Watch out for transits to your natal Chiron

by Milky Way Maid
If you recall, last December I mentioned that a transit to my natal Chiron may have been responsible for a rough fall on some ice. It really got me down and kept me from getting out more this winter. But it made me look back at other transits to Chiron. Wow, what an eye-opener that has been! I would have been a lot more cautious about making a decision when affected by those transits, because they generally did not work out at all.

First, my natal Chiron is in Aquarius. That explains why the fall raised a bump on my lower leg and sprained an ankle. Chiron also roughly squares both my Mercury and my Sun.

What set off this personal inquiry was failing miserably at a guessing game last weekend. Usually I am fairly good, so it was really frustrating to feel like I was jinxed! Looking back thru my ephemeris, I located times when major and minor planets were conjunct. As you know, Neptune has been in a long transit thru Aquarius, and the exchange between Neptune and Uranus (each in the other's ruling sign) has been good for Aquarians and Pisces.

Not until Neptune got about three degrees past my natal Chiron did my mood and mental abilities really start to feel more like normal. (although while it was retrograding back from the exact aspect, I again did pretty well)

Let's not go all the way back to the Uranus transit which was almost a decade ago; that too was a very painful period.

Let's just deal with the more recent observations and with the inner planets. It is useful for me to use my game-playing as one measure of how I am operating mentally. Transiting Venus does not seem as negative as the other planets. Still my game-playing went wacko December 23, when Venus made an exact conjunction to natal Chiron. Fortunately I was only playing for points that time because I knew I was a little off that day.

January, as I have now realized, is always a bit iffy for me when it comes to making decisions. All too often I have been unable to decide anything, and if forced to, I guess wrong. This has been quite damaging if making decisions about financial matters, altho if I merely handed things over to a planner or the like, that was OK.

This year (2009), both Jupiter and Mercury entered Aquarius early in January. They did not contact my Chiron, however, till the end of February for Mercury, and late March for Jupiter. Alas Jupiter retrogrades and again contacts Chiron in Sept.-Oct., and yet again when direct for the rest of October. Sheesh, it's enough to make you feel persecuted.

I am not out of the woods during other months, because I have now discovered that the Moon in Aquarius is just as bad or worse. It seems like nothing I do on those days is right, and I wind up feeling the jinx is on me.

So there you have it, another astrological contact to watch out for. Be very careful of making any decisions on days when any planet is contacting your natal Chiron, whether it is personal planets like Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars – or outer planets like normally benefic Jupiter or troublesome Uranus and Neptune. You may really need to bounce things off a trusted friend before doing (or not doing) anything.

And for gosh sakes, don't go to Vegas when Sun or Moon is on your Chiron.

How Many Leos Does it Take to Change a Light Bulb?

by Milky Way Maid
Aries: He'll jump up to change it right away, but if you don't have the right size/type bulb, he'll forget all about it. If you wait a half hour for anything, he'll forget about it and go on to the next chore.
Taurus: Wait, I'm not ready to change the bulb. I have to move the stack of ironing out of the way and them I'll go down to the basement and dig out a bulb. Serves me right for buying whatever's on sale; they never last. OK, now I've got it, now where is that Aries?
Gemini: Too busy answering emails and phone messages to actually do it. Is surveying everyone he knows about which brands are best.
Cancer: Loves every task involved in keeping up her beloved home, sweet home. Is only too glad to give her precious home a new light bulb.
Leo: Why don't we rip out the old fixture and put in makeup lights around the bathroom mirror? How can I possibly look my best if I have to use this 50s-era bathroom to prepare for my entrance??
Virgo: Yes, Virgo has an assortment of new bulbs in organized trays by size and wattage in the basement. Takes 30 seconds to pull out a new one and efficiently replace the old one.
Libra: Honey, can we put in pink lights? They're so much more flattering. And can I hold the ladder for you, honey? You know I love it when we work on a projects together. What do you think, dear?
Scorpio: Can find his way around in the dark very well. Forget the light bulb. Just take my hand, honey, and trust me.
Sagittarius: Ooh, it'll be like roughing it. Let's camp out in the back yard, I can put up a tent in no time. How about it?
Capricorn: Don't get excited, it's very simple and routine. Call Virgo to efficiently replace the bulb and bill me.
Aquarius: Better check the continuity on that lamp, it could be the wiring. Better yet, maybe we should rewire the whole house; this is a safety issue!
Pisces: Why does this house hate me? Last month it was the plumbing leak. Next month it'll probably be the roof flying off. Take me now, Lord.

Predicting 2009 March Madness Results with Astrology

by Milky Way Maid
Herewith are my predictions for the first round of matchups in the college basketball championships known as March Madness. Sports Astrology is a very specialized skill and craft, and wading into these waters is a real temptation for the astrology gods to laugh in your face. But anyway, here goes.

