February 2014 – Hexagon Astrology (Matthew David Savinar)

Month: February, 2014

Sagittarius Sun, Scorpio Moon: The Commando Carpe Noctem

Combine the conscious awareness (Sun) in the sign of crusades (Sagittarius) with the unconscious instincts (Moon) in the sign of the underworld (Scorpio) and you get a Sun/Moon pairing that’s fervent, intense, and who will live life infused with a spirit of terrifyingly high stakes adventure. A free-wheeling scholar (Sagittarius) of the shadows (Scorpio Moon) at its best or a fanatical archer (Sagittarius) of darkness (Scorpio Moon) at its worst, this pairing is more than willing to go to great lengths for great causes, with a minority of less evolved Sadge/Scorpios even willing to risk the well being of others as well. According to astrologer Wendell C Perry, for Sagittarius/Scorpio “it’s a matter of you against the world, and the world had better watch out”. (Source) To illustrate: Using its incorporation date as its date of birth, the insurance company American International Group (AIG) is a Sagittarius Sun, Scorpio Moon whose financial super-soldiering (Sagittarius) nearly doomed the world economy to the underworld (Scorpio Moon). (Chart)

Most people think of AIG as simply the large insurance company whose failed derivative schemes put the livelihood of the entire world economy at risk during the collapse of 2008. The reality is that the company’s back story is far more complicated than anything that can be represented on actuarial tables or argued on the floor of Congress. For starters, AIG has been heavily involved in covert military operations since its inception. A year 2000 Los Angeles Times article entitled “The Secret Agent (Insurance) Man” traced the company’s involvement with “shadow wars” all the way back to at least World War II:

Newly declassified U.S. intelligence files tell the remarkable story of the ultra-secret Insurance Intelligence Unit, a component of the Office of Strategic Services, a forerunner of the CIA, and its elite counterintelligence branch X-2.

. . . the unit mined standard insurance records for blueprints of bomb plants, timetables of tide changes and thousands of other details about targets . . . “They used insurance information as a weapon of war,” said Greg Bradsher, a historian and National Archives expert on the declassified records.

The men behind the insurance unit were OSS head William “Wild Bill” Donovan and California-born insurance magnate Cornelius V. Starr. Starr had started out selling insurance to Chinese in Shanghai in 1919 and, over the next 50 years, would build what is now American International Group . . . (Source)

As globalization has spread since World War II the connections between the insurance industry and overseas military expeditions have only deepened. AIG, for instance, has been the go-to insurer for the private mercenary companies that have flourished in Iraq since the U.S. led invasion in 2003. (Source)

That a seemingly boring insurance company like AIG would be so involved in covert operations and mercenary work is not as counter-intuitive as it seems when you remember that the symbols for both Sagittarius and Scorpio involve armaments. Sagittarius is symbolized by a Centaur Archer armed with a bow and quiver of flaming arrows ready to be fired at far-off targets. Scorpio is symbolized by three animals, each a deadly predator capable of surviving in extreme environments: the Scorpion armed with its stinger; the Snake armed with its venomous fangs; and the Eagle armed with its talons. With the glyphs for both signs so heavily armed, the Sagittarius/Scorpio combination is poised for a life ferocious confrontations, whether upon actual battlefields or (more likely) legal, political, and financial ones.

Astrologer Linda Goodman says the ruthlessness with which Robin Hood redistributed wealth from the rich to the poor leads her to believe he was a noble-minded Sagittarius/Scorpio. (Source) If there’s one thing the bailout of 2008 proved it’s that AIG is something of a modern day Robin Hood minus the noble intentions, one who steals from the poor and gives to the rich with every bit as much ruthlessness as the legendary archer did the reverse. AIG agents may not run around in tights or on horses like Robin Hood and his merry men but they are responsible for insuring the kevlar-clad military contractors who fly around the oil fields of the Middle East, the modern day equivalent of the forests of Nottingham:

According to a study by ProPublica, from 2003-2008 AIG made an underwriting gain of $500 million from insuring these “merry men”, all of which was picked up by the American taxpayers.

