, analytical, humane, and, if inclined to science and technology, you may sow the seeds of scientific and technological revolutions. Intensely curious, you are a "news junky," wanting and needing to know all that is going on. Under Coma, there are issues of dedication, of devotion to a person, principle or faith; whether to strive, engage, and interact with others, or retreat into a personal inner life; other issues include tolerance or intolerance, and of democratic versus elitist values. You may be all too fond of money, and there is a danger of using religion or high position to gain selfish ends, of the misuse of charisma and power, and scandal. Here Virgo, the peace-loving Virgin together with devoted Coma Berenices offer serenity and calm, while Bootes, the Good Shepherd, summons and guides his flock. Physical and/or psychological manifestations: eye problems, paralysis; possible danger from storms, high winds, oil and gas events

Examples of the Ascendant here include Christina, 17th-century Queen of Sweden, patron of the arts (renounced her throne, lived in exile "because of her aversion to marriage and her secret conversion to Roman Catholicism, proscribed in Sweden"), Winston Churchill, British Prime Minister, author and journalist (Edward R Murrow said "he mobilized the English language and sent it into battle"), H R Haldeman, harsh, arrogant Nixon presidential aide (imprisoned in Watergate scandal), Jud Fine, artist, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, 19th-century poet, Rudolph Valentino, dancer and actor (died at 31 of an infection following surgery for perforated ulcer), Helena Bliss, Derek Jacobi, actors, Philleo Nash, anthropologist, professor, presidential assistant ("a genial, persuasive man"), Richard E Horner, business executive, Bob Richards, "The Vaulting Vicar," Olympic gold medal pole vaulter and ordained minister, Frances Kleinfeld, speech teacher, David Cowens, basketball star, Virgil Akins, welterweight champion boxer, Jimmy Carter, world champion lightweight boxer, Dave Stockton, champion golfer, David Koresh, cult leader and pedophile (suicide by shot to head while his followers burned to death in a fire set on his orders)

Starset KRAZ - 14°Li21' to 17°Li19'

Mars is aligned with starset Kraz

Action-oriented Mars represents physical energy, vitality, strength, independence, ambition, impulsiveness, self-assertion, anger and aggression. In your horoscope, Mars is the channel through which you receive, experience and express the energies of these stars.

Kraz is Beta Corvi in the right wing of Corvus, the Crow; it is accompanied in these celestial longitudes by Apami-Atsa, Theta Virginis in the left hip of Virgo, the Virgin, Seginus (also called Haris and Ceginus), Gamma Boötis in the left shoulder of Boötes, the Herdsman, Adib, Theta Draconis in the curve under the tongue of Draco, the Dragon, a figure that coils near the north celestial pole, and 1 Carinae in Carina, the Keel of Argo Navis, the Great Ship of the southern skies. Kraz was a determinant star of ancient India's lunar mansion Hasta, the Hand, associated with reaping, gathering and handcrafts, ruled by Savitr, the Impeller, giver of life who aided childbirth, now equated with Ravi (Surya), the Sun God who rules this mansion; his rays are often thought of as hands; Hasta is associated with activities of the hand and what can be held in it: quantity, mass, reaping, gathering, opening, gathering, handcrafts - and laughter, through a pun on has-, to laugh. In ancient China, it was part of the lunar mansion T'ien-Tche, the Celestial Chariot or Running Board, (in the tail of their huge, very ancient Great Red Bird), associated with vehicles, high-speed travel, and by extension, wealth and wind

There is electricity in these stars, an intensity and brilliance that illuminates the brooding landscape of mankind's travail on Earth. Paradoxically pioneering and conservative at the same time, you are a "stormy petrel," turbulent, dramatic, manifesting a strong feeling for your homeland and roots. A passionate conserver of ancient wisdom and knowledge, you may see yourself as a bastion of a way of life that is under attack and try to find new ways to preserve traditional values and culture. Whether royal or rebel, there is more than a bit of the renegade in your character; it is not easy for you to follow orders, and despite tropical Libra's adaptive influence you are fiercely independent with a tendency to act unilaterally, refusing advice from others and making your own, sometimes unwise, decisions. This is an area of physics and inventions, especially connected to electricity, power sources, light and lightning; Hasta brings in hand skills, resourcefulness and dexterity: you may be one of those who like to putter around in their homes or labs, building their own inventive contraptions. Drawn to the excitement of myth, fairy tales, music and theatre, you experience an inner dramatic intensity not easily subjugated to the needs of daily life. Some born under these stars find their place in government or the military, for the Herdsman's shoulder takes on the burdens of responsibility and leadership; others seek outlets in literary expression, religion, scholarship, the arts, and sports. You take your status very seriously, and are keenly sensitive to any injustices directed at you, but you are, nonetheless, quite capable of imposing them upon others. As always with the combination of Virgin and Herdsman, there are issues of violence, murder and mayhem versus peacemaking and peacekeeping, as well as travel and transportation concerns. The peace-seeking Virgin, combined with the overlay of tropical Libra, brings an influence of calm and balance to the passions and burdens of everyday life, while Shepherd-Herdsman Bootes, assisted by the message-bearing Crow, bring news of discoveries that teach and enlighten humankind. Possible physical and/or psychological manifestations: eye problems, addiction, murder, and something to do with pain, its infliction and control; possible danger from storms, fogs, high winds, sea, air and train disasters, meteorite falls. collisions, epidemics, battles, sneak attacks, massacres, animal attacks, assassination (peace treaties are also signed under these stars)

Examples of Mars here include Winston Churchill, PM of England, journalist and author (Edward R Murrow said "he mobilized the English language and sent it into battle"), Chief Crazy Horse (Tashunca-Uitco), Oglala Sioux military tactician (killed trying to escape imprisonment) (birth data unconfirmed), Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, Nazi general (forced to take poison when implicated in plot to assassinate Hitler), Maj Gen'l Orde Wingate, WWII commando genius (killed in plane crash at 41), Roger Taney, 19th-century US Supreme Court Chief Justice who wrote the notorious Dred Scott Decision that slaves were "property," upholding slave holders' rights (yet challenged Lincoln to uphold civil liberties, and freed his own slaves) (the Virgin was called "Justicia"), R D Laing, psychiatrist, philosopher and author, Charles Messier, 18th-19th-century astronomer, Denis Papin, 17th-century physicist, inventor of pressure cooker (his ideas led to the development of the steam engine), Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, astrophysicist (studied attributes of light), Isaac Asimov, scientist and author, August Bournonville, 19th-century ballet master and choreographer, Johnny Carson, television entertainer, Phoebe Snow, singer and songwriter (became mystic after daughter born hydrocephalic), Solomon Butcher, itinerant photographer of Nebraska pioneers, Irene Dunne, Van Johnson, actors, Tom McLoughlin, mime and actor, Michelangelo Antonioni, filmmaker, Stirling Moss, auto racer, Billy the Kid, 19th-century outlaw

Starset SPICA/ARCTURUS - 21°Li36' to 25°Li37'

Jupiter is aligned with starset Spica/Arcturus

Jupiter, a knowledge-and-experience-seeking planet, has an influence that is expansive, enlarging, increasing, confident, cheerful, optimistic, generous, out-going, free-wheeling, freedom-loving, ethical, philosophical and humane, but can also be disdainful, careless, over-confident and irresponsible. In your horoscope, Jupiter is the channel through which you receive, experience and express the energies of these stars.

