Correlations

Episode #24 7/04/13

Our Third Live Episode!

Our Second Live Episode!

Our first live show!

In segment two, Chad starts us off with Alicia Keys' powerful performance of "Girl on Fire" at the MTV Music Awards on September 6, 2012. We then explore the chart of Eve Ensler, creator of The Vagina Monologues, and the phenomenon of One Billion Rising on February 14, 2013. Delia checks in about her personal experience of how transiting Saturn squaring her Sun/MC unfolds the continuing Saturn transit to her Moon/Asc. Jessica offers her experiences of transiting Saturn conjoining her natal Pluto, and transiting Pluto conjoining her Mercury. And finally, Matthew finishes us off by discussing his own current and recent transits.  

Delia starts us off by offering a meta-perspective on how all the charts to be examed today relate to the exact Saturn-Pluto sextile in the sky. Chad begins with looking at the chart of Oscar Pistorius, the South African Olympiad "Blade Runner" accused of murdering his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, on Valentine's Day. Next we discuss the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, Joseph Ratzinger, and the Vatican sexual abuse scandal. Next Matthew shares the incredible story of Shin Dong-hyuk, a North Korean who was born into slavery in a secret concentration camp and lived a life of torture for 23 years until he escaped and was able to tell his story. Finally Delia shares the chart of Brene Brown, whose research on vulnerability and shame and their links to creativity, connectedness and joy went viral on the TED Talk series, and offers a possible avenue of healing for the civil rights abuses that an unchecked patriarchal culture have created.

We devote the second segment to a discussion of the current US presidential election.  We look at both Mitt Romney's and Barack Obama's natal birth charts, and also discuss their current transits, focusing in particular on the transits for the first presidential debate where Obama's muted performance resulted in a turn of the tide for both politicians.  We also discuss the challenge (and ultimately the impossibility) of trying to use archetypal astrology to make any kind of prediction about the future, especially something with as many complexities as a modern political process.  In spite of this we have a little fun, and we each take turns sharing our thoughts about what the astrology might suggest about the outcome of the current election.

I was joined by the full crew again for this episode, with Delia, Chad, and Jessica all present. In honor of the Sun-Saturn conjunction in the sky, we devoted the entire first segment to a discussion of the Saturn archetype. We start off with a bit of metaphysical speculation regarding how Saturn fits into the actual structure of the cosmos, and then lead into a more personal discussion about how each of our own relationships with Saturn have evolved over time.

In the second segment it was just me and Delia, as Chad and Jessica had to go pack for Burningman.  We continued to explore some of the ideas that came up in the first segment, and then brought in some rich correlations that we have been working with recently.  I bring in the example of television personality and survivalist Bear Grylls, and Delia brings in the topical example of Senate candidate Todd Akin and the recent scandal he has been involved in.

It was another fun episode with myself and Delia Shargel. We spent the whole episode devoted to exploring three collective alignments of the current moment. We started with the Mercury-Saturn archetype (square in the sky with the moon during the recording), and discussed some of its key features with suggestions for honoring it. And then we moved into the discussion of the Jupiter-Venus combo (conjunct in the sky) along with the Jupiter Neptune energy (square in the sky), and we focus on the example of painter Thomas Kinkade, who is known for his idyllic images (and who is born with Jupiter conjunct Neptune). We conclude the podcast with a brief conversation on the Uranus-Pluto collective square alignment (which is now becoming exact, and is lining up with the Sun and Mars in the coming weeks).

In Segment 2 Chad leads us in a discussion of the recent tragic story of the shooting in Florida of Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman. We have a rich discussion of the dominant archetypes represented in the charts and transits of these two men, and then this leads into a broader philosophical conversation with Jessica asking some very probing questions about the nature of being human in an archetypal cosmos.

I was joined again by the full crew, and we had another very lively and rich dialogue. In the first segment we focus on the Mercury-Uranus archetype (conjunct in the sky), exploring it in depth with many different examples, including John Cleese, Howard Stern, George Carlin, Oscar Wilde, the film "The Artist," Charlie Chaplin, and many more.

