NewsScope for October 16, 2007

Al Gore Wins Nobel

Awarding Al Gore the Nobel Peace Prize last Friday has intensified calls for him to enter the Democratic nomination contest. Gore has coyly not said that he's definitely not running, which has encouraged a number of grassroots movements to continue their support for a potential candidacy. However, many observers think this is just to draw attention to him and his causes.

Al Gore's Aries Sun  (March 31, 1948; 12:53 pm; Washington D.C.) is conjunct the political asteroid  Pallas, giving him a keen strategic vision of how politics works. This combination trines a powerful stellium near his Leo Ascendant, amplifying his ambition and desire to change the world. Since Mercury turned retrograde near the U.S. Scorpio Ascendant as he won the Nobel, speculation has been running rampant about what he will do.

As described eight months ago (NewsScope February 20, 2007), Gore's progressed Vesta focuses his attention on being an international crusader for the environment rather than compromising his values as a politician. It's highly unlikely that he will declare himself a candidate with transiting Mars spending the next seven months in his Twelfth House. Taking a bold step forward under this celestial condition would surely backfire.

Still, Gore will be a major influence on the political scene, since his progressed Venus is heading into a square with his Sun. This very favorable condition reaches maximum star power in mid-February, guaranteeing to attract enormous popularity at the height of the presidential primary season. As a savvy horse trader, he will most likely throw his abundant political capital behind the candidate who most supports his campaign against global warming. 

The Dalai Lama Visits Washington

On Wednesday, the spiritual leader of Tibet will receive the Congressional Gold Medal, as President Bush watches and Chinese leaders seethe. Tensions between China and Tibet have risen dramatically over the last few months, beginning with Buddhist protests against China's plan to run the torch relay through Tibet for the 2008 Olympics. Last week, exiled Tibetan monks stormed the Chinese embassy in India.

The Dalai Lama (July 6, 1935; 4:38 am; Taktser, Tibet) and George Bush were born on the same day (but different years), putting their Suns in conjunction with Sirius, the brightest star in the heavens. While their worldviews would seem to preclude their friendship, they have additional very close connections between their charts which make them strategic partners, including a Saturn-Pluto conjunction and a Jupiter-Mars conjunction.

The Dalai Lama* has a T-square involving Moon at 9º Virgo. Bush's Mars in Virgo is exactly conjunct the Dalai Lama's Moon, with both being activated by transiting Saturn, the planet of earthly power. Saturn turns retrograde in mid-December just before it reaches this complex, but close enough to maintain mutual interest in pressuring China.

Saturn returns to this degree area in August 2008, just in time for the Olympics' opening ceremonies. However, in the more immediate future, watch what happens when transiting Mars turns retrograde at 12º Cancer (while conjunct these two leaders' Suns) on November 14. As Mars heads toward this important turning point, one could expect that both Bush and the Dalai Lama will become more expressive and assertive, though each in their own distinct styles. And they can expect more antagonism from their political enemies.

The Magnificent Cate Blanchett

This week, Australian actress Cate Blanchett highlights theater marquees in Elizabeth: The Golden Age. Her first portrayal of Elizabeth in 1998 brought her an Oscar nomination and began a series of royal roles, including the elf queen in Lord of the Rings and Hollywood royalty Katharine Hepburn in The Aviator. Next up: she plays rock legend Bob Dylan in his most regal elusiveness. 

Cate Blanchett was born with her Taurus Sun (May 14, 1969; Melbourne, Australia; time unknown) in aspect to four outer planets, giving her the celestial voltage to play mythic heroes. With Venus trine Mars, she has the sex appeal and personal magnetism to play romantic comedies and dramas, but the outer planet connections move her beyond the ordinary range to play extraordinary figures.

Queen Elizabeth I (September 17, 1533 OS; 3:00 pm; Greenwich, England) was born with her Virgo Sun trine Pluto and opposite Neptune. Blanchett was also born with her Sun trine Pluto and opposite Neptune, so that they share a sense of ethereal (Neptune) personal empowerment (Pluto). Blanchett's Uranus is conjunct Elizabeth's Sun, so that when she taps into her own uniqueness and intelligence (Uranus), she finds the Queen's persona (Sun).

With his multi-dimensional Gemini Sun aspecting Neptune and Pluto, Bob Dylan (May 24, 1941; 9:05 pm; Duluth, Minnesota) may also appear as royalty, which is how Cate captures his 1960's rock star phase in the avant garde film I'm Not There. There's something extraordinary about this one: Cate's lunar node axis is the exact polar opposite of Dylan's, which her progressed Sun is now squaring. Watch the buzz build on this through its nationwide opening in November. 

*Advanced astrologers will note that the Dalai Lama's progressed Venus is now opposing his Ninth House Saturn, perhaps reflecting the sadness he must feel over the current tensions between China and Tibet. For more on the Dalai Lama, please visit www.neptunecafe.com/chiron1.html

Reader feedback is welcome: email wolfstar3@aol.com.