FIXED STARS

A Solar Writer Report

for Napoleon Bonaparte

Written by Diana K Rosenberg

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Astrological Summary

Chart Point Positions: Napoleon Bonaparte

Planet	Sign	Position	House	Comment
The Moon	Capricorn	28°Cp58'	3rd
The Sun	Leo	22°Le46'	10th
Mercury	Leo	6°Le09'	9th
Venus	Cancer	7°Cn02'	8th	read into 9th House
Mars	Virgo	12°Vi03'	10th
Jupiter	Scorpio	15°Sc01'	1st
Saturn	Cancer	25°Cn54'	9th
Uranus	Taurus	11°Ta30'	7th
Neptune	Virgo	8°Vi42'	10th
Pluto	Capricorn	12°Cp54'	3rd
The North Node	Sagittarius	22°Sg18'	2nd
The South Node	Gemini	22°Ge18'	8th
The Ascendant	Scorpio	7°Sc07'	1st
The Midheaven	Leo	15°Le08'	10th
The Part of Fortune	Aries	13°Ar19'	5th	read into 6th House

Chart Point Aspects

Planet	Aspect	Planet	Orb	App/Sep
The Moon	Opposition	Mercury	7°11'	Applying
The Moon	Sesquisquare	Mars	1°54'	Separating
The Moon	Opposition	Saturn	3°04'	Separating
The Sun	Semisquare	Venus	0°43'	Applying
The Sun	Trine	The North Node	0°27'	Separating
The Sun	Sextile	The South Node	0°27'	Separating
The Sun	Conjunction	The Midheaven	7°37'	Separating
Mercury	Square	Uranus	5°20'	Applying
Mercury	Sesquisquare	The North Node	1°08'	Applying
Mercury	Semisquare	The South Node	1°08'	Applying
Mercury	Square	The Ascendant	0°57'	Applying
Mercury	Conjunction	The Midheaven	8°58'	Applying
Venus	Sextile	Neptune	1°39'	Applying
Venus	Opposition	Pluto	5°51'	Applying
Venus	Trine	The Ascendant	0°04'	Applying
Mars	Sextile	Jupiter	2°57'	Applying
Mars	Semisquare	Saturn	1°09'	Separating
Mars	Trine	Uranus	0°33'	Separating
Mars	Conjunction	Neptune	3°21'	Separating
Mars	Trine	Pluto	0°50'	Applying
Jupiter	Opposition	Uranus	3°30'	Separating
Jupiter	Sextile	Pluto	2°06'	Separating
Jupiter	Square	The Midheaven	0°07'	Applying
Uranus	Trine	Neptune	2°48'	Applying
Uranus	Trine	Pluto	1°23'	Applying
Uranus	Opposition	The Ascendant	4°23'	Separating
Uranus	Square	The Midheaven	3°38'	Applying
Neptune	Trine	Pluto	4°12'	Applying
Neptune	Sextile	The Ascendant	1°35'	Separating
Pluto	Square	The Part of Fortune	0°25'	Separating
The North Node	Semisquare	The Ascendant	0°10'	Applying
The South Node	Sesquisquare	The Ascendant	0°10'	Applying
The Midheaven	Trine	The Part of Fortune	1°48'	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 2020); 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 ALMACH - 10°Ta16' to 13°Ta16'

Uranus is aligned with starset Almach

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.

Almach is Gamma Andromedae in the left foot of Andromeda, the Chained Woman, a star that is accompanied in these celestial longitudes by Ts'e (or Cih), Gamma Cassiopeiae in the arm of Cassiopeia, the Queen, Menkar, Alpha Ceti, in the jaw of Cetus, the Sea-Monster, Zibal, Zeta Eridani in the upper western bend of Eridanus, the River, Pi Arietis in the loin of Aries, the Ram and 2 Persei between the head and sword of Perseus, the Rescuer. In ancient Sumer-Akkad and Babylonia, Almach, with stars of Triangulum, formed a Plow.

In ancient China, Almach was a star of T'ien-Ta-Tsiang-Kiun, the Great Celestial General or Commander of the Horses who, beside his military duties, held high responsibility for the welfare of the state, protected the weak against tyranny, put down revolts and enforced law, order, and justice. Patient, cheerful, industrious, with a great multiplicity of talents, including strategic ability, you are popular, courageous and resourceful, with the potential to become a leader and figurehead, but this is the place of the crushing jaws of Cetus, the Sea-Monster - you may experience difficult family conditions, lack of domestic harmony, or even loss of identity and home in early life, loss of fortune, or there may be an inheritance that brings misfortune with it. You are restless and passionate and may suffer from anxiety, anguish, false accusations, even disgrace and ruin (for farmers, there may be loss of crops), and/or severe health problems. Through all you remain dogged, persistent and courageous; your heart, will, and endurance are challenged to the utmost; refusing to admit defeat, you are willing to take huge risks, forging within yourself strength, perseverance, determination, commitment and devotion. Your life often runs on several rails at once, displaying your dazzling array of abilities, such as the military, politics (often these two are combined), medicine, healing (including psychic and hypnotic ability), philosophy, sports, art, theatre, literature, music and farming. With the overlay of tropical Taurus, these stars usually offer considerable creativity along with writing and performing ability, but these potentials may remain undeveloped if your will remains unfocused, or if domineering, dictatorial attitudes are indulged (Ts'e means "whip"), and if you are unwilling to listen to others, or you blame them for your personal troubles. Under such conditions you may draw or commit violence, abuse, or there may be an exile of some sort, by force, necessity, or self-imposed. The tests of these stars have positive outcomes only if you maintain your personal honor and avoid selfishness, greed, jealousy, dishonesty and any kind of immorality with great determination. Traditional star lists promise "luck" for Almach, but it is likely that this will occur only after much hard work. Challenges include developing and maintaining communications; religious faith versus skepticism or atheism, and steady cultivation of hope versus giving way to despair. Here Eridanus, the great River of Time, fertilizes and nourishes dreams, washing away all cares. Possible physical and/or psychological manifestations: disabilities, chronic illness (especially head and throat ailments and accidents: Cetus' head is here), blindness, hearing difficulties, paralysis, suffocation, drowning, alcoholism, sado-masochism, possible danger from explosions, blockages, animal attacks, assassination; may become involved in religious events.

Examples of Uranus here include Napoleon I, 18th-19th-century militaryconqueror and Emperor of France, Chulalongkorn, 19th-early-20th-century King of Siam, Cecil Rhodes, 19th-century British imperialist, business magnate, diamond tycoon and statesman, founder of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), William Lilly, 17th-century astrologer, Percival Lowell, astronomer, Michael Munkasey, astrologer, communication and transportation systems engineer, Georges Cuvier, 18th-19th-century "brilliant and prolific" naturalist and geologist, founder of studies of comparative anatomy and paleontology, H A Lorentz, theoretical physicist, Adolf Lorenz, orthopedic surgeon, Athanasius Kircher, 17th-century Jesuit scholar of philosophy, mathematics, alchemy, archaeology, oriental languages, hieroglyphics, David Thompson, 18th-19th-century Canadian-born explorer, geographer and fur trader, Ludwig Van Beethoven, 18th-19th-century composer (became deaf), Joni Mitchell, singer-songwriter, Glen Campbell, singer, John Gay, 18th-century poet and playwright ("The Beggars' Opera"), William Gillette, actor and playwright (famous for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes), Liv Ullman, Sal Mineo, (murdered), Ned Beatty, Jon Voight, Dustin Hoffman, actors, Dante Alighieri, 13th-century poet, William Wordsworth, 18th-19th century poet, known for his nature poems and sonnets, Rod McKuen, poet and singer, Jose Arguelles, art historian and new age author, I.A. (name withheld) archivist and poet who taught himself Norse and Sanskrit, Bill Cosby, actor and comedian, Murray Rose, Olympic 3-gold-medal swimmer, Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman, Islamic fundamentalist cleric, instigator of terrorist attacks and assassinations (blind, diabetic)

Starset EL NATH - 18°Ge58' to 22°Ge27'

The South Node is aligned with starset El Nath

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.

El Nath is a star that is "shared' by two constellations - it is both Beta Tauri - the tip of the north horn of Taurus, the Bull, and Gamma Aurigae, the right heel of Auriga, the Charioteer. It is accompanied in these celestial longitudes by Al Hecka, Zeta Tauri at the tip of Taurus, the Bull's south horn and, right next to Al Hecka, the "Crab Nebula," the remnant of a supernova that blazed in 1054 CE. There are also the three famous "belt stars" of Orion, the Hunter: Mintaka, Alnilam and Alnitak (Delta, Epsilon and Zeta Orionis), as well as Na'ir al Saif (also called Hatsya or Hatysa), Iota Orionis, in his sword, the Great Orion Nebula, also in the sword, Meissa and Al Hak'ah (Lambda and Phi1 Orionis) in Orion's head, along with Phact (also called Phaet - (from Arabic fakhita, ring dove), Alpha Columbae, in Columba, the Dove. In the most ancient lunar mansions (Sumero-Akkadian-Semitic, ca 3,000 BCE), Mintaka, Na'ir al Saif, Alnilam, Al Hak'ah, Meissa and Alnitak were part of Kakkab Lugal, The Mighty Man (Orion). In ancient China, stars of Orion's belt (Mintaka, Alnilam, Alnitak) were determinants of the lunar mansion Tsan, The Supreme Commander, a trustworthy military leader with nearly absolute authority: Tsan ruled fortresses and frontiers; Meissa and Al Hak'ah, however, (stars in Orion's head) were Tsoui, Mouth, or Beak of a tortoise (an asterism in the head of their huge, ancient White Tiger), presiding over flocks, herds, and people under protection, divination before military action, barriers, arms stores, merchandise, and soldiers of the guard assisting the Great Commander. In ancient India, Meissa and Al Hak'ah were determinants of Mrgasiras, The Deer's Head whose ruler was Soma, God of a sacred drink, later ruled by Moon-God Candra; it was derived from mrga, 'to hunt, search, ask for' now meaning any path or road; of going where others have gone before, therefore tradition and custom. In the lunar mansions of Arabia, Al Hak'ah was a determinant of al Hak'ah, the White Spot or Circle of Hairs, from which it gets its name.

