Karmic Knowledge

Barely a week after the US election, the country’s focus has shifted from one of celebration to one of concern for the big job ahead for President-elect Barack Obama. The Sydney Morning Herald made this observation of Mr. Obama as he gave his acceptance speech on election night:

You could see on his face the strain of the mighty weight that was settling on his shoulders. 

Bloomberg.com reminds us that the President-elect ”may inherit the worst U.S. recession since 1982…” And the New York Times points out:

…the task awaiting Mr. Obama arguably transcends this economic program or that foreign crisis. He takes over a nation weary of the past and wary of the future, gloomy about its place in the world, cynical about its government and desperate for some sense of deliverance. Nearly nine of every 10 Americans think the country is on the wrong track, the deepest expression of national pessimism in the polling history.

Can President-elect Obama maintain his message of hope when the country is facing so many challenges? According to the past life story in his astrological chart, the answer is yes.

Barack Obama came into this lifetime with big shoulders. As I reported in my previous post on his past life karma, Saturn in Barack Obama’s 12th house indicates that this is not the first lifetime where he has been asked to take on heavier than normal burdens. The soul with a 12th house Saturn placement comes into this life knowing it will be made stronger by the many tests he or she faces. The fact that President-elect Obama’s Saturn is in Capricorn, the sign of maturity, steadfastness, and discipline, reinforces the seriousness with which his soul accepts the responsibilities he is about to take on.

Perhaps his wife Michelle said it best in a recent interview with Newsweek:

… it’s going to be a hard job. He likes hard jobs.

Technorati Tags: Barack Obama, President-elect, past life, karma, 12th house Saturn, hope, economy, recession, astrology

Barack Obama has tapped Chicago Congressman Rahm Emanuel to be his Chief of Staff, his first cabinet appointment since becoming President-Elect last Tuesday. Known as “Rahmbo,” because of his direct and aggressive style, Emanuel is considered a controversial figure by Republicans and Democrats alike. A 2005 profile of Emanuel in Rolling Stone magazine entitled The Enforcer tells the story of how he sent a rotting fish to a pollster who had rubbed him the wrong way. It continues:

And there’s the story of how, the night after Clinton was elected, Emanuel was so angry at the president’s enemies that he stood up at a celebratory dinner with colleagues from the campaign, grabbed a steak knife and began rattling off a list of betrayers, shouting “Dead! . . . Dead! . . . Dead!” and plunging the knife into the table after every name. 

These are not the earliest stories of Rahm Emanuel’s displays of intensity. According to an article on Bloomberg.com, at the age of 17, Emanuel cut his middle finger, known in Palmistry as the Saturn finger, while working at an Arby’s fast food restaurant. According to his mother, he refused to go to the doctor, afraid it would prevent him from attending his high school prom, after which the finger became infected. The tip of his finger had to be amputated in order to save his life. (Photo also from Bloomberg.com) 

In Palmistry, injuries to a particular part of a hand represent challenges in the corresponding area of life at the time of the injury. Saturn is the finger of responsibility, accountability and integrity. It’s also associated with structure, discipline and logic. It is the finger of Karma.

Saturn challenges take two forms. Underdeveloped Saturn energy manifests as insecurity, lack of discipline and fear of success/failure. A person with overdeveloped Saturn energy may appear cold, ruthless, and inflexible. Extreme ambition and inflexibility are two of its hallmarks. 

The workaholic and the ideologue are two Saturnian personality types.

Rahm Emanuel is often described as focused, disciplined and organized. He has been referred to as a super-achiever. Many in Washington call him “The Enforcer.” Other Saturn words that have been used to describe Emanuel include serious, relentless, fearsome, demanding and strategizing. The loss of his middle finger is the outward manifestation of the unmerciful drive that has propelled Emanuel upward in the equally unforgiving world of Capitol Hill politics.

In addition to the meanings ascribed to the middle finger in Palmistry, the raising of the Saturn finger at another has been considered an obscene gesture since the time of the Ancient Greeks. The Romans, who also favored this gesture, called the Saturn finger digitus impudicus, or impudent finger.

