“Now, Daddy he was makin’ money hand over fist, and y’all was gettin’ screwed but you wasn’t gettin’ kissed.”

-from the song The Ballad of Hank Williams by Hank Williams Jr.

If you are someone who used to buy things from sellers in Europe or China on eBay or Etsy before the unpleasantness of the tariffs kicked in last month, I hope that you weren’t caught in the crossfire between having ordered before the tariffs began but not receiving the purchase until after they were applied. This happened to us, and it was terrifying to wait and wonder how badly we were going to get screwed on having to pay up when we did receive the item. Information on the internet about what to expect was all over the place regarding how much we were going to be on the hook for on an item that only cost $8.99 to purchase. Some sites said $0.89. Others said that it could be as much as an $80.00 flat rate and there could be an additional tariff for every post office that the package was sent to as it made its way across the country to the final destination. This is the stuff of financial nightmares for people who are just barely scraping by already. We are those people.

It was a monumental relief when the package finally arrived yesterday and we actually didn’t have to pay anything, believe it or not. Apparently, few people really understood how the tariffs were going to be handled early on and many of them jumped the gun in relating what our responsibilities would actually be. I am extremely relieved to know the reality now, but my god, until yesterday I could not be sure how we were going to manage it if there had been a large flat rate attached to a small purchase like a compact disc  I’ll tell you, this is a time of dreadful uncertainty here in America because finding honest and accurate information on the internet ain’t what it used to be and previously reliable news sources aren’t so reliable anymore either. Things change here so quickly that what you thought you knew and understood 10 minutes ago could be completely wrong when you look again. I get headaches just thinking about it, and if you use Google search now to find a homeopathic remedy for the type of headache that you are suffering from you will discover that they will direct you to sites that don’t always know what the hell they are talking about or they will recommend an obscure remedy that isn’t available anywhere locally and you have never heard of it even if you have been trusting your health to homeopathy for decades. It is a headache on top of a headache and forget about going to a doctor because you cannot afford it.

Since the pandemic began here in 2020, we have been ordering our groceries online once a week and picking them up curbside at the store. Recently this has become more of a frustration and a (another) headache as well. They will charge you a certain price on the store app for something that is not actually the in-store price. What you pay will be higher. On the other hand, (literally) you can be in the store and find an item that you want that doesn’t have a listed price so you check their website for the price and they will tell you that they do not have that item when you are standing there physically holding the item in your hand that they say does not exist.

Our monthly electric bill amount has skyrocketed in the past year, and I keep hearing that the cause for it is that we are paying for data centers that power AI. I don’t know why anybody thinks that AI is a necessity in this world. The existence of AI has become the new adored child for the corporate capitalists. They are thrilled to be able to throw human beings out of their jobs in favor of the wonderful new alternative that they now have to produce their wares and take over their customer services. I won’t go into how badly this is working out in reality but if you are interested in finding out you do not have to search very deeply to read the ridiculousness of the outcomes. I see more and more videos on YouTube that are AI generated and to believe that you are getting anything spectacular from them when they are full of incorrect information and incorrectly pronounced words and names is lunacy. 

If you thought that our future was going to be like on Star Trek, you need to look again. We do have iPads like Captain Picard had and maybe a few other technological gems have made their way to us from the 24th century but a great deal of it is a pain in the ass when you consider how often they screw up. Scotty said it best in the film Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, “The more they overtake the plumbing, the easier it is to stop up the drain.” Even more accurate than that is what Dark Helmet said in the film Spaceballs: “Fuck! Even in the future nothing works!”

Because No One Answered (Part Four)

Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn are of the earth element. Earth Signs are supposed to blend easily with other Earth Signs but I can tell you from experience that this isn’t always the case. I had a relationship with a Taurus once that worked out about as well as two Bettas in the same tank.

