John Townley's AstroCocktail News Archive 2012

It’s been a long four years of Saturn-driven, Uranus and Pluto-riven skies, capped by a November of tumultuous changes that turned just as rough as we predicted. But the period of patiently putting up with punishment is at an end and a glance up on any clear, dark night will find bright and shining Jupiter ruling the heavens, the harbinger of improvement, hope, and relative bounty ahead.

It’s like we’ve been waiting for Santa so long, but Santa never came, instead our stockings weighted down with coal, and not even the clean-burning kind. Well, now we think we hear the sounds of reindeer feet on the roof and a familiar, jolly laugh drifting along the winter breeze. It looks like the old glow may be returning, though it may never again be quite the same – change, the good kind, appears to be circling the horizon, like the old man in his sleigh, but now we’re a little bit closer to his age and a little further from the trusting childhood to which he once came so easily.

So, as four whole years of generous Jupiter ruling the firmament begins, we can not only welcome the respite from temporarily retreating darkness and the prospect of a little gratuitous fun, but hopefully find a more knowing and lasting way to maintain and share our good fortunes. Having peeked over the precipice, perhaps we will learn to not only regather but preserve our new momentum, so we can both bask in Jupiter’s light and plant the seeds for its continuing returns. As we seek Santa in the mirror that is the sky, let’s hope that we find a wiser and more enduring vision of ourselves reflected back in the shining lights of heaven.

November skies are somewhat like those early space launches, before rocket science was really, well, science: all systems go, a huge blast-off, and then all Hell breaks loose. Just like the elements of the Northeast’s perfect “Frankenstorm”, the right celestial elements are lining up for a serious blowout: a huge set of inflated pressures and ambitions, reflected by expansive Jupiter finally taking over the skies, confused and confounded by Mercury retrograde and two eclipses, both of which redirect energy unpredictably all over the place, with unexpected and sometimes runaway results.

The month starts and ends with Jupiter up front and conjunct the Moon, which should auger well for all, but on November 6, U.S. Election Day Mercury turns retrograde in the evening, only the second time Mercury has ever made its station on that eventful day (the last was in 2000, and we all remember how that went). Minds and plans change in mid-stream, and then get compounded by a solar eclipse at 21 Scorpio on November 13 and a lunar eclipse at 6 Gemini November 28, just two days after Mercury switches to direct. The end of the month also features the rather unfriendly Venus-Saturn and Mars-Pluto conjunctions, so all in all the month seems like an explosive gangbuster that’s coming apart at the seams half the time. It will certainly be one of the most unusual and memorable gateways to the winter holidays in many a year…

October skies mark the beginning of a four-year seasonal Jupiter domination that in these trying times bodes well. For four welcome late fall and winter seasons, Jupiter will be the handle swinging bucket-shaped skies, calling the world's tune in its totally optimistic, if sometimes risky, kick-out-the-jams style. Just as a persistent Saturn bucket characterized the worst years of the current Great Recession, Jupiter has hopefully the chance to bring things back to relative normality over the next couple of years, perhaps lifting us all up to possible prosperity by the end of its reign, as it moves through the late spring and summer signs of Gemini, Cancer, Leo, and Virgo, opposing the outer planets and Saturn in late fall and winter signs.

It’s also a month of planetary action, as Saturn is ripping through early Scorpio, holding down a whole new set of people and events, while Mars jumps into fiery Sagittarius to heat things up. Expect one or more election campaign “October surprises”, one of which may spin around Paul Ryan, who is being hit fairly hard by Mars and Uranus, augmented by the late September full Moon.

And, of course, the November 6 election itself is plagued by Mercury making its retrograde station, similar to what occurred in 2000 when all hell broke loose, resulting in a minority President ushered in by the Supreme Court. Expect disputes, whoever wins or claims they did, but perhaps not as awful as the previous time, when the election day Moon was also void-of-course. Adding to the excitement, November also begins the usually-crazy eclipse season, so all bets are off. October will be the setup for it all, so grab a seat and get ready for a show! With Jupiter on the rise, it’s bound to be a big one…

September’s splash skies are largely a repeat of last month, except it’s no longer summer and folks are more likely to be up and about and availing themselves of the multiple opportunities this presents. It’s still a month or so early in the growing Jupiter game, but you can see in our sky animations (links in the right column) that the giant planet is creeping into prominence, sharing half the sky with Venus now, but taking over entirely by the end of next month.

All in all, that means good prospects abound to those who have imagination and are ready to push forward and take risks, even in these perilous times. The prize goes to the brave and the bold, and mainly to those who get going now, as by October everyone is going to be crowding in to get a piece of the action. Even if you can’t capitalize immediately, start the ball rolling now, and you’ll be at least marginally ahead of the game. Sit and wait, and you may see the tide move on without you.

Otherwise, the Uranus-Pluto square is tighter than ever as Pluto goes direct mid-month, continuing to wreak havoc from culture wars to total bloody revolutions. But if you can stay out of the crossfire, there is a world of possibilities opening up to lay your hands on if you’re up to the challenge.

August’s normally-slow dog days actually hide a multiplicity of goings-on as the Moon trips through a splash-pattern sky, triggering conjunctions every few days that constantly change the focus and push both variety and progress. Mercury is still retrograde in Leo for the first week, but after that it’s all systems go as the recalcitrant outer planets remain retro and all else moves forward.

