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Mercury Retrograde And Election Madness by Genevieve Vierling

10/17/2012

I’m encouraging anyone reading this to vote by mail this year if possible, or vote early at the designated locations in your precinct. Why? Mercury will turn retrograde on November 6th this year. Yes, right on Election Day. Anyone working with astrology for very long knows what can happen when the ‘god’ of communications, commerce, and routine travel stops and begins to move backwards. All sorts of imagined and unimagined mishaps can go wrong in the middle of an election when this occurs, and it has only happened once before. Guess when? When George Bush Jr. questionably won against Al Gore not that long ago. So here we go again!

Election Day in Honolulu 8 PM AHST

On this particular Election Day Mercury will be retrograde in Sagittarius in trine to Uranus also retrograde in Aries, and squaring Neptune and Chiron in Pisces, both retrograde. What this potentially means is a lot of upsets, surprises and excitement surrounded by confusion, lack of clarity, and downright chaos. Distortions of all types are possible. Resulting disillusionment is possible. So the more of us who quietly and sanely fill out our ballots and put them in the mailbox the better!

Could this Mercury retrograde have anything to do with the results of this election? Look back at the first time George Bush Jr. got elected and make your own conclusions.

Obama on Election Day

Romney on Election Day

There’s a lot of buzz even in astrological circles about who will win. I’m purposely staying out of that fray. A recent blogger, Jamie Partridge, listed all the astrologers who say Obama will win, and all those who say Romney will win. Check it out for yourself, but right now it’s still about 2 to 1 in favor of Obama.

What I’m more concerned with now is what is happening to America? First I’d like to quote Matt Taibbi a very astute national affairs commentator on our election madness, and then I’d like to briefly look ahead at what America has to go through astrologically speaking until 2015.

First Mr. Taibbi in his recent article “Blame the Media” (Mercury again):
“What we Americans go through to pick a president is not only crazy and unnecessary but genuinely abusive. Hundreds of millions of dollars are spent in a craven, cynical effort to stir up hatred and anger on both sides. A decision that in reality takes one or two days of careful research to make is somehow stretched out into a process that involves two years of relentless, suffocating mind-warfare, an onslaught of toxic media messaging directed at liberals, conservatives and everyone in between that by Election Day makes every dinner conversation dangerous and literally divides families.

Politicians are much to blame for this, but we in the media have to take responsibility for the damage we do to the American psyche in the name of election coverage. At this very moment, there are people all over the country who are stocking up on canned goods and ammo for the apocalypse they believe will come if Obama is re-elected. For the broadcast business to be successful viewers need to be not merely interested in our political melodramas, they have to be in an absolute state about them—emotionally invested in the outcome and frightened not to watch what happens next. And any person who’s been subjected to 720 consecutive days of propaganda is not likely to take the news well if he gets the wrong result, whether it’s a victory for Obama or for Romney. By that point, the networks have spent two years finding new ways each day to convince him that the world is going to disintegrate into some commie or Hitlerian version of Mad Max, to keep him coming back and watching ads.”

He goes on to suggest that our campaigns be limited to six weeks and have free TV access for both candidates. He also wants it to be illegal to publish poll numbers. “Think about it: Banning poll numbers would force the media to actually cover the issues. As it stands now, the horse race is the entire story.”

I remember one early morning years ago taking the bus from Dublin to the airport and being the only person on the bus. I got into a conversation with the driver who was from Slovenia, a small but beautiful Eastern European country. He told me that in his country each candidate got equal campaign funds to keep things fair, and that the elections were fair in his country. He thought our country was sort of nuts in the way we conducted our political campaigns. I sadly had to agree with him. I, for one, will be relieved when this final frenzy to the finishing line is over for another two years before we start it up all over again.

USA on Election Day

The concern I really have is for the future of this nation where I was born. Certain cycles are in place that portend of even greater upheavals and implosions than we have lived through since 2008, and these will concern the very heads of state themselves as well as the energy and purpose of America as symbolized by the Sun in Cancer. There are also cycles involving our nation’s Moon in Aquarius (the common people & public nature) which look quite challenging. Here’s the run-down of specific dates when the most intense periods will run their course.

Transit Uranus semi-square the Moon: June 18, 2013
Transit Uranus (retrograde) semi-square the Moon: August 16, 2013
Transit Pluto semi-square the Moon: January 27, 2014
Transit Pluto opposite the Sun: March 14, 2014
Transit Uranus semi-square the Moon: March 28, 2014
Transit Uranus square the Sun: April 17, 2014
Transit Pluto (retrograde) opposite the Sun: May 17, 2014
Transit Pluto (retrograde) semi-square the Moon: July 9, 2014
Transit Uranus (retrograde) square the Sun: November 8, 2014
Transit Pluto semi-square the Moon: December 2, 2014
Transit Pluto opposite the Sun: January 5, 2015
Transit Uranus square the Sun: February 2, 2015
Transit Pluto (retrograde) opposite the Sun: August 17, 2015
Transit Pluto opposite the Sun: November 1, 2015 (Note that Pluto opposes the Sun FIVE times.)

