Storm Warnings

Dear Friend and Client:

We are now in the Mercury Storm phase of Mercury retrograde and have been for a few days: the Winged God's slowest motion prior to beginning or ending a retrograde. This is always an interesting moment, full of revelations. The truth has a way of slipping out under this astrology and aspects of the hidden world are revealed for what they are.

Mercury stations direct overnight from Friday to Saturday at 12 degrees of Virgo and 12 minutes, ending a three-week retrograde. If you're born within a few days on either side of March 4, June 4, Sept. 6 or Dec. 5 of any year, you're getting an especially direct encounter with this event. Isn't it interesting?

The current cluster of astrological events includes Chiron's station to direct motion on the 18th, the approaching Libra equinox on the 23rd, followed by the Libra new moon on the 25th, and the Mars station direct on the 27th. Mars has been retrograde since July 29 and Chiron since April 25. In my experience, inner planet stations (such as Mercury, Venus and Mars) tend to be the more overt, challenging and obviously interesting than outer planet stations (which do have their moments). Chiron can have many properties of an inner planet (though at this stage in its orbit, it's out beyond Saturn, and technically is an outer planet).

As so often happens, any one of these events -- the equinox, or a Mercury or Mars station -- would be enough to define an era or a space of one's life in a distinct way, coming with noticeable changes and tangible experiences associated with the event. Knowing that there's astrology happening helps the unconscious mind synchronize with the changes. Planetary stations all come with a yellow light. Don't push it, is the message; keep an even tempo, solve problems as they arise, go with the flow and watch for changes. Pay attention. Situations have a tendency to reverse themselves. Messages can be confused, meanings misinterpreted, and unusual information can come to the surface. Mercury retrograde always warns to make sure there's really a problem before you try to solve it.

Stations can be stormy times, but they are also beginnings, and represent clear interchanges where decisions lead to different outcomes than those to which we're normally accustomed. They are times of accentuated change.

Meanwhile, storm is the word of the week, at least among astrologers, along the eastern seaboard and on every station, as Hurricane Isabel soaks, floods, puffs and knocks out power for millions (an appropriately Mercury storm kind of outcome) in the mid-A region.

The other night while staying near Mt. Rainier, my first visit to a volcano, I saw a Weather Channel special on the five worst storms of the 20th century. Though it was really a 19th century event, the 1900 hurricane that struck Galveston, Texas was on the list. That storm killed 8,000 people and was, so far and by far, the deadliest natural disaster in United States history. People had no clue what was happening as the storm approached. Eventually, a meteorologist standing on the beach, watching the rather unusually large waves, figured it out. He ran up and down the beach warning people about the approaching storm. No Doppler radar, NOAA satellite images from every angle or precise measurements of the storm's power, speed and trajectory. Just some big, big waves, wind and a feeling in the air.

Now we take it to the opposite extreme. One of the reasons that the networks can fear-monger for a solid week as a storm approaches is because of what happened in Galveston (even though that was probably a Category 5 hurricane whereas Isabel made landfall as a Category 2, considerably less powerful). Another reason is that it's an easy distraction from the important, distressing news at hand: presidential scandals, a horrid, bogged-down and fraudulent war and the worst economic conditions in a generation or three.

But the real reason is that the media knows that people cling to fear for their only reassurance of safety. Fear and impending disaster get our attention and justify all the stunning effort we put into controlling the natural environment and our personal environments, maintaining safety, protecting security and scouring the 28 video cameras watching every corridor, entrance and exit.

Life is actually lived differently. No matter how safe your car is, you still need to be a safe driver.

Let's keep an eye on the podium.

On Sept. 17 at 12:17:02 p.m. (yes, they timed it down to the second) retired Gen. Wesley Clark uttered these words: "My name is Wes Clark. I am from Little Rock Arkansas. And I'm here to announce that I intend to seek the presidency of the United States of America." View chart.

His web page tells us, "Gen. Wesley K. Clark is one of the nation's most distinguished retired military officers. During his thirty four years of service in the United States Army, he held numerous staff and command positions, rising to the rank of 4-star general and NATO Supreme Allied Commander."