Rahm Emanuel is well known for his frequent use of the f-word. He says of himself,

Of all the fingers to lose! I could not express myself for months. I had to learn to talk with my left hand.

There are some who worry that Rahm Emanuel is a poor choice for Chief of Staff, calling him an old-school partisan politician, as far from Barack Obama’s message of change and hope as one could possibly find in the Democratic party. Others see Emanuel as the perfect partner for Obama, the bad cop to his good cop. 

Will Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel apply his will and his ability to get results in service to Obama’s vision? Or will he simply flip America the bird, missing digitus impudicus be damned?

Technorati Tags: Rahm Emanuel, Chief of Staff, Rahmbo, The Enforcer, middle finger, Palmistry, Saturn, f-word, good cop, bad cop

While John McCain portrays himself as the candidate with experience, a quick look at his natal chart reveals a karmically young and inexperienced soul.

New data on John McCain’s time of birth places Aquarius on the cusp of his 12th house of Karma and Pisces on his Ascendant. (Click chart at left for larger image.) McCain calls himself a Maverick with a capital M, and his Aquarian 12th house reveals that this is not the first lifetime in which he assumed the role of the dissenter and the non-conformist.   

Pisces occupies the last six degrees of John McCain’s 12th house. While he was able to envision previously unforseen possibilities, in his past life McCain preferred dreaming to doing. When his visions failed to become reality, McCain relied on friends and associates to prop up his ego. 

Saturn in John McCain’s first house is also in the sign of Pisces. While the Karmic task of those born with this placement is to get in touch with deep compassion and understanding for those less fortunate, individuals with Saturn in Pisces often play the victim themselves. Whenever criticized, John McCain and members of his campaign have repeatedly cited his years spent in a prisoner of war camp as a counter to any argument, relevant or not. Bloomberg reports:

When Elizabeth Edwards, wife of former Senator John Edwards, rebuked McCain’s medical care proposal and noted that he’d always enjoyed government health benefits, McCain responded that he knows what it’s like to get inadequate care — “from another government.” 

When asked by Tonight Show host Jay Leno why it was that he could not remember how many houses he owned, John McCain again invoked the POW card, telling Leno that for 5 and a half years he didn’t have a house, didn’t have a table or a chair.

Today John McCain has many chairs in the eight residences he shares with his wife Cindy. McCain married Cindy, a former rodeo beauty queen and heiress to a beer fortune, one month after divorcing his first wife Carol, a model who became disfigured in an auto accident while John McCain was a POW.

Uranus is retrograde in John McCain’s second house of money, luxury and values. From a karmic standpoint Uranus retrograde shows that McCain placed too much importance on wealth, possessions and outer appearances in his past life. It’s clear he has continued this pattern in this life, making it difficult for him to complete Saturn in Pisces’ karmic requirement that he become an advocate for the underprivileged.

As the focal point of a T-Square aspecting his Moon and Mars, Uranus retrograde tells us that unmet needs and unexpressed emotions result in eruptions of anger. McCain is well known for his quick temper. In John McCain’s past life and in this one, Maverick becomes a euphemism for loose cannon. 

Despite these indicators of cosmic immaturity, there is good news.  John McCain’s past and present life challenges have offered training that allows him to gain the experience that is needed to become a leader and champion for the people. But it requires particular effort on his part.

Pisces Rising and Saturn in Pisces show that McCain came into this life with a deep sensitivity. His Moon in Aquarius reveals his craving for freedom. Its placement in the 11th house shows the potential for humanitarian action.

John McCain has the Sun conjunct Neptune in Virgo, the sign of service, located in the 7th house of partnerships. Mercury in Libra bestows the ability to see all sides of a situation and to play the diplomat. Because it is square his Moon’s Nodes, owning and actualizing this ability is a major part of his karmic task.

If he does the work to get out of his head and into his heart, John McCain has the potential to become the kind of leader who can envision a different way, motivate others to follow his dream and create sympathetic partnerships in service to humanity.