The only snag is the continuing Uranus-Pluto square and the intractable political and social conflicts it’s fueling, so be wary of getting pulled into fights that may not be yours. Mars joining Saturn in Libra for the center two weeks is a good time for making lasting commitments, but don’t expect to get instant gratification for your work, which will pay off later.

Nevertheless, Jupiter now racing through the first half of Gemini provides plenty of new options to bet and gamble on, as new vistas open up which will become much more evident this fall when Jupiter begins its several-year intermittent rulership of the sky. The shimmering summer waters may appear relatively calm, but there is a lot simmering beneath it all, due to break out before you know it, so get things going now where you can before the fall heats up and runaway events put now-nascent opportunities out of reach.

After two months of eclipses and retro planets blocking and confusing the path, July is finally wide-open to catch the wave of a big, splash-pattern sky and see where it takes you. Don’t be timid, as this isn’t just another feint by Fate to lure you into disarray. It’s the opening gambit of what will be several years of Jupiter skies that could take things to spiraling heights of activity if the world at large can manage to remain stable enough to let it happen. Actually, that season doesn’t officially open until the fall, but if you want to get in ahead of the game you should start your engine now and pick your prospective pole positions before the race gets crowded.

Mercury goes retrograde in Leo July 14, so the three weeks following that will require some additional editing of plans and repositioning, but the extra good news is that the outer planets – Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto – will be retrograde and back off their terrorizing until fall, leaving an open field for some swift progress in the meantime. And, of course, the widely-scattered sky configuration means a major lunar conjunction every few days all month long, so the changing wave of activity really doesn’t quit – you only have to keep up with it.

Surf’s up, hang ten (Sun, Moon, + 8 planets!), your celestial ride is all around you, if you can just keep your balance, stay on top of the wave…

This month’s headliner is the exceedingly rare Transit of Venus at 15 Gemini on June 5 following hard on the previous day’s lunar eclipse at 14 Sagittarius. Together, that should be quite enough to turn heads around. The Transit of Venus, in which Venus passes directly over the face of the Sun almost like an eclipse, happens twice in a row (eight years apart) every roughly 120 years. It’s been a big deal to astronomers looking to measure the solar system in recent centuries, but astrologically it doesn’t seem to be much either historically or biographically, though that could be explained by its extreme rarity, whereas an ordinary conjunction of Venus and the Sun is commonplace. From the last set, only a fairly anonymous handful of now-passed folks born in December 1874 and 1882 had it in their nativities, plus a more recent, much-larger assortment of 8-year-olds born on June 8, 2004 whose fame is yet to be determined. But if you've got something in mid-Gemini, expect a bigger tweak there than usual for this time of year, especially with the eclipse adding to the effect.

Other big news: Jupiter jumps into Gemini at a racing clip June 11, Saturn goes direct June 25 to finish off Libra by the fall, Venus ends its retro period June 27, and Mars tramples back over its earlier retro space for a last shot at Virgo all month. In a wide-open splash pattern sky, with Jupiter moving to rule the heavens by October, it’s really a Wild West scenario where anything and everything goes.

May is a month to celebrate after a long winter/spring of Mars retrograde, compounded with Mercury retro, which was a heavy slog for everyone, especially those with Virgo where that frustrated Mars made its angry mark. So celebrate a new sky pattern, a glorious splash with planets scattered everywhere and new directions and possibilities lined up accordingly.

But every coin has its flip side, as Venus goes retro in Gemini on May 15 for about six weeks, in this case meaning reevaluation of what you want to get from all that grief you went through during Mars retro. Love? Money? Possessions? Status? None of the above? Previous joys may cloy and you may have to rethink what’s worth putting out all that precious life energy for, what truly satisfies and what doesn’t. And, there’s a solar eclipse in early Taurus on May 20, the first of the usual brace of two, the next a lunar on June 4, making it topsy-turvy time again. Lots of surprises, a good time to keep your mobility and ability to respond quickly to both need and opportunity.

So, with Jupiter racing ahead with its eye on Gemini before long, it’s a crazy month, indeed, including the last opening of that Window for War we talked about before. A month before, there was no progress to be made, and now everything is up for grabs. Have an exciting spring!

April ends two retrograde periods: first the short Mercury turnaround, and second the seemingly endless and frustrating Mars reversal, which together have made the first premature notes of spring tantalizing but unproductive. Too many loose ends to tie off, too much derailed destiny to heave back onto the tracks and get underway in time to catch the Jupiter train that will be pulling us all into new territory at increasingly breakneck speeds as the summer approaches. Now what we’re experiencing is the sparking on and off of the celestial starter, trying to get the engine of destiny revved up again so we can all finally start getting something accomplished.

That doesn’t mean charge ahead full tilt first thing – it means recharge those weak batteries and test your circuits to see that everything is in phase before you put the pedal to the metal and burn rubber into the summer. When you’ve dried out those finicky wet solanoids, blown the dirt out of your attenuators, and got reliable current surging through your switches, then you can ease down on the accelerator and see what your newly-refurbished cylinders can produce in the way of horsepower. Watch those flickering dials, until they stabilize. Once you’re sure of a full charge and a working alternator, the race track ahead is clear for some serious speed trials. After a tricky, eclipsy start in May and early June with Venus retrograde, it’s going to be full throttle for the rest of the summer.

