Ripped from the Headlines: Jupiter in Leo 2014

By Milky Way Maid

Now that Jupiter is firmly in Leo, it is fun to see ways in which Jove (and Venus too) are beaming their positive rays on that sign.

I noticed an article in a recent copy of the Wall Street Journal that detailed how two companies were returning bountiful profits for investors. What companies were they? Two movie studios – MGM and Lion's Gate!!!

How perfect is that? MGM's trademark is the iconic Leo the Lion roaring a greeting at the start of each film, and Lion's Gate, well that one is obvious, too, with the name of the animal that represents the sign Leo.

MGM has seen huge box-office receipts on the strength of films like the James Bond thriller “Skyfall” and “The Hobbit- An Unexpected Journey.” Each one brought in over one billion dollars, and continues to sell tickets overseas. MGM also has the TV show “21 Jump Street” and a deep catalog of films in its library to sell copies in international channels and digital services, according to the WSJ.

This is a major turnaround since it was forced to file bankruptcy in 2010. 

MGM was born on April 17, 1924. I was surprised to see so much cardinal energy in their chart. The Sun is at 27 degrees Aries, square Mars at 25 degrees Capricorn (a strong placement for that planet), opposite Saturn exalted in Libra (29 degrees), and trine its North Node at 29 degrees Leo, a perfect placement for an entertainment business.

Not only is the T-square a strong driver for the chart, the planets involved are also in the very late degrees of the signs. Let's see, what did I write about late degrees of these signs? 

The Sun in a late degree of Aries denotes someone that is a pioneer in some way, and MGM was very much a pioneer. It had not only the most glamourous collection of stars (with names like Clark Gable, Carole Lombard, the Jeanette MacDonald-Nelson Eddy musicals, Spencer Tracy, Myrna Loy, Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford and many more), it also boasted several firsts. While it was one of the last studios to adopt sound, it was the first to make a complete film in Technicolor with sound (The Viking), as well experimenting with it for portions of Ben-Hur and a few other films. They also virtually owned the big-budget musical segment of the film industry. 

Mars in late Capricorn has high energy, which would have made for an excellent athlete in an individual chart. Any planet in late Capricorn is powerful for building a business, especially a business that survives the death of the founder. And indeed, the fact that this company is 90 years old and still going strong is a testament to a strong Mars here.

Saturn in late Libra: Saturn in Libra is exalted anyway, meaning that it is strong, and the energies of that planet find ease in expressing itself in a positive way. Venus-ruled Libra is known for famous dancers and other entertainers. Famous dancers with a planet in late Libra include Ben Vereen, Fayard Nicholas, Arthur Duncan, and Juliet Prowse. Libra looks for the beautiful and tends to shun the gritty side of life. This was the philosophy of co-founder Louis B. Mayer, who preferred the glorious color and musical spectaculars like Show Boat, the Andy Hardy films, The Ten Commandments, An American in Paris (1951), Singin' in the Rain (1952), Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954) and Brigadoon.

And having the North Node at 29 degrees Leo would be an obvious boon for any company in the entertainment industry, and for major growth and even dominance in the minds of the public. It did not hurt that its Stable of Stars included The King, Clark Gable! MGM gets a boost from both Jupiter and Venus transiting Leo, contacting the natal Neptune (glamour) at 17 degrees and the North Node at 29 degrees.

MGM emerged from bankruptcy in December 2010, when Pluto at 4 degrees Capricorn passed the square to natal Moon at 3 Libra and natal Ceres at 3 Aries. During the lean years, Neptune was opposing its natal place in Leo; now that Neptune is transiting Pisces, that transit no longer depresses box-office receipts. 

Lion's Gate profits have rested on properties like the “Hunger Games” franchise (with two more in the works). Lion's Gate's birth date is listed as July 3, 1997.

The Lion's Gate natal chart also has a strong cardinal component, with Sun at 11 degrees Cancer, the Moon at zero degrees Cancer, Mercury at 21 degrees Cancer, Mars at 6 degrees Libra, Saturn at 19 degrees Aries, and Neptune (glamour) at 29 degrees Capricorn. Neptune is the only planet at a strong late degree, and promises that the company will survive through thick and thin. 

Transits that have lifted its fortunes: the main one is the progressed Moon (now at 9 degrees Aquarius) has recently conjuncted natal Uranus at 7 degrees Aquarius; this would account for lucking onto the Hunger Games franchise, with its strange, even bizarre public appeal. The other is that progressed Sun at 28 Cancer opposes natal Neptune, added a high gloss of glamour to its offerings. 

A caveat to those interested in investing in the company now: progressed Mars is applying to an opposition to natal Saturn. That seems to me to be a negative for financials, especially in regard to handling debts and commissions. In the short term, Jupiter in Leo will contact the natal Venus at 6 Leo, and sextile natal Mars at 6 Libra; that should prop up the business in the short term; once Jupiter leaves Leo though, public appeal will probably deflate in short order.

Venus Can Also Mean 'Lost Money'

by Milky Way Maid

Venus, aka the lesser benefic, is often portrayed as the bestower of gifts, door prizes, compliments, flowers, sometimes cash, and other smallish 'feel-good' surprises. However, some transits of Venus can denote lost money. I am going to delineate one specific transit that can mean lost money, and that is when it contacts the critical degrees.

I was first put on the trail of this interpretation by a very experienced and locally-popular astrologer who was fond of using critical degrees for many of her forecasts. She maintained that the transit of Venus over critical degrees can denote losing money, especially if it contacted or made angles to other planets in your chart. For example, when the stock market crash began in September of 2008, both Mars and Venus were at 13 degrees Libra (a cardinal sign) and square Jupiter at 12 Capricorn (another cardinal sign). Jupiter magnified the effect of the other planets at the same degree. Neptune was also at a critical degree at 22 Aquarius, which possibly underscored the evaporation of material assets.

First, let me list the critical degrees. You may have heard of some of them before, such as zero degrees of the cardinal signs since they are world points. I list them all below.

THE CRITICAL DEGREES ARE:
Zero, 13 and 26 degrees of Cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn)
8 and 22 degrees of Fixed signs (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius)
4 and 17 degrees of Mutable signs (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces)

Below is a list of dates in 2010 when Venus will contact a critical degree. Please check with your software to verify that these contacts are accurate for your locality. Eight degrees Scorpio is really gonna get hit at the end of the year because Venus goes retrograde; it will grind over 8 degrees Scorpio three times. So Scorpios, tighten your belts and keep your eyes peeled for scam artists and other slick characters.

JAN. 5, 13 degrees Capricorn. Jan. 15 at 26 degrees Capricorn. Jan. 25 at 8 Aquarius.
FEB. 5 at 22 Aquarius. Feb. 14 at 4 Pisces. Feb. 25 at 17 Pisces.
MARCH 7 at zero Aries. March 18 at 13 Aries. March 28 at 26 Aries.
APRIL 7 at 8 Taurus. April 18 at 22 Taurus. April 28 at 4 Gemini.
MAY 9 at 17 Gemini. May 20 at zero Cancer. May 31 at 13 Cancer.
JUNE 11 at 26 Cancer. June 21 at 8 Leo.
JULY 3 at 22 Leo. July 14 at 4 Virgo. July 26 at 17 Virgo.
AUG. 7 at zero Libra. Aug. 20 at 13 Libra.
SEPT. 3 at 26 Libra. Sept. 20 at 8 Scorpio.
OCT. 23-24 at 8 Scorpio (Venus is retrograde Oct. 8 to Nov. 18, 2010).
DEC 14 at 8 Scorpio. Dec. 30 at 22 Scorpio.