Obama and the 2012 Election

Just thinking ahead, as my brain turns on the giant wheel of time. I want a drama-filled election, even better than the last one, don’t you? There’s not much to do when the economy is this bad, and its not like the American people can afford a lot of entertainment these days, so the thought of politics over two years away is the most exciting thing on the plate.

Now, I think we all know the election is going to be VERY CLOSE. Don’t need astrology for this. Pluto goes opposite the U.S. Sibley Jupiter in 2012 – all of our emotions are going to be coming straight out of hell by then. Another contested election would be so exciting, but I don’t think the Supreme Court wants the precedent of getting involved again. We’ve got European astrologers predicting that states will start seceding from the Union in fury – they don’t know anything about how we States really operate. I bet Arizona is cooking up secession right now as we speak, but it will never happen. Mexico would invade immediately, and before the Tea Party could raise a militia, they’d be looking at annexation!

Now, Obama has Pluto trine natal Pluto during 2012 – possibly one of the most powerful transits of his life – he is really going to be on top of all the rabbit holes to underground power in this country during this year.
Plus Neptune is making a trine to his natal Venus – and if you have any doubt about what that means, take a good look at how cute he is without a shirt on in Hawaii!

But there is one whammy of an astrological detail that no celestial bean-counter had better miss – Obama’s progressed Sun is at 29 Virgo two years from now – and the U.S. Sibley MC is at 1 degree Libra. Talk about magnetic attraction. Talk about soul mate synastry. It doesn’t seem possible, given how much the American people are blaming him for the atrocious economy. But as a wise astrologer (Dr. Z) once pointed out, there’s nothing to stop soul mates from killing each other. Still, any Republican candidate is going to have to go one better with his natal chart and the U.S. Sibley, or else I fear The Big O may have it in the bag…

NOTE

Those who want to better understand the love affair between Barack Obama and the American people (represented by the U.S. Sibley Chart) should check out the first item titled "Magnetic Attraction" at the recent article Dr. Z's Top Six Soulmate Clues in Astrology on his website.

This is reinforced by a partile conjunction between Barack Obama's natal Ketu and the U.S. Sibley Moon. In electional astrology, the Moon represents the people. In Vedic astrology, when Ketu conjuncts any planet, it is said to make it behave in a weird, unexplaniable way.

Jaguar Magicians: Mayan Day-Counters...Part Two

NOTE: Readers may understand this article more easily by first reading
Part One, published June 21, 2010.




The paintings of Juan Fermin Gonzalez Morales accurately capture the details of the way of life of Maya people, a way of life that is changing as the young people leave the villages for life in the city, and many traditions disappear.


THE NAGUALS

CLASSIC MAYAN NAMES
IMIX (ee-MISH) Earth Dragon (Mayan) Crocodile (Aztec)
IK (eek) Breath, air, life (Mayan) Wind (Aztec)
AKBAL (a.k.a. UOTAN) Night, darkness (Mayan) House (Aztec)
KAN Ripe Corn (Mayan) Lizard (Aztec)
CHICCHAN Celestial serpent (Mayan) Celestial Serpent (Aztec)
CIMI Death, owl (Mayan) Death (Aztec)
MANIK Grasping hand, deer (Mayan) Deer (Aztec)
LAMAT Venus (Mayan) Rabbit (Aztec)
MULUC (moo-LUKE) Water, rain (Mayan) Rain (Aztec)
OC Dog (Mayan) Dog (Aztec)
CHUEN (chew-EN) Howling monkey (Mayan) Monkey (Aztec)
EB (abe) Tooth (Mayan) Grass (Aztec)
BEN Reed, cane (Mayan) Reed (Aztec)
IX (eesh) Jaguar magician (Mayan) Jaguar (Aztec)
MEN Eagle (Mayan) Eagle (Aztec)
CIB (keeb) Vulture, ancestor (Mayan) Vulture (Aztec)
CA BAN Earthquake (Mayan) Earthquake (Aztec)
ETZ’NAB Flint Knife(Mayan) Flint Knife (Aztec)
CAUAC Storm, Rain (Mayan) Storm, Rain (Aztec)
AHAU (ah-HAW) Lord, Chief (Mayan) Flower (Aztec)

MAYAN COSMOLOGY IN A NUTSHELL (COURTESY OF NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC)

The universe of the Maya was centered on a tieredpyramid, and rest upon a crocodillian cosmic sea. Recall that the first nagua, Imix, is the crocodile.
Each quarter of the earth was associated with color, and the center of the earth was a "fifth direction".

