Avatar a shoo-in on Oscar night, but some surprises in store

by Milky Way Maid

I promised an Oscars column for the 2010 awards ceremony to be held in Los Angeles aka Tinseltown on March 7, 2010. Herewith are my predictions for the major categories. They are based on nominees' birthdates that I could locate. I was able to find dates of birth for all the acting and directing nominees, but few of the writers unless they were also directors. That means that I can only take a stab at the screenplay categories, so bear with me. I also located 4 of the 5 nominees' birthdates in the Best Animated Feature Film category. I also consulted online sources re who was favored in each category.

It is testimony to the fact that just being nominated is quite an honor. And as I counted up the contacts to each nominee's chart, it was rare to find few such contacts. Most had some good contacts, and there were few obvious signs of disappointment or loss. They all get to be in the spotlight, on the red carpet and on television (and broadcast to millions more around the world), and they all go to splendid post-awards parties. As far as I can see, few of them will cry any actual tears at not winning.

How did I approach this task? First, I looked at a chart for the probable start time for the awards ceremony, based on the time of last year's program. Place is obviously Los Angeles, or more specifically the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood and Highland Center. Then I checked the ephemeris for which aspects were exact that day. There are only a few but they are quite energetic and promise a good time for viewers.

First, Venus enters Aries early that morning and then trines retrograde Mars in Leo at 11:15 am PT. Mars will not go direct till March 10, by the way, and I have found in sports events that at times the best athlete does not win under a Mars retrograde. (Witness the upset in the Super Bowl this year, as the underdog New Orleans Saints easily put away the Indianapolis Colts.)

The Moon in Sagittarius squares the Sun in Pisces in the morning, too. Lastly, Mercury conjuncts Jupiter, ruler of show business and doing everything big, in Pisces at 5:45 pm PT. I am giving great weight to the Mercury contacts, because Mercury represents not only the fact that a winner's name makes the NEWS, but also the fact his name is ANNOUNCED by the presenter, and he has to make an acceptance SPEECH. Speeches may run long, tho, because Jupiter can go on and on and on and on.

One problem is that I have no idea when each category will be announced, so I cannot try to match up nominees' charts to the ascendants and midheavens. But, cie la vie, as they say. We march forward and do the best we can anyway.

First, let's take an easy one.

BEST PICTURE: Avatar is a shoo-in. Why do I say that? Referring back to the Mercury conjunction to Jupiter which is exact that evening, I note that both planets often signify words or names that begin with the letter A. Avatar fits, and it has been the biggest, most talked-about film all winter.

BEST DIRECTOR: James Cameron has quite a commanding lead in number of contacts between his birth chart and the Oscars chart. He has several planets at 23, 24, 25 and 28 degrees of signs, which will all be contacted by the transiting Moon in late Sagittarius. His Mercury is inconjunct the North Node, tho, which may mean an upset in some category that his film is nominated in. Yet his North Node is sextile the powerful Mercury-Jupiter conjunction.

And yet there is no knock-out punch in his chart. I look to the second-most-talked about nominee in the directing category, his ex-wife Kathryn Bigelow. She has the North Node sextile her Moon, Uranus square her Mercury (good for an upset), North Node square her Venus, Mars conjunct transiting Saturn (engaging her competitive fires even tho she could lose), Mercury trine her Uranus (also good for an upset but also likely giving a humorous buzz to her words), and Pluto sextiles her North Node. The topper for me, tho is that her Saturn is inconjunct the Mercury-Jupiter conjunction. The inconjunct is a funny aspect; it could mean she was fated to win this night, or it could weaken her hand. The midheaven of the awards show chart is inconjunct Pluto, and because transiting Pluto makes an aspect to her chart, I give her a good shot to win in this category. (I could be wrong of course.)