Do I think he can do this in time for next week’s presidential election? Of course not. But opportunities are arising for McCain to do his karmic work. Shortly after election day, Lord of Karma Saturn opposes McCain’s natal Saturn position. Transformative Pluto conjoins his Capricorn North Node in January of 2009, returning to activate it again from June to December. 

Win or lose, cosmic circumstances are in place for John McCain to mature into his natal promise of true maverick, visionary and leader of all the people, rich or poor, left or right.

Technorati Tags: John McCain, experience, natal chart, Karma, Maverick, past life, compassion, POW card, quick temper, Pisces Rising, presidential election, Capricorn North Node

How well does Barack Obama know Barack Obama? Based on the past life story shown in his astrology chart, the ability to know and follow his personal truth may be the biggest challenge for Obama in this lifetime.

Obama’s birth time was released fairly recently, so this is an updated chart from my previous article. (Click chart at left for larger image.)

With a birth time of 7:24 PM, the sign of Capricorn falls on Obama’s 12th house cusp. Issues of authority, security and integrity are the primary karmic concerns carried over from the past life. The first 18 degrees of Aquarius also reside in his 12th house, indicating that peer pressure would have complicated matters for Obama.

Barack Obama has two planets in the 12th house, Jupiter and Saturn. At 5 degrees apart they make a wide conjunction, and both happen to be retrograde. 

From a karmic standpoint, 12th house planets represent aspects of the personality that created unrest, anxiety or problems in the past life. Even if the trait was positive, its expression would have gone against the grain of the social or family expectations of the past life. Retrograde planets show challenges from the past life that were not resolved, requiring the subject to repeat the tasks or lessons associated with the planet(s).

Saturn in the 12th house tells me that Barack Obama is working out particularly difficult karma this time around. The fact that it is retrograde makes Saturn’s karmic load even heavier. People with Saturn in the 12th house have very strong personalities. Even in this lifetime, the soul faces many tests that help it to grow stronger. Obama’s past life was filled with greater than average responsibilities, and he was required to make a substantial sacrifice. Should he be elected, Obama may have to make similar sacrifices as he steps into one of the most problem filled terms any US president has ever faced. 

Jupiter is one of the few good news planets when it falls in the 12th house. Karmically, it indicates that Obama chose to return to earth at this time because of a great love of humanity and a desire to see it live up to its highest potential. It’s no surprise that Obama has chosen “Hope” as his campaign theme. This karmic connection of Jupiter with Saturn shows his soul’s willingness to take on heavy burdens for the sake of the betterment of humanity.

But this is where the good news stops.

The retrograde condition of idealistic and freedom loving Jupiter, along with its proximity to conservative and rule-bound Saturn, shows that Obama’s past life ability to inspire hope and give structure to his vision of the future was clouded by compromise. He allowed the influence of others to color his definition of what it meant to be a leader. In his past life, Obama’s love of humanity may have actually become a hindrance as he worried too much about bridging the gap between the past and the future, the left and the right, and those who agreed with him and those who did not. 

The key to overcoming these karmic challenges is shown in Obama’s North Node in Leo and the placement of his Part of Fortune in the second house.The Part of Fortune is a point in the chart that represents the path to success and good fortune. Obama’s Part of Fortune in the second house reveals the importance of discovering and following his own values rather than waiting for clues from others in order to decide the best course of action.

Persons with the North Node in Leo have spent many lifetimes concerned with the goals and visions of the group. They operate from the standpoint that knowledge is power, and therefore seek counsel with others and look to understand the facts before moving forward. In this lifetime, Obama must balance these past life tendencies with the ability to know and follow his own will.

Leo is the sign of individual identity. The job of Leo is to follow the heart, to live passionately in the spotlight, to share the true self with others, to rule with conviction and generosity, and to have fun in the process. Obama’s Sun (core self), Mercury (style of thinking and communicating) and Uranus (drive for freedom and innovation) join his North Node in Leo, emphasizing the need to govern from his own heart in this lifetime.

