Winter Solstice 2012 in astrology

Winter solstice 2012 occurs on December 21 at 11:13 AM GMT. Short of the end of the world, it marks the 3rd quarter of the astrological year whose beginning is at the vernal equinox. On this stupendous occasion we find the majority of planets in cardinal and mutible signs and in fire and air, which makes for a lively energy this winter quarter, but the Moon moving relatively slowly slows the course of change and makes for relatively fewer events this quarter than if the Moon were moving quickly.

The Sun forms the following aspects: conjunction Pluto, square Uranus, sextile Saturn, and sextile Neptune. The Sun's conjunction with Pluto, sextile to Saturn and sextile to Neptune tends to generate a more or less calming influence. Saturn and Pluto, exactly sextile one another, are in mutual reception, bringing a constructive, cooperative influence to the world in areas of large scale Government and corporate organization. The mutual reception also means that the situation is more or less flexible and different strategies are being tried out in order to find what works and what doesn't. The Sun sextile Neptune is peaceful, and favors large social groups, especially the poor and less fortunate. But, while this is true, the Sun and Pluto square Uranus will continue to generate tension and resentment in the world. While the world is tending more at this time toward cooperation tension and discontentment will continue to plague us.

The Moon forms the following aspects. The planet directly behind the Moon is Uranus. This brings some surprisng developments and turns of events this winter. The influence of Uranus tends to bring the unexpected and sudden. The chief aspects formed by the Moon are a trine to Mercury, and a square to Mars. Mars is at 26 degrees Capricorn, a critical degree. The Moon coming to square Mars points toward critical conflict in the world.

So, where do we find the conflict? The strongest indications appear in the Winter Solstice charts of eastern Europe and the Middle East. Charts were made for Moscow, Damascus, and Jerusalem. Mars at Winter Solstice is at 26 degrees Capricorn. The Midheaven of Moscow is 24 degrees Capricorn, the Midheaven of Damascus is 23 degrees Capricorn, and the Midheaven of Jerusalem is 22 degrees Capricorn. Mars is conjunct the Midheaven of all of the countries in this longitudinal region (approximately 37 degrees east). The Middle East, especially Syria, will continue to be a hot spot this winter, and the possibility of Russia entering the conflict is not to be ignored.

The chart for the UK has the Sun in the 10th house and the Moon in the 1st. Neptune rising and conjunct the Ascendent shows a liberal socialistic sentiment developing amongst the people, and needing to be heard by the Government. Pluto is in the 11th house. The Sun conjunct Pluto and square Uranus shows the Prime Minister and his party in Parliament engaged in a quarrel with the people. The issues are over money and debt; Pluto rules the 8th house of this chart. The Moon in the 1st house applying to trine Mercury shows productive talks. But, the Moon coming to square Mars in the 11th says that the people challenge the course the current Government has been taking. But, because the Moon and Uranus are intercepted in the 1st house, the people will not as effective as they would like to be, and are not being heard as they might wish.

The chart for Bruxelles, therefore the entire EU, are similar to the chart of the UK. Pluto, however, is in the 10th house. The Sun in the 10th conjunct Pluto and square Uranus in the 1st is a harsher aspect than in UK; it shows the Government acting with heavy hand.

What the above suggests, is that the peacefulness shown in the charts may amount to little more than Goverrnment suppression of popular opposition in the UK and EU.

Looking at the other side of the world, the chart for Australia has Jupiter is in Gemini, in the 10th house. Jupiter is retrograde and in mutual reception Mercury in Sagittarius in the 4th. This opposition and mutual reception in some ways shows the Government in a favorable light at this time. It also shows the Government consideratly bowing to opposition, but the mutual reception by opposition suggests that both sides are at a disadvantage, and won't benefit in their interactions at this time. Jupiter ruling the 8th house, and Mercury ruling the 2nd show that the clumsy dance is around money, and nothing short of a lot of wasted breath can be expected. The Moon is in the 8th house, and is applying to the square of Mars in the 6th. This warns of an epidemic, and points to difficulties in services, labor, and the military.