Spica and Arcturus are two of the brightest stars of the northern hemisphere; although 30 degrees apart in declination, when projected onto the ecliptic they share the same longitude, and thus share the honors of this Starset. Spica is Alpha Virginis, a star in the "spike" of wheat held in the left hand of Virgo, the Virgin; Arcturus is Alpha Boötis between the legs of Boötes, the Herdsman; they are accompanied in these celestial longitudes by Nekkar, Beta Boötis in the head of the Herdsman, 69 Virginis below Spica, Gamma Hydrae in the part of Hydra, the Water Snake that lies beneath the Virgin and the tail of Corvus, the Crow, as well as dim stars in Carina, the Keel of Argo Navis. Spica, the sky's 15th-brightest star, is a determinant of the ancient lunar mansions of China, India and Arabia; in China it is a star of Kio, "Horn" of the extremely ancient, huge Great Azure Dragon of Spring, representing the bursting energy of the springtime renewal of nature when plants broke through the earth, animals bred, rains and floods occurred; in India it was the single determinant star of Citra, ruled by Tvastr, the heavenly carpenter who possessed maya, the power of making and shaping the way others see the world that is a form of magic; its symbol was a bright jewel; according to Roebuck, Citra can translate as "many-colored" referring to a work of art or even the work of a magician, conveying a sense of something bright and beautiful, but also artful or even delusory (Roebuck). In Arabia, it was a determinant of al-Simak, The Unarmed One, favorable for healing. Arcturus (a red giant and the 4th-brightest star in the sky) is a determinant of China's Kio, "Horn" (of the Great Dragon); in India it was the single determinant star of Svati, "Self-going" or "Independent," ruled by Vayu, God of Wind, ruler of air in all its forms; Svati represents air, wind, breath, consciousness, murmuring and harvest; another name for Arcturus in India was Nishtya, Outcast.

Spica and Arcturus marked the Autumnal Equinox in the 3rd century CE, at the dawn of the Age of Pisces. More royal, in a sense, than the royal stars, they offer leadership, prominence, honors, power and extraordinary gifts. Learning, religion and philosophy are important in your life (the old books say there may be "ecclesiastical preferment"). The contrast between the Virgin's quest for peace and the guardian-Herdsman's "strongman" archetype is sharp here, for quakers and shakers, masters and mystics are represented under the aegis of these stars; idealistic, passionately independent, aggressive and resourceful, some even become daredevils, challenging convention. With Boötes' fierce protecting spirit you seek out challenges, and under the influence of the Virgin and the overlay of tropical Libra, you may prize and work for peace (the Arab lunar mansion here is called "The Unarmed One," possibly a reference to the strong devotion of some born under these stars to peace and a higher will). Inclined to direct and dominate, you are fond of putting forward "shoulds" and "oughts" (or you may go to the other extreme and delight in breaking the rules!) Citra's ruler Tvastr possessed maya, the power of making and shaping the way others see the world; with your literary, artistic and (especially) musical gifts, natural eloquence and penetrating ear for dialogue (many playwrights and scriptwriters are born with placements here); you can reach out and grasp inspiration from the stars themselves, for at times words and music pour forth from you as from a deep wellspring. Spica, the "spike" or stalk of wheat in the Virgin's left hand gives the potential for great productivity, a capacity for intense focus and a prodigious output of work. Cultured, well-educated, intellectually curious with a good sense of irony, you are a bemused observer of society's foibles, airs and graces, peculiarities and eccentricities. You rarely confine yourself to only one field of endeavor and may combine several, among them philosophy, law, economics, education (especially teaching), art, literature, theatre (especially comedy), business, political, military (especially naval) and spiritual leadership, medicine, science, engineering and invention, and (with your high level of energy), dance and sports; you also may have a great concern for animals. With your gutsy, persistent, do-or-die attitude and willingness to take on great tasks, success, prosperity and popularity are possible, but not without struggles, controversies, heavy responsibilities, and usually only after considerable difficulties. As you are well aware of the power of words and images, it is important that you take care not to misuse them, and that you consider the consequences of your actions and endeavors, for good or ill. Should you reach an influential position, you will encounter conflicts between cultures and religions and must choose whether to exacerbate or attempt to bridge them. Intensely erotic, you either overindulge or sublimate your libido. One or both of your parents might be cold, indifferent, absent, or die young; you may have few or no children (the fertility of Spica is, apparently, to be channeled primarily into the mind and spirit). The great psychic Edgar Cayce spoke of Arcturus as "the wonderful, the beautiful" giving mental and spiritual power and strength, along with inclinations to religion; you may either fully embrace a faith or struggle to free yourself from it (another name for Svati was Nishtya, "Outcast"), or, with the Herdsman's "Pied Piper" intinct, you may try gathering followers to form a cult. Other issues and choices of your life include conformity versus rebellion, self-indulgence versus self-discipline, courage versus cowardice, temperance and tolerance versus violence and murder, and faith, hope versus cynicism and despair. An ancient association with the harvesting of grapes is shared by Epsilon Virginis and Alpha Boötes (Vindemiatrix and Arcturus). Possible physical and/or psychological manifestations: physical disabilities, infirmities, kidney ailments, inclination to addiction; violence, both committed and suffered; possible danger from fires, storms, high winds, fog, smog, dust, smoke, air pollution or contamination, epidemics, collisions, air crashes, meteorite falls, disasters caused by confusion, recklessness, carelessness and/or weather conditions; murder, extreme violence, assassination

