024—Axis Astrology Podcast “Virgo†(August 24-September 6, 2014)

In this episode, Alison and Arwynne discuss the transits, aspects and moon phases for August 24-September 6, 2014. Our 360 topic this time is the mutable, feminine earth sign of Virgo. We discuss the meaning of that sign and some of the notable people with Virgo strongly represented in their charts. Arwynne reviews Astro-Logics by Koen Van de Moortel, MSc. and Alison reviews Discovering Eris by Keiron De Grice.

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• Venus Trine Uranus 24-Aug-2014: Pleasant surprises, offbeat or unexpected social activities, spending on technology
  
• Mars Conjunct Saturn 25-Aug-2014: delayed action, roadblocks, channel your energies & try to work more efficiently
  
• Venus T-Square Mars-Saturn 26-27 Aug-2014: Tension & conflict; sparks fly in relationships & finance, speed bumps
  
• Sun Opposition Neptune 29-Aug-2014: Counter misunderstandings/mistrust with openness & sincerity, or wait it out
  
• Mercury in Libra 1-Sep-2014: Favors negotiation & fair deals with partners & others, contract negotiations, accords
  
• Sun Trine Pluto 3-Sep-2014: Decision-making & tactical planning, seek long-term solutions & solidify commitments
  
• Venus in Virgo 5-Sep-2014: Venus in fall. Loved ones, creative projects & expenditures subject to more a critical eye
  

Arwynne reviews Astro-Logics, a free eBook available online by Koen Van de Moortel, MSc. A quote from his introduction says it best: “It has been different, once upon a time, but today scientists and astrologers tend to disagree seriously. Apart from a few exceptions, there is precious little constructive contact between both communities… The purpose of this writing (and maybe partially, of my life) is, to try to do something about this, i.e. to get scientists a bit more open, and to develop a more scientific attitude among astrologers.” A worthy cause and an excellent, engaging read. Perhaps not for those who prefer to think of astrology as more art than science, but I found it fascinating and it left me wanting more like it. Koen may even consider me his first convert to the Alcabitus house system!

Alison reviews Discovering Eris by Keiron De Grice.

Discovering Eris is one of the first books written about Eris which is a “planet” orbiting the Earth way past Pluto. It is known as a Trans Neptunian Object or TNO. Eris moves very slowly at about 560 years for one orbit of the Sun. Many people have Eris in Aries as it has been there since about 1910. Eris has a very interesting retrograde cycle and can “hit” one transit for up to eleven times before moving on. In natal work Eris will come into prominence if it is tightly (less than one degree) conjunct one of your natal planets.

Virgo is a feminine, mutable earth sign represented by a woman holding a sheaf of wheat. This is an ancient symbol of Virgo’s relationship to the earth and expresses this sign’s practicality, discrimination and service orientation. Virgo is nurturing, but unlike Cancer (a water sign), Virgo cares through focused and often solitary action. The wheat she harvests will feed not only her children, but the entire village. In medical astrology, Virgo rules the digestive system, which puts everything we consume to use; distributing the nutrients, energy, vitamins and minerals we need to stay healthy and strong, then discarding the rest.

Sun & Moon

Sean Connery

Lance Armstrong

Leo Tolstoy

Genghis Khan

Fiona Apple

Sun & ASC

Agatha Christie

David Copperfield

Lyndon Johnson (triple)

Peter Sellers

Ann Richards

Rachael Ray (80% Virgo) was born August 25, 1968 in Glens Falls, New York and is an Emmy-award winning television personality and author who currently hosts the syndicated talk/lifestyle program Rachael Ray and two Food Network series, 30 Minute Meals and Rachael Ray’s Tasty Travels. Ray has also written a series of cookbooks based on the 30 Minute Meals concept and launched a magazine called “Every Day with Rachael Ray,” in 2005.

She has just about every planet you could have in Virgo at the same time, due to her birth in the heart of the late 60s when Jupiter, Mars and Venus joined the generational Uranus-Pluto conjunction already in progress. Her birth time is unknown so the speculative birth time below puts all those Virgo planets in the sixth house, probably contributing to her high score on Astrotheme. Either way, the Moon and Mercury are there too, which makes her one formidable Virgin.

[Wikipedia, Astrotheme]

“Let women issue a declaration of independence sexually, and absolutely refuse to cohabit with men until they are acknowledged as equals in everything, and the victory would be won in a single week.”

– Victoria Woodhull

Victoria Woodhull – 68% Virgo (September 23, 1838 05:45 AM in Homer OH – June 9, 1927) was a 19^th century American feminist also remembered as the first female stockbroker on Wall Street, the first to produce her own newspaper (a radical publication that published the first translation of Karl Marx’s Communist Manifesto) and the first woman to run for President, on the Equal Rights Party ticket in 1872. (Abolitionist Frederick Douglass was rumored to be her running mate, but this remains unconfirmed.) Woodhull also worked as a traveling clairvoyant, lobbyist, activist, writer/publisher, investor, teacher and Red Cross volunteer in WWI, which is beautifully symbolized by her Sun-Mercury-Jupiter conjunction in Virgo—on the Ascendant, if her birth time is correct (it was recorded in a collection by William Lilly, but one has to be a bit skeptical of an exact Sun-Ascendant conjunction, especially in a Victorian-era chart draw for the 7^th child in a family of 10).

She married three times and had two children, was a very (~ 100 years) early advocate of socialism, free love and birth control. It’s been 140 years and we still haven’t seen a woman President, and these days, just holding one of those views is enough to disqualify a candidate—male or female. Despite her lifelong advocacy for women’s equality in the workplace, politics, church and family, she made enemies of some of the biggest names in 1^st Wave Feminism (Moon conjunct Saturn in Scorpio), including Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Harriet Beecher Stowe for her political ambitions (Mars in Leo opposite Neptune in Aquarius!) and outspoken sexual views (Venus opposite Uranus).

Biography: VWI, “Victoria Claflin Woodhull Martin,” Bio. A&E Television Networks, Wikipedia.

Chart data: Astrotheme and Astrodatabank, Rodden rating C (Modern Astrology 1921, chart cast by Alan Leo).