You are dramatic and adventurous, a natural leader with the potential to attain high office; your goals, whether mundane or spiritual, are set high, and you don't compromise easily; but within you there is a hidden struggle for self-control and dignity. While imaginative, experimental and inventive, for the most part you tend to be serious and stern, with a saturnian adherance to a code of behaviour, and a strong need to discipline yourself and to command others. Orion's head gives you a mind that is swift, inquisitive and deep, and you have a lifelong interest in the history, earliest practices and procedures of your culture or profession. You love to talk and give advice, to tell people what to do and how to think, and you may, at times in your life, find yourself at odds with the government, the values of the people you live among, or "the powers that be" that you must work under, yet your inner sense of self-worth and innate aristocracy will help you through these struggles. It is difficult for you to rein in your feelings - impatient, intolerant and easily enraged, you are intensely emotional (and more than a little theatrical!). Unless you find ways to master and/or channel your impulsive, eruptive emotions you could at times be overwhelmed by them, destroying what you have carefully built. On the surface you are cool and confident, think big, and usually have a good sense of humor verging on sarcasm, but the sharp horn-tips of the head-down, charging Bull are here: if denied what you believe is your rightful place in the world, you could become a combative, eccentric "crank," heedless, rude, irritable, ill-tempered, sullen, surly and quick to criticize others; a few born under these stars even have a capacity for a fully murderous rage; it may be needful for you to "grab the bull by the horns" and funnel his tremendous power and energy into positive channels. This placement, with its juxtaposition of the hunter-warrior Orion, the aggressive, charging Bull, "rein-holder" Auriga and the peace-loving Dove, is good for the military, diplomacy, espionage, law, sports, education, religion, social service, filmmaking, astrology and occult subjects, but it is troublesome in personal areas, for you may, under pressure, become jealous, overbearing, high-strung, demanding, quarrelsome, intemperate, greedy and litigious. Many born under these stars follow a creative vocation, exhibiting literary ability (tropical Gemini's contribution), a high, even remarkable, degree of originality and, surprisingly, a free-wheeling whimsicality. There is also a tradition that El Nath is called the "Wounded" or "Slain" and though I have not found a source for this, there are enough examples to bear it out. Your life will bring you into contact with racial and religious issues, intolerance, and a choice to be made between staying true to your ideals versus giving in to greed and corruption. With your stern inner code, struggle with pessimism and conscious effort to fight off despair, you are also challenged to choose between a narrow, prejudiced attitude versus one of beneficence and hopefulness, with a universal viewpoint and acceptance of other cultures. Here recklessly powerful Orion and the angry, charging Bull may be held in check by the rein-holding Charioteer and peace-loving Dove. Possible physical and/or psychological manifestations: lung ailments, mental and physical disabilities, blindness, eye injuries, ear problems, emotional instability, accidents, wounds; possible danger from quakes, explosions, storms, epidemics, aggression, riots, upheavals, assassination; there is something here to do with oil wells.

Examples of the SouthNode here include Napoleon I, 18th-19th-century conqueror, Emperor of France, Nelson Mandela, President of South Africa (after a 27-year imprisonment), Thomas Henry Huxley, 19th-century navy surgeon, zoologist, biologist, physiologist, anatomist, anthropologist, educator and author ("an intellectual giant of the 19th-century"), an early supporter of Darwin, Dr Robert Koch, one of the 19th-early 20th-century founders of science of bacteriology (identified tubercule and colera bacilli), Georges Cuvier, 18th-19th-century "brilliant and prolific" naturalist and geologist, founder of studies of comparative anatomy and paleontology, Joseph Jerôme Lalande, 18th-century astronomer, 19th-century St Bernadette (Bernadette Soubirous) (asthma, died of bone tuberculosis), Ebenezer Sibly, 18th-century astrologer, Dennis Harness, Vedic astrologer, Derek Appleby, astrologer, Maurice Maeterlinck, author and occultist, O Henry, author (jailed for embezzlement), Dmitri Shostakovitch, Bela Bartok, Michel de Lalande, Carrie J Bond, Claude Debussy, composers, Hoagy Carmichael, musician and songwriter, Eugene Ormandy, conductor, Nancy Wilson, singer, Magic Sam, blues guitarist and singer, Chad Mitchell, singer-actor, Vanessa Redgrave, Robert Preston, Pat O'Brien, Margaret O'Brien, Mercedes McCambridge, William Holden, David Carradine, actors, Tom Smothers, comedian and yo-yo expert, Ingmar Bergman, filmmaker, James W Silver, fighter for racial equality, Bruce Ismay, Manager of White Star Line (took a seat in a lifeboat, saving himself in the Titanic disaster), Ann Landers, Abigail Van Buren (twins), advice columnists, Boris Spassky, chessmaster, Kitty Dukakis, politician's wife (addictive personality)

Starset ALHENA - 4°Cn58' to 7°Cn04'

Venus is aligned with starset Alhena

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.

Alhena (also called Almeisan) is Gamma Geminorum in the left foot of Pollux, one of the Gemini Twins, a star that is accompanied in these celestial longitudes by Mebsuta, Epsilon Geminorum in the knee of Castor, the other Gemini Twin, Delta Columbae in the wing of Columba, the Dove, Epsilon Ursae Minoris near the base of the tail of Ursa Minor, the Lesser Bear, Psi7 Aurigae near the right arm and whip of Auriga, the Charioteer, as well as stars near the head of Canis Major, the Greater Dog. Alhena and Mebsuta were determinant stars of ancient lunar mansions: in China, they were part of Tsing, "The Well," which had to do with washing, with digging new wells as well as cleaning and reinforcing the old ones, thus assuring clean water; by extension, it had to do with the cleansing of crime, moral uprightness, and law and order. It was also a meeting place, forum, and Stopping Place for the Emperor; an assembly place for war chariots; another name was the Celestial Leveller, governing irrigation as well as balance and equity (because water always seeks its own level); it also had to do with marking out of new towns, boundaries, and allotting parcels of land; in Arabia the same stars were determinants of al Han'ah: a Brand, Mark or Scar (on a horse or camel, according to Eric Morse).

The Twins' intense curiosity and a love of pioneering, adventure, exploration and discovery are paramount here, coupled with daring and a great independence of mind and spirit. You are restless, feisty, outspoken, argumentative, aggressive, more than a little arrogant, and won't flee from a fight. This is the area of the Charioteer's whip, and Pullox is usually depicted holding a club: at times you can be domineering and manipulative, and, with your keen sense of strategy, you may ride roughshod over anyone or anything in your way. You like to figure out "how things work;" your intellect, imagination and a love of learning are modifying graces in what is otherwise your primal drive to master and dominate others. Creative and dramatic, you love attention and like to "ham it up," "chewing the scenery" with gusto. With the overlay of tropical Cancer, you have a wide range of talents, theoretical aptitudes and an excellent sense of imagery, with an ability to summon up ideas and sell them. You are also fascinated by the sky and light: astronomy, astrology, physics and astrophysics are possible professions, and playwriting, filmmaking, math, philosophy, medicine, aviation (the Dove's wing is here, and Ursa Minor was formed from stars that were once the wings of Draco, the Dragon), along with religion and mysticism, are some of the fields you have the potential to enhance. Many born under these stars tend to be egotistical, controlling, obsessive, bad-tempered and cruel, damaging or wrecking personal relationships, causing great personal sorrow. The harsh and oppressive among them must seek their own answers, and some eventually learn beneficence, often arising out of their own suffering. There are issues of divided loyalties, of religion and faith versus cynicism, atheism, emptiness, despair and a search for light in the darkness; as well as freedom (including religious freedom), versus slavery or submission. As always under the Twins, there are lessons of brotherhood versus racism and intolerance; under the Dog, issues of fidelity; under the Lesser Bear, caring for animals and the environment; under the Dove, a search for peace. Possible physical and/or psychological manifestations: birth defects, physical disabilities, blindness, hearing problems, mental illness; possible danger of earth upheavals, storms, heat-waves, attacks due to intolerance; assassination

Examples of Venus here include Napoleon I, 18th-19th-century conqueror, Emperor of France (exiled), Sir Edward Heath, English PM, Arthur Goldberg, lawyer and US UN representative, Henri Jules de Bourbon (17th-century), 5th Prince de Conde (interested in arts, science, technology, a magnificent host, but an eccentric, malicious practical joker who terrorized his wife and children) (became insane), David R Brower, naturalist, pioneer environmentalist and conservationist, founder of Friends of the Earth, fondly called "The Archdruid" ("painfully shy and fearful as a kid, learned to talk to animals" ("the greatest force ever known in conservation, environmentalism, and the fight for the earth"), Florence Nightingale, 19th-century "founder of modern nursing," public health pioneer (nursed soldiers in the Crimean War) (gradual loss of sight in old age), George Graham, 17th-century watch and instrument maker and inventor, Reginald J Mitchell, aircraft designer (Spitfire), Otto Struve, astronomer (great-grandson of Friedrich Struve), Edward Lear, creator of nonsense verse and artist ("The Owl and the Pussycat"), Thomas Duncan, artist (brain tumor at 38 caused blindness, then death), Clint Eastwood, actor and director, George Gobel, comedian, Cecil B DeMille, film director, Al H Morrison, astrologer (intermittent paranoia), Ernie Pyle, war correspondent (killed at Okinawa, 1945), Thomas de Quincey, 19th-century author (opium addict), Peter Hurkos, psychic, Baba Muktananda, mystic and guru (struggle with sensuality), "Unsinkable" Molly Brown, Titanic survivor, George "Beau" Brummel, 18th-19th-century dandy and fashion arbiter (died broke, insane)

Starset ALUDRA - 24°Cn18' to 26°Cn42'

Saturn is aligned with starset Aludra

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.

Aludra is Eta Canis Majoris in the hindquarters of Canis Major, the Greater Dog, a star that is accompanied in these celestial longitudes by Mu Cancri in the back edge of the shell of Cancer, the Crab, Tau Puppis in the stern of legendary Argo Navis, the Great Ship, Galaxy M81 in the head of Ursa Major, the Greater Bear (with a black hole at its core), and minor stars at the heads of the Gemini Twins. In ancient Orphic and Platonic doctrine, the constellation of the Crab was the "Gate of Humanity," the point of entry for reincarnating souls.

