Happy (Belated) Birthday, US Navy!

The US Navy celebrated its 236th birthday on Thursday, and I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge their sacrifice and dedication with an astrological analysis.

The date of their birth was October 13, 1775, Philadelphia, PA, and I used noon for the time. The essentials are below.

Planet	Sign	Element	House
Sun	Libra	Air	9th
Moon	Gemini	Air	6th
Mercury	Scorpio	Water	10th
Venus	Scorpio	Water	10th
Mars	Sagittarius	Fire	11th
Jupiter	Gemini	Air	6th
Saturn	Libra	Air	9th
Uranus	Gemini	Air	5th
Neptune	Virgo	Earth	9th
Pluto	Capricorn	Earth	1st
Ascendant/Rising	Capricorn	Earth	1st

Here are a few of the facts that jump out when you look at this chart:

1) Heavy air--You would think that with the Navy, you'd get a lot of water. There's lots of air, far more than there is water. Five planets in are in air, while two--Mercury and Venus in Scorpio--are in water signs. At first, that didn't seem to make sense to me until I considered that air--wind--was the main power source of naval vessels for a great deal of its history. Also, keep in mind that communication--an activity ruled by the air element--between Naval vessels and bases is of exceptional importance. Over time, that's become a lot easier but imagine what it was like sending orders to ships at sea in 1800. 

2) Strong 6th, 9th, and 10th houses--Most of the planets in the Navy's chart fall into the 6th, 9th, and 10th houses. The 6th house is the one that represents armed forces in general. With the Moon and Jupiter sitting in the 6th in Gemini, we see an organization that can be very good at avoiding emotions and focusing on the job at hand (Moon), while traveling to many different faraway destinations for a higher purpose (Jupiter). The 9th is the house of foreign or distant travel and philosophical principles--no surprise that three planets are sitting here, and one of them is the Sun, which forms a large part of the "personality" of any chart. Neptune, king of the oceans, is sitting here as well, but in Virgo; you have to be dedicated to serving others to be constantly in motion like the Navy is. Saturn's position here in Libra shows that the limitations placed on the Navy do not take into account every foreign situation, and that they have to be very balanced as they act abroad. In the 10th, Mercury--along with the heavy air element in the chart--highlights the necessity for good communications, especially those that come from the hierarchy and those in charge, both 10th house topics. Venus in retrograde is also in the 10th in Scorpio; we'll hit that one separately. 

3) Venus in retrograde in Scorpio in the 10th--This chart has Venus in retrograde (moving backwards) at the time the Navy was established. One of the other aspects to the 10th house is the "outer image" or reputation. The Navy has to realize that its reputation is going to be one of extremes: People will generally love them or hate them, and a lot of what they will praised or criticized for can be explained through goals. If those in contact with the Navy understand what the Navy's goals are, and if they are clarified to those who are carrying out the orders, there is the potential for tremendous success. Also because it is Venus, the planet of attraction, partnerships with groups will either be amazingly successful or a complete bust. So the Navy needs to be careful who they partner up with.

Anyway, I hope you've found this taste of the US Navy's astrology chart interesting. If military matters interest you, please go check out my friend Susan's blog (www.susankatzkeating.com). She always has some fascinating insights into all things military.

To the ladies and gentlemen of the US Navy, you have my thanks and admiration for your daily sacrifices all around the world. May the wind always be at your back! 

Saturn Returns!

Dear Neptune,

As much as I hate to admit it, you were right about my being able to return. I'm back in John's life, and while I won't say he's his "old self again"--I suspect that you had something to do with it but as I have no proof I won't embarrass him with accusations--I'm thrilled to return.

John's still as reliable and responsible as ever, but something is changed. He seems a little more confident about many things, especially about writing and being creative. The jury is still out on whether or not that is a positive turn of events, but since I was "on vacation", as you like to say "I take no responsibility for it."

Creativity is still an abstract concept to me, but I will admit he got a whole lot of writing done, especially out in Oklahoma City. I was so proud of him for putting his time to good use, even if he tried to have a good time when he wasn't typing. I felt like I was coming back even then because he was so disciplined. But I remembered the Sun's warning and I wasn't fully back until the Equinox. A promise is a promise.

You talked about me helping to edit the book when it was done, but you didn't tell me just how much I was going to be needed. John hit a small snag: The software he used to write the book on his iPhone put an extra space between each LETTER of the document he typed out there! So John tried some "creative" solutions that didn't work, but the bottom line is he'll be re-typing about 40 pages worth of the book into his document at home on his computer. You won't need to come back and help for this; you've already done more than enough. But he made his goal to write the book, and that's what you wanted, right? This creativity thing can be awfully messy; you neglected to mention that a few months back.

John has started teaching Witchcraft 101 for the Tradition of the Witches Circle as well since we last spoke, so he'll be using my discipline to make the formatting changes to the manuscript in addition to all his other duties. His calendar is full and that is when I am happiest, so in a sense you are leaving me to do what I do best and make order out of this chaos. I will decide to thank you or not in a few weeks.

Before I forget, just so you're aware John's birthday is coming up in a few weeks, and it's a big one. He's going to be 40. Rights of passage are pretty important and humans make a big to-do out of 40. But I hope no one calls him "over the hill"; everybody uses that phrase incorrectly! My transit is 29 1/2 years and I return to the place of a person's birth near their 30th birthday. Every time I come back around the person is "over the hill", so it can happen more than once. Anyway, John was "over the hill" 10 years ago, and he'll be going over the hill again at 60.

I think that's all from here for now. I'm sure you'll pop by again soon without an appointment expecting me to drop what I'm doing. While I know you will likely ignore standard courtesy, I hope you will call first.

Very truly yours,

Saturn