The character of Marcia Brady is, for generations of Americans, an archetype of the all-American golden girl. The sweet, perfect girl next door who all the boys aspire to make their own. It came as a bit of a shocker then, that the real life Marcia, Maureen McCormick struggled for years with drug addiction and used to trade sex for coke.

McCormick wrote in her recently released autobiography, “As a teenager, I had no idea that few people are everything they present to the outside world. Yet there I was, hiding the reality of my life behind the unreal perfection of Marcia Brady. … No one suspected the fear that gnawed at me even as I lent my voice to the chorus of Bradys singing, `It’s a Sunshine Day.”

At the same time Marcia decided to write her book, she was undergoing her Chiron return, the last of the major mid-life transits and a very important transit in the astrological progression. The Chiron return happens when we are about 51. It is the time when we confront our demons once and for all and create a more truthful and honest relationship with reality. It is around this time when many people decide that their remaining years will be lived on their own terms, and not on the lies that they have been repressing. This can be a very liberating experience. When we have demons, others have power over us as we will always have the fear of being exposed for who we really are. The Chiron return promotes setting those demons free and taking control and power back.

As Marcia said recently, “It took most of my life, countless mistakes and decades of pain and suffering to reach this point of equanimity and acceptance.” This is truly the purpose of the Chiron return.

So how did Madonna go from someone who was an iconoclastic, daring, brazen, renegade to someone who would schedule sex with her hubbby weeks in advance, with the emphasis of fitting it into her workout schedule?

Madonna is a Leo with a Virgo ascendant. Our ascendants represent how we appear to others, while our sun signs are who we really are inside. The problem is, as we get older, we sometimes become the mask, and over time we gradually become more like our ascendants than our sun signs.

Leo is the sign of the individual, filled with creativity, playfulness and flair. Leos can be quite domineering, but not in a power-mad or control freak way, but just because their identities can fill up a stage, leaving others out of the spotlight. Virgo is a sign that likes a different sort of control, one which is meticulously thought out and followed. Virgo rules nutrition, and Madonna’s strict diet can be seen as one manifestation, not only of her ascendant, but her stellium of planets in this sign. Saturn has been moving over these planets for the past year, only further emphasizing the austere Virgo side of her character.

I once knew a Virgo who set up a database of lovers in an excel spreadsheet so as to better take care of their needs. Virgos would totally take to scheduling sex sessions as a path to efficiency. Virgos often also take up severe work out regimes as a kind of control or even self-punishment.

A recent article in the Washington Post talks about the global food crisis. The recent economic crisis has pushed this out of the headlines, but the UN’s Food and Agricultural Organisation has recently warned of “a looming disaster next year if countries do not make food security a top priority.”

The economic crisis has made a number of countries reneg on their promises of aid to farmers in developing countries. A number of countries, especially China, have also imposed a system of tarifs to make it very difficult to export staples food products and fertilizers, so as not to deplete their own food reserves. This in turn limits the amount of food farmers in poorer nations can afford to grow.

On June 29, 2009, Ceres will be conjunct Saturn in Virgo. Ceres is the asteroid that rules the harvest. Virgo rules nutrition. Put Saturn into the equation, and you can see some lack and hardship going on. Moreover on this same day, there is a conjunction of Neptune and Jupiter, with Chiron close by in the sign of Aquarius. Aquarius rules globalisation, while Neptune rules oil. Chiron in the mix emphasises the fact that we can no longer turn a blind eye to these problems and must deal with them once an for all. Jupiter has a tendency to blow up whatever it touches.

Put all these things together and there is the possibility of a perfect storm relating to the interconnected, globalised network of growing and distributing food.

In a previous post, I predicted the break-up of Madonna and Guy, stating the period of their divorce would take place sometime from November 2008 to July 2009, during Madonna’s Saturn square. “Madonna’s own square to her natal Saturn in the house of home and family from November through late July of 2009 could signify some major alterations in her domestic life.”

Today, the Madonna camp stated that the two are divorcing. It will take a while for the divorce to be finalised, most likely during the time period stated.

