Starcatsastrology’s Blog

January 24, 2009

For those of you who missed my radio appearance on the Storm Cestavani show, here’s the link to ASK1RADIO. Sign up is easy and membership is free!

Heads Up!

Pam Young reports that she phoned the hall of birth/death records in Denison, Texas and asked if she could please have the time of birth of Chesley Sullenberger. Pam told the clerk she was in possession of his date of birth, January 23, 1953, but needed the time of birth in order to construct an accurate horoscope. The clerk promptly looked up Sullenberger’s birth records and quoted 5:06 am. That gives Sully a 25 Sagittarius rising with Lunar Nodes across the aviation/travel and transporation axis associated with the 3rd and 9th houses of the horoscope. You just can’t make this stuff up!

Pam says maybe it was the Mercury retrograde that prompted the clerk to bypass the usual confidentiality rules. But heck, why look a gift retrograde horse in the mouth? Since we don’t yet have a BC in hand, we should say so when using this birth time. A grateful shout out to NCGR, Pam Young and to Karen McCauley, faculty member at Kepler College, for forwarding this information to me. You can contact Pam Young by E-Mail.

Sully Sullenberger, January 23, 1951, 5:06 AM, Denison Texas

— Starcats, January 24, 2009

Eclipses, The Pre-Natal Solar Eclipse And Captain Sully

(and God help me with this Mercury Retrograde!)

If you didn’t get a chance to catch me live last night on Storm Cestavani’s radio show hosted by Ask1Radio.com, here’s a courtesy link to the MP3 of the broadcast — have a listen!

As Storm mentioned at the top of the hour, we haven’t had 6 eclipses in one year since 1941. I forgot to mention on air a couple of interesting eclipse factoids:

In 1935 there were 5 solar eclipses but only two lunar ones. That is so exceptional that it only happens once every 300 years.

In 1951 there were two solar eclipses but no lunar ones. That was also an exceptional eclipse year.

Here’s a perfect example of how a Pre-Natal eclipse and the lunar nodes played a vital role in public life.

Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger III

January 23, 1951, 12:00 PM (no time known) CST+6:00, Denison, Texas

Captain Sully’s pre-natal solar eclipse took place on September 12, 1950 at 19 Virgo. As you can see from Sully’s birth chart, The good captain was born with a number of planets in the degree of his lunar nodes and in the exact degree of his pre-natal solar eclipse.

Sully’s North Node is 19 Pisces, the degree transiting Uranus (ruler of aircraft and aviation). Transiting Saturn, now retrograde opposes Uranus from Virgo and will do so a total of 5 times between now and 2010.

2009-2010 Saturn-Uranus Oppositions:

Nov 4, 2008

Feb 5, 2009

Sept 15, 2009

Apr 26, 2010

Jul 26, 2010

Sully’s Venus (19 Aquarius), Pluto (19 Leo), Neptune (19 Libra) are all in the degree of his natal lunar nodes and the degree of his pre-natal solar eclipse. As you can see, Sully’s pre-natal solar eclipse was set off via our current planetary transits to his natal lunar nodes.

Shout out to Michael Wolfstar who caught the USA Vesta connection in his Stariq column on Sully. “In addition, Sully’s fateful North Node at 19º Pisces is exactly sextile the U.S. Vesta (at 19º Taurus), with both being activated by transiting Uranus (at 19º Pisces), the planet of unexpected crises. Any astrologer concerned about security and safety issues—whether financial, technological, or military—would be well-served to use Vesta.”

Another shout goes to Astrologer Shelley Ackerman “The days before one’s birthday, especially when an eclipse looms nigh, are often dramatic. On Thursday, January 15, 2009 little did veteran pilot Chelsey B. Sullenberger III know when he woke up that morning, that by the end of the day, he’d be the man of the hour. . . ”

U.S. Airways Flight 1549 Take-off

January 15, 2009, 3:24 pm, Flushing, NY, 8 Cancer Ascendant

Pilots and pundits remarked again and again that no pilot had ever successfully ditched an aircraft and certainly no pilot had ever been ever to ditch on water. What in the Take-Off chart can we find that helps us identify why Sully was successful?