I’ve kept things as simple as possible citing only the Sun & Moon involved in the basic Uranus/Pluto square aspect that every astrologer is discussing intensely now. The aspects to the Moon are particularly troubling because semi-square aspects are aspects of great pressure either to over-come some obstacle (waxing) or to release and let go of a past cycle (waning). The Moon representing the people shows this pressure applied on either side, both waxing from Uranus and waning from Pluto, beginning in the summer of 2013 and extending to the end of 2014.

Pluto in America’s chart now enters its ‘Immanent Phase’ meaning that in a few years Pluto returns to where it was at this nation’s birth after 248 years of a complete cycle. This final phase is where endings and the seeds of new beginnings are mixing. Pluto in the natal map is opposite Mercury implying that the nation was born out of a power struggle of gigantic proportions involving differing ideologies. This struggle is back again in full force as the old ends and the new begins.

So whoever is elected President of this nation will be dealing with great transitions of primarily endings before what is to come emerges. Given the chaotic confusion of this Election Day on November 6th, the strange fate of the head of the helm will be determined in a most disturbing manner. The does not bode well for a bright and tranquil presidency as more sobering matters loom ahead after the madness and frenzy of one more election cycle.

Genevieve A. Vierling C.A.P.
Astrologer
www.bluelightlady.com

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Relating to Libra by Genevieve Vierling

10/13/2012

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The graceful and highly stylized pas de deux of the ballet seems to epitomize the quality of rarified love that those born under Libra, or those who bear some strong signature in that sign, yearn for in a relationship. This is a couple’s dance where every move and gesture is harmonious and ritualized to perfection. If you are looking for someone who is artfully engaged in expressing the right manners, the right socially acceptable protocol, and who seeks a balanced give and take of communication, as well as someone who enjoys beauty, art, and culture, perhaps you should find a Libran. And if you are born under this sign you absolutely need something elevated and romantic in a relationship to sustain you!

This is not to say that all Librans are stuffy or reserved. Far from it. The roster of highly sexually attractive people under this sign is a very long list indeed. My list includes Rita Hayworth, Heather Locklear, Suzanne Somers, Cheryl Tiegs, Naomi Watts, Kate Winslet, Angela Lansbury, Julie Andrews, Susan Sarandon, Gwen Stafani,
Gwyneth Paltrow, Kelly Preston, Karen Allen, Brigitte Bardot, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Sigourney Weaver, Kim Kardashian, Catherine Deneuve, and Marion Cotillard in the actress category. If you think about all these women a certain image of style emerges that has aesthetic appeal to millions. Many were or are trend setters. In the male category we have Matt Damon, Montgomery Clift, Eminem, Scott Bakula, Yo-Yo Ma, John Lennon, Christopher Reeve, Sting, Michael Douglas, Will Smith, Luciano Pavarotti, Yves Montand, Charlton Heston, and Roger Moore. Again, we see style and a certain social finesse in all of them even if some play highly macho and very sexy roles.

Because this is a sign which seeks relationship as an ideal, the actual arrival of that state of perfection is often a path littered with trial and error failures, for it is a mental sign more than an emotional one; thus it is the principle of love that is sought after more than an actual emotional bond which can get messy. When you start studying the lives of the famous in this sign, be prepared to read over and over again just how many of them have been married several times. Even the politicians and heads of state may break the public ideal by having multiple partners such as Benjamin Netanyahu with his three marriages, and Dennis Kucinich with his three.

Speaking of heads of state, statesmanship, and politics; here is a sign which produces its considerable share of well known public leaders: Dwight D. Eisenhower, Jimmy Carter, Mohandas Gandhi, Lech Walesa, Eleanor Roosevelt, Margaret Thatcher, John Marshall, William Rehnquist, Pierre Trudeau, Ehud Olmert, and Benjamin Netanyahu to name a few. Libra seeks a more socially correct and acceptable route towards relationship which includes public roles which are often held for long periods of time especially in the media world of today. Ed Sullivan started it with his long running television show where he brought to the world a number of talented people. Then there was Johnny Carson with his highly popular late-night interview show of the famous and notorious which seemed to be a staple on TV forever.

Barbara Walters is still going strong at 83 years! She is personable, engaging, always impeccably dressed and coiffed, and another mainstay that everyone knows or recognizes as a great interviewer and commentator. Finally, there is Simon Cowell, not exactly known for his finesse, but certainly one of the highest paid television personalities simply because he is engaged with the selection and promotion of people performing publicly.