Looking at the chart for Brazil, we find Mars in the 12th house with Moon applying to square from the 3rd. This points to increasing anger and violence on the streets and in poor areas and neighborhoods. There will be an increase in crime. The chart shows a strongly emphasized Yod configuration between Saturn in the 10th house, Jupiter in the 5th house, and Uranus in the 3rd. This is saying that the Government must adjust. Saturn rules the 12th house in this chart. It strongly involves the poor and the disenfranchised.

Looking at the chart for the USA, we find the Sun rising in the 1st house, and the Moon in the 4th. Mercury is conjunct the Ascendent. Mars is in the 2nd house. The Sun in the 1st house shows, despite the complaints of so many of the people, a period of increasing prosperity. But to whom, and from where? The Sun rules the 9th house. Money is coming into the country from abroad, and money is to be made in iternational trade and commerce.The Sun coming to conjunction Pluto and square Uranus, however, shows that, despite the more sanguine indications, the people will continue to be discontent, and the public health will not be good. Saturn in the 11th house trine and mutual reception Neptune in the 3rd house shows the Democrats in Congress having a strong influence over the press, and the press flattering them. The Yod to Saturn in the 11th house from Jupiter in the 6th and Uranus in the 4th shows the Congress having to make adjustments to accomodate the different demands of labor and of the opposition from the Republicans. Jupiter, ruler of the Ascendent in the 6th house retrograde and opposite Mercury shows a lot of useless talk and bickering while everybody compromises around serious economic issues to nobody's liking. Saturn rules the 2nd house. Compromises are based on economic limitations. Mars is in the 2nd house. The Moon coming to square Mars at a critical degree there presages critical trouble coming up in financial affairs, the general economy, banking, stock market, and the housing market. Mars rules the 4th house. The 4th house signifies real estate. The Moon applying to square Mars shows the Republicans and Democrats not cooperating well at all in the contested area of the economy. In the area of international politics, the opposition and mutual reception between Mercury and retrograde Jupiter amounts to a lot of noise, wasted breath, and agreements to disagree. Jupiter is the ruler of the Ascendent in this chart. Retrograde means that the USA backs down. Mercury, the ruler of the 7th house says that there is a strong and confusing influence in this country from foreign interests.

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Raphael is available for personal astrological and psychic readings. To find out more visit www.raphaelsimons.com.

Horary Astrological report on the Belo Monte dam

A horary chart was made to determine what will come of the current Belo Monte dam issue in Brasil. The chart was made on 9/30/11 at 1:09 PM MST in Phoenix, AZ. Here is what the chart shows.

The Ascendent, ruling the matter, is at 2:33 Capricorn. Saturn, the ruler of the Ascendent is in the 9th house. It shows the matter held up in the courts. Venus, ruler of the 10th house is separating from conjunction Saturn in the 9th. There was a recent judgement holding up the project involving the top level of the Brasilian Government. Venus points to the President; she may be sympathetic to the court ruling. The matter is far from over, however. The Ascendent at 2 degrees says that it is still too early.

The ruler of the 2nd house, showing where the future is beginning, is Uranus. Uranus is retrograde in the 3rd house and in mutual reception with Neptune retrograde in the 2nd house. We note, the Moon is coming to square Neptune. Uranus retrograde in the 3rd house is also opposite the Sun in the 9th and square Pluto in the 1st. There is coming repeated fighting and political and legal wrangling over the matter. The fighting will probably become violent. Neptune in the 2nd house is showing criminal, dishonest interests in the matter; there are greedy people interested in seeing this project go through because they have eyes bigger than their stomachs and they are ignoring the dangers and the consequences. Neptune afflicted in the 2nd house is a sure sign of big financial losses, as well as losses of property, that threaten to hurt a lot of people in Brasil. The mutual reception of Neptune and Uranus shows tricky manipulations used to get around the wrangling. Crooks are in the works.