First, the Ascendant at 8 Cancer is closely aligned with the USA’s (1776 chart) natal Sun at 13 Cancer which is conjoined to the luckiest of fixed stars, Sirius. The Moon at 28 Virgo is void of course. This is a key to Sully’s success. First, it shows that the flight itself would come to no avail. Nothing would come of it (a flight that wouldn’t make it to it’s destination) but also anything that might occur to the craft itself would “come to no avail.” Void of course moons often signal “nothing comes of the matter. No consequences.”

Next, Uranus (ruler of pilots, aviation and aircraft) at 19 Pisces is aligned with Sully’s future oriented North Node. His Natal Venus at 19 Aquarius (Uranus ruled) is aligned with the Take-off flight’s Chiron. Chiron may signify wounds, but the base of the word Chiros means “hands.” Chiron transiting Aquarius signals a steady “hand” as well as a healing one. Remember that Captain Sully walked his entire aircraft twice to make sure all passengers were off the plane before he disembarked. Sully’s lunar nodes, aligned along the service axis of Virgo/Pisces was supercharged by virtue of his pre-natal eclipse being activated by current planetary transits.

The Take-off chart’s Jupiter (the benevolent one of the planetary gods) at 2 Aquarius, is conjoined to Sully’s birth sun. Sully has an out-of-sign conjunction to safety and security Vesta (29 Capricorn). Jupiter’s conjunction to his sun and close proximity to Vesta provided that stroke of luck Sully needed to align with his keen nano-second decision-making skills. It helps when you’re a qualified member of MENSA by the time you hit the age of 12! See Sully’s bio

It bears mentioning that the preceding Full Moon of January 10 (21 Capricorn 02) held a crucial mid-point secret. The distance between the Sun and Neptune (22 Aquarius) was 6 Aquarius — the degree of our upcoming Solar Eclipse (January 26, 2009). Pluto’s (life and death issues) ascending node in the Full Moon chart (yes, planets also have nodes) was 20 Cancer conjunct the Full Moon and in opposition to the Sun. FM Mercury at 7 Aquarius sits on the midpoint of Sun-Neptune and reiterates the upcoming Solar Eclipse degree of January 26.

Sully has what I call a natal T-square of brilliance in his birth chart. He’s got Mercury in opposition to Uranus and both planets square Saturn exalted in the mental balance sign Libra. The focal point or outflow point for energy caught in the T-square is Saturn. Quick thinking (Mercury-Uranus) is tempered and disciplined (Saturn) judicially (Libra) so that decisions made can have the best outcome.

Of course, Sully’s Mars conjunction Jupiter shows what a hot dog pilot he was in the AirForce. Placed in the sign of Pisces and in the degree of the Lunar Nodes (9 Aquarius/Leo) of the Flight 1459 chart point to Sully’s years of service (Pisces/Virgo) in the military (Mars-Jupiter conjunction) paid off. All 150 passengers and members of the crew aboard Sully’s flight survived the ditch into the Hudson. We all benefitted from Sully’s act of brillance, bravery and service at a time when our nation needed to cheer and feel proud again.

What a wonderful way to step into Barack Obama’s inauguration as our 44th president 5 days later.

But he had swear his oath twice!

And that’s my subject for another column. — Starcats, January 23, 2009

Reminder:

Our first eclipse is a Solar one at 6 degrees 30 minutes Aquarius set for January 26, 2009 at 2:59 AM, Washington, DC. It’s the first supercharged lunation (all eclipses are lunations, but not all lunations are eclipses) of Barack Obama’s presidency.

Sully-Flight 1459 Timeline

Courtesy of Newsday.com

January 17, 2009

US Airways Flight 1549 was scheduled to take off at 2:45 p.m. on Thursday. It pushed back from the gate at 3:03 p.m. and took off at 3:24. Seven minutes later, the jetliner crash-landed into the Hudson.

What follows is a timeline of the event, and a sampling of NYPD and FDNY calls that track the emergency response.

3:24 p.m.: Takeoff from LaGuardia.