Commanding, resourceful, visionary, fiercely emotional, you are an achiever who puts on a tough front, seeing yourself as a hero, demanding of yourself high standards and success, and demanding loyalty from others. With a good sense of strategy, whether military, political, or business, you are ambitious and structured, with little or no patience for ignorance or incompetence; you are, however, intensely sensitive to your environment and your place within it. Imagery, mythology, and all forms of symbolism are your natural elements; poetry, prosody and melody pour from you as naturally as a river. Your a strong sense of theatre and the drama inherent in everyday life infuse your experiences; you are one of the "true Cancers" - that is, a Cancer in both the sidereal and tropical zodiac, and this influence, together with two black holes in Ursa Major's head may make you, at times, crabby and bearish, and there are major issues in your life of strength of character and willpower, for unless you stay focused and keep a positive attitude, there is a danger that you may slip into morbid ruminations, indulging and dwelling upon your weaknesses, fears, sins or misfortunes, all the while longing for redemption. You are a collector and compiler, surrounding yourself with accumulations of objects, ideas and data in an enveloping clutter. In your behaviour towards others, you believe in "being cruel only to be kind;" in extreme cases, you may become heartless, even sadistic and murderous. Under these stars, mathematics, geography, philosophy, astronomy, astrology, concepts of law, communications, and human rights are matters of concern, as well as excessive sensuality, for you are fascinated by sex, drawn to bondage, and tend to be either fanatically correct in your behavior or weak, unstable, and scandal-prone. Here the legendary fidelity of the Greater Dog and the fierce maternal instincts of the Great Bear withstand and overcome temptations, teaching devotion and loving care, while Cancer, the Crab guards the "Gate of Humankind" shoreline demarking our world of sheltered appearances and the great ocean abyss of endless mystery. Possible physical and/or psychological manifestations: multiple births, birth anomalies, eye problems, wounds, exile, addiction, pedophilia, sexual diseases, danger from fires (very many fires occur under these stars), explosions, meteorite falls, storms, ship and train wrecks, attacks, invasions, battles, epidemics, assassination

Examples of Saturn here include Edward I ("Longshanks"), 13th-century King of England, Queen Elizabeth I, Queen of England (reigned during England's victory over the Spanish Armada - Argo Navis!), Napoleon I, 18th-19th-century conqueror, Emperor of France (exiled), William H Taft, US President, Aldo Moro, Italian Premier (kidnapped, murdered), Kenneth Starr, prosecutor in the Clinton impeachment, Byron "Whizzer" White, football player and Associate Justice, US Supreme Court ("known for his character, scrupulously honest"), David Thompson, 18th-19th-century Canadian-born explorer, geographer and fur trader, Georges Cuvier, 18th-19th-century "brilliant and prolific" naturalist and geologist, founder of studies of comparative anatomy and paleontology, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, research scientist in aeronautics and astronautics, pioneer in rocket and space research, built the 1st wind tunnel, William Wordsworth, 18th-19th century poet, known for his nature poems and sonnets, Johann Holderlin, 18th-19th-century lyric poet (became insane), Roald Dahl (severely beaten at school as a child, fighter pilot WWII, shot down, severely wounded; died at 74 of leukemia), Joseph Conrad, authors, Ferdinand De Saussure, 19th-century linguist (especially Indo-European and Sanskrit), David Hume, 18th-century philosopher, Marian McDowell, pianist, founder of The McDowell Artists Colony (wife of composer Edward McDowell), Vera Zorina, Cynthia Gregory, ballerinas, Trevor Howard, Rossano Brazzi, actors, "Mayfair Boy," jewel thief

Starset PRAESEPE - 3°Le09' to 6°Le44'

Mercury is aligned with starset Praesepe

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.

OC (Open Cluster) Praesepe is M44 Cancri, a nebulous cluster in the shell of Cancer, the Crab; it is also called Little Cloud, Little Mist, Manger and Crib, but most famously "The Beehive." In ancient Orphic and Platonic doctrine, 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. In Indo-Aryan and Moslem teachings, bees symbolized souls because they migrate in swarms (it was thought that souls "swarmed" from divine unity like bees); in ancient China, this area was called the "ghosts" or "spirits," thus both eastern and western traditions relate souls and spirits to this place in the sky! Praesepe is accompanied in these celestial longitudes by North Asellus, Gamma Cancri and South Asellus, Delta Cancri (both in the Crab's shell, near the Beehive), Sarir Banat al Na'ash, Theta Ursa Majoris in Ursa Major, the Greater Bear's right front leg, Sigma Puppis in the Stern of Argo Navis, the Great Ship of the far-southern skies, as well as Open Cluster M48 and C Hydrae, both in the area of the poisonous breath of Hydra, the Water Snake. In the ancient lunar mansions of China, Praesepe (M44), North Asellus and South Asellus were determinant stars of Kuei, The Spirits or Carriage of Ghosts (also called T'ien-Soung, Celestial Punisher), presiding over sickness, death, extermination, battlefields, horses, soldiers, war materiel and buried treasures hoarded in wartime, thus accumulated wealth, including jewels. M44 was also Tsi-Chi, Piled-Up Corpses, Tsi-Chi-K'i, Exhalation of Piled-up Corpses (souls leaving bodies) and "Eye of the Sky," (anciently, the eyes of China's Great Red Bird were here, governing watchfulness over wicked people); another name was Fou-Tchi, The Cutlass used for slaughtering sacrificial animals. In ancient India, the same stars were determinants of Pusya, 'Nourishment,' 'Nourishing,' also called Sidhya, "Lucky," "Successful;" symbolized by a cow's udder, ruled by Brhaspati, priest of the Gods, with his qualities of nourishment, plumpness, blossoming, good fortune, as well as prayer, speech and wisdom. In the lunar mansions of Arabia, they were part of al Nathrah; Nose, Gap or Crib, the upper lip of a huge, extended Arab lion; the Aselli (North and South Ascellus) were his nostrils, Praesepe his uvula

Here energies of the wild, untamed Bear and the Crab's Beehive Cluster combine with a seething, fiercely focused intensity: you are a natural leader, single-minded, obsessive, fanatic, and willing to take risks. Aggressive, conquering, enterprising and dictatorial, you have the potential to be an industrialist and/or head of your own business. Water, the element common to the Ship, Crab, and Hydra, makes you a vast emotional holding pond, containing and expressing reservoirs of talent, ferment and energy. Strongly Neptunian (in both the positive and negative sense, that is, imaginative, high-minded and spiritual, but also delusive or illusion-prone) with an interest in psychic phenomena and alternate realities, you are at the same time analytical and attentive to detail. The Crab was the ancient Orphic/Platonic "Gate of Souls' Incarnation:" astrologers, who analyze the date and time that souls incarnate, are found here. Creative, inventive, taken with the myths and glories of the past; you are drawn to mysticism, and may become an author, poet and skilled wordsmith. At your best you are hard-working, feverishly energetic (many sports champions have placements here), pioneering, productive and idealistic, with an inner sense of power and potential; at your worst, brutal, blatantly prejudiced, critical of others and at the same time smugly self-justifying. With the overlay of tropical Leo, you are aristocratic, arrogant, controlling, interested in power whether direct or occult, you may be prone to arbitrary, willful, unilateral actions that attract controversy, either fomenting or suffering slander and/or violent intolerance. Cultivate truthfulness, for honesty and forebearance are not necessarily your strong points. There are, in your life, sharply polarized issues of idealism, mysticism and fundamentalist passions versus dispassionate judgment, objectivity, and respect for hard, cold facts; the alternative choices of daring and win-at-all-costs recklessness versus caution, integrity and wise conservatism; and there are life-long choices to be made between greed and selfishness or the alternatives of generosity, charity, temperance, pro bono work, care of the environment and a resolve to "do the right thing." You may commit or attract violence and/or persecutions, and some born under these stars get bogged down in sensuality, self-indulgence and addiction; yet there are always opportunities to evolve from stubborn intemperance and aggression to creating, and sustaining, peace, both within yourself and among others. There is something to do with food here (this is the area of the ancient Hindu lunar mansion Pusya, nourishment). Here the Mother Bear Ursa Major fiercely protects her progeny, while the busy bees of Praesepe produce nourishing honey. Possible physical and/or psychological manifestations: head ailments and injuries, fevers, allergies, sight issues (blindness, color blindness, eye problems or unusually keen eyesight), addictions, bee stings; intense energies, ghost and UFO encounters, embarkations, invasions, amphibious, shoreline, harbor and riverside events; possible danger from fires, explosions, epidemics, toxic conditions, insect attacks, storms, shipwrecks, riots, assassination or other violent death

Examples of Mercury here include Napoleon I, 18th-19th-century military conqueror, Emperor of France (Napoleon chose the bee as his imperial symbol - Praesepe is the Beehive!) (died in exile), William Jefferson Clinton, US President, Benito Mussolini, fascist dictator (captured and killed by partisans), Menachem Begin, terrorist who became Israeli Prime Minister, Cecil Rhodes, 19th-century British imperialist, business magnate, diamond tycoon and statesman, founder of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) (last years marred by scandals), US Sen George J Mitchell of Maine, lawyer, judge, negotiator of 1999 Irish peace accords, Gov George Romney of Michigan, George Meany, labor leader, head of the AFL-CIO, Leona Helmsley, arrogant real estate tycoon (imprisoned for tax fraud) ("only little people pay taxes"), William Kunstler, "attorney of the underdog," "a true believer in the Bill of Rights," known for defending the poor and radicals, famous or infamous, against excesses of the system, Rosalind Franklin, chemist, biophysicist, X-ray crystallographer (produced the 1st usable X-ray pictures of DNA ever taken, a crucial contribution to the solution of the structure of DNA) (died at 37 of ovarian cancer), E A Wallis Budge, orientalist, philologist and archaeologist, Isaac Stern, violinist, Ottorino Respighi, composer, Ron Kovic, wheelchair-bound Viet Nam vet-turned-war protester "born on the 4th of July," Charles Emerson, Uranian astrologer, astrology teacher and schoolteacher (alcoholic, diabetic, died of a stroke), James Randi, stage magician, cynic and professional debunker, John Galsworthy, author, Robert A Heinlein, science fiction author, Ernie Pyle, risk-taking war correspondent (killed at Okinawa, 1945), Dorothy Kilgallen, journalist, Frida Kahlo, artist (polio, severely injured in accident), Ginger Rogers, Maureen O'Hara, Barbara Stanwyck, actors, Della Reese, singer, actress and minister, Andy Green, racing driver (broke sound barrier on land, 1997), David Koresh, cult leader and pedophile (suicide by shot to head while his followers died in a fire that he had ordered set)

Starset MERAK - 13°Le56' to 17°Le17'

The Midheaven is aligned with starset Merak

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.

