LEO & PSYCHE

Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto transited Leo’s constellation during the 20th century. Colossal happenings transformed personal and collective psyche. Technology and inner workings of governmental rights and power were dispersed, revolutionized, and controlled by Plutocrats.

Uranus (Aquarius), planet of sudden change, transited Leo from 1955 to1962. Rosa Parks sowed seeds of discontent, catalyzing a fiery civil rights happening. She defied a segregation ordinance by not giving her bus seat to a white man in Alabama. The Supreme Court upheld Rosa’s rights after a nasty year long battle. University of Mississippi was forced to enroll its first black student. President Eisenhower deployed federal troops to Little Rock Arkansas to enforce school desegregation. President Kennedy ordered the National Guard to keep schools open in Alabama. Cultural shame catalyzed positive change. We don’t understand our differences. A ‘stable genius’ has chosen to lead us with hate, greed, consumption, waste, and depletion instead of wellness and happiness for all. What a fantastic opportunity for a human with a balanced mind, heart, and generous spirit! Black and white are extremes of shades of gray.

New inventions promoted convenience and provided time for recreation and leisure. Kentucky fried chicken and Play-Doh became popular. Davy Crockett and coonskin caps were fashionable. Pampers were the first disposable diapers. Crest was the first fluoride toothpaste. The first electric toothbrush was developed my Colgate in 1939 and marketed in the USA. The Teflon Company introduced non-stick cookware. Smith Corona introduced the first portable electric typewriters. Mattel Inc. introduced Barbie, who preceded Ken. Felt tipped pens became popular. Soft drinks were packaged in aluminum cans for the first time. K-Mart (bankrupt 10/18) and Wal-Mart (thriving) opened. Bank of America and American Express issued our first credit cards. The first transatlantic telephone cable began working. The first transcontinental helicopter flight was made.

Neptune (Pisces) takes fourteen years to change sign. Individual and collective psyche passes through ambiguous and confusing changes when it does. Neptune transited Leo from 1916 ~ 1929. Phenomenal world confusion took place. World War I brought tremendous prosperity to Wall Street while soldiers earning $16 a month were being killed in the trenches. England blacklisted and prevented over 80 US firms from dealing with neutral countries because they were suspected of trading with Germany. Influenza caused over two hundred deaths a day. Approximately one quarter of the US was sick. Half a million people were dead before the end of 1919. Daylight savings time began. Arkansas farmers dedicated a monument to the Boll Weevil, whose devastation of the cotton crop caused diversification and profitability. By 1927, the farm population had dropped dramatically as countless small farmers hopelessly and desperately sold their farms. Sound familiar?

History repeated itself as Neptune transited Aquarius from 1998 – 2012. War brought prosperity to Wall Street. Agribusiness and Chemical companies like Monsanto and Bayer crushed small farmers, while poisoning our water, air, and land. Small farms (especially organic farms) struggled to survive as politicians deregulated chemical companies, indemnified banks, and permitted toxic individuals, companies, and chemicals to pollute our planet. Energy, banking, transportation, communications, and food industries continue to control, manipulate, and addict us to our own selfish behavior. Partisan politicians con a gullible, angry but apathetic, and vulnerable public.

Underworlds thrive because Neptune rules drugs. National prohibition for alcohol began in 1920. Liquor smuggling and bootlegging was big mafia business. Recreational marijuana will be legalized in our country before Neptune leaves Pisces in 2025.

Congress set quotas limiting the number of immigrants allowed into the country. They didn’t separate their children, lock them in cages, and treat them horribly.

A senate subcommittee was formed to investigate the Teapot Dome oil leases. Texas tea barrels through pipelines while exploiting, depleting, and polluting our Mother.

Walt Disney released the first Mickey Mouse cartoon in 1928. George Eastman created the first color motion pictures. Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue was performed for the first time as a new form of symphonic jazz.

Doubt, fear, and panic caused the stock market to crash, leaving everyone in a state of terrible confusion. Lies, fear, and pandemics will soon cause our markets to crash.

Pluto (Scorpio) takes twenty years to change sign as it disintegrates, destroys, and transforms psyche. Pluto rules death, sex and orgasms (little death), and the dark side of the force. Pluto transited Leo from 1938 to 1957. Ten million people were unemployed in 1939. National and personal pride and power were transformed by the New Deal. President Roosevelt increased funding for building the Army, Navy, and Air Force. Congress adopted the Naval Expansion Act. Roosevelt transformed the Federal Reserve by creating a ‘withholding tax’ and social security. Roosevelt was the first president to appear on television. If all men are created equal, Biden has an opportunity to promote sustainability, repair and replace infrastructure, and encourage energy independence, moderation, and autonomy.

The House investigated un-American activities. It was the beginning of huge multi-national business conglomerates. Western Europe tried to appease Hitler with the Munich Pact, which turned Czechoslovakia over to Nazi Germany. Polls revealed Americans approved. Ouch! Nazis invaded Poland, causing Great Britain and France to declare war. Winston Churchill asked President Roosevelt for help.

In 1941, Japanese planes attacked Pearl Harbor. Japanese Americans paid a high price as they were forced from their homes into concentration camps where they became innocent victims of hate and prejudice. Fundamentalist devotion to ideologies and tyrants began crumbling. In 1943, fascist dictator Mussolini fell from power. By 1945, most people knew six million Jews had been slaughtered in Nazi concentration camps. Sound familiar?

The Atomic Bomb, ultimate plutonium weapon, destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan surrendered. In 1949, we supported a war in Korea that killed three million Koreans in less than a year. In 1950, Senator Joseph McCarthy began a tirade against communist subversives and traitors in the US. Julia and Ethel Rosenberg were sentenced to the electric chair for stealing bomb secrets.

United Nations complex was completed in New York City in 1951. AT&T was the first company with over a million stockholders. Christine Jorgensen was the first transsexual to go public in 1952. Norman Vincent Peale’s best seller, The Power of Positive Thinking was published. The first kidney was transplanted. The first artificial heart happened. Chevrolet introduced a powerful sexy Corvette in 1953. We launched the Nautilus, the first nuclear powered submarine in 1954. The Soviet Union opened the world’s first atomic power station. Reigning British Monarchs made their first visit to American soil. We reached for outer space.

The Pluto in Leo generation, 1938 ~ 1957 have employed technology to build personal power. Pluto in Leo rules crony capitalism. From the `ME NOW’ generation, Bill Clinton (Leo), George W Bush (Leo rising), Donald Trump (Leo rising), and I (Leo Midheaven) were born with Pluto in Leo. My life is huge on the inside, and thankfully, my footprint is small.

Rest assured, if we haven’t destroyed ourselves and our planet by the time Donald Trump and his band of cutthroat thieves’ are locked up, new plutocrats will have no problem finding money, obtaining rights, capturing resources, and employing technology to own, harness, package, distribute, and sell our own sustainable resources back to us. As Uranus returns to Leo (2039 ~ 2046), will history repeat itself? We’ll know after November whether hindsight truly is 20/20!

LEO & HANDS

You don’t need a Leo sun, moon, ascendant, planets, aspects, or houses to be a Leo. Anyone with Leo hands behaves like a Leo. Fire (intuitive) and air signs (thinking) are masculine in gender. Earth signs (practical) and water signs (feeling) are feminine. All Intuitive types have long rectangular palms with short fingers. Leo’s morphology and proportions are identical to Sagittarius and Aries. The differences are in hand qualities and features such as flexibility and stiffness, elasticity and consistency, and texture and color. Leo is a fixed type. Leo hands are stiff, dense, and firm. Leo’s skin is less elastic than Aries skin. Aries (cardinal) sometimes acts without thinking, and then bounces back from the consequences. Sagittarians (mutable) have softer hands as Sagittarians tend to be more self-indulgent and pleasure-seeking.

Leo has big ideas, but procrastinates. Life and head lines often intertwine where a rosy bulge meets a strong stiff thumb on a firm pink hand. Closely braided head and life lines reveal a person who cares about what others think. The longer the connection, the more they care. Leos take what others say personally, even when it wasn’t meant to be!  Leos need to be liked, appreciated, and never taken for granted; which is the beginning of the end.

Healthy Leos are highly spirited, enthusiastic individuals who dislike details and need to see the whole picture. They require freedom in order to express themselves naturally. Leos take pride in their honesty, integrity, dignity, and nobility. They’re independent objective thinkers who set inspiring goals as ways to channel their abundant pride, energy, and passion. Leo loves being center of attention. Creative, dramatic, generous, enthusiastic, and fiercely loyal, they embrace you with ‘pride’ and lavish you with ‘praise’ and then expect you to admire and worship them forever. Their many fans eagerly await their contagious humor and compelling stories.

Leo’s physical sense is sight. The esoteric equivalent is enlightenment. Leo must learn to burn brightly without judgement or expectation, embrace truth, see the proverbial handwriting on the walls, cut their losses, and let go of false pride. Many multi-talented Leos spread themselves too thin and end up becoming the jacks of all trades, masters of none. Their potential health problems are eyesight, heart, and poor circulation.

Pure types have long and strong ring fingersShapes of tips, proportions of phalanges, knots, nails, lengths of fingers, directions of lines, and breaks, along with other qualities of topographical markings reveal what the person chooses to create with their free will. A seasoned palmist can readily see relationship skills, career potentials, behavior, and health issues. The consistency and flexibility of hands and the elasticity of skin reveals three modalities. Whorl fingerprints (concentric circles and spirals) add originality, spontaneity, eccentricity, and unconventionality. It’s important to note that despite the accuracy of hand science, human nature cannot be defined through details. It’s about combinations of details affecting free will, choice, action, and context. Palmistry is my favorite of myriad metaphysical methods to observe and interpret human character.

I often look to ring fingers for artistic and aesthetic abilities, drama, versatility, salesmanship, showiness, gambling proclivities, satisfaction, and reputation. No matter what your type, strong ring fingers add adaptability, creativity, and expressiveness. Cultivated Leos love beautiful things and savor a developed sense of taste and style. Long ring fingered folk are likable and they know it.