Using its initial publication date as its date of birth, the reality based comic book The Activity is also a Sagittarius Sun, Scorpio Moon. (Chart) According to a recent ABC News piece, The Activity is based on the Pentagon’s most secretive unit: the Intelligence Support Activity (“ISA”) aka “The Activity”, a U.S. Army unit vastly more secretive than the Navy Seals, Delta Force and other compartmentalized outfits that have garnered so much media attention in recent years. Informed observers seem to think ISA members are tasked with “snatch and grab” missions, sanitizing botched operations, and engaging in the most intensely ferocious forms of extrajudicial direct action. (Source) The comic book, while technically fictional, is meticulously researched by its creators and reported to ring true among the few individuals familiar with the ISA’s “activities”. (Source) They may run around corners of world as dark as the forests of Nottingham but merry men (and women) they are not:

Pictured Above: The Activity (Copyright: Image Comics) — Pictured Above: ‘The Activity’ (Copyright: Image Comics)

Marital artist turned film star Bruce Lee is also a Sagittarius Sun, Scorpio Moon. (Chart) Lee was neither an insurance agent working to defeat Hitler or a covert operative assigned to potentially lethal missions but his life was infused with the type intensity normally reserved for such endeavors. Lee left a widow at the young age of 32 following a death as shrouded in mystery as any AIG or ISA operation.

Sagittarius/Scorpios are also known to venture forth on intellectual and philosophical expeditions as all-consuming as military crusades. For instance, using its original publication date as its date of birth, the Encyclopedia Brittanica is a Sagittarius/Scorpio. (Chart) Lee too had an encyclopedic knowledge of martial arts and was as consumed with philosophy as he was with actually fighting. He may not have been a “merry man” but, unlike American International Group, he did pair a sense of ethics (Sagittarius) with passion (Scorpio).

About the Author: Matt Savinar is a California licensed attorney (State Bar #228957), voluntarily inactive as of June 2013. He can be reached for questions, comments, or astrological consults at his contact page.

South Node in Aries, North Node in Libra: From Recklessness, Rage, and Refusing to Back Down to Romance, Relationships, and Relating to the Other (Astrology of Star Trek: First Contact)

In a person’s chart, the South Node is the primary indicator of past life karma. It indicates what skills a person is bringing into this life but also how they screwed things up in their past lives, be those actual past lives or simply useful metaphoric narratives for the early parts of this life. When the South Node is in Aries, the person has spent many lifetimes as a Warrior. They’re naturally good at all things Aries: kicking ass, breaking free, and fighting back. They’re also prone to falling prey to Aries’ dark side: recklessness, rage, being ruled by inflamed passions and refusing to ever back down. These are also ways they’re most likely to self-destruct in this life should they stay stuck in their South Node. Their karmic mission is to embrace their North Node in Libra, the sign of romance, relationships, and relating to “the other”.

Films are an excellent tool to understand one’s Nodal Axis. Just run a chart for the film the way you would for yourself or another person. The villain and/or crisis will line up with the film’s South Node while the resolution and/or hero will line up with the North Node.

If you want to understand the Aries South Node/Libra North Node axis there is probably no better film to watch than Star Trek: First Contact. Released (born) on 11/22/1996, the film’s South Node is at 6 degrees Aries. (Chart) The film picks up six years after an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation in which Captain Picard was kidnapped, assimilated, and severely traumatized by the Borg, a species of space faring techno-fascists. In First Contact, he chases the Borg back in time 300 years to get his revenge, the exact thing somebody with their South Node in Aries is supposed to be getting away from:

With the film’s South Node in Aries (war) and South Node ruler Mars in Virgo (slavery/shame), the first objective of Captain Picard’s karmic mission is to release his need to go to war against those who enslaved, shamed, and traumatized him. He can’t do that, however, without assistance from “the other” (Libra). In this case “the other” is Lilly, a woman from earth’s past who confronts Picard on how selfishly destructive (Aries) his actions are. Libra loves to get dressed up and go out partner dancing so maybe it’s fitting that the rage-fueled incident Lilly refers to in the above scene takes place inside a high class night club earlier in the film:

The film has Saturn (repression) conjunct the South Node, indicative of particularly heavy burdens being brought over from past incarnations. According to astrologer Celeste Teal, “This is potentially the hardest past life influence from which to escape. It is easy for these individuals to become stuck in the past . . .” (Source) The first 20 seconds of the film’s trailer will give you a sense for just how difficult Saturn/South Node experiences can be to escape from.