This is a human oriented sign and the art of relating socially is a huge part of what many natives in this sign pursue, though many also pursue this art of relating through the actual arts where creating patterns, balancing one element against another, blending contrasting elements, and refining crude or rough elements shows up in the world of choreography, interior design, painting, and writing. Another way this art of relating shows up is in the world of law where the balancing of the scales of justice is pursued through codifying what is considered to be equal and fair in matters of human relationships.

In fact, this sign seems to be engaged in a great effort to ritualize so much in life that is imperfect and rough into ‘the Good, the True, and the Beautiful’. It really is the place where frogs must become princes again, and beasts of prey must be enchanted into elegant and charming kings and queens. It’s the most fairy tale-like sign I know of!

Just look at what that genius artist, Caravaggio did with the most debase themes imaginable, like slicing off someone’s head; he painted them with great elegance, compositional style, and lustrous perfection. You can look at the hideous and be enchanted! That’s a Libran skill I’d say. Anne Rice in her vampire chronicles tried to do the same thing in writing with long descriptive passages about lush elegant scenes where beautifully attired people were really quite beastly and insatiably blood-thirsty in their actual behavior.

Catherine Deneuve played with chilling elegance a vampire in ‘The Hunger’ where even young people were ultimately devoured.

Libra Women
I’d rather look at the real life people I have known, enjoyed, and even loved, including my own mother who was graced with a Moon/Jupiter conjunction in Libra in her 10th house of public life. She was kind, gracious, and definitely ‘socially correct’. She loved social events actually and wouldn’t miss a political campaign, the pomp and pageantry of a graduation, the beauty and ritual of a wedding. She excelled in diplomacy with her colleagues and tried her best to smooth the edges of controversy which arose quite often in the academic world she worked in. It was only after her death that I learned of another side to her nature while reading her letters to her mother where she expressed her gall and disdain for some of the political skullduggery that especially the men in her world indulged in. This ‘other side’ was her Sun in Aries asserting righteous indignation, but it was well hidden in her 4th house of home and family. The world saw her as cooperative and diplomatic and she was amply rewarded for this behavior in that sphere.

A lot of Libra women I’ve known have worked in the world of male dominated culture quite well. This is an assertive sign remember. And it is also a sign where the ‘marriage of the male and female’ takes place inside to a great extent. Libra women enjoy making inroads in mainstream culture as teachers, business savvy women, leaders, and professionals of all stripes. These women often wield their ‘iron fist inside the velvet glove’ quite easily to achieve their goals. They may enjoy all the beauty and grace of a swan, but inside is the mind of a bird of prey. They are strategic and able to zero in at will when necessary.

Yes, they are a romantic group! They like all those clichés of how to be courted properly with flowers, wine, and candle-lit dinners for two. They are the queens of good taste and desire love to be elevated to an art form. They are also in need of intellectual stimulation through conversation. Yes, the art of good old-fashioned conversation. Social skills men! Sometimes, sadly, it’s a lost art and Libra women don’t exactly enjoy boorish men.

Look how quickly Kim Kardashian dumped her hunk once the public courting phase and over-the-top wedding was over; just 72 days until ‘irreconcilable differences’ could not be diplomatically bridged. My guess is that with an attorney for a father, she is a lot smarter than she tries to appear.

In this journey towards equality, Libran women have made huge inroads into patriarchal territory since the early ‘60s. Doris Lessing,the author, championed women through her many writings and novels but Mary Daly fought hard as author, professor, and theologian starting with her first book, ‘The Church and the Second Sex’ (1968), and moving on to ‘Beyond God the Father’ (1973), Gyn/Ecology (1978), Pure Lust (1984) to her final ‘Amazon Grace’(2006). How’s that for a female Libran slogan? I like it. Amazon Grace. These new Libra women are not the white gloved breed of the ‘50s. That’s for sure!

Libra Men
My personal experience doesn’t jive with some of what I’ve read about Libra men, such as ‘they’re hung up on their looks’, they are ‘Don Juans’, and love to play ‘hard to get’. I also never found them to be too abstract or tending to retreat up into their heads. I actually had three boyfriends born under this sign when I was younger and they were certainly all of them romantic. One was a fabulous pianist who used to play rhapsodies for me in the dark, another was a poet, but the one I still can smile inwardly about was a surfer boy from Hermosa Beach who favored candle light, and wrote me the most beautiful love letters stained with candle wax drippings—–yes, incurably romantic. Yet I don’t remember any of these men being ‘stuck on themselves’.

Libra men seek artistry and/or statesmanship in various forms I’ve found. One man I know works with sacred geometry and designs energy tools that are both beautiful and functional. Another is a designer of homes which are also imbued with grace yet meant to be lived in.