Four sacred beings supported the dome of heaven, illustrated as a two-headed dragon, which had a body as a sky band of celestial symbols. Recall that the fifth nagual, Chicchan, is the celestial serpent, located at the four quarters.

It is arched over the moon goddess, who is holding the rabbit discerned in the moon's face, and a skeletal Venus. From the chart above, we see that the eighth nagual Lamat is associated with both the rabbit and Venus. Venus in this tradition was male. He was associated with a quick, energetic, competitive personality type, and also carried associations with the occult, drunkenness, and death.

Creation of both sun and probably the planet Venus was explained with a legend of Hero twins who vied with the Lords of Death during a series of ball games. The victorious twins became these celestial bodies.


The Mayan Moon was linked with the goddess Ix Chel (esh chelle), or "Lady Rainbow", the wife of the supreme god. She ruled over a woman's world of weaving, childbirth, and healing.



HOW MAYAN DAY-COUNTERS PRACTICE

Mayan day-counters use their astrology loosely, as a point of departure. They have a “natal chart”, a 9-nagual diagram (more on this later). They also have twenty personality archetypes, called naguals. Twenty blocks of thirteen days go into a calendar of 260 days – one that appears to be closely associated with the synodic cycle of Mercury.

They also manipulate 260 red tzinte beads to answer a specific question (this sounds a lot like the diloggun, or Vodoun divination), and obtain direct knowing during a Mayan ceremony – all of this is channeled from the Mayan spirits.

Most often, they receive this information as pulses in their veins, which they learn how to interpret with experience. A pulse in the left shoulder means such-and-such, a pulse in the right wrist means something else (somewhat similar to traditional Chinese medicine). The Mayan day-counter knows he is on the right track with the pulses – the astrology part is just an adjunct aid to intuition.


NAGUALS, OR THE DAY-SIGNS

The nagual on the day of one’s birth is the “heart” nagual. It is the foundation nagual that sums up youth and much of adulthood, and the core of one’s personality.

Each nagual is preceded by a numerical coefficient, from 1 to 13:

1-3 are considered timid, immature, and hesitant.
11-13 are considered stronger and more extreme.
The number 8 is the ideal number, and 8 of any nagual, even an unfavorable one, becomes fortunate.

Prior to the Spanish conquest, it was normal for people to be named for their birth nagual; thus the hero of the Popul Vuh legend is named Hun(1)Ajpu.

Mandala painting of animals in the Mayan and Aztec zodiacs by Peter Eglington.

Click on this graphic to enlarge it. The artist's depiction includes animal variants that differ for some of the naguals in this article.

Unlike our Western zodiacal signs, these naguals are considered to be alive and petitionable (the ruling deities of the Vedic nakshatras are also alive and petitionable). One invokes one’s birth nagual for protection, guidance, and blessing. Traditional Mayans still do special propitiatory rituals every 260 days when the nagual and its numerical coefficient coincide.

THE TRECANAS

This is another way that Mayan astrology faintly overlaps with Vedic astrology, which is also based on a lunar cycle. In lunar Vedic astrology, each nakshatra spans 13.20 degrees of the zodiac, for a total of twenty-seven nakshatras (plus a lost nakshatra, the mysterious 28th nakshatra known as Abijit). In Mayan astrology, the bundle of thirteen days is what mattered.

Each block of time, known in Spanish as a trecana (meaning thirteenths) took on the meaning of the nagual generated by the first day of the cycle. A birth occurring during this thirteen-day period is strongly influenced by that trecana.

