Ben Franklin Boldly Lived His Chart

Ok I promised I would look at Ben Franklin’s chart and, as usual, Ben does not disappoint. In fact, his chart is so easy it explains itself! Look at his Aries ascendant with Neptune in the first – Aries, the sign of the leader combined with Neptune the dreamer. How many of Ben’s dreams that he used his Aries leadership energy to invent do we still use? The Franklin Stove, the postal service, bifocals and the lightening rod, to name a few.


More fascinating is his second house. He has Saturn, the Part of Fortune and his South Node in Taurus all in the second house, the house of self worth and possessions. (Taurus vibrates to the second house – so this is a double whammy of Taurian power here.) The first thing that jumps out is that Ben had very good karma in that area from his past lives. Taurus South Node – this is someone who dealt with money and goods in his past life- and he did a good, honest job of it because he was able to retire from his printing job at thirty years old and live quite well. The Part of Fortune is where we receive benefit from others. It is clear that he was able to receive a great deal of good will from others from the treatment he gave them in prior lives.

When you add the task master Saturn in Taurus to the second house you see someone who applies the stubbornness of Taurus and the methodical thinking of Saturn to amass a nice fortune for himself and his family.

Ah speaking of family! Look at this 5th house, the house of creativity and the ultimate creative act, having children. We see the trickster Uranus there – the one sudden change and just a deep level of quirkiness. We know that Franklin blamed himself his entire life for the loss of his young daughter from small pox because he didn’t give her the new vaccine. In addition, his son was illegitimate although raised by his wife as her own. His son became governor of the State of New Jersey and remained loyal to the Crown. The kicker here is that Franklin and his son suddenly and irrevocably split at the beginning of the Revolutionary war yet, Franklin would raise his son’s son – who by the way was also illegitimate.

Franklin was estranged from his own father and ran away from the printing shop of his older brother. Did I say Uranus makes things quirky?

I have to smile when I see his Sun in Capricorn in the 10th house – the house of career status and the structures that keep society whole – and his Venus also Capricorn 10 but sitting right on the Mid Heaven. The Mid Heaven is the vibration for our career. Can you see how it was easy for Ben to charm the pants (perhaps literally) off of French society as he tried to get them to side with the Colonies? He imported coon skin hats – something he never wore back home – but which furthered the image of the wild Colonist which the French just loved. He was the toast of France. (Much to the chagrin of the dour John Adams who despised Franklin. Ut oh. I see a synastry chart of these two in my near future.)

Why did he spend so much time overseas? Between London, Paris and Amsterdam, Franklin spent more than thirty years in Europe. Take a look at his 9th house, the house of seeking beyond our borders – of seeking and learning the ways of other cultures and other religions to find our own truth. He has Mars in its ruling sign of Aries, Pallas Athena, the warrior/healing goddess and Vesta, the goddess of the burning heart’s desire also in Aries in the 9th. If this was a chart of someone who didn’t have the Taurus and Pisces influences his does, we could be seeing the chart of an invading military authority. Franklin is more nuanced that that. Yes it was a time of war and he was there doing the bidding of country at war but he used the more placid aspects of his chart to finesse out of these countries what was needed for battle.

He also has Chiron, the sacred wound indicator in the 9th. He was born with a fear of not knowing he could connect to the sacred, or would not find his own truth. He didn’t shirk from this fear however. I believe his alms giving to different religions was really part of his search.

His wife, by the way, never left America and spent most of their marriage managing his affairs here as he charmed his way through Europe. In fact, he didn’t even return when he was told she was sick and then died. Remember the shadow of Aquarius (which is in his 5th) is the inability to get close to people – a very impersonal touch. The 5th vibrates to creativity and also has an influence in finding marriage partners. His marriage was tinged with co-dependence. He has Juno, the goddess consort in Libra in the 7th, the house of partnership. Libra rules his 7th house. Libra is all about the other person. Someone embodying the positive effects of Libra would be very caring toward the partner. With his Jupiter opposite dreamy Neptune – he was off shooting the Moon and having quite the co-dependent relationship with Debra, who remained behind, raising the kids and keeping the house.

See his Moon in Pisces in the 11th house? He was using this very spiritual Moon in the house of group friendship and group activities that help the public good – to work his Venus charm to forge a new nation! His Moon also explains another aspect of his personality. Franklin was a vegetarian who believed in reincarnation who gave money to pretty much every church in the Philadelphia area. While he was not a person who believed in organized religions, he had a strong Piscean belief that we all must find a connection to the universal god-source. At his funeral, representatives from every church marched in the procession.

I don’t think there is much doubt that Franklin embodied and lived his North Node in Scorpio in the 8th house – that is the sign and the house of personal power and transformation. His North Node is conjunct the goddess asteroid Ceres (which is now considered a mini-planet). Ceres was the Roman name for what we call Mother Nature and was the ultimate nurturer. By using his personal power and transforming himself from printer to inventor to diplomat to statesman, Franklin nurtured an imprinted a new nation as no other “Founding Father” did.

