Star Guide

A stampede on a footbridge at a Mumbai railway station has left 22 people dead and injured more than 30, Indian officials report. The tragedy occurred during the morning rush hour at Elphinstone station, which connects two major local lines. It was triggered by overcrowding and people seeking shelter from monsoon rains, the officials said. The injured have been taken to a nearby hospital and senior railway officials are at the scene. Sept. 29 http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-41439379 The stampede took place around 10.40am [1]  when the overbridge was teeming with people taking shelter from a sudden downpour. Readers may have already guessed at the cause. Today Pluto stationed direct in hard aspect to the TNP Admetus. A chart for the Pluto station at Mumbai has Pluto very significantly placed on the descendant with the stars of Gemini Castor and Wasat on the Ascendant. Martha Wescott delineates the meaning of Admetus-Pluto while Nick Fiorenza explains how the

Nude Girl Painting - by Veronique Radelet The major civilizing force in the world is not religion, it is sex  - Hefner Hugh Hefner, founder of the international adult magazine Playboy, has died at the age of 91. Playboy Enterprises Inc said he passed away peacefully at home, from natural causes. Hefner began publishing Playboy in his kitchen at home in 1953. It became the largest-selling men's magazine in the world, shifting seven million copies a month at its peak. The silk pyjama-clad mogul became famous for his hedonism, dating and marrying Playboy models. In his later years he threw decadent parties at his luxurious mansions in Chicago and Los Angeles. Hefner's trailblazing magazine helped make nudity respectable in mainstream publications, despite emerging at a time when US states could legally ban contraceptives. Sept.28   http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-41423845 Hugh Hefner’s horoscope as provided by Astro-databank [1] is rep

A Dallas jury ordered JPMorgan Chase to pay more than $4 billion in damages for mishandling the estate of a former American Airlines executive. Jo Hopper and two stepchildren won a probate court verdict over claims that JPMorgan mismanaged the administration of the estate of Max Hopper, who was described as an airline technology innovator by the family’s law firm. The bank, which was hired by the family in 2010 to independently administer the estate of Hopper, was found in breach of its fiduciary duties and contract. In total, JP Morgan Chase was ordered to pay at least $4 billion in punitive damages, approximately $4.7 million in actual damages, and $5 million in attorney fees. The six-person jury, which deliberated a little more than four hours starting Monday night and returned its verdict at approximately 12:15 a.m. Tuesday, found that the bank committed fraud, breached its fiduciary duty and broke a fee agreement, according to court papers. http://www.zerohedge.com/news/201

Saudi Arabia's King Salman has issued a decree allowing women to drive for the first time, to the joy of activists. The Gulf kingdom is the only country in the world that bans women from driving. Until now, only men were allowed licences and women who drove in public risked being arrested and fined. Praise for the move has been pouring in from inside the Saudi kingdom, as well as around the world. US President Donald Trump said it was a "positive step" towards promoting women's rights. Sept. 27 http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-41408195 Jupiter opposite Uranus is a major planetary aspect occurring in 2016-17. There are three exact oppositions between December 2016 and September 2017. The last exact opposition occurs on September 28, 2017. For Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the opposition is aligned perfectly with the horizon axis suggesting that this is one place receiving its full impact. Historians and psychologists have long wrestled w

As the iPhone 8 goes on sale, questions remain over the demand for Apple’s latest offering following smaller crowds outside stores and a muted customer reaction. The iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, two of the three new iPhones in Apple’s 2017 lineup, went on sale around the world, starting in Australia where hundreds of people have usually gathered outside Apple’s Sydney city store for previous launches. But instead of queues winding down the street there were fewer than 30 people lining up before the store opened on Friday. Sept.23 https://goo.gl/Nuo7zo Eclipses tend to bring about endings and new beginnings. Planetary configurations on the angles at any place  determine the areas of our lives affected by the eclipse. Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California that designs, develops, and sells consumer electronics, computer software, and online services. A chart for the last solar eclipse at Cupertino, California is

Vulpecula et Anser; the Fox and the Goose The impending collapse of ISIS has touched off a race for territory in the oil-rich eastern part of Syria pitting US-backed forces against the Russian-led coalition of Syria, Iran and Hezbollah. This is the nightmare scenario that everyone wanted to avoid. Washington and Moscow’s armies are now converging on the same area at the same time greatly increasing the probability of a conflagration between the two nuclear-armed superpowers. The only way a clash can be avoided is if one party backs down, which seems increasingly unlikely. https://www.globalresearch.ca/uncle-sam-vs-russia-in-eastern-syria-the-nightmare-scenario/5610373 The situation in Syria is reaching another critical point. Russian drone surveillance operation [1]  conducted over the entire Deir ez-Zor region—has shockingly revealed US Special Operations troops embedded, aiding and fighting with ISIS terrorists. There is an increased possibility of a large scale cl