Society has suffered some severe rude awakenings in the past few years and many people who struggle with their true identity in this life have a much harder time of it when confronted with changing times and changing cultural ideals. Their first response to kicks in their complacency is oftentimes an aggressive or angry one. The closer that you evolve toward becoming your true self in life the harder it is to blend with anyone who hasn’t attained something similar in their life as well. People that we thought we knew such as relatives and old friends aren’t necessarily evolving at the same speed. Keep this in mind as you look to find your counterparts in the promotion of change because the desire for revolution can easily spiral out of control when change comes slowly in a rapidly declining world. Know that it will take a balance between all kinds of people to create stability. Tolerance amid intolerance is badly needed. The family that you were born into did not come about by accident, so remember that those you find yourself around in this life were a gift to you to help you distinguish between those who can help and those who can harm. When you have to walk away do so without blame.

Taurus tends to be like petrified earth. Just like a rock. It is difficult to talk them into anything and if you try they usually will just dig their heels in deeper. They may look and act like you have been able to reason with them but at the last minute you might find that this isn’t the case.  Not an easy thing to deal with in a relationship of the heart. Speaking of the heart, do not set your heart on anything with them if they have been initially unaccepting because that is probably going to be what you will get in the end - no deal.  No matter how it may have looked between the start and the finish things can backfire on a dime. This is a darn good trait to have in a negotiator for a cause when you are in a nonnegotiable situation, but it is a gigantic pain in a romantic one.

Thinking of trying to establish a worker’s union where you are employed? Find the Taurus in your group to be your spokesperson. This is the Sun Sign of Karl Marx and he was immovable in his crusade for the working class. Tom Petty recorded a song called “I Won’t Back Down” some years ago and it could have been written for any Taurus who has made up their mind on anything.

Virgos are more mutable than Taurus but you need to have your logic on display up front or you will probably get nowhere with them either. Since Virgo may not even want to be the front person it will be easier to deal with them, usually. They aren’t likely to stay with your organization very long if your goals aren’t sound and reasonable, though. They might suddenly stop showing up for meetings with no explanation as to why. If you ask them why they left it would be smart to hear them out on their reason. Their criticism is most likely worth listening to because what they have to say will not have anything to do with their ego. It will come from pure analysis of the flaws that they have seen in your plan of action. This can be annoying as hell to the insecure or the lovers of themselves, though. Think of Dr. McCoy and Spock in Star Trek. Some of their disagreements were a huge pain for the doctor, but Captain Kirk, who was more sure of himself, always valued what Spock had to say about a situation because he knew that Spock was not taking a shot at him personally. Virgos rarely aspire to advance to the top unless the top person is inept at doing the job. If they aren’t outspoken Virgos the best place for them in an endeavor for change is most likely in an organizational position or in the accounting department. If they are with you at the beginning of your endeavor, they will be very good at planning and executing those plans in ways that include everyone in the group. They won’t let you run out of paper clips or pens and they can tell you where every dollar of your funds was spent. They are wonderful support people for those who cannot be bothered with details.

The Capricorn person is usually very respectable as far as being dedicated and efficient. Like most Earth Signs they are capable and quite independent requiring little if any supervision. They know their job and they get to it without complaint. The Capricorn is a great supervisor of others but they have little tolerance for slackers. Just try to sit back on your assets while everyone else is making the grade when Capricorn is in charge. You will be told only once that you aren’t holding up your end and then you may find yourself replaced. These people are excellent managers and they don’t “half-ass” anything. If they feel like the cause is worthwhile, they are super loyal and devoted. There is always a place for Capricorn if diligence and quiet confidence is required. They are simple and focused and the job is done right the first time.

Ideally, a group or organization made up of Fire Signs, Water Signs, Air Signs, and Earth Signs would be capable of covering all the bases in a unified way when collectively promoting positive change but we don’t always get so lucky. It is no different from our nuclear families. We got what we got and that is that, but in assessing how strong we are when in crisis, it can be easier to get our individual jobs done if we focus on the best parts of the individual family members, we have with us. Everyone must be included and there will always be some who are completely incapable of keeping up, so to stay balanced we have to carry some and nudge others.

We have kicked the can down the road for too long. Life is kicking it back at us. Your best contributions are needed to change the future and they already exist in you.