The Moon is in Scoprio, the sign of her fall. She is in the 11th house, the house of wishes, and is forming one aspect: square Neptune retrograde in the 2nd house. While the mutual reception of Neptune and Uranus may soften the blow, the Moon coming to square Neptune shows that what is being hoped for will be met with many complicated disappointments coming up. Moon in the sign of her fall acts in regretable ways. Moon is in the 11th house. The 11th house is also the house of the Parliament. The Parliament is headed for trouble in the matter. Moon coming to square Neptune is bad enough, but Neptune retrograde means the current action comes to something they will regret. The question then is who, the people, the Government of Brasil or the criminals behind the matter?

Stretching the matter, we may look to see who is stronger, the ruler of the 1st house or the 7th, the 1st denoting the people, and the 7th the opposition. Saturn, the ruler of the 1st house is exalted in Libra in the 9th and conjunct Venus, the ruler of the 10th. This means that the people have a good position with the courts and the President of Brasil at this time. The Moon rules the 7th house. The Moon is in the sign of her fall and is square Neptune. Clearly, the people now have the advantage.

How the matter ultimately ends is shown by the 4th house. The 4th house is ruled by Mars. Mars is in the 7th house showing international protests. We see Jupiter in the 4th house retrograde. That, in itself, might mislead us to believe that the matter will end fortunately. But, Jupiter is mutually applying to square with Mars. This means the matter will not end without a big fight. The world is becoming involved in the affair. Jupiter retrograde shows that the fight will be repeated. The criminals behind the project are incourageable. They will try again and again.

The planet behind the Moon is Venus. Moon is at 24 degrees Scorpio. Venus is at 19 degrees Libra. This says that the current state of the Belo Monte situation is connected to an important event of the nature of a cooperation that happened about five years ago. The prior Government of Brasil was involved in this affair.

Venus is behind the Moon, and Pluto stands in front of the Moon. This shows what looked good in the past will look bad in the future. Because the Ascendent is only at 2 degrees Capricorn, it is not possible at this point to say for whom it will look bad. This, at least, should encourage the opposition to fight to overturn the Belo Monte monstrosity.

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Mundane Astrological view of the Fall Ingress, 9/23/11

Fall equinox came on September 23 at 9:06 AM GMT. The outstanding aspects cast by the Sun are his opposition to Uranus in Aries, square to Pluto in Capricorn, sextile to Moon and sextile to Mars, Moon and Mars in conjunction in Leo. Moon and Mars lend great strength and cause for some optimism to the Sun, making the Fall a constructive time despite the many untoward conditions of this time shown by the Sun in T-square with Uranus and Pluto. There is a great deal of tension in the world of politics and finances now.

We notice that in the spring equinox chart Saturn was at 14 degrees Libra and Moon was at 17 degrees Libra. Now, at the fall equinox we find Saturn at 17 degrees Libra; the conjunction of Saturn and Moon at the spring equinox is now exact. What this means is that the unfortunate trends of economic difficulties, bad trade relations, tendencies to disorder and depression in the world, political affairs going awry, the people suffering because of unemployment, crop failures, trouble with banks and stock markets, troubled affairs in parliaments and in congress, embarrassments to Governments with possibilities of deaths in Government circles is now coming to a head.

Looking at the chart of the New York Stock Exchange we see Uranus in the 10th house in Aries opposite the Sun in Libra and square Pluto in Capricorn. This shows the market in a precarious and unstable condition this fall. This is confirmed by the New Moon chart, the New Moon coming on September 27th at 11:10 AM GMT. The New Moon is at 4 degrees Libra opposite Uranus and square Pluto. This means that the lunation period of September 27th to October 26th is going to see very unstable market activity with sudden losses accompanied by some sharp gains as shown by Mars in Leo tightly trine Uranus and sextile the new Moon.