There are so many Libran men of letters who write and speak well. I’ve always admired Gore Vidal for both his style and eloquence. Even Frank Herbert created the most mysterious and magical science fiction worlds at the same time grappling with issues of social justice. In another article on Libra I wrote about both John Lennon and Mohandas Gandhi, two great visionaries for peace and justice. John was a romantic at heart and Yoko brought it out into the open for the world to see.

I feel that, like Libra women, the men are trying to harmonize their inner female with their outer male within themselves. When they achieve this balance they are truly masculine with a gentility that is both gracious and pleasant. You can see this in Dennis Kucinich who is an astute politician, often critical of current policies, but ever the gentleman in style. There is nothing vulgar or coarse about this man. Of course we could contrast him with someone like Vladimir Putin who obviously has a long way to go in integrating his inner feminine, and he does seem to be ‘hung up on his looks’ which is categorically absurd if you have eyes to see.

Let’s end by saluting Libra men like Desmond Tutu who valiantly and eloquently continue to champion human rights and equality for all. These are the men who deeply appreciate the feminine side of life and try to protect and preserve it.

Libra as Lover
I think I’ve covered the romantic element quite enough already in this article. In terms of a deeper intimacy it’s probably necessary for Libra to have some Scorpio somewhere in their make-up. Often they do. The two signs straddling Libra are earthy Virgo and watery Scorpio. Either helps to bring Libra out of their theoretical airy spaces, but Scorpio imbues them with just enough passion to really qualify as lovers with a capital L. Virgo may keep them too reasonable to let go and get swept away.

Women, however, after the honeymoon phase has worn off in a marriage, often seek some Libran romance to bring the spice back into the bedroom. This human art, therefore, never will go out of style, because Libra truly bridges from the self-sufficiency of Virgo to the passionate desire to merge in Scorpio with that graceful pas de deux which keeps the dream of love alive.

Libra as Parent
This is not a Mommy or Daddy sign. It’s really a sign designed to partner. So in parenting there is a need to reason things through, talk about things, find the common ground where fair is fair. I actually have a lot of Libra clients who chose not to have children or couldn’t have them. Many of the women I know have sons. I think they make good mothers because Libran women can get inside a male head more easily. This doesn’t mean they don’t go through their trials with acting out teenagers. They do. Yet in the long run they have the opportunity to cultivate a truly harmonious relationship with their children where a sense of give and take, fairness, and communication rule the day.

The Libra Shadow
I always like to read Liz Greene’s analysis of shadow material. When it comes to Libra she calls it the ‘Coy Maiden’ syndrome of playing hard to get. She chastises Librans for not feeling enough, for craving approval and playing games of flirtation and competition with sexual partners, friends, business partners, and even parents to get their needs for affection and acceptance. That certainly wasn’t my experience with Libra men, and I haven’t seen it in the Libran women I have known either.

Here’s what I see as possible shadow material: it’s the actual uncertainty of whether they are truly male or female. In water signs, the gender issue is much more easily defined. In an air sign which has everything to do with balance and equality it gets pretty confusing knowing whether you’re one or the other! You look at someone like Kim Kardashian, or Brigitte Bardot and you wonder why they don’t exactly fit into the slot of traditional womanhood in real life, even though publicly they are ‘and God Created Woman’ personified.

Ms. Bardot finally left the world of illusion and became true to her own nature of loving animals more passionately than she does humans. Ms. Kardashian may also eventually tire of the feminine charade and own more dynamically her strong masculine inner self. On the male side, we have as an example Montgomery Clift who couldn’t completely reconcile his highly developed inner sensitive feminine side with his ‘reluctant-hero’ film presence. Alcohol is often the way of self-medicating the anxiety created by such a paradox. So gender anxiety creates one type of shadow with all of its compensatory elements.

The other shadow is what I call the ‘War and Peace’ syndrome. So many politicians possess this to a remarkable degree in giving lip service to public displays of peaceful diplomacy while waging vicious wars and intrigues behind the scenes or below the surface. If the ugly and bestial side of our human nature isn’t acknowledged it goes underground and creates mayhem and wars while polite protocols continue on the surface amongst ‘civilized society’. Our modern world is full of this shadow material and we are all suspect in some sense when we consume or use products that were created either through acts of violence, such as the meat industry, or even the clothing industry with its degrading sweat shops and violations of child labor laws in third world countries. The Bad, the False, and the Ugly lie somewhere in the shadow land of Libra.

Most Librans that I know, however, really do strive to work towards the ideal of a better, more fair and just world where kindness and reciprocity are exercised consciously and application of beauty makes for all of us a more enjoyable world to live in.

Now it’s time to look at Libra in relationship to each of the other eleven signs.

Libra with Aries
We start with the polarity of Libra with its opposite Aries. This polarization is so completely classic since Libra appears to be everything that Aries is not. Libra thinks ‘We’ rather than Aries, who thinks ‘I’. Libra is other-oriented, partnership-oriented, and always motivated by a drive to connect, balance, and harmonize with other things or people, while Aries seeks authenticity of self and being true to self irregardless of relationships. This awareness of the Self and the Not Self is part of both signs and to heal chasms between these two signs both must learn to love themselves. Libra certainly needs a sense of their true Self so that they won’t become lost in the energy of others around them.