The ring finger is judged for length against the middle finger. When the tip is shorter than the middle of the first phalanx of the middle finger, it’s considered short. When longer, it’s considered long. Hands of actors, artists, architects, designers, craftsmen, photographers, curators, businessmen, teachers, salesmen, politicians, and diplomats frequently have long ring fingers. Hands of gamblers also have long ring fingers. A major challenge of very long ring fingered gamblers is that they do win, but don’t know when to stop.

No matter what your sun sign or hand type, people with square fingertips and stiff knotty joints are more practical, methodical, and cautious than those without them. Crooked fingers bring perfectionism, self-criticism, and potential moodiness. Leos tend to procrastinate at beginnings and endings. Healthy Leos shine with strength and courage like the sun. Leo is naturally charming, talented, and versatile. Leo’s liabilities are self- consciousness, emotional insecurity, vanity, and clinging to obsolete circumstances and behavioral patterns while cultivating confusing situations and nursing fruitless relationships. Don’t ever take a Leo for granted unless you’re trying to make him angry or scarce. Leo must have an inspiring quest or risk mundanity and mediocrity. Easily bored when life gets routine, too much order and detail can make Leo restless and impatient. If you can’t help a Leo, stay out of his way. No matter your sign, if you have Leo hands, you love being the boss.

Extroverts in general and fire types in particular, flourish best when they behave responsibly, honestly, patiently, and naturally in their relationships. Leo needs to learn to cultivate clear vision and enduring patience. That’s not easy for Leo as he’s naturally impatient and impulsive. Frequently accused of ‘being opinionated’, Leo’s point of view is so very important. Communicating clearly and effectively is a must. Leo’s biggest challenges are to establish clear boundaries and limitations and overcome inertia.

Last time I checked, there were more Fortune 500 and NASDAQ LEO CEO’s than any other sign. Our four most recent Presidents have all been dominated by Leo symbolism.

Bill Clinton is a multi-talented charismatic Leo. His long rectangular palms and short fingers reveal Leo intuitive hands. Head and life lines are closely tied at their beginnings. Bill cares more than you know about what others think of him. Bill’s insecurity, pride, and hubris undermined the power he worked so hard to acquire. Ironically and regrettably, philandering often comes with power. I’m sure Hillary (Scorpio ~ Capricorn hands) gave Bill a thorough spanking he’ll never forget when he got caught!

George Bush desperately wanted to be a ‘good old boy’, but he had too much unearned power. He hung to his frat boy mentality, well into his Presidency. George is a Cancer. He has Leo rising and Leo hands similar to Bill Clinton. Ruled by false pride and ego centered motivations, George is likely deeply embarrassed about his choices and behavior as President. Perhaps he has finally learned humility and is overjoyed that he’s no longer the worst President.

Barack Obama is a Leo with intuitive hands that display an Arian and Aquarian combo. He’s a warrior of ideas and ideals. Barack embodies some of the best qualities of Leo. Proud, but respectful, he’s loyal to family and friends who’ve earned his trust. Barack’s biggest challenge as President was being a bi-racial bi-partisan politician in a partisan world. He should have grabbed power while Democrats ruled congress and the senate.

Donald Trump is a Gemini with Leo rising. Donald’s small stiff looking Leo hands with rectangular palms, short fingers, and closely intertwined head and life line reveal a man who desperately cares what you think despite his flippant attitude and intimidating behavior. Donald Trump flaunts the absolute worst qualities of Gemini and Leo. He blew a golden opportunity to truly be loved by promoting fear and hatred. How much tyranny, intimidation, and greed do we need before we learn to value our humanity, health, families, planet, and basic gifts of life without having to lose them? Rest assured, Donald Trump’s humiliation, shame, and fall from grace will be of great relief and satisfaction for the world!

MY CANCER BEST FRIEND

LLOYD WILSON

Cancer is a feeling type… instinctual, empathic, emotionally complex, and hard to comprehend. Pry into their private lives and watch them retreat into their shells. Cancers hide their most vulnerable selves beneath a facade of nurturing actions. Cautious and vulnerable, Cancers avoid emotional confrontation wherever and whenever possible, although, they prefer being frank and direct over tactful and diplomatic. Their feelings can swing from loving, devoted, and nurturing, to secretive, obsessive, and fearful of the future. Their smartest option is always choosing satisfying over safe. Cancers can become dark and moody when they feel controlled or confined. They must feel protected and secure before they can fully trust. Once trust is earned, loyalties run deep. Cancer needs to cultivate intimacy wherever and whenever they can. Healthy families, close friendships, and satisfying work nourish and support them. Creating structure, organization, and detail also helps them feel stable and secure.

Healthy Cancers are loving, compassionate, and devoted. They’re compatible with other feeling types (Scorpio & Pisces). They feel safe with practical types (Taurus ~ Virgo ~ Capricorn) who are reliable, responsible, and dependable. They’re challenged by thinking types (Gemini ~ Libra ~ Aquarius) who compartmentalize, rationalize, and analyze their feelings. They’re cautious around intuitive types (Aries ~ Leo ~ Sagittarius) who are passionate, spontaneous, and impatient, and afraid they’ll be left holding the psychic garbage bag (they are) and scared of dealing with the collateral damage when idealism, optimism, enthusiasm, and logic wane (and they do). Cancers are acutely consciousness of everyone else’s emotional needs. When they feel insecure, they can become internally secretive and externally aggressive at the same time. Cancer works hardest when income matches output. Motivated by good food, emotional security, and cozy surroundings, their mission is to nurture family, home, and creative imagination.

The impudent young guy on the left in this picture is me, captured forty-four years ago in a photo booth at Kennywood Amusement Park in Pittsburgh, Pa. Lloyd and I met while working part time at a model making shop where we fabricated preschool children’s learning devices for the University of Pittsburgh’s Learning, Research, and Development Center. We made toys for ourselves and our loved ones on our own time. About to graduate from different colleges, I was to become an industrial designer. Lloyd would continue being an artist. We were a couple of Peter Pans on our way to Neverland.

Lloyd didn’t get much nurturing as a child. He developed his quick wit and sense of humor while trying to avoid extreme physical abuse. When his mother was happy, Lloyd was safe. When she was unhappy, she’d incite Lloyd’s rage filled father to beat him up. Lloyd tried hard to fix his broken parents, but they were too sick to support his efforts. Instead, they judged, criticized, and abused him. Lloyd’s mother finally abandoned him by killing herself; his father was committed to a mental institution, and years later, his lovely sister who I had met in Florida (two beautiful children, great husband, and an apparently idyllic life), suddenly and unexpectedly blew her head off with a shotgun.

Lloyd’s slender rectangular palms and long fingers embody his Cancer sun, which is conjunct my Mercury. His Gemini ascendant and my Gemini sun harmonize with one another. Lloyd’s head and life lines tightly intertwine at their beginnings. That reveals his need to feel appreciated and his tendency to take things too personally, even when they aren’t. A sensitive child, Lloyd desperately craved love and support, but didn’t get any.

Lloyd survived childhood without much approval. Meanwhile, he thrives on love and appreciation. Lloyd will give you the shirt off his back if you need it, but you had better never take him for granted. I know because Lloyd has literally given me the shirt off his back in my moment of need. I was on my way to an important meeting and got a nasty stain on the front of my shirt. Before I could blink, Lloyd took off his shirt and traded with me. What I love about him is that it never occurred to him not to do that.

Cancers are collectors. Some stockpile food in case of shortage or emergency. Lloyd collects art books, literature (most well-read person I know), religious art, art supplies, tools, raw materials, and clothing. When wealthy people die, their families donate their wardrobe to Goodwill or the Salvation Army. Lloyd has a keen eye for the finest designer clothing. He skillfully sorts through the merchandise for great finds. I call him my personal dresser. We wear the same sizes. Lloyd chooses suits, coats, and jackets with me in mind and has gifted me with outfits worth thousands of dollars that he paid ten or fifteen dollars for. Many had never been worn. He’s a master bargain hunter.

Lloyd’s very flexible thumbs symbolize his ability to adapt to the most horrible of circumstances. They also embody his frequent generosity of heart and spirit. It’s very hard for Lloyd to say “NO”. The gold ring on the bottom phalange of his middle (Saturn) finger on his unconscious hand symbolizes his need to have clear boundaries, be frugal, and learn how to be less available so that he won’t be taken for granted. Of course, Lloyd knows that, but it’s still fun to see his character, motivations, and challenges embodied in the morphology and topography of his hands.

Lloyd would say to me, “People who tell the truth don’t need to have good memories”. I’d reply, “We may be bastards, but at least we’re honest”. Over fifty years of friendship have witnessed many challenging lessons in humility for us. We delayed finding balance between our outer and inner worlds by always choosing to learn the hard way. We had to let go of our need to be more than we were. We learned there are no shortcuts.

Lloyd Wilson is Pittsburgh’s best kept secret because he loves his anonymity. His artwork reveals a magical spirit, but few will truly get to know it. Lloyd personifies Cancer’s best qualities. He’s supportive, sympathetic, receptive, reflective, intuitive, imaginative, extremely devoted to friends and family, and my best friend (male).

CANCER and PSYCHE

Cancer is a cardinal water sign, ruled by our moon, which influences our oceans and tides. Cancer is the beginning of summer. Cancer is the symbolic mother of the USA. Our three outermost planets represent the collective psyche. Let’s examine the transits of Pluto and Uranus through Cancer in the 20th Century.

Pluto (god of sex, death, and transformation) transited Cancer from 1913 to 1938. Partisan politics, nationalism, and isolationism transformed the world. World War I became World War II. In 1913, President Wilson pressed a button in the White House and blew up the Gamboa Dike at the Isthmus of Panama, creating a canal between oceans, and transforming travel by sea. Wilson legislated the Carter-Owen Bill that established a Federal Reserve System to transform the strangle hold on the nation’s currency and credit system by banks.

