A fun spin on serious cosmic stuff! Wendell C. Perry has 40 years experience studying astrology and how it impacts personalities & relationships. He's written two books & published articles in astrology magazines. He's happy to share this website so that you, too, can have fun with astrology to help you in everyday life!
In my last article I talked about the nodes of the Moon. People new to astrology might wonder what the nodes of the Moon are. The lunar nodes refer to the points where the orbit of the Moon intersects the ecliptic, or the obit of the Earth around the Sun. This may sound abstract but it is a very important part of basic astronomy.
Every month the Moon conjuncts the Sun, that is to say they occupy the same degree of the zodiac relative to the Earth. We call this a New Moon. But most of the time when we have a New Moon we can still see the Sun. It’s only when the Moon and the Sun occupy the same degree as the node of the Moon that the Moon is directly between us and the Sun and we have a solar eclipse.
Not all astrologers make use of the nodes of the Moon in their horoscope interpretations but those who do typically associate them with reincarnation. Basically, the South Node is associated with talents, debts or awareness brought into this life from a previous life while the North Node has to do with new beginnings and lessons that need to be learned in this life.
In this approach the sign and house position of the South Node represents the area of life in which a person feels most comfortable and capable. However, this complacency is often an impediment to his or her spiritual development. The sign and house position of the North Node shows the area of life that is the most challenging for the person but holds the key to his or her spiritual advancement.
Personally, I like to keep an open mind about reincarnation and the theory of karma, but I always pay close attention to the nodes of the Moon. I feel they represent a point in our experience wherein our personal consciousness intersects the universal consciousness. We may not always fully understand, with our tiny, earthbound minds, how this intersection should and does influence us but that is exactly what makes the nodes so interesting and so important.
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Rihanna and Chris Brown
The fact that pop singer Rihanna continues to keep company with her ex-boyfriend Chris Brown has mystified many people. In 2009 Brown was convicted of abusing Rihanna and ordered by the court to stay away from her. Later Rihanna agreed to have the restraining order lifted and, more recently, the two have been performing together. There are rumors that their personal relationship has rekindled. Let’s do a Mars/Venus Compatibility Analysis on these two talented people and see what it has to say about their relationship. (To see horoscopes for Rihanna and Chris Brown charted for noon click here.)
Chris Brown born May 5, 1989 – Mars in Cancer with Venus in Taurus, The Hedonistic Homebody. Rihanna born Feb. 20, 1988 – Mars in Sagittarius with Venus in Aries, The Leading Love Child
The Hunger Games is one of those blockbuster movies that can define the career of a young actress or actor. Let’s look at how the timing of this movie intersected with the horoscopes (solar horoscopes, of course, no birth time ) of its two stars: Josh Hutcherson and Jennifer Lawrence.
For Hutcherson, his casting as Peeta Mellark in Apr. 2011 couldn’t have come at a better time. Saturn was square to his natal Saturn indicating that he was about to meet the first big challenge of his young adulthood and a major test of his abilities. Transiting Uranus was opposite his natal Jupiter, an aspect that brings sudden changes and good fortune, while transiting Jupiter was square his natal Mars and natal Jupiter, reinforcing the indications of good luck but adding a layer of stress and high expectations.
Hutcherson was born on Oct. 12, 1992 in Union, KY. (Click here to see a chart for Josh Hutcherson done for noon.) He is a Libra by Sun sign but, without a time of birth, we can’t know what his Moon sign is or much else about his horoscope other that the fact that he has Mercury, Venus and Pluto in Scorpio and Mars in Cancer. This tells us that he is much more emotional than most Libra people, particularly when it comes to relationships.
Jennifer Lawrence got the part of Katniss Everdeen just a couple of months after she was nominated for an Academy Award for her remarkable performance in Winter's Bones. During this period she was riding high on a conjunction of her secondary progressed Jupiter with her natal Venus, a combination that typically brings a prolonged period of good fortune. Also, in February 2011 Jupiter squared her natal Uranus, the same aspect that occurred in Hutcherson’s horoscope when he got his part in The Hunger Games.
Lawrence was born on Aug. 15, 1990 in Louisville, KY. (Click here to see a chart for Lawrence done for noon.) She is a Leo by Sun sign with Venus also in Leo and the Moon in Gemini. What is interesting about her horoscope is the fact that Mars and Pluto are in a wide opposition. This is the same aspect I’ve talked about in the horoscopes of Rush Limbaugh and Sgt. Robert Bales and this gives us a chance to see the different ways such an aspect can manifest. In the case of Lawrence, we see the “monster” qualities of this opposition played out in her portrayal of the gritty and determined heroine in Winter's Bones. The aspect indicates that Lawrence will have a long career play strong female characters.
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The Weirdness of Neptune on the Midheaven
Astrologers agree that any planet on the angles of the horoscope – the Ascendant, Midheaven, Descendant and I.C – is of paramount importance. A planet so placed, particularly on the Ascendant or Midheaven, can be just as much a factor in the personality of an individual and the Sun or Moon signs. An example of this is the horoscope of Dennis Rodman. (Click here to see Rodman’s chart.)
Rodman was born with both the Sun and Moon in Taurus and he has Capricorn rising. Rodman earned his reputation as a basketball player by rebounding and defending. There was no flash or finesse in his game. He excelled because of his strength and tenacity; just what you would expect from a double Taurus with gritty Capricorn on his Ascendant.
Of course, even though he gained his first notoriety and earned a lot of money with his hard-nosed basketball skills, it was not Rodman’s playing that brought him public attention. It was all the weirdness that came along with it, like the green hair, the wedding dress and the promise to play his last NBA game in the nude. That’s where Neptune enters the picture.