Winter Solstice 2005:
The Planets and Stars of Y2K6

What's in store for the holidays and beyond?

BY: Shelley L. Ackerman

Continued from page 2

President Bush's chart is under enormous stress. With Saturn, Lord of Karma, on his Ascendant, and Uranus opposite his Mars through much of the year, his popularity may decline, and he may have to further explain wiretapping without Congress' approval. The stress is especially high at the end of January, when Saturn is on his ascendant. The new moon chart for Jan. 29, the day before Cheney's 65th birthday, is interesting: it has Pluto on the Midheaven, often symbolic of a change of leadership. Cheney's chart has his progressed moon moving at the same degree as the U.S. chart; in fact, his progressed Midheaven is about to contact Pluto.

Astrologers are speculating about the extreme nature of that progression: With Saturn opposite his Sun and squaring his Taurus planets, the questions are: Will his health hold up? Will he have to answer uncomfortable questions about Scooter Libby? May he even `ascend to the throne'?

The seasonal charts (horoscopes cast for spring equinox, summer solstice, fall equinox, and next winter solstice) are especially interesting. Three out of four of those charts cast for Washington, D.C., have Saturn in Leo Rising, suggesting a leadership that is under the gun, fiercely struggling to maintain its sovereignty and authority.

How's Your Health?

Many of the new moons and full moons throughout the year have either Virgo or Pisces rising, implying that both labor issues and health care issues will be on the front burner. This is especially driven home when the lunar nodes change from the Aries/Libra axis to the Pisces/Virgo axis in June. The Solar eclipse chart in Washington, D.C., on September 22 at 29º Virgo (a degree of crisis) invokes a troubling image regarding overcrowded, understaffed and underfunded hospitals and even prisons. A demand for health care as well as hospital and prison reform are likely to follow. But the Chinese ideogram for `crisis' is comprised of the words `danger and opportunity' and a world of good can be born of these times.

Astrologer and Yoga instructor Mark Wolz said, "This is a year where dharma, or 'calling,' for each of us is within reach. How surely we make that connection is a matter of aligning clear intent with our will. As we move into 2006, a look at the fixed-sign grand cross featuring Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and Neptune tells me it will be a year in which people either connect the dots necessary to put their beliefs into action and manifest their highest vision, or else miss the connection and see little result by clinging to long-lost hopes and outdated ideals."

And Madalyn Hillis-Dineen echoes the theme of releasing the past: "While the energies this year may be difficult, we may be presented with a choice that allows us to break free of the bondage of negativity and fear. Will we let go of our patterns and see the opportunity to move forward to a new form of being, or will we remain stuck in our old familiar but worn-out habits? If we choose to act differently, to live in love and not in fear, then we will be able to know real freedom."

As for me, I'm excited about the incongruity in the heavens. The strange planetary combinations and wild intensity make for so much creative potential. There is much to work with and for that I am grateful. May you find many reasons to live with a grateful heart too.

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