Attack on Dutch Royal Parade

From BBC News:
"A car driver has crashed into crowds watching a Dutch royal parade, killing five people, in an attempted attack on the royal family, officials say. The car careered into a monument meters from an open-topped bus carrying Queen Beatrix and members of her family.

The royals, who were unharmed, watched in horror as the car ploughed into bystanders in Apeldoorn, about 56 miles east of Amsterdam."
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The April 25 New Moon chart for Apeldoorn, featured the intense Venus-Mars square Pluto aspect on the local angles. This lunation clearly foreshadowed today's violent attack.

From Mundane Chart Gallery

The 2009 Aries ingress(spring equinox) at Apeldoorn, shows the Sun right on the Midheaven, and square dark Pluto. Again, we see the planetary signature of a mortal threat(Pluto) to the monarchy(Sun and Midheaven).

From Mundane Chart Gallery

Let's Hear it for the Bees

I found this intriguing article, about plants, bees, and circadian rhythms, in the New York Times this morning.

Let's Hear it for the Bees- You can set your watch by the openings and closings of certain flowers, but for real circadian synchronicity, it’s the bees.

"Gardeners know that plants open and close their flowers at set times during the day. For example, the flowers of catmint open between 6:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m.; orange hawkweed follows between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m.; field marigolds open at 9:00 a.m.

In “Philosophia Botanica” (1751), the great taxonomist Carl Linnaeus proposed that it should be possible to plant a floral clock. He noted that two species of daisy, the hawk’s-beard and the hawkbit, opened and closed at their respective times within about a half-hour each day. He suggested planting these daisies along with St. John’s Wort, marigolds, water-lilies and other species in a circle. The rhythmic opening and closing of the plants would be the effective hands of this clock.

Plants have carefully timed routines determined by internally generated rhythms. In 1729, Jean-Jacques d’Ortous de Mairan, a French astronomer, put a Mimosa plant in a cupboard to see what happened when it was kept in the dark. He peeked in at various times, and although the plant was permanently in the dark its leaves still opened and closed rhythmically – it was as though it had its own representation of day and night. The plant’s leaves still drooped during its subjective night and stiffened up during its subjective day. Furthermore, all the leaves moved at the same time. It took another 230 years or so to come up with the term circadian – about a day – to describe these rhythms."
Continued...

Potential Swine Flu Pandemic

From AP:
"Mexico closed its schools across its capital Friday after at least 16 otherwise healthy people died and more than 900 others fell ill from what could be a new strain of swine flu. The World Health Organization worried that it could mark the start of a flu pandemic.

The WHO counted at least 57 deaths in Mexico, although it wasn't yet clear if this larger number was due to swine flu. If international spread is confirmed, that meets WHO's criteria for raising the pandemic alert level."
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The chart for the Jan. 26 solar eclipse shows the Neptune-Chiron conjunction related to 'infectious diseases', angular(powerful) at Mexico City. And transiting Jupiter is moving to join these two in late May- forming a triple conjunction.

The connection between global flu pandemics and hard Jupiter-Neptune aspects, has been noted by others. And as the planetoid Chiron has a natural affinity with illness and healing, it's no stretch to assume that it would also be implicated at such times.

From Mundane Chart Gallery

The radix chart for the Mexican Revolution(Nov. 20, 1910), has Chiron(28 Aquarius) on the Ascendant(21 Aquarius), square both the Sun(28 Scorpio) and Venus(26 Scorpio). These natal aspects are being triggered now, with the outbreak of the swine flu, by the Jupiter-Neptune and Chiron conjunction- which in turn, is being activated by Mercury- natural ruler of health(Virgo), on the malefic star Algol. (Note, Mercury(-0-Algol) rose in Baghdad at the New Moon, which I've linked with the recent spike of bombings there.)

From Mundane Chart Gallery

The exact contact of Mexico's 2008 solar return Neptune(21 Aquarius 33) to the natal Ascendant(21 Aquarius 19), foreshadowed the swine flu, as the Ascendant pertains to the health and well-being of the nation and it's people. And Neptune, as it's most insidious, tends to undermine the vitality or life-force of an entity- often through mysterious, or hard to diagnose means.