In the fall equinox chart the Sun opposite Uranus and square Pluto shows sudden and unexpected troubles coming to heads of state, ill considered legislation, political blunders bringing losses of friends and gain of enemies, party splits, strikes, protests and riots, and failures of Governments. Where there are elections great changes are to be expected. Watch the situation in Spain.

The fall equinox Sun sextile the Moon helps mitigate some of the more dire indications of the Sun opposition Uranus and square Pluto. The Sun sextile Moon will help bridge some of the tensions between the Government and the people and will encourage productive business activity at home and abroad despite all the trouble otherwise shown.

The fall equinox Sun sextile Mars gives strength to heads of state as well as to the military. This, accompanied with the Sun in T-square Uranus and Pluto means that military activity is going to increase this fall; a lot of destructive activity is to be anticipated. The positive side of the Sun sextile Mars, barring the glaring opposition of the military powers against the developing world, especially seen in the current plight of Africa, is that it gives the world the opportunity to cooperate and constructively improve international relations. Whether the world uses the positive possibilities offered by the heavens now is to be seen.

The fall equinox chart for the UK has the Sun in the 11th house opposite Uranus in the 5th and square Pluto in the 2nd. This shows the Parliament at odds over troubles affecting the condition of the economy, difficult diplomatic relations, and problems in education. The Sun opposite Uranus also shows increasing opposition to the Prime Minister. The Moon and Mars sextile the Sun from the 9th house shows Britain's involvement in foreign wars contributing to the discontentment of the opposition to the current Government. These problems will not resolve easily or quickly. Looking at the transits of Pluto, the turmoil in Britain and in the Euro Zone as well as in Australia will increase through the rest of this year, through 2012 and into 2013.

The fall equinox chart for Germany has the Sun in the 10th house opposite Uranus in the 5th and square Pluto in the 2nd. Opposition to the Government in Germany is more intense than in Britain. We note in this chart that Jupiter is the ruler of the 2nd house and is in the 6th house. Jupiter is square the Moon and Mars. Moon and Mars are sextile the Sun. This shows that the Government's actions toward the ailing countries in the Euro Zone is depleting the wealth of Germany and causing no small degree of distress, and this may cause big protests that will endanger the Government of Frau Merkel. Jupiter retrograde in the 6th house square Moon and Mars, with Pluto in the 2nd house in T-square with the Sun and Uranus is not at all benefiting the working classes. It is showing a big waste of money. It is also entirely against the better interests of Germany to engage in military activities now.

The Sun in the fall equinox chart is in the 10th house all through Central Europe, down through Central and South Africa, and eastward into the Middle East. The Sun is in the 10th house in Jerusalem. Simply put, Governments, and heads of state, in this region of the world are now subject to sudden and unexpected troubles. Political relations in this region are particularly fragile and unstable. Governments are prone to failures, or emergencies, and, if there are elections, to radical changes, and there are probabilities of strikes, protest movements and riots.

The fall equinox chart for Tehran, Iran has the Sun in the 9th house opposite Uranus in the 3rd and square Pluto in the 12th conjunct the Ascendent showing disputes and troubles coming from neigboring lands and from secret criminal elements, or clandestine enemies attempting to undermine the country. Mars and Moon in the 7th house square Jupiter in the 4th intensifies the probabilities of international disputes and warns of dangers of warlike activity. Mars in Leo points east by north, or the areas of Afghanistan and possibly Turkmanistan.

The chart for Pakistan is similar to that of Iran except Pluto is not conjunct the Ascendent, but is in the 12th house showing criminal activity coming into the country from neighboring lands. There are dangers of warlike activities, the northeast part of the country and the area near Kashmir appearing most vulnerable.