I will be using the scheduled tipoff time as the time for the chart. The favored team is the sign on the ascendant, and the opponent is the sign opposite, in the seventh house. Turn the chart if you need to do so, to visualize the chart of the opponent. There is a real difficulty with games that take a couple hours to play, like basketball and football, because the chart can change dramatically when the signs change over. Like I said, here goes.

Texas vs Minnesota. The pundits say an upset could happen here, and the stars concur. Texas has Libra rising with its ruler in the first house of its opponent, Minnesota-Aries. Also Aries' ruler Mars is sextile Pluto. It looks like Minnesota will dominate its opponent. Advantage: Minnesota.

Duke vs Binghamton. Duke has Scorpio rising and is square the nodes. Bing has Taurus on its
ascendant, with its ruler Venus retrograde and square the Moon. That does not help Bing much
astrologically. And Duke's co-rulers, Mars and Pluto, are sextile. Advantage: Duke.

Villanova vs American Univ. Libra rising again for Villanova, with a square to the Moon, and opposite Venus but in the sixth house this time. Descendant (American) is Aries with a retrograde Venus in its 12th house. Somehow American will shoot itself in the foot even tho the later quarters of the game may proceed better than the earlier quarters. A tricky call but Advantage: Villanova.

UCLA vs VCU. UCLA is Scorpio rising, square Jupiter in the 3rd house. Sextile Saturn at the top of the chart, which is promising. Descendant (VCU) is Taurus with ruler Venus retrograde in the chart's fifth house and square the Moon. I think the elevated Saturn is too much for VCU to overcome. Advantage: UCLA.

California vs Maryland. Cal has Scorpio rising, trining the Sun in the fourth house. Co-rulers sextile each other in the second and third houses. Descendant (Maryland) is Taurus with ruler Venus retrograde. However Taurus also sextiles the Sun in its eleventh house of friends and groups. Perhaps a fan continent will help them stay focused on doing their best. However, even tho most of the Scorpio charts will have the favored team winning, Maryland gets some help from the stars. Advantage: Maryland.

LSU vs Butler. Hmm, finally a Cancer ascendant for the favored team. This chart has a square to Venus in the tenth, and a sextile to Saturn in the third. Mixed results. The descendant (Butler) has Moon and Pluto in its twelfth house, and a trine to retrograde Saturn. This is a hard call, but the heavy affliction in the Butler twelfth house will shoot down its hopes. Advantage: LSU.

Memphis vs Cal State. Ascendant Virgo (Memphis) trines the Moon, and is conjunct Saturn in the first house. Saturn is honors here. The descendant (Cal St) is Pisces with Mercury, Uranus and Sun in its first house. Also Mars Neptune in its twelfth house, which is not quite so deadly as having Pluto or Saturn there. Perhaps they will be hurt by injuries. Still they look strong with that stellium in their first house. Advantage: Memphis.

N. Carolina vs Radford. I know, I know, it will not prove anything to pick NC because it is ranked Number One. But anyway, we proceed. NC has Leo rising, opposite Jupiter at the descendant, and trine Venus. Aquarius is Radford, with Jupiter, Mars and Neptune in its first house. Jupiter is inconjunct Saturn and sextile Venus. Mars-Neptune is very unfavorable, with Jupiter magnifying things. Loss of key players to injuries, perhaps. Advantage: North Carolina.

BYU vs Texas A&M. BYU has Cancer rising, trining Mercury-Uranus in the ninth house. Sparkling play, favorable press. Descendant TX A&M is Capricorn, with ruler Saturn in its ninth house. Moon-Pluto in its twelfth; Pluto there is bad. North Node in its first house. Hmm, tough call. Texas may show potential for next year, but might not get too far this year. Advantage: Texas.

Gonzaga vs Akron. Gonzaga has Virgo rising here, with no aspects, although Saturn is in its first house and ruler Muercury in the seventh. Akron is Pisces, with Mars-Neptune in its twelfth house (bad). Probable injuries. But Mercury, Uranus and Sun are in its first house. A tough call but I am going with Akron to overcome its obstacles. Advantage: Akron.

U Conn vs Chattanooga. Leo is U Conn, with an opposition to Neptune in the seventh house. Also an inconjunct to Uranus in the eighth. Hmm, inconjuncts change things around, and Uranus sometimes denotes an upset. Chattanooga is Aquarius, with Mars-Neptune in its first house (bad). Jupiter in its twelfth. Loss of key players probably, and harsh officiating may go against them. Advantage: U Conn.

Illinois vs Western Kentucky. The Illini have Libra rising with ruler, retrograde Venus, opposing them. Also a square to heavyweight Pluto. Western KY has Aries rising and its ruler Mars sextile Pluto. Having the opponents' ruler in your first house is usually a sign that it has its opponent's number. Advantage: Western Kentucky.