A brief look at the other nominees: Quentin Tarantino's Venus is conjunct Neptune, lending glamor but not honors. There are a few other aspects but they are off by a degree or so. Lee Daniels' chart has Saturn squaring his Sun, which is an obvious block. The Sun does square his Jupiter, and the North Node opposes his Venus and sextiles his Mars. Those are OK for benefiting from being in the spotlight that night. Jason Reitman has some nice contacts but he is nominated in the screenplay category; let's save that discussion for later.

BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE: The heavy fave in this category is Jeff Bridges for his role in Crazy Heart. I see plenty of support for this win because of several contact: Saturn trines his Moon, Saturn has passed a trine to his Jupiter, the North Node trines his Saturn, and the exact transiting Venus-Mars trine is contacted by his natal Venus at 29 Capricorn. The best contact for giving an acceptance speech is that Mercury-Jupiter squares his Sun. I am sure that his speech will express his huge gratitude for recognition of his long career.

George Clooney has some great contacts to the Venus-Mars trine, but other contacts are off by a degree. Close but no cigar, but let me look at your beautiful eyes some more. Colin Firth has the North Node trine his Sun, Uranus trine the Moon, and Mercury-Jupiter sextile his Saturn. Morgan Freeman has Jupiter square his Sun, the North Node trine his Mercury, and Jupiter trine his Uranus, so if anyone could upset Bridges it just might be Freeman. Jeremy Renner has the Sun sextile his Sun, Venus trine Venus, and Venus and Mars almost trine his Jupiter. All very pleasant but nothing more, as he enjoys his nomination.

BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE: Christopher Waltz is heavily favored for his role in Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds. His Sun is inconjunct the Jupiter-Mercury conjunction, his Mercury is inconjunct Neptune, but his Jupiter is trine the North Node and his North Node is trine Venus and Mars making a grand trine -- nothing to sneeze at. And yet I look twice at Woody Harrelson's chart contacts: his Sun is trine Mars and Venus, his Mercury (speech) is trine Mercury-Jupiter, his Venus is inconjunct the North Node, Saturn trines his Jupiter, and his Pluto is conjunct the ascendant if I have the start time of the awards show correct. I can easily see him making a charming, aw-shucks acceptance speech.

BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE: Sandra Bullock is supposed to be a shoo-in for this Oscar, but she has some strange contacts. Her Venus opposes the Moon, so one wonders if she is going to wear some strange gown or suit. Her Mars is trine Neptune, which lends sexy glamour. Venus squares her North Node, bestowing an accolade on her career. However, the Mercury-Jupiter oppose her natal Pluto, not lucky Jupiter or Venus or Sun or Moon. It is possible that her acceptance speech is over-the-top (Pluto). Or perhaps she is just so overwhelmed by this honor at this point in her career that she breaks down or screams or something. But Pluto is a strange contact in this context.

Does anyone else have a shot? Helen Mirren, who shares the July 26 birth day with Sandra, has Saturn trining her Mars, the Moon squaring her Jupiter, and the Sun trining her Saturn, all formidable transits. Carey Mulligan has the Moon square her Moon and a couple minor contacts. Gabourey Sidibe, nominated for her acting debut, has some intriguing contacts like Neptune trine her Venus (she makes a glamorous appearance), Neptune trines her North Node (this is only the beginning of her career, folks, so keep an eye on her), and Neptune also trines her Pluto (zowie, mass appeal, I'd say).

But the best shot to upset is from perpetual acting machine Meryl Streep. Her Sun-Uranus conjunction is squared by Venus on one side and Saturn (honors) on the other. The North Node trines her Moon, and opposes her Venus. Her Jupiter sextiles Venus and opposes Mars. Venus is inconjunct her Saturn. But best of all, her Neptune is inconjunct the Mercury-Jupiter conjunction. Hmm, does she even have a mantel long enough for all her Oscars?

BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE: Mo'nique is heavily favored to win this category for her role in Precious. However, I am not finding support in her chart for that. She only has a couple pleasant Moon contacts, plus others to transiting Pluto. Pluto could give her the control over her career that she seeks, if that is what her ambition is. But again, I see nothing contacting either natal or transiting Mercury where she would give an acceptance speech.

