Click photo to enlarge Spaceweather.com reports: Comet McNaught (C/2006 P1) is plunging toward the Sun. It won’t hit, but at closest approach on Jan. 13th it will be only 0.17 AU away–much closer than Mercury (0.38 AU). When the hot comet emerges later this month it could be brighter than a 1st-magnitude star. Or not. No one knows what will happen. Space.com has a live cam here to watch the drama unfold. Comets of course have had significant importance to... Read more

Phil Brown has posted an interesting review of the movie The Good Shepherd. I like what he says about the US Sibley chart (the one most commonly used. The Sibley chart shows the Sun, Mercury, Venus and Jupiter all in Cancer and Sagittarius rising, as is appropriate for a nation that was founded on exploration (Sagittarius). The principle of nurturing the world comes from the strong Cancerian influence. The movie suggested a connection between the national obsession with Communist Russia... Read more

Art by Melanie Weidner In late December abundant Jupiter made a sextile (harmonious aspect) to Chiron, facilitating our understanding and openness (Jupiter) and encouraging us to face the painful facets of our lives and experience healing there. We are still experiencing the echo of this combination until mid-January. Jupiter is traveling through Sagittarius until December, and because Jupiter rules Sagittarius its power to expand and open up new possibilities can operate unimpeded by other influences. Jupiter in Sagittarius seeks adventure,... Read more

I am very pleased to announce that Richard Nolle has selected Astrodynamics as the Website of the Week for the first week of the year. Richard is a well-known astrology writer who maintains the Astropro website which has been a favorite resource of mine for years. Check out his site, especially his detailed 2007 forecast which I’ll be excerpting over the next few months. Read more

Don’t get me wrong, I like John Edwards. I live in North Carolina so I’ve liked him for quite a long time. As a Democrat I was excited when he ousted conservative Lauch Faircloth and breathed new life into the North Carolina legislature, and I was impressed when he responded by letter to every email I sent about one particular issue or another. My disillusionment with Edwards began when he voted to support the Iraq war, stating not just that... Read more

Early this morning I opened my front door to take my dog for a walk and encountered the setting full moon directly in front of me through the trees. It was an amazing sight and one I am more likely to see in the evening in the back of the house than at the beginning of the day. The moon is usually associated with night, where it illuminates the darkness and shines a light on our inner awareness which can... Read more

Neith posted this article by Raymond Merriman: We are living in a Renaissance time, and most of us do not even know it, or cannot find the time to step back and appreciate it. Every 500 years Neptune and Pluto return to their same spatial relationship to one another. Every 171 years, Uranus and Neptune do the same. And every 126 years, Uranus and Pluto do the same. Three Uranus-Neptune cycles approximately equals one Neptune-Pluto cycle. And four Uranus-Pluto cycles... Read more

I’ve been seeing an increased number of postings on panic and anxiety, and I admit to having some problems myself in this area. For me it began during the opposition of Saturn to Neptune that affected a sensitive point in my chart. Perhaps this is because of the conjunction of Pluto to the Galactic Center; perhaps its part of the changes that occurred beginning during the Uranus-Neptune conjunction in 1993. Several of you have written to me about your own... Read more

The AOL astrology department sent me this link, and my practical Capricorn Mars is thinking it’s a pretty good thing to be noticed by AOL. Jeff Jawer (owner of the Star IQ website) is a great astrology writer. On upcoming planetary cycles in 2007 he writes: Controlled enthusiasm and well-managed risk-taking are major themes for 2007. Jupiter, the planet of opportunity and expansion, is back in its adventurous home sign of Sagittarius for the first time in 12 years. This... Read more

Artwork by Daniel Merriam On January 1 Mars made a sextile to Neptune, harmonizing the aggressive instinct (Mars) with a heightened sensitivity and compassion (Neptune). Our drive for action is tempered over the next couple of days with concern for the feelings of others, and our physical energy is channeled into pursuits that have a higher purpose. Neptune is not content with mundane reality but demands that we pursue a relationship with the divine essence within us. This is a... Read more