Purdue vs Northern Iowa. Purdue has Cancer rising, opposing the Moon at the descendant. Square to Venus in the tenth. Iowa has the ruler of the opponent in its first house, a great indicator of dominance. I call for Iowa to pull an upset.

Clemson vs Michigan. Clemson is Virgo rising, opposing Sun and Uranus at the descendant. Saturn in the twelfth is bad because it could be done in by penalties. Michigan is Pisces, with the Sun in its first house. Again, Mars and Neptune in its twelfth mean losses, possible lost players due to injuries. A very tough call on this game. Advantage: Michigan.

Washington vs Mississippi State. Washington is Leo rising, trine a retrograde Venus. Its ruler the Sun is high in the ninth house. Miss is Aquarius with Jupiter and Neptune in its first house, a mixed bag. North Node in its twelfth house. Hmm. Washington has the advantage, I'd say.

Oklahoma vs Morgan State. The Okies have Libra rising trine Neptune in the fourth house. Morgan is Aries with Mars in the fifth house sextile Pluto in the third. Morgan has ruler Mars in better aspect, while the Okies have ruler Venus in retrograde and square the Moon. Advantage: Morgan State.

Louisville vs Morehead. Louisville is Libra rising, trine Jupiter in the fourth house, a great boon. Morehead has Aries rising, and in this chart Venus is in its twelfth house not in its first. So I see no upset here. Advantage: Louisville.

Oklahoma State vs Tennessee. OK has Cancer rising and trine the Sun and Uranus in the ninth house -- sparkling play again. Tenn has Capricorn as its ascendant, with its ruler Saturn inconjunct Jupiter. The Moon in its twelfth house just means the crowd will not be rooting for it. Very tough to call this matchup. I think the score will be very close. I will just go with the favorite -- Oklahoma.

Ohio State vs Siena. Ohio has Scorpio rising, with a trine to Mercury Uranus in the fourth house, and square to Jupiter in the third house. A lot of press attention for this game, I think. Plus a sextile to Saturn in the tenth house, very auspicious. Siena is Taurus with a trine to Saturn. Ruler Venus is retrograde and in the eleventh house (its fifth). Just because there are more aspects to Ohio, I will go with them.

Pittsburgh vs ETSU. Pittsburgh is Leo rising opposing Neptune at the descendant. A minor aspect to Venus. ETSU is Aquarius with Neptune in its twelfth house, which is not good -- fouls, missed opportunities, crossed signals, etc. Big advantage to Pittsburgh.

Utah vs Arizona. Utah is Libra rising, oppsosing Venus at descendant, sextile the South Node, a minor aspect to Neptune. Arizona is Aries, with its opponents' ruler Venus under control in its first house. Sun, Mercury and Uranus in its twelfth -- chance of lots of lost balls, interceptions, etc. But unheralded Arizona can steal this game.

Xavier vs Portland. Xavier has Virgo rising, conjunct Saturn in the first. Ruler Mercury conjunct Uranus in the seventh house -- not good. Portland is Pisces, Mercury and Uranus in its first house. Mars and Neptune in its twelfth house. Hurt by injuries etc. but I think they can bottle up Xavier. Advantage: Portland.

Wake Forest vs Cleveland State. Wake is Scorpio rising, square Jupiter at the bottom of the chart. Cleveland is Taurus with ruler Venus retrograde in its eleventh -- lots of friends come to root for them. Because Wake's co-rulers are sextile, I give them the advantage. Advantage: Wake Forest.

Florida State vs Wisconsin. Florida has Libra rising, again its ruler is retrograde and at the
descendent. Wisconsin is Aries, with ruler Mars sextile heavyweight Pluto. I see Wisconsin bottling up Florida pretty well. Advantage: Wisconsin.

Kansas vs North Dakota State. Kansas has Cancer rising, square Venus in the tenth house. Its ruler the Moon is in the seventh house, a bad placement. ND is Capricorn rising, with ruler Saturn at its Midheaven. I see North Dakota all over Kansas like chocolate sauce on an ice cream sundae. Advantage: North Dakota State.

West Virginia vs. Daytona. WV has Leo rising, trine venus in the ninth house. Nice national press. Ruler the Sun is in the ninth house also, with Mercury and Uranus near. Daytona has Aquarius rising, with Jupiter, Neptune in its first house. Jupiter is such a great boon, even with Neptune there. They might just benefit from blind luck. The crowd will not like them, tho (Moon in its twelfth house). Advantage: Daytona.

Boston College vs Southern Cal. Boston has Libra rising, opposing the sun at the descendant. It also has a square to Pluto in the fourth house which challenges but also pushes you to do better than your best. So-Cal has Aries rising, with the Sun on its ascendant, and opponent's ruler Venus in its first house -- a bright omen. Mercury and Uranus are in its twelfth house, which may denote lost balls, interceptions, muffed handoffs. Nevertheless, it has ruler Mars sextile Pluto going for it, which is hard to ignore. Advantage: Southern Cal.