Libran David Cameron, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is married to Samantha an Aries. Both have backgrounds in the aristocracy, but David does often bicycle to work and is of the revolutionary Uranus/Pluto in Virgo 1966 generation. They have three children and suffered the grave loss of their first child, Ivan, who was born with cerebral palsy and epilepsy. I’m sure such grief has increased Mr. Cameron’s capacity for compassion, and he does have a strong Neptune in Scorpio. Samantha has Venus in Pisces where it is exalted and David’s Chiron/Saturn conjoins her there; truly a special bond. They are very much opposites, however, in Sun signs, and Mercury. She has a lot of Earth, including her Moon in Capricorn, to stabilize him since that is the element he needs most in his life as a career politician.

Mohandas Gandhi and his Aries wife Kastuba married when they were just 13 years old each. They had four sons together and she worked tirelessly with her great husband in his non-violent political resistance for Indian independence from the British. Their stellar love story deserves more than this short paragraph. After 62 years of marriage she died in his arms while both were imprisoned in Poona.

Gandhi had an incredibly strong chart with Moon in Leo at the apex of a fixed T-square. This strength of the feminine was mirrored in Kastuba with her amazing stellium of 7 bodies in Aries including a Sun/Jupiter heroic conjunction which mirrored her husband. She had a Grand Trine in fire and her Mars/North Node in Leo conjoined his Moon. It should also be noted that both had North Node in Leo reinforcing their great spiritual work of love for their people in a united path.

Libra with Taurus
While these two signs are inconjunct each other meaning enormous differences between the two for Libra is Cardinal Air while Taurus is Fixed Earth, they both share in common the same ruler, Venus. Both could share a natural love of art and beauty. The desire of Taurus for sexual satisfaction and progeny is legally sanctioned through a Libran marital relationship. Taurus lends a hand at acquiring money and property in supporting a socially sanctioned union.

I covered Margaret (Libra) and Dennis (Taurus) Thatcher in my ‘Relating to Taurus’ article. Margaret certainly lived out her masculine side as Prime Minister and gave new meaning to ‘the iron fist inside the velvet glove’. She out-lived her faithfully stable husband who probably did keep her sane and grounded with his sense of humor and quiet tolerance. Now she wanders the halls of memory in her own shadow land.

This second combination of Libra with Taurus is camouflaged well by the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin who reportedly has been involved with the Taurus beauty Alina Kabaeva. The cool Libran Putin categorically denies such involvement. All we can do is note any major connections between their birth charts. Vladimir has a great deal of air with a Sun and stellium in Libra as well as Moon in Gemini. He does, however, have a Venus in Scorpio trining his Uranus in Cancer leading us to believe that a secret love life is possible. Alina has a massive stellium in Taurus including both Sun and Moon while her Venus is in Cancer in trine to Putin’s Venus, but more telling is his Mars in Sagittarius opposite her Venus while conjoining her South Node and Neptune in Sagittarius. Lots of pursuit and fantasy in this one! His Jupiter in Taurus does conjoin her Sun/Mercury which may have encouraged her back in 2008 to harbor the hope of a marriage.

Libra with Gemini
Air with Air should be an easy, sociable, and highly communicative coupling. These two potentially could thrive together by pursuing all the social and communication arts.

You would think there would be any number of examples to illustrate but I have to return to one already covered in my Gemini article, Arthur Miller (Libra) with Marilyn Monroe (Gemini). Arthur, the fine playwright and author had a great capacity as a Libran to get under the surface and connect empathically with people. His birth chart shows a great deal of Water, including Venus and Mercury in Scorpio. Marilyn’s Mars in Pisces conjoined his Jupiter/Chiron which truly did link them both sexually and emotionally. Further more, they shared the same Moon sign, Aquarius. That the marriage unraveled is well known. All the reasons as to why it did have been chronicled multiple times, but Arthur’s account is quite telling and his Libran nature was able to integrate within himself much of the shadow side of his own feminine through his inner work and writing for he went on to have a very long-lasting and harmonious marriage with Austrian photographer Inge Morath.

Libra with Cancer
Cardinal Air with Cardinal Water can actually work even though there is a decided conflict here between an emotionally oriented sign and a mentally oriented one. Yet creating a home life together where the one builds for a safe haven and the other for a beautiful sanctuary might just be a place where many would feel welcome.