Daylight Saving Time transformed the nation’s clocks. Transcontinental telephone service transformed communications. World infrastructures and atomic energy transformed our physical planet. NBC was the first Nationwide Broadcasting Company. Wall Street prospered from war while soldiers earning $16 per month died in the trenches. President Wilson established a lottery style draft promoting patriotism. Congress passed the Espionage Act fining draft dodgers $10,000 and imposing a twenty-year jail sentence. No child was left behind.

“Do your bit” was an encouragement to buy Liberty Bonds. Wheatless-meatless days were promoted. The end of 1919 marked the end of the Influenza pandemic that caused half a million deaths and a quarter of the nation’s population to be sick. Prohibition banned liquor for all citizens. Black markets and bootlegging industries flourished. Black leader Marcus Garvey organized ‘The Empire of Africa’ with 500,000 followers. He led the largest mass exodus of Blacks with the least sense of brotherhood in U.S. history.

In 1929, doubt, fear, and panic upset a stock market that faced its darkest hour. Foundations and structures of home and family transformed. People born during this period spend much of their lives taking care of family. Parents with overdeveloped senses of responsibility, guilt, and obligation motivated children of this generation to become dropouts and runaways.

 

Uranus (planet of sudden and unexpected change) last transited the sign of Cancer from 1949 to 1955. Mothers stopped staying at home and went to work. Women began wearing the “bikini”, a fashionable French bathing suit. ‘I Love Lucy’, a comic show about a housewife and her Cuban bandleader husband became the most popular show on TV. Ranch houses and basement playrooms became popular. The subconscious mind was explored in psychology. Born between 1949 and 1955? You’re psyche is someplace between rational and aware and oversensitive and fearful.

                                                  

We may want to think twice before we elect (or appoint) another Cancer President. Four USA Presidents were born under the sign of Cancer. Our most recent, George W Bush has intuitive hands and an egocentric character to match his Leo rising. George Bush revealed the worst qualities of Cancer and Leo in his behavior, presidential intentions, and actions. Check out the similarities between the four Cancer Presidents.

Like George Bush and Al Gore, John Quincy Adams finished second in popular vote behind General Andrew Jackson. There was no majority. A choice was put before the House of Representatives. The Speaker, Henry Clay, swung the election to Adams. When Adams appointed Clay as Secretary of State, Jackson followers cried, “Corrupt bargain”.

“Of all the men whom it was ever my lot to accost and to waste civilities upon, he was the most doggedly and systematically repulsive. With a vinegar aspect, cotton in his leathern ears, and hatred in his heart, he sat like a bulldog among spaniels”.                                                          W.H. Littleton

President Calvin Coolidge, shared a birthday with the Declaration of Independence. He was famous for “holding his tongue”. That earned him the title, “Silent Cal”. Two of his infamous sayings were: “If you don’t say anything, you won’t be called on to repeat it” and “The business of America is business”.

“He was an economic fatalist with a God given inertia. He knew nothing and refused to learn”. William Allen White

 

The 38th President, Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr., didn’t know he was adopted until he was seventeen. His wife, Betty performed all the domestic chores. Gerry wouldn’t lift a finger around the house. As Speaker of the house, Ford passionately pleaded for escalation of the war in Vietnam. He urged to “unleash devastating air and sea power”. His failed crusade to impeach liberal Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas was a favor to his buddy Richard Nixon. Ford granted Nixon a “full complete and absolute pardon” for all crimes relating to Watergate. Ford blamed democrats for a disastrous rate of inflation and warned that electing more would “jeopardize world peace”. He admitted to never reading books, but did find time to watch football on TV.

“I cannot dislike him personally — he’s cordial and gracious, but he’s consistently wrong and consistency is a virtue of small minds. He’s never proposed a constructive solution to anything”. Congressman Robert Drinan

Lyndon Johnson said Ford “had played too much football with his helmet off” ~ “Jerry’s the only man I ever knew who can’t walk and chew gum at the same time”.

“Ford isn’t a bad man, but he’s dumb—dumb. He shouldn’t be dumb either. He went to school just like everybody else”. Reverend Duncan Littlefair

“The important thing is that men should have a purpose in life…

it should be something useful, something good”

The Dalai Lama (Cancer) is “The Reborn Soul of Buddha”. Orpheus, singer, priest, healer, poet, and musician in Greek myth, charmed and enchanted Death into letting him enter the matrix of the collective unconscious to find his beloved Eurydice. A moment of weakness caused Orpheus to look backward after death warned him that he’d lose Eurydice if he did. The Dalai Lama fled Tibet in 1959 to live as a “simple monk” in a remote corner of Northern India. Unable to return, he chose to promote world peace and love.

Symbolic Power of Our Sun

One dreary mid-winter day in 1998, I was drinking tea from a cobalt blue mug decorated with an orange and yellow sun surrounded by stars. It had been a gift for speaking at a National Council for Geocosmic Research (NCGR) educational conference for astrologers in NYC. The horoscope in the hands was my topic. I had been a faculty member and resident palmist for over 20 years. I desired a sunnier future and decided to transform my sun mug into a talisman to help me achieve that goal.

 

I felt inspired as I rummaged around for an appropriate ‘mug shot’ of myself. After carefully cutting out my face, I glued it to the center of the sun. I applied several layers of crystal clear film. As I burnished down the edges, I imagined myself as Apollo, the Greek Sun God. When I finished, I raised the cup in my left hand to observe my handiwork. Simultaneously, the phone rang. I picked it up with my right hand. “Hello, I’m the Public Program Coordinator for the National Design Museum. We’re curating a major Solar Energy Exhibition in June and were wondering if you’d be interested in presenting the Lecture / Workshop series on the symbolism of the sun?”

I almost fell out of my chair. I’d experienced synchronicity, but this seemed impossible. How could a talisman work that quickly? Confidently, I replied, “You’ve come to the right place.” The magic of the sun materialized the moment I combined the esoteric power of the sun with my clear desire, intent, and action. My life instantly became sunnier.

Speaking of sun mugs, back in the early ‘80’s, a manufacturer of drinking mugs asked me to design a collection of astrology mugs for department stores like Bloomingdale’s and Macy’s. Six masculine sun signs were printed in 24 carat gold and six feminine signs in platinum. The customers loved the mugs, but began returning them not long after they were purchased because they were damaged in the dishwasher, even though they had been merchandised as ‘wash by hand’ only. My beloved mug collection was dumped despite my unrequited pleas to try again with dishwasher safe inks.

The sun in Leo (July 23 – August 23) rules the fifth house of the natural horoscope. The Sun’s day is Sunday. The Sun’s hour is noon. In Kabala, Tipareth corresponds to the Sun and the number six, which balances the tree of life. The word count of this post reduces to six. The Crown Chakra is ruled by the sun. The heart is the organ ruled by the sun. Solar archetypes exist in every culture: GREEK ~ Apollo & Hercules, JUDAIC ~ Samson, EGYPTIAN ~ Osiris & Ra ~ AFRICAN ~ Anansi, INDIAN ~ Narasimha, HINDU ~ Vishnu, PERSION ~ Mithra, JAPANESE ~ Amaterasu, NORSE ~ Odin, IRISH ~ Lugh, and ARTHURIAN ~ Percival. The Lion King and Goldilocks are LEO fairy tales. Lots of Leos are myths in their own minds. Musical links for the sun are the key of C and most instruments. Solar gemstones are diamonds, amber, and topaz. Solar trees are citrus, walnut, bay, and palm. Solar herbs, plants, and scents are sun flower, yellow poppy, saffron, marigold, cinnamon, pepper, peony, musk, honey, frankincense, rice, and all aromatic herbs. Aroma of Frankincense (Christ and the Nativity) when used in ritual magic brings good health, wealth, success, acclaim, mental clarity, fearlessness, confidence, and spiritual awakening. Gold and diamonds worn on the ring finger are marriage magic. Pyrite, fool’s gold, eases anxiety, frustration, and depression. Pyrite is wise man’s gold when charged with clear vision and pure intention to attract wealth, boost self-esteem, aid communications, and enhance appreciation. I’m publishing this post at the exact moment of the lunar eclipse on August 7, 2017 @ 2:11 pm EDT.

A talisman is anything (including a simple piece of paper) with a design on it that’s symbolic of what you want to impress on your psyche to catalyze change or reinforce something that needs to be strengthened. Amulets and hex signs are solar symbols used for protection. You see a lot of Amish hex signs blessing barns and homes and protecting livestock from harm.

It’s best to create your own talisman. The more tuned you are to your intent, the more potent your talisman will be. The more esoteric correspondences you include, the more powerful the talisman’s effect will be. After my mug experience, I was inspired to create a small metalworking shop where I could make talismans to my heart’s content. Specific metals, minerals, and gems are incorporated for specific purposes on specific months, days, and times of day. Everything matters. Even facing the right direction, smelling the right incense, and hearing the right musical vibration while you’re creating your talisman can enhance its potency. The four talismans below, I made for myself and wear often.

As you can see, ‘Grounding’ is beat up. I wear it most because I need lots of grounding. It works for me because I created it with the clear intent of becoming whole, centered, and peaceful. Copper represents Venus and earth and is grounded in practical reality. Silver symbolizes feelings and emotion. Gold promotes clear thinking, passion, intuition, and inspiration. Square shapes within circles add order, structure, discipline, and focus. Circles within circles help center, inspire, and motivate. The rest is intent and quest.

‘Energizing’ is solid bronze with an opal in the center. There was a huge crack in the casting. I almost chucked it, but decided the crack was like a bolt of lightning and an important pathway from the outside of the circle to the opal. When I finished polishing the talisman, it felt perfect for me and my purpose.

‘Strengthening’ was created on a picture-perfect day in May (Taurus). I have a Taurus moon and mars and the horns remind me to be determined, persistent, and relentless when necessary. This talisman helps me think with my head and feel with my heart. Being mainly bronze, it’s a blending of copper, tin, zinc, and lead. Alchemically, it blends Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn in order to balance ambition and compassion with order and action. A solid foundation encourages a healthy framework that supports a powerful structure.

‘Centering’ consists of circles within circles, heart (copper) surrounded by mind (gold) and emotion (silver). Six small outer circles within two large inner circles represent masculine (gold) and feminine (silver) principles and all twelve aspects of my character. I need to balance my character with my values, thinking, feelings, will power, health, relationships, creativity, philosophy, purpose, hopes and dreams, and spirituality.