Obama’s North Node is situated in his 7th house. It is in the 7th house we meet our partners and allies, and also our enemies. The 7th house is also the realm of harmony, diplomacy and balance. The more confidence Obama develops in his own guiding truth, the more likely it is that he will emerge as an agent of peace.

Whether he is successful in his bid for the presidency or not, the most important life task for Obama is to further develop the soul qualities of leadership, self assurance and warmth. As he does, the potential for him to grow into one of the greatest diplomats of our time is enormous.

Technorati Tags: Barack Obama, past life, Obama’s birth time, karmic, Saturn, retrograde, president, good news, hope, North Node, peace, karma, astrology, chart, natal chart, election

I have one thing and one thing only to say about the hands of Secretary of the Treasury, Henry Paulson. He has the most bent and twisted middle fingers I have ever seen.

That’s saying a lot when you consider that I have examined over 10,000 pairs of hands during my career.

What does that mean in layman’s terms? The middle finger, or Saturn as it is known in the traditional language of Palmistry, reveals the subject’s relationship to business, resources and money, and measures a person’s integrity and accountability. Any finger that is bent or twisted shows a problem with the areas of life the finger represents. The extremely curved Saturn fingers on both of Hank Paulson’s hands indicate that he may not be the best person to handle the current economic problems facing the US government and banking systems.

What do you think?

Technorati Tags: Henry Paulson, middle finger, Saturn, Palmistry, economic problems, Hank Paulson, Treasury Secretary, money, US economy, inflation, recession, mortgage banks

In the past month, we’ve seen an enormous amount of volatility in the global financial markets, mostly due to the subprime mortgage crisis and the collapse of the real estate bubble. In an attempt to calm the panic, the Federal Reserve dusted off a protocol last invoked during the great depression of the 1930s, enabling the agency to facilitate a buyout of troubled investment bank Bear Stearns.

Now it seems the use of the historical procedure has emboldened the Fed to seek greater powers over the US financial system. That, and some interestingly timed planetary transits.

On Monday, March 31st, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson ( I’ll say more on Paulson in a later post) will appear before Congress to ask that the Federal Reserve be given new powers to oversee the US financial markets. The Fed was initially created to oversee only commercial banks, those that cater to Mr. and Mrs. Average American.

Coincidentally, the Fed’s powers were already increased in 1994 with the passage of the Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act (HOEPA). HOEPA assigned the Federal Reserve the task of preventing predatory lending practices in the home mortgage market.
The Federal Reserve was established on December 23rd, 1913 in order to create a central bank that would standardize US currency. I was unable to find an exact time for its founding, so I ran the chart for 12 noon. (Click chart for larger image.)

It is a common misconception that the Federal Reserve is a branch of the US Federal Government. It is, in fact, an independent entity run by a Board of Governors whose members are appointed by the president. Wikipedia explains it this way:

It is considered an independent central bank because its decisions do not have to be ratified by the President or anyone else in the executive or legislative branch of government, it does not receive funding appropriated by Congress and the terms of the members of the Board of Governors span multiple presidential and congressional terms.

There exists a great deal of controversy over whether the establishment of the Federal Reserve has been good for the people of the United States. Some even argue that it is unconstitutional. Presidents Andrew Jackson and Abraham Lincoln resisted the creation of a Central Bank. The Fed was finally signed into law by Woodrow Wilson, who later regretted it, stating,

I am a most unhappy man. I have unwittingly ruined my country. A great industrial nation is controlled by its system of credit. Our system of credit is concentrated. The growth of the nation, therefore, and all our activities are in the hands of a few men…

At the time of the Federal Reserve’s Founding, the Sun was at 01 degree Capricorn, opposed by Pluto at 00 degrees Cancer. If you have been following the current positions of the planets, then you are aware that Pluto entered Capricorn on January 28th of this year and currently sits at 01 degree of that sign. Pluto rules power as well as money not directly under your own control (such as taxes and investments).

