NewsScope for March 24, 2009

Chiron Conjunct the U.S. Moon
 
Chiron's passage through Aquarius becomes exceptionally important over the next year, since the "Wounded Healer" will be conjunct the U.S. Moon three times: on April 21, July 8, and February 6, 2010. Chiron's message to the American people has to do with how its Aquarian ideals have left many people out, and how they feel wounded and outraged. Exploring Chiron's 50-year cycle reveals the nature of this transit.
 
Chiron was last conjunct the U.S. Moon from March 1959 to January 1960. At the time, American Blacks were beginning to stage sit-ins across the South to protest their exclusion from American society. The most explicit event along these lines took place on August 12, 1959 (as Chiron was exactly conjunct the U.S. Moon), when a hostile crowd gathered outside a high school in Little Rock, Arkansas to protest integration.
 
One Chiron cycle earlier—from March 1909 to January 1910—a massive strike conducted by steelworkers erupted in violence. This event took place on August 22, 1909—the very day that Chiron was conjunct the U.S. Moon. Also, social unrest followed Emma Goldman's lectures on women's rights, while W.E. DuBois and Booker T. Washington organized for Blacks. In early 1909, Sigmund Freud toured the U.S. to promote psychoanalysis—a new way to treat the wounded psyche.
 
Today we see these people as pioneers, but then they were seen as outsiders and mavericks—keywords for Chiron. This year, many Americans feel psychologically wounded by Wall Street financiers, who risked the entire capitalist system for their own profit. Watch for the mavericks who may be tomorrow's luminaries.
 
Top Five Astro-Events for April
 
1. Pluto in Capricorn turns retrograde on the 4th, marking its maximum potential to restructure our governments and social institutions. Pluto's nature is to centralize political and financial power in order to better manage the rogue elements that threaten our collective survival—as in the G20 summit, the first wave of organizing the global economy.
 
2. Mars in Pisces is in troubled waters through mid-month since it opposes Saturn on the 4th and is conjunct Uranus on the 15th. Mars here represents the spiritual warrior, fighting against corruption and misfortune, winning through yielding and sacrifice. Expect to hear many stories of pain and suffering under this influence, and also mishaps at sea or along coastal regions.
 
3. Venus turns direct on the 17th, marking a likely turning point in the stock market as well as in many individuals' love lives. Mars catches up with Venus on the 22nd and then goes on to square Pluto on the 26th, so this configuration brings the possibility of new love affairs and romantic triangles during the second half of April.
 
4. Chiron conjunct the U.S. Moon on the 21st marks the first of three such conjunctions over the coming year, and initiates a discussion of the wounded American psyche. The deep psychological pain that many Americans feel may erupt in anger, as in the outrage felt over the AIG bonuses. Watch for serious backlash against unfairness wherever that may occur.
 
5. The Moon conjoins Mars as they enter Aries together on the 22nd (at 10:09 am EDT). This highly energetic, event-oriented combination marks a fresh start. Any new projects that you may be considering are good to go at this time, though as Mars heads into a square with Pluto, you may face government hurdles or enemy action.
 
Unexpected Celebrity Deaths
 
For the astrologer, last week's tragic death of actress Natasha Richardson (May 11, 1963; 5:00 pm; London) raises some difficult questions. Was it preventable? Or was it just her time to go, a fateful or karmic endpoint? One thing's for sure, her horoscope was under immense pressure, and any competent astrologer would have cautioned her about this time period. Even so, perhaps she would have died anyway.
 
Transiting Uranus was exactly square her Third House Moon, a planetary signature that warns of accidents. At the same time, her progressed Midheaven was conjunct natal Uranus, leading to a doubled Uranian theme and the potential for sudden and unexpected events (Uranus) that could change her status in this world (Midheaven).
 
The closest parallel we have to this event was when Sonny Bono (February 16, 1935; 12:03 pm; Detroit. MI) died of a head injury from a skiing accident on January 5, 1998. His progressed Sun was conjunct natal Uranus at the time of the accident. However in this case, transiting Jupiter was near his natal Sun and he also had a progressed Moon-Jupiter conjunction, which suggests over-confidence and even wanton recklessness.
 
Natalie Wood (July 20, 1938; 11:16 am; San Francisco) drowned* on November 29, 1981 when transiting Uranus was forming an exact aspect (a quincunx) to her natal Moon, which describes an emotional crisis and resonates with Natasha's accident. Also, her progressed Midheaven was squaring her South Node-Uranus conjunction. However, an ongoing Venus-Pluto square aligned with her progressed Venus points to some bitter relationship dynamics unfolding at the time, and that could indicate criminal negligence.
 

*Natalie Wood was vacationing with her husband Robert Wagner and friend Christopher Walken. For a more detailed story of her death and the possible causes, see this article.

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