Curiously- the July 22 solar eclipse chart angles, conjoin those for the Mexican horoscope, and the eclipse falls in Mexico's 6th house of illness and public health. It would therefore seem, that the swine flu virus may continue to be a problem in Mexico for some time. Moreover, in summer, such viruses tend to move to the southern hemisphere because of the weather, and then return in the Fall, in a possibly more virulent form. So the jury's still out on the severity of this swine flu epidemic.

From Mundane Chart Gallery

Regarding the connection between hard Jupiter-Neptune aspects and global flu pandemics in recent history- we find the deadly Spanish flu of 1918-1919, occurred with a Jupiter-Neptune conjunction(exact Sept. 1919)- and Chiron transiting the crucial first degree of Aries at the outbreak.

The Asian or Chinese flu virus of 1957-1958, which left about 1 million dead worldwide, took place with the 1958 conjunction of Jupiter and Neptune in Scorpio.

And the slightly less deadly Hong Kong flu of 1968-1969, occurred coincidentally with a square between Jupiter and Neptune. In general- the fixed signs of the zodiac seem be of importance, wherein these hard Jupiter-Neptune aspects tend to fall. And the current triple conjunction(Jupiter, Neptune, and Chiron) is in the fixed sign of Aquarius.

Any US horoscope for the late afternoon of 7/4/1776, will have this global conjunction of Jupiter, Neptune, and Chiron, hitting the natal Moon(27 Aquarius). And as of today, local health officials have declared a public health emergency, and intend to release around 25 percent of the Tamilfu/Relenza stockpiles, in order to preempt a possible swine flu pandemic here in the US.

Interestingly- the 2009 Cancer ingress(summer solstice) chart for D.C. has the Jupiter-Chiron-Neptune conjunction powerfully placed. The mass psychological meaning of this triple conjunction pertains to unbounded optimism and idealism, on the one hand- or inflated hopes and dreams, on the other. But the opportunity for a collective spiritual healing is a real possibility with this alignment- and that may be the most constructive way to understand this world aspect.
(Cancer ingress Ascendant/Midheaven = 26 Aquarius = Jupiter-Neptune-Chiron, direct!)

And for good measure...
I often like to present other points of view, so here are three links to articles by my peers on the swine flu.

Swine Flu Outbreak in Mexico:
Robert Blaschke analyzes the swine flu outbreak using the horoscope for Mexico's Constitution of Jan. 31, 1917. Both this chart, and the earlier one for Mexico's Revolution, appear radical in their own way.
TMA blog

From Jeff Jawer's weekly blog:
The Swine Flu...

The Astrology of Mexico:
NeptuneCafe

And from Nancy's excellent blog:
Swine Flu

Violent New Moon in Iraq

From BBC News:
"Two female suicide bombers have attacked Baghdad's main Shia shrine, killing at least 60 people and injuring 125 others, officials in Iraq say. The attack happened at the Imam Moussa al-Kadhim shrine in the Kadhimiya area as people gathered for Friday prayers.

It comes a day after 84 people were killed in two separate suicide attacks in Baghdad and Baquba.

Violence fell sharply in the last year and the latest bombing does not change this trend, but it is a worrying development, especially after Thursday's attacks. It was attacks like these that helped fuel the cycle of sectarian violence that took many thousands of lives in 2006 and 2007."
Read More

In general- I see tonight's Taurus New Moon as a sign of fruitful beginnings, and a grounded productivity, that has been lacking of late. The New Moon's trine(-120-) with Pluto in Capricorn suggests a slow, but deliberate drive to get things done, and root out whatever is getting in the way of making steady progress. While the extended Venus-Mars conjunction in fiery Aries, is bringing some life to the party, that adds spice to social interactions.

But in mundane terms, we find indications of stress and violence, angular(powerful) at Baghdad in the chart for the New Moon. This lunation conjoins a nasty fixed star called Sheratan, and tightly squares the Nodes on the meridian of Iraq's capital. While Mercury(25 Taurus) rises in Baghdad, also conjuncts Algol- the most malefic star in the sky. The Chinese referred to Algol as 'a trench of piled corpses', and sadly, this is what we're seeing in Iraq now.
Algol: Medusa's Head

This is a case where the New Moon is clearly having an effect before-the-fact, that challenges our notions of linear time and causality. And we often find eclipses, in particular- having an impact before they occur.

From Mundane Chart Gallery

Mars Enters Aries

Mars enters it's own sign of Aries on April 22, where it will stay until May 31. This ingress marks a time of increased activity, that stimulates initiative and energetic action. Just don't go off half-cocked, but move to fulfill your desires with passion, that brings no harm to others.