As Treasury Secretary Paulson appears before Congress on Monday to ask for increased powers for the Federal Reserve, Pluto will be stationing (appearing to stand still in the sky) exactly conjunct the Fed’s natal Sun and opposite it’s natal Pluto as it prepares to go retrograde on the 2nd of April. The energy of a planet as it stations is said to be greatly magnified.

As Pluto turns retrograde it will slip back into the sign of Sagittarius, remaining there from June 14th through November 26th. The hallmarks of Sagittarius are optimism and expansion. Pluto’s initial entry into that sign in 1995 coincided with a rally in the financial markets. Combined with the ability to make trades over the internet, the nature of investing was forever transformed (another Plutonian effect.)

With the intense Pluto in Capricorn somberness that now colors the financial outlook for the US, it appears that the Treasury Department and The Federal Reserve are seeking to benefit from the current Pluto station and its upcoming foray back into Sagittarius by presenting the Fed as the only entity that can stem the rising tide of financial uncertainty.

If Treasury Secretary Paulson is successful in his bid to grant greater oversight of the US financial markets to the Federal Reserve, it will result in an unprecedented concentration of power, giving enormous control over US financial markets to a non-government entity whose decisions are not subject to approval by Congress or even the President himself.

On the other hand, Pluto’s transits may bring to light hidden information that will prompt profound changes in how the US handle its resources.

As Robert Gover, author of Time And Money: The Economy And The Planets, points out in his insightful article on Pluto and the Fed,

It has been found by astrologers that Pluto has to do with changes that are at first hidden, unknown, not yet manifested into our material reality.

No matter how this transformation manifests, and it’s still too early to know, we are surely about to witness an intense struggle for economic control.

Technorati Tags: subprime mortgage crisis, Federal Reserve, Henry Paulson, Pluto in Capricorn, economy

Shadow and Substance (http://shadowandsubstance.com/) has some lovely animations and illustrations of tonight’s full moon in Virgo and lunar eclipse.

Technorati Tags: full moon, Virgo, lunar eclipse

The word that seems to be most closely associated with Senator Hillary Clinton is Polarizing. According to Lanny Davis, writing in The Hill’s Pundit Blog, a Google search on “Hillary Clinton” and the word “polarizing” returns 1,260,000 hits, far more than you would get if you paired that word with the name of any of other presidential candidate.

A look at Hillary Clinton’s palm goes a long way in explaining why people either love her or hate her.

Take a look at Hillary’s hands in this photo. Her right palm clearly shows two horizontal creases, a head line and a heart line. Her left hand, however, has only a single crease across the palm.

In the following diagram, the palm on the left shows a typical hand with clearly defined head and heart lines. If you look at your own palm, there is a 98% chance that your hand looks something like that first diagram. The palm on the right shows a single crease, known in both medical and palmistry circles as the Simian Crease.

The Simian Crease was named after the single transverse crease found in the palms of apes and monkeys. It is commonly found in the hands of people who have Down’s Syndrome or other genetic abnormalities. (Please note that I will not publish any comments that include juvenile remarks about Senator Clinton and monkeys or disabled persons, so don’t even try it!)

However, there are a small number of people who are born with the single transverse crease (statistically, less than 3%) who are genetically normal. For these people, the Simian Crease is a sign that they are intellectually gifted.

In the language of the hand, the Simian Crease is a fusing of the head and heart lines, and as such, a fusing of the thinking and feeling functions. It is usually the thinking function that dominates. Persons with the crease in one or both hands possess single-minded focus and inner intensity. Because of this, they often feel misunderstood. It is only when these persons learn to slow down a little and become aware of their differing communication style that the gift can emerge.

As can be seen in this closeup, Hillary Clinton doesn’t have a classic Simian Crease. It does not extend the full width of her palm. She also has a partial head line extension that curves downward into her Mound of the Moon. However, there is clearly a fusing of the head and heart lines. (See diagram below).

The single crease in Senator Clinton’s hand may explain why she has been saddled with the reputation of being divisive. People with this gift can appear driven and may experience the world as more black and white than the average soul. Add to that an ultra long index finger which shows powerful ambition, and you can easily understand why Hillary hating has taken on a cult-like fervor.