His resume continues, "From 1997 through May of 2000, Gen. Clark was NATO Supreme Allied Commander and Commander in Chief of the United States European Command. In this position, Gen. Clark commanded Operation Allied Force, NATO’s first major combat action, which saved 1.5 million Albanians from ethnic cleansing in Kosovo."

Did the Texas Rangers ever win a pennant while George W. Bush was part-owner? That's as close to a military track record as we had with Dubya before he was selected president. Now we're in a rather messy, horrifying war with no sign of ever getting out. None of the Democratic candidates seems to be cut from the proverbial presidential timber or have the actual background to be commander-in-chief. Along comes Wes Clark, a military man in military times, who recently disclosed he was a Democrat (really recently, as in earlier this month), seeking nomination on the Democratic ticket.

(Noteworthy that the last guy who went from retired general to president, Dwight Eisenhower, also had some ambivalence about his political party -- an authentic dyed-in-the-wool Republicrat. True, military dudes are carefully bred to be allegedly apolitical. They have to take orders from the commander-in-cheese no matter what his political afflictions may be.)

A recent essay by Sean Higgins sums up the perception of the Clark candidacy nicely.

Many Democrats see him as a potential front-runner despite his late entry and lack of experience or funding.

Rep. Charlie Rangel, D-N.Y., an influential member of the party's black caucus, immediately endorsed him as the best hope to win the White House.

The centrist New Republic magazine called Clark 'manna from heaven' for the party.

That's a lot of hype for someone who never ran before. But Clark has a rare resume. He is a retired four-star Gen. and former NATO commander. He finished first in his class at West Point and is a Rhodes scholar.

Many Democrats think he alone can beat Bush on his strongest issue: national security.

"It's all about being able to go toe to toe with Bush on defense," said one liberal activist.

He's even being touted as having been opposed to the invasion of Iraq (an interesting litmus test of our culture right now, but this fact is not a true fact, see report by FAIR) and endorsed as an honest guy by Michael Moore, who recently called on him to join the race in one of his famous open letters to famous people. It seems too good to be true.

As usual, the chart tells a more complicated story.

Let's start with what we know without even looking at a chart. Wes Clark declared his candidacy not only with Mercury retrograde; he did so with Mercury making its station, in the midst of the Mercury storm. The day he made the announcement, Mercury moved just 22 arc minutes -- less than a third of a degree. That's powerful, but what kind of powerful? Mercury represents messages and messengers and is about to reverse itself. (For reference, the bungled 2000 election was conducted with Mercury making an exact station.)

We also know that Mars is about to station direct as well, in the very fishy sign Pisces. When planets like Mars and Mercury are about to turn around, you could say that things are about to turn around. What things? Well, anythings.

Let's look at the chart from the standpoint of horary astrology, which is 'the study of the hour'. In this case, we can study the hour, minute and second. Horary likes to have a question. How about, 'What kind of president would Wes Clark make?' or we could ask, 'Is Wes Clark's candidacy viable? Could he win?' Let's keep both questions in mind.

Looking at the chart, we discover that this chart has Sagittarius rising in the very first degree of that sign. The early-degree ascendant symbolizes to me (among other things) that Clark is new to this kind of politics. The degree symbol (Sabian symbol) for the first degree of Sagittarius is: "Retired Army veterans gather to reawaken old memories." I'm not making that up. One meaning of this degree is "the perpetuation of the spirit of the struggle for power."

Now let's see what story the planets tell, which should reveal well enough that Gen. Clark does not have an astrologer, in the tradition of great leaders of the past.

Jupiter, the ruler of Sagittarius, is in Virgo, and in the 9th house. Jupiter is the primary significator for Gen. Clark. The 9th house is about one's vision, international affairs, the ministry and education: as top of his class at West Point, a Rhodes Scholar and former Supreme Commander of NATO, we have a good image of the candidate. Unfortunately, Jupiter can be weak in Virgo, too detail-oriented and not able to express the freedom and expansive qualities that make Jupiter what it is.

But it's high up in the chart; higher is better, where planets are concerned. He seems like a fairly straightforward guy.