NB: the end of this month opens the biennial Window for War, though next month’s dark of the new Moon/eclipse is the more likely focus, so let’s hope negotiated settlements edge out over-eager action that causes later regrets…

March skies form a restless, uncertain see-saw of retrograde Mars and Saturn in Virgo and Libra on one side of the firmament hesitantly balancing all the rest in winter and spring signs. It makes for events that flip-flop before they really get started, and with Mercury retrograde most of the month adding to the mixed retreat it may be hard to get things accomplished. It’s probably a better time for mending fences, sharpening tools, and preparing for battles yet to come in the spring, especially if you live in some of the more restive places on the map that are not happy with the status quo but can’t seem to get rid of it either.

The only serious forward motion is accomplished by Jupiter, which is finally ripping along through Taurus, into new territory by mid-month and all the way into Gemini by the summer. So, although immediate efforts may be frustrated, ambition is high and big plans are on the table for when spring and summer’s splash skies mean everything is possible and anything goes. So bide your time, tighten up your foundations, and lay out your new paths for the coming season, when things will open up – both for peace and war – you’ll need to have your act together when suddenly there is no time to waste and major moves are to be made.

This winter continues to be about backing up and retreading paths that didn’t go quite where they intended, thanks to Mars gone retrograde last month. That won’t end until mid-April, so get used to it. Adding to the adjustment is the breakup of the back-and-forth Jupiter-Saturn opposition that’s had opinions at sixes and sevens for some time, as Saturn goes retro back through the end of Libra and Jupiter races ahead through Taurus. Except for when the Moon fills it out into a splash pattern, the sky is a locomotive which, with its leader Mars going backwards, makes rearrangement take on a nervous sense of urgency. If you can’t move ahead, at least move around. The most problematic part will be just after the Mars retro’s end, when wars so often break out – this time keep your eye on Israel and Iran for the most likely candidates. Israel has a track record favoring that prime planetary spot, following on earlier historical timing by the Third Reich, Japan, and lately the U.S. (first Gulf War). It’s a great window for spectacular initial success, but eventual loss.

On the grander scale, Neptune moves into its own sign of Pisces for good now, for a fourteen-year run, entering with a trine to Saturn, so spiritual matters and the creative imagination will be stepping onto easier and more natural ground for almost a generation. That’s the good news, long-range. The good news, medium-range, is that once the Mars retro period is done, however that turns out, skies open up for the summer, and by fall ambitious and hopefully-prosperous Jupiter is thoroughly in charge of the sky and will remain so seasonally for much of the coming teens.

January opens on the continuing but brief runaway period of all planets direct, that comes screeching to a halt when Mars goes retrograde January 23, starting a slowdown that won’t release until it goes direct again in mid-April. Whereas a direct Mars had been ruling the heavens during the fall, now it backs up and joins Saturn as one side of a see-saw sky that makes progress one step forward and two steps back for a while. All those recent exciting Mars efforts, whether in business, politics, or love, need to be reconsidered and shored up to make them work as planned, or, indeed, at all. This period happens once every couple of years, and it can be both frustrating and aggravating if you’re looking to really get on with things, especially as Jupiter is back underway again and would really like to do break new ground.

In fact, exciting Jupiter is headed for celestial domination and will be the main mover and shaker in the central years of this century’s teens, but that’s only a welcome undertone this winter. The every-20-year Jupiter-Saturn opposition, when both new and old get in each other’s way, is on its last legs. Plan for big things long-term, but tend to patiently picking up lost stitches this winter to get yourself set for bigger and better things to come.

Titanic Theories (NY Times) – A good Grey Lady wrap on winter Supermoons plus unusual local conditions that helped conspire to sink the famous ship…not to mention the novella that predicted it…

Auspicious Times (SLBC) – Sri Lanka’s official astrologers are try to set straight the rumors that this year’s auspicious times might not be, in fact, auspicious…!

Clock Error (Medill) – Could be Earth, and the rest of the planets, formed lots earlier than believed, by say, a mere 60 million years…

A Billion Fools (WSJ) – That’s what India is – because it believes in astrology – according to one high court judge…the Subcontinent is not amused…

Fantastic Art (Hemel Today) – That’s what this esthetic endeavor called “Astrology Circle”, soon to be exhibited in Vienna, is intended to be. Well, you be the judge…

Kicking Up A Row (The Hindu) – Astrological consultation over construction project has bureaucrats up in arms…

New Age Hotbed (Chronicle) – Need a reading in County Durham, in NE UK? Stanley is the new place to go…

Lucky Taurus (Voxy) – They win at Lotto the most, in New Zealand, with Capricorn close after. But Aries and Cancer, fugettaboutit…

Elder View (The Hindu) – Ninety-four year old almanac publisher has a longer perspective on what passes for astrology these days…

Earth’s Other Moons (IFA) – We have long had more than one Moon, but the others vary, and are temporary captives…could these be short-lived “Liliths” of Earth, like the passing “Vulcans” of the Sun?...

Snowing Microbes? (NASA) – Dour Saturn’s Moon Enceladus is hot, erupting, and may be the best other place for life in the solar system. Who knew?...