Angela Lansbury (Libra) and her second husband, Peter Shaw (Cancer) were married 54 years until his death in 2003. Her first marriage lasted but a year to actor Richard Cromwell who was a bisexual. Angela’s chart shows a strong Libran bent with Moon, Mars, Sun & Mercury all in that sign. Mars is at the apex of a strong Cardinal T-square showing her strength as an actress and performer, but also the conflicts she needed to resolve involving the polarity of the male/female balance in Libra. Peter was also an actor and a producer. They had three children together. Angela’s Moon was exactly conjoined Peter’s Mars, while she too had Mars in Libra. This signature alone meant an enormous sexual and companionable bond. Both seemed to like a lot of action and were go-getters complementing each other strongly, though both must have pushed each other’s buttons as well over the years.

I’d like to take on a different type of relationship for the sake of interest and variety; that of the very strong Libra nation The People’s Republic of China and an equally strong Cancer nation, The United States of America. How is it that this communist nation with its strong signature of Neptune (Communism) conjoining Mercury, South Node and Sun in Libra is in such an alliance with a country like America that decidedly shuns even Socialism? Certainly there are enormous conflicts between the two birth maps: China’s Sun alone squares America’s Sun, Jupiter, and Venus. The tell tale signatures are tied in with money matters. The secret plutocracy side of America, Pluto, is conjoined with China’s Jupiter in Capricorn as well as a strange combination of their Moon in early Aquarius which is conjoining both Pluto and the South Node in Aquarius of the USA chart. This implies some sort of karmic bond from an esoteric point of view, but also explains the strange paradox of relationship between both nations who are obviously opposed to each other philosophically. China has a very secretive Venus in Scorpio square Mars/Pluto in Leo which probably represents an elite core who does pull a lot of strings monetarily. Their Mars is conjoined the United States North Node showing how strong the ties go into America’s need for mergers of all types with other nations. America’s Saturn in Libra conjoins China’s South Node, and on and on it goes. A very complex web of connections indeed!

It’s interesting to note that both nations are under the upheavals of transiting Uranus square Pluto for some time to come. Right now China has transit Pluto in Capricorn squaring its Sun and Uranus in Aries opposite. The retrograde phases were exact in August. What is going on with their heads of state, with their purpose as a Libran nation? Stay tuned and keep your eye on the money! This is a nation who is going to be raising the ante soon in wielding their power around the globe.

Libra with LeoCardinal Air with Fixed Fire should be a wonderful blend of style and flair enjoying life.

I found a great example of this highly fashionable partnership; that of Julie Andrews (Libra) with her husband of 41 years, Blake Edwards (Leo). Julie is practically a household word due to her amazingly successful career and lead roles in two of the most loved movies ever, Mary Poppins and Sound of Music. After marrying him she pushed into that more controversial area of Libra by starring in his movies ‘10’, S.O.B. where she barred her breasts, and ‘Victor/Victoria where gender roles merged and blurred.

Julie has both Venus in Virgo and Moon/Jupiter in Scorpio on either side of her Libra Sun. She has a wide range of avenues available to her in expressing the polarity of her Sun sign. Blake’s Sun in Leo was sextile to her Sun; their Venus’ were conjunct as were their Mars in Sagittarius. A well matched pair, they were.

Libra with Virgo
This has been called ‘the Harmonizing of Diverse Paths’ and rightfully so. In a couple we would assume that Libra leads Virgo on into the social realm and encourages greater expression of what has been mastered.

These two are side by side so in couples we will often see that there are overlaps such as in Will Smith with his wife Jada Pinkett Smith. Will is an early Libra with Mercury/Venus in late Libra. His great talent and flair for comedy shows in that entire Virgo backing up his Libra energies: Mars, Jupiter, and Pluto. He’s quite a force to be reckoned with as he also has Moon and Neptune in Scorpio filling out the trilogy. Jada is a double Virgo (Sun & Moon) with Sun conjoining Pluto mirrored by her marriage to Will, the power-house. Her Venus in Libra conjoins his Sun, as does her Uranus. It’s an exciting love and perhaps erratic. They don’t share the water element, so one wonders how Will gets his Moon in Scorpio needs met. Jada’s Moon in Virgo, however, sextiles that moon exact, so harmony is possible without watery ties.

Libra with Libra
My goodness, this is a popular blend!! Peas in the pod signatures abound in most interesting examples. I actually have four to share.

The first is Solar Twins Michael Douglas and his much younger ‘twin’ Catherine Zeta-Jones, both born on September 25th, but 25 years apart. She is one of those true Libra beauties and just keeps on unfolding since motherhood. She has a stellium in Libra which also strongly connects with Michael’s Mars in Libra. Her Venus in Virgo (she’s a great comedian actually) trines his Moon in Capricorn while her Moon in Pisces lends a sensitive and compassionate note to Michael’s life which felt a little hard and brittle around the edges until she entered it.