Merak (from maraqq, flank or groin) is Beta Ursae Majoris in the body of Ursa Major, the Greater Bear, one of the "pointer" star guides to the Pole Star; it is accompanied in these celestial longitudes by Al Terf, Lambda Leonis at the front of the head of Leo, the Lion (it is also called Al Tarf, but there is another Al Tarf - the star Beta Cancri), Tania Borealis, Lambda Ursae Majoris in the Greater Bear's right hind paw, Suhail, Zeta Puppis in the Stern of Argo Navis, the Great Ship of the southern skies, and Theta Hydrae in the upper neck of Hydra, the Water Snake. In ancient China the stars of Hydra's head (part of the Beak of their huge Great Red Bird, associated with fire and the Sun) formed the lunar mansion Lieou, The Willow, portending tears and funeral services. Willows, thought to ward off poisons, were symbols of longevity, immortality and eternity, and were used at funerals as consolation to survivors. These stars also stood for trees and plants and as the Celestial Kitchen or Larder, the preparation of festivals, banquets, and summer thunder and rain. In the lunar mansions of ancient India, stars of Hydra's head formed Aslesa "The Clinging" or "Embracing" ruled by Sarpas, deified Serpents, symbol: a coiled snake: Aslesa was associated with clinging, creeping, poison, embracing, sexual union (although Theta Hydrae is not an "official" determinant star of Aslesa, it should probably be considered part of the mansion). The combination of Lieou, Aslesa and Hydra here is interesting, for they were all, directly or indirectly, associated with poisons. In the lunar mansions of Arabia, Al Terf was a determinant star of al Tarf "The Glance" or "The Eyes" of the huge, early Arab lion, said to hinder harvest and travel.

Stars of the head and forepaws of the Lion are in Leo in both the sidereal and tropical zodiacs, and here the solar radiance of the Lion's forehead infuses your soul like a great hearth, and you are able to draw others to you with your warmth. Proud, passionate, conservative, ambitious, outwardly serene but inwardly stormy, you are a true child of the Lion, needing and seeking the spotlight. Intuitive, perceptive and idealistic, you see the foibles and failures of your milieu and expect to take the lead in rectifying them. Many independent women and early feminists had placements here, long before anyone thought women had rights. Under the paternal and maternal impulses of the proud Lion and great Mother Bear, there is a need to control and dominate those around you, and you will seek positions of leadership, command and eminence in order to claim the right to do so, with a natural facility for attracting followers (if taken to the extreme, you may even demand absolute obedience). Drawn to religion and philosophy and intensely sensual at the same time, you may spend your life trying to reconcile these two sometimes complementary but more often conflicting impulses. Fascinated by words, word sources, word uses, with your highly developed imagination, powers of visualization and sense of style, color and flair, you have the potential to be successful in the arts, especially theatre and film. The great ship Argo Navis draws you to travel, and you have a love of the natural world, but be aware that the Lion, Bear and Water Snake are powerful nature totems that may lure you into a walk on the wild side; agitation, anguish, extreme sensuality, intemperance, brutality; obsession and violence are possible, and you will experience major transformations in your life; yet no matter how troubled or beset you may become, you have an inner drive that just doesn't let you give up. Merak is a pointer to the perfectionist pole star; some born under these stars, feeling trapped in their bodies, seek spiritual purity, inspiration and redemption, but a few of these, in their haste for heaven, become seriously derailed, indulging a "gotterdammerung" impulse for self-destruction, even self-immolation. Sexuality is a major issue: extremes of either indulgence or ascetic denial are possible. Other issues in your life are the impulse to dominate and control versus detached, selfless caring, and idealism versus depravity. While Merak points the way to true North, far-voyaging, strong-keeled Argo bears its crew safely through life's hazards and storms. Possible physical and/or psychological manifestations: physical disabilities, hearing problems, paralysis, accidents, injuries (especially head, neck and spine injuries), pedophilia, poisons, contaminations, addictions, suicide, murder, violent death; possible danger from fires, fog, extemely high winds, air and shipwrecks, quakes, eruptions, contaminated air, animal attacks

In your horoscope, your highest values, fame, reputation, honor (or notoriety) and ability to shine in the world, represented by the Midheaven, is manifested by your use of the energies of these stars

Examples of the Midheaven here include Clare Booth Luce, writer, editor, reporter and congresswoman, Martha Stewart, homemaking entrepreneur (convicted in insider stock trading scandal), Edward White Jr, astronaut (asphyxiated in Apollo I capsule fire), Sir Richard Burton, 19th-century orientalist, adventurer and author, James A Pike, lawyer and charismatic Episcopal Bishop (alcoholism, three marriages, charged with heresy, died lost in the Judaean desert wilderness during a search for the historic Jesus and the site of Dead Sea Scrolls, Sigmund Freud, founder of psychoanalysis, Henry Thoreau, transcendentalist and author, Mark Twain, Washington Irving, Stendahl, Katherine Mansfield, authors, Alfred Adler, psychoanalist, Pierre Renoir, artist, Michael Munkasey, communication and transportation systems engineer and astrologer, Groucho Marx, comedian, Katherine Hepburn, Ed Asner, actors, Twyla Tharpe, dancer and choreographer, Marc Edmund Jones, astrologer, Auguste Vaillant, bomb-throwing anarchist (guillotined), Conjoined twins (male) joined from chest to abdomen: after surgery, one survived

Starset SUBRA - 20°Le37' to 23°Le34'

The Sun is aligned with starset Subra

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.

Subra is Omicron Leonis in the extended forepaw of Leo, the Lion, a star that is accompanied in these celestial longitudes by Tau2 Hydrae in the neck of Hydra, the Water Snake, Omega Ursae Majoris in the bend of the right hind leg of Ursa Major, the Greater Bear, and Alpha Pyxidis, a star of the modern figure of Pyxis, the Compass, created by astronomer Nicolas Lacaille in the 18th-century and designed as a mariner's 2-pronged drawing compass, it was originally a star of Malus, the Mast (of Argo Navis, the Great Ship). In ancient China, Tau2 Hydrae was a star of the lunar mansion Sing (or Niao), Bird, forming the neck of their ancient Great Red Bird; it governed the Summer Solstice when honors, awards and positions for virtue and merit were bestowed and the hungry assisted. Army commanders gave out new uniforms and weapons and exquisite ceremonial court costumes were inspected. It presided over clothing (plants were gathered and cloth dyed during the summer), as well as fords, highway robbery, brigands, and danger from attacks during journeys.

Adventurous and an instinctive opportunist, you seek immortality through brilliance, daring, and fanatic dedication; under the royal Lion's paw, your soul is filled with a longing for power and glory; you demand and take what you want with an inner sense of "divine right," and you have a "figurehead" instinct - a good sense of how to be a symbolic leader (you can easily imagine yourself on a white horse leading a crusade!) Much is made of bright Regulus, the star of the Lion's heart that is just a bit further on, but it is actually here that the Leonine drive for glory fully expresses itself! Fascinated by history and ancient texts, you have a visionary sense of the future, an ability to see "the big picture," and may use historical myth to launch yourself into a position of leadership. You are a Lion in both zodiacs; creative, innovative, with considerable expressive power and an inborn sense of style, you love the spotlight - many performers are born with placements here, especially comedians - you have a good sense of humor. Jupiterian and Uranian, you need to be right, dare to be different, want to be the star of every show; you have a strong sense of the god within, and don't think laws and rules necessarily pertain to you. Proud, tough, dynamic and charismatic, you reach for leadership, knowledge, imagination, words, symbols, and expression. Money is important to you, but only as a means to an end. You may have an interest in the occult, and/or become proficient at occult disciplines. The harsher energies of these stars are arrogance, aggression, cruel satire, cynicism and excessive sensuality. High-strung, touchy and reactive, with wild animal's instinct to guard your turf, you can be hot-tempered and murderous, especially if thwarted. Your challenges are selfishness versus benevolence and humanitarianism, honesty versus prevarication, and a dangerous tendency to believe that God is on your side in conflicts, giving you the right to dominate or destroy those you perceive as enemies. You may become involved with animals. Here the celestial Mother Bear fiercely protects here progeny, while mighty Leo's royal paw extends an imperious, benevolent benediction. Possible physical and/or psychological manifestations: insanity, addiction, head ailments or injuries, eye problems, blindness, injuries, paralysis, murder; possible danger from storms, fires, battles, rebellions, acts of hatred and intolerance, beheading, assassination, epidemics, animal attacks

Examples of the Sun here include Alexander the Great, (4th century BCE) and Napoleon I (17th-18th-century), military conquerors, T E Lawrence ("Lawrence of Arabia,"), adventurer and author (died at 46 in a motorcycle accident), William Jefferson Clinton, US President, Rosalynn Carter, US 1st Lady, George Meany, labor leader, head of the AFL-CIO, Gene Roddenberry, writer, producer, creator of "Star Trek" (might Argo stand in for Starship Enterprise?), Jon Lindbergh, oceanographer, Robert Redford, actor, producer and environmentalist (claustrophobic), Mae West, Maureen O'Hara, Shelley Winters, Ethel Barrymore, Ann Blyth, Julie Newmar, Robert DeNiro, actors, Patrick Swayze, dancer-actor (severely injured left knee several times), Suzanne Farrell, ballerina, Mark Oliver Gebel, circus wild animal tamer (according to 1st-century Roman astrologer Manilius, one born under Ursa Major will be "able to control huge beasts with a gesture...and will join them in friendship to himself"), Brigadier R C Firebrace, diplomat, soldier, author, editor, statistician and astrologer, Llewellyn George, astrologer, Helen Wambach, clinical psychologist, pioneering researcher into reincarnation, hypnotist using past life regression and future life progressions, author ("Reliving Past Lives"), Edna Ferber, author, Thomas de Quincey (opium addict), Sir Walter Scott, 19th-century authors, Ogden Nash, poet and humorist, Sri Aurobindo, mystic, poet and author, J I Rodale, health food expert, Richard von Krafft-Ebing, 19th-century neuropsychiatrist, known for work in sexual psychopathology, Prince Louis de Broglie, theoretical physicist (Nobel Prize), Julia Child, television chef and author, Anne Josephe Theroigne de Mericourt, 18th-century courtesan, singer, violent, fiery revolutionary rabble-rouser and a military commander during French revolution (once stripped naked, flogged in public; became insane the following year)

Starset ZOSMA - 5°Vi15' to 8°Vi56'

Neptune is aligned with starset Zosma

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.