In case you’re not convinced of the power of the sun, let’s look at how religions, politics, governments, dictatorships, and corporations use the powerful symbolism of the sun to magnetize, mesmerize, and monetize masses with ideologies, products, and services.

Circular logos and iconic names like $tarbuck$ are no coincidence

LEO RULES

“The most difficult job in the world is not being president. It’s being a parent.”

Bill Clinton is a Leo. Born three months after his real father died in 1946, Bill was raised by an abusive alcoholic stepfather. Like so many Leos, Bill spent much of his life searching for approval from father figures. His was mentally and emotionally absent during Bill’s formative years. Bill’s quest is a hero’s journey to conquer his fears of failure, abandonment, and disapproval and become a devoted parent who loves unconditionally and without expectation. Bill’s Sun, Mercury, Saturn, and Pluto are in Leo. Like many Apollonian types, Bill’s hands sport strong ring fingers. Bill adores music, women, and politics. Even though Bill has a bachelor like attitude, he enjoys being married. Bill has very high expectations of Hillary, in spite of his own personal shortcomings.

People judge Bill for his character, but Bill is his character. Apollo and Zeus are a powerful blend of charismatic forces in the real world. Zeus was infamous for his seductions and philandering in ancient Greece. Apollo was irresistible. It was impossible to say no to him. It’s hard to find healthy creative outlets for so much libido. The world is strewn with Leosterone. Powerful men and women throughout history were and still are philanderers with sexual addictions. Bill might have graciously and gracefully fulfilled his job as a national role model had he not tempted fate and lost his way. Hubris along with a powerful solar eclipse like the one coming up on August 21, 2017 was his Waterloo!

Bill loved being boss. His greatest challenge was not being too slick to believe that he wouldn’t always come out of the shithouse smelling like a rose. Zeus could have any female mortal he wanted. Unfortunately, his conquests and their offspring were cursed by Hera, who punished Zeus for his philandering. Defiance of fundamentalist values undermined Bill’s power. You can bet Hillary booted Bill’s behind when he was caught shtooping his intern. I’m glad he escaped impeachment. Resisting temptation is challenging when you’re a celebrity, a mortal, and a President.

“MISSION ACCOMPLISHED”

Four US Presidents were born under the sign of Cancer. They were all were deeply wounded and flawed, the vilest of all being (in my opinion) George W Bush. His Leo hands synchronize with his Leo ascendant to reveal the worst qualities of Cancer and Leo in his intentions and actions. George has Mercury and Pluto in Leo conjunct his ascendant and Venus in Leo in his first house. Hopefully, Prescott’s dark karma and the Bush dynasty have finally ended.

When our daughter was in fifth grade, fifteen years ago, George W Bush was President. Cass was so concerned about what was going on in the world that she wrote a letter to the editor of a local East Village newspaper (who published it). She also sent a copy to the President.

Dear Editor,

I’m a 5th grader at the earth school in the east village of Manhattan. A lot has been happening in the world and this is a paragraph to explain my point of view. I wrote it at home this afternoon and it is unedited and done completely by myself. I was wondering if you would be interested in publishing it in your newspaper.    Sincerely,

We are deeply worrying about Saddam’s toxic and chemical weapons but what we are not realizing is that we are using just if not more as dangerous toxicants in our everyday life. Eventually at the rate we are going and the life style we are living we will kill ourselves off. The only difference with Saddam’s weapons is it will happen faster. Really all it takes to turn the world evil is one bad mind. We can easily find excuses to do certain uncalled for horrible things. What we need to do is think positive and constructive for our own benefit. We have to also be cautious about who we elect for president because that one bad mind could be his and make all the difference. We are being so concerned with Saddam Hussein, but you should think about it like Saddam Hussein is one ant in a whole anthill. The only reason ants survive is because they work as a team to carry food and build that huge hill. Even without war we are still heading towards a bad future. If we continue to pollute our earth we are going to have nothing left. If we get good ideas and stop polluting right now we will still have a chance to save our earth and the people on it.

At the end of her letter, Cass asked George not to send her a signed picture of his head. I altered what she got back as my contribution to exposing the true nature of a beast that has no clue how beastly he is. Truly no child should be left behind. We must all be more loving, helpful, and attentive to all children at all times.

 

 

Barack Obama is a Leo. Born August 4, 1961, Barack’s Sun, Mercury, Uranus, and North Node are in Leo. With a warm heart and a smile, Barack practiced healthier Leo merits than his predecessors while setting new precedents for future Leo ruled presidents. Despite the constant barrage of partisan prejudicial politics, Barack served with nobility, integrity, and dignity. His intuitive hands reveal an Arian personality. His narrow less meaty hands reveal a warrior of ideas and ideals. Barack is independent, freedom loving, energetic, enthusiastic, takes calculated risks when inspired, and can accomplish anything with enough inspiration. Passion is contagious and optimism eternal. Barack does his best at what he chooses and doesn’t take rejection personally. As a naturally rebellious type, he detests bullies and bureaucrats. Barack’s Holy Grail was taking responsibility for a damaged bureaucracy aimlessly racing towards bad shit happening.

Barack is a natural hero and great crusader for good causes. He campaigns tirelessly until he realizes his aspirations. Barack’s head and life lines are separate at their beginnings where the thumb meets the hand. Combined with the little crook in the top phalange of his strong middle finger, he needs plenty of personal space to sort out his thoughts and feelings. Because of Barack’s highly developed sense of responsibility and obligation, he always chooses objectivity and practicality over freedom. Barack’s pinky’s smallest phalanx is the bottom. Barack is motivated by freedom, family, and good causes, not money.

Barack is a naturally healthy type. The clear and unfettered quality of his basic lines reveals a healthy clarity in his thinking and feelings. Barack’s heart line swings up from the percussion of his hand to the space between his index and middle fingers. He’s passionate and practical about his feelings. Barack’s headline gracefully arcs downward toward the heel of his hand, revealing balance between creativity and objectivity. He can blend creative imagination with clarity of vision. Barack’s fate line travels all the way from the bottom of his palm to the base of his middle finger. He has worked hard and remained focused on his personal goals since he was a small child. The lines in the ball of Barack’s thumb parallel his lifeline revealing a true friend to those who have earned his trust over time. Despite rampant unpopularity with Republicans, Barack served our country to the best of his ability with dignity, integrity, and nobility.

Donald Trump is a Gemini with Leo rising. His small Leo hands with their rectangular palms, short fingers, and head and life lines closely entwined at their beginnings confirm his Leo nature. Donald has embraced the worst traits of Leo and will forever be notorious as the worst President in history.

 

A lot has been said about Donald’s tiny hands. Small handed people are big picture people. They hate detail and love grand ideas. Despite his callous behavior, Donald secretly craves your approval, wants you to love him, and cares a lot about what you think of him, although he doesn’t care about you. Look at how Donald’s attitude and behavior pathologically embodies shameless grandiosity along with other negative attributes of Leo’s character. He’s narcissistic, self-centered, self-indulgent, superficial, ostentatious, egotistical, ruthless, greedy, bossy, seductive, and lousy role model.

Why do we prostrate ourselves before an opaque self-appointed emperor on a polished brass pedestal? How many gilded towers, glitzy gambling casinos, graven images, beauty queens, shark tanks, and celebrity idols do we need? It is mind boggling to see how a person with so much potential to create a positive difference for all of humanity instead chooses a path of spiritual bankruptcy for all.

Donald’s Mercury square Neptune and corresponding curved pinkie fingers confirm his pathological dishonesty. Mercury’s dark side is a trickster, magician, con-artist, and pick-pocket. The court jester was supposed to remind the king to keep his ego in check. Jiminy Cricket was Pinocchio’s conscience. Donald’s north node in Gemini is Mercurial. The North node in Gemini is a karmic invitation to join society in order to share higher consciousness and lend a helping hand by exercising higher mind. It’s plain to see how Bill Clinton (Leo) and George Bush (Leo rising) blew their Gemini north node potentials. Donald Trump has done more than his share of damage. Perhaps he is fulfilling his karmic obligation by clearly exposing the dark underbelly of politics, democracy, and capitalism. We’ll certainly never take our health and the health of our world for granted.

Donald’s day of reckoning is coming. During 2016, Uranus in Aries squared Donald’s Saturn Venus conjunction in Cancer.  It continues to be square in 2017. At the same time, transiting Saturn opposes Donald’s Sun and conjuncts his Moon. If you want to speed up his meltdown, millions of people can tweet: “YOU’RE FIRED” on these dates in 2017 – August 7, 12, 20, and 30, October 11, November 8 and 17. Anytime is good, but these dates will be most effective. It’s time for Donald to get a hearty spanking from Saturn. Donald’s hubris will take him down when the critical mass of horrors he has perpetrated will no longer be acceptable to the masses… the sooner the better.

Author’s note: many people have curved pinky fingers. They are not pathological liars. A majority of people with curved pinkies are just trying to avoid confrontation. They’re peace makers because they learned as children to ‘be nice’ and ‘not make waves’. Many too often end up choosing safe over satisfying in their lives.

LEO and Collective Psyche in the 20th Century

Outer planets have a powerful influence on the personal psyche. They also symbolize massive transformations in the collective psyche as they change sign. When Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto passed through Leo in the twentieth century, enormous changes were taking place in personal, collective, and governmental rights and power. Uranus (Aquarius), planet of sudden change, transited Leo from 1955 to 1962 and energized strong will, rebellion, determination, vitality, forcefulness, and civil rights.

Rosa Parks defied a segregation ordinance by not giving up her bus seat to a white man in Alabama. The Supreme Court upheld her civil rights a year later. The University of Mississippi was forced to enroll its first black student. President Eisenhower sent federal troops to Little Rock Arkansas to enforce school desegregation. President Kennedy ordered the National Guard to keep schools open in Alabama. Cultural shame cultivated seeds of positive change. Equality and civil rights is more than ever a national embarrassment in the 21st Century.

