Deep Throat Revealed (or, The Aries Point Strikes Again)

Dear Readers:

The day that Mark Felt revealed he was 'Deep Throat', the mysterious source who informed Watergate reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein and helped topple the Nixon administration, there was an unusual aspect: the Moon eclipsed the planet Mars.

This happens a few times a year, and when it's happened recently, there has been an interesting development. I was actually waiting to see what would happen. On one occasion, two years ago within hours of a Moon-Mars occultation, David Kelly, the British arms expert, was found in what authorities claimed was a suicide. This was highly suspicious. Then later that year, Arnold Schwarzenegger was elected governor of California. Based on alternative and mainstream press reports I read at the time, circumstances and plans surrounding his election go back quite a long ways and were rife with shall we say suspicious details.

So from an astrological standpoint, the revelation of the most protected secret in modern journalism history did not surprise me, and just lent more credence to the power of this aspect. From a news and historical standpoint, it's a very big deal. For reference, Deep Throat was the guy who would meet Bob Woodward in underground parking garages and keep him and his reporting partner Bernstein on the trail of the story. It would be worth renting the movie 'All The President's Men' to get a feeling for the relationship.

We don't have a birth time, but we do have a birthday -- so we have one version of his chart. Here it is, using 1 degree Aries as the ascendant (called a 'natural chart'):

Felt also has an interesting conjunction in Gemini: Mars conjunct Saturn. This combination represents a person who is extremely strong in his views, but also grounded and restrained.

Notably, he also has quite a lot of Cancer in his chart, particularly Pluto and Neptune, as well as Venus, adding a personal connection and a deep layer of feeling. My take is he did what he felt was right -- not necessarily what he thought was right. All that water placement makes for a person who is guided by his feelings. The Leo adds an aspect of honesty, clarity and a flair for the dramatic.

It's worth noting that Pallas Athene, an asteroid with distinct themes involving government and protection, is heavily aspected in his chart. To start with he has it in Scorpio, the sign of secrets. It's square Uranus -- a rebel. It also squares Mercury in Leo -- adding all the imagery of the media; he was indeed a media star, it's just that few people knew of his existence and fewer of his name.

Pallas is sextile Jupiter in Capricorn -- a rebel for a good cause.

When we look at Felt's chart around Nixon's chart, we see a stand-off between Cancer (representing the people, in Felt's chart) and Capricorn (representing the establishment, extremely strong in Nixon's chart). The kicker is that Felt has Pluto in the first degree of Cancer. Those who have been following this column may have read my many tomes about the Aries Point -- that is, the first degree of Aries, or any cardinal sign (Cancer, Libra, or Capricorn), indicates someone or something having a vast public impact. Two recent examples are the Asian tsunami and Sept. 11 attacks.

Deep Throat is a living testimony to the Aries Point.

This is a good time to mention that on the Cancer solstice in a few weeks there is a Full Moon across the first degrees of Cancer and Capricorn. This is on June 22. I have been meaning to say that there will be big news around this time -- something very big -- and the revelation of Deep Throat is merely a warm-up to the games. Among other things, we will see something come to full fruition that has its genesis at the Cancer solstice total solar eclipse of June 2001. We shall see what.

Yours
Confused Cancerian

Dear CC:

This is like going on a trip and asking how many maps you need to read to get to your destination. What you need is enough information to get where you're going. Each of the different systems provides differently styled information, but if you compare enough divination systems (including astrology) you will see that they generally deliver the same message, or at least provide you with the information you need when you need it. Typically you don't need the same message from four different sources to get it once. You need the information from one source to get it once.

What all the systems have in common is YOU. Your mind provides the continuity between them; your mind works with the information; and most importantly, you put the information you get to use in your life, or provide it in some clear form to a client.

The systems you describe all interrelate -- that's one of the most fun things about studying esoteric/occult subjects. There are vast tables of correspondences published (mostly by Aleister Crowley) that show you where the different ones line up, which include gems, flowers, essential oils, colors, metals and so on. Crowley was, not surprisingly, the first person to design a tarot deck to include direct astrological references. Some decades later, the Haindl Tarot came out, which includes astrological references, runes and the I Ching on the cards. The correspondences, included by a master occultist who also painted the deck, are extremely enlightening and helpful -- and help show the parallel lines among all methods of divination.