Being a head of state is filled with pressure, and pressure and stress lead to premature aging. The following photos show George W Bush in 2000 and then in 2005. Next up is Tony Blair in 1997 and then in a photo taken in November 2001. Both look like they have aged 20 years in four. I am not an agist, but really where is there for McCain to go on the premature aging front?

Palin, the VP candidate, is a woman who makes George W Bush look like part of the intellectual elite. Ponder that before you vote.

Take a look, and please share this post, especially if you have undecided friends. There is a little share button below….

I am a pop culture junkie and absolutely love 70s kitsch. McCain’s repeated references to Joe the Plumber in tonite’s debate jogged something in my useless information memory banks. Thanks to google, I found him, or her. Josephine the Plumber was an advertising mascot for a cleanser back in the 70s.

What is that all about? Joe the Plumber, Joe Six Pack…It reminds me of Snoopy who had all these alter-egos that started with Joe, like Joe Cool. Why don’t we ever have any candidates that actively go after the Joe Cool vote?

All the horoscopes for October are now posted! I also will be adding quite a few blog entries in the coming week, so check back. November’s energy is really intense so get ready!

Here is a fun documentary on astrology from back in the 70s. It’s so much fun to see the people saying what signs they are, the Sadge kid, the Virgo dude, and by FAR the Leo chick I think just go to prove the point. It’s hosted by Dr. Spock himself, Leonard Nimoy – Aries with mysterious Scorpio rising. Great early synth background music, too. Anyways here it is posted below in three parts.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

There is a certain Rico Suave side to Joe Biden that I kind of dig. I can totally see him schmoozing with Julio Iglesias or on the cast of Dynasty. In fact this entire election has a Dynasty element to it: Sarah as Sammy Jo, McCain as misogynist Blake with Stepford Wife Cindy/Crystal. Biden would be the rival to Blake who married Alexis and died of a heart attack while making love to her on their wedding night. I am not sure who Obama would be, maybe that’s just as well.

Anyway, I have rethought my astrological take on the election. As I said in a previous post, in 2004 it was quite clear Bush had the major astrological advantage on election day, but this year is not so clear. But due to a number of factors (which I will go into in another post), I am, like Virginia, leaning Obama for the win.

One of the main reasons I have reconsidered my prediction is Joe Biden’s chart. He will have Saturn conjunct his Mid-Heaven making a trine with transitting Jupiter in Capricorn in his second house in the earthy signs of Virgo and Capricorn. This is an incredibly positive aspect. The mid-heaven represents the pinnacle of the chart, the absolute peak of success. When Saturn conjuncts this point it marks the high point of a 27 year cycle and ushers in two extremely favourable years on the work front. The fact his mid-heaven is in Virgo, only serves to emphasize this as Virgo loves hard work and service.

The trine to Jupiter in Capricorn in his second house also underlines the success aspects, as this can see a big boost in fortune, both material and on a self-worth level as well. These aspects are exact on November 15th, but are so powerful they are in effect in the weeks surrounding it.

Both these aspects appear to point to the fact that this is the high point in Biden’s career, which would lead me to believe that means he is part of the winning team.

On October 30th, Sarah Palin will be undergoing a Jupiter square. For a woman who doesn’t seem to know the word moderation, this could be a seriously testing time. Sarah is also undergoing Neptune conjunct her Sun, which could be leading to issues of self-esteem and identity. The Jupiter square may try to over-compensate for that by leading to a tendency of delusions of grandeur.

Jupiter blows up whatever it touches and Jupiter square natal Jupiter times can be ones where things spiral seriously out of control and tiny issues trigger atomic bombs. It all can become too much and overwhelming. These are also times when people overextend themselves and commit to things they cannot deliver on. The sense of invincibility only quickens the fall.

The weeks before and after October 30th are also critical because this transit remains in effect for several weeks on either side. Unforunately we do not have her birthtime, so I cannot say what areas of her chart this will hit. Jupiter however, rules legal issues, education and religion, and perhaps these issues will come back to haunt her.