New inventions promoted convenience and provided more time for recreation and leisure. Kentucky fried chicken was introduced. Play-Doh became popular. Davy Crockett and coonskin caps became fashionable. Pampers became the first disposable diapers. Crest was the first fluoride toothpaste. The first electric toothbrush was produced. The Teflon Company introduced non-stick cookware. Smith Corona introduced the first portable electric typewriters. Mattel Inc. introduced Barbie. Felt tipped pens became popular. Soft drinks were packaged in aluminum cans for the first time. K-Mart and Wal-Mart opened. Bank of America and American Express issued the first credit cards. The first transatlantic telephone cable began working. The first transcontinental helicopter flight was made. That was only a little more than half a century ago.

Neptune (Pisces) takes fourteen years to change sign. When it does, the collective psyche goes through confusing and ambiguous changes. Neptune transited the sign of Leo from 1916 to 1929. Phenomenal world confusion was happening. World War brought tremendous prosperity to Wall Street while soldiers earning $16 a month being killed in the trenches. England blacklisted and prevented over 80 US firms from dealing with neutral countries because they were suspected of trading with Germany. Prescott Bush was one of them. Influenza caused over two hundred deaths a day. Approximately one quarter of the US was sick. Half a million people were dead before the end of 1919. Daylight savings time began. Arkansas farmers dedicated a monument to the Boll Weevil, whose devastation of the cotton crop caused them to diversify and become more profitable. By 1927, the farm population had dropped dramatically. Countless farmers hopelessly and desperately sold their farms.

Neptune rules alcohol. The underworld, mafia, and gangs thrived. National prohibition began in 1920. Liquor smuggling and bootlegging became big business. It’s probable that Marijuana will be universally accepted and legalized before Neptune leaves Pisces.

Congress set a quota limiting the number of immigrants allowed into the country.

A senate subcommittee was formed to investigate the Teapot Dome oil leases.

Walt Disney released the first Mickey Mouse cartoon in 1928. George Eastman created the first color motion pictures. Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue was performed for the first time as a new form of symphonic jazz.

Doubt, fear, and panic caused the stock market to crash, leaving farmers, businessmen, and both haves and have nots in a state of terrible confusion and crisis.

History repeated itself in the opposition as Neptune transited Aquarius (1998 – 2012). War still brings prosperity to Wall Street. Agribusiness and chemical companies like Monsanto are still crushing small farmers and deluding consumers. Immigrants are still being persecuted. Oil and energy companies are still controlling and manipulating us.

The planet Pluto (Scorpio) takes approximately twenty years to change sign. When it does, it disintegrates, destroys, and transforms collective psyche. Pluto rules the dark side of the force. As Pluto transited the sign of Leo from 1938 to 1957, national and personal pride and power transformed. Despite the New Deal, ten million people were unemployed in 1939.  President Roosevelt increased appropriations for building the Army, Navy, and Air Force. Congress adopted the Naval Expansion Act. Roosevelt transformed the Federal Reserve by creating the ‘withholding tax’, which was the beginning of social security. He became the first president to appear on television.

The House investigated un-American activities. It was the beginning of huge multi-national business conglomerates. Western Europe tried to appease Hitler with the Munich Pact, which turned Czechoslovakia over to Nazi Germany. Polls showed Americans approved. The Nazis invaded Poland, which caused Great Britain and France to declare war. Winston Churchill asked President Roosevelt for help.

In 1941, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Japanese Americans paid a high price as they were forced from their homes into concentration camps where they became innocent victims of hate and prejudice. Fundamentalist devotion to ideologies and tyrants began to crumble. In 1943, the fascist dictator Mussolini fell from power. By 1945, most of the world knew that six million Jews had been slaughtered in Nazi concentration camps.

The atomic bomb was the ultimate plutonian weapon. After we bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan surrendered. In 1949, we supported a war in Korea that ended up killing three million Koreans in less than a year. In 1950, Senator Joseph McCarthy began his sensational tirade against communist subversives and traitors in the US. Julia and Ethel Rosenberg were sentenced to the electric chair for stealing bomb secrets.

In 1951, the United Nations complex was completed in New York City. AT&T became the first company with over a million stockholders. Christine Jorgensen became the first transsexual to go public in 1952. Norman Vincent Peale’s best seller, The Power of Positive Thinking was published. The first kidney was transplanted. The first mechanical heart was made to work. Chevrolet introduced the powerful sexy Corvette in 1953. The US launched the Nautilus, the first nuclear powered submarine in 1954. The Soviet Union opened the world’s first atomic power station. Reigning British Monarchs made their first visit to American soil. We reached for outer space.

My Pluto in Leo generation, known as the `ME NOW’ generation, born between 1938 and 1957 have used technology to build personal power. Pluto in Leo rules crony capitalism. Rest assured, if we haven’t destroyed ourselves and our planet by the demise of Trump and his band of cutthroat thieves, plutocrats will have little problem finding the money, rights, resources, and technology to own, harness, package, distribute, and sell our Sun’s energy to all of us as Uranus returns to Leo (2039-2046).

ARIES HANDS

You don’t need an Aries sun to be Arian. Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius are Intuitive types with rectangular palms and short fingers. If you have an Aries sun and Aries hands, you’re a super Aries. Aries hands differ from Leo and Sag hands. Leo hands tend to be harder and stiffer while Sagittarian hands tend to be softer and more flexible than Aries hands. Aries percussions (passive Mars under pinky finger) are fuller and firmer. Resilient elastic skin quickly springs back to normal when poked, pushed, or pulled. Pink color energizes. Red pressurizes. Full reddish puffy bumps bulge (aggressive Mars) where Aries thumb meets the hand. Aries types normally have a rosy full ball of thumb (Venus). Red hands embody too much energy, anger, and passion. Head and life lines are separated on pure types. Wider gaps symbolize more need for independence, freedom, and rebellion. Head and life lines that intertwine at their beginnings reveal inertia and a desire to be appreciated. Pure Leos have entwined head and life lines. They procrastinate, take things personally (even when they’re not), and must never allow themselves to be taken for granted.

As the most courageous and adventurous of all twelve types, Aries is a natural hero and inspired risk taker. His passion is contagious and optimism eternal. He never runs out of doors to knock on because (unlike Leo) he doesn’t take rejection personally. He’s ready and willing to compete with anyone at any time and place. As an autonomous freedom lover, he hates criticism and bureaucrats. Aries tend to have low set thumbs, although no matter what type you are, very low set thumbs are designed to quest for holy grails and champion underdogs. Aries crusades relentlessly and persists untiringly until their objectives are realized. Worthy causes bring satisfaction and fulfillment.

Aries is not detail oriented. When he gets bogged down with mundane tasks such as paperwork or bookkeeping, he becomes bored, restless, and easily frustrated. It’s best to stay out of his way if you can’t help him. His most important challenges are being patient, trusting his intuition, setting sensible goals, and building sound structures on solid foundations. Many Aries types enjoy working with sharp tools. They’re unafraid of blood. Mars rules executives, military leaders, soldiers, policemen, firemen, salesmen, surgeons, barbers, butchers, raw physical energy, sports, and military.

Aries rules War. Ancient warrior cultures practiced their lustiest mating rituals from late June to late July to seed future generations of warriors. Aries rules Germany, England, and Japan. Hitler contrived an Aryan race. The British barbarized and then colonized the globe. Japan was atom bombed in World War II. Modern Japanese warriors do battle in commerce, communications, transportation, and electronics.

Everyone has Aries and Mars somewhere in his or her symbolism. Aries rises at the birth of Spring. Ares is Greek. Mars is the Roman version. As an invincible warrior and lusty lover, the god of war is symbolized by an erect penis. Built to match with a strong athletic body, dominant chest, and rock hard head, he’s not called a ram for nothing.  My partner, Joanna, is Aries with Venus in Taurus rising. She can be stubborn. I call her ‘Rambull’. I’m very Gemini. She calls me ‘a piece of work in progress’.

Aries are amazingly resilient and innately bounce back, always landing on their feet. A strong sense of inner strength, courage, and persistence make them formidable foes. Aries conquers procrastination, overcomes inertia, initiates action, and rules physical energy. Health issues are inflammations, fevers, headaches, and high blood pressure.

Aries descend from heroes like King Theseus of Athens, Jason and the Argonauts, Joan of Arc, Xena, Mulan, Robin Hood, and his popular eastern cousin, Aladdin, orphaned son of the king of thieves, handsome adolescent street rat, and diamond in the rough, destined to become a prince. The hand pictured belongs to a real life Aladdin. Click here for his story.

 

Al Gore’s rectangular palms and short fingers reveal a link between his intuitive personality and his Aries Sun. Al’s Mars, Saturn, and Pluto are in Leo and Jupiter is in Sagittarius. Abundant inspiration motivated Al as he attempted to transform mass energy consciousness and corresponding politics. Like Jason and the Golden Fleece, Al and his Argonauts bagged the coveted Nobel Peace Prize while opening masses of minds to the hazards of Global Warming.

 

As a conceptual thinker, Al loves the idea part of his process. His biggest asset is his ability to see the big picture. With no time and little aptitude or patience for details, Al is a salesman who can sell anything he truly believes in. Al’s long index finger enhances his egocentricity and ambition. Charged with a lightning bolt from Zeus, once Al is clear about what he wants, he’ll acquire the facts he needs to make the case for his cause. As a man of great influence, privilege, and wealth, Al must always keep a close eye on his personal footprint and practice what he preaches.

U.S. ex-Secretary of State, ex-General Colin Powell is an Aries. With Sun and Mercury in Aries (April 5, 1937) and his rectangular palms, short fingers, and widely separated life and headline, he’s the embodiment of King Theseus of Athens. Theseus escorted Jason on his quest for the Golden Fleece. He defeated the dreaded Minotaur (Saddam Hussein, a Taurus) and united the warring Greek factions under his rule.