Barbara Walters, the Queen of the Interview, has, like a lot of Librans, been married four times to only three different men. Her famous quote could have been said by a number of other Libran women like Catherine Deneuve and Brigitte Bardot, “I’m convinced that you stay married when the sex is bad, only because you really want to be, but I always had an out. I had this job, and this life and enough money. I didn’t have to fight the bad days.” She, like Angela, loved a gay man for awhile. Merv Adelson, the CEO of Lorimar Television was married to her twice, both times ending in divorce: 1981 to 1984 and 1986 to 1992.

Barbara’s Sun is at 1 degree of Libra indicating a life of learning about Libra, while Merv’s Sun was at 29 degrees, the degree of expiation, implying his need to move on to Scorpio where his Mars is. They had a number of really good energetic connections, but her Moon/Jupiter in Gemini simply needs a lot of variety. With nothing in water, she probably doesn’t bond strongly enough with anyone, and Merv had Moon in Cancer which she simply couldn’t feed.

Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins, both actors and Librans, never married but stayed together for 21 years. Both have Scorpio planets and Susan has Moon in Capricorn implying an ability to commit without necessarily playing by society’s rules. She has a strong Uranus. Tim seems to be the one capable of wandering a field with his Mars in Gemini and Moon in Sagittarius which conjoined Susan’s South Node. My sense is that their karmic bond fulfilled its purpose and they are both now moving on.

The final couple is Dennis Kucinich and his wife of seven years, the beautiful Elizabeth. For Dennis, this is the third charmed marriage hopefully. They both share Moon in Pisces and her Venus conjoins his Neptune, while her Pluto conjoins his Sun. They have an equally transformative effect on the other. Finally, they have a lovely Mars/Venus trine in water to add to their harmony and flow.

Libra with Scorpio
Now its Scorpios turn to lead Libra into deeper waters of emotional commitment. We all know that feeling, here in the northern hemisphere, of the golden days of autumn on the edge of the darkening time in Scorpio. Libra eventually takes that plunge when coupling with Scorpio for emotional life is full of storms and swampy places as well as cascading water falls and moonlit lakes.

The gorgeous rock singer and actress, Gwen Stafani (Libra) has been married to guitarist Gavin Rossdale (Scorpio) since 2002. Not bad for show people—10 years. They have two children. Gwen juggles a lot with her Cardinal Grand Cross of a chart. She thrives on action in spite of a Moon in Cancer which needs to nurture and be nurtured. Her Moon trines Gavins Sun, conjoins his Jupiter, and opposes his Moon in Capricorn which, in turn, conjoins her Mars. They have some marvelous connections which ease the strain of her many squares. She has a perfectionist Venus in Virgo as part of her solid earth Grand Trine which Gavin connects with beautifully with his earth/water harmonies. Fortunately his Mars/Venus in Sagittarius links with her Sun/Jupiter in Libra. Nice!

Libra with Sagittarius
We have two signs which should energize each other since air and fire here create a nice Venus/Jupiter kind of connection. Principles of cooperation with principles of justice should do well together, yet I couldn’t find a solid example in a famous couple.

The only example I’ve got is the short-lived engagement of Gwyneth Paltrow (Libra) with Brad Pitt (Sagittarius). They surely did match each other in looks back then. Gwyneth, like Barbara Walters, has much air including a Moon in Gemini, but unlike Barbara, her Moon conjoins Saturn. She is quite capable of strong commitments emotionally. Brad’s Moon/Venus in Capricorn needs a strong and capable woman, but Capricorn and Gemini aren’t that compatible as Moon signs together on a daily basis. Gwyneth’s need for conversation is large and Brad just wants to get the job done and then get out and adventure. They did have many good complementary connections, but the glue of Saturn to make it stick just wasn’t there strongly enough.

Libra with Capricorn
Both are Cardinal in nature and have a desire for societal law and order, however there is a conflict between Libras need for free-swinging interaction and Capricorns need to structure every situation. Capricorn will restrict Libras motion and desire for equality, yet together they can achieve much that is concrete by structuring their ideas into enduring forms.

I have three examples of this combination, the first being Sting (Libra) and his present wife of 20 years, Trudie Styler. They had also lived together 10 years before their marriage in 1992, so they have proven the test of time and also have four children together. Sting has a t-square in Cardinal signs with Capricorn being the ‘missing leg’. Enter Trudie with her massive stellium in Capricorn. While lacking the usual bonds of conjunctions, they do have a harmonious Venus trine indicating values shared. Both are highly active in their environmental Rainforest Foundation which supports indigenous rainforest peoples and their lands. Styler is also an Ambassador for Unicef and is a highly accomplished woman on many levels. She brings to earth Sting’s high idealism as shown by his Moon/Neptune in Libra.