Examples of Jupiter here include 16th-century King Henri II of France (died at 40 after a broken lance pierced his eye in a joust), Winston Churchill, PM of England, author and journalist (Edward R Murrow said "he mobilized the English language and sent it into battle"), William Jefferson Clinton, US President, Pasquale Villari, historian, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, organizer of the modern revival of the Olympic games, Dr Walter Reed, US Army pathologist and bacteriologist who led the Panama Canal Yellow Fever team, Carl Gustav Jung, psychoanalist, author, expert on alchemy, Dr James A Hall, Jungian analyst, lecturer, author, expert on dream analysis, study of science and spirituality (overactive libido) (stroke to pons at 57 left him unable to move or speak, a quadriplegic ("locked in syndrome"), with help, he continues to study, write), Milton Reisner, psychiatrist, Albert Schweitzer, physician, musician and medical missionary, Dr Matthew Lukwiya, deeply religious hero of the 2000 Uganda Ebola epidemic who became its last victim, George Frideric Handel, 17th-18th-century composer, Thoinot Arbeau, 16th-century theoretician and historian of dance (author of "Orchesographie"), Sir Julian Huxley, biologist, philosopher, educator and author, 1st Director General of UNESCO and a founder of the World Wildlife Fund, who concluded that "in the future it would be cultural factors, rather than biological, which would determine the direction for evolution." (became blind), Ralph Nader, lawyer, author, consumer activist (ran as a 3rd-party candidate in the 2000 presidential election, becoming the "spoiler" who threw the election to Bush), Margaret Meister, airline hostess, editor and astrologer, Frances Willard, educator, feminist and prohibitionist, Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, astrophysicist (studied attributes of light), William Gutsch, astronomer and meteorologist, Bruce Ismay, Manager of White Star Line who took a seat in a lifeboat, saving himself in the Titanic disaster, Mary McLeod Bethune, educator (parents were former slaves), Edward Hicks, 18th-19th-century Quaker minister and folk painter ("The Peaceable Kingdom"), Percy Bysshe Shelley (drowned in a boating accident at 30), poet, Leonard Cohen, author, singer and poet, Thomas Mann, author, George Abbott, playwright and producer, Shari Lewis, ventriloquist and puppeteer, George Chakiris, actor, Ed Wynn, comedian, Liza Minelli, Madonna, singer-actresses, Sophia Loren, actress, Gunther Gebel-Williams, circus wild animal tamer

Starset IZAR - 25°Li37' to 28°Li19'

The South Node is aligned with starset Izar

The South Node represents “fated” karmic connections and habits, negative traits that are hard to shed, a “quicksand” area that holds back and weakens the soul. On the positive side, it represents that which the soul has thoroughly learned and practiced (but which now must be set aside and left behind, so that spiritual advancement can occur). In your horoscope, the South Node is the channel through which you receive, experience and express the energies of these stars.

Izar (also called Pulcherrima) is Epsilon Boötis, in the waistcloth of Boötes, the Herdsman; a star that is accompanied in these longitudes by Delta Centauri and Rho Centauri in Centaurus, the Centaur's hock and left hind thigh, and Tau Virginis in Virgo, the Virgin's lower gown.

Boötes' waist-cloth is woven with threads of glory and anguish, greatness and terror, beauty and horror, and in these same longitudes were the head and neck of the very huge, extemely ancient imperial Chinese Sky-Dragon; visual impact, imagery and drama dominate this sky-sector. You combine intellectual curiosity and a love of knowledge and learning. It is not easy for you to kowtow to authority; there may be conflicts between you and one or both of your parents, or a loss of one of them; you may have left home early, or have been forced into an exile of some sort. Centaurus' earliest stars are here as well, adding a sacrificial motif to your life, perhaps leaving you with a feeling of helplessness in the face of tragedy. You love animals (1st-century astrologer Manilius wrote that one born under Centaurus "knows how to apply the arts of healing to the limbs of animals"), and along with science, poetry, philosophy and medicine, you have a great interest in education, linguistics, philology along with considerable language ability (tropical Libra's influence). You are inventive and creative (many born under these stars are masters of illusion, and often choose theatre, film, words, music and cuisine to express their creativity and deepfelt emotions). Under the influence of the Boötes the Herdsman, you are charismatic, a natural teacher and proselytizer with a bit of the missionary added in, and it is not usually difficult for you to attract love, affection, and followers. The Virgin's influence is devoted and peace-loving, and Tau Virginis was part of China's Celestial Fields, set aside for sacrificial purposes; dedicated, persistent, sometimes controversial, you make great demands upon yourself, and expect others to do the same. With Centaurus' underlying theme of punishment and sacrifice, you may become an extremist, offering up yourself or others (centaur - kentauros - is derived from a Greek root meaning "to goad"), perhaps suffering exile, intent on becoming a sacrificial icon. Among the issues and choices to be made in your life are atheism and/or despair versus belief and hope, loyalty versus rebellion; either imposing or battling tyranny; tolerance, generous giving, assisting, teaching and love versus jealousy, envy, rage, domination, punishment, revenge. Here punisher-redeemer Centaurus, guardian-good shepherd Bootes, and the peace-loving Virgin (called "Justicia" by the Greeks) combine their efforts to guard, guide and elevate humankind. Possible physical and/or psychological manifestations: crippling, disabilities, genetic defects, polio, paralysis, leg, knee and spinal deformities, injuries or ailments, eye problems; asthma, chronic ill-health and/or hypochondria, brooding, depression, anguish, self-torment; addiction-prone; possible danger from battles, terrorism, acts of extremism, execution

Examples of the SouthNode here include Neil Armstrong, US Navy combat aviator (Korea), test pilot, astronaut, 1st human to step on the Moon, professor of aerospace engineering ("quiet, intense, highly controlled"), Bill (William H ) Gates, multi-billionaire founder and CEO of Microsoft Corporation, William Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse, astronomer and builder of largest reflecting telescope ("The Leviathan") of the 19th century, Mary Todd Lincoln, 19th-century US 1st lady, intelligent, witty, a devoted wife and mother, but high-strung, a compulsive shopper; lost 3 of her 4 sons, then her husband; seemed unable to rise above her extreme grief, became increasingly irrational; died at 63, a recluse), Jean Baptiste Lamarck, 18th-19th-century naturalist, Carolus Linnaeus, 18th-century "father of modern botany," William Congreve, 17th-century playwright, Joan Miro, artist, Charles Addams, cartoonist ("The Addams Family"), Solomon Butcher, itinerant photographer of Nebraska pioneers, Arnold Schoenberg, composer, Julia Roberts, actress, Joan Negus, astrologer, Diane Stratos, metaphysician and spiritual healer, Boris Becker, tennis champion, George Brasno, performer (midget), John Brown, passionate, violent 19th-century abolitionist (hanged) (centaur - kentauros - is derived from a Greek root meaning "to goad"), "JRW," wounded in WWI, lost right eye

Starset ZUBENESCHEMALI - 15°Sc42' to 19°Sc27'

Mercury is aligned with starset Zubeneschemali

Mental, versatile Mercury represents thinking, talking, writing, reasoning, analyzing, delineating and all forms of communication; it especially relates to mental functions and thinking habits. In your horoscope, Mercury is the channel through which you receive, experience and express the energies of these stars.