This means that each birth is designated not only a day-sign, but also by its position within a thirteen day period. (Those of you who are now curious about your own Mayan profile can head to
www.onereed.com, click on “Maya-Aztec Report” on the top banner, and calculate a free horoscope. Remember that if you were born later than 8:30 pm, you should input the date following your birthday and use that as your day-sign.)

Below is an example which illustrates the trecana and day sign in action.

EXAMPLE: PRINCESS DIANA

As in any system, at least a couple of the signs were considered unfortunate, and in Mayan astrology, this lot fell to the 9th nagual, Muluc, and the 19th nagual, Cauac.

Princess Diana was born on the first day of the trecana Cauac, and therefore under the day-sign Cauac. (So was the author of this blog, so you all know why I chose her for the example.) She got a double dose of an unfortunate nagual, yet managed to have a positive impact on millions, before dying at the very young age of thirty-six. Cauac projects youthfulness and compassion, and inclines one toward the healing professions. Diana was concerned for the less fortunate, and made them the focus of her public role. In other circumstances, she might have become a nurse or a teacher.

Further, Venus was in its morning star phase on the day of her birth, a position that inclined Diana toward a social life full of risks. Cauac has an independent streak that causes one to desire time apart from intimates, but it is also a sensitive sign that is overly dependent on family. Taken together with the Morning Star, this meant that Diana could never accept the traditional rules of social interaction, and found herself pushing the social envelope, right up until her death. (p 80 How To Practice Mayan Astrology)


A beautiful turquoise blue color survived the centuries due to its unique chemical characteristics. The use of Mayan Blue survived until the sixteenth century, when the technique was lost.


IT’S TIME FOR A DISCLAIMER

The Mayan tradition is scattered and fragmentary, and it doesn’t all line up neatly. The Mayan people of Mexico had different naguals from the Mayan people in Guatemala. The Aztec had a different lore and divination traditions, some of which contributed to Mayan astrology. By now, some of you must be wondering how much of this is a reconstructed tradition, and how much of it can be traced to pre-Conquest sources.

Bruce Scofield is upfront about the fact that his book is a reconstruction, and that many of the personality associations with each of the naguals are his interpretation.

The modern delineations presented here are based on comparisons of many people born under each day-sign as well as interpretations of Mayan and Aztec symbolism. They were developed by Bruce Scofield in the late 1980’s and have proven to be accurate and reliable indicators for hundreds of people who have applied them since.

P 16 How To Practice Mayan Astrology

THE VENUS CYCLE AND THE LORDS OF THE NIGHT

A native’s astrological profile also includes one of four possible positions of Venus with respect to the Sun, and another constant repeating cycle of nine night deities known as the Lords of the Night, each of which impart a different cast of character to the native. A detailed explanation is beyond the scope of this article - for those who run a free profile at www.onereed.com and find that they simply must know the meaning, I highly recommend getting a Full Report or, better yet, a copy of “How To Practice Mayan Astrology”.

Buying the book is a better deal, in my opinion, because it has an ephemeris from 1919 – 2021 that lists everything – day-signs, trecanas, Night Lords, Venus phases, you name it. This will allow the reader to look up everybody they know, and not just get a profile for themselves.

THE VENUS CYCLE

Bruce Scofield explains how the events of the Quetzalcoatl myth were associated by the ancient Mayans with components of the astronomical cycle of Venus. He also does a clever, insightful analysis of the similarities between the Mayan view of Venus and the great Western astrologer Dane Rudhyar’s observations about Venus as a morning star or an evening star in natal charts that anyone who is even mildly interested in Rudhyar will most likely appreciate.

THE LORDS OF THE NIGHT

The nine Lords of the Night were ruling gods of the Underworld, gods that humanity had to contend with in order to find everlasting life. Not much is known about them – it is possible that they only applied to night births, when the gods of the underworld were dominant. Even many of the Mayan names for these Lords have been lost. Scofield does a good job of explaining what little scholars do know about them.

