March, April, May astrological highlights: Uranus and the recent extreme weather events

Village in the rain …

The flood

During the weeks of unending rain, I mused about the astrological dimension of the extreme weather event that was unfolding. I knew that some challenging transits had become active from late February, remaining in force at least until the first week in March. They started with the most difficult and far reaching: the Jupiter semi-square Pluto on February 24, coinciding to the day with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, threatening security in Europe and the world. This has been in fact the first instance in a great numbers of years when a world first power leader has used the threat of nuclear weapons as a deterrent against its opponents’ intervention in aid of Ukraine. The same transit also marked the onset of major flooding in South East Queensland. More difficult transits continued, in close sequence, in early March, especially around the March 3 Pisces New Moon, and soon after.

The Pisces New Moon phase has been, in my view, central to the whole event. It has been significant, in regard to the floods, because of its watery nature, of course, but also for its alignment to Jupiter, the cosmic amplifier, and Neptune, the water and tempest planet, also in Pisces. The disaster, while bringing great sorrow and loss to many and much destruction to the environment, has also strengthened our sense of community and human compassion. Friends, family and complete strangers have come to each other help and comfort (the Neptune’s effect).  These now all too frequent climate calamities hopefully will force us to develop a radically different vision for the future and a new environmental philosophy, to guide our policies and actions, individually and collectively (the Jupiter’s effect).

Other transits, becoming active close to the March Pisces New Moon, also added their own flavour to the flood’s story. Many hard conjunctions happened in fact on the same day or during the same week. 

On New Moon day, March 3: Mercury became conjunct Saturn in Aquarius. This is an alignment often described by astrologers as marking a time for serious, practical and focused thinking, and, because it happened in Aquarius, indicating also an occasion for becoming more aware of the needs of our global village, lending a hand to our fellow people, while keeping mental cool and detachment.

Negatively this conjunction is also said to manifest as limitations in our ability to communicate with others, frustration originating from these restrictions or inhibitions; with possible sense of isolation and feelings of alienation and depression. One of the unusual consequences of the floods has been the near complete and prolonged breakdown of communication by phone or internet for a great number of people (Aquarius ruling science and technology, in particular the internet). This inability to connect, as we are all so used to do, compounded the isolation caused by overflowing rivers and creeks and by the numerous mudslides blocking access roads for weeks. The conjunction Mercury-Saturn may have had a hand in this!

Here is a list of the other transits that became exact on New Moon day and for few days afterward. They are worth noting because of the numerous interactions between the destiny makers slow moving planets and the fast moving ‘personal’ planets: powerful experiences fostering evolutionary changes.

March 3: Sun-Moon semi-square Venus and Pluto; Mars conjunct Pluto; Moon semi-square Mars; Moon conjunct Jupiter and Neptune.

March 4: Sun semi-square Mars; Venus conjunct Pluto; Moon semi-square Uranus and sextile Pluto, Venus and Mars; Moon semi-square Mercury and Saturn (conjunct since March 3).

March 6:Venus and Mars, after aligning to Pluto in Capricorn one day apart, on March 3 and 4, having been on/off conjunct in Capricorn since the first week in February, became  conjunct each other again on the very threshold of Aquarius, on March 6. 

This is one transit, among others, that show the possibility of friendship and tolerance to emerge from the collective difficulties we are facing, and not just in Australia. The naught degree of Aquarius is the very same in fact where Jupiter and Saturn had their rendezvous at the end of 2020. That historical alignment promised that the world’s mind will be evolving in the right direction in the next twenty years. Venus and Mars may hopefully be catalysts to this promise in the shorter term.

The proof in the pudding of astrological meteorology

Of course the same phase and accompanying transits were also active all over the world, even in places where they are experiencing a drought or where the weather is just fine!

A clue to the different effect of the same transits in different places, meteorologically and otherwise, is the planets’ orientation to the local horizon, changing from place to place, more markedly the farther the places are from each other. 