Secretary Powell’s powerful and practical personality persuaded Americans to keep the faith while we invaded Iraq. He actually believed he could make a difference, but ended up being goldenly fleeced by the Bush administration. Emperor George pulled the wool over everyone’s eyes as he proudly wore Powell’s noble charisma, flawless credibility, and ethical principles on the front lines of international diplomacy. Colin’s greatest battles are still ahead as he approaches the end of his life and wages war with his personal loyalties, honesty, integrity, dignity, and the truth. As a true hero, he must cleanse his legacy by shining a blinding light of absolute truth on the many shades of gray in his life.

Largest of energy giants, XX is Aries with first trade March 25 1920. A predatory power broker must shift its greedy paradigms to embrace the philosophical and spiritual laws of nature. Mother’s creative juices were meant to be shared by all of us. XX profitably sells them by pumping mom’s blood from natural reservoirs into pipelines and artificial tanks to personal storage tanks through financial umbilical cords. World economies and planetary good health are at stake. XX must become a guardian for, not a seller of our soul. XX must not be allowed to become XXX by choosing $$$ over humanity.

Uranus changes sign every seven years. Aries and Uranus bring fierce individualism, pioneering spirit, abundant energy, and limitless financial resources to bring concepts to fruition. The only outer planet to transit the sign of Aries in the 20th Century (1927 – 35), Uranus invigorated our collective psyche through revolutionary technological changes. Here are my favorite highlights from our last Uranus revolution eighty four years ago.

Physics and astronomy created the “Big Bang” theory of an ever-expanding universe

Neutron was discovered

King Kullen was the first Supermarket in Queens, NY

Wonder Bread and Homogenized Milk were born

First Laundromat opened in Fort Worth Texas

Flashbulb was invented

3M Company introduced transparent Scotch Tape

Nylon fiber was invented

First plastics were synthesized in Britain

Bell Laboratories developed stereophonic sound

German ophthalmologist pioneered the first contact lens

First drive-in movie theatre opened in New Jersey

Model A replaced the model T Ford

First air-conditioned office building in the US opened in San Antonio Texas

Jet engine was patented

Charles Lindbergh made the first solo flight from New York to Paris

America was captivated when Lindbergh’s 20-month-old son was kidnapped

Mao Tse-Tung began his `22 years in the wilderness’ where he developed guerrilla warfare tactics that conquered China

Leon Trotsky was expelled from the communist party

Federal government entered the field of hydroelectric power with Boulder Dam

First all talking motion picture, ‘The Jazz Singer’, starring Al Jolson, revolutionized the film industry. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was born

The stock market crashed, forcing people to re-examine their values and institutions

Uranus completed its eighty-four year cycle in the spring of 2011 as it turbulently returned to Aries to crumble regimes, topple demagogues, ignite cities, and fuel the Arab Spring that spread across the Mid-East. Devastating earthquakes in Japan forever changed how governments look at nuclear power policies. Protestors in Spain set the stage for Occupy Movements in New York and London. Osama Bin Laden was killed.  His demise appeared on Twitter before it was officially announced by the Whitehouse. WikiLeaks raised our consciousness of government secrets and conspiracies.

We’ve come full circle in six years with neo-demagogues and ‘alternative facts’. Apparently, we need much more tough love before we take action. On the eve of our self-destruction, the NRA has weaponized the masses and inadvertently created a People’s Army. Interpreting our second amendment may be our doing or undoing.

Mars is the blood, guts, and gore of war. Uranus with Mars is an explosive combo. Psyches devoured by passion, lust, and hatred are a prescription for MPTSD (mass post-traumatic stress disorder) “Hasta la vista baby”. With Saturn and Pluto, the “Big Bang” theory has come far from the first Neutron. So much for supermarkets, laundromats, homogenized milk, Wonder Bread, Scotch tape, plastics, and the Model T…

Palmistry for Astrologers ~ Three Modalities

hand with symbols

Traditional palmistry identifies seven basic archetypes based on seven planetary places in the hands. Even the newest palmistry books promulgate traditional methods and impart obsolete knowledge derived from centuries of unoriginal thinking. Palmistry and astrology need each other. Astrology establishes twelve basic archetypes based on combinations of four elements and three modalities. Palmistry has embraced the four elements, but has ignored the three modalities. Learning to judge modalities in hands is challenging, but absolutely necessary.

The devil is in the details and there are many levels of details. No matter what your archetype and lines say about you, modality modifies interpretation. Knowing a modality is fundamental to knowing a person. If your hands are hard and fingers are stiff, you’ll fight change with every molecule in your psyche. Getting started and letting go will be major life challenges. People whose hands are soft and fingers are very supple and flexible are challenged to be disciplined, structured, and focused. Major life issues include avoiding distraction and saying ‘No’. Mutable types must be more patient and persistent in order to build strong structures on solid foundations that support greater purpose and meaning.

four types

Modalities separate traditional palmistry from modern palmistry. I discussed the four elements in a previous blog post. Multiplying four elements by three modalities gives twelve unique character types. Anyone who knows astrology agrees that sun signs are distinctly different from one another. Palmistry represents the same twelve types and shares the same mythology. The greatest challenge is seeing the modalities and judging the degrees to which they’re affecting the elements. That takes practice.

twelve hands

                      Four Elements         Cardinal               Fixed               Mutable

Here’s a brief generalized description of how to see the three modalities in the hands.

FlashCardinal signs are Aries, Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn. Solstices and equinoxes are changes of seasons. Aries (spring), Libra (fall), Cancer (summer), and Capricorn (winter) are new beginnings. Cardinal types have boundless energy and enthusiasm when they’re feeling inspired and passionate. Powerful ambition blends with magnetic natures to impel action and achieve goals. They’re best at starting things and not so good at finishing them. When the work becomes mundane or routine, impatience, intolerance, and impulsiveness is imminent.

‘Pure’ types have enthusiastic handshakes, openly held fingers, low set thumbs, and resilient pink elastic skin. Their head and life lines are frequently separate where the thumb joins the hand. I frequently see one or more conical or spatulate fingertips and multiple whorl fingerprints on cardinal types. Flash Rosenberg is an initiator, a great friend, Guggenheim award winning visual artist, profuse performance artist, professional photographer, prolific writer, and artist in residence for ‘LIVE from the NY Public library’. Check out her remarkable live drawing and direction: IMAGINE: How Creativity Works – http://vimeo.com/38798735

Dr. BryksMid-seasons embody fixity. Taurus (mid-spring), Leo (mid-summer), Scorpio (mid-fall), and Aquarius (mid-winter) are fixed signs. Fixed types maintain, support, and nourish what exists. They’re logical and practical. You can depend on them. They say what they do and do what they say. Their greatest challenge is to see the proverbial handwriting on the wall and then accept and embrace change.

They have firm honest handshakes. Their hands and fingers are stiffer than cardinal and mutable types. Large stiff thumbs embody abundant will, supported by dogged determination, and sustained by relentless persistence. Square shape fingertips and developed second knots represent an organized, practical, responsible, reliable, and dependable nature. Cautious types hold fingers closely together and are better team players. Fixed head and life lines are often intertwined at their beginnings. I’ve observed multiple arch finger prints on fixed hands. Procrastination can be a substantial problem.

Dr. Bryks is my dentist. He’s a great craftsman and a compassionate, competent, and caring person with a huge ball of thumb. Full ball of thumb people are givers and lovers of home, food, comfort, nature, children, beauty, and art. It’s hard for them to say “No”. Dr. Bryks appreciates everyone. He hums his favorite melodies as he mines for decay in my teeth. If someone has to dig around in my mouth, I’m glad it’s Dr. Bryks.

self for three modalitiesGemini (late-spring), Virgo (late-summer), Sagittarius (late-fall), and Pisces (late-winter) are mutable signs. They represent changeability. Mutable types generally have warm handshakes that convey honesty and sincerity (which may not be the whole truth). They’re clever, hate conflict, and work hard to avoid confrontation while employing the fine art of tact and diplomacy. Mutable types have the most openly held, flexible, and elastic hands and fingers of all three modalities. My open hands and strong straight pinkies are saying I have nothing to hide (although I hold many others’ secrets).

Cardinal types create, fixed types maintain, and mutable types communicate. Mutable does what cardinal and fixed don’t do or don’t want to do. As a mutable type, I love language and words. Anyone reading my blog knows I’ve chosen to speak for one of the most esoteric and obscure subjects on the planet. I hope to shift the false paradigm of palmistry as a gypsy fortune-telling scam (before I kick the impending bucket). As an expert on hands and a clear communicator, my mission is to give everyone a helping hand, their own. Priceless treasure waits to be discovered at the ends of our arms.

LEO – Search for Father

LEO

Intuitive types (Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius) are highly spirited, enthusiastic individuals who dislike details, need to grasp the whole picture, require a lot of freedom to express themselves naturally, and pride themselves on their honesty. As objective independent thinkers, they must set inspiring goals to channel their energy and passion into. They become easily bored with the mundane and routine. They must cultivate far vision and enduring patience. Often accused of ‘being opinionated’, their point of view is crucial. Communicating clearly and effectively is a must. The best way for these extroverts to flourish is to behave responsibly, honestly, patiently, and naturally in relationships.

Leos are fixed intuitive types who love being the center of attention. They’re creative, dramatic, generous, enthusiastic, and fiercely loyal. They’ll try to adopt you into their ‘pride’ when they’re feeling admired and appreciated. Their fans look forward to their humor and stories. Don’t ever take a Leo for granted. Unlike Aries they take rejection personally, even if they haven’t been rejected. As creatures of habit, they can cling to obsolete behavioral patterns, depressing situations, and fruitless relationships. Leos must learn to let go of false pride, pay attention to the handwriting on the wall, and cut their losses by letting go of whatever’s not working. Leos can also spread themselves too thin and become the notorious multi-talented jacks of all trades, masters of none.

Their positive side is charming, creative, talented, and versatile. They’re generally healthy types with physical problems being eyesight, heart, and poor circulation. Leo’s dominant physical sense is sight. The metaphysical correspondence is shedding light.

Donald TrumpDonald Trump is a Gemini with Leo rising. His Leo hands embody the most negative attributes of Leo’s will power and behavior that include being self-centered, self-indulgent, superficial, ostentatious, egotistical, ruthless, greedy, bossy, seductive, and a lousy role model.

