Thanks for the tip, Jeffrey, of another article from Celeb Astroblogy (I love the intro): Let me step back and strive for a more measured level of schadenfreude as we examine Mel’s horoscope and find out why Yahweh has a bone to pick with him. A Capricorn, Mel has a malefic conjunction of aggressive Mars and his Sun’s ruler, stern Saturn, in Scorpio. This configuration gives him a tendency to be controlling, power-hungry and manipulative, and he definitely likes to... Read more

Jeffrey Kishner also posted on Mel Gibson’s Midheaven problems (thanks for the link Jeffrey!): Mel was born with a Pisces Midheaven. His public image is that of Christ and the alcoholic, both archetypal expressions of Pisces. Pisces has two rulers — Neptune is the modern ruler, and Jupiter is the traditional ruler. His Jupiter is in Virgo, conjunct Pluto and square Saturn. Jupiter is the planet of religion and faith — his beliefs (Jupiter) are somewhat critical (Virgo), and he... Read more

Mel Gibson has long been one of the most likeable and bankable stars in Hollywood. His charming and amusing character in the Lethal Weapon series brought women streaming into the theaters, something unheard of for action films. However, during the promotion and distribution of his film the Passion of the Christ a couple of years ago, chinks began to appear in the armor of his well packaged presence as stories of Gibson’s extremist views began to appear in the press.... Read more

Michael Lutin is best known as the astrologer who writes the Vanity Fair sun sign column, and as you know, I have little respect for astrologers who try to condense this ancient art into an attempt to predict the future based on sun signs. But he has some interesting things to say about Israel/Palestine and its second Saturn Return which is approaching beginning in September and continuing through next year, as well as the planetary influences on suicide bombers.. The... Read more

You can read the whole article here but here is an excerpt. Much of this month’s article has to do with the major planetary events of 2006: Jupiter’s ride through Scorpio, Jupiter trine Uranus, and an introduction to the opposition of Saturn to Neptune which is moving into place: The introduction: We begin the month of August with four planets traveling retrograde: Uranus, Neptune, Pluto and Chiron. While there is a strong push by these “outer” or “transpersonal” planets to... Read more

As some of you know, I write an advice column for Innerchange Magazine, and from time to time I will post some of the more interesting questions. Here’s one that came in the other day: Q: I know a bit about astrology, but have not been able to find a satisfactory explanation of combination of transits that are now occurring in my chart. Neptune is on my ASC and Pluto is on my DSC, in exact opposition. This is a... Read more

This from the New York Times: DAMASCUS, Syria, July 27 — At the onset of the Lebanese crisis, Arab governments, starting with Saudi Arabia, slammed Hezbollah for recklessly provoking a war, providing what the United States and Israel took as a wink and a nod to continue the fight. The Middle EastNow, with hundreds of Lebanese dead and Hezbollah holding out against the vaunted Israeli military for more than two weeks, the tide of public opinion across the Arab world... Read more

John Bolton is a neoconservative who has been serving the causes of the New Right since the early 1980s. Unlike most neocons, who tend to stay in ivory towers and think tanks, Bolton has worked within the political structure since his college days. It is said that his political views have not changed since his teens when he supported Barry Goldwater’s presidential bid. Attending Yale Law School, he befriended Clarence Thomas and others in the new Federalist Society (a group... Read more

Somebody emailed this to me and I wanted to share it: To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness. What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places – and... Read more

Some astrologers say that the effects of Mercury retrograde linger for several weeks after Mercury changes direction to move forward again, but I have never found that to be the case, in my experience Mercury’s direct turn generally alleviates the difficulties in communication, travel, email and phone service. However, Uranus is still retrograde so don’t expect everything to be working smoothly quite yet. Uranus is said to be the “higher octave of Mercury” – where Mercury rules the thought process... Read more