Bigger Than Ever (IndianExpress) – Although this writer hates it, he has to admit that more people are looking to the stars…

Belly-Rubbin’ (Tallahassee.com) – Astrological “belly-rubbin’” song? Oh my, priceless…and, indeed, the Floaters did that…we must have missed it the first time around…

Moon Material (ABC) – It’s the same as Earth’s, which makes for a problem about that third-planet impact theory…maybe it’s just Adam’s rib…

The Iron Planet (Astrobiology) – That would be Mercury, perhaps a surprise for astrologers…

Mars Mystery Cloud (MSNBC) – Mars may be retro, but it’s kicking up a storm, for unknown reasons…

Perilous Prediction (Mizzima) – Forecast of suppression of freedom of the press in Burma already comes true…

Sexist Starcasting (PostNoon) – Astrologers are getting brought up short for comments about auspicious (and mainly, inauspicious) times for young girls’ first menstruation…booked by police after complaints…

Unmarriageable (DNA India) – May is a dreadful month to get married, thanks to Jupiter position, so wedding caterers are consequently in mourning…

A Better Smile… (BoldSky) – …through astrology!…first it was dandruff (see below), now teeth…node in the second house makes for prominent choppers, and other morsels to chew on…

Sun Sign Selection (People’s Daily) – In China, job recruiting for a door and window company by astrological sign…Virgos wanted for design, no Pisces need apply for sales…

Temple of Treasures (Bellingham Herald) – Astrologers continue fight to prevent opening and counting of Kerala’s priceless trove of temple treasures…

Villain In Disguise (Space.com) – Jupiter keeps throwing things at us…one day, it may not just be a near miss…fascinating history, perhaps perilous future…

Murdered Mammoths (Cryptomundo) – More details on the newly-evidenced asteroid strike 13,000 years ago…

When The Shoe Really Fits (Deccan Chronicle) – Plunge your dogs into something designed specifically to match your individual birth chart…

Retro iPad (Huffington Post) – Huff starcaster disses iPad for debuting to close to Mercury retro, but hey, it was not that big a change, anyway…

Stars From Bethlehem (Ma’an News) – Bethlehem-based Paletinian news agency launches history of astrology show…

Why We’re Moonstruck (DNA) – From Hollywood to Bollywood, everyone loves a full Moon…

Buy A House, Anyone? (EIN News) – Astrologer claims reliable cycle says real estate bottom is behind us, with new high to come in 2020…not exactly thrilling to folks facing foreclosure in 2012…

Sleepless In Toronto (Toronto Star) – Reporter claims lack of sleep causes folks to waste their time on things like astrology…

Hard To Predict (Wall St. Journal) – In Thailand these days, knowing the future can get you in a lot of trouble…

Death Clock (Find Your Fate) – We love this astrology site – take a poll, including your birth data, and it will tell you when you’re going to die…our goose is cooked on July 10, 2030…for entertainment (!) only…

Bad News for Burma (Foreign Policy) – Myanmar’s reform-minded leader may be in for a bout of bad health, so say the top brass’s astrologers…

Uranus Square Pluto (OpEdNews) – Nice, long historical look at the social and economic effects of the current difficult outer planet aspect…

Did The Moon Sink The Titanic? (Texas State) – Could be, maybe, sort of…it followed upon a 1400-year winter Supermoon, setting extra bergs free…

Deep Impact (UCSB) – Confirmation of Neolithic collision in Mexico 12,900 years ago that changed climate, caused extinctions, maybe sank Atlantis…

Dandruff (BoldSky) – It’s the result of an astrological imbalance…of course…;-)

Transit Of Venus (Europlanet) – The last, extremely rare transit of Venus over the Sun this century will occur in June…

Cold Creation (Astrobiology) – A radically new version of how the planets forms has just sprung to life. Not hot coagulation of dust over time, but cooler, more rapid formation contemporary with the Sun’s…

Jupiter Birthdate (Science Daily) – Jupiter’s formation now has a date, and it doesn’t agree with conventional wisdom, either…

Mars Up Close (Earthsky) – The red planet is closest to Earth this weekend and next week, part of a spectacular sky show, and at the heart of its uncomfortable retrograde period…

Earthshine (Universe Today) – A moon’s light may tell a much longer tale of life on the planet it circles…

Leap of Faith (Times of India) – Indian astrologers don’t like Leap Day…well, it was a British imposition, so why would they?...

Another Apophis (Huffington Post) – Recently-discovered asteroid may also hit Earth, in 2040, if Apophis doesn’t get us a decade before…

Extinction Pulse (io9) – Earth may have its own lethal planetary periodicity, a deadly cycle, indeed…

Nomads (Stanford) – Planets were labeled “wanderers”, but this is ridiculous. Could be they’re all over the place, major lost souls…

Tidal Planets (Market Oracle) – Solar cycles driven by inner planets, connected to the markets…

Astrolabe Apologizes (Voxy) – After losing baseless suit…”We now recognize that historical facts are no one's property and, accordingly, are withdrawing our Complaint. We deeply regret the disruption that our lawsuit caused…”

Fireballs Of February (NASA) – It appears we’re being bombarded by something as yet unidentified…

Have You Been Watching Retrograde Mars? (Mathisen Corollary) – This guy has, and makes some interesting associations of how it might physically effect us…the previous post is interesting, too…

Is Jupiter Friend or Foe? (Centauri Dreams) – Astronomically, that is. That has been the current wisdom (and maybe the proto-reason for it being considered the benefic, astrologically), but maybe it’s not so…