But there is such a thing as too much information.

Generally, tradition holds that with divination, less is more. That means asking fewer questions, refining those questions carefully, and knowing exactly what information you are after and why. It would mean working with fewer systems, and with a greater degree of order in your study.

If you are experiencing confusion, then work to master one system from within its own confines. Pick the one you like the best, and dedicate yourself to it. Go deeply, and really get a feel for how it works -- and plenty of experience working it. If you can focus, for example, on astrology, and you work with enough charts and enough people, you'll soon be able to easily distinguish the differences between the Sun, Moon and Rising signs. But it takes practice, and some good reading books will help; eventually, you'll come to find writers who can explain the differences between the three main signs in terms you can relate to, and eventually you'll also find charts that illustrate the point as well.

But it takes practice, dedication and focus -- and not overwhelming your mind with information that does not support your cause. Eventually, you can (and will) branch out, and when you do, what you learn in one system will be entirely applicable to what you learn in another.

If you happen to be obsessed with working across the systems (which is a tradition unto itself), then I suggest you do so in an orderly way, and work with teachers who specialize in that. It also helps to have a central system which you can use as the focus of your work. Personally, I think that both astrology and tarot work quite well as central systems to organize all the other ones, and they have references that are familiar to our Western thought patterns. They overlap considerably. The work of the two deck designers I mentioned above -- the Crowley Tarot and the Haindl Tarot -- are very helpful, and books about both decks will help you make the connections.

Or, you can get yourself an old Medievalish book like Culpepper's Herbal (by Culpepper, nice if you dig plants) or Christian Astrology (by Lilly, if you like doing spooky astrology and want to learn how to find lost cats), both of which will trek you back through all the old imagery of something called the 'doctrine of signatures'. This is the larger system that says all the systems are connected. It's where we find out that Leo is about the Sun, which is represented by the metal gold, and symbolized by cats of various sorts. Then if you go to Delos in Greece, where Apollo, the god of the Sun was born, you find out that a bunch of cats guard the site of his birth (see article here).

If you happen to be reading Christian Astrology, you'll discover that Virgo signifies a "study where books are, a closet, a dairy-house, cornfields, granaries, malt-houses, hayricks, or of barley, wheat or peas, or a place where cheese and butter are preserved and stored up." This sign, in its worldly expression, is about food and its preservation -- and food for the mind.

From this kind of research, you'll discover that all the different systems are describing the same thing, which is the world in which we live, and the experiences that we have. They just do so in different ways, through different cultural references.

Just remember: the truth you're seeking goes beyond any and all of them.

Sincerely
Gail

Dear Gail

Speaking of prediction, astrologers did see this one coming. I remember in about 94-95, when I was just getting started in astrology, there was a lot of discussion of the meaning of Pluto in Sagittarius, a transit which was, at the time, just beginning. Pluto is about intense obsessions, and the evolution of the soul; Sagittarius is about religious ideals, belief systems, and global situations. It was pretty much a no brainer that we were going to get a lot of intense action where all these themes come together.

Astrologers, among other things, noted that we were sure to be having issues with various shapes and shades of fundamentalism. A little more than a decade later, we are in the throes of fundamentalist Christianity, Islam, and 'conservatism', which does not exactly seem to be serving Spirit, or conserving very much of anything.

We saw the peak of this, or one peak, when Saturn in Gemini opposed Pluto in Sagittarius in 2001, and the World Trade Center happened. That opened the door to even more fundamentalist madness; a kind off apocalyptic-esque thing happened, and it was used as an excuse for a lot of fear to be spread; and we can see clearly that the many fear-based reactions to that event have only spread and perpetuated more fear and more fundamentalism, which is often based on fear.

There are, however, other things we can observe from this era. For example, Melanie Reinhart described the whole Pluto in Sagittarius era as one where we are "breaking the taboo on God" -- that is, a time when we can express our unique religious ideals and our true faith, more or less free from persecution. This aspect of Pluto in Sagittarius has, of course, fallen into the shadow of the more daunting fundamentalist movements.

