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<\/a>Today I give you Phil Brown’s look back at the year in astrology and fantastic link extravaganza. I’ve copied the whole article here for your convenience, but please be sure to visit Phil’s website<\/a> for other of his terrific articles.<\/p>\n
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A totally subjective and random look at the wonderful world of astrology in 2007 Second biggest astrology trend<\/strong>: Interest in Mayan cosmology and 2012. Although the apocalypse is what\u2019s simmering in a part of the collective consciousness right now, respected experts in Mayan cosmology are not forecasting any sort of 2012 pre-Columbian rapture. John Major Jenkins\u2019 Maya Cosmogenesis 2012<\/em><\/a> (which doesn\u2019t really predict an apocalypse and is probably the best of the 2012 books–a fascinating read) has steadily outsold most astrology books on the list of astrology bestsellers. Bruce Scofield\u2019s How to Practice Mayan A<\/em>strology<\/a> has been finding a much wider readership. And there\u2019s been an endless parade of other 2012 books<\/a>.<\/p>\n Planet of the Year<\/strong> (and probably next year, too): Saturn. When contacted, Saturn merely griped that he could not accept the Planet of the Year award because he was too busy \u201ctightening my rings, sir.\u201d Indeed, Saturn\u2019s coming off the opposition to Neptune, went into Virgo, and recent discoveries indicate that Saturn\u2019s rings are a lot older than previously believed<\/a>\u2014and thus, perhaps, in need of a little adjusting. Oh well, it\u2019s been a SERIOUS year. Even the comedians have been hard-edged and Comedy Central\u2019s Stewart and Colbert haven\u2019t been doing new shows due to the writer\u2019s strike (although they are scheduled to come back in early January). Pluto\u2019s about to go into Saturn-ruled Capricorn and Saturn\u2019s starting to face off against Uranus. No wonder Saturn\u2019s tightening his rings. He needs to be ready. Damn<\/em> ready.<\/p>\n Dwarf planet of the year<\/strong>: Ceres. Now that global warming has our full attention, the recently elevated planet Ceres\u2014the goddess of agriculture and seasonal change\u2014is getting a lot of overdue respect. And you gotta love the sub-plot involving a mythic underworld Amber Alert<\/span>.<\/a><\/p>\n Astrology book of the year<\/strong>: Wish I had time to read more books, but there\u2019s been precious little time this year. I\u2019m still trying to catch up with books from several centuries ago. However, my favorite book this year (even though it was published last year) was Venus: Her Cycles, Symbols, and Myths<\/em><\/a>, by Anne Massey. Venus seemed due for a major makeover and Anne Massey masterfully brings her into the 21st Century\u2014yet Venus still maintains an ageless symmetry. A real eye-opener.<\/p>\n Cosmic event of the year<\/strong>: Pluto conjunct the Galactic Center certainly helped to explain a world in transition. For an excellent discussion of this alignment, see Lynn Hayes\u2019 article on her AstroDynamics website<\/a>.<\/p>\n Most anticipated astrology event that hasn\u2019t happened yet<\/strong>: Tie between 2012\u2014the Mayan calendar end date\u2014and the U.S. election on November 4, 2008. At this point, it is not clear which will be more transformational. Technically, a national election is not an astrology event per se, but this one will coincide with the exact opposition of Saturn and Uranus. Runner-up: Pluto\u2019s entry into Capricorn.<\/p>\n Astrology event most anticipated by me personally<\/strong>: the mid-2007 waning of the Saturn-Neptune opposition. It hit a few of my own planets and I\u2019d just about had it up to here with that alignment, although Neptune kept fogging things up to the point where I could never quite figure out what \u201cit\u201d was.<\/p>\n Least noticed astrology event<\/strong>: The discoveries of other solar systems. The astrology reaction\u2019s generally been like, \u201cYeah, if I was born on some planet orbiting 47 Ursa Majoris, I might care.\u201d But according to Zane Stein and Debbi Kempton-Smith<\/span><\/a> (authors respectively of A View from Chiron<\/em><\/a> and the irreverent classic Secrets from a Stargazer\u2019s Notebook<\/em><\/a>), these exo-planets might be a lot more potent than we think.<\/p>\n Biggest astrology frustration<\/strong>: The lack of solid birth times for most of the presidential candidates. AKA Looking for Hillary\u2026and Barack\u2026and Mike\u2026and John (at least the one from North Carolina)\u2026and\u2026I realize there are more important issues facing our world today, but hey, if they can answer questions from a snowman on YouTube, the least they can do is have some aide dig up a birth certificate and post it on the candidate\u2019s MySpace page. Inquiring astrologers REALLY want to know.<\/p>\n Best planet, all things considered<\/strong>: Earth. The character of the Stage Manager in Thornton Wilder\u2019s Our Town<\/em> commented that of all the worlds in the known universe, \u201cOnly this one is straining away, straining away all the time to make something of itself.\u201d Hopefully, we can make something better of our own small planet in 2008.<\/p>\n ———————–<\/p>\n Amen, brother. and may the best of all things come to you and yours this next year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Happy New Year everyone! Today I give you Phil Brown’s look back at the year in astrology and fantastic link extravaganza. I’ve copied the whole article here for your convenience, but please be sure to visit Phil’s website for other of his terrific articles. ———————– A totally subjective and random look at the wonderful world…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":328,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-165","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-crime"],"yoast_head":"\n
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Biggest astrology trend<\/strong> (a repeat from last year): Astrology blogs. They\u2019ve been growing exponentially. Check out Jeffrey Kishner\u2019s Astrology Blogger Directory<\/a>, a \u201ccomprehensive guide to every Western astrology blog on the web.\u201d By the time you scroll to the bottom of the list, you\u2019ll be in a new time zone, your head spinning in a blissful astro-blogosphere tag cloud. Then check out the blog podcasts and vidcasts. Top Ten Astrology Sources<\/a> will also keep you happily busy for most of your waking hours.<\/p>\n