In astrological meteorology New Moon, Quarter Moons and Full Moons are important indicators of weather trends for the weeks and months ahead. In this instance, at the time of the Pisces New Moon the unpredictable planet Uranus was found very closely aligned to the nadir of many localities on the Australian eastern seaboard, particularly close to it between Gympie and Sydney. Meanwhile the other difficult alignments, exact during the same period, could be found grouped around the local Ascendant (Rising Sign’ degree) in the same localities where Uranus was aligned to the nadir.

When attempting to predict the weather via Astrology the four cardinal points of the horoscope are those to observe for signs of good or bad outcome, from mild to extreme weather etc. In particular the nadir degree and the rising degree are traditionally considered the most important for weather forecast.  

In this case Uranus’ placement right on the nadir in the localities worst affected by the floods showed a potential for upheavals of great magnitude.

The nadir’s degree moreover fell in Taurus, Sign traditionally ‘ruled’ by Venus, at the time of the New Moon embroiled in an intensely difficult conjunction to both Mars and Pluto in Capricorn (death, anguish, drama, loss, destruction)!  This and the conjunction of Mercury to Saturn (communication breakdowns), another transit that contributed to the sad and trying nature of the event, were all grouped around the Aquarius Ascendant (Rising Sign’s degree). The Capricorn conjunction was in the Twelfth House of unavoidable, fated events, and the Mercury-Saturn’s conjunction in the very active, prominent First House. Both Capricorn and Aquarius are traditionally ruled by Saturn, while Aquarius is also co-ruled by Uranus. All the above set of circumstances certainly highlighted a time of rather uneasy planetary fellowship.

And finally the Pisces New Moon itself, with its alignment to Jupiter and Neptune, fell, in all the horoscopes under consideration in the Second House of security and finance, showing the enormous and ongoing economic impact of the floods, as well as the community and government financial and overall help provided to the victims. Pisces and Neptune in particular signify charitable institutions and acts of compassion, while Jupiter indicates general good will and support coming from high places. 

Horoscopes of the Pisces New Moon in nine different localities

Here are the horoscopes I’ve cast for the March 3 2022 Pisces New Moon, in nine different locations, to provide a visual for the above statements. They are nine places, from North to South: Cairns, Rockhampton, Gympie, Brisbane, Murwillumbah, Lismore and Ballina, Orange, Sydney and Melbourne.

In all the Charts I have highlighted Uranus’ distance from the nadir and also the other relevant transits, the latter grouped around the Rising Sign of each Chart: Venus-Mars-Pluto’s conjunction in Capricorn + Mercury-Saturn’s conjunction in Aquarius + Moon and Sun, on the same degree at New Moon, and conjunct Jupiter and Neptune in Pisces.

What it’s very telling is that Uranus, the extreme weather planet par excellence, shifted away from the nadir in places north of Gympie, south of Sydney, or further west from the coast!

This is the March 3 New Moon Horoscope for Cairns, Queensland. I have highlighted the position of Uranus at the nadir and the other relevant conjunctions. The distance between Uranus and the nadir was 09°32’ in Cairns, quite large.

This is the March 3 New Moon Horoscope for Rockhampton, Queensland. I have highlighted the position of Uranus at the nadir and the other relevant conjunctions. The distance between Uranus and the nadir was 04°37’, still large, but not as large as Cairns. We are moving south on the Eastern Australia coast.

This is the March 3 New Moon Horoscope for Gympie, Queensland. I have highlighted the position of Uranus at the nadir and the other relevant conjunctions. The distance between Uranus and the nadir was 02°25’, much closer than in northern localities. We are moving south on the Eastern Australia coast.

This is the March 3 New Moon Horoscope for Brisbane, Queensland. I have highlighted the position of Uranus at the nadir and the other relevant conjunctions. The distance between Uranus and the nadir was 02°02’, less than Gympie, meaning Uranus was closer to the nadir in Brisbane.