Saturn is associated with leadership capabilities and getting down to brass tack reality so there is some upside to this placement. In First Contact, for instance, Captain Picard displays plenty of realism (Saturn) in regards to fighting (Aries) the Borg, his foes from a symbolic past life (South Node).

People with their South Node (past lives) in Aries (courage, confrontation) are often fixated on defeating their adversaries, who are usually more powerful than themselves. No matter how noble and just their cause(s) may be, Aries South Node people will fail to win their battles until they learn to cooperate with others. In First Contact Captain Picard’s fixation on defeating the Borg is certainly a noble one, comparable to taking on an entity that is one part Monsanto, one part Microsoft, and one part the National Security Agency. Yet he is unable to prevail until he takes Lilly’s advice to release his fixation on winning. Once he does the humans of the past are able to launch the first warp capable vessel which gets the attention of the Vulcans, their nearest neighbors. The Vulcans then come to visit the humans in a fabulous cinematic example of Libra’s desire to make contact with “the other”:

In Star Trek lore the meeting of the humans and Vulcans depicted above ushers in 200 plus years of peace and partnership, the ultimate objective of Libra.

A film’s chart not only describes the plot of the film but also the production process and casting decisions. Part of what made Star Trek: First Contact great was the performance of actress Alfred Woodard, a black woman, who was cast as an equally powerful counterbalance to Patrick Stewart, a white man.

This is no coincidence. At its highest expression Libra is the sign that understands not only the need for balance between aggression and reconciliation but also balance between the genders and races.

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I recommend the following books:

Taurus Sun, Gemini Moon: The Straight Talking Comedian and the Street Wise Folk Singer, the Balladeers with Business Sense and the Opera Singers with Attitude

Taurus/Gemini is a curious combination as it pairs the practical sensibilities of of the “Farmer” (Taurus) with the fiber optic wiring of the “Fast Talker” (Gemini). Astrologers Suzi and Charles Harvey ask this combination, “Are you a streetwise city slicker or a slow country soul tuned to the serious business of survival?” (Source) A healthy Taurus/Gemini will be both. To illustrate: using its release date as its date of birth the song “Straight Outta Compton” by the rap group NWA is a Taurus Sun, Gemini Moon. (Chart) The song depicts a group of young “streetwise city slickers” explaining how they get down to the “serious business of survival” in a manner so unapologetically truthful that a sitting vice-president of the United States took time to personally condemn the song. Nobody featured on the song is a “slow country soul” per-se but the group’s lead vocalist (Ice Cube) does warn rivals that if they “want to rumble” he’s prepared to “cook ’em up like a pot of gumbo”. (Taurus/Gemini often loves to talk about food.)

Taurus/Geminis can really excel when taking complex subject matter and articulating in a pragmatic fashion that regular people can understand. This is exactly what NWA did with “Straight Outta Compton”. Behind the bravado and braggadocio of the young men is 400 years of internalized rage that that they manged to condense down into a four minute song. Anybody interested in studying black history or the prison-industrial complex in more depth might turn to books by professors such as Angela Davis or Cornell West but the reality is 99% of the masses have neither the time or the inclination to do so. What they will do is listen to a song that makes use of the senses (Taurus) to communicate (Gemini) the feelings those books contextualize in great if prohibitive detail.

Much of the tension illuminated by “Straight Outta Compton” was the result of Ronald Reagan’s “war on drugs”, a campaign whose goal from day one was to terrorize black people. Anti-nazi campaigner Sophia Scholl is a Taurus/Gemini who also knows a few things about being the target of race based campaigns of terror. (Chart) According to her Wikipedia entry, “Scholl was a talented young painter in 1930s Germany when she met a few other so-called ‘degenerate artists’ and formed the White Rose resistance movement against the Nazis”. (Source) Like the young men depicted in “Straight Outta Compton”, Scholl was a “streetwise city slicker” who spent her final years getting down to the “serious business of survival”. In 2005 she was portrayed by actress Julia Jentsch in the film The Final Days:

