Q&A on the Scorpio Rising U.S. Chart
(The following is a temporary break from the regular format to respond to a NewsScope readers' comments about the U.S. national horoscope. This is written in honor of the current Sun-Mercury-Ceres triple conjunction on the Scorpio Ascendant.)
Q. Astrologers tend to choose a U.S. Ascendant according to whatever they feel comfortable with. Either you can predict or you can't. Either you "see" or you don't "see". The psychic does have some involvement here.
A. Many astrologers are intuitive. For those who aren't, it's best to have an accurate horoscope. Would you give your data to an astrologer knowing that it might be off by 12 hours or even 2 hours?
Q. Evangeline Adams, singularly one of the greatest predictive astrologers ever, used the Gemini Rising chart. It worked for her.
A. According to Karen Christino's excellent biography of Evangeline Adams, her teacher – the one who introduced her to the U.S. Gemini Rising Horoscope – was Luke Broughton. But as Nicholas Campion explains in The Book of World Horoscopes, Broughton did not have a time for the Declaration, but rather assumed that the ruling planet for the American Revolution was Uranus. Uranus was in Gemini on July 4, 1776, so following the custom of his day, he placed Uranus on the Ascendant. That this chart was contrived in the 19th century (1861 according to Campion) should be obvious since Uranus wasn't even discovered until 1781 – five years after the Declaration was signed.
Q. Four years ago I saw this recession coming because Pluto moving into Capricorn was monumental and it would oppose the U.S. Venus-Jupiter. When I saw it, waves of energy flowed through me and I shuddered. I would have seen and felt that no matter which U.S. Ascendant I chose to use.
A. The Solar chart (set for noon and used when the birth time is unknown) remains a good tool for astrologers, and one I frequently use in this column. That Pluto hits the U.S. Venus might lead to a
good judgment in this case no matter which U.S. chart is used. However, knowing that this happens in the 2nd and 8th houses would lead to a very accurate forecast that you would be confident in sharing with others. Then you would know that not only is it related to a recession, but that it involves credit, perhaps even mortgages since Venus is in Cancer. These are the predictions that I made and that are recorded in the NewsScope archives, which are linked from NeptuneCafe's Business Front Page.
Q. Astrologers use many different systems. I find that after time the many different systems that astrologers use all blend together, and still essentially say the same thing.
A. Not really. The difference between having fixed signs on the angles and mutable signs on the angles is the difference between the most powerful financial organization in the world and a second-rate nation. Fixed signs accumulate power, and specifically financial power when the Ascendant is Scorpio and there are four planets in the 8th house. Mutable signs, especially when the chart ruler is retrograde (Mercury was retrograde on July 4, 1776), won't amount to much.
Nidal Malik Hasan
Considering his early interest in pursuing a military career and his violent rampage last Thursday, it's not unreasonable to assume Mars is angular in Nidal Malik Hasan's horoscope. His given birth date of September 8, 1970 shows Mars conjunct a Virgo Ascendant at a suggested birth time of 5:52 am. Transits and progressions using this birth time reflect an explosive, spontaneous act of rage.
Mars' natal conditions include its conjunction with the South Node, a karmic placement that is learning about anger and how to manage it. Mars squares Neptune, which in the rectified chart is conjunct the 4th house cusp where it signifies his religious family background. The
Sagittarius moon in the 4th and Saturn in the 9th underscore his earnest religious devotion to Islam.
Mercury is the ruler of this chart and the career-oriented Midheaven. It's conjunction with Pluto in analytical Virgo describe his career path in psychiatry. His own mind came under assault by listening day after day to the horror stories of mentally wounded returning soldiers – all as transiting Uranus opposed his Mercury. Undoubtedly his deployment to
the war front and the constant harassment for being a Muslim made him snap.
The transits don't tell a very clear picture, but the progressions do: his progressed Mars and Pluto were exactly conjunct at 28º Virgo, while his progressed Ascendant was conjunct natal Uranus. The Mars-Pluto combo describes the intense rage that was peaking, while the Uranus influence describes the sudden liberation he must have felt in acting out his anger. The progressed Moon had just entered Gemini and stood at his Midheaven: this was the signature moment that changed his life, one that elevated American-Islamic tensions within the U.S.
