Coup in Honduras

Troops in Honduras have ousted the president and flown him out of the country after a power struggle over plans to change the constitution. President Manuel Zelaya was flown to Costa Rica, where he said he had been kidnapped by soldiers in a "coup".

Mr Zelaya, who had been in power since 2006, wanted to hold a referendum that could have led to an extension of his non-renewable four-year term. The referendum had been ruled illegal by the Supreme Court and opposed by Congress.

This chart is drawn for the exact Uranus station-retrograde of July 1, and set in the Honduras capital of Tegucigalpa. Uranus of sudden change and revolutions, is precisely rising there, and square the Midheaven(government). This chart mirrors the Aries ingress(spring equinox) which also shows Uranus on the Ascendant and square the Midheaven, at Tegucigalpa.

One might also note Mercury's applying square to Uranus as it stations. Mundane astrologer H.S. Green says about hard Mercury-Uranus aspects; "Political activity, debates, meetings, and sometimes much excitement, but hindrances and unexpected troubles occur or complicated situations develop and the government is not fortunate. Accidents connected with railways, motoring, or aviation; strikes take place or are threatened; literary or educational disputes..."

From Mundane Chart Gallery

R.I.P. Michael Jackson

The controversy over Michael Jackson's correct birth-time may have finally been resolved, by new information from Vedic astrologer Chakrapani Ullal, who claims he consulted with Mr. Jackson back in the late 80's. The time of birth given by Michael to his astrologer was 7:33 PM- which puts the Pisces Full Moon on the Ascendant- or rising, and Saturn almost exactly on the Midheaven. Chakrapani was of the opinion that Michael was *not* a child molester.

If this birth-time is indeed accurate, the subsequent solar and lunar return charts should mirror Michael Jackson's tragic demise. As with Farrah Fawcett's final lunar return, MJ's June 14 lunar return for Los Angeles does reflect his death quite dramatically.

The 8th house(death) cusp is conjunct the July 21 solar eclipse degree, and the Moon's South Node(Ketu) of 'endings'. The Midheaven is conjunct Vindemiatrix- the star of widdowhood. While Uranus squares the Ascendant, and Sun. Saturn's near the Part of Fortune. And the return Ascendant conjoins the dark star Ras Alhague- so the two key angles are at the degrees of malefic stars.

The 8th house is further highlighted if you place Jackson's natal chart around the lunar return.

From Mundane Chart Gallery

R.I.P. Farrah Fawcett

The transiting North Node is now on Farrah Fawcett's natal 8th house(death) cusp. And the 1/26/09 solar eclipse conjoined her 8th house Mars almost exactly(2' orb).

From Mundane Chart Gallery

Farrah's final lunar return chart shows both the Moon and Sun on the cusp of the 8th house -180- Pluto. Maybe because she was a double Cancer, the Moon played such a pivotal role in her death, as it probably did in life.

From Mundane Chart Gallery

Today's Baghdad Bombing

From BBC News:
Baghdad Bombing

The event Moon and 8th house(death) cusp, are both at the July 21 solar eclipse degree. Seems like the 29th degree of Cancer is already sensitive, and next month's eclipse is casting a shadow back in time.

From Asia & Mideast

D.C. Metro Trains Crash

Metro Train Crash in D.C.
NY Times story

It seems a bit morbid to analyze fatal accidents and tragedies after-the-fact, but the end goal in research, is to one day make more precise forecasts that could possibly save someone's life, and not just massage the astrologer's ego. And in the spirit of that lofty and improbable aim, we'll continue to look at charts for such events, in order to identify the specific factors at work, that may have foreshadowed these occurrences.

The New Moon -180- Pluto is clearly a signature of extreme, violent, and destructive forces released. But in the chart for this fatal crash, the setting pair of Venus and Mars is quite striking. Mars in the sign of his detriment, is stronger than Venus in her dignity here. And the heightened potential for violent events in and around D.C. was apparent from the Taurus Mars ingress chart(May 31), where Mars was setting in square to the Moon's Nodal axis. Therefore, we are just confirming the traditional view that malefic planets(Mars and Saturn) in detriment tend to be more troublesome. It's like putting an unruly thug in the ghetto, where he's more likely to commit a crime.
Although I won't elaborate on the meaning of the Aquarius triple conjunction on the crash chart Nadir(4th cusp)- the involvement of Neptune suggests some ambiguity about the cause, or a technical snafu.

From Mundane Chart Gallery

Rick Levine Interview

Here is a very cool video interview with Rick Levine of StarIQ, sharing his views on astrology, fate, and free will.

Rick Levine

Enjoy.

The 6/22 Cancer New Moon

This upcoming Full Moon in Cancer is a sort of stress test regarding the most personal aspects of our lives. If someone's not getting their needs met, the underlying tension may surface now- while power/disempowerment issues become more acute too. The New Moon-Pluto opposition will amplify emotional intensity, and also geocosmic stress- especially with the Moon at perigee(closest to the earth).

The Cancer New Moon occurs less then 48 hours after the Summer Solstice, and thus heralds the birth of a season where the Sun is at it's highest in the northern hemisphere.

Since the New Moon conjoins both the U.S.(7/4/1776) Venus and Obama's natal Venus, the current financial crisis is further highlighted, along with it's impact on collective values. Moreover, as the Sun is a symbol of leaders in mundane astrology, the annual Sun-Pluto opposition suggests a stressful few days for rulers already facing threats, and/or those fighting for their political(or mortal) lives. Power struggles tend to take center stage.

The geographic longitudes occupied by the city of Kabul, Afghanistan, and Phoenix, Arizona, are possible flash-points for this New Moon's extreme potency.

From Mundane Chart Gallery

Pakistan Hotel Bombing

From Associated Press:
Peshawar--"Suicide attackers shot their way past guards and set off a massive blast outside a luxury hotel where foreigners and well-to-do Pakistanis mixed, killing at least 11 people and wounding 70, officials said.

The bombers struck the Pearl Continental Hotel late Tuesday at about 10 p.m., when nightlife was still in swing. The attack reduced a section of the hotel to concrete rubble and twisted steel and left a huge crater in a parking lot.

The blast came a week after Taliban leaders warned they would carry out major attacks in large cities in retaliation for an army offensive to reclaim the nearby Swat Valley region from the militants."
Read More

Mars exactly squaring the Jan. 26 solar eclipse degree today, and the May 24 New Moon that tightly(28' of arc)conjoined the eclipse Ascendant(Peshawar), are the key timing factors here.

From Asia & Mideast

Air France Flt. 447

The saga of ill-fated Air France Flt. 447, was foreshadowed by the 2009 Aries ingress(spring equinox) chart in Rio de Janeiro, that featured the Moon's Nodes prominently- often a sign of fateful events that impact the local people.

From Mundane Chart Gallery

Although the 1/26/09 solar eclipse chart had exact transits at the time of Flight 447's take-off, it's not clear how one would have forecast such an event from this chart alone. Eclipse chart & Flight 447