Next time, Thomas Jefferson. In this day of hatred, religious intolerance and a total lack of knowledge by some of our Constitution and the ideals of those “Founding Fathers”, it is important to look at this Father who kept a Koran in his home and held an Iftar in the White House.

Unity March September 12, 2010

I am so tired of hate and fear mongering in our current dialogue and discrimination against religions some deem lesser than theirs. However, I want to talk about positive events and not dwell on the negative. I will leave that the so called "main stream media" who loves to churn fear into ratings.


On September 12, 2010 at 12:30 PM - there will be an interfaith Unity Walk in Washington DC - promoting peace and understanding among people of all religions and spiritual ideas.

http://www.911unitywalk.org/

(Hold onto your hats kids. Ramadan ends on September 11 this year.)

You know, Ben Franklin was a vegetarian who believed in reincarnation - (dang I have to do his chart!) but he contributed money to temples and churches of all faiths and denominations because he believed so fiercely in religious freedom. Where are you now BEN? Well, he is in the hearts, minds, souls and soles of those of us who will march together on the 12th.

I am sure the media will pay much more attention to the hate marches that will take place on the 11th, which this year also marks the ends of Ramadan but it is important to be a part of brotherhood, don't you think?

Of course, I had to whip up a chart for the day - and two things struck me. First, there are 4 "planets' in the 12th house - the house the deals with our connection to the cosmic consciousness - the universal source. Mars and Venus are in conjunction with one another - giving marchers the strength of Mars energy behind our ideals of a more beautiful world. Mars is in Libra; the sign of the dealing with other but Venus is already in Scorpio - the sign of passion.

Also in the 12th are the Moon and the asteroid Pallas Athena both in Scorpio. The city of Athens was named after Pallas - she is the goddess of war and healing. (She killed and then she healed.) This conjunction indicates a fruitful environment for sympathetic understanding and a rapport among people on a very deep, visceral and emotional level. A wonderful time for a unity walk.

In the 5th house, the house of creativity, we have a conjunction of Jupiter and Uranus in Pisces. OK, here is the fun part, Pisces vibrates to the 12th house- that house of our connection with the universe, higher ideals, the god-source etc. Jupiter is all about expansion, and cultural and religious exchanges and going beyond our village to understand how other people survive and thrive. Uranus, rules Aquarius, is the epitome of brotherhood and understanding. (Yes, let's all sing the song --"This is the dawning....")

Putting those two together is a harbinger for a wonderful day of unity. Right? Well, yes but there is a rub. Both planets are in retrograde - which means they need a new and different way of expressing themselves.

The way I see, the unity walks here in Washington and others in major cities around the country will NOT be headline news. No, we will see all of the hate speech and signs instead. We just have to hope that there are others who have turned away from the main stream media and have found other avenues for peace and understanding.

August 28, 2010 - and I don't like it.

I recently posted to my Facebook page a note about there being no hope for American politics if the allegedly unbiased media allows stories of hate and disinformation such as the so called ground zero mosque to distort reality. Progressives have almost no outlet for information dissemination with FOX, the arm of the radical elements of the GOP, spewing distortions on a 24-7 basis and the main stream media lapping up everything they say and pushing it out as viable news. (Remember Shirley Sherrod?) It is one stream of nonsense after another blown up as a major news story and then drummed into our brains over and over.

On August 28th Glenn Beck is planning another hate-a-palooza here in Washington, called the "Restoring Honor Rally."  He claims he had no idea it was the anniversary of the historic Martin Luther King speech on the same Washington Mall. Oh please..and they just happen to be having the rally on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, right?

Astrologically it will be a busy day over Washington. Mars and Venus will be in conjunction in Libra in the first house. Libra, whose shadow is co-dependence and looking for excuses in the "other" - will have a field day with these whiners who we never heard from when Pres. Bush was running up the huge deficits we have now but squawk when President Obama buys a diet Pepsi.

Mars, the ancient god of war, will do his best to add fire and vitriol to the nonsense that poor Mr. Lincoln will have to sit quietly by and listen to all morning.  To make matters worse, Saturn, the task master,  and Vesta, the asteroid which depicts the spot of our fervent heart's desire - of extreme dedication - will also be in conjunction with the Venus/Mars duo. It will bring out the the hard core haters and we may be very shocked even by this crowd with what we hear.

If that isn't interesting enough, the emotional Moon will be in Mars - again the god of war - and in the 7th house - the house ruled by Libra - vibrating to the energy "other person."  I don't see tell tale signs of violence here - but emotions could get out of hand.

It will be a day of anger squared which will be carried for hours on end by the press. I for one, am tired of it and am very glad that the NAACP will also be on hand to take another stand against hate.