The next installment in this series will post next Friday.  “Live long and prosper” in the New Year.       

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The Best of Both Worlds

No, this is not going to be a review of the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode of the same name. I have many things that I could say about that particular episode where Picard is assimilated into the Borg collective and how there is a correlation between the Borg race and how many people on this planet would like nothing better than to assimilate those whom they feel are inferior but still have some traits or intelligence which could be made use of by the collective. There is definitely a story there to be told but I will save it for another time. This time I want to focus on the American workplace and how it could and should be restructured to best accommodate the needs of the people. There is also a need to rethink our public school systems and how we might claim our rights as humans beings with needs that are not being recognized within those institutions. I will not venture into the realms of the economic systems that would need to change in order to sustain the new way of doing things.  I will leave that to the experts in that field.

What I wish to say has more to do with the self and what we might become if we had a better sense of self, self-direction, and personal needs. Sounds like something that we should already have if we are adults, but I can assure you that we don’t or we would not be so inclined to create golden idols for ourselves in the form of men of means with a faulty foundation that we are too insecure and ego driven to see past.  This too, would be an opportune time to insert some more Star Trek in the form of the Ferengi, but I will resist the temptation for now.

A person who has grown to be an adult isn’t really capable of seeing past ego and desire without a basis for realizing that these things are a problem.  No one really expects us to deal with selfishness and childishness when these are the very cornerstone of marketing practices.  What can you sell to people if they have a balanced ego?  Basic human needs would be about it. What can you sell to people who have struck a balance with their need for sex, and friendship, comfort and protection from the elements? Not much.  So where is the logic in promoting the idea that people should grow up emotionally? In Capitalism, there is none.

At the beginning of the fear brought on by the Coronavirus there was, in some situations, a panic that was felt in the workplace that those who were capable of doing their jobs remotely should do exactly that and make it easier to social distance ourselves to make the spread of the virus less likely.  I know that locally, many companies only allowed this practice grudgingly, but it did find its place within the population to the relief of many who had jobs that could be done this way. Public school attendance also had to be rethought by letting students attend remotely.  For some people this was a major problem as there are so many parents who depend on school for their child’s daycare while they are working.  I was fortunate enough to be able to home school my daughter when she was school age but that is not usually the case for most parents. Once the panic wore off, many people were sadly required to go back in to school and the office and just take their chances with the disease but the gate had already been opened as many people discovered that remote working was much better for them.  They were less stressed and had more incentive to do their job without the constant workplace fear that comes with being controlled and micromanaged.  This was a great revelation for many and as it turned out, many of them for the first time felt that they had options for themselves that never existed before.  There was, for a time, an opportunity to realize their individual strengths and weaknesses and how best to utilize their skills and abilities. This was a wonderful thing.  To finally see where they truly should be as far as their individual needs were concerned, they began to “wake up” and understand that the previous system of work had zero to do with their needs and plenty to do with management desiring to keep a tight rein on them at all times to ensure that the balance of power remained squarely in their corner.  And now, we are seeing a backlash on remote working except in certain sectors of the country because allowing the people to find their true self is much too dangerous to allow.  Who will kiss the boss’s ass if the threat of the virtual lash isn’t hanging over the employee’s head?  It must not be borne.  So here we are, seeing yet another balance for the people taken away to satisfy the company.  Too many of us do not have the skills or the personal tools to challenge these threats to our basic human dignity. And if you do not see that these are threats to our very existence you miss and may always miss the point of even being on this planet.  I can tell you that those people who did wake up temporarily have lost a valuable right that they didn’t even know that they were entitled to before 2020. Witness the recent shock of losing the right to make your own healthcare decisions by a section of the populace that has decided that too much freedom of choice has been allowed for too long.  As bad as it may sound, even in the worst of times there is opportunity to turn great disadvantage in to a strength and a positive if we allow ourselves to be still and listen. What can be seen from the bottom is barely recognized from the top.