The houses in one's own chart, with Aries or Scorpio on the cusp, will benefit from having Mars in a dignified position.

On a mass level- the Mars in Aries period is one of heightened tension or violence in the U.S., where we've already been under siege by disgruntled wackos with guns. This is shown here by the partile square of Mars(0 Aries) to the Ascendant(0 Cancer) in D.C. Moreover, the often explosive Mars-Pluto square of April 26, activates the nation's(7/4/1776) Venus- of values, money, pleasure, and unions. The financial crisis is amplifying the angst or fear, that many are feeling. But there are many constructive ways to channel economic or emotional stress.

From Mundane Chart Gallery

Pluto: A Neo-Vedic View

The following is written by Dennis M. Harness, Ph.D.- clearly, one of the more progressive, and open-minded Vedic astrologers.

"The discovery of Pluto in 1930 by astronomer Percival Lowell reflected the beginning of a new era of powerful dictators such as Hitler and Stalin and the exploration of nuclear energy leading to the development of the atomic bomb. Pluto themes of transformative as well as destructive power would pervade the events of the 1930’s and the decades to come. At the time of this writing, the bombing of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon occurred reflecting the challenging Pluto/Saturn opposition of 2001/2002. In mythology Pluto, the god of the underworld was also called Hades which means “invisible” or “to make invisible”. The origins of Vedic astrology credited to the great sage Maharishi Parasara occurred at least several thousand years before Pluto and the other outer planets were “visible” to astronomers.1 Therefore, in traditional Jyotish or Vedic astrology, the outer planets (Uranus, Neptune and Pluto) are not utilized. Instead of focusing on the outer planets, a traditional jyotishi emphasizes the chaya grahas or shadow planets: Rahu, the north node of the Moon and Ketu, south node of the Moon. According to the ancient jyotish texts, Rahu is said to act like Saturn and Ketu is similar in nature to Mars. In my own astrological practice, I have observed the additional effects of Rahu to reflect the Uranus energy of sudden change while Ketu is somewhat similar to mystical Neptune. Pluto seems to be a combination of both of the lunar nodes representing powerful transformation and death/rebirth themes."
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The Apocalypse Code

This article which mentions the precession of the equinox's, is by Kevin Dann at Reality Sandwich.

"Though it is rarely considered such, St. John's Book of Revelations -- like the Mayan Long Count -- is both a calendar and an instrument of prophecy, and like the Long Count, its chronological clairvoyance derives from its intimacy with the stars. . . The "clock" that measures out these cycles of seven in John's Revelations is the same one that plays into the Mayan calendar -- the precession of the equinoxes, caused by the wobble of the earth upon its axis, against the background of the starry heavens.

The Earth's axis falls back through the fixed stars, 1° every 72 years; since there are 30° in each zodiacal sign, it takes 2160 years (30 x 72) for the Sun's position at the vernal equinox to pass through each zodiacal constellation. A "zodiacal year" (also known as a Great Year or Platonic Year, since Plato was one of the first to refer to it) thus lasts 25,920 (12 x 2160) years. Our present cultural age -- of Pisces -- began in the year AD 1414. The Piscean cultural age will end in AD 3574; the two following cultural ages will bring the calendar to the year AD 7894. This brings humanity to the end of the seven letters of John's Revelations. The period of seven seals (7 x 2160 = 15,120) brings the date to AD 23,014; the final period of seven trumpets carries this apocalyptic calendar to AD 38,134, denoting the end of Earth evolution, when the great purging (seven vials of wrath) will commence. Surrounded as we are by an array of doom-saying prophets who anticipate that the year 2012 will bring global catastrophe, John's Book of Revelations is a comforting calendar, since it looks forward 36,000 years into the future!"
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About Reality Sandwich:
Reality Sandwich is a web magazine for this time of intense transformation. Our subjects run the gamut from sustainability to shamanism, alternate realities to alternative energy, remixing media to re-imagining community, holistic healing techniques to the promise and perils of new technologies. We hope to spark debate and engagement by offering a forum for voices ranging from the ecologically pragmatic to the wildly visionary (which, to our delight, sometimes turn out to be the one and the same). Counteracting the doom-and-gloom of the daily news, Reality Sandwich is a platform for voices conveying a different vision of the transformations we face. Our goal is to inspire psychic evolution and a kind of earth alchemy.