Does this mean that Hillary Clinton has no heart? Other factors in her palm clearly indicate that she does.

Sitting above Hillary’s merged Head/Heart Line is a clearly etched curve known as the Girdle of Venus. Often referred to as a sister line to the Heart Line, the Girdle is a marker of sensitivity and heightened awareness of life’s subtleties.

With such a distinct Girdle in her palm, Senator Clinton not only feels, she feels deeply. When combined with a merged Head/Heart Line, the challenge of finding positive ways to communicate her feelings becomes even more complicated.

A vertical curve appears on the outer edge of Senator Clinton’s palm, adding to the overall challenge. This line has traditionally been called a Line of Clairvoyance, but it doesn’t necessarily indicate psychic ability as much as it does life Wisdom with a capital W. This line is a mark of right-brain driven knowledge, the kind that develops when life experience is combined with deep introspection, and it is another marker of giftedness.

It’s clear that there’s more to Senator Clinton than meets the eye. Perhaps the public was given a tiny glimpse of the “real” Hillary Clinton when she got teary eyed at a New Hampshire press conference.

In the end, her focused and driven Simian Crease won out and she was able to quickly regain her composure. The pundits are divided on whether this helped her campaign or hurt it.

Does Hillary Clinton’s palm indicate whether she would make a good president? It’s a mixed bag.

Her gifts of insight, empathy, focus and passion are clearly etched in her palm, but she seems unable to integrate her softer side into her public persona. The lack of a clear fate line confirms the difficulty she faces in allowing her true gifts to shine. Like many women in positions of power, she is criticized for being too masculine, but not allowed to be at all feminine.

Hillary’s thumbs (will power and the ability to make things happen) are weak. She holds them too close to her palm for true take charge success, and their tips are looking a bit flat, a sign that she may be exhausted. (Tears, anyone?)

No one, male or female, should have to contend with the level of vitriol that has been directed at Senator Clinton. As the first serious woman candidate for president, Hillary Clinton has taken on a pioneering role, and with it a heap of psychic and emotional abuse.

Perhaps it is part of her karma to change the way the US looks at strong women. But in order to stop being seen as polarizing, Hillary must integrate her own polarly opposite strengths and allow all of herself to show up on the campaign trail.

(Many thanks to Nathan for letting me use his excellent photo of Hillary Clinton for this analysis. You can see his other fine photos here.)

Technorati Tags: Hillary Clinton, presidential candidate, Simian Crease, gifted, divisive, Hillary hating, Girdle of Venus, Wisdom, Tears, Polarizing, Hand Analysis, Palmistry, Karma, Life Purpose

Dennis Kucinich can’t get no respect. First he was excluded from from a December 13th Democratic debate in Iowa, then he was not allowed to participate in the ABC sponsored debate in New Hampshire. In both cases, the sponsors of the debates claimed that Kucinich had not met the criteria for consideration as a serious Presidential candidate.

According to his Natal Chart, this is not the first lifetime where Dennis Kucinich has been dismissed as insignificant. (Click chart for larger image.)

Kucinich has natal Saturn in Leo in the 5th house. In terms of the karmic challenge, Saturn represents a fear, weakness or area of limitation from a past life. For Dennis Kucinich, Saturn in Leo represents a past life where his knowledge and leadership skills went unrecognized.

Saturn’s conjunction to Pluto complicates matters for Kucinich, suggesting past life power struggles with those deemed to be in authority.

On the flip side, Saturn conjunct Pluto indicates that Kucinich is here to tear down and transform the existing power structures. But if the media and even his peers won’t give him the time of day, the question is, “How?”

Dennis Kucinich is a very smart man. If we look to his South Node in Sagittarius, we could even say he is wise. Karmically, the person with a Sagittarius South Node has spent many lifetimes in search of truth, so many that he or she no longer has to keep seeking. The pitfall for Kucinich would be in taking himself too seriously. Saturn in the 5th house confirms that development of a sense of humor and a light and playful heart is one of his assignments for this lifetime.