It may appear to be too late in the game for people to stop in their tracks and take a good look at what massive ego and the desire to have all that we want whenever we want it with no regard for the ripple effect upon our very lives has brought us to, but what we are experiencing right now has the power to redirect us if we can recognize that we have allowed much of this to manifest by not knowing the processes that we gave little thought to were the catalysts.  Rewinding our life video back to a place where we can set aside the false idea that we are an entitled species is essential for our survival.  We now find ourselves at a stopping point where it is essential that we take stock of what is necessary to reclaim our birthright.  Knowing one’s birthright is a massive challenge to the ego’s control of our actions, but it can and must be done.  There are many who will not heed the call of a dying society because they are under the delusion that they are winning the ego battle that proves their supremacy. They are a tough adversary because they have disregarded the rules of engagement which they believe don’t really exist.  We have to show them that they are wrong by knowing ourselves, our strengths, and our weaknesses.  Too many of us have never learned what we are except for what media and other people have told us.  The sad truth is that we have been assimilated, but resistance is not futile. While we are at that low point where we now know that we have been had, it is the perfect time to find our individual center. When we have the clarity of a centered mind, we are capable of making miracles.

The best of both worlds; this world, and the world where our higher mind exists can and do coexist in harmony when we have learned to balance the two.  I urge you to explore your place in them. There is peace when you can imagine the possibility.

It Has Everything To Do With What Will Work

Four years ago, I wrote a post here about Senator Bernie Sanders when I learned that he was going to run for President. (see my post for May 08, 2015) I used information based on his astrological chart to try to present a profile of how he most likely came to the decision to run for that office and why he was a very good choice for America. Bernie did not make it to the Democratic pick in 2016, but now that he is trying again for 2020, I would like to reiterate everything that I wrote previously and add to it as best I can, with some advice that comes from the heart and soul and the universe.  I hope that this will find its way to him if it is the will of the cosmos. 

There is a television show called The New Yankee Workshop starring Norm Abram, which can be seen on the PBS website and probably other venues, where Norm takes you through the steps of building beautiful pieces of furniture and other wood décor. Even if you know that you could never build as expertly as Norm can, you still love watching the show because you can appreciate the handiwork of someone who is creative and experienced, and seeing it all come together is a marvelous thing. If it is possible, I think that Bernie should consider producing a video which details step-by-step how he will build America in to a nation that will care for its people and promote the positive changes for us that we can only have if more of us understand the steps necessary to build that from the ground (Which we are sitting at.  I would really hate to believe that we can sink any lower.) up.

I live in a part of the country that is called a “Red State”, which means that the majority of our citizens vote Republican.  This is a real head-scratcher when you consider that a large portion of the people here live at or below what is considered to be “poverty level.” So many of the people here may have their smart phones and computers and even toddlers are tech savvy (How these people afford them is even more of a head-scratcher!) but when it comes to recognizing when they are being cheated and lied to by bureaucrats and the affluent, they have a gigantic mental block as big as the Great Wall Of China. Why this is so can possibly be explained by taking a look at a society in the television series Star Trek. 

There is a race of humanoid type beings in the Star Trek world called Ferengi, from the planet Ferenginar. They are racist, sexist, and practiced rampant capitalism for centuries. They did not recognize where this would eventually lead them until the entire society collapsed.  Their thinking was that monied interests and those who prospered in that were the highest level of beings.  It was never questioned as being wrong when they all aspired to be exactly like that. It is this same mentality that I think drives so many Americans to vote against their own best interests and follow the Pied Piper of wealth because they cannot believe that there is any reason for human existence other than to strive for the American Dream.  Those who have already achieved it are the gods that we worship. Life is hard. And it is damn hard when you live in the rural south. Those who have made it to wealth and recognition must be the only people capable of running the country.  Add in to this a belief in that “old time religion” which deplores anything that is not in the gospels, and a general fear of anything that you don’t understand (as in words like Socialism) and you have a society that will choose to hate change every time, because they are not learning not to. This is where we need to insert a YouTube or Netflix video called The New Yankee Socialist. 