Then there is the whole concept of globalization, which includes a united Europe (current problems notwithstanding), various free trade agreements such as NAFTA kicking in and causing both people and corporations all kind of problems, and also a huge mix of international cultures leading to much mixing of the waters, racially, tribally, socially and internationally. Then when Chiron made its once per 60-year conjunction to Pluto in late 1999, we had the dawn of the anti-globalization movement. It was a real moment in activist history, as people converged from all over the planet to resist the World Trade Organization. This movement has a rather religious fervor, with all the underground, clandestine but peaceful militancy you would hope could be squeezed from the higher vibrations of Pluto.

However -- you ask about the future of religion. And based on the movement of Pluto, just looking ahead about two years, that future sure looks interesting. I speak mainly of Pluto reaching the Galactic Core. I have not done a Galactic Core rant lately (poke around the archives of this column and you'll find a few) but the upshot is this. Our Sun is part of the Milky Way Galaxy, which is an island in space consisting of a few hundred billion stars. Those stars are concentrated in a disk and at the core of the disk is a bulge of stars and that bulge, consisting of most of the weight of the galaxy, is located at 27 degrees of Sagittarius.

And Pluto is going to cross over this degree all through 2007, which represents a second huge peak of the Pluto in Sagittarius era. It will be difficult for the forces of darkness to make as much headway as they seem to have made in the past few years. There is a kind of purification process; you might say a cosmic tollgate for anyone who has been a purveyor of either fundamentalist religion, or who has supported the evolutionary impulse of the soul. There is a kind of super-global moment, so global that it becomes galactic/universal.

It is one of the huge turning points along the way to 2012.

Also note that before long, in fact, beginning now, Pisces plays a major part in the game:

* Several major outer planets will be passing through Pisces -- currently Uranus, and quite soon, Neptune, and Chiron, so there will definitely be changes and a new start.

* We might speculate that as this develops and the melting power of Pisces takes hold, it will become more difficult for male-based, rules-based, 'desert' religions, featuring a judgmental, punishing god from above, to ignore the many changes in our world. As women gradually achieve equality, so too will our religions begin to reflect this change in our fundamental beliefs.

* So much energy in Pisces is a commentary on the 'end of days' that we are now moving through. While Bible-based religions speak of this end-time situation, actually they offer no concrete evidence of why this is about now. However, the Mayans were onto this situation thousands of years ago. Here's an article from Bridge to the Core.

Thank you soooooooooooo much!
Lisa

Dear Lisa:

There is a great tradition for what you do. The only question is can you personally keep yourself sorted out while you process these experiences? I would say you're a good candidate. It doesn't surprise me that you're a Pisces. But you also have quite a few other planets in Pisces, including Chiron, Venus, and Saturn as well as the Sun. The presence of Saturn and Chiron suggests that you can have good boundaries, and Chiron suggests a higher purpose or healing mission for this very Piscean work you do.

You also have exceptionally strong Virgo: Uranus, Pluto, Mars and the Moon. So you have grounding; you have an intellectual basis for understanding what you do, as well as some Earth energy to keep your feet on the ground.

You don't need to advertise your services, or even talk about them. You just need to go about what you do. It's really your option to do it 'professionally' -- that is, to accept money -- which I don't feel will corrupt your work in any way. You are obviously someone coming from the place of a pure heart, and people who need you seek you out.

It's worth adding a few words of caution where any psychic matters such as this are concerned. It's important to make sure this does not take over your life. Excessive drugs or alcohol don't mix with this work (the less the better; none is best); neither do people who do drugs and alcohol as a way of life. They have a way of wearing out the protective boundaries that help us define who we are.

Along these lines, I suggest you dedicate a room in your home to this work alone; call it a healing room, or some such title. Get yourself in the habit of letting the inner door to the spirit world open in the appropriate place and time. If someone wants to work with you, do it in that space if you can; of course, if they are too ill, you will need to work in their space, and you can develop good habits.

If messages come through your sleep, I suggest you catalog them in a notebook, and keep a little fence around the garden that way. Track your progress in writing, if you can. This will help you notice changes in the long run, help you observe how you relate to your work, and give you a sense of what has gone on in the past, which is rather easy to forget in the work that you're doing -- but quite important. And it's a great idea to have people, or someone, who shares your spiritual values, who is more experienced than you are, who you can go to for feedback about what you are experiencing. By the way, it may be someone younger than you are.

Take care, enjoy the service you offer, and please tell my Aunt Josie I said hello!