This time I was joined again by the full crew, and we took turns sharing our thoughts on our own personal transits.  Chad starts us off by sharing about both his Saturn conjunct Uranus transit and his Jupiter conjunct Mercury Transit.   Jessica shares about her Moon opposite Saturn transit.  Delia focuses on her current transits to natal Mercury, and I share about my own transits to my natal Venus.  There was only time for one segment this episode, but it was filled with many interesting correlations and lots of rich dialogue.  We hope you enjoy.  

In Part Two Rick Tarnas joins us, and he brings two fun correlations for discussion.  We start off looking at the amazing 2008 Beijing Olympic swimming 4x100 swim relay in which swimmer Jason Lezak was responsible for a stunning upset of the French team, who were solidly in the lead when Lezak dove into the pool.  Next, Rick explores a recent powerful performance by singer Adele on the MTV music video awards ceremony of her song "Someone Like You."  We conclude the segment with a discussion of how the phenomenon of archetypal multivalence can result in the same archetype manifesting in exactly opposite ways in different cases.  We explore several examples of how this can happen, like with the Venus-Saturn archetype which can, in some cases, correlate to loss of love, and in other cases can correlate with enduring love.

For Part One it was me and Delia Shargel again, and we had a fun time with this podcast.  Delia starts us off with another check-in about her current long-lasting Jupiter-Moon transit, and some of the healing benefits she has received from it.  Next, I share some of my recent experience with my new transit of  Saturn conjoining my natal Sun.  I discuss the challenges of working with this new energy given the power of my natal Moon square Neptune.  We then discuss the ways in which the Moon-Jupiter archetype balances and corrects for the Sun-Saturn archetype, and vice versa.  We conclude the segment with a discussion of composer and child prodigy Jay Greenberg, looking at the astrological correlations to his genius.

In the second segment we devote all of our time to an archetypal exploration of the band Mumford and Sons, focusing in particular on Marcus Mumford's natal chart, and his Venus-Uranus-Saturn (Neptune) conjunction, which is all square to Jupiter.  We listen to four of the group's songs and we analyze each one for connections to Mumford's chart and transits.

It was the full crew again this time, and Delia, Chad and Jessica joined me for another very fun show.  We start off in the first segment discussing some of the collective alignments, emphasizing their positive potential.  We discuss the Moon-Saturn-Neptune grand trine, the Mars-Jupiter Pluto grand trine, and then Jessica focuses in on the Mercury-Venus conjunction, and we all share our thoughts on that combination. Next, Delia brings in a song by Demien Rice, focusing on how his Sun-Neptune conjunction relates to the theme of romantic projection contained in the song, and this then leads to a broader conversation about projections and astrology.  Lastly, Chad ends the first segment with a discussion of this year's dramatic World Series, focusing on the chart and transits of series MVP David Freese.

In the "honoring the gods" segment we focus on the Venus-Mars archetype, and a very rich dialogue ensues with a deep look at the highest gifts of the archetype, as well as its challenges.  We do a general overview of a number of themes associated with the archetype, and then we explore many different famous examples of people born with the combination prominent in their natal chart.  We explore how Venus-Mars aspects are often present in the charts of Dancers, musicians, and performing artists, and discuss examples such as Julie Andrews, Bob Fosse, Bruce Springsteen and others.  I also ask Delia to share some of her experience as a psychotherapist in counseling couples towards what the Venus-Mars archetype represents at its best: the healthy capacity to assert oneself in the context of love relationships.  

We had another great recording session, and this time it was just me and my good friend Delia Shargel. In the first segment we start with a discussion of the recent death of Steve Jobs, and we discuss our love for all things Apple, and also look at the correlations to Jobs' natal chart. Next, Delia takes the lead on a discussion of the "Occupy Wall Street" movement, and the correlations to our collective astrological situation. Then we briefly discuss the death of Muammar Gaddafi from an astrological perspective. And finally I close out the segment with a brief discussion of two films I saw over the summer: Thor, and Cowboys and Aliens, with a look at the lead actors in both films natal charts, focusing on the contrasting Mars alignments of Daniel Craig and Chris Hemsworth.