Taurus’ orientation to “value” makes it the sign most associated with “dead presidents, dolla’ dolla’ bills, and dough-re-mi” while Gemini’s dexterity, deftness, and ability to make deals is why it’s the sign most associated with sales. Pair the two together and you get a Sun/Moon combination that can make a lot of money in endeavors such as media, publishing, speaking, and teaching. “Straight Outta Compton”, for instance, was the first album to go double platinum despite getting absolutely zero radio airplay. I recall a story that the group sold the album primarily out of the trunk of a used El-Camino. I haven’t been able to confirm if that is true or not but the image definitely fits this pairing’s reputation for capitalizing (Taurus) on versatility (Gemini). Whoever coined the phrase “making a dollar out of 15 cents” was quite likely a Taurus Sun, Gemini Moon.

Sophie Scholl’s pamphlets were something of a best seller too, at least in a manner of speaking. Copies weren’t sold out of the back of a used car or bootlegged at house parties like “Straight Outta Compton” but they were traded via underground exchanges and safe houses throughout Nazi Germany. Scholl’s “Leaflet #6” was even smuggled into the hands of the U.S. Army Air Corps who dropped millions of copies of it over Germany. You could even say Scholl’s “Leaflet #6” was to the world of political pamphlets what NWA’s “Straight Outta Compton” album was to the world of rap music.

Comedian George Carlin is a Taurus Sun, Gemini Moon whose stand up routines have more than a few things in common with the young men we see in “Straight Outta’ Compton”. (Chart) Like the members of NWA he wears all-black and has adopted an “earthy” version of the King’s English that makes extremely creative use of words like “asshole” and “motherfucker”. More importantly, he manages to summarize the insanity that has become the American way of life in a manner that resonates with the masses in a manner similar to what NWA did with urban issues in “Straight Outta Compton”. People who would never have the time or energy for a Noam Chomsky or Howard Zinn book can watch one of Carlin’s routines and walk away with a similar if condensed take on socio-political issues.

Comedian Stephen Colbert is also a Taurus Sun, Gemini Moon. (Chart) Colbert and NWA would certainly have a lot to talk about because, like NWA, Colbert knows what it’s like to have the office of the president on his ass. In 2006, his “roast” of Bush at the White House correspondents dinner was so blistering it had people seriously wandering if he was going to show up dead. A number of Bush’s “enemies” such as author James Hatfield had recently met their demise under extremely suspicious circumstances so the concern wasn’t totally unfounded either. (Source) On a metaphoric level, you could say Colbert arrived at the dinner “ready to rumble” then proceeded to “roast Bush up like a pot of gumbo”:

Like “Straight Outta Compton”, a number of Colbert’s enterprises have also become multimedia best sellers. His show The Colbert Report is one of the most watched shows on television while YouTube videos like his “roast” of Bush have stirred up as much controversy as “Straight Outta Compton” did almost 25 years ago. Something similar can be said about the songs of folk singer Harvey Andrews, also a Taurus/Gemini native. (Chart) According to the Wikipedia entry for Andrews, “his 1972 song ‘Soldier’ transmits the quiet desperation of a soldier about to die a senseless death.” (Source)

The solider in Andrews’ song is about to die in an blighted urban setting in Northern Ireland, a piece of geography that is to the British military what the city of Compton, California is to the LAPD. Like the lucidly honest scenes transmitted in “Straight Outta Compton”, Andrews’ “Soldier” is based on a true story. (Source) Like “Straight Outta Compton”, getting banned from the airwaves didn’t stop it from resonating with whoever heard it.

If you enjoyed this article you might also enjoy:

Libra Sun, Scorpio Moon: The Smooth Talking Spy and the Deep Cover Diplomat

Aries Sun, Sagittarius Moon: The High Seas Freedom Rider and the Soulsonic Super Soulja

South Node in the 6th House: Past Lives Have Been About Service, Duties to Others, the Daily Grind, Emphasis on Health/Hygiene/Care of the Body

NunsGirl — People with South Node in the 6th House are thought to have spent past lives helping others

In older astrology texts the 6th House is referred to as the “House of Servants”. Today it is more commonly associated with the workplace as well as with endeavors that may as well be work even if they are not technically “jobs”.

Health, hygiene, and the care and feeding of the body are considered 6th house practices. So too are mundane responsibilities such as paying bills, changing the oil in your car, cleaning up around the house, and doing the laundry.