I can only use the word Socialist here in this blog in my own home because it can get you into serious trouble if you say it publicly anywhere else.  The word has a long association with societies that will take away all of your freedoms and give a forum to all of those people who dare to believe in something different and difficult to understand.  So, I didn’t say it.  You didn’t read it here.  Only someone like Bernie Sanders can get away with it, sort of.

The thing that I find most troubling when Senator Sanders talks about the plan he has for making the United States a better place is that he hesitates when he is asked about how he will bring about the necessary changes that will give Americans a better standard of living and take us in to a new era of prosperity and more equality for all.  I can understand why he does this.  Just mention the words “new taxes” and people start freezing up and tuning out. Say the word “Socialism” and they think that you intend to send the military to their house and take away their belongings.  Mind closed, case closed. Reaching these people is a tough order because they can walk away and recover from the bad words by tuning in to the prophets of doom tv networks and internet social sites that are all too happy to keep supporting the myths that they are comfortable with.  It is difficult to show your blueprints for the future when you can only preach to the choir in short speeches made in a grueling schedule of touring quickly through many American cities. You will not reach enough of the Ferengi and the “Red State wonders” until you put your plans on paper and show the building process to them step by step.  

A video in a place like YouTube is more likely to capture the attention of these types because anyone that is capable of hearing will share it with others in a way that your speech in South Carolina will not reach.  This is nothing that you don’t already know, but there are many others who have taken your ideas and are promoting them as their own now.  I do not see any of them trying to reach out to those whom they believe are not going to listen in the first place. The only ones who are really listening are those who already believe in your philosophy.  Like on the New Yankee Workshop, show the finished product first, then show the blueprints for making it a reality.  You will have to explain that you join this piece with another piece and you glue this piece with taxes which you collect by exchanging money now being spent on something that you will not have to pay again once you put your program into place.  Senator Sanders, I have been a supporter of yours since the first time that I saw you speak about equality and inequality on MSNBC many years ago and even though I understand where you are coming from and how your vision for America would make an incredible difference, I do not see how these changes are truly possible in a country that doesn’t want to know about anything that might require them to get off their backsides and view the world differently.  

I am familiar with the philosophy of Marx, and Engels, and others who have tried to champion a more balanced world for everyone.  I want to see you succeed where so many others have failed but I have to tell you that unless and until you can give the ones who don’t really have a clue how it can benefit them from where they sit, the “Red State” voters will keep turning a blind eye. I believe that you need to reach those who cannot yet see but may be able to hear that you have a plan that truly is for all of us.  Right now, they are content to hear that no one other than they deserve to do well.  They cannot see that this mentality is what is causing them to pay higher prices for basic human necessities and keeps them in a constant state of fear about losing what they have. We need to see the video because too many will not read the book.  If their children and neighbors and co-workers see the film and share the experience online it may spark an interest in hearing for themselves. Even those of us who already believe would love to see how you will put everything together. I have seen staunch Republicans admit that they would gladly pay more taxes and give up something that they have so people that they care about can afford to buy food and medicines and see a doctor when they are sick.  In groups, you never hear this, but one on one it does happen.  Just like deciding to watch an episode of the New Yankee Workshop because you have nothing pressing to do, you are probably very sure that you could never make a china cabinet or a sideboard, you might tune in and watch an episode just to pass the time.  You might see or hear something from Norm that would make you believe that the project is possible. 

It is also likely that you, Senator Sanders, will show a step in the process that can make someone believe that your plan for the future can work. If I were a filmmaker, I would volunteer to do the work of getting this project out to the people.  Your ideas for building a better country are the best that I have seen.  I believe from preparing your birth chart that you have the ability to make a miracle in America, but you need to help us help you.  Once we see the blueprints and can visualize the finished product, it is possible that even the “Red State” people, fearful as they are, could believe in the project coming together. We just need to see someone else do it first, like Norm Abram shows us.  Independence Day is proof positive that change can happen when people decide that they have had enough of tyranny. I write on this blog and send it out there in hopes that it will inspire someone to discover their god given potential and make a difference through behavior true to what they were born to be.  You can show us what a society that aspires to be better and more inclusive looks like, and how you can lead us to that ultimate goal. 