This is the March 3 New Moon Horoscope for Murwillumbah, Northern Rivers of New South Wales. I have highlighted the position of Uranus at the nadir and the other relevant conjunctions. The distance between Uranus and the nadir was 01°40’, less than Brisbane, meaning Uranus was closer to the nadir here than in Brisbane.

This is the March 3 New Moon Horoscope for Lismore, Northern Rivers of New South Wales. I have highlighted the position of Uranus at the nadir and the other relevant conjunctions. The distance between Uranus and the nadir was 01°47’, more or less same distance as Murwillumbah. The Horoscope cast for Ballina gave same results as Lismore, with Uranus extremely close to the nadir.

This is the March 3 New Moon Horoscope for Orange, in New South Wales’ interior. I have highlighted the position of Uranus at the nadir and the other relevant conjunctions. The distance between Uranus and the nadir was 06°04’, a large distance, due to the fact that Orange is quite far from the coast.

This is the March 3 New Moon Horoscope for Sydney, New South Wales. I have highlighted the position of Uranus at the nadir and the other relevant conjunctions. The distance between Uranus and the nadir was 03°54’, less than the Northern Rivers or Brisbane/Gympie, but still close enough to cause trouble.

This is the March 3 New Moon Horoscope for Melbourne, Victoria. I have highlighted the position of Uranus at the nadir and the other relevant conjunctions. The distance between Uranus and the nadir was a whopping 10°22’, even larger than in Cairns. No extreme weather recorded in Melbourne around this New Moon.

 What next? 

Since the start of this year all celestial bodies, excluding the Moon during half of its cycles, have been transiting within a narrow span of five Signs, in a 150 degrees arc.  This lopsided configuration will last until June/July. The same tight pattern happened during the first half of both 2020 and 202, a great visual reminder of the worsening lack of harmony in our world, in personal and political relationships. We feel we have no choice but to take one side or the other; compromise appearing now more difficult than ever. At the time of all Full Moon phases, for example, the Moon will again transit alone in the opposite hemisphere to all other bodies, heightening the emotional struggle to reconcile many opposites. And to put this trend in even greater relevance the Lunar Nodes, representing the world axis of destiny, connected to the current eclipses and at right angle to karmic Saturn, are the points closing the half hemisphere’s grouping!

Paradoxically though, while many astrological indicators are showing the potential of widening the already deep fractures in the collective psyche, triggering personal confrontations and even full blown wars, other significant transits seem to tell a very different story. Like the flood’s tragedy bringing the best out of people, even helping many to resolve differences that have divided us during the Covid outbreak, the positive transits of Jupiter, in particular its conjunction to Neptune (already active in March, exact on April 13 and in force for a few weeks after that) offer us hope that things could get better; that good will could prevail in the long term, if we give peace a chance.  

Important Dates in April  

April 12: the Lunar Nodes in Taurus/Scorpio at right angle to Saturn in Aquarius. Only a day shy of this year’s most important transit, the Jupiter-Neptune’s conjunction, this difficult angle is here to remind us that excessive optimism is not warranted at this time and that the world is as yet due to pay some karmic debts before we can move forward and in a new direction.

April 13: Jupiter will conjunct Neptune on the 23/24 degree of Pisces. Due to the ‘aquatic’ nature of this alignment there is a potential for more heavy rains in the next few weeks, but also for more sharing, loving, forgiveness and mutual understanding, a great plus at a time when antagonism is rife.

Between the two, Jupiter is the fastest moving body, so it represents the energy that activates and expands the role of Neptune. Astrology credits Water for more than just rain and floods. First and foremost this Element represents emotions, empathy, the sensitivity needed to feel someone else pain, with the desire to alleviate their distress. Water helps us to merge with one another, to erode away the barriers that stifle our connection with each other and with nature.