Hunahphu killing Itzam from the Popol Vuh



Scholars do know that the Maya had these lords tagged to the Long Count, which makes it possible to assign them accurately to any given day in the Western calendar. The Lords of the Night also have their counterparts in the Lords of Death of the Popol Vuh, one of the most important Mayan texts to have the destruction of Mayan culture which followed the Conquest.

One would think that a native with a night birth, say one after 8:30 pm or so, would use the Lord of the Night for the day on which they were born, even if they are using the day-sign for the following day. From what I have observed, however, the Lord of the Night associated with the following day seems to make more sense in most horoscopes.



Like many other ancient cultures, one Mayan creation story involves a World tree, or tree of life. The Mayan World Tree, often represented as a ceiba tree or “Wacah Chan”, embodies the 4 cardinal directions and 4 ordinal directions. North / NE/ East / SE / South / SW / West/ NW




THE MAYAN NATAL CHART – A “NINE NAGUAL” DIAGRAM

Right arm -14 days, Head -8 days, Left arm -2 days
Right waist -6 days, Heart = Birthday, Left waist +6 days
Right leg +2 days, Feet +8 days, Left leg +14 days

The three naguals in the center column are the most important – these are the ones that I look at first when developing a Mayan natal chart. If I am not going to do a full diagram for someone, I will always at least glance at these three naguals.

As mentioned earlier, the “heart” nagual is the foundation nagual that sums up youth and much of adulthood, and the core of one’s personality.

The “head” nagual shows what is in your mind, how you are thinking, and what you are thinking about. Because it shows how your mind works, it is very important in determining character and destiny.

The” feet” nagual symbolizes what the person seeks and also where the person is going: his destiny, the end of this his life, and his death. It reveals the qualities the person has as he ages. Some people will start manifesting more of this nagual by middle age, but others will see more of it after they retire from their primary careers. The age at which this final nagual starts to manifest noticeably is widely variable, in my experience.

***

The “right arm” nagual is the person’s force of achievement, his motivation and power, the strength of his personality to reach out and take what he wants.

The “left arm” nagual symbolizes the person’s worries and problems, what impedes or weakens him.

Both right and left waist naguals symbolize duties and obligations. The right side is positive energy, and the left is negative. The left waist shows how one is burdened, held back, or loses what he has won.

The legs show how you move forward through life. The right leg is how you get ahead in life, while the left leg can lead you down the garden path, if you are not careful.


El Parto [Childbirth] 2007. Antonio Vasquez Yojcom paints original themes rather than repetitiously painting the several themes that are sold to tourists around Santiago Atitlan in Guatemala.


PROBLEMS WITH THE MAYAN NATAL CHART

There is a reason why I focus primarily on the “heart”, “head”, and “feet” naguals. The “right leg” nagual and the “left arm” nagual also make sense in terms of the person’s life experience. But the remaining four naguals aren’t all that meaningful when delineating a natal chart, because they tend to contradict each other.

There is a nagging problem of duplication in the numerical sequence of the natal diagram which makes it difficult to interpret. Using the example of Princess Diana again, we see that the “right arm” nagual (-14 days) is the same as the “left waist” nagual (+6 days), and the “right waist” nagual (-6 days) is the same as the “left leg” nagual (+14 days). Only the numerical coefficients are different. This is true for any diagram drawn using this method, and is not unique to the date of birth of Princess Diana (or the blog author’s).

PRINCESS DIANA BORN JULY 1 1961

Right arm -14 days
13-CHICCHAN
Head -8 days
6-CHEUN
Left arm -2 days
12-CABAN
Right waist -6 days
8-BEN
Heart = Birthday 1-CAUAC
Left waist +6 days
7-CHICCHAN
Right leg +2 days
3-IMIX
Feet +8 days
9-MANIK
Left leg +14 days
2-BEN

If the right arm is the force and motivation to get ahead, to reach out and get what you want – then why should it be the same as the left waist, the responsibilities and obligations that hold you back? The same contradiction emerges with the “right waist” and the “left leg” naguals.