I am calling an upset win by Penelope Cruz for her role in Nine. Her Moon is conjunct Mars and trine Venus, her Mercury square Mars, her Venus squares the Moon, her Mars opposes Pluto, Saturn squares her Venus, but most importantly Jupiter is conjunct transiting Mercury-Jupiter. She may give a very loquacious speech, possibly with some of it in a foreign language (Spanish).

Vera Farmiga has very few contacts, altho her Pluto is contacted by transiting Saturn. That accounts for the nomination, which is quite an honor (Saturn) by itself. Maggie Gyllenhaal has her North Node inconjunct the Mercury-Jupiter conjunction. This could play into an upset, too, but there are no other major contacts besides Pluto opposite her Jupiter. Anna Kendrick has only a couple semi-sextiles. Her Neptune squares Venus, however, so I expect her to make a very glamorous appearance.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: The odds makers are split between Mark Boal for The Hurt Locker, and Quentin Tarantino for Inglourious Basterds. Tarantino's Mercury is opposed by Saturn, however, and his Venus is conjunct mute Neptune. Also his Uranus is only semi-sextile Saturn, altho his North Node trines Uranus. So I do not see him making any speeches even tho the performers or technical crew in his film may take home an honor. So that leaves Mr. Boal by default, the only nominee in this category for which I could not find a date of birth.
The Coen brothers have mixed contacts. Ethan's Mercury is opposite the Mercury-Jupiter conjunction, and the North Node trines them, so he might make a speech indeed. Joel's Uranus is trine Uranus so he might be very funny. Pete Docter is also nominated in Animated Feature. His Moon is probably conjunct the Sun, his Mercury trine the Moon, his Jupiter almost opposite Mercury-Jupiter and Uranus opposite Uranus. If he makes a speech tonight, he will surely remember to thank the women (Moon) in his life.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: Jason Reitman is heavily favored to win this award for his film Up in the Air, which he also directed. His Mercury contacts are a little off, so either he will not make a speech or his remarks will seem awkward. His Uranus does trine the Mercury-Jupiter conjunction, tho, so he could make a very, very humorous speech. Perhaps he loses one award but wins a later one, and makes a joke about the earlier loss. The only other nominee for which I found a date of birth was Nick Hornby, nominated for An Education. His sun is sextile Neptune, so he will seem glamorous and cool. His Mercury is sextile the Sun, and the Moon squares his Jupiter; Neptune squares his Mars, a loss aspect.

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM: Pete Docter is heavily favored to win this award for his film Up. His Moon is probably conjunct the Sun, his Mercury trine the Moon, his Jupiter almost opposite Mercury-Jupiter and Uranus opposite Uranus. If he makes a speech tonight, he will surely remember to thank the women (Moon) in his life.
Anyone else? Tomm Moore has an excellent shot to win for his film The Secret of Kells. The Sun is sextile Sun, Mars conjunct Pluto, his Uranus trine Mercury-Jupiter (funny speech), and his North Node square competitive Mars in Leo. Wes Anderson, nominated for Fantastic Mr Fox, has Mercury-Jupiter sextile his Sun, Pluto sextile his Moon, Venus and Mars sextile his Mercury while Saturn (honor) trines his Mercury (writing or humor), and Neptune inconjunct Jupiter. Henry Selick is nominated for Coraline; Mars sextiles his Moon, the North Node is conjunct his Venus, Mercury sextiles his Jupiter and the South Node is conjunct his Uranus (upsets, surprises). Anything can happen in this category.

So there you have it: Avatar, James Cameron directly or indirectly winning for Avatar, possibly his ex winning for Best Director, Jeff Bridges for Best Actor, Bullock or Streep in Best Actress, Woody Harrelson for Best Supporting Actor, and Penelope Cruz for Best Supporting Actress. Screenplay awards: probably Jason Reitman and Mark Boal.