Zubeneschemali is Beta Librae, a star in the North Scale of the constellation of Libra, the Scales; in ancient times it was the North Claw Tip of a huge, extended Scorpion. It is accompanied in these celestial longitudes by Zubenhakrabi, Sigma (20) Librae in the South Scale (this star's constellation is disputed; it was also called Gamma Scorpii, and in ancient Akkad it was Entena-mas-luv, the tail-tip of Hydra, the Water Snake). There are also Eta Centauri in the outstretched arm of Centaurus, the Centaur (in the ancient Euphratean Celestial Sphere this was Sugub-Gudelim "Left Hand of the Centaur"), Iota Lupi in Lupus, the Wolf (in early texts Lupus was not a wolf - the figure was called Wild Beast, Victim, Hostage), Beta Serpentis in the head of Serpens, the Serpent, T Coronae Borealis, a blaze star (recurrent nova) in Corona Borealis, the Northern Crown and I Carinae in Carina, the Keel of Argo Navis, the Great Ship. Zubeneschemali was a determinant star of three ancient lunar mansions: China's Ti, The Foundation (floor, base), originally the chest of their Great Azure Dragon, also called 'The Celestial Root' (of the exuberance of nature), representing as well royalty, empire and illnesses of Spring); India's Visakha, the 'Forked,' 'Two-Branched' alternately Radha 'The Delightful,' ruled by Indra, King of the Gods and Agni, the Fire God, representing a purpose or goal and its attainment, and Arabia's al-Zubana, the Claws (of the Scorpion).

Beast-victim Lupus, his punisher Centaurus and Libra's karmic Scales of Justice bring in souls willing to champion difficult or unpopular causes. Justice, slavery, freedom, human rights, race, religion, politics, social inclusion or exclusion and war or peace are major themes under these stars. Corona Borealis offers you a crown of intellect, considerable scholarly and psychic ability, and the capacity to attain high honors, but also the threat of danger (there is a high rate here of accidents, murder and assassinations). A keen individualist with formidable inner strength, you have high ideals, but encounter challenges and problems living up to them. A natural politician, you are intensely curious about how people organize themselves in social constructs and maintain their communities' laws. Energetic and courageous, you take chances, go your own way, and have the potential to become a social innovator and reformer. Although interested in diplomacy, you are naturally militant (centaur - kentauros - is derived from a Greek root meaning "to goad"), and like to keep the reins of power in your hands. Some of the professions preferred here are politics, law, diplomacy, religion, philosophy, mathematics, medicine, science (especially astronomy, chemistry and food preservation), flight and space exploration, literature, poetry (there is a gift of words, spoken and written), caring for horses, and the study of occult and ancient texts. You love drama, dance, and theater arts, as well as scents and flowers (according to 1st-century astrologer Manilius, Corona Borealis was a floral crown, and begets a love of gardening, flowers and perfumes). Although you are usually beneficent, you may also be elitist, or suffer from elitism (or both!). Keenly aware of injustice, you weave this theme into your work and art. With the overlay of tropical Scorpio you are sensual, sexual, loving luxury, fine foods and wines, but must take care lest the half-beast Centaurus and Serpens-of-temptation lure you into dishonesty, intemperance and excessive self-indulgence. Libra's Scales were once, in ancient times, the huge claws of a mighty, extended Scorpion (thus giving this area a "double Scorpio" flavor), and in your life choices will present themselves: whether to manifest justice, balance and benevolence, or find yourself clutched in the ancient arachnid's fearsome claws of the law. Many born under these stars victimize others, are moved by the victimization of others, or themselves become victims. Honesty is an issue, corruption a danger; you are also charismatic, and must take responsibility for those who follow you. Very concerned with doing the right thing but sensitive, bitter and deeply angry about injustice, you may experience great inner tension and a battle with brooding, depression and despair, but always within your reach is the regenerative, renewing potential of the healing Serpent (serpents have always been associated with healing and renewal, because they shed their skins and grow new ones). Issues and challenges include intemperance, greed, both intolerance and the battle against intolerance, a concern for social justice, issues of bondage or freedom, persecution and victimization, equal rights for all versus exclusion, partiality, parochialism and/or elitism, and choosing whether to wallow in hatred and resentments or to reach for a high level of love, service, working to establish and maintain peace and justice. Here the Scales work to balance out turbulent inner conflicts, while the renewing, regenerating Serpent heals all wounds; balance, self-discipline and good judgment are the keys. Physical and/or psychological manifestations: addiction (including sexual addiction), suffocation, asphyxiation, eye and hearing problems; caesarian births; possible danger of storms, shipwrecks, fog, air crashes, fires, eruptions, earth upheavals, environmental contamination, epidemics, intense, destructive intolerance, animal attacks (especially snakes), accidents, stalking, murder (but also, under these stars, are peace treaties, actions for the establishment of health, justice, peace and human rights, religious events, transformations, meteorite falls...and miracles!)

Examples of Mercury here include Winston Churchill, journalist, author (Edward R Murrow said "he mobilized the English language and sent it into battle"), PM of England (served as Lord of the Admiralty - Argo!), Empress Michiko of Japan, 1st commoner to marry into Japanese royalty (suffered the severe disapproval of traditionalists, became temporarily mute in 1993), Warren G Harding, US President (presided over a scandal-ridden administration; died in office), Georges Escoffier, "king of chefs and chef of kings," Ibn Hazm, 11th-century Islamic theologian, Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev, 19th-century author who "realistically portrayed the peasantry and the rising intelligentsia in its attempt to move Russia into a new age," P G Wodehouse, André Gide, Mark Twain, authors, Jean-Nicholas-Arthur Rimbaud, 19th-century gay poet, adventurer and merchant (right leg amputated, probably due to syphilis complications, died at 37), Ezra Pound, brilliant poet, virulent anti-semite, Eugene O'Neill, playwright, Jean-Claude Van Damme, karate black belt, body builder and actor, Boris Karloff, George C Scott, actors, Tom Poston, comedian, Patti Page, Robert Goulet, singers, John Mayal, blues singer, Keith Emerson, rock keyboardist, Violette Verdy (Nelly Guillerm), ballerina, Director of Paris Opera Ballet, Professor of Ballet at Indiana School of Music, Walter Cronkite, Elie Abel, news correspondents, Zacharias Frankel, rabbi and theologian: a founder of what became Conservative Judaism, Dorothy Day, Catholic social activist, co-founder of the Catholic Worker Movement, Francis I Regardie, occultist and psychotherapist, Hermann Rorschach, psychiatrist (invented the Rorschach ink blot test), Dr David Steinhardt, surgeon, occupational medicine specialist and environmentalist, Deepak Chopra MD, physician and guru, J B Slowinski, venemous snake expert, killed at 37 by the bite of a krait (Serpens!), Luc Jouret, Solar Temple cult co-founder and leader (died in murder-suicide-ritual slaughter of 69 members

Starset ANTARES - 7°Sg35' to 11°Sg02'

The Sun is aligned with starset Antares

The Sun represents dignity, authority, courage, self-confidence, self-assertion, the essential life force and central core of being, as well as health and physical vitality. In your horoscope, the Sun is the channel through which you receive, experience and express the energies of these stars.