Zosma is Delta Leonis in the rump or hindquarters of Leo, the Lion, a star that is accompanied in these celestial longitudes by Alioth, Epsilon Ursae Majoris in the tail of Ursa Major, the Greater Bear (the 1st "handle" star of the Big Dipper asterism), Al Wazn, Lambda Velorum in Vela, the Sail (of the great ship Argo Navis), Lambda Hydrae at the first rise of the back of Hydra, the Water Snake, Beta Sextantis in the modern figure of Sextans, the Sextant, and Galaxy/Black Hole M106 in the modern constellation Canes Venatici, the Venatician (hunting) Dogs. In the ancient lunar mansions of India, Zosma was a determinant star of Purvaphalguni "The Former Reddish One" or "Front of the Culprit;" a mansion of fulfilment, cleansing, good luck, well-being and amorous pleasure. In Arabia, it was a determinant of al-Zubrah, The Mane (of a huge, extended Arab lion). In ancient China, Lambda Hydrae was one of the determinant stars of the lunar mansion 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, gifts; if the stars of this mansion could not be seen, it was a sign that the Emperor would fall ill

You are a passionate pilgrim, carried by Argo's sail into fascinating yet dangerous explorations of mind, soul and human experience. With the courage and intense sensuality of the Lion, you challenge authority, attempting to go beyond accepted ideas and behavior, sometimes shocking people, then using your notoriety to advantage. Adventurous, determined, absolutist, you use your deeply intuitive intelligence to pry and probe your limits. Ideas and convictions are important; you have a need to be true to yourself, believe in acting on your principles, and carry the banner of your causes even to the extent of fanaticism and putting yourself in harm's way. Audacious and unsettled, you are drawn to the primal and primitive, love to perform, and need an audience. Tough, pragmatic and versatile, you may be capable in two or more fields and may bring about sudden breakthroughs, realizations, and discoveries, contributing to fields such as religion, philosophy, literature, education, communications, military tactics, police methods, finance, theatre, music, dance, science (especially medicine, chemistry, aviation, space exploration), technology, invention, psychology (especially related to sexuality), food preparation, astrology and psychic research. You are imaginative - even if devotedly scientific and fact-oriented, you allow a tinge of the wild and weird to edge into your psyche. In this lifetime you will be physically, mentally or morally challenged, and in response will develop courage to deal with adversity; a good sense of humor and whimsy is one of your greatest assets. The overlay of tropical Virgo gives you a concern for the Earth and all who sail on her, and the Virgo urge to be of service manifests in environmentalism and concern for human rights, especially women's rights - many pioneering feminists were born with planets here (Purvaphalguni was related to fulfillment in marriage, yet a few males here are misogynists, i.e. women-haters). You may deal with issues related to religion, economics, ethics and greed, communications and connections, nature versus technology, intellect versus emotion, selfishness and self-indulgence versus benevolence and generosity; a tendency to melancholia and brooding can be counteracted with positive thinking and a re-organization of mental attitudes, and you will be presented with choices to be made between waging war and working for unity and peace. The realistic, analytical and perfectionist influence of tropical Virgo combined with the navigating, guiding Sextant keeps you on course, and, if well-embarked, Argo will bring you through the dangers and storms of life's passage. Possible physical and/or psychological manifestations: polio, asthma, mental and intestinal ailments, chronic illnesses, physical disabilities, accident-proneness, communications problems, sexual extremes, pedophilia (lunar mansion Purvaphalguni was associated with "amorous pleasure," but Ptolemy related these stars, under certain harsh aspects, to possible "depravity"), brooding, depression, suicidal impulses; multiple births, birth anomalies; possible danger from accidents, gas, toxic chemicals, storms, floods, fog, fires, battles, persecutions, attacks, assassination

Examples of Neptune here include Marcus Aurelius, 2nd-century CE Roman Emperor and stoic philosopher (died of smallpox at 59), Robert I "The Bruce," 13th-14th-century King of Scotland, Duke of Wellington (Arthur Wellesley), 18th-19th-century general and PM of England, Noh Tae Woo, President of South Korea, Benigno Aquino, Philippine political leader (assassinated), Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Associate Justice, US Supreme Court, US Sen George J Mitchell of Maine, lawyer, judge, negotiator of 1999 Irish peace accords, Yuri Gagarin, pilot, cosmonaut, 1st human in space (died in plane crash), Manuel Pineiro, spymaster of Cuban revolution ("a ruthless, unrepentant revolutionary, but urbane, extraordinarily perceptive, personable, a great raconteur"), Bill Moyers, journalist, author and documentarian, Ralph Nader, lawyer, author and consumer activist (ran as a 3rd-party candidate in the 2000 presidential election, becoming the "spoiler" who drew votes from Gore, throwing the election to Bush), Lester R Brown, environmentalist, Stanton Friedman, nuclear physicist, UFO researcher, Jean-Baptiste Fourier, 18th-19th-century mathematician and physicist, Georges Cuvier, 18th-19th-century naturalist, founder of studies of comparative anatomy and paleontology, Dame Jane Goodall, primatologist, ethologist, naturalist, dedicated to saving endangered animals and the environment (and in the process, humankind!) (discoverer of tool-use by chimpanzees), Oliver Sacks, neurologist and author, Dr Stanley Milgram, world-reknowned social psychologist at Yale, creator of the famous and controversial 1961 Milgrim Experiment testing the willingness of individuals to obey orders of an "authority," to inflict electrical shock pain upon others, Umberto Eco, Philip Roth, authors, John C Gardner, author, teacher, Anglo-Saxon and Medieval scholar, translator of the ancient Mesopotamian epic "Gilgamesh" (as a child, accidentally killed his brother with a heavy farm machine, later wrote "Redemption") (recovered from colon cancer, died in motorcycle accident at 49), Sylvia Plath, poet (suicide), Lillian Huber, Diana K Rosenberg, astrologers, Julian Bream, classical guitarist, Van Cliburn, Peter Nero, pianists, Otis Rush, blues singer and guitarist, Nina Simone, singer-pianist, Quincy Jones, composer and conductor, Patsy Cline (killed in plane crash), Abbie Lane, Pat Boone, singers, Carol Burnett, comedian and actress, Piper Laurie, homemaker and actress (abandoned a successful career for years to raise her children), Sander Goldman, architect and building contractor (asthma, left leg and hip amputated-bone marrow cancer), Yoko Ono, artist, Richard Lester, Mike Nichols, film directors, Michael Caine, Dennis Hopper, Kim Novak, Godfrey Cambridge, David McCallum, Robert Vaughan, Alan Arkin, Ellen Burstyn, Jim Nabors, Richard Chamberlain, actors, Shirley Maclaine, actress, author and mystic, Nichelle Nichols ("Uhura" of Star Trek), Shirley Jones, singer-actresses, Harry Boughton Jr, stage magician (son of "The Great Blackstone"), Robert Blake, actor accused of killing his wife ("mercurial, nonconformist, blustering, blatant, brooding, a gambler with a drug habit"), Charlotte Corday, assassin of Marat during French Revolution, Paul Anderson, Olympic gold medal champion weight lifter, Dionne Quintuplets (female), 1st known surviving quints (exploited, abused in childhood), Jay Seabring, Hollywood hairdresser murdered in the "Manson family" cult killings, John Geoghan, pedophile priest, defrocked after years of church protection in spite of his persistent sexual abuse of children, Male (name withheld), child molester, sentenced to Calif State Hospital for sex offenders (Ptolemy associated stars in the hindquarters of the Lion, under certain aspects, with "utter depravity")

Starset CHORT - 8°Vi57' to 12°Vi04'

Mars is aligned with starset Chort

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.

Chort (also called Coxa or Chertan) is Theta Leonis, a star in the loin or hip of Leo, the Lion; it is accompanied in these celestial longitudes by Galaxy NGC 3607 a "DSO" (deep space object) above the Lion's rump that harbors a Black Hole at its core, Mu Hydrae in the back of Hydra, the Water Snake, the Butterfly Nebula (IC 2220), a very large extended, diffuse spiral nebula in Carina, the Keel, and Psi Velorum, a star in Vela, the Sail (Carina, the Keel and Vela, the Sail were all once part of a single constellation, Argo Navis, the Great Ship, but in the 19th-century astronomers decided it was "too big" (too big for what??) and arbitrarily chopped it up into component parts: Puppis, the Stern, Carina, the Keel, Vela, the Sail; then, adding insult to injury, they changed Malus, the Mast into Pyxis, the Compass! To avoid confusion I use the designations they have given, yet I make it clear at all times that these elements are all part of one constellation: Argo Navis, the Great Ship. In the very ancient Euphratean star lists, Chort was called Ilu Kua, "Oracle-god;" in the lunar mansions of ancient India, it was a determinant star of Purvaphalguni "The Former Reddish One" or "Front of the Culprit;" a mansion of fulfilment, cleansing, good luck, well-being and amorous pleasure. In Arabia, it was a determinant of al-Zubrah, The Mane (of a huge, extended Arab lion). In ancient China's lunar mansions, Mu Hydrae was one of the determinant stars 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