3:25: Pilot reports bird strike five to six miles from airport, declares an emergency and asks to return to airport.

3:28: Just north of the George Washington Bridge, jet’s altitude is 2,000 feet and speed is 232 mph.

3:29: First of what officials call 120 911 calls reporting crash in the Hudson.

3:31: Jet drops from radar, apparently has landed in water.

3:32: NYPD Emergency

Service officers, on patrol in midtown Manhattan, board Circle Line at Hudson River and 42nd Street to go out to crash site.

3:35: FDNY receives reports of plane in the water. … Also receives multiple calls in the Bronx reporting a plane with engine fire.

3:36: FDNY Rescue 1 to their Manhattan base: “Urgent! Plane in the water with people out. We’re launching our boat!”

3:37: FDNY Battalion 9: “Have all units respond to the Intrepid. That’s where Rescue 1 is.”

3:40: FDNY Battalion Chief 9 to Manhattan dispatch: “Urgent! We have a commercial airliner down, have all units respond to Circle Line Piers, we have people on the wings, we have a Circle Line Boat pushing it to the pier.”

3:46: FDNY division chief to Manhattan dispatch: “Urgent! I want all the Marine Units responding on this incident! At this time we have numerous people on the wings on the plane.”

3:53: From a senior fire official’s vehicle: “Notify Division 1 as per FDOC [the department’s operations center in Brooklyn], there are ‘ passengers and five crew, total of 151.”

4:13: FDNY Marine Battalion:

“Marine 1 and Marine 6 have lashed the plane to ensure the remaining fuel and engine do not break away.”

4:20: FDNY FieldCom [a mobile communications unit]: “As per the pilot, there is no one left on the plane.”

Copyright © 2009, Newsday Inc

Pluto & Irrevocable Change – The Big Three

If Pluto points to irrevocable change, and the sign Capricorn is associated with big business, the three automakers, Ford Motor Company (June 16, 1903, Dearborn, MI) General Motors (September 16, 1908, Flint, MI) and Chrysler Corp. (Jun 6, 1925, Detroit, MI) are solidly in line for transformation of the kind that is not negotiable.

So too the great state of Michigan (January 26, 1837, Detroit, MI). It has been reported that one out of ten American jobs is related to the automotive industry. The fate of these workers, the various states that depend upon the car industry to keep them in jobs (including the tire and rubber industry) are engaged in a fight for survival.

The life and death struggle of what once was a testament to innovative technology (Henry Ford’s streamlined mass production lines) affording millions of Americans access to mobility and reinvented social status and massive cultural change, is apparent when looking at the aforementioned horoscopes.

Although the charts for the Big Three are solar charts (no birth times known), a lot can be learned by noting the elemental balances. Ford has no earth in the chart. Hence, it is difficult for this corporation to “ground itself.” The company’s longevity is further undermined by it’s natal Chiron positioned at 21 Capricorn retrograde. The Chironic wound to a solid corporate structure, success and good reputation, as well as product integrity (remember the exploding Ford Pinto?) has been set off throughout the decades everytime one of the weighty ones such as Saturn through Pluto make a stressful aspect to natal Chiron. We’re now looking at the approach of transiting Pluto and also Saturn to Ford’s natal Chiron from 2019 to 2020.

Ford’s natal Pluto at 19 Gemini is conjunct the USA’s Mars and is in square to the USA’s natal Neptune of dissolution. Without earth, at the time when Pluto transiting Sagittarius opposed the USA’s Mars and formed up a t-square to the natal Neptune (2002-2003), the “ground” under Ford Motor Company began melting out from under it.

We can note similar transits through Chrysler Corporation’s chart. Chrysler has Jupiter in it’s fall at 21 Capricorn, the very degree of Ford’s Chiron. Chrysler’s Plutonic dismantling (years after the era of Lee Iaccoca)  began back in late 2000 into 2001 with Pluto’s transit in opposition to it’s natal Sun (15 Gemini). Pluto-Sun contacts can signal identity as well as health crises. A complete regeneration of the self (whether individual or corporation) is required. There are no guarantees on this side of the River Jordan of success, however encounters with survival are baked int he cake and emergence from the dark night of the soul depends upon one’s ability to endure.