 

How many gilded towers, glitzy gambling casinos, golden pedestals, and graven images do we require? Beauty queens, shark tanks, and celebrity idols are our heroes. What has happened to Donald’s (and our) humanity and spirituality?  

You don’t need to have a Leo sun to be a Leo type. Leonine hands are like Arian hands in shape, consistency, and coloration. Leo’s joints are stiffer, especially the thumb. The elasticity of Leo’s hands is tenser and the consistency is denser than their Sagittarian brethren. Leo life and head lines are closely intertwined where the thumb joins the hand. Pure Leos have strong ring fingers. Shapes of the tips, proportions of phalanges, knots, nails, and other markings reveal more about the person. Whorl fingerprints (concentric circles, spirals, fire / intuitive) add originality, independence, and unconventionality.

Finger lengthRing fingers symbolize artistic and aesthetic abilities, drama, versatility, salesmanship, showiness, and gambling proclivities. No matter your archetype, long ring fingers on dominant hands add versatility, adaptability, creativity, and expressivity. Cultivated types savor beautiful things with a highly developed sense of taste and style. I’ve noticed that long ring fingered types are more likeable than short ring fingered folk. A ring finger is judged for length against the middle finger. When the tip is shorter than the middle of the first phalanx of the middle finger, it’s considered short. When longer, it’s long. Long index fingered Leos love being boss. Last time I checked, there were more Fortune 500 and NASDAQ (over 10%) LEO CEO’s than any other sign. I’ve seen similar ring fingers on hands of gamblers. They win, but don’t know when to stop betting. I’ve also read the hands of many architects, designers, photographers, craftsmen, and curators with long ring fingers.

Free will is the most important reason for learning to read hands. Willpower is the esoteric correspondence for Leo. Our thumb is the location of will in our hands. It’s the reason we dominate our simian ancestors. Our minds developed because our thumbs oppose our other four fingers. A thumb is a small body part that takes up a huge space in the cerebral cortex of our brains. We’ve designed all of our tools from a simple pencil to our most complex computers as a result of the placement of our thumbs.

Our hands manifest the messages of our minds. In turn, our character, thoughts, feelings, and experience are mapped in the shapes and proportions of our hands. Our stories are engraved in the topography of our hands. It’s paradoxical that so few of us are aware of the priceless treasure waiting to be discovered at the ends of our arms. The beauty of palmistry is that our changes reveal themselves in the mirrors of our hands over time as our thinking and circumstances change. Freewill is a choice and opportunity for change.

Our thumbs symbolize our three most valuable natural resources: will power, logic, and ability to love. These precious qualities must be balanced. Thumbs, like our other fingers, have two joints that form three segments known as phalanges. The top phalanx is will power. The second is reasoning ability. When will is longer than logic, we may act before we think. If logic is longer, we may figure everything out, but get stuck in thinking. Then we procrastinate when we should act. A bit more logic than will keeps us in check.

Knots symbolize a need for more order in the area the knot represents. The knottier the joint, the more order is needed. The top knot is mental order (or disorder). The second knot needs physical order. If the middle phalange on your pinky is shortest, it may not be easy to keep things in their place. Huge knots may be arthritic or they can alert you to possible OCD. ‘Everything must be as I need it to be.’ The third or bottom phalanx is the ball of thumb (contained by the lifeline). Balls of thumb provide information about our capacities for sympathy, nurturing, maintaining intimate connections, loving, and valuing children, animals, nature, art, and music. Without love, empathy, and sympathy, all the passion, logic, and will in the world will never be healthy.

Thumb size is important. A thumb must be judged in relationship to the whole hand. Does a thumb look large or small in comparison to a hand? Is a thumb high or low set?  The ‘normal’ length of thumb (held closely to hand) is even with the middle of the third phalange of the index finger. If longer, it’s long. If shorter, it’s short. A large thumbed person is a natural leader who wants useful practical results. Small thumbed folk are impressionable, sentimental, and easily led by their heartstrings. A tiny flexible thumbed person might stay home in bed, watch soap operas, and eat bonbons. Read my version of the “Three little pigs and their thumbs”.

three little pigs

“The most difficult job in the world is not being president. It’s being a parent.”

Bill ClintonEx-President Bill Clinton is a Leo. Born in 1946, three months after his real dad died, Bill was raised by an abusive alcoholic stepfather. Many Leos spend much of their lives searching for approval from father figures because theirs was physically, mentally, or emotionally absent during their formative years. One of Leo’s quests in their life is a hero’s journey to overcome the fear of abandonment and become a devoted parent figure who loves unconditionally without expectation. Bill’s Sun, Mercury, Saturn, and Pluto are in Leo. He has Leo hands with a robust ring finger that enjoys marriage, but has very high expectations of his mate. As Commander and Chief, Bill was a polyamorous player of political games, musical instruments, and women.

People judge Bill for his character, but whether you like him or not, Bill is true to his character. Bill’s Sun and Jupiter blend Apollo and Zeus, two powerful, charismatic, and sexy gods in Greek myth. Zeus was famous for his seductions and philandering. Apollo was irresistible. It’s not easy to find healthy creative outlets for all that libido. Many of the most powerful men and women in the world are philanderers with secret sexual addictions. Excess testosterone comes with the territory.

Bill loved ruling the free world, getting away with shameful sex, and playing his saxophone at the same time. Zeus could possess whatever mortal he wanted. His challenge was getting away with it. Hera was famous for kicking his butt by punishing his conquests and their offspring. Due to our culture’s fundamentalist socio-religious values, Bill Clinton’s sexual behavior undermined his position and power. It’s hard to get away with much when you’re both mortal and a celebrity. You can bet Hillary (Scorpio) booted Bill’s behind when he was caught with his pants down around his ankles and his cock in his intern’s mouth. Hillary is less likeable than Bill, but she’ll be a better President if she gets the chance.

Robert De NiroSuccessful actors, artists, designers, businessmen, teachers, salesmen, politicians, and diplomats are Leo ruled. Robert De Niro, Robert Redford, Dustin Hoffman, Whitney Huston, Madonna, Mick Jagger, Ben Affleck, Steve Martin, and Kenny Rogers are Leos.

Arnold

“I’ll be back”

Apollo and Hercules are solar archetypes of ancient Greece. Samson was Judaic, Osiris was Egyptian, Parcival was English, and Narashima was Indian. The Lion King and Goldilocks are fairytales that Walt Disney popularized. One Leo who feared his father and made a myth out of himself is the ‘Terminator’ / ‘Conan the barbarian’, former governor of California.  Arnold’s short index fingers (may appear short when folded inward) reveal deep issues and challenges about his self-esteem and spirituality. Curved pinkies please while avoiding real confrontation by pretending things are better than they are. They act nice when they don’t feel nice. Arnold’s large flexible thumbs are adaptable and versatile. He can become distracted and unfocused. People accuse Arnold of being a bad actor. Arnold chooses great plots. He’s much more clever and adaptable than people realize. Arnold’s Arthurian myth is the search for the Holy Grail. He must ask the right questions to find a balance between his head and heart.

Mark & Martha

In April of 2001, I read Martha Stewart’s hands on her TV show, ‘Martha Stewart Living’. A critical father encouraged Martha to be obsessively ambitious and compulsively hard working. Born August 3 1941, Leo rules Martha’s Sun, Pluto, and Midheaven. Her multi- talented hardworking Aquarian hands are well designed for gardening and crafts. I didn’t see “fame” in Martha’s hands. I saw an extremely strong index finger on her dominant hand. Martha earns and deserves whatever she achieves.

Martha’s large stiff thumbs symbolize persistent will power, dogged determination, and fiery passion. As a host, Martha was gracious. As a boss, she’s demanding. I observed dozens of hip young people who make sure Martha always looks good. Her intention and mission is to give her fans valuable information and resources. In hindsight, I regret not doing a better job explaining palmistry. I was nervous. When I got home, I examined Martha’s hand prints along with her astrological chart. I wish I could share them with you, but don’t have permission. I realized 2002 was going to be a challenging year in which Martha’s integrity and reputation might be challenged. I offered to discretely share my insights with her. She didn’t reply.

Bernie EbbersWhen the ImClone stock scandal broke, people who knew I’d been on her show began calling to ask if I’d seen it coming. They made cruel jokes and suggested I remove her from my press materials. I was disgusted by how many people found joy as Martha crashed and burned. The media dressed Martha in wolf’s clothing and she became their sacrificial lamb. Meanwhile, real criminals, like George W Bush’s buddy, ‘Kenny Boy’ Lay (Enron), Dennis Kozlowski (Tyco), and Bernie Ebbers (WorldCom) were getting away with capitalistic genocide. I wrote to Martha to offer my insights. Again, there was no reply.

I see Martha as an honest person with straight fingers, firm elastic skin, strong healthy palms, and clearly defined lines. Martha became a high profile casualty of corporate greed and corruption. Innocence or guilt was not the issue. Martha’s Leo pride got in the way. She used poor judgment. She wasn’t thinking “I’m insider trading” when she sold her stock. Sure, she should have known better. Rich people are privy to exclusive information. They can choose to enrich themselves with or without it. Secret actions and absolute discretion are a win win scenario.

Martha should have chosen humility like Mufaasa. Instead, she behaved immaturely like young Simba. Where were Pumbaa and Timon when she needed a refresher course on the laws of the jungle? Goldilocks may have enhanced the porridge and decorated the beds more beautifully, but the bears were still pissed when they get home. Martha demonstrated the hubris that destroyed the gods and heroes in Greek and Roman myth. As a queen, she must always take the high road. She should have apologized to her loyal fans and offered the profit to a great cause. Trust will be re-earned as Martha serves her fan’s needs, battles her ego, and shows true humility and generosity of spirit.