Astrology for a Loving Valentine's Day in 2010

by Milky Way Maid

This year, Valentine's Day features a very romantic Moon-Venus conjunction in dreamy Pisces, with Jupiter very close by. The Moon-Venus conjunction is exact at 2:56 pm central time, according to my software. Jupiter tempts all of you to spend a great deal more than you can really afford, so be cautious in planning this event. Really, cheese and a bottle of wine on a living-room picnic blanket is just as romantic as a very expensive splurge at a four-star restaurant. Find some romantic film on DVD and you are all set.

The Moon-Venus conjunction is inconjunct Mars in Leo on one side, and Saturn in Libra on the other side. This forms a Yod. Those who are unattached may walk out somewhere and meet someone who is just fated to meet them. Don't fight it, love can happen in one glance, at first sight, and last till the day you die. It does happen like that sometimes. Mars is sexy, and Saturn is well, restrained. The inconjuncts mean that one has to control feelings of jealousy and anger, refrain from critical comments, deal with emotional insecurity and tight budgets, deal with the seesaw of love-hate emotions, and most of all balance their ambitions with their human need to connect with a genuine human being. Be very tender and gentle with each other this day if you are to navigate all the shoals in this emotional sea.

The Sun is conjunct wishful Neptune at 26 degrees Aquarius that day. This is one reason I suggest the movie night. Neptune is wishing and hoping that all the bad news would just go away, and I guess for one night you can just push the headlines out of sight. But PLEASE do not load up the credit card with charges just for this one occasion because you cannot count on the economy improving in the immediate future.

Most directly affected by the Yod are the signs Pisces, Leo and Libra. Those with Scorpio ascendants will have the point of the Yod in their romantic fifth house. Those with Virgo ascendants will have the point of the Yod in their seventh house of partners. But anyone with any of those signs on their ascendant, midheaven, or fifth or seventh houses will likely feel the fated effect of this Yod. And I am not saying that it will necessarily be a fun or be an obviously romantic first meeting, a' la Hollywood films. You will have to overcome a lot of emotional obstacles in order to connect on the soul level, but it will be worth it.

Aries: Aries, like all the cardinal signs, are very stressed right now. I am sure they wish they could afford to splurge more on this occasion. That's all right, it is better to figure out what to do this evening on the spur of the moment. Maybe there is a sliver of a New Moon showing, and you can drive out somewhere in the country to get a better view of the crescent with Venus and Jupiter nearby. That's very romantic. Mars is in Aries' fifth house so he is either interested in something athletic or something very sexy.

Taurus: Taurus has practical earth sign Virgo in its fifth house. A homemade dinner is probably your best bet, since Taurus is generally a very good cook. Second choice is a dinner at some restaurant with a brick oven, a natural foods menu, or pristine white tablecloths. The place should also have soft music, possibly played by a classical trio or quartet. Words are just as important as good food here. Taurus rules music, so reciting the lyrics of meaningful songs can be a very romantic turn-on for him or her. Alternatively, a concert or dancing may substitute or supplement the night out.

Gemini: Geez, Gemmy, having Saturn in your fifth house sure sounds like a drag. Well, how can we turn that into a plus? Wandering through antique shops would fit the bill, and can be quite romantic, too. Especially if you luck onto a nice settee for two, or a tin print of a loving couple. Saturn can also be satisfied by sticking to the classics, such as by attending a symphony concert or a ballet dress rehearsal. Roaming through the local art museum can be fun, too.

Cancer: Cancerians are very stressed right now, as are all the cardinal signs. Please go out of your way to treat them to something they really enjoy. You may spend the evening at home, where they are most comfortable, or at a fave local restaurant (a seafood place?) that is very homey, with white tablecloths and generous portions. Cuddling on a couch afterwards in front of a romantic movie with candles is just about a foregone conclusion. Cuddling is important, holding hands is important. Feeling cherished is important. Being able to reminisce over the time that you first met, helps.