The housewife who dutifully gets her kids to school, prepares the family meals, goes grocery shopping, and attends to the daily needs of the household, for instance, is spending a lot of time in 6th House activities even though she is not technically in the workplace.

Both the Good Samaritan and Florence Nightingale likely had the 6th house emphasized in their birth charts. A disproportionate number of modern day social workers, homeless shelter workers, and people who work with physically challenged populations probably do as well.

South Node in the 6th: Past Lives Spent in Crucial but Unglamorous Roles

With your South Node in the 6th House, major themes for your past lives have been duty, self-sacrifice, mundane responsibilities, subordination to the needs of others, self-improvement through work, and detailed attention to a craft. You’ve likely spent past lives in crucial but unglamorous professions such as maid, cook, butler, chambermaid, plumber, stable-hand, launderer, milkman, mechanic, or animal-trainer.

You may also have spent past lives as a nurse, nun, dietician, doula or doctor if your lives emphasized the health, hygiene, and daily nutrition aspects of the 6th House. The personal training, physical therapy, and occupational rehabilitation professions did not exist until very recently but you may have been involved in their historical equivalents. While the spiritual side of a daily yogic practice is associated with the 12th House of Mysticism, the adherence to a strict daily routine of poses performed under the supervision of an instructor would be associated with themes of the 6th House. It may sound curious at first but yoga instructors, master carpenters, and drill sergeants can all be considered 6th House jobs as the objective of each is to make sure those under their supervision learn their respective crafts the right way. That’s the spirit of the 6th House: “get ‘er done and get ‘er done right.”

Labor Unions did not exist until recently but involvement in their historical equivalents (such as guilds in the medieval days) is another possibility as the 6th House is where we find our co-workers, employees, and bosses. This is particularly the case if the 11th House or the sign Aquarius are also emphasized in your chart.

At its best, a Sixth House South Node is indicative of somebody who has, over many incarnations, mastered the craft of mastering a craft. You’re not somebody who needs to be reminded of the importance of getting to work on time or staying late. The same goes for the daily feeding and caring of your body.

Dark Side of the 6th House: Humiliating Social Roles, Workaholism, Burnout

But it’s also within the 6th house terrain of work, service to others, and the daily care and feeding of your body where you’re now most likely to “overdo it”. Examples of overdoing the 6th House include: feeling compelled to serve others, feeling excessively-responsible for others, over-scheduling yourself, becoming obsessed with daily routines, being obsessed with exercise routines, finding yourself caught in humiliating social roles, perfectionism, workaholism, eating disorders, a never-ending focus on self-improvement, holding oneself to standards so exacting that even Genghis Khan would look at your daily planner and say, “damn woman, you need to take a vacation.”

Contact Matt Savinar for a Consultation

Plutonic Punk Astro-Journalist Willow on the Astrology of Big Pharma: "Cipro and my descent into hell"

This week’s guest on the North Bay Astrology Show was Willow of Willow’s Web Astrology who discussed the astrology of Big Pharma and her experience with the antibiotic Cipro. The show is in four parts:

Astro-Journalist Willow: Cipro and My Descent into Hell, Part 1/4

Astro-Journalist Willow: Cipro and My Descent into Hell, Part 2/4

Astro-Journalist Willow: Cipro and My Descent into Hell, Part 3/4

Astro-Journalist Willow: Cipro and My Descent into Hell, Part 4/4

The North Bay Astrology Show with Matt Savinar is heard on KOWS 107.3 FM in Occidental, California on Thursdays from 10 am to 12 Noon.

Contact Matt Savinar for a Consultation

I recommend the following books:

Leo Sun, Scorpio Moon: The Battle Front (Astrological Analysis of the NFL)

Last year around this time, Men’s Journal ran a very touching article on the plight of retired vets of the National Football League. You’ve probably heard by now about the epidemic of traumatic brain injuries that many of the players suffer from. What’s less acknowledged is that many end up suffering from “poly-pharmacy”, a phrase used to describe addiction to as many as a dozen (or more) pharmaceuticals including multiple prescription painkillers. Turns out addiction to opiates is the real drug issue in the league, much more so than performance enhancers like steroids or speed. According to the Men’s Journal article, once the guys retire many of them can’t even get their physical injuries operated on because they’re so addicted to painkillers that doctors fear they’ll stroke out on the operating table. The whole situation is reminiscent of what happens with vets back from Iraq or Afghanistan who are loaded up on psychoactive drugs, a subject which Men’s Journal has an article on in this month’s issue. Both articles definitely have a Saturn in Scorpio (rehab) trine Neptune in Pisces (compassion) vibe to them.