The Astrology of Lobsters - the State of Maine

Still in Maine- smelling the ocean air as I write this. Just had the best lobster spring rolls at the Kennebunkport Inn but that is not the purpose of this blog. Maine became a state on March 15, 1820 as a part of the Henry Clay orchestrated Missouri Compromise. This allowed Missouri to come into the Union as a slave state and Maine, a former arm of the Massachusetts Colony, as a free state. Maine also became the first state to provide freedom and voting rights to all men regardless of color...yes, darn it, only men.

I ran a chart for Maine on their Statehood date - and used the city of Portland as "birth place" because it was the capitol of the State until the 1840's. Wow - does it surprise me that everyone here is so friendly and it is State where people come to the aid of their neighbors?  People come up to you on the street if you look the least little bit lost and go out of their way to give your car the right away. Look at that 11th house! A Stellium is when there are five or more planets in one house. Maine has seven planets, asteroids and stars in the 11th. This is the house of social, group interaction.

The Sun is conjunct Pluto in the 11th so the life force of the State undergoes change and transformation - it came in as a tail end of Massachusetts, a northern wasteland many thought a throw away used only to get Missouri into the Nation with as minimal amount of bloodshed as possible. Now it is one of America's premier vacation lands and our chief supplier of lobster and blueberries. 

Interestingly enough Maine's North Node is in Aries in the 11th so as a State it will realize its full potential as a leader in group humanitarian activities. Hmmm, what did I say about Maine being the first state to provide freedom and voting rights to men of all races? I think it got off to a good start and it has been making up to women every since.  Currently, both Maine Senators are female and Margaret Chase Smith served as Senator from 1949 - 1973 and was the first woman to have her name entered as a presidential candidate by a major political party in 1964.

With the Moon and Mercury also in Aries in 11th it is easy to see how the image of the no-nonsense, straight shooting New Englander came about. They say what they mean and they don't ramble on about it.

Maine always suffers from the "red headed step sister" image to its sexier New England states. While it did have the Bush's of Kennebunkport (too bad it is such a pretty little town), it couldn't compete with the Kennedy's of Cape Cod. Think of New England sports and skiing in Vermont and New Hampshire come to mind. It takes a few minutes to think of the summer sports on the miles of beaches and the skiing in winter of Maine. The cause for this? I believe it is in the 8th house -the house of personal power. Maine has Neptune there - the planet that deals with spirituality - and Uranus - the quirky quick change artist in conjunction with one another in the 8th. Neptune is great in the spiritual realm and there believe me if you can't meditate and zone out while looking out from the craggy beaches into the blue clear ocean you will never be able to do so anywhere else. On the physical plain, however, Neptune causes illusion and confusion. People don't have a clear image of Maine except for lobsters.

Neptune and Uranus together "dooms" Maine to a fuzzy existence without a clear and easy definition. However, I think they wouldn't want it any other way. It is as though Mainers are saying if you are lucky enough to find us we will be your friends forever.  I am so glad I found you Maine - and hope to be your friend for a long time.

Sorry, have to go - I see a long walk on the beach in my near future. Did I say this place is amazingly spiritual?

The Astrology of Lobsters

Today I am writing to you from the shore of the Kennebunk River which feeds into the Atlantic Ocean up here in Maine. Maine - where you can sleep on the second floor with your windows open in August...where you fall asleep to the distant mournful call of the ever alert fog horns and wake up to the clanking of the ship bells. Maine - where you can start growing claws from eating fresh lobster but get all your antioxidants from the blueberries which are everywhere. Ah.....

It is here on the banks of the river that you can also see astrology in action. Every morning and every evening the tides rush to an recede from the shores - every 12 hours and 24 minutes without fail. When the tide is out the river basin is so exposed that you can actually walk across the rocky floor. When the tide comes in the water is so high it rises the boats that had been asleep on the rocks and you are lucky to get an inch or two into the river bed without falling to your hips in water. Cold water I might add - the water never heats up here even in August. 

That my dear friends is astrology in action. It is taken for granted even in the least spiritual circles (although I can't account for birthers or non-evolutionists because who knows what goes on in their heads) that the Moon controls the tides. Let me repeat that - the Moon controls the tides.

We also get the word lunatic from the Latin for Moon -Luna- because people act oddly during the full Moon.  When I worked as a lobbyist for an engineering association many  button down collar, conservative  engineer types admitted that many nuclear power plants put extra security on during the full Moon because of the increased threats.

OK so the Moon controls the tides and our emotions. Why then is it so odd to think that the Sun influences our inner life force and Mercury our thought patterns and Mars our masculine warrior energy? Is it OK for the Moon to do things because we can't help but prove it's power over our lives so we have to accept it?
So many people who accept the concept of full Moon madness scoff at astrology without realizing how incongruous their argument.

Think about it - I know I will but first it is time for another lobster roll.