Athena vaseAn appropriate archetype for Martha is the Greek goddess Athena, who ruled Arts and Crafts. In peacetime Athena is pictured with a spear in one hand and a bowl or spindle in the other. She looked after weavers, potters, and craftsmen. Athena clashed with a mortal named Arachne, an incredible weaver. People compared Arachne to Athena and it went to Arachne’s head. She should have given Athena credit. Instead, she arrogantly challenged Athena to a weaving contest. She made matters worse by poking fun at Athena’s family with her art. Her creation was magnificent, but Athena transformed Arachne into the greatest weaver for all time, the arachnid (spider). It’s not a good idea for mortals to mess with Gods.

Martha is dominated by Athena, but she’s not Athena. She has enormous mental, spiritual, and physical energies and resources and is capable of making positive differences by weaving powerful webs of strength, beauty, hope, and faith. Martha can inspire the masses with her good deeds and catalyze positive changes in our world.

Sun

Leo is our sun, royalty, and celebrity. I’ve read many celebrities, CEOs, and mega-rich people that live like self-appointed royalty. People ask, “Did you see fame and great wealth in their hands?”  NO is the answer. Fame and wealth are not fate, but choices. Hands reveal how a person’s potentials are fulfilled. You too can be wealthier if wealth is your top priority (even if it’s not a priority in your hands). Palmistry books tell us of fame lines that form a perfect ‘star’ under the ring finger. Sarah Bernhardt is the example most palmists use. I’ve seen two perfect stars of Apollo in forty years; the first was on Katie Couric’s right hand and the second on Susan Sarandon’s left hand. I’ve mostly read a diversity of hands with a variety of challenges and solutions to problems with self-esteem, wounded hearts, and confused minds. I can’t be more specific because I must be discrete. Powerful people have the same challenges as everyone else. Many successful people have been driven to succeed because of their fears and insecurities. I’ve learned that money can and does help iron out some of the wrinkles.

I’ve personally turned away opportunities for more celebrity. I was offered a live reality TV series. I’d read hands of people who were chosen by the producer. I refused. I didn’t want to be offensive, defensive, or end up being the ‘Jerry Springer’ of the metaphysical world. A person’s inner life is private and should be respected, even if they don’t respect it. Dog and pony shows may be popular, but I have zero desire to be part of one.

Mark, Meredith, Joy, Debbie, and Star

When the producer from ‘The View’ called to ask if I’d be on their show, I initially said ‘no’. I didn’t want to defend myself and palmistry. The producer promised that wouldn’t happen. She insisted I’d have a venue to offer viewers a real taste of palmistry. Unlike Martha’s show (which was taped and edited), ‘The View’ is live with a live audience.

Sure enough, as the cameras commenced, the banter and jokes began. Star Jones challenged me with learning what I was telling her by watching the show. You’ll enjoy my response. In fairness to the producer, they did give me five-minutes to say what I wanted. Please excuse the quality of snapshots. They were captured from the shows.

On the View with a live audience

AvrahamAlan and I met in the mid 70’s, before I moved to NYC. Alan’s rectangular palms and short fingers reveal an intuitive type. His thumbs and fingers are very stiff and his head and life lines are closely intertwined where his thumbs meet his hands. Alan is a Leo with Leo hands. His lower set curved index fingers, bent pinkies, and crooked middle fingers tell his tale of striving for and achieving personal transformation.

Alan was born poor. His real father died when he was four. He lived on a commercial street in a rich Jewish neighborhood. Alan’s mother was obese and in bad health. She loved Alan, but in desperation, remarried a horrible man who became Alan’s evil stepfather. I saw this creepy guy at funerals before I knew Alan. He was employed by the local home to be a part-time mourner at small gatherings. Alan was an unwanted stepchild in his own home, a tiny shabby apartment located above a smelly butcher shop. While other kids wore monogrammed shirts, smelled of fancy colognes, and drove sporty cars, Alan looked over his shoulder to make sure no one would see him climbing the dingy stairs to his very depressing world.

Alan decided early that he would not be poor when he grew up. His bible became Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. John Lennon was his hero. Alan stubbornly persisted and finally earned his law degree by selling ironing board covers and light bulbs door to door. Lawyers with crooked pinkies are notorious for bending the truth and the law. Alan was as clever as the best of them, but he chose to turn his ingenuity toward marketing himself. With truth on his side, Alan could bend everything else. He became a clever pioneer in legal advertising. Other lawyers who didn’t know Alan saw him as a greedy ‘ambulance chaser’, but Alan’s marketing mind put his clients’ needs and interests first. He once told me, “It doesn’t take winning too many good cases to make a great living.”

While walking in our office in the forest one day, Alan proclaimed, “I used to dream I’d be successful and own a lot of stuff and now I do. I’m glad I proved to myself that I can do it. I no longer need any of it to be happy.” I immediately challenged him to let go of everything. We both knew the truth ~ that it would require a miracle or a catastrophe.

When Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto passed through Leo in the twentieth century, enormous changes were taking place in personal, collective, and governmental rights and power. Uranus (Aquarius), planet of change, transited Leo from 1955 to 1962. The sun shined on strong will, rebellion, determination, vitality, forcefulness, and civil rights. Rosa Parks defied a segregation ordinance by not giving up her bus seat to a white man in Alabama. The Supreme Court upheld her civil rights a year later. The University of Mississippi was forced to enroll its first black student. President Eisenhower sent federal troops to Little Rock Arkansas to enforce school desegregation. President Kennedy ordered the National Guard to keep schools open in Alabama. Cultural shame cultivated seeds of positive change. Equality and civil rights is still an embarrassment.

New inventions promoted convenience and provided more time for recreation and leisure. Kentucky fried chicken was introduced. Play-Doh became popular. Davy Crocket and coonskin caps became fashionable. Pampers became the first disposable diapers. Crest was the first fluoride toothpaste. The first electric toothbrush was produced. The Teflon Company introduced non-stick cookware. Smith Corona introduced the first portable electric typewriters. Mattel Inc. introduced Barbie. Felt tipped pens became popular. Soft drinks were packaged in aluminum cans for the first time. K-Mart and Wal-Mart opened. Bank of America and American Express issued the first credit cards. The first transatlantic telephone cable began working. The first transcontinental helicopter flight was made. That was only half a century ago.

Neptune (Pisces) takes fourteen years to change sign. When it does, the collective goes through confusing and ambiguous changes. Neptune transited the sign of Leo from 1916 to 1929. Phenomenal world confusion was happening. War brought tremendous prosperity to Wall Street while soldiers earning $16 a month were being killed in the trenches. England blacklisted and prevented over 80 US firms from dealing with neutral countries because they were suspected of trading with Germany. Prescott Bush was one of them. Influenza caused over two hundred deaths a day. Approximately one quarter of the US was sick. Half a million people were dead before the end of 1919.

Daylight savings time began. Arkansas farmers dedicated a monument to the Boll Weevil, whose devastation of the cotton crop caused them to diversify and become more profitable. By 1927, the farm population had dropped dramatically. Countless farmers hopelessly and desperately sold their farms.

Neptune rules alcohol. The underworld, mafia, and gangs thrived. National prohibition began in 1920. Liquor smuggling and bootlegging became big business. Marijuana is the new alcohol.

Congress set a quota limiting the number of immigrants allowed into the country.

A senate subcommittee was formed to investigate the Teapot Dome oil leases.

Walt Disney released the first Mickey Mouse cartoon in 1928. George Eastman created the first color motion pictures. Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue was performed for the first time as a new form of symphonic jazz.

Doubt, fear, and panic caused the stock market to crash, leaving farmers, businessmen, and both haves and have nots in a state of terrible confusion and crisis.

History repeated itself in the opposition as Neptune transited Aquarius (1998 – 2012). War is still bringing prosperity to Wall Street. Agribusiness and chemical companies like Monsanto are still crushing small farmers and deluding consumers. Immigrants are still being persecuted. Oil and energy companies are still controlling and manipulating us.

The planet Pluto (Scorpio) takes approximately twenty years to change sign. When it does, it disintegrates, destroys, and transforms collective consciousness. Pluto is the dark side of the force. As Pluto transited the sign of Leo from 1938 to 1957, national and personal pride and power transformed. Despite the New Deal, ten million people were unemployed in 1939.  President Roosevelt increased appropriations for building the Army, Navy, and Air Force. Congress adopted the Naval Expansion Act. Roosevelt transformed the Federal Reserve by creating the ‘withholding tax’, which was the beginning of social security. He became the first president to appear on television.

The House investigated un-American activities. It was the beginning of huge multi-national business conglomerates. Western Europe tried to appease Hitler with the Munich Pact, which turned Czechoslovakia over to Nazi Germany. Polls showed Americans approved. The Nazis invaded Poland, which caused Great Britain and France to declare war. Winston Churchill asked President Roosevelt for help. In 1941, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Japanese Americans paid a high price as they were forced from their homes into concentration camps where they became innocent victims of hate and prejudice. Fundamentalist devotion to ideologies and tyrants began to crumble. In 1943, the fascist dictator Mussolini fell from power. By 1945, most of the world knew that six million Jews had been slaughtered in Nazi concentration camps.

The atomic bomb was the ultimate plutonian weapon. After we bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan surrendered. In 1949, we supported a war in Korea that ended up killing three million Koreans in less than a year. In 1950, Senator Joseph McCarthy began his sensational tirade against communist subversives and traitors in the US. Julia and Ethel Rosenberg were sentenced to the electric chair for stealing bomb secrets.

In 1951, the United Nations complex was completed in New York City. AT&T became the first company with over a million stockholders. Christine Jorgensen became the first transsexual to go public in 1952. Norman Vincent Peale’s best seller, The Power of Positive Thinking was published. The first kidney was transplanted. The first mechanical heart was made to work. Chevrolet introduced the powerful sexy Corvette in 1953. The US launched the Nautilus, the first nuclear powered submarine in 1954. The Soviet Union opened the world’s first atomic power station. Reigning British Monarchs made their first visit to American soil.

We reached for outer space. Better known as the `ME NOW’ generation, people born between 1938 and 1957 have used technology to build personal power. Pluto in Leo still rules capitalism and democracy. Rest assured, plutocrats will have little problem finding money, rights, resources, and technology to own, harness,  package, distribute, and sell our Sun’s energy to all of us when Uranus returns to Leo (2039-2046).