As both an astrologer and a political observer, I believe that Dennis Kucinich is speaking from a place of integrity and higher truth. Having his South Node in the 8th house tells me that his wisdom emanates from a source that is ancient and deep, and that his commitment to that truth is passionate. When you add in the compassion of a 12th house Moon in Pisces, it is difficult to deny that he is the real deal when it comes to his desire to create a better America.

However, it is the North Node that one must follow, no matter how strongly it appears that the South Node skills can be put to good use.

With a Gemini North Node, Dennis Kucinich is being asked to bring his truth down to earth and package it into a format with mass appeal. He is being required to develop the ability to listen, be flexible and meet others halfway.

In his campaign appearances, Dennis Kucinich likes to point out that he is the only candidate with a plan for single-payer universal health care. He tells us that he is the only candidate…

who voted against the war on Iraq and who consistently opposed it. I am the only candidate who sued the President to try to prevent him from going to war without a declaration from Congress. I am the only candidate who will repeal NAFTA and withdraw from the WTO, replacing these agreements that have cost us so many hundreds of thousands of jobs with fair bilateral trade agreements that protect jobs, workers’ rights, human rights, and environmental quality principles…

His list of where he stands apart from the other candidates goes on. He may be just a little too far apart to satisfy his Gemini North Node.

Change is scary. The level of change that Dennis Kucinich is advocating, while not uncalled for in these “interesting” times, is profound and even possibly radical. Radical change is the hallmark of his 8th house South Node. Slow, steady, step-by-step change that preserves a sense of security is what is called for by his 2nd house North Node.

In order to get recognition for his wisdom so that he can successfully bring about change, Kucinich needs to look to his heavily populated 7th house and his Libra Sun. The keywords associated with both are balance, co-operation, give and take, and charm.

Kucinich does not have to change his vision or abandon his principles. But with a karmic set-up like this one, he will find that it is easier to catch flies with honey than with vinegar. Or hot sauce. The louder he shouts at his critics, the more stubbornly he asserts his way as the “only” way, the less he will be listened to by those in positions of authority, and the harder it will be for him to truly live his passion.

Technorati Tags: Dennis Kucinich, debates, Presidential candidate, Natal Chart, past life, astrology, karma, Libra

According to Leonard Nimoy, the Vulcan blessing “Live Long and Prosper,” made famous by Mr. Spock on the original Star Trek series, was inspired by the traditional hand gesture of the Kohanim during the Priestly Blessing.

The text of the blessing is as follows:

May the Lord bless you and guard you
May the Lord shine His countenance toward you and be gracious to you
May the Lord lift up His countenance toward you and give you peace

Nimoy describes the process leading to his inspiration on this video. He states that the gesture is said to represent the Hebrew letter Shin, and may have its origins in Kabbalistic teachings. (Thanks to both Michael Rivero and DesertPeace for posts bringing this to my attention.)

On the Tree of Life, Shin is associated with the 31st Path. The Sefer Yetzirah, or Book of Creation, tells us:

The Thirty-first path is named The Continuous Intelligence. Why is it called this? Because it directs the path of sun and moon according to their laws of nature, each one in its proper orbit.

Shin is associated with peace and serenity as well as the natural changes in the yearly cycle. Its number is 300 which, in the system of Gematria, is also the value of the phrase “The Spirit of God.”

In essence, the Vulcan greeting affirms that, while time marches on, the universe maintains its natural rhythms, bestowing peace and order for the inhabitants of the planet.

That is, until the inhabitants of the planet act in ways that are disharmonious with the divine spirit in nature, i.e. polluting on a grand scale, starting wars, etc.

Perhaps, in this time of chaos and uncertainty, we should adopt the greeting of the Vulcans to remind ourselves and each other that we all contain a bit of the divine spark of the Spirit of God.

My wish for you as we begin 2008 is, Live Long and Prosper.

Technorati Tags: Leonard Nimoy, Mr. Spock, Star Trek, Priestly Blessing, Shin, Live Long and Prosper, Kabbalah, Gematria, Ritual