The Burningman Episode! It was the full crew again this time, with Delia Shargel, Jessica Garfield-Kabbara, and Chad Harris joining host Matthew Stelzner for a discussion of the Burningman festival and our experiences on the playa. In this episode we discuss what it was like giving astrology readings to festival participants, and delve into a broader discussion of what factors are needed for the most powerful astrology readings to occur, and what it's like when the "magic" happens. Chad compares Burningman to the Eleusinian Mysteries; we discuss the chart of the founder of Burningman, Larry Harvey, and also look at the chart for the first burn in 1986.  Matthew discusses his current personal transits and how they came through out in the desert. And we close with a brief look at a song by Johnny Cash and Dave Matthews called "For You."

It was just me and Delia Shargel for this episode.  We only recorded one segment this time, but we had a rich recording session, and covered a lot of ground. We start out by reviewing some of the big news stories of the recent weeks, and describing the correlations to our current Mars-Uranus-Pluto-Saturn grand cross.  We start with a discussion of the London riots, and then move to the recent stock market crash, and also briefly discuss the American Helicopter that was shot down in Afghanistan.  And then Delia takes a look at the music of Adele, and we discuss her natal chart.

In part two Delia starts off with a wonderful personal example of how her current Jupiter opposite Moon transit is coming through in her life, and how she is integrating the gifts of that archetype.  This then leads into a group discussion of other examples we have each experienced of moving beyond archetypal possession states through the integration of transiting archetypes.  Jessica then brings us on home with a look at Cat Steven's song Trouble, which had a big impact on her recently, and she explores his life and career through the lens of his chart and transits.

We had another jam-packed show, and this time Delia was back along with Chad and Jessica. In part one (I will release part two in a week, on 8/4/11) we start off with a discussion of the recent tragic events in Norway, and the chart of Anders Behring Breivik.  We then have a brief discussion about the death of Amy Winehouse, and take a look at her chart and transits.  Then Chad brings in a look at Chinese dissident and Nobel prize laureate Liu Xiaobo, and his chart and transits for major moments in his life.  Next, Jessica discusses a poem by Rumi which is clearly a description of the archetypal realms.  This then leads into a brief discussion of the Mercury-Neptune archetype (which Rumi is born with, and is also strong in the sky at the time of this recording).  We go around the group, and each of us offer suggestions for honoring and experiencing the Mercury-Neptune archetype.

In part two, Rick and I spend a little time talking about the recent scandal involving Rupert Murdoch's paper The News of the World, which has now collapsed under the leadership of  Rebekah Brooks.  We look at both Brooks' and Murdoch's charts, and also briefly discuss Murdoch's current transits.  We then move to a dialogue about a couple of questions I've been reflecting on recently regarding the nature of archetypes, and how they correlate to configurations in the natal chart and transits.  I've been reflecting on the truth that each of us contain all of the archetypes (or perhaps more accurately, as James Hillman would insist, we are contained within all of the archetypes), that we all have access to all of the archetypal energies all of the time as represented by the planetary archetypes and there combinations with each other (aspects).  But what then does this imply for astrology which suggests that certain archetypes are more dominant in some of us, and that certain archetypes can become more dominant at certain times (transits).  Does the fact that we have access to all of the archetypes all of the time, mean that any correlations we find to natal positions or transits are ultimately meaningless (in a spiritual sense) given that we contain everything anyway?  A rich dialogue ensues.

Delia and I had planned to record a new episode of the podcast this past weekend, but unfortunately she came down with a major flu (feel better Delia!), and we couldn't do it.  So Rick Tarnas graciously agreed to sit down with me tonight, and record an episode so we wouldn't have to go too long between recordings.Rick and I had a very rich conversation.  In part one we each share one of our favorite recent correlations that we have been reflecting on.  Rick starts with a discussion of William Butler Yeats' chart, and the correlations to his poem "Leda and the Swan" (see pasted below).  And then I bring in the correlations to German progressive rock group Rammstein, and lead singer Till Lindeman's chart.