The chart for India has the Sun in the 8th house opposite Uranus in the 2nd and square Pluto in the 12th. Sun afflicted in the 8th house raises the death rate and brings death to notable people in the highest circles of the land. Uranus afflicted in the 2nd house brings unexpected losses, but trine Mars, brings unexpected gains as well. The stock market in India will be highly volatile this fall. Pluto afflicted in the 12th house brings misfortune to the poor and increases underground criminal activity as well as clandestine activity of enemies of the state. Mars and Moon in the 7th house square Jupiter in the 4th house also brings dangers of violence and potential military activity to India, the fall equinox chart showing unrest in the entire region of Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India as well as in Nepal and Tibet.

The chart for China has the Sun in the 7th house opposite Uranus in the 1st and square Pluto in the 10th. Jupiter is in the 2nd house. The Sun afflicted in the 7th house shows tense relations with foreign powers. Uranus afflicted in the 1st house shows turbulence among the people. There could be strikes, rioting and violent uprisings against the authorities. Pluto afflicted in the 10th house brings probabilities of Government crack downs on the one hand and purges in the Government of certain officials on the other. China is not in a good mood. Jupiter in the 2nd house, nonetheless, shows China's wealth increasing. Jupiter square Mars and Moon in the 6th house shows hard work. It also shows a possible epidemic, harsh conditions for workers, fires, explosions or accidents in work places and possible accidents on warships as well as internal conflicts in the military. Mercury, Sun, Venus and Saturn in the 7th house of the chart shows a strong focus on Chinese foreign relations this fall. In spite of all, however, China is prospering.

The chart for Japan has the Sun in the 6th house opposite Uranus in the 12th and square Pluto in the 9th. The national health of Japan is adversely affected. Jupiter in the 1st house gives the Japanese people a hopeful outlook, but square Mars and Moon in the 5th house with Mars ruling the 8th, this outlook is marred by a rise in deaths of children and women.

The equinox chart for Australia also has the Sun in the 6th house opposite Uranus in the 12th and square Pluto in the 9th. Jupiter is in the 1st house square Mars and Moon in the 4th house, and Saturn in in the 7th house precisely opposite the Ascendent. Unfavorable developments in the areas of labor and health come to attention. Saturn in the 7th house opposite the Ascendent is unfavorable for foreign affairs. Foreign trade is adversely affected. Saturn in Libra points to probable difficulties in trade relations with China. Mars and Moon in the 4th house square Jupiter in the 1st brings trouble to the Government due to the international trade and financial mess. It also points to potential fires or accidents in public buildings, mining accidents and earthquakes to the northeast of Australia in the area of ring of fire. Mars also adversely affects agriculture and the real estate market. The square of Mars and Jupiter shows losses of money affecting the people. There could be fires on the land this spring.

The equinox chart for Brazil has the Sun exactly conjunct the Ascendent opposite Uranus in the 7th house and square Pluto in the 4th house. Brazil is at a critical point in her relations with foreign powers eager to take control of her vast wealth. Pluto, the ruler of the 2nd house is in the 4th house; this points to matters connected to the land and natural resources. Mars and Moon in the 11th house are square to Jupiter in the 8th. The Moon rules the 10th and 11th houses and Mars rules the 7th. This appears to say that the Government, ruled by the Moon, is in danger of making international financial deals to its ultimate disadvantage.

The fall equinox chart for the USA has the Sun in the 1st house opposite Uranus in the 8th and square Pluto in the 4th showing the outlook marred by concerns over the debt, losses caused by natural and man-made disasters, and losses of natural resources, the drought in Texas being an example. Uranus afflicted in the 8th also denotes sudden and unexpected deaths caused by accidents, possible explosions, and suicides. Moon and Mars in the 11th house square Jupiter in the 9th house shows the Congress bickering over legal matters. Venus and Saturn in the 2nd house show how money coming is being limited by inroads caused by conditions of financial stagnation. Saturn is exactly semi-square Mars and Moon in the 11th house. There are clear dangers of losses and periods of sluggishness in the market.

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Raphael is available for personal astrological consultations. To find out more about Raphael's work visit www.raphaelsimons.com.