In a chart dealing with the presidency, we naturally look to the 10th house. This (to reference William Lilly's 1647 astrology textbook Christian Astrology, the first written in English) is the house "of government, office, dignity, preferment, or any place of command or trust" and in particular, whether such "is attainable or not."

The 10th is an extremely interesting house in this chart. Virgo is on the 10th cusp. Mercury is the ruler of Virgo. Mercury is not only in the 10th house, in Virgo, it is the highest planet in the horoscope. Mercury has all kinds of dignity, that is, it's very strong: it has natural dignity as the ruler of Virgo and what's called accidental dignity as the highest planet. In theory, that's good news for Gen. Clark. This is the question of his quest for the presidency, and its planet is well dignified. But... it's retrograde. More on that later.

As for the Moon. This we find in Gemini, making an exact square to Mercury. This is the chart's closest aspect, and it's applying to Mercury right in that moment: the aspect has not perfected yet, but it's very close; it is definitely a major focal point of the chart. The Moon is in the 7th house -- a house that has public connotations, as does the Moon itself. We might view the square aspect to Mercury as some kind of conflict, and there is a conflict brewing -- but it's really an aspect that says something happens. Or rather, something is happening; it certainly is.

The Moon's square to Mercury on one level represents the populist challenge against the currently seated president. Considering that the currently seated president didn't win the presidency by election, and that his administration has been wrought with scandal after scandal and bungles everything it touches, it's not surprising that there would be a real challenge. But that Moon, well, it's in Gemini, and the public may be of two minds somehow.

We also find stationing Mars in the third house of the chart -- the house of verbal expression, whether written or spoken -- opposite Jupiter and exactly square the ascendant, to one-quarter of a degree. There is some nasty, duplicitous trickery waiting in the wings of this chart in the form of verbal attack. Mars is the ruler of two houses: Scorpio is on the 12th house cusp -- the house of secrets and secret enemies, hence Mars represents a secret enemy. Aries is on the 5th, the house of kids, gambling, risks and romance, coloring Mars with these themes and energies as well. Mars is about to station, that is, to turn around and, after doing so, it opposes Jupiter, who represents Clark. There is a confrontation coming from a risk-taking secret enemy. Because Mars is retrograde and in misty Pisces, we can't see what that challenge is yet, but it comes from the third house: verbal expression, local affairs and siblings.

Here's my call. Clark's decision to run was premature, suggested by the planetary stations and the early-degree ascendant. Technically, we have in this chart what is called a stricture against judgment based on the fact of the early ascendant by itself: the traditional horary rules say toss the chart because the last three degrees or first three degrees of a sign are rising.

But the chart is also radical in that it depicts the situation in question.

Given the stricture against judgment, I'm going to offer three proposals and not attempt to resolve the question.

One, this is going to be an exceedingly interesting campaign. Gen. Clark, win or lose, provides valuable national leadership in a time when we desperately need it. Most important, Gen. Clark provides a reflecting pool wherein we get a closer look at the character of the current president. The world's greatest team of sneaky, cheating hucksters faces off against one of the world's preeminent military strategists. At worst, it's a good show. At best, a knockout fight in the last round.

Next. There is a possibility that one of the sneaky maneuvers represented by Mercury stationing direct on the 10th house cusp is that the Republicans effectively forfeit the presidency to Clark, losing and leaving him to deal with the mess created by Team Shrub. Then they play the blame the Democrats for what we've done game and steal the 2008 election fair and square. For the next four years (at least) the presidency is a no-win situation. There is no way out of Iraq or the multi-trillion dollar deficit except to blame somebody else.

Last. Bush and Cheney, unable to give up power, steal the election electronically, under the new, modern voting methods (represented by trickster Mercury in Virgo, about to station direct and run off), and they they get to be home for their comeuppance some time during their second term. The Mercury station on the midheaven at an important moment has all the markings of Bush administration astrology, reminiscent of a number of other highly mercurial charts of recent years (including 2000 election night and Sept. 11).

One extra: Clark's announcement chart is so strange his candicay is ill fated. Another Democrat takes the heat, preserving Clark's possibilities for a future election.