Beyond Pluto (io9) – There could really be a giant planet lurking out there, follow internal link for even more speculative details…

Auspicious C-Sections (The Economist) – The Economist weighs in on India’s most common astrologically-driven surgical operation…

Fat Sun (Astrobiology) – The Sun may have slimmed down a bit in recent eons, but it was the fatter version that kept us warm in colder days and got us here today…

Regis Philbin and the Stars (ANS) – The veteran talk show host and personality reveals his long-standing relationship with starcasters and the heavens…

Calendar Changes (ANS) – Here are some propositions for reorganizing our natural system of days from the ivory tower of academe (and also some from astrology) that make the worst of metric and English measurements look friendly…

Alien Matter (NASA) – The whole solar system is in a protective cocoon, spun by our life-giving Sun, in more ways than we thought, evidence by some outside stuff slipping through the barrier…with video…

Shifting Gear? (ESA) – Is Venus slowing down? Physical basis chasers should note the key phrase “exchanges of angular momentum between Venus and the Earth”…

Stock Tumble (Marketwatch) – Our friend Bill Sarubbi has cycles in hand and the market ahead, as usual…

Parallel Universes (Guardian) – That’s supposed to be where astrologers live, but not really…

Pay-per-Match (PRnews) – Astrological dating service has a new business model – you pay each time they find you a match…alas, no refunds…

Stargazing Ice-Agers (Frontiers of Anthropology) – Ancient Eurasian site of Arkaim and its implications could push back astrology beyond the last Ice Age…

“Sign” Language (Hindustan Times) – That’s what astrology is…and just because lunatics get loony on a Full Moon, doesn’t mean you have to…

Finland 2012 (The SOP) – If you were wondering how Finland will fare this year, from a Vedic point of view,wonder no more…

Ice Age Cycles (Daily Mail) – Harvard scientist claims final proof that two cycles of Earth’s tilt combine to cause ice ages…

Bosnian Pyramid Update (Archaeological Park) – Ancient astrologers tapped the sky for energy? That, and more, as the new pyramid/hill releases its secrets…are other pyramids similarly acting up?...

Ring of Fire (NASA) – Mark it on your calendar if you live in the U.S.A., the first annular eclipse of the Sun in nearly 18 years, May 20…

Pub Stars (DNA) – This East Village starcaster whose clientele is drinkers has her office, well, in and out of a bar…

Dangerous Rings (Discovery) – Pluto’s rough neighborhood may be too perilous for rings, but we’ll soon find out…

Suicide Pact (Daily Bhaskar) – Man kills self, wife, and kids because of bad transits. No kidding, this gives astrology a bad name…

Being A Bucket (Boulder Jewish News) – The Torah weighs in on the Zodiac in a way that is “instructive but not determinative”…

Tiny Trojans (nanowerk) – The gravitational universality of the sextile and trine, or Lagrange points, have been discovered to apply at the subatomic scale…

Angry Sun (Space.com) – Recent solar storm sparks memories of the worst before, and yet to come, as sunspot cycle heats up…along with UFO sightings…!

Galileo On Broadway (NY Theater Guide) – Bertolt Brecht’s version of the intrepid stargazer makes it to the starry way…

Silver Panic (Business Insider) – Jupiter-Saturn opposition may bring echo of 1893 depression and karmic retribution to J.P. Morgan…

Dragon Babies (New Straits Times) – 70% of new couples want to give birth in the Year of the Dragon, as hospital wards fill up. Chinese astrologers say it’s just a general myth, like Sun signs, and that it’s the complete birth chart that tells the story…which leads others to Caeserians to get it right…

Dragon Predictions (World News Australia) – Chinese astrologers break out their forecasts for the year with the usual set of prognostications…

Tilt For Life (Space.com) – For life to develop, planets likely must have a tilt…that means they must have their own tropical Zodiac, as we do…and a sizeable moon helps, too…the essentials of astrology...

Is Astrology Real? (Oxford Student) – Well, this professor seems to think so, but it won’t get him a grant, as he sagely points out…

Astrologer’s Board (Live Science) – 2,000 year old wooden starcaster’s tool unearthed in Croatia…

Astrolabe Slapped (BoingBoing) – Astrology software company that gummed up Internet timekeepers in trouble for frivolous lawsuit…details here…

Spaceship Moon ? (EpochTimes) – Mysteries of the Moon, from its anomalies to its possible alien manufacture…far-fetched but fun…

Quel est votre signe? (American Spectator) – “What’s your sign?” The French are star-crazy these days…

Star Cell is Astronomical (in price) (Geeksugar) – This Year of the Dragon smart phone will set you back $20,000...

Apocalypse Boom (Huffington Post) – Mayans prepare to cash in as their calendar ends -- and restarts -- restarting their economy along with it…

Pluto Problems (3News NZ) – Kiwi athletes face a bleak planetary outlook this year, says NZ sports starcaster…

Frisco Forecasters… (S.F. Examiner) – …have a mixed outlook, especially for their home town…

Presidential Potential (Patch) -- A New Hampshire starcaster peeks at the candidates’ charts, and likes Ron Paul…really?...well, maybe Romney, too...