On the opposite fence is Vladimir Putin (Libra) and his hardly there wife, Lyudumilla Putin (Capricorn). I could actually only find one photo of the two of them together that was downloadable! Right in front of the Taj Mahal no less, and undoubtedly in happier days. Their Venuses square each other. Her Moon in Cancer conjoins his Uranus indicating a constant disconnect. Their Suns are decidedly square. One wonders what on earth brought them together in the first place. Ah! His Venus conjoins her Neptune/North Node in Scorpio. Perhaps a fantasy for both. It has also been rumored that in their early marriage years Putin was unfaithful and beat her. That wouldn’t surprise me as his cruelly placed Mars conjoins her Mercury.

My final example is the highly accomplished Libran photographer, Annie Leibovitz, and her long-time relationship with Capricorn writer and essayist Susan Sontag. Leibovitz finally said this in an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle: “Call us ‘lovers’. I like ‘lovers.’ You know, ‘lovers’ sounds romantic. I mean, I want to be perfectly clear. I love Susan.” And she did until Susan’s death ‘did they part’. Even so, Annie is a mother of three, her twins being born to a surrogate mother in 2005.

Annie is a strong Air type with Moon in Aquarius, though her Venus is in Scorpio. Susan’s Sun conjoined Annie’s Jupiter and was in sextile to her Venus. Susan had a strong stellium in Virgo involving her Mars/Moon/Jupiter which was in trine to Annie’s Jupiter. Yes, they collaborated well together without restricting each other’s personal freedom to create, a good example being their bookWomen.

Libra with Aquarius
Both are Air signs and would refuel each other energetically. Love and friendship could be blended really well. Both do their best work in groups and can be remarkably altruistic. Both require freedom, but especially Aquarius. This is a friendly, agreeable, and urbane combination.

Three outstanding examples are Eleanor Roosevelt and FDR, Kelly Preston and John Travolta, and John Lennon and Yoko Ono. I’ll cover the first two in my article on Aquarius.

John Lennon, the Libra who also became a chief spokesman for peace wrote that perfectly Libran song, ‘Come Together’. It was Yoko’s influence in his life that transformed him from a seeker to a staunch activist. Their relationship deserves an entire article, and of course books have been written about them, one of the best being‘Come Together’ by Jon Wiener. Yoko’s Saturn/Venus in Aquarius conjoined John’s Moon in Aquarius. She helped him to mature and deal with his emotional issues which were intense (Moon opposite Chiron/Pluto) and traumatic. She also boosted his fire with her Moon in Sagittarius activating his 8th house of intimacy and in sextile to his Sun. Their Mercury’s in water signs were trine each other harmonizing their need to truly communicate. They also harmonized philosophically with Jupiter’s in trine. Truly their relationship was intended to engage the public because they really did have a vision shared together to ‘Give Peace A Chance’.

Libra with Pisces
Here is another combination that seems strange in that a Cardinal Air sign with a Mutable Water sign feels rather mystifying. Yet together they can spell ‘Union’ due to each being romantic and able to look to each other for fulfillment. Venus, after all, is exalted in Pisces helping to create an artistic and sensitive connection.

Gwyneth Paltrow (Libra) did seem to find the right match in her husband and musician, Chris Martin (Pisces). They’ve now been married for 9 years and have two children together. Chris is probably able to adapt to Gwyneth’s mood swings more easily than Brad did, or Ben Affleck (the Leo). His Moon in Cancer falls on her South Node indicating his ability to nurture her and support her in many ways as he has a Jupiter/Moon sextile which keeps him pretty unsinkable. They both have Venus in Fire signs in trine with each other which brings joy and harmony of values into their life together.

My final example is Christopher Reeve the Libran actor who suffered a devastating paralysis following a horse riding accident in 1995. His Pisces wife, Dana Morosini, did not abandon him but remained faithfully by his side until his death in 2004. She followed him to the great beyond at 44 years, dying of lung cancer in early 2006, probably caused by second hand smoke inhaled while singing in nightclubs in her early career.

She was probably more of a horse lover than Christopher and told Larry King, “I rode my whole life, and after Chris had his accident, I stopped riding, primarily because he loved it so much, and I think it really would have been painful for him if I was going off riding and he wasn’t able to. And it didn’t mean that much to me to drop.” Spoken like a true Pisces! Her Moon in Aries was in trine to his Moon in Sagittarius. Her Mercury in Aquarius conjoined his North Node and was in sextile to his Venus in Libra. Her Jupiter in Aquarius was in trine to his Sun/Mercury. Communication was good here which enabled them to survive together his loss of all physical function. Something transcendent occurred between them as suggested by their Uranus/Pluto conjunction and her Venus in Aries trine his Pluto while opposing his Venus in Libra.

Sometimes the journey of Libra into relationship brings out the highest forms of being human. It would seem the above example illustrates this well.

Genevieve A. Vierling C.A.P.
Astrologer
www.bluelightlady.com

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Mercury Retrograde And Election Madness by Genevieve Vierling

Relating to Libra by Genevieve Vierling

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