Full Moon Names for 2009

By Joe Rao
SPACE.com Skywatching Columnist

"Full moon names date back to Native Americans, of what is now the northern and eastern United States. Those tribes of a few hundred years ago kept track of the seasons by giving distinctive names to each recurring full moon. Their names were applied to the entire month in which each occurred.

There were some variations in the moon names, but in general the same ones were current throughout the Algonquin tribes from New England on west to Lake Superior. European settlers followed their own customs and created some of their own names. Here is a listing of all of the full moon names, as well as the dates and times for 2009. Unless otherwise noted, all times are for the Eastern Time Zone."
Full Moon Names 2009

Powerful Italian Earthquake

From BBC News:
"A desperate search for survivors is on in the mountain city of L'Aquila in central Italy after a quake killed at least 91 people and injured 1,500.

Rescuers are picking through rubble in the walled medieval city and nearby towns and villages, some of which are said to have been virtually destroyed.

Tents are being put up in tennis courts and on football pitches to house some of the 30,000-40,000 homeless. Italy's PM Silvio Berlusconi promised a "record number of rescuers". Read more

And from the NY Times New Blog:
"As the Italian town of L’Aquila searches for survivors in the rubble of a deadly earthquake, a seismologist says that his warning that the quake was coming was dismissed by the authorities." Read More

A fellow astrologer noted that the Ascendant of this earthquake, is closely opposing the degree of the 7/22/09 total solar eclipse(29 Cancer 27). We know that eclipses often cast a shadow before they occur- but in this case, we seem to have a related incident taking place over 3 months prior to the actual eclipse.

The constellation of Aquila- the eagle, was rising in L'Aquila, Italy when the earthquake struck there.

From Mundane Chart Gallery

Total Solar Eclipse of July 22, 2009
Eclipse data

Transiting Uranus on the 4th house cusp of Italy's 1861 national chart, seems to confirm the efficacy of this horoscope.

From Mundane Chart Gallery

April 4 Pluto Station

April 4: Pluto stations retrograde.
The annual station-retrograde of Pluto is often intense by itself. This year, Venus squares Pluto as it changes direction, while Mars moves into opposition with Saturn. The profound restructuring of global financial institutions, which will be discussed at the G-20 summit in London on April 2, and conflicts about the best course of action, may certainly intensify. Both China and Russia are expected to take a more active role in shaping the design of the new world financial system. And the US billionaire George Soros says he believes that the G-20 summit will be a make-it-or-break-it event. But the real story of the G-20, is that power(Pluto) is clearly shifting away from American dominance.

I think the the following quote from former Seattle Police Chief Norm Stamper, sums up our current financial situation quite well. "We're now reaping what we have sown in the form of unbridled globalization and unfettered free trade ... it's time for all of us in this country, as we attempt to pull ourselves out of this global economic meltdown, to really take a look at what issues of social and economic justice mean within the context of globalization."

Simon Johnson of The Atlantic Monthly writes in his article 'The Quiet Coup', "the crash has laid bare many unpleasant truths about the United States. One of the most alarming, is that the finance industry has effectively captured our government— a state of affairs that more typically describes emerging markets, and is at the center of many emerging-market crises. If the IMF’s staff could speak freely about the U.S., it would tell us what it tells all countries in this situation: recovery will fail unless we break the financial oligarchy that is blocking essential reform. And if we are to prevent a true depression, we’re running out of time."

Also on April 2, the Environmental Protection Agency is expected to make a big announcement...one that could give the agency sweeping control over "transportation, manufacturing costs and how utilities generate power," according to the New York Times. This ruling "could accelerate the progress of energy and climate change legislation in Congress."

On a personal level- there is a more intense focus around reviewing and revisiting issues pertaining to values and relationships. Whatever has been buried below the surface, is poised to emerge in dramatic fashion, as Pluto has a knack for bringing denied or repressed material to light. Of course- the house where Pluto is transiting in one's chart, and any planets or angles between 1 to 4 degrees of the cardinal signs(Aries, Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn), are under extreme pressure for change and transformation now. The law of impermanence is at work, so resistance is futile. Best to let-go as gracefully as possible.

Pluto Retrograde 2009
Lynn Koiner

Mary Plumb of The Mountain Astrologer wrote this article last April, about the 2008 Pluto station-retrograde.
The Day Pluto Stood Still