Pieces of Vesta (NASA) – Earth is littered with fragments of this major astrological body, who knew?…here’s why…

Arresting Aries (The Spec) – Sorted by Sun-sign, this Ontario town puts the cuffs on the most impulsive…

Gloomy Debt Parley (Google archive) – Washington politicians were looking to the stars for economic negotiation help way back in 1925…

Big In China (Xiahuanet) – That would be astrology, and other things mysterious, among the youth these days…

Star of Bethlehem (Canada Free Press) – Yes, it’s that time of year again, to explain away the unexplainable, but this may be the best set of possibilities, with links and videos, we’ve seen…and here’s another, and yet another…

It’s Only Entertainment (Guardian) – You can promise anything on the media, as long as you say it’s “entertainment”, under new regulations. Can you imagine the uproar if that were required for mainstream religion?...

Up In Smoke (Science Now) – Windbag Jupiter may be dissolving at its core…

Part-Time Moons (Gizmodo) – Earth has a couple of extra moons, from time to time, passing through, temporary transits…

World Won’t End (Times) – While one astrologer assures us the world won’t end in 2012, another won’t rule out our possible demise on 18-19 February…

Beheaded (Io9) – For witchcraft, in Saudi Arabia, happens all the time. They nearly got an astrologer recently, whom they lured across the border, but he escaped with his life. Not this woman…more here…

Mercury’s Strange Story (CBS) – The messenger planet may not be simply tide-locked, but have a much more peculiar history, including an asteroid collision…

Saturnalia! (Patheos) – If Christmas is a bit too tame for you, don’t forget its Saturnalia time of year, too…

Diamond Cycles (Dispatch) – Earth’s own Wilson cycle of the seas may be delineated by diamond formation…not to be confused with other planets made entirely of diamonds...

Mellow Mars (Economic Times) – The red planet is looking ever more life-friendly…

Mercury Mystery (MSNBC) – A satellite came has spotted something invisible lurking near Mercury, and it’s huge…a dark twin, a spaceship, camera artifact, something else?...

What A Kiwi Believes (ODT) – In yet another survey of who believes in what, only 25% of New Zealanders think astrology predicts the future, while they’re gaga over psychics and UFOs…more, in the complete report here…

Vesta Revealed (JPL/NASA) – New close-ups of one of astrology’s favorite asteroids show it’s built more like a planet, and lots more…

Mystery Manuscript Decoded? (Daily Mail) – Finn prophet claims to have unraveled mysterious fifteenth-century astrological document…

All The Time (NASA) – Worried about the Earth’s poles flipping and disaster ensuing? Fuggetaboutit, happens all the time, explains NASA…

Don’t Fool with the Zodiac (Atlantic Wire) – Americans take their Sun-signs seriously – the bogus kerfuffle about the signs being all wrong turned out to be one of the most-read (and angrily debated) stories of the year…

Porn Starcaster Passes (Examiner) – Andrea True, who knew she was an astrologer?...mirabile dictu, and requiescat in pace…

Baby Time (Times of India) – Subcontinental soothsayer claims coming months are tops for conception…

Astrologer Tell-All (Daily Mail) – Brit celeb starcaster claims dancing program transformed his life…

Intelligent Investing (Forbes) – Cycle analyst Bill Sarubbi reveals what’s favored by the planets in their spheres…

With Saturn On Your Side (Pakistan Today) – Shani will be shining on the northern Subcontinent this year, according to some…

Faith and Science (International Herald Tribune) – And astrology caught in the middle…

Government Asks Astrologer (Forteana) – Nice historical tale of astrologer William Lilly and the London fire…

Giant Planet Sacrificed For Us (SWRI) – It appears a monster planet was flung out of our system to keep us little folks intact…

No Killer Flares (NASA) – Worried about a deadly blast from the Sun? Many are, but NASA says it just can’t happen…

Predicting Your Portfolio (Benzinga) – Some market astrologers use general cycles, this one uses IPO natals…

Electric Saturn (Thunderbolts) – Was the dour planet once the center of ancient sky worship?...

Payoff to the Gods (Times of India) – Pujas for all occasions rake it in…if only Western astrologers could solicit this kind of income…!

Five Star Day (Crushable) – New Indie movie is about guy who loses all faith in astrology. To prove his ex-girlfriend wrong, he seeks out three people born in the same place as him and on the same day…review and trailer…

The Day We Reached Seven Billion (IOL) – That would be 11/1/11, and astrologers are mixed. “We could also see more youngsters grow up like Lady Gaga…” remarked one…

Astrological Contributions (ANS) – Tables created for and by astrologers have actually been contributing to mainstream technology…so of course one astrological company decided to start a lawsuit over it…

Uranus Erupting (MSNBC) – Unexpectedly (of course), the planet of weirdness is suddenly (of course) acting weird (of course)…but joking aside, big surface changes on Jupiter and Saturn in recent years were coincident with appropriate events, so keep your eyes open for unusual developments…

Snowmaggedon (Examiner) – National Weather Service predicts Supermoon-driven precipitation this winter, just as unusual October snowstorm sweeps the Northeast…

Rat Futures (IBN) – Street starcasters are now employing striped rats to make forecasts, filling in for traditional parrots, just in time for Diwali…

Celestial Cuisine (Times of India) – Proper Zodiacal foods seem more attractive when they come from India…

Bad Leaves (NY Magazine) – High-profile stock trader got convicted – after “leaf astrology” told him he’d get off…

Little Coffins (Shanland) – Bottles inside toy coffins…what kind of diplomatic gift is that? It’s yadaya, and very tricky, energy-shifting business indeed…only in Burma…

Perishing Parrots (Deccan Chronicle) – It seems the swan song of the parrot astrologer on the streets of the Subcontinent is nigh…not the first time we’ve seen this sad tale…

Which Is Bigger? (Universe Today) – Pluto, or Eris? For a moment, Pluto by a nose, perhaps. Does size matter, or is it distance?...