Good luck trying to explain how opposite interpretations both apply to a person’s life. The differing coefficients don’t offer enough of a distinction to be meaningful. I have a feeling that this system worked for the ancient day-counters who used it, but not enough of it is left for us to figure out how they got around the apparent discrepancy noted above.


SO, WHAT DOES PRINCESS DIANA’S CHART ACTUALLY MEAN?





















This is what most readers probably want to know, so I won’t disappoint you. Her unfortunate “heart” nagual, Cauac, has already been discussed .

Her “mind” nagual was the 11th nagual, Chuen, the howling monkey. It is associated with the soul of the artist or craftsman. It is an attention-getting, clever, demonstrative archetype that is often found working or at least interested in the performing or communication industries. Chuen likes to “play the field”, which is just another way of getting attention, as Scofield points out. People with this nagual influencing their minds learn at a fast pace, and are interested in almost everything around them, but tend to have a problem with commitment in relationships.

Her “right leg” nagual was the first nagual, Imix, the fertile crocodile that is most associated with parenthood and acting as a steward for the next generation. It is certainly true that Princess Diana got ahead in life by becoming the mother of the future King of England. Motherhood is what secured her position in the Palace, rather than any emotion she may have felt toward her ex-husband, Prince Charles.

Her “left arm” nagual was the 17th nagual, Caban, the earthquake. The “left arm” impedes or weakens the native. One thinks of unexpected catastrophes, and circumstances completely beyond one’s control, and this nagual does fit the circumstances of her death very well.

Her “feet” or destiny nagual would hardly have had time to take effect at the young age that Princess Diana died, but to some onlookers, glimpses of it may already have been evident. Her destiny nagual was Manik, the sign of a personality who struggles with issues of freedom versus security. Manik displays an urge to take off for parts unknown, but balances with it a desire to care for their loved ones. Equality of the sexes emerges as the signature of this nagual, as does creating somewhat unconventional personal lifestyles.

The Golf Ball Theory of Astrology...

The seven traditional planets of classic astrology, all lined up in the grass before God gets a good whack at them.

Did you ever think the karmic gods were out playing golf in the stars on the day you were born? Can you picture them (tee hee) at the tee just hitting stars randomly out into the universe, and that pattern in the night sky ends up becoming your horoscope? Well, folks, you are not alone...there are days when the irony of this just kills me (and I have a lot of respect for God (and gods) mind you).



No, this isn't just Tiger Woods birthchart. From space, I bet all of our horoscopes look just like this.

July, 2010 Solar Eclipse and Other Thoughts

Well, folks, the old wisdom about eclipse is bearing up! You don’t have to worry about them unless they make a hard angle (meaning a square or opposition) or a conjunction to a personal planet within, say, a degree and a half of orb. And if that happens, you should really worry!





THE LAST ECLIPSE

Remember, we had a bad-ass lunar eclipse back in January. In my experience, the two to seven days before the eclipse are when problems occur. By the date of the actual eclipse, the trouble-making energy has often (but not always) spent itself.

Poor Haiti along with their terrible earthquake was strongly associated with the January 2010 eclipse. This earthquake occurred several days before an eclipse that took place at 25 degrees Capricorn (around January 14 or January 15, 2010, depending on your location on Earth). This eclipse took place on my birthday this year, and it has not been a great year (that’s putting it mildly). Yet at the time, it was Haiti I was crying for. My own problems didn’t really get triggered for at least a few months after the eclipse occurred.

My natal Sun is in the 5th House, but I haven’t really seen eclipse events show up in personal experiences in terms of house associations. Just thought I’d throw this in the pot, in case anyone is curious.

THE CURRENT ECLIPSE

The July 11 eclipse is at 19 degrees Cancer, and it makes a tight opposition to my natal Mercury at 20 degrees Capricorn. Oh, a tight angle or a conjunction with two eclipses in one year isn’t something I would wish on anybody…

On July 6, I fell for no reason in front of Border Books (nothing wrong with their sidewalk, so no lawsuit in it for me) and sprained my left foot. I’m going to be on crutches for at least three weeks. I had a little summer job lined up that was supposed to help me eat and pay bills, but I lost it because I can’t even walk, let alone stand up at a cash register all day long.