Here Argo's restless wanderlust and the audacious Lion lend an inner wildness to tropical Virgo's quiet nature, giving you a crusading, missionary fervor and a drive to excel. Enterprising, adventurous yet sensitive and keenly perceptive, you love nature and your native land, and may search out and preserve ancient traditions to pass them on to future generations. You are idealistic, with a will to discover life's deeper meanings through religion or philosophy. Once set securely on a life path, you become a crusader, working tirelessly to implement your beliefs. Art, music, dance and literature (especially poetry) are areas in which you may excel, and you have a need for excitement that lends itself to drama. As always under tropical Virgo, there are analytical gifts, technical and mathematical abilities, along with issues of health, here abetted by Hydra's association with poisons and environmental contamination. Even if you start out with an aggressive, self-centered opportunism, life will probably temper this energy and lead you into more humane attitudes and devotion to service. You may at some time have to deal with scandal, suffer exile from your family or nation, or simply adopt another that you find more congenial. Under these stars there is usually a love of animals, and something to do with food and the fruits of the earth. There are issues in your life of honesty or dishonesy, sensual self indulgence (Purvaphalguni's "amorous pleasure") versus temperance or self-denial and asceticism, greed and stinginess versus generosity, hatred versus love and tolerance, and harshness and cruelty versus kindness and concern for others. Here the great ship Argo Navis, metaphor for planet Earth voyaging through space, carries its passengers on joyous, adventurous journeys of mind and spirit. Possible physical and/or psychological manifestations: eye problems, birth defects, lung ailments, asthma, allergies, nervous or emotional problems, pedophilia, gender identity issues; possible danger from pollution and other environmental contaminations, fires, explosions, smoke and toxic air conditions that cause trouble breathing, storms, shipwrecks, fog, earthquakes, poison, orgies and sex attacks, assassination

Examples of Mars here include Napoleon I, 18th-19th-century conqueror, Emperor of France (exiled), Sa'ud Ibn Abdul, King of Saudi Arabia, Pasquale Villari, Italian historian and statesman, Nikolay Przhevalsky, 19th-century explorer of Central Asia, Eugene Burnouf, 19th-century orientalist and expert on Old Iranian religion and language of the Avesta (the sacred scripture of Zoroastrianism) as well as Sanskrit and Buddhism, Sir Anthony Panizzi, 19th-century Italian patriot, Librarian of the British Museum ("a brilliant and dedicated administrator who raised the standard of library administration all over England"), Elias Ashmole, 17th-century astrologer, alchemist, collector and historian of heraldry, Dr James Lind, 18th-century naval surgeon (Argo!) who discovered that citrus fruit cured scurvy, Jean Louis Agassiz, 19th-century naturalist and geologist, pioneer in glacial studies and the effects they had on the Earth (one of the first to suggest that there had been an ice age on Earth, and that the boulder and rock deposits had not been made by the great flood of the Bible), William Lilly, 17th-century astrologer, author of "Christian Astrology," B V Raman, Vedic astrologer and homeopath, Mother Teresa, "the saint of the gutters," nun, social activist and humanitarian (worked in the slums of Calcutta), Carl Sagan, astronomer and author (died of bone marrow disease myelodisplasia and pneumonia), US Army Major General William B Fulton, John C Haley, banker, Emily Bronte, 19th-century author ("Wuthering Heights") and poet (died at 30 of tuberculosis), Charles Lamb, 18th-19th-century essayist and critic (worked as a clerk to support himself and his insane sister who had stabbed their mother to death), Sherwood Anderson, author, Laura Riding, poet, critic and author, Kurt Jooss, dancer, teacher and choreographer (famous for anti-war ballet "The Green Table") (died of injuries from auto accident), Patricia McBride, ballerina, Leslie Caron, dancer and actress, Jack Paar, television personality, Geraldine Chaplin, Roger Smith, Godfrey Cambridge, actors, Abbie Lane, singer, Thomas Duncan, 19th-century artist (brain tumor at 38 caused blindness, then death), Chic Young, cartoonist ("Blondie"), Thomas Clarkson, 18th-19th-century English anti-slavery agitator (cataracts, blind in old age), William Hogarth, 18th-century painter and engraver, Nina Simone, singer, composer and pianist, Joe Chambers, jazz drummer, Thomas Hill, Olympic bronze medal hurdler, Alan Ameche, football running back, Ray Berry, football wide receiver, Bob Pettit, basketball forward and coach ("self-disciplined, a drive for perfection"), Azaria Chamberlain, 2-month-old eaten by dingo (wild dog), Andrei Chikatilo, serial sexual killer: murdered, mutilated, cannibalized 55, mostly children (executed-shot in head), Albert Dyer, murderer of three young girls (hanged)

Starset NUSAKAN - 5°Sc13' to 7°Sc33'

The Ascendant is aligned with starset Nusakan

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.

Nusakan is Beta Coronae Borealis in Corona Borealis, the Northern Crown, a star that is accompanied in these celestial longitudes by Rijl al Awwa, Mu Virginis in the right foot of Virgo, the Virgin, Omega Centauri, a globular cluster in the horse's back of Centaurus, the Centaur, "the biggest and brightest globular cluster in the sky," and Mu1 Crucis, just east of the top star in Crux, the Southern Cross. Early, dim stars of Libra, the Scales are here. In ancient Akkad, Rijl al Awwa, with one other star, was Mulu-izi, "Man of Fire."

Courage and "true grit" are keynotes here: once you have set your mind to do something, you allow nothing to stand in your way, even threats to your life. Danger seems to be your natural element - if there is not an element of risk in your undertakings you do not feel truly alive, or true to yourself. Born under Crown, Centaur, Virgin and Cross, it never seems to occur to you to back off from a challenge or position, and you may find yourself fighting against great odds, or, with an instinct to test your strength and endurance, you may deliberately put yourself in situations where you must pit yourself against severe hazards. Idealistic, your religion, philosophy or beliefs form the core of your being, and, with a strong need to be different and to go your own way, you may stand up for ideas that are considered unusual, outrageous, or even "heresy," in your chosen field. Domineering and controlling, "quick on the trigger," you often seem to be "spoiling for a fight" (centaur - kentauros - is derived from a Greek root meaning "to goad") and some of the more extreme born under these stars are drawn to fascism or other radical beliefs). You have an inquiring mind, enjoy playing with inventions and ideas, have a great love of words, and an excellent sense of symbols, shapes and visual details: if you survive your adventures, you like to write about them. An authority and a connoisseur, you recognize quality and demand the best in everything, but in in the area of personal character and morality you do not necessarily live up to high standards, and this may become an issue in your life. 1st-century astrologer Manilius held that Corona Borealis was the floral wedding crown of Ariadne, and indeed flowers, gardening, botany, scents and perfumes may become important elements in your life, as well as Bach flower remedies. Many born here are explorers, inventors, geologists, geographers, mapmakers, mathematicians, poets, translators, scholars of ancient languages, occultists (with a particular interest in portents), lawyers, soldiers and police, chefs, physicians and surgeons. Mythical centaur Cheiron, whom Centaurus may represent, was known as "old handy" (cheiro is the Greek prefix for "hand"): hand skills and handcrafts are important here, as well as a love of animals, especially horses (1st-century astrologer Manilius wrote that those born under Centaurus "know how heal animals, to relieve dumb creatures of disorders they cannot describe for his hearing"). With the overlay of tropical Scorpio, your keen curiosity makes you a good interviewer; with your tendency to fanaticism, obsession, dominance and an ability to use words like knives, you are an effective interrogator and propagandist. Religious persecution is a possibility (either imposed or suffered - or both!); under the influence of Crux, the Southern Cross, there may other religious issues, especially related to Christianity. Some here are nonconformists with a bit of the wild and freaky in their natures; you may be obsessed with sex, and/or may be drawn to sadism, fetishes, dominance, and the equation of pleasure and pain. As a warrior and/or peacemaker, you have the ability to turn suffering into exaltation, misery into beauty. Issues include personal character and integrity, morality versus deliberate amorality, courage versus fear and despair. A Cross is an archetype of a human at full stretch, affirming the primary relationship between the celestial (vertical, spiritual, intellectual, positive, active, masculine) and the earthly (horizontal, rational, innately wise, receptive, passive, feminine); here, above and beyond all conflicts, Crux, the Southern Cross stands as a beacon of hope for humanity. Possible physical and/or psychological manifestations: lameness, head ailments, obsession, cruelty, insanity, addiction, murder, starvation; possible danger from fires, explosions, drought, blighted crops, famine, murder, assassination, execution

Examples of the Ascendant here include Sigmund Freud, founder of psychoanalysis, Alfred Adler, psychotherapist and social reformer, Bertrand Russell, philosopher, mathematician and anti-war activist ("extraordinarily complex, intensely intellectual yet at the same time passionate to the point of near-madness, an atheist yet fascinated by mysticism"), Daniel Berrigan, Roman Catholic priest (Crux!) and antiwar activist, Basil Rathbone, Ed Asner, actors, Red Skelton, comedian, Charlie Chaplin, comedian, producer and director, Jose Feliciano, singer and guitarist (born blind), Clare Booth Luce, writer, editor, reporter and congresswoman, Gustave Flaubert, 19th-century author, Paul Verlaine, poet, Michael Munkasey, communication and transportation systems engineer and astrologer, Pina Bausch, Twyla Tharpe, dancer-choreographers, Robert Bardo, stalker-murderer, Conjoined Twins (male) joined from chest to abdomen: 2 hearts, 1 liver: one survived surgery

Starset ZUBENESCHEMALI - 14°Sc14' to 17°Sc58'

Jupiter is aligned with starset Zubeneschemali

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.

