Whitney Houston

The world is stunned and shocked by Ms. Houston’s sudden death. A lot has been written about it, and I suppose every astrologer noticed that transiting Pluto was square her Mars, which can produce a great deal of tension leading to possibly relieving it through medication. Also progressed Saturn was retrograding very close to opposing her natal Sun—a bit of depression there, but she was born with that aspect, so it wouldn’t have had a major impact. However, with Neptune forming a T-square with it, a signature of self-doubt and escapism is part of her character.

What is really interesting is what we discover when looking at midpoints. She had several midpoints at zero degrees in mutable signs, and Neptune, which just entered Pisces (a mutable sign) this month, triggered those. I’m quoting from Ebertin’s book, “A Combination of Stellar Influences.” First, the Mercury/Saturn midpoint at zero Sagittarius was being squared by Neptune:

“A state of depression, distrust, emotional inhibitions…..plans without any prospect of realization.”

Also in that same place she had the Saturn/Pluto midpoint squared by Neptune:

“..danger through water, poison or gas— shattered nerves.”

And additionally in that same degree she had the Neptune/MC midpoint. It was being triggered by Neptune, itself, so there is no combination including it; however, the meaning of the midpoint, which was part of her basic character, is:

“Aimlessness and lack of purpose in life, a lack of self-confidence” and “Depressive psychoses, mental disturbance….”

Additionally, she had a midpoint “tree” of Mars=Uranus/Neptune, which Pluto was triggering with its transit. That one means:

“…the abandonment of resistance, the necessity to give in, great losses, calamities, catastrophes.”

There is a great deal more, but Cosmobiology (which this is) is very detailed, and it would take a long article to examine all of it.

Her chart shows a person who was a perfectionist and had a great need to be successful just to justify her being here and drawing breath. In recent years, with her voice deteriorating, it is not surprising that she was questioning her future. She thought deeply about things in great detail and was very hard on herself, feeling an all-pervading guilt about things she probably never did. It was probably guilt about not being “perfect.” With Pisces rising and Neptune involved in her self- esteem issues, tension would become so acute, it would not be surprising that she would seek relief through some kind of mind-altering drug. She really had a difficult life, despite appearances.

The Leo/Aquarius Polarity

Many people don’t realize that the twelve signs of the zodiac are really six sets of polarities and the two signs opposite each other have a great deal in common. It could be said they are two sides of the same coin. I’m going to go through each set over the next few weeks and give you a good understanding of this principle in hopes that it can help you understand others better. Since it is February and Aquarius is influencing us right now, I’ll start with that one.

You can have a heavy influence from ANY sign if you have it rising or your Moon sign, or even if you have planets occupying the houses associated with them—in this case, the fifth house for Leo and the eleventh for Aquarius. Therefore, these may apply to you even if your Sun sign is not one of them. I have witnessed over the last 40 plus years, that many people who don’t have anything in a sign will still greatly exhibit traits of that sign just because they have several planets (or a very strong planet) in the house associated with it. The same applies to having a lot of midpoints fall in a specific sign. Astrology is very complicated!

In extreme brief, the first six signs are personal: i.e. Aries: Myself, my body. Taurus: My possessions and income. Gemini: My mind, knowledge and thoughts. Cancer: My home and family. Leo: My creations and ego expression. Virgo: My work and service, as in a job or personal skills.

The second six signs are more about fitting into society. i.e. Libra: Partnership and co-operation, one-on-one. Scorpio: Joint ownership (investment, taxes, insurance)—and usually control over it all. Sagittarius: The group’s mind—laws, rules of games, higher education (which is what others have discovered earlier, passed on us). Capricorn: Career, home away from home and support of the family in society. Aquarius: Appreciation for creativity and freedom of expression of all. Pisces: Service extended freely without concern for reward (collectively, we are one—what I do for YOU, I do for myself).
The entire zodiac unfolds from the very personal (Aries) to the absolute impersonal (Pisces). In theory, it’s like an evolutionary path back to the Father. We find perfection in selfLESSness. But, we’re all in various stages of growth and understanding, and our charts show a mixture of many facets of this principle.

The opposite sign from Aquarius (i.e. six months away) is Leo. Leo and Aquarius are fixed signs, meaning that they don’t change readily. Once on a specific path, they pretty much will stick to it. They are dependable. This pair forms the axis of ego. Some teachers say it is “love given (Leo) and love received (Aquarius).” I think, however, that it is more about self-expression (Leo) and appreciation of the right to that expression for everyone (Aquarius). My teacher used to say that Leo cares so much about what others think (vulnerable ego), they are constantly aware of how they’re coming across—hence, having to be respectable (to whomever matters to them) and well-turned-out. Some who are ignored too much (or think so) can be the worst of drama queens. More than any other sign, they cannot do “humble” very well. The need deep down inside is to feel special and unique. There is a need to leave a legacy, whether it is children or works of art or literature—or a great body of work of any kind. It is considered the royal sign.

But a king or queen is not one of the masses, and Leo usually will not feel ordinary. There is a little bit of distance although s/he will be wonderfully warm and friendly, it’s very hard to get really close. They are discovering they have special gifts and are quite eager to express them. Many celebrities have a heavy Leo influence. They love applause and attention. But, you cannot bask in applause if you are part of the audience—hence needing to be a little bit apart.

