Thursday, April 26, 2007

AN ASTROLOGER’S CHOICE

The latest of my efforts to come up with the winning list of senators elicited disbelief among those who read it. There are names that are not supposed to be there and there are names that are not included. Perhaps I have not made my bases for coming up with the listing clear. What I had done was to “measure” the elation factor of the candidates on a particular day. My procedure was to quantify the effects of the passing planets, or in astrological jargon -- the transits, on the birth horoscopes of the candidates. I had merely stated that, except for Trillanes, I had worked on the birth charts without their essential birth times. For all of the other candidates, I assumed that they were born at noon on their dates of birth.

Even with the choice of the day of the planetary transits there is the question why I chose June 30. I should have chosen, for instance, Election Day on May 14. But since I was measuring the degree of the elation or disappointment of the candidates, the results of my computations for that day could be misleading. All candidates must be on edge and not happy or unhappy about the outcome of the voting.

I thought I should compute for the day their victories (or defeats) are announced. Would that be on June 5, the day after the opening of Congress on June 4? Or the week after? Given the uncertainty of when the announcement of the election results is to be made, I chose June 30 as the date on which I should measure or score the degree of their happiness/unhappiness since that would be when they are to assume their positions as lawmakers. In trying out this method on the 2004 elections, I only managed to get eight out of the twelve winners. For the current 2007 elections, I hoped at least to be able to pick out the same number of victors.

So much for the transits. For this report, however, I shall give my selection based on the characters of the candidates which I think ought to be the justifications for electing them. Even without the benefit of birth times, I am basing my selection on the planetary patterns obtaining in the birth charts of the candidates. These patterns are the talents they are born or equipped with in this lifetime. Pardon the astrological jargon, but as desiderata, I have chosen three astrological patterns, namely the Mystic Rectangle, the Kite, and the Yod or Finger of God. To me these are important indicators of behavior of the subjects aspiring to be lawmakers. The significance of these patterns are as follows.

The Mystic Rectangle. This is formed by at least four planets in a rectangular formation, two pairs are 120 degrees apart (trine), separated by 60 degrees (sextile), and the corner planets in opposition or 180 degrees from each other. "It does not necessarily indicate mystical tendencies, although it often does. The person with this configuration should have an incredible capacity for sustained productivity and be able to make very practical use of his/her experiences and assets. The formation combines awareness (opposition), understanding (trine), and productivity (sextile) as well as linking complementary elements."

Two senatorial candidates have this planetary formation, namely, Mike Defensor and Antonio Trillanes.

The Kite is composed of three planets in an equilateral triangle formation 120 degrees (a grand trine) apart from each other, while one other planet is in opposition to one of them. It represents a highly integrated personality that should have little difficulty functioning well within any situation or experience. The formation combines sensitivity and creativity (grand trine), direction and awareness (opposition), giving it a practical and productive focus.

The three candidates who have this pattern are Francis Escudero, Antonio Trillanes (two patterns actually), and Manuel Villar.

The Yod, or Finger of God. This is composed of two planets at 60 degrees (sextile) apart and both 150 degrees (quincunx) from and pointing to a third planet. "This is representative of a highly intimate linking of centers and symbolic of an internal or spiritual sensitivity... The planets involved in the "yod" are usually not compatible with each other, so the energy isn't necessarily the easiest... Yod's have an element of destiny in their pattern. This pattern is usually bringing forward something that is needed in order to make further progress." The Yod points to the ultimate challenge and goal. "It typically is identified with timing and crisis or the need to act. The need will develop through the apex while the opportunity to the action will develop through the two other planets." This little-known configuration is considered the most fated in Astrology. It produces a sense of fatedness, of a karmic obligation that must be paid.

For the Yod, the following candidates -- in alphabetical order -- have it in their natal horoscopes: Noynoy Aquino, Joker Arroyo, Martin Bautista, Alan Cayetano, Antonio Trillanes, and Miguel Zubiri.

The list above makes nine candidates I think are worthy to be elected as lawmakers. Assuming, of course, that they are living out their destiny patterns.

One particular candidate strikes me as satisfying all the desiderata I mentioned – Antonio Trillanes. He has all three patterns: the Yod, two Kites, and a Mystic Rectangle. The yod is particularly striking since the Finger or Hand of God points to his Midheaven, the point of honor or career in his chart. And this point is supported by the Moon or emotional passion and by Neptune or idealism. Below is the horoscope of Trillanes:



As shown in the astrological chart, Pluto conjunct the Ascendant (albeit in the Twelfth House) shows an intense drive that the individual pursues to attain his goal. As well, Trillanes has an Epimethean-Direct Mercury or Evening Star catching up on the Sun. This is an individual that, in the words of Michael Meyer, has “a growing sense of a long-range, objective and historical perspective… in which eagerness and impulsiveness have given way to careful deliberation. Here the calculated risk replaces the intuitive gamble.” To Meyer, “if your Mercury type is Epimethean-Direct, you probably have a practical, objective and analytical mind leading you to act on the basis of facts and past experience rather than on hunches and gut-feelings. Your well-organized mental faculties enable you to manage people and run things.”

With my understanding of astrology, I daresay that the above-named nine candidates ought to be my choices. Notice that they do not belong to one particular political party or group. (I shall have to select three more to complete my list of twelve senators.)