Okay, clearly we need to manifest more possibilities. Fortunately the chart is not conclusive and we get a new chart in the event that Clark is nominated by the Dems. Any suggestions?

Does any of this matter?

There's a lot that matters a whole lot more, but ignoring politics, appealing as it is, does not make it all go away. ++

David Arner contributed astrological research.

Virgo Birthdays This Week

You will wake up to the reality of a certain relationship situation before the lights come on for your partner. Your process is faster; you make up your mind and assess the data a lot more efficiently and have a tendency to get less bogged down in your emotions -- but you can become bogged down in the emotions of others, and in this case we may be talking about the swamp of ambivalence.

No matter how clear you are with yourself, you may feel like there's this part of you -- that part being the aspect of self that is in fact someone else -- to whom you may feel a certain devotion or allegiance despite all.

The question in this situation is one of the past versus the present. We all know how comfortable situations that remind us of the past can be, or at least can seem. As you go through experiences relating to this scenario, ask yourself when you are: is it now, or is it yesteryear? Are you responding like the person you are today, or the child you once were? Are you in some way addicted to a lack of gratification, and if so, what does that remind you of, or who?

You possess something that you never had as a small child: the power of decision. And you have the ability to change. Most of all, you have earned your place in the world, and we both know this has not been easy, particularly recently.

It may come down to this: to be free, you must change; it is an option you can delay but not avoid. That part of you that connects to others so strongly needs to take a step. It's going to take that step whether your current situation persists, survives, endures, struggles along, or not. You will emerge from the next four seasons a radically transformed person, and see the roots of your transformation going back way before you suspected they had even been seeded.

In professional matters, the challenge is becoming the person you aspire to be. Your 'goal' is not outside yourself; it is yourself. To become this person, you need to work on certain tendencies that lead you to see your role in the world as smaller than it is, or to inflate the importance of the small role you've been assigned. True success will come from embodying the wisdom and spiritual principles that for so long you've tended to project into the future, onto a seemingly unattainable aspiration, or onto a mentor or parent. It is not that you need to attain your goal, rather, you need to become your goal. And this you have the power, privilege and ability to do.


Aries (March 20-April 19)
It is time to put yourself into the marketplace, or to retreat entirely. The halfway world is not enough; a partial commitment to either or both worlds will yield results in your success within neither. Yet you don't have to sacrifice being an artist for being savvy in business. Life is not always a tradeoff of integrity for money; sometimes we are rewarded justly for what we contribute. You can thrive as one of the imagineers of our culture, playing the game that so few play well, and even fewer play with integrity. But you've reached a point where you must make a commitment, and work with a tangible definition of success.

Taurus (April 19-May 20)
Somewhere, we all keep the image of perfect romantic love filed away within us. Often it has little to do with work, kids, art, health and so many other realities of the world. This imbalance can be quite stressful, as if we're trying to keep a promise to ourselves that in many ways is just not possible. In the inner realm, I see the issue really being one of control. A well-groomed, perfectly-tailored and nicely-tamed relationship is likely to be quite boring. An exciting relationship is going to shift and shake the often shifty, shaky status quo. There comes a time for asking the questions of what you need, and the deeper questions of what you want. That time is now.

Gemini (May 20-June 21)
The past seems to come and go in odd ways, flashing into your emotions and consciousness. So let's look at the past and consider how the peculiar way that the adults in your childhood environment processed their emotions. Oh, wait -- did they? I'm getting the image of an egg in a frying pan: this is your brain on Teflon. You are not those people, you are not living in their era, and you are not Teflon. There remains a real question of how to ground and experience your emotions having had such poor examples, and the first step is to describe them to someone you trust. One result is likely to be the long-awaited improvement in a domestic situation.

Cancer (June 21-July 22)
I trust you've been doing what's necessary to get your house in order, and if not, you still have plenty of opportunity as Mercury in Virgo swivels and bops in a very helpful zone of your chart. If, alternately, the papers are strewn like mad about your office, kitchen and bedroom and bath, and there's no sign of the chaos letting up, you might want to forget the outer world for a while and investigate the changes you're experiencing on the mental level: various shifts of mind, resolutions to do things differently and inquiries into how your attitude affects your entire existence. It does, more than you currently imagine.

