Lyssa Strada

I have sent this letter to all my congressional representatives, the Obama transition team, and to all my local media.

I encourage you to take a stand, also. Our country is committing atrocities against the Arab peoples and has been for decades. That is why 9-11 happened and we are only creating more of the same for ourselves with this act of aggression against civilians.

Supporting Israel with weapons and one-sided propaganda is a mistake. We voters want change, not more of the same old lies. The American public is very much opposed to aiding Israeli Zionists as they oppress and attack their neighbors. The US policy of favoring Israel's immorality and criminal actions towards the Palestinians is reprehensible and makes the whole world hate the USA. Israel is not part of the USA and deserves no special treatment by our Congress. American citizens are not Zionists. We are Americans and we do not support theocracies of any kind.

-- Robin Jenkins

Article: Silence is Complicity

Contact Congress and the Media

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This is the time of year for going inward to find our inner wisdom. As Thomas Jefferson said, "Honesty is the first chapter of the book of wisdom." Curtis Lang and Jane Sherry of the Satya Center have sent another wonderful article that is both factual and spiritually enlightening.

Those of us who are connected to Spirit, those of us who have seen the writing on the wall, have a heavy responsibility – to stay grounded and centered and to shine our light steadfastly into the darkness around us. In times like these, the ability to hold the light and to remain confident in the prospect of positive change becomes more important than ever.

Dear Readers,

I am taking a hiatus from the blog to finish up some writing projects. Hopefully, I will return to astrology blogging in January, 2009.

My last piece of writing for this blog will be a book review of Jessica Murray's Soul-Sick Nation that I will post fairly soon.

Check out this piece of historically grounded astro-analysis of the upcoming presidential election. This is so "Lysistrata."

Article: Stepping Outside the Bubble: The Election of 2008 by Jessica Murray

Note: I am working on a review of Jessica's wonderfully brilliant book, Soul-Sick Nation: An Astrologer's View of America.

Thanks to Jude Cowell for alerting us to this article.

The Ownership Society

Some things are more important than figuring out the angles of the planets.

(Click on this image for more art.)

Article: Effects of Financialization of Economy

Crisis of Confidence

The Virgo/Pisces Axis of the recent full Moon is leaving the South wading through hurricane debris and watery filth, creating a health crisis; another accounting scandal involving military hospitals is brewing, and the the whole country is going down the tubes with the banking failures caused by 28 years of deregulation.

Finally, the Libra scales did not balance and the whole thing came crashing down. Of course, nobody would have needed astrology to see the banking failure coming, yet it is interesting to note that the aftermath of this crisis-filled Pisces full moon does fit very nicely into the astrological paradigms for the Virgo/Pisces axis in crisis mode (full moon revelations of a crisis of confidence) and failure to balance the books (Mars, Venus, Mercury in Libra).

Must See:

Video: A Time to Break Silence by Martin Luther King

Drill Baby Drill: Kill Baby Kill
-- By Urania

The political religiosity of this strangely grotesque lady politician from Alaska is a sham and merely a cover for the oil companies that wish to have full dominion over the resources of the Earth. Jews for Jesus, Campus Crusade for Christ and all the other End-Times fanatical groups marching around college campuses with huge, bloodied pictures of aborted fetuses are really being funded and scripted by the corporate donors of right-wing think tanks. None of their absurd ideas or peculiar misinterpretations of "scripture" come from responsible clergy, but rather from politically created and politically funded religious front groups for corporations.

C-SPAN Video: Anti-War Protest at RNC 2008

Article: ACLU Calls for RNC Civil Liberties Investigation

Article: Peace Action Report

Q: What do you get when Venus, Mercury, Mars and the Moon line up in Libra?

A: A peace rally.

YouTube Video: DemocracyNow! Producer Nicole Salazar Arrested

YouTube Video: Journalist Amy Goodman Arrested

Q: And when Sun conjuncts Saturn in Virgo trine to retrograde Jupiter in Capricorn?

A: Discipline, determination and good judgement.

Q: And when Uranus in Pisces is in mutual reception to Neptune in Aquarius?

A: Hope for humanity.

Videos from The Nation Magazine: Protesters and Police Clash in St. Paul.

By Starhawk

Feel free to forward or repost this—thanks to all who have made calls already—it really helps! We got the convergence space reopened—but the raids continue!

New Moon Ritual
By Starhawk

This is how magic works:

We are gathered on sacred ground overlooking the Mississippi to celebrate the new moon and to begin this week of demonstrations and actions outside the Republican National Convention. We have an intention for the ritual, an intention the planners have been working with here in the Twin Cities for months: to court an upwelling of earth wisdom.

Nothing endures but change. -- Heraclitus c. 540-c.480 BC, from "Diogenes Laertius" -- Lives of Eminent Philosophers, bk. IX, sec. 8

Planetary Themes

The first week of September brings the seriously hard-working tone of Saturn conjunct Sun in Virgo on September 03 to give grounding to the airy Libra stellium of Venus, Mercury and Mars, along with another airy stellium in Aquarius comprised of retrograde Neptune, Chiron and the North Node of the Moon. Retrograde Neptune is sextiling retrograde Pluto in late Sagittarius, but Uranus in Pisces is squaring Pluto.