Michigan State vs Robert Morris. Mich has the last degree of Libra rising, and a square to the Moon. It also has a trine to Neptune, which could mean inspiring play. Morris has Aries rising with Venus in its twelfth house. The game's first minutes could be of a different quality than the rest of the game. Mich's ascendant will change rapidly to Scorpio, with its co-rulers in sextile aspect. Advantage: Michigan State.

Marquette vs Utah State. Marquette has Scorpio rising, with no aspects. However as we have noted several times, its co-rulers are in sextile (favorable) aspect. Utah has Taurus as its rising sign, with its ruler Venus retrograde in its eleventh, friends and fans. Advantage: Marquette.

Syracuse vs Stephen F Austin. Syracuse has Cancer rising, squaring Venus in the tenth house which is favorable. Also a trine to Mars in the ninth house, which sextiles Pluto. Austin has Capricorn rising, and Pluto in its twelfth house -- very bad! The Moon is in its first, but it is hard to see anyone overcoming a Pluto affliction. This may be tough but I am going with Syracuse.

Missouri vs Cornell. Missouri also has Cancer rising, this time with Mercury and Uranus in the ninth house. Opposing Moon at the descendant. Very mixed. Cornell has capricorn rising, Pluto in its twelfth again, although ruler Saturn is in its ninth house. The elevated Saturn for Cornell is good, the opponent's ruler (Moon) in its first house is good. I may catch heck for this but -- Advantage: Cornell.

Arizona State vs Temple. Arizona has Leo rising with Venus trine in the ninth house -- adoring press. Conjunct the South Node above the horizon. Hmm. Temple has Aquarius with Jupiter in its first house, a hard placement to beat. They'll just be durn lucky, is all. Advantage: Temple.

Astrology and Colors

by Milky Way Maid
While there may be some differences of opinion on what colors are associated with what signs and planets, there is agreement on most issues. Here is a treatment of the color associations, which you may find helpful when drawing up horary charts to try to find lost objects.
Sun: The Sun rules colors of the sun, logically enough. From white to yellow to gold and orange. Some even include the blue at the center of a gas flame.
Moon: Soft white, and the metal silver. Milky white and frosted white. Everybody agrees on this.
Mercury: Two schools of thought on this. Yellow. Sunny yellow to orange. Then the other group gives him light blue or dove gray.
Venus: Two schools of thought on this one. Some say it rules the deep Madonna-blue as in religious paintings. Others say she rules white and purple. Other like her to have the traditional girly pink, too. I have been going with the white and purple; that seems to work for me.
Mars: Red, fire-engine red and cherry red and cardinal red and every shade of red. Some also include tints of red going into rose. Eh, I cannot see Mars in girly pink. Not even a pink shirt.
Jupiter: Sky blue, royal blue. Another school of thought gives him red and green, Christmasy colors, that inspire giving and gifting. Red and green have been working for me, while other planets and signs fight over blue shades.
Saturn: Dark somber colors like black of course, and charcoal and any dark muddy color. Some given him dark greens, but I don't know about that. I suppose olive and hunter greens would fit. Saturn is also metal in general, so a gunmetal gray or steel gray is probably Saturnian.
Uranus: Electric colors. Neon colors. But especially patterned colors like blocks and plaids and checks and so forth.
Neptune: Colors of the deep ocean: sapphire blue, teal blue, aquamarine, seafoam, and turquoise. Any watery blues and greens.
Pluto: Black again. Bold color combos like red and black. Dark hues in general like maroon.
Aries: White with red. Or red alone. Aries like at least a little bit on red on clothing or jewelry, or a red purse and shoes.
Taurus: White and/or lemon yellow. Some assign Taurus deep blues like the Madonna blue mentioned above. Lots of Taureans seem to feel more relaxed with blue in their homes and surroundings so humor them.
Gemini: White and/or orange.
Cancer: Green and russet. Colors of food, hmm?
Leo: Red and/or green again. Leo really likes strong colors, none of those wishy-washy pastels for him. Or her.
Virgo: Speckled patterns, including polka dots. Black and white only, like those smart-looking dresses at the Ascot races.
Libra: Pastels and all art tints. Light blues and rose.
Scorpio: Dark colors from black to charcoal to dark brown, plus maroon.
Sagittarius: Yellow and green, the colors of the fields and forest.
Capricorn: Black and dark brown. Power suit colors, you know?
Aquarius: Sky blue, baby blue, light turquoise. Also colors you would paint metal, the grayed tints and metallic silver. Metallic colors in general.
Pisces: Turquoise, but ocean colors in general.