In a better world this combination would be indeed very positive, fostering peace rather than war, enhancing our more humane and spiritual side. Some even hope it could mean a cease fire in Ukraine and other hot spots around the world. It could, of course, especially considering that the conflict has now reached a stalemate, no side winning/losing outright. With all else going on, this remains only a wish though. Realistically, lasting peace on the planet seems to be yet remote to a born pessimist like myself.

There is a darker side to all planetary alignments, and the Jupiter-Neptune’s conjunction is no exception. One of the most obvious at present is the continuing spread of misinformation, principally generating from social media outlets, the focus shifting from the pandemic to the war in Ukraine and other topics. Everything is out for grab, apparently; documentary evidence is worth nothing; trust of serious, fact based reporting is dwindling, while boundaries of what is actually believable are breaking down. The fluid energy of Pisces, so powerful in the last few years, is showing its irrationally dangerous side, when trust in democratic principles is threatened by propaganda that services only despots and others with not so concealed interests in spreading lies.  

Important Dates in May

Eclipses in May could bring profound experiences and realizations, even the foundation or culmination of important life cycles, especially for some whose birth Sun, Moon, Planets and Angles fall within a couple of degrees from the Eclipses’ degrees.

May 1: the Taurus 10°28’ Partial Solar Eclipse fosters new beginning in the areas of creative imagination and relationships because, on the same day, a perfect conjunction is taking place between Venus and Jupiter, both very well placed in Pisces. At the same time Uranus is extremely active too, positively promoting originality, a spirit of adventure and risk taking. Coupled with Venus-Jupiter’s exuberance the Uranus’ effect could make many feel too restricted by committed relationships and all forms of set routines and creative work that seems to have lost its spark. Negatively Uranus’ radical, uncompromising stance could even produce estrangements, emotional isolation and wild goose chases bringing us nowhere in particular. Positively taking risks in relationships and creative work at this time could open new and exciting prospects.

From May 10 to June 4 Mercury will perform its magic loop (from Gemini 04°49’ to Taurus 26°05’). This is a shift between the abstract thinking and swift mental adjustments of Gemini to Taurus’ solid, factual thinking. It shows the need to concentrate our brain power, stay focused and realistic in our personal communication, work and study projects. Slowing down could be frustrating but necessary at this time. 

May 11: the big shift! Jupiter will enter fiery Aries today. Our giant neighbour will remain in this combative Sign until October 28, making then a brief sortie back into Pisces until December 20. The Aries transit will end on May 16 2023.

Jupiter’s yearly Sign change always shows us a different way to tackle social, political and ethical issues. While during the Jupiter in Pisces period our views have been basically motivated by emotional responses, ideals and beliefs, during the Aries period we will seek to manifest our principles and standards through right action, unplanned intervention, moving quickly and boldly in order to bring on the desired changes.  We will need to beware of aggressive confrontational stances to prove a point, one of Aries’ less desirable traits, endeavouring to remain sensitive to other peoples’ viewpoints and rights. Positively this could prove a helpful transit to tackle all range of social problems with greater urgency and courage.

Just after stepping into Aries Jupiter will form the first of three instances of a difficult angle to Uranus, a semi-square. This transit will return on September 29 and December 24.

Looking back at the events that unfolded at the one and only pass of the Jupiter-Pluto’s semi-square (Feb24), we cannot underestimate Jupiter’s role in adding momentum to the power of the planets it meets in transit. Pluto in fact confirmed its more destructive and ruthless side when amplified by Jupiter, in particular via the Ukraine invasion.

Uranus, orbiting with Neptune and Pluto beyond the ‘safe’ boundaries of Saturn, becomes activated when necessary but unsettling changes have to happen. Uranus is the key symbol of rebellions, of all calls for freedom and self-determination. This year and into early next year the transits of Jupiter are again bringing into sharp focus the same theme of authority versus individualism that the world experienced in 2021 via the long lasting square Saturn/Uranus. This is because, in July, September this year and up to March next year, Jupiter will also semi-square Saturn, thus becoming the amplifying go-between Saturn-Uranus’ conflicting powers.