Leo (July 22-Aug 23)
You must keep a sense of proportion as you get the message that certain adjustments are necessary in your life. This is particularly true regarding a health issue. It's wise to make adaptations involving your body in gradual degrees, and now is a good time to start. Yet the dominant health issue involves your emotional state, and it may be subtle. In particular, I see a struggle between your need for creative expression and your need to get your work done. In theory everyone goes through this, but most people have given up the ship. Finding the correct balance will do more to help you feel better than any medicine or therapy. Faced with any question, ask another question: What do I value?

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22)
It's uncertain from looking at the planets whether a relationship situation gets better, gets worse before it gets better, or disintegrates entirely. Work the uncertainty factor for all it's worth.With both your ruling planet Mercury, as well as Mars, now in your opposite sign Pisces, switching directions by month's end, there's very little in your personal life that will remain consistent for long. The question is how you and those around you adapt to the changes, and whether you get the message that the situation in question is sending you. In summary, you need to be very clear about whether it involves an actual meeting of hearts and minds.

Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23)
Venus returning to your sign several days ago brought the first wave of relief you're likely to be granted from recent tensions; the second wave comes with the sun's ingress into your sign this week. Venus will work like a filter that allows you to see the world through more compassionate eyes, which is saying a lot: you're already one people have learned to turn to. You have great strength to offer those around you and to support your most personal relationships. You're a modern master of 'the more you give, the more you receive from giving'. But please remember: loving and thinking you love are two entirely different things.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22)
You may be wondering what you've done to deserve a particular situation in your life, or what hidden karma is at work. I can tell you that to the extent you're questioning, you're also experiencing a clean sweep, which is another way to say getting emotionally clear. Karma is action. Action is the fruit of knowledge -- or the result of ignorance. There appears to be the issue of taking an informed risk in some aspect of your life. Look carefully at how money factors into that risk, and whether your concern actually belongs there. Then either calculate your risk, or resolve not to care.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22 - Dec. 22)
Mercury is slowing to a station in Virgo as the current retrograde ends this week, and this happens in the angle of your chart that deals with career questions. Fair to say that your professional life never seems to progress as well or as quickly as you would like, though recent events have given you some insight as to why, and what you may do to correct that. The wind in your sails is about to pick up, and so is the fire in your belly. Yes, the tempo quickens and yes, you must remain patient, especially when it comes to explaining yourself to people. You may not feel you owe them an explanation, but they don't owe you anything.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20)
If you are feeling anything unusual, it's the Chiron factor. You may know that Chiron, which brings awareness to places we were least willing to look, is in your sign while Saturn is your opposite sign. Now the two are meeting in an exact 180 degree angle, which is an energetic picture of an extraordinarily direct relationship situation. This may be appearing most strongly in your encounter with one person, but more accurately as a shift of awareness in relation to everyone in your life. Among other things, this is an opportunity for you to feel what people experience when they communicate with you. Feel it; develop what you like; have compassion for what you do not like. Compassion changes everything.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19)
A micro-era of your life has begun, a brief 14-week phase of Uranus making its final visit to Aquarius. (Most other horoscope columns you read will be interpreting this transit; note the shocking diversity of viewpoints.) You now stand between the old world and the new. This is like a last visit to a city or country where you once lived before moving on to a much different life, or perhaps it's more accurate to say a new orientation on life that has been slowly evolving for the past six months. You get to choose what to leave behind and what to take with you, and but more important is to decide what is real and what is not. That seems to be changing every day, so choose with caution.

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20)
It's annoying thinking you have to take all the emotional leadership in your life, but I assure you it's not the case. People around you have much to offer in terms of guidance and support, and they are willing to share if you are willing to receive. While the long Mars retrograde that's about to draw to a close has given you much to consider (or is it reconsider), one particular emotional process must slow to a complete halt before it picks up speed again. It's likely to involve sex and its role in your relationships. Desire is a powerful driving force for spirit, but it can't handle the steering wheel. It's more like an engine. Keep control of your vehicle, which means know your truth.