Astrology Lessons… (NY Times) -- …in the darker side of town, the subject of new off-Broadway play…

Confounded (H-online) – Astro-software outfit Astrolabe’s suit against public Unix time standard site (see below) has been outmaneuvered. C’mon, guys, what was the point…?

On The Record (Sydney Morning Herald) – Sometimes sex-mad Elizabethan astrologer Simon Forman turns out to have kept the best medical records on record…

Planetary Extinction (IBTimes) – It can happen, and has elsewhere, but can it happen here?...

Obstacle Maker (The Register) – In a bid to protect what it claims to be its proprietary time changes datalist, astro-software maker Astrolabe has shut down an important Internet resource with a lawsuit…

MidLife (Huffington Post) – HP starcaster looks at the midlife crisis as Chiron return…

Neptune Day Revealed (Space.com) – If you were having trouble telling day from night on Neptune, your worries are over…

Knocked Sideways (Europlanet) – Uranus got smacked repeatedly, not in a single blow, which explains backwards moons…

Slim Pickings (QueensChronicle) – Transplanted Indian astrologer isn’t getting the business he’d like in New York City. Perhaps it’s just a matter of marketing…

Doin’ The Cha-Cha (MetroUK) – Celebrity Brit starcaster is finally on the floor after much ado about dancing, and is kicking up his heels…

Stars and Rays (WTSP) – The Tampa Bay Rays have the stars on their side, agree practitioners…

Astrology Show (Edinburgh TV) – Rock guitarist brings the stars to the air this fall…

Femme Forecasters (Deccan Chronicle) -- Women are just entering the astrology world in India, far different from the West…

How Big Is Jupiter? (CBS News) -- Watch this video. It’s really, REALLY big…

Full Moon Fishing (Florida Sportsman) – Is it the light, the dolphins that come out, or…?

Exiled Giant (Spaceref) – Study of early planetary resonance suggests Jupiter tossed a sibling gas behemoth into outer space…

Really Far Away (Discover) – That’s what Neptune is, by several reckonings…

Pluto Ocean (New Scientist) – Could there be an iced-over ocean on Pluto, with conditions for life beneath?...

Two Moon Mystery (Stuff.co.nz) – Might it be that the dark side of the Moon was, in fact, a second moon?..

Vesta In Motion (NASA) – Breathtaking video of the belted asteroid in action…

Full Moons and Reunions (People’s Daily) – This full Moon is the time for getting back together, the harvest festival…

rediction Contest (Jakarta Globe) – Winner of prediction competition gets $6,600 and tons of accolade…

Smelloscope (Business Standard) – Twelve fragrances to match the signs, and on it goes…

Polar Wandering (Thunderbolts) – Babylon as a northern city, aurora borealis over the Middle East…

Probing Pluto (Astrobiology) – New flight to planet of death might even reveal primordial pre-life...

Birth Month and Career (Irish Independent) – Month and season of birth can profoundly affect your outcome, from career, to health to more…sounds like astrology…and here’s the analysis of the whole study…

Good Medicine (The Hindu) – Tibetan healing traditions that involve balancing the elements do the trick…

Saturn and Pluto (Huffington Post) – That’s who to blame for this mess America is in, notes New York starcaster noteworthy Michael Lutin…

Solar Powered Solar System (Inventer Spot) – Take home this cool solar-powered interplanetary toy…!

Radio Waves (Yellow Advertiser) – London station has phones ringing off the hook for astrology advice show…

Astronomy vs Astrology (Greenbelt Patch) – Astronomers trash astrology under the guise of education in Greenbelt, MD. Back to your telescopes, guys…

Marriageable Mangliks (India News One) – Astrology still plays a major part in selecting partners on the Subcontinent. In fact, claims marriage portal, “horoscope matching is gaining ground across communities in India.”…

Predicts Gold Prices (EIN News) – A simple astrological algorithm can successfully forecast short-term gold prices…

Diamond Planet (IBT) – Nearby star has carbon planet so dense it’s a diamond…

Bilked (UPI) – Turns out one of the victims of the Ft. Lauderdale astro-psychic scam was a big-time romance novelist…taken for $20 million… can’t we find an honest way to make this kind of money?...

Dirty Laundry (Leagle) – Here’s the dirt itself, from Latin superstar Walter Mercado’s messy lawsuit…

Snow White Is Red (Digital Trends) – Dwarf planet, half the size of Pluto, may have been given the wrong moniker…

Windy (SWRI) – If you ever wondered if what’s out there affects what’s down here, take a look at these films…

Family of Souls (Times of India) – Is leaf-based nadi “astrology” really astrology? Or sound vibrations? Or more like “parrot astrology”?...