Antares is Alpha Scorpii, the heart of Scorpius, the Scorpion, a red supergiant Royal Star that was called the Watcher, or Guardian of the West; it is accompanied in these celestial longitudes by Tau Scorpii, one of two Praecordia, Veins which Suspend the Heart or Outworks of the Heart. The other stars here are Rastaban (also called Alwaid), Beta Draconis, the eye of Draco, the Dragon, Kuma, Nu2 Draconis in the Dragon's head, Omega Ophiuchi in the left foot of Ophiuchus, the Serpent-Bearer (stepping on, and, some say, crushing, the Scorpion-of-death); the Greeks said Ophiuchus was Aesculapius, the great physician, Son of Apollo, Globular Custer M12 and "gigantic" supermassive colliding Galaxies/Black Holes (NGC 6240) in the chest of Ophiuchus (these rightly belong to Serpens, the Serpent, for early texts describe the Serpent winding around the great shamanic figure of Ophiuchus) (serpents have always been associated with healing and renewal, because they shed their skins and grow new ones), and Pi Herculis in the left groin or thigh of Hercules, the Strong Man. Antares and Tau Scorpii were determinant stars of three ancient lunar mansions: in China they were stars of Sin, The Heart (of the huge, very ancient Great Azure Dragon of the Eastern Palace of Spring), associated with royalty (it is royal, and a heart, and associated with Mars and fire in both the eastern and western traditions!); it was also called Ta-Ho, The Great Fire and Ming-Tang, The Temple of Light; at its heliacal rising a ceremony of renewal of fire, representing the heat of the Sun, was performed; sacrifices were offered to encourage the fertility of nature and of the royal family. Chinese astrologers considered this asterism the symbol of the Emperor, the Son of Heaven "because man was the heart of heaven and earth, therefore the Son of Heaven was Master of Man." In India the same stars were determinants of Jyestha, 'The Eldest,' eldest of the Moon God's Queens with the highest political and spiritual power among them, even if superseded by younger wives; Jyestha's ruler is Indra, King of the Gods, connected with sky and rain, who rides into battle against enemies of the Gods astride a mighty elephant, wielding a thunderbolt - the rainbow is his bow. Jyestha represents that which is senior in every sense (the oldest, most powerful, the eldest brother), and praise. In Arabia they were determinants of al-Kalb al-Akrab, the Scorpion's Heart.

The fiery red heart of the sky-Scorpion stands in for the anguished, oft-broken heart of humankind, alternately hopeful and despairing, noble and base, courageous and cowardly, hoping against hope that there will be a return to the One. Called the Watcher (Guardian) of the West, it is exactly opposite Aldebaran, Alpha Tauri, Watcher of the East; they are two of the four great "royal stars" of ancient Persia. Antares was the Sumero-Akkadian Dar-lugal, "The Great-one, The King;" reputed to confer courage, intelligence, status, honors and riches, but with the danger of a fall from high position (a characteristic of royal stars). And here there be dragons! The Scorpion's heart combines its energies with stars of Draco the Dragon's head with its all-seeing eye, and since Alpha Scorpii was, in ancient China, the heart of Ts'ang-Loung, their huge, prehistoric sky-dragon, there is certainly something of a mythically beastly aura here! These remarkable stars offer you courage and intelligence with the possibility of great power, authority and riches (a royal star offers the possibility of honors, wealth, and reaching the top of one's profession), but also a tendency to belligerence, violence, suspicion, self-destructiveness and the possibility of a fall from grace and a loss of property and/or position. The unearthly power of dragons assures that you will be ferociously ambitious and glory-seeking. Quick-witted, imaginative, rash, headstrong, you need social and intellectual stimulation, seek excitement, and expect to be at the center of any activity (and in charge!), sometimes riding roughshod over those around you, for you approach life with a greater-than-average intensity. Stress is your natural habitat - if you are not in the midst of it, you will seek it out (or create it!). According to the ancient Liber Hermetis [these degrees] "make men powerful magnates, traveling in many regions and subjecting barbarous peoples." You are tough, energetic, impulsive, obstinate, dominant; your life may be marred by quarrels with colleagues, friends and relatives, who do not understand you; your domestic life may be unhappy, and you may have more than one marriage. A saving grace is your very good sense of humor and your wry, whimsical observations of human foibles; indeed, you have a distinct talent for comedy! You also possess considerable eloquence and a love of language and its uses (you delight in it, play with it, showing off your skill with words) but along with it a propensity for exaggeration. At your best you are hard-working, broadminded, gracious, generous and philanthropic, but the dark Serpent also dwells here, with its potential for greed and selfish, destructive, self-justifying malevolence - and Hercules adds a daredevil quality. You have great strategic ability, and you pride yourself on your detached, analytical, critical eye; if your chart so warrants, you may achieve prominence through war; otherwise war will bring loss, death, disgrace. Shaman Ophiuchus-Aesculapius continues his medical influence; Antares brings in a focus on the heart and its ailments, and Rastaban (the dragon's eye), brings in eye problems. The dragon's eye also confers upon you vivid, dramatic conceptual and visualization powers (many anatomists have positions here - the word "dragon" derives from the Greek derkein, "seeing"), a sense of drama and "flair," and an ability to see the big picture (a great number of filmmakers and playwrights have positions here). The military, politics, medicine, business, economics, sociology, academia, fashion and textiles, the study of ancient languages, sports, music, art, dance, and the occult (especially astrology) are some of the preferred professions of those born under these stars, pursued with stubborn determination; a few may live to become "representatives" of their nation and/or culture. Overconfidence and arrogance can get you into trouble: prone to fixed, obsessive ideas, you do not do well in positions of unlimited power, for you may go overboard and come to believe yourself infallible. With the overlay of tropical Sagittarius, in your anxiety to be noticed, admired, promoted, you may become hypocritical (especially in religious matters) and/or make wrongful accusations. In your life you will deal with issues of race, class, slavery, and human rights. Other issues include coldness, selfishness versus compassion, humanitarianism; jealousy versus generosity of spirit, tolerance or intolerance and prejudice versus openmindedness. Here from the polar heights the Dragon's all-seeing eye perceives the deep truths of the Scorpion's heart; both are in the service of Ophiuchus, great shaman-healer of the zodiac. Possible physical and/or psychological manifestations: heart ailments, heart attacks, heart surgery (in the West, Antares is the heart of the Scorpion, in China, it is the heart of the Dragon), eye problems, blindness (Rastaban is the Dragon's eye), head injuries or ailments, danger of accidents, especially from machinery, burns, wounds, poisoning (including environmental poisons), danger to the lungs; addictions, including sexual addiction; depression, murder, suicide; possible danger from nuclear events and disasters, wars and battles (especially those concerned with issues of national sovereignty), fires, earthquakes, storms, air crashes, fog, smog, pollution, epidemics, mass deaths, extremism, terrorism, murder, execution, attacks, assassination