In a country where over 70% of unmarried men between 18 and 34, and 60% of women, have no relationship with a member of the opposite sex, and where birthrates are among the lowest in the world after Japanese women gave birth to fewer than one million babies in 2016 for the first time since the government began tracking birth rates, Bloomberg reports on an industry that’s profiting off the reluctance of young Japanese men and women to find a human partner. What Bloomberg calls the “virtual love industry” in Japan has blossomed into a multi-million-dollar concern as unmarried men and women increasingly turn to simulated digital offerings for companionship.  Inventors create applications that essentially allow users to build a ‘virtual wife’ or ‘virtual husband’. Sept. 22 http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-09-22/japans-lonely-men-are-settling-virtual-reality-wives-future In his essay Natal Delineation of the Chart of Japan ,  William Stickevers [1] writes: The

Kim Jong-un has said remarks by "deranged" US President Donald Trump have convinced him he is right to develop weapons for North Korea. In an unprecedented personal statement, Mr Kim said Mr Trump would "pay dearly" for a UN speech where he threatened to "totally destroy" the North if the US was forced to defend itself. Mr Trump responded that the "madman... will be tested like never before". The two countries have engaged in ever more heated rhetoric in recent months. Mr Kim ended his statement by saying he would "surely and definitely tame the mentally deranged US dotard with fire". http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-41356836 To understand the news, we begin with the chart for the New Moon of September 20, 2017 drawn for the midpoint between Washington DC and Pyongyang, North Korea. We will analyze the chart in two steps. First we will look at the stars that form the backdrop to the New Moon. And then we shall look

A failing dam is causing an "extremely dangerous" situation in the US territory of Puerto Rico, the US National Weather Service said Friday. The Guajataca Dam in the northwestern Puerto Rico failed at 2:10 p.m. local time (on September 22, 2017), spurring the National Weather Service to announce a flash flood emergency. The dam failure comes in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, which has caused flooding and devastation across the island. https://sptnkne.ws/f5st Classical mundane astrology has a  rich history, and we modern astrologers would be wise to integrate more of its lessons.  One of the tools used by mundane astrologers is the cardinal ingress chart of the Sun.  The word ingress comes from the Latin ingressus, to 'go in' or 'enter'. The dam at Guajataca Lake experienced a dam failure hazard on September 22, 2017 just as the Sun entered tropical Libra. A chart for the ingress at the location of the Guajataca Dam is presented here. A

JUPITER OPPOSITE URANUS An independence referendum for Iraqi Kurdistan has been scheduled to be held on 25 September 2017. The result will be binding for the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), but its legality has been rejected by the federal government of Iraq. It was originally planned to be held in 2014 amidst controversy and dispute between the regional and federal governments. Longstanding calls for Kurdish independence gained impetus following the Northern Iraq offensive by Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant in which Baghdad-controlled forces abandoned some areas, which were then taken by the Peshmerga and controlled de facto by the Kurds. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraqi_Kurdistan_independence_referendum,_2017 Jupiter in Libra opposite Uranus in Aries is one of the most important transits of the decade. It is a three pass transit and is about to make its last pass on September 28 th , 2017.  Uranus is the rebel, the freedom-seeker, the

Spanish national police have stormed ministries and buildings belonging to Catalonia's regional government to put a stop to the region's independence referendum. The Guardia Civil, which acts with the authority of Madrid's interior ministry, is searching for evidence regarding the planned 1 October referendum on Catalan independence, which Spain's Constitutional Court has declared illegal. https://goo.gl/WEc6R2 Cardinal ingresses of the Sun are among the more important events in mundane astrology. The Sun enters tropical Libra on September 22 and a chart for the ingress at Madrid, Spain has the now forming Jupiter-Uranus opposition square the meridian axis. This combination  represents the desire to break free from stagnant patterns that still have power to hold you hostage to situations or behaviors that no longer serve.

BRICS is the acronym for an association of five major emerging national economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Originally the first four were grouped as "BRIC" (or "the BRICs"), before the induction of South Africa in 2010. The BRICS members are all leading developing or newly industrialized countries, but they are distinguished by their large, sometimes fast-growing economies and significant influence on regional affairs; all five are G-20 members. The inaugural BRIC summit took place in Yekaterinburg, Russia on June 16, 2009. In this post we look at the chart for the first solar eclipse of 2009 that fell on Jan 16, 2009 and its role in the inaugural BRIC summit. The following extract from Nick Fiorenza’s monthly lunar planner for Jan. 26 entitled   To Cross a Threshold , explains the essence of this eclipse: Eclipses, generally about six months apart, can be thought of as times that allow us a fresh start in the contin