Aquarius generally doesn’t have a problem with insecurity. Just as Leo wants to appear
special, Aquarius deep down already feels unique. S/he doesn’t need a lot of applause and will work hard to assure that we ALL are free to express our talents and abilities. S/he is part of the masses, but feels that each one is special. That is why Aquarius has the courage to be outrageously different. Leo is searching for individuation and is personal about it, but Aquarius knows s/he is an individual and wants everyone to realize they are “special,” too. He feels he has a right to do what he wants—i.e. that he is an individual within society and not apart from it. Think of Leo as the artist and Aquarius as the gallery owner who gives the public a chance to applaud Leo’s creativity. They are in it together but with a different role to play. Leo wants to be free to express himself, but Aquarius feels we are ALL creative and expressive and should be allowed to shine, each in his own way. Abraham Lincoln was an Aquarius, and I believe this belief in each individual having something to contribute was the impetus behind his attitude toward slavery.

On another level, Leo is love and romance between individuals (and this produces children, which is why the fifth house is also children). Aquarius is friendships, organizations, communes, or group activity of any kind. It’s “love” but on a broader, more inclusive scale. Leo is Eros and Aquarius is Agape.

I know there are many who will feel this doesn’t fit them. Remember these are archetypes, and your personal chart, which is unique to you, will have many indications besides the Sun sign. The ascendant, which changes signs about every two hours, is probably going to define your personality more than anything else unless there is something else that overwhelms it. Without doing your chart, I would have no idea if that is the case, so I would have no answer for you if you just say it doesn’t fit you. Please take this for its intent and that is to familiarize you with the six pairs of signs so you will have a more coherent understanding of their philosophical message about our evolution

Neptune enters Pisces February 3rd

The mysterious blue planet, Neptune, will enter its ruling sign, Pisces, in a couple days. It did dip its toe into Piscean waters last year for a test to see how the swimming was from April ‘til August, but it was only a test. Now the twelfth sign will have his (or is it “her”?) company for another thirteen years. Pisces doesn’t have this guest often; the last time was from around 1847 to 1861-62. We learn from history, and we can get a hint of what to expect, but times were different then, and we have other planets in different places now along with it, which colors the picture somewhat.

Neptune represents anything which is not solid or clearly discernable—mysticism, deception, redemption, artistic expression, spirit, smoke, gases, water, visionaries, compassion, corruption, pollution—you get the picture. Pisces is kinda like that, too—which is why Neptune rules that sign. So we sort of have a double whammy here. In a chart, if Neptune is connected to other planets positively, then we have a positive expression of its energy, but if it’s not in harmony with other energies, we get conflict, and therefore, negative results.

It seems in Neptune’s travels, that collective attitudes are subtly changed-- colored by Neptune’s innate core energy—or vice versa. For instance, when it was in Capricorn (1984-1998) corporate and governmental corruption and deception was a temptation. Capricorn represents corporations, government and power. The United States has Neptune in the ninth house, which is legislation, as well as religion (not spirituality, but organized religion). That time was the rise of fundamentalist religions getting too involved in government, religious-based warfare—or oil-based—also Neptune, and giant corporations like Monsanto deceiving us about genetically modified food, which is now a HUGE issue. Other corporations, like those of the Koch brothers, did their own manipulating.

From 1998 until now, Neptune has been in Aquarius. This sign is noted for its detachment emotionally and for fierce individuality, and so we have had a collective outcry that we are not our brothers’ keeper, and we have been looking for ways to shed emotional reaction to those less fortunate. This, of course, does not affect everyone, but collectively the masses would seem to be headed in that direction. Each sign is a reaction to the one before it, so during this time there was also an awakening to the corruption of the preceding fourteen years, and so the fierce individualism of Aquarius also noticed the infringement on individual rights, as well, as witnessed by the treatment of organic farmers by Monsanto.
Neptune is also melding or blending of anything. Immigration is one such blending. Back in the mid nineteenth century when Neptune was last visiting Pisces, we were concerned about immigration from Europe and did not trust the Irish and the Catholics. Now, it’s the Muslims and Spanish-speaking people we do not trust. These are “strangers” attempting to meld into our society, and in Neptune fashion, we have irrational suspicions.

In those years just before the Civil War, slavery was an issue, too. We are now just beginning to recognize that exploitation of children and the very poor worldwide in the sex trade is another kind of slavery. We are seeing books appearing to awaken us—like the trilogy beginning with “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.” In the next fourteen years, we will do something about that.

I believe we will see much more compassion for the less fortunate as Neptune sojourns in Pisces. There might be some areas where it can be increased deception and fraud, but Neptune is not in negative aspect too much, so we’ll probably see the better side of it. For instance, it will trine the USA’s Cancer planets for most of the fourteen years. That can bring in increased recognition of how badly the American people have been deceived over the last twenty-eight years.

And last, Neptune in the USA’s birth chart is negatively aspected to Mars. We usually don’t use Neptune in its highest form. It will eventually activate that square, which has been involved one way or another every time we have a war. It is also the signature of a corrupt government. As long as this chart exists, we’ll have a propensity to this. It would be especially tempting when Neptune, itself, is activating it. That will be 2021-22, and I’d expect to see the very worst of that configuration manifesting. We would need to be particularly vigilant.