Examples of the Sun here include Winston Churchill, PM of England, (descendant of Sir John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough), cavalryman, journalist, author (Edward R Murrow said "he mobilized the English language and sent it into battle") (suffered two major "falls from grace" in his life, one lasting the entire stretch between WWI and WWII) (his role in WWII would seem to justify Antares' ancient title "Guardian of the West"), Georgi Zhukov, Marshal of Soviet Union (most important Soviet military commander of WWII, survivor of Stalin's purges of the military), General George B McClelland, Union commander, US Civil War, presidential candidate against Abraham Lincoln, Sir Clowdisley Shovell, 17th-18th-century century Admiral who died after his ship hit rocks of the Scilly Isles in 1707 (he had just hanged a seaman who had dared to suggest they were off course; he made it to shore, but was murdered for his emerald ring), Dr Jean-Martin Charcot, medical teacher, anatomist, clinician, a founder of modern neurology who experimented with hypnosis (Ophiuchus!), Dr Joseph Bell, surgeon and forensic pathologist, whose powers of deduction and observation inspired his student Doyle's literary character Sherlock Holmes, Anna Freud, psychoanalist, Amos Bronson Alcott, 19th-century self-educated transcendental philosopher, visionary, reformer, abolitionist and pro-feminist educator whose school failed (1835) after he took in a black student and the other students left (his daughter, Louisa May Alcott, also born with the Sun here, wrote books, including "Little Women," to support the family), William H Holmes, 19th- century geologist, anthropologist, archaeologist and illustrator, William Blake, 18th-19th-century artist, poet and mystic (had visions of God, prophets, angels, throughout his life), Il Bronzino (Agnolo di Cosimo di Mariano), 16th-century mannerist artist, Georges Seurat, 19th-century pointillist painter (died at 31 of "an infectious angina" - probably diphtheria), Gianni Versace, fashion designer (murdered-shot in head), Mark Twain, Louisa May Alcott, Rex Stout, authors, Gordon A Parks, photographer and author, Anton Webern, composer, José Iturbi, pianist, Maria Callas, soprano (died at 53 of a heart attack), Mary Martin, Lou Rawls, singers, Bette Midler, singer, comedian, actress, Alicia Markova, Violette Verdy, ballerinas, Patrick Bissell, ballet dancer (a Latin epithet for Hercules was saltator, "leaper") (addict, suicide at 30), Woody Allen, writer, playwright, director, filmmaker and comedian, Jean Baptiste Lully, 17th-century dancer, comedian and composer to Louis XIV (who "supported him despite his disapproval of Lully's high-handedness and overt homosexual behavior") (died of gangrene after a cane he was using to beat time pierced his foot), Cyril Ritchard, actor, Dick Clark, disk jockey, Judith Sullivan, nun who left her convent, fought bone marrow cancer (ilium crest, left hip, top of skull), healed herself, became a designer and decorator, Jim Plunkett, football quarterback (Hercules!), Lee Trevino, champion golfer

Starset RASALHAGUE - 20°Sg12' to 23°Sg21'

Venus is aligned with starset Rasalhague

Venus is the planet of love, desire, social impulses, beauty and art; it is affectionate, adaptive, receptive, calming, charming, sensual and seductive. In your horoscope, Venus is the channel through which you receive, experience and express the energies of these stars.

Rasalhague (from Ras al Hawwa, the Head of the Serpent-charmer) is Alpha Ophiuchi, the star in the head of Ophiuchus, the Serpent-Bearer, a shamanic figure whom the Greeks associated with Aesculapius, the Great Physician. It is accompanied in these celestial longitudes by Kepler's Supernova Remnant (V843 Ophiuchi, Radio Source 3C358), the remains of a great supernova that appeared in the right foot of Ophiuchus in 1604, Xi Serpentis in Serpens, the Serpent that is held by Ophiuchus (serpents have always been associated with healing and renewal, because they shed their skins and grow new ones), Grumium, Xi Draconis in the head of Draco, the Dragon, Choo, Alpha Arae, along with Beta Arae and Iota Arae in the base of Ara, the (fiery) Altar, and stars of the sting of Scorpio, the Scorpion: Shaula, Lambda Scorpii and Lesath, Upsilon Scorpii, determinant stars of ancient lunar mansions of the Euphrates Valley, China, India and Arabia: the ancient Euphratean Sar-gaz, "Director-of-Sacrifice," China's Wi (or Wei), "The Tail" of their great Dragon, "Celestial Master of the Firmament," governing, among other things, successions and inheritances, India's Mula, "The Root," symbolized by a tied bunch of roots, conferring magical powers, protecting those physically or mentally disabled, and standing for non-violence, non-injury, and everything bound, rooted, tied-up, or captured, and Arabia's Al Shaula, the Sting. Also in this area are X-ray burster Terzan Z, a black hole at the core of a globular cluster, just above the Scorpion's sting, and minor stars of Hercules, the Strong Man.