The combination Jupiter/Uranus is also known for causing freak and intense weather events and earth tremors, the locations potentially affected depending on local factors difficult to determine beforehand, as I explained earlier.

May 16:  the Scorpio 25°17’ Total Lunar Eclipse will be rather a time of realizations and harvesting the fruit of previous actions and thoughts. Sun and Moon will be at 90° angle to Saturn, all in Fixed Signs, indicating constraints caused by external circumstances as well as inner insecurities and fears. To overcome the impasse it will help working through these with dogged perseverance and awareness of all that’s involved.

The significance of the Mercury Retrograde period

 MERCURY RETROGRADE BETWEEN CAPRICORN AND SAGITTARIUS

It is that time of the year again, Mercury has begun his Retro Station on December 10, an event occurring cyclically every four months or so.

Our little neighbor will move back into Sagittarius on December 19, turn Direct on December 30, and finally re-enter Capricorn on January 13.

Often the period of Mercury’s retrogradation is simply interpreted as a time full of misunderstandings, technical glitches, disruption in communication, odd accidents, mis-communications etc. These effects are often obvious, especially for people who happen to have the Sun, Moon, personal planets (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn) or one of the four Angles (Ascendant, Descendant, Mid-Heaven or Lower Heaven) within the span of the zodiac covered by Mercury (19° Sagittarius to 6° Capricorn, this time), or in those areas in major aspect to it.

As far as the Sun Signs are concerned the individuals more directly affected by Mercury’s retrogradation, this time, will be: Capricorn, born December 22/29 ~ Cancer, born June 22/29 ~ Libra, born September 23/30 ~ Aries, born March 21/28. ~ Sagittarius, born December 10/21~ Gemini, born June 10/21 ~ Virgo, born September 11/22 ~ Pisces, born March 9/20.

There is a lot more however to the retrogradation of Mercury. First of all, Mercury might retrograde within one Zodiacal Sign, or pass, in retro motion, from one Sign to the one that precedes it, like it’s happening in this case. The Sign emphasis is in fact also important.

In a Birth Chart, for instance, Mercury in Capricorn encourages the mind to think methodically, to plan ahead, to restrain from flights of fancy keeping it on the narrow and straight path, so to speak. This Earthy Mercury is ideal for business dealings, for any constructive or practical enterprise, also for leadership because the individual’s way of expressing him/herself demands respect and trust from others. Mercury in Capricorn is in fact efficient, ambitious and thorough, with a mind which sticks to facts and figures, and delivers.

Collectively these same qualities will influence everyone, at some level, depending on where Capricorn is in your Birth Chart.

The Retrogradation however will soon move the Mercurial focus from Capricorn’s Earth plane to the intuitive plane of Sagittarius, a Fire Sign.

When Mercury is found in Sagittarius in someone’s Birth Chart it indicates an individual whose mind is unfettered by conditioning and rules of thinking. Sagittarius Mercury is the free thinker par excellence, ready to speculate about everything and easily going on far fetched tangents in his thinking and words.

For all of us this period should afford an opportunity to think out of the box, freeing ourselves from the shackles of conventional ideas and unadventurous communication.  This is symbolically a going back to our source of inspiration before we proceed again to do business as usual.

Mercury in Sagittarius is getting extra calendar time, due to the planet’s slowness when retrograde, inspiring us to look for meaning,  and generally expanding our understanding of life.

The transits a Mercury Retrograde forms during this special time are also important. Due to the extremely reflective nature of this planet, absorbing readily the colour and energy of other planets he comes in contact with, especially via conjunction.

Contrary to the usual Mercury’s transits that last only for very short periods of time, indicating passing moods and ideas, the retro transits of this planet last a relatively long time, impressing their peculiar mark on our personal and collective psyche. All aspects in fact that become exact just before the retro period of a planet are repeated three times: the first pass in direct motion, the second in retro motion and the third in direct motion again. If you happen to have Sun, Moon, Planets, Angles or Nodes around the degree of such transits or in aspect to them, then the effect of a retro Mercury’s transit could be as significant as the transit of a slow moving body.