Leo: Leo loves to make a splash and a big occasion like Valentine's Day is no exception. He may buy you the biggest bottle of perfume rather than the most expensive, but it is the thought that counts. And certainly he will take you to the best restaurant in town, and splurge on the lobster or some other extravagance. Don't complain about the cost; don't look at the prices or you might faint. DO NOT spoil his fun by complaining about the expense! Do wear your nicest outfit and some discreet diamonds, and just have fun enjoying the evening. You are worth every penny to him, so live up to his high regard for you.

Virgo: Now Virgo, on the other hand, does not believe in ostentation. A healthy dinner at home is probably their first choice. He or she may even wish to spend part of the evening in a service capacity at a nursing home or shelter. Fine, humor him/her. Then go out for dancing or a swim or reading romantic poetry to each other. Yum. “Drink to me only with thine eyes, and I will pledge with mine,” and so forth. Words are their first aphrodisiac, so fill up. Virgoes have Pluto in their fifth house, which lends itself to discussions of how the human race will continue to evolve on the ascending spiral (see Hawthorne for that theme).

Libra: Libra may be the most depressed and stressed sign in the zodiac right now, so be gentle with him or her. A few flowers will help, even if they are not roses. A single perfect orchid can be the perfect gift right now. Quantity in anything is less preferred than perfection in the one single orchid or dinner or bottle of wine. If you can swing going somewhere that has perfect sunsets, then go. By all means, go. Tell him or her that he/she is like the gold that is being tempered by fire, and becoming ever more perfect and pure. Libra has Mercury and the Sun-Neptune conjunction in their fifth house, lending itself to conversation and also to watching romantic movies.

Scorpio: Scorpio has the Moon-Venus-Jupiter stellium in its fifth house. Wow, what an embarrassment of riches. You may go to a casino night and win big, or just enjoy your family together. It is very, very lucky so make a stop to pick out a lottery ticket or something. Venus rules music and gems as well as love, so if you are ready to pop the question and present an engagement ring, there is no better time to do so. Go all out, Scorpio, because you never, ever do things by halves.

Sagittarius: Early Sag natives will have the Moon-Venus-Jupiter stellium in their solar fourth house of home, so home in front of the fireplace is definitely the place for them on this occasion. They love stoking the fire, or cooking over a grill. Even toasting a few marshmallows will fill the need for a flame somewhere. Have lots of candles lit at the dinner table. If you are in a warm clime, sitting out on a patio with a glowing Mexican clay stove for warmth can be very romantic, too.

Capricorn: Capricorn is under a great deal of stress right now and may believe that they are better off alone. Silly boy! It can be hard to get under Cappy's shell but they can be pure mush inside. Soften them up with gentle touches, recognize their moods and feelings, and they may be eating out of your hands, well not quickly, but eventually. Stick up for love, because they are too prone to get hard and cynical about it in this crazy mixed-up, pragmatic world. Do not admit to ever being on unemployment, and account for periods when you did not work with projects like writing a book or volunteering for the Peace Corps. Respect family, especially family history, so be up on your own family tree; entertain him with stories about great-great-grandpa who came to this country in steerage and started a business.

Aquarius: Aquarians have gotten this image that they are so completely cerebral, but this is not true. OK, they may not get all moon-eyed over romantic stuff, but that does not mean they are not sentimental. Give him or her the goopiest card you can find, NOT the joke card or the funny card. Trust me on this. Buy him or her some candy, and as you hand it over, say “Sweets for the sweet.” Corny, yes, but they will be pleased.

Pisces: Pisces does not care how much you spend on special occasions like Valentine's Day or birthdays, but she sure does want you to care enough to make that day special. Even if you can only afford to have a picnic, or go to that old hot dog stand you frequented when you first dated, it will mean so much to her that you remembered the day. Buy a card, and maybe a single flower if you cannot afford a bouquet of roses, and tell her you wish you could give her a hundred more. Watch out for the fact that Jupiter in Pisces will make her prone to overspend; good for movie night, tho, so find a nice romantic flick.