Out of curiosity I looked up the chart of the NFL using its date of incorporation as its date of birth. Turns out it’s a Leo Sun, Scorpio Moon – a combination that astrologer Carolyn Reynolds says possesses a “volatile, ruthless animal nature”. (Source) I’ve previously referred to it as a Sun/Moon pairing that has the potential for werewolf like behavior — although obviously this is only in extreme examples. (Source)

The conjunction between the Sun (conscious identity) and Jupiter (expansion, largesse) in Leo (Royalty, Entertainment, Parades, Performances) means it has an over inflated ego albeit one that’s great at putting on outrageous spectacles like what you see on Superbowl Sunday. The Moon (emotional needs) in Scorpio (intensity) means the league is operating as a home (Moon) for what are not infrequently extremist circumstances (Scorpio)>

See the Mars/Moon conjunction in Scorpio? Mars/Moon conjunctions are associated with home lives that feel like war zones. (Source) Astrologer Sue Tompkins has linked them to bouts of murderous rage. (Source) In Scorpio, the sign of extremes, a Mars/Moon conjunction is as potentially nasty an aspect as you’ll find in western astrology. To illustrate just how nasty: using its first flight as its date of birth, the F-22 Stealth Fighter (aka “The Raptor”) has a Mars/Moon conjunction in Scorpio. (Chart)

For those who may not have been following the story in the news: the F-22 is the fighter jet built by Lockheed Martin known to (literally) choke its pilots to near death. (Source) Back in May the show 60 Minutes interviewed two seasoned F-22 pilots who have flat out refused to fly the thing. Other F-22 pilots are so terrified about its safety record that they’re taking out extra life insurance policies in anticipation of their deaths. (Source) The F-22 pilots thus have more than a few things in common with people who grew up in abusive families or those who find themselves victims of domestic violence: they’re essentially captives of their abusers who must either eject or die.

As far as people being choked to (near) death . . . we all know what spikes through the ceiling on Superbowl Sunday. Astrologer Jefferson Anderson writes of the dysfunctional Leo/Scorpio, “When life gets tense, rather than trying to relax you probably explode, taking out your frustrations on your mate, children, or co-workers.” (Source)

Saturn (karma) is currently moving through Scorpio, on its way over the NFL’s North Node, its Mars, and its Moon. With Saturn transits a person (or organization) always reaps what it has sowed.

For the purposes of compare and contrast: using its establishment date as its date of birth, Major League Baseball is an Aquarius Sun, Taurus Moon. (Chart) Aquarius/Taurus is more the Sun/Moon pairing of an alliance (Aquarius) of farmers (Taurus) than that of an egotistically ruthless animal. The Moon in Taurus, the sign symbolized as a serene bovine, means MLB needs pasture or things akin to pasture in order to be emotionally sustained. Baseball is essentially a pastoral sport, one that evolved on farms of the Midwest United States during the summers of the mid-to-late 1800s. MLB players have used performance enhancers and painkillers for going on 100 years now but rarely do any fall prey to the violently destructive extremes seen in the NFL.

Obviously there are healthier expressions of the Leo/Scorpio combination than the NFL. Rapper Chuck D, the head of the pioneering group Public Enemy, is a Leo/Scorpio as are Alex Haley, Alfred Hitchcock, and Stanley Kubrick. At its best this pairing excels at confronting or illuminating excessively militarized, psychopathic behavior – the exact sort of thing celebrated en masse on Superbowl Sunday.

For more information on this pairing: Leo Sun, Scorpio Moon: The Scorpion King and the Public Enemy

About the Author: Matthew David Savinar is a California licensed attorney (State Bar #228957), voluntarily inactive as of June 2013. He can be reached for questions, comments, or astrological consults via Twitter, his first YouTube channel, his second YouTube channel, SoundCloud, LibSyn or this site’s contact page.

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