These Transits will tend to have more of an effect on people who happen to have Sun, Moon, Planets or Angles around the degrees listed.

Mercury conjunct Mars, first in Sagittarius, then in Capricorn, while retrograde, finally in Aquarius again, in direct motion. It is exact on November 21 (on 17° of Sagittarius) , December 14 (on 04° of Capricorn), and February21 (on 28° of Aquarius).

This transit will coincide also with the conjunction Mercury-Pluto and Mars-Pluto, energizing the mind, and also intensifying the desire to know things, lifting the curtain of face value impressions. It is an important transit, helping to penetrate through walls of silence and to express things usually left unspoken. It is however also a dangerous connection, bringing up from the depth mental contents, memories, obsessions, traumas that have been repressed for a long time. Those could get out of hand and cause some major havoc in the lives of those who have a direct connection with the degree occupied each time by the transit.

Mercury square Jupiter and Uranus, while transiting Sagittarius. These transits are exact on November 26/28 (on 23° and 26° of Sagittarius), December 21/22 (on 25° and 26° of Sagittarius), and January 11/12 (on the same degrees as the December pass).

This transit may test our capacity to broaden our world view and to think out of the box. It could prove very creative and exciting for some, but perhaps also somewhat hypo and wasteful for others, increasing mental curiosity but also nervous restlessness.

THE PHASES OF MERCURY

Even after considering all these factors we would still fall short of penetrating the meaning of Mercury’s retro period if we weren’t considering it in the context of Mercury’s entire cycle in relation to the Earth and Sun. The Phases of Mercury are in fact as fundamental to this all important planetary energy as its Sign position, that represents the quality of its energy, or  Mercury’s House placement and the House ruled by Mercury via traditional Sign rulership, indicating the areas of experience where its planetary energy will more likely find expression.

In the light of the entire cycle the Retrogradation of Mercury is a most significant moment, when the planet passes from waning to waxing, from Evening to Morning Star. It is not just the Moon who waxes to the Full phase and wanes toward the New Moon. All planets do, when we observe their relationships with the Sun and the Earth. The phases bring to the ‘reading’ of Mercury an extra dimension, showing it as an ongoing process, rather than a fixed placement to be interpreted in a rigid way.

If interested please check my next post on planetary phases (Mercury’s in particular), to be published soon.

Mercury, Mars, Pluto’s conjunction and Wikileaks’ troubles

This Tuesday, December 14, 2010, seems the appropriate day to begin talking seriously about the Retrogradation of Mercury, while our small neighbor has just reached the triple conjunction with Mars and Pluto. It is the second time that Mercury becomes conjunct Pluto this month, having already done so, in direct motion, on December 6.

This is the first post in a short series discussing the significance of the phenomenon of retrogradation and, in particular, of Mercury’s retrograde period in the light of the whole Mercury-Sun mutual cycle of 116 days. This present retrograde period will go from December 10 to 30 2010.

Between 3.05 and 3.15 pm (Australian Eastern Summer Time) Mercury will conjunct Pluto and Mars and Mars will also conjunct Pluto. Mercury, already dealing with the underworld of his own Retro period, is now in the presence not only of Pluto himself, the underworld’s supreme ruler, but also of Mars, the Warrior God.

Such a configuration, if found in someone’s Natal Chart, could make him/her a profound thinker, and perhaps also a fanatical thinker and talker, one who is apt to dig for dark secrets and is naturally pulled toward the underbelly of any situation. They could be harsh and judgmental at times, but also mentally very active,  resourceful and shrewd. They may be interested in the occult sciences, or in doctrines or discipline that can help them to gain personal power over others.

