The Double-Bodied Dilemma

My 11-year-old loves pop singer Katy Perry, so I’ve been hearing a lot of her songs lately.  In “Hot ‘n Cold,” Katy tells a boyfriend why he’s no good for her:

‘Cause you’re hot then you’re cold

You’re yes then you’re no

You’re in then you’re out

You’re up then you’re down

You’re wrong when it’s right

It’s black and it’s white

We fight, we break up

We kiss, we make up

You! You don’t really wanna stay, no

You! But you don’t really wanna go-o

These lyrics really capture the back-and-forth quality that is a major problem for the double bodied (aka mutable) signs--Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces.

These four are so named because each brings us to the end of one season and the beginning of the next.  As such, they comprise qualities of both seasons.  Pisces, for example, brings us through winter's end right up to the spring equinox, when Aries takes over.  This duality is also reflected in their symbols.  Gemini is the twins; Virgo, the virgin and her sheaf of wheat; Sagittarius, the centaur who is half-man, half-horse; and Pisces, the two fishes.

Having lots of mutable influence in the natal chart creates an experience of  being or feeling two things, either at the same time or in alternating fashion.  There is also a difficulty making decisions and sticking to them.

I understand these problems all too well, having significant mutable influence in my chart.  I drive my poor cardinal-sign husband crazy with this. 

“So, when you said X, was that really how you felt?”

“Well, yes; at the time I said X, that’s how I felt. But today I feel Y.”

He likes to joke that the two of us should get together and let him know what we decide.

Of course, the cardinal and fixed signs have their issues, too.  Cardinal likes to start things but not finish them.  Fixed is stubborn and has trouble letting go. 

Each of us has all three modes within us to some degree or another.  The art is in working towards a balance.

Predictions Recap

I promised a recap of my recent sports predictions, given how many I got wrong. So let's review.

Vandy-Wisconsin (3/17/12). By the time of tip-off, odds were even. With even odds, we can't call the game because we can't assign houses. We can safely say now that winner Wisconsin was Lord 1, based on the testimony of Lord 10 sitting on its own cusp.

Syracuse-Wisconsin (3/22/12). Thanks to fensi88 for the comment on Pluto. See page 90 of Sports Astrology: Pluto close to a cusp has a malefic effect. It was two degrees; close enough.

Marquette-Florida (3/22/12). Lord 7 inside the 10th cusp should have favored Marquette, but they lost by a wide mile. I still have no good astrological explanation for this loss. I suggest keeping an eye on the Saturn-antiscion Neptune combo when Sat is one of our four main house lords.

Ohio State-Kansas (3/31/12). Chalk this one up to simple error. Moon makes a square with Saturn--Lord 4, Kansas prize--in two degrees. That’s the only aspect, so game goes to Kansas. This should have been an easy call.

Kentucky-Kansas (4/2/12). My mistake here was to ignore a major testimony in favor of several iffy ones. Antiscion Lord 1 sitting on cusp 10 was the key.

In summary, some lessons learned:

· Always calculate and mark antiscia, all of them, before judging the chart.
· Double and triple check your work, esp. Moon’s aspects.
· Four degrees is more appropriate for basketball than five.
· Read and re-read relevant sections of Sports Astrology.

Thanks for checking in, and I’ll see you back here for some baseball predictions later in the season!

Kentucky is King

It was Kentucky all the way.  Kansas rallied a few times, bringing the game to within six points, but errors got in the way of every potential comeback.  Kentucky was simply stronger.

We have to conclude that antiscion Venus at the MC signified Kentucky's dominance.  And from now on, I'll use four degrees for the Moon's aspects in basketball games, not five.  Five degrees works for American football, but basketball is a quicker game.

Given my poor record this tournament, I'll review all the games to see what conclusions we can draw.  I'll post those soon.

And meanwhile... opening day for the Brewers is this Friday.  Baseball, anyone?

Bye for now, sports fans, and thanks for tuning in!

It's looking ugly at the half, folks

My daughter just quipped that the real prediction should have been how many times I would swear during the game.

Kansas is looking lifeless and is down by 14 points.  Just by the feel of it, I don't see Kansas pulling this off.

So I'm already in analysis mode.  I think Moon sextile Saturn is going to prove out of range.  It just won't matter.  Saturn sitting on the Asc is having no effect whatsoever on Kentucky.  Not close enough, and moving away (retrograde). 

The only thing that must matter here is the shadow of Venus controlling its own prize, cusp 10.  Kentucky is on a major roll.

Time will tell, as it always does.  My intention in the second half is simply to enjoy the game--and avoid further swearing :-)

Tipoff time is 8:27 pm, and Game's On!

Four minutes makes a big difference! In the chart below there is no longer an aspect between Moon and antiscion Fortuna, which would have been definitive testimony for the favorites, Kentucky.  Saturn is now a little over two degrees from the Asc, 29.00 Libra, which may be too far to matter.  This would have favored Kansas.  Antiscion Mars is also way too far from cusp 7 to count as a testimony of Kansas in support of itself.

The remaining testimonies that we have are:

• Antiscion Venus conjunct the MC, which favors Kentucky;
• Moon to trine antiscion Mars in a little under 3 deg, then to sextile Saturn in a little under 5 deg.  The trine to antiscion Mars is an iffy testimony for Kansas.  The sextile to Saturn is also a bit iffy in that basketball is a fast game consisting of two halves, 20 minutes each, so 5 degrees may be too long.  Four degrees may be a better range.  If so, the sextile to Saturn may be just out of range.

Well, I always like the underdog, so I'm going to go with Kansas.  There's that Saturn-antiscion Neptune factor to consider, too.  Right or wrong, I'll be back after the game to provide analysis.

Enjoy the game!

Final Game, NCAA 2012!

We're down to our last college basketball game of the season:  The NCAA Men's Final.  Kentucky is a 7-point Vegas favorite over Kansas.  The game is supposed to start tomorrow, 4/2/12, at 8:23 p.m. CDT (New Orleans, LA):

Libra is rising so Kentucky gets Venus and Sun, Kansas Mars and Saturn.  Moon is flow of action. 

I'm going call the game only when I have a confirmed tipoff time.  Why?  Because Fortuna will have moved if the game starts even a few minutes late.  Above, Moon (22.45 Leo) makes an immediate aspect to antiscion Fortuna (22.49 Libra).  If Fortuna moves by even four minutes of arc, the aspect will be separated and will not count.  Last night's game between OSU and Kansas started 16 minutes late, so I'm not confident about this time.  Moon's aspects to Fortuna or its antiscion are final--a major testimony for a Kentucky win--but only if this chart is accurate to the minute. 

The Moon's next aspects are a trine to antiscion Mars (Kansas) and a sextile to Saturn (K's prize).  The first is not reliable, but the latter should be.  Moon sextile Saturn should mean a Kansas win.  But there are a few other testimonies to consider.

Antiscion Venus (Kentucky) is just inside its own 10th house.  Not a definitive testimony by itself, but possibly important.  More important, I think, is Saturn (Kansas prize) sitting on the Ascendant.  It is moving away from the Asc because it is retrograde.  So this is not a definitive testimony, either.  Remember, though, this Saturn-antiscion Neptune combo seems to be favoring the underdogs, so it could give Kansas the edge.

I'm going to sleep on it, and I'll be back tomorrow with my prediction!