And for the record, the Ferengi were able to put their society back together by implementing Socialist ideals.

When The Needs Of The Many Outweigh The Needs Of The Few. Or The Needs Of The One. Or The 1%.

They say in Astrology that Mercury ruled Virgo is only ruled by that planet as a foster ruler until their true ruling planet of Vulcan is discovered and charted.  It is said that once the discovery of this planet is made, we Virgos will come in to our own like never before and our lives will change dramatically. Until then, we are the step-children in Astrology and will always wonder where our true place in the cosmos lies. I have never doubted this theory for a moment. Certainly not all Virgos are alike, as there are a multitude of unique influences in everyone’s chart, but being a Virgo myself, I know for a fact that our fit in the world is a particularly individual one. A bit like the Vulcan, Sarek (in the film Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home) said regarding Klingon justice as being “a unique point of view”. Ours is a unique fit in the larger scheme of things. I was so sad to hear about the passing of Leonard Nimoy recently. His portrayal of the quintessential Vulcan, Spock, in television and film was one of my absolute favorite things about the entire Star Trek saga. He was half- human, half-Vulcan; the very nature of the sixth sign in the zodiac. Spock, Sarek, and just about every other Vulcan in the Star Trek series has Virgo looming large in their maybe fictional, but well defined, characters. It makes you wonder if Gene Roddenberry was in to Astrology!

With a presidential election coming up in November 2016 I have been working on the astrological chart of a Virgo who recently made the declaration that he is running for that office.   A critical look at his chart may tell us what a Virgo president would have to offer in these days of turmoil and uncertainly in America.

I have not researched the number of U.S. presidents we have had who were born in the sign of Virgo, but I would venture to guess that there have not been many. You are more likely to find most of them born in air signs and fire signs. Lots of ego is normally required to prompt an aspiration this high, but sometimes people can surprise you. Any time an unlikely hero appears it is probably because the system is greatly out of whack. We are experiencing a great many out-of-whack situations today and I am sure that this is the only reason that Bernie Sanders has tossed his hat in to the ring.

Bernie was born September 8, 1941. His sun sign is Virgo and his moon sign is Taurus. There were two different references for Bernie regarding his moon sign in the tables that I consulted to work his chart. One of them said that he had the  moon in Aries, not Taurus. As with any reference, it is only as good as the calculators who put it together. I would not say that the information is open to interpretation necessarily, but I will say that having researched the inherent qualities of an Aries influence verses a Taurus influence, there is nothing in the quality of an Aries moon that would explain Bernie’s lifelong interest in the welfare of others and the path that he has served on with regard to the problems of the poor and disenfranchised, and his excellence in economics as the influence of Taurus would. The place of birth (which for Bernie is Brooklyn, New York) is considered when doing the calculation, but one must also rule with what one knows intuitively in these cases. Without knowing the time that he was born, I cannot calculate precisely that Taurus is factually accurate, nor can I calculate his rising sign, but we can get a pretty accurate view of what he is without knowing this. It is possible that he has Taurus rising, which may strongly influence his true self. You may be the judge of whether or not you recognize Taurus traits, but I do not see the necessary Aries traits well enough to make the call for that to be his moon sign. Bernie was also born in the sign of the Snake in the Chinese zodiac. Not your average person to seek a position as high as the presidency, but one that will not shrink from the position of making his voice known when he sees that others are not putting a voice of fairness and reason out there as they should be.