At the collective level this could be an explosive combination, Mars, with his sheer force, helping to bring to the surface the hidden contents of the psyche that the underworld symbolizes and over which Pluto presides.  Mercury, go-between Heaven and Earth, will manifest this eruptive and dangerous energy through the Mercurial agent of communication: talking, writing, reading, and all intellectual pursuits.

Today also the Moon is reaching her First Quarter Phase, a challenging time, when obstacles need to be removed in order to power ahead toward the Full Moon climax, in a week time. That Full Moon, let’s not forget, will be also a Total Lunar Eclipse, on a powerful zodiacal cusp, Gemini/Cancer, spanning the Capricorn Solstice, one of the foundation time of the year (shortest day in the Northern hemisphere, longest day in the Southern).

I don’t believe it is a coincidence that this is the very day a second court hearing has been scheduled for Julian Assange, the Wikileaks founder and spokesperson. His trial has, after all, to do with the revelation of dark secrets the world governments would prefer to keep hidden from public scrutiny. Those secrets have been revealing the lies of planet Earth’s most powerful people, those who decide about war, peace, distribution of wealth, human rights etc.

The Moon was transiting over the area of this conjunction, on top of Mercury, Pluto, Mars and the North Lunar Node the Day Julian Assange was arrested in London (9.30 am, December 7, 2010, GMT). Mercury was on Pluto the day before the arrest too, all facts that make this configuration more significant for him and in tune with the collective events that have followed his arrest and charges. See the ‘revenge attack, appropriately named Pay Back (in true Plutonian fashion) from hundreds of cyber pirates intent at punishing those giant web domains that recently denied support to Wikileaks.

All three cosmic players, Mercury, Pluto and now Mars are transiting in proximity to the Lunar North Node in Capricorn, fact that link them all to the Eclipse season, and therefore to the collective destiny of the planet.  The conjunction with the North Node becomes exact for Mars on December 12, two days before the second court hearing, for Mercury on December 16, two days after, and was exact earlier for Pluto, on November 28, setting the dark tone of the whole proceeding.

It is also a test, at the personal level, of Assange’s own handling of the power Wikileaks has afforded him since he started his exceptional  journalistic scoops  in 2006. Open dissidents, led by Wikileaks’ second in command, Daniel Domscheit-Berg (also known as Daniel Schmitt) who resigned from Wikileaks last Saturday, will be soon launching a rival web site, called Openleaks.org , that will be apparently less obsessed with American foreign policies and more concerned with world-wide issues.

This new whistleblowers’ venture promises to be more democratic and transparent, and also more careful when releasing potentially dangerous information that could harm the whistleblowers themselves. Assange in fact has been accused of having an autocratic attitude and to have unilaterally decided the release of important documents, without proper security encryption in place. This attitude has turned many of the people working for him against him, since July this year. The fact that they are ready to kick the man now that he is down shows, I feel, the depth of the rift between them. So Julian Assange seems to have, at the present time, powerful enemies even amongst his own ranks of cyber freedom fighters.

Due to retrogradation the present conjunction of Mercury to Pluto in Capricorn, will occur one more time on January 18, but by then Mercury will be traveling in direct motion. Hopefully that last pass, with Mercury entering his waxing phase, will bring a resolution to Julain Assange and Wikileaks present nightmare.

I am preparing a proper post on Wikileaks and his founder, with a delineation of Assange’s Birth Horoscope  (birth data provided by the reputable American Astrology magazine, the Mountain Astrologer), considering also the Transits, Secondary Progressions and Solar Arc Directions that have constellated his career in the past and will become active in the foreseeable future.

Here is Julian Assange Birth Chart:

Click to enlarge

I need some time though, because I am also still editing a longish article for the Art of Healing, looking at the major transits for the March-June 2011 period. The deadline for that one is already a week old. Using Mercury Retrograde as an excuse never works with magazine editors and publishers, I’m afraid, even if it is often the true cause of the writer block and of the mental meanderings slowing down all forms of rational communication. A longer version of the future transits’ article will be also posted here.