January 2013

 
 

New Year’s Chart points to interesting year ahead

(1 January 2013)  As we turn the calendar over for a new year, it is a good time to see what might lie ahead in 2013.  While there are any number of ways to make astrological forecasts for the next 12 months, I like to keep things simple wherever possible.  That is why I defer to the New Year’s horoscope on these matters.  Although there is no astronomical significance to midnight on 1 January, it does carry a lot of symbolic importance all over the world as the beginning of a new year.   In that sense, the midnight chart represents the "birth" of a year and therefore provides some indications for what may come in the next 12 months.  To be sure, this is not a precise method of prediction and it does not reveal specific events.   At best, the New Year’s chart only offers an impressionistic window on the future and should not be taken as a definitive chart.  In my experience, however, the New Year’s chart provides useful clues about significant themes and collective moods for the year to come. 

At the outset, a quick note of interpretation may be worthwhile.   As a rule, planets that are emphasized in the chart either by house placement or aspect will tend to have a more important profile in human affairs in the coming year.  For example, a chart that has a strong Saturn suggests that tradition and old institutions may take a special significance.  And if Saturn is afflicted in the New Year’s chart, then some of those institutions may come under pressure.  This is what happened in the 1989 New Year’s chart that featured a close aspect from Ketu (South Lunar Node) to Saturn, while Saturn was conjunct both Uranus (change) and Neptune (weakness) and prominently positioned close to the 4th house cusp.  Of course, 1989 will be remembered as the year that communism ended in Eastern Europe and marked the beginning of the end of socialism.  All those afflictions to Saturn corresponded quite neatly with the end of the ossified Soviet Empire as the Berlin Wall came tumbling down in November.   Read more…

School massacre shocks America: Rahu and Mars in focus

(16 December 2012)  America’s dark obsession with guns appeared to hit a new low this week with the horrific mass shooting of 20 schoolchildren in Newtown, Connecticut.  The killer was Adam Lanza, 20, who murdered a total of 28 people including his mother, who actually owned the gun that ended up killing her.   Lanza was described as an intelligent but socially awkward with no friends.  He may also have been autistic.

Adam Lanza was born on April 22, 1992 in Kingston, New Hampshire.  While his birth time may surface in the coming days, we will have to make do with his approximate horoscope cast for the day of his birth.  The chart can then be read by using the Moon as the ascendant and 1st house (Chandra Lagna).  While this is no substitute for an actual timed chart, it is nonetheless offers an intriguing picture of some of the planetary energies that may have been active in his short and disturbed life.

Any event that involves this kind of derangement, one must begin with the condition of the Moon.  The Moon represents the emotions,  mental health and the inner self.  Whenever the Moon is afflicted by malefic planets, it raises the possibility of mental problems.  In Adam Lanza’s chart, we can quickly see that the Moon is afflicted by its close conjunction with Rahu, the North Lunar Node.  Rahu is the planet that erases boundaries and encourages behaviour without limits.   Read more…

 

Jupiter and Saturn and the uncertain future of gold

(8 December 2012)  Is gold still a good investment?  In this era of central bank money printing and quantitative easing, gold has experienced an unprecedented price increase as investors seek a hedge against the risk of future inflation.  Officially, inflation in most OECD countries remains low, although commodity inflation has been significant and has impacted the cost of food and fuel over the past five to ten years.  As central banks seem intent on printing money indefinitely, there remains some very good reasons to own gold as an inflation hedge.  If debt continues to grow unchecked, currencies will eventually have their value eroded as inflation takes hold.  This is where gold becomes a more attractive alternative to paper money.  But since it has already doubled in the past few years, how much higher can it go?

There is no simple or definitive answer.  However, astrology does offer some useful clues based on past correlations of planetary motion with the price of gold.   Traditionally, gold has been linked to the Sun and Venus.  Gold is one of the ancient world’s form of currency and hence it is closely associated with government and the state.  The Sun is the archetypal planet of the state and hence gold is seen to be connected with the star of our solar system.  Gold is also seen as an object of beauty and luxury and therefore is symbolized by the planet Venus.  I have found that both the Sun and Venus do appear to have a say in the fluctuation in the price of gold.   When both of these planets are well placed and connected to benefic planets, the price of gold will tend to rise.  Conversely, gold is more likely to decline when these planets are afflicted in some way by bad planets such as Saturn or the nodes, Rahu and Ketu.    Read more…

 

Psy’s "Gangam Style" breaks Youtube video record

(5 December 2012)  On 23 November 2012, the song "Gangnam Style" by the South Korean singer Psy became the most watched video in Youtube history, eclipsing the old record held by Justin Bieber.  It now has more than 850 million views and seems likely to hit 1 billion soon enough.   The song has reached number 1 in 30 countries all over the world.  By contemporary measures, it may be the most popular song in human history. The fact that this global music craze originates from South Korea is reminder of how our 21-st century world is changing as cultures evolve to reflect a faster pace of life and communication.

As an astrologer, I was curious to know if there was anything special about his horoscope and whether it might reflect his musical talent and incredible success.  Psy was born Park Jae-sang on December 31, 1977 in Seoul, South Korea.   We don’t know his time of birth but there may still be something noteworthy in the arrangement of the planets on the day he was born.  For any success in the arts, one would expect Venus to be prominent in some way, since it rules beauty and aesthetics.   Mercury, the planet of communication, is also often strong in the horoscopes of people who share ideas in any form, whether they be artistic or intellectual.   Read more…