It is not looking good for Chrysler. Chrysler also has the “earth” problem. As cited above, it has only Jupiter in it’s fall in Capricorn. If the company endures, it will probably be because it merges with GM or is bought by another auto manufacturer overseas. Chrysler’s Pluto-Mars conjunction (12 and 17 degrees of Cancer) are conjoined to the USA’s Sun, which will take the opposition from transiting Pluto in Capricorn from 2014-2017. Pluto in Capricorn dismantles what’s solid whether it be a manufacturing plant or a reputation.

General Motors chart is low on water. It has dissolving Neptune at 16 Cancer. Rick Waggoner (CEO) isn’t known for much sympathy but then neither are the other honchos who flew to D.C. to beg for taxpayer dollars in their corporate jets. (Robert Nardelli of Chrysler and Alan Mulally of Ford Motor). Pluto in Capricorn brings a sense of entitlement (Pluto is raw power) that arises out of corporations and institutions favored by old guard Capricorn. Plutocracy. Plutocrats. Mulally, CEO of Ford, says he’ll now work for $1.00 a year, but it doesn’t appear that the other two CEO’s are willing to make any concessions. Ah. I almost forgot to tell you that GM’s Uranus is at 12 Capricorn. Transiting Pluto will be conjoined to it in 2014.

President Bush granted the Big Three a bailout of $17bn on December 19th. This mere stipend will tide them over until March 31, 2009. We’ll have to see who’s left standing at the time 2009’s first two eclipses roll out. January 26th’s Solar eclipse finds angry Mars and talkative Mercury retrograde (fighting words) closely conjoined to the USA’s Pluto, Chrysler’s Jupiter and Ford’s Chiron.

The Lunar eclipse of February 9 reinvigorates spirited talk as Mercury, then in direct motion hovers at 24 degrees Capricorn. At both eclipses, transiting Mercury opposes the USA’s natal Mercury in the 8th house of loans. The January Solar eclipse’s Jupiter, Sun and Moon conjoin the USA’s South Node in Aquarius at the time the country is experiencing a nodal reversal (natal North Node is conjoined by transit by the South Node and vice versa).  There are similar nodal contacts found in the February Lunar eclipse as both take place in the sign Aquarius. Eclipses are wild cards that bring massive change suddenly and dramatically. Nodal reversal phases indicate a struggle with instincts that cry out against the necessity of change. Dire circumstances such as those facing the Big Three call for a Plutonic amputation of everything that no longer works to sustain the life.

Some planet points of interest:

Ford Motor companies Neptune at 3 Cancer conjoins the USA’s Venus. It’s natal Chiron at 21 Capricorn was the Ascendant sign and degree of the Big Three automaker’s meeting with Congress. Humbly with asses in hand, the humiliated big shots (Chiron in Capricorn) face Congress (governmental institution) to mewl and pewl for alms.

GM’s natal South Node at 1 Capricorn was hit earlier in 2008 by Transiting Pluto when it first dipped into the Saturn-ruled sign. It’s now taking its second slam (middle phase of the process) and will have one last nodal encounter with Pluto in early November 2009.

GM’s progressed Sun (3 Capricorn), Mercury (4 Capricorn) and Uranus (16 Capricorn) are promised intense encounters with the underworld God of do or die for some time to come. If GM survives the several Plutonic hits to it’s natal South Node, and progressed Sun and Mercury, it will have to gear up for what could blind-side it once Pluto hits it’s Uranus.

Looking back to the late 60’s when Uranus and Pluto conjoined in Virgo may be helpful. The era of largesse, broad freedoms and anything goes — the cultural revolution in America — is being revisited but this time with an eye towards restructuring not only our understanding of freedom, but towards a new definition of freedom.

Green vehicles, green technology, and recovery from fossil fuel addiction are the new cultural revolution. This “revolution” will be forced to manifest at the time transiting Uranus (now in Pisces) moves to Aries (May 2010) and squares transiting Pluto in Capricorn. The big transit in the sky will resonate with Pluto’s transits across GM’s progressed planets mentioned above.