The heads of the Dragon and Serpent-Bearer are filled with powerful, ageless wisdom that can be used for healing, and indeed, mending, restoring and revivifying are your greatest potentials; but as the Scorpion's sting is here, there may be destructiveness as well. Your imagination can run out of bounds, and you have a tendency to be nervous, high-strung, intense and obsessive. Intelligent and analytical, you love to argue, tend to exaggerate, and "take no prisoners;" it is as if ordinary expression is not enough for you - you seem to feel a need to reach for an exalted (or demonic) level. Drawn to intrigues and desperate and dangerous situations, you are resourceful, experimental, and good at uncovering hidden secrets that can either bring enlightenment or prove embarrassing to others. Combined with the influence of tropical Sagittarius, you are intensely curious, travel frequently, and have a love of learning, discovery and experimentation; but these are often at war, without and within, with rigid dogmas of religion, science or politics. You can "think big" and have powers of visualization that are remarkable and ideas that are often ahead of their time, but privately your strong passions may dominate, undermining worldly success and personal relationships. Self-driven and combative, with fierce, hard-to-control emotions, you have remarkable gifts of expression, but may suffer from an inner emotional intensity that can be agonizing; indeed, rather than manifesting the healing powers of Ophiuchus, you may be the one who needs to be healed! At your best you are sociable, humane, broad-minded and philosophical, with good judgment, analytical ability and visual acuity, but beware the poisonous Serpent combined with the savage Scorpion's sting, for they bring the danger of a distrustful, suspicious and hypocritical intolerance that can become fully malevolent. You love to give advice, telling others what to do and how to do it and the instinct to heal makes you an inveterate "fixer," renewing, repairing, refurbishing people, relationships, schools, society, government and institutions (these stars produce excellent teachers and supervisors); however, you are also quite capable of making yourself unpopular by being abrasive, opinionated, critical and argumentative (Morse has "incisive wit...as damaging as a knife") and your inner drive and restlessness may, if not controlled, lead to self-destruction. Business, science (especially medicine), public affairs, sports, religion, philosophy, education, writing (with a particular gift for popularizing science), philology and the study of ancient texts, astrology, mythology, photography and the occult are possible areas of success. You are willing to go head-to-head with the "powers-that-be" over social injustices, looking for reasons, searching for scapegoats. Intensely proud of your roots and/or native land, you can cater to the public, but essentially you are a very secretive, distrustful, reserved and private person, an "outsider," though not a loner. A few born under these stars may become blatantly dishonest and immoral. Issues in your life include openness and intellectual honesty versus close-mindedness and insistence on your own convictions; tolerance versus being prejudiced, doctrinaire, destructive; humanitarianism versus selfishness and cruelty. You may become intrigued by end-of-life concerns, and the manner of human transitions from this life to the next. There is something to do here with chemicals and acids. The last decanate of tropical Sagittarius sometimes brings in situations where the marriage partner is, or becomes, an invalid. There is a need here to heal not only the body and mind, but the soul as well. Here the heads of healer-shaman Ophiuchus and the all-seeing Dragon challenge the Scorpion-of-death, while the eternal flames of Ara, the Altar carry healing prayers to heaven. Possible physical and/or psychological manifestations: head injuries, crippling, deafness, stuttering, infection-prone (toxemia); illness, accidents, surgery; perversions, mental illness and/or depravity, misogyny, addictions; possible abuse of drugs, alcohol and stimulants; possible danger from earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, explosions, fires, chemicals, acids, poisons, catastrophes, including economic catastrophes, insect or snake attacks and bites, rabid animal attacks, attacks, invasions, assassination (but also, under these stars, are attempts to make peace)

Examples of Venus here include Winston Churchill, British Prime Minister, author and journalist (Edward R Murrow said "he mobilized the English language and sent it into battle"), General Augusto Pinochet, brutal Chilean dictator, Ezra Pound, poet (extreme anti-semite, made propaganda broadcasts for fascists in WWII), Bruce Ismay, Manager of White Star Line who took a seat in a lifeboat, saving himself in the Titanic disaster, Gilbert Stuart, 18th-19th-century portraitist, Claude Monet, 19th-20th-century impressionist painter who often struggled with poverty but was helped by friends, a perfectionist who refused to paint unless the light of the sun reflected exactly the way he wanted it - "a true genius whose understanding of light and color helped him create some of the most important impressionist paintings in the history of art" (eyesight failing, died of lung cancer at 86), Solomon Butcher, itinerant photographer of Nebraska pioneers, Chic Young, cartoonist ("Blondie"), Junior Wells, blues singer and harmonica player, Cheiro (Count Louis Hamon), palm reader, Friedrich Wilhelm Blass, 19th-century biblical philologist and classical scholar, Baruch Spinoza, 17th-century pantheist philosopher (earned his living as a lens grinder), Mark Twain, Norman Mailer, Robin Moore, authors, Alexander Solzhenitsyn, author concerned with repentance and moral renewal (years of imprisonment and exile) (Nobel laureate), Steve Allen, comedian, musician, television personality, Helen Wallenda, matriarch of the extremely perilous "Flying Wallendas" 7-person-pyramid high-wire act (several were killed), Charles Atlas, body-builder (Hercules!), Dominguin, bullfighter, Jack Abbott, murderer-author ("In the Belly of the Beast"), Bruno Hauptmann, kidnap-murderer of Lindbergh baby (executed), Baker Quintuplets born 1995

Starset AL BALI - 7°Aq30' to 10°Aq22'

Saturn is aligned with starset Al Bali

Cautious, serious, conservative Saturn has an influence that is structuring, controlling and disciplinary; it represents authority, rules, organizing and teaching, but can also repress, limit, frustrate and delay, in order, in the long run, to bring about patience, dedication and discipline; it is the “great teacher” of the planets. In your horoscope, Saturn is the channel through which you receive, experience and express the energies of these stars.

Al Bali is Epsilon Aquarii, a star in the extended left hand of Aquarius, the Water-Pourer, stretched out over the back of Capricornus, the Sea-Goat; it is accompanied in these celestial longitudes by 24 Capricorni in the belly of Capricornus, 71 Aquilae just southeast of Aquila, the Eagle, Chi Cygni in the neck of Cygnus, the Swan, 49 Draconis above the neck of Draco, the Dragon. and Delta Indi in the modern figure of Indus, the (American) Indian. Al Bali is a determinant star of ancient China's lunar mansion Niu, the Virgin or Maiden, presiding over marriage, spinning, weaving, house construction. It was also Siu-Niu the Servant, a lower concubine handling menial female tasks. In Arabia it was a determinant of Sa'd Bula or al Sa'd al Bula, the Good Fortune of the Swallower (al-Biruni had "Glutton," and Lockyer translated it "Greedy Sa'd"). In ancient Orphic and Platonic doctrine, the constellation of Capricornus was the Gate of the Gods "wherein the souls of men, when released from corporeity, ascended to heaven through its stars;" it is also a Portal of Angels. In very ancient Euphratean cuneiform texts, some stars of Aquarius, the Water-Pourer formed a figure called Gula, a goddess of medicine.