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 Jupiter here include Napoleon I, 18th-19th-century conqueror, Emperor of France, Marshal Joseph Joffre, Allied commander, 1st 2 years of WWI ("imperturbable, painstakingly patient, forceful, courageous"), Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria (his assassination triggered WWI), Alfred Thayer Mahan, 19th-20th-century US naval officer and historian, influential early exponent of sea-power ("profoundly affected both US and worldwide naval developments before WWI began") (Argo!), Walter Schirra, combat pilot and astronaut, USAF Brig Gen'l Charles "Chuck" Yeager, fighter and test pilot, the 1st to break the sound barrier, David Blunkett, British Home Secretary (Secretary of State for Education and Employment) (born blind), Arnold Schwarzenegger, body-builder, actor and Governor of California, Werner Erhard (John Paul Rosenberg), founder of EST (Erhard Seminars Training), a dictatorial, coercive forum of self-analysis, Rainer Maria Rilke, poet, Ken Kesey, author, Richard Strauss, composer, George Smith, 19th-century bank note engraver and self-trained Assyriologist, excavator of Assurbanipal's library at Nineveh, translator of the ancient Chaldean account of the Deluge (died at 36 from a fever while excavating near Aleppo), Gustaaf Schlegel, 19th-century sinologist, interpreter, professor of Chinese language, author of Uranographie Chinoise, the source of Staal's Stars of Jade, Annie Jump Cannon, astronomer, specialist in stellar spectra (Henry Draper Catalogue), Dr Sophia Jex-Blake, pioneering 19th-century physician who worked to open the medical profession to women, Dr Alois Alzheimer, 19th-early-20th-century neuropathologist and psychiatrist, discoverer of the disease named for him, Georges Cuvier, 18th-19th-century "brilliant and prolific" naturalist and geologist, founder of studies of comparative anatomy and paleontology, Count Alessandro Volta, 18th-century physicist, inventor of electric battery, Charles Jayne (nearly blind), Marion March, Doris Hebel, astrologers, George Santayana, poet and philosopher, Emil Zola, 19th-century author and crusading journalist who championed the unjustly imprisoned Alfred Dreyfus (died at 62 of carbon monoxide poisoning due to a blocked chimney), Norman Mailer, author and journalist ("a career at once brilliant, varied, controversial, public, prolific and misunderstood - his passions, feuds, imbroglios, litigations and loyalties are numerous, notorious and complex; he is regularly and simultaneously celebrated and reviled") (married 6 times, 9 children), Salmon Rushdie, author (condemned to death by an Islamic fatwa), Steven Spielberg, filmmaker, Boris Karloff, Carroll Baker, Patty Duke, actors, Ann Miller, tap dancer, Cyd Charisse, dancer and actress, John Clifford, dancer and choreographer, Marcel Marceau, mime, Donald Swann, comedian and lyricist, Sherrill Milnes, baritone, Sonny Terry, harmonica virtuoso (blind), Arlo Guthrie, musician and songwriter, Elvis Presley, singer (died at 42 of a heart attack), Odilon Redon, artist (famous for his paintings of flowers: 1st-century astrologer Manilius associated Corona Borealis with a love of flowers and gardening), Edvard Munch, artist ("The Scream"), Joe Rosenthal, photographer ("Flag-raising on Mt Suribachi"), Philip Berrigan, antiwar activist Catholic priest (left church, married), John Jacob Astor IV, millionaire (drowned on Titanic), Ken Uston, stock broker and successful gambler (has a system), Larry Csonka, football fullback, O J Simpson, football champion accused of murdering his wife, Tanya Harding, discredited ice skater who hired a thug to harm her rival (banned from professional skating)

Starset SARGAS - 21°Sg53' to 23°Sg49'

The North Node is aligned with starset Sargas

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.

Sargas is Theta Scorpii, a star just before the sting in the tail of Scorpius, the Scorpion; it is closely attended by Girtab, Kappa Scorpii. Northeast of the Scorpion's sting lies Aculeus (M6, NGC 6405), also called the "Butterfly Cluster." Sharing these celestial longitudes are Cheleb, Beta Ophiuchi (also called Kelb Alrai or Cebalrai) in the right shoulder of Ophiuchus, the Serpent-Bearer, a shamanic figure whom the Greeks associated with Aesculapius, the Great Physician, Tso Kang, 58 Ophiuchi at the Serpent-Bearer's right foot, Omicron Serpentis in that part of Serpens, the Serpent that lies below Ophiuchus' right hand (serpents have always been associated with healing and renewal, because they shed their skins and grow new ones), Mu Herculis in the left arm of Hercules, the Strong Man, and Delta Arae in the flames of Ara, the Altar. This is also the area of the Galactic Center, a region visually obscured by dust clouds, but detected by its radio and IFR emissions; at its core is a black hole, and this is also the approximate location of the "Pistol Star," a massive star of extraordinary intrinsic brightness in a pistol-shaped nebula, discovered by the Hubble Space Telescope using a camera sensitive to IFR emissions that penetrate dust clouds; at an absolute magnitude of -12.5, the luminous blue variable is "one of the most energetic star in the heavens." Sargas and Girtab, together with stars of the Scorpion's sting, were determinants of the ancient Chinese lunar mansion Wi or Wei, the Tail (of the Dragon) governing successions or inheritances, and of ancient India's lunar mansion Mula, the Root, ruled by Nirrti, Goddess of Destruction, personifying evil, corruption and decay; however, she is said to confer magical powers, and to protect those physically or mentally disabled, if they are good and kind; Mula symbolizes non-violence, non-injury, and everything bound or rooted, tying-up, capturing, and "that which is one's own" In ancient Euphratean star-lists Sargas was a star of Sar-ur, "Director-of-Fire" and Girtab was a star of Sar-gaz, "Director-of-Sacrifice."

Darkness and hidden light at the Galactic Center make this a place of intense, passionate longings, of struggles against the bonds of earth and incarnation. The Scorpion's tail is the area of the Hindu lunar mansion Mula, "Root," giving you an instinct to search for sources, for origins and reasons, with an aptitude for outreach, determination, "true grit" and endurance under pressure. With the influence of Hercules (Phoenician Harekhal, "the Traveler") and tropical Sagittarius, you may be among those who are voyagers, flyers and explorers; needing freedom, you strive to escape the limitations of your body and Earth's gravity (Mula governed all things bound or rooted). Energetic, strong-willed, imperious, brooding, passionate, emotional, with a dramatic, stormy and authoritarian personality, you dig deep, into the ground, the sky, in the origins of religion, geneology, and obscure sources of knowledge for something to live, work and die for. Ara, the Altar and tropical Sagittarius add idealism and a belief in the benefic effects of learning and culture. Some here become pioneering innovators, reformers and peace advocates, struggling to get people to listen to them. Intelligent and perceptive, you are, nevertheless, both a criticizer and criticized, often finding yourself at odds with your family, neighbors, society, culture, or government. You are a dedicated, never-say-die fighter, refusing to give in or knuckle under, even against great odds, but the Scorpion's sting and the black hole at the Galactic Center are energies that foment resentments and sullen anger; if you refuse to examine your own inner nature, or fear looking into your own soul's dark mirror, and seek rather to blame outside causes for your own or the world's troubles, there is a danger that you could become embittered, giving up or lashing out, raging against the blows of fate. A few here even make a scapegoat of God, insisting that S/He must be cruel, indifferent, or nonexistent, but others born under these stars may devote their lives to religion. The energy and talents that are the gifts of these stars often grace the fields of philosophy, religion (or dedicated atheism), mysticism, metaphysics, medicine, astronomy, astrology, aviation, space exploration, literature (especially playwrighting - some seem to hear dialogue in their heads!), poetry, publishing, math, law, sociology, engineering, architecture, archaeology, the military and teaching. You have a greater-than-average horror of war, and may become active in pacifist causes (Mula symbolized non-violence). The challenges of your life include self-knowledge and self-discovery versus flinging blame at others, the cultivation of kindness and cheer, courage and personal redemption versus giving in to negativity, anger, depression, despair. The burden-bearing shoulder of Ophiuchus, his healing regenerating Serpent and the inspiring Altar combine, helping all born under them to master life's cares and responsibilities. Possible physical and/or psychological manifestations: head problems, eye and ear ailments, addictions, suicide, especially by poison (Serpens is associated with poison); arm and shoulder ailments, speech defects (some texts mention blindness, but I have found only a few examples here); possible danger of fires, air crashes, battles, earthquakes, droughts, famines, epidemics, disasters caused by carelessness

Examples of the NorthNode here include Napoleon I, 18th-19th-century conqueror, Betty Ford, US First Lady (overcame alcoholism), Dr Robert Koch, one of founders of science of bacteriology: identified tubercule and cholera bacilli (Ophiuchus!), Tim Berners-Lee, computer expert and software engineer, creator of the World Wide Web, 19th-century Bernadette Soubirous (St Bernadette) whose vision of the Virgin Mary brought forth the healing spring of Lourdes (asthma, died of bone tuberculosis) (Ara, the Altar and Ophiuchus - healing), Arthur Schopenhauer, 18th-19th-century philosopher-pessimist who "inaugurated an emphasis on the will in modern philosophy," Petrarch, 14th-century humanist and lyric poet, Beverly Nichols (male), author (father was sadistic alcoholic), Michel Richard de Lalande (17th-18th-century), Joseph Haydn, 18th-19th-century), Claude Debussy, Carrie Bond, composers, Pearl Bailey, singer, William Holden, David Carradine, actors, Chad Mitchell, singer-actor, Robert/Roberta Cowell, transsexual racing driver and fighter pilot, Brian Coombs, astrologer and historian, Jackie Cavalero-Slevin, astrologer

Starset VEGA - 11°Cp57' to 14°Cp39'

Pluto is aligned with starset Vega

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.

Vega (Wega) is Alpha Lyrae, "The Harp Star" that lies in the upper, western corner of Lyra, the Lyre (anciently, these stars were an eagle or vulture; on some star maps, the two figures, Lyre and Vulture, are combined). The 5th brightest star in the sky, Vega was the Pole Star ca 12,000-11,000 BCE, and will be again in 12,000 years. It is accompanied in these celestial longitudes by Alya, Theta Serpentis in the tail-end of Serpens, the Serpent, Arkab, Beta1 Sagittarii in the right front pastern of Sagittarius, the guardian Archer-Centaur, Alrami (also called Rukbat), Alpha Sagittarii in his right foreleg, Al Baldah, Pi Sagittarii (also called Al Na'ir), at the back of the Archer's head, Psi Sagittarii in his right arm or wrist, along with Lambda Aquilae at the lower wing-tip of Aquila, the Eagle. In China Vega is Tchi-Niu, The Weaving Girl of a famous Chinese sky myth, who loved the Ox-Boy Kien-Niu (represented by Altair, a star at the beginning of tropical Aquarius). In ancient India, Vega was a determinant star of a mysterious intercalary lunar mansion called Abhijit "The Victorious;" all that is known about Abhijit is that it belonged to the Vaisya caste (farmers and merchants), that its symbol was a triangle or three-cornered nut, and that it was said to be the mansion under which the Gods vanquished the demon Asuras in battle. Al Baldah was a star of the very ancient Akkadian figure Gu-shi-rab-ba, "Yoke of the Sea;" in the lunar mansions of Arabia, it was a determinant star of al Baldah, the Gap (or the City, District, or Desert).