There is a scene in the 1951 film The Day The Earth Stood Still where the residents of the boarding house where the spaceman Klaatu is staying (unbeknownst to them) are having a conversation at the breakfast table about how frightened and bewildered they are with a “spaceman” running loose in their city.  One of them asks “Why doesn’t the government do something?” Another says that the government probably doesn’t know what to do about the situation as they are just people.  There is a Bernie Sanders/Virgo/Taurus at the table who says “People my foot!  They’re Democrats!”  Spoken like a true earth sign!  I suspect that the character Klaatu in the film is also a Virgo, based on his impatience with the “stupidity” of the people of Earth. The actor, Michael Rennie, who portrayed Klaatu was also a Virgo. Bernie Sanders knows what to do because he has studied the matter and wrestled with its implications for a long time before he opens his mouth and proffers a solution. You can bet that he has one, just like the man at the table is sure that the Democrats do because they are the ones who are in the business of knowing. Don’t ever doubt it. Bernie is in the business of knowing because he probably doesn’t sleep nights until he has worked out the best and most balanced solution to whatever is wrong. As with Spock, it is only logical. It has nothing to do with whether or not he is liked or whether he makes a good impression on the people who fancy themselves to be important. It has everything to do with what will work to solve the problem.

The Virgo/Taurus combination is usually comfortably in the position where they feel that they can be most effective already by the time they reach Bernie’s age. I would say that he is feeling a discomfort with his current status, as in he no longer feels that his position in the Senate can adequately address the preponderance of troubles he sees in this country and he therefore sees the need to be in a position of making more of a difference than is possible in his senate post. There is also the possibility that he wants to be in the position of taking to task other presidential hopefuls by challenging them in a higher forum than his senate position allows. Taking the next step toward higher office was likely thought out long and hard before he decided to run for the Presidency. It is not in his nature at all to seek a grand position unless he truly believes that reason has been abandoned and logic is no longer being used. Virgo/Taurus is not the thought police. They normally are too busy with their own work and principles to step in and push their views onto people who aren’t of the same mind set,  but when others aren’t getting the job done you will most likely hear it from Virgo first. Others may have louder voices, but it is usually pretty easy to spot a dissenting voice that makes itself known by crowing or barking in ego from one that has done his research on the issue and speaks out with the authority of one who has studied why current thought is not effective. This is Bernie Sanders, pure and simple.

Bernie has Mercury and Venus in Libra which tells me that he is quick, inventive, and has advanced and open-minded views. This is evident in his position on gay rights. As I said before, Virgos are not the thought police, but they do know when there is an imbalance in prevailing views, and everything in Bernie’s chart tells me that he doesn’t have to be one of the disenfranchised to know a disenfranchising issue when he sees it. He was apparently out there rallying for causes even in his youth.

There is an aspect in Bernie’s chart that tends toward being more influenced by the views of one’s mother. It is possible that Bernie’s mother was someone who held strong beliefs and was able to influence him greatly toward what he would become as an adult.

Of all the people that I have done charts on, famous or not, I rarely see one where the public face of the person is as true to their inherent self as Bernie Sanders appears to be. There are traits in his chart that one cannot possibly see as truth without knowing him intimately, but in viewing what the universe sent him here with on the day he was born, I see no contradiction in what he says and what astrology says about him. He is unique in that he does not seem to want anything other than what would bring this country together for the betterment of all. Once a person has their own needs met in this life there are only two things left that one may strive for; they will either strive to see that others have the opportunity to create a life like that, or they will set about to create trouble for those that they deem not as good. There has to be something at their core that makes a person advocate on behalf of others. Not everyone has that in them. Our task is to discern in the available pool of those who wish to represent us who has that capability and who does not. We try to make the most informed choices based on what they say and the information that is available to us from the media, but we can be easily fooled when the inner person has been separated from that which they believe will get them love and accolades. So many people create a public face to hide their true self, like in the Oscar Wilde novel The Picture of Dorian Gray. While it is a world where we are expected to meet the demands and expectations of others in order to attain employment or have a relationship, it is a problem that we will always find difficult to overcome if we do not find and embrace the trueness of what we are and are meant to be.  I do not know if Bernie has ever had a chart done before, but he is one of those rare people who appears to live and be just exactly what he was created to be. What an amazing thing to see in an age of narcissism and selfishness!  It may be that the planet Vulcan is closer than ever to being discovered. It would seem that its influence is already being felt by Bernie Sanders, who is taking the ultimate step forward into what he could truly be. We could all take a lesson.