However, my special nomination (since he is seldom if ever mentioned in the opinion poll surveys conducted by SWS, Pulse Asia, and whatever) goes to Antonio Trillanes. He has the inherent qualities I look for in a leader. So far, even at a young age as an officer, he was able to demonstrate his ability to lead and to express his vision for the future of this country. I expect him, as well, to pursue his goals with integrity and honor.

Friday, April 06, 2007

THE SECOND QUARTER PERIOD - APRIL TO JUNE

The Spring Equinox horoscope, which covers the Second Quarter of 2007, has the following pattern:

The placement of Saturn in the Fourth House bodes obstacles and difficulties to the Government, and the affairs of the nation will not proceed smoothly. It causes bad weather for crops, and adversely affects agricultural matters. It denotes mining disasters, earthquakes, and depreciates the value of land, and disturbs property. As if to confirm this, Jupiter and Mars also show illness and death among the elite, legal and religious people, magistrates, bankers and financiers, as well much trouble to the government, and many difficulties for them to contend with.

Pluto is in the Eighth, its own sector of death, elimination, regeneration and underworld. According to the astrological manual Raphael, the placement means “In Government, it can refer to dictatorship… The ruling party will go and the new party will come up. The deep rooted traditions or cultures will undergo a radical change for good as well as for evil.” Even as Hegel wrote that “the only thing we learn from history is that we learn nothing from history”, still men in power learn how to improve on the evils of history.

Since the so-called Genuine Opposition is not a party, the most likely group to replace the ruling party will be the strengthened KAMPI with its members pirated from the “dominant” Lakas-CMD.

Neptune points to socialistic agitation against the ruler and government, scandals among the elite, disgrace to notable people and many episodes which give little credit on the elite class. Despite the harsh measures taken against the militant candidates during the campaign period, the Left could dominate the party list groups

Even as the newly elected members are not yet in position, Congress will continue be active and busy with legislation affecting trade, commerce and education; but with embittered discussions, personal recriminations, arguments and disputes. A good deal of unruliness in debates, and danger of accidents to members may be expected during the period.

There may be many benefits to public institutions, increase of subscriptions, benefits through donations and legacies, and a more favorable outlook in regard to their financial position. Scandals will surface, however, in connection with hospitals and charitable institutions. Crimes against women and children still continue.

Below is the April 17 New Moon chart:

For the month, Jupiter promises a large increase of receipts, improvement in the national finances, and success in banking and commercial operations. Nonetheless there will still be heavy expenditures, possibly because of the disasters expected during the period.
The confluence of difficult planets, Mars, Uranus and Neptune, in the Fourth sector of the New Moon chart is unfortunate. The planetary grouping will adversely affect land and agriculture generally. Expect fires in public buildings, and mining disasters. There is a high probability of earthquakes, as indicated in the Spring Equinox chart discussed above, like those that struck Japan and the Solomon Island group.

Let us focus on the main preoccupation of the country during the Second Quarter, that is, the Congressional and Local Elections in May. In a previous report, I presented an astro-statistical experiment of 2004 to determine if the moods of electoral candidates reflect their standings as winners. The results showed only eight out of twelve winners had high scores on elation. The four “losers” in the winning group had high scores of satisfaction, while the four “winners” had lower scores. Most likely, the reason lies in what Mr. Greg Makabenta wrote in his column: the “losers” were happy because kumita na sila ng malaki and have no problem repaying favors. On the other hand, the “winners” with lower scores in attitude are those who expect to have difficult prospects of satisfying their donors and followers.

For the 2007 elections, I still utilized the algorithm I used for the 2004 post analysis, and came up with the following results. This time, I have included the data of Montano and Kiram. And rather than give the relative rankings of the winning dozen, they are, in alphabetical order, the following:

AQUINO, BENIGNO III
ARROYO, JOKER
BAUTISTA, MARTIN
ESCUDERO, FRANCIS
HONASAN, GRINGO
LEGARDA, LOREN
MONTANO, CESAR
OSMENA, JOHN
ROCO, SONIA
SISON, ADRIAN
SOTTO, TITO
ZUBIRI, MANUEL

(The colors indicate the group affiliation – the black for Genuine Opposition, the red for Team Unity, and the blue for the Independents.)

On the other hand, within range of winning are the following, also in alphabetical order:

MAGSAYSAY, VICENTE
PANGILINAN, FRANCIS
TRILLANES, ANTONIO IV
VILLAR, MANUEL

As an addendum, what is in store for President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo?

Having her April 5 birthday occurring within the period, I thought I would do a Solar Return computation on her and give a brief interpretation of her horoscope for the year.


The inner circle is her birth chart. The outer circle is her Solar Return chart.

Her Solar Return horoscope shows she will be preoccupied with hidden plans and worries resulting from her continuing loss of popularity. She will have chronic malaise, generally not painful, connected with her liver and blood circulation. As well, there is a nagging fear of death. Although her KAMPI party replaces the dominant LAKAS-CMD, as mentioned above, her expectations will be denied. The position of her Solar Return Midheaven (or MC) is in her natal Fourth, threatening loss of position. (Estrada had the same pattern, albeit in a stronger position, in his Solar Return chart of 2001.)