A strong earthquake has struck central Mexico, killing more than 140 people. The 7.1 magnitude quake toppled dozens of buildings in the capital, Mexico City, including a school where children are reported to be trapped. There has also been widespread damage in Morelos and Puebla states and in Mexico State. The tremor struck while many people took part in an earthquake drill exactly 32 years after a quake killed thousands in Mexico City. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-41327593 Earthquakes are found to be associated with eclipses and important planetary conjunctions and oppositions. An eclipse is always liable to cause seismic disturbances where it is visible, especially if it falls very close to the line of horizon i.e. the cusps of the first and seventh houses, or of the meridian i.e. the cusps of the tenth and fourth houses. Of these two lines, that of the meridian is more important; and that of the lower meridian i.e. the cusp of the fourth house is the most imp

The progressed solar arc Sibly Sun [12pi] is currently square the Ascendant [12sa] and semisquare Pluto [27cp]. Pluto is placed in the 2 nd house. In Mundane Astrology the 2 nd House rules: The nation's assets and financial status. The treasury, the exchequer, revenue and all places and activities concerned with money-making; such as banks, the stock exchange, financial institutions, money markets and trade. http://www.skyscript.co.uk/temples/h5.html Acting as the “minute” hand of the cosmic clock,on September 28, the final degree of the Jupiter/Uranus opposition occurs in an exact square to the position of Pluto in the USA Sibly. On its own this indicates that the US is close to a major financial event. And as if confirming this on the very same day, Pluto stations to go direct in the Sibly 2 nd house opposite radix Sun in the 8 th and square Saturn in the 10 th .  Radix Saturn is conjunct stars of  the Dragon and Corvus, the Raven. Among events c

The Syrian War began in the wake of the protests of 2011.  In 2011-12, transit Pluto had reached within 3 degree orb of the radix Sun [9cp] on the IC (4 th house cusp) of Syria’s chart. As the opposite house to the 10th,  the 4 th rules those who oppose the government, king, or recognised order.  With Pluto transiting here the opposition had a complex and hidden agenda and used ultimatums and confrontation with government security agencies to bring Assad down. What began as a legitimate series of demonstrations against the government in Damascus did not stay that way, however. Now in 2017, as Pluto stations on September 28 within 2 degrees of the IC for the last time, the regime change project has failed, and it has failed miserably.  For all the money, men, and treasure that Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the West, and Israel pumped into the war, they failed in their primary goal of deposing the government.  At every turn, they were thwarted by their adversaries, who proved to be bet

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday inaugurated the Sardar Sarovar Dam in the Narmada district of the state of Gujarat. The dam's construction began in 1987, although the project dates back to 1961 when Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of India, laid down the first stone for the foundation. The dam was first operational in 2006, but the construction work has lasted up till now due to some legal complications and upgrade plans.   Sept. 17 https://sptnkne.ws/f29K Eclipses affect events long after they are gone. In this post we shall see how the solar eclipse of Feb. 26  influence the news. The eclipse [8pi] was conjunct stars in flowing waters from the Urn of Aquarius [1]. It was placed in the mundane 6 th house which among other things rules agriculture and farming. The stars of the Urn articulate natural resources and the flow of those resources to humanity. This New Moon eclipse brings emphasis to humanity's fundamental needs, to resou

A total of 217 agreement worth around 2.5 trillion rubles (nearly $44 billion) have been signed at the economic forum in Vladivostok, according to the presidential envoy to the Far East Federal District Yury Trutnev. The two-day event (Sept.6 -7) in Russia’s Far East attracted more than 700 business representatives and politicians from 55 countries, including China, India, Japan, South Korea and the US. Nearly 70 foreign companies took part. This year’s Eastern Economic Forum (EEF 2017) was attended by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, South Korean President Moon Jae-in, and Mongolian President Khaltmaa Battulga. The economic forum in Vladivostok began on September 6, just as Mercury stationed direct.A chart for the mundane event at Vladivostok has a powerful Uranus-Apollon-Vulcanus [1] T-square straddling the horizon axis. Apollon-Vulcanus: pressure to expand business. Uranus-Apollon: to make pioneering changes towards expansion or increase of business. Large

At least 23 students and teachers have died in a fire at a religious school in Malaysia's capital, Kuala Lumpur. The fire at the Tahfiz Darul Quran Ittifaqiyah broke out in the early hours of Thursday morning. The victims are thought to been trapped in their dormitory as the windows were barred with metal grilles. "It is one of the country's worst fire disasters in the past 20 years," Khirudin Drahman, director of the fire and rescue department, told AFP. Initial counts put the death toll at 25, but police later revised that down by two. Police said the dead were 21 students - all boys between the age of 13 and 17 - and two staff members. Sept. 14 http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-41263147 The cardinal ingresses of the Sun are among the more important events in mundane astrology. On September 23 the Sun will enter tropical Libra. A chart for the Libra ingress at Kuala Lumpur is shown here.  Notice the Mercury (in Virgo) square Saturn (in Sagittariu