"Embattled" might be the best description of those born under the Archer's head and bow-string-drawing right arm, for whatever field they turn their considerable abilities to, they often find themselves in the midst of disputes and controversies (perhaps because they tend to see every challenge as a war!) Dignified, idealistic, forward-seeing, a keen observer of your own times and social values, you study and critique the culture you live within and want to right wrongs, which often leads to conflicts. Fascinated by how people interact, you pay close attention to the personal lives of people in your milieu, while at the same time worrying about how others see you (you can be fanatically protective of your reputation). Extremely concerned with the human religious and philosophical experience, it may become a primary issue in your life - you either live by religion or reject it - sometimes both in one lifetime! Headstrong, not inclined to heed advice, you will fight for your principles but are not usually willing to share power; your leadership style is usually stern, autocratic, dictatorial and self-protective. With your strong egotistical and sensual appetites, somewhere along the line you have to choose whether to be arrogant, self-indulgent, selfish, and self-centered, or humane, public-spirited and idealistic. Ambition is a natural element here; the more high-minded born under these stars take up causes and work for them, with the possibility that their actions might turn militant, as though they were engaged in a military conflict! Some here are scions of great families, expected to uphold lofty traditions; others start at the bottom, strategizing and battling their way up the ladder. You may, at times, be called upon to make sacrifices. With the pragmatic influence of tropical Capricorn, you have a good sense of how to profit from your talents, with the potential to excel in the military, business, law, theology (including mysticim and a focus on salvation), politics, government, diplomacy, history, literature, music, poetry, art (Lyra is said to bring forth lovers of music, but I have found rather more artists and poets than musicians here); you probably have an excellent sense of humor, and either indulge a mordant, eccentric, merrily ghoulish wit or stick strictly to cheerful, upbeat themes (this is the Sun of cartoonist Charles Addams and cartoonist/artist Edward Gorey, the Moon of Norman Rockwell, Jupiter and Saturn of Walt Disney). You are deeply sensual and sexual (with the possibility of involvement in sex scandals) and prone to jealousy. Among the issues and choices in your life are exploitation of others versus humane commitments, commercialism versus art for art's sake, expediency versus conscience; "doing the safe thing" versus doing good without fear of the consequences; suspicion versus trust, and temperence versus abandonment to appetites. It is vital that you listen to your conscience, for otherwise you could descend into coldness, cruelty, indifference to suffering, harsh prejudice, even sadism. Bigotry may be an issue (either experiencing it or dealing it out). A few here may live in exile or suffer imprisonment. With keen-eyed, high-flying Aquila keeping watch, the Sagittarius Archer-Centaur guards and guides souls under his care. Possible physical and/or psychological manifestations: eye and ear injuries and afflictions, birth defects and anomalies, addiction (including sexual addiction), paranoia, sadism; possible danger from battles, invasions, assassination, kidnapping, exterminations, fogs, arson

Examples of Pluto here include 3rd-4th-century Emperor Constantine, 1st Roman Emperor to accept Christianity (date of birth unconfirmed), Napoleon I, 18th-19th-century conqueror, Marshal Michael Ney, general under Napoleon, Louis-Antoine de Bourrienne, 18th-19th-century diplomat (amassed a large fortune in "questionable" trade dealings), Alexander von Humboldt, 18th-19th-century mining engineer, explorer and pioneer earth scientist, originator of ecology, author ("Kosmos"), Baron Georges Cuvier, 18th-19th-century naturalist, founder of the studies of comparative anatomy and paleontology, Jean-Baptiste Fourier, 18th-19th-century mathematician and physicist, William Wordsworth, 18th-19th-century poet, Amelia Opie, 18th-19th-century author, Charlotte Corday, assassin of Marat during the French Revolution

Starset ALTAIR - 26°Cp52' to 29°Cp48'

The Moon is aligned with starset Altair

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.

Altair is Alpha Aquilae in the body of Aquila, the Eagle; it is accompanied in these celestial longitudes by Alshain, Beta Aquilae in the Eagle's neck, Tarazed (also called Reda), Gamma Aquilae in his back, Albireo, Beta Cygni in the head of Cygnus, the Swan, Sham, Alpha Sagittae in Sagitta, the Arrow, Xi Capricorni in the horn of Capricornus, the Sea-Goat (or Goat-Fish), Theta Lyrae at the top of Lyra, the Lyre (anciently, these stars were an eagle or vulture; on some star maps, the two figures are combined), and Iota Indi at the right shoulder of the modern figure of Indus, the (American) Indian. Altair, Tarazed and Alshain are determinant stars of India's ancient lunar mansion Sravana, the mansion of Vishnu, which has two groups of meanings: "hearing," "the ear," and "the lame" or "the one who limps;" its emblem is 3 footprints side by side; there is an alternate name, symbol and meaning: Asvattha, India's sacred pipal tree of immortal life (Ficus religiosa) of the kind under which Buddha achieved enlightenment, representing alternative methods of rising from Earth to Heaven; Sravana symbolizes hearing, listening, learning, teacher and pupil, oral tradition, and flowing. In ancient China, Altair was Kien-Niu, the Ox-Driver in the famous Chinese fairy tale of the love between the Ox-Driver and Tchi-Niu, the Weaving Girl (Vega at 15 Capricorn). Xi Capricorni was a star of ancient China's lunar mansion Niu, The Ox, a draft ox representing peasants' beasts of burden which were sacrificially slaughtered in winter when no longer needed for field work; oxen also pulled war chariots and army provision carts; this mansion was also called T'ien-Tchi-Koan-Liang, Celestial Barrier, a defense against marauders; Xi (with one other star) specifically presided over roadways. In ancient Orphic and Platonic doctrine, the constellation of Capricornus (now tropical Aquarius) was the Gate of the Gods "wherein the souls of men, when released from corporeity, ascended to heaven through its stars;" it has also turned out to be a Gate of Angels.

We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men

are created equal; that they are endowed by their

creator with certain unalienable rights; that among

these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness...

-Thomas Jefferson (Uranus here), Declaration of Independence, 1776 (Pluto here)

Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness! Here Aquila stands in for North America's great bald eagle, an emblem of your high-flying aspiration and intense desire for freedom, along with a need to be admired, to surpass your roots, colleagues and environs. Intensely ambitious, competitive and doggedly persistent, you have a need to define yourself outside of conventional values of society, and you search for the ideal in every part of your life, for like an eagle you want to fly ever higher, even beyond the Sun, as if to bring earth to heaven and heaven to earth! Able to function in two worlds, physical and metaphysical, your need for independence may make you an itinerant, a wayfaring stranger or (with Lyra), a wandering troubador who enriches every stop along your way. Both military leaders and pacifists are found here, and the Arrow proffers military genius, strategy (including business, political and financial strategy), an interest in weaponry and flight, and there is something to do here with the sea and ships. The overlay of tropical Aquarius adds technical wizardry, mathematical ability and a gift for invention. You love the spotlight ("the smell of the greasepaint, the roar of the crowd"), have a strong dramatic sense, and may, like many here, have the ability to find the glory in language, for some born under these stars become actors and dramatists, gracing the theatre and film. You are intrigued by physical movement, both human and animal, and may become a dancer, choreographer, ice skater, sports achiever, artist or photographer. If you are technically and mathematically-minded you may be drawn to the romance of science, the joy of breakthroughs and discoveries, the solving and resolving of eternal mysteries. According to the ancient Liber Hermetis, these stars produce "experts, lovers of the arts, poets, scribes of cities, tutors and mathematicians." However, take care that you do not, like an eagle blinded by the glare of the Sun, ignore the needs of those around you, which could lead to difficulties and disappointments in love and relationships. You are acutely self-protective, and with a need for freedom from conventional social constraints, you could, in extreme cases, be cold, cruel, mean, aggressive, even violent, and your high-flying ambition might manifest as avarice. There may be an obsession with sex; some here may have to struggle to control their sexuality and a tendency to aggression, and there is a danger of scandal, especially sexual scandal (star expert Eric Morse points out that they "can soar to great heights, but if their behavior is inappropriate, they will be shot down"). There are issues of women's rights, workers' rights, sexual harassment, and humanitarianism versus deliberate cruelty, avarice and brutality. Most here are benevolent and beneficent, however, and at their best are teachers, coaches and helping hands, giving a "leg up" to those in need. Here Cygnus, the Swan and the soaring Eagle challenge the heights of heaven, inspiring those below, while stars of Capricornus, the ancient "Gate of the Gods," form a celestial doorway, promising, for those who reach for it, divine guardianship and protection. Possible physical and/or psychological manifestations: head and eye wounds and/or injuries, lung ailments, alcoholism, nervous breakdowns, neurological afflictions, paralysis, multiple births, birth anomalies; possible danger from storms, high winds, eruptions, epidemics, violence, kidnapping, abduction, animal attacks (especially bears and snakes)

Examples of the Moon here include Isabella of Castile, 15th-century Queen of Spain, Napoleon I, 18th-19th-century military conqueror, Emperor of France (died in exile), Woodrow Wilson, US President during WWI, champion of the League of Nations (disabled by stroke after a grueling cross-country campaign to convince Americans that the US should join the League), Clarence Thomas, Associate Justice, US Supreme Court, Walter Schirra, combat pilot and astronaut, John Dee, 16th-17th-century occultist, spy, code expert and astrologer to Queen Elizabeth I, Michael Munkasey, communication and transportation systems engineer, analyst and astrologer (helps children with learning disabilities), Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, physician and author, creator of the Sherlock Holmes stories, Theodore Dreiser, George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans), Andre Maurois, authors, Andy Warhol, artist, Anton Bruckner, 19th-century composer, Leslie Caron, dancer and actress, Patricia McBride, ballerina, Red Skelton, comedian, Jack Lambert, football linebacker ("mean, aggressive")

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: [email protected]

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

Text Copyright © 2004, Diana K. Rosenberg.