mr-damon/astrology

People born in the Year of the Rat ―1948, 1960, 1972, 1984 or 1996 (or even earlier) ― tend to be full hearted. They love nature and cute places and they are affectionate. They are generous and calm as well as passive.

When they are young, they are loved by those around them. When they grow older, they realize that it's their parents who have made them who they are today. They study hard and have good relationships with others.

Women born in the Year of the Rat tend to be adorable and help out men in their lives in many different ways. They never regret the choices they make and they're smart and act mature. They tend to love listening to music alone and they hardly ever discuss worries that are bothering them. They tend to solve problems on their own.

However, people born in the Year of the Rat tend to keep their problems to themselves, mainly out of pride. Sharing is not part of their nature. "Rats like to hide things and be secretive," Bae said.

Those who match well with Rats are Monkeys, Dragons, Oxen, Chickens and, amazingly, Snakes. Sheep and Horses don't get along with Rats.

"As the Rats in the year of 2008 have walked into the storeroom, everything is fruitful and every thing they do works out well," said Bae. It will be fine from January though June but special caution should be taken in the months of July and August, especially anything that has to do with water.

"Mercury is retrograde, appearing to move backward, 2-3 times a year. Mercury retrograde times call for you to recheck everything, anticipate and plan ahead, and to relearn lessons unlearned since the last Mercury retrograde cycle. It is a good time for review and completing ongoing projects. It is NOT a time to start something new. Mercury energies involve the mind, mental processes, communication, travel, speaking, and writing. The Retrograde symbol is "Rx", the same symbol on all medical prescriptions! Physicians until the 15th century had to also be astrologers before they could practice medicine."

"Despite the dread that often surrounds Mercury retrograde periods, it's possible for us to work with the energy by taking the time to tie up loose ends.

"To get the most out of Mercury retrogrades, concentrate on activities beginning with the prefix 're-': redo, rewrite, repair, recall, reexamine, renew, redecorate, reschedule and so on.

"This is a time to review the past and assimilate those things that have happened to you since the last retrograde period back in Oct/Nov of 2006. Journaling will be especially productive during this time."

Here are the retrograde periods for 2007:

February 14 to March 8
June 15 to July 10
October 12th to November 2

People soliciting fortune tellers for next year%u2019s fortunes might be confused about what the future holds.

Whether the zodiacal New Year starts _ on Tongji (Dec. 22) or Ipchun, (Feb. 4) _ is now a hot potato among fortunetellers after a fortunetellers association from Taejon raised the issue. Lee Sang-yup, a member of the association, regards Tongji, or the winter solstice, as the starting point.

Lee said that according to Oriental philosophers, including Mingzhu, and the Zhouyi, considered the bible of fortune telling, Tongji is the starting point of a new year.

On Tongji, one of 24 seasonal divisions, the sun is resurrected and days start becoming longer than nights. Because the days get longer again, many people consider this the start of the New Year.

To tell a fortune, a teller gets one%u2019s birthday and birth time, and consults a special calendar written in Chinese sexagenary cycles based on the movements of the sun, moon and five other planets. By reading the cycles, a man%u2019s happiness, luck, bad fortune and sadness can be predicted.

The issue becomes serious for people born between Tongji and Ipchun. Depending on a Fortuneteller%u2019s interpretation of the start of the New Year, they can be labeled with different Chinese zodiac signs. Because many Koreans use their zodiac signs for naming, setting marriage dates or predicting marital harmony, confusion about them can have long-lasting effects."

"There are basically two versions of the I Ching's origins: the mythical, and the historical. A few translations of the I Ching still present the mythical version as historical truth, which it is not. And some scholars of the I Ching's history describe the myth as 'fraudulent history' - which it is most definitely not!

"The myth of the I Ching's origins has been accepted as historical truth in China for centuries. It was not until the last century that archaeological discoveries began to reveal a different history of the I Ching. These discoveries are fascinating, and immensely valuable to users of the I Ching for the new light they throw on the meanings of the earliest texts. However, they do not replace the myth, any more than, on a larger scale, scientific understanding of the Big Bang or DNA can replace the kind of understanding we gain from the world's creation myths. And so I have included both truths about the I Ching's history. You will notice remarkable correspondences between them."

"The December Solstice occurs on Dec 21-22 just after the New Moon and just after the a wonderful Moon-Venus conjunction in sidereal Sagittarius.

"The December solstice is the point in Earth's orbit at which the north pole is tilted directly away from the Sun. Thus, the Sun arrives at its most southern latitude on Earth, creating the longest day in the southern hemisphere and the shortest day in the northern hemisphere.

"The December solstice has a quality similar to a New Moon in the lunar cycle, independent of the hemisphere in which we live. It marks the beginning of the new annual cycle for the entire Earth.

"The December solstice marks the new birth of Sun (Son) or Sol (Soul) expression in our daily lives. It marks the true astronomical new year. As Earth continues in her orbit, the Sun's 'eye' (by line of sight to Earth) begins to move northward, awakening Earth life anew.

"The solar fire continues to move upward (from south to north) and then crosses Earth's spatial equator on the March equinox. The March equinox is much like the First Quarter Moon in the lunar cycle, a time that provides stimulus to action.

"The Sun's eye arrives at its most northern latitude on the June solstice. This is like the Full Moon in the lunar cycle, a time of fulfillment, vision and realization. Later, the Sun's eye crosses back over the equator (from north to south) on the September equinox, which is much like the Last Quarter Moon in the lunar cycle, a time that signals a need to change.

"The movement of the Eye of the Sun across Earth's latitudes occurs because of the 23.5° tilt in Earth's orbit. The movement of the Sun and the Earth's tilt are, of course, responsible for the seasons. Thie Sun's apparent motion also creates the analemma, which is a figure-eight pattern traced by the Sun when it is observed from the same location at the same time each day for an entire year."

All text from Nick Anthony Fiorenza's Lunar Planner

The follow is from a compelling piece in Vanity Fair, but the astronomical placements are all off. Pluto, for example, has just entered Sagittarius -- it won't be leaving that constellation and transiting through Capricorn for several years, which is one of the central aspects of Lutin's article.

My My New Moon/New Year wish is that Western astrologers will become more familiar with astronomy and precession of the equinoxes. Then, forecasts like Lutin's might have more accurate insight.


"Pluto in Capricorn is going to change America from the inside out, threaten our very existence, challenge our economy, and divide the country politically. The government is going to be so paranoid during those years that it doesn't really matter who gets in in 2008.

"Pluto in Capricorn means the ascendance into overt power of corporations in relation to the government. But that situation will change when Pluto enters Aquarius, at the end of the 2020s.

"Uranus in Aries is going to be the 1960s all over again. The greatest time of upheaval will be between 2015 and 2019, when the square of Uranus in Aries to Pluto in Capricorn will create the seeds of revolution everywhere. Forces of repression are going to clamp down even harder on those who want to speak their minds.

"Then, in the years 2023-25, the final stages of the Pluto return and the Capricorn effect will reach a climax. Some astrologers believe that an empire lasts no longer than one Pluto cycle, and by 2025 this cycle will be played out. And no matter how you look at it, the U.S.A. is an empire.

"Just as the British Empire began enduring sunsets after the fledgling colonies won their independence, our turn may be coming. The Pluto return of 2025 will demand a redefinition of the United States and create the ultimate identity crisis. We will have to put ourselves on the line, as we did in the 1770s."