This is after falling last December, spraining my left knee, and being in a full-length leg brace for eight weeks. That fall had nothing to do with the January eclipse, but it burns me up that a second fall in less than a year is looking like the nasty karmic leftover of this eclipse.

AND OH RATS, DIDN’T I PROMISE ALL OF YOU A MAYAN ASTROLOGY ARTICLE?

Well, I have a real good excuse for being so late in getting around to it, now don’t I? It takes forever to do anything on crutches, and it is miserable going outside on crutches in 100+ degree heat.

But now that I’m sitting here in nice air-conditioned Border Books with no summer job, and no prospects in sight, I might as well try to get around to the second part of the article soon. At least my blog followers would be learning something (hopefully) if I did get my butt in gear and write it…

ECONOMIC PREDICTION

While my mind is fried from this Solar Eclipse opposite my poor Mercury, I figure this would be about as good a time as any for an astrological prediction on the U.S. economy for the next several years…

The double-dip recession was predicted by a lot of astrologers for the summer of 2010, including Tem Tarriktar, editor-in-chief of The Mountain Astrologer magazine, and it turns out they were right. Now I see that some astro-folks are trying to line up a triple-dip recession for December 21, 2012 to supposedly coincide with the culmination of the Mayan Calendar. Those of you who tuned in to my articles on Mayan astrology will have a better sense of my opinion on this – I don’t think it will be this neat or convenient, and I don’t think it has much to do with the way Mayan day-counters originally interpreted this time period.

I DO think there is a very good likelihood of a triple-dip sometime in 2012, though. We are looking at a very long recession that is going to rival the decade-long Great Depression of 1929-1939. Our Great Recession will probably be 2008-2016(we don't call it a Depression anymore because we've all had too much psychology). Perhaps this is because the Pluto-in-Cancer phase of the Great Depression is starting to look a whole lot like the Pluto-in-Capricorn phase of our current era – its as good a guess as any.

In 2014, we may start to see the beginnings of a turn-around in the U.S. economy. Regrettably, I think this will be because large businesses and small business owners perk up due to an anticipated end of the Obama presidency in 2016. Unless the Republicans can field a very strong candidate in 2012, they are not going to shove Obama out after one term. Failing this, they will be so dejected that the economy won’t do much between 2012 and 2014.

This isn’t really fair to Obama, who has had Bush’s and BP’s messes to clean up, and who doesn’t have the clout to give Wall Street the ass-whupping it deserves. All Democrats are hoping that health care reform will be Obama’s lasting legacy, but the truth is that a President gets remembered on the economy more than anything.

BY 2014, WE ARE JUST ABOUR READY TO SEE THE LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL

Now, why do I think this?


Uranus is sprinting during the next four years, and will be at 14 degrees Aries by July 2014 (in other words, it will have passed the opposition to U.S. Saturn, which is going to hurt, and on its way to the U.S. Chiron at 20 degrees Aries, which I think is going to heal.)

Neptune should get left out of this. It is making trines to all the U.S. Sibley planets in Cancer, and all that does is make us lazy. Artsy and creative, yes, but LAAAZZZY!

Right around this time in 2014, Jupiter will be at 28 degrees Cancer. Remember, the U.S. Sibley Pluto is at 27 degrees Capricon. A Jupiter-Pluto opposition, and the energy that leads into the applying aspect, just isn’t good for a country. Once Jupiter moves past the Sibley Pluto, we just need Pluto to do its part and get moving, too.

Pluto is retrograding at 12 degrees Capricorn, in a T-Square with U.S. Sibley Saturn Sun at 13 degrees Cancer and U.S. Sibley Saturn at 14 degrees Libra (oh, are we going to be hurting by then –the Underworld God’s whip is going to sting), but as soon as Pluto moves past that Saturn (end of 2016) we will feel the relief.

In 2016, the economy will swing around just as a Republican president enters office –one doesn’t really need astrology to see this, only common sense.