Mother of Meteorites (Morningstar Pub) – It appears that solitary asteroid Vesta has spawned a lot of what rains down on us from the sky…

Earth Rocks (dvice) – It turns out, we may have flung some of our own shards into space, and life along with it…

Comet Won’t End World (MNN) -- After end-days tag put on wimpy comet Elenin, NASA is forced to calm Internet storm with soothing reassurances…

Wine and Astrology (News Tonight) -- Brit shrink used stars and spirits to get his way with client…

Horse Horoscopes (AVMA) -- Exhibition shows how 18^th century farriers used astrology for equine care and welfare…

$40 Million Fraud (ABC News) -- Fake astrologer/psychic/tarot ring bites the dust in Florida, including the likes of Ft. Lauderdale’s Astrology By Nancy…

Apocalypse Anthropology (BoingBoing) – It’s more than just Mayan astrology, it’s a whole host of factors…

Death Star Vanishes (Space.com) – Nemesis, it would appear, has met its nemesis…

Freaky Liquid (Lake County News) – Liquid metallic hydrogen inside Jupiter makes it put out lethal rays…

Astrologer Minister (Reuters) – Published astrologer/banker takes the financial reins in Thailand…

Temple Gold (Deccan Chronicle) – Astrologers confer to say leave newly-discovered treasure in ancient shrine…

Bend It… (Now Magazine) – …like Victoria Beckham! Former Spice Girl Posh joins Jennifer Aniston in using astrological yoga to get her size 8 body back…

A Moonless Earth… (Space.com) – …could still support life, as other planets would keep it in line…

Rugby Anthem (Voxy) – The Rugby World Cup folks have recorded their representative song, to the tune of Jupiter’s theme from Holst’s Planets Suite, sung by Kiwi singing star Hayley Westenra…

Put A Ring On It (GeeksAreSexy) – After new-found moon, does Pluto have a ring as well?...

On the Cusp of War (Business Insider) – That’s what this trader sees in the coming Mars-Uranus-Pluto T-square…

Stars In His Eyes (Edinburgh Festival) – Astologer, comic, performer has festival audiences in thrall…

Deadly Impact Cycle (MPIA) – It appears there may be a regular rhythm to destructive collisions of comets and asteroids with Earth…

Mullah Moon (PakObserver) – Local Islamic honchos could use a little help from astrologers to get Ramadan right…

Dangerous Shower (Space.com) – Meteor traces may indicate deadly comet lurking in the wings…

An Asteroid of Our Own (CFHT) – Other planets have Trojan asteroids locked into their orbits, now it appears we have one, too…

A Treacherous Age (thefrisky) – Amy Winehouse was headed for her Saturn return…this author misses that the 27 club is about the progressed lunar return…but a nice shot, anyway…

Parental Planets (Chicago Parent) – Journalist marvels that people might use this on their kids…

Dancing With The Stars (The Mirror) – Chubby Brit celeb starcaster gets set to trip the light fantastic on the tube…

Pluto Perplex (Voice of Russia) – Could be that our planet of death was born someplace else entirely…

Planet X On Video? (UFO Sightings Daily, Fox) – Well, based on this enigmatic clip, maybe so, maybe no, but worth cogitating upon…regardless, believers await collision with Niburu…

Rainmaker (Thunderbolts) – The stream of ions between the Sun and Earth is highly connected with the weather…

Planets’ Birthdays (io9) – Neptune’s discovery birthday and lots more, including the latest outer, outer planets’…

A Temple Tale (Organizer) – What the astrologer found, and what it led to…

Tridecaphilia (Economic Times) – Terrorists love the number thirteen, it appears, and its association with Uranus and the north node…

Idol Matters (NDTV) – Astrologer and movie star still in court over female desecration of temple, unresolved after years…

In Tune With The Moon (Northern Star) – Lunar solutions to household challenges…

Asteroid Chaos (AANDA) – Ceres and Vesta have chaotic orbits and, worse, so does Earth, so forget about analyzing the deep past or future (like to figure out climate change), it’s up for grabs…

Wimples (Jewish Daily Forward) – Where astrology and circumcision meet – starting in the 14^th century…

Dark Fireworks (NASA) – The Sun, blowing itself to bits…did anyone here notice?...

A Time To Chill (Times of India) – Astrologer explains why Chaaturmas festival time, linked to multiple deities, is a time to slow down, tune in to cosmos…

A Battle for Time (Fox) – A fight to take time out of step with the planets is under way…

Village Astrologer (Babylon Patch) – A new New England storefront on Long Island’s South Shore…no comment…

Born To Spin (U of Mich) – Going round in circles isn’t just for horoscopes…the very universe itself may have been born that way…

Saturn Is Bipolar (NASA) – Betcha didn’t know that…and stormy photos to back it up…

Vesta Moon? (NASA) – If the asteroid Vesta turns out to have a moon, is it still an asteroid?...

Lost Language (TED.com) – Names of planets and constellations may hold key to undeciphered Indus language…watch this short talk to the end…!

Good Samaritans (AFP) – Palestinian astrologers on the rise, drawing on a long cultural tradition…

Thailand’s Fate… (LA Times) -- …is in the stars…well, that’s not exactly news, but develops daily, with or without Thaksin and his newly-victorious followers…

Star Sting (Sunday Leader) – Phony astrologers, beware, in Sri Lanka the authorities have got your number and will close in with enthusiasm…

Neptune’s Spin (U of Arizona) – For the first time, we know what it actually is…15 hours, 57 minutes and 59 seconds…

or, go to the entire Archive Index