Under the aegis of the voyaging Sea-Goat and high-soaring Eagle and Swan, you are driven by an inner restlessness and "divine dissatisfaction," forever seeking knowledge and experiences beyond your own place and time. As a true Aquarius (tropical and sidereal Aquarius overlap here, for the stretched-out left hand of the Water-Pourer hovers over Capricornus, adding his influence to this ancient "Gate of the Gods"), you are a quixotic, independent perfectionist, extraordinarily resourceful and able to turn your hands and mind to virtually anything, and you have your own eccentric, original, unusual way of expressing yourself. The outlying stars of Delphinus, the Dolphin are also here, with their association with humane and helpful instincts (and swimming!) Although you have religious and philosophical concerns, you are by nature analytical and a theorist, and although faith may be important in your life, it is probably not your profession, for very few turned up here that had chosen a religious vocation. Most born under these stars remain determinedly secular, seeming to sense that they are here to deal with the responsibilities and obligations of practical, political and social commitments here on Earth. You observe with a cold and honest eye: legal and political theory, law, social philosophy, analysis and criticism are possible interests; you have a great love liberty, and have come to understand that true freedom can only come out of patience, hard work and discipline. You enjoy words and are easily bored without intelligent conversation; with your sense of the dramatic, you have the potential to become an entertainer (including comedy), dramatist or filmmaker, dancer, musician and (especially), a poet (Cygnus is associated with poetry). Intensely interested in sexuality, you indulge in it, study it, and talk about it (and al-Biruni said this Manzil was "The Glutton" - you do love to eat!). You may be an antiquarian, tracking down and studying anything ancient and/or occult, especially astrology, and you are drawn to travel, exploration and all facets of science, including engineering, mathematics, aeronautics, physics, geology, geography, finance, manufacturing, technology and invention (you are a "hands-on" person). You may be able to accrue considerable wealth, but then you find that you are not satisfied with it. Many here are fond of animals, and some become animal-rights activists. Stubborn and persistent, you tend to be intemperate and may fly in the face of convention; in your single-mindedness you may shut out or reject much-needed advice, taking things to extremes, arousing powerful feelings in others for good or ill, but it is your nature to plow ahead, ignoring what others think. The darker side of this is that some here become extremists, terrorists, gangsters, murderers and assassins. Some may experience desolations, sorrows and losses, and despite the love of ancient knowledge, there are also examples here of the wanton destructions of ancient sanctuaries and texts (although there are discoveries of ancient artifacts as well!). In politics, extremes of both liberalism and conservatism are found here. There are issues in your life of skepticism, cynicism versus dedication and faith, of loyalty versus rebellion, of an open, receptive mind versus adamancy and a refusal to listen or take advice, and of the intolerant rejection and destruction of ancient learning and traditions, or recognizing the worth of other cultures and beliefs, and salvaging them. Here the Water-Pourer's extended left hand holds open Capricornus' Portal of Angels, ushering in heaven's celestial guardians, while high-flying Aquila and soaring Cygnus bring inspiration and joy to those below. Possible physical and/or psychological manifestations: multiple births, birth anomalies or defects; no children or problems with children; possible danger from storms, especially winter storms, ice, cold, high winds, shipwrecks, air crashes, earthquakes, eruptions, terrorist attacks, murder, assassination or violent death

Examples of Saturn here include Sir Winston Churchill, PM of England, author and journalist (Edward R Murrow said "he mobilized the English language and sent it into battle"), Sir Ernest Shackleton, Antarctic explorer who led his men on an extraordinary trek of survival after their ship was wrecked in the ice (1st-century astrologer Manilius associated Capricornus with cold and ice), Louis III de Bourbon, 17th-18th-century 6th Prince de Conde, brave in battle but "almost a dwarf, enormous head, yellow complexion, notoriously malevolent and offensive," Jean-Baptiste Carrier, radical terrorist official during the French Revolution, notorious for his "noyades" - mass drownings (convicted of mass-murder, guillotined), Abdul-Baha Abbas, leader of the Ba'hai faith, Julius Wellhausen, 19th-century Old Testament scholar, Dr George Shambaugh, authority on ear disorders, a pioneer in the use of operating microscope to prevent deafness due to congenital ear defects, Dr Benjamin Spock, pediatrician and anti-war activist, Hans W Kosterlitz, neuropharmacologist (found clues in brain to pain control), Ada Byron (Lord Byron's daughter), 19th-century Countess of Lovelace, mathematician who helped Babbage with the 1st mechanical calculator, Maria Reiche, mathematician and linguist (the "Lady of the Lines" who devoted her life to the study of ancient Nazca lines in the Peruvian desert, Mary Cassatt, (almost blind in old age), Yoko Ono, artists, George Orwell, author, James Beard, gourmet and cookbook author, Arnold Schoenberg, composer, George Balanchine, choreographer (died at 79 of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease), Ray Bolger, dancer ("Scarecrow" in Wizard of Oz), Kim Novak, Henry Travers (angel Clarence in "It's a Wonderful Life"), David McCallum, Godfrey Cambridge, actors, Fernandel, comedian, Bing Crosby, Nina Simone, singers, Jeanne Dixon, psychic and astrologer, Jay Seabring, Hollywood hairdresser (murdered in the Manson killings), John Dillinger, gangster, Male (no name given), child molester, sentenced to California State Hospital for sex offenders, Kray twins (male), sadistic murderers

Conclusion

Author and lecturer Diana K. Rosenberg has been acclaimed as the world's foremost authority on Fixed Stars. A founding member and Vice-President of The Uranian Society, she has written articles for the Mountain Astrologer, NCGR Journal, Geocosmic News, The Traditional Astrologer, Astrology Quarterly, Ingress, Heliogram, Urania, Dell Horoscope & American Astrology magazines. She is the author of "The New Fixed Star Workbook", "Nakshatras, Manzils and Hsui: Hindu, Arabic and Chinese Lunar Mansions Research Workbook" and a "Correspondence Course in Fixed Stars and Constellations". Llewellyn's "The Astrology of the Macrocosm" includes her chapter "Stalking the Wild Earthquake", NCGR's "Essentials of Intermediate Astrology" contains her essay on Fixed Stars, and her chapter on Fixed Stars and the Hindu Lunar Mansions appears in Richard Houck's Hindu Astrology Lessons.

Diana K. Rosenberg lives in New York, USA. Email address: ye-stars@ix.netcom.com

Illustrations are from The Geography of the Heavens, by Elijah H Burritt, New York, 1835.

Text Copyright © 2004, Diana K. Rosenberg.