Beleaguered Chrysler Corp. shares nodes in close proximity. At the time the corporation was created (out of the remains of Maxwell Motor Co.), the USA had experienced a nodal return. Chrysler’s lunar nodes are less than a degree from the USA’s. Chrysler is in orb of it’s Uranus return and it’s progressed Pluto is less than a degree past the USA’s natal Sun. It is easy to identify the disintegration of a core part of American identity with strong Pluto-Sun signatures.

What is even more moving is how the Big Three meltdown is affecting the State of Michigan. It’s 6 Aquarius Sun (identity linked to technology and innovation) is conjoined to it’s natal Neptune (the dissolver). The two are spot on the USA’s South Node. Keep in mind what I said about 2009’s first two eclipses (above), and it’s easy to see that the already hardpressed automotive state is set to unravel. It will take a long, long time for Michigan to find the will and the ability to rebuild itself. I suspect it will take until transiting Uranus reaches Michigan’s natal Pluto (14 Aries) for a rebirthing.

Michigan is also experiencing another Saturn return (precise Virgo) and the experience of it is grim. It’s Venus at 8 Capricorn close in opposition to the USA’s Venus, Jupiter and Sun will take the deep impact of Pluto’s transit through the sign. Venus in Saturn has often signaled economic downturns for Michigan, particularly Flint, MI (home of General Motors) which has been memorialized by the iconic Michael Moore in his film ROGER & ME where he “Director Michael Moore pursues GM CEO Roger Smith to confront him about the harm he did to Flint, Michigan with his massive downsizing.”

Michigan’s progressed Sun at 24 Cancer is conjoined to the USA’s Mercury. By Progression and Solar Arc Direction, Michigan’s Sun will come to 27 Cancer to oppose the USA’s natal Pluto. It’s progressed lunar nodes at 27 Aries/27 Libra, respectively, are already in square to USA Pluto. The dismantling of Michigan, the state the birthed the iconic automobile and the innovative technology that produced them, are collapsing under their own weight. Capricorn’s shadow is the Senex, or (in brief) Crusty, immovable, stubborn, entrenched Chronos/Father Time who becomes ever more rigid because he can’t move with TIME, the very thing he is in charge of. Pluto is decay. It takes that which has outgrown it’s usefulness and rots it. At the end of the process, the entity under this assault either rebirths like the phoenix or disappears into the pages of history.

TRIBUTE TO EARL WILLIAMS:

Tribute to Earl Williams, long time family friend who worked 35 years for Chrysler Corporation in Indianapolis, Indiana. Mr. Williams passed away of a massive heart attack on December 17, 2008. He was 76 years old. Mr. Williams and his wife Shirley raised a family, had a beautiful home, put their children through college, and had settled comfortably into retirement. Mr. Williams always made sure to get bread to the food banks at his church and in his neighborhood so that those less fortunate than he would be able to eat.

Starcats, December 20, 2008

Happy Solstice!

The Sun enters Capricorn December 21 at 4:04 AM PDT/7:04 AM EST.

The Winter Solstice is the longest night of year which ushers in the rebirth the Sun. After the solstice, the days begin to get longer until we reach the Summer Solstice (June 21-22) when the the longest day of the year takes place signaling the time of the Sun’s decline.

This year I’m asking all of you who’d like to participate to join me in a candle burning ritual at a time of your chosing in your time zone. I’d like for us to honor not only the crossing over of Starcat Buggie, but to hold the light high for any and all souls we want to offer up to sacred memory. I’m thinking about the Winter Solstice Memorial for 2008 as a way of consciously embedding memories into the Akashic Record. Join me, then, on December 21st by lighting your memory candles.

I’m taking a bit of a break from the blog to think about Buggie. To grieve the passing of the second of the three original Starcats. She was born April 10, 1993 at 1:00 pm (rectified) in Woodland Hills, California and crossed over December 8, 2008 at 1:58 pm, Santa Monica, California. Jaqqi and Shadow, her two kitty cohorts and I miss her very much.