August 16: Aquarius Lunar Eclipse, 2008

Sol in Leo opposes Luna in Aquarius at the 25th degree. Neptune rules this lunar eclipse, so we are likely to feel that we are under the spell of Neptune in Aquarius in mutual reception to Uranus in Pisces. We may have idealistic dreams of ameliorating the human condition that seem to need grounding in the everyday workshop of the Virgo stellium of Saturn, Mercury and Venus.

Do a Little Dance

The dance of humanitarian creativity is highlighted at this years' solar eclipse at 10 Leo. Think of Matt Harding, the chubby dancer whose amateur video of himself dancing all over the world has made him into a beloved instrument of the holy spirit of peace and joy.

We are moving from a powerful Capricorn full moon with the theme of holy piligrimage towards an important Leo solar eclipse opening the gateway to a renaissance of creativity. This is a highly spiritualized time in a background of epic global changes. The following article by Curtis Lang of the Satya Center is an execellent read that puts all the details of these times into a newsworthy and factually accurate perspective, as well as a workable spiritual framework that points us toward the future in a postive manner. I highly recommend this piece of writing.

Overview

Freedom of speech and freedom of action are meaningless without freedom to think. And there is no freedom of thought without doubt.

-- Bergen Evans (1904-1978), from The Natural History of Nonsense, (1946), chapter 19

July begins with a Cancer New Moon on July 02. Retrograde Jupiter in Capricorn opposes the New Moon, giving us pause to rethink our philosophical or spiritual structures as they relate to our personal comfort zones of home and family. This review is aided by retrograde Uranus in Pisces trining the Cancer New Moon, so that we are open to changing our beliefs in ways that are nurturing and promote compassion to all.

May 19: (Second) Scorpio Full Moon, 2008

Sol in Taurus opposes Luna in Scorpio at the anaretic degree. We should be finishing up a cycle begun at the previous Scorpio Full Moon on April 20, 2008 at the first degree of Taurus. This is a cycle of purification of the emotional waters, or the release of toxic feelings and memories associated with old hurts that have lingered for a long time.

May 05: Taurus New Moon, 2008

Sol conjuncts Luna in Taurus at the 16th degree. The Taurus New Moon is trine to Jupiter in Capricorn and sextile to Uranus in Pisces. Retrograde Pluto in Capricorn is trine to Saturn in Virgo. This is very good, solid energy for material foundations with potential for growth, but there may be a problem communicating the wisdom inherent in the positive aspects of this chart.

April 20: Scorpio Full Moon:

Sol in Taurus opposes Luna in Scorpio at the first degree. Sun and Mercury in the early degrees of Taurus are making a grand trine in earth to retrograde Saturn in Virgo and retrograde Pluto in Capricorn. This is a very good time to review and restructure plans for economic and governmental systems, as well as personal finances and all things earthly, such as the rennovation of old buildings or public infrastructures. Jupiter in Capricorn helps in the process, since Jupiter forms a sextile to Uranus in Pisces and Mars in Cancer, so there is fertility of growth in applying new scienfic ideals to the renovation of home and country. Venus in Aries sextiles Neptune and the North Node of the Moon in the late degrees of Aquarius, giving an artistic flair to the fruitful application of humanitarian ideals. This chart has good, solid energy for practical, durable change.

Aries New Moon 2008

April 05, 2008:

Luna conjuncts Sol in Aries at the 17th degree. This Aries New Moon forms the apex of a T-square involving Mars in Cancer and Jupiter in Capricorn. The best way to set the will and emotions into harmonious conjunction to begin new projects would be to focus on the void in Libra (relationships and fairness) at the 17th degree.

If that's not a good spot for you, you might choose to pass on this time for your astrological New Year's resolutions because there is a lot of tension and potential stress in this pattern; it's more like a grin-and-bear-it moment favoring stasis rather than the beginning of new projects, which could be marked by an intensely active tendency towards emotional turmoil having to do with an increase in restrictive energies.

March 21: Libra Full Moon, 2008

Sol in Aries opposes Luna in Libra at the second degree. This Full Moon falls into a cardinal grand cross pattern with Pluto in Capricorn and Mars in Cancer. Important changes are taking place that affect the world globally (Pluto at the second degree of Capricorn). Public places, as well as domestic spaces (Mars in Cancer) could erupt in violence. Take care: Avoid trouble.

On Secrecy and Silence

from "ondelette:"

Next week, March 9-15, is Black Flag Week in Pakistan. The lawyers in Pakistan will carry black flags. And they will probably march, as they have done since November, for the reinstatement of the judiciary, for the rule of law, and for the return to the Constitution and democracy in Pakistan. The head of the lawyers, Aitzaz Ahsan, president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, has been knocking heads with the government over the rule of law during multiple dictatorships going back to Zia ul Haq and Ayub Khan. Pakistan has not had a steady democracy, but rather military dictatorships alternating with often corrupt democratic rule, for most of its history.

Brief History of the Lawyers Protests

The current military government took power in a coup in 1999 at the end of a standoff with India at the line of control, the separation between the two countries in Kashmir. Pervez Musharraf rewrote the Constitution, and ruled as both the head of the military and the president, and has staged rigged elections to maintain power. When the Constitution forbade him to run again this year, he fired the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Iftikhar Chaudry, hoping to get a better decision on running. Ominously, he had also been apprehending and interrogating terrorism suspects, holding them without charge, and allegedly turning them over to the Americans for interrogation. The Court released many of them, and demanded that the government either bring charges against the others and arraign them in court, or release them.