McCain and the Double Dare

Virgo 2008

My photo – Autumn colours

A note on the Autumn equinox

Twice a year the sun crosses the celestial equator, once in March, which heralds the start of Spring here in the north and once about now, ostensibly the official start of Autumn but as I write, I think the seasons might be a bit ahead of themselves. Today is one of those lovely crisp but distinctly autumnal days. Equinox means equal night. These are the days where days and nights should be equal and I thought they were – until I was researching this post (good that I am still learning things!) According to information on the web, this is not true. To quote from the old National Maritime Museum site:

“Why do the dates of the vernal and autumnal equinox not occur on the days when day and night are equal?”
(Don’t they? – thought I.) A quick look at sunrise and sunset times on successive days in March and September will show that the above dates do not coincide precisely with the times of equal day and night length. There is another factor to be considered which is that the orbit of the Earth around the Sun is an ellipse and not a circle. By Kepler’s Law the Earth moves fastest when it is closest to the Sun (approximately 3 January each year) and slowest when it is furthest away (approximately 4 July). This ‘unequal motion’ causes variations in the length of the solar day and in the times of sunrise and sunset.” So there you have it! But I am more interested in what the day is good for.

Harvest, have a think and rebalance!

Most traditions and religions have something to say about these days as well as the solstices. However harvest seems to be a common thread. It is really the end of Summer and thanks should be given for the Summer having provided enough food to last the winter. It is finally time for reaping what we have sown and harvest festivals and thanksgiving are traditionally around this time. So, on a personal level, we can have a think about what we can now gather.

In companies, perhaps time could be spent after the summer break, where we are now back to the daily grind (Virgo), in seeing how all that work can be brought into the world. At this point, the Sun enters the sign of Libra, which is about balance and harmony. Libra is also about contacting others, having a relationship with our clients. Getting feedback from our clients. Perhaps we can harvest new contracts, the fruits of our labours. This would also be a good time to ask clients what they think of our services.

Traditionally the Autumn equinox was a period for reflecting on what needs to be manifested into the wider world. It marks a time of crossing from the personal into the social domain. The Sun has left northern climes and is entering southern regions. The spotlight moves to the South. Of course for the southern hemisphere it is the start of Spring (you lucky things!) However I believe that the signs still work down there. So maybe there are vestiges of Autumn equinox traditions that might still be useful. After all you are still entering Libra time. I think this is because Western, or should I say Northern? culture still applies in English speaking Southern countries – genes and all that! A quote from Waverly Fitzgerald’s book “Slow Time” for us Northerners, “A graceful approach to Autumn could include expressing gratitude, delegating tasks or passing on what you have learned to others, all activities that resonate with the harvest theme.” So enjoy a fine harvest party! Get things back in balance and enjoy Autumn or Spring depending on where you are.

But now back to the business at hand – Virgo

McCain and the Double Dare

Well, last month I promised to have a look at how McCain fits in with the US chart and whether his chart fits with a calling as president. I will do that, but before I do, one cannot ignore his master stroke of appointing a running mate with a birthday two days before mine!

Being a shoe addict myself, I of course was devastated to hear that the red Naughty Monkey, Double Dares that Sarah Palin wore for her speech are already sold out. Her glasses though, are being reproduced 24 hours a day, so some hope there! Being the true Aquarian that she is (5 planets there – beats me hands down) she won’t like that and will have to try something else to be unique.

She has somewhat (to put it mildly) overshadowed the poor little Virgo in the race. McCain. Actually if he had been an earthy Taurus like Blair, we would have had the four main ancient signs of the fixed cross to deal with in the US elections. Fire ( Leo Obama), Water (Scorpio Biden) and Air (Aquarius Palin). McCain is also an Earth sign (Virgo), so we do have the set. Palin has certainly livened things up though – maybe it’s just the shoes, but I have never been interested in US elections before …

Anyway back to the matter at hand – Sarah and I both have Neptune passing by the Sun in our horoscopes at the moment, so maybe as well as being shoe fans (Neptune and Pisces rule feet!) we keep getting sidetracked.

McCain the Servile Virgo

A Virgo’s calling is firstly to serve. I suppose that’s not a bad start for a president. And the Sun in his chart is in the 11th house, a leader among groups of people, one could say. However, Virgos are not really leaders, generally speaking. The planet he has affecting his Sun, and therefore in my view his calling, is Uranus. This is the maverick part that is always mentioned. He wants to be an outsider, to be different, to be authentic, to cause change in the world. He also has a deep desire to be noticed as being rebellious or on a good day, an awakener of a country that he sees as being in need of a wakeup call. He has strong ideas about how to do this and he will think he knows best. He has certainly met his match with Sarah. She is probably all of these things and more and has a mind that will not be turned. Sarah will know EVERYTHING – like good Aquarians of course do. Astrologically speaking she is a great choice for a country with the Moon in Aquarius. She is what the US needs, one could say, again astrologically, hence her overshadowing of poor Virgo even in this post.

McCain has the sign of Libra rising. He may come across as someone nice and harmonious but, as I often say with this combination, what you see is not what you get. McCain is a lot of the things mentioned above, but whether a 72 year old can express Uranian energy is the question. I don’t think he is a leader, but apart from that, Uranus is an energy that I feel is much easier to express if you are part of the younger generation. So Sarah, being younger, has more chance of expressing Uranus positively. This is not ageism but, in my view, has to do with the state of world consciousness. But it would appear that she is doing the right wing version of Aquarius as is McCain. Obama has Aquarius ascending, so he has an image that uses the change energy in a more futuristic and positive way and as a Leo he is a better candidate to be a leader.

Coming out fighting

McCain does have one thing up his astrological sleeve however, apart from having more contacts with the US chart. If we use the Life Clock that I am a big fan of (72 year cycle with 6 years in each phase), he has just started a brand new Aries phase as he just had his 72nd birthday. So he is beginning a 6-year period that repeats the period from 0 to 6 years old. Finding an identity, a second chance at childhood maybe, but he is ready to put the dream that he had in the last 6 years (Pisces) into practice. He has the Aries drive to go for it, to compete, to take on a world like a child would, with him centre stage. He’s ready for conflict and he’s more than happy to use Sarah Palin as a weapon. They really are a Double Dare to Obama. Although he has health issues and Palin overshadows him, he’s definitely ready to lead a campaign.

I’m a huge supporter of Uranus, that bringer of new ideas (a bit of a ‘planetist’ I know), and he (Uranus) will be in his first big struggle with that old arch-rival Saturn representing the old school on Election day. I hope it won’t be a fight to the death.

Faye Blake-Cossar

Interesting websites

Some information on equinoxes and many other things on the wonderful Royal Museums Greenwich site.

For a scary Youtube video on McCain have a look at this.

Quote of the Month

Since I am undecided about the US elections …
“Some problems are so complex that you have to be highly intelligent and well-informed just to be undecided about them.”

From the Virgo Laurence J. Peter – an educator and “hierarchiologist,” best known for the formulation of the Peter Principle.